670(Q47,V35)-considering retake-please assist in a drafting study plan

Question

Hi All, I wrote GMAT yesterday and got (for me) a dismal 670 (Q47, V35) :cry:

Following were my mock test scores: GMAT Prep Test 1 (Attempt 1, about an year back without any prep): 680 (apologies I dont have the sectional scores) GMAT Prep Test 1 (Attempt 2, last week in the worst exam conditions possible): 640(Q48, V31) GMAT Prep Test 2 (Attempt 1, last week): 710(Q49, V38) Can't say I was thoroughly prepared thanks to project commitments at my current job which kept in office nearly all day..(oh ya, I'm yet another IT engineer).. I feel there is a need to score 720+ with my not-at-all-uncommon profile to land into one of the top B-schools but having covered the MGAT guides and OG13 already, it would be really helpful if someone can assist me device a study plan. I went through bb 's suggested study plan but thought of talking things through before I start my preparation. Should I go through the MGMAT books again and buy the OG for verbal and quants or there are other approaches I should consider ? There are three possible paths I can foresee to take things forward: 1) Go by my preference of retaking the GMAT with a couple of months of self-preparation (ensuring 2-3 hours weekday and 6-8 hours weekend study) and target fall 2016. 2) Join a professional GMAT training institute/course, retake in a couple of months and target fall 2016. (suggestions on a institutes in Bangalore are welcome) 3) Pursue the current score by investing effort in SOPs and recommendations and target spring 2016. Apologies for the rather long post but I need to be sure I channelize my efforts in the right direction for optimum results. P.S.- Copied the latter half of the above sentence from the many unwanted words of wisdom showered on me at work

Disclaimer: Since this is my first post on the forum please forgive me if I haven't taken care of all the posting rules. :oops:

Thanks in advance for all the replies.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi AkashBhatt,

First off, a 670 is a solid score (it's just above the 80th percentile), so it might be enough to get you into Business School. You have to remember that competitive programs nitpick your OVERALL application, so no GMAT score (not even an 800) will guarantee you anything.

If you have questions about how your profile might look to specific Business Schools/Programs, then you should ask the Experts in the Admissions Consulting Forum:

ask-admission-consultants-124/

Keep in mind that you're going to have to provide a lot of information about your profile and name the specific programs that you're interested in.

If you do end up retesting, then I'll be happy to offer some suggestions, but I'll need to know a bit more about how you studied for this attempt.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

Ivan91 · Answer

If you have not used the verbal and quant reviews of GMAC , this is a must before retaking

manyatpr · Answer

Hi Akash,

Since you have the OG 13 there is no need to buy the OG 15. With regard to preparation, going through the same material with a different approach would be the right thing to do. I suspect the test taking approach you have been using needs to be reviewed. You would need the help of a tutor in this regard.

Self study is a good option if you have the will and determination to see it through. But do avail of the help test prep centers such as ours offers to students who need to be assisted in their self study programs.

The Princeton review Manya centers in Bangalore have programs customized to student/professional schedules. Check it out.

SOP's are truth like documents and they only reflect what you have done. So by investing you mean you would work to add credits to your profile, then that may not fructify in such a short period of time.

Let us know in case you need any further assistance.
www.manyagroup.com

AkashBhatt · Answer

Ivan91 : Thanks a lot for the reply Ivan

, I'll surely purchase official Quant and Verbal Review and go through them for my second attempt!

AkashBhatt · Answer

manyaabroadtpr  : Thanks for a your reply. I agree my approach might need a revamp and I'll focus on approach rather than solution this time around.
As much as I'd like to, in the light of the new project I have been recently assigned at work, I don't think I can attend a classroom course.
Though my timings might be inconsistent, I'm sure I'll squeeze in a couple of hours daily for my future.

dontquixote · Answer

I think you should do magoosh for quant and egmat for verbal. Also do Kaplan 800 questions.

AkashBhatt · Answer

EMPOWERgmatRichC : Thanks a bunch for your reply, I cannot thank you enough for the time you invest helping me shape a better future

With regards to my current score, I know 670 is not a bad score and its the overall profile not just the GMAT score that'll count but I am confident that I can improve considerably. Additionally my profile isn't unique, hence I will retake. Honestly, in the last attempt, my preparation wasn't planned at all and that's a mistake I knew I must correct and this post was the first step in the that direction. Now I plan to rewrite by May, which gives me 2-3 months of preparation time and this is how I plan to utilize it: Quants : Revisit MGMAT Quants books to refresh my knowledge of the concepts. The fact that I have gone through them earlier will help me complete this exercise quicker. My weakness in Quants is the way I handle DS questions so I will practice a lot of those here in gmat club and through the Quant official review as well. Verbal : I plan to enroll to e-gmat courses as they are focused for non-natives and I hope all I would need apart from their course material would be daily reading and practice. I will practice question here at gmat club but I can use some advice with daily reading resources. I am not an avid reader but I do like reading novels. My vocabulary is pretty average and that does gets in my way for a few questions so I think I need to go through WordPower made easy as well. Practice tests: In the last month before my second attempt I will use weekends to attempt gmat club and MGMAT tests to make sure I can sit for hours without letting my concentration dip. Every word of advice is priceless for me as this will be my final attempt and I really must make it count.

AkashBhatt · Answer

dontquixote  : Thanks for your advice. I will enroll to e-gmat for verbal. For Quants, wont revising MGMAT for concepts and practice questions here at gmatclub suffice? Or I should I invest in Mangoosh as well?

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670(Q47,V35)-considering retake-please assist in a drafting study plan

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