Approach going forward?

Question

Well I just took my last available official mock from GMATprep exam pack 1 and scored a 670 (q48 v35) I've got my GMAT scheduled on the 3rd of November and really want to break into the 700 club to boost my chances of admission into a good college (since I'm an Indian male, not an IT engineer though).I've always been scoring between 670-700 in my GMATprep mocks but not over 700 in any, what can I do to boost my score by those extra 20-30 points? Any suggestions would be great.

Cheers.

Cheers.

OptimusPrepJanielle · Answer

Hi sahil9385,

You do have realistic chances of breaking in the 700s
In the last few days, I would recommend you to :

1. Go back and revise the fundamentals and the concepts from whatever source you have been using.
2. Go through your error log and learn all the concepts related to the questions you got wrong
3. Solve as many official questions as you can get your hands on.

All the best!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi sahil9385,

Based on this latest CAT score, you don't have a major 'weak' category, so you really have to 'nitpick' your CAT results and determine WHY you're getting questions wrong. On this last CAT, how many questions did you get wrong because of a silly/little mistake? In the Verbal section, how many questions did you narrow down to 2 choices, but 'guess wrong' on?

At your current scoring level, the GMAT becomes really 'sensitive' to little mistakes - if you make too many of them, then a 700+ score become impossible to achieve. Thus, you have to work to minimize (or completely eliminate) the little mistakes from your work. You might also find it useful to post your individual Quant and Verbal questions in the Forums here; you'll likely receive insight into the patterns and 'shortcuts' built into the question as well as learn additional approaches to answer each prompt.

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

sahil9385 · Answer

Hello y'all, well I tool my GMAT today and got the same score as my last mock test, my break up was Q49 and V31. I canceled this score. Though I'm pretty satisfied with my quant score,I really need to improve my score in verbal, any suggestions on this? Thanks for your previous advice. Cheers!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi sahil9385,

Since you continue to score at a high level in the Quant section, your focus now has to be on making the necessary adjustments to how you 'see' (and respond to) the Verbal section.

1) How long have you been studying (and specifically studying Verbal)?
2) What resources have you been using?

3) When are you planning to apply to Business School?

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

sahil9385 · Answer

Hi Rich! Appreciate your prompt reply!

1) I had been studying verbal for about 4 months alongside math. Though towards the last 2 weeks of my test, I had been focusing a lot on verbal than math because I knew that it was my weak point.

2) I used mgmat for SC and RC, and Powerscore CR for CR.I also have access to Magoosh Premium, so I was also solving from there and using their video lectures for topics I wasn't very well versed with.

3) I want to apply in R2 this year. So will be trying to take the exam again within the next month or so after working on my verbal.

Thanks!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi sahil9385,

Since you've used a variety of different resources when studying for the Verbal section, it's possible that you haven't been able to 'mesh' all of the things that you've learned. So I have a few questions about how you handle that section:

1) What 'steps' do you go through when dealing with a typical SC, RC and CR prompt?
2) How often do you 'narrow the answers down to 2 choices' and then feel like you have to 'guess'?
3) Do you have trouble finishing the Verbal section on time (and do you have to rush on questions at the end just to finish?)?

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

sahil9385 · Answer

1) Well usually for SC, I try finding the mistakes when I read the actual given statement, on the basis of the mistakes I find and the available splits, I eliminate options and then I evaluate the remaining 2 or 3 options in a more detailed manner.

For RC, I first read the passage, make small notes for each paragraph, try to determine the the purpose of each paragraph and that of the overall passage. I came across this technique of active reading, that is trying to understand the purpose of every transition word etc. I had a hard time on one of these passages in my exam, it was a passage based on zoology. While attempting questions, I first try searching for the answer before seeing the options in inference based, primary purpose, specific detail questions.

For CR, first I determine the question type, then I read the question stem, try to think of an answer before looking at the options (though i must admit, I find this hard to do on the more difficult questions), while choosing my answer I eliminate all those answer choices which I think are wrong or irrelevant and then choose the correct answer.

2)This happens very often, more often than I would want it to often. Sometimes I find it hard to choose between the 2 even after spending close to 1 minute evaluating the 2 choices and then ultimately marking the wrong answer choice.

3)Yes timing is a problem, I am quick with my SC questions but not so much with CR and RC questions. I also struggled to finish my section on time in my last attempt and had to rush a towards the end as I understand that leaving a question unanswered implies a bigger penalty.

Thanks again Rich!

WayneHam · Answer

As I was reading your approach to verbal I was thinking that you must have a timing problem. Based on my experience what you're doing with the verbal is unnecessary, similar to solving the data sufficiency problems instead of yes/no. For example, I have the most problem with the RC because some of the passages are just long and confusing but I just go ahead with the questions because they're often not nearly as complicated as the text, especially if they pinpoint on part of the text. Why take notes if you don't know what the question is? For CR, trying to find the answer without looking at the questions seems unnecessary as well; typically there's one answer that sticks out, why wouldn't you use what you're given to solve the problem? That's like doing the IR without the calculator. For me, I don't touch the pen for the verbal section. Hope this helps.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi sahil9385,

The 'steps' that you've described sound just about what they should be, but there are some additional Tactics, patterns, etc. that you can take advantage of (and I'm not sure if you've actually learned any of those things yet).

1) Have you thought about when you might take the GMAT again?
2) Going forward, how many hours do you think you can commit to studying during a typical week?

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

sahil9385 · Answer

WayneHam : thank you for the suggestions, will give then a try!

rich : 
I'm sure I don't know about any other strategies as such.

1) I will reappear for the exam on 15th December, took a month off so I can really work on the verbal bit and maybe improve a bit on the math too.

2) I work full time, but I can manage to fork out about 2.5-3 hours on week days and about 6-8 hours on the weekend.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi sahil9385,

With a December 15th Test Date, you still have plenty of time to study and improve.

Given your timeframe and your current Official Verbal Score, I think that you would find the EMPOWERgmat Verbal Score Booster to be quite helpful. Most of our clients finish that Study Plan in under a month, so it would fit your schedule perfectly. During that time, you'll also be able to access any of the Quant resources that interest you. We have a number of free resources on our site (www.empowergmat.com) that you can use to 'test out' the Course before you set up an Account.

If you have any additional questions, then you can feel free to contact me directly.

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

	Manhattan Prep: $99 Bonus Score Higher on Your GMAT Exam. Guaranteed.
	Target Test Prep - Save up to $599 $400 Discount + $99 Bonus GMAT Club Tests
	e-GMAT: 60% Off on GMAT Focus Get to 735+ from any starting point
	Magoosh increases your score, guaranteed - 15% off ALL Magoosh GMAT plans with code GMATCLUB15 + Free GMAT Club Tests.
	Experts' Global - ~~$1720~~ $960 End-to-End GMAT Prep + App Support: 150+ Videos, 2000+ Questions, 15 FLTs +
	GMATWhiz - $299 ~~$499~~ Experience the course through a free trial.
	GMAT Club Tests - Free Included with every course purchase of $149+ View all deals

Approach going forward?

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards