Should I go back to reading books again

Question

Hi 
 I am sorry, this question was asked before but still. I need help
I bought GMAT LIVE course from Veritas last year, I attended the course but could not give full attention to it because of personal reasons. I started studying seriously from Apr 1, and am only averaging 540 in my mock tests and 60-70% on all areas. How can I fix this ? I am following the veritas 3 month schedule but keep falling off it. 
Should I go back to basics again ? I have reviewed my Quant mistakes, and I see careless errors but I also see problems that I seem to have no clue about. I have confidence that I will improve Quant but I am not at all confident that I will improve even if I retake verbal. E-Gmat seems to have very good verbal and am thinking about buying their verbal course.
Can anybody give any suggestions and what would be the best way achieve 750 ? I am really at a loss here please help
Thanks

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi auj012,

Many Test Takers spend 3 months (or more) of consistent study time before they hit their 'peak' scores, so it's likely that you have not put in enough time and effort yet. It might be that you'll need to invest in some new resources at some point, but it's not clear yet if that's the case. There are likely concepts and Tactics that you have not learned yet because you're not far enough into the resources that you're using.

1) How many CATs have you taken? How have you scored on each one (including the quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for each)?
2) When are you planning to take the GMAT?
3) When are you planning to apply to Business School?

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

auj012 · Answer

Thank you so much Rich, for replying. To answer your questions
1) I have taken 3 cat tests so far.
04/3/16 -Veritas 530 Q(38) V(25) -- Diagnosis test
04/23/16-mgmt 570 Q(37) V(31)
04/24/16-mgmt 520 Q(39) V(23)

2)I wanted to take it in August 2016 
3) Sometime next year,

You mentioned about new resources, can you suggest some, ? 
Thanks

OptimusPrepJanielle · Answer

Hi auj012,

Your mock score shows a clear lack of fundamentals.

1. Did you take the test including AWA and IR?

Also, I would recommend you to refrain from taking tests until you have gone through all the fundamentals. 
You need to build the concepts/fundamentals before you jump in solving the problems. You can do so by choosing one of the following ways:

1. In person classes/private tutoring
2. Online classes
3. Self paced online preparatory course
4. Book heavy approach

You can either go back to the course that you have attended and revise the concepts or opt for a new course. Most of the preparatory companies including ours offer a free trial of the course. You can take the trial and see if the course suits your needs.
In addition to the preparatory material, buy the Official Guides(both the Official Guide and the Verbal Review), Question Pack 1 and the 4 official mock CATs. They should be an indispensable part of your preparation.

You need close to 3 months to prepare well for the GMAT.

1. Understand the concepts and fundamentals before jumping into problem solving
2. Solve full length CATs including AWA and IR. You can get two free GMAT Prep mock CATs and can purchase two more from mba.com
3. Make sure you solve the official questions from the Official Guide
4. You need to be focused and follow a plan. Try to put in 2 hours atleast on the weekdays and 4 - 5 hours on the weekends.
5. Thoroughly analyze any mock CAT that you attempt and see which questions you could have answered correctly.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi auj012,

Your 3 CAT scores are similar enough that you're likely dealing with your CATs in the same general ways each time - meaning that you do certain things consistently well, but you're making certain consistent mistakes. A 750+ score is the 99th percentile, meaning that 99% of Test Takers can't or won't do what it takes to score at that level. To earn that score, you're going to have to make some significant improvements to how you handle BOTH the Quant and Verbal sections. You seem confident that you can improve in the Quant section, but your scores have not gotten significantly better (they're clustered in the high-30s). An August Test Date still gives you plenty of time to study and improve, but you'll still have to do a lot of work to raise your score 200+ points.

1) How many hours do you study during a typical week?

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

JeffTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi Auj012, based on what you have said, I agree that you should focus on your foundations before moving forward with any more CATs. Concentrate on learning one topic at a time, and practice that topic until you have fully mastered it. This method of learning will keep you focused and organized. For example, if you are learning about percents, you want to make sure you have the means to learn everything possible about percents, e.g., percent less than, percent greater than, variable percents, percent profit, percent change. After that, be sure that you have the means to practice a lot of questions (50 or more) just on percents. The results of that practice will help you to determine how well you have mastered that topic.

If you need to seek out other resources, read through the various reviews and success stories here to get an idea as to what worked for other students. If you need any further advice feel free to PM me.

If you need to seek out other resources, read through the various reviews and success stories here to get an idea as to what worked for other students. If you need any further advice feel free to PM me.

HiLine · Answer

I second everyone that has posted here; you do not yet grasp the fundamentals, and therefore should refrain from taking any timed practice tests or even timed practice questions, lest you'd waste your time and further demoralize yourself.

Re-learn everything, take the practice drills, try out many Official Guide questions, completely UN-timed. If you can't answer a question in 10 minutes, you will not be able to answer it in 1.5 minutes. On the other hand, if you can answer any question within 10 minutes, you will be able to answer any question within 1.5 minutes with a little practice which will come later on in your study process. Fundamentals first, time second. Reversing the order won't work.

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Should I go back to reading books again

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