Need advice on how to take a 600 to 740 especially a Q35 to Q49

Question

GMAT 1 - 580, Q39, V-31
With 3 months of prep of full time prep
GMAT 2 - 600, Q35, V-38
With another 3 months of prep along with work

My target score is 740, Q-49, V-42. Would need to achieve this score by October to be able to apply in Round 2.

Need some valuable advice from the GMATClub community on how to achieve this score and most importantly improve my Quant score. A 740 might seem like a herculean task considering the amount of time already spent but I am willing to put in the work required to reach my target score.

Currently I have identified my weaknesses on the basis of Manhattan mocks and am working through 500-600 PS & DS ques followed by 600-700 level questions and then 700+ questions from only official sources such as Official guide, GMAT Paper tests and GMAC QP1 from GMATClub. Before solving these questions I am also reviewing the concept once again from the Manhattan and Veritas Quant books.

Any advice on how to improve my Quant score would greatly help. Have already gone through the article about increasing the Quant score from the 30's to the 40's.

ankur909090 · Answer

shruti.shambhavi I saw your result GMAT 2 - 600, Q35, V-38 . so one positive aspect in your result is that you have a good verbal score. Even though your quant score is quite low compared to score of verbal . For improving the quant section I will suggest you to clear all your basics especially in inequalities because it occupies a big chunk of quant part . Than you can work on Time and work , probability , number system and permutation and combination.

Attempt mocks of Gmatclub test for quant at the end. Definitely It will give you a extra edge in score.

Attempt mocks of Gmatclub test for quant at the end. Definitely It will give you a extra edge in score.

Arro44 · Answer

I was/am in a somewhat similar situation. To improve my math, and especially my DS success, I´ve purchased a course from MathRevolution and it has been of quite some help so far.
I think with regards to improving quant you might also want to have a look at your foundation, as a very solid base is often enough to propel yourself into the low 40s already and go on further from there.

Best regards & good luck,
Chris

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi shruti.shambhavi,

Raising a 600 to a 740+ will likely require at least another 3 months of consistent, guided study - and you'll have to make significant improvements to how you handle BOTH the Quant and Verbal sections. Thankfully, the GMAT is a consistent, predictable Exam, so you CAN train to score at a higher level. Before I can offer you the specific advice that you’re looking for, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

Studies:
1) What study materials did you use for each attempt at the GMAT?
2) What type of study routine were you following? How many hours did you study during a typical week? Did you ever have to 'pause' your studies?
3) How have you scored on EACH of your practice CATs (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?

Goals:
4) When are you planning to apply to Business School?
5) What Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

shruti.shambhavi · Answer

Thanks  ankur909090  and  Arro44 .

Hi Rich,

Studies:
1) What study materials did you use for each attempt at the GMAT?

Attempt 1
Manhattan Quant Guides
Manhattan Verbal Guides - SC,CR,RC
GMAT Club topic wise PS & DS Questions from 500-600,600-700,700+ from OG

Attempt 2
E-gmat SC
Manhattan Quant Guides
OG and Quantitative Review 10
700-800 question pdf from GMAT Club

2) What type of study routine were you following? How many hours did you study during a typical week? Did you ever have to 'pause' your studies?

Attempt 1 - 8 hrs per day for 3 months (Dec 17 - Mar -18)
Attempt 2 - 8 hrs per day for 1 month (Mar - Apr 18), 3 hrs per day for 2 months (Apr - Jun 18)
Paused studies from Jun - July 18

3) How have you scored on EACH of your practice CATs (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?

Attempt 1 
First ever mock - GMAT Prep 1 - 530, Q32,V-31
Manhattan 1 - 490, Q-30,V-28
Manhattan 2 - 550, Q-39, V-28
Veritas 1 - 570, Q-35, V-34
Manhattan 3 - 580, Q-36, V- 33
Veritas 2 - 610, Q-31, V-34
Manhattan 4 - 640, Q-42, V-36
Manhattan 5 - 580, Q-38, V- 31
Veritas 3 - 570, Q-37, V-32
Veritas 4 - 540, Q-35, V- 30
Kaplan Free Mock - 660, Q-41, V-39
GMAT Prep 2 - 590 ,Q - 40, V-31
Actual GMAT - 580, Q-39, V- 31

Attempt 2 
GMAT Prep 3 - 570, cant recall breakup
Actual GMAT - 600, Q-35, V-38

My major concern with mocks and the actual exam is the lack of a consistent score. Verbal broadly seems to be consistent but Quant definitely isn't.

Goals:

4) When are you planning to apply to Business School? - Round 2 (Jan 2019) preferably

5) What Schools are you planning to apply to? - Kellogg School of Management(Top Choice), INSEAD, Fuqua School of Business, Ross School of Business

ankur909090 · Answer

shruti.shambhavi I think you have already attempted a lot of questions as it is visible from your mock exams.
Just analyze all your mock exams and try to find out the pattern in your wrong questions as you are constantly getting quant near around 40 +-2 , similarly for verbal . I feel if you are getting 40 in quant than you are aware of basics but repeatedly you are committing some mistakes.

Instead of studying new material , analyzing will be helpful.

adkikani · Answer

shruti.shambhavi

Could you manage to post your ESR on forum after editing your personal details?
Do send me PM if you are in need of any help.
I agree with  ankur909090  that GC tests are one of the closest resources to suffice
your needs at this stage.

One more important thing: Q35 on one day and Q39 on another does seem to match your caliber.
Are you experience any sort of stress in exam or trying to cut corners out (do check for second 
and third video series  here  and # 5,6 and 7  here )

See you sooner with Q51!! All the best.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi shruti.shambhavi,

GMAC has publicly stated that the Official Score that you earn on Test Day is within +/- 30 points of actual ability. Assuming a similar 'swing' in how your CATs function, most your CAT scores - and your 2 Official Scores - show that you essentially performed the same each time (about 590 +/- a few points). The variations in some of the Scaled Scores are likely due to a bit of 'luck' (especially if you frequently 'narrow the answers down to 2 choices - and then "guess"'). Unfortunately, that approach won't lead to a 740+ (from a probability standpoint, you'll simply miss out on too many points for that result to be reasonable).

Studying 8 hours a day could be part of the problem. If you were more focused on "quantity" of study than "quality" of study, then you weren't necessarily learning new skills and properly honing them - AND you would have been far more likely to 'burn out' over time (which can also help to explain why your scores got 'stuck'). Thankfully, you still have plenty of time before October.

"Review" is an exceptionally important part of the GMAT training process; your ability to define WHY you're getting questions wrong is essential to defining the areas that you need to work on (and the specific things that you need to 'fix '). As such, I'd like to know a bit more about your last CAT (GMAT Prep 3); do you still have access to that Exam? While a full Mistake Tracker would provide a lot more information, there are some basic questions that you should be able to answer (and the more EXACT you can be with your answers, the better):

After reviewing each section of that CAT, how many questions did you get wrong....
1) Because of a silly/little mistake?
2) Because there was some math/verbal that you just could not remember how to do?
3) Because the question was too hard?
4) Because you were low on time and had to guess?
5) How many Verbal questions did you 'narrow down to 2 choices' but still get wrong?

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

egmat · Answer

Hi  shruti.shambhavi ,

Going from 600 to 740+ is possible!

It may seem like a Herculean task to you right now to improve from 600 to 740, but it is very achievable especially given your high competency in Verbal. Here are a few examples of students who improved their score despite Quant not being their strong suit, to begin with.

• Guillermo improved from a  Q38 (36 percentile) to Q50 (86 percentile) . Learn how he strategically planned his preparation and used  Scholaranium  to track his improvement in hard level questions.  Click here to watch his interview . Read his amazing GMAT Club debrief  here .

• Learn how Shekhar improved from a  600 to 770 . He leveraged the " methodical approach " and " advanced data analytics in Scholaranium " to achieve this feat. Click  here  to read his de-brief.

HOW TO IMPROVE VERBAL  
  1. Set sub-sectional target scores  
First, it is important that you determine the sub-sectional scores required to reach your target Verbal score. 
Few ways to score V42:
 https://e-gmat.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/GMAT-Verbal-Score-V42-break-up.png

You can use the  GMAT Planner  tool to set your target sub-sectional scores. This will help you make your plan more precise and study more effective.

2. Identify your weaknesses and Improve upon them  
The most efficient way to improve in a section is by plugging the gaps, i.e. improving upon your weaknesses. You are only as good as your weakest link. You must identify the exact topics that you are weak in and work on those topics until you reach a satisfactory level. Watch this  video  to learn how to accomplish this.

HOW TO IMPROVE QUANT  
  Structured Approach  
To reach the score of Q49, you must follow a structured approach and not rely on tips and tricks which may fail you on the test day. 
Guillermo succeeded in Quant by doing the following after scoring Q38 in his Mock Test:
 - Building core skills
- Following a structured approach instead of relying on tips & tricks
- Making sure that he strategically planned every phase of his preparation
- Practicing using Scholaranium to solve hard questions 
Since you are already an e-GMAT student, I am sure you understand the importance of a structured process and building core skills in achieving desired scores on GMAT. You must follow repeatable and reliable processes in Quant as you did in SC.

Learn Structured Approach for Quant this weekend  
You can attend the free webinar on  Number Properties  this weekend to learn a structured approach to solving Quant problems. You will also get some free video lessons upon registering for this webinar. You can access over 25 free video lessons and 380+ practice questions using your Free Trial account.

Good Luck!

Regards,
Aditee

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi shruti.shambhavi,

I’m glad you reached out and I’m happy to help. The good news is that your real GMAT scores came in slightly higher than your practice GMAT scores, so you are performing to your ability level on test day. With that said, it’s going to take some significant time and hard work to bring your score up to 740.

Regarding your quant, I know you have been studying for a while and seem to have a grasp on your weaknesses; however, given that your quant is at 35, you probably have more weaknesses than you are aware of. Thus, you may consider adjusting your study routine so that you can take a “ground-up” approach, relearning the foundations and then moving on to more advanced topics. With that said, I’m happy to provide some further advice on how you can make improvements in your quant score.

First off, you will need to create a study plan. When developing your preparation plan, it is important to realize that the GMAT quant section is not just a math test; it is also a reasoning game. So, increasing your score takes improving skills that relate specifically to the GMAT quant game. Yes, it’s imperative that you know an array of basic math concepts, such as the difference of squares, 30-60-90 triangle properties, patterns in units digits, patterns in remainders, divisibility, algebraic translations, Venn diagrams, and permutations and combinations, to name just a few. At the same time, you need to far surpass simply understanding those concepts; you must develop strong analytical reasoning skills.

So, must you learn or review math for GMAT quant? Yes, for sure. Without a solid understanding of the underlying math, it will be difficult to improve your GMAT quant score. Will learning math be sufficient to earn you a high GMAT quant score? Probably not. The key is to learn how the GMAT uses basic math to create logic-based questions. Thus, you’ll need to both fill in gaps in your math knowledge and develop your analytical reasoning skills to increase your GMAT quant score.

I suggest that to gain the math knowledge and develop the analytical reasoning skills that you need, you seek out a course that can help you to master the quant section of the GMAT. If you plan to study on your own for the GMAT, you may consider an online self-study course as opposed to a prep book. Self-study courses typically provide detailed study plans and have granular analytics, so you can easily track your progress as you move through the course. The ability to track your progress will keep you more engaged, and you’ll be able to more accurately determine when you’re ready to take your real GMAT.

There are many courses available, so it’s best to really do your research before you commit to one. In this competitive GMAT landscape, you’ll certainly want to utilize only the best possible materials; otherwise, you may find yourself at a big disadvantage relative to your peers.  GMAT Club  has reviews on the best courses for GMAT quant. Read the reviews and see what your peers have to say. Most courses have free or low-cost trials, so try them out and choose a course that you like.

Just remember that to earn a higher GMAT quant score, you’ll want to pursue a detailed approach that allows you to develop strong skills and a deep mastery of the material. It’s very hard to earn a competitive score these days without rigorous and comprehensive training; the competition is just too strong. So, you must seek mastery.

There are two main aspects of attaining mastery of GMAT quant. One aspect is developing a clear understanding of the underlying math. For example, many GMAT quant questions involve inequalities. So, scoring high in GMAT quant requires understanding the logic of how inequalities work and how to work with them. Attaining this type of mastery is similar to what you would do to study for a typical math test.

The other aspect of attaining mastery of GMAT quant involves learning how to apply math knowledge to get the correct answers to GMAT quant questions. GMAT quant is not set up to assess your knowledge of math. It’s set up to test your skill in using basic math knowledge to correctly answer tricky questions. In other words, GMAT quant is a test of vision and execution skills, the types of skills you would use in business school or in managing a business.

These two aspects of attaining mastery of GMAT quant are best handled by working on GMAT quant topic by topic. When you work on one question type at a time, you both gain in-depth knowledge of the math involved in questions of that type and develop the skills that you need to arrive at correct answers to questions of that type. So, to drive your quant score higher, work on one type of question at a time, first learning about the math involved and then answering many questions of that type in order to develop your skills.

For example, since GMAT quant tends to include questions involving triangles, you would learn various facts about triangles and how to work with them, and then practice by answering dozens of questions involving triangles. By working in this way, you would become confident that if you see a question involving triangles, you will likely get the right answer. Then, you would move on to another topic and question type, and repeat the same process.
 
As you practice answering questions of a particular type, do a thorough analysis of each question that you don’t answer correctly. For instance, if you are working on triangle questions and you miss a question involving a right triangle, ask yourself why you missed it and what you needed to see more clearly or do more effectively in order to get it right. Did you make a careless mistake? Did you not properly apply the Pythagorean theorem? Was there a concept you did not understand in the question? By properly analyzing what occured, you will be able to more efficiently fix your weaknesses and, in turn, improve your GMAT quant performance. Triangles is just one example; follow this process for all quant topics.
 
Each time you strengthen your understanding of a topic and your skill in answering questions of a particular type, you increase your odds of hitting your quant score goal. You will find that there are types of questions that you are happy to see, types that you would rather not see, and questions that you take a long time to answer correctly. Learn to more effectively answer the types of questions that you would rather not see, and make them into your favorite types.
 
As you do this work, keep in mind at all times that the GMAT is testing your skill in getting to correct answers. So, when you train for the quant section, focus not only on knowing how to answer questions but also on getting correct answers consistently and not getting tricked. You have to teach yourself to see the tricks in the questions, to calculate accurately, and to arrive at correct answers consistently. The GMAT is essentially a game of seeing how many right answers you can get in the time allotted. Approach it with that conception in mind, and focus intently on the question in front of you with one goal in mind: getting a CORRECT answer.
 
Here is an article that I wrote that I think will give you some more valuable information:  How To Increase Your GMAT Quant Score .

When practicing GMAT quant questions, you must also consider timing. However, since you are learning new material, be careful not to put too much emphasis on solving every question in two minutes or less. You can consider timing this way: when you are doing practice questions, there are three levels of proficiency you could be seeing for each category.

At Level 1, you understand the logic of GMAT quant questions in a category and basically know how to answer them, but you may not get them right, or you at least don’t get them right consistently. This level of proficiency is a good start.

At Level 2, you consistently get questions in a quant category correct, but you are not fast, taking on average well over two minutes per question. This level of proficiency is even better. Getting right answers is key. If you can get right answers consistently, you are well on your way to hitting your GMAT score goal.

At Level 3, you get questions in a category correct consistently, taking around two minutes per question (or sometimes less). When you are at this level of proficiency for a category of GMAT quant question, you are ready to see questions of that type on the test. Now it’s time to work on another question category.

To develop the third level of proficiency, you must allow yourself ample time for deliberate practice. If you try to rush through questions when you first begin practicing, you’ll find it extremely difficult--if not impossible--to progress to Level 3. So, when you are practicing, do the questions untimed. Yes, you can be aware of how much time you are taking, but don’t focus on the time. Generally, you need to focus on finding the correct response to each question by mastering the material and learning to use higher-order reasoning, rather than on answering questions in two minutes (or any other preset time constraint). Remember, the best way to gain speed is to know the material very well and develop strong skills. As your GMAT skills improve, better timing will follow. In fact, a great way to know how well you have a mastered a particular topic is to be cognizant of your reaction time when seeing a particular question. For example, consider the following simple question with which many students who are beginning their prep struggle:

20^2 + 21^2 + 22^2 + 23^2 + 24^2 + 25^2 = ?
 
A) 3,055
B) 2,060
C) 3,066
D) 3,704
 E) 3,077
 
Upon seeing this question, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Performing all of the calculations by hand? Grabbing a calculator to add up the values in the expression? Are you spending 60 seconds or more just thinking about what the question is really asking or how it could be efficiently solved? Or do you quickly recognize that one simple solution utilizes the concept of units digits?

If you are able to quickly recognize that using the units digits will allow you to attack the problem quickly and efficiently (see the solution below), the question becomes very basic.

Solution:

Because each answer choice has a different units digit, instead of finding the actual sum, we can just find the units digit of the sum. Let’s use the units digit of each square to determine the units digit of the sum.

- The units digit of 20^2 must be 0, since 0^2 = 0.
- The units digit of 21^2 must be 1, since 1^2 = 1.
- The units digit of 22^2 must be 4, since 2^2 = 4.
- The units digit of 23^2 must be 9, since 3^2 = 9.
- The units digit of 24^2 must be 6, since 4^2 = 16.
- The units digit of 25^2 must be 5, since 5^2 = 25.

With this, we can sum the units digits: 0 + 1 + 4 + 9 + 6 + 5 = 25. Thus, the units digit of the sum is 5. Answer choice A is the only choice with a units digit of 5.

Although this is just one example of many, you see that you must have many tools in your toolbox to efficiently attack each GMAT quant question that comes your way. As you gain these skills, you will get faster.

Finally, once you feel you have mastered GMAT quant, you can begin taking official MBA.com practice tests to track your progress. GMAC offers three sets of practice tests: besides the  two free exams , you can purchase  exams 3 and 4  and  exams 5 and 6 . When taking those practice exams, try to replicate the test-day experience as much as possible. Go to the library instead of taking them in your home. Be sure to complete all sections (AWA, IR, Quant, and Verbal) in one sitting, taking only the authorized breaks. After completing each test, rigorously analyze your mistakes so you can continue to determine and fix any remaining weaknesses.

I know I provided you with a lot of information, so if you have any questions, please reach out. I would be more than happy to help you set up a strategic study plan.

Good luck!

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Need advice on how to take a 600 to 740 especially a Q35 to Q49

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