What to do to improve from 550 to 650-700 I have all the time

Question

I just finished my first Official GMAT today an scored a 550 (Q46,V21,IR4).

I took practice tests from Princeton review which I knew later are not got indicators and I also took 4 official GMAT prep tests:

GMATPrep1 580 (Q48,V23)
GMATPrep2 570 (Q46,V23)
GMATPrerp3 580 (Q48,V23)
GMATPrerp4 640 (Q45,V32)

I also retook the GMATPrerp2 but only the verbal part and got a V30.

While I thought that my verbal is improving, it didn't appear in that way on the actual GMAT. Also, I have no idea how I scored a 550 as I never scored it before.

Whats done is done and I am planning to apply for MBA in Winter 2021 so I still have a decent amount of time to prepare for a high score. I'm also 26 with 3 years of MNC experience so I guess 2 more years is a suitable time for me to apply.

I need your advise on what to do to improve my score because I studied for around 6 months consistently everyday but I guess I am studying wrong. I used Kaplan at the beginning and then I switched to solving from OG, all self study.

Should I take a break first to reform ? Should I hire a tutor/join a class ?

Just wanted to know how can I do it and I'll put all the effort in, but this time the right effort in the right place. I do have decent amount of time, but I don't want this GMAT to take over my life for 2 years.

rohan2345 · Answer

Hi ZeyadSerag, Welcome to GMATCLUB. You should study for around 4 months to achieve your target score. It's a good thing you have taken your GMAT once. You now know your weaknesses and can work on them. If you are willing to study dedicatedly for that period, you are sure to achieve your goal. I think you need to solidify you base and adopt a proper technique to answer the questions. I believe you may benefit from taking a GMATPREP course. If you are willing, there are some great GMAT prep companies that can help you with your preparation. In order to make an informed decision I would highly encourage you to go to their websites and try on their free trial and decide for yourself which one do you like better. You try out free access to EmpowerGMAT, Magoosh and TTP as they have great reviews on GMATCLUB. If you are looking for a good course in verbal, I would highly encourage you to consider e-gmat verbal online or the e-gmat verbal live course. They are both amazing courses especially designed for non-natives. They offer almost 25% of their courses for free so you can try out their free trial to decide which one you want to go for. Plus the e-gmat Scholaranium which is included in both the courses is one of the best verbal practice tools in the market. You can easily track your progress in that you can identify your strengths and analyze and improve on your weak areas. I must add that if you are particularly looking to discover and improve on your weak areas in Quant; a subscription to GMATCLUB tests is the best way to do that. They are indeed phenomenal and will not only pinpoint your weak areas but also help you improve on them. Further taking multiple mocks might help. Apart from the GMATPREP, Manhattan GMAT tests and Veritas Prep Tests in my experience have good verbal and Quant section and will certainly help you point out and improve your weak areas. Further another advantage of taking many mocks is to build up your stamina. Apart from the GMATPREP tests, taking practise tests of any major GMATPREP company ought to do that. I would also encourage you to purchase GMATPREP QP 1 for some great additional practice. Lastly, you can check out a very interesting article by Mike McGarry from Magoosh detailing a 3 month study plan https://magoosh.com/gmat/2012/3-month-g ... -students/. You will find it very helpful as it gives out a study plan as per your needs. Hope this helps. All the best.

cfc198 · Answer

Invest in E-gmat and focus on your verbal concepts as it requires a big boost. Q46 is a good score but I am sure with dedicated practice that you will be able to get at least a q49. TTP is a great online course which focuses solely on quants. Also, I would highly recommend developing a habit of regular reading.

Best wishes!

mangamma · Answer

For Verbal, Please try to focus only one or two resources, either eGMAT or Manhattan or both. I am sure your score will improve.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi ZeyadSerag,

I'm sorry to hear that Test Day did not go as well as hoped. 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, three of your CAT score results - along with your Official GMAT - show that you essentially performed the same each time (about 560 +/- a few points) - the 640 is an 'outlier', so we cannot assume that that was a true measure of your current skills. You handle certain aspects of the GMAT consistently well, but you also make certain consistent mistakes. Thankfully, the GMAT is a consistent, predictable Exam, so you CAN train to score at a higher level. Since you're not facing any immediate application deadlines, you also have a lot of potential study time available - which is good.

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 type of study routine have you been following? How many hours did you typically study each week?
2) Have you used any other study materials besides the books that you mentioned?
3) You mentioned that you took some additional CATs. How have you scored on EACH of your CATs (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?

Goals:
4) What is your overall goal score?
5) What Schools are you planning to apply to?

You might also choose to purchase the Enhanced Score Report. While the ESR doesn’t provide a lot of information, there are usually a few data points that we can use to define what went wrong on Test Day (and what you should work on to score higher). If you purchase the ESR, then I'll be happy to analyze it for you.

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

ZeyadSerag · Answer

Hello Rich,

Thanks for your help.

I’ll order the ESR report and share it with you.

1) I used to study around 3 hours on week days and 5-6 hours on weekends. No specific routine, I just kept solving questions and reviewing answers to see what I get right and wrong.

2) I only used the questions and forums on GMATclub.

3) These were on princton.
1st (Q47,V32) 640
2nd (Q35,V37) 590
3rd (Q48,V23) 580
4th (Q47, V30) 630
5th (Q46, V22) 560

Basically my scores starting dropping after a decent start

4) overall score goal is between 650 to 700 ideally 670.

5) the schools I want to apply to are Insead, IESE, IE and Mannheim.

Basically I know my scores would be in the lower edge but I think I’ll try to compensate it with other aspects of my application. I worked in 2 different countries in top MNCs in the FMCG industry, speak 3 languages and I decent leadership experience. So, I think my CV would have a good chance (tell me what do you think, maybe I am miss lead)

Having that said I am keeping Mannheim as a backup school for me.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi ZeyadSerag,

From what you described, your studies were mostly centered on working through lots and lots of practice questions. Unfortunately, it's not clear if there was any type of 'progression' - and it's not clear what skills/Tactics you were working on during that time. Raising a 550 to the point that you can consistently score 670+ will likely require at least another 2-3 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.

In your original post, you asked if you should take a 'break' from your studies. You might find it beneficial to take a little time off (a few days or even a week) and clear your head. To hit your Score Goal, you'll need to focus on learning and practicing the proper Tactics. Thankfully, much of that work is fairly straight-forward, but you have to be focused on that task. If you developed any 'bad habits' during your prior studies, then the process might take longer.

1) Going forward, how many hours do you think you can consistently study each week?

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

ZeyadSerag · Answer

Hello Rich,

Yes, this was pretty much how I studied, which is apparently a very week strategy.

1) I can dedicate 8 hours/week (2 hours/day on weekends and 1 hour/day on weekdays and 1 day off). If I need more do let me know.

Studying for 2-3 months is more than fine - I thought I need alot more so this is motivating) . I'd rather study on a longer time span with fewer hours/week, than cramping up in a short time with higher hours per week.

Being honest with myself, I think I developed some bad habits while studying. You mentioned that solving alot of practice questions and not focusing on the tactics is a weak study strategy.

How can I start studying in the right way and develop the right habits to learn the correct tactics ? for starters, people advised me to follow e-gmat for verbal. Whats your opinion and what else can I do ?

I'll do all what it takes to get my target score.

ZeyadSerag.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi ZeyadSerag,

To properly improve in the timeframe we're discussing, you will likely need to commit more than 8 hours a week to your studies going forward (since the process of taking - and properly reviewing - each CAT will probably take 7-8 hours on its own, you should plan for closer to 10-15 hours/week of overall study time if possible).

When it comes to studying for the GMAT, there are a variety of different study materials that you could use. Most GMAT Companies offer some type of free materials (practice problems, Trial Accounts, videos, etc.) that you can use to 'test out' a product before you buy it. We have a variety of those resources at our website (www.empowergmat.com). I suggest that you take advantage of all of those free materials, then choose the one(s) that best matches your personality, timeline and budget.

If you have any additional questions, then just let me know (and you can also feel free to contact me directly).

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

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi ZeyadSerag,

I’m glad you reached out, and I’m happy to help. Looking at your study routine, I see that you are following a plan that I call “practice first and figure the rest out later.” In other words, you are doing practice problems before understanding the concepts on which those problems are based, and thus you are trying to learn solely from reading solutions to problems. Following such a study plan will lead to disorganized studying and ultimately hold you back from improving your quant and verbal skills. Thus, in addition to using your current resources, you may consider using a resource that allows you FIRST to learn the concepts and strategies related to GMAT quant and verbal and SECOND to practice with a large number of realistic questions. To study in such a way, you may find it helpful to use an online self-study course. To see what is available, check out the reviews here on GMAT Club of the  best quant  and  verbal courses .

Certainly, if you’d like more detailed advice on how to improve your GMAT verbal and quant skills, feel free to reach out, and I’d be happy to help. You also may find my article with more information regarding
 how to score a 700+ on the GMAT  helpful.

Good luck!

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