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PranayJha
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How to prepare to retake the gmat 20 Sep 2021, 08:29
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Hello everyone, I took the GMAT on 15th August, 2021, and got an official score of 540 and it was online exam due to Covid restrictions. I want to score at least 700 or more on GMAT. I am not at all satisfied with my scores. In my last preparation, I completed the official guide questions, both for verbal and quant, I gave the mock tests as well, I wasn't getting the desired score, but still gave a try at the GMAT and got 540. I scored a quant 45 and verbal 20 I guess. I need to work a lot on verbal as well. I want to give a retry in October, hopefully it will be on center exam this time as I struggled with the online exam. Could anyone please help me with how should my preparation plan be, what should be my mindset, which are the best study material that I can work with considering I have already finished OG. I've heard Manhattan is good, but do I need to buy all the books in the set of Manhattan or only a few. The whole set costs about 23000, and honestly I don't think I will be able to afford it. Please guide, thank you so much for your answers in advance.
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How to prepare to retake the gmat 20 Sep 2021, 09:25
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Hi PranayJha,

Regarding prep materials, in addition to seeking advice in this thread, take a look at the GMAT Club reviews for the best quant and verbal courses, and also read through some GMAT success stories to see what materials have worked well for other test-takers.

Also, regarding how to move forward with your prep, here are two helpful articles:

The Best Way to Study for the GMAT

How to Score a 700+ on the GMAT — A Mini Guide for Success

Feel free to reach out with any questions.
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How to prepare to retake the gmat 20 Sep 2021, 09:45
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PranayJha – 540 is a good starting point. Since you need help in both Quant and Verbal, I would recommend that you take a look at a more holistic set of reviews here in the link below:

https://gmatclub.com/reviews/?fl=menu

Is 700 enough?
Non-natives, especially Indians, usually need to score higher. Use the data in the article below to decide on your target GMAT score.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/mba-admi ... 0N1A%3D%3D

About 10 admissions consultants have added their wisdom to this post.

Start with a Personalized Study plan

One of the best things you can do is to build your personalized study plan. Watch the video in the link below to learn why should you build a personalized study plan and how to build one?

https://e-gmat.com/blogs/gmat-study-plan/

Let me know if this helps. Write to me at [email protected] if you need stories for motivation.

-Rajat
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How to prepare to retake the gmat 20 Sep 2021, 20:52
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Hi PranayJha,

I'm sorry to hear that Test Day did not turn out better. If you were scoring at that same general level on your CATs/mocks though, then your result back in August shouldn't be too surprising. 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:

1) How long have you studied in total? How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) Have you used any other study materials besides the OG? What “brands” of CATs/mocks have you used?
3) On what dates (or approximate dates) did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks and how did you score on EACH (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?
4) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
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How to prepare to retake the gmat 22 Sep 2021, 05:23
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PranayJha
I want to give a retry in October
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Hi Pranay, in my opinion, you need to be realistic about timelines. You are looking at 160+ point jump and are giving yourself only a month for it!

V20 shows that you really need to work on your Verbal, grounds up. Takes time.
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How to prepare to retake the gmat 23 Sep 2021, 02:39
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Hi PranayJha,

I'm sorry to hear that Test Day did not turn out better. If you were scoring at that same general level on your CATs/mocks though, then your result back in August shouldn't be too surprising. 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:

1) How long have you studied in total? How many hours do you typically study each week?

I guess 20-25 hours. I usually give 3-4 hours everyday for studying.

2) Have you used any other study materials besides the OG? What “brands” of CATs/mocks have you used?

No, just practice material from Jamboree institute and OG. I took a coaching for 3 months with Jamboree. So, I was using its study material and practice questions from there when I finished with the OG.

3) On what dates (or approximate dates) did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks and how did you score on EACH (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?

If you are referring to the mock tests, then I took about 5 mocks before the actual GMAT, but I don't remember the actual dates when I gave them, but I gave them within the span of last one month before giving the actual GMAT and got around 560 or 580 in each of them.

4) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?

I am planning to apply for the batch of 2022, next year itself. I do not know if it is still possible, so I am planning to give the retake in October or November. I need to work really hard on the verbal, I am pretty weak at it. I do not understand where am I lacking in verbal, my spoken and written English is good enough I guess, I do not even understand, what is the mistakes that I am committing in the exam and mocks and I have no idea how to improve them. So, I am in the need of some guidance, especially for the verbal section.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
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How to prepare to retake the gmat 26 Sep 2021, 23:18
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Hi PranayJha,

I've sent you a PM with some notes and additional questions.

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