Want to retake GMAT: What should I focus on

Question

Hi 
I've posted this before as well, but didnt get any good advice.

My GMAT score was 620 with Q41 and V35. Disappointed isnt even the word. But as I've to do my MBA and I'll do it only once in my life, i've no option but to give one more shot at GMAT with a focused study plan.

I have studied for 2 months prior to my exam. Now, I can study for 8 hours on weekdays. I would like to keep the weekends for destressing.
Please if you can suggest me a good plan to study and get a GMAT score in the 700+ range.

Should I join any test prep? Will they be of any help? If so then which one? Or should I do self study?

KarishmaB · Answer

Hey,

The good thing is that there is scope for improvement in both sections. If you raise the scores of both sections by a bit, you will raise your overall score by a decent amount.

How did you study last time? Which resources did you use? Did you go through a complete set of prep curriculum either on your own or through a course? If you haven't checked a complete set yet, you should do that. It will plug a lot of holes you didn't know existed. If you have already done that, focus on your weak spots.

Give some details of your previous prep and then I will be able to give you more specific advice.

WinnieThePooh · Answer

Thanks for the reply Karishma.
I studied on my own for 2 months before the exam. I used OG and GMATClub book foor Quant and MGMAT and Powerscore for Verbal.

I feel quant is my weakness and there's a big scope for improvement and I would appreciate your advice in doing so.

I feel I'm confident about my verbal, but any advice depending on my score you feel might help me will be welcome.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi WinnieThePooh,

To start, for anyone who's interested in more of the 'backstory', here it is:

my-first-gmat-today-scored-620-how-to-get-100-point-jump-215147.html#p1660180

Since these posts are a couple of months old, is your timeline still the same? Are you still planning to apply to Business School in January, 2017?

As far as your studies are concerned, if you're not going to study on the weekends, then what will your studies look like during a typical week? When do you plan to take your practice CATs?

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

KarishmaB · Answer

As we discussed last time, what does your ESR say? In which areas did you mess up in the official test? Also, did you work on advanced concepts using my blog (or some other resource) as suggested? If yes, have you seen any improvement in your practice scores? As for prep courses, they are great to help you understand concepts quickly and to help you study regularly. Of course, you will have to work hard to achieve maximum benefit out of them. A variety of test prep services are available. Here is a bit about ours: https://www.gmatclub.com/forum/veritas-prep-resource-links-no-longer-available-399979.html#/ Whether to study on your own or join course is a call you have to take. How do you study best? Do you understand better when someone explains you something or are you able to grasp by reading on your own? Are you disciplined enough to stick to your time table on your own or do you need to be coaxed into competing your assignments? Do you study better through videos or through books? These are some questions you need to answer to know what will work best for you. With 8 hrs at your disposal everyday, there is a lot of ground you can cover. Whenever you make a mistake, ensure you revisit the concept and write down the takeaways. Take a practice test every week since you have enough time for the evaluate-review-practice-test cycle after that.

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