What should be my GMAT Strategy with 15 days in hand

Question

abhimahna   bb ,  Bunuel ,  GMATNinja ,  KarishmaB ,  MartyTargetTestPrep

I am looking to apply to colleges in R2 but I had taken a break from work to study. With the 11+ hrs work day, it was getting impossible to study.

Target score: 740

Have given GMAT in Feb. 2018: 590, September 2018: 660 (V31/Q49)
Started preparing for GMAT in June 2022 (barely covered 5-7 hrs a week)
Took time off from work (10th August, 2022) onwards.

My clear strategy was to focus on my fundamentals since a lot of things didn't work for me the previous 2 times.

I gave a mock today: Ran short of time on both Quant and verbal so much so that I got a V29 and Q46 (I LITERALLY GUESSED about 10 questions on Quant and 13 on verbal) 
On August 19, I scored a 560 on my mock.

I realized my focus was on accuracy.

Recent practice with TTP quant and verbal lessons through GMATNinja videos have finally given me the faith that I can nail the exam. My fundamentals are okay in quant, not so much in verbal.

My strategy in the beginning far:
1. Manhattan Prep strat guides 
2. Official questions
3. GMAT Advanced questions

Took a couple of weeks to realize that I need better basics!
1. TTP Quant 
2. GMAT Ninja videos 
And review questions
(had a fairly bad experience with eGMAT in 2018)

Since I only have 15 days now to give my everything, can someone please help me with a conclusive strategy on how to approach the exam? I can devote anything between 9-12 hours a day but don't want to reach a stage of burnout. Want to be super strategic with my use of time.

Also note: I have limited financial sources to invest in courses so want to get the most suited advise!!! (going to buy GMAT Practise courses 3 to 6)

Thank you so much in advance!!!!

bb · Answer

Hm... your question is kind of along the lines of - I am going to run a marathon in 2 weeks, what should I wear for my finish line photo?

Honestly for the past 15 days there is not much to do to improve your score at this point. Most of your improvement should have taken place by now. At this point you should be looking and focusing on the finer points of your prep and looking to squeeze the most you can as well as protecting your gains. Think about the Ukrainian army kicking the pitiful Russian butts. They can't just keep going and going, they have to dig in because Russians are not smart enough to leave and will try to attack, so you attack, take over, and then dig in until you attack again. The last 2 weeks is about digging in and preserving all of the gains and achievements you have made.

I put together a topic about it over here. I will revisit it and see about updating it but it should be pretty current:
https://gmatclub.com/forum/what-to-do-3 ... 52506.html

MartyTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi Resily.

Do you still have a subscription to TTP? If so, you can use it to work on your verbal fundamentals since the TTP GMAT verbal course is rather comprehensive. You can reach out to me via the TTP chat for specifics on how best to do so.

On another note, is there any particular reason why you must take the GMAT in 15 days? An improvement from the low 600s to a point such that you will "nail the exam" will likely take longer than 15 days even with the best resources and study plan.

For some tips on how to improve your verbal score, see these posts.

How to Score High on GMAT Verbal

The Best GMAT Practice Methods

desertEagle · Answer

Seems like you do not have much time and you have already booked for the exam. 
Your score seems to indicate that your basics are pretty weak and you lack time management. Try to eliminate and guesss on questions you are not able to do in under 2 mins. As soon as you see a question is taking more than 90 seconds, be prepared to guess. Guess and move on in next 30 seconds.

Also dont take more than 2 mock test in last 15 days. Use mocks to decide which area you lack. and then practice three to four areas you lack in next one week and then take mock again in one week and then practice three four areas you lack again for one week. When practicing do one area at a time. For eg. if one of the areas you were not able to do questions is quadratic equations, then you take quadratic equations and then practice 30-40 questions on it from official guides. Do same for verbal. In next 15 days, you will be able to do around 6-8 areas in each topic, which i believe will increase your score by around 70-80 points.

hope it helps. Best of luck

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

660 (V31/Q49)

Here's someone who got a V31 on their first attempt and improved it to a V40 on the second . Probably fair to say 15 days is not a lot of time for a significant score increase but perhaps some of the resources and tips mentioned can be a net positive.

KarishmaB · Answer

Here is my advice - take an official practice test (one that you have not taken before and properly timed etc.) asap. Ensure better time management this time around. 
Then, share the breakup of your Verbal accuracy (either here or PM) and what you can do in 15 days will depend on that. 
If major trouble is in SC/CR, there is scope for a quick fix. If major trouble is in RC, you will need need longer.

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