What skill wears off the fastest ?

Hello Mr. Cohen,

I've been studying for a year or so now, but in a non-disciplined manner. My undisciplined schedule, however, has me studying verbal for a few months, then switch for studying quant, etc. It just depends on my mood. I know it's a suboptimal strategy and I am currently designing a more mature strategy. Going forward, I hope to set aside an average of 15 hours a week to study for the exam.

I took the GMAT the other day and scored 700(48 (2 points below my average on veritas cats)/38), but I need 740 to go to Sloan's master, my dream. I will apply in roughly two years so I have some time. After taking my exam, I subscribed to the Economist tutor because they reimburse if I score anything below 750 and they have a solid company reputation. Sadly, their platform is not at all that convenient and worse: some of what they teach in the verbal section is wrong. Hence I spend most of my study time on this great forum now.

Before taking my exam I had used Gmat Test Prep for quant and the official GMAT guide. I will take the exam again in September.

Hi EpilepticLearner,

First off, a 700/Q48 is an outstanding Score - and you can comfortably apply to any Schools that interest you. As such, a retest might not be necessary. Since you have a specific School/Program in mind (and a highly-competitive one at that), beyond needing a competitive GMAT Score, you'll need a strong OVERALL profile AND you'll need to properly 'market yourself' to that School. As such, you would likely find it beneficial to speak with an Admissions Expert about your overall profile and plans. There's a Forum full of those Experts here:

https://gmatclub.com/forum/ask-admissio ... tants-124/

There's certainly no harm in retesting though - and since you're not planning to apply for a couple of years, there's a certain logic in continuing to study and retesting relatively soon. From your last post, you seem to understand that there were some issues with your prior Study Plan; it would still help to know a bit more about those prior studies, so that we can discuss how you might best proceed with this next phase of your studies.

1) On what 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)?
2) When you say that you "need" a 740+, what does that mean exactly? Has a representative from Sloan told you that that is the Score that you need? If you don't score at least that high, will you still apply?
3) Are you planning to apply to any other Schools besides Sloan?

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

For me it is both ways... But quants vanishesh immediately.
I have experienced that if I take longer to finish a single topic in Quant then I remember it better... No of days I take to prepare more memorable it makes

Posted from my mobile device

Hi EpilepticLearner,

700 is a great start! Since you are looking to improve another 50 points, would you like some advice on how to improve your GMAT quant and verbal skills?

You also may find my it helpful to read this article about
how to score a 700+ on the GMAT.

Good luck!

Dear Rich,

Yes, I will look for help relating to the admission process, but I want to secure my GMAT score before diluting my focus further.
Here's how i scored on all my CAT's for Quant.
1.March - 45
2. April - 47
3. May - 51
4. One week later - 50
5. One week later - 50
6. One week later - 51
7. One week later - 51

As for the Verbal, I did not do most of them until very recently ( on a weekly basis), and I average quite consistently in the 37/38.

I say that I need a 740 because I believe I would feel comfortable with such a score, knowing that I've done my best regarding the exam. If I feel I can improve my score and I don't I will regret it I know, especially when considering how determinant can that 3digit score be in the admission process. 700 is still below, or on par with, the average GMAT level of those schools I want to apply to. I will apply no matter what my score is, but I can not project myself not getting at least 720...

Beside Sloan I will apply to LSE,LBS and HEC (I am french). I am applying not for MBA but Master's in Finance pre experience; I am entering my fourth year of undergraduate studies and will most likely work just a little bit before entering a master program. More schools will join the list thereafter, but that's the easiest thing to do

Thank you for your kind attention

scott

Thank you, and that's in no small part thanks to your platform!
I read that article already haha

Hi EpilepticLearner,

Highly-Competitive Finance Programs to to place a greater emphasis on the Quant Scaled Score, so while a Q48 is a strong performance - the goal of retesting (and improving on that Q48) is a reasonable idea (especially since you have the time to do so now).

1) Based on what you've described, it's not clear how you are currently studying for the Quant section; are you just working through random questions on GMATClub and taking practice CATs periodically?
2) Going forward, how many hours do you think you can consistently study each week?

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

Dear Rich,

I will now study GMAT an average of 3 hours a day until my exam on October 1.

I will begin studying for Quant as of tomorrow (I paused for several weeks). I am currently crafting a plan. But there are so many resources I don't know how to proceed... should I just do practice question over and over again? What is a more intelligent method? and how can I target my weak spots if I don't know them?

Thank you,

Nick.

Hi EpilepticLearner,

In one of your prior posts, you listed your Quant Scaled Scores, but not the 'context' of how you achieved those Scores. Were those from taking a FULL CAT (including the Verbal, Essay and IR sections) in one sitting and under realistic testing conditions? Were they from GMATClub Tests? Were they from other 3rd-party sources (for example, a quiz that's meant to mirror a Quant section)? Etc.

With a Q48, you likely know most (if not all) of the Quant content just fine, so your emphasis right now should probably be more on honing your 'processes' (your note-taking, Tactics, etc.). We should also take a good look at all of the questions that you've gotten wrong on prior practice CATs - with the goal of defining WHY you got them wrong.

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

I’m glad TTP has been able to help!