Scored 540 & 530 in mocks without any preparation. Need suggestions.

It is a great resources but for A more advanced person who is ready to start practicing questions. First first you want to get bearings for the test and get a study plan.

I happen to have a study plan link in my signature for that reason




Posted from my mobile device

Hello Shruti,

GMAT Club is one of the great platforms to get information about the GMAT official test, Study plan, Section wise instructions, etc.

Your current GMAT mock score is shaky. You can schedule a Free counseling(https://calendly.com/mathrevolution/1-on-1-session) session for 20 mins with one of our experts to have detailed advice on your current study plans.

A couple of things that can be a noticeable barrier to your scores would be some or all of the below.

• Not detailed knowledge of GMAT Math pattern and Question types
• Inefficiency by using time-consuming Conventional method to tackle DS and PS questions still
• No expert support (maybe) who can tutor, analyze, and guide you during your learning
• Lack of many updated questions and practice in the recent exam trend
• Not well aligned with time to solve questions.

Precisely, there has to be one end-to-end solution encompassing all the points mentioned above. We also want to understand your approach to solving PS and DS questions. You can try our free diagnostic test https://www.mathrevolution.com/diagnostic/dtExamMember and receive a comprehensive study guide by topic. This test will clearly help you understand your weak areas.

Your study plan will now change as you are already ready with the vital concepts and their application. The diagnostic test report will give us detailed insight into various topics and your performance. After an in-depth analysis, we will draw out the category of the topics in which you are already better and those where you need more improvement. Also, we will be able to compare your performance while solving the PS and DS questions.

Also, make a note of various possible combinations to achieve a score of 720+. The possible scores will help you track your performance after taking the mock or practice test. It will also help you maintain balance in both the sections, and you will always be in a great position to allot the study hours to a specific area accordingly.

We recommend that you must learn the Variable Approach for solving DS questions and the IVY approach for solving PS questions in order to improve your accuracy and save time while solving the question types.

The most important thing for you will be learning and commanding the Variable Approach for DS questions and IVY Approach for PS questions. These approaches are the robust self-designed time-saving techniques that will help you learn efficiently, thus raising your score in the quick nick of time.

Register with MathRevolution https://www.mathrevolution.com/member/signup to get access to our 7-day full on-demand course (27 topics, 490 subtopics, and 1,500 questions) for free trial lessons.

700+ level questions https://www.mathrevolution.com/gmat/questionbank are separately available, too. Start with the learning of the concepts. Make a habit of taking notes during the initial learning of the concepts.

After registering, you will have access to the practice section. Initially, try solving the DS and/or PS questions from very easy and easy category questions on the topic(s) you have learned. You may also connect with one of our experts to get one of the best tutoring supports, which will help understand the topic(s) and solve questions and learn how to manage time and accuracy.

Adding to the same, mastery of the Variable Approach to solve DS questions and the IVY approach to solve PS questions would add a feather to the cap. Below is the useful link we will recommend you to visit on GMAT club to experience the power of DS and IVY approaches.

Ultimate Q51 guide: https://gmatclub.com/forum/the-ultimate ... l#p1613600

Breakdown of GMAT math questions and types: https://gmatclub.com/forum/overview-of- ... l#p1641411

Regular tests will reflect the positive change in the score, and hence, your confidence will boost up. Gradually, with the help of mock tests, you will be able to compete with time and hence will be able to learn time-management.

We appreciate your time and patience in reading this reply.

Should you need any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@mathrevolution.com

Success is within your reach.
Good luck!

Punit Joshi
Math Revolution Team

Those are decent starting scores, Shrutiejha, even if I would have advised against exhausting two official mocks (or at least one from mba.com) just to get your feet wet, since you will want to test yourself for other purposes once you have begun your preparation in earnest. In my professional opinion as a full-time tutor of more than seven years, you should have no trouble reaching 600. That might come within 2-3 weeks of your start, to be honest. You might just need to become more familiar with the material itself, both what is covered and how the questions are presented. A 650 ought to be a good benchmark after that. You get there through dedicated acquisition (of knowledge), review, and application. If you can consistently hit certain benchmarks in practice across different levels of difficulty—say, 90 percent on Easy questions, 80 percent on Medium questions, and 60 percent on Hard questions—you will be right in the ballpark of a 720 score. Can it be done? Sure. I have seen some remarkable turnarounds, even from students who start off lower than where you are now, but many of those take more time to develop.

Just appreciate that this process is like climbing a ladder. You have to go one rung at a time, or you risk falling off. Embrace the process. It is good to set goals, but until you have adequately prepared to meet those goals, you will likely come up short if you have gotten nowhere near that 720 and you simply close your eyes and hope for the best.

Good luck with your studies.

- Andrew

Hi Shrutiejha,

A 540 is a strong initial CAT score (the average score on the Official GMAT hovers around 550 most years). Many Test Takers spend 3 months (or more) of consistent study time before they hit their 'peak' scores - and statistically-speaking, raising a 540 to the point that you can consistently score 720+ will likely require at least another 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.

Going forward, you have to be careful about confusing "quantity" of study with "quality" of study. I've never asked anyone to study 30+ hours a week - and while it's great that you might have the available time to study that much, with that number of study hours, you would run the risk of 'burning out' before Test Day (and that is something that we want to avoid). If you are going to try to study that much, then I suggest that you take one hour "off" for every two hours of study. For example, you could study for 2 hours, then stop for an hour, then study for another 2 hours, then take an hour off, etc.

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 your timeline and your goals:

1) What study materials do you currently have access to?
2) 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)?
3) 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

Hi Shrutiejha,

The good news is that you have come to the right place! Regarding how to move forward with your GMAT prep, I actually have the perfect article for you. If you have any questions after reading this, feel free to reach out.

How to Start Studying for the GMAT: 5 Steps for Success

Hi Shrutiejha, possible but not easy. You have a mountain to climb Shrutie, but the good news is that some people in the past have climbed it; only those with absolute grit and determination, to make it happen!

All the best.

Hi Shrutiejha,

530 is not a bad score to start with. The key to scoring well on GMAT is to do your prep in the right way. Know what is actually tested on GMAT. Make your preparation more structured. Know what to study on any given day. This will help you to keep track of your preparation and will make it more effective. You can go through the article below to understand the right way to prepare for GMAT.

How to effectively plan studies for GMAT

The 3 skills you need to score well on GMAT



I hope you found these articles helpful. If you want me to suggest any specific study plan suitable to your requirements, you can get in touch with me using the below link.

When making a schedule it may help to work backwards from your test day. No need to go overboard. I've made multiple schedules for students simply using Excel.

these links should help
https://gmatclub.com/forum/the-definiti ... ml?fl=menu
https://gmatclub.com/forum/best-gmat-co ... ml?fl=menu
https://gmatclub.com/forum/best-gmat-bo ... ml?fl=menu

Hey thanks for a reply to my question, here's the information you asked for:
1) I currently have official guide and Manhattan strategy guides for Quant
2)For the first one, I took that mock a few months back on egmat website and now it's locked so I am unable to fetch sectional score.
I took second one 3-4 days ago and the score is 530(Q39,V23)
3) I want to apply for Round 1 in the months of Sept and October and I am planning to apply to business schools like HEC, ISB ,Tepper,Rotman etc

Hi Shrutiejha,

Studying for the GMAT now - far in advance of when you will actually "need" your Score - is a smart choice. That having been said, I want to reiterate that you will almost certainly need to commit to at least 3 months of consistent, guided study before you will be able to consistently score at your Goal level.

In addition, since you know the Schools that you plan to apply to, you would likely find it beneficial to speak with an Admissions Expert about your overall profile and plans. Those Experts should be able to answer your Admissions questions and help define the specific areas of your profile that could use some improvement. There's a Forum full of those Experts here:

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

Your immediate study plan sounds 'book heavy'; unfortunately, many Test Takers who study in that way end up getting 'stuck' at a particular score level. Even the best books are limited in what they can teach you; they also can't force you to approach questions in a certain way and their explanations are often one-sided. There's no harm in starting off your studies in that fashion, but you'll likely end up needing to invest in some additional, non-book resources at some point.

If you have any additional questions, then you can feel free to contact me directly.

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