GMAT Strategy

Hi,

I'm looking for some advice to get me out of my troubling situation.

Scored a 710 in my first attempt (49Q 39V). I felt I could do a lot better. I was hoping to improve my quant to 50 and verbal to 40+. So ended up giving the gmat a second time however ended up with a 680 (lower score in both quant and verbal)

Being an Indian applicant (without stellar undergrad credentials) I think I need a higher score and I'm planning to give the gmat again around the 10th of December. So exactly a month to go. While introspecting into what might have gone wrong I realized that my preparation lacked something pretty basic. I gave a lot of mock tests but never stuck to the exact timing. I used to often pause my tests, go on breaks and on instances completed tests over 2-3 days. The problem now is that I've used up all of my mock tests- Kaplan (all 5), MGMAT (all 6) and official gmatprep (both)

Moreover I've practiced questions from all over the place: Quant from -OG13, Quant review 2nd edition, Manhattan advance gmat, gmat 800, veritas, gmatclub math book and gmatclub.com questions. Verbal from- OG13, verbal review 2nd edition, veritas advanced, SC grail, etc.

I am really unsure as to how to restart studying and from where. Would appreciate if someone could help me out by recommending a plan of action and also recommending some other sources for practice. Also would be great if someone could suggest some other mock tests available (willing to pay for tests also)

Thanks
Ramalo

As Rich mentioned, GMAC has two additional official tests for purchase. These are the newest and best option for two more tests. The price for those is currently about $50 US. You can access those through MBA.com and add them to your free GMATPrep software

For $49 dollars you can get 7 total tests from Veritas Prep. You can read about these tests at this link: https://www.veritasprep.com/gmat/free-gm ... tice-test/

Take a practice test now (you can try one of the Veritas ones for free) and see what it tells you. You may not need too much more studying.

A great source of questions that you have not mentioned is the GMATPrep Prep Pack 1. That is only $30 (compared to 50 for the exam pack 1) and it contains 400 questions. You can organize them into quizzes. This is a great resource for additional questions.

I think you made an important realization and you should try to take all your practice exams under GMAT conditions by doing the IR and AWA sections, no pausing and taking only the allotted 8 minute breaks. Another important step to improving from a 710 would be to practice with the most difficult questions MGMAT advanced quant and Kaplan 800 are good sources for those.

Hope this helps and good luck!

Hi,

A lot of people above have already mentioned good sources for mock test. And even if you cannot find new mock tests, you can always go back to old tests and retake them. However, what is important is how strongly you can analyse your performance in each mock test. If you spend 2 hours on a mock test, spend at least 6 hours in analysing the same and figuring out way to optimize your score. Try out these ways in the next test and keep on building new ways in which you can keep your score pushing up.

Your score at 710 is already very promising and we are sure you can take it further up. Keep working at it.

Also, you don't really need to think that if you have done your graduation from an Indian college, it will not be regarded well. What matters eventually in your profile is what you have accomplished and achieved.

Wish you all the best and if you have any specific queries, please do let us know.

www.manyagroup.com