GMAT Strategy

Dear all,

I sat the GMAT last week and received a 560 (Q41, V26), (IR 5, AWA 5.5). I am looking for advice on how to push forward for my second attempt at the test, which I plan to do at the end of August. Throughout these 3 months I can commit around 25 hours a week.

Books and programs purchased and used first time round:

- Manhattan Foundation Quant/Verbal (Used this to polish up on basics)
- Manhattan SC and RC (I have the 10 books but only used these two)
- Magoosh (Relied on this pretty much exclusively for Quant)
- OG13 (Answered all questions)
- 2015 Verbal and Quant Review (Only used for SC)
- Critical Reasoning Bible

My first round of studying clearly didn't work and my CAT scores (several Veritas and GMAT Prep 1 & 2) never reached over 600. When I look back, although I studied in an extremely consistent manner, I lacked a coherent and methodical structure in the way I studied. This is something I am looking to rectify second time round. I believe burying my head in reviewing the same material over and over in the hope my CAT scores would improve without getting to the core of my problems was one of the mistakes I made.

In Quant, I feel my main weaknesses in general are number properties and algebra and this showed in my OG guide error log. I also feel like I grasped working out typical questions instead of gaining a deeper understanding of the concepts. Data Sufficiency also proved to be a pain for me and I rarely find myself in a confident position when the questions reach greater difficulties. In verbal, my main weakness is definitely RC although with a V26 in my exam I believe I had a torrid time with the more complex CR question types. My Verbal score was a shock as the scores in my CATs ranged from V30-V37 throughout my studies. Timing is also a big issue with my Verbal CATs.

I am taking a week off before commencing with studying again. Any advice from people on how to push on from a stagnant position. I really need to work on gaining a deeper understanding of concepts and on conquering questions of greater difficulty.

Thanks in advance.

You have taken a bunch of CATs and I am guessing you still have them to review. Also you probably have a good sense of what you are more more comfortable with and less comfortable with.

So going forward let your analysis of what you are challenged by and less comfortable with drive what you work on.

Rather than just going over chapters or books in general and hoping to be "better at GMAT stuff", figure out what you need to be good at to rock the test and deep dive into those topics.

For instance you said you could be better at number properties. So read up on number properties, and not just in those books you have but also via other resources such as articles and blogs. Also do dozens of number properties problems until you become sort of a numbers properties expert. One way to do that is by opening a BellCurves practice account. Just go to the GMAT part of their website and open an account and you will get access to thousands of categorized questions. Also you can do a search on number properties on this forum.

Then go to another topic, and do the same thing, and do the same with fifteen others.

While you say you need work in number properties and algebra, from what I have seen people often think they have a few areas in which they can improve and actually they can improve in many areas. I bet you can find at least ten areas of quant in you could be much more skilled.

Don't let a book tell you what you need to know. Look at your results, the time it takes you to do questions and your comfort level with problem types, and let that dictate what you need to know and what you need to work on.

This way as you work you are putting points on the board. I mean if you go from being weak in number properties to strong in number properties, holding everything else equal, your score on a given CAT should be significantly higher than it would have been before you did the work. Then if you go from being weak in overlapping sets to strong in overlapping sets, you should see another bump up. Do that kind of thing ten, fifteen, twenty times and you hit your target score.

Part of doing this should involve doing lots of questions. The GMAT is not an English test really, or a math test. It's more a tricky game, and scoring higher on the game often takes not just reading about the game, but playing the game, a lot.

As you do questions, start by doing them slowly and doing whatever it takes to get right answers. Right answers are what puts points on the board. Doing question after question fast, and getting many wrong, is not going to do you much good. Train for this as people often train in martial arts, starting off doing the moves slowly, until they get them down. Then, once they get how to make the moves happen, they speed up. You need to get used to doing what it takes to get right answers. Then, speed up.

Another good source of DS questions is the Veritas Question bank. You do all the DS questions in that bank and I bet you will be rather comfortable with DS.

Have fun playing the game.

Thank you both for your prompt replies.

Marty Murray: Thank you for the tips and recommendations. You are right in that I have my CAT's to review in greater depth. From there I will be able to see what my biggest weaknesses are across these CAT's and then work on these in the manner in which you suggested.


Rich.C: In regards to your questions.

1) I am aiming for a low 700 score.

2) I began my studies in January. I was averaging at least 20 hours a week and was studying 7 days a week. (In hindsight this wasn't a constructive thing to do.

3) My first 4 CAT's were taken without the Essay and IR. My last 2 CAT's, GMAT PREP 1 and 2 were taken in full. All CAT's were sat around the same time as the actual GMAT Test.

Veritas 1: 530: Q31 V33
Veritas 2: 600: Q39 V 34
Veritas 3: 530: Q34 V29
GMAT Prep 1: 510 IR:3 Q31 V28
GMAT Prep 2: 550 IR:5 Q36 V 29

Actual GMAT: 560 (IR 5, AWA 5.5) (Q41, V26),

4) I intend to submit applications for Round 1 and Round 2 for 2016 intakes.

5) I am interested in the London Business School and INSEAD MBA programs so far.

Thank you both both once again for getting back to me. Your help is much appreciated!

As you're dissecting those old practice tests, make sure to take notes about what you can improve on. The problems can be strategic (neglecting to pick numbers or backs-solve) they can be foundational (knowing rules for exponents, etc.) or they can be psychological (panicking when a question appears unfamiliar) Make it a goal to come up with at least five concrete takeaways each time you review a practice test. Consult this list daily until these strategic adjustments are second nature.

Also, There's plenty of good research about how a mindfulness practice can boost test scores in as little as two weeks: https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archi ... on/275564/

Happy to pass along my favorite guided meditations if you're interested.

You are right on the money in your original post when you said you were not "getting to the core of my problems." THAT is what you need to change moving forward. How can you do this? Adjusting how you review and HOW you study.

If you are aiming for a "low 700" score, then you need to be scoring a 720+ on at least one or more GMATPrep to even be in the ballmark of a guaranteed 700 on the actual exam. Keep in mind your scores are likely to DROP on Test Day, so you'll want to give yourself a 20-30 point comfort zone if you can.

The only CATs that you can rely on in terms of scores are the GMATPreps. You've done 1 and 2, and that's great, but 3 and 4 will be the real test moving forward. The Veritas CATs have some excellent practice questions, but the scores they give you simply do not equate to the actual GMAT since they are not scored in the exact same manner.

So here's the real data we got:

GMAT Prep 1: 510 IR:3 Q31 V28
GMAT Prep 2: 550 IR:5 Q36 V 29

Actual GMAT: 560 (IR 5, AWA 5.5) (Q41, V26)

You're sitting in the mid-500's, and you've been steadily improving. But now you want a solid 150 point gain in 3 months. That is do-able, but you must CHANGE how you are studying.


Here's what you need to do to improve quickly: BE EXTREMELY, PAINSTAKINGLY THOROUGH IN YOUR REVIEW. When you say in Quant your "main weaknesses" are number properties and algebra, that is like saying you don't like Italian food. Well, what TYPES of Italian dishes don't you like? And how come? (I, personally, love Italian food. )

Number properties and algebra are massively broad categories. For example, in number properties, how many questions involving factors have you missed on your last three CATs? Primes? Odds and evens? How many questions involving linear equations? functions? quadratics? Do you REALLY know what you don't know?

It sounds like you've been guilty of emphasizing quantity of study with quality. And that's ok, most students make that mistake because they don't know how to "dive deep" as a previous poster mentioned.

Read this blog from MGMAT. This is the kind of review I'm talking about: https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2009/10/ ... ce-problem. See what I mean? "Review" is 700+ level thinking, not just an annoying GMAT buzzword. Nobody likes to do it, because it's harder than just answering 1,000 questions. It might mean only answering 50 questions. But the student who does 50 questions with this level of review is getting WAY more out of their GMAT prep than the student who is a question-monkey.

Moving forward, I would set up for yourself a solid 12 week study plan. I believe you have a few of the Veritas CATs left, so feel free to work those in. You'll also want to re-take your first two GMATPreps, and slot in the GMATPrep 3 and GMATPrep 4 in the last month. Supplement with MGMAT CATs if you need to. I would take no more than 1 CAT a week, preferably on the same day of the week. If you need to take 1-2 weeks off here and there it's no big deal.

Fill in the attached Error Log after you complete each CAT, using the attached list of GMAT Concepts as a reference, then select 3-4 topics from the GMAT Concepts list to tackle in SERIOUS depth during the next week. Don't do everything all the time. A short list of topics will allow you greater depth of knowledge. Start with the concepts you're missing the most often.

You may also want to consider working with a tutor to make sure your Quant and Verbal strategies and your usage of your scratch pad is in tip-top shape.

Feel free to email me if you have additional questions, but hopefully this gives you some solid ideas! You have 3 months, and you can definitely hit that 150+ point gain, but you'll need to study in a radically new way, with a lot more self-examination. You can do it!

Best,
Vivian

Thanks for your input Vivian. I have spent quite some time this week going through my past CATs and your error-log has helped a great deal in identifying my weaknesses. So far in quant I have identified 10 topic weaknesses and 5 strategy weaknesses that were consistent throughout my CATs. Having to fill in a structured log like that for myself has definitely been insightful!

I'm looking to get on a structured study course ahead of my next attempt at the test. I'm sure the feedback given by you and the others will definitely help me over the next 3 months!

Thanks!

ao86

Two more GMAT Prep CATs are not really enough for what you are seeking to achieve.

While test prep company CATs are not exactly like the actual GMAT, they are still useful, and as a matter of fact the scores people generate when using Veritas CATs tend to be rather close the the scores they generate when taking the official test.

So I suggest using Veritas CATs and maybe other companies' CATs in addition to the GMAT Prep CATs.

Hey, if you score 600 on a DECENT test prep company CAT, you can be pretty sure you need to do more work, and if you score 760, you can be pretty sure you will rock the actual test.

Also, check this out.

When you took GMAT Prep 1 and 2 the first time, you were scoring in the low 500s. Once you are more skilled, you could take those two over and get basically entirely new sets of questions, because rather than feeding you 500 and 600 level questions, the tests will be serving upper 600 and 700 level questions.