All,
I've been studying for a little under a month and took my first practice GMAT with MGMAT and scored a 570 with a 33 QUANT and 38 VERBAL. My goal is a 650 and I'm set to take the GMAT in a month. I have to get better with the timing and made some careless errors on some pretty simple Quant problems, but am hoping I can get an 80 point improvement in a month. Verbal: I do fairly well on Critical Reasoning (almost always 100% correct) and am pretty good with Sentence Correction, but there is room for improvement. Reading Comprehension: I think I take too many notes and that slows me up. Quant: Honestly, I think I just need to get the fundamentals down. I don't have a math background so I'm learning a lot of this for the first time since Junior High / High school.
I work full time as a lawyer and try to study at least two hours per day on the weekdays and 4 hours each day on Saturday and Sunday. I have the MGMAT materials and signed up for Magoosh.
Any overall advice on how to tackle the next month to see the 80 point improvement that I need?
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Practice GMAT 570: Q33; V38 - Study Plan to Get a 650 in a m
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Rich@EconomistGMAT
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Hi Joe22,
I'm curious to know more about a couple things:
1) Did you take a full-length, timed practice exam (including breaks)?
2) When do you plan on applying for business school?
Assuming your previous practice exam was a full-length attempt, 570 is a good starting point. Students enrolled in Economist GMAT Tutor often see their scores fluctuate +/- 30 points between any given attempt, so you're not too far off from your target score. That being said, I'd love to hear more about any particular Quant areas you might be struggling with as well. It sounds like you have a good grasp of where to focus in terms of Verbal, but more details about your previous quant performance would also help us suggest some specific tips for you.
Best,
Rich
I'm curious to know more about a couple things:
1) Did you take a full-length, timed practice exam (including breaks)?
2) When do you plan on applying for business school?
Assuming your previous practice exam was a full-length attempt, 570 is a good starting point. Students enrolled in Economist GMAT Tutor often see their scores fluctuate +/- 30 points between any given attempt, so you're not too far off from your target score. That being said, I'd love to hear more about any particular Quant areas you might be struggling with as well. It sounds like you have a good grasp of where to focus in terms of Verbal, but more details about your previous quant performance would also help us suggest some specific tips for you.
Best,
Rich
Hi Rich - thank you for your reply.
Yes - it was a full length timed practice exam. However, I didn't do the Essay or IR portion. On three 300-500 level questions, I rushed and made careless errors that I normally wouldn't have made on very simply problems. I think that brought my score down significantly. Nonetheless, I think I need to get the fundamentals down across the board in Quant. I've read through all the MGMAT books and just recently started making an outline so that I can memorize formulas and other tactics. I've never been great at math. Perhaps just drilling some problems from the OG?
Yes - it was a full length timed practice exam. However, I didn't do the Essay or IR portion. On three 300-500 level questions, I rushed and made careless errors that I normally wouldn't have made on very simply problems. I think that brought my score down significantly. Nonetheless, I think I need to get the fundamentals down across the board in Quant. I've read through all the MGMAT books and just recently started making an outline so that I can memorize formulas and other tactics. I've never been great at math. Perhaps just drilling some problems from the OG?
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DavidG@VeritasPrep
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Joe, I think you your goals are very plausible. (Honestly, it wouldn't be unreasonable to shoot for 700+.) You've probably noticed that a good deal of the early portion of your studying is going to be about relearning much of the math you've forgotten from grades 6-9. My one suggestion - in addition to the drilling, the OG problems, and taking one practice test a week - is to create an error log to track what kinds of questions tend to give you difficulty. You can find some good ones here: https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/gmat-error-log
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Hi Joe22,
A 570 is a solid 'baseline' score (the average score on the Official GMAT hovers around 540-550 most years). You score goal is also reasonable, but it is heavily dependent on the improvements that yo make to your Quant performance. Your Verbal Scaled Score is not surprising - many of the skills that you would use on RC and CR line up with skills that you would use on the LSAT (and in your job as a lawyer).
I'd like to know a bit more about your timeline:
1) Is there a particular reason why you're taking your Official GMAT in a month's time? Could you push back your Test Date if necessary?
2) When are you planning to apply to Business School?
3) Do you know which Schools you plan to apply to?
For your next CAT (which you should take in about a week or so), I suggest that you use one of the CATs from www.mba.com AND that you take the FULL CAT (including the Essay and IR sections).
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
A 570 is a solid 'baseline' score (the average score on the Official GMAT hovers around 540-550 most years). You score goal is also reasonable, but it is heavily dependent on the improvements that yo make to your Quant performance. Your Verbal Scaled Score is not surprising - many of the skills that you would use on RC and CR line up with skills that you would use on the LSAT (and in your job as a lawyer).
I'd like to know a bit more about your timeline:
1) Is there a particular reason why you're taking your Official GMAT in a month's time? Could you push back your Test Date if necessary?
2) When are you planning to apply to Business School?
3) Do you know which Schools you plan to apply to?
For your next CAT (which you should take in about a week or so), I suggest that you use one of the CATs from www.mba.com AND that you take the FULL CAT (including the Essay and IR sections).
GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
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Rich@EconomistGMAT
- Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
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Hi Joe22,
As Rich alluded to, many test takers spend at least 3 months preparing for the GMAT. While your target score is within reach, I'm curious to know if you could potentially reschedule if you determine you need to after your next CAT. While canceling a score after you've taken it will reflect on your profile, rescheduling an exam will not negatively affect your profile in the eyes of business schools, so just something to consider if you're not feeling like you're fully prepared in 30 days.
Best,
Rich
As Rich alluded to, many test takers spend at least 3 months preparing for the GMAT. While your target score is within reach, I'm curious to know if you could potentially reschedule if you determine you need to after your next CAT. While canceling a score after you've taken it will reflect on your profile, rescheduling an exam will not negatively affect your profile in the eyes of business schools, so just something to consider if you're not feeling like you're fully prepared in 30 days.
Best,
Rich
