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Dear Sirs,
This mail will be a lengthy one. But I require your honest opinion. I am yet to take help from an Application Consultant. I found great reviews of MBA Crystal Ball hence writing to you.

Please find time to reply to this mail !

My Target Score is 730+ and I am targeting B schools like INSEAD, ISB, IIM A PGPEX and IIM C PGPEX( 1yr courses to be precise) I have booked my exam date for August 1.I intend to join this coming batch of Jan 2017 for ISB and likes or Sep 2017 for INSEAD and likes.

I gave my final GMAT prep Test 2 Exam Pack 2- score 610- Q34 V40 . ( fresh test not a retake. Including AWA and IR and the breaks)I am disheartened. I thought this would be my penultimate CAT before the real one on August 1st. I was looking for a score of 730. Now how do I get a 130 points jump !

In quants I am making very stupid mistakes . In verbal RC- 67 % accuracy CR and SC are good.

Should I postpone my Exam date from August 1 st to 31st ?But the will I have enough time to apply to ISB -R1, IIM A and IIM C PGPEX and INSEAD ?
I am messing up Number properties big time now, earlier it was my strength. .

I have exhausted all materials, OGs including REVIEWS.

Also given the current work pressure I will be unable to keep up a fixed routine.

Now a Little Background!
I am a 33 year old Male with 8 years of work ex (Management Consultant) with an MBA ( from a not so high ranked Indian B school).I started my preparation in Jan 2016 and chose Crack Verbal -Verbal Online course . I have a hectic work schedule and have to travel a lot but still I managed to put at least 2hrs a day and 8hrs on week ends (provided I am not travelling) . My practice tests pan out as follows

Test No. Exam Pack Date of Exam Score
Test 1
GMAT Prep Exam Pack 1 - Test 1- Diagnostic Test
Dec-15 390 (Q16 V27)
Test 2 GMAT Prep Exam Pack 1 Test 2- Prepped for 2 Months with CV On Demand Course Mar 2106 480 (Q33 V23)
Test 3 GMAT Prep Exam Pack 1 Test 1 Retake- Prepped again for a Month- Apr-16 590 (Q48 V24)
Test 4 GMAT Prep Exam Pack 1 Test 2 Retake- Prepped again for a Month- Jun-16 700 (QV50 V35)
Test 5 GMAT Prep Exam Pack 2 Test 1 - Jun 2016- 550 (Q4 V23)
Test 6 MCAT 1- Test 1- Brushed up on Verbal and practiced QUants from GMAT CLub Test-) 19/06/2016 660 ( Q47 V33
Test 7 MCAT 2- Test 2- Brushed up on Verbal and practiced QUants from GMAT CLub Test-
26/06/2016
660 ( Q46 V34)
Test 8 MCAT 3- Test 3 - Brushed up on Verbal and practiced QUants from GMAT CLub Test 03/07/2016 680 (Q45 V37)
Test 9 MCAT 4- Test 6 - Brushed up on Verbal and practiced QUants from GMAT CLub Test 10/07/2016 710(Q49 V38)
Test 10 MCAT 5- Test 6 - Brushed up on Verbal and practiced QUants from GMAT CLub Test 17/07/2016 682 (Q46 V37)
Test 11 GMAT Prep Exam Pack 2- Test 2 - 24/07/2016 610 ( Q34 V40 )


All my tests have been during the same time slot during which I intend to give my real GMAT Test. All the tests were including AWA and IR and with 7 minute breaks.

The only deviation was during Quants I tend to pause to check on properties and formulas. Only time I didn't pause or look at any formulae was in Test 1, Test 2 and Test 11, .


Please help!

Your mock scores shows a clear lack of fundamentals. In your preparation so far, how did you study? What material did you follow?

1. Did you take the test including AWA and IR?
2. Did you complete both the sections? (There is a high penalty if you do not complete a section)
3. Have you completed the OG and the Verbal review?

You need to build the concepts/fundamentals before you jump in solving the problems. You can do so by choosing one of the following ways:

1. In person classes/private tutoring
2. Online classes
3. Self paced online preparatory course
4. Book heavy approach

Since you have already invested in one resource, you can either go back to the same course and revise the concepts or you can chose another course.
Most of the preparatory companies including ours offer a free trial of our course. You can take the trial and see if the course suits your needs.

In addition to the preparatory material, buy the Official Guides(both the Official Guide and the Verbal Review), Question Pack 1 and the 4 official mock CATs. They should be an indispensable part of your preparation.

You need close to 3 months to prepare well for the GMAT.

1. Understand the concepts and fundamentals before jumping into problem solving
2. Solve full length CATs including AWA and IR. You can get two free GMAT Prep mock CATs and can purchase two more from mba.co
3. Make sure you solve the official questions from the Official Guide