GMAT Strategy

Hi Anantjit,

Given the one practice CAT that you took, your Official GMAT Score makes sense. The pacing issue that you've described does not exist on it's own - it's the result of OTHER issues. To score at a significantly higher level, you're likely going to need to invest in some new practice materials and learn/practice some new Tactics. 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 how you've been studying and your goals:

1) Did you have a typical study routine each week (Did you study on certain days and at certain times? Were you consistent of did your routine change from week to week?)

2) What is your goal score?
3) When are you planning to retake the GMAT?
4) When are you planning to apply to Business School?
5) What Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

Hi Anantjit,

Based on the scores of your practice exam and real GMAT, as well as your timing issues on your GMAT, it appears as if you did not fully learn the content tested on the GMAT prior to taking your exam. If you are shooting for a 700+ GMAT score, you may consider giving yourself 3+ months to study and also adjusting your study routine.

When considering how to adjust your study routine, you must realize that the GMAT is such a challenging exam because there are relatively few questions asked on a given exam, yet those questions come from a huge topic pool. Thus, the best way to get a great GMAT score is to have a thorough understanding of all the topics that may be tested on the exam. To develop such mastery, you want to strive for linear and targeted learning and follow that with focused practice. In other words, you want to master one topic before you move to the next. Have you been able to study in this way?

For example, if you are learning about Number Properties, you should learn everything possible about that topic: LCM, GCF, units digit patterns, divisibility, remainders, etc. After that, be sure that you practice with a lot of questions (50 or more) just on Number Properties. The results of that practice will help you to determine how well you have truly mastered that topic.

For verbal you will want to follow a similar study routine; focus on learning one section at a time: reading comprehension, sentence correction, or critical reasoning. For example, when learning about critical reasoning, you want to be able to cover all aspects of critical reasoning: strengthen and weaken the conclusion, resolve the paradox, find the conclusion, must be true, etc. Follow up your learning with focused critical reasoning practice so you can determine your specific weaknesses within that topic. You should follow a similar routine for sentence correction and reading comprehension.

I also see that you have been using books for your GMAT prep. Have you considered using a self-study course? In comparison to GMAT prep books, self-study courses typically provide detailed study plans and have granular analytics, so you can easily track your progress as you move through the course. By being able to track your progress, you will remain more engaged, and you'll be able to more accurately forecast when you are ready to take your real GMAT. If you would like to learn more about what online resources are available, check out the verified course reviews on Beat The GMAT. After doing some research, you should be able to find a course that is a good fit for you.

Lastly, feel free to read my article that provides some actionable steps that you can follow to achieve a 700+ on your GMAT.