Retaking GMAT in 2 months - need to score 630

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Hello,

I took my first GMAT exam on Sept 30, 2016. It wasn't until mid August when I decided to apply to Business School with the deadline of the application on Oct 01. for 5 weeks, I studied Manhattan Prep books, took few days from my stressful full-time job before the exam, practised a lot, before taking my exam and getting a disappointing 510. School requires a minimum 580 gmat score, so with one day remaining for my application deadline, I emailed the school and they agreed to give me 2 weeks extension. In those 2 weeks, I signed up on 5 week plan empowergmat, but there were so much to cover in those 2 weeks that I only focused on what I thought were my weaknesses. I ended up with 530 on my second time taking the GMAT exam and the school rejected my application for my low gmat score.

That is not going to stop me now. I have decided to attempt taking the exam for the 3rd time early January (2 months from now) as I have 2 schools in mind; however, I'd like to score more than the minimum requirement (which is 580). School gmat averages are 620 when I researched the schools, so my plan is to get around that when I take the exam in January. Which means I need to boost my score by 100 in just 2 months.
Currently, I have subscription with empowergmat till next week, all 10 Manhattan prep textbooks, 12th edition and 13th edition OG textbooks.What's your recommendation for 2 months study plan? Should I re-use my existing material and review everything and attempt the exam in 2 months or would you recommend any other prep material? I definitely need to strengthen both quantitative and verbal (especially verbal) as well as build up my endurance and stamina. I'm targeting 2-3 hours of studying per day during weekdays and 6 hours during weekends. I do work fulltime and sometime stay late at work which may affect my studying plan.

With so many things going wrong in my life lately, having to studying for the exam for around 7 weeks then take it twice and fail to get the minimum required as well as getting rejected from school has put me down; however, that will not stop me from doing it 3rd time and aiming for 630.
My math is rusty having not taken math for 11 years, my english is second language, and I work for 50 hours/week. I have 2 months left for my next planned gmat exam. Please advise!

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Re: retaking

by MartyMurray » Thu Oct 27, 2016 9:13 pm
Hi karimelchami.

Increasing your score by 100 points in two months from 530 to 630 is a reasonable goal.

In order to achieve it, you will have to train effectively, and so here is something to consider.

Scoring high on the GMAT is not merely about understanding content and strategies. Really the content is just building blocks for questions that aim to test your analytical skills. So in order to increase your score, you have to improve your analytical skills, and you skill in noticing key details.

So the materials that you are already using may very well be adequate, as they are high quality materials, and to a large degree the materials you use are not as important as how you use them. You have to learn to play the GMAT game and get better at getting right answers, and at a certain point in one's training, doing those things is less about the materials and more about the person developing himself or herself.

Practice questions are key, as more than "studying", you need practice.

Regarding English being your second language, while that being the case may make getting certain Sentence Correction questions right a little difficult, from what you have written you English seems quite sufficient for scoring at a very high level on the GMAT. GMAT verbal is not a grammar test, for one thing, and for getting right answers to both quant and verbal GMAT questions, analytical skills are way more important than expertise in English. So don't let yourself get the incorrect impression that your English language skills are holding you back much. Just focus on figuring out how to get right answers.

Finally, scoring 630 will not take getting super hard questions right. So when you take practice tests and the real test, focus on GETTING THE EASY AND MEDIUM LEVEL QUESTIONS RIGHT. You can miss some hard ones and score 630, but missing easy ones and too many medium level ones would drag your score down.

Overall, while your schedule sounds pretty full, if you train right, by going beyond studying content to learning to do what it takes to get right answers, you should be able to hit your goal in your time frame.
Marty Murray
Perfect Scoring Tutor With Over a Decade of Experience
MartyMurrayCoaching.com
Contact me at [email protected] for a free consultation.