GMAT Strategy

Hello everyone,

I've been following these forums for a while now and this is my first post. I am taking the GMAT in less than a week from now.
I have been studying for 4 months and I have taken 5 MGMAT CATs with an almost identical scores:

Mgmat 1:
IR 3
Quant:45
Verbal: 36
Total 670

Mgmat 2:
IR 3
Quant:45
Verbal: 32
Total 630

Mgmat 3:
IR 3
Quant:41
Verbal: 34
Total 620

Mgmat 4:
IR 2
Quant:45
Verbal: 36
Total 670

Mgmat 5:
IR 5
Quant:45
Verbal: 35
Total 660


My goal is to score at least 650 on the official test and my "dream score" would be 700, although i believe the latter is highly unlikely.

My question is, whether you think it is doable? Also what score breakdown can I expect?

I am planning to apply to UBC Sauder for the MBA 2017 program.

Thank you,
Vijay

VijayBS wrote:Hello everyone,

I've been following these forums for a while now and this is my first post. I am taking the GMAT in less than a week from now.
I have been studying for 4 months and I have taken 5 MGMAT CATs with an almost identical scores:

Mgmat 1:
IR 3
Quant:45
Verbal: 36
Total 670

Mgmat 2:
IR 3
Quant:45
Verbal: 32
Total 630

Mgmat 3:
IR 3
Quant:41
Verbal: 34
Total 620

Mgmat 4:
IR 2
Quant:45
Verbal: 36
Total 670

Mgmat 5:
IR 5
Quant:45
Verbal: 35
Total 660


My goal is to score at least 650 on the official test and my "dream score" would be 700, although i believe the latter is highly unlikely.

My question is, whether you think it is doable? Also what score breakdown can I expect?

I am planning to apply to UBC Sauder for the MBA 2017 program.

Thank you,
Vijay

Very doable. A small strategic tweak here or there can have a fairly dramatic effect. My advice: review the practice tests you've already done. Make notes to yourself about what you could improve, with a goal of deriving 3-4 concrete takeaways. Maybe you could have picked simple numbers on some questions rather than doing complex algebra. Maybe in Sentence Correction you can be more conscious about logical meaning or parallel construction. Meditate on these adjustments. Then take one last practice test, but make it one of the GMATPrep tests from mba.com. Apply the same process to that final test, then post any questions you have here.

Thank you David and Brent. I will take a test on MBA.com as suggested. Hopefully I will get my desired score on the actual GMAT.

Regards,
Vijay

Hi Vijay.

If you go over your practice tests, likely you can see certain key things that you can use to make sure that you score near the high end of your range and to increase the likelihood of your scoring higher than you have so far.

One thing you could assess is what types of questions you have been missing when you scored in the low end of your range. Whether they are certain types of quant questions, for instance exponents questions, or certain types of verbal questions, perhaps boldface Critical Reasoning questions, you could work on find those types and over the next few days work on them specifically.

Another thing that you could do is look for any patterns to your missed questions. Many people tend to miss questions in groups, as they get flustered by one question and allow that experience to affect the way they work on the next few questions. Others start off slowly, missing questions in the beginning of a section as they warm up. If you find any such patterns, you can use your awareness of them as the basis for adjusting what you do and thus maximize your performance.

On test day, there are some things you can do.

One is to warm up before you go into the test center. By doing some practice questions before you head in, you can get yourself into question answering mode. Doing this can make a big difference by reminding you of what it takes to get right answers and helping you to start off strong.

Another is making sure to go HARD to the end of the verbal section. It's easy to start slacking off as you approach the finish. Don't. The verbal section is your last section and I have seen level of intensity on verbal make differences of 5 points or more in people's scores on the section.

Overall, if you want to score high, don't mess around. Be super intense and super careful. Noticing key details is so important.

When you take that GMAT Prep practice test, see just how high you can score by being careful and determined to get right answers. Then take the same attitude when you take the real thing.

Hi all,

Thank you so much for your help and the boost of confidence that you gave..!!

I gave my GMAT yesterday and got a 650.
Quant-44
Verbal-35

Missed 5 questions in Quant but I guess no point crying over spilt milk!!

Once again Thank you!

Regards,
Vijay