GMAT Strategy Doubt - 3 months study plan

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GMAT Strategy Doubt - 3 months study plan

by btaa2017 » Tue Jan 17, 2017 9:39 am
Hello all,

Good eve.

I have subscribed to 3 months study plan. And i am in the 8th day completing Powers and Roots as per the plan.

Below is the process i am following till now:
Step 1: Going through GMAT Official Guide - 2016 (Specific topics fundamentals)
Step 2: Going through the GMAT Prep Now videos of the corresponding topic
Step 3: Solving Corresponding Problems in Official Guide.

When i followed the above process, i am able to score 60% in Arithmetic and 52% in powers and roots

Please guide me should i go ahead with same or should i change my strategy...

Kindly help

Regards,
G

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by [email protected] » Tue Jan 17, 2017 10:03 am
Hi btaa2017,

Since it sounds like you're in the early phase of your studies, then it would be a good idea to take a FULL-LENGTH practice CAT Test; you can download 2 for free from www.mba.com (and they come with some additional practice materials). If you want to do a little studying first, so that you can familiarize yourself with the basic content and question types, then that's okay - but you shouldn't wait too long to take that initial CAT. That score will give us a good sense of your natural strengths and weaknesses and will help provide a basis for comparison as you continue to study. A FULL CAT takes about 4 hours to complete, so make sure that you've set aside enough time to take it in one sitting. Once you have those scores, you should report back here and we can come up with a study plan.

I'd like to know a bit more about your timeline and goals:
1) What is your goal score?
2) When are you planning to take the GMAT?
3) When are you planning to apply to Business School?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
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by btaa2017 » Tue Jan 17, 2017 10:29 am
My Goal Score is 780+
I am planning to take GMAT in 2017 before September 30.
I am planning for Executive MBA in IIM-A,B,C, ISB(Hyderabad), Harvard Business School, INSEAD, Wharton Business School, London Business School,etc.,

Kindly suggest and help how should i go ahead

I will get back to you after completing CAT this weekend or next weekend after little amount of preparation.

Thanks
Last edited by btaa2017 on Wed Jan 18, 2017 10:29 am, edited 1 time in total.

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by btaa2017 » Tue Jan 17, 2017 10:32 am
I am from India..

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by [email protected] » Tue Jan 17, 2017 7:53 pm
Hi btaa2017,

Training to score in the 700+ range is a challenging task - and it will likely take more than 3 months of consistent, guided study to get up to that level. More specifically, a 780+ score is above the 99th percentile, meaning that 99% of Test Takers never reach that level regardless of how many times they take the GMAT. Thankfully, no Business School requires a score that high - so you might want to research the Schools that you're interested in and try to better define the type of GMAT score that each would consider to be 'acceptable.'

You should plan to take a FULL-LENGTH CAT (with the Essay and IR sections) this weekend. You'll end up taking plenty of CATs over the course of your studies, so there's nothing to be afraid of here - just do your best and we'll use this result to discuss how best to proceed.

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by btaa2017 » Sat Jan 21, 2017 8:45 am
Hello Rich.C,

Thanks for the guidance.

I have just now taken the first GMAT practice test by Manhattan. I got the scores:

Section: Score Estimated Percentile

IR 2.4 2-3

Quant 39 39%

Verbal 15 10%

Total: 460 20%
btaa2017
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Test Result Verbal.pdf
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Last edited by btaa2017 on Sat Jan 21, 2017 11:31 am, edited 1 time in total.

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by [email protected] » Sat Jan 21, 2017 10:43 am
Hi btaa2017,

Raising a 460 to a 700+ will be a challenging task, but we've helped many Test Takers earn those types of improvements, so it IS possible. In addition, you have given yourself plenty of time to study - which is good. Ultimately, you need to commit to the task and you have to work with study materials that best match your personality. Right now, it appears that you're taking a 'book heavy' approach - and that might be a problem. Many Test Takers who take that type of study approach end up getting 'stuck' at a particular score level, so you'll likely end up needing to invest in some non-book resources. Right now, I suggest that you continue to study as you see fit for the next 2 weeks, then take a NEW, FULL-LENGTH CAT (with the Essay and IR sections). That score result will give us a better sense of how well you're improving by studying in this way.

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by btaa2017 » Sat Jan 21, 2017 11:35 am
Thanks for the reply Mr. Rich.

How should i prepare for the 2 weeks?

Shall i complete the Quant part alone and appear for the test or shall i prepare Verbal (any one part - SC OR CR OR RC) AND appear for exam. after two weeks?

Because it is impossible to prepare everything in 2 weeks..!!

Regards,
btaa2017

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by [email protected] » Sun Jan 22, 2017 10:29 am
Hi btaa2017,

You shouldn't expect to become an expert in every subject in just 2 weeks (and you shouldn't expect to become an expert in ANY subject in that time either). You can choose which subjects you want to focus on - and let's see how well your work over the next couple of weeks helps you to improve in those areas (and peripherally in other areas) on your next CAT. Right now, we need to get a better sense of whether "your way" of studying actually leads to improvement or not - so you can proceed however you choose.

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