Retaking GMAT Strategy + Tutor Recommendation

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Hello!

I plan to retake GMAT for the 4th time in the next few months. I have taken it 3 times this year, but my scores are stuck with a 700 range (Q 49-50 / V 34-36). I would value very much your experience and suggestions, especially those of you who have struggled with the test multiple times but persevered and scored a 730+ in the end, on how to work towards my target score of 730+.

Option 1: work with a tutor
Any recommendations of good tutors, especially on verbal? If you have worked with a tutor who helped you reach the target score, I would love to hear from you!

I have noticed that the pricing in the GMAT tutoring market varies significantly, from $150/hr (e.g. https://www.simplybrilliantprep.com/Priv ... -GMAT.html) to a good $310/hr (e.g.https://www.gmatninja.com/online-gmat-tu ... tor-rates/). There is also this kind of score guarantee option that costs $10-25k (e.g. https://www.testprepunlimited.com/contact.html). Any insights on the driver of this huge discrepancy in pricing? Also, what are the most effective indicators of a good tutor?

Option 2: try new materials/lessons
Some info on the materials I have used for preparation:
Official
(1) official guide and official verbal guide
(2) GMAT prep CATs
Test prep companies
(1) Veritas prep ondemand course + CATs
(2) Manhattan CATs
(3) Manhattan SC
(4) Powerscore CR

As you can see, I have used up most of the top rated materials, if not all.
Any suggestions on good materials I could use for my next test? (e.g. Magoosh? GMATPrepNow? Economist?)

Option 3: other suggestions?

Feel free to suggest what has worked for you!

Thanks in advance for your kind suggestions :)

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by [email protected] » Sat Jul 15, 2017 5:48 pm
Hi imawolf,

First off, any score in the 700s is an outstanding score (they would all be right around the 90th percentile overall or higher), so any of them would probably be enough to get you into your first-choice School. As such, a retest is probably not necessary. Depending on the Schools that you plan to apply to, you would likely find it beneficial to speak with an Admissions Expert about your overall profile. There's a Forum full of them here:

https://www.beatthegmat.com/ask-an-mba-a ... t-f40.html

If you're set on retesting, then it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

Studies:
1) How long did you study before each attempt at the GMAT?
2) How have you scored on each of your Official GMATs (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for each)?

Goals:
3) When are you planning to apply to Business School?
4) What Schools are you planning to apply to?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
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by imawolf » Sat Jul 15, 2017 6:16 pm
Thanks for your response Rich! I come from a quite competitive application pool, so I figured I need a higher GMAT to at least not shoot myself in the foot. Regarding your questions:

(1) roughly 1 month before each attempt; 20hrs/week

(2)official GMAT score:
1st: 700(Q49 V34)
2nd: 710 (Q50 V35)
3rd: 710 (Q50 V36)

(3) planning to apply R2 this year

(4) target schools are in the M7 range

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by [email protected] » Sun Jul 16, 2017 4:54 am
Hi imawolf,

GMAC has publicly stated that the Official Score that you earn on Test Day is within +/- 30 points of actual ability. Based on your 3 Official GMAT Scores, you essentially performed the exact same way each time you took the GMAT. So while you are clearly a strong critical thinker and you could potentially be scoring 730+ right now, you seem to be making the same 'little mistakes' each time you take the Test - and that's why you're not scoring higher.

Many Test Takers hit their 'peak' scores after 3 months of consistent study, but since you've done your studying in 3 small 'blocks' of 1 month apiece, then that might also help to explain why you appear 'stuck' at this current score level. Since you don't have any big 'weak spots', you'll have to nitpick your practice CATs a bit and try to define WHY you're getting questions wrong. For example, in the Verbal section, how many times do you "narrow the question down to 2 choices" but still get the question wrong? It's likely that you would need to learn (and practice) some new Tactics to help you pick up those additional points that you're looking for (as opposed to just continuing to practice in the same ways that you have before). You could very easily retest in a month and hit your goal score, but you'll have to make the necessary changes to how you 'see' the GMAT before you can reasonably expect to score higher.

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Rich
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by ceilidh.erickson » Sun Jul 16, 2017 1:46 pm
Also, what are the most effective indicators of a good tutor?
Here's what you should look for in a tutor:

1. Someone who has gotten 99th+ percentile scores.

2. More importantly, someone who has extensive teaching experience and training in pedagogy. There are a lot of people out there who are capable of getting top scores but are not capable of effectively conveying that knowledge to others. Teaching is a skill, and like most other skills (including GMAT test-taking), it requires some degree of innate talent + a significant amount of practice and evaluation.

There are lots of individual tutors out there who might be excellent... or they might not. As with many things in life, you often get what you pay for. Your best bet is likely to go with a company that you know has extremely competitive hiring standards.
Ceilidh Erickson
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education