GMAT Strategy

I just graduated this June and and will like to go in for a Masters in Finance. Most top schools demand a GMAT score so I decided to take the GMAT this December. Late July I took some sample practice questions online, not a full practice test and I was doing pretty well especially for the quant, so i underestimated the GMAT. Silly right? I now know..

Anyway as advised by almost everyone who's ever taken the GMAT, I took my first full practice test using GMAT Prep 1 to gauge my level and to my surprise a 310!! (Q11 V12 IR 4 AWA not scored). I finished 24 mins before time for quant and 16 mins before time for verbal. It was obvious that I rushed.

I decided to use the next 1 month to study content and also focus on timing. After 15 days of studying half of MGMAT's guide and watching videos from Veritas, I took a full practice test and scored 540, (Q38, V27 IR 2 AWA not scored). I finished 18 mins before time for quant and 6 mins before time for Verbal. I suspected that timing was again my problem. (Happy but still more work to be done)

15 days later after going through the second half of the MGMAT's guides and again watching videos and reading articles from Veritas Prep, I took the MGMAT practice test and scored a 520!! (Q34, V28 IR 1.2 AWA not scored). Crying or Very sad I did poooooooorly in IR and that affected my motivation throughout the test. I finished 6 mins before time for quant and 4 mins before time for verbal. Timing problem again?

Still knowing I could do better, I started using the OG guide, I was scoring well and thus decided to try another practice test Princeton only to get a 510. (Q37,V24 IR 2, AWA not scored). I must confessed I was tired when I started with the verbal section.

From my personal review, I notice when I do well in Problem solving, I flop in Data Sufficiency and when I do well in Data Sufficiency, I flop in Problem Solving. Also when I do well in Sentence Correction, I do fairly well in Critical Reasoning, and when I do very well in Critical Reasoning, I do fairly well in Sentence Correction....For Reading Comprehension, I do well in long essays than in shorter ones.. Are these weird?

My question; What do I need to do to improve? I have 1 month left, and I will be glad to have at least a 650. I know I can still work harder. But what do I need to do efficiently to improve my score? I'm quite frustrated

Thanks for the reply.

Yes my actual target is 750. However I registered for the June 2015 CFA Level 1 exam and combining both the GMAT and the CFA Level 1, might not be advisable. The CFA Level 1, will take about 5-6 months of preparation. This means if anything at all, I have from now to January 2015 to spare for the GMAT. This is why a 650 will be at least reasonable so I can focus on the CFA.

1) When are you planning to apply to school? March 2015
2) Which schools are you planning to apply to? LSE, Imperial College, Warwick Business School
3) Other than the books and videos that you listed, did you use any other GMAT study resources? No I just use mainly the Manhattan Gmat books and the Veritas videos once in a while.

4) Are you finishing early in each section because "if you don't know how to approach a question, then you just guess and move on?" Sometimes I do that, but most at times, I try to solve the problem before moving on. Any time i choose an answer, I'm pretty much confident about that answer before moving on to the next question. I try to take my time to think through every question, including taking notes yet I wonder why I always finish before time.

Thanks in advance for your advice

Thanks for the reply.

Weekdays: 3hrs
Weekends: 4-5hrs

Will that be enough?

jnr57 wrote:Thanks for the reply.

Weekdays: 3hrs
Weekends: 4-5hrs

Will that be enough?

Hi,

Is this time per day or per week. Because, if it is number of hours per week, then we believe these may not be sufficient to prepare well for GMAT. At Manya Abroad, we advice our students to begin by giving 2 hours per day and as you approach your test date, gradually increase the same to 4 hours and eventually to 6 hours per day. Of course, there is no thumb rule and it depends from one individual to another. But, still 3 hours per week may be on the lower side.

Also, while you give a mock test, make sure you spend double the time in analysing your performance in the test. This means that you go over each and every question and figure out a better, smarter and a faster way to finish all questions. Take a note of all the points and make sure you apply the same in your next test. If you do this consistently, you shall definitely see your score going up.

Hope this helps and if you would have any other query, please do let us know and we would be happy to guide.

Wish you the best for your GMAT preparation.