Hi shrutixn,

Most Test Takers have pacing problems early on in their studies, so you're not alone. Many also find that as they get into the Verbal section that they "just want the test to be over!", so you're not alone there either. You have to accept that the GMAT is going to take about 4 hour to complete, regardless of how well you do, so during your studies, you have to become more focused on the overall task - a strong performance throughout the 4-hours.

The average GMAT score on the Official GMAT tends to hover around 550, so your first CAT score is not bad. With a Test Date in September, you've given yourself plenty of time to study, which is good. If you can answer a few questions about your specific goals, then I'll be happy to advise:

1) What is your score goal?
2) What Business Schools do you want to apply to? And when?
3) How much time do you think that you could commit to studying each week?

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

Hi shrutixn,

Now that I know a few more details about your goals, we can better define what you'll need to do to accomplish them.

With a 530, I think that you can score 700+, but you're going to have to learn the content and tactics necessary to score at that level AND learn how to handle the physical/psychological stresses of Test Day. This includes learning about endurance, pacing and which questions matter (and which questions don't), among other things.

A September Test Date would give you about 3 months of study, which is good. However, you need to know that studying for the GMAT and hitting a high score is like having a part-time job. For those 3 months, you should expect to study 10-15 hours per week. With what you've described (3-4 hours a week to begin with), I think that we've spotted the first problem - that amount of time is probably not going to be enough time "invested" in the process for you to achieve your goals. There might be some ways to "cut some corners", but you'll probably need to enroll in a GMAT Course to do so. I would recommend an enrollment in any situation though, since most Test Takers can't hit the 700+ range on their own.

All of this is doable, you just have to plan/schedule everything out as far as possible and stay organized.

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