3+ weeks & need to raise score from 640 to least a 700

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hinasajid: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 4; Joined: Fri Jan 31, 2014 7:31 pm

by hinasajid » Fri Jan 31, 2014 7:45 pm

Guys,

I gave my GMAT almost 2 months ago without any prep and managed to score a 640. My Math and English have always been good but I have been out of school since 5-6 years. So even my basics are a little rusty.

I just signed up for the GMAT (I did not study these past 2 months; yes I know, sounds really bad). The exam is in almost 3+ weeks and I need to raise my score from 640 to at least a 700 SOMEHOW.

Constraints:
1) Time: Only 3+ weeks to prep;
2) Personal: Please know that I have a small baby who requires some more attention than normal babies (medical reasons) so I cannot spend the entire day studying even if I wanted to.
3) College Applications: Most deadlines are in March so I need to juggle GMAT and college applications together in an efficient way (I JUST started on my GMAT prep AND applications)

HELP!: What can be my best strategy to raise my GMAT at least by 60-80 points given the above constraints?

I am assuming that 640 with hardly any prep is average and raising my score with some prep to 700 is a possibility? Or am assuming too much? Anyone has had any luck getting a good GMAT score under similar circumstances. Any advice would be great!

Thanks a lot!
P.S. Replies to my post in other forums only demotivated me (I was told cannot happen) so any success story would be more than welcome (need some motivation!)

Source: Beat The GMAT — GMAT Strategy | Fri Jan 31, 2014 7:45 pm

Bill@VeritasPrep: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 1248; Joined: Thu Mar 29, 2012 2:57 pmFollowed by: 192 members; Location: Everywhere; Thanked: 503 times; GMAT Score:780

by Bill@VeritasPrep » Fri Jan 31, 2014 8:18 pm

First, "640 with hardly any prep" is much better than average; the median GMAT score is 540, so you're ahead of the game in that regard.

If you have a copy of the Official Guide, have you looked at the diagnostic portions? I find that they do a pretty good job of giving you areas to look at. With your timeframe, it's going to be important to pinpoint specific areas where you can make great strides.

It's doable (I'm not sure why anyone would say it's impossible), but you're going to have to put in the time.

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hinasajid: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 4; Joined: Fri Jan 31, 2014 7:31 pm

by hinasajid » Fri Jan 31, 2014 8:38 pm

Thank you for the prompt reply. I am doing the diagnostic test as we speak.

I did a MGMAT CAT exam and got a 600 (Paused it like a million times so concentration was hardly there). I can kind of sense where the weaknesses lie. My verbal is better than quant for now (even in my GMAT Exam with a 640 score that was the case). In problem solving questions I struggle with Permutations, combinations and my probability is a little rusty too. Data sufficiency and number properties need some work.

In my official GMAT exam I left like 6-8 questions at the end (did some guesses too because I was running out of time) so definitely need to work on my time management.

What would be the best strategy for the above issues? Really appreciate all the advice/help

hinasajid: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 4; Joined: Fri Jan 31, 2014 7:31 pm

by hinasajid » Fri Jan 31, 2014 8:39 pm

Bill@VeritasPrep: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 1248; Joined: Thu Mar 29, 2012 2:57 pmFollowed by: 192 members; Location: Everywhere; Thanked: 503 times; GMAT Score:780

by Bill@VeritasPrep » Fri Jan 31, 2014 8:54 pm

When you say you left 6-8 questions at the end but did some guesses, how many did you leave unanswered? Failing to answer questions can have a dramatic effect on your score.

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hinasajid: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 4; Joined: Fri Jan 31, 2014 7:31 pm

by hinasajid » Fri Jan 31, 2014 9:02 pm

I left at least 4 unanswered (time ran out) and guessed the 2-4 before these.

Bill@VeritasPrep: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 1248; Joined: Thu Mar 29, 2012 2:57 pmFollowed by: 192 members; Location: Everywhere; Thanked: 503 times; GMAT Score:780

by Bill@VeritasPrep » Fri Jan 31, 2014 9:20 pm

You definitely left quite a few points on the board, then, so you're closer to 700 than you think.

Here are a few of my favorite pacing/strategy techniques, written by fellow Veritas instructor/writer David Newland:

https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2012/04/ ... at-success

https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2012/07/ ... ould-it-be

https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2011/03/ ... t-the-gmat

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GMAT/MBA Expert

[email protected]: Elite Legendary Member; Posts: 10392; Joined: Sun Jun 23, 2013 6:38 pmFollowed by: 511 members; Location: Palo Alto, CA; Thanked: 2867 times; GMAT Score:800

by [email protected] » Sat Feb 01, 2014 2:30 pm

Hi hinasajid,

What were your Scaled Scores for the Quant and Verbal sections on your Official GMAT? Also, have you taken any practice CATs (and what were the Scaled Scores on those tests?)?

If what you say is true, and you didn't really study before your first GMAT, then you have some natural skill already. By your own analysis, your pacing is a problem (and it's a problem than many Test Takers have to learn to fix), so while you can get many questions correct, "your way" of solving is taking too long. So, fixing your pacing is more about finding faster ways to answer questions than anything else. THAT issue usually takes longer to solve than you might think, which is probably why the other Forums weren't too optimistic about your plan.

Since you haven't done much studying, there are other significant factors in your life that will impede your studying and I don't know you, my first thought is that it's not likely that you'll pick up 80 points in 3 weeks. Of course, there are exceptions, and maybe you're one of them. Once you provide the Scaled Scores, we'll have a better idea of what areas you should be focusing on.

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

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