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Need help getting to a 700

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Need help getting to a 700

by warrior818 » Mon Jun 27, 2016 9:57 am
I took my first GMAT actual exam last year in september and got a 590. This was a few 1 month of studying.
Disappointed and unsure about B-School, I decided to take a break.

I am back on the wagon now and with full force. Sure more than ever that B-school is the next stop on my career path. I took the GMAC exam 1 exam recently after 1 month of full studying (2 hours on weekdays, 5-6 hrs on the weekend) and got a 570 (Quant 44 and Verbal 25). My mental state was not great and it was very early in the morning. In each section, I ran out of time and had to rush through 7 questions. I know timing is my biggest problem. What can I do to prepare for it better? I am aiming for a 700 and my hope is to take the GMAT in August. With 1.5 months away, what would you advise?

I have the following resources at hand - manhattan prep CAT and books, magoosh, OG 2015, OG 2015 Quant, OG 2015 Verbal, OG 2017, OG 2017 Quant, OG 2017 Verbal.

Really appreciate any expert advice
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by DavidG@VeritasPrep » Mon Jun 27, 2016 12:25 pm
warrior818 wrote:I took my first GMAT actual exam last year in september and got a 590. This was a few 1 month of studying.
Disappointed and unsure about B-School, I decided to take a break.

I am back on the wagon now and with full force. Sure more than ever that B-school is the next stop on my career path. I took the GMAC exam 1 exam recently after 1 month of full studying (2 hours on weekdays, 5-6 hrs on the weekend) and got a 570 (Quant 44 and Verbal 25). My mental state was not great and it was very early in the morning. In each section, I ran out of time and had to rush through 7 questions. I know timing is my biggest problem. What can I do to prepare for it better? I am aiming for a 700 and my hope is to take the GMAT in August. With 1.5 months away, what would you advise?

I have the following resources at hand - manhattan prep CAT and books, magoosh, OG 2015, OG 2015 Quant, OG 2015 Verbal, OG 2017, OG 2017 Quant, OG 2017 Verbal.

Really appreciate any expert advice
Can you give us more info about how your practice exams went? How many did you take? Were they in line with your official exam score?
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by dparveen1989 » Mon Jun 27, 2016 1:55 pm
My practice exams leading to my exam last year were in the high 500 range.
The 570 recently was my first practice exam after picking it up again
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by Scott@TargetTestPrep » Tue Jun 28, 2016 3:43 am
If timing is your biggest issue, it's a sign that you likely still have some major gaps in your knowledge of GMAT quant and verbal. The best way to fill in those gaps is to strive for linear, targeted learning. In other words, you want to master one topic before you move to the next. Once those gaps are filled in, your timing will greatly improve. Let's me illustrate this idea with an example. Try the following simple quant question:

20^2 + 21^2+ 22^2+ 23^2+ 24^2+ 25^2 = ?

A) 3,055

B) 2,060

C) 3,066

D) 3,704

E) 3,077

Upon seeing this question, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? Do you want to grab a calculator and add up the values in the expression? Are you spending 20 to 30 seconds thinking about how this question should be solved? Or do you quickly recognize that you are being tested simply on units digits?

If you were able to recognize that you are being tested on units digits, you would be able to attack the problem quickly and efficiently (see the solution below).
Solution:
Because each answer choice has a different units digit, instead of finding the actual sum we can just find the units digit of the sum. Let's use the units digits of each square to determine the units digit of the sum.

- The units digit of 20^2 must be 0, since 0^2 = 0

- The units digit of 21^2 must be 1, since 1^2 = 1

- The units digit of 22^2 must be 4, since 2^2 = 4

- The units digit of 23^2 must be 9, since 3^2 = 9

- The units digit of 24^2 must be 6, since 4^2 = 16

- The units digit of 25^2 must be 5, since 5^2 = 25

With this, we can sum the units digits: 0 + 1 + 4 + 9 + 6 + 5 = 25. Thus, the units digit is 5.

Answer: A

Although this is just one example (of many) you see that you must have the tools in your toolbox to efficiently attack each GMAT quant and verbal that comes your way.

In addition to everything I mentioned above, I wrote a detailed article about how to get faster at solving GMAT quant questions.
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by [email protected] » Tue Jun 28, 2016 9:27 am
Hi warrior818,

Many Test Takers spend 3 months (or more) of consistent study time before they hit their 'peak' scores, so it's likely that you just have not put in enough time and effort yet. Thankfully, your score goal is achievable, but you'll find it challenging to make all of the necessary improvements in just 1.5 months.

Test Takers who use a 'book heavy' study approach tend to end up getting 'stuck' at a particular score level, so you'll likely end up needing to invest in some non-book resources. The OG books are great sources for practice questions, but they're not designed to teach you Tactics, patterns or the little 'secrets' behind the GMAT - for those, you'll need Course-oriented materials.

1) What is your exact Test Date?
2) When are you planning to apply to Business School?

3) If your score goal was/is 700+, then why did you take the GMAT after only scoring in the 500s on your CATs?
4) What were your Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores on the Official GMAT?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
Contact Rich at [email protected]
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by dparveen1989 » Tue Jun 28, 2016 7:56 pm
Thank you for your quick reply.
1) I havent booked a test date but I have mid aug in mind
2) I am aiming for round 1 - sept 2016
3) at the time, i was building a lot of anxiety and wanted to sit through the actual exam to see how i performed. My scores were around high 500s and I thought if i end up with atleast a 600 then I would be satisfied. Not a smart move and waste of 250
4) my official quant and verbal was around the mid 30s for both
During the test, i ran out of time and had to rush through the last 5 ques
My IR was a low 3.

My current tactic is to review my error log, keep an excel sheet of all incorrect questions and reasoning on how to avoid the same traps next time. I also keep a notebook of all new materials to remember. I havent started any index cards but I am planning to create it soon

As for non textbook courses, I am currebtly taking magoosh and manhattanprep online materials. I find the manhattan prep material to be much more difficult.

I will do whatever is necessary to see the most improvement in the next 1.5 month.
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