640 on First Real GMAT, What's Realistic 1 Month Improvement

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missmaryleigh: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 1; Joined: Wed Sep 10, 2014 6:37 am; Thanked: 1 times

by missmaryleigh » Sun Nov 09, 2014 5:51 am

Hello GMAT world,

I took my first official GMAT yesterday. I scored a 640, 38 V, and 39 Q.

It wasn't a bad test day, but it also wasn't perfect. I didn't sleep well the night before, became hungry during verbal, and was a minute late getting back between IR and Quant.

I am trying to get into Northwestern's part time program. The avg I have seen posted for this program is 695 (unofficial avg I think). The deadline for the app is Dec 12, and it is now Nov 11, so I have about a month to work with (while also working full time, doing the essays, and celebrating T-giving....)

I am curious what the community thinks is realistic to achieve in this timeframe given my starting point. I have scored up to 690 in practice, and this verbal score is the lowest I have ever gotten (I usually hover around 40/41 in practice). In math I have gotten up as high as 47, but in that section my score tends to bounce around a bit more.

Tips? Advice? Insight?

Thanks,
Mary

Source: Beat The GMAT — GMAT Strategy | Sun Nov 09, 2014 5:51 am

manyaabroadtpr: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 321; Joined: Mon Feb 17, 2014 9:04 pmFollowed by: 13 members; Location: B 7/2, Okhla Phase-II, New Delhi - 110020; Thanked: 41 times

by manyaabroadtpr » Thu Nov 13, 2014 9:45 pm

missmaryleigh wrote:Hello GMAT world,

I took my first official GMAT yesterday. I scored a 640, 38 V, and 39 Q.

It wasn't a bad test day, but it also wasn't perfect. I didn't sleep well the night before, became hungry during verbal, and was a minute late getting back between IR and Quant.

I am trying to get into Northwestern's part time program. The avg I have seen posted for this program is 695 (unofficial avg I think). The deadline for the app is Dec 12, and it is now Nov 11, so I have about a month to work with (while also working full time, doing the essays, and celebrating T-giving....)

I am curious what the community thinks is realistic to achieve in this timeframe given my starting point. I have scored up to 690 in practice, and this verbal score is the lowest I have ever gotten (I usually hover around 40/41 in practice). In math I have gotten up as high as 47, but in that section my score tends to bounce around a bit more.

Tips? Advice? Insight?

Thanks,
Mary

Hi Mary

In one month, you can definitely move from 640 to 690. If you are already hitting 640, you would be aware of your strong and weak points. With just one month to go, just focus on your weak points and figure out ways by which you can optimize your score. Find out if you can save some extra time in your stronger areas.
In this last one month, don't refer to any study material unless if you really feel the need to brush up your concepts. We would suggest give a mock test daily. If not daily, atleast every alternate day and then spend maximum time in analysing the test and figuring out what could you have done to improve your score further. Try out these strategies in the next test and so on and so forth. Remember if you spend 2 hours in giving a mock test, spend atleast 6 hours in analysing the same. Wish you the best and do keep us updated on your progress. If you have specific query, please do let us know and we would be happy to help.

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