GMAT Strategy

Hi GMAT Experts!

I gave my first GMAT attempt 2 days back and got a 660 (Q48 V33). This is about 60 points below my base target of a 720+ score. I wish to retake the GMAT in a month, and wanted advice on what approach to follow. To give you guys more insight into my preparation and ability:

I'm generally weaker in Quant and Verbal happens to be my strong point (as opposed to what is evident from my sectional scores). In my mock tests also, I was getting lower Quant scores and Verbal used to be my savior. But I don't know what happened on the real GMAT.

Quants:

In terms of capability, my PS is generally good - maybe not that good on the really tough questions. DS is certainly my Achilles heel, especially on the number properties questions (surprise! surprise!). I was still able to improve a lot on DS by focusing a lot on curbing silly mistakes and trying to work with more logic than brute force - thanks to the strategies & videos by Veritas Prep available on the IOS platforms. Thanks Brian!

However, I still can't get over the 48 mark in quants. Any suggestions on what I should do to reach a 50 on quants?

Verbal:

In verbal, SC and CR have become my strong areas. Again, I have the Veritas Prep videos to help. Initially I built my skills through Manhattan GMAT guides, but I gained new perspective with the help of Veritas prep and Brian.

Surprisingly, I completely lost my base in RC. I do blame myself for that because other than the OG13 questions, I only worked on RC questions during the mock tests. I was good with RC generally, but then I don't know what happened and I completely lost my accuracy in them. I do intend to focus more on RC during my retake preparation, but do need help on how to approach RC questions on the really tough & convoluted passages. Any suggestions?

TARGET

I am hoping to improve my score from a Q48 V33 to a Q49+ V40+. I would appreciate any help on defining what my strategy should be for each of the 5 segments (PS, DS, CR, SC and RC). Also, suggestions on overall strategy on test taking & timing would also be helpful. Thanks!

[email protected] wrote:Hi getsunnyy,

A 660/Q48 is a solid performance (it's right around the 80th percentile), so you could apply to most Business Schools and have a reasonable shot at getting in.

You mentioned that your Official Score didn't quite "line up" with your practice, so I'd like to know a bit more about what you did to prepare for the GMAT:

1) How long did you study?
2) What resources did you use in addition to the Veritas resources?
3) What were your Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores on your practice CATs?
4) Did you take the ENTIRE CAT every time (including the Essay and IR sections)? If not, then which CATs didn't include the skipped sections?

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

Hi Rich!

Thanks for your response! I've addressed your questions below:

1) How long did you study?

I prepared for 3 months exactly - started on May 1st and gave the GMAT on 3rd August

2) What resources did you use in addition to the Veritas resources?

Prep material:

- Manhattan GMAT guides
- Chilli Hot GMAT by Brandon Royal (read in someone's debrief that it's a great book to study the different question types in Quants - helped me massively!!)
- Aristotle SC

Mock Tests:

- GMATPrep
- Manhattan GMAT tests - gave only 3 tests though

Other materials

- Veritas Prep IOS strategy videos
- Magoosh youtube explanations for OG13 questions

3) What were your Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores on your practice CATs?

My scores were as follows:

29th June - GMATPrep 1 - 700 (Q44, V41)
2nd July - MGMAT 1 - 650 (Q45, V34)
8th July - Veritas Prep - 710 (Q48, V39)
15th July - MGMAT 2 - 630 (Q41, V35) - ran out of time in quants and couldn't mark the last question. Was also sleep deprived
23rd July - MGMAT 3 - 630 (Q44, V32)
26th July - GMATPrep 2 - 620 (Q44, V31) - my last mock and I completely freaked out

4) Did you take the ENTIRE CAT every time (including the Essay and IR sections)? If not, then which CATs didn't include the skipped sections?

- Yes, I took complete mocks and practiced my AWA and IR diligently every time. I wanted to make sure I was preparing my mind and body for a 4 hour marathon.

As you can see, my quants was never too great and I picked up good tricks from the Veritas Prep videos and Chilli Hot GMAT book. Luckily I was able to pull through in quants with that. However, my verbal kept going downhill with time. My Sc and CR had become really good, but my RC skills dropped horribly. I think that is the reason why my verbal scores kept declining.

I know that my basics are good, I just need to work on strategies for each section that I can apply every single time regardless of the difficulty level. What do you suggest?