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Post-First Exam: What are my next steps?

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Post-First Exam: What are my next steps?

by andyaf » Mon Dec 17, 2018 4:38 am
Hi,

I recently took my first official GMAT last Saturday and scored a 36 in Quant (29%) and a 30 in verbal (58%) for a total score of 560. These scores are fairly low, however, they are higher than my initial score (30 in Quant, and 28 in verbal).

In prep for the exam I just completed, I have been using the Manhattan Prep GMAT study guides to study for the past 2.5 month - reading study guides and taking practice problems. Given where I am today, should I continue completing more practice problems, or should I consider taking a Manhattan Prep course? I'm conflicted as I've already read 80% of the Manhattan Prep study guides over the past 2.5 months and am unsure if the course is worth it.

I am also open to other suggestions.


Thank you all for the help!
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by [email protected] » Mon Dec 17, 2018 12:08 pm
Hi andyaf,

In your prior posts, you did not offer much information about your overall goals (other than that your Goal Score was 750+). Before I can offer you any additional advice, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on your timeline and your goals:

1) Is your Goal Score still 750+ or has it changed?
2) When are you planning to apply to Business School?
3) What Schools are you planning to apply to?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
Contact Rich at [email protected]
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hi

by Scott@TargetTestPrep » Fri Jan 04, 2019 10:23 am
Hi andyaf,

I'm glad you reached out, and I'm happy to help. So, if your score goal is 750+, since you are 190+ points from that score goal, you probably need to analyze HOW you have been preparing and make some changes, right? Regardless of which route you take moving foward, an in-person course or a self-study course, you need to ensure that you are following a linear and structured study plan that begins with the foundations and progresses to more advanced topics. By studying in such a way, you can improve your GMAT quant and verbal skills, and thus improve your GMAT score.

To see what courses are available, take a look at the Beat the GMAT reviews of top prep courses .

If you'd like some further advice on how to improve your quant and verbal skills, feel free to each back out, and I can provide some more detailed advice.

Lastly, you may find it helpful to read this article about
how to score a 700+ on the GMAT .

Good luck!

Scott Woodbury-Stewart
Founder and CEO
[email protected]

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by ceilidh.erickson » Sat Jan 12, 2019 8:51 am
andyaf wrote:Hi,

I recently took my first official GMAT last Saturday and scored a 36 in Quant (29%) and a 30 in verbal (58%) for a total score of 560. These scores are fairly low, however, they are higher than my initial score (30 in Quant, and 28 in verbal).

In prep for the exam I just completed, I have been using the Manhattan Prep GMAT study guides to study for the past 2.5 month - reading study guides and taking practice problems. Given where I am today, should I continue completing more practice problems, or should I consider taking a Manhattan Prep course? I'm conflicted as I've already read 80% of the Manhattan Prep study guides over the past 2.5 months and am unsure if the course is worth it.
You mention that you've read most of the guides and done practice problems. There are a few things you haven't mentioned, though:
- how were you doing those practice problems? Were you doing them timed, and carefully tracking your errors?
- do you have a solid understanding of test strategy as well as the content covered?
- have you been taking practice tests at regular intervals?

If the answer to any of these is "no," then you have a lot more work to do. A class can certainly help you to structure your studies and give you insight into strategies that are hard to figure out on your own.

Don't worry that you've already covered the material. Studies show that we often need to have something repeated 3 or 4 times before it really sticks! You'll just have a leg up on some of your classmates and might not have to do as many hours of homework each week.

You're also welcome to try out a Manhattan Prep class for free! https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/resources/
Many other companies also offer this option, so you can shop around and compare, and see if you get insight out of the classes that you wouldn't have gotten on your own. (My guess is that you will).

Good luck!
Ceilidh Erickson
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education
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