Advice? Improving too slowly

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hmgp22: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 36; Joined: Tue Oct 09, 2012 11:15 pm

by hmgp22 » Sun Mar 10, 2013 4:13 pm

Hi, I've been self studying for a few months and was wondering if anyone could provide me with some advice. I'm starting to see some improvement, but my scores are increasing so slow. My target is 700+ and at this pace, I don't think I can make it in time for this season's applications. Is my pace normal? Time management is still a big issue for me. Thanks

Nov 2012- Got acquainted with the exam, took first test, started 60- BTG guide
Dec 2012- Was extremely busy half of the month (very little studying done
Jan 2013- Got sick for 2 weeks, no work and studying (only 1 week study)
Feb 2013- Full month of concentrated study (finished CR, RC, and rerun of Quant)
March 2013- Recently took my 3rd practice CAT

Sources so far:
- MGMAT (all)
- Official Guide

#1 GMATPrep #1- 530 (Q34 V 28 IR 8)
#2 Kaplan Free Online CAT- 560 (no percentiles)
#3 GMATPrep #1 (retake)- 580 (Q41 V 29 IR 4)

Source: Beat The GMAT — GMAT Strategy | Sun Mar 10, 2013 4:13 pm

GMAT/MBA Expert

Brent@GMATPrepNow: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 16207; Joined: Mon Dec 08, 2008 6:26 pmFollowed by: 1268 members; Location: Vancouver, BC; Thanked: 5254 times; GMAT Score:770

by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Mon Mar 11, 2013 7:36 am

Well . . . you haven't exactly been studying for a few months. It sounds like you didn't get much studying in from November to January.
Given this, a 7-point quant increase is great.
You should give yourself another month of February-style studying before you draw any conclusions about your rate of improvement.

Also, if time management is an issue, then your scores could increase dramatically once your test-taking skills improve. Keep in mind that the GMAT is a test of your math and verbal skills AND it's a test of your test-taking skills. If a person has 700-level content knowledge and 600-level test-taking skills, his/her score will be closer to 600 than 700.

If you're interested, we have a free GMAT time management video at https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gener ... es?id=1244

Cheers,
Brent

Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com

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