580 to 650--can it be done in less than a month?

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gdrea3: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 21; Joined: Sun Sep 07, 2008 1:30 pm; Thanked: 2 times

580 to 650--can it be done in less than a month?

by gdrea3 » Sun Sep 14, 2008 2:40 pm

Hi all. My target score is 650 but time is running out for me (trying to take the test the first week of October). Looking at my quant, I've noticed that my DS% is always low. Is there a place to practice DS beyond the OG guides and PR?

Would Kaplan GMAT 800 be useful in sharpening my skills overall or should I stick to the basics to boost my score? I've scored over 600 once on a practice exam and I know I can do it again...

Any advice on 1 month study plan?

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Source: Beat The GMAT — GMAT Strategy | Sun Sep 14, 2008 2:40 pm

VP_Jim: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 1223; Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 3:29 pm; Location: Los Angeles, CA; Thanked: 185 times; Followed by:15 members

by VP_Jim » Mon Sep 15, 2008 7:57 am

It's definitely possible, although you'll have to put in the work. I'd advise studying out of the orange OG, and if you finish all the problems in there, get the other OGs. There are two smaller ones: a purple verbal guide and a green math guide. Those provide an additional 400 problems-ish each.

If you have too many books, you're going to be tempted to go for quantity, not quality. The process of analyzing every problem and every answer choice is where improvement comes from - doing 5,000 practice problems without this analysis won't help your score much.

As for the 800 book, that tends to be pretty difficult and is probably above the level at which you're scoring right now. I'd focus on the Official Guides.

Jim S. | GMAT Instructor | Veritas Prep

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gdrea3: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 21; Joined: Sun Sep 07, 2008 1:30 pm; Thanked: 2 times

by gdrea3 » Mon Sep 15, 2008 10:23 am

well, I've been using all three OG books so should I just keep doing the problems again? Should I be doing longer sets of questions or less questions and focus on content? I'm not sure if its an endurance thing or if I am still struggling w/concepts.

Does it make sense to still do a practice exam each weekend till the week of the exam?

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VP_Jim: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 1223; Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 3:29 pm; Location: Los Angeles, CA; Thanked: 185 times; Followed by:15 members

by VP_Jim » Mon Sep 15, 2008 11:50 am

I responded with the following to another poster, but it applies to your situation as well. Here's a way to tell if you've truly "done" all the problems in the Official Guides:

1. You know the category of the question (e.g., "Yes/No Data Sufficiency with Algebra and Plugging In")
2. You discovered the trick/strategy to attack the problem - note that this may not be the same way that the OG suggests you solve the problem
3. You know why every answer choice is wrong (for verbal) or why certain answer choices were included as traps, partial answers, etc. (for math)
4. You could do the question again tomorrow, without thinking about it, and get it right in less than a minute
5. You could change the numbers a bit (for math) and still get the question right
6. You could make up a similar question on your own
7. You could solve a similar question if presented later
8. You could explain to someone else how to solve the question, why your way of doing it is best, and why every answer choice is right or wrong.

If that doesn't describe the level at which you've "done" the problems in the OG, it's time to do them again

As for tests, yes, one per week sounds good.

Happy studying!

Jim S. | GMAT Instructor | Veritas Prep

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amitdgr: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 228; Joined: Sun Jun 29, 2008 8:47 pm; Thanked: 15 times; Followed by:1 members

by amitdgr » Mon Sep 15, 2008 7:46 pm

VP_Jim wrote:I responded with the following to another poster, but it applies to your situation as well. Here's a way to tell if you've truly "done" all the problems in the Official Guides:

1. You know the category of the question (e.g., "Yes/No Data Sufficiency with Algebra and Plugging In")
2. You discovered the trick/strategy to attack the problem - note that this may not be the same way that the OG suggests you solve the problem
3. You know why every answer choice is wrong (for verbal) or why certain answer choices were included as traps, partial answers, etc. (for math)
4. You could do the question again tomorrow, without thinking about it, and get it right in less than a minute
5. You could change the numbers a bit (for math) and still get the question right
6. You could make up a similar question on your own
7. You could solve a similar question if presented later
8. You could explain to someone else how to solve the question, why your way of doing it is best, and why every answer choice is right or wrong.

If that doesn't describe the level at which you've "done" the problems in the OG, it's time to do them again

As for tests, yes, one per week sounds good.

Happy studying!