Assistance needed from experts to get started on GMAT

Expert replies

dshah9380: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 11; Joined: Thu Sep 04, 2014 1:05 pm

by dshah9380 » Mon Nov 02, 2015 1:20 pm

Hi,

I am embarking on the journey of GMAT and wanted to ask experts on what is the best way to achieve 700+.

Bit about myself.

"¢ I am non-native English speaker and came to US to pursue my masters in 2004. My GRE was 1250/1600 (2003). I completed my masters in Electrical & Computer Engineering 2006 and now work for one of the big banks in the US. My company hires exclusively MBA and I am also in analysis group that pays more focus on MBA degree for promotions and bigger roles- hence the need to obtain MBA( Life long desire and something that appeals to me)
"¢ I work full time for 50 hours a week (approximately). I can study 2 hours in weekdays and 4 hours during weekend.
"¢ I have strong grasp of fundamentals but they need to brushed up to start getting into GMAT mode and training the ear with endurance to sit through 4 hours of the test.
"¢ I gave Princeton review diagnostic test and scored 590/800 (there were so many silly mistakes or misreading the questions, fatigue set in after hour 1 so will need to strengthen that)
â—‹ Q44/V27 was the scaled score breakdown and I answered all the sections.
"¢ I am targeting to go to the Ivy League schools for Executive MBA in terms of the reputation. My targets schools in order of the preferences are
1. Duke
2. University of Virginia-Charlottesville
3. Columbia
4. NYU Stern
"¢ I want a study plan guidance as if I was starting from Scratch.

"¢ I have the following materials available to me from my friends and colleagues.

1. Veritas Strategy guides- Complete
2. Manhattan Strategy guides-Complete
3. Crack the GMAT -Princeton Review
4. Kaplan premier 2015

Source: Beat The GMAT — GMAT Strategy | Mon Nov 02, 2015 1:20 pm

Jim@StratusPrep: MBA Admissions Consultant; Posts: 2279; Joined: Fri Nov 11, 2011 7:51 amFollowed by: 266 members; Location: New York; Thanked: 660 times; GMAT Score:770

by Jim@StratusPrep » Mon Nov 02, 2015 3:07 pm

There are 2 quality resources, 1 the 60 day guide here, and I have one on both my blog and within the platform. Good luck!

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[email protected]: Elite Legendary Member; Posts: 10392; Joined: Sun Jun 23, 2013 6:38 pmFollowed by: 511 members; Location: Palo Alto, CA; Thanked: 2867 times; GMAT Score:800

by [email protected] » Tue Nov 03, 2015 9:23 am

Hi dshah9380,

You've taken a remarkably proactive approach so far (defining your Schools and assembling some practice materials), which is good. A 590 is also a solid 'baseline' score (the average score on the Official GMAT hovers around 540-550 most years). I'd like to know a bit more about the CAT you took and your timeline:

1) Did you take the FULL CAT (including the Essay and IR sections)?
2) Did you have to rush to finish any of the sections (and guess on a bunch of questions)?
3) When are you planning to apply to Business School?

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

Contact Rich at [email protected]

GMAT/MBA Expert

ceilidh.erickson: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 2095; Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2012 3:22 pmFollowed by: 247 members; Thanked: 1443 times

by ceilidh.erickson » Tue Nov 03, 2015 7:38 pm

Here is the study plan that you should follow:

- Analyze the practice test you've taken in a lot of depth. Which areas were you weakest? Strongest? Fastest? Slowest? Decide which topics and question types need more of your time and attention. Be very aware of your timing as well.

- Study topic-by-topic, and practice each topic with OG problems. For example, read the chapter on SC subject/verb agreement, then go do a set of 8-10 problems in the OGs that relate to that subject (you can find a master list for OG 13 in the back of our SC guide). Aim to do this in 6-8 weeks.

- Make sure you are tracking all of the OG questions you do, and timing yourself while you practice. Hold yourself to strict 2-min time limits per question! MGMAT has a great tool called Navigator that will aggregate your OG data (it's included for free if you bought the guides through MGMAT, but you'll have to purchase it if not): https://www.manhattangmat.com/storeitems ... 36&catid=4

- Keep a detailed record of any mistakes you make, so you can locate patterns in your errors: https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... -studying/

- Once you've covered all of the topics, practice your skills with random timed sets out of the OGs and practice tests.

- Analyze your data from the random sets and practice tests, and go back to any topics that need extra work.

Good luck!

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

dshah9380: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 11; Joined: Thu Sep 04, 2014 1:05 pm

by dshah9380 » Wed Nov 04, 2015 7:03 am

Hi Rich

Thanks for the reply-

1) Did you take the FULL CAT (including the Essay and IR sections)?
DS : Yes, I did take the full CAT including Essay and IR sections. I experienced lot of fatigue and hence, misread a lot of question that ended up lowering my scores.

2) Did you have to rush to finish any of the sections (and guess on a bunch of questions)?
DS : I did have to rush through the sections because I knew how to approach a problem but I couldn't manage time and when I got stuck, I couldn't move on.

3) When are you planning to apply to Business School?
DS : Ideally I wanted to apply for R2 this years. My first choice is Duke but i don't think that will be feasible. But yes, I would like to apply to school for intake of 2016 or 2017 (the latest).

GMAT/MBA Expert

[email protected]: Elite Legendary Member; Posts: 10392; Joined: Sun Jun 23, 2013 6:38 pmFollowed by: 511 members; Location: Palo Alto, CA; Thanked: 2867 times; GMAT Score:800

by [email protected] » Wed Nov 04, 2015 10:08 am

Hi dshah9380,

With the upcoming Round 2 deadlines, you're going to have to be really efficient with your time. To get everything done in time, and score at a high level on the GMAT, you're likely going to need to follow a specific study plan - as opposed to just randomly working through the various books you've assembled. Many Test Takers spend 3 months (or more) on their studies to hit their 'peak' scores, but you have only 2 months (or so) to study, take the GMAT, work on your applications and juggle all of the other aspects of your life. This is all meant to say that I think that you would benefit greatly from investing in a GMAT Course of some type (either Guided Self-Study or instructor-led; given your work scheduled, Guided Self-Study is probably the better option.

If you have any additional questions, then you can feel free to contact me directly.

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

Contact Rich at [email protected]

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