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Verbal/Quant resources/recs to improve from 690 to 700+?

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Verbal/Quant resources/recs to improve from 690 to 700+?

by mjordan » Mon Nov 17, 2014 6:42 pm
Hi Everyone,

I recently took the gmat and scored a 690 after studying for over 2 months; I was aiming for a minimum of a 700. The score breakdown is as follows:
IR8
Q46
V39

I'm going to reschedule to take another exam in a month in hopes of obtaining a 700+ score. So far during this journey, I've worked through all the Manhattan gmat books and the official guide 13th edition. I'm confident l can improve both my verbal and quant scores but am looking for recommendations of resources that would be the most beneficial in the limited amount of time before the next exam. With regard to the materials I've worked through, I've completed the same problems multiple times and am in particular searching for new verbal problems. Any tips/pointers would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!!
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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Mon Nov 17, 2014 6:45 pm
You'll find tens of thousands of free practice questions on this very site.

Also, you can use BTG's tagging feature to help you focus on one topic at a time, . For example, here are all of the questions tagged as statistics questions: https://www.beatthegmat.com/forums/tags/ ... statistics
See the left side of that linked page for more tag options.

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by [email protected] » Mon Nov 17, 2014 9:46 pm
Hi mjordan,

With a 690/Q46, you have a really strong set of scores (you're just shy of the 90th percentile overall), so you've really done well. I'm curious why you're choosing to retest. If it's because you "want to see a 7 in front", then that's a really dubious reason. A 690 puts you in position to comfortably apply to pretty much any Business School. If you're looking into scholarships that require a higher GMAT score or an Admissions Officer specifically told you that the GMAT is what held back your application, then I would understand why you want to retest. As it stands though, it's probably not necessary. You've earned a fantastic score, so you're likely done with the GMAT.

If you're certain about retesting though, then feel free to email me directly. I can give you some suggestions for this specific type of scenario.

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by David@VeritasPrep » Tue Nov 18, 2014 4:31 am
690 is a great score. I understand the desire to see what you are capable of (and improve your application profile as well).

Have you used the GMATPrep Prep Pack 1? This delivers over 400 official GMAT questions and you can make quizzes that you take on the computer, which can be more useful for you at this stage compared to books.

Another computer-based resource is the free Veritas Prep Question Bank, which has delivered about 9 million questions to test-takers around the world. This question bank is a great resource with explanations and stastics for each question. It can be found at https://www.veritasprep.com/gmat-question-bank/.

In terms of additional strategy or content help...If you can identify areas of weakness then we can recommend resources specific to those areas.
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by mjordan » Tue Nov 18, 2014 7:02 pm
Thank you all for the feedback! I'll look into the resources you all have suggested; they sound like exactly what I need!
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by dabral » Wed Nov 19, 2014 6:48 am
If you do decide to retest, then use the following resources:

1) GMATPrep Question Pack 1
2) GMATPrep Exam Pack 1 for additional CATs.
3) For verbal you can use the questions in the GMATPrep database, see this link at gmatclub: https://gmatclub.com/forum/all-gmatprep- ... 87679.html

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by manyaabroadtpr » Sat Nov 22, 2014 3:40 am
Hi,

690 is a good score and if you have a good academic, extra curricular profile along with a sound work experience, you can already apply to top business schools.

If you still wish to give a crack at it again, we believe at your stage only one strategy will work for you the best. Try it.

Give as many mock tests as possible in next few weeks. However, more than giving the mock test, it is critical that you spend enough time in analyzing your performance in the mock tests. Typically if you spend 2 hours on mock test, spend 5-6 hours in analyzing your performance in the same. Go through each and every question and look at them for as long as you want. You need to figure out a better, smarter and a faster way of doing the same question.

Take a note of all the points and then make sure you apply them in the next test. Keep doing this consistently and you will see your score going up.

In case, there are any specific queries, please do let us know and we would be happy to guide you.

Wish you the best for your preparation.
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by BestGMATEliza » Sun Nov 23, 2014 11:35 pm
I find that there are two important steps to breaking that 700 barrier. First of all, you need to build up your mental endurance. In order to do this, you should take at least 10 full length practice tests under test conditions. This means that you should do the IR and AWA sections of the test and you should only take the two 8 minute breaks you will be allowed on test day. This will help you train your brain to function on full capacity for the full 4 hours that it needs to. Also, you should be practicing with 700+ level questions, as these will start coming up more and more the better you do on your CATs and mastering them is essential to doing well. Kaplan 800 and MGMAT advanced quant are good sources for these.
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by manyaabroadtpr » Mon Nov 24, 2014 5:46 am
Hi,

To be able to cross 700, you can also train your brain to think and work faster. This gives you enough time to work on tougher questions thereby pushing your score.

Next time when you give a mock test, time it for two hours. Spend a few hours in analyzing your performance and in figuring out best ways to solve each question.

After 2 days, take the same mock test and now time it for 1 hour. What this means is that try to finish the test in 1 hour itself. After 2 more days, you can challenge yourself to finish the same in 45 mins only.

Do this for the next few mock tests. We have seen a number of our students try this and thereby training their brain to think and respond faster under test conditions.

Let us know if this works for you. Do share your feedback. Wish you the best.
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