GMAT Strategy

Hi all,

So, I've taken my first GMAT test and didn't get what I was hoping for. I scored a 680, but feel like I really need to be above the 700 level. Here is my score report...

Quant 42 61%
Verbal 40 89%
Total 680 85%

I believe my low point is word translation in the Quant section, but I think I could do a lot better in the Quant section in general. My verbal is pretty good, but I would also like to increase that as well.

I studied for about 6 months for this last test and used mostly just Manhattan materials.

All in all, I was wondering if anyone has any good studying suggestions or tips for my second round of studying? Also, does anyone have any good study plans for a second round? I won't be able to study as much per week this second round, but am willing to spend as long as I need to get the score I want.

Any ideas are welcome!

Thanks

Hi there,

You did very nicely, but I understand the desire to move to above the 700.

It is about that time when you need to begin learning on official material as well.

In doing so, self analysis will be crucial. By this I mean that it is important to see where the mistakes are taking place and, most importantly, why. Thus the self analysis. When you do practice questions or exams, it is vital to understand the mistakes and to start cross-referencing your errors. In this way it may be possible to come to an understanding of what is going on. For example, perhaps you tend to commit more errors with Sentence Correction Comparison questions, or maybe it has nothing to do with knowledge but with the timing strategy- for instance, do any particular questions take you 5 minutes and if so, why? Does this stop you from doing the last few questions properly?

These are the kinds of questions that need to be asked.

As you are at a decent score, it is a matter of fine tuning either your knowledge or your strategy. I suggest you review the main techniques/points you have studied and practice these on official materials. It needs to become clear to you what it is you need the most help with. Also, of course, you will need a good regimen of exams to keep your timing sharp. Most importantly though is to look at the errors and based on your findings to formulate a proper strategy. Without knowing where your cluster of errors are, it is hard to know exactly what the road ahead should be. In all, you certainly do not need to put in too many hours but you need to target your weak areas.

Even for Quant experts I would recommend reading the 5 books of Manhattan Math completely and try to get your score to 48-50 in Manhattan CATS.

Thanks for the comments.

I really do agree with you Issac on getting down to the specifics. Now that I look back, I remember getting a lot of reading done on how to do the concepts, but not so much practice actually implementing the concepts. This will probably really help increase my score!

Thanks again.