Cold Test - 520 - The Beat The GMAT Forum - Expert GMAT Help & MBA Admissions Advice

BREAKING: Target Test Prep releases Brand New 2026 On Demand GMAT prep course

Redeem

Cold Test - 520

This topic has expert replies

Post new topic Post Reply

Previous Topic Next Topic

Seoul13: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 5; Joined: Mon Nov 26, 2012 6:48 am

Cold Test - 520

by Seoul13 » Mon Nov 26, 2012 6:56 am

Hello,

I am just starting my preparations for the GMAT, so I took a GMAT CAT from GMAT Prep. I haven't studied at all for the test yet. I took this to get a starting point. Here were my results:

Section Scaled Percentile
*IR 4 *
*Quant 27 18%
*Verbal 34 69%

Total 520 39%

Overall, I wasn't overly disappointed since I haven't studied at all for this test. As you can see my math is rather weak.

I have about 5-7 hours a day that I can study for the exam. I am considering joining Knewton online. What is a reasonable possibility after 5-7 weeks of studying? My goal is 700+.

Thanks! [/u]

Quote

Source: Beat The GMAT — GMAT Strategy | Mon Nov 26, 2012 6:56 am

GMAT/MBA Expert

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

by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Mon Nov 26, 2012 7:41 am

A 520 is a great baseline score, especially since you haven't begun studying yet.

While a 180-point increase in 5 to 7 weeks is rare, it's not impossible. My main reason for believing that you may be able to get 700+ in a short period is that Data Sufficiency (DS) questions typically have a steep learning curve. At first, they're totally confusing, but once you gain some familiarity with them, they're no harder than Problem Solving (PS) questions. Given that DS questions account for about 40% of the math questions, boosting your quant score from 27 to 40+ will hinge largely on your ability to become adept at DS questions.

If you're interested, we have a free set of videos that cover everything you need to know about DS questions: https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gmat-data-sufficiency

Cheers,
Brent

Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com

Quote

Seoul13: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 5; Joined: Mon Nov 26, 2012 6:48 am

by Seoul13 » Mon Nov 26, 2012 9:04 am

Brent,

Thanks for the quick reply. I just watched a few of those videos, and they look quite good. I'm confident I'll be able to raise my math score quickly through hard work.

I'm a little more worried about the verbal section though. I've read that raising the verbal score is quite a bit more difficult than the Q section.

I was just reviewing my time management, and I finished the Q section with 31 minutes to spare, and the verbal section with 11 minutes to spare. Maybe I should take extra time to focus more. It was my first exam and I felt nervous with the clock running, so I think I worked quickly.

Quote

GMAT/MBA Expert

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

by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Mon Nov 26, 2012 9:10 am

I too believe that increasing one's Verbal score is more difficult than increasing one's Quant score. Having said that, your baseline Verbal score is in the 69th percentile, so you're already quite accomplished in this area. Of the three Verbal topics, Sentence Correction has the greatest Return on Investment (ROI) when it comes to raising your score. So start there.

You had a LOT of time remaining, so that's very encouraging (most people run out of time). With some better time management, your score will definitely improve. If you're interested, we have a free time management video at https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gener ... es?id=1244

Cheers,
Brent

Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com

Quote

GMAT/MBA Expert

Dan@VinciaPrep: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 384; Joined: Sun Nov 01, 2009 9:54 am; Location: Paris; Thanked: 92 times; Followed by:13 members

by Dan@VinciaPrep » Tue Nov 27, 2012 7:16 am

I agree that the SC section is a good place to start working on your verbal abilities. Of all the SC books that I've seen I liked the Manhattan GMAT SC book the most.

Good luck!

If my post helped you- let me know by pushing the thanks button