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300 points in one month

by Shuffy77 » Mon May 26, 2008 6:46 pm
I just took my first practice test and scored a low 300. I have not studied or hired a tutor, but I plan to visit Princeton Review for private tutoring. My question to the forum is:

Based on my practice test, how much higher can my score get after a refresh in math and working with a tutor?

I am set to take the GMAT at the end of June....
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by VP_Jim » Mon May 26, 2008 7:02 pm
Hi Shuffy,

Unfortunately, there's no way to tell you how much you can improve. It really depends on you, your background in math and English, your aptitude for thinking the "GMAT way", how much work you can put in, the question mix you get on the test, etc. etc. etc.

I've had students stand still at their first practice test score, and I've had students improve up to 200 points with minimal effort. Again, it all depends on you.

Good luck - and get studying!
Jim S. | GMAT Instructor | Veritas Prep
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by Shuffy77 » Mon May 26, 2008 7:12 pm
Thanks for the response. Have you checked out the Gmat Flashcards on the site and have people said positive things about them?
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by scico » Mon Jun 02, 2008 5:45 pm
I'm also re-taking my GMAT at the end of June. This will be my 4th time taking it as my scores have remained static at 490 and don't seem to be moving up. I've narrowed down my weakness to DS and CR and felt like my last test (last week) had about 55% DS in the Quant section (more than my first attempt- or at least it felt that way). I've worked through the problems in OG under timed conditions and have been able to conceptualize the basic skills but am still having trouble cracking the 500 mark on the actual test. I need at least a 600 by the end of June. How feasible is this if I put in about 2 hours a day and about 8 on the weekends? I work full time from 9-7 and can only devote so many hours to my prep. I even took a week off work last week to refresh my material but it still didn't do me any good.

I've downloaded flashcards which have been quite useful in my preparation but I still find that the actual GMAT is not reflective of my preparation.

I'm scoring, on avg, a 610 on my GMAT Prep tests and in the 510-550 range on the Kaplan CATs.

I was thinking of getting a tutor to help me on the weekends but as I work full time, I'm not sure how feasible or beneficial this will be for me if I don't allocate enough time to really work with them to improve my score.

Do you have any advice as to what I should be focusing on in the next 4 weeks? Any help would be greatly appreciated as I have an MBA program waiting to get the results of the my retest on June 30. It's nervewrecking but I'm willing to put my nose to the grindstone in the next few weeks and really hammer out the problem areas.

Thanks!
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by AleksandrM » Mon Jun 02, 2008 7:06 pm
Guys,

I studied for a month and took a CAT from PR. I scored a 490. I then took one of the Kaplan tests and scored a 550 or 560. I then took another PR and scored a 480. It made me angry. Then, I decided to attack my weaknesses: word problems translation and number properties.

I studied like this for a month. Took the PowerPrep test and got a 600. Then, I took each GMATPrep twice after another 3 weeks of studying and got a 640. Then a 610, 580 (very nervous), and a 630.

So, look at it this way: I went from 490 to 640 in 3 months. My highest quant and verbal scores were 41 each.

My studying habits are as follows:

2 hours a night Monday through Thursday. About 4 hours on Friday (this includes reviewing all of my flashcards). Saturdays: I used to study every Saturday for about 8 hours, then cut it down to 5, as I saw that going over 5 or 6 hours was counterproductive. Now, I take a CAT every Saturday, then review the questions, which is still about 7 hours of studying.

My exam is scheduled for the 18th of July. Until then, I plan to take a CAT every weekend (MGMAT with GMATPrep the week of my exam). On weekdays, I plan to continue my 2 hours M-Th and 3 or 4 on Fri.

I think the key is not to overheat. If you feel like you are not really thinking about the material before you, just close the book and go do something else. Hit books when you are actually able to understand what you are reading. There are days when I get home from work absolutely fried. On days like these, I just hit the weights, and then sit back with a movie or a newspaper.
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by VP_Jim » Tue Jun 03, 2008 11:33 am
AleksandrM has hit the nail on the head. Study those areas in which you struggle on the CATs, and only study when you're going to get something out of it. There's no use trying to study for the GMAT after you've had a stressful, 12 hour workday.

A tutor is also a good idea, since sometimes people just need someone to show them the "right way" to do a certain type of problem, and it falls into place.
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by scico » Tue Jun 03, 2008 4:22 pm
Thanks so much for the tips. I'm attacking my weak points as we speak. My only problem is, I've exhausted my OG11 and supplementary Quant questions as well as the GMAC Verbal workbook. I still have some questions to work through from OG 11 to cover the verbal practice but I was wondering what other materials would be useful to get some good practice for CR and SC. DS is also something I could definitely brush up on. I have the Kaplan 2008 Premier Edition which I've also exhausted and have done the CATs from the CD that came with the bundle. I also have the Princeton Cracking the GMAT book that I've used.

I'd really like feedback as to some best practices I can employ in the coming weeks on top of my daily study schedule and some additional resources that will be of use to me. I'll do a CAT each weekend to build up my stamina once more and hopefully pull of that 600 that I need so badly.

Thanks for the words of advice.
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by AleksandrM » Tue Jun 03, 2008 5:48 pm
I would suggest going back and just solving the OG questions again. You should not care about the questions as much as you should about your approach to solving them. Sure, there will be questions that you know cold. But, there will be a lot of questions that you recall but cannot remember how to solve. There will also be questions that you solved using a method that might have taken too long and there is a better method you could utilize. I think that people get too obsessed with doing DIFFERENT questions and forget that the whole point of doing problems is to get acquainted with the question types and patterns and to learn how to apply algebra as well as some useful strategies.

If you want new questions just take GMATPrep tests again. If you have improved your ability to approach harder questions, you will start seeing questions different from ones you saw when you previously took the exam, because the questions will come from the more difficult bins.
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by scico » Tue Jun 03, 2008 7:24 pm
This is true! I have found that when I did the GMATPrep test at the onset of my studies, I'd score at the same level because I'd see the same questions and would still make silly mistakes even though I knew quite well why I messed up the first time around. Doing the GMATPrep consistently will help me gauge my performance and if I'm improving or not. I'll definitely revisit the OG questions again to really reinforce my understanding of questions/ sections I'm having problems with. You're right, I shouldn't worry about doing LOTS of questions as I should about really understanding the main concepts of the ones I find problematic. I was also thinking of getting some help from a tutor in addition to my preparation as I find that it helps me when I have some feedback on my progress and guidelines from someone who might essentially have more efficient ways to approach problems than what I would have assumed sufficient in my studying of the material. Thank you very muvh Aleksandr for the advice! I'll keep you posted as to my progress in the coming weeks.
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by AleksandrM » Wed Jun 04, 2008 2:59 pm
Sounds good. Good luck!
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by Mclaughlin » Sat Jun 07, 2008 8:14 am
scico wrote:This is true! I have found that when I did the GMATPrep test at the onset of my studies, I'd score at the same level because I'd see the same questions and would still make silly mistakes even though I knew quite well why I messed up the first time around. Doing the GMATPrep consistently will help me gauge my performance...
Where are these GMATPrep tests you speak of? Can i buy them somewhere?
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by Mclaughlin » Sat Jun 07, 2008 8:34 am
Does MBA.com have GMAT tests for those of us using MAC? Anyone know? I'm not computer savy and cant figure out the problem.
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by humbled4real » Mon Jun 09, 2008 6:04 am
Mclaughlin wrote:Does MBA.com have GMAT tests for those of us using MAC? Anyone know? I'm not computer savy and cant figure out the problem.
Unfortunately, MBA.com's GMATPrep is not combatible with MAC. And I haven't found anyone who makes a prep software that is combatible. I borrow a friends PC to take the practice tests.

Good luck!
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by anwarma » Sat Jun 14, 2008 5:56 pm
I am having similar problem like scico and cannot seem to rise above 350. I am seriously looking for private tutor and I used the https://www.gmatix.com which was posted on this site. My only worry is I really do not want to pay arm and leg for private tutoring.

I know the material like Math but rusty on permutation and combination but offcourse when a question pops up that when I do not know what to do. But reading this thread and using pointers by AleksandrM and VP_Jim I know that I can perform better than where I am.

I will hit the OG11 again and do all problems again and then mark what problem area. I remember Eric (site admin) had devised a grid on Excel which many people useful and I cannot seem to find it. Can someone direct me to it.

Will keep you posted!
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by AleksandrM » Sat Jun 14, 2008 6:33 pm
anwarma,

I would say that paying for a tutor should be the absolute last resort. Otherwise, I would say you are on the right track with the OG review and your analysis of weak areas. I would also suggest Manhattan GMAT. I was a bit of critic a of MGMAT, however I used their books and they helped me quite a bit. Also, their exams are pretty awesome, because they are harder - at least I think they are - than GMATPrep.

Four months ago I scored a 490 on a Princeton Review CAT. I was despondent, to say the least. This was after a month of studying on a daily basis. Then, I became angry and tried to utilize all of the resources available, and scored a 640 on GMATPrep about three weeks ago. Last week, I scored a 650 on MGMAT. I know that I probably had to work harder than others (I did not exactly major in math in college).

SO, I would suggest getting a few MGMAT books that cover subjects you are weak on, and practice with those texts. ALSO, each book comes with access to a question bank for that book (they contain some very tough problems) and grant you access to 6!!! CATs. These are tough CATs and really test your abilities. These CATs are also really great because you can read detailed answer explanations.
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