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Scoring 760+

by Benji » Fri Feb 15, 2013 4:36 pm
Hello everyone,

I will be using this thread to get advice on my plan and as a motivational journal.
I think scoring above 740 on the GMAT shouldn't be hard with enough effort, I will be happy to score 730-740 but I believe in the saying "Better to aim high and miss, than to aim low and reach target!"
thus I will be aiming for 760+.

Why ?

I will be mainly applying to top Msc in Finance programs in UK and maybe adding in a couple US universities, given my crappy GPA (C+ German system is about 3.1 in American system), coming from Biotech background and self-employment status (Futures/FX Trader). I find my only gate to getting accepted in one of those programs is a distinctive GMAT score (top 1% should be enough :)).

How ?

I will be taking the GMAT as soon as I score above 760 in 2 Prep test or finish the study plan.
Should be before 1st of April.

The study plan is to start with Kaplan GMAT Premier as a foundation, then solve the GMAT quant. review. This should be enough to secure me a 51+ in quant.

On to the verbal which should be very very tough to get 46+ at, my strategy will be to rely on "GMAT Sentence Correction Grail 3rd edition ", "The PowerScore GMAT Critical Reasoning Bible ", "GMAT Verbal Review" and "GMAT OG". Which should be enough for at least a 44+, that should be polish with solving exams.

Last 10 days before taking the GMAT, I will be taking at least 10 exams 2 "GMAT Prep" and rest from Kaplan and Manhattan.
In order to execute this plan I feel like I need to study at least four hours per day for the next 50 days, this thread will be updated with my progress and results.

Thanks for reading ;) and any advice will be appreciated.
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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Sat Feb 16, 2013 9:43 am
Hi Benji,

Have you taken an official practice test yet? (https://www.mba.com/the-gmat/download-fr ... tware.aspx)

Doing so will give you a better idea of the time commitment necessary to reach your target score. It might also help determine which learning materials you'll need.

Cheers,
Brent
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by brianlange77 » Sat Feb 16, 2013 11:39 am
Benji wrote:Hello everyone,

I will be using this thread to get advice on my plan and as a motivational journal.
I think scoring above 740 on the GMAT shouldn't be hard with enough effort, I will be happy to score 730-740 but I believe in the saying "Better to aim high and miss, than to aim low and reach target!"
thus I will be aiming for 760+.

Why ?

I will be mainly applying to top Msc in Finance programs in UK and maybe adding in a couple US universities, given my crappy GPA (C+ German system is about 3.1 in American system), coming from Biotech background and self-employment status (Futures/FX Trader). I find my only gate to getting accepted in one of those programs is a distinctive GMAT score (top 1% should be enough :)).

How ?

I will be taking the GMAT as soon as I score above 760 in 2 Prep test or finish the study plan.
Should be before 1st of April.

The study plan is to start with Kaplan GMAT Premier as a foundation, then solve the GMAT quant. review. This should be enough to secure me a 51+ in quant.

On to the verbal which should be very very tough to get 46+ at, my strategy will be to rely on "GMAT Sentence Correction Grail 3rd edition ", "The PowerScore GMAT Critical Reasoning Bible ", "GMAT Verbal Review" and "GMAT OG". Which should be enough for at least a 44+, that should be polish with solving exams.

Last 10 days before taking the GMAT, I will be taking at least 10 exams 2 "GMAT Prep" and rest from Kaplan and Manhattan.
In order to execute this plan I feel like I need to study at least four hours per day for the next 50 days, this thread will be updated with my progress and results.

Thanks for reading ;) and any advice will be appreciated.
Benji:

Two thoughts for you to consider.

1. I can't speak intelligently for all of the programs you are considering, but I'm willing to bet that the admissions officers at those schools will consider much more than just your GMAT score as the 'go/no-go' mark on your application. It's an important data point, but still just one of many data points they will consider. I say that simply to encourage you to not get so laser focused on just one element of your application.

2. You need a study plan -- I'd suggest starting with these articles to really figure out what it is that you are looking to do, and how you are going to get there. Step 1 is taking a practice test to see where you are in relation to your desired score.

https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... an-part-1/
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... an-part-2/
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... ice-tests/

Let me know if this helps.

Thanks.

-Brian
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by lunarpower » Tue Feb 19, 2013 12:54 am
hi, i was pointed to this thread by a member of the forum.
Benji wrote:The study plan is to start with Kaplan GMAT Premier as a foundation, then solve the GMAT quant. review. This should be enough to secure me a 51+ in quant.
i can't really offer any meaningful advice on third-party books (like the kaplan premier one you mentioned here), but i noticed that the main official guide (OG 12th or 13th edition) is missing from this list.
that's not good.

the OG 12th or 13th edition is the one book that's truly essential for this exam. you should prioritize it over the quant and verbal supplements, because those contain older problems. (in fact, the quant and verbal supplements consist almost entirely of problems that were in the 10th edition OG, but weren't carried over to later editions.)

as far as other resources -- you should decide whether you need those (and/or which ones) only after you do two things:
1/ take a practice test and find out where you are,
2/ try a decent cross-section of problems from the OG and/or other official sources.

if you are already scoring in the mid-40's or higher in quant, then you probably aren't going to benefit much (if at all) from one-size-fits-all prep books like the kaplan one, and thus don't need them. instead, if you are already scoring that high, you should focus your attention on the official problems -- in particular, finding lots of different ways to solve them (especially backsolving, plugging in values, estimation, and/or testing cases).
a majority of high-level GMAT math problem can be solved in more than one way. if you are already scoring in the 40's, then there's no math left for you to learn; the only thing standing between you and a 51 is that mental flexibility.


On to the verbal which should be very very tough to get 46+ at, my strategy will be to rely on "GMAT Sentence Correction Grail 3rd edition ", "The PowerScore GMAT Critical Reasoning Bible ", "GMAT Verbal Review" and "GMAT OG". Which should be enough for at least a 44+, that should be polish with solving exams.
again, you should take a practice test, and/or try a bunch of OG problems, before you decide what you're going to do here.

this is especially important for RC and CR, because neither of those areas requires any factual knowledge. there is nothing that needs to be (or even can be) memorized for those parts of the exam -- the only thing you need is the right problem-solving and reasoning mentality.
so, depending on how you naturally approach such problems, you may not even have to read anything about those problem types. you may well just be able to walk into a practice test "cold" and get all of the RC and CR problems correct.
... or, if you don't have the right mentality, you may not.

the point is that you should find out first.
if you open the OG, try 20 critical reasoning problems, and get them all correct, then (a) you have no reason to study any CR books, and (b) if you go ahead and study them anyway, the effect on your performance will likely be negative.
on the other hand, if you get a bunch of them wrong, then you should go ahead and pick up some of those resources.

the same things are true for SC, too.
you should do some practice problems, find out what kinds of things are actually giving you trouble, and then study those things primarily/exclusively.
Ron has been teaching various standardized tests for 20 years.

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by lunarpower » Tue Feb 19, 2013 12:55 am
Last 10 days before taking the GMAT, I will be taking at least 10 exams 2 "GMAT Prep" and rest from Kaplan and Manhattan.
this is a bad idea.

first, you shouldn't leave all the practice tests for the end; you should take one of them every 1.5-3 weeks during your study plan.

second, this is WAY too many tests. remember, practice tests don't make you better at the GMAT -- all they do is measure your performance.
what would be the point of taking so many tests? if you have 10 measurements of your performance, that's not really any more meaningful than 1-2 such measurements.
the point is, it's the studying you do between practice tests that will actually benefit you.
as an analogy, imagine you're a competitive sprinter. are you going to go out and run 10 races in a row, really close to a big track meet? no, of course you won't -- you'll run a trial race every week or two, and then train between those races. same thing here.

in fact, the only reason to take ANY practice tests within a week of your real gmat is to practice your overall rhythm and timing.
i.e., if you are having trouble with time management, or nerves, or whatever, then it maks sense to take a few practice tests at this point, just to make all that stuff more routine. (you don't even have to review these tests, because that's not the point; you are only taking them to get a better sense of the overall flow of the exam as a whole.)
if time management and nerves aren't issues for you, then there's really no reason to take any practice tests when your official exam is this close. instead, your time would be better spent tapering down the amount of work that you do, and letting your brain rest for the big day.

In order to execute this plan I feel like I need to study at least four hours per day for the next 50 days, this thread will be updated with my progress and results.
if you study 7 days a week for 50 days, i promise you that you'll be worse at CR and RC than you were before you even started.

those two areas of the test are entirely matters of mental flexibility, dynamic (= not formal) reasoning, situational intuition, and (in the case of CR) real-world common sense. if you are studying 7 days per week, and taking 0 days per week away from studying, then it's literally impossible for your brain to build the neuronal connections that these tasks require -- because those connections are only built when you aren't studying.
just as your body builds muscle when you aren't working out -- i.e., when you rest or sleep -- your brain does the same thing with building the neurons required for lateral thinking.

in other words, if you don't take regular days off, you eventually won't be able to do anything except memorization and linear/formal thinking. the problem is that those two things are pretty much useless on this test (as opposed to virtually all school tests, on which they are the only things required).
do not, under any circumstances, study more than 5 days a week for this exam.
Ron has been teaching various standardized tests for 20 years.

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by Benji » Tue Feb 19, 2013 9:43 am
Brent@GMATPrepNow wrote:Hi Benji,

Have you taken an official practice test yet? (https://www.mba.com/the-gmat/download-fr ... tware.aspx)

Doing so will give you a better idea of the time commitment necessary to reach your target score. It might also help determine which learning materials you'll need.

Cheers,
Brent
I did 2 practice tests last year in which I scored 650-680, but I had to cancel the plans for the MSc due to personal issues.
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by Benji » Tue Feb 19, 2013 9:48 am
brianlange77 wrote:
Benji wrote:Hello everyone,

I will be using this thread to get advice on my plan and as a motivational journal.
I think scoring above 740 on the GMAT shouldn't be hard with enough effort, I will be happy to score 730-740 but I believe in the saying "Better to aim high and miss, than to aim low and reach target!"
thus I will be aiming for 760+.

Why ?

I will be mainly applying to top Msc in Finance programs in UK and maybe adding in a couple US universities, given my crappy GPA (C+ German system is about 3.1 in American system), coming from Biotech background and self-employment status (Futures/FX Trader). I find my only gate to getting accepted in one of those programs is a distinctive GMAT score (top 1% should be enough :)).

How ?

I will be taking the GMAT as soon as I score above 760 in 2 Prep test or finish the study plan.
Should be before 1st of April.

The study plan is to start with Kaplan GMAT Premier as a foundation, then solve the GMAT quant. review. This should be enough to secure me a 51+ in quant.

On to the verbal which should be very very tough to get 46+ at, my strategy will be to rely on "GMAT Sentence Correction Grail 3rd edition ", "The PowerScore GMAT Critical Reasoning Bible ", "GMAT Verbal Review" and "GMAT OG". Which should be enough for at least a 44+, that should be polish with solving exams.

Last 10 days before taking the GMAT, I will be taking at least 10 exams 2 "GMAT Prep" and rest from Kaplan and Manhattan.
In order to execute this plan I feel like I need to study at least four hours per day for the next 50 days, this thread will be updated with my progress and results.

Thanks for reading ;) and any advice will be appreciated.
Benji:

Two thoughts for you to consider.

1. I can't speak intelligently for all of the programs you are considering, but I'm willing to bet that the admissions officers at those schools will consider much more than just your GMAT score as the 'go/no-go' mark on your application. It's an important data point, but still just one of many data points they will consider. I say that simply to encourage you to not get so laser focused on just one element of your application.

2. You need a study plan -- I'd suggest starting with these articles to really figure out what it is that you are looking to do, and how you are going to get there. Step 1 is taking a practice test to see where you are in relation to your desired score.

https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... an-part-1/
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... an-part-2/
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... ice-tests/

Let me know if this helps.

Thanks.

-Brian
1- I know that's not the only point but its the only thing I can improve right now and I am pretty sure a better score could always help..

Regards,
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by Benji » Tue Feb 19, 2013 10:02 am
lunarpower wrote:
Last 10 days before taking the GMAT, I will be taking at least 10 exams 2 "GMAT Prep" and rest from Kaplan and Manhattan.
this is a bad idea.

first, you shouldn't leave all the practice tests for the end; you should take one of them every 1.5-3 weeks during your study plan.

second, this is WAY too many tests. remember, practice tests don't make you better at the GMAT -- all they do is measure your performance.
what would be the point of taking so many tests? if you have 10 measurements of your performance, that's not really any more meaningful than 1-2 such measurements.
the point is, it's the studying you do between practice tests that will actually benefit you.
as an analogy, imagine you're a competitive sprinter. are you going to go out and run 10 races in a row, really close to a big track meet? no, of course you won't -- you'll run a trial race every week or two, and then train between those races. same thing here.

in fact, the only reason to take ANY practice tests within a week of your real gmat is to practice your overall rhythm and timing.
i.e., if you are having trouble with time management, or nerves, or whatever, then it maks sense to take a few practice tests at this point, just to make all that stuff more routine. (you don't even have to review these tests, because that's not the point; you are only taking them to get a better sense of the overall flow of the exam as a whole.)
if time management and nerves aren't issues for you, then there's really no reason to take any practice tests when your official exam is this close. instead, your time would be better spent tapering down the amount of work that you do, and letting your brain rest for the big day.

In order to execute this plan I feel like I need to study at least four hours per day for the next 50 days, this thread will be updated with my progress and results.
if you study 7 days a week for 50 days, i promise you that you'll be worse at CR and RC than you were before you even started.

those two areas of the test are entirely matters of mental flexibility, dynamic (= not formal) reasoning, situational intuition, and (in the case of CR) real-world common sense. if you are studying 7 days per week, and taking 0 days per week away from studying, then it's literally impossible for your brain to build the neuronal connections that these tasks require -- because those connections are only built when you aren't studying.
just as your body builds muscle when you aren't working out -- i.e., when you rest or sleep -- your brain does the same thing with building the neurons required for lateral thinking.

in other words, if you don't take regular days off, you eventually won't be able to do anything except memorization and linear/formal thinking. the problem is that those two things are pretty much useless on this test (as opposed to virtually all school tests, on which they are the only things required).
do not, under any circumstances, study more than 5 days a week for this exam.
Thanks for the advice, I will take it all in consideration and adjust my study plan accordingly.
I already have OG12 in my study plan, should I get OG 13 as well ?
--------------------

As for my study progress I am half way through Kaplan Math Chapter and solved 100 questions from the quantitative review (half easy/half hard) averaging about 80%.
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by ceilidh.erickson » Tue Feb 19, 2013 11:48 am
I already have OG12 in my study plan, should I get OG 13 as well ?
No, there's no need to get both. Only about 1/6 of the questions changed between editions, so the vast majority will be the same.

I just want to add to Ron's point above... GMAT studying is about QUALITY, not quantity. You've mentioned all of the books and tests that you're going to cover, but it's not about how much you do, it's about how thoughtfully you do it, and even more importantly, how thoughtfully you review it. As Ron said, you don't learn anything from taking a practice test. You only learn from reviewing that test thoughtfully, and making connections. You certainly won't have time to take 10 tests and review them thoroughly in the same week. (Generally speaking, you should allocate at least as much time for reviewing tests/problems as you spent taking them).

A student could hypothetically get an 800 just by doing a couple hundred OG problems, if he/she were able to gain enough insight from those questions about what's tested and how, and apply that to future problems. Another student, though, could read dozens of books and take a hundred practice tests but never get above a 600, because he/she was trying to memorize rules rather than think critically.

Good luck!
Ceilidh Erickson
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by lunarpower » Tue Feb 19, 2013 4:06 pm
Ceilidh and others --
ceilidh.erickson wrote:No, there's no need to get both. Only about 1/6 of the questions changed between editions, so the vast majority will be the same.
this is of course a personal decision, but I don't agree -- i think that buying OG 13th, even if one already has OG 12th, is an indisputably wise investment.
two main reasons:

1/
even if only 1/6 of the problems are new, the value per new problem is still tremendous.
remember, that's 1/6 of almost a thousand problems ... say 150 problems.
for people in the USA, the cost including shipping (from amazon) is about $27, which is the cost of about seven and a half minutes of private GMAT tutoring, or about 20 cents per new problem.
definitely worth it.

(what confounds me the most here is the sheer # of people who will say "not worth it" and then turn around and buy products like GMATFocus, which costs over $1/problem.)

2/
i think it's a good exercise to compare the 2 editions -- because, in any situation where almost everything is left the same, the changes have greater significance.
* what are the new problems like? are there any patterns? (for instance, the new CR problems have more than the usual proportion of "blank in the passage" problems, and fewer than usual of the rigorous-thinking problems such as "draw the conclusion".)
* perhaps even more importantly, what's in the problems that were taken out?

so, ya, my advice is "go ahead and buy it". ceilidh, if you feel strongly enough the other way, i'd love to hear why.
Ron has been teaching various standardized tests for 20 years.

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by brianlange77 » Tue Feb 19, 2013 6:20 pm
Benji wrote:1- I know that's not the only point but its the only thing I can improve right now and I am pretty sure a better score could always help..
Regards,
Umm... I know this starts to get outside the focus of a GMAT Strategy thread on the beatthegmat.com website, but I will politely disagree with your assessment. You could volunteer in the community, being taking another academic class, asking for new responsibilities at work, etc.

Just saying.

-Brian
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by ceilidh.erickson » Tue Feb 19, 2013 8:53 pm
lunarpower wrote:Ceilidh and others --
ceilidh.erickson wrote:No, there's no need to get both. Only about 1/6 of the questions changed between editions, so the vast majority will be the same.
this is of course a personal decision, but I don't agree -- i think that buying OG 13th, even if one already has OG 12th, is an indisputably wise investment.
I'm certainly not saying that purchasing OG 13 is never necessary/wise/helpful. My point was that since Benji only has another month to study, it's not strictly necessary to purchase both. He can certainly gain enough insight into the GMAT to do very well with only OG 12. (In fact, it would be pretty difficult to go through all of OG 12 plus the 150 new OG 13 questions in just that amount of time).

For students who have several months to study (and for nerds like us who teach the test), I agree that it's VERY instructive to compare the editions and see what has changed! For students with a more abbreviated timeline, though, it would be pretty difficult to cover all of that.
Ceilidh Erickson
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education
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