GMAT Strategy

Hey guys,

I started my GMAT journey approximately 1 month ago when I started my Prep course. Unfortunately, my job had severely inhibited me from studying for the exam as I was working 70+ hours and weekends. Things have finally slowed down and I am starting to really buckle down and begin some intensive studying as I am aiming to take my exam in early October (around the 9th).

I've taken 2 diagnostic tests and didn't see much improvement between the first and second exam, which was not a shocker as I really had no time to study and only attended classes.

Currently, I am in the 530-560 range and my goal is to get between a 650-700. I've consistently done MUCH better in the verbal than math, getting around the 70th percentile for verbal and 30th percentile for math. For verbal, I am strongest in RC, then CR, then SC. I purchased the MGMAT SC book, but is there anything else that I could or should be doing besides the obvious?


In terms of my math, I think I can improve in everything. The DS section typically is a little bit more difficult for me as it is not as straight forward, but I wanted to know if any of you have any advice in terms of approaching the math sections.

I've also had much more difficulty on the practice exams with timing on the math portion. Typically, the last 3-4 questions are very rushed. Is there anything that I can do to get better on my timing for math? Thus far, i've started doing OG 12 and OG math problem sets and have created flash cards for information that I am unfamiliar with.

I started studying regularly this week typically averaging between 1-2 hours on weekdays and 4-5 hours on weekends. I'm having a hard time figuring out if this is enough especially since my prep course is over next week. Would you guys recommend more?

Finally,do you guys think it is feasible for me to attain a 120-170 point increase between now and October 9th?

Any advice would greatly be appreciated. Thanks!

Of course anyone can achieve a 120-point increase, but the amount of time/effort you need to put into it depends.

For verbal, you could also try buying some other book for pointers on RC/CR. I found the PowerScore CR Bible pretty darn good for both sections and so might you. You should also practice as many official problems as you possibly can, so apart from the OG 12 you could also buy the OG verbal supplement (that is, if you feel the need for more practice).

For quant, it's... a bit tougher to tell you exactly what you should do. Scoring in the 30th percentile is pretty bad and you'll need to put it a lot of effort to increase your score. Such a score shows that you might be missing some of the fundamentals of quant. If the prep course doesn't seem to help, you could try buying the Princeton Review book, since I understand it is a bit more basic than the rest. Another option would be tutoring, but the viability of this option depends on your finances/being able to work up a schedule with your tutor.

You seem to have a pretty solid plan for studying. It's not the hours you put in that count, it's the depth of your study. In those 1-2/4 hours, do you solve problems and then look at the answer or do you review specific sections and then try some questions? Do you understand the concepts/explanations? Could you redo problem X 3 days from now and get the correct answer?

These are all things you should consider. Hope this helps. The best of luck with your prep!

Hey Dana,

Thank you for your response. In terms of how I approach my math, the prep course company that I am taking my classes through offers a list of 50-75 questions that are associated with that class's lesson plan. I have started to go through those questions and re-review the questions that I miss at a later time to make sure I understand why I missed the questions. I've noticed that many of the questions that I do miss are missed solely because of silly mistakes or from being rushed (in respect to the practice exams).

50-75 questions? If that's the full list for the whole program (PS&DS for the GMAT), then that's not that much, IMHO (I'd personally feel ripped off). You'll certainly need more practice than just that!

I think of it this way: most people argue that quality if much more important than quantity when studying for the GMAT. I agree, but only up to a point. In my experience, practice ("quantity") has helped me truly and clearly understand a concept("quality"). Only if you see something abstract put to work will you master it.

SO IMHO: practice much more than that. Work through the OG and maybe even the quant supplement, but don't neglect the concepts.

I apologize for the ambiguous response. The number of questions is per lesson and there are 8 math and 8 verbal sessions so its approximately 500 math and 500 verbal from og 12 and a good amount from
the verbal and math og books.