GMAT Strategy

I'm kind of bummed with my progress (or lack there of) thus far. I took the MGMAT course, studied on my own and ended up with a 500 on the real test. In all honesty I don't think I had any business taking the official test. I knew I wasn't prepared but I figured I could always take it again and that I had something to gain from going through the process of an official test day. After the test, I took about a month off before I started to look at any GMAT material again. I completed the entire MGMAT Foundations of Math book and then retook the MGMAT math assessment and scored a 17 out of 20. I then began to read through the MGMAT strategy guides (still reading through them now) in an effort to learn more the second time around.

My plan is to complete the strategy guides, take notes, and start to set weekly goals for myself that are topic specific. Then when I feel like I've made some actual progress take another practice test. I have also downloaded the BTG Flashcards from this site. Has anyone found these cards to especially helpful?

Please advise. I've never been a great test taker, but I'm guessing (hoping) that my awful scores are due to a lack of understanding the basics of each topic in both Quant / Verbal.

Any words of wisdom / encouragement would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Welcome to Beatthegmat! Joining this community is probably the best step you could take in your journey to achieve a great GMAT score!
First, I think you should have a target date in mind when you would want to take the GMAT. This will enable you to have a goal in sight
Second, after you have a target date in mind ,formulate a suitable strategy for yourself. How long are you going to brush up your fundamentals ;when you'd start taking CATs etc
Third, give a thought to your strong and weak areas. Make sure that you not only work on your weak areas but also become really good in the topics you feel comfortable with
Fourth, Maintain an error log for all the problems you do.
Last but probably the most important, don't become a victim of "I got 80% questions wrong"(just read my debrief I,and for that matter most of those who don't score well on the GMAT,are victims of this syndrome ). Make sure that you spend sufficient amount of time on each question. You should have a definite takeaway from each question. Not only do you have to go through the explanations of the questions you got wrong but also go through the explanations of the questions you got right also.That will help you figure out why a particular thing worked in a question.
BTG Flashcards are good ;however, nothing beats concepts.

Eternal_optimist has given some good insights. I think that you're already on the correct path as at least you accept that your basics are not strong enough. The very acceptance will encourage you to figure out ways to progress ahead in your journey and we're here to help you out !

Eternal_optimist / Rishi Raj,


Thanks for replying so quickly! I will certainly take your advice.

Eternal_optimist....what a great debrief you posted. Very inspiring.

I'm off to the library.

I'll keep you guys posted.

Thanks again