How much of an increase did you get?

mcleod13 wrote:Hey all, I was wondering something. I plan on doing the 60 Day GMAT course on here and it got me to thinking.. I was thinking it would be nice to have some encouraging posts.. For instance, taking the GMAT in March I went in cold and got a 640.. I know that isn't too impressive for some and even less impressive given the discrepancy in my scores. I had 3 years of law school that helped me prepare for the verbal parts. After getting into the 90th for Verbal and 30th for Quant, I know I need to retake and get well into the 700s if I want a PhD.

I am just wondering what are some of the increases others have received.. I know that it varies from person to person but I just want some encouragement..

I think if your question is specifically for those who have taken course and got improvement then perhaps someone else will be posting. What I have seen is that practice tests through GMATPrep are best indicator of your growing abilities. In my opinion there is no limit how much one can improve. Initially many don't know how to approach DS questions, later they realize that they also don't know tricks of trade in RC section, Further they realize that modifiers are the area they should focus on, subsequently they feel they need some practice in causal reasoning of CR section, then they feel that timing and stamina with 100% comprehension is the issue..so there are whole lot of weaknesses which they assess throughout the preparation time BUT yes - once all above weaknesses are eliminated then definitely your score goes into Top-Tier score which is 700-780. Though I am not ready yet since I need top class score but I improved significantly from Bottom. I started from 400s and now I am in 600s and most importantly I know where I am making mistakes therefore I am confident at some point I will be able to crack the glass ceiling. Prep courses are just a way to organize your studies and preparation but reality is that if you know what are your weaknesses then prep course can ignite the process of elimination which can also be achieved without any course. It just depends who you approach your errors. There is no limit how much one can improve. I also don't believe in those estimations which say that if you are scoring 400s then maximum you can go upto 500s or 600s. I truly believe that starting from 300s can go upto 750+ if he/she consistently assess weaknesses and work on them.

Thanks!! I ordered the books I need for the 60 day course. I also ordered the Manhattan GMAT Quantitative collection.

I will begin as soon as they arrive... I can't wait!

I went from 640 to 740. I am one of the rare ones who's GMATPrep Scores (~650) did not match my actual score come test day. Anything's possible.

Thanks for the encouragement!! I hope I can have similar results!!

I moved 160 points in 5 weeks.

Anything is possible when you 1) study hard ... 2) employ good personal test strategy ... 3) have some luck on favorable material

The Duke wrote:I moved 160 points in 5 weeks.

Anything is possible when you 1) study hard ... 2) employ good personal test strategy ... 3) have some luck on favorable material

AWESOME!!! If I had that type of result I'd be at 800.. LOL.. Don't see that one happening.. That is amazing though.. I will have 60 days to do so.. I plan on scheduling the test for about 80 days out after I get the material. That way, I will have the 60 days for the course, plus some time built in. I am a practicing attorney and I have a family so I have to make sure that I have some time for them plus I never know what is gonna pop up...