BREAKING: Target Test Prep releases Brand New 2026 On Demand GMAT prep course

Redeem

Improve score by 100 with limited time over 3 months

This topic has expert replies
Post new topic Post Reply
Previous Topic Next Topic
Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri Jan 23, 2015 6:37 am

Improve score by 100 with limited time over 3 months

by DJLH12 » Tue Jan 27, 2015 6:29 am
Hi everyone,

I'm glad I found this website! I hope to get some valuable information from you!

I took the GMAT last November with a preperation time of 21 days while I studied 8h/day. The GMAT score I achieved was 500 with the following subscores:
Verbal: 24
Quant: 35

I prepared for my first GMAT with the Kaplan GMAT Premier 2014 book as well as the GMAT Official Books for the Verbal and Quant part.
The test scores I got within the GMAT Prep Software were 500 and 530.
I also took 5 Kaplan CATs receiving scores on a range from 540 to 630. In total I took 7 practice tests, although looking backwards I feel the Kaplan once weren't accurate! Overall I did not feel well prepared last time, so I want to improve now, by starting with a solid plan!

My goal is to get a score of 600 for my Master application by redoing the GMAT. So I need to improve by 100 points!

My time schedule looks like this:

I'll take the exam on the 23.04.15!

For the next two months I can study 5 days about 1h-2h on the go and one day about 8 hours per week.

In April, the month of the test date, I have 25 full days to prepare!

Now my questions:

1. How can I best prepare on the go, during the 2 months I don't have that much time? I already have the GMAT-Mobile-App. I'm thinking of Audio books and flashcards! Does anyone have suggestions here?

2. What would be the best way to prepare during the 25 full days right before the exam?

3. Do you think my goal of a score of 600 is realistic with the mentioned time resources?

Thanks a lot in advance! I'm looking forward to your ideas & help.
Top
Source: — GMAT Strategy |
User avatar
Legendary Member
Posts: 2135
Joined: Mon Feb 03, 2014 9:26 am
Location: https://martymurraycoaching.com/
Thanked: 955 times
Followed by:140 members
GMAT Score:800

by MartyMurray » Tue Jan 27, 2015 7:03 am
Given the amount of time you have and the amount of studying you plan to do, a 100 point score increase is realistic.

Of course, you need to prepare the right way.

I see you talking about books and flashcards and things and that makes me wonder if you are preparing for this as if it were a test about concepts, or material. It's not.

The GMAT is a test of skill in getting to solutions using often limited or confusing information. So while yes, learning concepts and understanding things like the use of idioms is useful, you also need to get gooooood at applying all of that and more.

So it sounds to me as if you need to add more practice to your program. This would include doing at least dozens and more likely hundreds of questions, and then going back to look at ones you get wrong to see what you could have done differently to get them right and even to look at some of the ones you get right to see how you might have done them faster.

Veritas, Magoosh, GMAC and BellCurves, among others, have question banks that you can use for this.

Play them as if they were video games, score, score, score, blow up, score, blow up, score, and work on getting better at the game all the time.
Marty Murray
Perfect Scoring Tutor With Over a Decade of Experience
MartyMurrayCoaching.com
Contact me at [email protected] for a free consultation.
Top

GMAT/MBA Expert

User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 2095
Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2012 3:22 pm
Thanked: 1443 times
Followed by:247 members

by ceilidh.erickson » Tue Jan 27, 2015 3:59 pm
A 100 point increase in 3 months doesn't sound unreasonable at all. But there are a few things that you should change about your process:

1) Learn the content thoroughly! It sounds like you were just studying out of a single strategy guide - that's probably not comprehensive enough to contain all of the complex rules that the GMAT tests. I'd recommend a prep program that contains individual strategy guides for each topic. Here is Mprep's: https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/store/

2) Don't just take practice tests! CATs should be a measure of how much you learned - they are not a learning tool themselves. 7 practice tests in 21 days didn't give you any time to dig in and improve specific content areas in between tests. You should CATs about every 2 weeks - no more than 1 per week!

3) Review your CATs in a lot of depth. This is the biggest determinant of score improvement. For information on how to analyze your CATs, see: https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog/ ... -studying/

4) Study in smarter intervals. You said you were studying for 8 hrs a day. This kind of cramming may have worked for exams in high school and university, but it's not effective for the GMAT. Long hours of cramming store knowledge in the short term memory, but your brain can't hold onto that much for very long, and you forget it easily. Intervals of 1-2 hrs, followed by relaxation, then review the next day or several days later would be much more effective. Don't try to do more than two of these 2-hr intervals per day.

Good luck!
Ceilidh Erickson
EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education
Harvard Graduate School of Education
Top
Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri Jan 23, 2015 6:37 am

by DJLH12 » Tue Jan 27, 2015 4:07 pm
Thank you very much for your help so far!
@Marty Murray: Actually I realized that practice and getting fast at applying is highly important! The books I used, do to a great proportion consist of questions. Nevertheless I get your point and will focus strongly on practising and reviewing my own wrong answers!
Top
User avatar
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 1035
Joined: Fri Dec 17, 2010 11:13 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Thanked: 474 times
Followed by:365 members

by VivianKerr » Tue Jan 27, 2015 5:20 pm
Hi there,

Just to add, as others mentioned, 100+ points is VERY do-able. Try to visualize where those points are actually going to come from -- what do you want from the Quant and from the Verbal? An even 50 point gain in both, or do you see a bigger jump happening in one or the other?

A few more thoughts:

Nail down your Step-by-Step approach for EVERY Q-type. Ask: how am I using my scratch paper to move through each type of question (DS, PS, CR, RC, SC). Strategy is the most important step in your preparation because it dictates how you are actually taking the test, so if you are struggling with a certain area or question type, you're definitely not alone! Reach out to an expert for supplemental help.

Work on pacing OUTSIDE of practice CATs. Don't worry about your pacing too much until you've reviewed most of the Quant and SC content and you have excellent strategies with high accuracy. If you try to move too quickly too soon you will likely never move beyond a limited accuracy. Once your strategies are good, try to set an "ideal" time for yourself and practice with different sets of questions.

REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! Seriously, one of the biggest problems I see with low-scoring students is the over-emphasis on quality of study. Be sure you're really getting value from the questions you do attempt.

Hope this helps! :-)
Vivian Kerr
GMAT Rockstar, Tutor
https://www.GMATrockstar.com
https://www.yelp.com/biz/gmat-rockstar-los-angeles

Former Kaplan and Grockit instructor, freelance GMAT content creator, now offering affordable, effective, Skype-tutoring for the GMAT at $150/hr. Contact: [email protected]

Thank you for all the "thanks" and "follows"! :-)
Top

GMAT/MBA Expert

User avatar
Elite Legendary Member
Posts: 10392
Joined: Sun Jun 23, 2013 6:38 pm
Location: Palo Alto, CA
Thanked: 2867 times
Followed by:511 members
GMAT Score:800

by [email protected] » Tue Jan 27, 2015 5:53 pm
Hi DJLH12,

You've given yourself plenty of time to study before your Official Test Date, which is good. You won't be able to study for the GMAT in the same ways that you might study for a College class though (cramming is not an approach that is useful on the GMAT). As such, you're going to do most of the "real" work before the last 25 days before Test Day.

Taking lots of CATs in a short period of time is not advisable either. A CAT is a "measuring" device (in the same way that a scale measures your weight, the CAT measures your "GMAT ability"). CAT results are really only meaningful though if you take the ENTIRE CAT, under test-like conditions. You have to train for what you'll face on Test Day; if you deviate, then the results will be inaccurate (and usually "inflated", so you'll think that you're scoring at a higher level than you actually are). You should plan to take 1 CAT every 1-2 weeks.

When you took your first GMAT, did you have any pacing problems during the Test? Did you finish any sections early? Did you have to rush to finish any sections (and guess on a bunch of questions at the end or leave questions unanswered?)?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
Contact Rich at [email protected]
Image
Top
Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri Jan 23, 2015 6:37 am

by DJLH12 » Tue Jan 27, 2015 9:09 pm
For the jump in Quant or Verb part: I thought of trying to improve in both parts. For know I don't see that I'll improve stronger in one or the other part if I spend equal amounts of time!

Pacing during the last test:
I finished all the sections on time although, if I was in time trouble I skiped a question every now and then, maybe 3-4 for each Verbal and Quant!

Thanks again!
Top
User avatar
Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue Jan 06, 2015 8:29 am

by Kiura » Sun Feb 01, 2015 4:23 am
Hi,

I am by no mean an expert, but based on what I've read around I would say definitely doable.

For Quant, I would think you can easily gain some point just by smart identification of the type of problems GMAT asks and one which you have problems, and practice, practice, practice. My feeling so far is that up to roughly 600-650 level, GMAT questions are pretty straight forward in their structure and the type of thinking you need to deploy. I've been studying for three weeks and already do see a lot of repeating pattern in the type of questions, so I would think in three month you can efficiently work on those that pose problem and improve on speed as well (again just an opinion based on my limited study time so far :))

verbal, to be honest I have no clue how one who could about 'hard' studying it. I would suggest reading the economist, and doing some reading of classics.
Top
User avatar
Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts
Posts: 321
Joined: Mon Feb 17, 2014 9:04 pm
Location: B 7/2, Okhla Phase-II, New Delhi - 110020
Thanked: 41 times
Followed by:13 members

by manyaabroadtpr » Tue Feb 03, 2015 11:27 pm
Hi DJLH12,

Here are some last minute strategies which will help you pull up your GMAT score.

In these two months, take as many CATs or mock tests as possible and thoroughly analyze your performance in the same.Go through each and every question and try to identify better, smarter and a faster way to do it. Make a note of all the points and make sure you apply the same in the next test.Remember GMAT is not only about working hard but working smart as well.

To improve in verbal, it is important that you get to the Verbal section stress free. So, make sure that you don't carry the stress & pressure of the previous sections to the Verbal section.

Lastly, it is essential to work on the pacing of the questions & how much time you spend on each question.Do leave enough time to attempt the last few question & don't rush through these.

Let us know if you require any further guidance.Good Luck!
www.manyagroup.com
Top
GMAT Instructor
Posts: 2630
Joined: Wed Sep 12, 2012 3:32 pm
Location: East Bay all the way
Thanked: 625 times
Followed by:119 members
GMAT Score:780

by Matt@VeritasPrep » Mon Feb 09, 2015 3:03 am
Kiura wrote:My feeling so far is that up to roughly 600-650 level, GMAT questions are pretty straight forward in their structure and the type of thinking you need to deploy. I've been studying for three weeks and already do see a lot of repeating pattern in the type of questions, so I would think in three month you can efficiently work on those that pose problem and improve on speed as well (again just an opinion based on my limited study time so far :))
This is an excellent observation. In my experience with students, going from a 500 to a 600 takes amount the same amount of time/work (≈200 hours all told of studying, test taking, reviewing, meeting with a tutor, etc.) as going from a 660 to a 700. The keys are (i) mastering all the basics before focusing on time/strategy/practice exams and (ii) learning from your mistakes.

I can't stress that one enough: you have to know why the right answer is right, along with (iii) both a mathematical and a clever but not really mathematical way of solving most math problems and (iv) why the wrong answers are wrong in CR and SC.
Top
Post new topic Post Reply
• Page 1 of 1