How to improve my score above 650?

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kdhar: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 1; Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2009 5:05 am; Location: India

How to improve my score above 650?

by kdhar » Sun Jan 18, 2009 5:16 am

Hi,

I gave my GMAT last year and scored 650. Since a year I have been practicing and have practiced from every book possible and given several exams but I just dont seem to improve above 650-660.

I am very disappointed as I have been unable to develop a strategy to improve. I always run out of time and get bogged down with tough questions.

Also is it true that the 1st 5-7 questions are extremely important and one should spend a little bit extra time to get them right?

Thanks

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Source: Beat The GMAT — GMAT Strategy | Sun Jan 18, 2009 5:16 am

mayonnai5e: Legendary Member; Posts: 1018; Joined: Tue Dec 12, 2006 7:19 pm; Thanked: 86 times; Followed by:6 members

by mayonnai5e » Sun Jan 18, 2009 10:39 pm

The first few questions thing is a myth. If you want to improve, you'll have to work on your fundamentals probably - I found that was necessary to move from 650 to 700+. The fundamental questions will drag your score down and bring the plateau in scores in most cases. I mean fundamental to mean certain types of questions that you are not good with even at the easy/medium level.

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VP_Jim: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 1223; Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 3:29 pm; Location: Los Angeles, CA; Thanked: 185 times; Followed by:15 members

by VP_Jim » Mon Jan 19, 2009 8:59 am

I agree completely. It seems counterintuitive, but to score above 650 you have to be really good at basic concepts. A lot of the harder questions are really just confusing versions of easy problems, which test basic concepts in some sort of tricky way. In fact, my experience is that the 550-650 level questions are sometimes harder in math, as they often require lots of calculations (easy to make silly mistakes), whereas the 650+ questions are more about logically working through a tough problem.

As for the earlier questions, it's true that their importance is overstated. I would say that you should budget a little extra time for them, if only to get your confidence rolling and to calm you down, but the general rule still applies: if you don't know it after three minutes, it's time to guess and keep going.

Jim S. | GMAT Instructor | Veritas Prep

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mayonnai5e: Legendary Member; Posts: 1018; Joined: Tue Dec 12, 2006 7:19 pm; Thanked: 86 times; Followed by:6 members

by mayonnai5e » Sun Jan 25, 2009 3:59 am

I agree with the 650+ assessment here - I found that 650+ problems, particularly quant ones, often used a basic idea/concept, but hid it under complex language/scenarios. The trick was often to "see through" the fluff that the test writers throw at you to "discover" the real concept being tested. This is why I feel learning the basics is super important - you will never see through the complexity to "discover" the underlying concept if you do not understand it/have knowledge of it in the first place!

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rukhster: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 2; Joined: Sun Jan 04, 2009 5:12 pm

by rukhster » Wed Jan 28, 2009 12:13 am

Hi mayonnai5e

A lot of people recommend focussing and improving on fundamentals but I have not read about a definitive plan how to improve them.

Does improving the fundamentals mean -

Going through Verbal and quant workbooks OR
Doing Manhattan SC guide 3 times OR
Working through OG Problems, keeping a log of your mistakes and identifying your weakness OR
Finding takeaways from every problem you solve OR
Going through Powerscore CR bible to improve CR OR
Solving tough Quant problems OR
Solving posts by Ian, Ron,Stacey, Stuart,VP_Jim on BTG
etc
etc

I believe most of us do that but some of us are not able to make that leap from 600 to 700.

What would you recommend ?