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goal to be achieved at 700+

by Sevil » Tue Sep 15, 2015 12:28 pm
Hi All, I am new in GMAT and found this website to be very useful.
Have ordered my books and waiting for them to begin studying.

I haven't take any test yet, as I think i need to go through all the quant and verbal sections first and then see what is what.
Planning to spend 3 weeks for each of the Problem Solving, Data Sufficiency, Reading Comprehension, Sentence Correction and Critical Reasoning Sections and take the test later.

Do you think that this kind of plan will be good?
How much time do you recommend to spend per day? (I am flexible in terms of time, so achieving my goal within the year will be fine).

Will be very thankful for your recommendations!

Sevil
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by [email protected] » Tue Sep 15, 2015 2:58 pm
Hi Sevil,

Since it sounds like you're just beginning your studies, then it would be a good idea to take a FULL-LENGTH practice CAT Test; you can download 2 for free from www.mba.com (and they come with some additional practice materials). If you want to do a little studying, so that you can familiarize yourself with the basic content and question types, then that's okay - but you shouldn't wait too long to take that initial CAT. That score will give us a good sense of your natural strengths and weaknesses and will help provide a basis for comparison as you continue to study. A FULL CAT takes about 4 hours to complete, so make sure that you've set aside enough time to take it in one sitting. Once you have those scores, you should report back here and we can come up with a study plan.

I'd like to know a bit more about your timeline and goals:
1) What is your goal score?
2) When are you planning to take the GMAT?
3) When are you planning to apply to Business School?

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by Sevil » Tue Sep 15, 2015 10:16 pm
Rich,

Thank you so much. Actually i have taken GMAT very long time ago from OG book and my score was under 500. But because of my full time working and other studynig i didn´t have time to seriously work on GMAT. Now it´s time to start!

I am sure that weaknesses are in Verbal (as for many non-english speakers) and with AWA as well.(No idea about how i am going to perform on Integrated Reasoning, as I haven' had any opportunity to deal with it before).

1) My goal is 700+ (700-750 will be fine)
2) Planning to warm up for the next 3-4 months first and take the GMAT sometime in January
3) I will apply for the schools next year this time, so all my documentation have to be ready by then.

I will take the full test sometime this week and let you know my score. But as I am full time working I will be able to study only at nights.
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by [email protected] » Wed Sep 16, 2015 10:50 am
Hi Sevil,

Many Test Takers choose to take their practice CATs on the weekend (as opposed to trying to take the CAT after a full day's work - when you will most likely be tired), so I suggest that you do the same. It's important to remember that this first CAT is just meant to get an initial 'measure' of your skills; you're NOT expected to perform perfectly and there will likely be some questions that you find really difficult to answer. That's okay. We need to define your strengths and weaknesses so that we can make sure that your study plan is appropriate for YOUR needs.

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by Sevil » Fri Sep 18, 2015 2:16 am
Hi All,

Just took my GMAT, my results:
Integrated reasoning: 8 Incorrect out of 11
Quantitative Section: 14 Incorrect out of 37
Verbal Section: 22 Incorrect out of 41

So my impressions from my test:
I absolutely can not manage my time and concentrate properly!
I failed to write down AWA, as I expected, (but think that this is because I am noty used to write down essays)

Integrated reasoning was new to me and I absolutely couldn't manage my time and left 2-3 questiones unanswered because the lack of time.

I also couldn't answer the last question on Quant section, (because the time expired). Also need to repeat formulas and have a look to GMAT flashcards provided here. So I think this would help to raise my math.

Verbal: The most difficult part for me. I guessed tons of questions, as I wasn't able to concentrate properly and attack the questions.

Overall, I have guessed 95% of questiones.

What would you recommend to me to start first? What strategy to use? I was planning to take 3 weeks per each subsections (Starting with RC and ending with math). Should I do the tests without time at first? I also have to deal with AWA and Integrated reasoning.

I want to believe, that even with my poor result, I can raise my score to the extent I want.
So the goal will be to master on GMAT to get at least 500-550 on January, and then work hard for 700+

Thanks in advance for your advices!
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by DavidG@VeritasPrep » Fri Sep 18, 2015 6:28 am
I'd advise a rigorous, structured study plan. Whether this means an in-person class, or an online self-study platform is up to you. Pretty much every company offers a free trial or a trial class to see if your learning style is compatible with whatever product you're considering, so do a little shopping and then commit to a firm schedule.

However, I would not advise taking any test un-timed. If you need to do more foundation-building before taking your next exam, that's perfectly reasonable, but the whole point of practice exams is to cultivate strategies to help you navigate the time constraint that you'll have to contend with on test day.
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by Sevil » Fri Sep 18, 2015 7:51 am
Dave, thanks for your reply.

Yes, I definitely need a good push before I take another test. I am considering to begin my study with Verbal Part of GMAT.
Just, was unsure wether I have to do the tests within the time limits or just practicing until I am perfect on those questions and then start timing myself.

Dave,

Could you please give the details of the Company you're talking about?
I have ordered OG Books and Powerscore CR book.
Last edited by Sevil on Fri Sep 18, 2015 8:15 am, edited 1 time in total.
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by DavidG@VeritasPrep » Fri Sep 18, 2015 8:13 am
You can do both. When you're learning a new concept, or doing practice questions, it's not unreasonable to give yourself more time to work through the problem. (It's still worthwhile to time yourself, even if you allow yourself more than two or three minutes. It's good to know how much work will be required to improve your pacing.) But when you do the practice tests, you want to simulate exam conditions as closely as possible. You'll find that the exam isn't simply about what you know, it's about knowing when to employ certain strategies and knowing when to guess. If there's no time constraint, there's no incentive to avoid grinding through formal calculations, which is not, ultimately, what the GMAT is about.
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by [email protected] » Fri Sep 18, 2015 9:07 am
Hi Sevil,

What were your scores on this CAT (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores)?

In your early posts, you implied that your goal was to take the GMAT in January. Now, it sounds like your goal is just to take the GMAT in January (regardless of how you score) and then take it again later (with the goal of hitting 700+). Can you clarify your plans? If you can commit the necessary time and effort, then you could conceivably hit your score goal by January (so you wouldn't need to take the GMAT more than once), but you have to plan your studies properly and work with the proper materials.

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by Sevil » Fri Sep 18, 2015 9:57 am
Rich,

The total score was 470
Integrated Reasoning scaled score-3
Quant scaled score-37
Verbal scaled score-18

That´s right. I am going to take my first exam on January. But I also consider the fact, that my first attempt may not be sufficient to get the score I want, so I admit that I may repass the exam later.
But getting the score I want in January will be awesome!

I know that there are lots of materials: books and online. I just don't know how to do the proper planning to achieve my goal. The books I have ordered will arrive sometime in October. So until that time I must already have a plan.

Could you give me any advise on how I can start my studying? Should I concentrate on specific part or I can combine different sections? Also, do I need start practicing AWA or the priorities are Quant and Verbal sections?

I will have around 2.5-3 hrs per day for GMAT (more on weekends of course).

Thanks!
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by DavidG@VeritasPrep » Fri Sep 18, 2015 11:25 am
Could you please give the details of the Company you're talking about?
I'll PM you the info
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by [email protected] » Sat Sep 19, 2015 10:01 am
Hi Sevil,

With a 700+ score goal, you'll have to improve by 230+ points - this will require a great deal of time and effort on your part, but you've given yourself enough time to succeed, which is good.

Many Test Takers who use a 'book heavy' study approach tend to get 'stuck' at a particular scoring level, so it's likely that you'll need to invest in a GMAT Course of some type (either Guided Self-Study or instructor-led). Most GMAT Companies offer some type of free materials (practice problems, Trial Accounts, videos, etc.) that you can use to 'test out' a product before you buy it. We have a variety of those resources at out site (www.empowergmat.com). I suggest that you take advantage of all of them then choose the one that best matches your personality, timeline and budget.

If you have any additional question, then just let me know.

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by Sevil » Sat Sep 19, 2015 10:16 am
Rich,

I am open to any resourses that will help to raise my score. But, do you recommend me to start with books to get to some level and then switch to those online courses?

Could you please give me the details of such self-study/instructor led courses?

Thanks!
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by MartyMurray » Sat Sep 19, 2015 10:39 am
Sevil wrote:Just, was unsure wether I have to do the tests within the time limits or just practicing until I am perfect on those questions and then start timing myself.
DEFINITELY start off practicing doing questions almost completely untimed.

You can be aware of the time, but take AS LONG AS IT TAKES to get right answers.

Answering questions within two minutes by choosing the wrong answer is worthless, and doing that over and over provides little to no useful practice.

What provides useful practice is working on problems until you get what is going on with them and find the right answers.

By doing that you develop the skills and mindset, which is HUGE, necessary for getting right answers. Once you are getting right answers consistently you can seek to speed up.
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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Sat Sep 19, 2015 11:00 am
Sevil wrote: Just, was unsure wether I have to do the tests within the time limits or just practicing until I am perfect on those questions and then start timing myself.
Early on in your prep, there's a danger in focusing too much on your timing. In my view, this focus has the potential to actually hinder your preparation. I feel so strongly about the whole timing issue that I wrote two articles about it:
- Making Friends with Time on the GMAT - Part I (https://www.gmatprepnow.com/articles/mak ... %93-part-i)
- Making Friends with Time on the GMAT - Part II (https://www.gmatprepnow.com/articles/mak ... 93-part-ii)
Executive Summary: Use a timer, but only to get an idea of what 2 minutes feels like. Later on (once you've covered all of the content), you can start working on your speed.

Executive Summary of the Executive Summary: Content First - Speed Second

I hope that helps.

Cheers,
Brent
Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com
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