GMAT Strategy

Hi guys, I took my GMAT today and scored disappointing 600 Q48 V25.

After I had read some of the threads in this forum I wondered how ridiculous my preparation for the test had been. I have only studied one week entirely following the concepts of princeton review.
Now I'm confident that I can improve my score by studying. My target score for the retake is 700+.

My biggest weakness is SC, but I think I should also review RC and CR. Besides I need a little practice on percents, ratios and proportions and a better understanding of the concept of data sufficiency for the quantitative part.

Can anyone help me on the following:
1. What literature is advisable for SC (or verbal in general)?
2. How long will I need for preparation? Can I make it within 1-2 months?
3. What is a good preparation strategy?

I appreciate any advise.....I really need to improve my score!

go with manhattan gmat! they closely follow the actual exam material and explain things very clearly

Hi 2ndShot,

Your best route to improvement is to accurately assess your strengths and weaknesses and develop a particular plan of study that addresses them. Whether that's self-study with books or a prep class or a tutor, you must make sure you're on target when dealing with a short timeline.

It's hard to answer your question about studying in 1-2 months as that depends on how much time you're studying per day or week, but it's not outside the realm of possibility. I always make sure to provide students with a reference point when they're assessing goal increases and study plans: In your case you are looking for an increase from 600 to 700+, which is from the 66th percentile to over the 90th. That would be jumping ahead of 59,000+ test takers in an average recent year for the GMAT. This exercise serves two purposes: one, to prove what a substantial and great increase that would be; and two, to motivate you that a good deal of work will be required to get there.

I encourage you to make full use of this community and check out the ton of resources and strategies for SC. At the end of the day, practice makes perfect, so get your hands on some material and get to work -- good luck!

Jose

Hey 2nd Shot,

My preparation plan for the verbal part worked really well for me; maybe you will find it helpful. For my verbal prep I used ManhattanGMAT Sentence Correction guide, The Official Guide, and gmatfix verbal flashcards.

1) If you don't already have it, consider getting the ManhattanGMAT SC guide and go through its lessons.

2) Get the gmatfix verbal flashcards (you can evaluate some for free); these cards are broken down into SC subtopics, with each topic giving you loads of examples and pinpointed lessons on how the topic is tested on the GMAT

3) Once you can go through the flashcards for a particular topic without error, use the Manhattan guide to find the specific questions in the OG that test the topic you're studying. Practice those questions and study the explanations carefully.

This is just a snippet; you can see my full debrief at www.tinyurl.com/gmatpost where I point out what worked from what didn't work for me. Basically I think that to improve you should break down the test into its subtopics and have topic specific study so you can track your progress more accurately.

Best of luck

Thank you all. I will get the manhatten guide and OG now, really need some more material than last time.

TedCornell, your case is just amazing....