GMAT 600 to 710, advices?

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GMAT 600 to 710, advices?

by nifoui7 » Sun Dec 13, 2009 8:38 am
Hi there,

I started studying for the GMAT 4 months ago, working mostly on weekends and every morning (almost...) before going to work. I am not in a rush regarding B school applications, but would like to get it over with... as most people do!

My background:
25 years old, female, non English native but have been living and working in London for 2 years. Maths have always been a nightmare for me, my studies are more "verbal" oriented, although I am now working as an marketing analyst in the financial/insurance industry.

My objective:
Enter a top school MBA program (i.e. Berkeley, Columbia, INSEAD) in about 2 years, so I wanted to start on the GMAT first as I knew it would be tough for me. I would love to get a 710, but I would settle with a 690 or even a 680 because I am not sure whether I can do much more than that....

Practice test scores:
- 520 (Q33/V29) Manhattan GMAT CAT
- 580 (Q37/V33) Manhattan GMAT CAT
- 520 (Q27/V35) Manhattan GMAT CAT
- 590 (Q36/V35) GMAT Prep (mba.com)
- 600 (Q37/V35) Manhattan GMAT CAT => today

My strategy so far:
I started focusing on fixing my basis in quant reading through all Manhattan GMAT guides, reading posts on this forum and using Beat the GMAT flashcards. I also reviewed all MGMAT guides for verbal, plus the logical reasoning bible for LSAT. Did all practice questions from OG 12th edition, and am now starting OG reviews for quant and verbal. Through all these practices and test, I took very careful notes of my painpoints which gives me an idea of where to focus when reviewing guides and practicing. Also sent a lot pf time analyzing my MGMAT test, looking at time to answer, difficulty of questions that I always get wrong....

I can see progress in my scores, which helps me to keep motivation up and continue the hard work. But my progress seem really slow... almost flat. I'm afraid that I might not be focusing on the right thing.

Does anyone have advices or ideas to help me kick off my score quicker? Is it reasonable to hope getting up to 650 - 690 in a month for instance?

Thanks all in advance for your help!
Nifoui
Wanna Get 710 :S

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by DanaJ » Sat Dec 19, 2009 10:24 am
The main thing that worries me about what you've written here is the fact that you've been "reading through" material. The OGs are great for practice, but you also need targeted questions for whichever section of quant you're working on (i.e. number properties or geometry). I have not used any of the MGMAT quant guides, just the SC one and the problem with it was that it did not have enough practice questions. Is this true for the quant series?