How much improvement can I expect in the next month?

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I want to get into the Professional MBA program at my favorite university. They only require a minimum of 550 on the GMAT. Obviously it's not a Harvard MBA I'm shooting for, just a good general masters in business.

I am taking the GMAT on June 20th. So far I have only studied the MGMAT Foundations of GMAT math, done all the practice questions on their web site, and studied a little of MGMAT Number Properties.

I have only been seriously studying (as time allows) for about a month. I've been really worried that I wouldn't be prepared. Still have a huge stack of MGMAT books and the OGs to go through! It's daunting.

Anyway, I decided to take my first prep test, the GMAT Prep 1 test this morning. I thought I would do really poorly on it since I don't think I'm the brightest bulb in the pack and my memory recall of the material is not stellar.

I was shocked to to get to the end of my first practice test with a 560, Q32, V35 and realizing how little I had studied the hard stuff.

If I want to improve by maybe 100 points, how much more do I really have to study in the next month and a half?

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by David@VeritasPrep » Sat May 14, 2011 12:27 pm
So it is a week later, how much have you studied?

A 100 point improvement is certainly possible by June 20th, but you need to devote some time and go about things efficiently.

Have you noticed where you are really doing well in?

You can make quick improvements in several areas - you can do better in Data Sufficiency in very little time if you develop a good methodology. You can improve quickly in sentence correction - again, with a good technique. Although many people will not admit it - you can improve in reading comp and critical reasoning as well.

How is your progress, are there areas you need some advice on?
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by shperkins » Sun May 15, 2011 1:40 pm
I have not taken another practice test yet, but I have kept an error log of my OG questions and DS is my poorest area. I'm studying almost every night for a couple of hours right after work, then most of the day Saturday and Sunday working through the MGMAT books. I'm still on Number Properties.

On the test I took, and on the practice questions from MGMAT, I'm finding myself unable to quickly apply the concepts and rules from the book. I am over-thinking it, and trying to make the best educated guess! Ugh. Tying the concepts together and knowing when to use what rule is a challenge right now.