GMAT Strategy

Hey All-

So I was like everyone else here and have been aiming for a 700+ score. I took the GMAT Prep exam and scored a 470 to see where I was. I was so shocked as I never have scored this low on a standardized test that I almost quit. After studying the basics of math and verbal for about a month I was able to bump up my score to a 590. I am applying this fall so I think that I can study until the end of July and then take the exam. Is two months enough time to possibly bump it up to a 700. Also, for those of you who have applied already is August enough to time complete 3 or 4 quality applications? Thanks for the advice as I really hope my dream is possible.

John

John,

Here is my two cents: I have been looking at this test for awhile now and just took the GMAT and got a 650 after about 3 months of prep. I had originally took it 2 years ago without adequate preparation and scored a 570. I am getting ready for my final attempt and I am scoring anywhere between a 680 and a 720. This test is hard, I would spend a week browsing this forum, watching Thursdays with Ron, and really gathering information about how the test works. Once you figure out how the test works you need to figure out a general strategy and the different types of questions the test asks. Once you have categorically separated out all the questions by question type, you need to figure out all the rules every single question in the OG is testing you over. Some I am sure you know, others take practice. Scoring above a 700 puts you in the top 10% of applicants applying to business school. With that being said, this test takes an extreme amount of time, effort, and thought. If it was that easy to just get above a 700, then it wouldn't just be the top 10%, it would be everyone! Also, why do you need to apply this fall? The whole point of an MBA isn't to just jump up the corporate ladder or increase your salary, it takes a lot of thoughtfulness and should be articulated, well planned, and well reasoned why you want to go at this point in your career. Also, listen to some of the experts on here, they are great at what they do and are great resources if you have the money to pay for their tutoring services. With that being said, good luck and welcome to beat the GMAT.

-BP

John,

Two months is enough to bump up your score, if you do things right! Here's what I would suggest: Whatever material (books, videos, etc.) got you from 470 -> 590, do not use that to get to 700! Because that won't work for you going forward, unless its official material like an OG or something.

Also, 500s to mid 600s is pretty much about what you know- you master basic facts like the angle for a straight line is 180 degrees or for paradox questions in CR you need to find the missing link, etc.

Beyond the mid 600s its all about traps, timing, strategy and psychology. Traps are what the test makers use to make simple problems look tough. Timing strategy is required so you answer questions well. Other strategies such as when to leave a question or what to do in case you seem to be losing ground(and hence confidence) during the actual test!
So my request to you, would be... please start off without nervousness. That test can be re-taken a million times, so don't be hard on yourself. Focus on the end result, i.e. getting into b-school and consider GMAT as only a stepping stone.

....
On applications, 4 is too much, 3 is possible. 2 is the best bet. When you mean quality apps, please do focus on your recommendations and things that you have little control over too. Have everyone on the same page. I personally used the book "The Best Business Schools' Admissions Secrets". It helped me understand how to brand myself and present a good app. I mean I used it and I did get accepted. Just this year I am looking for a bigger badder school

Your dream is possible. Do let us know about your success, and come back and contribute when you achieve

Hope that helps...

Hey,

I have also been a dedicated member of this forum for about a year or so. Took me a while but I hit my goal of a 650 a couple of days ago. So in my opinion, a 700+ is quite a stretch but can be done.

470-->590.. Very good start. This means you have a majority of the fundamentals down. If your looking to hit a 700+, I would HIGHLY suggest attacking your weak areas. This is where you will find your best boost for your score in my opinion. I was consistently hitting 580-610 for a month straight and did not know why. Then I realized that RC was really bringing me down. I focused on RC for a month by reading more (I hated reading to be honest back then). I would go through scholarly journals and some news articles by Wall Street Journal and the Economist. Before my actual GMAT, I was scoring around a 650-710. When you take a GMAT PREP test, really understand where you went wrong. These tests are amazing at predicting your score. I was getting 690-710 on my MGMAT tests a few days before my exam. I took my last GMAT PREP before my test and scored a 650. Coincidentally I scored a 650 on the Actual. Thats just my honest opinion.

On the plus side, I have seen many users on this forum go from a 400 range score to a 700+ in a matter of 2-3 months. It is possible. You just need to seriously devote yourself.

Goodluck with the test and the applications ahead!

I think you are biting off a lot in a short period of time. There is no reason to give up, but I would focus on the GMAT before the applications. I would say that if you are looking to get a 700+, then round 1 this year is not likely. Start organizing your information based on the applications that come out in July/August, but really spend most of your time on the GMAT. If you can do well in Sept/Oct (likely the earliest you will be prepared) then apply this year in round 2; otherwise, next year may be better, giving you ample time for GMAT prep. Is there a reason you are applying this year?

Thanks everyone for the support. Let me answer a few of your questions. The reason I want to apply this year is that I am 27 and will turn 28 this summer. I am slightly worried that another year of waiting will push my range into the upper end. Also, after much thought I am prepared to make a career switch.

I am currently studying 18-20 hours a week for the GMAT so I feel as confident as one can be that I will hit that mark come August. I am prepared to do whatever it takes to get there as I am more driven than I ever have been in my entire life.

Thanks everyone for the advice and I'm sure I'll be on here much more over the next few months.

Hi,
I also had a similar situation sometime back, but I just devised a plan and strategy to improve my score and made it with 720, I will share my story hope it helps you.

Below given is my story....
From 610 to 720.......has been a journey worth remembering.......employing strategies and methods, changing them, and redeploying them until you arrive at the right one for yourself.
I will tell the method that worked for me......word of caution is that this strategy may not work for you so take this as a guideline and implement and adapt ur strategy.....After all Adapting is the key to survival....since Darwin.....
So here it goes......
Got a real dip in confidence when I got 610.....could not study and focus for about a month.....but then I refocused myself on what to improve and how to go ahead.

For Quant:-
1. Identify your bottleneck(where ur falling short in score) DS/PS, once you have done this 50% of the work is done.
2. Use about 3 preliminary tests to analyze this, for this u can use the diagnostics in OG and the 2 power prep thats what I did.
3. My weak area was DS, so I then shifted my focus to DS in Quant....always remember when ur working on DS u also have to use the other skills so they also improve....so improving the problem area leads to improvement in the already strong area.

How did I focus on DS:-
1. Every day I used to solve 20 examples of DS in a timebound approach. Maintained an excel giving me the % of correct to track my improvement.
2. I also maintained an excel detailing the responses that I got wrong...so that I can know where am I faltering.
3. I also created a label for error i.e error was due to oversight, Fundamental understanding, Fatigue or any other cause. This labeling helped me pin point my reason for problem in DS.
To my surprise i realized that my Understanding was strong, I just never checked the option upto C whenever i was done with A I used to set a judgement in my mind.....so for me I had to go through a thought process shift.

How did I focus on Verbal:-
This is the bone of contention for most..............
I adopted a similar strategy....though I needed to improve in all the areas, my weakest was Sentence correction.
1. Every day I used to solve 20 examples of SC in a timebound approach. Maintained an excel giving me the % of correct to track my improvement.
2. I also maintained an excel detailing the responses that I got wrong...so that I can know where am I faltering.
3. I also created a label for error i.e error was due to oversight, Fundamental understanding, Fatigue or any other cause. This labeling helped me pin point my reason for problem in SC.
To my surprise i realized that my Fundamentals were weak.
How to improve Fundamentals:- Please read this carefully......
U cannot know all the rules in english...you do not want to be William shakespeare.....So u need to focus on the rules asked in the GMAT......
How to do this is tricky, get all the OG sets 10,11,12,13 now you have a pretty exhaustive set of Sentence correction. Now when u solve a question you will get a rule, even if you get the answer correct always go ahead and see the understanding, this will help u solve the doubts in the fundamentals.
Formulate an excel with the rules and the problem of SC written in the row next to it. Later when you want to understand the rules better, read and go through the problems that you have identified....
In GMAT you will never face a problem you have faced, so the focus should be on rules and these will get u through.

For RC:-
Only option is read I read a lot of novels , magazines, newspaper articles to improve my understanding.

For CR:-
I was just good at it, so just practiced from the OG.
Importance of online forums:-
I used to regularly browse through them to see the responses of people and understand their reasoning, though i did not post actively on beat the gmat I read a lot of posts daily i spent around 30 mins on this website........

Hope this may help people understand my process and helps u improve the score......Hope u all achieve your dreams
You can write to me for help on [email protected], and can see my daily blog of MBA journey on https://maulikhelpsu.blogspot.in/

TC, hope this helps.......ATB for the test.....

digvijayk wrote:John,

Two months is enough to bump up your score, if you do things right! Here's what I would suggest: Whatever material (books, videos, etc.) got you from 470 -> 590, do not use that to get to 700! Because that won't work for you going forward, unless its official material like an OG or something.

Also, 500s to mid 600s is pretty much about what you know- you master basic facts like the angle for a straight line is 180 degrees or for paradox questions in CR you need to find the missing link, etc.

Beyond the mid 600s its all about traps, timing, strategy and psychology. Traps are what the test makers use to make simple problems look tough. Timing strategy is required so you answer questions well. Other strategies such as when to leave a question or what to do in case you seem to be losing ground(and hence confidence) during the actual test!
So my request to you, would be... please start off without nervousness. That test can be re-taken a million times, so don't be hard on yourself. Focus on the end result, i.e. getting into b-school and consider GMAT as only a stepping stone.

....
On applications, 4 is too much, 3 is possible. 2 is the best bet. When you mean quality apps, please do focus on your recommendations and things that you have little control over too. Have everyone on the same page. I personally used the book "The Best Business Schools' Admissions Secrets". It helped me understand how to brand myself and present a good app. I mean I used it and I did get accepted. Just this year I am looking for a bigger badder school

Your dream is possible. Do let us know about your success, and come back and contribute when you achieve

Hope that helps...

Nice suggestions, Digvijay!

I falter to complete the verbal section during mocks & usually end up with guessing several answers. In fact, when the time left in timer is 30 mints, I will be doing qn#18 or so.
I was wondering whether during preparation even you had come across such a situation.
If so, how did you overcome this. Any suggestions?