I have been studying for approximately 2 months (15 hrs/week). I took my initial practice test in November and scored a 530. After taking the GMATPrep practice exam, I realized my two largest weaknesses were sentence correction and data sufficiency. For the first month, I used online resources (practice tests from GMAT Club) and the Manhattan SC guide to beef up my grammar skills. It is incredible the amount of things you forget from grammar school!
In December, I transitioned over to the quant section after I felt comfortable and started to score significantly better on timed practice problems (between 20-50 at a time). I have been going through the Manhattan GMAT books for quant. This past weekend, I decided it was time to take another practice test (MGMAT), and I scored a 600. During my analysis of my test, I realized I have serious timing problem (5-6 questions over 3 minutes in verbal and quant). I believe this is having adverse effects on timing for the other questions. I noticed several careless errors throughout the exam. I have been cataloging every practice test answer in an excel worksheet. I hope to use this during my last leg of studying.
What would be the best way to overcome these timing issues?
My goal is to score a 730. The one thing on my side is time. I am in no rush to take the exam, since I won't be applying for a couple of years.
Any other tips of advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you so much for your help and support. This website is an amazing resource.
Best,
Ian
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Brent@GMATPrepNow
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Hi Ian,itudor13 wrote:
What would be the best way to overcome these timing issues?
My goal is to score a 730. The one thing on my side is time. I am in no rush to take the exam, since I won't be applying for a couple of years.
Any other tips of advice would be greatly appreciated.
Regarding time management: I suggest that you use a Milestone Chart to keep you on track. This is covered in our free GMAT time management video at https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gener ... es?id=1244
If silly mistakes are hurting your score, then it's important that you identify and categorize these mistakes so that, during tests, you can easily spot situations in which you're prone to making errors. I write about this and other strategies in the following article for BTG: https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2012/09/ ... n-the-gmat
Finally, you mentioned that one of your major weaknesses is Data Sufficiency. You are definitely not alone on that one. Everyone struggles with Data Sufficiency (DS) questions at first. This question type is totally unique to the GMAT, so it's foreign territory. If you're looking for some extra DS resources, we have a free set of videos that cover everything you need to know: https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gmat-data-sufficiency
I hope that helps.
Cheers,
Brent
Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com
Thanks Brent.
I have another question in terms of strategy. During my most recent CAT, I scored a 600(31V-59%, 43Q-61%). During my first exam, I scored a 530(26V-41%, 36Q-40%).
What would be more beneficial to focus on? Verbal or Quant?
Does getting a higher percentage in one area lead to a higher score overall?
Thanks,
Ian
I have another question in terms of strategy. During my most recent CAT, I scored a 600(31V-59%, 43Q-61%). During my first exam, I scored a 530(26V-41%, 36Q-40%).
What would be more beneficial to focus on? Verbal or Quant?
Does getting a higher percentage in one area lead to a higher score overall?
Thanks,
Ian
