Study Plan for a month

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Study Plan for a month

by Aarti.Sal » Tue Sep 09, 2014 7:22 am
Hello,

My mock scores have been dipping with time. I somehow feel that when I see the test as a whole I tend to mess up whereas I really perform well on individual questions. Can someone please help me have a proper study plan for a month so that I score 650+?

I started off with a MGMAT 600 and now its dipped to 540. I also gave a GMAT prep test in which i scored 560.
Materials referred to:
Quants: Solved OG 13 thrice. Did all MGMAT books twice. Even solved Kaplan Premier and Kaplan Advanced. Also solved from OG Quantitative Review once.
SC: Started off with Aristotle SC Grail, did MGMAT SC more than 3 times and some grammar notes. Solved OG 13 more than thrice and OG Verbal Review twice.
CR: Went through PowerPrep CR Bible twice and solved OG 13 more than thrice and OG Verbal Review twice.
RC: Did OG 13 once and OG Review half. RC 99: 55 passages.
Diagnostic test: Got above average in all except SC where i got average.
Gave a MGMAT test without prep and got 600 and Kaplan: 580
After studying all the mentioned stuff above scored a 560 in my GMAT prep.
Really appreciate your help!

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by [email protected] » Tue Sep 09, 2014 11:09 am
Hi Aarti.Sal,

You mentioned in your other post that you were planning to apply for Round 2 deadlines, your GMAT was scheduled for October 4th and that your score goal was 710+.

Why are you rushing in to take the GMAT in 25 days when the application deadlines are several months away? Based on what you've described, you really need more time to improve (and the calendar allows for that!).

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by Jim@StratusPrep » Tue Sep 09, 2014 12:08 pm
I agree that your timeline is rushed. 1 piece of advice I give people when they have used a lot of material is to make sure that they are studying the proper way. Spend a lot of time figuring out how problems work, aka don't be pragmatic and just be happy you got it right - this often leads to a false sense of security.

It sounds like you 'understand' the material, but can't recall it. My guess is it is because you are rushing through the material; what you have described is work that should take someone years to go through if you are taking your time.
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by Aarti.Sal » Wed Sep 10, 2014 11:44 am
How could I improve?I need a proper plan. I am know I am going terribly wrong and rushing through. How do I manage my time?Is there some time chart I can follow?

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by [email protected] » Wed Sep 10, 2014 1:05 pm
Hi Aarti.Sal,

There's an "order" to these issues, so let's deal with the immediate problem. Your current Test Date does not give you much time to improve.

Can you push your Test Date back? What is the farthest back that you could push it?

I understand that you probably don't *want* to push it back, but rushing in to take the GMAT when you're not scoring at a high enough level on your practice CATs is NOT a good idea.

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by Aarti.Sal » Wed Sep 10, 2014 7:56 pm
If I want to apply to the round 2 then by how many days can I push it back?Is a 710+ score achievable by someone who is scoring in 500s?

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by [email protected] » Wed Sep 10, 2014 8:24 pm
Hi Aarti.Sal,

To figure out how far back you can push your Test Date, we need to know the specific Round 2 deadlines for each of the schools that you're planning to apply to. You can find this information at each school's website.

Find those dates, then report back here and we can reverse engineer a study plan for you.

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by Aarti.Sal » Wed Sep 10, 2014 8:31 pm
It is around the first week of January.

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by [email protected] » Wed Sep 10, 2014 8:51 pm
Hi Aarti.Sal,

If that approximate date is true for all of the schools that you're thinking about, then you have LOTS of time to continue prepping. You'll likely have to work on the other parts of your application while you study, but GMATers tend to have busy lives anyway (with work, family, etc.), so doing 2 things at once isn't a new idea.

If you wanted to build a "safety net" into your schedule, you could plan to take the GMAT in early December then have enough time to take it again in early January (before the Round 2 deadlines) if you needed to. With the other information that you've provided, that gives you over 2.5 months of additional study time that you could use.

Trying to cram in all that studying in 3 weeks when you can do a more thorough job in 2+ months seems like a bad idea. Give yourself the proper time to succeed, invest in the proper resources and prep in a more effective manner.

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by Aarti.Sal » Wed Sep 10, 2014 9:08 pm
How do I prepare then?In terms of books, errors and other things?

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by [email protected] » Wed Sep 10, 2014 10:07 pm
Hi Aarti.Sal,

I've sent you a private message with some suggestions.

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by clueless_me » Sun Sep 14, 2014 3:36 am
Hi Rich - I am facing same issue as Arti.Sal. Can you help me too ?

Kind Regards//

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by [email protected] » Sun Sep 14, 2014 11:58 am
Hi clueless_me,

I responded to your other post here....

https://www.beatthegmat.com/experts-pls- ... 79354.html

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by natsheriff » Tue Sep 16, 2014 3:33 pm
I am struggling with achieving scores over 500. I got a total score of 460 on the last CAT I took. this CAT did not have the IR and Essay section. I received a Quantitative score of 18 and a Verbal score of 34. I am scheduled to take the GMAT on October 29th and I am not sure I can improve my score unless I change my study strategy.
I would like to at least have a total score of 550. So far, I took an 8-session GMAT prep course, but I do not feel it helped me improve at all in the quantitative section. I am practicing using the GMAT prep software and practice tests as well as the practice problems in the Official Guide for GMAT Review (13th edition). I also was trying to review the math topics in the Official Guide as well as watch videos on math concepts. All this has not helped me improve significantly in the match area and I need a better strategy. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,
Nathalie

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by [email protected] » Tue Sep 16, 2014 5:29 pm
Hi Nathalie,

I've sent you a private message with some suggestions.

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