GMAT Strategy

Hello,

I prepped for the GMATs 7 years ago using a standard book prep and got a 470. I am looking to retake it to get into grad school and need to get 600 or more. Is such a improvement possible within a couple of months while working full time during the day and teaching 2 nights a week? I have until early January to earn a 600+ and would take multiple exams between now and then if needed.

Where do I start? Should I spend the money to get a personal tutor? Combine some tactics? Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Hello

In your situation sparing a lot of time for a test can be difficult but is certainly doable. While preparing for GMAT, make sure that you are studying for it consistently. Devote the maximum number of hours that you can during the weekdays and study for it every day. Spend more time on it during the weekends. Taking n number of tests is not a good idea. You should take practice tests after regular intervals, assess your performance and when you have reached your target score on multiple practice tests, you should go ahead with the real exam.

1 month of preparation was indeed quite low especially if you were not spending a lot of time on it on a daily basis. You should spend at least 2 - 3 months before you give the actual test. I would also suggest you to not rely on single test prep. Use study material from at least two test prep agencies. If you can spare time to join classes for GMAT, you should do that or you can get a personalized tutor as well if you feel the need for it. Keep in mind, when you start preparing, take practice tests once in a week or two when you have covered significant portion compared to the last test.

All the best
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Thanks for your replies. Its been a month and I have had about 2 weeks of studying in and have taken 2 practice exams. After some studying on the verbal section I took a veritas practice test and got a 580 (Q36, V34). I did not complete the written and integrated reasoning portions due to time constraint (end of a 12 work day). Actually I was pleased and spend the next portion of studying on algebra and geometry. I decided to take a mba.com practice test and BOMBED! Back down to 460 (Q33, V20, I3). I have been studying pretty hard in the last week but am wondering if the mba.com test was just that much harder. I would like to take my first test in 2 weeks but am afraid that with work, teaching and life, that there is not way I can get a 600.

any thoughts? advice? It was the first time I looked at a written and integrated reasoning question since the last time I took the gmat 7 years ago. I felt so drained by the time I got to the verbal section that I think I just broke down.

Another note, I completed the veritas exam a lot quicker. Maybe it was because I was just going through the motions and not stressing over it but I had enough time to finish the questions. When I took the mba.com practice test, I was pressed for time (ie had to guess the last 6 questions of the quant and 8 questions of the verbal). Could that be the reason for my lower scores?

thanks for your help.

Guhouses wrote:Hello,

I prepped for the GMATs 7 years ago using a standard book prep and got a 470. I am looking to retake it to get into grad school and need to get 600 or more. Is such a improvement possible within a couple of months while working full time during the day and teaching 2 nights a week? I have until early January to earn a 600+ and would take multiple exams between now and then if needed.

Where do I start? Should I spend the money to get a personal tutor? Combine some tactics? Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Hi,

Firstly, what you are saying is definitely possible. We would advice you to appear for a mock test with a good gmat coaching institute closer to you. This would help you to identify your strong and weak areas. Next, you can speak to an expert coach or a mentor to make a smart learning plan for yourself. Also, as you start your preparation, make sure you take as many mock tests as possible and spend more hours in analysing your performance. Also, as your daily schedule looks very tight, you would need to allocate some hours on a daily basis towards your preparation. Start with just 2 hours and as you approach the exam date start increasing the number of hours you spend. If you need any further assistance in creating a smart plan for yourself, please do let us know and we would be happy to help.

At The Princeton Review - Manya Abroad we work with our students to create a learning plan which suits one best and guide our students on how to optimize their test score consistently over a period of time. Know more about us here: www.manyagroup.com

I think that it is definitely possible. Your GMAT Prep score is more accurate than your Veritas, because you took the IR and AWA, but the veritas score shows you what you are capable of if you build up your mental endurance. To build up your mental endurance, you need to take a lot of full length (including AWA and IR) CATs. This will help train your brain to function on high capacity for the full 4 hours that it needs to. This should be done in the final few weeks of studying. I would recommend giving yourself more time that two weeks if you can, because it takes a while to make these kinds of improvements. You will need to learn a lot of content and strategy to improve further, so you might want to look into comprehensive strategy guide set (I used MGMAT) or an online course.

Hope this helps! Best of Luck!

Thank you to all of you who have replied. I have done some other research on GMAT strategy and realized that my strategy with the last test was all wrong. I thought that since I brushed up on my math that I would try to answer every question correctly even though it may take me 5 minutes. I got really behind with time and started rushing/guessing towards the last 8-10 questions of the exam. Also in the verbal section, I was trying to be too thorough in reading all content instead of concentrating on what is in question.

With that said, I realize that I need to spend more time studying and will attempt to take some time off of work to do so. I will see how the next week or so goes before I cancel my scheduled test. If I do not see a large improvement after I improve my strategy, knowledge and endurance, I will push it out another month and a half to provide more time to prepare.

Again thanks for all of your help and support.

Hello,

I have an update and some questions but before I do so, maybe I should summarize my scores and dates thus far..

October 17 without much preparation
Veritas Prep (Quant/Verb Only) 580 - Q36/V34

November 9th with a couple of weeks of prep
mba.com (full test) 460 - Q33/V20

November 14th with a week of strategy and brushing up on quant and verbal
Veritas Prep (Quant/Verb Only) 620 - Q38/V37

November 16th - (Today)
mba.com (full test) 570 - Q40/V28

With that said, I am debating whether to take the test on the 25th (9 days) or not. I am hoping to get a 600 but have a couple of questions.
- how possible do you think it is to get a 600+ next week with the above information? I believe I have till tomorrow to cancel my next weeks exam for a $50 as apposed to wasting $250.
- Veritas auto feedback has been for me to concentrate on the quant section 3 times as much as the verbal section, what do you think?
- Other than the prep tests, I have only done a hand full of other questions (I have been mainly studying strategy and quant rules) but should I study mba.com practice questions or continue taking practice tests.

ANY advice or opinions would be appreciated.

Thank you.

Hi,

We believe your scores are on the upswing and you also have got a good momentum going. Since, you are targeting a score of 600, you can very well consider giving your exam.
Our only question, why are you targeting just 600 and not more.
If your target is still 600, we would recommend you to go ahead and give the exam. Stay focused and make sure you do not lose the track. And while you are giving the test, remember one thing, " It isn't over until it is over".
If you wish to however target a score above 600, you can consider postponing your GMAT, prepare well and retake after 3 months.
If you have any queries, please do let us know and we would be happy to help.
Wish you the best.

Thanks for your replies. I am shooting for a 600 because that would be a huge improvement from my 470 and it would be high enough for me to apply to the grad school that I am interested in. I wanted to set an obtainable goal as well since my schedule is pretty full and I would like to spend my December working on my application material for the Jan deadline.

With my history of practice test scores, should I concentrate on improving my quant or verbal scores over the next week? Or just solidify my current understanding of those areas and see where that gets me?

gmat_009 wrote:Thanks for your replies. I am shooting for a 600 because that would be a huge improvement from my 470 and it would be high enough for me to apply to the grad school that I am interested in. I wanted to set an obtainable goal as well since my schedule is pretty full and I would like to spend my December working on my application material for the Jan deadline.

With my history of practice test scores, should I concentrate on improving my quant or verbal scores over the next week? Or just solidify my current understanding of those areas and see where that gets me?

Hi

Here's something that you should try from hereon to improve your scores and make them reach towards where you want.

Give as many mock tests as possible in next few weeks. However, more than giving the mock test, it is critical that you spend enough time in analyzing your performance in the mock tests. Typically if you spend 2 hours on mock test, spend 5-6 hours in analyzing your performance in the same. Go through each and every question and look at them for as long as you want. You need to figure out a better, smarter and a faster way of doing the same question.

Take a note of all the points and then make sure you apply them in the next test. Keep doing this consistently and you will see your score going up.

In case, there are any specific queries, please do let us know and we would be happy to guide you.

Wish you the best for your gmat preparation.