Practice Test 520..how to get to a solid 600

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Kristinaw14: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 9; Joined: Sat Jun 22, 2013 8:24 am

by Kristinaw14 » Sat May 16, 2015 10:38 am

I just took my first practice test (MGMAT) and received a 520 33Q and 28V (note: I did not do Essay/IR). Is it possible to get to a solid 600 by the middle of July? My initial plan was to go through MGMAT Foundations of Quant, some of Kaplan Quant, and then go through the RC and SC book of the MGMAT books since those are my weakest areas. I was then going to go through all OG Quant Review questions and then hit the OG book and really focus on the questions I am getting wrong. Will that get me to a 600 in 8 weeks? Due to me trying to take the GMAT in the past, I just used my last MGMAT Prep Test. I was going to take 3 more practice tests within the 8 weeks (GMAT Prep Tests. Are those sufficient practice tests, or should I take the Kaplan practice tests?

Source: Beat The GMAT — GMAT Strategy | Sat May 16, 2015 10:38 am

GMAT/MBA Expert

[email protected]: Elite Legendary Member; Posts: 10392; Joined: Sun Jun 23, 2013 6:38 pmFollowed by: 511 members; Location: Palo Alto, CA; Thanked: 2867 times; GMAT Score:800

by [email protected] » Sat May 16, 2015 2:48 pm

Hi Kristinaw14,

From your prior posts, it looks like you've taken a 'book-heavy' study approach several times and not hit your score goals, so it seems problematic to take the SAME general approach again and expect a different result. As such, you might want to consider a GMAT Course of some type.

When is the application deadline for the School(s) that you're considering?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

Contact Rich at [email protected]

Kristinaw14: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 9; Joined: Sat Jun 22, 2013 8:24 am

by Kristinaw14 » Sat May 16, 2015 2:54 pm

Hi! Thanks for the reply. I took the MGMAT course last fall. I was, however, enrolled in school so my full attention wasn't given to the class. Would you suugest maybe taking the class again? (I believe prior students can take it again for $250). I am will try anything to get to that 600. The school I am applying to has a rolling deadline.

GMAT/MBA Expert

[email protected]: Elite Legendary Member; Posts: 10392; Joined: Sun Jun 23, 2013 6:38 pmFollowed by: 511 members; Location: Palo Alto, CA; Thanked: 2867 times; GMAT Score:800

by [email protected] » Sat May 16, 2015 3:04 pm

Hi Kristinaw14,

Re-taking a previously taken Course might help you. It's a matter of how 'hard' you tried the prior time. If you didn't try very hard, then re-experiencing the Course with a higher degree of attention/effort might help you to hit your goals. But if you did try (and you put in a reasonable amount of effort) and the material/lessons/etc. just didn't 'click' for you, then it's tough to say whether that Course would click for you this time or not. There are plenty of alternatives though and at this point you have enough experience with this process that you should have a pretty good idea of how YOU best learn. You have plenty of time to raise your score to 600+, so you should find the resources that best match your personality.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

Contact Rich at [email protected]

GMAT/MBA Expert

Brent@GMATPrepNow: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 16207; Joined: Mon Dec 08, 2008 6:26 pmFollowed by: 1268 members; Location: Vancouver, BC; Thanked: 5254 times; GMAT Score:770

by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Sat May 16, 2015 3:20 pm

Kristinaw14 wrote:I just took my first practice test (MGMAT) and received a 520 33Q and 28V (note: I did not do Essay/IR). Is it possible to get to a solid 600 by the middle of July? My initial plan was to go through MGMAT Foundations of Quant, some of Kaplan Quant, and then go through the RC and SC book of the MGMAT books since those are my weakest areas. I was then going to go through all OG Quant Review questions and then hit the OG book and really focus on the questions I am getting wrong. Will that get me to a 600 in 8 weeks? Due to me trying to take the GMAT in the past, I just used my last MGMAT Prep Test. I was going to take 3 more practice tests within the 8 weeks (GMAT Prep Tests. Are those sufficient practice tests, or should I take the Kaplan practice tests?

Hi Kristinaw14,

An 80-point increase is definitely achievable in that timeframe.
You might want to add some more practice tests to your study plan. The GMAT is a test of your Math and Verbal skills AND it's a test of your test-taking skills (endurance, time management, anxiety management). Take several (FULL LENGTH) practice tests will help with this.

If you already have the MGMAT books, you might consider signing up for Beat The GMAT's free 60-Day Study Guide (https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/gmat-guide). Over 40,000 Beat The GMAT students have already done so.
Each day, you'll receive an email with a series of learning activities that guide you, step-by-step, from Day 1 to test day. This will ensure that you will cover everything that the GMAT tests.

Here's an outline of all 60 emails: https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/gmat-guide-outline

As far as when to write: I typically suggest that students should achieve their target score on at least 2 practice tests before taking the official test.

Cheers,
Brent

Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com

Rich@EconomistGMAT: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 163; Joined: Fri Mar 27, 2015 12:47 pmFollowed by: 13 members; Thanked: 27 times

by Rich@EconomistGMAT » Mon May 18, 2015 9:57 am

Hi Kristinaw14,

As Rich alluded to earlier, it sounds like you should consider adding some online resources to your arsenal. Many students plateau at a certain score when taking a book-heavy approach, so one way to avoid this is to consider additional materials. The good news is that many of the online resources available to you offer free trials. Take advantage of this and try a few out. You'll quickly be able to identify which one(s) work best for you.

That being said, here's a link to try Economist GMAT Tutor for 7 days: https://bit.ly/1bPAHuW. You'll find that its adaptive technology will even adjust your study plan based on your specific needs.

Best of luck!
Rich

VivianKerr: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 1035; Joined: Fri Dec 17, 2010 11:13 amFollowed by: 365 members; Location: Los Angeles, CA; Thanked: 474 times

by VivianKerr » Sat May 23, 2015 11:53 am

Hey Kristina!

A solid 600 by the middle of July is 100% achievable, but here's what you need to know: quantity of study does NOT equal quality. As mentioned, your plan seems very focused on simply completing books. The GMAT is way more than that. It's a three-headed beast: content, strategy, pacing. Your books will only give you the 1st one. And you can't learn all the content at once.

There's a lot of people who answer hundreds (if not thousands) of questions and their score doesn't move an inch. Let's be sure you're not one of those!

Here's what you REALLY need to do to improve your score quickly:

- Go concept by concept. Attached you'll find everything that is tested on the GMAT. Print it out. Select a limited number of concepts each week, and MASTER them. For example, think how much improvement you could get if you only did Inequalities, RC: Main Idea, and SC: Pronouns for 5 days? You'd be an expert at those three!

- REVIEW (and take regular CATs). Not only should you read the incorrect explanations, but you need to use an Error Log to thoroughly analyze WHY you're getting questions wrong. See the attached template. I would schedule 1 CAT a week and use the Error Log for that CAT to decide which concepts you want to hone in on for the next week. Don't bite off more than you can chew!

- Develop clear, solid strategies. You need to figure out how you're going to effectively use your scratch pad, so develop a systematic approach for each of the main 5 (non IR) question-types. Attached you can see the ones I use. If they work for you, great! If not, find ones that do!

If you decide you want to work with a tutor, feel free to scope out my free blog: https://gmatrockstar.com/blog/. If you're interested in my approach, I'd be happy to work with you on setting up your plan and implementing killer strategies.

Best,
Vivian

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Vivian Kerr
GMAT Rockstar, Tutor
https://www.GMATrockstar.com
https://www.yelp.com/biz/gmat-rockstar-los-angeles

Former Kaplan and Grockit instructor, freelance GMAT content creator, now offering affordable, effective, Skype-tutoring for the GMAT at $150/hr. Contact: [email protected]

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