Problem with the GMAT preparation

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Problem with the GMAT preparation

by dramaminh » Mon Jan 04, 2010 11:12 pm
Hello everyone!

I wish you a happy new year. It is the first time I write as a member of this community.

I live in Greece where I 've started my preparation for the GMAT since last October. The problem is that because ,as many

others do, I aim to apply to top ten business schools, I need to get a high score on the GMAT (about 700).

GMAT proved to be more difficlult than I thought and until now my score has never been more than 580.

As I told you, I have been studying for GMAT the last three months and I was thinking that maybe I need more time in

order to have a higher efficiency. I 'd like to ask the people who got a really high score on the GMAT for how many hours

daily did they use to study and for how long?

I hope to have an optimistic answer from you. :-) Thank you very much.
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by TheGMATCoach » Tue Jan 05, 2010 6:51 pm
Dramaminh,

Congrats on your 580! While to get to your goal of attending a top 10 b-school you'll need a higher score, a 580 tells me that you are on the right track and just need to tweak a few things in your preparation in order to get a 700+.

You need to focus your efforts to ensure you have an overall understanding of the GMAT topics that are tested, not how much time you are spending "studying" or "doing problems."

There are 22 topics on the GMAT math, 3 (basically) on the verbal.

Which topics are you not understanding? Are these in Math? Verbal?

For example, if you understand say the percentages topic, and are getting 9/10 of those questions right, leave that topic. You got that one. Don't waste time on it, go to the topics that you are getting 3-4/10 right every time and focus on those. I wouldn't spend more than 2-3 hours a day studying, any more than that I imagine your concentration and productivity will fall drastically.

Also remember, if you don't have the right materials and approach, you will struggle to improve your score. You should be using The Official GMAT Guide (11th or 12th edition) as your initial guidebook for the test.

I did hear a statistic one time that the average student who scores 700+ studies over 100 hours. I don't know how much I believe that, but some really smart guy probably spend alot of time to get that statistic so I thought this would be a good time to use it :)

I hope my thoughts have helped you!!

Sincerely,

Lee
The GMAT Coach
I work for a great company and get to coach people through their GMAT tests using personalized, efficient, and (very) effective home-based study programs, personalized tutoring, and small workshops.

Our proprietary program not only teaches you the smart way to master the GMAT, but we also offer a 24/7 helpline, over 500 "master level" GMAT questions, and 5 CAT practice tests to ensure your success.

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by dramaminh » Wed Jan 06, 2010 6:00 am
Dear Lee,

thank you very much for your interest and your reply.

I really felt some relief when i read your words. I want so much to get a high score and because it doesn't seem

feasible right now, I 've started being very nervous and anxious about the GMAT.

We 'll see!

Thank you.

Best Regards