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Restarting GMAT prep - need help with strategy

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Restarting GMAT prep - need help with strategy

by ayh0001 » Sun May 22, 2016 11:52 am
Hi all,

Overview: I was originally scheduled for a May 21st GMAT exam and started preparation in Feb 2016, but had to reschedule a few weeks ago for an August 27th exam. (chose this date to provide a 3 month+ window for studying)

Goal: 720+

Reason for reschedule: To make a long story short - I was in a bad car accident that limited my ability to study for about a month. Have not touched materials since mid-April, so need a whole new strategy.

Background:
- Used Empower GMAT program from Feb - mid April (time of accident). My subscription expires May 31, so not committed to sticking with it moving forward but I will be focusing on their strategies until the subscription expires.
- Not opposed to continuing with Empower, but looking for recommendations on self-study or a different program
- Took three practice exams in the past, scores are below.
- Just started a new job, but will be able to study in evenings and weekends

MBA Free CAT 1: 620 Q37 V38 - Feb 1, 2016
MGMAT 1: 570 Q33 V35 - March 1, 2016
MGMAT 2: 590 Q35 V35 - April 2, 2016

Quant definitely seems to be my weak spot, but I'm not sure if I should schedule a baseline practice exam for myself this week? Should I retake the MBA free CAT or will it be skewed?


Thanks in advance for the help!
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by [email protected] » Sun May 22, 2016 2:42 pm
Hi ayh0001,

I'm sorry to hear about your accident. That type of 'event' would clearly impact your entire life (and not just your GMAT studies). Your prior CAT scores (from before the accident) are all 'clustered' around 600, but since that last CAT was 7 weeks ago it would be a good idea for you to take a NEW FULL-LENGTH CAT (with the Essay and IR sections), so we can get a sense of your current skills. If you have not already done so, then you should also reach out to the Support Team (at [email protected]) to talk through your overall situation and new timeline. You can also feel free to contact me directly.

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Contact Rich at [email protected]
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by OptimusPrep » Mon May 23, 2016 9:59 am
ayh0001 wrote:Hi all,

Overview: I was originally scheduled for a May 21st GMAT exam and started preparation in Feb 2016, but had to reschedule a few weeks ago for an August 27th exam. (chose this date to provide a 3 month+ window for studying)

Goal: 720+

Reason for reschedule: To make a long story short - I was in a bad car accident that limited my ability to study for about a month. Have not touched materials since mid-April, so need a whole new strategy.

Background:
- Used Empower GMAT program from Feb - mid April (time of accident). My subscription expires May 31, so not committed to sticking with it moving forward but I will be focusing on their strategies until the subscription expires.
- Not opposed to continuing with Empower, but looking for recommendations on self-study or a different program
- Took three practice exams in the past, scores are below.
- Just started a new job, but will be able to study in evenings and weekends

MBA Free CAT 1: 620 Q37 V38 - Feb 1, 2016
MGMAT 1: 570 Q33 V35 - March 1, 2016
MGMAT 2: 590 Q35 V35 - April 2, 2016

Quant definitely seems to be my weak spot, but I'm not sure if I should schedule a baseline practice exam for myself this week? Should I retake the MBA free CAT or will it be skewed?


Thanks in advance for the help!
I am sorry to hear about your accident and am glad to know that things are back in place now.

With a date of 27th August, we have plenty of time in our hands. Since you have already gone through the course, the best way would be to go back to your fundamentals and brush them up. After this, take a mock FRESH Mock CAT preferably GMAT prep and identify your current standing. Make sure you analyse the mock CAT thoroughly and identify your pain areas.

Try to drill down deep:
SC: The questions test various concepts such as S-V agreement, modifiers, parallelism etc. Find out what troubles you.
CR: There might be certain types of questions that are troubling you. May be Assumption, may be conclusion, inference etc.
You need to find that out and then practice them
RC: This again can be drilled down into different types of questions and also different topics. See what questions and topics trouble you the most and then practice accordingly.

Quants: Try to find out the topics that trouble you. Make sure you pay special attention to Number System, Profit and Loss Algebra and geometry as these are the topics that are tested the most on the GMAT

As an addition, start preparing an error log and keep a note of all the mistakes you made and the lessons you learnt from the problems. This will ensure you do not make the same mistake again.

Make sure you complete all of the OG and the Verbal review and if required, you can buy the Question pack1 and Exam Pack 1 & 2 from mba.com
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