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Need advice on whether it's too late!

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Need advice on whether it's too late!

by siri_k » Fri Jul 18, 2014 9:31 pm
Hi!

I've taken the GMAT in July and scored 560 which i know is a very bad score. I had some personal issues after that and I could not prepare again. I want to retake the exam in a month, preferably, 1st week of September. I want to apply for Fall 2015. I am also working in a full time job. Please let me know if this is at all a feasible plan, or if I should just think of some other option other than an mba abroad?

A reply as soon as possible would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!
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by [email protected] » Sat Jul 19, 2014 12:58 am
Hi siri_k,

A 560 is just a bit above average (the average Official GMAT score is right around 550), so it's not a "bad" score. Your post hasn't defined much about your goals, so there's no way to know if this score will help you get into Business School or not.

With a tentative GMAT Test Date in the first week of September, you'd have about 7 weeks to study. So, you need to answer a few questions:

1) What is your score goal?
2) What schools do you want to apply to? When are the application deadlines? Could you apply at a later Round?
3) How much time do have to study during a typical week?
4) What resources have you used before? What resources are you thinking about using now?

At face value, since you've taken the GMAT once already, you're not starting "from scratch", so you could very easily make some big improvements in 7 weeks.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
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by siri_k » Sat Jul 19, 2014 7:09 pm
Thanks so much for responding! And you're right, I should have been more specific.

1) My score goal would definitely be above 700. I want to pursue an MBA in Risk Management.
2) I would like to apply to Stern (NYU), Wisconsin, Foster (Washington), Tepper (Carnegie Mellon), Marshall (USC), Carroll (Boston), UC-Denver schools of business, and even though I know it's a long shot, Wharton. I have not exactly narrowed it down to my top 5 preferences, because I haven't been able to decide.
The first round application deadlines, for which I would ideally want to apply for, are:
Stern - Oct 15
Wisconsin - Nov 5
Foster - Oct 15
Tepper - Oct 5
Marshall - Oct 15
Carroll - Nov 1
Wharton - Oct 1
3) During the weekdays I can manage 2 hours a day, and a lot more, like 8 hours or more during the weekends.
4) I have used the Kaplan material for GMAT and nothing else. This time, I have the latest edition of the Official Guide and also, the Manhattan GMAT Critical Reasoning (which I find to be one of the harder areas for me). I also plan to susbscribe to the online Magoosh Premium Subscription material.

Please do let me know, again, if I stand a chance.

Thanks,
S
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by siri_k » Sat Jul 19, 2014 7:10 pm
Thanks so much for responding! And you're right, I should have been more specific.

1) My score goal would definitely be above 700. I want to pursue an MBA in Risk Management.
2) I would like to apply to Stern (NYU), Wisconsin, Foster (Washington), Tepper (Carnegie Mellon), Marshall (USC), Carroll (Boston), UC-Denver schools of business, and even though I know it's a long shot, Wharton. I have not exactly narrowed it down to my top 5 preferences, because I haven't been able to decide.
The first round application deadlines, for which I would ideally want to apply for, are:
Stern - Oct 15
Wisconsin - Nov 5
Foster - Oct 15
Tepper - Oct 5
Marshall - Oct 15
Carroll - Nov 1
Wharton - Oct 1
3) During the weekdays I can manage 2 hours a day, and a lot more, like 8 hours or more during the weekends.
4) I have used the Kaplan material for GMAT and nothing else. This time, I have the latest edition of the Official Guide and also, the Manhattan GMAT Critical Reasoning (which I find to be one of the harder areas for me). I also plan to susbscribe to the online Magoosh Premium Subscription material.

Please do let me know, again, if I stand a chance.

Thanks,
S
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by [email protected] » Sat Jul 19, 2014 11:02 pm
Hi siri_k,

Using your 560 as a "baseline" score, it's possible that you could score 700+ in 7 weeks. You'll have to learn (and practice) the proper tactics to earn that score improvement though.

Now that I know a bit more about your study history, I have a few more questions:

1) What were your Scaled Scores for the Quant and Verbal sections on your Official GMAT?
2) How does your Official Score compare with your practice CATs?

I strongly believe that you should invest in some new resources. Before you commit to purchasing anything though, you should take advantage of all the various free samples and trials that are available. Once you've reviewed the options, you should pick the one that best matches your personality, timeline and budget. The Official Guide is a great resource; you'll find it helpful during this next go at studying.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
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by siri_k » Sun Jul 20, 2014 4:12 am
1) My official scores were Verbal - 28, Quant - 39, AWA - 4.0, Integrated Reasoning - 4
2) I did not take too many practice CAT's regularly, but when I did, the scores varied between 630 and 700.

I have been relying on looking through websites for the best resources available. I think one of the reasons I failed last time was the lack of a proper study plan and magoosh seemed to have that. I don't really know of any free samples and trials, but if you could guide me, that would be great. I want to get started right away with my preparation.

Please let me know!

Thanks so much for responding!

Siri
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by [email protected] » Sun Jul 20, 2014 2:17 pm
Hi Siri,

For your practice CAT scores to be so much higher than your Official GMAT, there were unrealistic aspects to your practice and/or something on Test Day that you didn't anticipate. Since you've taken the Official Test, you now have a better sense of what you'll be facing, so you'll have to tailor your studies a bit to match the reality of Test Day.

To that end, any additional CATs that you take must be FULL-LENGTH (so be sure to complete the Essay and IR sections).

As far as free samples/resources are concerned, there are plenty to choose from. If you scroll up to the top of this post and look on the right, you'll see a listing of some of them. Also, if you look under any of my posts, you'll see a couple more.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
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by VivianKerr » Mon Jul 21, 2014 11:49 pm
Hey Siri,

So a 560 to a 700+ is a big jump. Yes, it's do-able in 7 weeks, but it's QUITE ambitious, even when you've got a good baseline.

I'd ditch the Kaplan material -- Magoosh is fine for additional practice questions, but I think you need to go directly to the strongest material out there: MGMAT SC, MGMAT NP, and Powerscore CR. As well as the new online OG question bank.

Practice CATs are VITAL (vital! VITAL!) and you should take 1 a week, preferably on the exact day/time of the week as your actual exam. You should use these CATs to complete an Error Log and identify what types of concepts you've missed and why. Log ALL incorrect questions. You should be spending the majority of your study time reviewing incorrect questions and building content knowledge to address those gaps. I'd suggest alternating GMATPrep's with MGMAT. Definitely purchase the GMATPrep 3 and 4. Well worth it.

You also need to re-evaluate your strategies. HOW are you approaching each of the major Q-types: DS, PS, CR, SC, and RC. Do you have a specific, step-by-step approach written down and codified that you follow EVERY time? How do you use your scratch pad? I cannot underestimate how important strategy is to your GMAT success!
Especially with Verbal, I think you could make a LOT of progress here.

I'd be happy to work with you one-on-one to set up an effective study plan, but even if you can't afford private tutoring, there's a LOT of great free material and advice on my site: https://gmatrockstar.com/category/gmat/
Vivian Kerr
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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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by siri_k » Tue Jul 22, 2014 6:48 pm
Hi Vivian,

Thank you for your suggestions!

Right now, I'm scrambling about all over the place as I don't know what to start with and how my approach should be. I'm trying to gather my thoughts and make a study plan for myself. There's so much advice about online material floating around here that I'm bewildered about which one to choose.

But thank you. For now, I will start studying from the GMAT OG that I have, and look through the online materials over the weekend.

Siri
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