Strategy Advice

Expert replies

shekhar2fight: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 4; Joined: Sun May 09, 2010 3:57 pm

by shekhar2fight » Sat Apr 06, 2013 8:17 am

Dear Team,
This is my fourth attempt and I believe I can reach my target, I totally understand its really tough to get the target score, specially if you know your base level is considerably lower.

History
2008 > q 49 v 26 t = 620
2010 > q 44 v 35 T = 640
2012 > q 49 v 31 T = 660

Target = 730 + ( Q 49 +, V 44 +) > Which means from 31 to 44, I have to fill up the gap for 13 questions, which is pretty big.

Exam Date = June 3rd

Materials I had covered for last attempt
1. OG 12,Verbal Guide & Quant Guide
3. For SC- Manhattan SC,Aristotle SC
5. RC - Manhattan,Princeton,Kaplan,Aristotle
6 CR - Manhattan,Princeton,Kaplan,Aristotle

What I see as issue with me -
Verbal - I had completed my whole verbal section and had expected a 40 + when I clicked the last question, but it turned out to be 31

From my understanding, I skimmed little more fast then required and missed details in tension ( Yea I am bad at handling it specially when it comes to exam)

Scope of improvement - I know all the intricacies of the exam, but need to improve on timing. Hence I believe I need materials to large practice only on tough questions.

My Plan
First month - April
1. LSAT Manhattan, PowerScore RC
2. LSAT Manhattan PowerScore CR
3. GMAT Manhattan, PowerScore, Aristotle SC
4. Daily 1 Hour Tough Maths Problem from different online forums

Exam and Target scores in April
1. Kaplan( Only 1) - 650 +

Second Month - May
1. OG 13 RC,CR,SC
2. Kaplan 800
3. OG verbal and quant guide
4. Manhatten RC,SC,CR

Exam and Target scores in May
1. Manhattan - only 4 ( First two weeks 2, next one week 2) - Target score ( 710+)
2. Powerprep - Last week 1 - Target score 730 +

Advice needed
1. If the materials I posted are fine for tough questions, as I would really need those tough questions in verbals to move from 31 to 44, only that can up my base level.
2. Any advice on how can I practice my on test timing strategy
3. Tough Math problem books/directions.

Thank you,
Shekhar

Source: Beat The GMAT — GMAT Strategy | Sat Apr 06, 2013 8:17 am

ivyctor2010: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 254; Joined: Thu Aug 23, 2012 9:42 amFollowed by: 13 members; Thanked: 46 times; GMAT Score:740

by ivyctor2010 » Mon Apr 22, 2013 8:25 am

Hi Shekhar

We appreciate your sincerity and meticulous planning. Guides and study materials you are referring to covers entire course work. What we would advise you is to take a detour and have variety in your study.

Verbal - Get into habit of lot of reading and that too different topics (sociology, science, history) which are not of your interest. Trust me, this will increase your score.
Quant - solve CAT study material, it will help you sharpen your skills and push yourself to the limits.

Doing lot of practice sets sometimes work in negative way. Do call up in case you want to discuss further.

Ivyctor Mobile App packed with school selection, scholarship, application management and alumni connect
Download https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... .app&hl=en

GMAT/MBA Expert

Dan@VinciaPrep: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 384; Joined: Sun Nov 01, 2009 9:54 amFollowed by: 13 members; Location: Paris; Thanked: 92 times

by Dan@VinciaPrep » Tue Apr 23, 2013 11:36 pm

Hello Shekhar,
It seems that your plan is missing a couple things. First, as Ivy said, you should read on a daily basis. Studying strategy for the reading comprehension and the critical reasoning section only helps to a certain point. After you've found a strategy that you like you need to practice it. A lot. And then practice some more. Many people that do well on the verbal section have been reading in English on a daily basis for years. So you need to read and do CR and RC practice questions for a couple hours every day.

Besides doing actual GMAT questions, a good way to study for the RC section without really studying is to read the New York Times opinion editorial section and some Economist articles on a regular basis.

I think re-reading the Sentence Correction books is a good idea since you need to know a lot of grammar rules. However, after you feel comfortable with the rules it comes down to being able to apply what you have learned. In order to be able to apply the rules you need to do hundreds of practice problems. And then review those problems. And then re-do all the problems that you had trouble with. And then review the problems again. Repeat this process until you have really learned from your mistakes. Keep in mind that reviewing the problems usually takes a lot longer than actually doing the problems.

Hopefully, after all your SC practice you'll be able to do SC questions in about 1min and 10 seconds on average. This should give you more time to work on the RC and CR questions elsewhere on the test.

Finally, I would suggest that you get the extra question pack that comes with the GMATPrep software now since you'll need a lot of verbal material to work on.

Cheers!
Dan

If my post helped you- let me know by pushing the thanks button

I'm a private tutor in Paris, I provide online and in person consulting for the GMAT and MBA application essays.
GMAT tutor paris
Prepa GMAT

GMAT Course Reviews

563 reviews

1168 reviews

431 reviews

359 reviews

147 reviews

5/5

5 Star (563 Reviews)

"Target Test Prep is the closest to the official version of the GMAT exam, about 99% accuracy in terms of the quality and quantity of information. The course has excellently created singular sets of focused lessons and tests for every possible topic that one could come across in the official GMAT exam."

"The TTP course maximizes the efficiency of the time you spend studying. It will take time and effort but I could almost guarantee that if you complete the course exactly as it is laid out you will get an amazing score. They also have a very responsive team willing to help with any questions you might have."

"TTP has two things that I think no other test prep company offers: A teaching approach that reinforces understanding and an attitude that will give you the mental preparedness needed to succeed on the test. TTP gives you a deep understanding of the concept you need to know while teaching you how to think."

Write a Review