Hi Fellow GMAT-takers and GMAT-experts,
I've spent almost a day reading different threads to find similar advice, found a few which I've incorporated in my plan below and there could
be few more but I'm giving up due to lack of time. It will be of great help if you can comment on the areas of improvement. Sorry this one is a bit lengthy.
Some background - I work full time, not a native english speaker, target score 680+. I wish I have read the forums before I made my second attempt
First attempt :
----------------
- Preparation time - 6 weeks (avg 3.5 hrs/day)
- Study Material - MGMAT 8 strategy books
- MGMAT CAT - 600 (Q45, V28)
GMAT Prep1 - 590 (Q41, V31)
Had very little practice, I knew I was not ready for the test but by the time I wanted to reschedule the appointment it was too late, had to take the test and got 570 - Q45, V24.
Second attempt :
----------------
- Prep. time - ~ 5 weeks (avg 3.5hrs/day)
- Study material - Powerscrore CR bible, rest same MGMAT books but never attempted to work on RC(my weakness) - but tips about
skimming, notes are still top of my head so was following them. Changed my study plan focussing on my weakness
- Last 2 weeks before the test :
* week day - 2 hrs practice questions from OG, 30 mins to review the answers, one hour reading on what I need to improve.
* During my practice I pick 10 questions of each type - PS (only from questions 150-250), DS(75-150), SC, CR and RC with
increasing complexity(question number). I used OG Stop watch from MGMAT to check my timing.
* Weekend - MGMAT CAT, GMAT Prep.
* Scored MGMAT - 660(Q47,V33); GMAT Prep-2 650 (Q45, V34) - I always had ~2-3 mins on quant and ~5 mins on verbal remaining after I'm done with all the questions
* Though I would be happy with ~680 I was OK with 650 due to other time commitments and to make sure I apply to school earlier than latter.
* Took three days off before the G-day to practice, unfortunately was completely down for the first 2 days with viral fever, last but one day I was very nervous - flipped my flash papers(not cards)
and took 50 practice questions in the morning - my timing was very bad both in quant and verbal, still went ahead with GMAT Prep1 in the evening (repeat but after quite some time so hardly two repetitive verbal questions) - got 640 (Q48, V28) - was happy with quant but was very sad to see my verbal score plunge. Had too little time to review
* On the day of test, took MGMAT CAT-1 only verbal in the morning - scored 33 (2 repetitive questions) - felt little better and took the test @ noon
* Got a devastating 540 - Q45, V20.. 30 less than my previous score and once again horrible verabal less than what I scored without any prep.
- Exam experience..
* AWA - have not got a chance(bad excuse) to practice but it went smooth I just followed the tips I read on PR and BTG.
* Quant - I saw relatively tough questions than my first attempt - timing was ok - but there were two instances I realized I answered wrong
as soon as I confirmed my answer
* Verbal - Less comfortable on my performance while answering, timing was ok, but timer was always ticking in my mind. 50% of the time I did not see all the 5 choices; only 50% of the time I applied the strategies learnt. In SC, I could use split strategy on very few questions which is different from my earlier CAT experience.
My Weakness
-----------
* Quant
1. Rushing to answers - need to follow the tips mentioned in https://www.beatthegmat.com/strategies-f ... 17044.html
2. Getting trapped in complex questions on inequalities
* Verbal
- SC: As long as I attack a specific problem type only, my success rate is ok, but when I try questions with multiple errors I have a hard time - any specific tips here will be greatly helpful
- CR: Evalute/Analyze the argument are my weakness. My success rate overall increases from 70-75% to 80-90% if I have that extra 1 minute.
- RC: My weakest area, 55-60% success rate during practice, this is my swing section, in my CAT's one passage fluctuates my score dramatically;
If I see a biological term I tend to loose the grip, never got the tone of the passage question right.
Plan of attack and strategies for the 3rd attempt in 5 weeks (avg 3 hrs on wkday, 7hrs on weekend-day)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Study Plan - 3 wks
------------------------
- Quant - I'll be happy with a 48-49 and I feel its not too far away given that I know my limitations, so I plan to practice 1) the last 50 questions on OG and OG-QR, 2) challenge set on MGMAT 3) Kaplan 800 and 4)take tests on gmatfocus.com. Correct me if I sound over-confident and if there is a better approach.
- Verbal: for all types of questions spend little more time on analyzing why a wrong answer is wrong. Pacing tips on verbal will be very helpful for me. I plan to use the SWIC suggested by gmat760.com to identify the areas of study.
+ SC : Focus on freqently asked questions types. But I need some advice on handling multiple errors.
+ CR : same as for SC focus on more frequent question types
+ RC : I know I need to do a better job on taking quick notes - but any strategic advise will be great.
- Last 2 weeks I plan to practice the same way as I did for my 2nd attempt, please suggest better alternatives.
* Game plan for the G-day
--------------------------------
- Quant - Target 49, follow the tips mentioned in the above link and follow uniform time distribution for each question.
- Verbal - Target 35-36 - this is where I need some REAL inputs..
1. Just for verbal, I started feeling that it may be good idea to focus on first 20 questions in 55 mins - 3 mins for CR, judge the timing for the other two - RC and SC.
2. rush through 3rd RC and till 31st question in next 5 mins - does not sound good to me but I'm not sure of better alternative.
3. Focus next 10 questions for the remaing 15 mins
* Challenges on my way
----------------------------
1. I've exhausted GMATPrep and mostly MGMAT CAT - what are my alternatives here - the GMATPrep I downloaded is ~6 months old, if I download the latest will it be any different ? Likewise I came across an year old GMATPrep would that be of any help ? I already have acccess to 800score and gmatfocus.com which I'll obviously try but looking for CAT that gives best estimate of my score/improvement.
2. This one is more of admission related, I'm shooting for EMBA program of top Bus. school, how bad did I screw up my chanxes by letting them know my latest GMAT score? I do know that they will always get to know the complete test history and I only plan to submit my application once I score above 650. I'm just worried about the impact of number of GMAT attempts.
Thanks much
I've spent almost a day reading different threads to find similar advice, found a few which I've incorporated in my plan below and there could
be few more but I'm giving up due to lack of time. It will be of great help if you can comment on the areas of improvement. Sorry this one is a bit lengthy.
Some background - I work full time, not a native english speaker, target score 680+. I wish I have read the forums before I made my second attempt
First attempt :
----------------
- Preparation time - 6 weeks (avg 3.5 hrs/day)
- Study Material - MGMAT 8 strategy books
- MGMAT CAT - 600 (Q45, V28)
GMAT Prep1 - 590 (Q41, V31)
Had very little practice, I knew I was not ready for the test but by the time I wanted to reschedule the appointment it was too late, had to take the test and got 570 - Q45, V24.
Second attempt :
----------------
- Prep. time - ~ 5 weeks (avg 3.5hrs/day)
- Study material - Powerscrore CR bible, rest same MGMAT books but never attempted to work on RC(my weakness) - but tips about
skimming, notes are still top of my head so was following them. Changed my study plan focussing on my weakness
- Last 2 weeks before the test :
* week day - 2 hrs practice questions from OG, 30 mins to review the answers, one hour reading on what I need to improve.
* During my practice I pick 10 questions of each type - PS (only from questions 150-250), DS(75-150), SC, CR and RC with
increasing complexity(question number). I used OG Stop watch from MGMAT to check my timing.
* Weekend - MGMAT CAT, GMAT Prep.
* Scored MGMAT - 660(Q47,V33); GMAT Prep-2 650 (Q45, V34) - I always had ~2-3 mins on quant and ~5 mins on verbal remaining after I'm done with all the questions
* Though I would be happy with ~680 I was OK with 650 due to other time commitments and to make sure I apply to school earlier than latter.
* Took three days off before the G-day to practice, unfortunately was completely down for the first 2 days with viral fever, last but one day I was very nervous - flipped my flash papers(not cards)
and took 50 practice questions in the morning - my timing was very bad both in quant and verbal, still went ahead with GMAT Prep1 in the evening (repeat but after quite some time so hardly two repetitive verbal questions) - got 640 (Q48, V28) - was happy with quant but was very sad to see my verbal score plunge. Had too little time to review* On the day of test, took MGMAT CAT-1 only verbal in the morning - scored 33 (2 repetitive questions) - felt little better and took the test @ noon
* Got a devastating 540 - Q45, V20.. 30 less than my previous score and once again horrible verabal less than what I scored without any prep.
- Exam experience..
* AWA - have not got a chance(bad excuse) to practice but it went smooth I just followed the tips I read on PR and BTG.
* Quant - I saw relatively tough questions than my first attempt - timing was ok - but there were two instances I realized I answered wrong
as soon as I confirmed my answer
* Verbal - Less comfortable on my performance while answering, timing was ok, but timer was always ticking in my mind. 50% of the time I did not see all the 5 choices; only 50% of the time I applied the strategies learnt. In SC, I could use split strategy on very few questions which is different from my earlier CAT experience.
My Weakness
-----------
* Quant
1. Rushing to answers - need to follow the tips mentioned in https://www.beatthegmat.com/strategies-f ... 17044.html
2. Getting trapped in complex questions on inequalities
* Verbal
- SC: As long as I attack a specific problem type only, my success rate is ok, but when I try questions with multiple errors I have a hard time - any specific tips here will be greatly helpful
- CR: Evalute/Analyze the argument are my weakness. My success rate overall increases from 70-75% to 80-90% if I have that extra 1 minute.
- RC: My weakest area, 55-60% success rate during practice, this is my swing section, in my CAT's one passage fluctuates my score dramatically;
If I see a biological term I tend to loose the grip, never got the tone of the passage question right.
Plan of attack and strategies for the 3rd attempt in 5 weeks (avg 3 hrs on wkday, 7hrs on weekend-day)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Study Plan - 3 wks
------------------------
- Quant - I'll be happy with a 48-49 and I feel its not too far away given that I know my limitations, so I plan to practice 1) the last 50 questions on OG and OG-QR, 2) challenge set on MGMAT 3) Kaplan 800 and 4)take tests on gmatfocus.com. Correct me if I sound over-confident and if there is a better approach.
- Verbal: for all types of questions spend little more time on analyzing why a wrong answer is wrong. Pacing tips on verbal will be very helpful for me. I plan to use the SWIC suggested by gmat760.com to identify the areas of study.
+ SC : Focus on freqently asked questions types. But I need some advice on handling multiple errors.
+ CR : same as for SC focus on more frequent question types
+ RC : I know I need to do a better job on taking quick notes - but any strategic advise will be great.
- Last 2 weeks I plan to practice the same way as I did for my 2nd attempt, please suggest better alternatives.
* Game plan for the G-day
--------------------------------
- Quant - Target 49, follow the tips mentioned in the above link and follow uniform time distribution for each question.
- Verbal - Target 35-36 - this is where I need some REAL inputs..
1. Just for verbal, I started feeling that it may be good idea to focus on first 20 questions in 55 mins - 3 mins for CR, judge the timing for the other two - RC and SC.
2. rush through 3rd RC and till 31st question in next 5 mins - does not sound good to me but I'm not sure of better alternative.
3. Focus next 10 questions for the remaing 15 mins
* Challenges on my way
----------------------------
1. I've exhausted GMATPrep and mostly MGMAT CAT - what are my alternatives here - the GMATPrep I downloaded is ~6 months old, if I download the latest will it be any different ? Likewise I came across an year old GMATPrep would that be of any help ? I already have acccess to 800score and gmatfocus.com which I'll obviously try but looking for CAT that gives best estimate of my score/improvement.
2. This one is more of admission related, I'm shooting for EMBA program of top Bus. school, how bad did I screw up my chanxes by letting them know my latest GMAT score? I do know that they will always get to know the complete test history and I only plan to submit my application once I score above 650. I'm just worried about the impact of number of GMAT attempts.
Thanks much
