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First Practice GMAT 630 - Advice for Last 2 Months of Study

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First Practice GMAT 630 - Advice for Last 2 Months of Study

by stevennu » Sat Aug 24, 2013 6:19 pm
I took my first GMAT practice test today (Manhattan) including the IR and AWA sections. I scored a 630 (37Q / 38V). My test is currently scheduled for October 19th although I will postpone it if need be.

I just finished the 2nd MGMAT quant book (Algebra) and am aiming to complete the remaining three books by the end of September. I plan on taking a practice GMAT nearly every weekend from now until the test. Obviously my quant needs improvement. What is the best strategy for me in order to hit a 680ish GMAT? Is it possible to see a 50 point improvement attributable to an improvement in my quant in a little under 2 months?

What are the best strategies besides what I already intend to do?

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by stevennu » Sun Aug 25, 2013 2:47 pm
Any advice?
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by [email protected] » Sun Aug 25, 2013 3:21 pm
Hi stevennu,

I sent you a message; check your Inbox.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
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by stevennu » Fri Aug 30, 2013 4:23 pm
Thanks for the advice Rich. I took MGMAT CAT 2 today and scored a 620 :|

My scores were 37 Verbal and 37 Quant. I felt rushed towards the end of my verbal section today. For some reason, I was dragging my feet on the first 10 questions. No real sense of urgency. I felt that since I had done well last week, this week would be the same. I picked up the pace on the final 7 questions and ending up getting three wrong answers in a row. Had it not been for that, my quant score would have likely been between 38 and 40.

Regarding my quant, based on the score, I'm in the same exact boat as last week - 44 percentile :cry:

Can I expect an improvement in my quant once I finish the MGMAT quant books? I just finished book 2 and still have 3 to go. I'm feeling hopeful but a little demoralized. I know I can nail verbal when it comes down to it, but I'm wondering if I have the ability to get my quant up to 60th percentile (41-42).

I'm targeting a 650 minimum. I'd be happy with a 39-40 Verbal and a 41-42 Quant...

Should I just keep on trucking on?
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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Fri Aug 30, 2013 9:17 pm
A 50-point increase in 2 months is a very reasonable expectation.

To improve in math, I believe that you should compartmentalize your learning and take the time to master each topic (e.g., percents, ratios, exponents, statistics, etc.).

This means that, for each topic, you should:
1) Learn the underlying concepts (rules, attributes, notation, etc.)
2) Learn GMAT-specific strategies related to that topic
3) Practice dozens of questions all related to that one topic.
4) Don't stop working on that topic until you have mastered it
Then, and only then, move on to the next topic.

I also suggest that you spend a lot of time reviewing the responses from the Experts on this site. They model the steps you should be taking when tackling math problems.

Your plan to take weekly practice tests is perfect. This will help you identify any weak areas, and help you build your test-taking skills (time management, endurance, etc.)

Cheers,
Brent
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by stevennu » Fri Aug 30, 2013 10:10 pm
Brent@GMATPrepNow wrote:A 50-point increase in 2 months is a very reasonable expectation.

To improve in math, I believe that you should compartmentalize your learning and take the time to master each topic (e.g., percents, ratios, exponents, statistics, etc.).

This means that, for each topic, you should:
1) Learn the underlying concepts (rules, attributes, notation, etc.)
2) Learn GMAT-specific strategies related to that topic
3) Practice dozens of questions all related to that one topic.
4) Don't stop working on that topic until you have mastered it
Then, and only then, move on to the next topic.

I also suggest that you spend a lot of time reviewing the responses from the Experts on this site. They model the steps you should be taking when tackling math problems.

Your plan to take weekly practice tests is perfect. This will help you identify any weak areas, and help you build your test-taking skills (time management, endurance, etc.)

Cheers,
Brent
How do I know I have mastered a specific topic? Should I go through each MGMAT quant book several times and do every question in the problem set several times? I'm running up against the calendar. My test is scheduled for late October in the hopes that I can take it and apply to the only school I'm applying to, in the first round.

I could always reschedule, but then I'd be stuck in Round 2. On a separate note, will applying in Round 2 vs Round 1 have any significant impact?
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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Sat Aug 31, 2013 7:07 am
stevennu wrote:
How do I know I have mastered a specific topic? Should I go through each MGMAT quant book several times and do every question in the problem set several times?
Hmm, tough question. Since you need only 50 extra points, you don't need to be 100% proficient. I'd say that you've mastered a topic once you feel comfortable with the various types of questions related to that topic.

As far as how to go about accomplishing that level of comfort, I suggest that you first learn the topic-specific concepts, and then use BTG's tagging feature to isolate questions related to that concept.
For example, here are all of the questions tagged as statistics questions: https://www.beatthegmat.com/forums/tags/ ... statistics
See the left side of that linked page for more tag options.

Cheers,
Brent
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