GMAT Strategy

Last year I completed the Princeton Review Class, the OG 11th Edition, and sat the test. My score dropped from 600 - 670 (GMAT Prep) to a 510 (lower than my lowest mock). It was a bad day. The blow was significant and I dropped the books until April of this year.

In April I took the Princeton Review On-Line class as a refresher. I completed all the homework and lessons, then I completed the OG 12th edition following Ursula's OG approach, and then sat the test on August 1. Again, my GMAT Prep tests ranged from 600 to 680 and my score on the actual thing was 600. The biggest factor is Verbal. Sometimes I can do pretty well and sometimes not so much. I am an engineer so math is not bad, although the test setting (time constraint, test center, stress, etc.) does get to me, I must say.

My numbers:
August 1 Test: Q41 Vmid 30s.
Practice Tests:
Q ranges from 43 to 40 and is pretty consistent, even though at times I feel it was not good it pretty much stays the same.
V ranges from 40 to 30! Not consistent. When I work on OG problems (always under timed conditions and in blocks of 40 questions) I generally get 85%+ right. On the actual tests it varies tremendously and I am not sure what it depends on as in some cases I feel I did well and get a low 30 and in other cases I feel did not do well and get a 40.

My current plan:
1. Review work completed (questions I was unsure about or that I got wrong on both OG 11 and 12).
2. Purchase the 6 MGMAT mock exams and work those out.
3. Complete the two extra OG books, V and Q following Ursula's approach to OG.
4. Skip both ESSAYS!! (I got a 6.0 on my last attempt so I am actually considering not completing these and go straight to Q to avoid the mental fatigue these present). A friend who is already in one of the programs I am planning to apply had this approach and told me it was a good one.
5. Drink a red bull the day of the test and "beat" the GMAT.

My questions to the forum are:
1. I am planning to retake the test in one month. If my goal is a 700+ do you see it reachable?
2. Is the outlined approach a good one?

I've thought about another class, but frankly, I have taken class(es) already, used the flashcards, OG books, mocks, etc. I am planing of using this month as a recap/fine tunning.

Any comments or pointers are highly appreciated.

Hmm... I don't know, but since you saw a drop in scores after the Princeton Review course, why did you also enroll for the online course? It would have probably raised some questions for me. But oh well, what's done is done, so now focus on the task ahead.

It seems you have been able to raise your score by 90 points, which is not at all negligible. However, achieving a 100+ point increase won't be easy. It's not impossible, but it's not a piece of cake either. You'll need to study and really put your heart into it.

Your plan seems solid to me, but you have not mentioned your weak spots. Try to concentrate on those, while also practicing for the general stuff, since there's no one section you're 100% sure of.

DanaJ,
Thank you very much for the prompt feedback. You do raise a valid point. The reason for retaking PR was because I was not doing bad last year (670 on GMATPrep) and I did not want to spend time/energy familiarizing myself with a new class format.

Regarding raising my score by 100+, do you think a month is enough, should I allow my self more time, perhaps 1.5 - 2 months? I do have a full time job, however, I do put in 2 - 3 hours every time I study and 4 - 6 on the weekends.

My weak spots are not quite defined. I realize this hurts me in focusing my study energy and time, however, I don't generally perform poor in any given topic. At times I think it is more a function of focus and remaining calm.

Thank you very much again!

I really can't tell if a month is enough, seen as how your weaknesses are not well-defined. If you could identify them and focus on improving these exact areas, then I'd say a month could be enough. However, given your current situation, I'd say you might need more.

Note that these are very imprecise opinions: it's not an exact science, since I don't know:
- what type of learner you are
- if in those 2-3 hours you're going to give it your best or if you get distracted by other stuff
- how much info you can absorb

DanaJ,

Once again, thank you very much for your feedback. I understand that there are many variables which make up a student's performance and I appreciate the effort in trying to provide information for my specific situation. After considering your posts I am adjusting my approach to delineate weakness areas, work on improving them, and work on mocks.

Up to this point the focus has been on completing the material (i.e. complete the classes and HW, complete the OGs, and complete all mocks) rather than digesting the information (i.e. type of question, what was the test writer trying to get unwary testers to miss, why was the wrong answer so tempting, etc.).

I have tentatively set September 26 as my next test date. I am hopeful that this will allow enough time to review questions from the OG which I missed by understanding and digesting the information, take at least six or eight mocks (6 MGMAT and 2 GMAT Prep).

I have taken the liberty of attaching the score report from a mock I did yesterday after work. Any feedback on it would be appreciated. By the same token, please see listed my Q, V, and overall scores for all 2009 mocks and the two GMAT attempts; again, any feedback whatsoever would be appreciated.

PR:
1. V28 Q40 Overall 570
2. V30 Q37 Overall 560
3. V28 Q32 Overall 500
4. V31 Q37 Overall 570
5. V34 Q39 Overall 600

Actual GMAT:
1. V23 Q37 Overall 510
2. V32 Q41 Overall 600

It does concern me that there has not been considerable improvements through my study process. I do believe however that this could be due to the focus mentioned earlier and not focusing on “digesting” every problem.

Thanks in advance for the time. Thanks as well to the forum. It does make a difference to be able to talk and “put your self out there”.

Well, these results don't really say much, since it's only one test. But what I can notice:

1. For quant, you seem to have grown accustomed to the DS type. This is not something you see in high school or in college and most people have trouble adapting to the format.
You also seem to be having a bit of trouble with the most uncommon of problems, probabilities and combinations (although again, I'm not even sure this is true, since one test is not statistically relevant). Are there any other types of problems that you feel uncomfortable with? This "feeling" you get is actually more important than nailing the problem, since you might know how to solve it but misread it, for instance. I immediately sensed that I had a bit of trouble with permo/comb and tried to work on those....

2. With verbal, you seem to have more trouble with SC than with anything else. You should maybe consider buying MGMAT SC guide, since if you buy this one book you also get access to the CATs. There isn't much else I can recommend, except maybe taking a look at PowerScore CR Bible - I found it effective for both CR and RC.

Two other observations, unrelated to your stats:

Don't skip the essays. If 99% of test-takers write the essays, then you can do it too. If I were a member of the AdCom, here's what I'd be thinking: "OK, the guy skipped the essays because he wanted to invest all his energies in the total score. That's good, I guess, channeling every bit of yourself to the more important aspect of a task. However, the fact that he thought that he wasn't going to achieve his full potential with an extra hour of work makes him sort of weak/lazy, which means he might not be capable of handling all the workload of Bschool." Now, depending on my mood on that particular day, I might or might not penalize you for your decision. It's up to you if you want to risk that.

You haven't mentioned any other tests except Princeton and the real thing. Princeton is generally considered to be easier than other materials available out there, so I'd suggest you also try something else and then see where you stand as compared to PR.

Thank you once again for the valuable feedback. I understand a test is not a representative sample by any means, nevertheless all points are well taken and appreciated. I could provide more tests; however, I would not like to abuse the disposition.

Regarding your comments:
Quantitative
1. I assume the DS remark is positive
2. When you refer to “uncommon problems” do you mean either that these are rare t get on the test, or that these are uncommon for people to have problems with?
3. I know what you mean by the “feeling”. I also have it with number properties and plugging in the answers. Someone has recommended using the www.4gmat.com math eBooks. I started the Perms/Combs and Probability eBook already. In your experience, is this material positive?

Verbal
1. Thanks for the MGMAT SC tip. It is in the mail already and should be part of the book roster by Wednesday.
2. I feel confident that I can improve CR and RC. I will work on practicing.

Misc.
1. Thank you for the insight on skipping the AWA. I do believe you have a point. I may attempt them but may not shoot for a 6.0 so that I’m not affected as much by them.
2. Regarding practice tests, I will start MGMAT tests on Saturday.

Thank you very much!!!

Permo/combo and probabilities will be very rare on the real thing, you'll see one or two of each kind at most (two maybe if you're scoring high). There's no point in investing too much time in those sections, since it's not such a big deal. Focus on improving the sections that you'll likely see!

Work on number properties if you get the "feeling". However, about the plugging in numbers: I know both Kaplan and PR are keen on sharing this strategy as pure gold, but I'd say use it only if you can't do it otherwise. Plugging in the answers or trying to plug in numbers is a risky business! What if you miscalculate or choose the wrong number to plug in? I've written about this a while back: https://www.beatthegmat.com/dana-s-quant ... 37055.html

I've never heard of the site you mention. Can't formulate an opinion.

Thanks again!! I will work hard on your suggestions.
Take Care.