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How to improve my GMAT

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How to improve my GMAT

by [email protected] » Thu Nov 27, 2014 9:44 am
Dear Experts.

I have been studying for the gmat for the last 3 months and so far my highest score is 580 Q37 V32 (manhattan CAT). Because this is not high enough I decided to reschedule my exam and now I have until 13.2.2015 time to improve my gmat. My goal is to score at least at least 650.
So far I used only official guides. I would be very grateful for any advice or tips how to do it most efficiently.

THANK YOU !!!
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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Thu Nov 27, 2014 10:09 am
Hi pettrici,

Sounds like you're about 70 points away from your target score. Fortunately, you have several more months to prepare, so your 650 is within reach.

The various Official Guides are great resources for official practice questions, but they're not very comprehensive when it comes to instruction. To perform well on the GMAT, you need to learn all of the core concepts AND you need to learn GMAT-specific strategies for answering questions quickly and accurately. In my opinion, the Official Guides do not provide this level of instruction.

Since you're looking for advice on how to prepare, and since you have 3+ months to do so, you might consider signing up for Beat The GMAT's free 60-Day Study Guide (https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/gmat-guide). Over 40,000 Beat The GMAT students have already done so.
Each day, you'll receive an email with a series of learning activities that guide you, step-by-step, from Day 1 to test day. This will ensure that you will cover everything that the GMAT tests.

Here's an outline of all 60 emails: https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/gmat-guide-outline

Cheers,
Brent
Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com
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by [email protected] » Thu Nov 27, 2014 8:47 pm
Hi [email protected],

Rescheduling your Official Test Date was a smart move - the extra 2.5 months of study time should help you to improve (perhaps greatly).

You mentioned that you had used the MGMAT CATs, but I'd like to know a bit more about your studies:

1) What GMAT resources have you been using (books, Courses, Tutors, etc.)?
2) How many practice CATs have you taken and what were the scores for each?
3) Did you take the ENTIRE CAT every time (including the Essay and IR sections)?
4) What is your typical study routine each week?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
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by [email protected] » Fri Nov 28, 2014 12:58 am
Hey

I was using only official guide 13, verbal and quant review. I was very stupid to do all the exercises in those without any studying of the concepts. That is how i wasted my first months. Then I was following some guides that i found on the gmatclub. This was not a structured approach and that is why i failed.

My scores:
GMATprep 1 (4.9.2014): score 320 Q20 V14 - i did it without any studies
GMATprep 2 (19.9.2014): score 420 Q22 V25
Kaplan (17.10.2014): score 490
Veritas (31.10.2014): score 590 Q39 V33
Economist (10.11.2014): score 460 Q32 V23
Manhattan (15.11.2014): score 500 Q39 V20 - i left the last 15 questions on the test not answered because my computer crashed.
GMATprep 1 (18.11.2014): score 460 Q36 V21
GMATprep 2 (22.11.2014) score 530 Q32 V30
Manhattan (26.11.2014): score 580 Q37 V32

My test was scheduled on 5.12.2014.
Most of the time i took everything but the essay

I study from Monday to Sunday with Sundays off. For the last month i was studying from 08:00 until 18:00 with one hour break. I did not use a structured approach and quality study sources and that is why I failed.
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by [email protected] » Fri Nov 28, 2014 11:06 am
Hi [email protected],

You've mentioned the lack of structure in your approach and how it likely affected your performance - I think that your assessment is correct. As you continue to study, you would probably benefit from using some new resources that WILL provide you with the structure that you're looking for. In addition, whatever CATs you take MUST include both the Essay and IR sections - taking FULL CAT's is really the only practical way to properly prepare for the "endurance" aspect of Test Day.

If you have any additional questions, then feel free to contact me directly.

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