620 (Q47, V28) Didn't quite beat the GMAT...

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My first post in this forum. Have been lurking for quite sometime now...

Started preparing for the test in July and after reading many convincing articles about how 3 months are enough for getting that 700 with constant preparation & hard work, I registered to take the test on September 27th.

First I established my baseline by taking the GMATPrep1. Got a 460! (Q35, V23) and was very disappointed and realized I had a long road ahead of me.

Then I decided to join a local testprep institute as I felt that a classroom atmosphere would motivate me to study but alas, even though the teaching quality was good, the teachers didn't show up for some classes and the quant teacher never touched data sufficiency.

So I felt very disappointed realizing that I wasted about 300$ and after reading some reviews, I decided to purchase all the on-demand videos from GMATPrepNow, and the OGArcher from Manhattan GMAT to keep track of my progress.

I subscribed to the 60 day study guide but unfortunately due to personal commitments (I got married to my girlfriend this month) I couldn't stick to the schedule and only worked through the problems in the official guide as mentioned in the first 12 days of the guide. Regarding the prep for verbal, I just learnt whatever I was taught at the local prep institute and never really worked through the problems in the official guide.

2 days before that test I took the Manhattan Mock test 1 and scored a 560 (Q43, V28). I realized that although I was making good progress in Quant, I have made no progress at all in verbal!

So with absolutely zero verbal preparation and zero knowledge regarding combinations, permutations, statistics, geometry, probability etc. I realized I would surely bomb the test, but was quite surprised to see the score. I never expected to get a 620!(Q47, V28)

I am planning to retake it in November again and am confident that I can break the 700 barrier if I just concentrate on Verbal. But unfortunately, I am lost. I learnt some good strategies at my local prep institute but was never able to apply them during the actual test or during the mock tests.

I am not a native English speaker (Indian Male) and would love to get any advice regarding preparation for the verbal section. Also, I would like to improve my quant score as well and get a 48 or 49 during my second attempt!. So any advice would be greatly appreciated!

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by Mike@Magoosh » Fri Sep 27, 2013 2:55 pm
atreya2011 wrote:I am planning to retake it in November again and am confident that I can break the 700 barrier if I just concentrate on Verbal. But unfortunately, I am lost. I learnt some good strategies at my local prep institute but was never able to apply them during the actual test or during the mock tests.

I am not a native English speaker (Indian Male) and would love to get any advice regarding preparation for the verbal section. Also, I would like to improve my quant score as well and get a 48 or 49 during my second attempt!. So any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Dear atreya2011,
I'm happy to help. :-)

Here's a three month study plan for someone who wants big improvements in Verbal:
https://magoosh.com/gmat/2012/3-month-gm ... l-focused/
You'll have to compress it a little, but because you are not starting from scratch, you probably could cut some material from that an accommodate it to your time constraints. BTW, don't worry --- there's some advanced math practice as part of that plan.

Here's a blog article about the best GMAT books and resources:
https://magoosh.com/gmat/2013/best-gmat- ... rces-2013/

Here's a blog article to get you started on SC tips:
https://magoosh.com/gmat/2012/top-six-gm ... orrection/
Here's a free idioms ebook:
https://magoosh.com/gmat/2013/gmat-idiom-ebook/
That entire free blog is full a Verbal tips and practice questions that can really help you.

Here's a practice CR question:
https://gmat.magoosh.com/questions/3113
When you submit your answer, the following page will have a video explanation of the solution.

I hope all this helps.

Mike :-)
Magoosh GMAT Instructor
https://gmat.magoosh.com/

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Hi Matt,

Do you have any more recent information? I've been looking at some posts and for books I wanted your thoughts on these from Study Prep Lounge and Leonard (I can't post a link since it won't let me) since you're a real tutor and work with Magoosh

as well as the study schedule from MBA Crytal Ball
gmat-780-score-study-plan-without-coaching/
Please let me know!