GMAT 640->620, but want 740...please advise

[danielchu]

Hi all,

Last year, I've been trying to beat the GMAT diligently and at first, I got a 540 (Q:44, V:21).

I didn't give up and tried again in a month, then I got a 640 (Q:47, V:30).

Application deadline for round 2 was approaching so I was preping my apps while spending a few hours a week to study, I went back and got a 620 (Q:51, V:24).

That was January this year. But that also meant, I have taken the GMAT 3 times already...

My questions are:

1. Have I tried too many times already that the school is just going to discount my score anyway?
2. I've gone through the 3 official guides multiple times already. How do I prep for my GMAT now?
3. Do I still stand a chance to get a 740?

Thank you very much,

[Z_I]

Hi all,

My questions are:

1. Have I tried too many times already that the school is just going to discount my score anyway?
2. I've gone through the 3 official guides multiple times already. How do I prep for my GMAT now?
3. Do I still stand a chance to get a 740?

Thank you very much,

1. Depends on the school. Some schools like Stanford only want you to report the score that best reflects your ability.

2. You need to work hard on your Verbal. At least 4-6 weeks of planned study is needed

3. Take a fresh CAT (MGMAT etc) after you have given enough time to Verbal and then analyze your score. You will get your answer about whether you are ready for a 740 or not....

All the best!

[danielchu]

Thanks Z_I.

Could you give me some ideas on how I can prep my verbal please?

Thank you,

[TedCornell]

Daniel Chu,

Below is a repost of my approach to verbal that you might find useful. Z_I's advice above is also good.

For my verbal prep I used ManhattanGMAT Sentence Correction guide, The Official Guide, and gmatfix verbal flashcards.

1) If you don't already have it, consider getting the ManhattanGMAT SC guide and go through its lessons.

2) Get the gmatfix verbal flashcards (you can evaluate some for free); these cards are broken down into SC subtopics, with each topic giving you loads of examples and pinpointed lessons on how the topic is tested on the GMAT

3) Once you can go through the flashcards for a particular topic without error, use the Manhattan guide to find the specific questions in the OG that test the topic you're studying. Practice those questions and study the explanations carefully.

You can see my full debrief at www.tinyurl.com/gmatpost where I point out what worked from what didn't work for me.

Best of luck

[henryhenry]

Daniel Chu,

Below is a repost of my approach to verbal that you might find useful. Z_I's advice above is also good.

For my verbal prep I used ManhattanGMAT Sentence Correction guide, The Official Guide, and gmatfix verbal flashcards.

1) If you don't already have it, consider getting the ManhattanGMAT SC guide and go through its lessons.

2) Get the gmatfix verbal flashcards (you can evaluate some for free); these cards are broken down into SC subtopics, with each topic giving you loads of examples and pinpointed lessons on how the topic is tested on the GMAT

3) Once you can go through the flashcards for a particular topic without error, use the Manhattan guide to find the specific questions in the OG that test the topic you're studying. Practice those questions and study the explanations carefully.

You can see my full debrief at www.tinyurl.com/gmatpost where I point out what worked from what didn't work for me.

Best of luck

Pls stop promoting your gmatfix in this forum.Folks need help to ace GMAT not through your almighty gmatfix you are implictly advertising here all the time.
Folks should beware of this guy.

[roma]

Hi, It seems that you were very eager to appear for the GMAT that eventhough you were not fully prepared for the finals u gave it, one must first practice a lot with test materials and preperation questions and then appear for gmat.
As you have mentioned that you have done one book 3 times,instead of this type of preperation go for multiple books. Focus on weaknesses.

Yes. 4 times GMAT might be a bad impresssion. So unless u r well prepared and think u can improve score significantly, i dont sugest writing GMAT once more. And dont take actual GMAT as mock GMAT . Practice from MOCK GMAT exams that are available online first, check ur score and improvement and then only write GMAT.

[Z_I]

Well daniel, its hard to give general advice to improve verbal unless you identify basic areas that you need improvement on and mention them in your post..

Trust me, the best advice is the one that you can give to yourself by going through the experiences of others in this forum. There are some great debriefs that you should read, Eric's, ngufo, Ursula etc. You can go through my debrief to see if there are any useful pointers for your. The link is attached in my signature.

After going through these, I suggest , your make a plan according to the time that you have and the resources you can arrange and also your weak area.

You can then ask forum members for suggestions on how to finetune your plan.

Hope this helps!