GMAT in T-4 Weeks - Need Help!!

[stacyp0220]

This test definitely will be the death of me. I have taken it once and got a miserable 380 back in September. I have been studying religiously, and pull an average of 4 hours a day, plus 4-6 hours each day on the weekend, yet somehow, I cannot get past the 500 mark...

I just took a Kaplan practice test and got a 400....

I have been reading in the OG11 and have been doing problems in sets of 10 (1-10, 11-20, etc) and get roughly 70's and 80's - I thought this would be a strong indicator of how I would do on the actual exams, but for some reason I am coming up short.

I have a 3.73 GPA, over 3.5 years of full time work experience, several extracurriculars and honors from school, yet this test won't even get me an interview at my chosen schools. I am applying to Boston area schools this week, what am I going to do?!

Please help!!

[T_A_M]

In my opinion the best way to “beat the GMAT” is to take a structured approach. I know it sounds obvious, but what I have found really useful is dissecting the beast! Focus areas should be number properties, inequalities, word translations and VIC’s in the Quant section. Only once you have true “mastery” in these, you should move on to combinatorics, probability and geometry.

People get caught up into using many, many books. But I firmly believe OG 11 really is the bible for the GMAT. By "mastery" I mean, the ability to solve every questions in 2 minutes. To be able to quickly spot traps. To know all the rules; if the question changed, to able to apply knowledge from previous questions; to have the confidence to anticipate the traps; to have a number of approaches to solve one type of question. To be able to recognize within seconds what the question is testing and the corresponding rule to apply.

The majority of the GMAT quant questions relate to number properties, so you should focus on these first. Typically in one study sessions, I will tackle a particular type of problem. Today for example I did rates and work and algebraic translations. I know these are favorite areas of the GMAT. I do the review from the MGMAT guides, the in-action problems from the same guide, and then attack the relevant questions for that topic from OG 11 (or now 12). This has really helped me cement my knowledge in a particular area. I then revise what I have leant in the week and do a full-practice test (official one from mba.com) on Sunday.

This is my approach. It is working for me. You may find it helpful too.

[stacyp0220]

I don't know, I tried my own tactics but nothing seems to be working - the highest score I got on a practice test was 520, and I think it was a fluke. I typically score between 400-480 - which is nowhere near good enough for the schools I want admittance to.

What else can I do in these last 3 weeks to push my score? Whatever I am doing clearly isn't working!