3 months to improve 500 score please provide some direction!

[tarunch]

Hi All,

I have been reading and doing my research on this forum for quite some time now and would like some direction

I recently started preparing for the GMAT and took a GMATPREP cat exam yesterday and achieved 460 --unsure of the breakdown because for some reason my score was not saved and I could not review

I re-took the CAT today (~15% similar questions) and achieved a 500.

IR 8
Q36
V23

The materials I currently have are:

OG13
Veritas Prep complete set (from 2010)
Powerscore Critical Reasoning Bible

I have already booked my GMAT for end of June to establish a firm timeline

I have my score breakdowns and have all the materials but would like some help devising a study plan to help me achieve my target score of 720. I can dedicate 4-5 hours during the week and full days on weekends

Any help is appreciated

Thanks,

[[email protected]]

Hi tarunch,

By setting your GMAT for the end of June, you've given yourself plenty of time to study. Have you put together any semblance of a plan already? Or are you looking for someone to tell you exactly what to do?

If you're looking for a specific plan and resources, then you might consider enrolling in a GMAT prep course. There are plenty to choose from and many offer some free samples or trial periods to get a feel for their products. I'd suggest testing them all out and then choosing the one that best fits your personality and budget.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

[tarunch]

Hi Rich,

Thanks for the response

I'm in the early stages of a study plan but unclear as to how I should best utilize my time. I took the GMATPREP Practice test but unfortunately they do not provide explanations for why answers were incorrect/post-test analysis

I would want to pinpoint my weakest areas first then prioritize based on significance...I took the Veritas course a while back and sufficient materials

How do you recommend I find my weak areas?

Thanks,

Tarun

[[email protected]]

Hi tarunch,

With your GMATPrep CAT result, it evaluating your Verbal skills should be straight-forward - start by calculating how you did on RC, CR and SC.

For the Quant section, you'll want to nitpick a bit and categorize the questions you got wrong by category (algebra, geometry, math formulas, etc.) and reason (didn't know the math rule, too hard, silly mistake, etc.).

Any category in which you're getting lots of questions wrong would be a good place to focus your energies. Again, a GMAT Course will likely offer you structure and focused study on each of the major categories, so you could follow that Course's plan and be guaranteed to hit everything.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

[ThomasLHall]

Hi Tarun. You have asked some great questions here. First of all, for guidance on how to best utilize your time, I recommend my newly published book GMAT Clarity. You are the exact target audience for the guide.

Here are a few thoughts based on your situation:

Your target increase is large - about 220 points. That type of increase is difficult for any student, but you have great materials, are dedicated and have set aside plenty of time.

Explanations for the GMATPrep CAT problems can be found on the MGMAT forums, which is very helpful.

How well did the Veritas course work for you? Did you take the course seriously (completed the hw, attended the lectures, etc)?

Finding your weak areas involves tracking your performance on targeted problem sets. This is something built into the schedules in GMAT Clarity. You can also do it on your own using the OG 13 and specific sets of problems. I would assume that the Veritas books reference specific problems for the Topics within each of the 8 Subjects in Quant and Verbal.