Need Pointers...

[Kaustubhk]

Hello Experts and Fellow members,

First of all i would like to thank the community for the work you guys are doing. I will break down my post in two parts, first is what i'm currently doing and my approach and second my queries.

First Part-Current Approach

I have been studying for GMAT from past one year mostly on weekends as i'm working professional.

The study materials used are OG 13th Edition and Manhattan Strategy guide.

I gave GMAC free test Exam 1 in March 2017. The first test i scored 400 which was extremely disappointing. I kept on analysing the wrong question and maintained a error log sheet for better understanding. Again gave the GMAC free test Exam 2 on March 25 scored 530(Q39,V24).

Veritas Prep test 560(Q41,V26) -10th May 2017.

Manhattan Prep test 470(Q32,v24) -5th May 2017

In all the exams i have attempted all the sections.

Approach for Quant

Based on error log sheet i revisit the concepts in manhattan strategy guides and keep a log of difficult questions. i have purchased question bank of Manhattan and GMAC for more practice questions.

Approach for Verbal

For SC i kept on doing and redoing the questions in OG and found a certain pattern to it. For now i'm following the same with the help of error log sheet.

For CR i haven't done any special practice apart from OG(left out Manhattan). I purely answer on the basis of content and the question asked. I have maintained 50-60% accuracy rate as of now.

For RC i generally try to do two passages on daily basis. I'm bad at inference questions.

Second part-Queries

I'm planning to give my exam in mid June or max June end.What should be my strategy if i'm targeting 720+?
Should i go to a tutor to maximise score? or Should i go for online tutoring?

Thanks in advance and keep up the good work!!!

[[email protected]]

Hi Kaustubhk,

From what you've described, you've made some nice progress so far (raising a 400 to the mid-500s is a solid achievement). Raising your current scores to a 720+ though will take considerably more work though - and you'll have to make significant improvements to how you handle BOTH the Quant and Verbal sections. Assuming that you took your recent CATs in a realistic fashion - and that those scores are accurate - you would likely need at least another 3 months of consistent, guided study to hit your goal score.

Your studies so far have been 'book heavy', and it sounds like you've been using heavy repetition to try to self-teach the material. Unfortunately, many Test Takers who use a 'book heavy' study approach end up getting 'stuck' at a particular score level, so you'd likely find it beneficial to invest in a GMAT Course of some kind (either Guided Self-Study or instructor-led).

1) Going forward, how many hours do you think you can consistently study each week?
2) When are you planning to apply to Business School?
3) What Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

[Kaustubhk]

Hi Rich,

Thanks for the response.

It will not be possible for me to dedicate 3 months of study. I want to give the exam by June end as i need to apply in R1.

1) Going forward, how many hours do you think you can consistently study each week?
---I can dedicate upto 4 hours of studying every day. The first two weeks of month June i'm on leave so i can dedicate more time.

2) When are you planning to apply to Business School?
--As i said i wantto apply in R1

3) What Schools are you planning to apply to?
--NTU,NUS,ISB and Insead.

Thanks in advance

[[email protected]]

Hi Kaustubhk,

While I understand that you want to be done with the GMAT in the near timeframe, you have to remember your REAL goal - to get into your first-choice Business School. If you don't have a competitive GMAT Score, then the application deadlines won't matter (since there is no point to sending a weak application in to a series of highly competitive Programs). From your description, you spent about a year to raise your score 150 points. The NEXT 150 points that you're after is going to require more than a month of additional study time. Thus, some part of your plan will almost certainly have to change.

1) What is the minimum GMAT Score that you would be satisfied with?
2) What are the exact Round 1 application deadlines for each of the Programs that you plan to apply to?
3) If you couldn't make those deadlines, would you apply for Round 2?

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

[Kaustubhk]

HI Rich,

1) What is the minimum GMAT Score that you would be satisfied with?

730 would be the bare minimum.

2) What are the exact Round 1 application deadlines for each of the Programs that you plan to apply to?

I'm yet to shortlist the colleges.

3) If you couldn't make those deadlines, would you apply for Round 2?

I have not thought about R2 yet.

[[email protected]]

Hi Kaustubhk,

Right now, it doesn't seem like you have defined the necessary details to properly put together a 'plan of attack' for your applications. If you took the GMAT at the very end of June, then you would have about 6 weeks of potential study time remaining - but that's not likely going to be enough to get you to a 730. While you could certainly take the GMAT at the end of June, you'll almost certainly end up 'needing' to take it again later (which will invariably require more study time, effort and money). If 730 is truly the minimum score that you want, then you have to put yourself in the proper position to achieve that goal FIRST.

I suggest that you spend a little time researching the specific Programs that interest you, then gather the necessary application information (including the Round 1 and Round 2 deadlines and the "middle 80' for each School), so that you can put together a more achievable overall timeline and plan.

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

[Kaustubhk]

Hi Rich,

Apologies for my ignorance but what do you mean by Middle 80?

I browsed through most of the b schools R1 deadline dates. Most of them have mid sept as the deadline.

If you take a three month schedule to raise my score i will give my exams by August end.In that case i won't have sufficient time for application process.

Also is it advisable to apply in R2?

[DavidG@VeritasPrep]

Hello Experts and Fellow members,

First of all i would like to thank the community for the work you guys are doing. I will break down my post in two parts, first is what i'm currently doing and my approach and second my queries.

First Part-Current Approach

I have been studying for GMAT from past one year mostly on weekends as i'm working professional.

The study materials used are OG 13th Edition and Manhattan Strategy guide.

I gave GMAC free test Exam 1 in March 2017. The first test i scored 400 which was extremely disappointing. I kept on analysing the wrong question and maintained a error log sheet for better understanding. Again gave the GMAC free test Exam 2 on March 25 scored 530(Q39,V24).

Veritas Prep test 560(Q41,V26) -10th May 2017.

Manhattan Prep test 470(Q32,v24) -5th May 2017

In all the exams i have attempted all the sections.

Approach for Quant

Based on error log sheet i revisit the concepts in manhattan strategy guides and keep a log of difficult questions. i have purchased question bank of Manhattan and GMAC for more practice questions.

Approach for Verbal

For SC i kept on doing and redoing the questions in OG and found a certain pattern to it. For now i'm following the same with the help of error log sheet.

For CR i haven't done any special practice apart from OG(left out Manhattan). I purely answer on the basis of content and the question asked. I have maintained 50-60% accuracy rate as of now.

For RC i generally try to do two passages on daily basis. I'm bad at inference questions.

Second part-Queries

I'm planning to give my exam in mid June or max June end.What should be my strategy if i'm targeting 720+?
Should i go to a tutor to maximise score? or Should i go for online tutoring?

Thanks in advance and keep up the good work!!!

I'll echo Rich's sentiment here: it's more important to get the elements of the process right than to do them quickly. If you want to be aggressive, you could try to put together a six week plan to take the test at the end of June, just know that the average test-taker needs more time than that to get the type of score boost you're looking for. The first thing I'd suggest doing is going through the official material you've already covered and see if there's anything you're unsure about. Post questions that have given you difficulty here. Boil down your old tests to 4-5 actionable takeaways. (Reminders to use certain strategies in certain contexts, resolutions to do drills in certain conceptual areas, etc.) Once you've done that, take another official test. Wash/rinse/repeat. If you're spinning your wheels/struggling to see what you're missing/feeling frustrated by your lack of progress... sure, it's not unreasonable to consider tutoring.

[[email protected]]

Hi Kaustubhk,

Many Business School Programs provide 'class profile' information on current MBA classes attending the School. That data often includes demographics, average GMAT score, etc. The 'middle 80' refers to the group of students that does not include the 10% of the class that scored highest and the 10% of the class that scored lowest on the GMAT. For example, while Harvard has an average GMAT score around 720, it has a 'middle 80' range of 680 - 770. This information can be useful in that it helps to define what Harvard considers (in general) to be an acceptable GMAT score. By extension, this means that you don't necessarily "need" a 720+ to get into Harvard (since the 'middle 80' data proves that many of the applicants who Harvard accepted didn't score that high).

From your last post, you seem to think that you can't work on your applications while also studying for the GMAT. That choice is up to you, but I assure you that you can. When it comes to deciding between Round 1 and Round 2 application deadlines, you should consider when you will have the strongest overall application and apply for THAT Round. There is no point to 'rushing' in a so-so application for Round 1 (you get just one chance at a 'first impression', so you don't want to waste it).

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