Advice for limited time to study gmat

[sabxu1]

Hi everyone,

I hope everyone is doing well. I'm sorry to bother you with this question.
I just want to ask you guys for your opinion. I have applied for this masters school and they originally told me I could submit my gmat score by April so I was going to take it in early march.
Now they suddenly told me they need me to take it on 10th FEburary. So I booked it however, I am very worried all my hard work to apply and get all my documents is a waste.

They told me I need a minimal score of 650, obviously ideal score of 700+. But their average student is 680 apparently.

I have to say I am definitely not a bright student at all. However, I am a very hardworker.
The problem is that i am currently doing my internship at JP Morgan so I do not have as much time to study.
Do you think reaching a minimum of 650 by 10 February is reasonable if i spare all my spare time after work and weekends studying?

I like to point out after work at 6-7pm, I tend to be so tired and hard to concentrate.

I have currently doing the online prep material i downloaded from GMAT website and I have found all the questions very hard especially the English ones. the maths one are bit more doable for me, however the english "Easy" ones I am still struggling.

I have read the gmat really tests how smart you are rather than how hard working you are. Therefore, I believe i am a very hardworking student but definitely not that intelligent.

I have never taken the gmat before. However I have bought verita prep course and taken it once in Janurary- feb this year in NYC with ROb. I found it useful but at the time I wasnt 100% committed as i was working and traveling on weekend and thought I had some more time to study.

I do have one more free retake course which I could do from 5th Jan - 11th Feb but I'm not too sure if it is a good idea due to the lack of energy and concentration i have after work. However this school is my dream and I really want to get in.

What is your advice? Do you think my goals are unreasonable provided my intelligence? Or do you believe that anyone could obtain a 650-680?

Kindest regards,

[[email protected]]

Hi sabxu1,

Since you posted this in another Forum on this site, I've pasted over my response from there:

From what you describe, it might be challenging to accomplish this goal in the time that you have. However, until we get a bit more information, we won't know for sure what you're truly capable of.

1) When you took your original Course earlier this year, did you ever take any FULL-LENGTH CATs (including the Essay and IR sections)?
2) How did you score (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores)?

To get a better sense of your current skills, you should plan to take a new FULL-LENGTH CAT (with all sections) sometime soon. That score result will help to define your current strengths and weaknesses. With those scores, we can then talk about the various study options

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

[sabxu1]

Hi Rich,

Thank you for the quick reply!
By the way i got some shocking news yesterday. I did my gmat practice exam that i downloaded from the official site and got 340...I'm very shocked at how low it was... And now i definately think 650 is not achievable by 10th feb. But that being said i still want to try it out as I know I will regret if I do not try.

1. No i didnt take any full length cats- i really regret not focusing my attention on my gmat. Because back then I had no time constraint and being overseas didnt help me focus either. I just went to the classes, there was times i didnt even do my homework. i definitely didnt make the most of my money in the Verita prep class.
2. You are referring to my practice test right? Scaled score verbal 17 and quantitative 19? Integrated reasoning only 2. I found integrated reasoning so so so difficult. The other 2 I know i can improve on.

https://www.beatthegmat.com/18-online-fr ... 84760.html Is this what you are talking about? with the CAT test?

I was considering taking verita prep class again after work but I'm worried my concentration will not be as effective.

I reviewed my tests and realised that I made alot of careless mistakes. Even so I still think 340 is a very low score and 650 by 10th Feb is very challenging.

What is your recommendation? I will take the full cat test soon. How long is it?

Kindest regards,
Sabrina

[sabxu1]

I also want to clarify something I have heard. As GMAT is a standardised test, i have heard from peers (not any professionals) that gmat is something that really tests how smart you are and preparation can only take you to a certain point. rest is actually about your own ability and how you are made (smartness).

Could you please clarify if this is true or not?

Thanks again for the prompt replies!
Are there any better gmat prep classes you recommend? Do you know about Verita in Sydney?

[[email protected]]

Hi Sabrina,

With the timeframe that you've described and your score goal, you would have to raise your GMAT score 340+ points in about 7 weeks - that's not a realistic goal. I agree that your probably much smarter than this initial score implies, but you still need time to properly train to score at that level. You would likely need at least 3 months of consistent, guided study to hit your goals.

At this point, it would help if you could contact the School in question and clarify the deadlines.

1) If you were told that April was the original deadline, then why was it changed to February 10th? Do you have the flexibility to apply later on (is there a later application round?)?
2) Could you adjust your plans and apply for the next application cycle (meaning can you apply in the Fall, 2016)?

While you certainly DO need a certain amount of knowledge to score at a high level on the GMAT, you do NOT need to be a genius. The GMAT is primarily a test of critical thinking skills, so it's really not testing how smart you are. I've worked with Test Takers who were absolutely average students when they were in college, but they trained to 'see' the GMAT in the right way (and scored at a high level as a result). In that same way, I've worked with Test Takers who were absolutely 'genius level' intellects, but they were never able to get past their own 'biases' in how they viewed the Test (so they weren't able to score at a 700+ level).

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

[sabxu1]

Hi Rich,

Thank you for your reply! I appreciate your honesty.

I understand 650 is quite impossible to reach. I just got notification that if I get 600+ they can still consider my application. Would you think this is realistic?

Another school which is a lower preference for me but still better than nothing has told me I need a minimum of 550 if I get a conditional offer. Do you think by 10th Feb I can realistically aim for 550?

Thanks for the words of encouragement I am happy you do not need to be a genius to get into 700+

My scores at college are very average however my school does score quite harshly.

The school has already given me an exception of 16th feb, they told me they wanted it by 8th Jan but since they told me the wrong information they agreed for 16th Feb.

Kindest regards,
Sabrina

Kindest regards
Sabrina

[sabxu1]

Hi Rich,

Forgot to ask have you heard of the https://www.testprepaz.com/ gmat prep course? I did not see it as a verified one?

Kindest regards,

[MartyMurray]

Hi Sabrina.

The first thing I want to add to this discussion is a response to something you said.

"i have heard from peers (not any professionals) that gmat is something that really tests how smart you are and preparation can only take you to a certain point. rest is actually about your own ability and how you are made (smartness)."

Guess what, Sabrina, you make you, your potential is unlimited, and you can make yourself as smart as you want to be.

When I was young and silly, before I started doing test prep tutoring, I thought that some people were just good at tests and others were just not. Then I started tutoring and my eyes opened to the reality. I would work with one person and maybe notice that she wasn't confident. I would realize that if that person were merely more confident she would score higher. Then I would work with a person who had a lot of stress in his household and didn't seem motivated, and it would be obvious that even though he was scoring at the 400 level on the test he was preparing for, if things were just a little more sane in his life and if he were more motivated, he too would score much higher. Wow, I realized that basically all of them could rock the tests.

Smart? What is smart? Look at the people who score high. Look at rocket scientists. What are they doing differently from what you have done. Smart is about how you do things and how smart you make yourself.

You can take that conceptual framework to the bank Sabrina. You can be as smart as you decide to be and score on this test anything that you want to.

[sabxu1]

Thanks alot! I really appreciate the words of encouragement.

I was just wondering https://www.testprepaz.com/. Have you heard of this?

Kindest regards

[[email protected]]

Hi Sabrina,

The lower scores that you asked about would certainly be easier to achieve than a 700+, but you'll still have to do a lot of work in a relatively short period of time to hit any of those score 'levels.' As such investing in a GMAT Course of some type would probably be a good idea.

Most GMAT Companies offer some type of free materials (practice problems, Trial Accounts, videos, etc.) that you can use to 'test out' a product before you buy it. We have a variety of those resources at out site (www.empowergmat.com). I suggest that you take advantage of all of them then choose the one that best matches your personality, timeline and budget.

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