GMAT Strategy

Hi,

I just took my second GMAT yesterday and I received a score of 430 (Q: 32 and V: 17). My first score was a 400.

I studied for both exams and I even took Kaplan's prep course before my second exam. I took four CATs offered by Kaplan's program and received scores between 540 and 580 on all four.

Though I don't want to confine myself to a limit, I think achieving a 500 is the most realistic goal for me (good thing is 4 out 5 school that I'm applying for requires a minimum score of 500 and I have a 3.6 GPA).

I know where my major weaknesses are (which is SC, Reading, and Timing for both Quan. and Verbal) and I'm planning on getting some basic grammar books and might try to find a personal tutor for verbal. However, do you guys have any advice for me?

To tell you the truth I'm a bit lost and everything seems hopeless of me so far. I don't thinking retaking the Kaplan Prep Course would be beneficial but please let me know if you guys think otherwise.

Thank You

Scoring in the low 400s means that you need to work on your fundamentals. Getting a tutor is a good idea, so you might want to consider getting one for quant too. You should start by brushing up the basics, so use your high school math book or a good grammar review to do so. Also, for GMAT-style questions, go for the first 100 or so questions per section in the OG 12: they're usually considered to be the easiest. I've seen many people around here who have reviewed the Princeton Review as being a good general strategy book to start with, so you could go for that as well.