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Need some advice on how to go about studying!

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Need some advice on how to go about studying!

by gmat212 » Wed Jan 07, 2009 10:10 am
Hi Guys-

This site is great! People are posting great questions/tips.

So the very first GMAT practice test I took I scored in the high 300's. I used a practice test from Kaplan. NOTE: this was without studying.

Still devastated … I spent 3 weeks reviewing basics in Verbal/Math and on my next practice test I scored a 540 (26 V and 39 M). I used the online Manhattan GMAT practice test.

Is there any hope for me to reach the 600's or would you say this test is sort of like the LSATS, where it is very hard to move up after a certain point?

Any tips on how to best use my study time to reach a score of 600+?

Thank you,

N
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by Jen Kedro » Wed Jan 07, 2009 12:47 pm
Hi there,

Certainly studying for the GMAT (or any standardized test for that matter) can be challenging and frustrating to say the least. It's good to see you've scored a 540 though, since that is roughly the average GMAT score for all test-takers, and hopefully you will continue to improve. Not sure what your studying timeframe is, but I will provide you with some hope in terms of letting you know I have seen people improve their scores tremendously over their study period, and to their official GMAT exam, over many years of teaching. It is often related to what your starting point is and how much you put into it, as well as factors such as your time management and managing test anxiety.

People often improve a lot on the GMAT by learning or re-learning math (without calculators) that they haven't done in ages. They improve a lot by mastering data sufficiency-- a question type that is likely brand new for everyone. Just by learning that question type and learning a step-by-step approach for every DS question, and practicing until the questions become familiar, can make a huge difference. The same is sometimes said for Critical Reasoning on verbal, since those question types show up in familiar patterns and are subject to specific methods. Improving Sentence Correction and Reading Comp is sometimes slightly more difficult, but by practicing a lot, improvements are made, and by increasing your reading in general you can improve your speed, comprehension, and grammar.

The best thing to do at this point is to determine what your areas of weakness are, and to priortize those areas and ensure you are spending your prep time wisely. Best of luck to you!
Jen Kedrowski
Kaplan Test Prep & Admissions
GMAT Teacher
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