Do I have a realistic goal?

[StayStrong010]

Okay, so I've been studying for the GMAT for about a month; progressing through the material slowly for some reason. I recently took a practice MGMAT CAT and got an overall score of 440. The average GMAT score of the school I want to apply to is 654. My goal is to score between 670 to 680 (obviously, anything higher is a plus). I plan to take the official exam late November--that's about 3 months from now. If I must, I'll retake the exam late December. With a score of 440, do I have a good chance of scoring between 670 to 680? I'm trying to stay optimistic, but I want to be realistic.

TYPE SCORE ESTIMATED PERCENTILE RANK
Quantitative 26 19 %
Verbal 26 44 %
Total 440 21 %

What should I focus on more? I knew I would score low on the Quant section, but I thought I was going to do better on the Verbal section.

Note that I plan to study at least 20 hours a week, but I go through the material slowly.

[Adam]

StayStrong,

Don't think that way at all! I was kind of in the same situation, my initial score was a 530 (which is better but not where I would like to be). The Manhattan GMAT stuff does really help out. I'm in my third week of class and studying my butt off and I'm already seeing improvement! With that said, you will only get out what you put in. You really have to be dedicated. I'm studying on my subway ride into work, my lunch break, and at least 2 hours each night at home for a total of roughly 3 hours a night, 7 days a week.

Keep pluggin away. Try to identify your strengths, but more importantly your weaknesses. One of our instructors told us that the more you get wrong (as weird as this sounds) the happier you should be because it offers you a chance to know why you got a particular answer wrong. It goes with that saying "you learn more from your failures than you do your successes."

Keep studying, working hard and have a positive attitude and I'm sure you'll get that score you're looking for!

[StayStrong010]

Adam,

Thanks for the reply. It's good to know that someone out there is going through a similar situation. I'm going to keep on studying!

What score do you plan to get? When do you plan to take the exam?

[StayStrong010]

MGMAT instructors,

Do any of you have students who have scored in my range (low to mid 400s) on his or her first practice exam, and then score in the high 600s with about 3 months of study?

[Guest]

My class ends at the end of October. After that I plan on spending two weeks reviewing, mainly focusing on my weaknesses before the real deal. I am going to take the GMAT the second week of November. As for my school, I would feel fairly confident getting in if I scored at least a 650-660. Right now I'm really struggling with Data Sufficiency. I am focusing a good portion of my studying on that. What programs are you looking at applying to?

[StayStrong]

I'm having the same problem with DS questions. I find that I can solve the problem, but not within two minutes; it usually takes about two and a half minutes for me. But I'm working on it.

I'm planning to enroll in a full-time MACC program. How about you?

How are you doing on the NP questions from the strategy guide and OG?

[Adam]

I'm doing pretty good at the NP questions so far. One thing I've been doing is consistently going back to the first few pages so that I retain the basics. Also, and I'm sure you've caught on to, a LOT of questions deal with primes and factoring, so I've been really focusing my efforts on that. I can do a lot of the problems under the 2 minutes, but I would focus on getting them correct first (knowing how to get your answer, understanding it, etc.) and then work on the timing.

I've been doing really well with the verbal section so far which is encouraging to me......I guess I'll find out for sure when I take my next practice test!

Are you taking any courses or other prep stuff? When are you looking at starting your program?

I'm applying to Pepperdine's FEMBA program (Fully Employed MBA)

[StayStrong]

Right now, I'm only using MGMAT's guided self study prep PLUS program. I like it.

I plan to start the program in the summer of 2009. The application deadline is March 1st, but I want to apply in early January. That's why I want to take the exam before the end of November or early December. When do you plan to start your program?

Nice! My professor graduated from Pepperdine's mba program.

[Adam]

I'm planning on beginning in the fall of 09.

[GMAT Eater]

I have perused through the internet. Although unconfirmed, I have read MANY posts where people consistently improved their scores anywhere from 150 to 250 points after LONG hours of studying. Plus, your goal is fairly reasonable. You are not shooting for 760+ which is hard for anyone to do.

From a personal perspective, I have been able to raise my score by 80 to 680 points already just by doing all the OG questions and improving on my test strategies (GMAT is definitely a game). My initial score was quite depressing and it shocked me. Now I have few more months of hard score studying on my weak areas (SC) and improving on my Quant (which I find easier to improve than SC).

Although I am on a similar journey as you, the concensus seems to be people can expect to get out of GMAT what they put into it. Just make sure you learn from all your mistakes. Sure, you may need to study 200+ hours. But nothing worth getting is easy to get.

[StayStrong]

First, thanks for sharing your perspective.

Second, for clarification, what do you mean when you write, "...I have been able to raise my score by 80 to 680 points already..."? Did you improve your score by 80 points one time, then by 680 another time? Or, did you mean you scored 80 and then 680? In either case, great job!

My initial score depressed me too. But on a lighter note, we're not alone. The quant section is more challenging for me. I tend to do a little better on the verbal section.

Lastly, how long have you been studying? How many hours do you put in a day and week? This might be a rhetorical question, but what score are you shooting for (760+, I'm guessing)?

[Do it Do it]

First, thanks for sharing your perspective.

Second, for clarification, what do you mean when you write, "...I have been able to raise my score by 80 to 680 points already..."? Did you improve your score by 80 points one time, then by 680 another time? Or, did you mean you scored 80 and then 680? In either case, great job!

I believe he is saying that he raised his score by 80 points, leaving him with a score of 680.

[RonPurewal]

MGMAT instructors,

Do any of you have students who have scored in my range (low to mid 400s) on his or her first practice exam, and then score in the high 600s with about 3 months of study?

yes, definitely.

these students have overwhelmingly been EXTREMELY highly motivated, and have had no problem dedicating long hours to studying for the gmat.

another quality that has separated these students from the rest is their willingness to adopt ENTIRELY new methods of studying, in order to "game" the test.
most students whose studying isn't paying off tend to study harder, but in the same way as they've done previously; not surprisingly, this is usually ineffectual, because spending more hours on a technique that isn't working won't make it start working.
successful students really take our advice to heart. for example, they get rid of the "omg i have to solve hundreds and hundreds of problems" attitude, and adopt an attitude of "i need to study fewer problems, but in more depth, and i need to get TAKEAWAYS from those problems" - i.e., quality over quantity. in addition, they tend to have positive attitudes toward studying for the exam - sometimes difficult to do when facing an exam on which your initial score is pretty low, but ESSENTIAL for substantial improvement. remember, you can't just sit down at your 1st piano lesson and start playing rachmaninov; there's no reason to expect similar results on the gmat.

furthermore, the adaptability, versatility, and ability to connect disparate concepts that are required for success on the gmat, particularly the quant section, can redound to your benefit in entirely different areas of life.
seriously.

[StayStrong]

Thanks, Ron.

I've been using the study organizer in detail, reading the guides, going through the labs, and listening to the class recordings. I've taken notes on everything I could. I've been using the MGMAT method for everything.

In terms of quality over quantity, I agree with you. As I mentioned, I've been using the study organizer in detail. Consequently, I find it challenging to find the time to review ALL the material. When I do review the material, I tend to review the mistakes on problems that I think will show up more often on the gmat (i.e. np, fdp, etc.). It takes up lots of time. Do you think I should continue this strategy and then circle back to anything I missed to keep pace with the weekly class recordings (that's my schedule)? Or, do you think it's best to just go through the study organizer and review ALL my mistakes unwaveringly? Or, do you suggest something else? Note that the circling back method that I'm using now makes me feel uneasy and under prepared because I'm skipping stuff. But lots of people say it's worked for them.

[StaceyKoprince]

There's a TON you can do in the study organizer (way too much, really), so generally follow the things that are on your three-page syllabus and don't worry as much about the extra stuff that's in the study organizer but not on the syllabus (like some of the drills - that kind of stuff).

The best review you can do is the review you do immediately after doing a problem for the first time. Spend at least twice as long as it took you to do the problem in the first place, and possibly 4-5 times as long if there's a lot you can learn from that particular problem. (And, yes, this applies even if you got the problem right!)

Remember the "10 questions" from class 2? (The strategy lesson at the end of class?) You should be asking yourself those questions for every problem - that's the analysis that you do after you've tried a problem for the first time. Is there a better way to do this? What are the traps? Did I make any careless mistakes (and, if so, why)? How could I make an educated guess on a problem of this type? And ultimately: what is the best way for me to do this problem (combining both efficiency and effectiveness) and how will I recognize a similar problem of the same type (and for which I can use the same strategy) in the future?

That's really our primary meaning when we say to review your work - not to go over a problem you got wrong 2 weeks earlier (though that's useful too).