How can I raise my score in 9 days from 460

[smawemuko]

Hello,

seems like I am trying to get into panic right now. I am taking the test in 9 days and my current score from taking the latest practice test is 460. I am in Africa and have not had a chance to attend a GMAT class or even afford a tutor.I have only used your hard copy resources and I have read all of them, thanks to a donation from a wisconsin friend. I have realized that my verbal is better than my quantitative even when most the CR questions appear out of context for me. Please advise on how I could raise this score in the last 9 days. Your advise will be appreciated. Susan :( :(

[Guest]

Hi susan,

I think improving your score significantly from 460 in 9 days is not possible.I would advise you to consider 2 or 3 months preparation to improve your score.Just put a preparation plan. On top of Manhattan resources , get the official guide from ETS to practice as much as you can.

[smawemuko]

Thank you Guest for the response. Doesn't look like I have a lot of time since I am aiming for B school this fall. I am going to try and see what I can do. I am setting out to do one practice test each day and raise my score points by 20 each day. I took another test today and scored 480.. If I add 20 points each day, I should have 620 on test day, whoaa...... I am trying my best here but time is not on my side....

Thanks for your advise, Susan

[StaceyKoprince]

For the most part, unfortunately, our scores don't change that much in a one-week time period. For most people, the score they get the week before the test is a pretty good measure of how they will do on the official test. I don't want to discourage you - you should still go for it! But I also don't want to raise false expectations.

I would absolutely NOT take a test every day. We don't improve our scores much by simply taking tests. Tests are used to assess the progress we have made from the studying we do between tests. Instead, go pick apart the last test you took and figure out your strengths and weaknesses, then study according to those results.

Assess your content, technique, and timing:
Content: what specifically is giving you the most trouble? (eg, in SC, modifiers and verbs) Include in this category the different types of questions for CR and RC (eg, find an assumption vs. weaken or inference vs. main idea).
Technique: on what types of questions or content areas are you struggling with technique? (Technique is knowing how to identify / categorize a particular type of question and knowing what you're expected to do / answer as you move through the problem.)
Timing: Did you generally move steadily through the test, giving appropriate time and attention to each question? (2m for quant, 1 to 1.5m for SC, 2m for CR, 2-4m to read a passage, 1m for general RC questions, 1.5 to 2m for specific RC questions) Did you have to rush at times and possibly make random guesses? If you did have to rush and/or make random guesses, on how many questions would you say you did that? Did you do it on a lot of questions in a row or were the guesses scattered? Did you move too quickly and finish with a lot of time left over at the end?

Ask yourself these questions about the specific problems:
For the ones you got wrong:
1) Why did I get it wrong (as specifically as possible)?
2) What could I do to minimize the chance of making that error (or those errors) again?  How will I make whatever that is a habit so that I really do minimize chances of making the same error again? (Go review whatever you need to review and practice whatever you need to practice in order to do this.)
3) What are the right ways to do it? (for math, there's always more than one way to do a problem)
4) Of the right ways, which one is the best way for me (combining both efficiency and effectiveness) given my strengths and weaknesses?
5) How will I recognize problems of similar type in future so that I can apply that "best way" to the problem?
For the ones you got right:
1) Did I really know what I was doing or did I get lucky?  If I got lucky, review all of the "wrong answer" questions, above
2) If I did know what I was doing, did I also do it in the best way (for me)?  If not, figure out the best way for you.
3) How will I recognize problems of similar type in future so that I can either repeat my original success or apply my new "best way" to the problem?

Good luck - let us know how it goes!