GMAT score 340! Need to double for Admission!

[YeseniaF574]

Hi,

I took my GMAT this weekend unofficial score was 340!.

Any advice on study strategy???

I feel that I need to start at the basics before investing in a review class.

Any insight on Self Study packages vs. Online class vs. Classroom.

Thank you in advance.

[StaceyKoprince]

I agree that you need to do some foundational work before you enroll in a class (if that's what you decide to do).

Have you already taken a practice test in our system? If not, do that first. We need to see whether your current scoring level is 340 based on your foundational knowledge level or whether your current scoring level could be higher just by fixing timing issues. (If you run out of time and don't answer or have to guess on 4+ questions at the end of a section, your score is going to drop pretty substantially.)

If you have a free account with us, then you have access to one practice CAT. Do take the full test (including essay and IR) and do take it under official conditions (timing, breaks, etc).

Also, read these two articles:
http://tinyurl.com/executivereasoning
http://tinyurl.com/2ndlevelofgmat

Think about how what you've been doing does and doesn't match up with that and how you may need to change your approach accordingly. Figure out your strengths and weaknesses as well as any ideas you have for what you think you should do. Then come back here and tell us what you think; we'll tell you whether we agree and advise you further. (Note: do share an analysis with us, not just the raw data. Part of getting better is developing your ability to analyze your results - figure out what they mean and what you think you should do about them!)

If we discover that you do have foundational issues, then I'd recommend a program of working through our Foundations of Verbal and Foundations of Math Strategy Guides (along with two FoM workshops) and then you can join a class or start a self-study program.

Now, let's talk about how to decide that, since these programs all come with the Foundations material - so if you decide you want to do a class, you can sign up for one that starts a month or two from now, get all of the materials, and work through the Foundations lessons before the class starts.

In general, do you prefer to study on your own or do you prefer to have a teacher who can guide you and answer questions? Do you like the camaraderie of a classroom of fellow students? Would you want to set up study groups? Those are all good reasons to join a class.

In-person vs. online: assuming you have a choice (ie, the program you want to join holds in-person classes in your city), can you focus 100% when on your computer or will you be more engaged and less distracted if you are sitting in an actual, physical classroom? Conversely, is your work schedule such that it would be hard for you to get to a physical classroom sometimes? Would your attendance be more regular if the class is online?

[YeseniaF574]

I took the practice CAT this weekend. I found myself guessing at some of the quantitative questions and staring at others. The verbal seemed easy as well but the score didn't reflect such.

The articles were very informative. When I first began studying for the GMAT, I thought ? I only needed a brush up in quantitative since math was my strongest subject throughout high school and college. After studying and taking the exam, I was WRONG! I was treating the exam as a subject and was not implementing real life job experiences.

I am not sure where to go from here Stacey, I do need to pass GMAT with a decent score. I want my MS in Accountacy. Since I work full time a physical classroom will not be ideal, but private tutor could work. I still feel that I do need to start with basics for the quantitative section.

[StaceyKoprince]

Okay, then you should start with the Foundations of Math book, which you can work through before you take a class or work with a tutor. That will help you brush back up on skills that you once knew.

We do hold online classes - they're the same as our in-person classes, just in an online classroom. You're still meeting live / real-time with instructors and fellow students, etc, but you don't have to drive to the class. Alternatively, if you live where we have in-person classes, we do hold week-end classes. We let people sit in on the first class session for free to see how it works - you may want to check that out. (I'm suggesting this because tutoring is super expensive. Unless someone only needs a few sessions or is wealthy / money is no object, I usually recommend taking a class and then, if you still need some help to tweak certain areas, you can do a few sessions. Much less expensive than trying to do everything via tutoring.)

Also, if you sign up for a class, all of the materials (including the Foundations of Math book, two workshops, and extra online question banks) come with, so you'd want to sign up for a class that starts in maybe 1 month. Have the books shipped to you right away and start working on Foundations of Math (and maybe look through the Foundations of Verbal book too, just to prepare).