After Total GMAT Math: What Next?

October 13, 2010

I recently received the following email from a customer:

Jeff, your book [Total GMAT Math] helped me bring up my quant to near 50th percentile from 30th percentile in one month. I am scoring in the low 600's. My goal is a 700 (as many others!).

I have 2 months of study left. What do you recommend from here? Should I purchase your GMAT sets and hit the problems hard daily? Should I take a study course (ala Knewton)? Or should I re-review Total GMAT Math? Or other?

If you're scoring around the 50th percentile, there are probably many intermediate to advanced math concepts you don't fully understand. Perhaps you can handle them in a vacuum, but when it comes to test questions under pressure, the knowledge isn't translating into points.

With that in mind, it's time to analyze your results and isolate some target areas. Use a combination of your study notes and some self-knowledge and identify a few specific subjects (say, 8 to 10 chapters of Total GMAT Math) that you are particularly weak in. If you can bring those up to the level of everything else, you've made a huge stride that may be enough to get you near 700.

A re-review of Total GMAT Math may be enough to get you there. But sometimes you need fresh material. Once you've identified those problem areas, my targeted sets are a great option. You don't need to buy every single one; for some people, two or three suffice.

Also utilize The Official Guide. Combined with my index of questions by content area, it can be a valauble resource in targeting the types of problems that are holding you back.

About the author: Jeff Sackmann has written many GMAT preparation books, including the popular Total GMAT Math, Total GMAT Verbal, and GMAT 111. He has also created explanations for problems in The Official Guide, as well as 1,800 practice GMAT math questions.

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