How much will my score increase? (GMAT)

Excellent question! :)

On average, our users increase their scores by about 50 points overall. While many students have increased their score more than that, this depends significantly on a few key factors:

• Your starting abilities
• The amount of time you have to devote daily/weekly/monthly
• How efficient you are at self-analysis and self-correction

Before you think, "oh man, 50 points isn't enough," consider that this includes students of all levels. If you are at a very low score, you are theoretically in a great position to improve more than 50 points because you can improve both on your GMAT skills (e.g. recognizing tricks, learning the format, understanding how data sufficiency works, etc.) and your actual conceptual knowledge (e.g. mastering typical sentence correction idioms or getting comfortable with exponents). Use that 50 point figure as a benchmark, but push as hard as you can to aim for more!

So what do you do?

Step 1: Find your starting point. If you have already taken the GMAT and have an official score, that's the most reliable starting point. But you might also have a mock test score from somewhere, and that'll work too. This helps you assess point one from above. Determine how much you need to improve in each area, now. Maybe you need +5 verbal and +4 quant. Maybe you're just looking for an overall gain of 70 points. Knowledge is power!

Step 2: Figure out your timeline and what can realistically be done. If you have 2 weeks, you can't cover every possible concept. Instead, figure out where your time can yield the best outcome. Perhaps focusing on algebra and geometry will cover 70% of your quant errors. Clearly you would do that! And maybe your struggle in verbal is pacing, so doing timed practice will help you answer more questions and raise that score! If you have a longer timeline, your plan of attack can be broader and more detailed. 

Step 3: Be vigilant and never relax your attention! You should regularly check in on yourself. Ask questions like:

• What new mistakes have I made?
• Am I making the same old mistakes, or are those fixed?
• What are my weakest areas this week?

Self-analysis and using tools like an error log can really help keep track.

In short, your increase potential is up to you! We're all rooting for you. :)