A 8 min read

Every GMAT taker aspires to score 700+ on the GMAT. Breaking the 700 barrier is an achievement on its own. There are a few students who tend to take the brute force approach and end up exhausting themselves during the test. Therefore, we always suggest a methodical approach to get a high score of 700 or above on the GMAT, in which we focus on building ability. This ability can be built not only by mastering the concepts but also by learning the efficient application of those concepts.

Other than building the question-solving ability explained above, you need to learn a few supporting skills, like understanding how GMAT works as an adaptive test and how to manage time. We have written detailed articles on both these topics.

In this article, we’ll explain a stepwise process that will help you score 700+ on the GMAT. Here are the 7 steps:

Want to achieve a 700+ score on the GMAT? Start by taking our free GMAT mock test and trial. Identify your strengths and weaknesses, and get insights on how to improve your performance. We are the most reviewed GMAT prep company on the GMAT club with more than 2500+ reviews and have delivered more 700+ scores than any other GMATClub partner. Don’t miss this opportunity to kickstart your GMAT journey towards a successful MBA career. Take the test today!

 

Step 1: Attend a GMAT strategy session and decide your target score

As a starting point to scoring 700+ on the GMAT, you can attend this free strategy webinar in which GMAT experts will talk about the following

• How the GMAT testing algorithm works.
• How to score high on GMAT – what skills are needed
• GMAT score vs. Admissions and Scholarships
• How to create a study plan that is personalized to you

This will help you to decide on a good GMAT score for you according to your target business schools.

Take a look at this video, where we have answered some frequently asked questions on the GMAT:

Step 2: Set up your baseline – Take a diagnostic test | Scoring 700+ on the GMAT

The next step is to assess your starting ability level or your baseline GMAT score. The best way to find out your baseline score is to take a diagnostic test. It will tell you the gap between your starting score and your target score. If you have already taken the GMAT, then you can consider your last GMAT score as your starting score.

Here is a free GMAT mock test to get your baseline score. You can identify your strengths and weaknesses, and get insights on how to improve your performance through our free mock test

Step 3: Decide on a quant and a verbal score

Let us explain this step with an example. If you want to score 760 on the GMAT, you can achieve this score through different Quant and Verbal score combinations.

760 on the GMAT
Q51	V41
Q50	V43
Q49	V45

One of our students, Anupriya scored a 760 with a Q48, V46 combination. Anupriya’s strength was verbal, and therefore, she focused more on Verbal than Quant. This step will help you identify what should be your target Quant and Verbal score according to your strength. To help you figure out your target Quant and Verbal scores, we’ve built a great tool called GMAT Personalized Study Planner.

Step 4: Estimate the amount of time you’ll need | How to score 700+

This estimation depends on which type of study resources you have chosen to use. You can either study from GMAT books or online GMAT courses. Most people study using a combination of both. According to our experience, when studying using a data-driven online course, you require 7 hours for every 10 points of score improvement. This number increases to 12 hours when studying from books. Why does this happen? Because audiovisual content is more interactive and hence, it is easier to focus on and requires half as many revisions as compared to books.

Read the 5 reasons why GMAT online resources are better than books.

For 90% of the students this score improvement estimate works quite well as long as:

1. You study consistently studying for at least 12 hours per week.
2. You study using only one resource.
3. You don’t change your study direction frequently; i.e. don’t follow a strategy to study Sentence Correction for 3 days, and then switch to studying Critical Reasoning or Quant without completing Sentence Correction.

As a rule of thumb,

Time required (in hours) = [Target GMAT Score – Starting GMAT Score] X [ 7/10] X [1+CBT]

Where:

1. Target GMAT Score = final score that you desire
2. Starting GMAT score = Starting score on an official mock test
3. 7/10 = 7 hours of effort for every 10-point score improvement
4. CBT = Confidence Building Time factor; its value can be 0.0 or 0.25

CBT is something that depends on how confident you feel about your preparation at the starting level. If you are at a 600 GMAT score then CBT will be 0.25 as your ability level is low. According to the above formula, if you are currently at a score of 600 and your target score is 760 then you’ll require 140 hours of preparation. If you prepare using books then this number would increase to 200 hours.

An alternate way to estimate your GMAT preparation time

There is a much efficient alternative to estimate your preparation time. Take a look at the personalized study planner tool and create your own study plan in 5 minutes.

To help you effectively plan for the GMAT we have created an amazing tool called the Personalized Study Planner (PSP) tool. Create your own milestone driven GMAT study plan in 5 minutes.

Here are the features of this GMAT study plan tool.

Watch the following video to know how to create your own study plan:

Step 5: Create a sequence of study and allocate hours

You know the number of hours you’ll need to put in order to achieve a 700+ score on the GMAT. But which section should you start with?

We always recommend starting with your stronger section. Our logic behind this approach is that once you move on to preparing your weaker section, your stronger section will remain intact in your mind in the meantime.

Use our personalized study planner (PSP) tool and let the tool create the sequence of your GMAT preparation for you. Take a look at this video explaining how the PSP tool works.

Let’s assume that Quant is your stronger section out of the two.

For maximum effectiveness of the course, you must execute a Learn-Refine strategy. Let me share with you the gist of this strategy.

• Learn each section at a time
• After learning a section, Refine it using mocks, tests, or advanced quizzing platforms like Scholaranium

You’ll start with the Quant section and the sequence of the topics should be as follows:

• Number Properties → Algebra → Word Problems → Geometry → Advanced Problems

Once you finish the Quant section, you’ll move on to the Verbal section. The sequence of the topics for the verbal section will be:

• Sentence Correction → Critical Reasoning → Reading Comprehension

The number of tentative hours you’ll take to complete the Quant and Verbal section are as follows. You can adjust the study hours per your strengths and weaknesses.

How to score Q50-51 on GMAT
Quant Section	Required hours
Learn Number Properties	10 hours
Refine Number Properties	5 hours
Learn Algebra	10 hours
Refine Algebra	5 hours
Learn Geometry	10 hours
Refine Geometry	5 hours
Learn Word Problems	10 hours
Refine Word Problems	5 hours
Learn Advanced Problems	10 hours
Refine Advanced Problems	5 hours

How to score V40+ on GMAT Verbal
Verbal Section	Required hours
Learn SC	50 hours
Refine SC	20 hours
Learn CR	30 hours
Refine CR	10 hours
Learn RC	20 hours
Refine RC	10 hours

We can give you access to quality online content to prepare. Write to us at acethegmat@e-gmat.com.

We are the most reviewed GMAT prep company on GMAT Club with more than 2500 reviews. Why don’t you take a free trial and judge for yourself?

Step 6: Track your improvement – A study plan

The best way to track your improvement is through study plans. With the information from steps 3, 4, and 5 you’ll be able to create your own study plan. Just to make sure you have made a correct study plan we recommend you compare it with our study plan templates.

Please refer to these articles on study plans to compare:

• Benefits of a study plan: How to create a study plan
• Study plan for working professionals
• 1-month study plan
• 3-month study plan

Assuming you start preparing with the verbal section, here is how a study plan would look for the first month. Your study plan would differ depending on how many preparation hours you can devote on weekdays and weekends.

Step 7: Take mock tests

Mock tests will help you isolate your weaknesses in concepts or the application of concepts. They will also expose gaps in test-taking strategies and fairly estimate your preparedness for the GMAT. If you get tired while taking a full mock, then mock tests will also build your concentration and stamina for the GMAT.

The two important questions which arise now are

1. How many mocks should you take, and how often?
2. What things should you keep in mind while taking a mock?

We would suggest you read this article on mock test strategy where we have answered these questions. We have also discussed the dos and don’ts of taking a mock test.

Below is a sample plan for taking mocks. However, the number of mocks you should take will depend on your level of preparedness.

So, how to score 700+ on the GMAT? These 7 steps will help you achieve your target GMAT score. The only thing that a high GMAT score demands from you is consistency. Take Anuj’s journey, for example – He scored a 770 with a 60+ hour workweek. He didn’t even waste a 15-minute break and utilized it to study because when you are a working professional, it’s difficult to predict how your day will go.

Therefore, be consistent and follow these 7 steps, and you’ll be able to score 700+ on the GMAT.

We hope this article has provided you with valuable insights into how to score 700+ on the GMAT. Now it’s time to put that knowledge into practice! Take the first step in your GMAT preparation journey by taking our free GMAT mock test. Act now and increase your chances of success!