How can I raise my GMAT score?

Question

I have a 490 and I am trying to get into doctoral school. I want to know how I can raise my score in order to be accepted.

Answer 1

Jay has a point but I'm not sure how far I'd trust a GMAT tutor who made at least two of the most common Sentence Correction errors in just one post.

What really helps IS a set of strategies

and

The reason THAT--never "the reason why"

Read everything you can get your hands on, spotting inconsistencies as you go. Correct your own mother's reasoning and grammar if you have to.
Know the 5 answer choices for Data Sufficiency in your sleep.
Get to know every synonym the GMAT uses for "weaken".
NEVER infer more than the absolute minimum.
Hang out in the Math section here on Y!A; there are actually quite smart people there.

Answer 2

Travis, there are a lot of hidden patterns to the GMAT and they can be learned. For the math, standard math strategies usually aren't good enough for most people. The test is trying to overwhelm your ability to organize complex math info. What really helps are a very different set of strategies that are very simple, intuitive, easy to use and understand and yet very sophisticated.

For the Verbal there are specific reasons exactly why one answer must be correct and the others are dead wrong. It's quite black and white and you can learn to spot this, with some expert guidance.

Jay Cutts
Cutts Personal GMAT Tutorial
http://www.cuttsreviews.com/jcutts/gmat/

Answer 3

I'm not familiar with the GMAT, but I think the best way to go about it is studying a lot (as in, give yourself more than a couple weeks to study). Give yourself time to practice on practice tests and questions. Review. See what problems you got wrong, and understand why they're wrong. You'll improve, I promise.

Answer 4

Get more of the answers correct this time...