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My Strategy & Books - Opinions Pls

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bhanushalinikhil
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 Q39  V28
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My Strategy & Books - Opinions Pls [#permalink] New post   03 Aug 2009, 12:08
Hello,

First of all, a Huge Thank you to all the members of this forum. I can't been thankful enough for all that I am getting from this forum. This is one of the best forums I have ever been a part of.

I am writing this post so that you all can give your opinions about my strategy for my next GMAT encounter. A small background. I took GMAT exactly a week ago. Scored 560. I was disappointed but not broken. It has only made me stronger and I wish to crack the test. In last 1 week, I gave a couple of Diagnostic Tests to know where exactly I stand.

Knewton : 650 (Q44 V35[don't remember about verbal])
PowerPrep1 : 640 (Q41 V36)

I do have few problems in basics and so am planning to start from scratch for both, Quant and Verbal. Following are the books I am planning to get in a few days

For Quant Basics :
Cliffs Math Review for Standardized Tests

For Verbal Basics :
Manhattan SC
Manhattan CR & RC.

I have already started reading GMAT Fiction books as Sir bb has suggested. I already have all the 3 OGs. Also, every weekend, I am planning to take a full length test so as to compare my progress. During the week, I will solve the questions thrown in by users in these forums. I sure do wish to have a few practice books but I am not sure as to which ones I should get.

So far, this is what I have come up with. Please give your opinions about my plan. I am planning to take it in no more than 2 - 3 months. Thanks in advance.

Regards,
Nikhil.
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bipolarbear
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Re: My Strategy & Books - Opinions Pls [#permalink] New post   03 Aug 2009, 13:05
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I have both the MGMAT CR book and a Powerscore LSAT LR book (which i hear is very similar to their GMAT CR book), and i would highly encourage you to consider using Powerscore rather than MGMAT

MGMAT CR book is very short and probably will can get you to the V40 level in less time than Powerscore, but overall I found their strategies to be lacking. Powerscore definitely prepares you for the V45+ level though their book is much more dense.
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Re: My Strategy & Books - Opinions Pls [#permalink] New post   03 Aug 2009, 12:23
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Looks good. You may find Cliff's Math book a bit basic, but I think it is good when it gets to math basics. Good place to start anyway - you can always upgrade if you feel it did not give you the lift needed. With Q39, should not be too hard to get to 45+ with just a few weeks of refresh.

Also take a look here for some extra credit things you can do: gmat-study-plan-for-gmat-novices-start-your-gmat-journey-80727.html
as well as some of the mistakes to avoid (seems like you may have done this already).

make sure you mark/print out all the questions you get wrong. If you are not a native speaker, strongly consider getting a Grammar book such as Doing Grammar or others. May want to also take a look at the Kaplan Verbal Foundations.
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superman
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Re: My Strategy & Books - Opinions Pls [#permalink] New post   03 Aug 2009, 13:27
Looks good, though I would go for MGMAT books for Quant review than Cliff's as you are already in the 35-40 range, Cliff's is kind of real basic

Read MGMAT's SC book more than once, it is real good and once you master SC, you can spend more time on the actual test to crack the long RC passages.
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bhanushalinikhil
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 Q39  V28
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Re: My Strategy & Books - Opinions Pls [#permalink] New post   04 Aug 2009, 03:21
Thanks BB, bipolarbear & gmanjesh. Its good to know that I am starting with a right note. I do have a few questions to ask though :

1) My next plan is to get a good strategy book for Quant. Which books would you suggest?
(Should OG11 suffice?)

2) For Verbal, I will be using Powerscore Bible for CR and RC once I am done with MGMAT Verbal guides. Could this lead to any confusion regarding the strategies?

3) For SC, Manhattan SC Guide along with Notes from the forum should be sufficient, right? Please suggest me your opinions.

Thanks in advance.
Nikhil.
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Re: My Strategy & Books - Opinions Pls [#permalink] New post   06 Aug 2009, 01:42
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bhanushalinikhil wrote:
Thanks BB, bipolarbear & gmanjesh. Its good to know that I am starting with a right note. I do have a few questions to ask though :

1) My next plan is to get a good strategy book for Quant. Which books would you suggest?
(Should OG11 suffice?)


If you don't need too much refresh, then Kaplan Math Workbook should do fine.
Quote:
2) For Verbal, I will be using Powerscore Bible for CR and RC once I am done with MGMAT Verbal guides. Could this lead to any confusion regarding the strategies?

No but you don't really need both. They have the same material/strategy just different words.
Quote:
3) For SC, Manhattan SC Guide along with Notes from the forum should be sufficient, right? Please suggest me your opinions.

Thanks in advance.
Nikhil.

Yes. If you are not a native speaker, consider either Doing Grammar book or Kaplan verbal foundations. Also, try to read as much as you can (see gmat fiction for details)
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Re: My Strategy & Books - Opinions Pls [#permalink]
06 Aug 2009, 01:42

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