Hello All,

First of all, let me congratulate the supporters/moderators of this forum for creating and maintaining this amazing website. I joined just 1 day ago and after browsing thru forums, I feel that I am not alone who is having problems with GMAT preparation.

I was reading thru different forums and I got more confused than before. Let me tell you about myself first. I am an engineer and working for about 4-5 years in the industry. I recently realized that I do not want to be an engineer all my life. So I started exploring options and MBA was the most lucrative one. I thought I will start preparing for GMAT, take it in next couple of months and then do research for what I would like to do.

Anyway, so I started preparing about 3 weeks ago. I read PR book and really liked it for the simple language and good strategies. I also tried to go thru Kaplan, but I found it difficult to understand. After going thru PR, I took their Warmup test and did not do well enough and found myself somewhere in the middle, or in in PR's terms, I was in BIN 2 on the scale of 1 to 3. Then recently I started doing their practice tests and I am doing so-so, not so good I would say. I usually try to time these tests and at the end, I end up doing some guess work.

So, now I have started doubting my study habits, I do not know if I am doing this right. I feel that I am just doing this without any plan as such. Initially, I was thinking about taking PR's course, but decided against it after I came to know about the fees they charge ($1250 for 7 lectures, does not make sense).

Can someone help me make a study plan? Which books should I start using, in what order. Which websites are useful.
Whether I should time myself on these tests rightnow or for the time being I should just concentrate on solving the problems and learn from mistakes. When should I actually start timing myself. When I make a mistake, what sort of notes I should take. How would I make strategies to tackle certain types of GMAT questions. etc. etc.

I am sure I will get some insights from you guys. This is one of the best online forums I have ever registered to.

Thanks,
Buds