Hi I'm new here and was hesitant in registering as I have been a "silent" reader for the past few days. I think I'm glad I did. So I have a little less than two weeks to take the gmat as my test date is on February 19th. So for the past three and a half weeks I have been studying with the OG and about a week ago I got the Kaplin premier mostly because I wanted the four more practice tests. Before I start studying at all I took a practice test. This was before I knew almost anything about the GMAT I got a 370. I wasn't even sure if that was good or bad at first. After looking into b-schools I know I had a lot of work to do and was a bit skeptical if I could actually do well on the GMAT. So right after I got my Kaplin and after two and a half weeks with the OG I took a Kaplin CAT and got a 500 Q(24) V(29). To most people on here that would be a terrible score but I was actually pretty happy with it. I improved by 130. Here are my top 5 schools from least prestigious to most (none are in the Top 50 b-schools) 5. YSU where I'm getting my under grad as I'm a senior (need at least a 450 to go here) 4. Urbana University in Urbana Ohio (need around the same but no "set score") 3. Cleveland State 2. University of Toledo 1. University of Cincinnati My GPA in my undergrad is a 3.6 on a 4.0 scale. I couple of days ago I took another Kaplin CAT and scored a 470. I was pretty upset with this one as I was not focused and didn't have the right attitude going into this one. I was letting some personal stress bring me down before taking it. After reading some posts on here I am now really motivated and want to score a 560. I am really isolating myself from other matters in my life and beginning to have the right frame of mind. What should I do in these two weeks to be the best prepared for the beast?

What's your motivation for going straight from undergrad to an MBA program, especially an unranked MBA program? I'm not trying to tell you what your life goals should be, but chances are you'd be much better off getting a few years of work experience, getting some real GMAT prep in, then applying to a higher-ranked MBA program.

Either way, don't just work OG problems or CAT exams. They won't teach you much. Get something like the MGMAT set and learn the quant and verbal fundamentals and how to actually work the problems.

I forgot to add: Take a GMAT prep test or a MGMAT test and see how much you score. I personally never liked the Kaplan tests because the scores are pretty low as compared to what it could really mean.

No, focus on learning, not taking tests. Tests can only teach you so much. Learn the formulas, equations, and processes for working all the types of problems that come up most frequently on the GMAT.

Why the burning desire to take it on Feb 19 again?

ok I will study the strategies in my Kaplin premier more for this week and only do the two practice tests. The main reason I don't want to push the test back any is because I feel that the preparation is pretty taxing. I know it's kind of a bad excuse but I am constantly thinking about the GMAT. I don't want the constant anticipation to linger on for a real long time. I am shooting for 3 to 4 hours every day of prep this week and the same until about feb 16th where I'll taper to no studying the day before the exam. Thanks again for all of the feedback.

Not to slam the Kaplan materials, but from my limited experience with them, it seemed like they were focused more on gimmicks (e.g., back solving, picking numbers) than on actual problem-solving strategies. I would strongly recommend the MGMAT strategy guides for quant. From what I understand, the MGMAT SC guide is also one of the best guides around for that topic.

Going back to a point emont made earlier, why the rush to take the GMAT and go to business school? Unless an employer is requiring you to get an MBA to "check the box" for some reason, it probably makes sense to wait a few years, and apply to more highly ranked schools. If you can combine a strong GMAT with a 3.6 GPA, it seems that you could do better. I'm not trying to tell you what to do with your life, but getting an MBA is not inexpensive, and you should be clear on your motivation for doing so. I would strongly advise taking your time with the GMAT, learning core concepts, and revising your business school choices based on the results. Best of luck.

Hi this is a list of preptests you can take to prepare you for the test.
all-gmat-cat-practice-tests-links-prices-reviews-77460.html
It would be good if you studied the basics well first though. Take a couple of weeks to a month to do so then start practicing. I see that your Q is pretty weak so what you have to do is check out Bunuel's profile... it would also be good if you followed his posts... it would improve you r math scores significantly... He has posted tough math qs that would surely prepare you for the exam.
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Thank you for your kudoses Everyone!!!


"It always seems impossible until its done."
-Nelson Mandela

Well, you could follow your plan and take a GMAT Prep test exactly at the 8th day before your exam.If you still score around 300 - 400 there, then please do reschedule.The rule is to reschedule before at least 7 days before the exam,so rescheduling now or on the 8th day will be the same thing.You seem to be confident about your study plan , but still GMAT is a tricky monster to tackle.So, don't take blind shots if you know you will loose.

I am now thinking about possibly rescheduling. Beside the GMAT score itself the cost of going to a ranked school is a factor in me not wanting to go to one. Is the pay off worth it? I know if I got a job, studied for the GMAT at a leisurely pace and saved up for it going to a ranked school might be possible. It the payoff going to be worth it compared to acquiring a MBA at an unranked school without the wait?

Only 1 and a half weeks left so I'm almost down to the home stretch. So far I made my way through a lot of the kaplin 2011 premier strategies (only about 20 pages left) and have probably 1/2 of all the questions in the OG done as well as going through all the brief strategies in the OG. As far as practice CATs go I will only be doing one more on sunday, 6 days before the test. I saw that someone recently got a 700 with about only 20 hours of studying so I know that I'll never score that high but I also realized that I did put in the time so I should take the test on feb 19th. I'll never be as ready as I am now if I don't as far as having the right attitude and having a very easy school and work schedule is concerned.