Hi,

My goal is to study the 1 year MBA at Said Business School, Oxford. However, I am not planning on studying my MBA until around 2014. My question to all of you more experienced GMAT gurus is what is the best way to study for the test given the timeframe? I guess what I am wanting to know is would it be best to study intensely for 3-6 months or alternatively study at a slower pace over say a period of 1-1.5 years?

Thanks in advance for your help

Cheers,

Alex

There are a couple of things you can start with right away to build a strong foundation for the time when you actually start studying for GMAT:
1. If English is not your first language, try and get into the habit of reading. It will help you a lot when you actually start preparing. Start with whatever you enjoy reading and then try and get through 2-3 books from every field.
2. Depending on how strong your Math is, try and allot some time to revision of high school Math. Solving equations, doing calculations quickly, making graphs, squares cubes of numbers etc.

Thereafter, 3-6 months will be quite enough.
_________________

Karishma
Veritas Prep | GMAT Instructor
My Blog

Save 10% on Veritas Prep GMAT Courses And Admissions Consulting
Enroll now. Pay later. Take advantage of Veritas Prep's flexible payment plan options.

Veritas Prep Reviews

Well,

1) The GMAT tests your knowledge of American English and some prep providers are careful to point out the differences & peculiarities between American English & Commonwealth English. It may be a good idea to at least get the Sentence Correction materials from those fiends of yours, after they have no use for them.

2) You may take advantage of many free materials here on GMATClub - tests, notes people shared, sample questions with discussions, etc - you can solve questions (whenever you have 5-10 minutes and you want a puzzle) and automatically have a log of it in your GMATClub "workbook" (a great tool) - this way you will have a great diagnostic overview when the time comes...

In all, my recommendation is simple - get materials form your friends and read the Sentence Correction and Math stuff for fun when you have time + become regular here at the Club - solve questions here, accumulate sense of the broader picture (people share amazing stories, note, insight), learn from our mistakes and (hopefully) successes =)

Buy the relevant, updated materials 6 months before the actual test day, then the hardcore prep begins =) If you hang around, you will need no advice on what to do when this time comes, you will be an expert =)
_________________

If you found my contribution helpful, please click the +1 Kudos button on the left, I kinda need some =)

When you give kudos, you do not lose your previously earned kudos, you rather contribute to the forum's culture of appreciation.

Use the official free GMATPrep software from GMAC.
Download it from here.
It is as close to the real thing as it gets - not only the questions, but also the adaptive nature / algorithm.
The GMATClub tests are harder - they have been devised to be such intentionally.
Here are some free tests.
Good luck!
_________________

If you found my contribution helpful, please click the +1 Kudos button on the left, I kinda need some =)

When you give kudos, you do not lose your previously earned kudos, you rather contribute to the forum's culture of appreciation.

1 to 2 years is wayyyyyy to long bro (or gal). You will likely end up forgetting what you learned in the beginning. In addition, most people work their hardest when they get closer to the deadline. 6 months should fully prep you. 3-4 will be good because you are more likely to be serious in that time frame.

also the GMATPREP is as real as it gets. I scored 580, 590, 680 (last one slightly inflated because I had two or three of the questions arleady) on my three attempts and got a 600 on test day.