180 hours - is it enough?

Question

Hey guys, i'm new here

I'm going to start learning for GMAT and my plan is to realize it in 6 weeks and 180 hours. What do you think, is it more less enough time to spend with OG and Kaplan, or not? Maybe it's even too much? Thanks!

SavageBrother · Answer

I really can't tell you if 180 would be sufficient. What kind of score are you aiming for? How good are you with math/verbal at the moment? How are you going to study during those 180 hours? Are those hours of hardcore studying, or are those hours where sometimes the TV is on and you do some light reading on a couple of subjects? I've studied for about 2 months, average of 3 hours on a weekday, 4-5 hours on a weekendday, increasing this in the last 2 weeks of my preperation, and I feel I could've done better.

My advice; make a study plan.
Take a D-test, build your study plan around the results. Then after some time take a practice exam and adjust your study plan (repeat once or twice).

Good luck.

My advice; make a study plan. 
Take a D-test, build your study plan around the results. Then after some time take a practice exam and adjust your study plan (repeat once or twice).

Good luck.

matisch · Answer

thank you for a reply. I am aiming at 620-650, at the moment I'm studying economics and finances, so have quite much stuff in math.

I plan to study 5-6 hours on a weekday and free time on weekends. Is it worth doing e.g. Kaplan test with scores or is it better to do only DT without score?

SavageBrother · Answer

Okay, well since I do not have enough experience to tell you whether you will get your desired score, I'll skip on that. I think you have an advantage considering your studyprogram. Be sure not to 'over do' it with the studying, take some time off now and than to relax.

Good luck. I hope someone experienced with Kaplan will reply to you soon.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi matisch,

The idea of a 'minimum' number of study hours comes from the general idea that most Test Takers study for 3 months and put in 10-15 hours per week during that time. So some people think that 120 hours is 'enough', while others think that 180 is 'enough.' It's a REALLY dubious deduction. The point about the length of study time is NOT about the total number of hours put in (but you WILL likely need to study a lot to hit your goals). The point is that the type of studying that you'll do for the GMAT is different from the type of studying you would do for a College/University Final Exam. You can't really 'cram' for the GMAT - the process takes time.

Academically, I think that 180 hours of study in 6 weeks is NOT a good idea. However, it might work for you.

First, we need to establish a 'baseline score' for you, so we can get a sense of your strengths and weaknesses and have a result that we can compare future results to. This will require that you take a FULL-LENGTH CAT test. If you've taken one already, then great - what were your scores? If you haven't taken one yet, then you can download 2 for free from www.mba.com. A FULL CAT takes about 4 hours to complete, so make sure that you've set aside enough time to take the Test in one sitting. You should report back here with your scores.

I'm curious why you're planning to try to do all of this in such a short period of time?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

matisch · Answer

Hi EMPOWERgmatRichC,
thank you for your detailed reply. 12hours/week in 3 months are in total 140 hours. I'm going to study 180 hours, so maybe even to much??

About 6 weeks. This time will be during my holidays, so I will be concentrate only on my GMAT, I think it's better to keep such a high level of contrentration than to study 180 hours in e.g. 8-10 weeks, what dou you think?

At the moment I don't know what my "baseline score", but if we suppose it to ~500, is it enough time to reach 630, if I am a relative smart guy? :D

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi matisch,

Until you take that first practice CAT, we have NO idea of your relative strengths and weaknesses. The GMAT is not an IQ test, so while it's certainly beneficial to be "reasonably smart", that really tells me nothing about how YOU will handle the Full Exam. I've worked with some brilliant people over the years who were so stubborn and 'stuck' in their ways that they were unable to properly adapt to what they NEEDED to learn about the GMAT. So there's something to be said for how flexible you are with your thinking - can you learn how to effectively deal with the GMAT?

An overall score of 630 certainly seems like a reasonable goal, but we still have no basis for comparison. 6 weeks might seem like a lot of time, but it's really not. Until you get started, we won't know for sure.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

JTuquero · Answer

Hi Matisch,

I agree with Rich, it's important to understand where you stand now. Take a full exam, then design your study plan around how you'll take your score from where it is now to the 620-650 range. The time you allotted yourself to prepare is shorter (and much more intense) than the average test taker, but each person is different. Just remember that part of your study time should also involve reviewing summaries and notes you take along the way.

Best of luck, and let us know how things go!

Jessica

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180 hours - is it enough?

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