3-month GMAT Strategy

Thanks

for the first four weeks, learn your basics very well. take a practise test at the end of the fourth week. Try to participate here as much as you can.
for the next four weeks, continue practise with quality problems. Now in the se four weeks, test your knowledge under a timed environment. take atleast four practise tests. you will learn some more.
for the last four weeks, consolidate and take more practise tests. go back to what you have learnt over the past four weeks and see if there are still any serious weaknesses.

Please read below to learn more..

I am tutoring a student and i offer you the same advice i offered him.

Keep track of three things.

1. Are you repeating mistakes? The best way to practise is to never make the same mistake twice. Ofcourse, thats a ideal goal. but we can always improve if we keep the goal in mind. Read my post about using an error log for help with this.
2. What did you learn today? -- Solving problems and getting them right is not an objective. a good objective is -- what did i really learn from this effort.
3. On your practise tests, try to let go of a wierd problem. never panic. you cannot get every problem right all the time. there will be some random variation in performance. Practise "letting go" on your practise tests. if it works for you, you will feel confident about guessing in the first 15 questions.

I have heard and myself experienced the obsession over getting the first 15 questions right. What happens is , we are left with too little time to solve the rest of the problems. If our score was determined by the first 15 questions, the test would only have 15 questions. ( thanks alex)

Its all about applying your lessons correctly to unlimited number of problems. and for that, we need to first learn your lessons correctly. And for that, we better not forget to analyze the error log ,study mistakes and to learn from every single problem. work extra hard and keep that attitude of learning. always.

PREP:

1. Given a three month time frame, i think its ideal for you to take a prep course. The only prep course i have personally reviewed is GMAX Online.
https://www.gmatclub.com/content/reviews/gmax/index.php
The structured look of this ONLINE course will help you stay on track and keep you organized. I have included sample video clips of the course in my review. you may email info@gmaxonline.com if you seek further help.

2. Get a copy of the Official Guide for gmat review, 10 edition.Also try to get some of the paper tests available on mba.com . If you do choose to take a prep course, it will help you a great deal in solving the problems in the OG and the paper tests.

After you have learnt the basics and recorded your lessons, now is the time to start testing yourself in a timed environment.

For math, i would encourage you to practise with our Quant Challenges. https://www.gmatclub.com/challenge The Quant challenges are tougher and you will find yourself pushing constantly to solve a problem. Thats exactly our goal. Knowledge is best retained when we struggle hard to learn it. (thanks akamai) We want you to apply all that you have learned to solve a problem. This will help you improve your concepts.

I also encourage you to participate in our forum discussions. Post your problems and solve the problems posted by others. try to explain the solution of a problem to others. teaching is the best way to learn.

Once you have tested yourself under a timed environment, you will find that you are making simple mistakes. thats ok. Again, your objective is to learn always.. whether its your practise test or the official guide. The only thing that matters is your score on test day.

for verbal, your best friends are the Official Guide, the paper tests and the LSATs. If you do choose to take a prep course, it will help your verbal ability a lot. Again, i would ask that you participate in the verbal forum discussions. learn from others and most importantly , teach others.. not only will your help them, you will help yoursefl.

Hope this helps
Praetorian

Thanks for your help again. I will print your advice and just put it on my desk.

Your forum is really great and helpful. I will try to participate regularly and it is also a motivation not to be alone
I am convinced that I must work also on my concentration.

Bye

jas