3 month study plan

Question

Hello!

I’m looking for feedback/advice on my 3-month GMAT prep plan. I took a practice test after familiarizing myself with the contents of the test (read GMAT OG review sections) and scored 530 (32QR, 30V). I ran out of time in both sections, so I ended having to guess a few questions.

I’m planning on using OG/Wiley for most of my studying but I’m open to purchasing additional books/content if needed (Manhattan books, Mangoosh online resources, etc).

My target is 650. My plan is to spend 4 weeks reviewing / answering practice questions for quant and another 4 weeks for verbal. I’ll review IR and AWA within those 8 weeks as well. The remaining 4 weeks will be focused on reviewing the areas that need the most improvement.

Is this reasonable? How many practice tests should I take? Should I use more than the OG?

Thanks in advance.

Posted from my mobile device

Thank you all for your help. I've come up with a tentative 12-week plan, please let me know what you think:

Week 0 (last week): Practice test #1
Week 1: Chapters 1-11 of the MGMAT "All Quant" Book (or equivalent book/service) + relevant exercises from GMAT OG
Week 2: Chapters 1-7 of the MGMAT "All Verbal" Book (or equivalent book/service) + relevant exercises from GMAT OG
Week 3: Chapters 12-23 of MGMAT Quant Book + relevant exercises from GMAT OG
Week 4: Chapters 8-15 of the MGMAT Verbal Book + relevant exercises from GMAT OG
Week 5: Chapters 24-35 of the MGMAT Quant Book + relevant exercises from GMAT OG
Week 6: Chapters 16-22 of the MGMAT Verbal Book + relevant exercises from GMAT OG
Week 7: Practice Test #2 + IR and AWA Review
Week 8: OG Quant Review Practice Questions
Week 9: OG Verbal Review Practice Questions
Week 10: Practice Test 3 + Focus on weaknesses, error log
Week 11: Practice Test 4 + Focus on weaknesses, error log
Week 12: Focus on weaknesses, error log + Real GMAT exam

Let me know if you think I should spend more/less time in any particular area or whether I should squeeze in more tests.

Russ19 · Answer

Hi UnconsciousMind , You might find ''The Definitive GMAT Study Plan - 2021 Edition'' useful: https://gmatclub.com/forum/gmat-study-p ... ml?fl=menu Good Luck!

HoneyLemon · Answer

Hi  UnconsciousMind ,
 You may consider taking a additional course from TTP to learn concept and then go for OG. You can take a free trial as well to check whether it suits your need.

All the best.

nislam · Answer

Hi UnconsciousMind , "Interactive GMAT Study Plan" It has some effective plane that would be beneficial to you. https://gmatclub.com/forum/gmat-self-pr ... 45667.html

UnconsciousMind · Answer

nislam : Thanks - I took a look at it but it seems to be incomplete (it’s supposed to be a 60 day plan , but it only goes to week 4).

HoneyLemon : thanks for the feedback - I will absolutely check it out. I also found free copies of the “All the Verbal” and “All the Quant” Manhattan books online which I think might be beneficial to learn concepts. Any thoughts on those?

ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi UnconsciousMind,

Since you are asking about your GMAT study plan, I have the perfect article for you to check out:

The Best Way to Study for the GMAT

Feel free to reach out with any questions.

UnconsciousMind · Answer

Thank you all for your help. I've come up with a tentative 12-week plan, please let me know what you think:

Week 0 (last week): Practice test #1
Week 1: Chapters 1-11 of the MGMAT "All Quant" Book (or equivalent book/service) + relevant exercises from GMAT OG
Week 2: Chapters 1-7 of the MGMAT "All Verbal" Book (or equivalent book/service) + relevant exercises from GMAT OG
Week 3: Chapters 12-23 of MGMAT Quant Book + relevant exercises from GMAT OG
Week 4: Chapters 8-15 of the MGMAT Verbal Book + relevant exercises from GMAT OG
Week 5: Chapters 24-35 of the MGMAT Quant Book + relevant exercises from GMAT OG
Week 6: Chapters 16-22 of the MGMAT Verbal Book + relevant exercises from GMAT OG
Week 7: Practice Test #2 + IR and AWA Review
Week 8: OG Quant Review Practice Questions
Week 9: OG Verbal Review Practice Questions
Week 10: Practice Test 3 + Focus on weaknesses, error log
Week 11: Practice Test 4 + Focus on weaknesses, error log
Week 12: Focus on weaknesses, error log + Real GMAT exam

Let me know if you think I should spend more/less time in any particular area or whether I should squeeze in more tests.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi UnconsciousMind,

A 530 is a solid initial CAT score (the Average Score on the Official GMAT hovers around 550 most years), but there might be some potential issues with your Study Plan. I've send you a PM with some notes and additional questions.

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

Contact Rich at: Rich.C@empowergmat.com

GMATWhizTeam · Answer

Hi UnconsciousMind,

Let me share my 2 cents from my experience of scoring 740 on GMAT and helping many students reach their target score. Taking extra time to solve questions is a symptom and not the disease itself. Let me elaborate.

There are 2 things that you do while solving questions - 1. You think about how to solve the question and 2. You solve the question. It's the first point that eats up unnecessary time. Now how do you tackle Point 1. Most people think the best solution is by solving additional questions. It does help but sadly is not the most effective solution because by just practising more questions you end repeating the same mistakes.

The better solution is to learn the right logical methods to solve questions and then master these methods with additional practice.

Coming to OG, OG may be a great source for solving GMAT like questions, however, it is definitely not the ideal way to prepare in your case. Moreover, you may find that the OG is a good option as a question bank but lacks detailed explanations for you to use for improvement. It’s always better to prepare with a definitive resource to help you learn concepts while formulating a consistent strategy to solve questions before practicing them from the OG. This way, your preparation will be a lot more structured, and the chances of you leaving gaps in your learning will be significantly less. Focus on improving the method you follow to solve questions because that's what stops people from hitting their target score.

3 months is a good prep time if utilised in a disciplined and strategic manner. Having a right study plan saves you half the effort

How to make a proper study plan? 
The right way to make a proper study plan is to organize the concepts based on their difficulty level, dedicate a few hours to study every day and then make clear deadlines for every week. Having clear deadlines will help you stay motivated right till the end. Having said that, beginners might find it difficult to make a proper study plan. And following a  generic study plan is not advisable because you need to create a study plan based on the number of hours you can dedicate for studies .

You can get your  personalized study plan for free  by signing up for   free trial   of the course. The dashboard asks you for the number of hours you can dedicate in a week and then creates a study plan for you. You will be provided weekly deadlines as well. So, all you have to do is to follow that study plan.

The importance of using a standard resource:  
The only method to make sure that you invest your time, money and effort in an effective way is to use a standard resource which teaches you the concepts, strategies and also helps you work on your weaker areas. Studying using OG or a few random resources might help you to solve GMAT like questions but I’m afraid that they won’t be able to help you much from a strategy perspective.

I would suggest you to go for some standard course for your preparation which can help you prepare in a structured and efficient manner thereby increasing your productivity. It’s always better to spare some more time on your preparation until you are ready instead of missing out on your dream colleges/ b-schools in hurry.

Check out how Ritwik scored a 760 with a Q51 and a V41 in his 1st attempt despite being a non-native speaker: 
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njAPr_bZmxM

GMATWhiz helps you with all these things as we follow a  structured and methodical way of teaching things , which makes the learning process simpler and efficient. It also helps you to develop an understanding of the test maker’s intention behind asking the question. It uses an  AI powered learning platform  to provide you with  real time improvement modules  after every practice quiz. It provides you with  additional concept videos  and  practise quizzes  which helps you overcome your weaker areas in a specific topic right away without having to put in additional effort to identify your weaker areas.

Feel free to contact if you have any further queries.

You can always write back to me here or the better way would be to connect over a call and have a discussion. You can schedule a free consultation call using the below link.
    Click here to schedule a call

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