Effective Study Plan for 2.5 Months

Question

Hey there GMAT Club,

I completed 80% of the Economist prep course and scored a 640 on the latest CAT. The course was thorough and pretty much a study plan by itself. The rhythm was basically learn the concept, practice, practice, practice, and then learn a new concept. I did that for 2 months and that improved my score significantly with a raw score of Q48 and V31. The problem is that the Economist prep course is now in Maintenance Mode and I am now lost in developing an effective study plan on my own. The resources I have left are below as follows:

Manhattan Guides(Question Banks, 4 CATS left, Strategy Guides)
Magoosh(Used all CATS and all practice questions, can reset though)
Economist(Maintenance Mode, 3 CATS left, 7 Tutoring Sessions Left)
Gmat Club Tests ( 1000+ questions which can do 22 Quant tests and 5 Verbal tests)

Now the question is what course of action should I proceed with. This is what I think I should do daily:

Monday- Wednesday: Practice questions and quizzes (Economist, Magoosh, MGMAT Question Banks, GMAT Club Quizzes/tests)
Thurday: Review errors and incorrect questions from practice questions and quizzes
Friday: study the concepts of the incorrect questions and errors from MGMAT Strategy Guides
Saturday -Sunday: CATS (MGMAT, GMAT Club, Economist)

Repeat the next week.

For the CATS each week I will start with MGMAT, then transition to GMAT CLUB TESTS, then to economist CATS, and then save the GMAT PREP as the last CAT the week before the test date.

Does this seem effective or would this plan make me grind away endlessly?

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi cadetfm,

You seem to have the right attitude for this process, you've given yourself plenty of time to study and you have a variety of resources to work with. All of these are good things. I'm curious about what you have not defined though: your overall goals and timeline....

1) What is your goal score?
2) When are you planning to apply to Business School?
3) Have you thought about which Schools you'll apply to?

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

cadetfm · Answer

For my overall time line from this point until June I hope that I take my last GMAT and score in a range from 700-720. From June to next August I would like to visit the schools I hope to attend. I expect to send my first applications for round 1 in the fall of 2016. The schools that Id like to apply to would be Fuqua, darden, and Kellogg. I'm attracted to these programs due to their placement in management consultant firms.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi cadetfm,

Your overall plan and timeline look really good. You've given yourself plenty of time to succeed and you have the necessary "buffer" to adjust your plans as needed. I think that you should proceed as you've planned. You should also plan to post your CAT scores here on a regular basis, so that we can track your progress and make the necessary adjustments sooner rather than later.

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

GMATPill · Answer

I would recommend not taking so many CAT tests. Of course, we have one you can use here: https://www.gmatpill.com/gmat-practice-t ... ctice-test

But with so many -- you are not allocating enough time to actually learn from your mistakes. All you will do is plow through tests and perhaps build endurance -- but endurance is not enough. You need high accuracy AND endurance.

You can explore our 2 month study plan here: https://www.gmatpill.com/gmat-practice-t ... study-plan

cadetfm · Answer

Thank you GMATPill that is an insight I have not looked at regarding taking too many tests. I wonder if the 2 days allocated for review and concept learning will be enough for me to understand my mistakes on incorrect answers. I may have to divide test taking every 2 weeks instead of every week to ensure that I understand the material and that I dont make silly mistakes. Though endurance is a rather weak area on my part and I frequently find myself running out of time or becoming brain dead during extended sessions. I will follow up with my economist tutoring session to develop a 2-3 month plan.

cadetfm · Answer

Good progress so far. I just took a CAT this morning from the Economist and it looks like my study plan is really producing some gains. It looks like I'm within striking distance for my goal of a 710-720! Here is what my progress has been for the past few weeks.

25 Jan: Economist CAT (590 43Q 30V)
01 Mar: Economist CAT (640 48Q 31V)
11 Mar: Gmat Club Quant CAT (44Q)
15 Mar: Gmat Club Verbal CAT (29V)
18 Mar: Gmat Club Quant CAT (47Q)
22 Mar: Economist CAT (680 45Q 40V)

There seems to be variation within my quant score and a big jump with my verbal score. I'm confident that I can tighten my shot group with my quant score since it seems to hover around a general level but I'm gonna have to really keep an eye on my verbal score to ensure that it wasn't a fluke. But right now the outlook seems pretty optimistic and I'll be ready for my test in May! I've slightly changed my weekly study schedule by only dedicating Friday and Saturday for review and conceptual learning as I believe I'm gonna need Monday through Thursday for strict practice questions. Sundays still have been dedicated for CATs or gmat club tests. I will probably start incorporating AWA into sundays also.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi cadetfm,

While this progression in your scores is encouraging, your score goal requires a level of detail and precision that you might not be properly factoring in.

On this last CAT: 
1) Did you include the Essay and IR sections?
2) Did you take it at home?
3) Did you take it at the same time of day as your Official GMAT?

There's a 'reality' to Test Day that MUST be included in your studies if you want to prepare in the most realistic way possible (and score at a high level). The more your CAT 'experiences' differ from Test Day, the more likely the score results are to be inaccurate.

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

cadetfm · Answer

Thanks for the insight!

1) Unfortunately the Economist CATS do not include the IR and AWA sections. I am aware that these sections in the beginning will drain my endurance. I plan to build up my endurance for the actual GMAT by using the Manhattan Gmat CATS, which have all the sections, towards the end of my study.

2) I did take the test at home in a quiet setting but I usually study at starbucks (real noisy and fickle internet connection)

3) This test was taken in the morning. The GMAT i took in December was during the evening.

I have a month and a half left until my test date. I plan for the first half I can tighten my shot group for each individual section to get a high score in each just so I have the tactics and knowledge down. For the second half of the prep I plan to build on endurance and timing/guessing strategies.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi cadetfm,

If possible, you might want to try taking a CAT at a public library (there are sometimes private rooms that you might be able to reserve and the internet connection tends to be stable). Since you have not taken a FULL-LENGTH CAT yet, I highly recommend that you do so soon (possibly this coming weekend). You're going to find that issues that center around fatigue, endurance and pacing take far longer to 'fix' than you might think. Waiting to address those issues until the latter part of your studies might not be the best idea.

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

cadetfm · Answer

gmatclubbing-administered-770-50q-45v-86239.html

I find it extremely interesting how this individual took most of his CATS untimed.... This may be a course of action that I should pursue. As it seems I am packing alot of gmat club tests, economist cats, and mgmat cats into my schedule in a short period of time, I may be more concerned about timing and fatigue than actual knowledge/concept on high level questions. I will post my amended study schedule shortly.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi cadetfm,

Taking lots of CATs will not make you a better Test Taker. A CAT is a 'measuring device' (much in the same way that a scale will measure your weight; standing on a scale every few days WON'T change your weight). You should plan to take 1 CAT every 1-2 weeks; taking more than that likely won't help you in any material way. Taking CATs in an unrealistic way (re: untimed) is also NOT a good idea, since Test Day will NOT be untimed. The bulk of your time should be spent on practice, review, etc. - the CAT is a way to measure how far your skills have progressed from that practice.

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

JTuquero · Answer

Hi Cadetfm

The Economist GMAT Tutor includes a section that covers the theoretical aspects of AWA; our instructors will also mark your essays and work with you to improve your writing skills. I can PM you with more detail on who to contact for more detail on utilizing this section during your prep.

Jessica

cadetfm · Answer

Just a weekly update.

25 Jan: Economist CAT (590 43Q 30V)
01 Mar: Economist CAT (640 48Q 31V)
11 Mar: Gmat Club Quant CAT (44Q)
15 Mar: Gmat Club Verbal CAT (29V)
18 Mar: Gmat Club Quant CAT (47Q)
22 Mar: Economist CAT (680 45Q 40V)
24 Mar: Gmat Club Quant CAT (45Q)
29 Mar: Gmat Club Verbal CAT (26V....)

These gmat club CATS are hard. Plus the timing on my verbal is killing me. Attached are the reports if anyone is interested in analyzing it but it seems as though CR and timing are my weaknesses for verbal. I need to start systematically breaking down CR problems efficiently as I sometime catch myself getting to involved in reading the story.

Economist gmat has me at a range from 650 to 720. Magoosh has my quant ranging from 43-47 and my verbal from 35 to 42. Just submitted my AWA to be graded. Ill be taking my manhattan test next Sunday which I'm sure will not be as optimistic as I hope it will be. Right now for this week I'll be doing more practice questions from economist and magoosh then taking a GClub Quant Cat. For the review portion I'll be breaking down into the Mgmat CR Strategy Guide. Then Sunday will be my full MGmat CAT.

cadetfm · Answer

Another weekly update:

Tough week so far. My quant took a hit on the Gmat Club test and today I took a full CAT from MGmat. I scored a 580, which is a little lower then I expected, but I know Mgmat quant tends to be more difficult. I focused this last week on reviewing more of the concepts rather than taking lots of practice quizzes and tests, so pretty much Thursday, Friday, and Saturday I was hitting the MGMAT strategy guides going through all the concepts and questions. I found the guides helpful and got through CR and SC twice. My RC is pretty week so I'm still going through that guide. What I find crazy though is that the Quant guides and practice questions are nowhere near the level of difficulty of what you would find on a MGMAT CAT though the online question banks are pretty similar.

This week I plan on hitting my quant hard to maintain a 45+ and honing in on my verbal so its more predictable. My range for verbal has been from 26 to a 40.....! RC is definitely my weakest of the verbal sections.

25 Jan: Economist CAT (590 43Q 30V)
01 Mar: Economist CAT (640 48Q 31V)
11 Mar: Gmat Club Quant CAT (44Q)
15 Mar: Gmat Club Verbal CAT (29V)
18 Mar: Gmat Club Quant CAT (47Q)
22 Mar: Economist CAT (680 45Q 40V)
24 Mar: Gmat Club Quant CAT (45Q)
29 Mar: Gmat Club Verbal CAT (26V)
31 Mar: Gmat Club Quant CAT (37Q)
05 Apr: MGMAT CAT (580 40Q 31V)

cadetfm · Answer

Its been a while since I have updated my status but I'm here now to give you all my progress so far after a rough work week.

25 Jan: Economist CAT (590 43Q 30V)
01 Mar: Economist CAT (640 48Q 31V)
11 Mar: Gmat Club Quant CAT (44Q)
15 Mar: Gmat Club Verbal CAT (29V)
18 Mar: Gmat Club Quant CAT (47Q)
22 Mar: Economist CAT (680 45Q 40V)
24 Mar: Gmat Club Quant CAT (45Q)
29 Mar: Gmat Club Verbal CAT (26V)
31 Mar: Gmat Club Quant CAT (37Q)
05 Apr: MGMAT CAT (580 40Q 31V)
07 Apr: Gmat Club Quant CAT (36Q)
12 Apr: Gmat Club Verbal CAT (29V)
14 Apr: Gmat Club Quant CAT (47Q)
19 Apr: Veritas Prep CAT Free (630 43Q 34V)
21 Apr: Gmat Club Quant CAT (36Q)
27 Apr: Economist CAT (620 48Q 28V)

It seems that I should consistently hit the 45-48 range within the quant section from looking at my full cats and gmat club tests. My verbal is still swinging pretty wide from as low as 26 to a high of 40.... I know I need to tighten my shot group in verbal to make it consistent. I will restudy the Manhattan gmat guides for verbal to see if that will strengthen consistency but my overall weakness in all my verbal cats have been reading comprehension which the Manhattan guides don't really cover all that well. I may look into EGMAT as I heard they are a great resource for great verbal performance but I really do not want to spend any more money or spend time going through a course again. I may opt for buying a ton of practice question banks for rote exercise.

OptimusPrep · Answer

You should also consider taking Optimus Prep's VERBAL BOOSTER as it is full of verbal material, notes, videos and 3,000 questions.

Please send me a PM if you are interested in a free 7 days trial without providing a payment information

cadetfm · Answer

Back brief on my status so far:

I just took the gmat and received a 650 (48Q and 31V)........ What disappointed me was that during my practice tests and studying, my scores for verbal was going from mid 30's to high 30's. I knew I was fine with my quant and I was gonna score in the high 40's but my verbal completely shocked me. Idk whether it was my nerves or I blanked out during the verbal portion. Now I did feel like the sentence correction and RC portions were odd but I was killing the CR questions. At the end of the exam I was expecting a high 600 to low 700 but alas I saw the dreaded 650. Below were my practice scores....

07Jun: Veritas 610 (43Q 31V)
14Jun: Veritas 640 (43Q 35V)
21Jun: Manhattan 640 (44Q 34V)
28Jun: Veritas 620 (42Q 33V)
05Jul: Veritas 650 (43Q 36V)
12Jul: Manhattan 630 (39Q 37V)
19Jul: Gmat Prep 690 (47Q 38V)
25Jul: Official gmat 650 (48Q 31V)

As you can see, you might find how I am dumbfounded by how much my verbal has dropped after scoring 35+ on several of the practice CATS leading up to the actual exam. I got the enhanced score report to see where I might have floundered but the report is not available as of now (I guess it takes time for my official score to get into the system). I am planning to take the gmat again in a 1-1.5 months. I am focusing right now looking into a verbal course which will make me flawless. I have heard of good things about E-Gmat verbal online. Any suggestions?

Im gonna keep my quant skills sharp by visiting the economist and magoosh questions frequently. But right now I need to hone down my verbal to perfection. Receiving a 31 on the official GMAT is embarrassing after getting 35+ on my practice exams. All the help and insight will be appreciated.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi cadetfm,

I'm sorry to hear that Test Day didn't go as well as planned. If you can answer a few questions, then we should be able to figure this out. I want to start with your CATs...

When you took your CATs:
1) Did you take the ENTIRE CAT each time (including the Essay and IR sections)?
2) Did you take them at home?
3) Did you take them at the same time of day as your Official GMAT?
4) Did you ever do ANYTHING during your CATs that you couldn't do on Test Day (pause the CAT, listen to music, etc.)? 
5) Did you ever take a CAT more than once?

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

cadetfm · Answer

EMPOWERGmat thanks for replying to my comment so quick.

1) Yes I took the CAT entirely including all sections leading up to the exam. I even felt comfortable everytime taking it (not rushed or anxious, felt like a normal routine every sunday)
2) Some were mostly at home and others at a library. Reason why at home is cause I can rely on the stable internet connection. Home was very quite and noiseless also.
3) Most of my practice CATs were at night but I took the official one in the noon. I didn't really feel/see a difference in my behavior or thought pattern though....
4) Normal route... nothing new...
5) took plenty of full length practice CATS and official gmat once before this one

I have used a variety of courses such as Manhattan, magoosh, economist, veritas, and empowergmat(very helpful tactics and strategies). I was almost certain I was gonna score a 690+ after taking the gmat prep exam. I was not worried about the quant at all but my verbal took a nosedive...... Once I get the full enhanced report I should be able to pick out what I did wrong on my verbal.

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