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Icec14
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Gmat Novice w/High Aspirations Needs Help! 12 Dec 2011, 20:07
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Hello Experts,

I am completely new to this format and the GMAT. I will officially start studying for the gmat tomorrow and have about 4 months to do so. Today I took a practice MGMAT and got a 460 (Q26/V28). Horrid I know. This was without any previous studying. But I know I have a lot of weaknesses to improve upon. I have three questions:

1. What score can I realistically hope to achieve with four months of studying? Of course I want a 700+, but is that unrealistic?

2. Where should I start? I have the Kaplan Premier 2011 thus far. I've read the 3 month study plan and book reviews topic, is there additional advice you can give me?

3. For someone who is attempting to go from 460 to 700+, would it be worth it to pay for an expensive class? or self study?

Any assistance you can give me will be greatly appreciated. Thanks
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KarishmaB
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Gmat Novice w/High Aspirations Needs Help! 13 Dec 2011, 04:07
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Icec14
Hello Experts,

I am completely new to this format and the GMAT. I will officially start studying for the gmat tomorrow and have about 4 months to do so. Today I took a practice MGMAT and got a 460 (Q26/V28). Horrid I know. This was without any previous studying. But I know I have a lot of weaknesses to improve upon. I have three questions:

Hope you took the first step in the 4 month long journey today.

1. What score can I realistically hope to achieve with four months of studying? Of course I want a 700+, but is that unrealistic?
The good news is that 600 is not very hard to get. All it needs is conceptual clarity. Breaking the 700 takes some serious effort. It is not impossible in 4 months but it will certainly need plenty of time and sincere effort from your part.

2. Where should I start? I have the Kaplan Premier 2011 thus far. I've read the 3 month study plan and book reviews topic, is there additional advice you can give me?
Start with some foundations book e.g. Math Essentials. At Q 26, it is quite possible that you have forgotten your basic high school Math. Re-visiting those concepts is a must. Thereafter, start going through the theory of various topics one by one. For Verbal, start by getting acquainted with the question types. Check out what CR/RC/SC questions are all about. What they are looking for in each question type i.e. the theory of Verbal. Then jump on to practice.

3. For someone who is attempting to go from 460 to 700+, would it be worth it to pay for an expensive class? or self study?
You are the best judge of that. It depends on whether you are a self study person/class room person/online classes person etc. There are many people who can put in time and effort on their own and get the desired score. There are others who love classrooms and learn best in an instructor led live session. There are still others who mix the two - they like to take an online class from an instructor in the comfort of their home and then put in time to self study. Only you know what works best for you.
Any assistance you can give me will be greatly appreciated. Thanks
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Icec14
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Gmat Novice w/High Aspirations Needs Help! 13 Dec 2011, 08:48
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Thank you very much for your response.
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Gmat Novice w/High Aspirations Needs Help! 20 Dec 2011, 01:12
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I agree with Karishma, but I'd like to push the point a little more. 700 is a very difficult score to get. Everyone wants that score precisely because most people *never get it.* Sure, we see 700+ scorers all the time, but getting there from 460 is no joke. I have met students who have been studying this test for years trying to hit that goal!

If you are serious about getting 700, you should probably start with a class or tutoring. If you are rusty on your basics, you may want to precede the class with a month or so of self-study. For instance, we offer a 500-page Foundations of Math book that takes you through all the basics you need to succeed with the more difficult material in our course (and in the Official Guide).

As your class progresses, be sure to take periodic practice tests to see how close you are to your goal. This will help you determine how much additional study will be needed. You may find that you need to take the real GMAT repeatedly to hit your desired score. In the end, though, it's hard to say what your experience will be. Perhaps a great deal of long-unused knowledge will come flooding back to you as you study, in which case the process might not be *that* long. Just be prepared for a fight--if you want to outdo 90% of test-takers, just be aware that most of those people are working really hard to get a great score.