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zubincr7
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EMPOWERgmatRichC
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zubincr7
Hello,

I'm in my starting phase of GMAT and discovering various courses and material to help me with the studies. I plan to take my GMAT by the end of this November. I'm confused and really don't know how to start from scratch and with what material. Is it necessary to take a diagnostic test first? Which books should I go with? Should I go for tuitions or not? Which online courses should I go for?
Please help as I need to decide at the earliest.

Sent from my SM-G930F using GMAT Club Forum mobile app

Hi zubincr7,

For GMAT preparation, you need to build the concepts/fundamentals before you jump in solving the problems. You can do so by choosing one of the following ways:
1. In person classes/private tutoring
2. Online classes
3. Self paced online preparatory course
4. Book heavy approach

Whatever you choose, make sure that you choose one. Because GMAT tests you on some concepts and fundamentals that you can learn from a course. Most of the preparatory companies including ours offer a free trial of our course. You can take the trial and see if the course suits your needs.

In addition to the preparatory material, buy the Official Guides(both the Official Guide and the Verbal Review), Question Pack 1 and the 4 official mock CATs. They should be an indispensable part of your preparation.

You need close to 3 months to prepare well for the GMAT.
1. Understand the concepts and fundamentals before jumping into problem solving
2. Solve full length CATs including AWA and IR. You can get two free GMAT Prep mock CATs and can purchase two more from mba.com
3. Make sure you solve the official questions from the Official Guide
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EMPOWERgmatRichC
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Hi zubincr7,

Many Test Takers spend 3 months (or more) of consistent study time before they hit their 'peak' scores. With a Test Date at the end of November though, you have less than 3 months of potential study time. This is meant to say that you will have to be really 'efficient' with your time if you want to stick with this schedule. As such, I highly recommend that you take that initial CAT sometime soon (perhaps this weekend). Once you have that score, you should report back here and we can discuss how best to proceed.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
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zubincr7
Hello,

I'm in my starting phase of GMAT and discovering various courses and material to help me with the studies. I plan to take my GMAT by the end of this November. I'm confused and really don't know how to start from scratch and with what material. Is it necessary to take a diagnostic test first? Which books should I go with? Should I go for tuitions or not? Which online courses should I go for?
Please help as I need to decide at the earliest.

Sent from my SM-G930F using GMAT Club Forum mobile app

Hi

Better to start with taking a CAT exam know starting point 3 month is pretty enough time so you can start with Best comprehensive material

Best Books

1. Manhattan GMAT Quant Guides
2. Manhattan GMAT Verbal guides
or
Aristotle Verbal Guide for CR critical reasoning bible is best book with 300+ pages of comprehensive Data

Strategies

Start with Quant, learn the concepts tested on GMAT. After learning, practice your learned section with timed practice. You can also take quizzes to meet the pace of GMAT. 1 Month for learning concepts and 15 days of practice and same with the verbal. When completed all the concepts learning and handsome practice. Take full lenght CATs, know your estimated score. Analyze the result with Correct/incorrect questions, pacing analysis trace your mistakes and learn from them, make an error log to know your mistakes in the previously attempted questions

Best Mocks

1. Official GMAC (50+50$)
2. Manhattan (49$)

3. GMAT Club Quant CATs (80$)
4. Veritas CATs (49$ but you can buy at 15-20$ During sale period)

Good Luck
Cheers
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zubincr7
Hello,

I'm in my starting phase of GMAT and discovering various courses and material to help me with the studies. I plan to take my GMAT by the end of this November. I'm confused and really don't know how to start from scratch and with what material. Is it necessary to take a diagnostic test first? Which books should I go with? Should I go for tuitions or not? Which online courses should I go for?
Please help as I need to decide at the earliest.

Sent from my SM-G930F using GMAT Club Forum mobile app

Hi zubincr7,

3 months is good enough to achieve your dream score. You should start by giving one GMATPREP test. You can then know your weekness and can work on your weak areas. If you are willing to study dedicatedly, you are sure to achieve your goal. I believe you may benefit from taking a GMATPREP course. If you are willing, there are some great GMAT prep companies that can help you with your preparation.

In order to make an informed decision I would highly encourage you to go to their websites and try on their free trial and decide for yourself which one do you like better. You try out free access to EmpowerGMAT, Magoosh and Optimus Prep as they have great reviews on GMATCLUB.

Also for verbal, I would highly encourage you to consider e-gmat verbal online or the e-gmat verbal live course. They are both amazing courses especially designed for non-natives. They offer almost 25% of their courses for free so you can try out their free trial to decide which one you want to go for. Plus the e-gmat Scholaranium which is included in both the courses is one of the best verbal practice tools in the market.

You can also try out the MGMAT guides they are phenomenal and cover the entire syllabus really well. I must add that if you are particularly looking to discover and improve on your weak areas in quant; a subscription to GMATCLUB tests is the best way to do that. They are indeed phenomenal and will not only pinpoint your weak areas but also help you improve on them. Further taking multiple mocks might help. Apart from the GMATPREP, Manhattan GMAT tests and Veritas Prep Tests in my experience have a good verbal and Quant section and will certainly help you point out and improve your weak areas.

Further another advantage of taking many mocks is to build up your stamina and help you with your anxiety issues. Apart from the GMATPREP tests, taking practise tests of any major GMATPREP company ought to do that.

I would also encourage you to purchase the latest version of OG and the verbal review for some great additional practice. Here is a link that will help you with your decision.

https://gmatclub.com/forum/best-gmat-ve ... 68383.html

Lastly, you can check out a very interesting article by Mike McGarry from Magoosh detailing a 3 month study plan

https://magoosh.com/gmat/2012/3-month-g ... -students/. You will find it very helpful as it gives out a study plan as per your needs.

Hope this helps. All the best.