GMAT Study Plan- extra prep materials?

Question

Hi everyone,

I just took a practice CAT (without preparation) that GMAC offers, I got a 630 (39Q, 37V, and 7 on IR).

I'm hoping to get a 700+, I was going to schedule the exam for January but I'm not sure yet. I'm planning on studying for 10-15 hours each week until then.

I bought all of the Manhattan GMAT books and the OGs, and I am planning on using the self-study plan bb outlined in one of his earlier posts, but I was wondering if anyone recommends taking an online course in addition to that? I'm considering just sucking it up and paying for the manhattan gmat self-study class or signing up with Magoosh.

Or should I buy more books? I was thinking Powerscore unless there's anything else that anyone strongly recommends.

Thank you for your help!

Qoofi · Answer

Manhattan books will do fine. I find you are good with Verbal. V37 is a above average score imo.

I would suggest you to have OG Verbal & OG Quants book. I feel these 2 are necessary, because it gives question types which are similar to questions asked in Official exam. So kind of helps you to tune yourself for the exam.

Good Luck

Cheers
Qoofi

prateekbhatt · Answer

Yes mgmat books should be sufficient, you can also go for GC club mocks to increase your score..Also check the review section before buying any course.. https://gmatclub.com/marketplace/courses.xhtml?fl=menu

GMATPill · Answer

Since the actual exam is in front of a computer, we'd recommend preparing a little bit more in front of a computer than in front of a book. Books are fine, but you need to prepare yourself psychologically and physically for the computer adaptive test - especially if you are not used to this kind of testing.

Online courses can help in this regard. Even studying questions online can be helpful.

Overall, you should assess your learning style. If you're not used to video online, check a few out: https://www.gmatpill.com/sentencecorrect ... -lo-mo.mp4 - compare how that feels versus reading from a book to see if it works for you.

deepsaklani123 · Answer

You can try using Mobile App for studying. Try Gradestack GMAT app. I have heard they have kept this app for free for 2 months. Search for Gradestack GMAT app on Google playstore. They also have web version.

GMATPill · Answer

Yes, you can also search "gmat pill" for free mobile apps to view our free content. Enjoy!

AtlanticGMAT · Answer

Hi Jazz,

Solid job on that first practice test. If you are an organized and motivated self-studier you should be able to get by with all of the official materials plus some type of guide book. In addition, the forums and various GMAT blogs are great resources.

Three suggestions:

1. It's great to do most of your work on a computer screen so get all of the books in Kindle Edition.

2. Make a study schedule to stay on track. This makes a huge difference. Here's a  GMAT Study Schedule  for people going for 700+ scores. While you're at it you might take a look at  Essential GMAT Study Skills .

3. Your verbal is already pretty solid. Keep pushing it with LSAT practice. This work will be tough but worth it when you crush the GMAT verbal on your real exam.

Good luck!

A.

piyush10613 · Answer

Could you any one please suggest a good mock/sectional prep for VA

Thanks

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi piyush10613,

To start, you will likely receive more responses if you start a new post-thread (instead of piggy-backing on this old one).

Taking an individual section of the GMAT - outside of the context of taking the FULL Exam under realistic testing conditions that match up with the parameters that you will face when taking the Official GMAT - is not a great way to measure your GMAT skills (and how you might perform on the Official GMAT). There are a variety of factors that can impact your performance, including the type of Exam that you're using, the time of day that you start the Exam, how well-rested your are, the order in which you take the sections, the testing environment, etc. If you take just one section of the Exam, then you're not really training to deal with ALL of those factors.

From your question, I assume that you're looking to assess your current Verbal skills - and that's completely understandable. Each CAT is really a 'measuring device' - when used correctly, it will give you a realistic score and help define your strengths and weaknesses, but it will NOT help you to fix any of those weaknesses. To raise your scores, you have to learn the necessary Tactics and put in the proper practice and repetitions. The CAT will show you whether your studies are helping you to improve or not. As such, you really shouldn't take more than 1 FULL CAT per week.

Before I can offer you any additional advice for your studies, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

Studies:
1) How long have you studied? How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) What study materials have you used so far?
3) On what dates did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks and how did you score on EACH (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?

Goals:
4) What is your overall goal score?
5) When are you planning to take the GMAT?
6) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

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