This thread has retired. Find the latest version is here: https://gmatclub.com/forum/gmat-study-plan-217827.html GMAT Study Plan for New GMAT Test Takers Hope you find this study plan helpful - please PM me any of your tips or suggestions for those just starting out on their GMAT Journey You can bookmark this topic on GMAT Club by clicking the STAR button next to the topic name or you can print it out for future reference . Improvement: 50-150 points depending on the starting point Concept: You are just starting your GMAT journey and need the shortest way to a solid GMAT Score Recommended for: GMAT Novices Stagnant gmat test-takers No prior knowledge is required Other Study Plans Advanced Study Plan: Go from 650 to 700+ GMAT Course Study Plan Ultimate Verbal plan How to go from Q44 to Q50 How to improve verbal from V30 to V40 Hello - welcome to GMAT Club. If you are new to GMAT and looking how to start and dip your toe in the water - this is the right place to start. Step 1: First, You should familiarize yourself with the GMAT structure and principles if you have not done so already - see GMAT FAQ for details . You can also visit https://www.mba.com and poke around. While you are there - go ahead and download GMATPrep - 2 practice tests released by makers of the GMAT. These 2 tests contain real GMAT questions, follow real GMAT principles, and are the best at estimating your GMAT score at any point in time. Step 2: Take a practice test to find out how far you are from your target . Many believe it is a good use of one of the free GMAT Prep tests (I'll tell you to actually get more than 2 tests out of the package later). The main reason it is a good use is that you can see your starting point (now) and then compare it against the ending (taking GMAT). Alternatively you can use any other computer adaptive test from Princeton, Kaplan, Manhattan, or others and then use GMAT Score Estimator/Calculator to find your real GMAT equivalent. If you are offered to write an Essay (AWA) - skip it. For listing of all available GMAT tests - see https://gmatclub.com/forum/all-gmat-cat ... 77460.html Step 3: Find out what GMAT score you actually need. Just to give you an idea - You need at least 700 for Top 10 schools, 680 for Top 20, and 650 for Top 50 to pass - meaning your score should not be an issue and you will need something 50 points higher to actually stand out. Most people are able to improve between 50 and 150 points - that should give you an estimate of what you can count on based on the diagnostic test you just took. You can see current average applicant GMAT scores here . To visualize the entire application process, please use MBA Timeline Tool Step 4: Identify your weaknesses - take a look at your practice test score and note the raw score distribution (you will get one three digit score such as 600 and 2 two-digit scores such as 35, 40 - those two are your raw scores for each of the sections. They have corresponding percentiles). See how you rank in each. Also, do a basic mistake analysis and understand which question types are the most challenging for you. The options are PS, DS, CR, RC, SC and potentially even more detailed such as probability, or assumption questions, etc. Don't only look at what questions you got wrong, but also why. Why did you make a mistake? You can also take a diagnostic test - Math Revolution offers a free Quant Diagnostic test , as does GMAT Club, and eGMAT offers a verbal diagnostic . Use this information to build your study plan. Step 5: Design your study plan - finally! You need to build up your toolkit and get some ammo for the GMAT. You will need books or a course (online or in person) to refresh/learn fundamentals and then test taking strategies. You will also need GMAT tests to practice those strategies and also evaluate your prep level. See these links for: GMAT course reviews , GMAT Books reviews For collection of all GMAT Tests available today: https://gmatclub.com/forum/all-gmat-cat ... 77460.html Finally - chart/plot/graph your study plan - use this calendar format Step 6: Avoid typical GMAT prep mistakes and pitfalls. Here is the most common one I see - jumping into questions and tests completely unprepared and expecting results/miracles. GMAT consists of several layers and it is important to master each one before moving on to the next - think of it as of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. There is no use in satisfying your social needs before you can take care of basic needs such as safety and food. The same is here, if you don't know the underlying principles that GMAT is testing (such as grammar, arithmetic, etc) there is no use in solving hundreds of questions or taking multiple GMAT tests. This means that if English is not your native language, you should not work on the RC strategies if you can't understand half of the passage - you need to get comfortable reading long passages of text before moving on. To illustrate this principle, consider the following hierarchy for the GMAT: pyramid.gif In the General Knowledge stage cover basics for a chapter/section/area In the Question Strategies stage start practicing questions either for the area you just covered or for an entire section but don't attempt questions for sections you have not covered yet In the Test Strategies start taking full length tests and practice on putting questions and knowledge together Step 7: Commit to excellence and doing the best job possible. Think about what you can do to improve your score – is it creating your own notes? Is it not moving to the next chapter until you are able to get 90% of the questions right? Is it reading a lot of fiction to get comfortable reading? Is it shifting your schedule to wake up at 5 AM and study till 8 before work? Is it investing in the right books, courses, and tests? You get the idea... Here is the most common GMAT study plans used by GMAT Club Members: Online Study Plan: You can get online access to almost anything these days and self-paced options among prep companies have really gone down in price. Step 1: Foundation Most Online courses have modules that teach the fundamentals and that will quickly help you build the foundation and come up to speed. These modules can be particularly useful for students who have not studied quant for quite some time or who are not particularly strong in Quant. Step 2: Core concepts Once you have built a foundation, focus on mastering the concepts. Solve OG during this time and maintain an error log. Keep track of your mistakes and guesses - this will become your study guide in Month 3. This is also the time to get involved in GMAT Club’s math forum. Determine where you stand: almost all online courses come provide plenty of CAT's. Start taking the math portion of the tests you have. Move to Verbal only after reaching at a certain Level: Evaluate results and decide if you need to spend more time in Math and patch up certain weak areas or move on to Verbal. This decision will be based on your target GMAT score. If you are looking for high 600's and 700's, I would not move past Quant unless I was able to score around Q44 and possibly higher. Quant scores have been inflated recently with Q51 (highest possible quant score clocking a mere 97th percentile and Q49 is 79th), so make sure you are up there. Do not leave a section unless you were able to solve 90% of the questions correctly in the allotted time. Don’t run away from your mistakes – sooner or later they will catch up; the better strategy is to address them right there and then and make sure you never see them again. If you prefer the online study option, use the Magoosh, eGMAT, Math Revolution, examPAL, Target Test Prep or EMPOWERgmat online courses. They come with everything you need, including practice tests and quizzes. You can compare them all in the Marketplace . Online courses also provide constant feedback. Most also come with Free access to GMAT Club tests . Many self-study courses offer free trials so you can test drive them before you buy, and for most no credit card is needed. Your cost may even be less than with books ($99 - $300). Mobile Apps: There is a number of free GMAT Apps for iPhone and Android including GMAT Club's ToolKit . Many courses have free companion apps - Veritas Prep Offline Study Plan: If you study best with books, get the full collection of the MGMAT Guides or Veritas Prep Guides or Kaplan Books (remember to also get the Official Guide). The book bundles come with everything you need and both are fully all-inclusive in terms of what you need. My only other suggestion is to get the MGMAT Roadmap which serves a collection of study-related tips. This is a reliable/proven approach with good results. Total cost for this study plan will be $150-$300. Month 1 Start with Math section first and focus just on math alone (you can do both math and verbal but I suggest you put all attention into one). Both MGMAT and Veritas Prep have numbered books, so all you have to do is open Book1 and just follow along to Book10. Plan to spend 4 weeks on the Quant Portion. Start using an Error Log - keep track of your mistakes and guesses -this will become your study guide in Month 3. ( Tip: dedicated post on how to analyze your mistakes ) Optional Step: If you are feeling the load is too heavy and you are really weak in Quant or Verbal - get MGMAT Math Foundations or MGMAT Verbal Foundations book; it is great in providing a more general overview of math concepts. At the same time, start reading GMAT Fiction (see below for details on what it is for) Get involved with the Math Forum - you will learn a lot esp. when you try to teach someone or explain something After you are done with the math section - start taking the math portion of the tests you have. Evaluate results and decided if you need to spend more time in Math and patch up certain weak areas or move on to Verbal. This decision will be based on your target GMAT score. If you are looking for high 600's and 700's, I would not move past Quant unless I was able to score around Q44 and possibly higher. Quant scores have been inflated recently with Q51 (highest possible quant score clocking a mere 97th percentile and Q49 is 81st), so make sure you are up there. Do not leave a chapter or a section unless you were able to solve 90% of the questions correctly in the allotted time. Don’t run away from your mistakes – sooner or later they will catch up; the better strategy is to address them right there and then and make sure you never see them again. If you need additional help in Quant - refer to the Math Resources on GMAT Club or the GMAT Math Books section. Another book you may consider is the PR 1012 - it contains targeted GMAT practice questions, which could be helpful in honing one's skills. Though may seem attractive, Advanced Quant book from MGMAT has received mixed reviews from the users - many feel it is really too hard and is not representative of the GMAT's difficulty. We did attempt to go through it and even for yours truly, it proved discouraging and painful. Unless you are really bored, it may be a book better left for another time. If you are comfortable with Quant but want to get to Q50+, use the GMAT Club Tests - they contain only hard questions and were designed as practice for high-level math scorers. You can purchase them, earn a free subscription by earning 25 Kudos, or sign up with a partner course (almost all come with GMAT Club tests as a bonus) Another worthwhile resource for you may be this quant-focused discussion: how to get from Q44 to Q50 Sidebar At this time you will probably be wondering about questions such as “how many can I get wrong and still get a Q50?” and other questions which really do not have answers. If you find yourself wondering about these things at night, head over to the following discussions: GMAT algorithm – how does it work? What-If analysis of the GMAT Prep Alternative ways to increase your score (i.e. not by studying) How are GMAT scores calculated and what is a raw score? Has anyone scored an 800? Yes, he has. Month 2 Start working on the Verbal section. You can start with any question type, but my suggestion would be to tackle Sentence Correction first as it is usually the most straightforward Error Log! Sentence Correction Optional Step: If you are not a native speaker, you will need a good grammar book or a verbal-intensive course such as the SC course by eGMAT that focuses on concepts for non-native speakers. Several grammar books are recommended on the Forum ( https://gmatclub.com/forum/best-gmat-gr ... 79934.html ). We have created a book specifically for this need - Ultimate GMAT Grammar (it covers all of the tested grammar topics on the GMAT, plus a bit more concepts that international students seem to struggle the most (articles, etc). The best thing of all is that it is Free ). Other books to consider are Kaplan Verbal Foundations and MGMAT Verbal Foundations. This is for you to decide how much help you need or how much time you have. Also, take a look at GMAT Club's Verbal Resources for many copies of study notes. If you are short on time and can’t cover the MGMAT’s SC book, you can use the Kaplan Verbal Workbook - it has good strategies and I have personally used it to prepare, so it does work, though it is not as complete as the MGMAT or Vertas Prep books. Critical Reasoning Optional Step: If you need additional help with Critical Reasoning - Do not get both PowerScore CR and Manhattan GMAT CR - the books are virtually identical (not really but kind of). Instead, you can get an inexpensive online course such as SC eGMAT . You can also use the PR 1012 book for targeted practice with Assumption or Conclusion questions or you can go very heavy weight and use LSAT books, but that's a tad too hardcore and usually unnecessary. See BM’s review of the LSAT resources. Reading Comprehension is often the hardest area to conquer. Unless you strongly feel that Reading is your forte, I would recommend you pick up a reading habit for the time being. I have written a large post on what I call GMAT Fiction and its benefits - take a look. I felt that reading books was a big contributor to my SC and RC abilities and gave me a 96th percentile in Verbal (not too shabby for a person who spoke zero English until 12). There are no downsides to this really - worst thing possible is that you would have read some great books. And yes - make sure you read them during your low productivity time (at night, during transit, etc). Verbal forum should be your hobby by now and we have a great feature – GMAT Club Forum Timer . Use it! If you have not discovered it yet, you should – the timer will keep track of all your practice and even more – it will suggest you questions (every day Monday through Friday) that are at your level, and after about 10 questions in SC and CR, it will even give you a daily estimated GMAT score. Verbal Advantage – you may have seen badges and posts about it – make sure you use this initiative. Every year for about 3 months, GMAT club teams up with the best verbal prep companies to bring you the best experts, articles, and questions. You can use these resources at any time and benefit from the previous years of work. Verbal Advantage 2013 and also the first season – Verbal Advantage 2012 Take the verbal-only portion of the tests to evaluate your progress (compare to how you did in the diagnostic test). Another worthwhile resource for you may be this quant-focused discussion: how to get from V30 to V40 Month 3 This month should be spent on 2 things: taking full length tests (polishing your test taking techniques, timing, stamina) and Reviewing your error log (going through your weaknesses, making sure you understand why you keep making mistakes and how to solve every problem you encountered). You can start using Error log earlier than this by the way - the earlier the better. You can also use this time to prolong your prep (we assume most will run about 4 weeks late and will need this time) or you can use it to spend on digging deeper in some areas. Schedule your test if you have not done so already. Start taking full length tests (including AWA and IR ) - this is important for your test stamina. Plan to spend a Saturday on this and then subsequent test review. Spend a few weeks taking tests and drilling down into your areas of weakness. Create a "black list of questions" that you continue to struggle with and find a way to solve them with minimal mental effort. For IR, there is always the big question of, how important is IR really, and the answer, clearly, is – nobody knows. We expect that it will be more definite in 2015/2016 years when the first IR test-takers have graduated and GMAC can trace patterns. Meanwhile, go here for IR resources and practice. The BIG Day and Final Thoughts Make sure you take a look at these before you take the GMAT: What to do 30-14-7-1 days before the GMAT? What to expect at the test center and 8 things not to do Analysis of Patterns among those who scored 750+ and what they did The best of GMAT Club’s debriefs – get inspired! Common Mistakes with GMAT preparation 1: Rushing to take tests before learning anything - waste of tests 2: Starting with the Official Guide - waste of official GMAT questions 3: Giving GMAT the worst time of the day - studying after a long day 4: Skipping basics and rushing to advanced topics 5: Moving through material too fast or too slow 6: Starting to prepare with poor English proficiency How long should you prep really? The study plan above suggests 3 months, and that's probably 10-15 hours per week (2 hrs/work day and 5 hours on the weekend). Over 3 months, that's about 120 - 180 hours, which includes reading some books, so the true study time is probably 80 - 120 hrs. What if you study 2x or 3x of that and take 9 months instead of 3, can you triple your improvement? No, actually, your performance will be MUCH worse if you spread out your prep over a time period great than 5 months. Long study stretches are demotivating, hard to keep fresh, and ultimately ineffective as after 6 months, you start forgetting material faster than you can learn it and the time you will have to spend 75% of your time on refresh. It is much more effective to spend 3-4 months, and that’s what I would encourage you to do. How do you Measure Improvement and what if you are not seeing any? Many test-takers waste a lot of tests and precious time by taking un-needed CAT’s. As a matter of fact, you should be able to get away by taking no more than 10 CAT’s during your GMAT love affair. The question you may ask then is – how do I measure improvement and keep track of my score? A number of ways actually: Make sure you are hitting a certain percentage of the questions in each topic/subject. Set a goal such as 90% of questions have to be right in exercises, OG, or wherever. E.g. if you just covered Geometry, there is no reason to take a whole quant CAT since you will only hit 3-4 Geometry questions tops (perhaps as few as 1-2) and it will be a minimal impact on the score, while you will waste a few hours, waste a test, and more importantly, grow discouraged. Use short quizzes and exercise. Let’s say you covered that same Geometry chapter in the book and only hit 50% on the quiz at the end of the chapter. Do 2 things: 1) Analyze your mistakes, read the explanations how to solve questions, and make sure you can solve each one of them 2) Go back to the chapter and using the mistakes you just made re-read/learn (make notes, create PPT, etc) of the areas you are still lacking. Then you can use OG, GMAT Club tests, Kapan Quiz bank , Math Revolution Question Bank or whatever you want to do real short/quick checks to see if you have improved. At this point in time, it does not matter what your overall Quant score is, it only matters what percentage of the types of questions ALREADY covered is. You can use the GMAT Club Forum timer. As long as you take about 10 questions in PS and DS, you will get a quant raw score estimate and as soon as you do the same in SC and CR, you will get a verbal score estimate (note that RC is not evaluated). Learn more about the amazing and free GMAT Club Forum Timer and Workbook here . Finally, once you have covered ALL of the quant topics, it is time to take the Quant CAT and similarly when you have finished the Verbal section, it is time to take the full Verbal CAT. (This is the reason GMAT Club tests have split quant and verbal CAT’s – we don’t think you really need to take a Full CAT until the very end when you are working on improving your stamina and test-day strategy, and at that point, you can just Quant and Verbal CAT’s with an 8 minute break). What if No improvement? My suggestion would be to understand why, what needs to change, and how. You need to answer this yourself. If you can’t, post it on the forum, though I have to warn you, it is a hard one to answer from afar. A much better option is to get a tutor for an hour or two (that’s all you should need) to get you back on track. Any decent tutor can spot most of the issues after one session and you can use the second session to answer any questions and draft a personalized plan for the rest of your prep. You can also take a course – that’s become an especially popular and cheap alternative with the online offerings from EGMAT, Math Revolution and Magoosh, many of which have courses for less than the cost of books (as low as $59). Many of the courses are interactive and adapt to your needs. Online adaptive courses often are much more effective than books since they are audio visual, provide constant feedback, and provide instructor support. You can bookmark this topic on GMAT Club by clicking the STAR button next to the topic name or you can print it out for future reference .

Last visit was: 07 May 2026, 01:44

It is currently 07 May 2026, 01:44

Toolkit

General GMAT Questions and Strategies

GMAT Club Daily Prep

Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.

Customized
for You

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.

Go to My Error Log Learn more

Request Expert Reply

Confirm Cancel

May 08
$10,000 MBA Scholarships Winners Drawing - Join & Watch the Lucky Winners
08:00 AM PDT
-
08:30 AM PDT
Join the special YouTube live-stream for selecting the winners of GMAT Club MBA Scholarships sponsored by Juno live. Watch who gets these coveted MBA scholarships offered by GMAT Club and Juno.

Back to Forum

Create Topic

GMAT Study Plan - How to Start your GMAT Prep

1 ... 37 38 39 40 41 42

GMATinsight

Major Poster

Joined: 08 Jul 2010

Last visit: 06 May 2026

Posts: 7,010

Own Kudos:

16,970

Given Kudos: 128

Status:GMAT/GRE Tutor l Admission Consultant l On-Demand Course creator

Location: India

GMAT: QUANT+DI EXPERT

Schools: IIM (A) ISB '24

GMAT 1: 750 Q51 V41 Verified score

WE:Education (Education)

Products:

Expert

Expert reply

Schools: IIM (A) ISB '24

GMAT 1: 750 Q51 V41 Verified score

Posts: 7,010

Kudos: 16,970

01 Feb 2016, 21:47

Kudos

Bookmarks

faisalkakar

Study Plan?

I am preparing Gmat for the first time and I am completely out of studies since last 10 years. Whats the best strategy for preparation? How long should I give and what are the recommended books?

My target score is +650.

The detachment from studies for 10 years required a great push in the beginning of preparation in general but surprisingly I have found many student (in smaller percentage though) who have shown great strength even after 10 years of professional experience. So the steps for you could be as follows

1) Take a Diagnostic test (take GMAT Prep downloaded from www.mba.com )
2) Understand your comfort level with the questions format and test pattern and see where you stand now in terms of your score and percentile
3) Identify your weak and strong areas and assign the importance to them and make plan to work on them REGULARLY
4) Then plan to prepare with the content material (Start from Official Guide and Manhattan books together)
5) See how well you are going and whether getting all concepts from the books is working fine for you or not.
6) If learning from books is not working fine then look for expert help or joining some coaching classes.

The right guidance is really a key to do preparation with appropriate effort and in appropriate time frame. The undisciplined way of preparation might cause a lot of time wastage and still lack of deserved success.

I hope that helps!!!

optmistic2016

Joined: 12 Feb 2014

Last visit: 16 Jan 2019

Posts: 43

Own Kudos:

Given Kudos: 22

Posts: 43

Kudos: 24

03 Feb 2016, 14:38

Kudos

Bookmarks

Many thanks for the detailed response!

I would take my diagnostic test on coming weekend and will have a better understanding of my strengths and weaknesses but I know it would need some time to brush up my skills!

optmistic2016

Joined: 12 Feb 2014

Last visit: 16 Jan 2019

Posts: 43

Own Kudos:

Given Kudos: 22

Posts: 43

Kudos: 24

07 Feb 2016, 11:53

Kudos

Bookmarks

I took the test and scored badly in both verbal and Quant sections. I was expecting such a low score as I was out of touch from course books since last 10 years. My diagnostic score is V16 and Q31 -> 410.

I have started verbal section since last 2 days and going through Manhattan foundation book. My plan is to complete the Manhattan set and then move to e-GMAT verbal section?

Can you please advise, it is worth going through Manhattan first OR skip Manhattan and directly jump to e-GMAT as I have heard their reviews were awesome? Do I need to learn some foundation concepts before buying e-GMAT tutorial?

I have 6 months to prepare for GMAT, so I can manage to go through various sourcing but I don't want to waste time on reading extra resources.

Please advise, what should I do?

addefta

Joined: 21 Nov 2012

Last visit: 18 Aug 2017

Posts: 19

Own Kudos:

Location: United Kingdom

Concentration: Operations, Leadership

Schools: Warwick Business School - Class of 2013

GMAT 1: 740 Q50 V41 Verified score

GPA: 3.7

WE:Project Management (Computer Software)

Products:

Schools: Warwick Business School - Class of 2013

GMAT 1: 740 Q50 V41 Verified score

Posts: 19

Kudos: 8

09 Feb 2016, 14:35

Kudos

Bookmarks

Hi guys,

Sorry for being a little bit hush tonight, but everybody is asking about how should I get to 700+, or even 750+? Nobody, and I mean NOBODY, actually shared an error log with us and ask how can he/she improve a specific aspect. That's the first step: measure it. I believe is a well known saying, that is more or less like: "What is not measured, is not improved". So...show us your error log and we can point some possible improvements.
Guys, I hate to break it to you but management is not sexy. Management is measuring, identifying problems, trying various improvements, measure again the results, chose the best option, implement it and measure it again. There is no way to improve without measuring where you are, what are your strong points and weak points. And don't give me the... I know me weak points. I am challenging you to SHOW us your weak points.

I hope this helps,
Adrian

P.S. : if you don't have an error log template, search this forum as there are couple of good ones.

optmistic2016

Joined: 12 Feb 2014

Last visit: 16 Jan 2019

Posts: 43

Own Kudos:

Given Kudos: 22

Posts: 43

Kudos: 24

20 Feb 2016, 15:25

Kudos

Bookmarks

Hi Adrian,

Thank you for pointing it out the importance of Error log. I have also realized, its very importance after reviewing so many posts and going through GMAT diagnostics test. As my score was very bad so I am going to improve all areas - my plan is to work on the foundations first. At the moment, I have started my preparation for SC section and already started to maintain error log. After going through all section, I would maintain the error log and will definitely get back to you!

Thanks!

addefta

Joined: 21 Nov 2012

Last visit: 18 Aug 2017

Posts: 19

Own Kudos:

Location: United Kingdom

Concentration: Operations, Leadership

Schools: Warwick Business School - Class of 2013

GMAT 1: 740 Q50 V41 Verified score

GPA: 3.7

WE:Project Management (Computer Software)

Products:

Schools: Warwick Business School - Class of 2013

GMAT 1: 740 Q50 V41 Verified score

Posts: 19

Kudos: 8

23 Feb 2016, 15:38

Kudos

Bookmarks

optmistic2016

You are more than welcome! The ErrorLog is your best friend. And this are not just words - I've seen miracles happening just by tracing our activity (in general, and for GMAT in special). Good luck and have fun along the way.

Adrian

kh1405

Joined: 26 Feb 2016

Last visit: 22 Jan 2017

Posts: 1

Kudos: 0

26 Feb 2016, 23:03

Kudos

Bookmarks

Hi,

I have been preparing for the GMAT for almost a month now and feel like I need more structure to my studies. I purchased all 10 Manhattan Prep books and am working my way through the Quant books, but I feel like I don't know the material cold (I noticed because when I try their problem sets/quizzes, I find myself missing maybe 1-2 easy questions and not fully knowing how to apply concepts I just read about).

I work 8-6 and study around 2-3 hours a night and more on the weekends, but I feel like I'm not really improving, which is frustrating because I'm not sure how I can hone my percentage problem skills, etc. since I've also read that it's not wise to just do problems in the OG without having a solid foundation first.

So basically, does anyone have any recommendations for how I can strengthen my quant foundation? I've gone through and reworked the problems in Manhattan Prep, started an error log, and typed out in my own words why it was this answer and not the one I chose. Any help would be very much appreciated!

addefta

Joined: 21 Nov 2012

Last visit: 18 Aug 2017

Posts: 19

Own Kudos:

Location: United Kingdom

Concentration: Operations, Leadership

Schools: Warwick Business School - Class of 2013

GMAT 1: 740 Q50 V41 Verified score

GPA: 3.7

WE:Project Management (Computer Software)

Products:

Schools: Warwick Business School - Class of 2013

GMAT 1: 740 Q50 V41 Verified score

Posts: 19

Kudos: 8

27 Feb 2016, 02:51

Kudos

Bookmarks

kh1405

Hi,

You are doing the correct thing for the first month. Just build knowledge, pay attention to your weak areas (using your error log) and revisit the theory for that areas. Simply putted: what are the three areas where you commit the most mistakes? Just focus on those (revisit theory, revisit methods to solve the problems). If you find yourself struggling with numbers and doing the math, than you can look for exercises that helps you with this. I've wrote an small article about this : https://mbacoach.co.uk/Articles.html#msg-box3-18

Cheers,
Adrian

LuMei

Joined: 22 Feb 2016

Last visit: 11 Aug 2016

Posts: 1

Given Kudos: 1

Posts: 1

Kudos: 0

04 Mar 2016, 09:34

Kudos

Bookmarks

Hi, does anyone have any idea where to get a GMAT vocabulary list, as GMAT exam has way too many terminologies that we rarely use or see in real life?

jyii07

Joined: 29 Jan 2016

Last visit: 18 Nov 2019

Posts: 9

Given Kudos: 2

Posts: 9

Kudos: 0

08 Mar 2016, 08:10

Kudos

Bookmarks

Great resources in this thread, thank you very much!

kreel11

Joined: 02 Feb 2016

Last visit: 06 May 2026

Posts: 207

Own Kudos:

Given Kudos: 64

Location: India

Concentration: Finance, Technology

Schools: ISB '27 Melbourne HEC '26 INSEAD '26 IE Oxford Said'25 NUS '27 Judge '26

GMAT 1: 620 Q48 V27 Verified score

GMAT 2: 640 Q48 V31 Verified score

GPA: 2.7

Products:

Schools: ISB '27 Melbourne HEC '26 INSEAD '26 IE Oxford Said'25 NUS '27 Judge '26

GMAT 2: 640 Q48 V31 Verified score

Posts: 207

Kudos: 27

18 Mar 2016, 11:00

Kudos

Bookmarks

Hey guys,

Can you suggest what should be the plan of action after completing the MGMAT guides and OG . Shall we do the problems on gmatclub forums after going through the guides apart from practicing from verbal and quant review books. Should one also go through the gmatclub math and verbal book after finishing the basic material?

ksyu382

Joined: 25 Mar 2016

Last visit: 17 Apr 2021

Posts: 2

GMAT 1: 760 Q50 V42 Verified score

Posts: 2

Kudos: 0

25 Mar 2016, 11:52

Kudos

Bookmarks

Thanks for the informative post! Question: I have a 1.5 month-long trip planned that will start in approximately a month. Is it recommended to start studying now or after the break?

Founder

Joined: 04 Dec 2002

Last visit: 06 May 2026

Posts: 43,232

Own Kudos:

83,803

Given Kudos: 24,689

Location: United States

GMAT 1: 750 Q49 V42 Verified score

GPA: 3

Products:

Expert

Expert reply

GMAT 1: 750 Q49 V42 Verified score

Posts: 43,232

Kudos: 83,803

25 Mar 2016, 12:11

Kudos

Bookmarks

ksyu382

Thanks for the informative post! Question: I have a 1.5 month-long trip planned that will start in approximately a month. Is it recommended to start studying now or after the break?

I am a fan of the not-to-stretch your prep and not have to go back and revisit it. I would perhaps spend the next 1.5 months reading some good/hard fiction/books to get your mind setup for the tough GMAT Passages (if you need help with Verbal) but otherwise, would delay your push/kick off until you are back.

ksyu382

Joined: 25 Mar 2016

Last visit: 17 Apr 2021

Posts: 2

GMAT 1: 760 Q50 V42 Verified score

Posts: 2

Kudos: 0

25 Mar 2016, 12:24

Kudos

Bookmarks

ksyu382

Thanks for the informative post! Question: I have a 1.5 month-long trip planned that will start in approximately a month. Is it recommended to start studying now or after the break?

I understand and appreciate the quick reply. That's what I was leaning towards anyway, as I assume I would forget the majority of what I've studied over that time period. I suppose I'll focus on gathering resources and reading material in the meantime.

AshutoshM

Joined: 27 Mar 2016

Last visit: 29 Jan 2017

Posts: 2

Given Kudos: 36

Posts: 2

Kudos: 0

01 Apr 2016, 06:24

Kudos

Bookmarks

Hi!

I am planning to take GMAT in 6 months time and gave my first GMAT practice test on Veritas Prep and scored 620 (Q47,V28) & IR 6. My prep included only practicing the questions for Quant from OG15, CR and SC from Verbal Guide15.

My SC score was as per my expectation 11 correct out of 14, but <50% success rate in CR & RC (during practice it was ~70-80% easily without any constraint on time).

I surely need some hardcore strategies for improving my Verbal. Need suggestions for improvement.

Thank you.

azargoshtasb

Joined: 09 May 2015

Last visit: 01 Jul 2017

Posts: 5

Own Kudos:

Given Kudos: 68

Concentration: Marketing, Statistics

GMAT 1: 660 Q50 V30 Verified score

GRE 1: Q168 V155 Verified score

GPA: 3.58

GMAT 1: 660 Q50 V30 Verified score

GRE 1: Q168 V155 Verified score

Posts: 5

Kudos: 3

03 Apr 2016, 01:40

Kudos

Bookmarks

Hey there

I cant download any of the files in this page ? Am I the only one ??

tusharforever

Joined: 06 Apr 2016

Last visit: 06 Nov 2020

Posts: 3

Own Kudos:

Given Kudos: 7

Posts: 3

Kudos: 2

06 Apr 2016, 11:38

Kudos

Bookmarks

Jeremy800

Great post!

Do you have a plan for someone who has a full year to study?

Jeremy (490 GMAT)

Welcome to GMAT Club Jeremy.
I would not recommend that you spend more than 4 or max 6 months on the GMAT. Human memory is very faulty and will not hold GMAT material that long. Also - you will hate life, MBA, and anything that has G, M, A, or T letters in it. Finally, don't think there are enough materials to study for an entire year....

Instead, spend 3-4 months of more intense prep with proper materials and you should be good to go. Is tarted with 540 and went to 750 in 3-4 months.

Is tarted with 540 and went to 750 in 3-4 months. BB you inspired me. Thank you so much !

RG7

Joined: 06 Apr 2016

Last visit: 06 May 2016

Posts: 1

Own Kudos:

Posts: 1

Kudos: 5

Updated on: 23 Apr 2016, 05:37

Originally posted by RG7 on 16 Apr 2016, 11:56.
Last edited by RG7 on 23 Apr 2016, 05:37, edited 1 time in total.

Kudos

Bookmarks

I am willing to take the GMAT in 3 months to catch the spring admission.
The required score is 650. I took Kaplan free test as a diagnostic test and my score was very low
English is my second language and I am rusty in mathematics as well.
I have Manhattan foundation 5th edition in both mathematics and English, and I bought the Manhattan GMAT 9 books 6th edition guide.
I am a bit confused about how I should start.
Should I read the chapter first from the foundation then read the guide book or I have to finish the foundation first.
Also all the daily study plans are working with online courses
Do you have any advice for a daily study plan like magoosh study plan but would work out with the books I have?

Thanks a lot

soparkv

Joined: 15 Dec 2011

Last visit: 03 Mar 2017

Posts: 1

Kudos: 0

17 Apr 2016, 22:37

Kudos

Bookmarks

Hi Everyone,

I have been lurking on this forum periodically since about 2 years ago when I first thought of getting an MBA. I have just now gotten around to actually scheduling my exam 14 weeks from today. My study materials include OG16 and the complete set of MGMAT books. I came across this study plan (BB's very first post), and I think it is great. However I did have a question.

Focusing on Quant and Verbal separately for a month each - is this really a good idea? I am asking because I am worried that by the time you're done with Verbal after the second month, you might have already forgotten what you learned for Quant in the first month. Is it not better to simultaneously study and do practice questions for both sections to continually refresh your knowledge?

The idea of focusing your efforts on one thing at a time definitely makes sense, I am just wondering if that is truly the best way to approach this. Please feel free to correct me. Thank you to everyone in advance.

Austen2442

Joined: 18 Apr 2016

Last visit: 17 May 2016

Posts: 11

Own Kudos:

Posts: 11

Kudos: 3

18 Apr 2016, 07:55

Kudos

Bookmarks

What should I focus on my first week after creating an account?

1 ... 37 38 39 40 41 42

Moderators:

gchandana

196 posts

MBAACCOUNT2025

General GMAT Forum Moderator

474 posts

Prep Toolkit

Announcements

Meet AdComs from TOP MBA Programs!

GMAT Ninja Wednesdays - Paradox & Discrepancy Questions

Wednesday, May 5, 2026
11:30am NY / 3:30pm London / 9pm Mumbai

How I Won Admits from ISB, IIM Ahmedabad, and IIM Bangalore (Just Be Authentic)

Subscribe to MBA Club for New Videos on Essays, School-specific Strategies, & Insights Every Applicant Needs

AGSM at UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE

Top GMAT Focus Debriefs

An Emory MBA Powers Growth

Emory powers growth—professionally and personally. Built on a foundation of interdisciplinary learning, leadership development, and career readiness, our top-20 MBA program delivers a high return on investment with top-5 career outcomes.

Tuck at Dartmouth

Step Inside the Tuck Experience: Discover Tuck Events This Fall
Current Tuck MBA students and Discover Tuck co-chairs share advice for prospective students and reflect on why they chose Tuck for their MBA.

Read More

My Rewards

What are Rewards?

My Tier

(1 points)

HOT DEALS FOR MAY

	Target Test Prep - Save up to $599 $400 Discount + $99 Bonus GMAT Club Tests
	e-GMAT: 60% Off on GMAT Focus Get to 735+ from any starting point
	Magoosh increases your score, guaranteed - 15% off ALL Magoosh GMAT plans with code GMATCLUB15 + Free GMAT Club Tests.
	Manhattan Prep: $99 Bonus Score Higher on Your GMAT Exam. Guaranteed.
	Experts' Global - ~~$1720~~ $960 End-to-End GMAT Prep + App Support: 150+ Videos, 2000+ Questions, 15 FLTs +
	GMATWhiz - $299 ~~$499~~ Experience the course through a free trial.
	GMAT Club Tests - Free Included with every course purchase of $149+ View all deals

GMAT Study Plan - How to Start your GMAT Prep

Prep Toolkit

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards