How long should I study?

Question

Hallo everybody, I am planning to take the GMAT in the near future, in order to apply for a Master's degree program in Germany.
Here is my question: This summer I will have exactly a 2 month break before the start of my next winter term. 
I can use this 2 month to study for the test fully concentrated. 
This would be approximately 3-4 hours a day. I personally think 3-4 hours are somewhat easy to pull off, however if I have to study more I get tired really quickly. 
Now on this forum I have encountered a study plan which suggests to study a minimum of 3 month, but for only 2 hours a day. 
I guess I could follow this plan too, but this would mean that it will interfere with my next term. 
So my question is what do you suggest? Is it better for me to go on a more intensive study plan or just follow the regular plan on this forum?

mikemcgarry · Answer

Dear rediforking , I'm happy to respond. :-)

I don't know which plan you have seen, but I will recommend this 3-month study plan: https://magoosh.com/gmat/2012/3-month-gm ... beginners/ As you will notice at the top, you have some choices of other 3-month plans if one looks more appropriate. Here's what I can say. Certainly the plans I have designed, to which I have linked, are designed with pedagogical principles in mind. It takes the brain a while to integrate new information deeply. Doing more, intensely over a shorter time, does not necessarily produce the same results. Among other things, in two months, you have fewer full night's sleeps than you have in three months, and it's during REM sleep that we do our deep memory consolidation work. The memory systems of the brain have long natural cycles, and when we try to be "efficient" in studying, we sometimes ride roughshod over these deeper rhythms, not to our benefit. Relatedly, the lengths of academic terms are not arbitrary or accidental. We also have an intense one-month plan: https://magoosh.com/gmat/2012/1-month-gm ... -schedule/ That can take 3-5 hours a day, but if you did it at a half tempo over a two-month period, that would be very manageable. I think you would get more out of a full three-month plan, but if that is not convenient to fit into your schedule, this might be your best bet. Does all this make sense? Mike :-)

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi rediforking,

It sounds like you're just starting out. Have you done any studying so far?

If you're just beginning, then it would be a good idea to take a FULL-LENGTH practice CAT Test; you can download 2 for free from www.mba.com (and they come with some additional practice materials). A FULL CAT takes about 4 hours to complete, so make sure that you've set aside enough time to take it in one sitting. Once you have those scores, you should report back here and we can come up with a study plan.

I'd like to know a bit more about your timeline and goals:
1) What is your goal score?
2) When are you planning to apply to Business School?

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

rediforking · Answer

Thank you for your response!
Yes, I am just starting out, actually I will probably only start this Monday. 
Well I am not planning to apply to a Business School, but to several graduate programs in Finance. 
Here in Germany most of them also do require a GMAT to be taken. 
As for my goal score, all the programs I'm looking for require a score of at least 600 points. 
So I guess that would be my minimum, but I actually hope to score much more than that, since it is only the minimum requirement, which means that my chances of being admitted to the program would be close to zero with that score. According to the admission rules, a score of 700+ will get my in directly, since it is pretty rare here.

And just to ask you back: Something I never really understood is why you should already take a full CAT before you started studying? 
I mean I will probably get like a 300 or something, which would only hurt my motivation/confidence. Isn't it better to go through the MGMAT books first and only then take CATS?

AjiteshArun · Answer

A diagnostic doesn't  have  to be the very first thing you do. But if you're looking to take the exam in ~2 months, it'd be a good idea to take one sooner rather than later. You'll be in a better position to plan your preparation.

mikemcgarry · Answer

Dear rediforking , I'm not sure who you are thanking for a response, but I am happy to respond. :-)

Here's what I will say about an initial diagnostic test. First of all, do NOT waste a high quality CAT on this. For example, do NOT waste one of the GMAT Prep tests, which are exceptionally high quality. If you are going to use the MGMAT CATs, which are also very good, do not waste one of them as a diagnostic. Save high quality material for the climax of your study period. For this initial GMAT, for diagnostic purposes, I don't even think it's that important to take a CAT on the computer. My advice would be to buy any GMAT prep book, used & cheap if possible, that has a practice GMAT in the back. It really doesn't matter if the book is tremendously high quality. Just take the paper test in the book. This will give you a very good sense of your relative strengths and weaknesses, thereby helping you to focus your studies. I will also say: it is inevitably part of the process of studying for the GMAT that the student makes a lot of mistakes at the beginning. That is fine, that is natural, that is simply part of the process. This process requires a kind of emotional resilience. You can't afford to have your intrinsic sense of confidence attached to everything you happen to get right or wrong. Instead, it's extremely important to treasure each and every problem you get wrong, because each mistake is an opportunity for self-growth and self-improvement. In a way, you will learn the fastest if you are "hungry" to challenge yourself, make mistakes, and learn from them. Again, this process requires considerable emotional maturity and a certain disattachment to results, at least in the short term. In this connection, I will recommend a few blogs. First, a GRE blog about making mistakes: https://magoosh.com/gre/2013/good-i-got-it-wrong/ Also, a GMAT blog about the paradox of being too goal-oriented in your prep: https://magoosh.com/gmat/2014/getting-a-good-gmat-score/ Finally, an article about achieving a high GMAT score: https://magoosh.com/gmat/2014/gmat-study ... 0-or-more/ I hope all this helps. Mike

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi rediforking,

That initial CAT is useful because it establishes a 'baseline score' for you (which you can use later on for comparison purposes) and helps to establish your personal strengths and weaknesses. You shouldn't expect to do great on that first CAT (and you shouldn't be 'afraid' of it either - if looking at 'data' might impact your confidence, then a career in Finance might not be to your liking).

Some Test Takers wait so long to take that first CAT that they don't end up having enough time to fix the little 'issues' that hurt their performance before they take the actual GMAT... and they score at a lower level because of it. This is all meant to say that taking this first CAT is part of the overall process of properly preparing for the GMAT, so you shouldn't try to avoid it.

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

rediforking · Answer

Dunno, I have never taken a CAT so I am completely a newbie in this area. But I have studied for many different tests in my undergraduate program, which already included tests in courses like derivatives, corporate finance, insurance and risk management. All I know is that in "normal" exams, it is useless to take a test form the past before you have studied. Actually to be honest it was almost always useless to take an exam from the past in those courses , since the actual exam was always completely different. I have always studied by reviewing the material first, making sure that I understand that. Not sure if this approach applies to the GMAT though.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi rediforking,

From this last post, it sounds as if you're trying to talk yourself out of taking this initial CAT. You're going to take several CATs over the course of your studies - doing so is an essential part of the prep process - so don't overthink this 'step'. Set aside 4 hours of time and try your best. Whatever the result is, you'll learn A LOT from that first experience.

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

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