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Hi guys,
I have been reading debriefs and previous experiences of other exam takers. Thinking how these experiences and debriefs are valuable, I decided to write mine. I am aware that 650 is not the "perfect" score; however, I believe that my story is motivational for the ones who are stuck at some point.
First of all, everybody is similar to you. GMAT is taken for masters degrees that also require professional experience. After managing projects worth thousand and discussing several business issues ( you can change the phrase due to your professional background
), "x + y = 0 so what is x" is not my first preference of problem to solve in a day. But, if you want to reach your goal, you have to I would like to share my "I wish I had known..." experiences point by point
My background is in business, and I am not a native speaker, and I am not from a country favorite with its perfect English as a second language I have started studying for GMAT in September. I was working very heavily; thus I could only study after work, app. 1 hour. I had to cut my studies by October, and then start again in November, this time without work because I had resigned. So, I can say that I studied 1 month after work, 1-2 hours and 1,5-month full time.
Real GMAT
AWA - It was harder than the Manhattan CATs and Gmat application question. You can handle AWA part with a little practice, 5-6 articles. Study sentence structures, such as how to start the first paragraph, how to conclude, how to agree and how to disagree, etc. Harder than my practices.
IR 7 - Way easier than my practices. I had been getting 3-4 and I got 7 from GMAT IR Easier than my practices.
Q 48 - I was lucky, or I studied hard. The questions seem to be easy for me. I like studying quant Easier than my practices.
V 31 - Really hard. I was aware of my weak points, and I studied. During the real GMAT, it was hard to understand the text and even the answers. I believe it was because of the total stress, in the end, it was harder than my practices.
Time of Study
First of all, you don't have to work full time. However, if you prefer work + Gmat, then you should allocate 3+ months I guess. It is hard to study after work, and especially if you are working heavily. On the other hand, gmat gets frustrating after 1 month of full-time study, especially if you are studying alone. I haven't even finished all the questions in OG and in my other study materials; however, I decided to take the exam since days were becoming about more messing around than studying.
Materials
I had
Below, I have shared my experiences. I believe that everybody has his /her own study style, one thing very beneficial for me may be nonsense for you.
I wish I had known that:
1-We have a similar exam for university application at bachelor degree, and I got an excellent score on the exam, which was 10 years ago. Very confident with my past experience, I thought that I can handle GMAT very easily.
No, GMAT is different, mainly verbal, and it is particularly hard if you are not a native speaker. You need to study.
2- I only opened the cover of OG 2016 3-4 times before I discovered the online question bank. They had the same questions. From day 1, I decided to conduct all my study mainly on the computer, since the exam will be on the computer, believing that it was a good strategy. I only wrote down my notes, because I learn better while writing. Changes person to person.
No need to buy the OG book, you can buy a second-hand access to the online question bank or maybe an e-book.
3- I used OG online question bank as a mixed quiz center. I solve questions from diverse topics rather than addressing questions topic by topic. I studied topic by topic via GMAT club (thank you) question banks, using gmat club tags. It is very beneficial since you can see the timing, and also watch your progress. I recommend Gmatclub question banks to everybody.
4- Since I have been away from several quant and verbal concepts, I started with reading Manhattan books, and solve 10-15 questions about the topics. I finished a book in 5-4 days, while I was working. Don't do that!! Later, I noticed that I suffered in some areas, and I went back to the topics I couldn't have learned precisely. This time, I spent 6-5 days to only 1 chapter (every book has 5-10 chapters) and solved 40-50 questions about that chapter. Recommended.
7- Manhattan books are great and not great "GMAT prep now" is a great source: https://www.gmatprepnow.com/ . However, I can not know Gmat prep now lessons are great and sufficient because I studied them as an additional source after Manhattan books, or they would have been great even if I hadn't studied from any Manhattan books...If I had known about them earlier, I might not have bought the manhattan books. Check Gmatprepnow
8- CR my weakest area, I studied from Manhattan CR, and read 2-3 chapter of powerscore CR and watch lessons from Gmatprepnow. The best is Gmat Prep Now.
9- Manhattan CATs are perfect!! I only had 3 of them, they are harder from real GMAT. I get 610 from CATs at home, and I got 650 at real GMAT.
I will be selling my books in couple of days. As I mentioned above, cover of OG has not opened more than 5-6 times and manhattan books are used very carefully. Please pm if you need study material. I am located in Germany.
I have been reading debriefs and previous experiences of other exam takers. Thinking how these experiences and debriefs are valuable, I decided to write mine. I am aware that 650 is not the "perfect" score; however, I believe that my story is motivational for the ones who are stuck at some point.
First of all, everybody is similar to you. GMAT is taken for masters degrees that also require professional experience. After managing projects worth thousand and discussing several business issues ( you can change the phrase due to your professional background
), "x + y = 0 so what is x" is not my first preference of problem to solve in a day. But, if you want to reach your goal, you have to I would like to share my "I wish I had known..." experiences point by pointMy background is in business, and I am not a native speaker, and I am not from a country favorite with its perfect English as a second language
I have started studying for GMAT in September. I was working very heavily; thus I could only study after work, app. 1 hour. I had to cut my studies by October, and then start again in November, this time without work because I had resigned. So, I can say that I studied 1 month after work, 1-2 hours and 1,5-month full time.Real GMAT
AWA - It was harder than the Manhattan CATs and Gmat application question. You can handle AWA part with a little practice, 5-6 articles. Study sentence structures, such as how to start the first paragraph, how to conclude, how to agree and how to disagree, etc. Harder than my practices.
IR 7 - Way easier than my practices. I had been getting 3-4 and I got 7 from GMAT IR Easier than my practices.
Q 48 - I was lucky, or I studied hard. The questions seem to be easy for me. I like studying quant
Easier than my practices.V 31 - Really hard. I was aware of my weak points, and I studied. During the real GMAT, it was hard to understand the text and even the answers. I believe it was because of the total stress, in the end, it was harder than my practices.
Time of Study
First of all, you don't have to work full time. However, if you prefer work + Gmat, then you should allocate 3+ months I guess. It is hard to study after work, and especially if you are working heavily. On the other hand, gmat gets frustrating after 1 month of full-time study, especially if you are studying alone. I haven't even finished all the questions in OG and in my other study materials; however, I decided to take the exam since days were becoming about more messing around than studying.
Materials
I had
- OG 2016 and
Below, I have shared my experiences. I believe that everybody has his /her own study style, one thing very beneficial for me may be nonsense for you.
I wish I had known that:
1-We have a similar exam for university application at bachelor degree, and I got an excellent score on the exam, which was 10 years ago. Very confident with my past experience, I thought that I can handle GMAT very easily.
No, GMAT is different, mainly verbal, and it is particularly hard if you are not a native speaker. You need to study.
2- I only opened the cover of OG 2016 3-4 times before I discovered the online question bank. They had the same questions. From day 1, I decided to conduct all my study mainly on the computer, since the exam will be on the computer, believing that it was a good strategy. I only wrote down my notes, because I learn better while writing. Changes person to person.
No need to buy the OG book, you can buy a second-hand access to the online question bank or maybe an e-book.
3- I used OG online question bank as a mixed quiz center. I solve questions from diverse topics rather than addressing questions topic by topic. I studied topic by topic via GMAT club (thank you) question banks, using gmat club tags. It is very beneficial since you can see the timing, and also watch your progress. I recommend Gmatclub question banks to everybody.
4- Since I have been away from several quant and verbal concepts, I started with reading Manhattan books, and solve 10-15 questions about the topics. I finished a book in 5-4 days, while I was working. Don't do that!! Later, I noticed that I suffered in some areas, and I went back to the topics I couldn't have learned precisely. This time, I spent 6-5 days to only 1 chapter (every book has 5-10 chapters) and solved 40-50 questions about that chapter. Recommended.
7- Manhattan books are great and not great
"GMAT prep now" is a great source: https://www.gmatprepnow.com/ . However, I can not know Gmat prep now lessons are great and sufficient because I studied them as an additional source after Manhattan books, or they would have been great even if I hadn't studied from any Manhattan books...If I had known about them earlier, I might not have bought the manhattan books. Check Gmatprepnow8- CR my weakest area, I studied from Manhattan CR, and read 2-3 chapter of powerscore CR and watch lessons from Gmatprepnow. The best is Gmat Prep Now.
9- Manhattan CATs are perfect!! I only had 3 of them, they are harder from real GMAT. I get 610 from CATs at home, and I got 650 at real GMAT.
I will be selling my books in couple of days. As I mentioned above, cover of OG has not opened more than 5-6 times and manhattan books are used very carefully. Please pm if you need study material. I am located in Germany.
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