Is there such a thing as starting too early?

Question

I accidentally stumbled upon this forum when I was looking for something else, and boy, I've been hooked ever since.

I just had a quick question.

I am not going to be taking the GMAT until December. However, August to December, I am going to be extremely busy with the exception of a few breaks, and I have almost a month at my disposal right now. So I thought I should start preparing for the GMAT now instead of procrastinating. However, some of my friends who took the GMAT were of the opinion that starting too early wouldn't be beneficial, and might in fact be detrimental in some ways. I am aiming for a 750 on the GMAT, and hopefully, that's a realistic target.

Do you think that my idea of intense study during these two months followed by periodic review of concepts and doing practice tests would be a good idea? Or should I put off the studying for a bit more?

I've received conflicting opinions on this issue and I would like some input from you guys!

Thanks in advance

bakfed · Answer

hi whiplash, I think this is a common question that some folks face and I truly believe that it depends on how you are and how you study. For me, cramming in a month (or two) will never work because that's just not how I perform. I like long-term study and shorter period of studying time per study session because that's what has proved to me that'll work. A 750 is an ambitious goal, but if you have the heart and knowledge to do it, you can get it. One good way to think about your question is how you studied for the SAT because GMAT is pretty similar to SAT. If you crammed and crammed the last month and scored over 2150, by all means cram away for GMAT. But if you did a prolonged study of SAT and scored high, I'd say to do the same for GMAT.

whiplash2411 · Answer

Thanks for your response bakfed.

For the SATs, I studied only for around 2 weeks in an intensive manner and I did well. But I always had this lingering feeling that I might have done much better had I prepared more efficiently.

I think I might just review some material casually for a while now and then study with focus for around a month now and in the days leading up to my test date.

Thanks!

DAYNE · Answer

study as early as you can, from a person who currently studying and will be taking it in August after six months of study...

strikethree · Answer

I wished I studied for my SAT's, maybe I wouldn't have had to take it twice. (Although I ended up with a decent score anyway)

There are certain subjects that we study for and just forget the second we finish our finals. For example, you can ask me basic physics questions and I wouldn't remember how to do them. If too much time passes by, it is much easier to forget subjects we aren't interested in. (So you might need to factor that in to your study date. ) But honestly, you can always re-read and relearn concepts when you have extra time (even though this is a huge bore); however, you might not have the time if you start too late. (Which is one of my biggest problems)

nonameee · Answer

Like others have already said, it's very individual and depends on many factors. GMAT IMO is not so much about actual knowledge but rather about your ability to understand and use relatively simple concepts under limited time constraints.

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Posted from my mobile device

leilak · Answer

I think the biggest problem with starting too early is that you might get tired. I think 4 months (with ocasional breaks) should do. I am by no means a fast learner and I always need time 4 the conceptsto sink in. Yet 4 monthshave been enough. I think actually they were too much. In the 2 weeks leading up to the test I was a walking zombi.I felt very very tired. I think that 1 week more ofstudying would have destroyed me.

However, don't start "preparing just a bit" and then later more thoroughly. When you study, study hard and very seriously.
By all means get MGMAT Quant books and SC and Powerscore CR bible. My adice would be for you to start with verbal. I started with Quant uet by the time I finished verbal I already forgot most quant formulas and tricks

All the best

P.S Got a 740

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P.S Got a 740 https://gmatclub.com/static/posted_from.png Posted from GMAT ToolKit

whiplash2411 · Answer

Thanks a lot for your input guys! I really appreciate it!

bb · Answer

Welcome to GMAT Club! I'd say you don't want to start prepping more than 6 months out from your test date, so if December is your date, it is OK to start now. I would start slower and then rev up; do a lot of review/error logging as with such a time span you are likely to forget a number of things. Don't dive into tests before you cover a good portion of the material - you may burn through them too fast. However, there is not really a wrong approach. Hard word pays off either way :wink:

whiplash2411 · Answer

Thank you bb! I appreciate your input!!

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Is there such a thing as starting too early?

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