Long study plan

Question

Hello,

First thanks for all the guides and tips on how to prepare for the GMAT.

What I am looking for is to build a 18 month study plan.

- The first 12 month I will study only math and vocabulary (put a lot of effort since English is not my first language) probably 6 to 10 hours per week. Also read a lot of fiction and non fiction books. In 2007 I got 88 on the TOEFL test.
- The last 6 months study for specific things about the test, take practice tests and of course try to put more than 20 hours of study per week.

What do you think about this strategy? What books would you advice for the first year and for the last 6 months (I think for the last 6 months one of study plan found on the site should work).

Thanks in advance.

bgpower · Answer

Hi klajdi,

if you want my honest opinion - I don't think it's a good idea. This would be helpful for a person having only a basic level of English, which, I think, is not the case with you. Generally, it is good to have a long-term study plan, but 18 months are too long. You can start reading fiction books, NYT, WSJ etc. do build vocabulary and have a better feeling for the language, but having an 88 in TOEFL gives you the opportunity to refresh you English and then start reading the several GMAT preparation books.

I planned something similar - tried to read intensively in English and then structured an intensive 3-4 months GMAT study plan (all 8 MGMAT strategy guides, 3 OG's, Aristotle SC and RC99 and many GMAT CAT's). I think this would be better for you as well, because within a 3-4-5 months' schedule, it is easier for you to follow a plan, be concentrated and have your goals and finally - achieve them.

Regards,

klajdi · Answer

Hi bgpower,

Thank you for the honest opinion, in fact I agree with you and I think 6 months is the maximum time to study. But since I have a lot of time ahead I thought I can study some Math, be more familiar with English terms.

So what books can you recommend that covers Math and English topics that one should be familiar before entering the whole 6 months study plan.

I think that this is necessary in my case, since I haven't attended an English College. I want to achieve a 700+ score and I think that is crucial to have o complete understanding of everything before entering the 6 months study plan.

Thanks
Regards

bgpower · Answer

Hi klajdi,

maybe you should think of having some "Foundations" books right at the beginning. Today every publishing company (I am sure of Kaplan and Manhattan GMAT) have basix praparation workbooks, which aim to provide a good beginning for your GMAT studies. You should just pick a book for Quant, and another one for Verbal, and go through them. It is a good idea to pick the same publisher, whose books you aim to use afterwards in your general study.
I have got both from MGMAT and am currently studying the quant book. Will definitely write a short review in some weeks.

Regards,

bb · Answer

Well.... i am usually against long study plans for the GMAT.

However, with studying English, you may want to study it for 6-12 months to get up to speed (don't study GMAT books - just work on English)

Then for the GMAT - spend 3-4 months. Don't take a long time to study the GMAT (intensity is better than time). Think of it as steak - you can have it slightly burned on intense heat with juicy middle instead of a cooked on a slow heat super chewy and dry.

ebonn101 · Answer

I agree with the other posters. I am a native speaker, so my situation is somewhat different and I can fully understand you wanting to take more time to review English and become proficient.

That being said, however, I think 3-4 months of focused intensive study is what you should shoot for (in terms of GMAT-specific study, not just English as a whole).

I studied around 2-3 hours/weekday and 5-6 hours per weekend day for 4 months, and let me tell you, when you get to around week 13-16 of a regimen like that, it becomes very difficult to maintain focus and keep forward momentum. The first 6-8 weeks are great, and you can see big results and are pleased with your progress. But around week 10-11 you'll hit a serious plateau, likely in both areas of study (math/verbal). After that, it becomes a will-yourself-to-the-end grind in order to eke out even the smallest amount of improvement.

Combined with all the practice CATs, not to mention classes (if you're taking a class), your life BECOMES the GMAT. And I can't imagine that lasting for 12+ months.

I have heard some pretty crazy stories of applicants in China with absolutely insane work ethics in GMAT study, non-English speaking kids who study 3 hours a night for 4 straight years and end up rocking a 790 on the GMAT simply due to such an overwhelming body of work and time put in. Hats off to them - there's no way I could do that.

bgpower · Answer

ebonn101 dito :!:

Absolutely! I am pretty sure that you can achieve a high score in GMAT, although not being very good in English. I mean e.g. knowing the rules in SC is one thing, but implementing them in your everyday speaking - another. Therefore I think it's good to plan things in advance, have a long-term goal and develop a studying approach, which gives you the time needed to achieve a 7X0. But dedicating a whole year (1/80~ 1,25% of your life) - I don't think it will give you that much of a difference that it could be worth the time. Within one 4-month schedule, provided that you have 120% attitude, you can achieve nearly the same. You should only what to do - well that's not easy, but being active here will help you find the right approach for you. If you really want to improve your English first OK, but do it again intensively for 1-2 months (probably try to re-do all TOEFL books) and then switch to the skimming of both Foundation books (I am pretty sure you'll know much of the things) and then start with the strategy guides. All this should be "easy" enough and require much motivation. Regards,

klajdi · Answer

Hello to all,

Thanks for all the replies, I think I am going to buy some fundamentals books maybe from Manhattan, while reading fiction and non fiction books and articles, practicing some math problems and being active on the forum.

Thanks again.

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