My journey begins here (Goal - April - May 2010 Test Date)

I've been lurking mostly and soaking up as much information as I can from the forums over the last week. I plan to apply for admission next year to a local private, well ranked in state / region MBA program for admission in Jan 2011.

I'm a "non traditional" student, meaning that I am 29 and still finishing up my BA in Marketing Management next year and would like to continue on to get my MBA.

I will end up with a rather average GPA would like to score a 600 or so on the GMAT to make up for it. The school I'm looking at had average GMAT scores of 530 last year. I also will have decent work experience and I believe excellent recommendations.

Baseline Practice Exams

Last week I took a non CAT Kaplan practice GMAT and scored a 520 (Q23, V40). I'm obviously weak quantitatively.

Today I took a MGMAT practice GMAT and scored a 450 (Q24, V29). I really wasn't feeling it today and should have put off taking the practice test till tomorrow, my concentration was totally off.

The breakdown was:

PS - 45% Correct
DS - 40% Correct
SC - 47% Correct
CR - 57% Correct
RC - 58% Correct

Study Materials

I've ordered the following supplies and am waiting for them to arrive:

Powerscore SC Bible
Powerscore CR Bible
The 9 MGMAT Guides (CR, Equations, Inequalities and VICs Guide, Fractions, Decimals and Percents Guide, Geometry Guide, Number Properties Guide, RC Guide, SC Guide, Translations Guide and Foundations of Math)
Kaplan GMAT Math Workbook
OG 12th Edition

Study Plan

My first goal is to increase my basic math knowledge. I’m going to work through both the Kaplan GMAT Math Workbook and the MGMAT Foundations of Math book. Because I’m not really looking at taking the GMAT for real until April or May, I plan to spend a good month brushing up on basic math concepts.

At the same time, I plan on reading the intro information contained in the OG but saving any of the actual problems until later in my studying so I don’t waste the questions. Likewise, I’m going to hold off on taking any more practice GMATs until I’ve gotten further into my study plan.

I’m also still considering taking a prep course and will take advantage of any free sample sessions the various prep companies offer to see if they are a good match. I’ve signed up for the sample MGMAT class tomorrow night.

I plan on continuing to update this thread as I move through my studying. Please let me know if you have any thoughts on my plan and good luck to all you in your studying and test taking!