My Long Debrief Q49, V44, 750 AWA 5.5

Hi

First of all, thank you for your very detailed debrief. It sure does give hope to someone like me that isn't the "best test taker". My question to you is, did you take a test right before you started the gmat prep?
And do you believe that you can get a high gmat score in 7 weeks. I was aiming for 8-10 hours study per day, beacuse im free this summer.

I would also like to ask you if these books/guides are enough to reach a 720 + score. I know i ask you alot of questions, but your story on your past is very similar to mine.

FOUNDATIONS OF GMAT VERBAL (manhattan)
THE OFFICIAL GUIDE (13)
FOUNDATIONS OF GMAT MATH (Manhattan)
MANHATTAN GMAT, SET OF 8

shadow88,

my assessment test before studying was the diagnostic portion of OG12. In case you're not aware, OG 12 and 13 will have a diagnostic section in the beginning with a number of problems from each area at all difficulties -- this bears no resemblance to the actual test format, but it will give you an idea of where you stand.

i would suggest you save those two gmat prep tests for gauging how well you're studying is going, maybe at 2-3 weeks then 1-2 weeks before the real thing. there's no reason to waste a test to figure out where you are since doing problems in the book will give you an idea of how strong you are in that area.

in terms of # of hours, 7 weeks at 8-10 hours a day (provided even 1 day of rest) would be enough. However, you might get burned out mentally from that amount of studying. Also, perhaps more importantly, you might be confused with a particular problem or problem type and it could take you 1-2 weeks to get an answer from an expert. it took 1-2 weeks to get an answer at manhattan gmat forums, but it was all worth it since those answers always made sense. If you had an expert resource (maybe a tutor or a 1on1 instructor), you would have a much higher chance of being prepared in 7 weeks since you could get all answers instantly. In fact, if you want a 720+ score in that short a period of time, I would consider finding a tutor or instructor that would be willing to answer questions on phone/email/in person -- turnaround time for answers would be key here. I mentino this type of turoting in contrast to attending a class (if you read the whole debrief you can guess I won't advocate classes if you're like myself).


FOUNDATIONS OF GMAT VERBAL (manhattan) <-- I would just go for the sentence correction strategy guides. I was basically brand-new to SC and the strategy guides were enough. Also, i didn't like the RC or CR guides from manhattan

THE OFFICIAL GUIDE (13) <-- this is crucial, but consider it your problem set book. I don't think anyone actually uses it for the "learning" portion. Just use it for problems/answers/explanations
FOUNDATIONS OF GMAT MATH (Manhattan) <-- again I would just go for the strategy guides. I recall this is more of a beginner book like the foundations verbal, but i think the strategy guides for quant are good for any level
MANHATTAN GMAT, SET OF 8 <-- these are the strategy guides right? if so, this set was my primary set of study materials. There is a 5th edition out now with new sections, I'd highly recommend that ( I used 4th).

I also used PowerScore critical reasoning bible since I didn't like mgmat's CR.
I also used the OG verbal review and Quantitative review 2nd editions (for more problems)

First of all, thank you very much for that detailed response. Since im not a native i will keep foundations of gmat verbal but i will also add those that you mention, especially the powerscore. I also agree that i should have someone to ask when i stumble across some problems, but i was hoping for the gmat club to help me with that. I honestly dont have anyone i can ask when i have a problem and i dont have the resources to hire a private tutor. With this being said, do you think 7 week is still enough?

i'd say start working on your weakest area and see if the answers you find by googling (just google the problem text) are enough to help you understand the concepts. If you are able to get answers in such a manner, then yes, with your plan you should be able to accomplish your goal -- i am also assuming you could score at maybe the 620-650 level now.

Hey first congratulations for that awesome score and also for an awesome debrief!! The part I liked best about it was that you spoke a lot about how you handled the anxiety. I think I am going to pick up something from there and probable look in the mirror everyday and say to myself I am so getting the 700+