need expert opinion on my study plan!

Question

Hey everyone! I have been lurking here for a couple of weeks now and am about ready to start my review. I plan on taking the exam on the last week of april ( gives me approximately 12 weeks) Based on a collective review of all the top scorers, these are the resources I plan to use OG 12, and OG 12 Quant , Verbal 8 MGMAT Strategy books (specifically for quants ( except geometry heard it was bad) and SC ) Powerscore CR AWA: the ARCO awa book ( can't post urls yet

) It has been 2 years since I was out of college and have forgotten all of the basics. Given that my plan was to schedule roughly like this: 1st week - Take an MGMAT CAT and analyze and evaluate my greatest weaknesses ( assuming quant at this point) week 1-4 work on quant week 5 AWA Week 6-10 work on verbal week 11-12- take CAT test every other day and go over and analyze problems i got wrong. what do you guys think? Also , would it be wise to take the first 2 weeks reviewing math concepts? If so, which books should i use for those? some people suggest Kaplans Math workbook for fundamentals Thanks in advance!

gmatpunjabi · Answer

It looks good man. What you want to do is work through the Manhattan books and do the Questions referenced at the back of every chapter including the Advanced. The CR Book for Manhattan does a good job of classifying questions from OG12 and also pay attention to the CR Diagramming Technique in the Manhattan CR Book. THe CR Bible does not teach diagramming.

As for AWA I dont think you need a book. There is a Post in the AWA section that teaches you everything you need to know. Last time I followed the information presented I got like a 5.5.
how-to-get-6-0-awa-my-guide-64327.html

I cannot comment on the time split between QUant and Verbal. Personally I split my time everyday between the subjects(Quant/Verbal). Somebody else would be more qualified to answer that.

Note: The Geometry book is not bad at all. It does a damn good job of explaining the concepts

c210 · Answer

Thank you Gmatpunjabi!

I am going to follow your advice and go off that link you posted as the information seems pretty spot on from what I've read.

Got some more questions for you experts!

A)for the preliminary CAT test should i use the 1/6 MGMAT tests to gauge my level before studying or should i use one of the GMATPrep ones?

B) do the GMAT guides go over strategy covering HOW to attack certain problems similar to how Princeton Review and Kaplan do on theirs ?

C) With regards to the guides

what strategy do you think makes the most sense:

1. read/study THEORY portion only for both math and verbal for the first 3 weeks
 covering all 8 guides plus the OG 12.

2. Read/study strategy on how to tackle problems for another 3 weeks

3. finally start tackling problems and analyzing problems sets and Cat tests for the last 6 weeks

OR

1. Read theory per topic and strategy for tackling problems per topic and tackle problems for each topic read soon after
---Rinse and repeat for remaining 7 guides ( in order of weakest to strongest topic) 8 weeks

2. Tackle CAT tests and review mistakes for remaining 4 weeks

thanks!

wallstreetbarbie · Answer

I strongly suggest you use one of the GMAT practice exams. Take one before you start studying. Why? Their explanations are great, also their reports or assessments are spot on. After looking at one you will know which questions you are getting wrong (level 500, 600, 700), which areas you are weak in (scoring under 50% in a particular subject such as number properties) and this will coincide with one of their study guides... handy right?

I dont think awa warrants a week of study, take one day and learn the outlines, do a few essays. Set it aside. Revisit closer to test day. Make sure you do the practice exams with awa to build stamina.

Also, Manhattan GMAT has done an outstanding job with OG Archer. Use it to log your questions for OG 12. It will time your answers and if you get the deluxe version the math answers explanations will be included. The analytics on Archer are phenomenal. It is like keeping an error log... however, the archer will do the analysis for you.

Good luck

c210 · Answer

thanks wallstreetbarbie! thats awesome advice. I assume by GMAT practice exam you meant one of the six Manhattan GMAT tests right?

I am looking at OG archer right now so far looks pretty handy , thanks for this!

what do you suggest for plan of attack? As I asked on my last post is it smart to run through

Theory>>Strategy>>practice for all QUANT first 4 weeks

then Theory>>Strategy>>practice for verbal Week 5-8

then test/practice last 9-12 weeks?

gmatpunjabi · Answer

I would do half Verbal and Half QUant everyday and then take a Manhattan Practice Test on the Weekend to Gauge what you are learning.

wallstreetbarbie · Answer

Yes I was referring to one of the 6 fill length exams. I think a strategy will be better formulated once you have a good grasp of weaknesses.

I think you have a sound plan and would suggest a minor tweak. As you are going through your quant study you should know how you are progressing. One way of figuring that out is by doing the OG questions assigned. I prefer to take the Quant only section of an exam every after week 1, then another after week 3. Ensure that in the mean time you truly take some time to work out the errors you got. We all get so wrapped into getting through our study plan that we actually forget to actually study and retain the info. Similar approach should be done for the verbal. Your study time for quant or verbal may be under the 4 weeks or even over. If you find yourself getting through the material quicker than anticipated take the "extra" time to really hone in on your skills and timing. Once you get to the difficult questions you will notice that timing will be a challenge. For me I can solve a lot of the 700+ questions but not under 2 minutes.

Everyone is different. Be in touch with your progress, know your weaknesses and remain flexible as to your study plan.

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need expert opinion on my study plan!

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