Need help in getting started for GMAT preparation

Question

Hi All,

I just gave a mock test on GMAT Official Prep website (Latest) and scored 450(q:33,v:18). I am completely devastated by the results i have got and i have no idea how to begin my journey to achieve a score of 700. I am a working professional and i get about 2-3 hours on weekdays , no issues on weekends for studying. Could you guys help me out and lead me in the right direction?

Thanks

ENEM · Answer

Hi,

it's ok if you scored 450...a lot of people do. GMATCLUB founder's post is a good start to have a systematic approach to prepping for the gmat...you may look it up here: https://gmatclub.com/forum/gmat-study-p ... ml#p605856

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Amanullah Khan,

Many Test Takers are unhappy with their initial CAT Scores, but you really shouldn't be. It's just a measure of your skills right now - and you're going to learn content/Tactics and hone your skills over the next several months.

Before I can offer you the specific advice that you’re looking for, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

Studies:
1) How long have you studied?
2) What study materials have you used so far?

Goals:
3) When are you planning to take the GMAT?
4) When are you planning to apply to Business School?
5) What Schools are you planning to apply to?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

Sajjad1994 · Answer

For Concept Learning

Manhattan Quant Guides
Manhattan Verbal Guides
For CR: The Powerscore GMAT Critical Reasoning Bible
For RC: Aristotle RC Grail

For Practice

The Official Guide for GMAT 2015-18
The Official Guide for GMAT Quantitative Review 2015-18
The Official Guide for GMAT Verbal Review 2015-18

Strategies

You can start with Quant or Verbal which suits you. If you have started with Quant then Start with the Arithmetic but if started with verbal then start first with Sentence correction. One month for learning Quant concepts and one month for practicing question and same practice for Verbal. During you Practicing question don't forget to make an error log to track your weak areas after practice. Once you know your weak areas revise your Concepts related to those areas and do some more Practice. 6-8 CATs are enough for practice the real tests. Make your Stamina for sitting 3 hours in the test and don't study more than 2 hours in one sit and 4 hours per day

Top CATs for Practice

1. Official GMAC CATs
2. Manhattan CATs
3. Kaplan CATs
4. GMAT Club Quant CATs

Good Luck

souvonik2k · Answer

Hi
A score of 450 on your first test without any preparation is not bad. Now you know you have to work on both Quant and Verbal in order to improve your score. I suggest to study from the Mgmat guides as they are comprehensive and cover the entire Gmat syllabus. Make sure to maintain an error log. Then you can start solving questions from the OG in a timed manner. After that you can take another Gmat prep and see your prep level.
Hope it helps.

knowledgeispower · Answer

Could you please explain what is “Mgmat guides” and if you have an error log sample!? Thank you

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rohan2345 · Answer

Hi Amanullah Khan, You should dedicate 4 months to improve your score. It’s a good thing you have taken one GMAT Mock. You now know your weaknesses and work on them. If you are willing to study dedicatedly for 4 months, you are sure to achieve your goal. I believe you may benefit from taking a GMATPREP course. If you are willing, there are some great GMAT prep companies that can help you with your preparation. In order to make an informed decision I would highly encourage you to go to their websites and try on their free trial and decide for yourself which one do you like better. Your choice of Empowergmat is great! You can try out free access to EmpowerGMAT, Magoosh and Optimus Prep as they have great reviews on GMATCLUB. Also for verbal, I would highly encourage you to consider e-gmat verbal online or the e-gmat verbal live course. They are both amazing courses especially designed for non-natives. They offer almost 25% of their courses for free so you can try out their free trial to decide which one you want to go for. Plus the e-gmat Scholaranium which is included in both the courses is one of the best verbal practice tools in the market. You can easily track your progress in that you can identify your strengths and analyze and improve on your weak areas. You can also try out the MGMAT guides they are phenomenal and cover the entire syllabus really well. MGMAT foundation of GMAT Quant anf foundation of GMAT verbal will particularly help you solidify your base. I must add that if you are particularly looking to discover and improve on your weak areas in Quant; a subscription to GMATCLUB tests is the best way to do that. They are indeed phenomenal and will not only pinpoint your weak areas but also help you improve on them. Further taking multiple mocks might help. Apart from the GMATPREP, Manhattan GMAT tests and Veritas Prep Tests in my experience have good verbal and Quant section and will certainly help you point out and improve your weak areas. Further another advantage of taking many mocks is to build up your stamina. Apart from the GMATPREP tests, taking practise tests of any major GMATPREP company ought to do that. I would also encourage you to purchase the latest version of OG and the verbal review for some great additional practice. Here is a link that will help you with your decision. https://gmatclub.com/forum/best-gmat-ve ... ml?fl=menu Lastly, you can check out a very interesting article by Mike McGarry from Magoosh detailing a 3 month study plan https://magoosh.com/gmat/2012/3-month-g ... -students/. You will find it very helpful as it gives out a study plan as per your needs. Hope this helps. All the best.

piyush93 · Answer

Start with focussing on basics. Go for foundation guide of MGMAT.

souvonik2k · Answer

Hi
Mgmat guides are Manhattan Gmat guides. Just click on the blue link in the above post.
You can get some error log samples also by clicking there.

knowledgeispower · Answer

Thank you so much !!

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