GMAT preparation Strategy

The dilemma with the OG is that most of the problems in the OG are included in the Powerprep software.

ok, so this is what i tell guys. My advice to you is .. start with the OG. study it , master it cover to cover. I would start with sets of 25 questions of MATH, 10 CR, 10 SC and 3 RC every day. dont rush it, try to understand every problem you get wrong. if this system works for you, you should be able to do most of the OG in two - three weeks.

Then, put the OG aside and start working with the problems in Kaplan etc and if possible, participate in the forum. as weeks go by, you might not remember the OG problems as well as you did the first time you solved them. So, three or four days before the test, take the two Powerprep tests and see how you do. After you have taken the test, now is the time to study the OG completely once again. if you took notes of what errors you did the first time and what errors you did in the powerprep, study them carefully and write down an explanation for your errors. From my experience, I have found that writing down an explanation usually helps you to understand things better and you can remember it better.


While i have time, allow me to add something here ....hope you dont mind.

We have recently started categorizing GMAT MATH problems by difficulty level. There's basic, intermediate and advanced categories. One you are in week 2 of your prep, start going over the problems in this forum. Most of the problems here will make you feel that you are not doing anything in your prep. but our idea of practicing with tough questions is to help you understand the entire concept rather than just a particular problem.

Most guys would solve 100 SIMILAR types of problems on their own easily and feel good that they are doing well. But ETS wont give you points this easily. they will change a little bit here and a little bit there and add to that the pressure that you are in, the problem suddenly looks extremely difficult. This is where clarity of concepts works extremely well. Whenever you feel that you have become good at, say PS, come to the forum and try some of the problems.

Almost every problem you do wrong teaches you something new or reminds you of a pattern in your mistakes. So try to time yourself when you get good at most of the GMAT concepts.

I hope this was helpful to you and other members

Sincerely
Praet

Thanks for a great post Praetorian. I am in early stages of my prep and this certainly helps me to prepare my own study plan.

You said: "We have recently started categorizing GMAT MATH problems by difficulty level. There's basic, intermediate and advanced categories...."

Where do I find these categorized problems on this website?? Sorry, I am new here and not familiar with all the areas of the website. Please let me know.

Thanks again.

-Buds

Please disregard my earlier posting. I found it.
Thanks, Buds

hi, regarding the advise of working the OG cover to cover with sets of 25 questions of maths, 10 cr, 10sc and 3rc, do you time it the first time round you're working on it ? I'm going to re-work my whole GMAT prep, i screwed up the last prep i did after a massive burn-out when i simply didn't want to do anything with GMAT.

does the OG come with a CD??? i just ordered it on amazon.com but was curious if it comes with a cd? i am in my first week of intensive prep and i already started with kaplan 2005 , would anyone recommend studying kaplan before the OG or the other way around???

Hey ! The OG doesn't come with a CD, well, at least all the copies I've seen at the bookstore doesn't come with one. The problem with the OG is it doesn't go in depth to basics. So if you need to brush up your maths foundations, grammar etc, don't rely on it. Kaplan will go into some of the bacis such as algebra, and the least you need to know to tackle sc, rc etc.... If you're still stuggling, best to pick up their workbook and work through them.

I used the Kaplan maths workbook and verbal workbook to complement my Kaplan 2005 copy. After I did that, I went on to the horribly thick OG and worked myself to a melt-down ----- which ended up with me going on a 3 months break and still recovering.

So where am I now ?? Back to the start of the prep, but more experienced to know that I need to pace myself patiently.

I'm still trying to nail down a suitable 'game plan', so if you've any good ones, let me know !!

hope that helps !

I just reliased that my comment about the OG not going in depth to the basics rather misleading. Put it this way, the OG tests whatever you're supposed to know for the GMAT, since it's based on actual GMAT questions.

But if you need material explaning to you how algebra, exponential operation works (etc), you'll need either a maths text, or one of the kaplan or arco workbooks.

thanx for the info, i am picking up arco's math workbook in a few days from amazon.

Hi ywilfred
You said "I used the Kaplan maths workbook and verbal workbook to complement my Kaplan 2005 copy"..

I read somewhere else that if we go with KAPLAN 2005, it covers most of the questions from KAPLAN workbooks as well. Is this not right? Is the content in workbooks different to KAPLAN 2005?

TIA
GMAT_Melb

I think there might be 1 or 2 similar questions, that's all. The workbooks would give you a better grounding in the bare basics. For the maths workbook, they have individual chapters from numbering systems to algebra, to word problems. There's also a chapter for DS, which is not that easy, at least for me (made a number of mistakes !). I would recommend it if you've forgotten most of your high school or college maths and need something to trigger a memory recall.
The verbal workbook gives more depth than the kaplan 2005 series, and that's because it's concentrated solely on the verbal section of the gmat. It has some interesting strategies you can adpot for RC and CR. I can't say much for AWA as I have my own template so I have not read through the AWA chapter, but I'll do that when I have the time. It also have a very good list of idioms at the end which will come in very handy. If you're not sure they're for you, head down to your local library and see if they are available over there.
Finally, if you need brushing up on grammar, then you'll need more than a workbook. You'll almost definitely need a grammar text to go through the basics. There're plenty of these in the library. For this purpose, i'm using Grammar Smart by Princeton Review. It's not thick, suitable for quick reading, and it is geared towards what you'll need to know for the GMAT.

i was reading my own reply out of boredom and discovered it was littered all over with grammatical errors. If you're reading it, it's a great chance to practice your sentence correction !

i disovered a lot of typos in mine lol ;]] guess i rush the reply too much i am trying to practice writing fast but i usually fatfinger the buttons on the keyboard

hi all

well me taking GMAT for the first not very good with Quants can someone please suggest as to what is the best book to start with to get my basics right.

thanks

Where can I find the Kaplan workbooks?

I am comfortable with my math skills but my verbal skills need drastic improvement. I can speak and write english well but when it comes to pinpointing grammatical errors, I just suck!

Can anyone recommend the best book I can go thru/ review to brush up on my verbal?

Thanks

Hi Hermione
You can try out PR verbal workbook.

ywilfred (and others who've experienced burnout),

you mentioned that you buried yourself in GMAT prep, got completely burned out, and wanted nothing to do with studying for months.

i had a similiar experience last summer- took a prep course, studied everything (OG, PR, Kap, etc). i was actually scoring pretty well (670, 690), but i got so tied up in it, that come test time, i got nervous, couldnt think straight, and cancelled my scores. i was so overcome by the experience that i started questioning b-school in general. kind of ridiculous to let a test affect you in such a way, but anyway...

i am now back and ready to study again. my real question is to those who have been in similiar situations- how did you change your strategy the second time around? i feel knowledgable about the concepts, just have to get back into the swing of it all...

in particular, could anyone comment on what content, timeframes, and routines worked best for you the second time around to keep from getting burnt out again?

thanks

Hi Praet!!!!

Thanks for that awesome strategy.....

I am kinda ok with my quant and working on verbal but i need help on AWA. I cant write for nuts.
Please help me on AWA.

Praveena

I 'm new to the club, just joined today. Can you tell me where to find this catagorized gmat math problems?