ThreeEyedRaven wrote:
Thank you for your input Dakells!
When first studying for the GMAT did you find that you were totally unfamiliar with the material? Was it kinda like starting from scratch or did you intuitively know at least some basic concepts? I was looking through some example questions on random, unreputable websites just for kicks and I realized that I did not know any of the info at all. I hadnt even seen those types of problems since High School. When I start studying for the Quantitative section it will be completely from scratch. Even when I did brush upon those things slightly in HS I did not really pay attention. I was a slacker in High School and I've always hated Math. So all of the Quantitative section will be literally new to me whereas (I think) most people regardless of their self-reported lack of math skills probably already have some intuitive knowledge for those types of problems. Did you have to start from scratch with a lot of the Quantitative section....and how extensively did you prep in the months before the exam? Can you also share with me your study methods? Did you pay for those prep classes or was it all self guided with
Manhattan GMAT prep materials only?
Thanks so much!!!
Whoops, just saw this! I would say some of the math looked fairly familiar to me, but the thing is, just knowing how to arrive at an answer isn't good enough, you need to know how to arrive at an answer in 2 minutes, which is something that I wasn't able to do when I first started studying. My GMAT story was a little weird. In 2007 I got my company to pay for a Kaplan course. I ended up never taking the test after the class because I just didn't feel ready. I also sort of cooled on the whole business school thing because I wasn't sure what I wanted to do after school (didn't feel comfortable spending $100K to go to school and not know what I wanted to do while there). So in 2011 when I decided I was finally ready for school, I hired a tutor from
Manhattan GMAT to only do math with me. Honestly, I didn't think he was worth the money, which was extreme. I read the
Manhattan GMAT math books and just did a TON of problems. I don't remember when I started studying, but I probably studied for 3 months or so. I probably took 10+ full practice tests before the actual test so I really studied a lot. And my math really improved, had I not bombed the verbal my second test, I would have gotten at least a 740 (vs the 690 I got). I think I would recommend the
MGMAT class. I imagine that like Kaplan, they do a good job of providing you with a manageable introduction to the test and from there build you up to the level that you need to do well. I liked
MGMAT's study materials better than Kaplan's so that is why I would say
MGMAT. Though the little blue quick study book that Kaplan gives is great.
I think you said you're still in school? If Math is that unfamiliar to you, and you have space in your schedule, then you might want to look into taking a freshman level math course or some sort of algebra class. But, it's fairly basic stuff, so it should come back to you. The trick is just getting to the point where you can do the questions in 2 minutes. If you can't afford the
MGMAT classes, definitely invest in the books and see if you can get someone who is good at math to help you! Good luck!
13 Jul 2013, 09:18
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