Potential study resources

Hello all,

I'm new here and this is my first post
Perhaps a brief introduction is in order before I get to it:
I'm a young hospitality guy who wants to go to business school in a year or two. To this end, I am about to start my GMAT prep journey and wanted to ask you lovely folk what you think about the following resource list I have compiled, to assist me in this potentially arduous endeavor. Naturally, I have been doing a lot reading on the forums to get some opinions but, like with everyone here who asks a question that has already been posed, there is always a nuance in circumstance that calls for a rehashing of old topics. So here goes!

Quant:

• Magoosh - for foundations and simple explanations to bring me up to speed with the basics
• EmpowerGMAT or Target Test Prep - I have seen tremendous feedback on these for Quant and am currently leaning towards the EmpowerGMAT as I have seen a lot of interaction between Rich and forum members, and because I gather that the questions in TTP may not be close enough to what one might expect during the real GMAT. EmpowerGMAT also has deals on Exam packs.
• MGMAT Quant Strategy guides (6 books) + MGMAT Advanced Quant guide - This is because MGMAT appears to be unavoidable from all the posts I have read on here, from most high performers. Also, I gather that the 6 tests (which are harder than the actual GMAT ones) are quite good.

Verbal + IR:

• e-GMAT Verbal Online - appears to be the most reputed one.
• Powerscore CR Bible - also appears to be the most reputed option for CR.

I am, like most people I've read about, targeting a 700+ score. My background is in Computer Science, so am hoping the Quant part will not an absolute nightmare. I am a native English speaker who reads quite a bit across genres and fields. I also write a decent amount. While I don't expect this to make a huge difference, I'm hoping I'll at least not want to jump off a bridge once I start.

Here are a few questions I'm hoping you'd be willing to assist with. While I don't know where I stand, please assume that I am starting from 460*:

• What do you think of the overall combination? Am I missing something or is it sensible on the whole?
• Is it OK that I am leaving out the Verbal books from MGMAT?
• Any advice on the EmpowerGMAT vs TTP question?
• My trial for Magoosh ends in 3 days. Is it worth keeping?
• I have seen most people take a practice test right at the offset but I feel quite uncomfortable with the idea of taking a practice test now as it has been years since I have seen much of the material and don't feel that a score would be representative of anything apart from my lack of exposure to the topics. Is this precisely why I should take a test now or are my concerns valid and I should instead hold off until I am more familiar with the material?

This list was compiled by scouring the forums here and on BTG, learning from others so I hopefully hit the ground running.
Please feel free to let me know if I am nuts for considering these many resources, and if so, please do offer a suggestion.
Naturally, I do not expect resources to do the work for me and fully expect to be buried in studies while I prepare for the exam. I can only hope that this will at least be mildly helpful in my potential preparation for the CFA, once I'm done with the GMAT

Thanks in advance for all the help. From spending hours over the past few days on the forums, I know for a fact that you are awesome!

*According to EmpowerGMAT, this is the global average for a cold turkey first CAT.

EDIT: I forgot to mention a timeline. I have time. Loads of it. But I am hoping that my study plan will not go beyond a five month period.