Events & Promotions
|
|
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.
Customized
for You
Track
Your Progress
Practice
Pays
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
May 1212:00 PM EDT
-11:59 PM EDT
Make the most of your break with the most realistic GMAT™ prep. Take up to $700 off select products.
May 1308:30 AM PDT
-09:30 AM PDT
In Episode 4 of our GMAT Ninja CR series, we tackle the most intimidating CR question type: Boldface & "Legalese" questions. If you've ever stared at an answer choice that reads, "The first is a consideration introduced to counter a position that...- May 14
08:30 AM PDT
-09:30 AM PDT
Most GMAT test-takers are intimidated by the hardest GMAT Verbal questions. In this session, Target Test Prep GMAT instructor Erika Tyler-John, a 100th percentile GMAT scorer, will show you how top scorers break down challenging Verbal questions..
20 Apr 2009, 11:18
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hey everyone,
Just by way of background, I did my undergrad in business and I have completed my CFA. Since graduating three years ago, I have spent time working in IB and PE. Given my time limitations as a result of my job, I am trying to get a sense of how best to approach my studies efficiently. Academically, I am very strong and have traditionally performed well with these aptitude tests.
Without trying to come across as arrogant, I believe I will score greater than 700 without having to invest too much time into studying. My goal is to hit 740+. With this in mind, I look to those of you who have experience with the prep materials to provide me with your thoughts on how to proceed. My specific questions are:
1) Should I use up one of the two GMATPrep tests or if I should save both till the very end. Can I do these over and over again, or is it special software that only lets you access it once and locks you out for each registration?
2) I have already purchased the official guide 12th Ed. In addition to this, I am debating whether to supplement it with the 2 other official guides (verbal/quant) or to take a more general book (ie: kaplan premier or kaplan 800 which would you recommend?) before tackling the OG to get a sense of "strategy and technique".
3) Is it a waste of time to read one of the "comprehensive" books to get a sense of "strategy/technique" or is this more of an approach for beginners? Would I be perfectly well off if my studying consisted purely of doing the 1000 questions between the 3 official guides?
I guess the question is should I:
A) Do a general comprehensive book (if so which one for someone of my background) and then the OG or
B) Do the OG straight up and then do the two supplemental OG's
Thank you for your time.
Just by way of background, I did my undergrad in business and I have completed my CFA. Since graduating three years ago, I have spent time working in IB and PE. Given my time limitations as a result of my job, I am trying to get a sense of how best to approach my studies efficiently. Academically, I am very strong and have traditionally performed well with these aptitude tests.
Without trying to come across as arrogant, I believe I will score greater than 700 without having to invest too much time into studying. My goal is to hit 740+. With this in mind, I look to those of you who have experience with the prep materials to provide me with your thoughts on how to proceed. My specific questions are:
1) Should I use up one of the two GMATPrep tests or if I should save both till the very end. Can I do these over and over again, or is it special software that only lets you access it once and locks you out for each registration?
2) I have already purchased the official guide 12th Ed. In addition to this, I am debating whether to supplement it with the 2 other official guides (verbal/quant) or to take a more general book (ie: kaplan premier or kaplan 800 which would you recommend?) before tackling the OG to get a sense of "strategy and technique".
3) Is it a waste of time to read one of the "comprehensive" books to get a sense of "strategy/technique" or is this more of an approach for beginners? Would I be perfectly well off if my studying consisted purely of doing the 1000 questions between the 3 official guides?
I guess the question is should I:
A) Do a general comprehensive book (if so which one for someone of my background) and then the OG or
B) Do the OG straight up and then do the two supplemental OG's
Thank you for your time.
20 Apr 2009, 18:13
Kudos
Bookmarks
I would recommend taking one of the GMATPreps up front to level set where you are. If you search here a bit you'll find that they're considered to be the best simulation of real exam difficulty.
If the first GMATPrep confirms your expectations, you can do the second on your prep home stretch and validate that you're ready to go. You can do GMATPrep multiple times, but I believe they lack a deep question bank and will start to repeat. This will obviously inflate your scores and reduce their predictive value.
As part of your core efforts, do the OG questions above all else. I never made it to the additional OG guides. I did do Kaplan 800--it wasn't perfect, but I did get some value out of it. I would do small sets of questions from K800 before bed and sleep well if I was handling them well. I wouldn't feel obligated to spend the money on this book, just buy the OG and consider the 2 online resources listed below. If you're not progressing to where you want to be or want to do an extended prep cycle, you can go back to these and other sources for additional content.
The Manhattan GMAT CATs can be bought online for a $20-ish, you can use those as additional CAT work during prep. They typically score lower than the actual GMAT but they're good learning tools and considered the next best thing after GMATPrep.
Additionally, I also did the GMAT Club Tests and they're an excellent source of practice content. You can take the free sample tests to confirm that for yourself.
As far as comprehensive books, I hadn't seen the business end of an inscribed triangle in quite some time, so I did get value out of doing math review (I worked through Manhattan's Study Guides and Jeff Sackmann's GMAT Math Bible along the way). Manhattan's SC and CR guides are also pretty good imo. If you're current on the math basics used for Q., then proceed directly to the OG. Otherwise, focus on making sure you have the common question types down. The good thing about guides like the Manhattan SG's is they spell out the likely universe of question types you're going to see, so you're not inferring some sort of taxonomy on your own.
I can't say which approach will work better, but I think after you do a practice test, you'll have a sense of whether you need foundational coverage or can go straight to focusing on whatever level of practice reps you feel you ned.
If the first GMATPrep confirms your expectations, you can do the second on your prep home stretch and validate that you're ready to go. You can do GMATPrep multiple times, but I believe they lack a deep question bank and will start to repeat. This will obviously inflate your scores and reduce their predictive value.
As part of your core efforts, do the OG questions above all else. I never made it to the additional OG guides. I did do Kaplan 800--it wasn't perfect, but I did get some value out of it. I would do small sets of questions from K800 before bed and sleep well if I was handling them well. I wouldn't feel obligated to spend the money on this book, just buy the OG and consider the 2 online resources listed below. If you're not progressing to where you want to be or want to do an extended prep cycle, you can go back to these and other sources for additional content.
The Manhattan GMAT CATs can be bought online for a $20-ish, you can use those as additional CAT work during prep. They typically score lower than the actual GMAT but they're good learning tools and considered the next best thing after GMATPrep.
Additionally, I also did the GMAT Club Tests and they're an excellent source of practice content. You can take the free sample tests to confirm that for yourself.
As far as comprehensive books, I hadn't seen the business end of an inscribed triangle in quite some time, so I did get value out of doing math review (I worked through Manhattan's Study Guides and Jeff Sackmann's GMAT Math Bible along the way). Manhattan's SC and CR guides are also pretty good imo. If you're current on the math basics used for Q., then proceed directly to the OG. Otherwise, focus on making sure you have the common question types down. The good thing about guides like the Manhattan SG's is they spell out the likely universe of question types you're going to see, so you're not inferring some sort of taxonomy on your own.
I can't say which approach will work better, but I think after you do a practice test, you'll have a sense of whether you need foundational coverage or can go straight to focusing on whatever level of practice reps you feel you ned.
20 Apr 2009, 21:16
Kudos
Bookmarks
Thanks Scorcho this is helpful.
Seeing as how the GMATPrep tests seem like such a valuable, limited resource, I think I may save them for last, and use 1 of the 2 powerprep tests as an initial diagnostic. But I take your point regarding the importance of seeing where I stand currently.
I have been debating whether or not to buy the manhattan sentence structuring book. From what I've read, there are no practice questions at all... I'd like to think that I am pretty strong grammar-wise so the time I would otherwise spend reading that book may be better utilized tackling verbal practice questions (ie: questions from the OG verbal supplement). Do most people on this forum who have achieved high scores (720+) use this manhattan book? I know it's the second most popular book on the forum next to the OG. Just wondering if it lives up to the hype.
Seeing as how the GMATPrep tests seem like such a valuable, limited resource, I think I may save them for last, and use 1 of the 2 powerprep tests as an initial diagnostic. But I take your point regarding the importance of seeing where I stand currently.
I have been debating whether or not to buy the manhattan sentence structuring book. From what I've read, there are no practice questions at all... I'd like to think that I am pretty strong grammar-wise so the time I would otherwise spend reading that book may be better utilized tackling verbal practice questions (ie: questions from the OG verbal supplement). Do most people on this forum who have achieved high scores (720+) use this manhattan book? I know it's the second most popular book on the forum next to the OG. Just wondering if it lives up to the hype.
