Strategy to study

Question

Hi all!

I'm about to prepare for my GMAT and I've been researching the past week, but all the information is overwhelming sometimes!
So I have decided this so far:
* Study around 10-12 hours a week starting April
* Plan to take the GMAT mid July-Aug.
* I took the Manhattan GMAT practice test without much knowing anything and got 430 (Q30, V21) After reviewing answers there are just things I didn't remember, but nothing I would worry too much. Is it a bad start for first CAT?
* Plan to get 700+ 
* Books: I have the OG 2015, a kaplan 2015. I was wondering if I should get the Manhattan set (10 books). How many pages should I study per day? or should it be per topics? Q and V on the same day?

I really don't know exactly how to start, should I start with the OG directly or first the Manhattan, or both? 
I was thinking of having a error log and review it every end of the week. 
Also take CATs every 2-3 weeks to see the improvement, which CATS are the best to take?

So is it doable? or I'm aiming too high?

Thanks so much!

Alvaro

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Alvaro,

Many Test Takers are unhappy with their initial practice CAT score, so you're not alone. Your 430 isn't terrible though, considering you still have so much to learn. It does show that you'll have to make some BIG improvements to how you handle BOTH the Quant and Verbal sections though. A 700+ score is the 90th percentile, meaning that 90% of Test Takers either CAN'T or WON'T do what it takes to score at that level. As you can imagine, most Test Takers can't get to that level by studying on their own, so investing in the right practice materials is key.

Beyond doing lots of practice problems, you'll likely need consistent, professional guidance so that you can learn all of the patterns, tactics and 'secrets' of the GMAT (without having to try to figure out all of that stuff on your own). As such, you would likely find it beneficial to invest in a GMAT Course of some kind (either Guided Self-Study or Instructor-Led). Most GMAT Companies offer some type of free materials (practice problems, Trial Accounts, videos, etc.) that you can use to 'test out' a product before you buy it. We have a variety of those resources at our site (www.empowergmat.com). I suggest that you take advantage of all of them then choose the one that best matches your personality, timeline and budget.

1) When are you planning to apply to Business Schools?
2) Which Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

AjiteshArun · Answer

Try to get all 6 GMATPrep practice tests.

MartyTargetTestPrep · Answer

There are a variety of ways you could approach preparing. Likely starting with the Official Guide is not the way to go in your case, because you need to learn some things before you will get the full benefit of doing the questions in the OG.

If you buy any more books, you should get the ebook versions not the paper versions, in order to avoid the destructiveness and bad karma of paper production.

Another thing that is key is realizing that in preparing for the GMAT you are not studying for a typical test. What you are basically doing is training to play a logic game. So handle the project accordingly.

For instance, the quant questions don't really test knowledge of math. The math concepts are fairly simple and are mostly just building blocks of questions used to test your skill in using resources to get to answers and make decisions.

Similarly in sentence correction what's being tested is not knowledge of grammar rules per se, but rather one's sense of logic and eye for key details.

So what I am getting at is that probably you won't learn to rock the GMAT just by reading some stuff in a book or by watching videos. In addition to doing those things, likely in order to learn to play the game at a high level, you will need to spend a fair amount of time actively playing the game, by carefully doing practice questions and learning how to get right answers and by taking practice tests.

alramda · Answer

Thanks!

I know it's not going to be easy, but if some people have done it, it's not impossible. I also know that I will have to invest a lot of time on it and prepare on different ways (strategy, mentally and practice tests).
I'm planning (not sure yet) to apply this year during R1 and R2 to (not necessarily in that order) Wharton, Ross, Fuqua, Tippie, Kenan-Flager. 
Regardless of where I'll be applying, I still aim for +700.

Alvaro

alramda · Answer

Thanks for your response, and I also believe is a exam not to test ability itself, also strategy, because quant doesn't seem very advanced, is just reasoning and strategy. I will use all practice tests that are available for sure!

	Target Test Prep - Save up to $599 $400 Discount + $99 Bonus GMAT Club Tests
	e-GMAT: 60% Off on GMAT Focus Get to 735+ from any starting point
	Magoosh increases your score, guaranteed - 15% off ALL Magoosh GMAT plans with code GMATCLUB15 + Free GMAT Club Tests.
	Manhattan Prep: $99 Bonus Score Higher on Your GMAT Exam. Guaranteed.
	Experts' Global - ~~$1720~~ $960 End-to-End GMAT Prep + App Support: 150+ Videos, 2000+ Questions, 15 FLTs +
	GMATWhiz - $299 ~~$499~~ Experience the course through a free trial.
	GMAT Club Tests - Free Included with every course purchase of $149+ View all deals

Strategy to study

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards