Study Plan Advice

Question

Dear GMAT Clubbers!

I guess many people ask for advice on this subforum, but I am really overwhelmed by the amount of material there is online, and I would need some advice on my particular situation in the GMAT preparation. After using the Manhattan Prep Guides for a few weeks now, I feel like I am stuck, not knowing if my approach is right, and I just do not want to waste efficiency in the preparation process. This is the main reason I ask for advice from experienced GMAT takers!

A little to the background of my preparation. As advised in different forums, I took a mock test at the start of my prep (Veritas). I really did that without studying anything, and not having studied most concepts used in the GMAT for years. Hence, my score wasn't even near to what I aim for.  I got a 530 Q35 V28.

Now, looking at the mistakes, the reason for the mistakes is quite clear. Especially in the  quants section foundational concepts are sometimes completely missing  (such as Geometry where I literally had zero questions right). The verbal section was slightly better, but I just used my current level of English, without particular notice for logic and meaning. Based on that I decided to start with brushing up my quant skills from top to bottom, and I tried to do that with the Manhattan Prep books. Recently, I feel like the books do not offer enough depth, and the questions within the book are far too easy, compared to questions on GMAT Club or OG questions. I feel like for some concepts I would want a comprehensive guide or course, which covers every concept in detail.

Now obviously, there is a crazy amount of GMAT prep courses out there. And I am really not sure on how to deal with all that.  Should I try to finish the Manhattan books, before switching to an online course? Or should I rather start right off with a comprehensive course, to master the concepts I don't have the necessary foundations?  I always thought, it would be better to first get the key concepts through the Manhattan Guides, but now I feel like starting right off through an online course, would save me time during my preparation.

I certainly have to add that I have a great amount of preparation time left, as I will only use my GMAT scores at the end of next year (Goal is 700+). I will take the GMAT test whenever I feel ready for it.  Additionally, is it advisable to study Quant and Verbal simultaneously, or should I first study the Quant foundations, before moving on to verbal?

Now last but not least, which courses would you guys recommend?  I know that's a very subjective question, but maybe my situation is familiar to some of you.  Which course would cover the foundations, but also offer an in-depth analysis of the key concepts?  I made trials at TTP or GMATwhiz, but couldn't really tell the difference. Maybe some of you have some experiences on that.

That's basically all I need to know for the moment. I realize it's a lot to ask for, but I am happy for any reply I can get from anyone of you!

Thanks you all, and I wish you all a nice weekend!

Greetings from Switzerland!

Janis

Russ19 · Answer

Hi

It is a better idea to complete manhattan prep strategy guides at first and then start attempting OG questions. You can read the answer explanations of experts on this platform. You can see the YouTube videos of GMATNinja and read his articles, attempt questions from the link below, and read the explanations of AndrewN, GMATNinja, GMATGuruNY, EMPOWERgmatRichC, IanStewart, and follow them.

https://gmatclub.com/forum/search.php?view=search_tags

See the video explanations to all Official GMAT Guides from the link: https://gmatquantum.com/official-guides/

TTP has got lots of good tutors, such as MartyTargetTestPrep, so it is better than the other one you mentioned.

If you go through the youtube videos of manhattan prep, it must give a better insight:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzDPcZ ... CTg/videos

GMATWhizTeam · Answer

Hi Janis,

First of all, it is good that you started seeking suggestions during initial stages of your preparation. This will save you a lot of time and effort. Most students generally start self-study using random resources and realize half-way through that they need to have a proper study plan and use a standard resource to score well on GMAT and then start seeking advices. Let me share my insights here on what could be the best plan for you.

As you are in the initial stages of your preparation, an ideal study plan for you should be to:
  Learn the concepts. (Start with your stronger topic which you can identify once you take the mock) 
 Learn the right methodology to solve the questions of that topic. 
 Take sectional quizzes of that topic and make sure to move to the next topic only if you got easy-medium questions right. 
 If you feel there is a scope for improvement, make sure to work on the weaker areas and then move to the next topic.

Follow the above steps for every topic and once you are done with all the topics, start taking mocks once a week. Analyze the score pattern and identify the weaker areas. Work on the weaker areas and make sure you master them before you take the next mock. Once you see a consistent score pattern, you are good to book a slot.

What should you focus on while preparing? 
Before starting out your preparation, it is important to know what is really tested on GMAT. Knowing this will help you focus on what exactly is needed to score a 700+ on GMAT. GMAT quant tests only specific types of questions from each topic. Knowing the question types and understanding the right methodology to solve questions will help you score well on quant.

Coming to verbal, Verbal questions can be very tricky and test makers set a lot of traps to confuse students. They use similar words in the answer choices and there are high chances that you will be stuck with two or more choices. To answer them perfectly, it is really important to have a strong understanding of the concepts and to use the right methodology to solve questions. Let me explain it to you from the perspective of individual modules of Verbal.
  To solve SC questions, it is important to approach them from a meaning stand-point because it is the meaning which is tested not the grammatical rules.  
 To solve CR questions, it is really important to develop the ability to pre-think. And to do that, you need to have a strong understanding of the underlying framework. This will help you pre-think the underlying assumption before jumping into the answer choices.  
 To solve RC questions, you have to read the passage with an open mind, leaving all the unnecessary baggage. You need to read the passage in an inferential manner so that you can draw the right inferences and understand the intention behind writing the passage. There is a process called “Involved and Evolved Reading” which helps you read a passage effectively.

Is it better to rely on random resources or a standard resource? 
Most students start their GMAT preparation using OG and a few other study materials. While these are great resources for GMAT like questions, it is really important to ask whether just practicing questions would help you get a good score on GMAT. Most students realize it very late that GMAT is not just a test of concepts but a test of their application. To apply the concepts well, you need to learn the right approach to do that.

Below is the comparison of what you’ll probably do when you prepare using random resources and a standard one

Course Options  
   Random resources    Standard resource   
  Solve “N” number of questions  Learn the concepts and the methodology  
  Refer to vague solutions  Refer to detailed solutions  
  No change in approach and will be stuck at the same score  A significant improvement can be achieved by referring to the step-by-step solutions and there by learning the right methodology

As it is really important to use the right methodology to solve questions on GMAT, I think you might have understood the importance of using a standard resource. The best way to select the course is to check the free trial of the course and then decide whether it is suitable for you or not. As you have already checked the free trial of GMATWhiz, I hope you must have understood that it is a personalized course which employs AI to teach concepts in a methodical way.

It offers you a personalized study plan which is integrated with the course. The concept booster and practice quizzes after every concept video help you solve GMAT like questions using the right methodology.  
 It offers you real time improvement modules so that you can work on your weaker areas right away.

The order of preparation: 
I recommend you to finish Quant first and then move to Verbal. Juggling between two modules will only lead to confusion. As you must have seen, GMATWhiz  organizes concepts for you and provides you with weekly deadlines . This will help you focus your time and energy on just the preparation without wasting any time in preparing your study plan and organizing concepts.

Hope it helped! If you have any more concerns regarding the GMAT preparation or wish to know more about study strategy, you can always write back or a better way would be to discuss over a call.  You can schedule a free consultation call using the below link .

Click here to schedule a call

monikakumar · Answer

Hi,

For quant you can take mgmat guides and understand the theory or you can use gmat club math book which also has all the theory needed for gmat.
for verbal, study powerscore cr bible and mgmat sc guide, practice og questions alone from each topic.

Thanks.

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Course Options
Random resources	Standard resource
Solve “N” number of questions	Learn the concepts and the methodology
Refer to vague solutions	Refer to detailed solutions
No change in approach and will be stuck at the same score	A significant improvement can be achieved by referring to the step-by-step solutions and there by learning the right methodology