Study plan: Manhattan vs Veritas.

Question

Hi everyone, I need help with my study plan for the GMAT. I scored 460 on my diagnostic, and want to get 680-720 as a final score. The problem though is that I need to get that score in the span of 14 weeks. I got Manhattan prep books and Veritas books as well. How do you guys think I should use them?

Background: I'm from Eastern Europe, studying business, in the last year. I'm not well established in math, so that might crowd out some other areas -- totally fine. My plan is to apply for a ms in finance in the US soon so I could start internship planning. Thanks in advance.

VERBAL1 · Answer

Dear kirk117,

You have good enough time on hands. The material that you have Manhattan prep books and Veritas books are good resources. Spend three weeks preparing, take a mock and see where you stand. Next, get your hands on the Official Guide, Verbal and Quant Review. Solve thoroughly, identify weak areas and then you are ready to buy mocks from Mba.com for a final round.

Good luck!

TheUltimateWinner · Answer

For quant: The following link will help you for sure.
https://gmatclub.com/forum/ultimate-gma ... l#p1886497

Veritasprep and Manhattanprep books both are fine. You can use whatever you like. Read from any books from the list and try to learn just concept-you should not practice from those books! For practicing use the following link just to complete official questions.

AndrewN · Answer

Hello,  kirk117 . Your target is ambitious, for sure, and 14 weeks may not prove enough time to make the kinds of gains you are seeking. GMAT™ prep tends to come in waves of progression. Using the type of high-quality material you already own, you can expect to make quick progress at first, but sooner or later, you will likely hit a plateau. A 14-week schedule is tight enough that you might not leave yourself adequate time to push beyond that plateau to the next level of performance. Add to that the pressure you are putting on yourself, since you  need  to achieve a certain score far above your current one, and you are probably setting yourself up for disappointment. I say this not to discourage you, but to provide a more realistic outcome, based on what I have seen as a tutor and read on this forum. Yes, I have seen students go from the 400s to a 700+, but never have I seen that happen in 14 weeks or fewer. It takes time and a lot of practice to refine your approach to GMAT™ questions.

With that caveat, you will most likely find sticking to one set of guides or the other more useful than tackling both at the same time. If something did not make sense in, say, the Manhattan Prep guide, you could check for that same concept in the Veritas Prep guide, but again, you will have to spend time not only reading the guides, but applying the lessons they have to teach you. (Along these lines, I agree with what others have written above about practicing official material, especially for Verbal.) Keep in mind, no matter how good the guide may be, it is only as good as you make it. If access to top-notch material were all that was required to achieve a 700-level score, then trust me, a lot more people would pony up, buy the guides you have, and hit their mark.

On a three-month schedule or so, you will be looking at combing through a guide every week, practicing all the while and taking a practice test—again, stick to the official mocks as much as possible—every week or two. You want to have time to revisit parts of the guide(s) that your practice tells you you have not mastered. I will reiterate, I do not mean to discourage you. I hope you plow through the guides, practice your heart out, and earn a 700 or greater in as little time as possible. But  earn  is the keyword there. For most people, that takes a lot of time to achieve from a sub-500 diagnostic, and I do not like doling out hollow or inaccurate advice. Perhaps you should check out  this study plan  put together by GMAT Club founder   bb  , one that fits a three-month timetable.

Good luck with your studies.

- Andrew

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi kirk117,

For free math practice and help, I recommend that you set up an account at Khan Academy (www.khanacademy.org). The site is completely free and makes the learning a bit more fun and 'game-like' (as opposed to the dry academic approach taken by most books). While the site is vast, you should limit your studies to basic Arithmetic, Algebra and Geometry. Finance-based Programs place a heavy emphasis on each Applicant's Quant Scaled Score, but you're going to have to do more than just (re)learn math to earn that type of Score. The Quant section of the GMAT is NOT a 'math test' - it's a 'critical thinking test' that requires lots of little calculations as you work through it. To score at a much higher level in this section, beyond knowing how to do the necessary math, you ultimately need to become more of a 'strategist' and less of a 'mathematician.'

Raising a 460 to the point that you can consistently score 680+ will likely require at least another 3 months of consistent, guided study - and you'll have to make significant improvements to how you handle BOTH the Quant and Verbal sections. Thankfully, the GMAT is a consistent, predictable Exam, so you CAN train to score at a higher level.

Before I can offer you the specific advice that you’re looking for, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

1) How long have you studied so far?
2) What were your Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores on this Diagnostic Test?
3) Did you have to 'rush' to finish any of the sections (and how many questions did you end up rushing through?)?
4) What Schools are you planning to apply to and what application deadlines are you facing?

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

kirk117 · Answer

Thank you very much for this reply.

I do have an account on khan academy, I've been studying math there for a while, but haven't tested it on GMAT questions yet. It's absolutely amazing, everything is explained in detail. I'll definitely continue studying concepts from there, as I progress with verbal. Then I'll apply the concepts to GMAT quant questions.

I've been studying for 2 weeks (still got full 14 weeks). I've been studying only SC and I can answer 600-700 on approx 80% correct rate. 
I hadn't studied anything prior to taking the diagnostic test really. I didn't even know many aspects of the tests.
I didn't rush on any question, but chose arbitrary answers to ones that I didn't know how to answer.

Hopefully, if I get 680-700 or higher score, I'll apply for top-tier programs in Europe (UK takes the highest priority). But if I don't, I'll settle for a mid-tier program in Europe or US.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi kirk117,

It sounds as though you are planning for various contingencies - which is good. You'll still need to be really efficient with your studies going forward to hit your Score Goal in the timeframe that you've described. From what you've described, your immediate study plan is "book heavy"; unfortunately, many GMATers who study in that way end up getting 'stuck' at a particular score level. Even the best books are limited in what they can teach you; they also can't force you to approach questions in a certain way and their explanations are often one-sided. As such, you would likely find it beneficial to invest in some new, non-book study materials at some point during your studies.

1) Going forward, how many hours do you think you can consistently study each week?

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

kirk117 · Answer

My strategy is going through books because to be completely honest, I have no idea what else to do. Also there's a couple of tutors on YouTube that I'm watching a lot (eg GMAT ninja).

I'm starting my final year of college around next week, but it's all online. So I can devote 4-6 hrs everyday.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi kirk117,

There's no harm in starting off your studies with the materials that you have. Since your baseline is a 460, there is a reasonable chance that you will improve in the short-term no matter how you begin your studies though. The catch is that if you do stick with that study routine and get 'stuck', then you'll have far less time to make the necessary adjustments to how you 'see' (and respond to) the Exam to score higher before your deadline. Your Score Goal is right around the 90th percentile, so you have to be a bit skeptical about the idea that working through some books and YouTube videos will automatically get you to that type of high-level result (the Average Score on the Official GMAT is right around 550 most years). This is meant to say that you would likely find it beneficial to invest in a GMAT Course of some type (either Guided Self-Study or instructor-led), so you should plan to look into the available options.

The reasonable next step would be for you to study however you like for the next 2 weeks, then take a new, FULL-LENGTH CAT - and make sure to take it in a realistic fashion (take the FULL CAT - with the Essay and IR sections, under Official conditions, at the same time of day as when you'll take the Official GMAT, etc.). Once you have that score, you should report back here and we can discuss the results and how you might adjust your studies going forward.

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

kirk117 · Answer

Thanks a lot!!! This seems pretty sophisticated, I hope I can make it.

nik98 · Answer

Hey Kirk,

You can achieve your goal in 14 weeks but it depends on how much time you put in on a daily basis. You have good resources. Even I used the manhattan and veritas guides. Manhattan guides are good to strengthen your basics, whereas veritas is best for strategies, and thinking like test maker to crack the exam. I would suggest go section wise (quant first or verbal first) and use the manhattan guides first. Once you’re done with it, do some practice and then go to the veritas guides. In the veritas guides, you may skip the skill builder section (since you’ve gone over manhattan guides) and go straight to the lessons and then the homework section. For verbal, I would suggest you only stick to manhattan guides as they’re more than enough. Try to avoid studying both the guides completely or simultaneously as they cover similar content and you’ll waste time. But make sure you go over the DS book from veritas only after you’ve completed the manhattan guides. If you’re weak in stats, combinations and probability, go over their combinatorics book as well.

Additionally, I would recommend you get the official guide and reviews. Once you’re done with the books above, start practicing questions from the official guide and maintain an error log. You should allot at least the last 4 weeks to just practice. You’ll have the manhattan prep OG navigator with your book purchase so use that for an error log.

With regards to mock tests, I would suggest get official mocks from mba.com as you move along in your prep. You can use the 6 manhattan mocks that you got with the books, for practice and improving your test taking skills. However, for accurate indicator of your performance, use the official mocks. If you have any more doubts let me know.

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