Study plans

Question

Hello everyone,

I have 2 questions to ask and I will be very grateful for any help:
1- Can I study for the 2021 exam with a 2017 OG?
2- Anyone facing problem with beat the GMAT in 60 days emails receiving emails about old editions (2018 as last edition)?

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi royabboud,

While the 'format' of the GMAT changed a couple of years ago (re: the Quant and Verbal sections are both shorter than they used to be), the overall content that is tested and the patterns that are built-in to the Quant and Verbal sections have remained remarkably consistent over the years. Thus, you would be fine using an older Official Guide (such as the GMAT2017) during your studies. It's worth noting that the OG books are great sources for practice questions, but they're not designed to teach you Tactics, patterns or the little 'secrets' behind the GMAT - for those, you'll need Course-oriented materials.

From your original post, it's not clear how long you have been studying, so before I can offer you any additional advice for your studies, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on your studies so far and your goals:

Studies:
1) How long have you studied? How many hours do you typically study each week?
2) What study materials have you used so far?
3) On what dates did you take EACH of your CATs/mocks and how did you score on EACH (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores for EACH)?

Goals:
4) What is your overall goal score?
5) When are you planning to take the GMAT?
6) When are you planning to apply to Business School and what Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

Gmatsaiyan · Answer

1- Can I study for the 2021 exam with a 2017 OG?  Yes you can

Russ19 · Answer

I think practicing from the latest OG would be a better option.

royabboud · Answer

Thank you for your answer.

I will start studying by the end of summer and hope to take the test by the end of the year.
I will be using the official guide 2017 with how to beat GMAT in 60 days videos hoping to reach 700+.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi royabboud,

Many GMATers spend 3 months (or more) of consistent study time before they hit their 'peak' scores, so if you are going to limit your studies to just 2 months, then there will likely be a limit to how much you can improve in that time. This is one of the reasons why I asked about your application plans. Since it will take time to study for the GMAT AND work on your applications, if you are planning to apply to Business School sometime in the next couple of months, then you would likely need to consider the Round 2 or Round 3 application deadlines.

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

GMATWhizTeam · Answer

Hi,

The year of OG has nothing to do with test. Every year, a few questions are added and a new version is released. For example, OG 2020 and 2021 have no difference except that OG 2021 has a few more questions than OG 2020. Having said that, if you are planning to start your preparation using OG, let me enlighten you a little bit.

If just practicing questions enough to crack GMAT? 
If you think so, let me tell you the harsh truth. GMAT is one such test which emphasizes more on application of concepts rather than just the concepts. The reason why students take a lot of time to prepare for GMAT is because 
  they do not understand what is it that is actually tested on GMAT 
 so, they start their preparation by practicing questions from OG or a few random materials 
 When they take a mock, they get shattered on seeing the score as months of preparation could only get them the average score a beginner will get. 
 So, they start seeking advises regarding the study strategy and start their preparation from scratch.

As you see, a lot of time, effort and money gets wasted in the process. GMAT is a test which requires a considerable investment of all three parameters. So, it is important to make sure to invest them in the right manner and get the desired result.

Is OG really sufficient? 
Now ask yourself a question. Do you think you will be able to improve your conceptual understanding and learn the right methodologies by solving questions from OG? I understand that OG is the most standard material you can get for GMAT like questions. But before solving questions, don’t you think it is important to understand what is really tested on GMAT and work towards achieving that? If you feel you need to improve your understanding of the concepts and the methodology, I recommend you to do that using a standard resource.

What do I mean by a standard resource? 
Now, you must be wondering what qualifies a resource to be standard? Let me help you here. There are plenty of resources online which teach you the course content for GMAT. The content taught is more or less the same. But there are few factors which differentiate an ordinary resource from an extra-ordinary one.

Way of teaching:

Even though, the concepts taught my most online courses are more or less the same, what differentiates them is the way they teach the concepts. There is a particular way of teaching concepts by which students learn the concepts along with the methodology required to solve the questions. And once they learn, it is important to apply that learning on a few GMAT like questions to solidify that learning.

Adaptability:

And not all students are capable of learning in one go. Students falter in a few topics and it is important to identify those areas and work on them. The course has to help students identify their weaker areas and provide a few improvement modules to work on them.

Study plan:

The most important thing that makes a course extra-ordinary is its ability to provide a personalized study plan. Students find it difficult to organize things and plan their studies accordingly. In their busy life, balancing work and studies becomes a hectic task. So, the course has to provide a proper study plan with clear deadlines so that students can focus just on finishing those weekly tasks assigned to them.
So, while looking for a course, make sure that you choose a course which provides you with all the above features. 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.

If you are open to suggestions, I would like you to take a check at the course of GMATWhiz. 
  It is one unique course which offers you the best quality content and employs an artificial intelligence driven learning. 
 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.

There are many more exciting features offered by the course. I would recommend you to check the free trial of GMATWhiz before taking the decision.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.

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