Study Quant and Verbal at the same time?

Question

Hi Everybody,

I've booked my exam for June 8th and I'm currently preparing for it.

I've a question about the most efficient way to prepare and retain the knowledge:

Being a non-native speaker, I'm better in quant than in Verbal, however I need to study/remember/memorize a lot of shortcuts and formulas to increase my speed in Math.

Whereas in verbal, I need to really solidify some content, specially in Sentence Correction, which is my worst section acording to the mock test.

I have the MGMAT books and what I'm doing now is focusing entirely on Quant (reading all the books and doing the end of the chapter exercises, not the OG exercises yet).

My plan is to finish quickly all the quant books and then move to verbal for 2/3 weeks and then in the last 1/2 weeks concentrate on doing OG problems and mock tests.

Is it a good strategy? How can I better retain the quant knowledge I'm getting now? Would it be better to study math and verbal at the same time?

Any advice is appreciated,

Cheers!

jko · Answer

So just to preface this, as I do most/all my posts: I am not a GMAT expert, I am just a fellow test-taker.

I feel better when I'm mixing it up. On any given day, I'd say you're best off focusing mainly on quant or mainly on verbal. On any given week, I'd say it's advantageous to have spent some time on both.

The GMAT is a familiarity game, especially for quant, SC, and CR, it's all about recognizing a specific solution type, and executing it. If you go two weeks or more without looking at a certain problem type, I feel you'll have lost a good bit of your comfort with those problems.

If I want to spend a week working on verbal, I spend 5 days on verbal, and 2 days on quant. with the 2 days of quant on like Tu and Th or something to split it up.

brazas · Answer

Thanks for the advice. 8-)

When I move to verbal, I will take some time every day/week to revise some math concepts I'm learning now.

BM · Answer

When I completely finished my quant studies, I found my verbal skills a bit rusty. And after brushing up on verbal, my math ability decreased. I eventually found a solution: study quant until I couldn't continue, take a small break, and switch to verbal. Once I couldn't continue with verbal, I returned to quant. I did this everyday, all day.

Admittedly, this approach was extreme and probably wouldn't work for most people. But the point is that it worked   for me  . You're doing the right thing, brazas. Ask people for input, search the internet for clues, and maybe experiment on your own a little (trial-and-error is a part of the GMAT experience). But once you find your rhythm, stick to it and work like hell.

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