Time to spend studying for the GMAT

Question

I attempted the GMAT on Nov 2014 and got a score of 610 (Q44, V34) after around 3 months of preperation. I took 3 MGMAT tests and scored 660, 670 and 660 respectively. (I had a paused a few times during the test).

The question that I have is: Most of my friends have written the GRE and they say just using a particluar book, say Barron's or ETS, is just enough for quants and that on test day most of the questions on test day are similar to what they already learnt. Most of them got scores of around 315 on an average.

So, i studied for the GMAT using only the OG and MGMAT series. But on test day many questions seemed to be different from what I had practiced. Is this the case always that just the strategy guide books are not enough to get a 700 plus on the GMAT, or is it the case that the fault is with me for not getting a good score ?

OptimusPrep · Answer

Most students perform worse on test day but mainly because of the time pressure and stress. There are many great sources where to get question pools sorted among difficulty level or concept, for example in Optimus Prep's on demand course for $299

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi saleem1992,

Practice CATs are an important part of the study process, but they're only accurate if YOU take them in a 'realistic' way. Since you've admitted to pausing your CATs, you did not take any of them in a realistic manner (since you can't pause the Official GMAT). In many cases, the result of taking an un-realistic CAT is an "inflated" score - meaning that you thought you were doing better than you actually were and you did not have a clear sense of your weaknesses.

If you're going to continue studying for the GMAT, then you MUST put an emphasis on taking your CATs in a way that matches Test Day: take the ENTIRE CAT (including the Essay and IR sections), in a test-like fashion (no pauses), away from your home, etc.

Many Business Schools do accept the GRE score as part of the application process, so it's a viable alternative to a GMAT score. However, if you want to impress the Admissions Committees, you'll still have to perform at a high level. You can download 2 practice GRE tests for free from www.gre.org if you're curious.

When it comes to studying for either Exam, most Test Takers who focus on a book-heavy approach get "stuck" at a certain point, so investing in some online resources would likely help you to score at a higher level.

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

devilbart · Answer

Hi Saleem,

This is not true, the OG is an excellent resource and I mostly only used the OG for both my attempts. The real issue on the GMAT most people (including me) face is timing and two ways to rectify are

1: Ensure you get a lot of real length practice even with the OG online questions
2: Ensure you review all answer explanations including the ones you get correct (to improve timing by finding out alternate ways)

Apart from OG and MGMAT, This forum also has some great problems and solutions especially for quant.

If you want more tips, please read my debrief. The real solution to this problem is quality v/s quantity. Lots of prep materials/courses are available but if you thoroughly do the OG and use some of the prep material/club forums available online for specific weaknesses that is sufficient for a 700+ score.

I hope this helps!

dabral · Answer

saleem1992

Official guide to the GMAT is a good place to start but if you are targeting a higher score, that alone will not cut it. You will need to deal with harder GMAT questions. Most of these will be seen in the more recent Official GMAT resources such as the GMATPrep Official CATs, GMATPrep Question Pack 1, Exam Pack 1, and GMATFocus.

The other thing to keep in mind is that the student population taking the GRE and GMAT is different, the pool of test takers in the GMAT is very competitive compared to the GRE, which means you will have to work much harder to get the same quant percentile on the GMAT vs the GRE.

Dabral

saleem1992 · Answer

Yeah this makes more sense. Most of the people in my friends circle don't spend a hell lot of time practicing quants, but they end up getting scores with which they are satisfied.

It was only after attempting the GMAT did i realize the OG and a few strategy guides are alone not enough to get a 700+ score

KarishmaB · Answer

There is no good answer to what prep material is enough - Some people check out the question format from OG, take the test and score 750+. Others get material of every prep test company, slog for 6 months and still don't cut it to 700. 
GMAT is much more conceptual so what you need depends on where you are right now. Whether you get the required clarity from one resource or need multiple resources to understand depends on you - how well do you apply yourself and how best you study. For some people online videos and ppts work, for others, books and yet others need tutors.

GMAT is a bit different from GRE - GRE is more knowledge and recall test while GMAT is more reasoning based. Hence, studying from a source that covers the relevant topics comprehensively is easier done in GRE. GMAT requires more sophisticated reasoning skills hence you need to ensure that you have understood the concept very clearly to do well. 
MBA schools have used GMAT scores for a long time and hence know exactly how to process them. GRE scores are a bit unknown but their acceptance is increasing.

manyatpr · Answer

Hi Saleem, You are getting it all wrong I am afraid. GMAT is not about studying or cramming some particular questions from one particular book, which in all likelihood will be forgotten. It is about learning a few rules and perfecting a structured approach to the test which eventually helps one to get a good score.Do studying and test taking simultaneously. My advice is to read one book thoroughly instead of 12 books. Trust the book you have chosen and follow the advice eked out from that book. Almost all books will deal with the important teaching points for scoring high on the GMAT hence reading too many books is a waste of time. Keep doing a lot of tests and review your performance on a daily basis. Hope this helps.Write back to us in case you have any further queries. www.manyagroup.com

saleem1992 · Answer

Thank you for replying. Yes, I agree that reading a lot of books does not make a lot of sense. I was following only the OG and MGMAT guides, but the questions that I encountered in the practice tests as well as on the GMAT did not seem similar to what was there on the guides. SO this means that a lot of practice is required right ? Solving different kinds of problems is the only way to get a good score I suppose. Am i wrong ?

manyatpr · Answer

Saleem,

Practicing a lot questions is indeed very important for all the exams.However, diference comes in the way how you practice.Here's something that you can try from hereon to improve your scores and make them reach towards where you want.

Give as many mock tests as possible in the next few weeks. However, more than giving the mock test, it is critical that you spend enough time in analyzing your performance in the mock tests. Typically if you spend 2 hours on mock test, spend 5-6 hours in analyzing your performance in the same. Go through each and every question and look at them for as long as you want. You need to figure out a better, smarter and a faster way of doing the same question.

Take a note of all the points and then make sure you apply them in the next test. Keep doing this consistently and you will see your score going up.

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