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The Target Test Prep course represents a quantum leap forward in GMAT preparation, a radical reinterpretation of the way that students should study. Try before you buy with a 5-day, full-access trial of the course for FREE!
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Apr 2808:00 AM PDT
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Whether you are just beginning your MBA journey or fine-tuning your path to a 700+ score, GMAT Day is designed to give you a competitive edge.
I do not really remember exactly when I found out about GMATClub, nor do I remember when I decided that it would be a cornerstone to the whole course of my prep. However, what I do remember is that I fell in love with the platform at the very first sight and figured that I wanted to give something in return for all its help. If this post assists even a single person, I will consider my debt repaid. And now let me tell about my journey, which started unfolding in July 2019 - just as soon as I received my CFA Level II congrats email on passing the exam.
I’m 26-year-old guy from the country of Georgia. I studied economics at an average private university in Poland, and I’m currently working as a CIB team leader at one of two biggest banks in Georgia.
1. Official Guide 2020, Official Guide Quantitative Review 2020, Official Guide Verbal Review 2020 - You MUST have these books for their questions. Do not exhaust them at the beginning of your prep. Earlier in your prep, do easier questions just in order to start feeling what the real questions of real test taste like, and start crunching it at your full capacity when you are already comfortable with GMAT concepts.
2. e-GMAT - Nice course, which I used for quant topics and verbal SC. The mocks were maybe on its weakest side, but I loved its Scholaranium - a kind of a question bank with tough questions and great lengthy and logical explanations. I didn't use it for RC, because I was only practicing RC, not studying for it. It is kind of lengthy and all-encompassing, but nonetheless you can learn whatever you need the most there. It is flexible, bite-sized videos make hard concepts easy to grasp, and their question banks help you to solidify your knowledge. Only for $350. Great value for the price.
3. GMATClub - Easily the best resource after official stuff. In order to unlock the hidden value, PLEASE LEARN HOW TO USE THIS PLATFORM. Here are some tips:
- Question bank - Search questions by their sources, types, and concepts they test.
- Error log - Revisit attempted and failed questions and try them again to see if you’ve learned something from the questions. Helps to reflect on your progress and see if you’re really advancing and learning from your mistakes, or just blindly attempt to solve bunch of questions.
- CATs - Use its quant CATs only, verbal CATs may be good, but I really didn’t trust anything in verbal except the official resources.
- Follow experts; they add value and their explanations come in very handy:
* GMATNinja - I just don’t know how to thank Charles for his free youtube videos. I would vote for him if he were to run for an office. Real G. If anyone wants to aim for 35+ in Verbal, he or she should follow GMATNinja’s explanations, videos and comments on this forum.
* Bunuel - wizard. This guy has oddly simple methods of solving questions that seem to take at least 10 minutes to be solved. Read him, follow him and hail him.
* ScottTargetTestPrep - I enjoyed his explanations for quant as well.
* mikemcgarry - he provided very nice help for those struggling with advanced verbal questions.
* chetan2u - another quant mastermind.
- Learn concepts - this forum has a huge database of very well explained concepts. You may fill in your conceptual gaps by getting known to them.
4. A little bit of:
* Manhattan GMAT SC - Even after e-GMAT SC course I loved this book. Amazing one. It helps with seeing the big picture in SC.
* PowerScore CR - If I had to now, I would use only this book for CR. My regret is I couldn't use it properly and give it the time it needed, and that's why I'm sure my CR score was the weakest among other scores. Use this.
* TargetTestPrep - Used it for last 5 days to fill in some conceptual gaps in quant advanced topics, such as overlapping sets. The platform seems just amazing. No Scholaranium as in e-GMAT, but it has its own question bank.
Now you have all the resources you need to ace the test and score 700+. What you need, is to sit down and ask yourself: "DO I HAVE 3 MONTHS OF A DEDICATED STUDY?" And it means that regardless your workload, stress, family things or whatever other excuse, you have to sit down and study EVERY DAY. If your answer is affirmative to that question, go ahead.
So, back in July 2019 I purchased e-GMAT self study course and almost let the course expire without even peeking in it. My GMAT study ethics were at an absolute low back then. I used last couple months and watched the videos in Quant section, without any discipline and no everyday study. I had unorganized schedule and that's very ineffective. I would only study when I had absolutely nothing to do. Result: no improvement. Soon after half-studying, I realized that I was registered for CFA Level III exam in May and gave up on GMAT, realizing that it would have been wiser to just beat the last CFA exam and then shift the focus to GMAT. However, after studying hard for 3 months, CFAI announced it was cancelling the exam. I waited for a little while till they would give us more clarity about new dates, etc. Then I started studying for GMAT again only in mid-August. That was when I promised myself to dedicate 2-3 months to the study even at the detriment of sleep. It worked: after the score popped up, I was delighted. However, my second thought was to go home and study for another 1.5 month to aim for 750+. I killed that thought instantly, and I’m glad I did so. I think 730 is a good score, and I have a chance to try to stand out as a good candidate without scoring 770. I’d rather work on myself and pick up some other traits and qualities, that would compensate for another 30-40 points, because I believe doing so will be more valuable for me in the long run.
Before giving the details of the prep timeline, I'm declaring that from Verbal I only studied for SC and a little bit for CR. While for quant, I studied only for probability, advanced algebra topics and other advanced topics such as sets, geometry, etc. Starting in August, my real study lasted 2.5 months, months that were really intense. Therefore, I had to cut down on my private life, which I did fully. And also, I had to cut down on my sleep, sleeping just about 5-6 hours a day. Most people suggest getting good night’s sleep. But I couldn’t afford it. When you work at CIB, you either sleep and work or study and work - no all three vertices of the triangle at the same time. If you can afford a good night's sleep, it won't harm tho. Out of those 2.5 months, I used around 1 month for cementing my conceptual knowledge, especially in Verbal SC, advanced algebra, advanced statistics, advanced word problems, overlapping sets, etc., solving only theory related questions. The last 1.5 month was used up only on crunching questions and doing mocks. Time after time, when checking on my performance I would go back to the theory and re-read it, possibly from different sources, such as my notes from e-GMAT or GMATClub Quant Textbook. Knowing that I had to be in shape, and that resting for even one day would complicate my progress, I spend this 1.5 month doing every kind of a question, both from Quant and Verbal, be it Algebra, Geometry, Sentence Correction, Critical Reasoning or Reading Comprehension - I focused most of that on official stuff via eGMAT's Scholaranium platform and doing Quant CATs from GMATClub, which are harder than the real thing.
In the last several weeks I sat 6 official mocks, all of them without simulating the real exam environment, regretfully. For the maximum value, simulate the real exam. My scores for mocks were - 710, 680, 650, 720, 720, 710. I also purchased MGMAT mocks. This time, I tried my best to simulate the exam environment (not fully tho), and the experience went better than with the official mocks. MGMAT mocks seemed harder than the official mocks. I learned a lot from their questions. My scores were 750, 740, 700, 630, 710, 710. My last mock was the day before the test, out of desperation. It was the free mock from Veritas. 710.
I recommend all those above-mentioned mocks, for they provide an accurate gauge of your real performance.
I took GMAT Online in September and got 700. Then I took GMAT on November 19 and got 730. Beforehand, I took GMAT in July and got 700ish (safe to say without prep), cancelling the score right away.
I don’t think that you should waste much time on it. Just do several tests and you must be fine. What I saw when doing mocks was that some IR parts were naturally easier, some were harder. It worked as simple as that - if I understood the exercises and what the question stemmed asked, I was nailing the section. If I had trouble understanding what exactly the exercise wanted me to do, I was struggling. At the exam center I spend around 10 minutes on the first two questions, because I had hard times understanding what the stem wanted me to do. That’s why I got average 6, but that’s not too bad I guess.
I have written only one essay during my prep, and I did that according to chineseburned ’s essay template (https://gmatclub.com/forum/how-to-get-6 ... 64327.html), the only thing you need for AWA if you are naturally not bad in writing. At the test, I put the last period when 3 secs were remaining. I thought 5 would be the max score, but apparently I was mistaken.
TIP 1: What I observed is, that you should really know several different ways of solving a problem, especially a problem from Quant. For example, if you know how to solve quadratic equations/inequalities using discriminant method, go and learn how to crash them with FOIL, graphical approach and Vieta’s theorem. The latter is especially useful for spending as little time as possible. Also, do not only focus on Venn diagram as means for solving 2 overlapping sets problems; learn how to navigate the sets matrix as well!
TIP 2: I believe there is nothing to learn in RC as a theory. Just be a good reader, as Charles GMATNinja says. Read some physics-biology-science texts on Economist, WSJ, etc. And also, do not read only facts in the passages, read the structure. Always ask yourself why this or that paragraph is there, what that paragraph is doing exactly after that previous paragraph.
TIP 3: Invest in understanding algebra concepts very well. Especially absolute values and inequalities. They tend to be most vulnerable to silly mistakes. Grasping the theory here pays of really well, because the hardest questions really build up on easier theory.
TIP 4: Approach SC questions rather logically and mathematically. When deciding on correct grammar, don’t forget to consider the meaning. Harder questions tend to be emphasizing meaning, and do not let the meaning drastically change when eliminating “wrong” answers! And remember, very often correct questions sound terribly wrong.
TIP 5: If you have time, memorizing most popular and rather less popular idioms would be worth your time. I didn’t have time to do so.
TIP 6: I haven’t seen a single GMAT question which doesn’t have a very easy method of solving. These tests are not calculation-heavy. Just think out of the box, recall patterns, switch on logic, etc.
TIP 7: Invest your time in deconstructing and transforming the question stem as it conveys way more information than seems at first.
TIP 8: I would readdress my error log and revisit the questions which I couldn’t crunch with my earlier try. It helps to study tougher concepts relatively more easily.
TIP 9: If you aim for V30+ and Q46+, NEVER use Process of Elimination (POE) for QUANT and ALWAUS use POE for Verbal. Remember to find 4 wrong answers in Verbal section, rather than 1 correct one.
TIP 10: What I can really emphasize tho, is this: DO NOT OVERSPEND YOUR PRECIOUS TIME ON ANY SINGLE QUESTION. DO IT AND YOU FAIL MISERABLY. Just make an educated guess and skip it, it way more inconspicuous a problem than spending 7 minutes on a single question.
TIP 11: If anyone gives you strategies on how to behave on the test day, what to eat day before, which side of the bed to sleep on, or like, please beware, 99% of probability you’ve just encountered a professional BS.
Long story short - first study concepts, cement them with the questions and then do tests, CATs and mocks heavily for the last couple months. Recipe! I thought it would have been impossible for a corporate investment banker to score 730 on GMAT, but I’m glad to have been mistaken.
And if I were to undertake my GMAT journey now, I would do so many things so differently now that I know so many things, having erred so much.
[*] I would subscribe to eGMAT and use their platform to hone my quant skills.
[*] I would do diagnostic or mock test as early as possible in my prep in order to see my weakest points. Then, I would place a heavy focus on those points. Additionally, I would master medium level questions so that they are silly mistake proof. Why? Because they are the meat of GMAT and the big chunk of your total score.
[*] I would use GMATClub daily and read experts’ explanations to tough problems, because people like Bunuel always have oddly easier method of solving seemingly unsolvable questions.
[*] I would buy access to GMATClub’s CATs and Question Bank. My advice is to do only quant CATs on the forum.
[*] Grind on advanced questions as soon as you achieve that level. Brilliant questions are here - https://gmatclub.com/forum/are-you-up-f ... 09579.html
[*] First of all, I would build my prep around eGMAT course, learning from their videos and taking their quizzes, as well as practicing official questions in their Scholaranium with stellar explanations that really add value to OG.
[*] I would read Manhattan GMAT SC Book several times, until I remember all the basics of GMAT SC meat, basics such as Modifiers, Pronouns, etc.
[*] I would purchase e-GMAT’s Verbal course only for SC, and then supplement it with Manhattan SC to see the big picture in that topic clearly.
[*] I would study Powerscore CR Bible very well as well for CR.
[*] For tougher CR and RC stuff, I would practice LSAT passages or arguments. There are plenty on this forum.
[*] I would spend 5-10 minutes a day to learn idioms for SC. Most of those idioms appear in Manhattan GMAT SC book.
[*] I would watch free videos by GMATNinja, encompassing SC/CR/RC topics. They are the jewel of this journey! Here is the link https://gmatclub.com/forum/all-gmat-nin ... l#p2396353
[*] I would focus on explanations of tough questions by experts of the forum
As I said, I would take GMAT diagnostic test or even GMAT official test in the beginning of the prep to see where I stand and what the exam looks like. What is more, I would only use 6 official mocks by GMATPrep and maybe 2-3 free mocks by Manhattan GMAT. I would be doing 2 mocks every week, later in my study, nearer to the end of the prep. And what’s most important, remember that if you don’t binge on your mistakes and don’t really grasp why you erred and don't pick lessons from the failures, YOU ARE NOT PROGRESSING.
[*] I would avoid choosing quantity over quality. That being said, I would rather crunch fewer advanced questions and realize every choice that I make, to make sure all of my picks were deliberate and that I knew why I picked A, B, C, D, or E. Said otherwise, it’s better to do 15 questions a day, and analyze all of the correct and incorrect choices thoroughly, then to do 40 questions in a hurry.
[*] Do not "scatter-study". Pick 3 months of the time frame, and "focus-study".
[*] Steadily achieve your level, do not rush. And on this topic, I suggest you watch this nice overview of Flow State, discussed in a book by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8h6IMYRoCZw.
That’s it. I'm positive 3 months would be enough for me to score 730.
As a bonus, whenever you need some motivation, listen to Jordan Peterson on youtube. Here, you can find his best selling book short summary narrated by himself - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApC0faRYabI&t. And also, look up the philosophy of Stoicism. It generally helps me keep my mind focused.
Will be happy to respond to questions. I will also be delighted to hear anything you have to say. If I can be of any kind of help, please do not hesitate to ping me. GMAT is easy on concepts. GMAT is hard on discipline, and remaining calm and focused during the prep.
P.S. By the way, my very first mock was e-GMAT’s mock, and I scored below 600 as far as I remember 😄
Cheers,
raindr0p
MY BACKGROUND:
I’m 26-year-old guy from the country of Georgia. I studied economics at an average private university in Poland, and I’m currently working as a CIB team leader at one of two biggest banks in Georgia.
USED MATERIALS:
1. Official Guide 2020, Official Guide Quantitative Review 2020, Official Guide Verbal Review 2020 - You MUST have these books for their questions. Do not exhaust them at the beginning of your prep. Earlier in your prep, do easier questions just in order to start feeling what the real questions of real test taste like, and start crunching it at your full capacity when you are already comfortable with GMAT concepts.
2. e-GMAT - Nice course, which I used for quant topics and verbal SC. The mocks were maybe on its weakest side, but I loved its Scholaranium - a kind of a question bank with tough questions and great lengthy and logical explanations. I didn't use it for RC, because I was only practicing RC, not studying for it. It is kind of lengthy and all-encompassing, but nonetheless you can learn whatever you need the most there. It is flexible, bite-sized videos make hard concepts easy to grasp, and their question banks help you to solidify your knowledge. Only for $350. Great value for the price.
3. GMATClub - Easily the best resource after official stuff. In order to unlock the hidden value, PLEASE LEARN HOW TO USE THIS PLATFORM. Here are some tips:
- Question bank - Search questions by their sources, types, and concepts they test.
- Error log - Revisit attempted and failed questions and try them again to see if you’ve learned something from the questions. Helps to reflect on your progress and see if you’re really advancing and learning from your mistakes, or just blindly attempt to solve bunch of questions.
- CATs - Use its quant CATs only, verbal CATs may be good, but I really didn’t trust anything in verbal except the official resources.
- Follow experts; they add value and their explanations come in very handy:
* GMATNinja - I just don’t know how to thank Charles for his free youtube videos. I would vote for him if he were to run for an office. Real G. If anyone wants to aim for 35+ in Verbal, he or she should follow GMATNinja’s explanations, videos and comments on this forum.
* Bunuel - wizard. This guy has oddly simple methods of solving questions that seem to take at least 10 minutes to be solved. Read him, follow him and hail him.
* ScottTargetTestPrep - I enjoyed his explanations for quant as well.
* mikemcgarry - he provided very nice help for those struggling with advanced verbal questions.
* chetan2u - another quant mastermind.
- Learn concepts - this forum has a huge database of very well explained concepts. You may fill in your conceptual gaps by getting known to them.
4. A little bit of:
* Manhattan GMAT SC - Even after e-GMAT SC course I loved this book. Amazing one. It helps with seeing the big picture in SC.
* PowerScore CR - If I had to now, I would use only this book for CR. My regret is I couldn't use it properly and give it the time it needed, and that's why I'm sure my CR score was the weakest among other scores. Use this.
* TargetTestPrep - Used it for last 5 days to fill in some conceptual gaps in quant advanced topics, such as overlapping sets. The platform seems just amazing. No Scholaranium as in e-GMAT, but it has its own question bank.
Now you have all the resources you need to ace the test and score 700+. What you need, is to sit down and ask yourself: "DO I HAVE 3 MONTHS OF A DEDICATED STUDY?" And it means that regardless your workload, stress, family things or whatever other excuse, you have to sit down and study EVERY DAY. If your answer is affirmative to that question, go ahead.
GMAT JOURNEY:
So, back in July 2019 I purchased e-GMAT self study course and almost let the course expire without even peeking in it. My GMAT study ethics were at an absolute low back then. I used last couple months and watched the videos in Quant section, without any discipline and no everyday study. I had unorganized schedule and that's very ineffective. I would only study when I had absolutely nothing to do. Result: no improvement. Soon after half-studying, I realized that I was registered for CFA Level III exam in May and gave up on GMAT, realizing that it would have been wiser to just beat the last CFA exam and then shift the focus to GMAT. However, after studying hard for 3 months, CFAI announced it was cancelling the exam. I waited for a little while till they would give us more clarity about new dates, etc. Then I started studying for GMAT again only in mid-August. That was when I promised myself to dedicate 2-3 months to the study even at the detriment of sleep. It worked: after the score popped up, I was delighted. However, my second thought was to go home and study for another 1.5 month to aim for 750+. I killed that thought instantly, and I’m glad I did so. I think 730 is a good score, and I have a chance to try to stand out as a good candidate without scoring 770. I’d rather work on myself and pick up some other traits and qualities, that would compensate for another 30-40 points, because I believe doing so will be more valuable for me in the long run.
Before giving the details of the prep timeline, I'm declaring that from Verbal I only studied for SC and a little bit for CR. While for quant, I studied only for probability, advanced algebra topics and other advanced topics such as sets, geometry, etc. Starting in August, my real study lasted 2.5 months, months that were really intense. Therefore, I had to cut down on my private life, which I did fully. And also, I had to cut down on my sleep, sleeping just about 5-6 hours a day. Most people suggest getting good night’s sleep. But I couldn’t afford it. When you work at CIB, you either sleep and work or study and work - no all three vertices of the triangle at the same time. If you can afford a good night's sleep, it won't harm tho. Out of those 2.5 months, I used around 1 month for cementing my conceptual knowledge, especially in Verbal SC, advanced algebra, advanced statistics, advanced word problems, overlapping sets, etc., solving only theory related questions. The last 1.5 month was used up only on crunching questions and doing mocks. Time after time, when checking on my performance I would go back to the theory and re-read it, possibly from different sources, such as my notes from e-GMAT or GMATClub Quant Textbook. Knowing that I had to be in shape, and that resting for even one day would complicate my progress, I spend this 1.5 month doing every kind of a question, both from Quant and Verbal, be it Algebra, Geometry, Sentence Correction, Critical Reasoning or Reading Comprehension - I focused most of that on official stuff via eGMAT's Scholaranium platform and doing Quant CATs from GMATClub, which are harder than the real thing.
In the last several weeks I sat 6 official mocks, all of them without simulating the real exam environment, regretfully. For the maximum value, simulate the real exam. My scores for mocks were - 710, 680, 650, 720, 720, 710. I also purchased MGMAT mocks. This time, I tried my best to simulate the exam environment (not fully tho), and the experience went better than with the official mocks. MGMAT mocks seemed harder than the official mocks. I learned a lot from their questions. My scores were 750, 740, 700, 630, 710, 710. My last mock was the day before the test, out of desperation. It was the free mock from Veritas. 710.
I recommend all those above-mentioned mocks, for they provide an accurate gauge of your real performance.
I took GMAT Online in September and got 700. Then I took GMAT on November 19 and got 730. Beforehand, I took GMAT in July and got 700ish (safe to say without prep), cancelling the score right away.
INTEGRATED REASONING
I don’t think that you should waste much time on it. Just do several tests and you must be fine. What I saw when doing mocks was that some IR parts were naturally easier, some were harder. It worked as simple as that - if I understood the exercises and what the question stemmed asked, I was nailing the section. If I had trouble understanding what exactly the exercise wanted me to do, I was struggling. At the exam center I spend around 10 minutes on the first two questions, because I had hard times understanding what the stem wanted me to do. That’s why I got average 6, but that’s not too bad I guess.
AWA
I have written only one essay during my prep, and I did that according to chineseburned ’s essay template (https://gmatclub.com/forum/how-to-get-6 ... 64327.html), the only thing you need for AWA if you are naturally not bad in writing. At the test, I put the last period when 3 secs were remaining. I thought 5 would be the max score, but apparently I was mistaken.
TIME FOR TIPS!
TIP 1: What I observed is, that you should really know several different ways of solving a problem, especially a problem from Quant. For example, if you know how to solve quadratic equations/inequalities using discriminant method, go and learn how to crash them with FOIL, graphical approach and Vieta’s theorem. The latter is especially useful for spending as little time as possible. Also, do not only focus on Venn diagram as means for solving 2 overlapping sets problems; learn how to navigate the sets matrix as well!
TIP 2: I believe there is nothing to learn in RC as a theory. Just be a good reader, as Charles GMATNinja says. Read some physics-biology-science texts on Economist, WSJ, etc. And also, do not read only facts in the passages, read the structure. Always ask yourself why this or that paragraph is there, what that paragraph is doing exactly after that previous paragraph.
TIP 3: Invest in understanding algebra concepts very well. Especially absolute values and inequalities. They tend to be most vulnerable to silly mistakes. Grasping the theory here pays of really well, because the hardest questions really build up on easier theory.
TIP 4: Approach SC questions rather logically and mathematically. When deciding on correct grammar, don’t forget to consider the meaning. Harder questions tend to be emphasizing meaning, and do not let the meaning drastically change when eliminating “wrong” answers! And remember, very often correct questions sound terribly wrong.
TIP 5: If you have time, memorizing most popular and rather less popular idioms would be worth your time. I didn’t have time to do so.
TIP 6: I haven’t seen a single GMAT question which doesn’t have a very easy method of solving. These tests are not calculation-heavy. Just think out of the box, recall patterns, switch on logic, etc.
TIP 7: Invest your time in deconstructing and transforming the question stem as it conveys way more information than seems at first.
TIP 8: I would readdress my error log and revisit the questions which I couldn’t crunch with my earlier try. It helps to study tougher concepts relatively more easily.
TIP 9: If you aim for V30+ and Q46+, NEVER use Process of Elimination (POE) for QUANT and ALWAUS use POE for Verbal. Remember to find 4 wrong answers in Verbal section, rather than 1 correct one.
TIP 10: What I can really emphasize tho, is this: DO NOT OVERSPEND YOUR PRECIOUS TIME ON ANY SINGLE QUESTION. DO IT AND YOU FAIL MISERABLY. Just make an educated guess and skip it, it way more inconspicuous a problem than spending 7 minutes on a single question.
TIP 11: If anyone gives you strategies on how to behave on the test day, what to eat day before, which side of the bed to sleep on, or like, please beware, 99% of probability you’ve just encountered a professional BS.
Long story short - first study concepts, cement them with the questions and then do tests, CATs and mocks heavily for the last couple months. Recipe! I thought it would have been impossible for a corporate investment banker to score 730 on GMAT, but I’m glad to have been mistaken.
And if I were to undertake my GMAT journey now, I would do so many things so differently now that I know so many things, having erred so much.
TO STUDY FOR QUANT:
[*] I would subscribe to eGMAT and use their platform to hone my quant skills.
[*] I would do diagnostic or mock test as early as possible in my prep in order to see my weakest points. Then, I would place a heavy focus on those points. Additionally, I would master medium level questions so that they are silly mistake proof. Why? Because they are the meat of GMAT and the big chunk of your total score.
[*] I would use GMATClub daily and read experts’ explanations to tough problems, because people like Bunuel always have oddly easier method of solving seemingly unsolvable questions.
[*] I would buy access to GMATClub’s CATs and Question Bank. My advice is to do only quant CATs on the forum.
[*] Grind on advanced questions as soon as you achieve that level. Brilliant questions are here - https://gmatclub.com/forum/are-you-up-f ... 09579.html
TO STUDY FOR VERBAL:
[*] First of all, I would build my prep around eGMAT course, learning from their videos and taking their quizzes, as well as practicing official questions in their Scholaranium with stellar explanations that really add value to OG.
[*] I would read Manhattan GMAT SC Book several times, until I remember all the basics of GMAT SC meat, basics such as Modifiers, Pronouns, etc.
[*] I would purchase e-GMAT’s Verbal course only for SC, and then supplement it with Manhattan SC to see the big picture in that topic clearly.
[*] I would study Powerscore CR Bible very well as well for CR.
[*] For tougher CR and RC stuff, I would practice LSAT passages or arguments. There are plenty on this forum.
[*] I would spend 5-10 minutes a day to learn idioms for SC. Most of those idioms appear in Manhattan GMAT SC book.
[*] I would watch free videos by GMATNinja, encompassing SC/CR/RC topics. They are the jewel of this journey! Here is the link https://gmatclub.com/forum/all-gmat-nin ... l#p2396353
[*] I would focus on explanations of tough questions by experts of the forum
TO TEST MY PROGRESS:
As I said, I would take GMAT diagnostic test or even GMAT official test in the beginning of the prep to see where I stand and what the exam looks like. What is more, I would only use 6 official mocks by GMATPrep and maybe 2-3 free mocks by Manhattan GMAT. I would be doing 2 mocks every week, later in my study, nearer to the end of the prep. And what’s most important, remember that if you don’t binge on your mistakes and don’t really grasp why you erred and don't pick lessons from the failures, YOU ARE NOT PROGRESSING.
MISTAKES I WOULD NOT REPEAT:
[*] I would avoid choosing quantity over quality. That being said, I would rather crunch fewer advanced questions and realize every choice that I make, to make sure all of my picks were deliberate and that I knew why I picked A, B, C, D, or E. Said otherwise, it’s better to do 15 questions a day, and analyze all of the correct and incorrect choices thoroughly, then to do 40 questions in a hurry.
[*] Do not "scatter-study". Pick 3 months of the time frame, and "focus-study".
[*] Steadily achieve your level, do not rush. And on this topic, I suggest you watch this nice overview of Flow State, discussed in a book by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8h6IMYRoCZw.
That’s it. I'm positive 3 months would be enough for me to score 730.
As a bonus, whenever you need some motivation, listen to Jordan Peterson on youtube. Here, you can find his best selling book short summary narrated by himself - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApC0faRYabI&t. And also, look up the philosophy of Stoicism. It generally helps me keep my mind focused.
Will be happy to respond to questions. I will also be delighted to hear anything you have to say. If I can be of any kind of help, please do not hesitate to ping me. GMAT is easy on concepts. GMAT is hard on discipline, and remaining calm and focused during the prep.
P.S. By the way, my very first mock was e-GMAT’s mock, and I scored below 600 as far as I remember 😄
Cheers,
raindr0p
globaldesi
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25 Nov 2020, 21:14
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great score and amazing write up. Congratulations for your score and all the very best for your applications
25 Nov 2020, 21:38
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raindr0p
Congratulations on the amazing score and of course the detailed debrief.
You mentioned about the challenging questions in GMAT Club, in the link you posted , i believe there are 1000s of questions, how did you approach solving them, did you chose questions in random or you actually solved all of them ?
All the best for your applications
Congratulations on the amazing score and of course the detailed debrief.
You mentioned about the challenging questions in GMAT Club, in the link you posted , i believe there are 1000s of questions, how did you approach solving them, did you chose questions in random or you actually solved all of them ?
All the best for your applications
