Targeting GMAT in July end, Are 4 months enough?

Question

Hi everyone,

I started my prep in April only, I have the official guide 23-24 with all section review books with question banks. I am targeting to take the GMAT in July end to catch the R1 applications, but lately, I feel like I am very late to start. Is it enough time to prepare and create applications and everything or not?

I prepared for CAT 3-4 years back and got a pretty decent percentile also received an admission offer from IIM but due to COVID and online MBA, I didn’t join.

I still haven’t shortlisted the universities that I will be applying to and I thought I would apply based on my score. But I see that everyone is having their target universities. As I am thinking that for me already the preparation time is much less so doing university research now will take time.

Shall I consider getting a counsellor or mentor? Could you please suggest on what will be best for me to apply in round 1 without any hiccups? Shall I shortlist the universities first and then focus on preparation, I am thinking of following the 13-week prep strategy from GMATClub. Also, when should I start getting the recommendations and all?

I am confused about preparing for the GMAT first or getting my applications ready first.

Please Suggest.

Thanks.

GmatKnightTutor · Answer

If you're new to the GMAT, the gmatclub study plan could be helpful to check out. It mentions a variety of resources, for example. After getting a bit familiar with the GMAT and what's covered, taking an Official Mock from the MBA website may give a sense where you currently stand. You could also look through the Share GMAT Experience subforum to see how long/likely different score jumps may take.

New to the GMAT? 5 things you can do this week.

New to the GMAT? 5 things you can do this week.

bb · Answer

Hi. Welcome to gmatclub.

I think focusing on the GMAT at this stage makes a lot of sense and you can sort of research universities as time goes by in parallel but it’s important to start right and start strong.

I recommend to most people to sort of target 3 to 4 months timeframe. This is a spot in terms of mental awareness and also burnout prevention to a large extent.

You will need something else besides the official guide to study. Official guide only has questions. It has a brief review section but it is incomplete and doesn’t have any strategies. You you’re welcome to try the 13 week plan. That is sort of supposed to be independent and self-sufficient but many people find having a set of books or some kind of a course to be helpful to follow a specific plan without wondering if you are studying the right things or if you’re missing something completely.

I would recommend not agonizing too much about which book or course to use. First decide which approach works best for you personally, printed or electronic and interactive. For books, you just need to get them Manhattan guides. For a course, there are free trials so give them a try and whichever one you can spend a few hours per day to effectively cover and somewhat enjoy your preparation on the daily basis, that’s the one you should use. People have used Magoosh, Egmat, target test prep and variety of others to great extent and deficiency. The success is dependent more than you and your motivation and how engaged you are with the course. If you’re distracted and you’re studying at night after a long day at work, nothing will help you.

As the first step, you should take a diagnostic test and use a test from mba.com to get an understanding of where you sit and how much you need to improve because I don’t know if you need four months. Maybe you already have the score you need so it’s kinda like you’re putting the cards in front of the horse and assuming you need a lot of time… but do you?

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ScottTargetTestPrep · Answer

Hi SiD98,

For now, I would just focus on the GMAT. With that in mind, here is an article to help you get started:

​​​​​​​ How to Start Studying for the GMAT Focus: 5 Steps for Success

AjiteshArun · Answer

Hi SiD98,

It's a good idea to do both. You can focus more on the GMAT first up, but try not to end up in a situation where you have too little time to do a good job on your essays.

IVYCRACKERS.COM · Answer

Hi Sid! You should first select the top 5-10 universities that you want to graduate from and maybe 1 to 3 dream universities. Then look at the average score for your dream universities and also look at other factors such as overall what's Indian students representation in those universities, how many people from your kind of domain get into those universities (for example if you are a software engineer, then that is a domain which is over represented and you can then try to get a higher GMAT score to standout, you can also standout if you have stellar work experience etc.). We believe you are well verse with the university shortlisting process and know the factors on which you should evaluate the universities. Basis these parameters you will have a target GMAT score and you can accordingly work towards it. If your target score is already high, for example a 715+ on GMAT FE, then you can evaluate the universities later as well. (but it's always good to know what kind of candidates your target universities are looking for). You may start identifying recommenders, but you can work with them later once you have the GMAT score handy. We believe you should have a mentor and we have 50+ mentors, at IvyCrackers, who are from top global schools and from different domains. They can definitely guide you on shortlisting universities, application strategy, guidance of GMAT (if required), or application essays and interviews. Checkout our mentor profiles: https://ivycrackers.com/our-mentors/ We are also conducting a complementary profile evaluation with our mentors.The focus will be on understanding your profile, goals, work experience and then coming up with a broad personalized storyline and application strategy for you. If you are interested, then please drop a mail at hello at IVYCRACKERS.COM . You can also book your complementart session here: https://ivycrackers.com/general-assessment/

Heidi_Lee · Answer

Hi 
I was in your shoes around 5 months back. I finally decided to get off with GMAT and then concentrate on applications. One thing at a time and give your best. I chose e-gmat for my prep and sailed thru with a 695. OG alone is not sufficient in my experience.

I have finished my course content from e-gmat, did their practice questions and then moved on to official questions in the last leg of my prep. Do not waste the official questions before you are completely ready as the no of quality questions are higly limited.

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Targeting GMAT in July end, Are 4 months enough?

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