areebahmed93
Hello everyone,
I am a full time student currently attending the University of Toronto as an undergraduate student. I am pursuing a Bsc with a major in economics and math with a minor in applied statistics(I may switch the math to a minor). I recently started to look into writing the GMAT and am looking from some guidance. I have read numerous posts on the site about how people studied and what resources they used, however it would be nicer if I could have this all in one place that I can look at.
I'll give a little insight as to where I am currently, as mentioned above I'm pursuing a Bsc with a major in math and economics with a minor in stats. I'm going to be entering my 3rd year of studies with about a year left to finish my degree. My CGPA isn't my biggest accomplishment as its sitting at 2.67 currently(I did not do well my first year, I took some courses way to lightly and paid for it). However my last 2 years have been good(3.9/4 and 3.0/4 respectively)
Getting back to the topic at hand I am looking for guidance into what resources to use in order to get the best possible chance of getting a very good GMAT score, the goal is 750+.
Also I would love to hear from anyone who made a mistake in univerty in their first years and how they bounced back from that. Also what kind of impact if any it had when applying to a good graduate school.
Any responses would be greatly appreciated.
Best regards
Hi areebahmed93
Respected Sir ,
It is nice to see that you are starting with your GMAT so early . Way to go bud , Way to go ! Although I am not a a very high scorer in GMAT hence I'm not qualified to give GMAT advice . However As someone who is preparing for GMAT I would like to share how I prepare , which books I refer to etc etc ...... .
Time
4-6 months
Books Used:
Previous Official Guides : OG10, 11,12
OG 13th edition Book , Quantitavie Review , Verbal Review , 700-800 Question Set on GMAT club forum .
Perhaps! New OG released this year . Although it is same like OG 13
Maintain
Error LogDownload the Excel Sheet of Question of OG 13 . This helps . Trust me!
Manhattan GMAT SC , RC , CR Books . Fab Books .
Manhattan Set of 5 books for quant
Kaplan Premier Book .
Veritas Study Material
2 CATs and questions from mba.com
CATs from
Manhattan GMAT , Kaplan GMAT , Princeton Review GMAT ,
GMAT Club Tests atleast 28-36 Full Length Tests . ( Though sounds heavy , yet its my way of looking at GMAT since I am a non native speaker and a slow learner .
Free Videos and articles on Youtube, GMAT PrepNow, etc.
Follow GMAT Club Forum
Studying:
Usually 6-9 hours on weekdays . MUST!
Usually 10-12 hours on Saturdays and Sundays. Usually 1 CAT on the weekend with review (weekend usually included going back to redo old questions, even questions I got right before) MUST!
And finally PRACTICE , PRACTICE & PRACTICE!
Advice:
1) The books were pretty good, but there’s a lot of advice that conflicts from book to book, so it takes a little while to figure out what’s true and what’s not. The OG 13th edition is a MUST HAVE.
2) Find an expert to work with. Use a course or a tutor.
3) There’s a lot of bad advice out there about pacing, representative questions, etc. (and the problem is a lot of it’s free). Be suspicious. If you practice something for a full month and it doesn’t work, then it’s not going to help you hit your goal. Be prepared to learn some new things.
4) Stay calm and write everything down. GMAT questions are actually pretty straight forward if you just stay organized.
5) The Quant section is NOT a math test and the Verbal section is NOT a vocabulary test, so don’t treat them like they are.
6) Learn which questions to avoid.
6) Take the breaks, no matter how good you feel. Have a snack, a drink and run to the bathroom.
All the best bud!
Best Regards
Thank you