corporateguy wrote:
I'm new to this forum.
Got plenty of links and study materials- thanks to all of you.
Would be glad if anyone can answer my query:
I started off directly with the GMAT official verbal review 2nd edition(SC and CR). My Quant I believe is quite solid- as I prepared for the Indian MBA exam for 5 months so I don't think I will face any issue there.
So, just to kick start Verbal, I took generous 3-4 minutes per question for first half of SC and CR(in the book) and managed to get 85% accuracy, which I think is good. The mistakes were mostly unnoticed errors and only 1-2 questions were complex for which I couldn't understand the logic even after reading the answers.
Next I started timing the questions and found that I cannot complete a question in 2 minutes. (CR is manageable - some I could spot in 30 seconds, some in 4 minutes etc). I wonder how ppl solve in 1.5 minutes on an average.
So my questions are:
1) Is my situation quite common ?
2) Should I attempt the GMAT free Prep right away to see where I stand or should I complete the formal study course and attempt one
3) Is GMAT all about time management?!!!
Time management is certainly a big issue especially in Verbal if you are not a fast reader. RC would eat up a lot of your time. Usually people are faster in SC (about a min per question) and hence make up for the lost time. Once you understand the common error types, spotting them is much faster. Official guides are great for practice but they don't give you the required basics and strategies.
As for Quant, you might want to check up on DS questions. CAT preparation does not prepare you well for their format.
Thereafter, you should take a practice test from mba.com as soon as possible. It will give you a fair idea about GMAT and its idiosyncrasies.