Maintaining a balance between Quant & Verbal

Question

Hi,

I am preparing for my GMAT while working full time, I am dedicating 3 hours on weekdays and 5+ hours on weekends. My biggest worry is how to maintain a fair balance between the Math section and the Verbal section.

I just finished brushing up my Quant skills and from today beginning with the Verbal bit, what I fear most is that if I only focus on the verbal section from today I might forget all the math properties that I have learnt over the past 3-4 weeks.

Can someone please provide some valuable advise (considering the time I am devoting on a daily basis) on how do I need to diligently fluctuate between the two sections.

Looking forward to a response,

Thanks

Rishabh

AjiteshArun · Answer

Are you planning to do only verbal for now? Because it seems that you're already looking to strike a balance between working on your verbal and revising your quant, which is exactly what I'd recommend. If you want a number, I'd be most comfortable if you kept each "stretch" of verbal to  at most  3 (or 4) days. Over time, you'll develop a feel for what works for you. You could also take a diagnostic test if you want a better basis on which to decide how much time and effort each section deserves.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Rishabh,

Each person's GMAT 'needs' depend on their relative strengths and weakness as well as their score goals and timeline. Before we can figure out how best to 'balance' your study routine between Quant and Verbal, it would help if you could provide a bit more information about your studies so far and your goals.

1) Have you taken any FULL-LENGTH CATs yet? How did you score (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores)?
2) What materials are you studying with?
3) What is your score goal?
4) When are you planning to take the GMAT?

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

dabral · Answer

I am no longer active on this forum.

rishabh1988 · Answer

Apologies for the late reply,

dabral  - Thanks for the reply

EMPOWERgmatRichC  - 
1) I am yet to take a practice test, which I am thinking of taking it 20 days from now (after brushing up my verbal and quant skills)
2) I am using the Manhattan 5th edition (also planning to purchase their series of practice tests and question bank) + OG2013 + OG2016 +Kaplan 9th edition to prepare
3) I am planning on taking the GMAT either end of June of first week July 2016 - My target score is anything above 700

From the starting of May I plan only to focus on giving practice tests and addressing/reviewing my pain areas.

Let me know if I am missing out on something which I can start working on.

Thanks

Rishabh

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Rishabh,

Until you've taken that initial FULL-LENGTH practice CAT (with the Essay and IR sections), we really have no idea what your study plan should look like. That first score helps to define your skills, strengths and weaknesses - and while you might run into some concepts that you have not trained for yet, even THAT information is important to have. You can download 2 CATs for free from www.mba.com (and they come with some additional practice materials). A FULL CAT takes about 4 hours to complete, so make sure that you've set aside enough time to take it in one sitting. Once you have those scores, you should report back here and we can talk through your study plan.

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

CrackverbalGMAT · Answer

Hello Rishabh,

Well begun is half done – goes the saying.

I think you have the resources, motivation and most importantly have found the time to dedicate for the GMAT. If you think about it, most people falter at one of this and hence do not really get to go to “Writing” the test at all.

I think what you need now is a plan – A plan that will suit your requirements and will take you where you want to be.

Essentially one thing I see that your plan wants is a balance between Quant and Verbal. I have made a sample plan for you and it is in the attachment.

Some points to note;

1. By 1.5 hours, I mean 1.5 hours per day.

2. You can keep doing RC every day. Doing RC is like an ever-green learning. You should start from day 1 and keep doing this till the day of your test.

3. While you solve a question from the OG, VR or QR; remember that you have to analyse these questions really well and learn as much as you can. 
After you follow the plan above, then you should focus more on your test taking strategy, pacing etc. The test will have both Quant and Verbal so shouldn’t be a problem 

Hope that answered your query!

All the best!

Saikiran Dudyala
Sr.Manager – Academics and Operations.

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