Other than the OG and Manhattan Prep, What else?

Question

Hi, I have almost finished working through the whole series of Manhattan Prep, I want to practice a bit more before moving to OG. Which book(s) would you recommend?

My most problematic area is sentence correction - English is not my native language.

Thank you! :)

bb · Answer

Hm... That's odd since the mgmat guides are designed to be used with the OG. They don't have a ton of practice questions in those books so they rely on the additional questions from the OG.

You can always get the mgmat verbal foundations.... But you should start working on the OG in tandem with the mgmat guides.

Posted from my mobile device

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi gempony

Have you taken any FULL-LENGTH practice CATs yet? If you have, then how did you score (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores)? If you have not, then you should plan to take one soon. Before I can offer you the specific advice that you’re looking for, it would help if you could provide a bit more information on how you've been studying and your goals:

Studies:
1) How long have you studied?

Goals:
4) What is your goal score?
5) When are you planning to take the GMAT?
6) When are you planning to apply to Business School?
7) What Schools are you planning to apply to?

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

LoveWildLife · Answer

Oh ok! I should start working on OG then. I have finished all Manhattan prep verbal books. Just want to get enough practice so that I wouldn't feel frustrated when I start attempting the OG questions. Thanks!:)

LoveWildLife · Answer

Hi Rich,

Thanks so much for your reply!

Please see my answers to your questions above.

Gem

k1414 · Answer

If you are looking for more SC help, I have personally found that both Magoosh and E-GMAT offer a good range of lessons for SC. Best of luck in your studying!

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi gempony,

That initial diagnostic CAT is important - it helps to define your strengths and weaknesses and gives you a basis for comparison as you continue to study. Most Test Takers are not happy with that first CAT result, but that's not a big deal - the extra months of available study time are there so that you can IMPROVE on this initial practice result. Once you've taken that CAT, you should report back with your scores and we can discuss how best to proceed.

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

AjiteshArun · Answer

Look at the OG as something that will help you get better, and not just as a bunch of questions. Both the questions and explanations will help you learn what the GMAT tests, and you can choose to start with the easy questions before moving on to the medium and hard sets if that helps.

LoveWildLife · Answer

Ok. Sounds reasonable. I will do the test during weekend and report back my score

LoveWildLife · Answer

Took some time today to finish the diagnostic test in OG 2018. Please see my results attached. I found Problem Solving much harder than those in Manhattan prep. Looks like I have to spend more time to work on that.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi gempony,

CAT refers to Computer-Adaptive Test, so when I mentioned taking that first CAT, I was actually referring to one of the Official GMAC practice CATs (not the pencil-and-paper OG test). You can download 2 CATs for free from www.mba.com (and they come with some additional practice materials). Unfortunately, that paper test isn't a great way to realistically measure how you might score on the Official GMAT, so you'll still need to take a CAT (so that we can properly assess your current skills, strengths and weaknesses).

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

LoveWildLife · Answer

Is this the test you mentioned?

Thanks!

Regards, 
Gem

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Gem,

YES - those are the free practice CATs that I was referring to. You should take just one and make sure to take the FULL CAT (all sections in one sitting).

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

LoveWildLife · Answer

Hi Rich, I have just completed my first practice CAT. Not that impressive. Need to improve by 100 points to get to where I want to be. This is a good practice and I have come across some question formats which I have not seen before. My goal is to improve by 50 points by end of sept.

Any suggestions, please let me know. Thanks! Gem

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Gem,

A 650 is actually a fantastic initial CAT Score (the average score on the Official GMAT hovers around 540-550 most years). Assuming that you took this CAT in a realistic fashion, then you are a naturally strong critical thinker - and while you will have to do some work to hit 700+, you are closer to that level than you probably realize. The next step would be to do a full review of this CAT, with the goal of trying to define WHY you got questions wrong.

After reviewing each section, how many questions did you get wrong....
1) Because of a silly/little mistake?
2) Because there was some math/verbal that you just could not remember how to do?
3) Because the question was too hard?
4) Because you were low on time and had to guess?

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

LoveWildLife · Answer

Thanks Rich.

Having reviewed some of my wrong answers for quant, I found that most of them are wrong because I could not remember how to do or I was low on time. I thought I worked really fast but it was still not fast enough obviously.

As for verbal, I think it is because the articles were hard and many of the options provided looked similar and therefore it was hard to judge which one was right.

Integrated reasoning section was a drag to my overall score probably - the test format for me is brand new and I must have misunderstood many of the questions.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Gem,

Integrated Reasoning is a separate Score (from 1-8) and has no effect on your score out of 800 (that Score is from the Quant and Verbal sections only). You might be able to pick up some of the missing points that you're after just by practicing some more (and becoming more familiar with the question types, patterns, etc.). For a 750+ though, you really need to know all of the content and all of the major patterns (and it helps to know all of the little 'secrets' to the Test too).... and then you have to eliminate all the little mistakes from your work. This is meant to say that you might find it beneficial to invest in a GMAT Course of some type. Based on your timeline, you don't have to decide on that just yet though.

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

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