Suggested study plan and timeline?

Question

Hi,

I am planning on taking the GMAT sometime next year and wanted to get some advice on study plan and timeline.

I scored 650+ on the diagnostic (one of free GMAT software exams) and worked through complete MGMAT guide (set of 10 books I believe?) earlier this year. I wasn't able to study for awhile afterwards as work got busy.

As of now, the study materials I have are  MGMAT online resources  and  OG 2018 book + Wiley . I haven't taken any free tests offered by different vendors. And I need help with the following:

1) What should be my study plan if I'm trying to aim for 720+? Take all the practice tests or start with Verbal/Quant review of the OG? Also I heard that OG problems should be saved till the end..?
2) Is it realistic for me to aim for January or February test date?

If anyone can add some color to the questions above, it'd be much appreciated.

Thanks!

mihir0710 · Answer

I think below link can help : https://gmatclub.com/forum/my-gmat-jour ... l#p1799551

AjiteshArun · Answer

You should certainly leave some official material for the end, but it's not a good idea to completely ignore the OG in the beginning. OG questions are ordered (broadly) by difficulty, so doing the first few questions is a great way to get comfortable with the types of questions and concepts that the GMAT tests.

As for intensive testing, I suggest that you wait a bit, although this really depends on the number of tests you have access to. If you don't have too many practice tests, it might be a good idea to start taking them around January if you are aiming for February (one or one and a half months before your exam). Maybe 1 or two tests this month to check your progress and improvement areas.

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi lostlilsoul,

You mentioned taking that initial practice CAT 'earlier this year', but how long ago was that? If it's been at least a few months, then it would be a good idea to take a NEW, FULL-LENGTH CAT Test (one that you have not taken before) and take it in a realistic fashion (take the FULL CAT - with the Essay and IR sections, take it away from your home, at the same time of day as when you'll take the Official GMAT, etc.). Once you have that score, you should report back here and we can discuss how best to proceed.

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

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Answers of all of your questions is available here Best GMAT Courses https://gmatclub.com/forum/best-gmat-co ... ml?fl=menu GMAT Study Plan https://gmatclub.com/forum/gmat-study-p ... ml?fl=menu https://gmatclub.com/forum/gmat-self-pr ... tml?f=menu Best Books Quant https://gmatclub.com/forum/best-gmat-ma ... ml?fl=menu Verbal https://gmatclub.com/forum/best-gmat-ve ... ml?fl=menu All GMAT CATs https://gmatclub.com/forum/all-gmat-pra ... ml?fl=menu GMAT Timing Strategies https://gmatclub.com/forum/timing-strat ... ml?fl=menu Good Luck

rohan2345 · Answer

Hi lostlilsoul, Given your current level 2 months is good enough to achieve a good score. It's a good thing you have taken a GMATPREP test. You can now know your weaknesses and work on them.. If you are willing to study dedicatedly for that period, you are sure to achieve your goal. I believe you may benefit from taking a GMATPREP course. Your choice of using MGMAT guides for your preparation is great. MGMAT guides are phenomenal and cover the entire syllabus really well. I must add that if you are particularly looking to discover and improve on your weak areas in quant; a subscription to GMATCLUB tests is the best way to do that. They are indeed phenomenal and will not only pinpoint your weak areas but also help you improve on them. Also for verbal, I would highly encourage you to consider e-gmat verbal online or the e-gmat verbal live course. They are both amazing courses especially designed for non-natives. They offer almost 25% of their courses for free so you can try out their free trial to decide which one you want to go for. Plus the e-gmat Scholaranium which is included in both the courses is one of the best verbal practice tools in the market. You can easily track your progress in that you can identify your strengths and analyze and improve on your weak areas. Further taking multiple mocks might help. Apart from the GMATPREP, Manhattan GMAT tests and Veritas Prep Tests in my experience have a good verbal and Quant section and will certainly help you point out and improve your weak areas. Further another advantage of taking many mocks is to build up your stamina. Apart from the GMATPREP tests, taking practise tests of any major GMATPREP company ought to do that. I would also encourage you to purchase the latest version of Quant and and the verbal review along with a subscription to GMATPREP QP1 for some great additional practice. Here is a link that will help you with your decision. https://gmatclub.com/forum/best-gmat-ve ... 68383.html Lastly, you can check out a very interesting article by Mike McGarry from Magoosh detailing a 3 month study plan https://magoosh.com/gmat/2012/3-month-g ... -students/. You will find it very helpful as it gives out a study plan as per your needs. Hope this helps. All the best.

ccooley · Answer

If you got a 650 without any practice, I think your chances of eventually getting a 720+ score are very high.

I also think a January or February test date is reasonable. Practice tests are an inefficient way to study. Most of the material you'll see on a practice test will be content you don't really need to work on (either things you already understand, or things that you don't need to study yet.) If you spend the same amount of time specifically targeting material that's relevant to you, you'll get more work done in the same time. Try doing timed problem sets out of the Official Guide instead (there are various resources online that will break down the Official Guide by content area.) You also won't learn as much while taking a practice test, because you're under mental stress while doing it. You don't remember as much information when you learn it under stress. (Ever take a practice test and then realize that you couldn't remember most of the questions an hour later?) Finally, there's the issue that other posters have mentioned - there aren't that many high-quality practice tests out there. So, save the practice tests for two purposes: evaluating yourself, and practicing your test-taking strategy. You don't really need to evaluate yourself until you've spent some time studying and you think that your performance will have changed . That means no taking one practice test two days after another, since there's (almost) no way your score will change significantly in two days. Even if it does improve, it's likely to be a fluke. Try taking one every 1-2 weeks instead. That'll be enough that you keep practicing your test-taking strategy regularly, but not so much that you'll burn out.

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