Any other material needed to crack 700?

Question

Hey community, I am debating GMAT v GRE for fall 2019 T15 schools. Regarding GMAT, I have a MGMAT full individual prep and kaplan notecards. No quant background, so any other materials to buy to build up that quant game? I saw some princeton review math bootcamp book at Barns n Nobles. Also, I will look for some good studying schedules to prep with. I am working fulltime and imagine taking it multiple times this summer.

Best,
Ray

Best, 
Ray

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Best Books

For Concept Learning

Manhattan Quant Guides
Manhattan Verbal Guides
For CR: The Powerscore GMAT Critical Reasoning Bible
For RC: Aristotle RC Grail

For Practice
 
The Official Guide for GMAT 2015-18
The Official Guide for GMAT Quantitative Review 2015-18
The Official Guide for GMAT Verbal Review 2015-18

Top CATs for Practice

1. Official GMAC CATs
2. Manhattan CATs
3. Kaplan CATs
4. GMAT Club Quant CATs

Good Luck

AkshdeepS · Answer

Hi,

You should try empower gmat course for Quant improvement along with Magoosh or Gmat prepnow. Both the course are of reasonable price also. You can always use Gmat club quant and verbal directories to your advantage. This club has questions from all the resources.

QZ

rohan2345 · Answer

Hi Ray, You should study for around three months to achieve a good score. I would encourage you take one of the two GMAT PREP practice test. You can 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 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. 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 OG and the verbal review for some great additional practice. Here is a link that will help you with your decision. https://gmatclub.com/forum/best-gmat-ve ... ml?fl=menu 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.

haovb · Answer

I think the most essential material set you need is Gmat official guide. Then you can try the sample tests to increase your gmat score gradually.

GMATPill · Answer

As you study OG, we encourage you to follow along expert video explanations for the SC questions - links are provided in this shared Google doc: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1f_ckd ... H1HmTgctJI You can learn more about GMAT Pill at: https://www.gmatpill.com

rhs67858 · Answer

Hi everyone! Appreciate the feedback!

GMATPill - Thank you for these links. I am going to look at them shortly.

Haovcb - Thank you, this came with my Manhattan GMAT prep set (the 2018 version).

Rohan2345 - Thank you so much for your wisdom. I think I'll be studying a bit longer given that (1) I have ADHD, and (2) I don't have a quant background. I am hoping that 
the extra time on exams will help me to work through some of the harder problems. I really need a strong base in Math, so that's why i am a bit scared and still think that if I can do better on the GRE then to just take that and give b-schools "something to hang their hat on," given that my candidacy is so unique. Also, I plan on taking this thing every three weeks (or whatever the minium is) starting in July.

QZ - Thank you, I will take a look at empower gmat for quant.

SajjadAhmad - Thank you for the list. I knew I would need more than what Manhattan sent me, so I will look through your list and order additional books.

Everyone,

I spoke with two tutors. One is a Stanford MBA grad, clever woman, and had some pointed advice about my candidacy and my way into T15. She suggested I scrap the GMAT and do GRE, and with extra time thinks Ill crush it and thats my way in. But I still maintain that these schools will want to know I can handle the quant rigor--and otherwise--of their programs, and therefore want to see a GMAT score from me (i.e., while harder for me, will still probably will make my application stronger). Her point was that if I dont have a high enough score then nothing else matters, which is a good point. I honestly have a really unique background and am coming like way different from most ppl lol, which works, but only if I have a good enough score to be in the mix.

The other tutor, Rice undergrad in Physics, scored 760 or something and is super helpful, she said that MGMAT foundational books still dont do a good enough job of teaching her students the basics. Thus, she mentioned me getting GRE math books from Manhattan anyway, and going through those BEFORE starting GMAT quant prep.

Can people share their thoughts on these matters? I am trying to divorce myself from emotion and make sure every move I make it the right one.

Kind Regards, 
Ray

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Ray,

Since it sounds like you're just beginning your studies, then it would be a good idea to take a FULL-LENGTH practice CAT Test; you can take 2 for free at www.mba.com (and they come with some additional practice materials). If you want to do a little studying first, so that you can familiarize yourself with the basic content and question types, then that's okay - but you shouldn't wait too long to take that initial CAT. That score will give us a good sense of your natural strengths and weaknesses and will help provide a basis for comparison as you continue to study. A FULL CAT takes about 3.5 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 come up with a study plan.

I'd like to know a bit more about your timeline and goals:
1) What is your goal score?
2) When are you planning to apply to Business School?
3) Going forward, how many hours do you think you can consistently study each week?

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

rhs67858 · Answer

Hi Rich,

Thank you for the thorough response. In terms of your questions:

1. 700+ (will settle for high 600s if part-time T15 is becoming more realistic--I'd work a startup job in the area).

2. Hopefully round 1 but most likely I'll need that extra few months to get my score up so probably round 2

3. 28-30 hours a week (2 hours Mon-Thurs; 4 hours on Friday; 8+ on Sat and Sun each = 2, 2, 2, 2, 4, 8, 8, = 28+)

What are you thinking?

EMPOWERgmatRichC · Answer

Hi Ray,

From what you describe, it's not clear how literal you are being when you say that you have 'no Quant background.' There's a difference between not knowing how to do Algebra/Geometry/etc. and just being a bit 'rusty' (since you might not have done that type of math since High School or College). If you're really concerned about your general math skills, then I recommend that you set up an account at Khan Academy (www.khanacademy.org). The site is completely free and makes the learning a bit more fun and 'game-like' (as opposed to the dry academic approach taken by most books). While the site is vast, you should limit your studies to basic Arithmetic, Algebra and Geometry. After spending a little time re-building those skills, you could start your GMAT studies. That having been said, it's still important to define your current skills, so taking that initial practice CAT is essential to putting together the proper Study Plan for you. If you can consistently commit that type of study time each week, then you have the potential to improve a great deal (regardless of how you score on that initial CAT).

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

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Any other material needed to crack 700?

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