I'm going to start my GMAT prep and I really need your help! (please)

Question

Hi guys,

I'm planning to start my GMAT prep from September 2020 and I want to give the test sometime around March 2021. I'm planning to do a solid 6-month prep taking a lot of Test series and reading up/working on a lot of strategies. 
I want all of your suggestions wrt to which test series should I take up? (How is the GMAT Club test series? is it useful?) and do you have any tips for how I could go about with my prep? (Especially Verbal)- I have already been working on Quant for the CAT exam so I'm fairly comfortable in that area but I'm really bad at Verbal and I want to improve on that. 
My goal is to score 760+ on the GMAT and I'm ready to do anything and everything to achieve this score.

Could you please help me with this?

Thank you!

deepverma · Answer

Hi ,
Certainly, you are on right path of Planning ahead. 6-Months is a good period. I would suggest to start with Diagnostic Test, to know how far you r from Target Score.
This link might help and guide you:
https://gmatclub.com/forum/patterns-amo ... 01344.html

Egmat is the most endorsed Course for Verbal.

logro · Answer

Hey RakRavi123,

I would suggest you to take a diagnostic to get a baseline score which will help you address any particular shortcomings in the Verbal section

I started my prep back in July took a test and realised that Verbal is my weak spot. A friend of mine suggested e-gmat, so i started with egmat and found their SC section really helpful. I also used MGMAT SC book in tandem

With regards to CR, I am yet to see the results fructify but on the face of it Powerscore CR bible seems to be a great book

If you are an avid reader and have great comprehension capability, then you will ace RC. If not, I have heard that an improvement in CR will also boost your RC

Hope it gives you some sense of direction

If it's helpful drop in a kudos

Hovkial · Answer

Read the official guide, if you haven't already. Once you refresh the concepts, solve some problems from each section. Examine where you went wrong (and right).

Go back to studying concepts and solve questions again. Analyse your performance. To get good scores, you will have to set aside several months.

There are many materials available. Many are bad, especially in verbal. Focus on a few, but make the official guides your main resources.

GMATWhizTeam · Answer

Hi Rakravi123,

It is good that you started seeking advises before starting your prep. Many students make a mistake of studying from random resources without any study plan and after a month or two, they realize that they need something more standard and personalized. Let me share my insights here on how you should plan your GMAT preparation.

The first step would be to take an official mock and see where you are standing. On the basis of your performance, try to analyze your weaker areas and stronger areas. Once you do that, you can plan your studies accordingly. But before that, I would like you to understand what is actually tested on GMAT because it will help you focus on the right parameters. Without knowing the destination, there’s no point starting your journey. Understanding what GMAT tests helps you plan your preparation properly.

What GMAT actually tests? 
If you are in a misconception that understanding concepts will help you score well on GMAT, let me tell you the harsh truth. GMAT is a test of application of concepts and it would require a  strong conceptual knowledge and the right use of strategies  to ace the test. You might not like this, but GMAT doesn’t just give you questions which require you to solve them using a formula. It goes far beyond that. To solve a particular question, it is important to understand what is it that the question is asking, identify the underlying concept and then apply that conceptual knowledge to get the solution. The reason why students take a lot of time to prepare for GMAT is because 
 they do not understand what is it that is actually tested on GMAT
 so, they start their preparation by practicing questions from OG or a few random materials 
 When they take a mock, they get shattered on seeing the score as months of preparation could only get them the average score a beginner will get. 
 So, they start seeking advises regarding the study strategy and start their preparation from scratch.

As you see, a lot of time, effort and money gets wasted in the process. GMAT is a test which requires a considerable investment of all three parameters. So, it is important to make sure to invest them in the right manner and get the desired result.

What should be the ideal way of preparation? 
Once you take the mock, I would recommend you to identify your stronger and weaker areas based on the result. Once you do this, the ideal plan has to be to:
  Learn the concepts – one topic at a time (Start with your stronger area) 
 Learn the right methodologies to solve the questions of that particular topic 
 Start taking sectional quizzes and make sure to solve the questions using the methodology learnt 
 Make sure to move to the next topic, only when you get at least easy-medium questions right. 
 If you have less than 60% accuracy in any topic, identify the reason behind the struggle and work on improving it. 
 Once you move to the next topic, it is important to maintain the momentum that you had in the previous topics. Many students tend to forget the concepts they learnt once they start focusing on new topics. This is the time when OG comes into picture. You can practice a minimum of 5 questions of a particular topic everyday so that you do not lose touch with that topic 
 Once you are done with all the topics, start taking mocks at regular intervals and see the score pattern 
 Once you start getting a consistent score, you are good to book a slot.

Is learning the right methodology really important? 
GMAT questions are very tricky and one would require a strong conceptual knowledge and right strategies to solve them. One has to perform a certain pre-analysis on the question stem to understand what is it that the question actually requires you to do. Only learning the right methodology to solve questions will help you do this process effectively. The same goes with Verbal. Each module on verbal (SC, CR and RC) has to be approached in a certain way.

For example, there is a misconception that SC questions test your knowledge of grammatical rules. But what GMAT actually tests is the ability to convey the right meaning without any ambiguity. So, it is really important to  approach them from a meaning stand-point . Grammatical rules are helpful but only to some extent. You can find a few answer choices which are grammatically correct and also convey a logical meaning. But there is only one answer choice, which conveys the intended meaning. So, it is important to understand the meaning the sentence is trying to convey and identify the errors and then eliminate the answer choices which do not convey the intended meaning.

Having said that, how do you go about learning the right methodology? Is there any effective way of doing that? 
Yes! The best way to learn the right methodology is to learn the concepts along with the methodology. And to understand where you are going wrong while solving questions, it is really important to refer to the detailed solutions and compare your approach with the right one. This will help you nullify the gap gradually, making sure that you master the skill of using the right methodology.

The need to use the right resource: 
As you now understood the importance of using the right methodology, it is equally important to use the right resource to learn that. The resource you use has to teach you the concepts methodically and also the right strategies. It should help you solve GMAT like questions and also provide you with detailed solutions. The best way you can  learn the right approach is by referring to the solutions and comparing your approach  with the right one. It should help you identify your weaker areas and work on them. So, make sure to choose the right resource this time and start studying from it.

If you are open to suggestions, I would like you to take a check at the course of GMATWhiz. 
  It is one unique course which offers you the best quality content and employs an artificial intelligence driven learning. 
 It offers you a  personalized study plan  which is integrated with the course. The concept booster and practice quizzes after every concept video help you solve GMAT like questions using the right methodology.  
 It offers you  real time improvement modules  so that you can work on your weaker areas right away.

There are many more exciting features offered by the course. I would recommend you to check the free trial of GMATWhiz before taking the decision. And regarding the test series,  the official mocks are the most reliable ones . f you wish to buy any test series, I would recommend you to go with them. And it is not recommended to take as many test series as possible without proper preparation. You must have understood the process of taking mocks from the above study plan. Hope it helped! If you have any more concerns regarding the GMAT preparation or  wish to know more about study strategy, you can always write back or a better way would be to discuss over a call . You can schedule a free consultation call using the below link.

Click here to schedule a call

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