Study Plan - is this good enough? + manhattan prep course?

Question

Hello fellow gmatclub members,

I started studying for the GMAT about a week and a half ago and to say that I am feeling overwhelmed may be an understatement. I am going to outline what I plan to do, the books I've purchased and am debating if I should take the Manhattan online GMAT Guided Self-Study Prep Plus program

What I plan to do:  
  - take the test around the end of December (2 months to prepare) 
 - study approximately 10-20 hours a week (average will be about 15 hours per week) 
  - last week of studying approx 30-40 hours (2nd to last week of studying approximately 25-30 hours)

What I am currently doing:  
  - purchased the Kaplan GMAT premier Live online 2010 edition and have gone through CR, RC and SC and finsihing up the practice set problems 
  - did the diagnostic quiz with Kaplan and scored 57% (most errors were in the math section)

Books I've purchased:  
  - Kapan GMAT Premier Live online 2010 edition 
  - Kaplan Advanced 2009-2010 edition  
  - Kaplan Math Workbook 
  - OG 12th edition 
  - 4 out of the 5 Manhattan math guidebooks (did not purchase the word problems book)

Objectives for the GMAT:  
  - obtain a score in the mid-600 range (650+ would be great)

Other important considerations:  
  - overall I do not feel too comfortable in math content 
  - have hired a 1-on-1 math tutor who use to teach for Kaplan and obtained a score on the GMAT in the 700 range 
  - debating whether or not to purchase all Manhattan guidebooks 
  - debating whether or not to take Manhattan online GMAT Guided Self-Study Prep Plus program --> not sure if it's worth it 
  - I am anxious to do the exam but am worried that 2 months time is not enough

Any thoughts/feedback would be most appreciated

Thank you

BLITZ

shadow · Answer

Hello fellow gmatclub members,

I started studying for the GMAT about a week and a half ago and to say that I am feeling overwhelmed may be an understatement. I am going to outline what I plan to do, the books I've purchased and am debating if I should take the Manhattan online GMAT Guided Self-Study Prep Plus program

What I plan to do:  
  - take the test around the end of December (2 months to prepare) 
 - study approximately 10-20 hours a week (average will be about 15 hours per week) 
  - last week of studying approx 30-40 hours (2nd to last week of studying approximately 25-30 hours)

if you go from 10 hrs a week (low end) to 40 hrs a week (high end) in the matter of a week+, you will probably burn yourself out before the test. the GMAT isn't like a college exam where you can pull an all nighter and cram and expect to do well. it's better to spread your studying out evenly and study 10-20 hrs per week throughout.

What I am currently doing:  
  - purchased the Kaplan GMAT premier Live online 2010 edition and have gone through CR, RC and SC and finsihing up the practice set problems 
  - did the diagnostic quiz with Kaplan and scored 57% (most errors were in the math section)

Books I've purchased:  
  - Kapan GMAT Premier Live online 2010 edition 
  - Kaplan Advanced 2009-2010 edition  
  - Kaplan Math Workbook 
  - OG 12th edition 
  - 4 out of the 5 Manhattan math guidebooks (did not purchase the word problems book)

kaplan is a good starting point, but their tests are oftentimes not the best indicators of the actual GMAT. have you taken the GMAT Preptest software yet (from mba.com)? also, the MGMAT full length CAT's are highly recommended on users these forums (including myself). i would take at least one a week (you get 6 full length ones) in the coming weeks

Objectives for the GMAT:  
  - obtain a score in the mid-600 range (650+ would be great)

sounds like a reasonable score - what is your starting point? take the full length gmat preptest and see what score you get. it comes with 2 free tests - i generally recommend you save the other one for the end of your study course.

Other important considerations:  
  - overall I do not feel too comfortable in math content 
  - have hired a 1-on-1 math tutor who use to teach for Kaplan and obtained a score on the GMAT in the 700 range 
  - debating whether or not to purchase all Manhattan guidebooks 
  - debating whether or not to take Manhattan online GMAT Guided Self-Study Prep Plus program --> not sure if it's worth it 
  - I am anxious to do the exam but am worried that 2 months time is not enough

without knowing what your starting point is, it would be difficult to say if the self study program would be enough or not. if you don't choose to do the program, you can still purchase one MGMAT subject book (search on amazon, etc. for them) for about $25, and you will still get the 6 free tests.

Any thoughts/feedback would be most appreciated

Thank you

BLITZ

blitz · Answer

Thanks for your reply

The only starting point I really have is that I did the Kaplan diagnostic test and scored 57% (it is not a full-lenght CAT test like gmat prep)

I was actually saving the 2 free prep tests from gmatprep for later on in my studying as I just started math content review a couple of days ago. I actually did a GMAT preview class with Manhattan and they have offered a full lenght CAT test to do be done with an assessment report - perhaps I should do that one and save the gmatprep ones for later?

BLITZ

shadow · Answer

yes, the MGMAT full length test would also be a good starting point

blitz · Answer

thanks shadowsjc!

I will take the time this weekend to do it and report back my scores here. I think it comes with an AWA section. Should I do it? I've read we can skip it since it's the first one

BLITZ

bb · Answer

Sure. Not critical. At this time probably just a waste of time.
FYI - download gmatprep

capable2 · Answer

Just out of curiosity, I am wondering what people think I might need to put into my study effort/time to score around a 650? Two weeks ago I took the first gmatprep CAT test and got a 500 (24 Q/35 V). Whoopie! I understand that there's no set formula for improvement, but curious if there is a general consensus out there? I'm currently working through the latest edition of the Official GMAT Guide and concentrating on Math. Currently looking at a 12/5 test date, but will probably change it to early Feb. '10.

Thanks!

Thanks!

bb · Answer

This does not hold for anyone, and is basically my own measurements. May not work for you, but assuming you have not done any studying, I'd say 
3.5 months for 200 point improvement
2 months for 150 points
1 month for 100 points

This assumes about 20 hrs/week

blitz · Answer

I just completed my 1st CAT test using Manhattan GMAT and scored the following:

overal score: 460 
 quantitative score: 26 
  verbal score: 29

Although I did just start studying (mostly verbal, almost no math), this is tremendously discouraging. I was kind of a little out of it when doing the test and did some guesses on verbal (many guesses for math because I simply do not know the content). My initial plan was to do the exam around the end of December, but I may now opt to do it in January or Feb (which will be crazy because of work obligations). For one of the programs of choice, the application deadline is March 15th. For the other one, it is much later. I do need to get a score of 600+ to be considered for either program (aiming for the 650 range). This brings me back to my initial post (see first post of this thread)

Does anyone have any thoughts? Anything would be most appreciated.

BLITZ

blitz · Answer

Been doing a lot of thinking over the past couple of days and considered many factors. Basically, I have 2 business schools I want to apply at. One of them the deadline is March 15th and the other one the deadline is June 1st. With enough research I figured a score of 650 is sufficient to get in. However, I am crazy busy with work commitments and do not feel the best in my abilities so I went out and did the following (since my first post):

- purchased all the Manhattan gmat prep guides
I don't know if it was necessary to do but I did enough research to know that their books are highly regarded

- purchased OG Quantitative Review and Verbal Review

- hired a professional tutor for math who use to teach for Kaplan (very reasonable rate at $40 per hour)

- contemplating taking the Manhattan Self-Study course which includes 9 online lectures (total cost approx $500 since I already got the books and OG on my own)

- called up the MBA program with the March 15th deadline and asked for an extension to do the GMAT. The extension was granted. I have until mid-April 2010 to do my GMAT and submit my scores. Yahoo! This means I have approximately 5.5 months to prepare for the GMAT if I really need it

Does anyone have any thoughts on my plan? I figure that I will be able to put approximately 10 hours per week (some weeks will be more and some weeks will be a lot less)

Thanks

BLITZ

burnttwinky · Answer

I took the MGMAT in-person course and I feel that if you are aiming towards a 600+ level, it should do the job. If you are aiming for 700, you would have to definitely work a little extra to achieve that.

blitz · Answer

Thanks for the advice. I've pretty much decided on the self-study course. I'm just going to complete the math review section in Kaplan Premier Program and waiting on something else work/career wise before going ahead with the course.

burnttwinky · Answer

Sounds good. I hoping the gmat club prep exams help me reach the 49-50 level on the quant.

Cclay · Answer

Hi Blitz!

Thanks for considering our Guided Self Study Program!

After reading your posts, here are my suggestions.

1. Don't be disheartened by your score on your first MGMAT test! The first test is a diagnostic more than anything else. It's a good way to see what you already know and what you need to work on. Make sure you go through your test and look at what you got right and wrong. Focus your studying on the types of questions you got wrong. For example, if you got a lot of Data Sufficiency problems wrong, work on Data Sufficiency techniques specifically.

2. If you're having the most trouble in math, I would suggest you start by taking our free math diagnostic test. You can find that by going to the "Prep Programs" tab on our site and scrolling down to the link called "Free Foundations of GMAT Math Strategy Supplement & Workshops." If you do chose to do our self-study program, you will be able to take our foundations of math workshops for free, which you may find helpful. We also just came out with a Foundations of GMAT Math book, which is included in the complete prep set you will receive when you sign up for the Guided Self Study.

3. Check out the syllabus for our nine-session course, which you can download from our Guided Self Study page. I would suggest trying to structure your self study around this syllabus. In addition, once you sign up for the Guided Self Study, you'll get our Study Organizer, which is a good way to keep track of what work to do daily.

4. One person suggested taking one of our tests every week. Since you have quite a bit of time, I would suggest instead first spending 3-4 weeks learning techniques and practicing official guide questions (make sure to time yourself while you do to get yourself down to two minutes each!) Once you have the basics down, take your second exam, but not right away!

5. Save your mba com tests for the end. As they are the most accurate, they're great to take a week or so before your actual GMAT, so you can have the best idea of what to expect.

Also, when taking your practice exams, I would strongly suggest taking the AWA section as well. Even though they aren't scored, we've heard from several students that there's a big difference between going into the quant section fresh, and going into the quant section after having already sat in a chair writing essays for an hour. It's good to try and simulate the actual 4-hour test as closely as possible when you study.

Best of luck with your studies. Feel free to contact us at 1-800-576-4628 if you have any further questions or want to sign up for the Guided Self Study!

Best,
Caitlin

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