My 8 month study plan..Opinion Required!!

Question

Hey all

Iv planning to take up the gmat in the month of April next year.. Im also working at a research firm currently..

Iv purchased the following books to arm myself for the gmat based on the suggestions on the gmatclub forum.

1.OG 12
2.Kaplan 2010-11 with CD-Rom
3.OG 12 Quants Review
4.OG 12 Verbal Review
5.MGMAT SC
6.Powerscore CR Bible
7.Arco GMAT Essays

Iv decided to start with quants..so coming to the study plan..

Iv basicaly split the quants segment as Arithmetic, Algebra and Geometry. So il be starting off with the Math Review and the Kaplan Math skills refresher section..and il review the concepts learnt over the weekend with math tests..then i thought il move on to PS and DS once am confident of the concepts..

Am i doing this right? Or is there any other way to do it? Il be doing quants for close to 3 months since i can allot only 2 hours a day..i badly want to score 770 plus..people may think 8 months is too long..but i do not want to rush through..

Your suggestions are welcome..i need to know that i will not be doing something that is not worthwhile the time spent..
Neutral help!!

vwjetty · Answer

looks like a good start with plenty of time. my one advice is for you not to slack off given you have this time and end up in a time crunch. but so far it look good although you may need adjusting depending on your strengths/weaknesses.

Jayanth2689 · Answer

Man am i relieved! Ok one question?..What are the possibilities of a burnout? iv hardly come across people studying for more than 6 months..will sticking to the study plan help in achieving a high score??

vwjetty · Answer

I'm in the same situation. Back in April I completely bombed my GMAT thinking that I had decent quant skills being a financial engineer graduate and I've been studying since June 1st religiously in hopes to get 600+ (from a low low looowwww 430) and the last diagnostics I've taken I got a 560. My only advice to you is not to "over-study" each day. Make a plan, set a routine and stick to it. Because I think if you over-do it one day you'll feel stressed the next day and probably didn't accumulate what you've learned the day before and it's all waste for nothing.

Like for me, I knew I needed help in verbal bad so I'd focus on that and do the refreshers for that and then benchmark it on a few exercise problems and see if I was able to capitalize on the things I've learned and learn from my mistakes. This is un-timed. Once I felt that I have master's that material you would naturally add time to the factor and learn more difficult problems on the way. And I've kept repeating that process with the Kaplan Premier and MGMAT series and I'm not feeling too stressed out.

Jayanth2689 · Answer

Thats food for thought..tnks..il keep in mind..eitherways i cant overstudy except for weeknds cos i get to study oly for an hour or 2 hours on weekdays..neway..when i take a full fledged cat after sometime..that vud giv a rough idea as to how iv progressed..

vwjetty · Answer

the GMATprep given to you free via mba.com is by far the most accurate predictor of your actual test score. you only get 2. use them wisely. Everything else, Kaplan, Knewton, etc etc...at least to me, seems quite a bit harder due to marketing tactics to get you to enroll on their courses....

Pavle · Answer

These two guns will help you very much:))

I think 8 months is too much.. You might get fed up but still wish you good luck

resh · Answer

In my opinion, 8 months is a bit too long. But then, it depends on your motivation levels. If you stay motivated all thru out ,stick to a study plan and keep revising stuff ( so you dont forget things you studied earlier) , you should be good.

All the best !

All the best !

bb · Answer

Here would be my thoughts about the plan:
gmat-study-plan-for-gmat-novices-start-your-gmat-journey-80727.html

For yours, I would raise these points:
1. 8 Months is a long time - I would be concerned about remembering anything from months 1, 2, 3. My mind does not hold things for more than 3 months really, so I recommend others a similar approach - intensive 3 months vs leisurely 6
2. You don't have any quant books in your list. You need them
3. Verbal OG and Quant OG are not hard at all and a bit of an extra - I always questioned their value. They are cheap, so money is not the concern but it is a waste of time and a false sense of confidence that I am mostly warning you about
4. Don't waste any time on AWA, just read this post: how-to-get-6-0-awa-my-guide-64327.html

That's really it.

1.OG 12
2.Kaplan 2010-11 with CD-Rom
[strike]3.OG 12 Quants Review[/strike]
[strike]4.OG 12 Verbal Review[/strike]
5.MGMAT SC
6.Powerscore CR Bible
[strike]7.Arco GMAT Essays[/strike]

sandeep800 · Answer

As BB adviced u try to go as per his instructions.8 months is really very long time so i will say u should revise ur previous month scheduled plan and see if u are really able to cope up.after 2 months, situation will be clear to u whether to go for 8 months or give exam early...Also dont rush to finish ur OG 12 without learning concepts properly..start with kaplan study material which u have ,do it first.then try to take the timed test from OG questions..U can use the error log presented in this forum which is very helpful..try to revise ur mistakes from error log..

thanx
regards

thanx
regards

Jayanth2689 · Answer

Thank you all for your valuable replies!!

@bb - im aware of the fact that 8 months is too long..and iv seen the gmat study plan for novices also..but would cutting it down to 6 months help? because i really cannot study for more than 2 hours a day due to my work timings..and what quants books to buy? Is it really possible to score a 750 plus score with just 3 months prep??

bb · Answer

It is not black and white, so you absolutely could do it, but one thing for certain - it will be harder to get done than if you spent 3-4 months.
One example comes to mind - Pathfinder (last year's applicant). He got 720 on his first attempt and then spent a year to improve his score (yes, he was not happy with 720). He studied for a year or smth like that. His second attempt was 690. He applied to Wharton with 720 and got in. So, even if you have 720, and study for a year, it does not mean that you will improve at all...

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