The GMAT experience can be long and frustrating for most of us; keep in mind that consistency is key in terms of a study schedule. I would advise against spending several hours studying just 1 - 2 days a week; it is much better to spend 1 - 2 hours every day of the week. Studying daily for a shorter period of time definitely helped me avoid mental (or GMAT) fatigue.
Must have study material:
- OG12 + Verbal review
- GMAC Verbal Paper tests
-
MGMAT SC, NP, Question Banks, Practice Tests: In my experience, nothing comes close to predicting your performance on test day; However, in addition to official GMAC material,
MGMAT tests are a great way to practice timing for each section. Additionally, their analyzing tool is an easy way to identify weaknesses and formulate a focused study plan.
-KAPLAN 800: concentrated set of challenge problems; but only start this book during the last month of studying. The RCs in this book will help you breeze past any you may encounter on test day.
- Sackman Extreme Challenge Number Properties, Data Sufficiency sets
- GMAT Club Math tests: If there is sufficient time, go through all 25 tests! If not, do as many as you can before test day. It will help you improve on time and will train you to analyze math problems much more efficiently.
Nice to have study material:
Other
MGMAT books (in addition to ones mentioned above)
Sackman Total GMAT Math: only if you need to review basic math concepts/foundation
Aristotle SC Bible: good resource for some extra practice
AWA:
Prior to test day, I never completed an issue and/or argument essay. During practice tests, I went through the exercise of setting up my outline with supporting ideas. Any blog or textbook source will provide an outline that you can follow. Just remember two things: (1) include as many support paragraphs as possible; and
(2) use the right transitions for each paragraph.
General thoughts:
- In the math section, it is important to train yourself to start writing during your first read of the problem! This will help you tremendously with time. Once you have the data points written out, and particularly for the hard problems, try to analyze in your mind. I have often found that the hardest GMAT math problems required the least amount of 'written' work (especially for data sufficiency questions).
- It is hard to access challenging Verbal Qs and I felt the questions on test day were much harder than any of the practice material (including official GMAC material). I consistently scored 45 - 47 in Verbal on all my practice tests but only ended up with a 40 on the day that matters. I found the GMAC paper tests to be the most useful (and challenging) for Verbal.
- Keep a very detailed
error log and re-do the ones you get wrong or spent too much time on. I included a 'review' day every 3 or 4 days in my study plan - this day was dedicated to re-do problems from my
error log.
- On test day, make sure to eat something small during every break; I made the mistake of skipping a snack after the math section and definitely noticed a difference during my verbal section because of hunger pangs.
- Try to exercise every day and eat healthy while you are studying for the exam. I'm convinced, this will help you study better!
Practice tests vs. Test Day:
- I took 10 practice tests and my scores ranged from 720 - 760 (median was: 750); unfortunately I scored at the bottom of my range on Test Day. Needless to say, I am thrilled that the GMAT process is over!
Good luck to everyone studying and I'm happy to answer any specific questions.