What route to take?

Hey guys,

I've come to seek your advice regarding my plans how to time my GMAT (and my TOEFL, too, by the way).

My situation: I'm a student at Bachelor level in Germany, in the seventh and presumably last period. The course load this semester is not that bad. Meaning I certainly will find time to study for the GMAT and will not have to do it in the night hours every day. I plan on working a part-time job and probably doing voluntary work as well, however I cannot yet quantify how much time this will take away.

What do I need: For my applications I need 650 points (although for some 600 is already enough). I'm applying for MSc of Business and Finance mainly, for your reference. I also will need a TOEFL ibt of 100.

What am I aiming for: I actually would like to get a score of about 700 points, to stand out from the crowd. TOEFL-wise I'd like something in the 105+ area.

When do I need it: Deadline is April 30th 2011, which is for three programs in total (albeit some of the most appealing). I'd still have plenty of other option with May 31st being the next deadline date.

What are my restrictions: Besides the above mentioned there are some additional points that might hinder my learning performance.

- From mid-December to mid-January my girlfriend is going to visit me. As she does not speak any word of German and only little English I have to comfort her even more than normal. Though I'd still pull out one hour a day or something to be productive learning-wise.
- In the first weeks of February I will write my exams, which requires some studying and time for the exams as well.
- I'm also due on writing my Bachelor's thesis, which I have originally planned somewhere in the time frame from February to April (maximum would be something like mid-May). I'm not sure yet, but it is possible that I'm going to write the thesis in a company, so I'd have to be on site working some days of the week as well.
- I'm planning on doing an internship in my off-time between Bachelor and Master, which I would have to start in May or June.


Here is, where you come into play. How do you think should I create my schedule, i.e. which test to take first, when to take it, how to cope with the hurdles?

I've already thought about some options, but I'm not quite sure what is best:

- Dealing with the TOEFL first (in about four to six weeks), studying for the GMAT afterwards and taking the exam in the range of February-May.
- Postponing both to after the year. Means mainly studying for the GMAT now, tackling Math and Verbal in detail, repeating stuff in December-January to stay fresh, extreme studying after my exams in February to take the GMAT at the end of that month and dealing with TOEFL afterwards and parallel to my thesis in March-April.
- Taking on the GMAT first, go into extreme study mode to make the mark before December 15th and than dealing with the TOEFL from February-April with more time for the Bachelor's Thesis.
- Other options I have not yet considered...


Every bit of help is appreciated. Thanks in advance...

Marco


PS: On a related note: How much does the prep for GMAT Verbal/TOEFL help the performance in the other based on knowledge of the English language? I'm consider myself pretty fit in English, however I think it is going to be difficult to deal with texts I would not even understand 100% if they'd happened to be in German (e.g. some science stuff).
Obviously I am going to expand my vocabulary in that areas by reading magazines or even books on that topic, the occasional Internet article and doing some research on vocabulary I will encounter during my preparation phase.