When do I start OG?

Question

Hey! I've been studying the Manhattan Strategy Guides since a couple of weeks and I practice questions from the problem sets after every chapter.

I was thinking that once I am done covering all the books, I should start solving questions from the OG. Is that the right way to go about it or should I be doing solving the OG simultaneously?

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oldmonkey · Answer

Start solving OG. The first set of questions are easy and help in concept building as much as any strategy guide. You'll have 900 questions to cover in the OG and 300 each in verbal and quant guides (if you are using all 3 total 1500+ questions). Earlier you start the better.

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TheUltimateWinner · Answer

vibha31 Welcome to the gmatclub. Try to learn concept from manhattan books, and apply that learning to the official guide's question (don't waste your time to apply your concept learning to the 3rd party question). You can use the following link to practice topic-by-topic. https://gmatclub.com/forum/search.php?view=search_tags

nightblade354 · Answer

Start using OG when you feel comfortable with the information (you know to negate an assumption question, for example). Doing OGs too soon will be a waste because you get little out of them.

OG on the verbal side are far more valuable than the ones on the quant side (it's far easier to replicate quant questions). It is very difficult to find quality verbal questions outside of OG and LSAT/official questions.

vibz08 · Answer

TheUltimateWinner

Thank you! I am creating a study plan...should I practice all types of problems from both Quant & Verbal every day?

unraveled · Answer

Manhattan Strategy guides do mention to practice questions set at the end of each chapter and OG questions separately(For example, Chapter4 onwards in SC Guide 6th Edition). So, you must start doing so topic-wise. Better would be solving questions topic-wise from lower difficulty level to higher - Gmatclub comes handy to do so. https://gmatclub.com/forum/search.php?view=search_tags Refer OG directories here. https://gmatclub.com/forum/the-official ... l#p2544495 https://gmatclub.com/forum/the-official ... l#p2508312

GMATWhizTeam · Answer

Hi Vibha,

First of all, it is good that you started seeking suggestions in your initial stages of preparation. This will save you a lot of time and effort. Most students generally start self-study using random resources and realize half-way through that they need to have a proper study plan and use a standard resource to score well on GMAT and then start seeking advices. Let me share my insights here on what could be the best plan for you.

To understand what should be the approach while preparing, it is really important to understand what is it that is actually tested on GMAT. Because 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 right way to prepare: 
As you have just started your preparation, I recommend you to take an official GMAT prep mock and see where you stand. 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.

Having said that, ask yourself whether the resources you use teach you the concepts and the methodology required. You must be wondering every resource teaches you more or less the same. But it’s not entirely true. Let me tell you how.

Random resources    Standard resource   
  Solve “N” number of questions  Learn the concepts and the methodology  
  Refer to vague solutions  Refer to detailed solutions  
  No change in approach and will be stuck at the same score  A significant improvement can be achieved by referring to the step-by-step solutions and there by learning the right methodology

What do I mean by a standard resource? 
Now, you must be wondering what qualifies a resource to be standard? Let me help you here. There are plenty of resources online which teach you the course content for GMAT. The content taught is more or less the same. But there are few factors which differentiate an ordinary resource from an extra-ordinary one.

Way of teaching:

Even though, the concepts taught my most online courses are more or less the same, what differentiates them is the way they teach the concepts. There is a particular way of teaching concepts by which students learn the concepts along with the methodology required to solve the questions. And once they learn, it is important to apply that learning on a few GMAT like questions to solidify that learning.

Adaptability:

And not all students are capable of learning in one go. Students falter in a few topics and it is important to identify those areas and work on them. The course has to help students identify their weaker areas and provide a few improvement modules to work on them.

Study plan:

The most important thing that makes a course extra-ordinary is its ability to provide a personalized study plan. Students find it difficult to organize things and plan their studies accordingly. In their busy life, balancing work and studies becomes a hectic task. So, the course has to provide a proper study plan with clear deadlines so that students can focus just on finishing those weekly tasks assigned to them.
So, while looking for a course, make sure that you choose a course which provides you with all the above features. The best way to select the course is to check the free trial of the course and then decide whether it is suitable for you or not.

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.
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

TheUltimateWinner · Answer

vibha31 
You should study those types of questions that are tested in the exam. You should not study those types that are not tested in the exam (i.e., calculus). 
You can study quant part on SAT, MON, and Wednesday and verbal part on SUN, TUES, and Thursday (take a rest on Friday).

freedom128 · Answer

Start doing OG if you are confident with SC and CR. OG bundles definitely sharpens and enhances your Verbal skill. They are the best resources, that are closest to the real exam, in the market

Quant sections are also great. Some preps (ie. MG, Veritas, gmatclub tests) can mimick the quant questions pretty well, even harder than real ones.

For IR, yeah, I just use OG online resource

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When do I start OG?

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My Rewards

Random resources	Standard resource
Solve “N” number of questions	Learn the concepts and the methodology
Refer to vague solutions	Refer to detailed solutions
No change in approach and will be stuck at the same score	A significant improvement can be achieved by referring to the step-by-step solutions and there by learning the right methodology