Hey guys. I started with the GMAT for the first time about a year and a half ago. Since then I did the test 3 times but I didn't achieve the score that I wanted. For my poor scores I blame mostly the lack of time, and the insufficient preparation.
1st attempt: Jan. 2012: GMAT: 500 (Q:31, V:28)
I will be honest, I studied only about 20 days and I thought the GMAT is something that can be mastered in a short time without much practice. I didn't read or study from any book, I mostly did the OG questions and that was it. Only after seeing the score I realised that I'll have work much harder if I wanted to suceed.
2nd attempt: Apr. 2012: GMAT 600 (Q:36, V36)
The score went up 100 points but that still wasn't enough. I went through the Manhattan SC book and discovered beat the gmat and gmat club websites.. However I didn't study nothing in quant because I didn't have enough time and I thought that a high verbal score would be more valuable.
3rd attempt: Jun. 2012: GMAT 600 (Q:42, V31)
This was a complete disaster. When I saw the score I was really desperate. Before the third attempt I purchased the 5 Manhattan math books and went through almost all of them (I skipped some parts). However, in 30 days I practiced only quant. I didn't even touch the verbal part because I thought that the score was good and that I'll do again at least the V36 as I did on my second attempt. As you can see, even though the quant went up, the verbal fell down, and as a result I got the same score as on the second attempt.
All I want to do now is to unify my verbal and quant skills in order to get a 680+ score. I know it will be hard but I believe I can make it. I just want to ask for your advice on how to organize my time. I have about 2 months until my GMAT exam and I don't want to mess it up again. My plan is to study 5-6 hours on weekdays and on weekends even more. I have some weak spots (such as combinatorics, probability, geometry) and therefore I got the MGMAT foundations of math to help me get pass those weaknesses.
Until now I studied from these books:
5 Manhattan quant books
Manhattan SC book
I recently got these books and I plan to go through them also:
Powerscore CR bible
MGMAT foundations of math
I also plan to buy the gmatclub quant tests and since I already have the 6 MGMAT CATs I plan to do them on weekends.
Now my plan is to go through the MGMAT foundations of math and parallely to study from each MGMAT book. Only afterwards I thought to start solving the gmatclub quant tests and to begin reading the CR bible and MGMAT SC, and then to practice verbal. My goal is to get at least the 36 on verbal (as on my second attempt) and to improve my quant to at least 45.
I will really appreciate your advices. And thank you in advance!
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4th (hopefully) final attempt. Please help!
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independent
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Tommy Wallach
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Hey Independent,
This is a piece of advice you will see all over this forum, but it's incredibly important. Oftentimes, people think there score isn't going up because they haven't seen enough content/problems.
This is not the case.
I will tell you what I tell every student: You do not need more books than the OGs (13th edition, Quant and Verbal add-on guides) and the books of one company. Whether it's my company, Veritas, Kaplan, or some other reputable (check reviews) company, you should not need more books. Instead of going to new content, read through the books again. Go slow! Don't skip parts (you said you skipped parts!). Do official guide questions often. If you have the whole OG memorized, that would be more useful than having seen another 200 questions one time.
Your study regimen actually sounds a little bit too intense. I mean, if you're the kind of person who can handle that, great for you, but most people I know couldn't possibly do 40 hours a week of Prep. I recommend 2-3 hours at most on weekdays, then maybe 4-5 on the weekends. The brain needs time to take stuff in. I'd also possibly take 1 day off every week, if you can hold to such an intense regimen. Trust me, it'll help.
Make sure you are taking practice tests once every couple of week, under strict, realistic conditions (no random breaks, no extra-length breaks between sections, no eating or drinking while taking a section, etc.), and review each one like crazy. I tell every student: "I should be able to put any question from any test you've done in front of you and you should nail it, in a reasonable amount of time. If you're not there yet, don't take the next practice test until you are."
Hope that helps, and good luck!
-t
This is a piece of advice you will see all over this forum, but it's incredibly important. Oftentimes, people think there score isn't going up because they haven't seen enough content/problems.
This is not the case.
I will tell you what I tell every student: You do not need more books than the OGs (13th edition, Quant and Verbal add-on guides) and the books of one company. Whether it's my company, Veritas, Kaplan, or some other reputable (check reviews) company, you should not need more books. Instead of going to new content, read through the books again. Go slow! Don't skip parts (you said you skipped parts!). Do official guide questions often. If you have the whole OG memorized, that would be more useful than having seen another 200 questions one time.
Your study regimen actually sounds a little bit too intense. I mean, if you're the kind of person who can handle that, great for you, but most people I know couldn't possibly do 40 hours a week of Prep. I recommend 2-3 hours at most on weekdays, then maybe 4-5 on the weekends. The brain needs time to take stuff in. I'd also possibly take 1 day off every week, if you can hold to such an intense regimen. Trust me, it'll help.
Make sure you are taking practice tests once every couple of week, under strict, realistic conditions (no random breaks, no extra-length breaks between sections, no eating or drinking while taking a section, etc.), and review each one like crazy. I tell every student: "I should be able to put any question from any test you've done in front of you and you should nail it, in a reasonable amount of time. If you're not there yet, don't take the next practice test until you are."
Hope that helps, and good luck!
-t
Tommy Wallach, Company Expert
ManhattanGMAT
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independent
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Thank you for your response.Tommy Wallach wrote:Hey Independent,
This is a piece of advice you will see all over this forum, but it's incredibly important. Oftentimes, people think there score isn't going up because they haven't seen enough content/problems.
This is not the case.
I will tell you what I tell every student: You do not need more books than the OGs (13th edition, Quant and Verbal add-on guides) and the books of one company. Whether it's my company, Veritas, Kaplan, or some other reputable (check reviews) company, you should not need more books. Instead of going to new content, read through the books again. Go slow! Don't skip parts (you said you skipped parts!). Do official guide questions often. If you have the whole OG memorized, that would be more useful than having seen another 200 questions one time.
Your study regimen actually sounds a little bit too intense. I mean, if you're the kind of person who can handle that, great for you, but most people I know couldn't possibly do 40 hours a week of Prep. I recommend 2-3 hours at most on weekdays, then maybe 4-5 on the weekends. The brain needs time to take stuff in. I'd also possibly take 1 day off every week, if you can hold to such an intense regimen. Trust me, it'll help.
Make sure you are taking practice tests once every couple of week, under strict, realistic conditions (no random breaks, no extra-length breaks between sections, no eating or drinking while taking a section, etc.), and review each one like crazy. I tell every student: "I should be able to put any question from any test you've done in front of you and you should nail it, in a reasonable amount of time. If you're not there yet, don't take the next practice test until you are."
Hope that helps, and good luck!
-t
I have about a month and a half until the GMAT and that's why I try to study more intensely. It isn't a problem for me, but, as you said, I could use a day off every now and then.
My current study plan is one day Verbal, one day Quant. I'm currently reading the CR bible and, as you advised, I started to revise the 5 MGMAT math books. In the meanwhile I am solving some problems that are here on the forums and I plan to start taking the CAT tests (from MGMAT) next weekend and to do one each weekend after.
I'm a bit under pressure because I haven't got much time, but I am truly committed to achieve the jump from 600 to 680+ points. If you think that I could somehow improve my strategy please advise.
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Tommy Wallach
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Hey Independent,
I think your strategy sounds great. The only thing I'm unsure about is the CR Bible. Why not just use the OG books to practice CR? (The truth is I don't know much about the CR Bible, so I get nervous). Otherwise, I like your approach. One day of quant and one day of verbal is great (assuming you need about equal work in both...if not, consider doing a three to two ratio, or four to three). One CAT a week is good to start, though near the end you may find you have time for two (just make sure you review each test A TON -- every single question, right and wrong -- before moving onto the next one). A month and a half for 600-680 is a tall order...not impossible, but you'll have to be really on top of your game. Good luck!
-t
I think your strategy sounds great. The only thing I'm unsure about is the CR Bible. Why not just use the OG books to practice CR? (The truth is I don't know much about the CR Bible, so I get nervous). Otherwise, I like your approach. One day of quant and one day of verbal is great (assuming you need about equal work in both...if not, consider doing a three to two ratio, or four to three). One CAT a week is good to start, though near the end you may find you have time for two (just make sure you review each test A TON -- every single question, right and wrong -- before moving onto the next one). A month and a half for 600-680 is a tall order...not impossible, but you'll have to be really on top of your game. Good luck!
-t
Tommy Wallach, Company Expert
ManhattanGMAT
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lunarpower
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i received a private message about this thread.
a couple of thoughts:
* actually, your first contention -- that this is a test that doesn't require tons and tons of preparation -- is a lot more accurate than you apparently believe.
consider the following:
- the RC and CR sections require zero specific knowledge. the only thing you have to study there is how the questions work -- i.e., there are no "facts" or "rules" that can be memorized. (in fact, trying to take a rules-based approach to CR or RC will inevitably lower your score, since that faux "knowledge" will tend to crowd out the thought processes that actually succeed in solving the problems.)
- as far as objective content is concerned, the math section doesn't go beyond first-year high-school algebra and geometry. if you need a refresher on those topics, that it's possible that your math preparation might occupy a decently large number of hours -- but, if not, it ideally shouldn't. instead, if you already know the math content, the math section becomes a matter of pure strategy.
therefore, your math preparation (a) shouldn't overemphasize the actual mathematics, and instead (b) should revolve around expanding your arsenal of problem-solving strategies. (how often do you backsolve? plug in your own numbers for unknowns? test cases on DS problems? if the answer is not "quite often", then those are the things you should spend almost all of your math preparation time on.)
- in SC, if english is not your first language, it's reasonable that you might need to sink a decent number of hours into becoming more familiar with the structure of written english in general. that might necessitate a larger time commitments, but it still shouldn't add up to hundreds and hundreds of hours.
FYI, here is an excerpt from GMAC's official blog about this:
https://officialgmat.mba.com/2012/04/19/ ... mat-score/
you'll notice that the average number of hours people spend studying, in every score range, is less than 100. so, if you are considering a study plan involving more than ten times that number of hours, well, something is probably not right there.
a couple of thoughts:
* actually, your first contention -- that this is a test that doesn't require tons and tons of preparation -- is a lot more accurate than you apparently believe.
consider the following:
- the RC and CR sections require zero specific knowledge. the only thing you have to study there is how the questions work -- i.e., there are no "facts" or "rules" that can be memorized. (in fact, trying to take a rules-based approach to CR or RC will inevitably lower your score, since that faux "knowledge" will tend to crowd out the thought processes that actually succeed in solving the problems.)
- as far as objective content is concerned, the math section doesn't go beyond first-year high-school algebra and geometry. if you need a refresher on those topics, that it's possible that your math preparation might occupy a decently large number of hours -- but, if not, it ideally shouldn't. instead, if you already know the math content, the math section becomes a matter of pure strategy.
therefore, your math preparation (a) shouldn't overemphasize the actual mathematics, and instead (b) should revolve around expanding your arsenal of problem-solving strategies. (how often do you backsolve? plug in your own numbers for unknowns? test cases on DS problems? if the answer is not "quite often", then those are the things you should spend almost all of your math preparation time on.)
- in SC, if english is not your first language, it's reasonable that you might need to sink a decent number of hours into becoming more familiar with the structure of written english in general. that might necessitate a larger time commitments, but it still shouldn't add up to hundreds and hundreds of hours.
FYI, here is an excerpt from GMAC's official blog about this:
https://officialgmat.mba.com/2012/04/19/ ... mat-score/
you'll notice that the average number of hours people spend studying, in every score range, is less than 100. so, if you are considering a study plan involving more than ten times that number of hours, well, something is probably not right there.
Ron has been teaching various standardized tests for 20 years.
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lunarpower
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i'm decently familiar with that book.independent wrote:I'm currently reading the CR bible
used correctly, it can possibly help. used the wrong way, though, it can crush you.
that's potentially a long discussion, but here's the essence:
when you go through the CR bible, the most important principle is that you already know everything that's in there -- it's all just attempts to write down "normal human reasoning". so, when you encounter a "fact" in that book, you should ...
... check that it agrees with the intuition that's already in your head;
... see whether you can make an example of it.
the worst thing you can do, on the other hand, is to treat the stuff in that book as though it's "rules" that you have to memorize. that's bad for two reasons: (1) it's unworkable in the first place -- no one has ever successfully created rules that mock up human intuition (a.k.a. "artificial intelligence") -- and (2) those faux "rules" will wind up displacing the actual human intuition from your thought processes.
it's really important that you realize the deleterious effect of trying to memorize stuff here. almost every single student i've known who has spent extensive time trying to memorize systems of rules for CR has ended up scoring lower on the verbal section after all that studying.
good luck.
Ron has been teaching various standardized tests for 20 years.
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Quand on se sent bien dans un vêtement, tout peut arriver. Un bon vêtement, c'est un passeport pour le bonheur.
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ankit_dhingra7
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Giving my 2 cents on your issue:
I think you are burning yourself out.. practically giving GMAT every quarter. Do not try to fight against this test. It like eating a 100 oz steak.. you got to eat it slowly so that not only you enjoy it but also not start hating steak for the rest of your life.
4 to 5 hours a day is waaaaay too much!! I was more o less in same situation as you are; focus on your weakness first. Assuming you are planning to apply in September 2013 session - you still have a lot of time with you. Postpone your test (if possible) and take it slowly.. most experts and GMAT god (aka Ron) would suggest you to take some time off..
as pointed above, OG is more than sufficient for GMAT - try to learn from every answer option - as cynical as it may sound.. its going to make all the difference and trust me, 2 months is not enough if you are actually using OG to its full potential.
Make a plan as per your requirements and stick to it.. ironically the slow and steady mostly wins against GMAT..
PS - i score 500 in my first attempt - 690 in second (thanks to Ron and EGMAT)
All the best!!
I think you are burning yourself out.. practically giving GMAT every quarter. Do not try to fight against this test. It like eating a 100 oz steak.. you got to eat it slowly so that not only you enjoy it but also not start hating steak for the rest of your life.
4 to 5 hours a day is waaaaay too much!! I was more o less in same situation as you are; focus on your weakness first. Assuming you are planning to apply in September 2013 session - you still have a lot of time with you. Postpone your test (if possible) and take it slowly.. most experts and GMAT god (aka Ron) would suggest you to take some time off..
as pointed above, OG is more than sufficient for GMAT - try to learn from every answer option - as cynical as it may sound.. its going to make all the difference and trust me, 2 months is not enough if you are actually using OG to its full potential.
Make a plan as per your requirements and stick to it.. ironically the slow and steady mostly wins against GMAT..
PS - i score 500 in my first attempt - 690 in second (thanks to Ron and EGMAT)
All the best!!
