Advice?

[beatthegmat]

Naively/ arrogantly just attempted the GMAT with virtually no study (absolutely no knowledge of question types) - not surprisingly did very poorly.

V.keen now to make amends, but wanted to get advice from others on the best prep?

The text I had, simplified everything to much, especially in regards to the quant, and as a result, I expected much easier questions...

I do not have $$$ to put towards a course, but any advice on on-line courses etc would be greatly appreciated.

I have two recommended resources for you to kick start your self prep:

https://beatthegmat.blocked - This is an example of how you can structure your self study.

https://www.beatthegmat.com/wiki/ - Lots of free resources here to aid your study.

If you find that going with an online course is the best option, I highly recommend the Manhattan GMAT virtual course. This online class has gotten great reviews from members of this forum. As a Beat The GMAT member, you are entitled to a 10% discount (about $100 off)--check out this link for more options and testimonials from this community: https://www.beatthegmat.com/discounts.html

Good luck!

[bates88]

What book did you use the first time? The books that I personally think are best for GMAT are Official Guide (1000+ practice questions) and Cracking the GMAT (strategy + 4 tests). And you MUST download and take the two free GMATPrep tests from the official site (mba.com).

I have those books and I am taking an online course thru Princeton Review. Do the demo...the course is cool. They give me practice drills based on how I do as I go through it, and that has been huge. It's very interactive. I actually hate doing things on the computer if I have to read a lot on it, but I love this class.

Plan on doing practice questions of one type at a time on weeknights, and then take a full timed test about once a week. Use an error log to keep track of mistakes. You'll start to see steady improvement!!

[Stacey Koprince]

Absolutely make sure you get the OG (official guide) books - no matter how you decide to study. The books contain questions that are real past GMAT questions - nothing better than the real thing!