GMAT Strategy

Dear Members,

I have created a detailed plan by reading the many article here and need the expert advice of the Instructors on this forum. I have already given the GMAT twice and scored a 540 (V26, Q38) first on Jan 4, 2009 and a 460 (V24, Q30) on March 19, 2009. I have now set to down to score a massive increase through a determined study plan. I am currently out of a job and so can devote a lot more time but also am spending time in my job search and other part time jobs. Current plan is to attack the GMAT in 10 weeks from now.

Target Score: 540 to 750
Time Period: 1 Sept 2010 - 15 Nov 2010

Primary Concepts Review & Practice- 7 weeks
Comprehensive Practice Review- 3 weeks

Books:
1. Kaplan 2011 Premier Live Online
2. Manhattan Sentence Correction Guide
3. Manhattan Critical Reasoning Guide
4. Manhattan Reading Comprehension Guide
5. Manhattan Number Properties Guide
6. Manhattan Geometry Guide
7. Manhattan Equations, Inequalities, & VICs Guide
8. Manhattan Fractions, Decimals, & Percents
9. Manhattan Word Translations Guide
10. The Official Guide for GMAT 12TH Edition
11. The Official Guide for GMAT 11TH Edition
12. Kaplan Verbal Workbook
13. Kaplan Math Workbook
14. Power Critical Reasoning- EBook
15. Kaplan Advanced

Practice Tests:
6 Manhattan GMAT online
5 Kaplan CAT online
2 GMAT Club test
2 GMAT Prep

Phase 1- General Overview & Diagnostic
I plan to study an overview of all sections before giving my Diagnostic test and am planning to use Kaplan Premier for doing that. This will entail going through all the sections of the GMAT using this book to give me a good overview. And then I plan to do a diagnostic from either Kaplan or Manhattan GMAT. I am choosing to do this, as I want a higher diagnostic start for my mental preparation since I don't have much time.
"¢ Kaplan Premier- Introduction & overview of all areas
"¢ Diagnostic Test (Manhattan GMAT or Kaplan)
"¢ Setup of Error log
"¢ Schedule of Study and Timer


Phase 2 - Verbal Preparation Plan
I know I want to start my study with verbal and will vary the weeks of preparation based on the diagnostic test. The planned study order may change depending on the results.
1. Sentence Correction
2. Critical Reasoning
3. Reading Comprehension
I plan to work through each section one by one methodically by going through all books explaining that particular verbal subsection and practicing questions at the same time for them.
Books Used
"¢ Manhattan Sentence Correction Guide
"¢ Manhattan Critical Reasoning Guide
"¢ PowerScore Critical Reasoning Bible
"¢ Manhattan Reading Comprehension Guide
"¢ The Official Guide for GMAT 12TH Edition- Verbal Practice qs
"¢ Kaplan Verbal Workbook- Concepts & practice
"¢ Kaplan 2011 Premier- Verbal Practice qs
"¢ Kaplan Advanced-Verbal Practice qs
Partial Verbal CATs
"¢ Use verbal sections of CAT once all 3 areas are completed.


Phase 3-Quantitative Preparation
I plan to follow a similar methodical pattern for my quantitative preparation and go through specific areas starting with the Manhattan guides.
Quantitative Preparation
1. Problem Solving
2. Data Sufficiency
Books Used
"¢ Manhattan Number Properties Guide
"¢ Manhattan Geometry Guide
"¢ Manhattan Equations, Inequalities, & VICs Guide
"¢ Manhattan Fractions, Decimals, & Percents
"¢ Manhattan Word Translations Guide
"¢ The Official Guide for GMAT 12TH Edition- Math Practice Qs
"¢ Kaplan Math Work Book
"¢ Kaplan 2011 Premier- Math Practice qs
"¢ Kaplan Advanced-Math Practice Qs

Phase 4-Practice CAT tests
Initially I would have used a few of these tests for section specific practice rather than completing entire tests. But as soon as I am comfortable I will be practicing complete tests with essays.
2 GMAT Prep- taken multiple times
6 Manhattan CATs
5 Kaplan CATs
2 GMAT Club tests
Other recommended CATs.

I would like the opinion of members on this plan of execution. What would you recommend to change for each of the phase I have highlighted and if the time is realistic for a 750 score. Thanks for taking the time to offer your comments and advice.

I think it's a great plan. But do keep this thought in mind, 750 represents ~98% percentile, and obtaining such feat in 2 months will be difficult unless you already possess a strong foundation of the materials.

15 books to read and essentially to fully grasp in 10 weeks will be a story to tell. So keep a good log, and don't forget to share the result with us!

One important note: Kaplan Premier and Kaplan Math Workbook overlap a lot. You'll see more practice in Math one, but the theory is basically the same in both books.

This seems like a solid plan to me. However, as uwhusky said, getting from a 540 to a 750 in two months is no easy task. You seem pretty determined and that will certainly help with your score, but you need to know that there are no guarantees.

uwhusky wrote:I think it's a great plan. But do keep this thought in mind, 750 represents ~98% percentile, and obtaining such feat in 2 months will be difficult unless you already possess a strong foundation of the materials.

15 books to read and essentially to fully grasp in 10 weeks will be a story to tell. So keep a good log, and don't forget to share the result with us!

Hi uwhusky, thanks for replying. I think I did have a strong foundation from high school in both english and maths which needs to be brushed up. But I used the wrong books and only 2 of them last time as I did not research these forums before self-studying.

So I am hopeful that I can beat the gmat and get to the 750 level.

DanaJ wrote:One important note: Kaplan Premier and Kaplan Math Workbook overlap a lot. You'll see more practice in Math one, but the theory is basically the same in both books.

This seems like a solid plan to me. However, as uwhusky said, getting from a 540 to a 750 in two months is no easy task. You seem pretty determined and that will certainly help with your score, but you need to know that there are no guarantees.

Hi Dana, thanks for your comments. Yes there are no guarantees but a good plan, determination and the right materials can take you very close to that.

I also posted this plan on GMAT club forum and most members there have recommended to get rid of the Kaplan books given that I have a 10 week plan. Their recommendation is to follow 8 MGMAT guides and OG12 and a little of the Kaplan Premier. What are your thoughts on that?

Well it really depends... Their recommendation does make sense to a point, meaning there will be considerable overlap between the Kaplan books and the MGMAT books. But on the other hand, you say you have a lot of time on your hands that you can devote to GMAT study (most people when they say 10 weeks they think of 2-3 hours per day, but you'll have more than that) and you are looking for a huge score improvement, which means you need all the practice you can get!

Hi Dana, I think you are right about the practice. I think I will use concepts and theory from MGMAT strategy books and practice qs from OG & Kaplan. That is I may not use the concepts provided in the Kaplan books.

Hello Dana,

I was looking for an expert to rate the MGMAT(Quant & Verbal) books in terms of theirs difficulty.

Such as: 500,600, 650-760+ etc.

Thanks in advance.

BR

Abedin

Hi there,

I've reviewed the full set of MGMAT guides. The reviews are published on amazon.com and you can access them here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member-rev ... centReview

In short though, the MGMAT books tend to cover a good range of difficulty levels with strong advanced chapters.

Hi Whitney,

Thanks for replying to my post. I love the fact that people are writing back with help. The detailed study is fantastic as I do have time but not so fantastic as I don't have a job. Yet I am looking at it positively to turn it into great GMAT study time and ultimately a high score on the test. Plus I feel excited that I have had to study this intensely which I have not done for many years. I am 33 yrs old and am reopening many areas of my neural networks for graduate study.

I started study around 1 Sept 2010. I have currently finished the Kaplan Premier for the overall review although it took a lot longer to go through it and do all the practice qs for each of the sections. I wanted to do this to have a taste of each area before diving in deep. It took 3 weeks for this book. I guess my studying habits were rusty in those weeks, although they are much better now.

Verbal Preparation was started with MGMAT SC book. That was also an amazing book and I am glad I did start with it. I completed the book in 3 weeks. This was also because I was watching the videos as well from MGMAT Elluminate to coordinate with the chapters. And doing OG qs as prescribed. It was quite difficult to bring back all the grammar concepts. I didn't want to rush through as I wanted a good understanding of this and thus it took 3 weeks. I was reviewing the OG answers to check why they were wrong or correct. My current accuracy is 80% for all OG and Kaplan qs answered.

I have just recently started studying for CR with the Powerscore CR bible. I don't plan to use the MGMAT book for it, although I do have it. And then onto MGMAT RC.After that I will be starting the math preparations.

I obviously have had to readjust my timeline that I had set for myself for the final test. That was done to motivate me to work diligently and get me into motion quickly. But I did underestimate the time it would take to get comfortable with the focus and repetition required.

So yes my study & practice remains for CR, RC, PS and DS. I would definitely appreciate your targeted study suggestions to go through these sections faster. And also be able to use focus and repetition for practice.

Regards,
mhasan

Dear Whitney, I had a few questions about studying for the GMAT. Do you mind if I ask you?

My current strategy is as follows: till Nov. 29 my exam date
- Finished Math Review
- Solving Qs from Quant Review
- Solving Qs from Verbal Review (all 3 parts)
- Solving Qs from OG
- Solving Qs from Kaplan
- Solving 1 full exam per week (GMAT Prep + CAT exams)

Do you think this is a good plan? What else should I do? I liked your comment about pinpointing your weaknesses and focusing on them but how should I do that?
I also hear people on the forum talking about Manhattan GMAT, Vertias...etc do you think I should invest in those or I should be good like that?

Thanks ahead for your help!

mhasan - Reading your plan, no doubt you have a solid ground here. It's time for you to dig your heels deeper. Since you have more time in your hand, you can certainly pull it off. Don't let go of the perseverence and you'd be fine. You mentioned that you are also looking for a job. Remember, when it comes to two important tasks, you need to prioritize and set your expectation. Also, looking for a job takes an emotional and physical toll. So if you think that the job-search is slowing you down with GMAT prep, give the job-search a rest. Believe me, once you get your dream score, every sacrifice is worth it.

I noticed that you are also going to study both Manhattan and Power Score CR. I will advise you to pick one and go through it. I do advise you to check some important chapters in powerscore such as casual statement and number and percentage.

Wish you a best of luck and share your story.

Hi Vishalj,

Thanks for your advice. I do appreciate hearing back from you. Yes I have dug my heels deeper and want to conquer the GMAT once and for all. Job search is impt as you can't live in UAE without an employment visa for long so that does play a part in prioritization of tasks. But I have been giving GMAT higher priority to once and for all master and conquer it.

I have decided to use the Powerscore CR bible and not the Manhattan CR book as I saw a very heavy emphasis on that book on all the forums. My current speed of studying has really gone up after a slow initial month and am going through CR at a very decent pace.

I will post my story once I complete my Plan. Thanks for replying.
MHasan