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jeremy.diamond
- Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Wed Dec 04, 2013 6:25 pm
I've always been a natural with numbers, but I graduated college with a humanities degree and have been working in TV production for five years now. I tested out of my college's math requirement, so I hadn't taken a math class since 2005. When I started exploring the GMAT, I took a Kaplan practice test completely cold -- no prep -- and scored a 630. I was flummoxed by the math.
The Crash Course
If you recognize yourself in the description I just posted, I cannot recommend Magoosh highly enough. I got an account there at the end of September/beginning of October and proceeded to mow through every single math lesson. I took lots of notes, tried some practice questions, reset the practice questions, then did every single one. If you set your mind to it, it will probably take you less than a month to get through all of their math content, even if you're just watching videos and doing problems when you have some downtime at work and in your spare time. Use the system they provide to record your notes when you learn something you didn't know or had forgotten.
(FYI: I barely touched any verbal content anywhere, so I cannot vouch for it, but it seemed okay.)
The Other Stuff
Beyond that, I also picked up a subscription to Grockit. It's useful because it seems to have a much larger pool of questions than Magoosh has, but the explanations are almost never as articulate or as strong as Magoosh.
I also bought Kindle versions of the Manhattan Prep books for Word Problems, Number Properties, Sentence Correction, and Advanced Quant. I read the first two cover-to-cover. I barely glanced at the other two.
Magoosh is great, but Manhattan Prep is far more comprehensive, particularly on Word Problems and Number Properties. Number Properties especially. It is arguably the most important thing you can learn to help put you over the top on this test.
All told, you can get the same prep I did and spend less than $200.
Practice tests
After the Kaplan test that I took to gauge my interest in taking the real test, I studied for awhile, then though I was cool enough to take a practice quant test on GMAT Club. I got TORCHED. I couldn't believe it. My confidence fell so far, I actually sought several hours of tutoring. Here's what I didn't know, though: THOSE QUESTIONS ARE NOT REPRESENTATIVE. GMAT Club and Beat the GMAT both traffic in questions so ridiculously difficult that you'll wonder how anyone could answer all of them. Don't torture yourself with them.
Manhattan Prep and Kaplan tests are closer, though still a bit tougher. They have great answer explanations.
The official GMATPrep software is definitely the closest, but it only includes two practice tests (and they share the same set of Critical Reasoning questions). Also, they have no answer explanations and the review system is terrible. If you have questions about answers you don't understand, write down a few pieces of info about the question, then google them with "GMATPrep" and find forum threads on Manhattan Prep or elsewhere with explanations.
GMATPrep questions will give you the right level of confidence and the mindset you need to succeed. Save those for the week leading up to the actual test.
For the record, here were my full practice scores:
Kaplan (cold, no prep): 630
Manhattan: 720
Kaplan (same test as before, but enough time had elapsed that I couldn't remember the questions. Also, I had never reviewed the answers.): 740
Manhattan again (on a day when I was recovering from a fever): 690
GMATPrep 1: 760
GMATPrep 2: 760
Test Day
I took the day off work and slept in a little longer than usual. I did not drink coffee, but I rarely ever do. I had a medium-sized breakfast. I did what I would normally do if I was just dicking around my apartment until I had to be somewhere.
My test was at 2. I took public transportation over to the neighborhood, had lunch at Sweetgreen a few blocks away from the testing center, then walked over.
Here's one thing I didn't know about the testing centers: They give you thick earmuffs -- like people who work on the tarmac at airports or on aircraft carriers might wear -- to help block out the sounds of typing and clicking coming from everyone else. I took mine off for a couple of seconds in the middle of the test and the clicks from around the room were too much.
I had never used the wet-erase noteboards before and was a little concerned about using them over pen and paper. I shouldn't have been. They were virtually indistinguishable.
Do: Bring a Clif bar or snack or something. You might wonder why I would have needed it after having a big lunch, but I started to get hungry during the verbal section. Obviously, it didn't affect my score, but learn from me and bring a snack just in case.
Do not: Drink a lot of water. Drink just a little, and make sure to use the bathroom before you start the test. I actually got up in the middle of a practice test to use the bathroom. I made sure I wouldn't have to do that during the real thing.
Good luck!
The Crash Course
If you recognize yourself in the description I just posted, I cannot recommend Magoosh highly enough. I got an account there at the end of September/beginning of October and proceeded to mow through every single math lesson. I took lots of notes, tried some practice questions, reset the practice questions, then did every single one. If you set your mind to it, it will probably take you less than a month to get through all of their math content, even if you're just watching videos and doing problems when you have some downtime at work and in your spare time. Use the system they provide to record your notes when you learn something you didn't know or had forgotten.
(FYI: I barely touched any verbal content anywhere, so I cannot vouch for it, but it seemed okay.)
The Other Stuff
Beyond that, I also picked up a subscription to Grockit. It's useful because it seems to have a much larger pool of questions than Magoosh has, but the explanations are almost never as articulate or as strong as Magoosh.
I also bought Kindle versions of the Manhattan Prep books for Word Problems, Number Properties, Sentence Correction, and Advanced Quant. I read the first two cover-to-cover. I barely glanced at the other two.
Magoosh is great, but Manhattan Prep is far more comprehensive, particularly on Word Problems and Number Properties. Number Properties especially. It is arguably the most important thing you can learn to help put you over the top on this test.
All told, you can get the same prep I did and spend less than $200.
Practice tests
After the Kaplan test that I took to gauge my interest in taking the real test, I studied for awhile, then though I was cool enough to take a practice quant test on GMAT Club. I got TORCHED. I couldn't believe it. My confidence fell so far, I actually sought several hours of tutoring. Here's what I didn't know, though: THOSE QUESTIONS ARE NOT REPRESENTATIVE. GMAT Club and Beat the GMAT both traffic in questions so ridiculously difficult that you'll wonder how anyone could answer all of them. Don't torture yourself with them.
Manhattan Prep and Kaplan tests are closer, though still a bit tougher. They have great answer explanations.
The official GMATPrep software is definitely the closest, but it only includes two practice tests (and they share the same set of Critical Reasoning questions). Also, they have no answer explanations and the review system is terrible. If you have questions about answers you don't understand, write down a few pieces of info about the question, then google them with "GMATPrep" and find forum threads on Manhattan Prep or elsewhere with explanations.
GMATPrep questions will give you the right level of confidence and the mindset you need to succeed. Save those for the week leading up to the actual test.
For the record, here were my full practice scores:
Kaplan (cold, no prep): 630
Manhattan: 720
Kaplan (same test as before, but enough time had elapsed that I couldn't remember the questions. Also, I had never reviewed the answers.): 740
Manhattan again (on a day when I was recovering from a fever): 690
GMATPrep 1: 760
GMATPrep 2: 760
Test Day
I took the day off work and slept in a little longer than usual. I did not drink coffee, but I rarely ever do. I had a medium-sized breakfast. I did what I would normally do if I was just dicking around my apartment until I had to be somewhere.
My test was at 2. I took public transportation over to the neighborhood, had lunch at Sweetgreen a few blocks away from the testing center, then walked over.
Here's one thing I didn't know about the testing centers: They give you thick earmuffs -- like people who work on the tarmac at airports or on aircraft carriers might wear -- to help block out the sounds of typing and clicking coming from everyone else. I took mine off for a couple of seconds in the middle of the test and the clicks from around the room were too much.
I had never used the wet-erase noteboards before and was a little concerned about using them over pen and paper. I shouldn't have been. They were virtually indistinguishable.
Do: Bring a Clif bar or snack or something. You might wonder why I would have needed it after having a big lunch, but I started to get hungry during the verbal section. Obviously, it didn't affect my score, but learn from me and bring a snack just in case.
Do not: Drink a lot of water. Drink just a little, and make sure to use the bathroom before you start the test. I actually got up in the middle of a practice test to use the bathroom. I made sure I wouldn't have to do that during the real thing.
Good luck!
