Please review my strategy

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Please review my strategy

by raedkh » Fri Feb 10, 2012 11:26 pm
Greetings to all. This is my first post, I have just started studying for the GMAT using Manhattan GMAT complete set. Below is my strategy, feedback is very much appreciated.

- Study the foundation of GMAT math.
- Do all 300 OG 12th edition practice problems.
- Read the strategy handbooks for problems I face difficulty with.
- Study foundation of GMAT verbal.
- Do all 300 OG 12th edition practice problems.
- Do as much practice from the OG 800 problems.

Its been a month, and I am still in the math part. I am having amazing difficulty in the DS problems, I get most wrong !!

Anyone used the MGMAT guides? Any better strategy?

Thanks for the feedback!
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by sam2304 » Sat Feb 11, 2012 2:50 am
Your strategy is fine but its missing some important things.

What's your target score ?
Where do you stand now ?
Did you take a diagnostic test - a GMATPrep mock, if so what is your split up ?
While solving practice problems did you make an error log and note down the mistakes and learn something new from each problem you went wrong ?

Once you take you your diagnostic test, analyse why you went wrong. It might be because of concepts/careless mistakes/timing issues. Sort out everything and find your weak areas.
Then start with reading the foundation for weak areas and practice OG problems. Make an error log and note down the wrong problems. Review them and you should have some take aways for each problem. For every problem you solve, you should spend atleast twice the time for review. Its not more about solving but what you learn after you go wrong/solve.

If you have trouble with DS then you are not following the right strategy/not learning from your mistakes. DS questions are mostly to find a value or yes/no type. Be clear with what is being asked, if its find a value then we should get only one particular value there cannot be more than one, if its yes/no - it should be either one and not both. The first time i tried solving problems i was barging the problem with all the information in the question and the statements. I messed up, the only answer choices i ended up were C or E. So try rephrasing the question first. It is more important to know what is asked and what is needed to solve. Go through the statements one by one and try to solve. Follow the A D, B C E order. While solving problems make flash cards for shortcuts like if x^2 < x then 0 < x < 1. For percentage increase/decrease you need both the original and the increased value. Is x < y - we need to know the signs of both variables. For absolute value problems you have to split up the eqns. So the statements should have something related to this. You will learn a lot of these shortcuts when you review a lot. So try to follow the AD BCE approach and review a lot to learn more shortcuts.

MGMAT Guides are very good for both quant and verbal. MGMAT SC is the bible. Read it 2/3 times. Take mock tests once a week and see your progress.
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by raedkh » Sat Feb 11, 2012 9:40 pm
Thank you for the reply. May I ask where do I take the mock exams?

I have been doing some of the things you mentioned, some I think I should add. As for the DS problems, you are right, I am not read the Qs correctly, and most of the mistakes I am making are careless. I think I should be taking more mock exams, then practice.

There has been days where I fly through the questions, others I spend one or two hours to solve 10 problems!!

As for my targe score, I think I will be happy with a 650. Is that too high to aim for, at the first try?

Thank you again.

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by sam2304 » Sun Feb 12, 2012 7:27 pm
For mock exams, register at mba.com and download GMATPrep test from the site. Otherwise you have got manhattan guides and so you would have access to 6 free full length mock tests which can be taken any number of times. Utilize those wisely.

There is nothing wrong in aiming high. Majority of the people aim for 700 to 750+ in their first try. :)
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by VivianKerr » Sun Feb 19, 2012 9:15 pm
Grockit is also a good source of practice CATs and questions if you have a premium membership. I believe you also get 6 CATs free with any MGMAT book purchase.

For DS, I'd follow these steps:

Step 1: Write down the Question Type. Data Sufficiency questions come in two forms. They either ask for a specific "value" or have a "yes/no" format. Determine which type of question it is, and write it down. Ask yourself: what kind of information will I need to answer the question? For "value" questions, a statement must provide a single numerical solution to be sufficient. For "yes/no" questions, either a firm "yes" or a firm "no" is acceptable but a single statement cannot be answered both ways. For "yes/no" questions, it doesn't matter how the question is answered, just that it can only be answered in one way. Spend a few seconds brainstorming what kind of information would provide sufficiency before you move on to the Statements.

Step 2: Write down A B C D E on your scratch paper. You will be eliminating as you go.

Step 3: Evaluate Statement 1. What information does this statement give you? For a "value" question, is it enough to determine a single value? For a "yes/no" question, does it answer the question in one way only? If the statement allows you to answer "sometimes yes and sometimes no," then it is NOT sufficient.
If Statement 1 is sufficient, cross off choices B, C and E.
If Statement 1 is NOT sufficient, cross off choices A and D.

Step 4: Refresh the "Q" Before Moving on to "2." Re-read the question and reconsider the question type. Is it "value" or "yes/no"? What information would determine sufficiency? It's important to take this "breather" before reading Statement 2 to allow yourself to "forget" about the information in Statement 1. Make sure not to mentally carry any information from Statement 1 into you evaluation of Statement 2.

Step 5: Evaluate Statement 2. Based on the question type, determine whether Statement 2 is sufficient. Does it allow you to answer either "yes" or "no" confidently? Does it give a single possible solution?
If Statement 2 is sufficient and Statement 1 is sufficient, the answer is D.
If Statement 2 is sufficient but Statement 1 was NOT sufficient, the answer is B.
If neither Statement 2 nor Statement 1 sufficient, cross off B and, move on to Step 6.

Step 6: Combine the Statements. At this step, the answer will be either C or E. Check to see if Statement 2 provides the information missing from Statement 1. What was lacking from Statement 1? Why was it not sufficient by itself? What information does Statement 2 provide?
If together Statements 1 and 2 together provide sufficiency, the answer is C.
If together Statements 1 and 2 do NOT provide sufficiency, the answer is E.

*Final Tip: Pay close attention to variables in Data Sufficiency problems. Remember that a variable can be negative, positive, zero, a fraction, etc. unless the question places limitations on it, such as x < 0. Don't assume variables are always positive! Look for the exceptions and Pick Numbers to try out several options!

Good luck!
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