I received a PM asking me to respond to this post. I like what Jim has to say about making sure that you're focused on the basics.
I also like my students to start by taking a practice test so that they can get some more granular detail about their strengths and weaknesses. That will help you figure out where you need to spend the most time early on, particularly if you decide you do need to go back to the basics with some kind of a class before you really dive into GMAT-specific stuff.
You can take a free test through my company and I'm guessing you can probably get a free test from pretty much every major company, so you can ask around here and see what people think is best. I would do a test from a test-prep company though, not from GMATPrep, for one simple reason: GMATPrep does not provide you with any analysis. You need the data on time spent, difficulty levels, etc, not just what you got right and what you got wrong. Save GMATPrep for later in your prepping agenda.
Eric has a ton of great resources in the "Resources" section up above, so I'd start poking around there to see what other people have done. I'd start with the Beat The GMAT Blog and Reflecting on my GMAT Experience (both from Eric, the founder of BTG).
You also mentioned in your PM that you might want to take a class, so you'll have to think about whether to do so and, if so, when to do so. Most classes run for about 8-10 weeks and most people, in my experience, take 2-4 weeks after the class ends to review before taking the test. So, with a 6 month timeframe, you'd be looking to start the class about 3 months in. That gives you time to do some more basic review in the areas in which you think you need it.
If you do think a class might be the right option for you, attend all of the free events available from any company in which you're interested. If possible, attend events where you can meet or observe in action the person / people who would be your teacher(s). Ask questions relative to your particular situation and observe how the teacher reacts. Are you confident that this person knows what s/he is talking about? Do you believe you can learn from this person? Does s/he appear to be listening to your concerns and crafting an appropriate response, not just a one-size-fits-all response? If so, great - consider taking a class with that teacher. If not - don't. (Note: sometimes this comes down simply to a matter of chemistry. You may think the person is competent but, for whatever reason, the teaching style doesn't work for you. There's nothing wrong with you or with the teacher - there's just not a great fit between the two of you. Choose a different teacher.)
You don't mention what kind of score you'd like to get, but I'll mention a couple of other things, just in case:
- as you poke around, you'll see lots of stories from people who either want 720+ or who scored 720+. Don't assume you need that high of a score. Figure out where you'd like to go to school and see what numbers their students tend to get. No reason to stress yourself out unnecessarily; just do what you need to do!
- if you want a score improvement of more than 200 points, it's likely that you will need some help beyond self-study. That could mean a class or a tutor, or it could mean working with a like-minded group of self-studiers, but a very high score improvement goal often requires other ideas besides your own.
Please note: I do not use the Private Messaging system! I will not see any PMs that you send to me!!
Stacey Koprince
GMAT Instructor
Director of Online Community
Manhattan GMAT
Contributor to Beat The GMAT!
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