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Need Experienced Recommendations.

by oguzhanakcin » Fri Aug 19, 2011 3:11 am
Dear All,

I am new at this forum and I have been trying to collect as much as beneficial information I can. However, I thought to open a topic for me is better to get some personal recommendations about my situation.

I am graduated from a Turkish University and studied 4 years business administration degree. This year in May I took IELTS exam and my record is 6.5 overall. ( S:6.5, L:8, W:5.5, R:6.5 ) Right now I am working in a family business.

I am going to apply 14 remarkable schools for Master's degrees in Europe and 7 of them are asking GMAT. Min. record I should suppose to get is 650 and my personal goal is 700. I am planning to take the GMAT exam in December and I have possibility to study 20-25 hours in a week.

Could you please give some your personal ideas and share some of your strategies with me about how should I start and which ways I should follow to get 700?

Ps. I have already bought Offical Guide, OG Math and OG Verbal.

In advance, thank you very much to all.

Cheers !

Oz.
Last edited by oguzhanakcin on Wed Aug 24, 2011 9:59 am, edited 1 time in total.
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by akhilsuhag » Sun Aug 21, 2011 12:44 am
Hi,

I would say you start by taking a GMATprep practice test and figure out where you stand. Who knows you already are at your required level.
After this you can figure out what section you need to work on and then take it from their. You can go the self study way and for that the MGMAT guides are the best starting point for getting your basics clear. You will also need the OG along with the MGMAT guides.
Their are also some very good online courses (knewton, MasterGMAT etc) which you can look at if you don't want to go the self study route. Knewton actually has a 50 point gurantee.

Basically you will have to figure out what style suits you. But the starting point is a GMATprep tests to see where you stand and where is it that you need to put your effort.

I hope it helps!!

Cheers!!
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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Sun Aug 21, 2011 7:20 am
I agree with akhilsuhag; a practice test is a great place to start.

If you're going the self-study route, you might want to follow one of the Study Plans listed in the dropdown menu at the top of each webpage. These plans keep you on track, and they ensure that you cover all of the required material.

Cheers,
Brent
Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com
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by oguzhanakcin » Mon Aug 22, 2011 11:09 am
Hello,

First of all I would like to thank to you guys for your replies.

I have just took a GMATPrep Software exam and my result is;

Total 420, Quantitive:32 , Verbal:16

I know that I have a long way to go to get 700. I felt that my main weakness is Reading Comprehension. To achieve my goal, I am going to take the exam in December and fortunately I can study at least 20 hours in a week.

Considering my latest situation, I really need some advices about how to start with which materials. I am not thinking to get online courses because they cost more than I thought.

In addition to OG Guide, OG Verbal and Quantitive, I am thinking to buy MGMAT 8 Strategy Guides, Kaplan Gmat Math Workbook and Kaplan 800. What do you think?

As a person, when I start something, I always go till the end. However, GMAT seems like a black hole to me that I don't know where and how should I start. If I succeed to start somehow, I am pretty sure that there is going to be nothing to worry for me. Therefore, I really need some leading advices.

I will be checking the website and waiting for some of yours advices.

Cheers.

Oz.
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by akhilsuhag » Mon Aug 22, 2011 12:28 pm
Hi Oz,

I would say that the MGMAT 8 guides will be a very good purchase. How ever that said some people consider the PowerScore CR Bible a better CR guide (I however believe that both the books are pretty similar).

I would suggest that you start with the MGMAT guides. These guides make you work with the Official Guide in tandem. After each chapter/topic their is a list of OG questions to solve.

How you use the books depends. Some people would take one month for just quant. Then one month for verbal and then do combined preparation from then on. I on the other hand would suggest you switch from verbal to quant and prepare simultaneously. This way you won't get out of touch. What you can do is give 2 weeks to quant and then 2 weeks to verbal. In the 2 weeks that you have for verbal revisit the questions of quant that you got incorrect in the OG and vice versa. This will help you keep in touch with topics, strengthen your weaknesses and also at times one dimensional studying gets a little boring.

After this phase of the study (MGMAT and OG) I would suggest give another practice test to gauge your progress. And accordingly you can move on to kaplan 800 or other advanced material. In the second phase give more practice tests lot more frequently (helps you build stamina).

I think this is how you should start with your prep and later according to your new practice test result you can again ask on the forum how to go about your prep.

I hope my post helps!!

Cheers!!
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by oguzhanakcin » Tue Aug 23, 2011 10:57 am
Hi Akhilsulag;

Thanks a lot for your kind reply. I have just bought the MGMAT 8 guides through Amazon and in 5 days I am expecting to receive them. I have been checking other additional books that can be beneficial for me considering my enough time to study. I have read some comments about Kaplan 800 and Kaplan Math Review but I couldn't get convinced whether I should buy. Have you ever used them? Or do you have any other books that you could recommend?

Besides these, thanks a lot also a short tip about how to start to study. I am really totaly new to all these GMAT stuffs and at least I got an idea.

Cheers !
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by prateek_guy2004 » Tue Aug 23, 2011 11:08 am
oguzhanakcin wrote:Hi Akhilsulag;

Thanks a lot for your kind reply. I have just bought the MGMAT 8 guides through Amazon and in 5 days I am expecting to receive them. I have been checking other additional books that can be beneficial for me considering my enough time to study. I have read some comments about Kaplan 800 and Kaplan Math Review but I couldn't get convinced whether I should buy. Have you ever used them? Or do you have any other books that you could recommend?

Besides these, thanks a lot also a short tip about how to start to study. I am really totaly new to all these GMAT stuffs and at least I got an idea.

Cheers !
Hi

I am using kaplan premier and kaplan 800 nice books, but i will suggest you to finish manhattan first check your improvements and then buy any other books...Other wise you have to dig yourself under pressure.

chaw
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by akhilsuhag » Tue Aug 23, 2011 11:30 am
Hi Oz,

It was nice to hear back from you.

You will not be disappointed with the 8 guides. Work with them and the OG. Maintaining an error log and going back to the questions you got wrong is the most important part of the preparation (you can find an error log on beatthegmat itself, i don't exactly know where but if you don't find it I can message or email you so that is not an issue). This is make sure you get all the concepts strongly ingrained,

I would say dedicate you time to the OG and strategy books and don't think about any other prep material for the time being. After you finish this phase of the preparation give a practice test again. This time properly analyze the results of your test. Figure out what areas still require work and what are your weaknesses now.

It is after this analysis that you look at other material. Kaplan 800 is more of question back that contains relatively tougher problems. So if you find you have built a strong fundamental base and are ready to test yourself in tougher waters then get it. If you see you want advanced quant prep to take your score from 45 to 49/50 then get the Manhattan Advanced Quant. But all that said right now you don't need any other material. Stick to what you have and let your next practice test and your own analysis of your improvement determine what you need.

So I would recommend that you start your prep and I can recommend more books as you move deeper into your study and actually figure out what area requires help.

I hope you found my post helpful. I must add that I am no expert, I just try to extend a helping hand with whatever I know about the GMAT.

Cheers!!
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by oguzhanakcin » Wed Aug 24, 2011 5:51 am
Dear prateek and akhilsuhag,

Thank you very much for your comments. Day by day I am getting more clear about how to start with your ideas. Indeed, all your words are valuable for me and I am appreciate to you.

I am planning to start with joining Brent's Beat the GMAT's Free 60-Day Study Guide as soon as I receive my MGMAT books. I saw one example email and it seems quite helpful. I think in 60 days, I will be finished these MGMAT and OG books and then I need to create a new plan. Therefore, I will listen your words guys and not buying any other book for now.

About the error log, I also saw somewhere in the website and when the time comes, I am going to look for it. If I can't find, I will contact with you(akhilsuhag) than.

If you do not mind, I have one more question. I have been checking some beneficial free materials in internet like videos, questions with explanations. I also saw that beatthegmat.com itself contains some links. However, when I consider all of them, it seems for me like a pool with full of materials but I do not know which ones I need to choose as a beginner of all these GMAT things. Would you recommend some particular websites if you know?

Thanks a lot again for everything.

Cheers !
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by prateek_guy2004 » Wed Aug 24, 2011 8:53 am
Hi

Its nice that know you know where to start from.....Well over the internet there are 10,000 question...but i believe that you should only trust good publisher's ....

So get on with the manhattan...

Chaw
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by akhilsuhag » Wed Aug 24, 2011 9:00 am
Hey,

This is how I use the free resources. Go ahead and study from your material. If their is some topic which you don't understand or are having problems with then go over the internet and find if someone else has done a better job explaining it (or explained in a way u would understand).

So use it as a supplement otherwise their is so much material it will only confuse you. I hope this is what you wanted to ask.

I hope it helps!!
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by oguzhanakcin » Wed Aug 24, 2011 9:58 am
Hmm.. I see. I will follow your way guys, seriously thanks a lot !!
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