GMAT On April 26--Looking For Suggestions On Extent Of Study

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acrowson: Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts; Posts: 15; Joined: Mon Dec 28, 2009 10:36 am

by acrowson » Fri Mar 26, 2010 8:00 pm

Hey guys,
Here is my background:
-I took a Kaplan GMAT course that ended in December
-I wrote the GMAT about 1.2 months ago and bombed: scored a 500
-I have refocused my study prep by leveraging the complete Manhanttan GMAT series (I have completed the Number Prop guide so far)
-I am aiming for a low-mid 600 score
-Work in Consulting; limited weekday study time

Question: How many hours per work day + weekend would folks like you spend studying? Perhaps what I am looking to understand is how did other busy individuals beat the gmat?

What I have found is that I can usually study for 2 hours/work day and roughly 10 hours on the weekend? Even getting to this level of study, I find myself exhausted and dear I say bored out of my skull!!! Do I need to ramp up my hours??? Has anyone else felt like this?

Any advice/learned lessons would be fantastic....

Source: Beat The GMAT — GMAT Strategy | Fri Mar 26, 2010 8:00 pm

KapTeacherEli: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 578; Joined: Tue Aug 25, 2009 6:00 pmFollowed by: 62 members; Thanked: 136 times

by KapTeacherEli » Sat Mar 27, 2010 12:45 pm

If you're exhausted and bored out of your skull, don't study more. Its unfortunately that you're stuck in such a busy job, but you're not the only one--and this board is filled with people who've beaten the GMAT on limited time frames.

20 hours a week is a LOT of studying. Don't force yourself to do more, because if you're burned out and tired for the GMAT, you'll bomb it no matter how well you prep. What you do want to make sure you're doing is spending that time as efficiently as possible. Are you focusing on your weak points? Are you letting go subjects tested only rarely to focus on high-point topics? Are you reviewing old material regularly so you don't need to re-teach yourself material you've forgotten?

One suggestion I have is working for a few hours with a Kaplan Tutor--since you've already completed a Kaplan GMAT course, you'll qualify for a discounted rate. Even a few hours with an expert can go a long way towards helping you realize your weaknesses and solidify a good study schedule. This in turn can go a long way towards alleviating the boredom and the stress.

Whatever you decide, I wish you the best of luck on Test Day!

Eli Meyer
Kaplan GMAT Teacher
Cambridge, MA
www.kaptest.com/gmat

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