I am going to take the GMAT around September 7th or about 80 days from today and absolutely dominate it!.
I chose 80 days because it is close to 30 days after I finish a Manhattan GMAT Live Online GMAT course which began on 6/14/2010. I want enough time after the course to review and push into advanced topics but close enough for me to still be sharp.
In preparation for the first class I completed the MGMAT CAT 1 (full length practice test) under testing conditions (essays, prescribed breaks etc). My score was somewhat disappointing at 570 Q 32(35%) V 36 (81%) but I'm not actually too worried. If anything I am motivated. I also think I can improve considerably in quant with some refreshing and initial study.
My goal score is 720 which means I need to make up 150 points about about 9 weeks or 17points a week. My plan is going to center around not just being competent but subject domination. For example I've always told myself I am bad a Geometry. But I've decided screw that I am going to dominate geometry and every other subject through hard work, repetition, & understanding (basically understand the concepts not just GMAT questions & strategies).
I know this may seem like a big gap to close but there is another part of my CAT 1 I should include. On the quantitative I had 21 minutes remaining & on the verbal I had 30 minutes remaining!. I could have spent just about an additional 30 - 45 seconds on each question.
During this thread I will cover the live online class in way that I hope helps people who may be interested decide if it's right for them. I'll need to be a bit selective with the info I present as I'll want to provide enough detail to be helpful without infringing on Manhattan's rights. I'll also strive to be honest about what I like/don't like and what I think works/doesn't work while being respectful of Manhattan and fellow students.
As I mentioned first class was on Monday 6/14 in which we covered strategy for data sufficiency & sentence correction. I really liked the D/S methods although it takes some getting used to. Basically involves 1) rephrasing question (what is the minimum info I need) 2) simplifying the original statement & 3) finding the easier of the 2 statements to begin work.
Seems fairly obvious right? It works though and I was very impressed when I saw it in action and then used it. However for me at least it was not intuitive and so when I later worked problems outside of class I found myself not always using it. Will need to work on this.
I don't have many thoughts on the sentence correction methods. The lesson was shorter, towards the end of class and was basically look for 3-2 split etc which I was already familiar with. Looking forward to getting into much more detail. I do ok on verbal by educated guessing but would really like to understand the rules and foundations so I can tackle tougher questions.
for week 1 - we are covering number properties (entirely) and sentence correction (first chapters). The course requires about 10 -15 hrs of HW/study each week. I am going to strive to hit the 15 hour mark or more each week.
Test Date ~ 9/17
Goal 720
CAT 570 6/14
GAP 150 pts
I chose 80 days because it is close to 30 days after I finish a Manhattan GMAT Live Online GMAT course which began on 6/14/2010. I want enough time after the course to review and push into advanced topics but close enough for me to still be sharp.
In preparation for the first class I completed the MGMAT CAT 1 (full length practice test) under testing conditions (essays, prescribed breaks etc). My score was somewhat disappointing at 570 Q 32(35%) V 36 (81%) but I'm not actually too worried. If anything I am motivated. I also think I can improve considerably in quant with some refreshing and initial study.
My goal score is 720 which means I need to make up 150 points about about 9 weeks or 17points a week. My plan is going to center around not just being competent but subject domination. For example I've always told myself I am bad a Geometry. But I've decided screw that I am going to dominate geometry and every other subject through hard work, repetition, & understanding (basically understand the concepts not just GMAT questions & strategies).
I know this may seem like a big gap to close but there is another part of my CAT 1 I should include. On the quantitative I had 21 minutes remaining & on the verbal I had 30 minutes remaining!. I could have spent just about an additional 30 - 45 seconds on each question.
During this thread I will cover the live online class in way that I hope helps people who may be interested decide if it's right for them. I'll need to be a bit selective with the info I present as I'll want to provide enough detail to be helpful without infringing on Manhattan's rights. I'll also strive to be honest about what I like/don't like and what I think works/doesn't work while being respectful of Manhattan and fellow students.
As I mentioned first class was on Monday 6/14 in which we covered strategy for data sufficiency & sentence correction. I really liked the D/S methods although it takes some getting used to. Basically involves 1) rephrasing question (what is the minimum info I need) 2) simplifying the original statement & 3) finding the easier of the 2 statements to begin work.
Seems fairly obvious right? It works though and I was very impressed when I saw it in action and then used it. However for me at least it was not intuitive and so when I later worked problems outside of class I found myself not always using it. Will need to work on this.
I don't have many thoughts on the sentence correction methods. The lesson was shorter, towards the end of class and was basically look for 3-2 split etc which I was already familiar with. Looking forward to getting into much more detail. I do ok on verbal by educated guessing but would really like to understand the rules and foundations so I can tackle tougher questions.
for week 1 - we are covering number properties (entirely) and sentence correction (first chapters). The course requires about 10 -15 hrs of HW/study each week. I am going to strive to hit the 15 hour mark or more each week.
Test Date ~ 9/17
Goal 720
CAT 570 6/14
GAP 150 pts
) and stopped studying altogether resulting in me being a week behind going into the weekend. I put in about 6 hours during Sat & Sun and will have another 6 done today before class (thank you secluded office) but I feel rushed & stressed and don't think I am learning as well I could.
