BREAKING: Target Test Prep releases Brand New 2026 On Demand GMAT prep course

Redeem

3 Month GMAT Prep- Gameplanning for 440 to 700

This topic has expert replies
Post new topic Post Reply
Previous Topic Next Topic
Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat Jan 17, 2009 3:49 pm

3 Month GMAT Prep- Gameplanning for 440 to 700

by dt_stop_blving » Sat Jan 17, 2009 4:24 pm
I've stumbled upon this website and I must say what an incredible resource! Now that Chicago is officially frozen over I decided it'd be a great time to start my GMAT prep. I have quite an uphill battle to get into a top program with my lovely 2.85 GPA in engineering, but I'm hoping with some good planning and hard work I can offset my undergrad days with an excellent score and great work experience.

I'm looking for any input you Pros can offer in regards to best focusing my 8 weeks. I'm beginning officially on Monday, and using today and tomorrow to create my plan of attack. I want to attack the basics on a weekly basis to make sure I understand ALL the material well on the test before working on test strategy. Maybe using the Manhattan GMAT prep books... thoughts?

=========================================

My preliminary rough plan is as follows: (Revision #2 as of 2/9/09)

Week Plan- MTWTF (2-hrs), Sat (4-hrs), Sun (Full-CAT) = ~ 17hrs/week

[MGMAT CAT #1]
Week 1: Diagnostic/Overview Material [MGMAT CAT #2] - COMPLETED
Week 2: Quant. -COMPLETED
-Quant: Word Translation |TRAVELING|
Week 3: Quant. [MGMAT CAT #3] - COMPLETED
-Quant: Word Translation |TRAVELING|
Week 4: Quant. [GMAT PowerPrep1]
-Quant: Algebra&VICS (85%), Number Prop. (10%) Verbal: Sentence Correction (5%)
Week 5: Quant [MGMAT CAT #4]
Week 6: Quant
Week 7: Verbal [GMAT Prep1]
Week 8: Verbal
Week 9: Verbal [MGMAT CAT #5]
Week 10: Verbal
*Week 11: Diagnostic/Review Existing Weaknesses [Power Prep #2]
Week 12: Hard Quant/Test Timing? [MGMAT CAT #6] / [GMAT Prep2]
*[GMAT D-Day]

*If I'm not scoring around 650's by Week 7, consider enrolling in prep course, and delaying GMAT and applications by another 1.5 months.

Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to respond. I took an early "pre-test" without much preparation and scored in the low 400's. Needless to say I gotta bust my butt to get in the 680-700 range. I will use this thread to log my process as many others have to document my approach and results. Hopefully others will find it useful as well. Thanks!
Last edited by dt_stop_blving on Mon Feb 09, 2009 3:46 pm, edited 6 times in total.
Top
Source: — GMAT Strategy |

GMAT/MBA Expert

User avatar
Site Admin
Posts: 6778
Joined: Mon Feb 13, 2006 8:30 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Thanked: 1249 times
Followed by:994 members

by beatthegmat » Sat Jan 17, 2009 4:28 pm
Welcome to the community! I have one suggestion to your schedule--I would highly recommend taking a practice GMAT test every week. One of the hardest things about this test is just getting used to the computer adaptive format. It takes time and practice to feel at ease with the format.

Good luck and I can't wait to hear about your success on this test!
Beat The GMAT | The MBA Social Network
Community Management Team

Research Top GMAT Prep Courses:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/gmat-prep-courses

Research The World's Top MBA Programs:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/school
Top
Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat Jan 17, 2009 3:49 pm

by dt_stop_blving » Sun Jan 18, 2009 5:30 pm
Thanks Eric, that's a great tip! I'm adding a CAT test every Sunday to my plan. I've been doing some reading from other threads and have found the following CAT tests are pretty popular:

-GMAT Prep 1 & 2
-PowerPrep
-Manhattan GMAT

Does anyone have any other recommendations I should add? I have the kaplan CD but I've been told their CAT tests aren't very accurate- however maybe still worth the practice?

Also, what order should I take these tests in? Should I start and finish with the GMAT Prep's on mba.com?
Top
Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat Jan 17, 2009 3:49 pm

by dt_stop_blving » Mon Jan 19, 2009 8:28 pm
Week #1 officially began today with a big hit to the chin.

After doing some very light preparation and taking two Kaplan practice CAT's last week, I took my first MGMAT CAT #1 today and landed a 440! OUCH!!! (Q26/V26)

I'm a little shell shocked as I scored in the low 500's in both my written and CAT Kaplan tests with little to no prep. I heard the kaplan tests were a little conservative and expected to be in the same range if not slightly better.

I will be reviewing my material tomorrow, but an early glance shows that I really tanked the first 10 questions badly in Quant and I struggled to climb out of the hole into higher scoring questions.

I plan on adjusting my 2 month prep plan by prioritizing my weaknesses in both Quant and Verbal. With 2 weeks first in Quant and then 3 weeks straight of Verbal.


GMAT- you may have won round #1, but this is gonna be a LONG fight. Time to nurse the wounds and hop back into the ring tomorrow.

:evil:
Top
Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat Jan 17, 2009 3:49 pm

by dt_stop_blving » Sun Jan 25, 2009 8:33 pm
Week #1: Recap
Total Hours Studied: 20

After starting the week with a rough CAT test score, I ended the week today on somewhat of a high note.

After reviewing my 440 score from Monday I realized there were several sections where I lacked/forgot major fundamentals. The following areas I had scored less than 30%.

-Geometry: 20%
-FDP: 29%
-Critical Reasoning: 21%

My goal for the week was to spend T-W-TH-F-S reviewing each of the subjects from a very high level. I took notes and created basic note cards for each of the subjects.

Going into today's CAT test I was not suspecting major improvements since I didn't drill a lot of actual questions, but to my surprise I still found some decent improvements.

MGMAT CAT #2 Results:
Q27/V35-520 (80 point jump, most of which came from improved Critical Reasoning)

Focused Area Results:
-Geometry: 40% [+20%]
-FDP: 50% [+21%]
-Critical Reasoning: 50% [+29%]

GMAT- you took round 2 fairly easily, but I pulled off a couple quick jabs that you weren't expecting. Still a lot of fight left.
Top

GMAT/MBA Expert

User avatar
Site Admin
Posts: 6778
Joined: Mon Feb 13, 2006 8:30 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Thanked: 1249 times
Followed by:994 members

by beatthegmat » Sun Jan 25, 2009 8:35 pm
Thanks for these updates! Keep fighting HARD!
Beat The GMAT | The MBA Social Network
Community Management Team

Research Top GMAT Prep Courses:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/gmat-prep-courses

Research The World's Top MBA Programs:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/school
Top
Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat Jan 17, 2009 3:49 pm

by dt_stop_blving » Sun Jan 25, 2009 8:46 pm
Week 2 Planning:

Goals: My goal for the week is to begin closing in on scoring at least in the 50% range for all Quant/Verbal sections. I have identified my three biggest Quant weaknesses and biggest Verbal weakness and will focus on them this week.

The next two weeks will be VERY Quant focused, before I switch to three weeks of heavy Verbal. I plan on spending the "hump" day of the week practicing my biggest current Verbal weakness to stay fresh on verbal as well.

As of MGMAT CAT #2 my current weaknesses are:

1)Word Translations 2) Algebra 3)FDP 1)Critical Reasoning
*I noticed actual decent dropoffs in Algebra/FDP from CAT #1

Monday: Word Translation - reading/note cards
Tuesday: Word Translation- OG11 Problems
Wednesday: Word Translation - OG 11 & Algebra - Reading/notecards
Thursday: Critical Reasoning - Reading/Notecards
Friday: Algebra - OG11 Problems
Saturday: Algebra OG11 & FDP Notecards
Sunday: CAT #3 - Powerprep 1

Sidenote: My Quant scores are significantly behind my verbal scores. I had planned to spend more time on Verbal since it seems like a better approach to move into higher percentiles quicker; however, I am considering shifting more time to my Quant if in two weeks my scores are still lobsided. To be determined.
Top
Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat Jan 17, 2009 3:49 pm

by dt_stop_blving » Mon Feb 09, 2009 4:01 pm
Week #2 and Week #3 Recaps:

Initial study plan did not work as planned. Unfortunately I had to travel for business both weeks and didn't hit my plan. I was able to squeeze in the following hours of studying:

Week 2: 11 hrs
Week 3: 13.5 hrs

I've also learned that I will need more then 2/3 days to properly grasp the basics of a particular subject. In week #2's case I was planning to knock our three subjects. This is not feasible without rushing and missing key points. I've revised my study plan to allow for a full week for each of the 5 Quant Subjects, and a full 3 weeks for each of the Verbal with an extra for cushion. This pushes my total prep time out to 3 months.

I'm currently 3 weeks in and completed another CAT test yesterday. The results while still not spectacular, are nonetheless showing steady improvement. I have increased my score another 40 points from my previous test, and a total increase of 120 points from 3 weeks ago. Below outlines my latest results.


MGMAT CAT #1: 440 (Q26/V26)
MGMAT CAT #2: 520 (Q27/V35)
MGMAT CAT #3: 560 (Q36/V31)

It's evident that my two weeks of review on Word Translation paid off as I landed a 9 point gain on my Quant score. I experienced some retention loss on verbal as expected, but will worry about that in weeks 5/6.

My new short term goal is to achieve above a rate of 50% correct in each of the 5 Quant and 3 Verbal subject areas. I've have been addressing my lowest percentage scores first, and as of CAT #2 only scored above 50% correct in 2/8 areas. On CAT #3 I scored above 50% correct in 5/8 areas.

Week #4 will focus on increasing my low Algebra and Number Properties scores to above 50% for my next CAT.


GMAT- Round 3 flew by and I'm still on my feet. I can feel that I'm almost within striking distance of 600 and it's fueling my drive. I'm coming for you!
Top
Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat Jan 17, 2009 3:49 pm

by dt_stop_blving » Mon Feb 09, 2009 4:10 pm
Week 4 Planning
Main Subject: Equations/Inequalities/VIC's
Secondary Subject: Number Properties & Sentence Correction

My percentage correct were embarrassingly low in these areas and need to come up. My goal is to raise the following to above the 50% range, with a priority of my Main Subject first by this weekend.

Alg: 33%
Num Prop: 33%
Sentence Correction: 27% (Ouch! WTF?)

These three subjects are keeping me under the 600 barrier.

Monday: ALG- Basic Equations & Problem Set
Tuesday: ALG- Exponential Equations & Problem Set
Wednesday: ALG- Quadtratic Equations & Problem Set + Number Properties
Thursday: ALG- Functions & Problem Set
Friday: ALG- Inequalities & Problem Set + Sentence Correction Overview
Saturday: ALG- VICS & Problem Set + OG 11 Hard Problems
Sunday: CAT Test
Top
Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts
Posts: 38
Joined: Thu Feb 05, 2009 8:43 am
Thanked: 5 times

by kapsii » Wed Feb 11, 2009 9:08 am
Hey man hang in there...

You are doing a good job!!! Really appreciate the list that you are maintaining here...

I too have just started my prep for the same and this is indeed very helpful.
I have a question though. How much time do you devote in a day?

I put in a full day's work, so on weekdays I try to cram in about 2 hours worth of study. Then weekends, I go for as much as I can.

All the best for your prep & exams....
Cheers,
Dubes
Top
Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat Jan 17, 2009 3:49 pm

by dt_stop_blving » Wed Feb 11, 2009 1:22 pm
Thanks Dubes, glad to hear it's useful for you. If nothing else this thread helps me hold myself accountable. :lol:

As for how much time- I think what most people around here will recommend is about 2hrs/weekday and around 4hrs/sat + 4hrs/sun. That puts you at around 18 hours a week. It sounds like you're on the right track.

I will add though, that'd I've found it's really not a matter of how long but how effiecent you are studying. The first three weeks I was more focused on hitting my number of hours, then the actual material I was absorbing. Since then I've changed my strategy. I have individual tasks per day I must accomplish. My start and stop times revolve around hitting these goals, not a particular time.

For example I gave myself 2 hours yesterday to review Quadratic and do a problem set. I finished in just over 1 hour so I was done for the day. Most cases the work I assign will land within the 2hr/4hr gameplan, but sometimes I finish early or go long. All depends.

I do still log all my hours to track the effiency of my gains, and where I may be wasting time. My current weekly totals for reference are as follows:

Week 1: 20hrs
Week 2: 11hrs [traveled]
Week 3: 14hrs [traveled]

One other hint for the weekends. If you find yourself loosing focus, stop studying and go do something else productive. Workout, clean your house, or work on a fun hobby. Then come back in 2 hours and go at it some more. Staring at your book just to log time may make you feel better, but won't help your test score. :wink:
Top
Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat Jan 17, 2009 3:49 pm

by dt_stop_blving » Sun Feb 15, 2009 9:25 pm
Just finished Week #4 and it was a rough one. I was able to stay on schedule and finish all chapters in MGMAT books for Algebra. I also squeezed in a little Number Property review and made some more flash cards. Unfortunately I ran tight and come test day today I wasn't able to get around to work any OG 11 problems. Over the course of the week though I still squeezed in over 100 practice problems from the end of the chapter reviews.

My results in today's CAT were somewhat depressing. I was making good constant gains on my MGMAT's, but only have 3 left and wanted to mix it up. I ended up taking a Kaplan CAT test (CD from a 2002 book) and it kicked my butt. I ended up 60 points lower then my last MGMAT with a 500 score. 4 Weeks ago I took another Kaplan CAT test on this CD and scored a 490 so I was frustrated with such little improvement. I've heard these tests are a little more difficult, so I'm not going to read to much into the overall score.

I started both the Quant/Verbal sections VERY well, and then they brought the thunder quick! Questions got VERY tough. Word problems were long, and the reading comprehension got extremely difficult. I noticed a very big difference in difficulty from the MGMAT Cat's Ive been taking. The results from my last two Kaplan CAT's are very tough to analyze.

Kaplan Cat #1:
Q24/V25 - 490

Kaplan Cat #2:
Q24/V28 - 500

What is very strange is after 4 weeks of Quant review no gain, but yet a random 3 point gain in Verbal. Go figure? What is even more intriguing is that on CAT #1 I averaged about over 60% correct in each sections, wheras Cat #2 I averaged around 40% but still scored higher. This tells me that I must have been hitting much harder questions.

All in all I can't stand these Kaplan tests. They a very frustrating, and the worst part is I can't review the test answers to further analyze my mistakes. I guess it's still good practice to go through the motions.


Round 4 - GMAT you blasted me hard this week after a solid week of prep and studying. I'm going to write this one off as hopefully a Kaplan fluke and jump back in the saddle tomorrow. I'm still hoping to edge in and break 600 in the new two weeks.
Top

GMAT/MBA Expert

User avatar
Site Admin
Posts: 6778
Joined: Mon Feb 13, 2006 8:30 am
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Thanked: 1249 times
Followed by:994 members

by beatthegmat » Sun Feb 15, 2009 10:10 pm
Great updates, hang tough!
Beat The GMAT | The MBA Social Network
Community Management Team

Research Top GMAT Prep Courses:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/gmat-prep-courses

Research The World's Top MBA Programs:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/school
Top
Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat Jan 17, 2009 3:49 pm

by dt_stop_blving » Mon Mar 02, 2009 9:31 pm
Alright so I'm overdue for an update on my status. I spent the last two weeks finishing the Quant MGMAT books, in particular the FDP and Geometry portions. I can say now that I officially have a basic understanding of all the variations of Quant problems that can show up on the test. I must say I do find some comfort in having built a good foundation to build off of.

A recommendation I would make to others who follow this process is to make flash cards as you go. For some reason I didn't for the first two MGMAT Quant books, and I ended up going back to re-make cards. A little bit of wasted time.

I was a little bitter at my last Kaplan CAT test I took, so I decided to take another Kaplan CAT test yesterday. The positive is that the results were better, the downside is only by 10 points. My last 3 Kaplan results are as follows:

Kaplan Cat #1:
Q24/V25 - 490

Kaplan Cat #2:
Q24/V28 - 500

Kaplan Cat #3:
Q30/V23 - 510

It's very evident that the Quant review has swung up as expected, but quite a drop in Verbal. I will reiterate my last post in that Kaplans verbal portion seems MUCH more difficult then MGMAT CAT's. For instance I was averaging around 80% in reading comp on MGMAT and it's been around 40% on Kaplan. Ironically my weakest verbal on MGMAT (S.C.) is my highest score in Kaplan. Not sure what to make of these results.

I'm interested to see where my progress is now in regards to MGMAT as it's been several weeks since taking one of their CAT's. I've been reading Kaplan numbers can be around 70 points low, if this is the case I'm getting VERY close to cracking 600 which is exciting.

ROUND 5- Progress is slow but steady, GMAT I can taste 600... it's only a matter of time.
Top
Junior | Next Rank: 30 Posts
Posts: 17
Joined: Sat Jan 17, 2009 3:49 pm

by dt_stop_blving » Mon Mar 02, 2009 9:36 pm
My plan for the upcoming week is to shift gears into Verbal Review. It's now been around 6 weeks of building Quant basics, and I want to spend 2-3 weeks building verbal basics. After establishing a solid core in all Verbal/Quant subject matter, I will shift gears towards increasing difficulty and speed of problems, and also reducing errors.

This week I will be focusing on Sentence Correction, I subject where I have struggled the greatest in most of my Verbal CAT tests. I plan on breaking down each of the 9 subjects in the MGMAT book over the next 6 days.

It is important to me that I maintain some of my Quant skillset that I've built up over the past several weeks. To do this I will spend 30 minutes each day in the middle of my Verbal studying, reviewing a different topics note cards. This should help keep the material fresh and my Quant scores from drifting too much.

QUESTIONS: Which CAT should I look to take next? I was thinking about saving my PowerPrep's until I complete all my foundation studying. I have some Arcos tests and also Priceton Review CAT's. I need a break from Kaplan.
Top
Post new topic Post Reply