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GMAT Strategy help

by atul_is_in » Tue Dec 21, 2010 5:48 am
Hi all - First of all a little bit about myself. I am a 32 year old software engineer employed and working for last 11 years. I haven't looked at the high school math since, well, high school and though english is not my native language it is fairly good (considering I am not yet sure what is "good" for GMAT). I may still need to brush up on my grammer.

I need to take the GMAT in exactly 3 months' time and after doing much research I am still working out the strategy on how to attack this test. Unlike many others on this site, I don't need to crack 700+, 630+ will do just fine. I plan to self study and so far I have only bought the official guide (to get a sense of things) and looking for some recommendations on books and materials. This is what I have understood thus far:

- I need to begin by taking GMATPrep test so I understand where I am starting from.

- I need to go thru books although I am looking for recommendations - please remember that I don't need to crack 700+ - so while a particular set of books maybe awesome for high score, it may also require significant time investment. I can invest 2 hours daily and maybe more on the weekends.

- I need to take regular tests to get a sense of where I am at a given moment. Are there any good tests I can purchase? Also, should I do tests weekly, alternate weeks, monthly??

- Is the time frame (3 months) enough for reaching a 630+ score? I know I haven't taken the GMATPrep test yet so let's assume I am starting in 400's.

- Are there any other things you folks would recommend?

Thanks in advance and I look forward to hearing from you guys.
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by karanrulz4ever » Tue Dec 21, 2010 10:20 am
MGMAT CAT's are good. You can get them for free if you buy any of the MGMAT books.

3 months are more than enough to score 630+.

Use official materials such as OG. Do the OG well.

For scoring 630+, brush the concepts. That shud be enough to get u 630. Good Luck!!
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by atul_is_in » Wed Dec 22, 2010 11:39 am
Thanks, that helps. Are there any books or material available to prepare for AWA Essays?
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by rishi raj » Thu Dec 23, 2010 12:55 am
atul_is_in wrote:Thanks, that helps. Are there any books or material available to prepare for AWA Essays?
You do not need to worry much about the AWAs right now until and unless you think you're bad at writing. As long as you have anything above 4 on AWA, the schools would be fine with it. Right now you should focus on the Quant and the Verbal sections. I cannot overemphasize the importance of having the right strategy and books because you'll see a lot of people here who don't do well getting surprised when people here tell them that the material they referred to on the previous attempts was not good enough . Secondly, even if you want to get a 630, you need to be fairly good at concepts. Go through the concepts religiously and then do "quality" practice. Do not rush through the problems,but rather learn from each question. That way you can be assured of getting a good score.
I highly recommend that you take a GMATPREP before you actually kickstart your preparation.That will give you a fair idea about your competency level in each of the two sections and you want to tweak your strategy and study plan accordingly.
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by Psychodementia » Thu Dec 23, 2010 2:36 am
For a lower score and to get your concepts clear I suggest you do the Princeton Review book on GMAT. It explains the concepts and gives you easier problems to solve. That and understanding each question on OG (as someone has indicated) is more than sufficient. You don't need anything else for AWA. Just go through templates provided in the PR book.

On another note I am curious to know which schools you plan to apply and why you think a 630 should be okay. I am assuming that given your experience you want to apply only to top schools to make the investment worth-while. Any top schools has a very steep GMAT requirement.

Arun
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by atul_is_in » Thu Dec 23, 2010 5:13 am
First of all, thanks for all the replies.

To make things clear, The school I am planning to apply for has a 550 minimum. I figured 630+ score alongwith my credentials will get me into the school. I don't need a personal chest thumping satisfaction of doing 750+ :) .. I just need enough to get in (although the higher score the better).

Now to the books, currently I am referencing all 3 official guides. Can someone tell me some good books for quantitative and verbal? I have heard great things about MGMAT set but it may require significant time investment. Any other suggestions?
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