I typed this up for a friend, so mind some of the language...I'll post my practice/actual scores when I get a chance to dig them up....enjoy - it's the least I could do for all the help I recieved here! Like anything, if I knew what I know now, I think I could've done much better, so I'm hoping this might help people start off on the right foot...sorry for the length.
Set a date. This is very important because it will give you a timeline and concrete goal to reach. Two to three months is ideal. Too little and you might not have enough time; too long and you might get burned out. You want to go in at your prime, just like an NFL team goes into the playoffs. Who cares if you lose your first four games?
Resources:
Strategy Guide:
Purchase a strategy guide(s), preferably with practice CAT exams. Get whatever works for you. Kaplan or Princeton Review...from what I understand, Manhattan GMAT is superior to all (but quite expensive). I wouldn't get anything else besides these three mentioned.
Official Guide:
Buy the Official Guide (12 ed.). It's only like $20 on Amazon and about $35 in-store. This is very, very important. You really must buy this. It has official, retired questions. Others (PR, Kaplan, etc.) try, but cannot accurately replicate official-style questions. You want to practice with material written by the authors of the test, so this book is crucial. Go through it once. Then once again (I didn't have time to do it the second time, but it would have helped me tremendously). I found a guide to the question types and difficulty levels in this book. Find it (or PM me). Use it to track your progress.
PowerScore Critical Reasoning Bible:
I only used it the last three days, so I did not fully benefit from it. This should be one of your "big three" resources. It may seem silly to dedicate a whole book to one question type, but:
a.) This will help you with Reading Comprehension as well
b.) Given that there are 5 question types, if you become expert at 3 of them (I have no doubt you'll be at least slightly above average on the other 2 types), you will definitely get 700+. This is a very good guide, and I wished I had discovered it earlier.
Miscellaneous:
-www.beatthegmat.com
-Beat the GMAT free flashcards
-Google - Google any question type for strategy, GMAT resources, or specific question. There is a 99% chance someone has struggled with the same question you are struggling with, and forums provide phenomenal explanations.
-Sahil's Sentence Correction Notes
-Spidey's Sentence Correction Notes
-MGMAT flashcards for iPhone (free app)
-Worksheets - you can find GMAT practice worksheets online. I have one with difficult "mindbender questions," as well as one with combinations/permutations. I can try to find these online if you want. You can find decent practice material for anything you want to brush up on.
-Re-learning to diagram sentences wouldn't hurt.
-GMAC has published all the potential essay questions. Learn how to structure your answers.
Practice Exams:
Try to take about 6 of these over the course of your study. Simulate actual test conditions, do not take extra breaks, and take it at the time at which your exam is scheduled. Do NOT skip over the Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) section!
-Kaplan has a free online CAT for which you can sign up. Kaplan doesn't do the greatest job in terms of providing realistic questions or offering an accurate scoring algorithm (You can expect to add 50-100 points to your Kaplan score), but it is always beneficial to sit through as many practice tests as you can, so I would say go for it.
-MGMAT also has a free CAT you can sign up for. They do a better job of providing realistic questions and a more accurate score. The swing is about +/- 50 points. Keep in mind that their Quant section is pretty tough, and you might be pressed for time.
-GMAT Prep software is free on the GMAC website. These are by far the most accurate indicators of your actual performance with a spread of +/- 30 points (keep in mind that the actual test is going to partly depend on luck, experimental questions, etc. so there will always be a swing - if I got "lucky" on the real exam, I might've got bumped up 10-20 points). The interface on GMAT Prep is also indicative of what you will see on the actual exam.
They give you two exams. Save one of them for the last few weeks, so you go in to the test familiar with GMAC's style. You can retake the GMAT Prep tests as many times as you want (and you should), but keep in mind you may see repeat questions that may inflate your score. The plus side of this is that you have an opportunity to be faced with harder questions. If you remember an answer to a repeat question, let two minutes skip off of the clock so you don't get too much of an advantage.
Studying:
-Create a schedule and stick to it. This sounds silly but it's very important
-When you're doing problems, don't waste time trying to remember formulae/theorems/concepts; internalize them
-Keep reviewing strategies. If you only learn them at the beginning, they won't help you as much until you apply them. So review strategies, do problems, review strategies, do problems, etc. and keep applying the strategies to new types of problems that you encounter.
-After going through the Official Guide, go through it again, but make sure you at least do corrections for all the problems you missed. Don't ever get caught up in a specific problem or the technicalities of that problem. Learn how to truly solve it.
-Something you have to be aware of is that "hard" questions are pretty much the same as "easy" questions. "Hard" questions are just asked in a more confusing and roundabout way. That is why it is crucial to go back and re-do the OG questions. Essentially, you want to learn to re-form questions - to say, "This question looks hard - but it reminds me of an "easy" question that I figured out. Let me try to word it differently and turn it into an easy question." Always try to re-form difficult questions.
-It is obviously important to maintain your strengths, and improve your weaknesses. Do not take your strengths for granted - keep practicing question types at which you excel. On the same note, don't get too caught up in weaknesses. Sometimes a weakness is a weakness and you have to accept it. Know your weaknesses, and allow that to help you make better decisions (ie, when to skip a problem and move on).
-They say you should spend, on average, two minutes per question. Keep in mind this is just an average. You will spend 5 minutes on some and 30 seconds on others. You have to know your weaknesses and when to skip a question and move on if it is taking too long. Chances are, if you spend a ridiculous amount of time on a question, you will get it wrong anyway. Is it worth it? Maybe. This is why pacing is so difficult. Example: On the real GMAT, I spent about 6 minutes on a verbal question. It was really confusing and I couldn't wrap my head around it. I eventually guessed on moved on because I was worried that I was wasting too much time. Turns out, I finished the section with 6 minutes left - I could have spent 12 minutes on this question! I later realized the correct answer. Maybe answering it correctly would have bumped me up to 700; but maybe it was experimental and didn't even count...
-Always practice taking test under real test conditions. This includes the time of day as well. This is instrumental in practicing pacing. Pacing is tricky.
-Remember that the GMAT doesn't just test material. It is testing your stamina and decision making ability. Don't get tired; don't get lazy - stay focused throughout the whole test.
-Don't hoard materials. The last thing you want to do is collect so much study material that you don't know what to do with it. The stuff I mentioned above should be fine.
Set a date. This is very important because it will give you a timeline and concrete goal to reach. Two to three months is ideal. Too little and you might not have enough time; too long and you might get burned out. You want to go in at your prime, just like an NFL team goes into the playoffs. Who cares if you lose your first four games?
Resources:
Strategy Guide:
Purchase a strategy guide(s), preferably with practice CAT exams. Get whatever works for you. Kaplan or Princeton Review...from what I understand, Manhattan GMAT is superior to all (but quite expensive). I wouldn't get anything else besides these three mentioned.
Official Guide:
Buy the Official Guide (12 ed.). It's only like $20 on Amazon and about $35 in-store. This is very, very important. You really must buy this. It has official, retired questions. Others (PR, Kaplan, etc.) try, but cannot accurately replicate official-style questions. You want to practice with material written by the authors of the test, so this book is crucial. Go through it once. Then once again (I didn't have time to do it the second time, but it would have helped me tremendously). I found a guide to the question types and difficulty levels in this book. Find it (or PM me). Use it to track your progress.
PowerScore Critical Reasoning Bible:
I only used it the last three days, so I did not fully benefit from it. This should be one of your "big three" resources. It may seem silly to dedicate a whole book to one question type, but:
a.) This will help you with Reading Comprehension as well
b.) Given that there are 5 question types, if you become expert at 3 of them (I have no doubt you'll be at least slightly above average on the other 2 types), you will definitely get 700+. This is a very good guide, and I wished I had discovered it earlier.
Miscellaneous:
-www.beatthegmat.com
-Beat the GMAT free flashcards
-Google - Google any question type for strategy, GMAT resources, or specific question. There is a 99% chance someone has struggled with the same question you are struggling with, and forums provide phenomenal explanations.
-Sahil's Sentence Correction Notes
-Spidey's Sentence Correction Notes
-MGMAT flashcards for iPhone (free app)
-Worksheets - you can find GMAT practice worksheets online. I have one with difficult "mindbender questions," as well as one with combinations/permutations. I can try to find these online if you want. You can find decent practice material for anything you want to brush up on.
-Re-learning to diagram sentences wouldn't hurt.
-GMAC has published all the potential essay questions. Learn how to structure your answers.
Practice Exams:
Try to take about 6 of these over the course of your study. Simulate actual test conditions, do not take extra breaks, and take it at the time at which your exam is scheduled. Do NOT skip over the Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) section!
-Kaplan has a free online CAT for which you can sign up. Kaplan doesn't do the greatest job in terms of providing realistic questions or offering an accurate scoring algorithm (You can expect to add 50-100 points to your Kaplan score), but it is always beneficial to sit through as many practice tests as you can, so I would say go for it.
-MGMAT also has a free CAT you can sign up for. They do a better job of providing realistic questions and a more accurate score. The swing is about +/- 50 points. Keep in mind that their Quant section is pretty tough, and you might be pressed for time.
-GMAT Prep software is free on the GMAC website. These are by far the most accurate indicators of your actual performance with a spread of +/- 30 points (keep in mind that the actual test is going to partly depend on luck, experimental questions, etc. so there will always be a swing - if I got "lucky" on the real exam, I might've got bumped up 10-20 points). The interface on GMAT Prep is also indicative of what you will see on the actual exam.
They give you two exams. Save one of them for the last few weeks, so you go in to the test familiar with GMAC's style. You can retake the GMAT Prep tests as many times as you want (and you should), but keep in mind you may see repeat questions that may inflate your score. The plus side of this is that you have an opportunity to be faced with harder questions. If you remember an answer to a repeat question, let two minutes skip off of the clock so you don't get too much of an advantage.
Studying:
-Create a schedule and stick to it. This sounds silly but it's very important
-When you're doing problems, don't waste time trying to remember formulae/theorems/concepts; internalize them
-Keep reviewing strategies. If you only learn them at the beginning, they won't help you as much until you apply them. So review strategies, do problems, review strategies, do problems, etc. and keep applying the strategies to new types of problems that you encounter.
-After going through the Official Guide, go through it again, but make sure you at least do corrections for all the problems you missed. Don't ever get caught up in a specific problem or the technicalities of that problem. Learn how to truly solve it.
-Something you have to be aware of is that "hard" questions are pretty much the same as "easy" questions. "Hard" questions are just asked in a more confusing and roundabout way. That is why it is crucial to go back and re-do the OG questions. Essentially, you want to learn to re-form questions - to say, "This question looks hard - but it reminds me of an "easy" question that I figured out. Let me try to word it differently and turn it into an easy question." Always try to re-form difficult questions.
-It is obviously important to maintain your strengths, and improve your weaknesses. Do not take your strengths for granted - keep practicing question types at which you excel. On the same note, don't get too caught up in weaknesses. Sometimes a weakness is a weakness and you have to accept it. Know your weaknesses, and allow that to help you make better decisions (ie, when to skip a problem and move on).
-They say you should spend, on average, two minutes per question. Keep in mind this is just an average. You will spend 5 minutes on some and 30 seconds on others. You have to know your weaknesses and when to skip a question and move on if it is taking too long. Chances are, if you spend a ridiculous amount of time on a question, you will get it wrong anyway. Is it worth it? Maybe. This is why pacing is so difficult. Example: On the real GMAT, I spent about 6 minutes on a verbal question. It was really confusing and I couldn't wrap my head around it. I eventually guessed on moved on because I was worried that I was wasting too much time. Turns out, I finished the section with 6 minutes left - I could have spent 12 minutes on this question! I later realized the correct answer. Maybe answering it correctly would have bumped me up to 700; but maybe it was experimental and didn't even count...
-Always practice taking test under real test conditions. This includes the time of day as well. This is instrumental in practicing pacing. Pacing is tricky.
-Remember that the GMAT doesn't just test material. It is testing your stamina and decision making ability. Don't get tired; don't get lazy - stay focused throughout the whole test.
-Don't hoard materials. The last thing you want to do is collect so much study material that you don't know what to do with it. The stuff I mentioned above should be fine.
