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Strategy recommendation for newbie

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Strategy recommendation for newbie

by zgmail » Thu May 03, 2007 5:19 am
Hi all,

I'm planning on taking the GMAT sometime in early July. I just started a 9-week class with ManhattanGMAT.

Some stats:
MGMAT diagnostic: 620, V 83 percentile, Q 52 percentile (no previous prep)

I have the next 10 weeks pretty much free (i.e. no job and ... I can do no life for a while! :wink: )

Basic Plan: I am planning on doing 15+ hours of prep (in addition to the 3-hour class) per week. --> 3-4 hours/weekday, 4 hours on weekends.

Goal: I am aiming for 700+ (it's kind of scary to see that goal written out, isn't it?).

I am checking out Eric's beatthegmat blog (thanks, Eric!), but I want to know if you guys have any advice on how to structure my study time effectively (as I only have a bit more than 2 months). I'll be doing the HW that MGMAT assigns, but beyond that?

Concerns: Quant.. haven't taken math since first year of college. So my math skills are rusty. My plan is to look at the MGMAT study guides, then decide next week if I need additional math help, etc.

Any good suggestions for books, etc. on brushing up on basic skills? Like, 3^(x+1) = 3^(x)+3^(1).

Yeah.... COMPLETELY forgot about that. :shock:
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The MGMAT course

by GCHall840 » Thu May 03, 2007 8:22 am
Hi zgmail,
The 9 week MGMAT class will keep you very busy. If you do all of the readings, assignments, and Official Guide problems in the strategy guides, it will take you more than 15 hours a week just to do that. When you take a practice test, it will take extra time for that week, too. They cover a lot of material in their strategy guides. Some of the math strategy guides have 100 Official Guide problems assigned in just one of them. In addition, they also assign weekly online labs that I think are a really big help in the learning process, They also offer online practice sets, online challenge problems, and online computer adaptive tests, too. I have never been able to find a really good math review study guide, so I can't really recommend one for you. Actually, the MGMAT math strategy guides do a pretty good job of going over all the basic math concepts. However, if you aren't that good in math or if you haven't had any math for awhile, I would ask some other people on this forum about that. But, generally, if you focus in on what the MGMAT math strategy guides have to offer, that might be enough. In my case, once I studied the MGMAT math strategies and after I did their own math practice sets, I found it much easier to do the math problems in the Official Guide. It was all a matter of being focused and paying attention to all of the strategies, techniques, and the tips that Manhattan GMAT gives you in the class.

One thing that I found to be true is that it was very easy to get behind in that 9 week class. If you get behind in one subject, make sure that you stay on top of whatever is assigned for the next week. I had that happen to me because I was working too many hours for two weeks while I was taking the class. If you aren't working at all, then you should stay on track every week. Follow their course syllabus exactly the way it is presented. That syllabus was designed as a study plan, so you don't really need to make one up for yourself. Of course, you can add things, but I would stick to that plan first before I would do anything else. Using that syllabus as a guide, is a very big key to success in that class. I would not study more than 25 hours a week, even if you aren't working, either.

I hope that what I said helps you with the MGMAT class and your study process, too.

Greg
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by itobean » Thu May 03, 2007 11:36 am
I second what Greg is saying!

I am horrible at math and the workbooks have helped me immensely. But like Greg said, you need to be diligent about staying caught up with the class. That was my biggest downfall with it. I fell behind for 2 weeks and it just snowballed from there. It's hard to get caught up once you fall behind in it. But like Greg said, their "syllabus" is a perfect study plan.

Good luck to you! I'm going to start the 9 week course again here soon.
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by analytchem » Sun May 06, 2007 6:51 pm
Where can I find a copy of their syllabus?
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by Stacey Koprince » Tue May 08, 2007 12:47 pm
The syllabus goes along with the course - if you're not taking the course, it's not really going to be that useful. (It includes homework assignments in all of our books, online labs which only students can access, etc.)
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by Stacey Koprince » Tue May 08, 2007 12:49 pm
Oh - and re: studying, generally study in blocks of 90-120 minutes. If you want to do 3 hours a day, do 90 minutes in the morning and 90 minutes in the later afternoon or something like that - significant breaks between study sessions.

Go onto our website where the GMATTERS articles are archived - I wrote an article last year about how to study. I don't remember the title, but it will be dated sometime in 2006 and the title will have something to do with "how to study."
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