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Need Advice: Study Material strategy !!!

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Need Advice: Study Material strategy !!!

by mohitlove » Fri Feb 05, 2010 11:55 am
Hi

Im planning to give my GMAT by the end of November this year. Before I drop in my question, I would give you a brief background of myself... I have done my grad 4 years back and not in touch with math since the past 7 years or so, really forgotten all the basic and concepts. I wont mind shedding few more funds on buys books.

After going through various post and threads I have developed 2 plans for my study material, I would really appreciate if you could provide your advice on the same:


Plan A:

Math- I will start with Kaplan Math Foundation, moving forward to Kaplan math workbook and then the MANHATTAN GMAT book

Verbal- Will Start with Kaplan Verbal Foundation, moving on to Kaplan verbal workbook and then the MANHATTAN GMAT books.

Will use All OG's for practice and Kaplan GMAT Live Online 2010 for general strategies (won't use this for practice as I have a major phobia for this book)

Plan B:

Math- I will start with Kaplan Math Foundation, moving forward the MANHATTAN GMAT books ( Will Skip the Kaplan Workbook)

Verbal- Will Start with Kaplan Verbal Foundation, moving to the MANHATTAN GMAT books ( Will Skip the Kaplan Workbook)

Will use All OG's for practice and Kaplan GMAT Live Online 2010 for general strategies (wont use this for practice as I have a major phobia for this book)


The only difference between Plan A and Plan B is that I won't use the Workbooks in plan B

One more thing which one is better Kaplan Workbook or Foundations of GMAT Math by MGMAT

Please advice me keeping in consideration that im really poor in math and have some good amount of time to spend for my preparation.

Many thanks
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by komal » Mon Feb 08, 2010 4:06 am
Hi Mohit,

Plan A seems better because the workbooks u have selected are excellent in terms of explanations and getting the basics right (especially math workbook since u have mentioned ur weak area is quants)

As for ur query on quant books i would say Foundations of GMAT Math by MGMAT scores over Kaplan Workbook. Here's a brief review of both to help u decide on what will suit ur needs :

Kaplan GMAT Math Workbook :

Strengths:
1. Fairly comprehensive review of the basic math concepts needed for the GMAT
2. Structure of the book allows you to work from start to finish, building on previous skills learned
3. Sections devoted to Word problem and Data Sufficiency questions

Weaknesses:
1. Statistics, Combinations/Permutations and Probability are not covered
2. Questions do not reflect GMAT questions, but rather are designed to insure that the material is mastered

Manhattan GMAT Foundations of GMAT Math :

Strengths:
1. Best book for brushing up on long forgotten math concepts (fractions, powers, etc)
2. Comes with additional online practice questions
3. More detailed in explanations of concepts

Weaknesses:
1. The book has 400 practice questions but they are not in a GMAT format, rather a math-textbook format
2. No access to MGMAT tests that usually are included with all of the other 8 guides

Hope this helps : )
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by rabodzey » Mon Feb 08, 2010 10:20 am
Mohit,

While these are both good starts, it is more important to get hands on experience with tests. It is very important to develop a fundamental understanding of general principles used in GMAT math and verbal, but once you have mastered these skills, you need to start practicing tests.

I would strongly recommend to expect to spend much more time on solving online tests and analyzing your mistakes than on reading basic material. In the end there are just a handful of formulas you will need and they can be memorized, the problem is to master a skill of using them quickly. I would keep official GMAT tests to the end and only take them a week before the exam. Before that I would try to solve as many 3rd party tests as you can.

Good luck!

Alex
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by money9111 » Mon Feb 08, 2010 10:45 am
Manhattan GMAT Foundations of GMAT Math is great to use to brush up on materials but it in no way is the final book you should use to prepare. I'm taking the MGMAT class and we don't even use the Foundations book. This is in case we were having trouble with something and needed a refresher. So if we aren't using it in the class, it's definitely not the book you should solely use.
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by mohitlove » Mon Feb 08, 2010 12:09 pm
HI money9111,rabodzey,komal

Thanks a ton for your advice regarding my query.

Really appreciate your effort regarding the same.


Regards
Mohit Love
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by money9111 » Tue Feb 09, 2010 2:25 pm
No problem! keep us posted! Although if you're planning on taking the exam in November, I'll be mid application process, so I may not be around as much ;-)
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by Jen Kedro » Tue Feb 09, 2010 4:04 pm
Sounds like you are getting some good advice here; I would re-inforce the points made about the importance of taking realistic, online, timed practice tests. It's great to review the foundations early on, especially if you do need the extra math help, but you could review all the math foundations available and still do poorly on the GMAT if you aren't practicing GMAT-style questions under timed, realistic conditions. Part of doing well on the GMAT is knowing how to perform under that additional pressure of the time-crunch, the adaptive exam, and taking the test on the computer with scratch paper etc. Aim to take approx 1 full length test/week, at least once you are done with your foundations review, and spend time reviewing each exam you take to really learn from your mistakes. Good luck!

PS-- As a long-time Kaplan instructor, I will just let you know that many of my students over the years who were rough in math have raved about the Kaplan GMAT Math Workbook, saying it was just what they were looking for since it takes each concept, explains it, drills you on it, then moves to GMAT-style questions on it. I'm less familiar with the other books, but overall just keep up the realistic practice as much as possible!
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