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Getting a good grasp on the fundamentals: Basic Math or GMAT

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Getting a good grasp on the fundamentals: Basic Math or GMAT

by milanproda » Thu Jan 20, 2011 10:59 am
Hello Guys,

I have been studying for the GMAT for a while now, but I am having trouble with the math section. I am not sure what is the best plan and which way I should focus my study time. I often study for hours, but I have trouble applying it to new GMAT questions.

My question in this thread is:

Is it better to go over basic arithmatic, algebra, stats, comb. etc through basic math textbooks, software, or private tutoring OR should I just focus on GMAT math and try and find a tutor for that?

Any suggestions or criticisms are welcomed!

Milan
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by Brian@VeritasPrep » Thu Jan 20, 2011 11:55 am
Hey Milan,

Good question - I'm sure there are arguments for both sides but I'd highly recommend at least starting with the idea of GMAT math and then bringing in outside resources as necessary. The GMAT tests a pretty narrow scope of math concepts, so in my experience I've seen at least a few students study things that won't ever appear on the GMAT. Basic math textbooks/software aren't narrowly tailored to the GMAT specifically, so they'll cover extraneous (for your purposes) information, and they'll also likely incorporate the use of calculators (or the kind of math that will involve calculators), which you can't use on the GMAT.

So I think it's important to get a good feel for GMAT math scope before you begin studying, and then as you recognize which concepts you really need to work on, you can seek out additional fundamental resources. That's smart - there are only so many good GMAT questions out there, so if you're really struggling on algebra basics you can get a much higher ROI by studying Algebra specifically than by grinding through hard Data Sufficiency questions. But that GMAT math scope is pretty important - otherwise you can waste a lot of time studying spheres, decimals, etc.
Brian Galvin
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by milanproda » Thu Jan 20, 2011 12:22 pm
Kevin, thank you for your quick response.

I think your suggestions makes a lot of sense. Would you by any chance have any advice as to what the best way to go about get acquainted with GMAT math? Should I, for example, go through a set of math books (I recently bought a few vertias books, math essentials, arithmetic, algebra, stats) and then going back to basic math?

Thank you for your help.
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by milanproda » Thu Jan 20, 2011 1:56 pm
Kevin, thank you for your quick response.

I think your suggestions makes a lot of sense. Would you by any chance have any advice as to what the best way to go about get acquainted with GMAT math? Should I, for example, go through a set of math books (I recently bought a few vertias books, math essentials, arithmetic, algebra, stats) and then going back to basic math?

Thank you for your help.
Milan Prodanovic
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by milanproda » Thu Jan 20, 2011 1:56 pm
Kevin, thank you for your quick response.

I think your suggestions makes a lot of sense. Would you by any chance have any advice as to what the best way to go about get acquainted with GMAT math? Should I, for example, go through a set of math books (I recently bought a few vertias books, math essentials, arithmetic, algebra, stats) and then going back to basic math?

Thank you for your help.
Milan Prodanovic
[email protected]
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User avatar
GMAT Instructor
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by Brian@VeritasPrep » Thu Jan 20, 2011 2:25 pm
Hey Milan,

If you're starting with the Veritas books you should be in great shape - we put a lot of work into making sure we cover everything that's on the GMAT, but nothing that's not on it. I'm happy to hear that you have those books.

I'd suggest taking that Math Essentials book and devouring it - get up to speed with all of those fundamental skills, and then look at outside resources like www.purplemath.com and www.math-drills.com just to find additional practice on anything that's still giving you trouble.

Once you feel pretty comfortable with the fundamental skills from Math Essentials book you should be ready to start hitting the other math books in that series and those will add GMAT-specific strategy and advice as well as higher-level content coverage from there.
Brian Galvin
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by milanproda » Fri Jan 21, 2011 8:32 am
Thanks! I will get to it right away, and hopefully it helps.
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