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GMAT SC Very Weak - Pls Help

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GMAT SC Very Weak - Pls Help

by sbharath » Sat Apr 14, 2012 2:35 am
Hi,

1) I am a non-native English speaker and from my 1st MGMAT CAT verbal was my weakest spot( 15 on verbal & 43 on quant).

2)I started with SC 1st with the MGMAT SC guide, but was put off by their lack of structure and overwhelming content.

3)I then moved to Aristotle SC grail : felt it was simple and good

- Read through their concepts slowly( 1st pass - took 10 days).
- Started with the 2nd pass of the book(This time read each chapter and started to practice the questions against each chapter, only 10% completed so far). Almost 2 weeks have passed now since I started with SC.

4) Originally, I thought of finishing the SC grail and then moving to MGMAT guide + OG12 Qs in a total of 3-4 weeks. But seemingly this is not enough. Understanding each concept, practicing the question and the analysis of the correct answer in the SC grail itself has taken up close to 2 weeks now. After this it looks like MGMAT SC guide would atleast take another 3-4 weeks.

5) I am now feeling discouraged and frustrated after I started with the SC topic. It looks like SC alone would take me at-least 3 months to read,practice and attain a good level of mastery. I am now unable to concentrate and my focus is disturbed.

I have read where people say that they had finished MGMAT SC guide in a week or 10days. Is this really the truth? or could be true for people who have a strong verbal baseline.

I wanted to take GMAT by the end of May'12( with a 3 month preperation time) - but now it looks like it's going to take me an eternity to step up my verbal and further strengthen the weak spots in quant.

6) Can somebody please advice me on a good 1 month strategy to strengthen my SC?
I spend 1-1.5 hrs per week day and 4-4.5 hrs on Sat and Sun.

7) I also heard about e-gmat course for non-native speakers. Is it really good and effective?

But I feel the price of $69 is a bit too much for SC alone( would be nice if test prep companies could price their offerings not only in dollars, but also taking into consideration the currency of the other not so rich countries). To somebody in US $69 could be a cakewalk, but for some country currency it's a lot of money.

Thanks for your help.

Best Regards,
Bharath S
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by sam2304 » Sat Apr 14, 2012 8:50 am
Start with single chapter a day and related problems in OG. Initially you will be able to solve easily as the problems will already be classified by topics. Solve OG problems in any one book as in OG12 or Verbal review. Don't solve all the problems in every book if you have all. Simultaneously start learning CR and RC. CR and RC - you don't have to learn rules, all you have to do is to find the right strategy. So start off soon with CR and RC, learn the right strategy and practice with it till you get the speed. For SC you have repeat the problems again and start solving other practice questions in verbal review, where you learn to identify errors by yourself. Once you are done with the concepts start with 10 problems each day. Learn to identify errors in each answer choice in every question. If you cannot eliminate an option with a reason find the concept, search the forums etc, learn it and try again. SC needs lots of practice. Since you have planned to take it by May end. Progress with SC on a daily basis rather than completing it fully. That will help you spare time for other sections as well. 1.5 hours is too less a time to work on more than one topic. Solving 10 problems roughly takes 20 mins and reviewing them will take more than 45 mins. So try to spare 2 or 3 hours a day. Hope this helps !!!
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by GMAT Kolaveri » Sat Apr 14, 2012 9:02 am
Methodology:

For Friends who have just started with SC preparation:

If you are in the initial stages of SC preparation, then learning and practicing topic-wise is the best way to start, just as mastering the individual nuances of swimming or any other game.

Step 1: Read a Chapter in Manhattan SC guide. Follow the same sequence as in the table of contents.

Step 2: Attempt the OG questions given at the end of each chapter. While attempting the question, try to find out the correct answer option by using the concepts you learnt in that chapter. Try to avoid using your knowledge from previous chapters. What I'm asking you to do is "TO HIT THE BULL's EYE". Don't worry if you get a few wrong. Don't read detailed solution given in OG right now. There is a reason behind this advice. If you have Verbal review book attempt those questions too.

Step 3: Follow the above two steps till chapter 10. Then follow the steps mentioned below for test takers who have already been preparing for GMAT for a month or so.

For Friends who have fair idea about the SC concepts

Step 1: Read a Chapter in Manhattan SC guide. Follow the same sequence as in the table of contents.

Step 2: [MOST IMPORTANT] For each practice question at the end of a chapter write detailed solution on a sheet of paper. Write down why the correct answer option is correct and why the incorrect answer options are incorrect. While eliminating incorrect answer options you can use your knowledge from other chapters.

Step 3: Once you are done with the OG questions compare your solution with OG solution. This is because each question in SC tests more than one concept. An incorrect option might be wrong due to more than one reason. By comparing with OG solution, you will come to on what basis OG eliminated that option.

Step 4: follow the above steps for each chapter. As you progress from one chapter to another, try to apply the concepts you had learnt in the previous chapters.

Note: Some of you might be lazy to write down the detailed solution. I strongly recommend you to write on a paper rather than mentally eliminating the answer options. The detailed solution would come in handy when comparing your solution with OG solution.

What are the benefits of this methodology?

1. Best utilization of each OG problem

2. By following the above methodology you are using THE MOST important strategy in verbal section: POE - Process of Elimination.

3. By reviewing all the 5 answer options you get a better understanding of concepts. You are also
improving your application process.

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