GMAT Strategy

I have been on this forum for a while now but have not made a full commitment yet. Well tomorrow I am going to begin this journey. I hope to continuously post my progress and look for advice from experts along the way. In the morning I am going to take my first practice test using GMAT PREP. I am extremely nervous because I honestly can't remember anything from Algebra and Geometry from high school. All I can do is just dive in and begin. I will post my initial score tomorrow. I am really inspired by joshcollins post and I think I am going to take some of his advice. (Although I fear that I will get a much lower initial score then Josh)

The materials I currently have are the Official GMAT Book and KAPLAN PREMIER. I plan on purchasing the Empowerment course (so I hope to hear some advice from Rich). I also plan on buying some MGMAT practice exams as well.

I am planning on studying for about 3 months and plan on dedicating 6-7 days a week on studying. Any advice for a beginner will help and please let me know what I can do after I post my initial score.

Thanks,
Max

Well, you're definitely in the right place.

The biggest tip I can give as far as prep goes is to be very analytical in your practice. Anyone can do a lot of problems, but it's not enough on its own. You have to spend time breaking down problems and identifying what you did correctly/incorrectly. Over time, you'll notice the areas that are consistently giving you trouble as well as the common wording tricks and traps the GMAT uses. Even when you get a problem correct, it's worth reviewing to see if there were better ways to get to the right answer.

Bill,

Thanks for that advice. I will take that into account throughout my preparation. I will be important for me to break everything down because this is all going to be foreign to me. I appreciate you responding to my post. Again I am about to take that first practice exam and I will post upon completion.

Max

Well I just finished my initial assessment and got a 470. Honestly I am not too upset with that because I figured I would be somewhere in that ballpark.

Quantitative - 31
Verbal - 25
IR - 5

I looked back at a couple and saw that I was struggling with DS questions and need refreshers on algebra and geometry.

I didnt get a chance to look at mistakes I made on the Verbal Section and thought I could go back and look but I guess you cant.

I hope people can tell me where I go now and I will be back on later tonight to get a little start.

Thanks,
Max