GMAT Strategy

Hi szhao,

To start, a 730 initial Score is an outstanding performance (the average Score on the Official GMAT hovers around 550 most years), so you're clearly a strong critical thinker. Focusing on the GMAT now - years before you will actually need your Score - is also a smart choice.

Since there's no way to properly 'forecast' what the application 'market' will look like in 3-4 years, there's no way to define the exact Score that you might need to get into any of those Schools. We can look at historical data though - and with a 700+ Score (and a strong Quant Scaled Score in the high Q40s or Q50s), you could comfortably apply to all of those Schools. With highly-competitive Programs, you will need a strong OVERALL profile and you will need to properly 'market yourself' to each individual Program that you apply to - but all of those issues are things you'll work on in the future.

Based on your current plan, I suggest that you study as you choose for the next 2-3 weeks, then take a new FULL-LENGTH CAT in a realistic fashion (take the FULL CAT - with the Essay and IR sections, take it away from your home, at the same time of day as when you'll take the Official GMAT, etc.). Once you have that score, you should report back here and we can discuss the results and any adjustments you might make to your study routine.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

Hi szhao,

A 730 cold is a great score! Nice work.

That being said, we have not heard from you in about 3 weeks. Are you still looking for guidance regarding your study plan?

szhao wrote: -I purchased the Official Guide 2019 bundle (OG, Verbal, Quant), and I have access to online versions of all the Manhattan strategy guides (a mix of 5th and 6th editions). I may also purchase the additional 6 CATs from Manhattan if those are recommended. Is this enough material to study with? [/list]
Lastly, how should I go about structuring my time? I've read that marginal gains near the top of the score range are the hardest to achieve, so I'm not sure if I should read all the Manhattan guides, focus on the OG questions, just take a bunch of practice tests, or some combination of everything.
[/list]

Yes, this is more than enough material to get started with. Here's what you should do:

1. Analyze the practice test you've taken in a lot of depth. Which areas were you weakest? Strongest? Fastest? Slowest? Decide which topics and question types need more of your time and attention. Be very aware of timing issues as well.

2. Study topic-by-topic, going chapter by chapter in the Mprep guides, then practice each topic with OG problems. For example, read the chapter on SC subject/verb agreement, then go do a set of 8-10 problems in the OGs that relate to that subject. You can find problems by topic using GMAT Navigator: https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/stor ... navigator/
Do this for each chapter in the Quant and Verbal strategy guides. Aim to do this in 8-10 weeks.

3. Make sure you are tracking all of the OG questions you do, and timing yourself while you practice. Hold yourself to strict 2-min time limits per question! (I highly recommend using Navigator to track your OG problems)

4. Alternate between Quant and Verbal. Don't just focus on one or the other. To get a 750+, you'll want to aim for a 50 or 51 on Quant, 44+ on Verbal.

5. Keep a detailed record of the mistakes you make in addition to just tracking right and wrong answers, so you can locate patterns in your errors: https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... -studying/

6. Take another practice test after 3 weeks, then every 2 weeks after that. Increase to a test every week for the last 2 weeks before your real exam.

7. Practice your skills with random timed sets out of the OGs once you've covered all of the content in the strategy guides . Set the timer for 20 minutes, for example, and do questions 1-10. The OG problems generally get harder as the question # increases (within a given question type), so questions 1-10 will be easier on average than 101-110. Start in the middle of the section if you want more challenging questions.

8. Analyze your data from the random sets and practice tests, and go back to any topics that need extra work.

9. Take GMATPrep CATs last. They won't have answer explanations or metrics, so we recommend using Mprep CATs for most of your study time, and saving these for last. (They're less helpful for analysis, but arguably most predictive of your real score, since they're written by the actual test-makers).

Good luck!