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New to the GMAT - Study tools

by Alex83 » Fri May 15, 2015 10:40 am
Hello everyone,

First of all, I'm happy to have found this forum. So far I've seen some great topics and discussions here!

I'm starting my journey to getting my MBA. I received my undergraduate in 2007 in Business Administration and Marketing and has since worked in sales, marketing and management. Time has come to challenge the status quo and to step it up a notch. That being said, I'm looking to apply to a business school at the institution I currently work for. The GMAT score they are looking for is 500 (which I understand is in the middle somewhere).

So here I am! I'm reviewing content online and as I'm not trying to score in the 700's I'm looking for some guidance. I think my strategy will be to aim for a 600-650 score and if I get anything above 500 I'm happy.

What are the very basics I need to get started? I have researched MBA.com and they, of course, want to sell you everything under the sun. They tend to make it seem lucrative to buy up (common marketing practices) and I'm not all that interested in buying a bunch of stuff I don't need.

Currently I'm looking at the Basic GMAT study collection which consists of Quantitive, Verbal, Official Review along with 1500 practice questions and answers.

One caveat is I didn't earn my undergrad in the US so I have actually never had to take "standardized tests".

In your humble opinion, as a student who has never taken standardized tests, have not had to do math in forever, would I be able to get by with these three books? Of course everything is subjective and everyone is different but if you see any "red flags" with my approach please let me know.

Thank you for your time!
Alex
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by Rich@EconomistGMAT » Fri May 15, 2015 10:57 am
Hi Alex83,

First of all, welcome! You've alluded to it a bit, but cracking the GMAT will require an understanding of the concepts AND test-taking skills. The books you've mentioned are a great start. However, many students who rely only on a book-heavy approach tend to see their scores plateau at a certain point. I'd strongly suggest that you consider including online resources as part of your plan, especially since a number of them include adaptive technology similar to what you'll experience on test day.

That being said, the good news is that most online resources offer free trials to give you the chance to try them out without making a large financial commitment from the beginning. Take advantage of these trials, and to help you get started, here's a link to try Economist GMAT Tutor for 7 days: https://bit.ly/1bPAHuW. You'll notice its adaptive technology will actually adjust your study plan based on your needs.

Best of luck!
Rich
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by Alex83 » Fri May 15, 2015 11:05 am
Thank you for your reply Rich!

After having reviewed a lot of the questions and watching some YouTube videos it quickly became clear to me that the strategy for answering the questions is almost more important than doing the "work". Our instincts are usually to "solve" the problem but more often than not it appears that finding the pattern, or the "easiest" way to answer the question is the best way to go.

I will check out the resources you provided.

Thank you again and if anyone else has tips and suggestions I would be happy to hear your feedback.
Alex
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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Fri May 15, 2015 11:12 am
Alex83 wrote:
After having reviewed a lot of the questions and watching some YouTube videos it quickly became clear to me that the strategy for answering the questions is almost more important than doing the "work". Our instincts are usually to "solve" the problem but more often than not it appears that finding the pattern, or the "easiest" way to answer the question is the best way to go.
That's a great observation, Alex, and it's key to beating this challenging test.
If you're interested, I wrote two articles on this topic:
GMAT Math vs. School Math - Part I: https://www.gmatprepnow.com/articles/gma ... %93-part-i
GMAT Math vs. School Math - Part II: https://www.gmatprepnow.com/articles/gma ... i-counting

We also have a free video on GMAT-specific strategies: https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gener ... es?id=1111

Cheers,
Brent
Brent Hanneson - Creator of GMATPrepNow.com
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by Alex83 » Fri May 15, 2015 11:19 am
Thank you Brent.
I will definitely check out your resources as well.

Best,
Alex
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by [email protected] » Fri May 15, 2015 1:25 pm
Hi Alex83,

The average GMAT score on the Official Exam tends to hover around 540-550 most years, so your score goal is reasonable. As such, you might be able to achieve it with self-study and a certain amount of book work. If you want to push that score in 650+ range (and put yourself into position for potential scholarships), then you'll likely need more in the way of computer-based resources and a more structured Study Plan.

Since you're just beginning, it would be a good idea to take a FULL-LENGTH practice CAT Test; you can download 2 for free from www.mba.com (and they come with some additional practice materials). A FULL CAT takes about 4 hours to complete, so make sure that you've set aside enough time to take it in one sitting. Once you have those scores, you should report back here and we can come up with a study plan. If you want to spend a little time getting familiar with some of the content and the format of the questions before taking that first CAT, then that is understandable.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich
Contact Rich at [email protected]
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