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Seeking help on GMAT preparation strategy

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Seeking help on GMAT preparation strategy

by nishaant » Tue Jul 15, 2014 3:25 am
Dear Friends,

I have just started my preparation for GMAT and planning to give my exam after 3 months of study. I have bought the preparation material from Veritas prep and working through that but seeing the online forums I believe that I need to read other books also for my preparation. But seeing different lists of books on different Forums I have really got confused.
Could someone please help and let me know how can I prepare for my exam. What other books shall I read apart from completing the Veritas Preparation course.

I would really appreciate any help.

Thanks in advance!!!
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by [email protected] » Tue Jul 15, 2014 10:30 am
Hi nishaant,

Since you've just started your studies, there's no way to know whether you'll need additional study materials or not. Most Test Takers purchase the 13th GMAC Official Guide (or the new GMAT Official Review 2015) and download the free resources (2 practice CATs and practice questions) from www.mba.com).

As you work through your current Course, you'll get a better sense of your strengths and weaknesses. You should plan to report back here with updates; then you'll have the opportunity to receive more pointed suggestions and advice.

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by nishaant » Tue Jul 15, 2014 10:13 pm
Thanks Rich!!

I will move on with my books and would come back on how I go ahead with my preparation.
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by VivianKerr » Wed Jul 16, 2014 10:48 pm
Hey Nishaant,

I would NOT suggest just moving chronologically through materials. I would set a Study Plan that includes 1 practice CAT a week, a solid review strategy of all incorrect questions using an Error Log, and then BASED on the Error Log, selecting a maximum of 5-6 concepts to focus on PER WEEK.

In addition, I would practice a strategic approach for EVERY major question-type (CR, SC, RC, PS, and DS) and practice them untimed on OG questions until you're confident they will yield a high accuracy for you.

The key to GMAT success is:

-content mastery -- knowing what is ON the exam -- I'd start with MGMAT SC and MGMAT NP to build a solid backbone

-pacing flexibility -- do pacing drills with practice questions during the week so you're working under timed conditions to condition yourself in shorter bursts; use benchmarks for all CATs, get comfortable with guessing strategically in order to stay "on benchmark"

-strategy -- write out your approach step-by-step for ALL q-types and be sure to have them in front of your as you practice; get extremely organized in how you utilize your scratch paper

Good luck!
Vivian Kerr
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Former Kaplan and Grockit instructor, freelance GMAT content creator, now offering affordable, effective, Skype-tutoring for the GMAT at $150/hr. Contact: [email protected]

Thank you for all the "thanks" and "follows"! :-)
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by nishaant » Wed Jul 23, 2014 3:47 am
Thanks Vivian and sorry for delayed reply. As I didn't get a notification of your message, I wasn't aware of it.

I have started solving online problems for each topic after reading the basics from the Veritas prep book for that topic. But I am really struggling with the maths topics. Probably I try to finish the questions within 2-3 minutes and get them wrong. Could you please advise me a strategy here. Shall I first try to work on solving the questions correctly and then work on my timing. In that case anyhow, I would have exhausted the question banks I do have.

Thanks again!!!
Nishant
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by Brent@GMATPrepNow » Wed Jul 23, 2014 3:04 pm
Hi Nishant,

Early on in your prep, there's a danger in focusing too much on your timing. In my view, this focus has the potential to actually hinder your preparation. I feel so strongly about the whole timing issue that I wrote two articles about it:
- Making Friends with Time on the GMAT - Part I (https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2011/06/ ... mat-part-i)
- Making Friends with Time on the GMAT - Part II (https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2011/07/ ... at-part-ii)
Executive Summary: Use a timer, but only to get an idea of what 2 minutes feels like. Later on (once you've covered all of the content), you can start working on your speed.

Executive Summary of the Executive Summary: Content First - Speed Second

I hope that helps.

Cheers,
Brent
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by [email protected] » Wed Jul 23, 2014 6:54 pm
Hi nishaant,

Based on your original post, I was under the impression that you had purchased a GMAT COURSE, not just some GMAT books. Are you taking a Course/Class or are you just reading/working through those books?

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by nishaant » Thu Jul 24, 2014 2:36 am
Hi Brent,

Thanks for pointing towards your articles. Probably thats the mistake I am doing.
I should first work on solving the questions for all the verbal and quant topics and then try to master the timing.

Thanks again for the help!!
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by nishaant » Thu Jul 24, 2014 2:39 am
Hi Rich,

I haven't joined a course but have bought the 12 book Veritas Prep set which has books numbered from 1-12 and asks to read them in the same series.

What I have started with is reading the book first and then solving the questions related to that topic online on the veritas prep question bank.

Thanks
Nishant
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by [email protected] » Thu Jul 24, 2014 8:55 am
Hi nishaant,

Thanks for clarifying.

After a couple of weeks of additional study, you'll want to take a FULL-LENGTH practice CAT to get a sense of your progress. Be sure to post back here with your results and we can tweak your study plan accordingly.

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by nishaant » Mon Jul 28, 2014 4:05 pm
Thanks Rich!!!
Will post as soon as I get my hands on the full length test :-)
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by nishaant » Thu Jul 31, 2014 5:58 pm
Hey Rich,

Could you please suggest, which Diagnostic test would be best to give after couple of weeks study as suggested by you. As I have only covered some of the topics mixing math and verbal. I do not want to waste GMAC tests without completing the full course.

Please suggest the Diagnostic test I should take.

Thanks!
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by [email protected] » Thu Jul 31, 2014 8:04 pm
Hi nishaant,

You can purchase a set of CATs from Veritas, MGMAT or Kaplan (these CATs come with the Kaplan Premiere Book).

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by nishaant » Thu Jul 31, 2014 8:17 pm
I already have some CATS from Veritas with my subscription.
I was thinking it wont be close to actual GMAT. But I will give my first diagnostic on that.

Thanks!!!
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by nishaant » Sun Sep 28, 2014 4:05 am
Hi Rich, Brent , Vivian and other gurus,

I am really sorry as I took a long time to give my first CAT and come back with scores. Actually I wanted to finish the books set first to get the basics right at least first for all the topics before giving my first CAT. I gave the test from Veritas and my score is as follows:

Score %le Correct
Quant 48 (of 60) 78% 59%
Verbal 35 (of 60) 74% 68%
Total 680 85 64%

My timing was really bad and I guessed almost 10 (7 wrong out of 10) questions on verbal and 7-8 questions on quant because of lack of time. Also I felt that the exam was a bit easier. If Veritas CATS are easier than actual GMAT?

I will now start working on official guide and improving my timing. Please suggest how to improve timing and how to develop a study plan moving further.

Thanks a lot in advance!!!

Nishant
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