Hi all,
First off,Thank You to the site owners and community for this excellent website.Being a newbie(about 3 weeks into preps), I cannot write enough about how much I learned about Gmat from this site.
I am a non-native English speaker living in the US, taking GMAT for the first time. To make things more challenging, I am taking it in a months time!
Posting here,because I need your advice/suggestions on how to maximize returns(700+) on my efforts in the given short time.To give you an idea about what I have done till now, I am elaborating on my test prep till date.
Materials owned:
1.Manhattan Gmat 4th edition Strategy guides(8 books)
2.OG 13
3.Manhattan Gmat Sentence Correction, 5th edition
4.Kaplan Gmat Premier 2013
Strengths: Determination,Dedication and Quick-learning ability.
Weaknesses:RC,SC,IR,Fractions and Probabilities.
(Yup, it is not a parallel comparison but that is the truth, I do not have test topic strengths!)
In the past 3 weeks, I have breezed through the Manhattan gmat quant strategy guides made notes, practiced most of the corresponding questions including those from OG.
Practice tests to-date:
Test Score Date
1.Kaplan CAT1 660 (Q-62%,V-53%) 2-June-2013
2.MGMAT1 590 (Q38,V34) 5-June-2013
3.MGMAT2 580 (Q39,V31) 14-June-2013
My Kaplan Diagnostic Paper test,taken sometime late May, score was 690.
My key concerns are:
1.The pattern I noticed from my tests is that whenever I focus on a particular area on Quant, I do that well on the next test, but suffer on all other areas. And till date, I have focused only on quant, given that it is an area easier to improve. I cannot claim Quant as my strong area even though I am an engineer. So I understand that I would need to spend more time on it but at the same time improve my verbal drastically. How can I focus yet balance both sections simultaneously?
2.I am most likely going to run out of practice material, before being 90% comfortable with all question types. So I am interested in buying an online prep as it would also increase my comfort level on tackling questions on a computer. Which is course would you recommend? (imp factors include sufficient practice material with option to select questions on varying levels of difficulty, timing options,IR practice material and online support)
3.Find IR very challenging, more because of time constraints rather than the question itself. I take 2 minutes just to gauge the question. I want to decrease my reaction time, practice is probably the best way to achieve this, but given the short time, is is worth the time it would demand?
4.Have to re-iterate this-Working on a computer is not my forte. I find it lot easier to work with paper and pencil(yes, call me old-fashioned!)
720+ may be a stretch goal, but I totally believe I can do it with the right guidance,strategy and dedication.
My current plan is to
1.Study for about 8 hrs per day(except weekends) until 2 days before the test.
2.Take tests weekly and review it.
3.Focus on one pain area daily. But practice few qns from others.
Please review my study plan and suggest ways to improve it. Also if possible, recommend a suitable online prep course. If you need more specifics, do let me know.
Thanks a ton,in advance!!!
P.S: I am considering buying the Magoosh premium prep course(given its cost effectiveness yet ability to zero in on quesions topic/difficulty wise), however cant seem to find enough reviews on it besides their own testimonials. Also, I remotely remember reading somewhere that Magoosh's 700+ level is not as difficult as the real GMAT's. That would be calling for a disaster! If there are any Magoosh users, could you please share how useful Magoosh is in practicing 700+ questions?
First off,Thank You to the site owners and community for this excellent website.Being a newbie(about 3 weeks into preps), I cannot write enough about how much I learned about Gmat from this site.
I am a non-native English speaker living in the US, taking GMAT for the first time. To make things more challenging, I am taking it in a months time!
Posting here,because I need your advice/suggestions on how to maximize returns(700+) on my efforts in the given short time.To give you an idea about what I have done till now, I am elaborating on my test prep till date.
Materials owned:
1.Manhattan Gmat 4th edition Strategy guides(8 books)
2.OG 13
3.Manhattan Gmat Sentence Correction, 5th edition
4.Kaplan Gmat Premier 2013
Strengths: Determination,Dedication and Quick-learning ability.
Weaknesses:RC,SC,IR,Fractions and Probabilities.
(Yup, it is not a parallel comparison but that is the truth, I do not have test topic strengths!)
In the past 3 weeks, I have breezed through the Manhattan gmat quant strategy guides made notes, practiced most of the corresponding questions including those from OG.
Practice tests to-date:
Test Score Date
1.Kaplan CAT1 660 (Q-62%,V-53%) 2-June-2013
2.MGMAT1 590 (Q38,V34) 5-June-2013
3.MGMAT2 580 (Q39,V31) 14-June-2013
My Kaplan Diagnostic Paper test,taken sometime late May, score was 690.
My key concerns are:
1.The pattern I noticed from my tests is that whenever I focus on a particular area on Quant, I do that well on the next test, but suffer on all other areas. And till date, I have focused only on quant, given that it is an area easier to improve. I cannot claim Quant as my strong area even though I am an engineer. So I understand that I would need to spend more time on it but at the same time improve my verbal drastically. How can I focus yet balance both sections simultaneously?
2.I am most likely going to run out of practice material, before being 90% comfortable with all question types. So I am interested in buying an online prep as it would also increase my comfort level on tackling questions on a computer. Which is course would you recommend? (imp factors include sufficient practice material with option to select questions on varying levels of difficulty, timing options,IR practice material and online support)
3.Find IR very challenging, more because of time constraints rather than the question itself. I take 2 minutes just to gauge the question. I want to decrease my reaction time, practice is probably the best way to achieve this, but given the short time, is is worth the time it would demand?
4.Have to re-iterate this-Working on a computer is not my forte. I find it lot easier to work with paper and pencil(yes, call me old-fashioned!)
720+ may be a stretch goal, but I totally believe I can do it with the right guidance,strategy and dedication.
My current plan is to
1.Study for about 8 hrs per day(except weekends) until 2 days before the test.
2.Take tests weekly and review it.
3.Focus on one pain area daily. But practice few qns from others.
Please review my study plan and suggest ways to improve it. Also if possible, recommend a suitable online prep course. If you need more specifics, do let me know.
Thanks a ton,in advance!!!
P.S: I am considering buying the Magoosh premium prep course(given its cost effectiveness yet ability to zero in on quesions topic/difficulty wise), however cant seem to find enough reviews on it besides their own testimonials. Also, I remotely remember reading somewhere that Magoosh's 700+ level is not as difficult as the real GMAT's. That would be calling for a disaster! If there are any Magoosh users, could you please share how useful Magoosh is in practicing 700+ questions?
