GMAT Strategy

After being p***d for a couple weeks I'm back at it and fired up to beat the gmat. I thought I'd share my lessons learnt so far.

I'm writing this post to help others who started out with low scores. I fell into the trap earlier in my prep... made major strides from 400's to 500's and low 600's before giving the test last month only to bomb to 470.

#1) MGMAT is king... MGMAT is king... MGMAT is king. No i don't work for them but most certainly they are the most comprehensive and they're approach is awesome. I should've started with them from the beginning. My misconception was that you need to be in the 600 range to really benefit. Their guides are the best in the market... not only SC but all.

#2) Bite the bullet and take a course especially if your score is stagnant and want to join the elite 700 club. Time is money and certainly the investment pays back. I was stagnant for about a month in the 550 - 620 range. I'm now taking a course and I'll tell you it's opened my eyes. It's not all written in the books.

#3) CAT's and OG's are only accurate if done under timed conditions. I can't stress this enough. The GMAT tests two major principles theory and timing. Both go hand and hand. If you've taken any tests in untimed mode (a timed score would be probably less than atleast 80 points) ignore them. Analysis of your weakness is then certainly flawed e.g. Quant, RC.

#4) Do CAT's under same conditions. In other words do the entire exam including the essays and with the scratch pad & pen. Although I had practiced enough with the scratch pen I never did the essay until the actual day. As a result I burned myself out during the essay portion (although I did well on the essay) with a dissappointing verbal score.

#5) Quant is more about timing and finding a shorter method to the problems. I was always looking to solve the problem and not looking to find other ways. Is there a shorter method? How can I avoid careless mistakes?

#6) Quality is BETTER than Quantity. I focused on trying to do OG atleast 2-3 times etc. and only reviewed incorrect problems. When your doing problems your review should include correct. Ask yourself, could I have arrived at the answer using a quicker method. Did I get the correct answer because of POE? Definitely revisit correct choices where you took more than 2 minutes.

#7) Nerves can break you. If you have any tendency to get nervous for exams practice anti-anxiety techniques. There are several posts on this issue.

#8) RC passages are boring and there is no universally correct strategy. Don't count on getting exciting passages. Start early to improve in this area. I made a late start probably due to lack of motivation in this area. There is no correct strategy. I tried them all Kaplan, PR, MGMAT you name it. Eventually I tried my own and started to see improvements.

#9) SC mastery is not just about getting the correct answer but about understanding why the other answer choices are incorrect. If you've gotten a SC problem correct because it sounds correct consider it incorrect for review. If fact if you at any time doing a SC problem rely on your ear (except idioms)... slap yourself. Elimination of answer choices should be based on grammar principles.

#10) We can ALL BEAT the GMAT except maybe George W Bush. Where there is a will there is a way. Even after several attempts you can do it. GMAT may have won the battle on that attempt but you can win the war. The key is making progress.

Hope this helps.

Excellent tips! You can tell these truly are lessons learned.

goot points ...helps...keep the fire on...atb

Thanks for sharing those lessons learned Nislam !
And I have every confidence that you will do well in your next attempt.

Just a couple of points:
"MGMAT is king... MGMAT is king... MGMAT is king"
I would agree with this. I found the MGMAT material to be the best (in my opinion). So I have purchased all of the MGMAT study guides. My concern is with your statement
"I'm now taking a course and I'll tell you it's opened my eyes. It's not all written in the books"

can you give some examples here ?
All my study has (to date) has been self-study using the MGMAT, OG guides, and Kaplan 800.
I have just 3 weeks to go to for my GMAT exam, and want to ensure I am optimising my study as I fast approach the test date.

I think one of the key areas that I need to focus on is TIMING. Most of my preparation has been focussed on making sure that I understand the material and am able to tackle all questions. As you correctly pointed out TIMING is a key part of the test.
The other thing I am looking to improve is:
- looking at different ways to solve a problem .. to help identify shortcuts and quicker ways to answer certain types of questions: especially in the Quant section
- and improving my ability to make educated guesses on the questions which are very difficult ... or which stump me. I think this can really impact you timing if you are not careful ... I also believe that it is going to be difficult to be able to answer EVERY question correcly and confidently (nature of the test is that it gets harder the more you answer correctly), so making educated guesses is important.

Any thoughts/comments on the above are much appreciated.

And once again, best of luck in your preparations for Round 2 !

P.S. Did you take any practice tests before your first exam ...if so, would you be willing to share your scores for those practice tests ?

Thanks.