GMAT Strategy

I am striving and aiming for the stars - to cross the 700 mark. I work full time, have two kids; so it's a bit hard for me to devote 3 hrs every day, no matter how hard I try. I get to study on and off, and I gave my first GMAT Prep with VERY small preparation (to form a base line). I got a 520, 28V and 31 Q

I understand that this is without almost any prep and any severe work, however this has shattered my confidence to no limit. This makes me feel like I would never be able to cross my 700 mark dream.

I realize my problem: I start off great. When I start, I do stuff that if I keep doing, would get me the best scores. Then, it ebbs down. I need something that would keep me going for the next few months. I do not know how much time I need, but I saw an average of 200 hrs or so from most people. I plan to give my exam in December 2010, I am hoping you guys would help me out with some plans. I just placed an order for the set of 8 for the MGMAT.

I have read a lot of debriefings but I think owning to the lack of presence in these kind of exam scenarios (but being a technical guy) my weakest link *might* be Verbal? Can anyone pen out a rough "plan" for me?

I even tried the 60 daily BTG thing but I am looking for a more "custom" guidance from you guys.

Thank you...

uhsa

Wow! No one!!!

Use the Search or read the forum about beating the Gmat.

Inmate,
No need to be a dick about it. I have read and re-read the posts but I was hoping I can get to talk with someone who has done this based on where I am at. Reading debriefings and the what-they-did is fine, but I was looking for someone to reply to my "what should I do per my situation" rather than "read the forums".

This is a community based forum, so if the answer to everything is "read the forums" then no new forums would be created, which would negate the whole point of "GMAT Strategy" forum page.

If you didn't have anything to say, I would rather you not reply at all than give a stupid answer like that. Another advise, please try to be helpful here, and not a smart ass. Each and everyone (including you) here is looking for support and help, some more than others. Please respect that.

Thanks,

uhsa

uhsa wrote:Inmate,
No need to be a dick about it. I have read and re-read the posts but I was hoping I can get to talk with someone who has done this based on where I am at. Reading debriefings and the what-they-did is fine, but I was looking for someone to reply to my "what should I do per my situation" rather than "read the forums".

This is a community based forum, so if the answer to everything is "read the forums" then no new forums would be created, which would negate the whole point of "GMAT Strategy" forum page.

If you didn't have anything to say, I would rather you not reply at all than give a stupid answer like that. Another advise, please try to be helpful here, and not a smart ass. Each and everyone (including you) here is looking for support and help, some more than others. Please respect that.

Thanks,

uhsa

Sorry, sounded kinda rude but I was just giving suggestions of what I did. LOL

Dang, I was giving suggestions of what I did, not trying to be rude. LOL

usha... you opened up two threads pretaining to the same topic (2 in the 1st 8 topics as I type). If this had been any other forums, the mod would've locked them up for wasting forum space.

Now, since I don't want to be considered a "dick," spend those 2-3 hours on the weekend sitting down with a private tutor (get them off craigslist in your area). This is something I wish I had done since I am terrible at self studying. I can tell you, it will take about 2 months to really go through the MGMAT series... depending on the person. I know one guy who half assed studied for 1 month then REALLY studied for another and got a 720. He wasn't the smartest of the bunch but he probably spent 2-3 hours on weekdays and about 4-5 hours a day on weekends.

Odannyboi,
Sarcastic remarks aside (LOL), yeah I opened a forum and then another one was more for "can anyone help in HOW to squeeze in time after work" and that was because I didn't get any reply on the first one.

I was hoping someone who has done this would tell me something. But yes, I understand that I got a bit fidgety and opened another forum too soon. I will try to be more careful hereon.

Anyways, I tried to look for a private tutor, but honestly I can't afford them. I *really* want to get this, tame the beast. But my first GMAT Prep of 520 really shook me. I am trying to get over it but I can't forget the fact that the measly 520 is nowhere what I ever dreamed about.

Thanks for the answer. Appreciate it.

uhsa

beatthegmat wrote:Hey guys, just wanted to remind you to be careful about language in these threads--please no flaming! Beat The GMAT is all about encouragement and support, so let's keep the positive karma going!

Thanks for your help!

Hansoo...my bad.. I guess I am getting alittle nervous since I am getting closer to bombing my exam (sat).

Nothing but positive energy from here on out. "Go to your happy place."

Uhsa,

I feel that you are off for a great start. You have taken you test and got 520. So these are the things that you may want to start with -

* Find your weak areas by looking at your test. Now, be specific and very critical. You mentioned that verbal may be your weak area. So get down to details. Whether it is sentence correction or CR or RC. If it is RC, then what is it? You taking too much time in reading it. There is an underlying reason for wrong answer. You need to really find it. And then start building for concept around it.

* I learned it a hard way, and all 700 scores said the same thing. GMAT is all about strategy. And to build your strategy, you need to learn about the enemy. Here it is GMAT. Let me give you an example. In real test, when you solve SC questions, you can take not more than 40 to 60 sec. So what you will do? Yes, strategy. First I will identify type of SC error. Based on that, I will cross out 3 options without reading it. There I save some time. And then attack remaining two choices in 30 secs. You need to go through many useful debrief and prepared matarial by other scores to build strategy.

* If possible, look for tutor. If you can't afford to spend money on tutor, that's fine. Then work on getting right resource. Under Self Study, read Books. Get those books. For example, Powerscore for CR, Veritas for RC,Manhattan for SC,etc.


* GO through debriefs one more time and make some notes. It will help you a lot.


This is just a starting. I have not even talked about 3 or 4 months of preparation.

Hi Uhsa,

I think it is fair for you to post about your specific difficulties in studying - I haven't seen a BTG article yet on how GMAT studying can be integrated with parenting responsibilities. I don't have any advice for you there (I don't even have goldfish), but I have a few studying experiences to share that might help you break through to 700...(I've gotten 710 on each of the GMATPrep tests. My *real* GMAT score will have to wait until next Sunday!)

Like you, I've also worked through the BTG 60-day guide, although it took me longer than 60 days to get through it! As I completed each day, I filed the email away into one of two separate folders: one where I felt I mastered the concepts of the day and another where I knew I needed more practice. I've also gone through the OG a second time in chronological order, and that's helped me realize what concepts I really needed more practice on.

For foundational math skills (my arithmetic is horrible and is the biggest challenge to my pacing), I've been playing elemetary-school level interactive games of customizable difficulty, which makes studying a little bit more fun. This one is especially silly: https://www.arcademicskillbuilders.com/g ... eteor.html

Studying for verbal is harder because, like others have posted already, it is super-strategic (I feel like Quant is much more tactical, although of course it helps to have a strategy there too). Every question really needs to be solved by process of elimination. That makes studying for Verbal a lot more tedious (vs. quant), especially since the OG explanations are hiliariously unhelpful (e.g., "This sentence is awkward and wordy"). Applying POE to all parts of Verbal (not just Sentence Correction) has been helpful for me in studying and has given me a better understanding of how the GMAT writers think - after all, it takes more creativity to craft wrong answer choices than the right ones.

So those are my thoughts! Best of luck,
Kate

Thank you @citystatekate and @Vishalj

I have been reading everyone's reply and I appreciate all you guys replying. My problem stems from not being able to give in time that I need to. i see everyone talking about spending ~3 hrs everyday. I can get by 1 or 1.5 hrs and I am worried that my energy might be wasted? I am turning into a procrastinator now! In my head I am thinking after 1.5 hrs everyday, I am barely going to get my teeth into it, and by the time I am warming up, it's time to close!!!

All these thoughts doesn't help. Self-doubting never helps, I know that but I want it so badly that all I am getting are doubts. On top of it, I am not sure if Oct/Nov/Dec (Planning to take it Dec end) is good enough for GMAT -- say I am starting today.

Thanks again. Reading you guys and hearing back from you is boosting my confidence.

--uhsa