Advice/Feedback Needed ... tools to conquer GMAT over 5/6 mo

[persistence]

I am currently studying for the CFA Level 2 exam which I will take in June 2009. I will have time after work for about 6 months to study for the GMAT before the CFA L3 exam (provided I pass L2). I currently work full time and will give an arm and a leg to get a good GMAT score and can possibly put in a solid 5 (maybe 6 if recommended) months of studying.

I hope I can get a 700 minimum score, but am willing to work for months longer if it will get me up to the higher 700 ranges. I do not want to take any chances when it comes to application time.

a) Could anyone recommend a combination of materials needed to accomplish this goal? ie some book to learn the basic theme of the test, another to delve into the details, and some other book aimed only at the high 700s questions? I would probably be open to buying a couple of books, maybe going to a class, and getting some other books targeted at the high 700 level questions.

b) Also, when should I take the live class during this time? If I study for 5 months, should I study for 1 month, learn the basics, then take the class and study for another couple of months, or do it before all the studying or after all the studying?

I have heard that people should not have a score in mind with this test, so will try to keep an open mind with my initial scores and bite the bullet (time-wise) to gradually push my scores up, which seems to be the common theme on this forum.

I have that other exam on June 6 and then depending on how much time is recommended by everyone here to study for the GMAT, I will start studying shortly after.

I plan to frequent this forum often as June approaches. Good luck to everyone on the studying.

- persistence

[Stacey Koprince]

Received a PM asking me to reply.

I would say that most people take about 3-4 months to prep, but obviously that will vary depending upon your situation: how much time you have to study every day, how much of an improvement you want, etc.

Start with a practice test from one of the test prep companies - something that will give you a report with extensive analysis on your strengths and weaknesses (including question types, content areas, and timing). Most companies offer one test for free; you can get one from my company by "buying" a $0 free practice test in the "store" area of our web site. Make sure to take the test under full official conditions. (essays, 10 min break, quant, 10 min break, verbal)

Download GMATPrep practice tests from www.mba.com, but don't use them yet - save them for later in your prep. These tests are from the people who make the real test; they are a great gauge of your progress / current scoring level, but they provide absolutely no analysis, so they're not a good tool to start your prep.

Okay, now that you have your starting score, see how far away you are from your goal score. That will give you an idea of what you will need to do. Fairly obvious, but: if you are pretty far away, you will likely need to take longer to study than if you are not so far away. If you are pretty far away, you may need to take a class / work with someone; if you are not so far away, you may be able to study on your own.

Re: books, you definitely need the official guide books (real past test questions from the people who make the test). The current ones are Official Guide 12th edition, Verbal supplement, and Quantitative supplement. You may also eventually want to use GMAT Focus (another official quant product), but I would save that one for a bit later in your study.

You'll also need some books that teach you the content and strategies you need to know for the test. I won't comment on this (I'm biased - obviously, I like my own company's books!).

If you do decide to take a class, I do think it's a good idea to do some work before the class starts. Depends on the class, but our class assigns a LOT of homework, so if you do some of the work upfront, you'll have more time during the course to concentrate on the harder stuff. eg, you may want to get the quant books and start reviewing all of the math rules and formulas, most of which you probably don't remember from high school (and earlier!).

Also, all the companies offer lots of free stuff, so take advantage of it. In addition to the free practice test, my company also offers free information sessions and lets students sit in on a first class of the course for free. I'm sure other companies do similar things, so just check everything out and see what you think will work best for you. Good luck with all of your tests!