First timer on GMAT

[kats6990]

Hi..

I will be taking GMAT for the first time ever next month. can you tell me if Barrons GMAT and PR crack the GMAT along with the OG/GMATprep is a good preparation combo. I took the practice test of Barrons and scored 540. My weak points is Quantative and especially DS. I am not really getting a hang of them. To be honest i start solving them when i know i shouldn't be solving them. I am getting good at Maths part and also the critical reasoning part. But DS is getting to me.

Can you give me some expert advice as i will be a complete first timer on GMAT.

Kats

[Stacy Blackman]

I have heard great feedback about the Manhattan GMAT books, so I always recommend them. And of course use the actual tests to prep. I am not as familiar with Barrons, but you may want to check in the GMAT section for feedback.

[kats6990]

Hi

Sorry for not introducing myself in my first post. I am 29 and from Pakistan. And will be taking GMAT for the first time. I jus took GMATPrep practice test 1, and scored a total score of 420. Which for me is quite low. I am not really doing good on DS. The RC also seems to be a bit tough on the prep software.

How accurate are the GMAT prep scores towards the real gmat score. Also i took the test in some disturbance, not in a totally controlled environment.

Please help me out.

[Stacey Koprince]

I generally don't comment much on other companies' products, since I have a conflict of interest. But if I were studying for a standardized test, I wouldn't use Barron's. There are better materials out there from several other companies.

GMATPrep is the closest practice test to the real thing, since it's made by the same people and uses the real scoring algorithm.

FYI most people find they need to study for 3-4 months for this test. I think you said you're planning to take it next month, so you might want to think about whether that will be enough time - it's a lot of work!

[fsar45]

I agree; do not use Barron's. They're good for GRE but not GMAT.

The PR book is good, though. And definitely GMATPrep and Official Guide.

[mrskuza]

I have found very difficult DS. I was looking for information how to skip the problem. Finally I have found that:

1. Practice, practice practice, so I take 40 DS questions per day. It takes around 80 minutes. Then I checked answers. All the wrong answers I make notes and do the questions again. Without checking explanation in a book. If I do them wrong again, then I check explanation.

2. All wrong questions are great for making flashcards. I review flashcards once a day.

3. I use GMAT form (was published on GMAT Forum) to evalute my scores and I track them every test. Then I analyze the week scores and compare them.

This is great way to improve your DS (btw: I have found it on this forum - THANK YOU). If you have any questions, do not hesitate to [email protected].

Take care, BEAT THE GMAT

[Stacey Koprince]

Don't just check the ones you get wrong! Sometimes we make mistakes but get lucky and get something right anyway - you want to find those. And sometimes we do something correctly, but not in the best or most efficient way - you also want to think about better ways to do the problem even if you got it right.

[mrskuza]

That's true. You are right. I improved my way of studying. Every time I guess the answer or feel something is wrong I marked the question with "?". Afterwards, I check explanation of these problems. It is valuable to put all the explanation on the flashcards.