Self-study or Prep Course First?

[Optimistic]

My question stems from me being out of school for 5 years and having poor results with the practice problems I did out of the OG book.

For someone that probably cannot even setup a basic problem, would you advise a prep course first and then self study during and after the course or would it be better to educate myself on the topics first so that I know what to ask when I attend a class?

I'm beginning my B-school journey and greatly appreciate any advice.

Thanks,

George

[beatthegmat]

My recommendation is for you to make that decision after you've gone through a full-length practice test. Go to MBA.com and download the free GMATPrep software. Take one of these practice tests--GMATPrep is particularly good because it the most accurate indicator of your current GMAT performance, featuring real but retired GMAT questions.

If you take the practice test and score within range of your target score, then you might want to consider saving some money and just preparing on your own. If your results indicate some major deficiencies, then consider a prep course.

The longer you are out of school, the harder it indeed is to get into study mode. It can be done though!

Good luck!

[Optimistic]

Thanks for the suggestion Eric. That's what I'll do next.