Late wake up! Is there still hope?

[[email protected]]

Hey all,

I'm aiming to get into the top UK Universities for an MBA in fall 2012. I work full time and will need to achieve my goals outside work hours, luckily for me I don't have 80 hours work weeks, more like 45 hours!
I'm willing to spare about 15 to 20 hours for my GMAT preps every week.
So after dusting off the cobwebs off my Kaplan General prep guide, which I bought an year ago but never got around to it, I'm in high spirits and looking forward to the challenge. Over the last few days I've managed to psyche myself up and go for it! And get a nice GMAT score (700+)

My plans are as follows:
1 August - 12 August : Self study the Kaplan guide, practise questions on each section
13 August : Take my first GMAT practise test (courtesy - MGMAT)
14 August - 16 October : 9 week online GMAT prep course
27 October : Take my first GMAT exam
Nov & Dec: Retake GMAT if needed, and apply for MBA's (second round)

As far as course material is concerned I have a couple of Kaplan GMAT prep guides (Generic)
and I'll get the following course material upon signing up for the 9 week online course with MGMAT (source: https://www.manhattangmat.com/london-classes.cfm):
8 Manhattan GMAT Strategy Guides
3 Official Guides For GMAT Review (12th Ed., Verbal, and Quant)
Official Guide Companion & OG (Official Guide) Archer
6 Computer Adaptive Practice Tests
Free Foundations of GMAT Math Strategy Supplement & Workshops
Foundations of GMAT Verbal Strategy Supplement
Test Simulation Booklet, online skill-building labs, class recordings of all 9 sessions, the Challenge Problem Archive (700+level quant questions), a free pass for computerized GMAT essay grading, and various downloadable study aids

I'm new to this forum and I'll really appreciate comments on my strategy to achieve a good GMAT score.

Cheers, Rohit

[rishimaharaj]

Hello Rohit,
Welcome to BTG!

You have a ton of resources, so I think you will do fine as long as you keep your motivation up.
I recommend you to sign up for the free 60 Day Study plan to help you focused.

FYI, I'm also in the same boat as you. My exam is scheduled for Sept. 10th, and I started approx 72 days prior. I started the 60 day guide, and I'm currently on day 39.

-I didn't use the Manhattan GMAT Fractions, RC, or CR books, but the rest of them are top notch (aside from a couple typos here and there). Make sure to do all the problem sets in the books, even the advanced ones at the end.
-Official Guide, Verbal, and Quant Review are definite must haves. Try to go through each problem at least 2 to 3 times.

I haven't used Archer, so can't say much about that.
For CR I used the Powerscore CR Bible -- it is very detailed and helpful.
For RC I am only using the Official Guide and Verbal Review. If more practice is needed, I'll get Aristotle RC99.

Simulation booklet is awesome. I've used it twice so far for 2 Practice exams.

The only other book which I'd recommend (I just started it) is the MGMAT Advanced Quant book. The first three questions on that book stumped me, even after finishing all of the other books (including the Advanced section). The reason I recommend it is because, if you want a high score, you'll see difficult questions. So you need to have the strategy down to tackle these hard questions, and that book is aimed specifically for that (both Problem Solving && Data Sufficiency).

Also, you can check out the free BTG flashcards https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/free-gma ... flashcards.

I hope this helped a little bit.

All the best!!
--Rishi

[FutureWorks]

Hi Rohit

Juggling between work and studies is tough so you need to define a significant time for your GMAT preparation. Sometimes taking few days off work for preparing for the GMAT can help a person tremendously. If you have time this may not be a bad idea. Take practise GMAT tests to see how you are doing. If you cannot do that don't worry. What might work instead is to set aside 1-2 hours at night on weekdays and major part of your weekend to study and prepare for GMAT- in this case we will suggest a good 2-3 months preparation. However we recommend you to keep taking practise tests to gauge your performance. It will help you in identifying your weak areas and you can focus on them accordingly.

There are various ways you can use to practise for your GMAT. You might need to change your practise style and try this combination to provide you flexibility and different styles to practise so it doesn't get monotonous.

It could be combination of-

1-Books- Books like- The Official Guide for GMAT Review, The Official Guide for GMAT Verbal Review, The Official Guide for GMAT Quantitative Review etc could be used.

2-Online Study Guide: Websites like Knewton, Grockit etc provide you with practise questions online.

3-Smart phone applications- Kaplan, Veritas etc offer applications to prepare for GMAT on your smart phones.

Find out where you stand with our Free Assessment Test or drop your resume at [email protected]