Please guide me

[Duaa]

Background: Hi I am a Muslim female (family originally from Iran) I was born and brought up in India. Both my parents are uneducated and cannot read or understand English thus there was no real support structure at home when it came to education.. I have studied in India and have always been a average student. I completed my undergraduate in India and then came to Toronto to study further on scholorship. I completed a bachelors and a masters degree from here and have done fairly well (3.6 GPA). My major has been visual arts. However, I have always been working in a business environment and what to pursue a career in it and want to do a MBA.

Problem: I have never been that great at math and reading as there was never any adult to guide or help in this area. Thus I feel I do not have the kind of foundation required to do well of a test like GMAT. If I am given a paper based test I do much better but with the CAT its all the more challenging. I devoted some months to try and brush up my math skills and took the GMAT once and did very poorly. This was in may. After the test I took a break, and now I am planning to give this another shot. I knw I want to do well. I do not have unrealistic expectations. I will be happy with a 600. I have enrolled in the VERITAS class that starts early July and will diligently do all the work required in the class. I also have the OG10 and 11 and will do those too.

Help: Can anyone suggest what is the best way to improve your math and english skills. Do you think what I am planning to do makes sense (class) is there anything else I should be doing. Is there any suggestion to tackle exam anxiety. Please please comment. I am very hardworking and determined, but feel a little lost. Thank you.

[VP_Jim]

Hi Duaa,

First of all, good job realizing that a key component in studying for the GMAT is being dedicated to learning the material. That being said, any prep is better than no prep, so you're already on the right track!

For math, I would recommend (if you have the time) to perhaps take a basic math course at your local community college to brush up on the fundamentals. In (really) any prep course, instructors pretty much assume that the students have the basics down, so it would be pretty confusing and make it harder to learn concepts if you don't already have a good grasp of the basics.

As for verbal, prep courses will generally give you a better idea of "tricks of the trade," so to speak, in solving these types of problems, and what you should work on. I'd also recommend brushing up on your reading - non-fiction/fiction works are great ways to strengthen your ability to do well in the verbal sections!

Tackling exam anxiety is definitely difficult. However, I've found that the more I'm prepared for tests (GMAT included), the less I worry about it. So you're getting a good start - once your confidence builds on the GMAT, you'll feel better about the whole thing.

Hope this helps, and good luck!

[Duaa]

Dear Jim

Thank you for your input. It was really helpful. I will not be able to take a calss but will do as amny practice problmes as possible on each topic. A friend will also help in clearing my concepts. Could you recommend a good basic math book for GMAT.

Thanks once again.

[VP_Jim]

I can't recommend one specific book as I've never used/seen them, but I've had students just go to amazon.com or their local bookstore and buy a basic algebra workbook.

Make sure it's not too hard - basic algebra is really all you need.

Also, get in the habit of using mental math - don't use a calculator! The ability to do rough calculations quickly is very important.