Where to Begin?

[mcadorette]

I am just beginning my prep for the GMAT. I plan on giving myself plenty of time to get ready but I feel a little confused on where to start. The only thing I have purchased so far is the Official GMAT Review 13th edition. I am considering buying the Manhattan GMAT series because it seems like it goes into great detail on each section. I have only looked at a couple of diagnostic questions from the review book and thought to myself this is going to be a long journey. I think what I need to do is take one practice test on the GMAT software and then go from there. I plan on taking the test around September 2013. I will start studying now but I plan on really cracking down in the summer time as I will have more time available to study. Should I get the Manhattan GMAT series and where should I start practicing with so much time ahead of me. Any advice will be appreciative and I look forward to using this social network as a great resource.

Thanks,
mcadorette

[Brent@GMATPrepNow]

Your idea of taking an official practice test (https://www.mba.com/the-gmat/download-fr ... tware.aspx) is a great idea. If it turns out that you're already close to your target score, it may be the case that a few weeks on the BTG website is all it takes to get prepared.

You might also consider signing up for BTG's free 60-Day Study Guide (https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/gmat-guide).
This will help keep your studies on track, and ensure that you cover everything that the GMAT tests.

Cheers,
Brent

[[email protected]]

Hi,

I am planning on taking the GMAT around April this year. As a starter to my preparation I took one of the GMATPrep tests and these are my scores :

IR Scaled 5 Percentile *
Quant Scaled 31 Percentile 27
Verbal Scaled 31 Percentile 58
Total Scaled 530 Percentile 40

IR 7 correct, 5 wrong
Quant 19 correct, 18 wrong
Verbal 29 correct, 12 wrong

Can someone help me understand what these scores mean ? Is 530 a good overall score for someone who hasn't prepared anything and just took the test ? Can someone suggest a good strategy to improve this score to 700+ in a period of 4 months ( 2 hrs on weekdays and 10 hrs on weekends) .

Thanks,
Azeem

[Brent@GMATPrepNow]

Hi Azeem,

530 is a great baseline score to start with.

The percentiles indicate the percentage of test-takers who scored lower than you.
So, for example, your 58th percentile Verbal score means that 58% of test-takers scored lower than you.
Don't worry about the number of questions you answered correctly. Your scores are not based on this; your scores are based on the level of difficulty of the questions you answer correctly. If you're interested, we have a free video explaining the GMAT scoring algorithm: https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gener ... es?id=1251

As far as preparation goes, you might consider signing up for BTG's free 60-Day Study Guide (https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/gmat-guide).
Each day you will receive an email with a series of learning activities that guide you, step-by-step, from Day 1 to test day.
This will ensure that you will cover everything that the GMAT tests.

Cheers,
Brent


Cheers,
Brent