Vertias Prep Course

[GMAT Hopeful]

I am planning on taking the Veritas prep Course at a local college starting September 8th.

I've done a little research regarding the courses and this one seems to be the best value as far as for the money and for the amount of time spent on the course, as well as overall curriculum (any opinions on this course are appreciated, but from everything I have researched it is a good course to take, they say 1/3 students score a 700+ and the average student improves 100+ points on their score)

From between now and when I first take the course, what should I do as far as preparing for the course and possibly familiarizing myself with material. September 8th when I go into the prep course I don't want to feel overwhelmed and I want to be familiar with the challenge I am about to embark on...

Any comments or insight is appreciated,
Thanks

[VP_Jim]

I'd recommend that you do two things before your first day of class. I'd advise doing only these two things, as it's easy to teach yourself to do something the wrong way and get into bad habits.

1. Take a practice exam on mba.com or on the Veritas website (if you get access in time) so that you have a general idea what the GMAT is like and where you're starting from, score-wise.

2. Go out and buy yourself a workbook or two dealing with very basic math - arithmetic and algebra. Work on your math fundamentals before the Veritas class starts and you begin adding the complexity of GMAT questions. Remind yourself how to do long division, or work with fractions and exponents, or manipulate simple equations. Doing this ahead of time will give you a solid foundation - then you can start doing GMAT questions once the actual course starts. Too many people dive right into GMAT problems, when the lack the foundational material to do well!

Other than that, enjoy the last couple weeks of summer before getting down to business!

Good luck!

[GMAT Hopeful]

Any recommendations on what books? Just any arithmetic/algebra? Also, are there any good free tests on the internet or do I pretty much have to pay for the one on the website?

[VP_Jim]

I don't have any specific books to recommend - just drop by your local bookstore and find one from a reputable publisher that has an eye-pleasing format. The content should be mostly the same in every book.

The practice GMATs on mba.com are free - so I'd recommend heading there if you don't have access to the Veritas site in time for class.

[GMAT Hopeful]

I noticed on MBA.com that their practice tests can only be viewed with Windows XP or 2000 and are not compatible with Vista. Why would this be, many people have Vista now. Is there any way I can get the practice test(s) on Vista?

[VP_Jim]

My guess is that the tests are a bit old (actually, I'm not guessing that - that's true!) and they were designed before Vista came out. It's probably not a high priority for the GMAC to update their practice tests.

I'm not sure where you can get mba.com tests compatible with Vista - anyone else know?

[flayray]

I am running it on Vista and have not had any problems.

[tripathimani]

Hi GMAT Hopeful,

Could you enlighten us on the reasons for choosing Veritas over other classroom courses. Is it the sheer number of hours ? I'm also planning to join a classroom class and was leaning towards Manhattan GMAT.
Blog of someone who attended both !

https://tmmycgmat.blocked/2008/04/h ... -prep.html