Heavy books approach

[Azizakaria]

hello,
in this post https://www.beatthegmat.com/should-i-sta ... 83342.html Rich said " Test Takers who use a "book-heavy" study approach often have trouble scoring 700+" i study from MGMAT books and practice from the Official guide, and sometimes watching videos from Prepnow is that means that i'm applying that heavy books method too?
because i want to get a 700+ score and i took a practice test before i start preparing and scored very poorly, and my study plan is as rich advised i studied RC and after finishing it i studied Algebra and so on, so is there any thing else i can do to improve my studying process?
thanks

[Azizakaria]

something else i need to ask about please, after i finish every lesson should i practice all the possible question i can find from the OG and the OG review, before moving to the next lesson or the OG only is enough and leave the rest of the question to my review time after i finish all the lessons.

[DavidG@VeritasPrep]

n this post https://www.beatthegmat.com/should-i-sta ... 83342.html Rich said " Test Takers who use a "book-heavy" study approach often have trouble scoring 700+" i study from MGMAT books and practice from the Official guide, and sometimes watching videos from Prepnow is that means that i'm applying that heavy books method too?

There's nothing wrong with books; Rich's point is that we want to simulate aspects of the test in our preparation, and one way to simulate these conditions is to do questions on a screen with a time constraint. So when you're doing Official Guide questions (assuming you're using a recent edition) it can be helpful to do them on the website: https://gmat.wiley.com/ (See the insert in the back cover of the OG for instructions.)

Moreover, eventually, you'll want to take regular practice exams.

something else i need to ask about please, after i finish every lesson should i practice all the possible question i can find from the OG and the OG review, before moving to the next lesson or the OG only is enough and leave the rest of the question to my review time after i finish all the lessons.

There's no magic order in which to do all the questions. Attacking all the questions within a given category that you've just studied allows you to master that category more quickly. Doing an assortment of questions that address different subjects allows you to practice a skill that you'll need on test day, as the algorithm will pepper you with different types of questions throughout the exam. So there are pros and cons to each approach. Most importantly, you want to thoroughly dissect each question you do and be mindful of preparing lists of takeaways at the end of each study session. What approach worked best for you on what kind of question, etc.

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Hi Azizakaria,

From what you have described, it certainly sounds like you have used a book-heavy approach so far. Thankfully, there are plenty of resources that you can use during your studies, so you can make adjustments to your overall plan and work in a more effective fashion. I'm also a big fan of inter-mixing Quant and Verbal studies (as opposed to doing "all of one, then all of the other."). However, concepts will need to be revisited later on - working on RC now is fine, but you'll eventually have to come back to continue to hone those skills later. Thus, doing every RC question that you can find right now is NOT a good idea because you'll still need some RC material to work on as you review.

As far as your specific situation is concerned:
1) How long have you been studying?
2) How did you score on that initial CAT (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores)?
3) When are you planning to take the GMAT?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

[Azizakaria]

As far as your specific situation is concerned:
1) How long have you been studying?
2) How did you score on that initial CAT (including the Quant and Verbal Scaled Scores)?
3) When are you planning to take the GMAT?

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich[/quote]

i have been studying for more then month but was in and out studying, i started with math and reached to algebra and gave up, because my foundation in math is so weak, and now i started again with your approach mixing between math and verbal My CAT score was 250 and now i want to concentrate because i'll take the test next January.

[Azizakaria]

Hi Azizakaria,
From what you have described, it certainly sounds like you have used a book-heavy approach so far. Thankfully, there are plenty of resources that you can use during your studies, so you can make adjustments to your overall plan and work in a more effective fashion.
Rich

what adjustments to my study plan do you suggest? and what study resources? and all the books i have is digital not paper.

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Hi Azizakaria,

Based on what you've described, there are a number of different issues to consider:

1) How long ago did you take that first CAT (the 250)? If it's been a month (or more), then you should plan to take another FULL-LENGTH CAT (including the Essay and IR sections) so that we can see how much you have improved - if you have the time, then this weekend would probably be a good time to take that CAT. That score result will give us an idea of how you should adjust your study plan.

2) If your 'math skills' are still weak overall, then you might want to pause your GMAT studies and work on those math skills. For free math practice and help, I recommend that you set up an account at Khan Academy (www.khanacademy.org). The site is completely free and makes the learning a bit more fun and 'game-like' (as opposed to the dry academic approach taken by most books). While the site is vast, you should limit your studies to basic Arithmetic, Algebra and Geometry. After spending a little time re-building those skills, you could restart your GMAT Quant studies.

3) A Test Date in January gives you plenty of time to study, but you have a LOT of work to do to turn a 250 into a 700+. Thus, you cannot afford to be inconsistent with your studies. You need a well-organized plan and you need to stick to it. You would also likely benefit from enrolling in a GMAT Course of some type (either Guided Self-study or instructor-led).

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

[Azizakaria]

Thanks for your answer, and i have the MGMAT foundation of math, and before i study Arithmetic i would open the foundation of math first then the strategy book, i don't know if that is a right thing to do or not ?
for the CAT i know my score would be the same because i didn't study much for the last month.

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Hi Azizakaria,

If you really have not done much studying over the last month, then I suggest that you start by doing some general 'math' review (either at Khan Academy or with the Foundation of Math book that you have. Once that review is complete, you should take a FULL-LENGTH CAT. Once you have those scores, you should report back here and we can put together a study plan.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

[Azizakaria]

Hi All,
I did as you told me and reviewed the MGMAT foundation of Math & Verbal, and took FULL-LENGTH CAT ans scored 350 ( 20Q, 17V ) it's better then my last trial ( scored 250 ) , so I think I'll need your help to put a study plan.

Thanks

[[email protected]]

Hi Azizakaria,

As you become more familiar with the knowledge-base of the GMAT (math rules, grammar, etc.), you'll likely continue to pick up points. To score at the higher levels though, you're going to need to learn/practice Tactics, pattern-matching skills and the 'secrets' of the GMAT. We can certainly help you in all of those areas.

Most GMAT Companies offer some type of free materials (practice problems, Trial Accounts, videos, etc.) that you can use to 'test out' a product before you buy it. We have a variety of those resources at out site (www.empowergmat.com). I suggest that you take advantage of all of them then choose the one that best matches your personality, timeline and budget.

If you have any additional question, then just let me know.

GMAT assassins aren't born, they're made,
Rich

[Azizakaria]

Thanks for your answer,
i have the MGMT strategies books, also the free videos on gmatprep and on empowergmat ( unfortunately i'll use the free videos only, coz i have no budget for online courses) and i'll try to mix my study between verbal and math as you advised me before. is these material enough? and is there anything else i need to do, to make sure that i have a good study plan?

[DavidG@VeritasPrep]

Not a bad idea to have a structured plan: https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/gmat-guide

And because you're planning on taking the test in January, and you'll have completed this plan -ideally- by late November, you may want additional study material. Here's our free question bank: https://www.veritasprep.com/gmat-question-bank/

[Azizakaria]

Not a bad idea to have a structured plan: https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/gmat-guide

you may want additional study material. Here's our free question bank: https://www.veritasprep.com/gmat-question-bank/

that's really great, i never knew that it's totally free, thanks a lot that's really helpful.
anything else i can do or use to have an effective study plan ?

[DavidG@VeritasPrep]

that's really great, i never knew that it's totally free, thanks a lot that's really helpful.
anything else i can do or use to have an effective study plan ?

At this point, you have more than enough material to get started with. Focus on sticking to your study schedule. At the end of each session, make notes on anything you can improve on - strategies that you should have used, equations that you need to refresh your memory on, etc. Make it a habit to consult these notes daily to make sure that you're not forgetting things that you've covered in previous sessions. Last, keep track of questions that have given you difficulty with an error log: https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/gmat-error-log