60 Day Study Guide Progress

[eddiesladek]

Hello All,

I am planning on applying to the second round for some top B schools in early 2016. Recently started the 60 Day study guide to help prepare for the GMAT.

Days 1-9 complete - (not including the additional problems, savings these for review at the end), also reviewed Aristotle's SC guide since the diagnostic test showed I was the weakest in this area.

First GMAT test - 640 - scored a lot higher than I thought I was going to (40 Quant, 37 Verbal)

On Day 10 of the study guide - Review is starting to feel more and more like homework everyday on top of work, continuing to focus on learning and not just get the "homework" done for the day.

Goal of 100 point improvement to 740

[Brent@GMATPrepNow]

640 is a fantastic baseline score!
Keep us posted on your progress.

Cheers,
Brent

[lailael23]

Hello all,

I am just starting the 60 Day GMAT Study Guide. I am using Kaplan and the OG 2016 and GMAT prep course. I wanted to connect with others who were on the same path. I wasn't happy with my baseline but hopefully I can really bring it up. I am starting Day 1 tomorrow.

[eddiesladek]

Brent,

I just finished up all the math days in the study course and improved on the OG quant assessment, especially data sufficiency.

I took the first practice GMAT test again (well just math so far) and ran out of time with 10 questions left. The first time I took it, I had 10 minutes remaining so somewhere along the line I became much slower at answering these questions.

Any suggestions on speeding up?

Thanks,

Eddie

[Brent@GMATPrepNow]

Regarding time management: I suggest that you use the following Milestone Charts to keep you on track:

We (at GMAT Prep Now) feel that these times are easily remembered so you can quickly jot them on your noteboard on test day.

This (and more) is covered in our free GMAT time management video at https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gener ... es?id=1244

Don't get too hung up on answering questions quickly just yet. You can work on this later on. In my view, this focus has the potential to actually hinder your preparation. I feel so strongly about the whole timing issue that I wrote two articles about it:
- Making Friends with Time on the GMAT - Part I (https://www.gmatprepnow.com/articles/mak ... %93-part-i)
- Making Friends with Time on the GMAT - Part II (https://www.gmatprepnow.com/articles/mak ... 93-part-ii)
Executive Summary: Use a timer, but only to get an idea of what 2 minutes feels like. Later on (once you've covered all of the content), you can start working on your speed.

Executive Summary of the Executive Summary: Content First - Speed Second

I hope that helps.

Cheers,
Brent

[eddiesladek]

Thanks Brent. I used a similar milestone chart (10 questions at a time instead of 5). Definitely have been in "Phase 1" of studying without worrying about time at all until I took the practice test again. Once I get through the verbal sections I start worrying about timing. Thanks for the articles.

[eddiesladek]

I still seem to be doing poorly on the SC section. According to my Verbal Grids I scored 80% on the OG problems. On the last two practice tests though I missed around 60 or 70% of the SC problems. On the last test, I missed one CR questions and my remaining errors were SC. Anyone have suggestions?

[Brent@GMATPrepNow]

The good news is that your CR and RC scores are great!
I suggest that you carefully analyze your tests to see what kinds of SC questions are giving you the most trouble (tenses, comparisons, etc) and devote some time to learning the necessary skills.

If you're interested, we have a free SC module - https://www.gmatprepnow.com/module/gmat- ... correction

[eddiesladek]

Thanks Brent, I will do that and will definitely review the SC modules. I also started completing additional problems today and I am attempting to identify why I cross off any option.

It's just odd to me I can generally score 80% correct during practice but when I take a practice test I feel like I am reading longer and more complicated sentences.

[Brent@GMATPrepNow]

Keep in mind that the practice tests are computer adaptive, which means the level of difficulty increases to the point that is on the edge of your abilities. So, your strong RC and CR skills are likely creating a situation that the SC questions your receive are beyond that edge.

[eddiesladek]

Well finished the study guide and took my test, scored a 660, sounds like I will be taking the test again. Any suggestions on how to continue to study? Just keep working on weak areas?

[jsfinol]

Third day done!

I just finished my First Practice Test

630! 72 percentile

IR 7 81 percentile
Quant 42 57 percentile
Verbal 34 69 Percentile

For someone like me... english is my second language and my BA is in philosophy I think I did extremely well. I recognize I have to refresh a lot
concepts in Math.

I AM EXTREMLY EXCITED!

I will keep you posted