GMAT Strategy

Stacey or anyone who has completed the online class, what i can i do on my own in addition to following the MGMAT class agenda? I understand its 12 hours of homework per week, but honestly i want to invest at least 20 to 25 hours on GMAT prep per week. Any ideas on what i should do besides what the class covers? Think i should take a practice test every sunday? I have powerprep and gmatprep software. Thanks for the input.

Hi,
I wouldn't call myself an expert on the Manhattan GMAT online course, but I am trying to follow the course outline as I go along. I don't want to take any more than the 3 MG online tests while I am taking the class.
I want to concentrate more on the MG strategy guides, the corresponding practice sets and OG problems and exercises. I know that there is a whole lot of content material in those strategy guides that I want to cover as well as all of the OG problems and exercises. The first week of the class, I went over all of the content material in the number properties guide, did all of the practice problems, finished all of the problem solving questions in the OG, and completed the data sufficiency strategies and OG problems, too. On top of that I completed the data sufficiency-quick elimination online lab. That week, I would say that I spent at least 20 to 25 hours working on all of that material.

My point is that I just don't have enough time to take a lot of practice tests while I am trying to complete the work that is expected in that class. Once I am finished with the MG class on May 6, I plan to take the rest of the MG online tests, the 2 GMAT prep tests, and several of the GMAT paper tests that I downloaded from MBA.com for a fee.

I don't know about you, but I think that the online course has a lot of additional practice sets that you can use if you want to. Those practice sets cover all of the subject material from number properties to geometry in math..and all of the verbal subject areas as well.
I just really would prefer to not overload myself with taking any more practice tests than were suggested while I am taking the course. It is all about the amount of time that I have and what I want to do with it. I did ask that question about how many tests that I should take, too. But the response was, that I should take the 3 tests from MG and learn as much as I possibly could from them, before I take any more tests.

I hope that I helped you a bit.
Greg

Wow..awsome post Greg. Thanks for taking the time to outline your strategy. I think my eyes are too big for my appetite, so to speak. If it’s taking 20 to 25 hours to complete all the assigned homework, then i will stick with the course outline. I had heard somewhere that it only takes about 12 hours, thats why i considered taking the extra tests. I suppose just like everyone else i want to maximize my score and give 110% effort. Anyhow, how do you like the class so far? Did you study on your own prior to the class?

you can read some inspirational GMAT war stories and how they approach the test.
great reply there, Greg.

Hi scoutkb,
I would say that I did more than what most people can do because they work full time. I spent extra time going over the OG problems that come with explanations. I think that I tried to do everything that was on that course syllabus for the week: Number properties and sentence correction. It took more than five hours to complete the chapters in the number properties guide, not including the OG problem solving questions and the data sufficiency strategies and the OG DS questions. That was another story. It took me quite a long time to go over the data sufficiency strategy section. There are about 100 questions from the OG problem solving and data sufficiency sections. I think that it would be hard for me to suggest how many hours that you should study for that class because each person is different in terms of how many hours that they work and or what kind of test taker they are. I still wouldn't take on any more than what they assign in the course syllabus. I know what I went through when I did all of that work. It may sound like I took too long to do things. But, I was trying hard to complete everything that was on that list. And, I wanted to do things right the first time. I was very tired after that first week. And, I felt kind of overwhelmed at the same time, too. In many ways, I spent more time on things because it took me more time to figure out how to do some of the problems not only from the six chapters, but also from the OG questions. I was not timing anything because I didn't feel ready to do things that way yet. I didn't mention the sentence correction chapter and the problem set as well as the OG questions. That isn't an issue time wise. It took about an hour or so to complete that part.

I did study on my own before, but that didn't work out for me. In fact, I have taken other GMAT test prep courses before, too. Honestly, I was quite familiar with the Manhattan GMAT strategy guides and online materials before I started the actual online course. To be even more honest, the Manhattan GMAT virtual online course is great because it is giving me the structure that I have been looking for. I mean that no other course has even come close to the way that MG administers that course.
The idea of taking a virtual online course sounded interesting to me, but I was skeptical at the same. But, after the first class session, I was really impressed by the way that the two MG guys taught that class. In addition, the MG supporting online material and their resources have to be the best that there is.

I am trying to put everything into my preparation process this time. I feel very fortunate to have the Manhattan GMAT course and everything that comes with it as my "guide." I believe that I have finally found the "key" that is going to help me do well on the real GMAT this time. I just wanted to say that it is really all up to me as to how I want to approach what the MG course has to offer me. Once again, I have more time to dive into things because I don't work full time. However, I have made the choice to do as much as I possibly can to do well on the GMAT. I think that the Manhattan GMAT online course has turned out to be the perfect vehicle for me when it comes to that, in every respect.

Greg