I am living in New Zealand and have not found anything similar to the ManhattenGMAT program here. Can anyone make a suggestion as to the best online resources available for GMAT study (free and paid), taking into account a limited preparation time (approx. 3 weeks). I have purchased the online package of practice exams and challenge questions but would also like a comprehensive study and strategy guide. I have investigated the online courses but there doesnt seem to be anything that works into my time frame or daily schedule.
Thank you for your help.
Regards
Mike
GMAT Forum
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- mjfsutherland
- Students
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- StaceyKoprince
- ManhattanGMAT Staff
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- Joined: Wed Oct 19, 2005 9:05 am
- Location: Montreal
Re: Best Online GMAT prep resources
I don't know of any courses in New Zealand that take place over only 2-3 weeks. We do occasionally hold a "GMAT Boot Camp" in NY that meets daily for 2 weeks... but that's in NY. (And I really only recommend that for people who have no other choice - it's really hard to cram for this test.)
So there are two big questions here: what resources to use and how to study.
What to use
We do offer a self-study package that includes tapes of all of our classes, so people can basically replicate the class experience on their own schedule. You don't have live instructors with whom you can talk and ask questions (that's a big part of the reason why the self-study package is a lot cheaper than the course), but otherwise, it offers everything that a regular course has.
I think it would be challenging to do every last piece of the course in only 3 weeks, but you could get this package so that you can pick and choose which items will be of greatest benefit to you. You can also buy some things piecemeal (eg, individual books), but you can't get access to the class tapes individually - that has to come with the package.
You also definitely need to get the Official Guide (OG) books; these are from the makers of the real test. If you sign up one of our packages, these are included, but you can also buy the books by themselves. Definitely get The Official Guide 12th Edition. Given the short amount of time you have, you may not need to get the other two (Verbal Review 2nd Edition and Quantitative Review 2nd Edition).
Also, go to mba.com and download GMATPrep, the free official practice tests. If you had months to study, I would tell you to incorporate these into your practice test schedule. You only have a few weeks, though, so I would use these as an additional source of practice problems but that's it. (GMATPrep doesn't give you any data to analyze your performance, and you need as much data as you can get in this limited timeframe, so GMATPrep isn't the best source as a full practice test in your situation.)
How to study
If you've signed up for our free exam then you were also given access to a free e-book called The GMAT Uncovered. If you haven't signed up for the free exam, then sign up so that you can have access to this book. It gives a lot of good background info and ideas.
You can also use the below articles to help you set things up.
To set up a study plan:
http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2010/02/09/developing-a-study-plan
To analyze a practice test:
http://www.beatthegmat.com/a/2009/09/23/evaluating-your-practice-tests
To analyze individual problems:
http://www.beatthegmat.com/a/2009/10/09/how-to-analyze-a-practice-problem
Full archive of articles:
http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/manhattan-gmat
One last thing to think about: 3 weeks is not much time. Most people study for 2 to 4 months for this test. If you don't need a ton of improvement, if you have a lot of time, and if you generally "get" standardized tests (have done well in the past, are able to teach yourself easily for these kinds of tests), then you may be fine. Otherwise, you may need to either spend more time or lower your goal score. (For example, I will sometimes talk to people who want to improve 100+ points in 3 weeks. Some people can accomplish this, but this is not typical - it's like seeing the "new diet secret!" ad in which someone says they lost 10 pounds in a week. Someone really might, yes, but most people aren't going to. :)
So there are two big questions here: what resources to use and how to study.
What to use
We do offer a self-study package that includes tapes of all of our classes, so people can basically replicate the class experience on their own schedule. You don't have live instructors with whom you can talk and ask questions (that's a big part of the reason why the self-study package is a lot cheaper than the course), but otherwise, it offers everything that a regular course has.
I think it would be challenging to do every last piece of the course in only 3 weeks, but you could get this package so that you can pick and choose which items will be of greatest benefit to you. You can also buy some things piecemeal (eg, individual books), but you can't get access to the class tapes individually - that has to come with the package.
You also definitely need to get the Official Guide (OG) books; these are from the makers of the real test. If you sign up one of our packages, these are included, but you can also buy the books by themselves. Definitely get The Official Guide 12th Edition. Given the short amount of time you have, you may not need to get the other two (Verbal Review 2nd Edition and Quantitative Review 2nd Edition).
Also, go to mba.com and download GMATPrep, the free official practice tests. If you had months to study, I would tell you to incorporate these into your practice test schedule. You only have a few weeks, though, so I would use these as an additional source of practice problems but that's it. (GMATPrep doesn't give you any data to analyze your performance, and you need as much data as you can get in this limited timeframe, so GMATPrep isn't the best source as a full practice test in your situation.)
How to study
If you've signed up for our free exam then you were also given access to a free e-book called The GMAT Uncovered. If you haven't signed up for the free exam, then sign up so that you can have access to this book. It gives a lot of good background info and ideas.
You can also use the below articles to help you set things up.
To set up a study plan:
http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2010/02/09/developing-a-study-plan
To analyze a practice test:
http://www.beatthegmat.com/a/2009/09/23/evaluating-your-practice-tests
To analyze individual problems:
http://www.beatthegmat.com/a/2009/10/09/how-to-analyze-a-practice-problem
Full archive of articles:
http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/manhattan-gmat
One last thing to think about: 3 weeks is not much time. Most people study for 2 to 4 months for this test. If you don't need a ton of improvement, if you have a lot of time, and if you generally "get" standardized tests (have done well in the past, are able to teach yourself easily for these kinds of tests), then you may be fine. Otherwise, you may need to either spend more time or lower your goal score. (For example, I will sometimes talk to people who want to improve 100+ points in 3 weeks. Some people can accomplish this, but this is not typical - it's like seeing the "new diet secret!" ad in which someone says they lost 10 pounds in a week. Someone really might, yes, but most people aren't going to. :)
Stacey Koprince
Instructor
Director, Content & Curriculum
ManhattanPrep
Instructor
Director, Content & Curriculum
ManhattanPrep
2 posts Page 1 of 1