Help with the MGMAT Study Guide Schedule

[VictoryMBA]

Ok, so I really like the MGMAT study guide schedule. I just have one problem...it recommends doing problems that we haven't learned how to do in class yet. For example...the first class we learned about number properties, but the first week of scheduled assignments (in the MGMAT study schedule) had problems dealing with geometry, standard deviation, etc etc. Stuff that I haven't seen since high school and will need to be refreshed in class/strategy books. What am I doing wrong? Help...

[StaceyKoprince]

You're not doing anything wrong - it does say that. Just don't do it. :)

The idea is to give you "mixed" practice so you get in the habit of being able to identify what type of problem this is. But, at the beginning, you haven't studied anything yet! So save those "mixed sets" for at least the halfway point, if not later. I'm going to ask our curriculum director if we can change that in the spreadsheet - I tell my students never to do a mixed set until at least class 5.

[VictoryMBA]

Thanks for your reply Stacey. I guess I was confused, during our first class my professor kept saying that the MGMAT study schedule is for those students who want "extra hand holding"...a schedule to map out every single day of studying. This is what I wanted (and you guys should totally develop it!), but I guess it's for after we complete the course, or at least half way through?

[VictoryMBA]

Also, the study organizer is broken up into nearly 11 weeks! How is that going to help during, or even after the course? I mean...if my course ends in August...2.5 months later, we're already past R1 deadlines for a lot of schools! Are you sure there isn't some formatting error? I would really like to use this organizer, but as it is right now, it's proving to be almost useless. It's just frustrating because I want to take advantage of every resource, and I feel like this would help me a lot...it's just that I can't use it!

[StaceyKoprince]

The first 9 weeks of the study organizer include all of the materials from your syllabus plus additional materials. So it's not that you shouldn't use it until after the course is over, but use it selectively. You don't have to do every last thing on there (in fact, it would drive you crazy to do every last thing - it's a lot of stuff!).

Cross-check the organizer with the syllabus. For week 2, do the things that are listed on BOTH for week 2. Same for week 3. Etc. The things that are only on the study organizer - you can decide whether / when you want to do that stuff.

As I mentioned, the "cross-training" (mixed) problem sets are probably not great to do for the first half of the course, but most of the stuff listed in there for the first 5 weeks is the stuff you also have listed on your syllabus, written out line by line. Definitely do that stuff (and use the organizer to record it). Just don't start right away with the "extra" stuff, unless you have a LOT of free time on your hands. :)

[2010mba]

I'm a little confused by the study guide.

I'm looking for the Set 1 OG Drill Approaches in the Study Guide organizer for week one, day 3. Where are you supposed to find these? How are we supposed to do these they are scheduled for Session 7?

Thanks!

[StaceyKoprince]

Yes, this is what I was talking about above. In addition to the regular syllabus, the study organizer also gives you "drills" that you can do if you choose. These are mixed problem sets (because, of course, the test doesn't give you problems in clumps based on topic area, but mixes things all together).

I personally DO NOT recommend doing the extra, mixed sets until at least week four or five - even though they are listed EVERY week. Some people start on the drills around mid-way; others save the drills for after the end of the entire course. Basically, you're playing a balancing game here - you don't want to start with the mixed drills right away because you haven't studied most of this stuff yet. At the same time, you don't want to get so used to knowing what topic you're studying right now that you forget to learn how to recognize problems of different types - and practicing with mixed sets helps you to develop those recognition skills. If you're able to do all or most of the homework and feel like you're making good progress, start with the drills around mid-way through the course. If you're already falling behind just on the homework, then save the drills for the end.

One other thing - one of your questions was where you're supposed to find them. Look along the entire row - it tells you which book and which problem number to do. You have the books right from the start of the course, so you can do them any time you want (but I recommend doing what I described above).