How much prep time do students need after the course?

[oreoandmilk2004]

Hi, I enroll in a self-study prep course since I do not have time to take the 9-week course. I have only 2 months to master the GMAT and plan to crank out the 9-week sessions in 5 weeks. First week, I give myself the full week, then week2-week 3 curiculum = week 2, week4-5 = week 3, and so on. So, this translates to roughly 5 weeks of studying the materials and doing the homework. Since it's the summer time, I have the luxury to study for the GMAT for 8 hours a day if I need to...so, I think that should be enough time?

A more critical question is: how much time (in hours or in weeks) do I need after learning the materials to take the test? My goal is 700+ and I start off at around 600 on practice test...is it doable? My initial thought is 5 weeks of studying the material, and 3-4 weeks of mastering the material and lots of GMAT questions.

Please advice.

I do not want to spend too little or too much time since one may get drain out if the practice drag on for too long and vice versa.

[StaceyKoprince]

Most people cannot cram the 9 week course into 5 weeks, no - and I don't just mean because it's a lot of work. When you try to learn too many new things in one day, your brain can't do it. You won't learn things as well as you need to, and you actually run the risk of learning a bunch of things only semi-well because your brain can only take so much new information in a certain period of time.

You can maybe compress the 9 weeks into about 7, but I think 5 is pushing it. That's not to say that you can't do it - but most people would find that challenging.

Next, most people need a minimum of 2 weeks of review after, and ideally 3 to 4 (assuming you're studying every day - for others reading this, if you're studying less frequently, obviously you'd need more time). So on that part of it, your schedule seems reasonable to me!