How to prepare yourself in 7 weeks ?

[precisbreal]

Hi there!

I'm starting to study for the GMAT. I'm probably going to take it 7 weeks from now. I started by taking the free CAT exam on your website in order to evaluate my level. I scored 630 with 75 min for each sections without any kind of practice. (I had to rush throught the end of the quant section, it won't happen again). I was wondering what kind of study plan you would advise for someone who is aiming for a 700 at least.

I have already bought some books from MGMAT and I plan on doing a CAT test each Sunday after working on paper during the week. Is it a good strategy ?

About th OG, I've done so far 50 questions both in the data sufficiency and problem parts. I find them very easy. Is this normal, or is there some kind of explanation ?

Anyway, thanks in advance for all advice you can provide me.

Cheers !

[StaceyKoprince]

Good questions. Let's see. Most people study for 10+ weeks, so just FYI, your plan is pretty ambitious. Also, did you take the essays when you took your practice test? If not, your multiple-choice score might be somewhat inflated (since the essays come first and affect your stamina) - just FYI.

So you're looking at maybe a 70 to 100 point improvement goal over 7 weeks - yeah, that's ambitious. You should go for it, but you should also be prepared to take some extra time if you discover towards the end that you need more time. Most people would probably need more than 7 weeks.

It sounds like you're working on your own, so start with this article:
http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2010/02/ ... study-plan

Then, use this article to analyze your practice tests:
http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2011/02/ ... sts-part-1

(Note: that link is an update to the link that's given in the first article - I updated the "how to analyze your practice test" article about a month ago.)

About th OG, I've done so far 50 questions both in the data sufficiency and problem parts. I find them very easy. Is this normal, or is there some kind of explanation ?

Were they the first 50 questions? The questions are presented in increasing order of difficulty - the higher the number, the harder the question. :)

Finally, you mentioned that you're using some of our books. You can look here for our course syllabus:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/freegmatlearningforum.cfm
Under the highlights section, click on "Official Manhattan GMAT Course Syllabus [pdf]"

Of course, you won't have all of the resources mentioned in the syllabus, but the order of assignments will give you an idea of how to use the books that you do have. Note: you should customize based upon your own strengths and weaknesses. Also, because you want a 700+ score, you are going to have to do a fairly thorough review; you can't afford any big weaknesses at that scoring level.

So get started on the above and come back here to ask questions as you formulate your study plan and analyze your results. If you have questions about your strengths and weaknesses (and what to do about them!), let us know.

Finally, if you are studying on your own, you will benefit from using the forums frequently and well; read this:
http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2010/05/ ... the-forums

Good luck - let us know how it goes!

[precisbreal]

Thank you very much for your feedback Stacey !

I know this is ambitious, but I don't really have a choice.

I've been working for two weeks now with all the questions you've labelled as advanced in the Excel speadsheet you are offering with the stopwatch of the student center. I usually get 3 out 4 correct answers. So, not bad, but now high enough in my opnion. I'm aiming for at least 80% correct. I'm going to keep on working on those for a week before taking a new CAT. The good news is: I am never short on time now that I've worked on the problem.

I was a bit surprise though: questions in your CAT seemed a little bit more difficult than those labelled as advanced in the OG.

I am going to tackle the verbal part starting in a week. I understand that you can get a really good score if you are well prepared with that one.

I've got 3 questons:
- What is the level of difficulty of the questions you've labelled as advanced ? Are they in the 600-700 range ? 700-800 range ?

- What about the other two OGs (Verbal & Quant) ? Are their questions any good ?

- Is it a good idea to do a Gmat Prep in 2 weeks ? In order to have a score as close to reality as possible ? Or should I save my two GMAT Prep for my last two weeks of study ?

[StaceyKoprince]

Our quant questions do sometimes feel more difficult than OG questions and there seem to be two reasons: (1) some of our questions are more computation-intensive than the real test, and (2) this book was published a while ago, and there are more challenging real test questions now, too.

The "advanced" questions are minimum 600 to 650 (depending upon the section / type).

The two supplemental OGs (Q and V) are good, too, yes.

You can take 2 GMATPrep tests, so I don't think there's any problem in taking one in a few weeks and then saving the other for a week or so before the real test. MAKE SURE you time yourself per question on GMATPrep. That test does not give you any performance data, so you have to create some of it yourself.

Don't look at whatever you're using to time yourself - for example, use a stopwatch with "lap" capability and cover up the display. Just push the "lap" button every time you finish a problem.

[precisbreal]

I've been practicing a lot and I've taken my first Gmat Prep last monday. I got a 690 (Q47, V37) (I was at 630 3 weeks ago). While I feel that I should be fine with the quant section (I've got a background in engineering), the verbal section seems to me to be a bit more difficult. That is why I've bought your book on SC. However, I don't really know how to prepare for this particular kind of exercise. Do you have any advice on the matter ?

Also, you told me in you previous answer that quant questions are a little more difficult on the real exam than it is in the OG. Do you know where I could find questions as hard as those I might get on the real thing ?

Thanks a lot !

[StaceyKoprince]

Actually, I said that MGMAT CAT questions are often more difficult than OG.

Some people at very high quant levels also feel that OG is not hard enough, primarily I think because OG shows the whole range of levels, while a CAT is only going to show you what you "earn" - so, if you're at a high level, you're going to see mostly only very hard Qs.

You can also try GMAT Focus (from the real test makers) - it's adaptive, so you'll get what you can earn. Note that you can only take it 3 or 4 times before seeing repeated questions, so use it wisely. www.gmatfocus.com

SC is about two things: the actual grammar, and the process.

Start with this article on overall process:
http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2010/06/ ... on-problem

Then start working chapter by chapter in the book, from the beginning. General chapters first - only move to Advanced material when / if you feel totally comfortable with the General material of the same type.

Read, take notes, make flashcards, do some problems at the end of the chapter, review when you make mistakes or don't understand something, edit your notes or flashcards accordingly, do some OG problems, review when you make mistakes... etc. (basically, it's a loop!)

DO put things in your own words (in your notes and maybe even aloud) and DO use flashcards or some other method to drill yourself.