Need help preparing for the GMAT

[zjd101b]

Hello all,

I write to you frustrated abut my progress on the GMAT. I have been studying for nearly 8 months. I have put in 500+ hours and I have gotten seemingly nowhere. I am both disappointed and embarrassed by my lack of progress. It's getting to the point where it's making me depressed. I will not give up. I absolutely refuse to. But the irony is that with every additional day I study the more miserable it makes me.

I've come to the conclusion that I am simply not studying the right way (that took long enough, didn't it?) I am spinning my wheels at every corner. I have gone over 500 or so geometry questions alone and right now, if you were to pick one at random and ask me to solve (DS or PS) I'd give me odds under 50:50. I try to go over every one, try to understand the steps and concepts needed but nothing seems to stick.

I want a 700, I mean, I want it badly so the drive is definitely there. I've used Kaplan books, The full Manhattan Guide and forums like Beat the GMAT and GMATclub.com. I've tried courses like GMAT prep now. I liked it, I think it helped me understand and recognize material well, but the problem is it didn't seem to go over anywhere close to all the concepts and tricks the GMAT throws our way. The Geometry section is 3 hours long - I can't help but think that to cover all the material I may encounter in Geometry, I'd need 30 hours of review!

I really badly need help and don't know where to turn. I don't know if you or anyone else can help but I need to do something to turn this ship around and master this test. It's really driving me nuts.

Regards,

Zach Dragone

[StaceyKoprince]

I'm sorry you're having a tough time with the test.

I'm guessing that the core of your problem is here:

I can't help but think that to cover all the material I may encounter in Geometry, I'd need 30 hours of review!

This test is not a math test. You don't actually want to cover EVERYthing that you might encounter on geometry. You want to think like a business person: what things are most likely to show up, so I'll be prepared to take advantage of those opportunities, and I'll just let go on other opportunities. For example, I'm definitely going to study the formulas for area of a triangle and circle and how to solve those kinds of problems.

But the area of a trapezoid? The volume of a circle? I don't think so - not common enough to take up my valuable brain space. I can only do / remember so much. If I do happen to get one in that area, oh well - I'll get that one wrong.

Here's what the test is really testing:
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/inde ... lly-tests/

(Seriously, go read that right now.)

Now, the way that you've been studying - how does what you just read contradict the approach that you've been taking?

I'm guessing here, but it very much sounds like you've been taking a "school" approach to this: I need to study every last fact and rule, I need to do every last problem, I need to learn EVERYthing and try to get EVERYthing right.

As long as you continue with that mindset, you'll continue to be frustrated and not get to where you want.

Okay, so that's step #1: start approaching this as a business-decision-making test, not an academic test. Your two scarce resources are time and mental energy. Your entire goal is to figure out how to use them wisely.

Second, read this:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... -the-gmat/

Have you been studying in that way? I'm going to guess not so much, so that's your second step.

Next, use the below (plus your new understanding of the above) to analyze your most recent MGMAT CAT(s):
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... ice-tests/

Figure out what you think you should do based on that analysis. Don't worry, you don't have to think of everything - but tell us where you think you've been falling short and what you think you should do about it. We'll tell you whether we agree and advise you further. (Note: do share an analysis with us, not just the raw data. Part of getting better is developing your ability to analyze your results - figure out what they mean and what you think you should do about them!)