I am taking the virtual on line course that started on March 11. I have tried to be very good about doing the work I am supposed to be doing for the class. I have gone through all of the number properties guide where I have been working on the MG exercises and corresponding OG problems. My problem is that I am having difficulty with grasping a lot or most of the content material that those exercises and questions test me on. Do you have any suggestions about how I should approach things when it comes to the workings of this course? Anything concrete would help me right now.
Thank you,
Greg Hall
GMAT Forum
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- GCHall840
- ayang
- ManhattanGMAT Staff
- Posts: 42
- Joined: Thu Jul 31, 2003 1:31 pm
managing the homework
Greg,
From the sound of things, you are working hard. And it's very good that you are focussed on your understanding (i.e. the results of your studies) in addition to how much you're doing (i.e. the process). They are both very important.
The first step is, do you understand the principles that are explained in the Strategy Guide? E.g. for number properties, do you understand why it is helpful to break numbers into their prime factors in many cases, and how to do so? If not, then you should re-read the strategy guide until you understand these building blocks.
The next step is, do you understand how to apply these principles to the In Action problems in the Strategy Guide? If not, then you should make an appointment with your tutor (1/2 hour phone help) and spend additional time on these problems until you feel comfortable with them.
The third, and most important step, is whether or not you can solve Official Guide problems that test the same principles. Again, if there are specific problems that are giving you a hard time, make an appointment each week and have a handful of problems that you'd like help with.
A couple of notes - if you struggled with Week 1's topics and homework, don't get hung up on that in terms of staying with the course the rest of the way. In other words, forget about Week 1 for now, and keep up with Week 2 or 3. You can circle back to Week 1 later on.
Second, when you are trying to come to grips with the Official Guide problems, focus not on volume, but on truly understanding a handful of Official Guide problems. That will be more valuable to you than reviewing a lot of problems without truly internalizing the represented principles.
I hope that this is helpful. Let me know if there is anything else that I can provide or answer. - Andrew
From the sound of things, you are working hard. And it's very good that you are focussed on your understanding (i.e. the results of your studies) in addition to how much you're doing (i.e. the process). They are both very important.
The first step is, do you understand the principles that are explained in the Strategy Guide? E.g. for number properties, do you understand why it is helpful to break numbers into their prime factors in many cases, and how to do so? If not, then you should re-read the strategy guide until you understand these building blocks.
The next step is, do you understand how to apply these principles to the In Action problems in the Strategy Guide? If not, then you should make an appointment with your tutor (1/2 hour phone help) and spend additional time on these problems until you feel comfortable with them.
The third, and most important step, is whether or not you can solve Official Guide problems that test the same principles. Again, if there are specific problems that are giving you a hard time, make an appointment each week and have a handful of problems that you'd like help with.
A couple of notes - if you struggled with Week 1's topics and homework, don't get hung up on that in terms of staying with the course the rest of the way. In other words, forget about Week 1 for now, and keep up with Week 2 or 3. You can circle back to Week 1 later on.
Second, when you are trying to come to grips with the Official Guide problems, focus not on volume, but on truly understanding a handful of Official Guide problems. That will be more valuable to you than reviewing a lot of problems without truly internalizing the represented principles.
I hope that this is helpful. Let me know if there is anything else that I can provide or answer. - Andrew
- GCHall840
Thank you, Andrew
Hi Andrew,
I appreciate the fact that you took the time to reply to my message. I think that Manhattan GMAT really does have what I call a very supportive staff. Honestly, I am really, really glad that I decided to take your online course. I was feeling pretty overwhelmed when I wrote you that message. After I tuned into the class this afternoon, it was great to feel a lot better about those things because of what we covered in the class. Dan and Pedro went over several of the questions that I had been working on for the homework. I felt a lot better after I figured it out that things weren't so bad after all.
You are right about making sure that I understand all of the concepts that are presented in the strategy guides before I move on to the questions.
Thanks again for your help.
Greg Hall
I appreciate the fact that you took the time to reply to my message. I think that Manhattan GMAT really does have what I call a very supportive staff. Honestly, I am really, really glad that I decided to take your online course. I was feeling pretty overwhelmed when I wrote you that message. After I tuned into the class this afternoon, it was great to feel a lot better about those things because of what we covered in the class. Dan and Pedro went over several of the questions that I had been working on for the homework. I felt a lot better after I figured it out that things weren't so bad after all.
You are right about making sure that I understand all of the concepts that are presented in the strategy guides before I move on to the questions.
Thanks again for your help.
Greg Hall
3 posts Page 1 of 1