Should have SPECIFIC folder for SPECIFIC section!

[AsadA969]

Hey, this message is only for Manhattan Prep. I am a guy who need to study for SC, RC, CR separately most of the times. But it is so difficult for me to study separately in this forum. There are so many forums in internet, which have their separate folder for SC, RC, CR; by which we can easily find out specific folder (e.g., SC,RC,CR) when we need. Most of the forum members in Manhattan GMAT Forum are here only for CR (it may be!), so it is difficult for them to find out the CR questions within a very short time. In Manhattan Forum, there are lots of pages in every fragments; so for that reason, we've to scrutinize many more pages to have a CR questions or SC questions or sometimes RC questions. If there may have SPECIFIC folder for SPECIFIC section it'll be very easier for us to study in Manhattan Forum. Good luck for Manhattan Prep.
Thanks

[StaceyKoprince]

Thanks for your suggestion.

Can you tell me more about how you are using the forums? I'm trying to understand why it would be helpful to have the folders broken down by question type.

If you are looking for a specific problem, you would want to search for text from that problem, even if things are broken up by question type. If you are posting yourself, then the organization doesn't matter.

Is it possible that you are just scrolling through all the posts, looking at what other people have posted?

I can understand why someone might do that...but it's not a very effective way to study. Reading what someone else asked, and what someone else responded, does not have you really thinking for yourself. You would be better served to buy a legitimate source of questions (OG, etc) and work through them on your own, trying to learn as much as you can before you look in forums for help as to where you might have gone wrong, or how to solve more efficiently, or whatever. (And, at that point, you will then have specific text to search - no scrolling around trying to find problems of a particular type.)

If there's some other usage that I'm not thinking of, please let me know.

[AsadA969]

Can you tell me more about how you are using the forums? I'm trying to understand why it would be helpful to have the folders broken down by question type.
^^I just want to focus on CR problem right away. But, when I try to find out CR problem then it takes more time to find a CR problem.

If you are looking for a specific problem, you would want to search for text from that problem, even if things are broken up by question type. If you are posting yourself, then the organization doesn't matter.
^^Nope. Not at all. I am not trying to find out any specific question in this forum; i just want to study on CR problem-Reading what someone else asked, and what someone else responded JUST for broad understanding. I am a member of some other forums but their response is somewhat ambiguous to me. Most of the students try to answer in those forum but those answers are just their personal conviction-they can't specifically say [i]why this answer choice is right or why this answer choice is wrong! But, Manhattan GMAT forum is not like that; it is something else!

Is it possible that you are just scrolling through all the posts, looking at what other people have posted?
^^yep, it is possible to scroll through all the posts, looking at what other people have posted. There are 57 pages in "General Verbal Questions" folder along with many more topics in a page. I try to read every topic in a page. When i finish the page #1, then I go thorough page #2 and continued....

If there's some other usage that I'm not thinking of, please let me know.[/quote]
^^Nope. You've got everything what is in my mind.

[StaceyKoprince]

Got it, thanks. This is an interesting discussion.

Okay, so I don't think this is a very efficient or effective way to study.

Our folders here are split up by source: our CATs, our other materials, GMATPrep, and then verbal materials from all other sources.

You actually do NOT want to scroll through either our CAT folder or the GMATPrep folder, because then you're "spoiling" yourself for those practice tests. Good practice tests are very valuable (because there aren't that many) - don't ruin them by exposing yourself to questions ahead of time.

Next, our materials: I don't recommend just reading the questions in isolation. The materials are put together in books or online lessons for a reason - the lessons actually teach you what to do. So in that case, get the book itself so that you are getting the full lessons, not trying to learn everything in a piecemeal way via a forum. You'll spend months learning what you could learn in a week if you used the full lesson.

Finally, the "all other sources" folder is another place that I really wouldn't recommend anyone just scrolling through. Here's the problem: the sources are from all over. While we do try to keep an eye out for the worst sources and tell people not to use those sources, there are still problems in there that are just poor quality in general. It's a waste of your time to study stuff that's poor quality.

For any of these folders, the best usage is to be studying from the real / original materials yourself, and then come to these folders to search for specific problems when you realize that you need more instruction or help on some particular problem.

And for that reason: this conversation has just convinced me that I do not want to organize by question type, because that will make it easier for people to study in the way that you described...but I don't want my students studying that way. You* won't learn as well. That may mean that people go to other forums more than mine, because they want things this other way, but I'll live with that. I'm a teacher at heart, not a business person - I'm not going to set things up in a sub-optimal way just to get more traffic!

*You, just you, might. There are a small number of people who are naturally good at learning how the test makers "think" (or how the great test takers think) and they pick up a lot just from reading through these types of conversations. (I should say we, because people who are really good at standardized tests do tend to learn this way.) But that's not effective for the majority of the study population. So if you are in this small category of people who learn really well this way, I'm sorry - I have to think about the needs of the more typical student. The consolation is that you'll still learn well and get a good score on this test anyway, if you're in this group!

[AsadA969]

You actually do NOT want to scroll through either our CAT folder or the GMATPrep folder, because then you're "spoiling" yourself for those practice tests. Good practice tests are very valuable (because there aren't that many) - don't ruin them by exposing yourself to questions ahead of time.

I do not study any GMAT prep or Manhattan Prep CAT question because I think that they carry more importance in prep test. I just study another folder of this forum.

[AsadA969]

You* won't learn as well. That may mean that people go to other forums more than mine, because they want things this other way, but I'll live with that. I'm a teacher at heart, not a business person - I'm not going to set things up in a sub-optimal way just to get more traffic!

Thanks for being with us as a real instructor. Good luck with the journey in Manhattan Prep.

[AsadA969]

The consolation is that you'll still learn well and get a good score on this test anyway, if you're in this group!

So, pray for me so that I may be a Manhattan Prep instructor by having at least 760 score (manhattan prep's minimum eligibility) in GMAT.
Thanks

[AsadA969]

For any of these folders, the best usage is to be studying from the real / original materials yourself, and then come to these folders to search for specific problems when you realize that you need more instruction or help on some particular problem.

So, could you please provide some sources (it may be from GMAC or Manhattan Prep) from which I can study?
Thanks.

[StaceyKoprince]

Sure!

I'm going to make a distinction between study and practice. Study is when you learn the underlying techniques, content, and strategies. You're mostly learning this from test prep company materials. Practice is when you take what you learn and try to apply it to test questions under test-like conditions; the best source for this is GMAC.

For study materials...I am obviously biased and like my company's materials best. But I will tell you the kinds of things you may need and you can examine stuff from different companies to see what you like best.

You need something to teach you techniques for the different question types (eg, techniques for working through SC, CR, RC, DS efficiently and effectively). I left PS off that list because it's the most "straightforward" (initially) of the types. Then, you also need strategies for handling particular kinds of questions - eg, smart numbers, working backwards, and testing cases for quant (the first two of which are exclusive to problem solving).

You also need to learn the underlying quant and SC content (facts / rules) that the GMAT tests.

As a baseline, you're going to need access to some books / lessons (whether physical or in e-form) that will help you to learn those things. You might do a self-study program or a class...that's up to you.

I don't know how far you are in your studies, so it may be that you need study materials only for certain areas.

For practice, you'll want to work quite a bit from GMAC materials, as their problems are real GMAT problems (though I'll warn you that their explanations are not always the greatest). I recommend that everyone use, at a minimum, the latest big Official Guide book (~900 problems) and the free GMATPrep software (which includes 2 full tests and about 90 free questions).

Beyond that, there are two additional OG books, paid add-ons to GMATPrep (a 400-question set, 2 more practice tests), GMAT Focus (quant), and GMAT Write (essay).

Of those, I think the absolute best product is GMAT Focus, because the questions are phenomenal and it's the only way to test your quant adaptively without having to take a full practice test. It's quant-only, though, so not necessary for someone who isn't struggling with quant. (I wish they had the equivalent for verbal!)

If you use GMAC materials (which I definitely recommend!), then you'll also want to identify places to find better explanations. As you've seen here, we have folders for the free GMATPrep questions. A number of the GMATPrep questions have also been dissected in blog posts, so you might want to search our blog for the relevant text. We also have a program called GMAT Navigator that includes written or video explanations for a good percentage of the problems in the big OG (and we're slowly and steadily adding more over time). This program has a free version (that does not provide access to all content / features) and a paid version (which does provide access to everything), so you can try the free version to see whether you think you might want access to the full version.

What do you think about all of the above?

[AsadA969]

Stacey, Thanks for your good suggestion.

What do you think about all of the above?

Actually, I've to maintain my privacy in this forum. So, will it violate the forum rules, if I send you personal message in Facebook (I already know your fb ID) or in your email ID?
Thanks

[StaceyKoprince]

I can't answer via FB or email, unfortunately - we don't offer free help that way. You can send private email into our Student Services (SS) team at gmat@manhattanprep.com and they will forward to the appropriate person to answer. So you can try that. Just note that we don't support extensive private advice via email or we'd be doing nothing but emailing all day long.

If you have something that you want me to know as we talk here, you can send that detail into the SS team. Just note that your posts here don't show anything other than the ID that you chose, which doesn't contain any identifying information. I talk to people on the forums about specific learning disabilities, testing accommodations, etc - but there are many, many people with those same issues (about 200,000 people take the GMAT every year!), so the discussions don't personally "out" you.

[AsadA969]

Okay.
Thanks...

[StaceyKoprince]

You're welcome!