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- bharrington92
- Forum Guests
- Posts: 1
- Joined: Thu Feb 02, 2012 9:58 am
Very basic Startegy Need
I know everyone is busy so here are the highlights. The school I'm applying at has already accpeted me etc... all I need is a 550 on the GMAT. I just took a practice exam on here and got a 490 but I haven't done any studying etc. I'm taking the GMAT in about three weeks and have loads of time to study. Considering that I'm not trying to hit a home run here whats the best way to go about studying?
- StaceyKoprince
- ManhattanGMAT Staff
- Posts: 9361
- Joined: Wed Oct 19, 2005 9:05 am
- Location: Montreal
Re: Very basic Startegy Need
You really don't have much time, so we really have to prioritize. You took a practice test; use this article to analyze the results:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... ice-tests/
Use that to decide what you are and are not going to study (there's no way you can come close to studying everything in only 3 weeks - if you try, you'll just burn yourself out and not learn anything very well).
In general, here are some major things to consider:
1) Do you have any timing problems? (The analysis you do with the article will help you answer this question.) If so, you need to address this. It typically takes 4 to 6 weeks to really fix timing problems, but you'll have to do what you can in the time that you have.
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... anagement/
2) Do you have any major weaknesses in the following categories?
Number Properties: divisibility, primes, exponents, roots
Algebra: equations in general (basic, exponential, quadratic)
Fraction and Percent problems
General word problems that require you to translate (into equations, etc)
Sentence Correction: modifiers, parallelism, subject-verb agreement, verb tense
Critical Reasoning: Find the Assumption, strengthen, Weaken
Reading Comp: specific details and inference
If so, those are the priorities. Other things you can ignore.
3) What materials are you using? Have you already got your books / online resources? You need these types of resources in general:
a) practice CATs
b) official practice problems (official guides)
c) books that teach you how to get better at the various things you need to improve (NOT just practice problems)
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... ice-tests/
Use that to decide what you are and are not going to study (there's no way you can come close to studying everything in only 3 weeks - if you try, you'll just burn yourself out and not learn anything very well).
In general, here are some major things to consider:
1) Do you have any timing problems? (The analysis you do with the article will help you answer this question.) If so, you need to address this. It typically takes 4 to 6 weeks to really fix timing problems, but you'll have to do what you can in the time that you have.
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... anagement/
2) Do you have any major weaknesses in the following categories?
Number Properties: divisibility, primes, exponents, roots
Algebra: equations in general (basic, exponential, quadratic)
Fraction and Percent problems
General word problems that require you to translate (into equations, etc)
Sentence Correction: modifiers, parallelism, subject-verb agreement, verb tense
Critical Reasoning: Find the Assumption, strengthen, Weaken
Reading Comp: specific details and inference
If so, those are the priorities. Other things you can ignore.
3) What materials are you using? Have you already got your books / online resources? You need these types of resources in general:
a) practice CATs
b) official practice problems (official guides)
c) books that teach you how to get better at the various things you need to improve (NOT just practice problems)
Stacey Koprince
Instructor
Director, Content & Curriculum
ManhattanPrep
Instructor
Director, Content & Curriculum
ManhattanPrep
2 posts Page 1 of 1