GMAT Strategy

Hi,

I wanted know that what would be a better approach to do OG questions

• * Do 40 problems per day for 1 area
  or
  * Do 20 Quant or 20 Verbal problems per day

I know both have their own merits e.g doing one subject area would require me to focus completely on one thing per day and I would be doing the same area after about a week then but doing all areas would help to practice all question daily, thus it would not make my concepts rusty.

So just wanted a suggestion from all you experts out there, that which strategy works the best ?

Thanks in advance.

Adil

Hi,

Citing that you have just started with your prep, I'd suggest that you lay more emphasis on understanding and retaining the concepts than on the speed and the number of question. Once you have developed some concepts and confidence, you can always target the timing and other aspects.

A good starting point could be beatthegmat blog and you can always develop your own strategy after the initial progress.

Happy GMATing.

Gmat has five topics for you to learn: PS, DS, CR, RC and SC

I think you might want to try this strategy:

Start with the diagnostic test in OG 11 and don't time it. This will give you a rough idea about what GMAT is about and where you need to focus MORE compared to other sections. Once you figured this out.

Learn the fundamentals before moving on to the OG problems. I would highly recommend to learn ( and refresh ) Math skills with Manhattan GMAT books. But do not solve the OG problems related to that chapter at the end of your studies. There are great action problems in those books and learn the STUFF. Once you see catch a hint, a new concept, a method, a trap...etc. Put that on a flash card.

Follow the same method for the Verbal.

Learn and practice SC from Manhattan GMAT SC guide. Use Power Score Bible for your CR studies. And read BTG forum to learn different approaches for the RC section.

Now you know the fundemantals. It is time to move to OG and test your skills:

Solve 10 questions from each section everyday and time EVERY question. Download the OG Tracker and put your answers and timing into this wonderful tool.

Once you are done with your 50 question set and spend around 100 minutes. TAKE A BREAK! Let them sink for a while.

REVIEW THE ANSWERS:

OG Tracker will tell you the questions you got wrong. Go back to these questions and do not time yourself and try to SOLVE them. Give it a good try! It is very important step. After this go to the OG explanations. READ ALL OF THEM! - Dont read only the explanations for your wrong answers but try to read all of it. Spend at least 2 minutes on analayzing a question. Look for what GMAT thinks, how they solve the questions, what traps they are using and once again, if you find any thing good --> Put in flash cards.

The last questions on the OG are harder than compared to the first ones. And remember in the real test, if you have a good start you will be hit by these questions, which is a good thing. SO MAKE SURE THAT YOUR AVERAGE TIMING is around 2-3 minutes for the hard quant questions and 2 minutes for the hard verbal questions.

When you review your answers also review the ones you got right but took you forver. Try to find a faster method. Most of the people do not read the explanations of the questions they got right..MISTAKE! Who knows you might learn a better and a faster technique ? ( etc..DOUBLE SET MATRIX )

If you study with this dicipline and keep a log of your answers and timing..you will have VERBAL and QUANT stats at the end of your studies. These stats will tell you your weaknesses and your strong points and you will have a great MAP in front of you telling what to study.

You can move to other 2 review books after this. And keep reviewing your flash cards and TAKE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE from OG books.



"for EVERY problem:
* don't concentrate on the solution to that actual problem, since you can be sure you aren't going to see that actual problem on the exam
* instead, try to find TAKEAWAYS from the problem, which you can then APPLY TO OTHER PROBLEMS. this is key - DO NOT LEAVE A PROBLEM until you have extracted at least one piece of information, whether a formula, a strategy, a trick/trap, etc., that you can apply to OTHER problems.
* notice the SIGNALS in the problem that dictate which strategy to use. if you miss the problem, then notice the strategy that's used in the book's solution (not always the best solution, in the case of the o.g., but better than nothing), and go back to see if there are any signals 'telling' you to use that strategy.

from a manhattan gmat instructor!"


After having solid fundamentals and acing your timing. It is time to play the GAME.

Remember Harlem players are not playing in NBA or a great free soccer star is not in Premium League.

GMAT is all about execution of what you know in a GIVEN time! It does not care less about what your hit rates in OG books.

So learn the game:

Take the first 2 CATS from Manhattan ( you will have access to them after you purchased any of their books )

You will find the Quant section a little bit harder and time consuming but it is better than giving you a wrong idea of how easy the test it. GMAT IS NOT EASY!

Work on your stamina. Sitting for 4 hours needs practice just like holding your breathe under the water.

Take the GMAT Prep # 1.

This will give you a VERY clear idea of where you are!

Also remember to write two essays in each CATS. Again, GMAT is all about how you play the GAME not what you know about the GAME. Verbal section will challange you. Why? Not only because it is tricky but also it will catch you in the last 75 minutes of the game when your body and brain is TIRED. So you need to be tired in this part of the game. You dont need to write stellar essays just learn to type something for 1 hour.

After EACH CAT - revisit your answers. Fine tune your STRATEGY. Learn the game more.

Continue with Manhattan # 3, 4, 5 and # 6.

You should be pretty comfortable with the GMAT game by now. REVISIT your answers, REVIEW YOUR STRATEGIES. Make a game plan. If you are short guy don try to dunk when you play against Garnet. Master your 3 pointers. If you are CR master but average joe in SC --> Buy sometime from SC and sell it for CR.

Learn to GIVE UP! No question - let me repeat NO QUESTION is worth 4 minutes! Fight against GMAT not your EGO! I am an engineer and it took me a while to walk away from a math question but at the end of the day - you will be rewarded.

Do a FINAL review. Don't include new questions and stuff in this phase. READ THE BIBLE, LEARN THE BIBLE, and TAKE FROM THE BIBLE.

Take the Gmat Prep # 2 couple of days before the test.

DON'T TAKE A CAT before your test. Athletes don't run 40 kms one day before the Boston Marathon. But they do warm up!

If you have time you can do as many GMAT PREP as you want. But again. It is all about LEARNING to play.

And be positive! Think about something you did great and how you felt. Look into GMAT's eye and SMILE!

And remeber we are taking GMAT to get into Business Schools not to become a GMAT celebrity.

Happy GMATing and GOOD LUCK!

emrahercan,

Thank you for your comprehensive and thoughtful response.

It has helped me. I am enrolled in the Kaplan course and to be honest, it is not that great at all. I guess, with most standardized tests, you cant rely on any one source but yourself. So with your outline, I definitely think your bottomline is to work, work, work, analyze, assess, and implement careful and deliberate strategies.

Thank you again!

cyruscyrus wrote:emrahercan,

Thank you for your comprehensive and thoughtful response.

It has helped me. I am enrolled in the Kaplan course and to be honest, it is not that great at all. I guess, with most standardized tests, you cant rely on any one source but yourself. So with your outline, I definitely think your bottomline is to work, work, work, analyze, assess, and implement careful and deliberate strategies.

Thank you again!

cyruscyrus,

you are welcome. I am also in the process of learning the GMAT game. I will do my best to share my learnings.

I am done with the OG 11 and working my way through the two review books. You can check my study program from the link below:

https://www.beatthegmat.com/so-you-want- ... 17207.html

I prepared 8 GMAT tests from this book and am applying the method I explained. I am taking a CAT every weekend on Saturdays and review all my answers on Sundays.

Good luck!

emrahercan,

Thank you so much for such a comprehension response. This will definitely help me in making my GMAT prep strategy.


Adil

The advice is his! lunarpower thanks man!!

lunarpower wrote:the advice above, about takeaways, signals, and the like, is mine.

here's another way to summarize the way you should (and shouldn't) be studying for this exam:
always remember that you will never again see the same problems you're practicing on.
far too many students get caught up in the details of PARTICULAR problems under study, when, ironically, those details really don't matter at all. since you're never going to see that particular problem again, the only thing that matters in the long run is any takeaway that will apply to other problems in the future.

you should try to get to the point where you don't really have to make any decisions at all; the ideal gmat situation is completely reflex behavior. stimulus ... response. stimulus ... response. you notice signals in the problem, and you immediately know what to do - almost like following a script.
whenever you're reviewing a question, ask yourself the following simple questions:
1) what general type of problem is this?
2) what strategy is a useful OPENER for this type of problem?
3) HOW did i know this? in other words, what information in the problem served as a clue?
these are simple questions, but their answers will be quite profound and will force you to generalize your reasoning across entire classes of problems. if you learn to see the test this way, though - as a connected matrix in which every problem is intimately related to every other problem, rather than as a congeries of disconnected random problems - your studying will be MUCH more effective.

good luck.

You are awesome. I just read a bit about you. Thanks for the insight and also for making me question the cereal and milk combo. You, in short, are very bright.