GMAT Strategy

I was hoping to get some feedback on ideal prep time/ prep materials for the GMAT. My goal is to score over 680 to enhance my chances of admittance into UNC Chapel Hill. I have recently started to study the Kaplan prep book. What other materials are suggested to achieve my target score? I was thinking about scheduling the exam for early January, then possibly hire a tutor, and retake the exam in March. Is 4 months a realistic time table? I am new to the board, so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Some people would say that 4 months of hard studying is goin to lead to burnout. Really, it depends on your level now with where you are in verbal and quant. Take an online CAT and then you can get a better idea.

Four months is okay, depending on how much you're studying each week. Some people need more, others less. Really depends on you, your schedule, your starting score, etc.

Try to do your best studying up front without planning on a retake. It's perfectly fine to retake, but if you have that in the back of your mind as part of your plan, you might not sufficiently dedicate yourself the first time around. If you think you're going to need a tutor, get one before you take your first GMAT.

But you need to start studying before you really know how long you'll need to study, and whether you'll need help. Plan to go through a prep book from beginning to end before you take a practice test; otherwise you just waste a good test. I personally didn't like Kaplan and used Cracking the GMAT instead. It's an easy read and the tests are a LOT better. PR's tests are adaptive whereas Kaplan's are not (at least, not when I looked at them; don't know if that's changed). You MUST take adaptive tests so you can get used to the real thing. And of course, GMATPrep is adaptive too. Free from www.mba.com. Also, Princeton Review has an extra test on its Web site, and it's free too: https://www.princetonreview.com/business ... ?uidbadge=

Set up a study plan that works with your schedule. I wouldn't try to do more than 2-3 hours a night because you can definitely burn out and see diminishing returns. Focus on one question type at a time initially until you work out the kinks and get into a good groove with solving problems correctly. Check your answers every five questions or so, so that you don't get into bad habits with your errors.

When you do your time practice tests, make sure you REALLY review the answers, even the right ones. Keep an error log. People here are pretty good about helping each other figure out why answers are right or wrong, so take advantage of that too.

I could keep rambling but I'll stop now. Good luck!!!

wickely, that's some excellent advice. Thanks for suggesting going through the prep book first to refamiliarize the concepts. That was an excellent suggestion.

Thanks, Brian!