Schedule Plan

[Marghe]

Hi,

I am planning to dedicate my next 6months to prepare the GMAT and to take at least a 640 score using the Complete Prep Set. I would appreciate your advise on how to distribute my time on each sections over the first weeks.

I am not a native speaker but with solid fundamental of English. In addition, I am not stellar in the type of Math covered on the test. In fact, I am currently working on strengthen the area by understanding firstly the concept in my native language.

Any other advise to achieve my target score is more than welcome.

[StaceyKoprince]

Good questions. I'm going to give you a series of articles to read.

Start here:
https://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/inde ... lly-tests/

And here:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... to-win-it/

These two articles are really going to help you set the right mindset for approaching the GMAT. If you don't set the right mindset, you're going to have a tough time studying.

Next, this article will help you to develop your own study plan:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... an-part-1/

This study plan will be customized based upon your own strengths and weaknesses. You can come back here and tell us your study plan and we'll tell you where we agree and disagree.

Note: you do NOT need to set up a plan for the whole 6 months. In fact, you shouldn't do this. One characteristic of a good study plan is that it reflects your current situation - strengths, weaknesses, etc. For that, you have to keep revising the plan.

So plan to set up something for roughly the first 1-2 months, but then know that you're going to revisit and revise. As you get further into your study, you will revise and refine your study plan more frequently - every couple of weeks.

Finally, some of the below articles are already included in the Developing a Study Plan article above, but I'm calling them out separately because they're important.

HOW you study is incredibly important. The how to learn / how to study section here has resources on how to study:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... -the-gmat/

You're going to make careless errors. Here's how to minimize them:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... -the-gmat/

You're going to have timing problems (everyone does); these two articles will help:
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... -to-do-it/
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... nt-part-1/

As part of the process of developing your study plan, you will use the below to analyze your most recent MGMAT CAT(s):
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... ice-tests/

Then come back here and tell us the results of your analysis (do this in conjunction with what the Developing a Study Plan article says) and what you think you should do based on that analysis. We'll tell you whether we agree and advise you further. (Note: do share an analysis with us, not just the raw data. Part of getting better is developing your ability to analyze your results - figure out what they mean and what you think you should do about them!)

Expect to spend a few days thinking about this - it's not easy! And if you haven't already taken your first practice CAT, schedule that for this week-end. Good luck!

[Marghe]

Hello Stacey,

Thank you very much for your articles. I had read most of them before I wrote to you. Therefore, I am on the right way to the GMAT mindset.
I have elaborated an analysis of how to plan my GMAT preparation conciliating also the time for my job and family commitment with the following:

1) Working with a general time frame and thinking to do the GMAT in March 2014.
2) Spending half of June, July and August to review the Quant section in Italian, my native language, to grasp the concepts, and to prepare the IELTS for the Business School requirements.
3) Mastering the Quant and Verbal material of the Complete Strategy Set with its drills over September and October. After that, I would hope to become quite confident and would start to practice the OG and come back to mastering the material to strength the weak areas.
4) I will do the Cat every 2-3 weeks to monitor my score.

I read very carefully the article on how to make the best memories because the content reflects a bed approach I may have with studying the GMAT. In fact, since I am extremely determined, I often make the mistake to overload my brain and to overwork getting the opposite result. This is something I should manage carefully and your article is a good guide.

Please, let me know whether you agree with my first plan.

Thanks

Margherita

[StaceyKoprince]

I like your plan to concentrate on IELTS first. Your preparation for that will help you with GMAT verbal.

Mastering the Quant and Verbal material of the Complete Strategy Set with its drills over September and October. After that, I would hope to become quite confident and would start to practice the OG and come back to mastering the material to strength the weak areas.

Don't ignore the OG in this timeframe. Do *some* OG work as you're working chapter by chapter in the books, because you have to see how the material is applied in GMAT-format questions. The first level is learning the material yes, but the second level is applying it in GMAT-specific format, so you should be learning that at the same time.

As you finish additional chapters and books, start doing mixes of questions - all topics of FDP and Algebra mixed together, and so on. The real test will mix everything up, so you want to test yourself that way as well.

Other than that, I like your plan! :)

[Marghe]

Hi Stacey,

Many thanks for pointing out the importance of the OG work while learning the materials. That is something I was completely ignoring.

I will let you know how my preparation will go after my IELTS test, which should not be difficult to prepare since I graduated at an American University.

Best,

Margherita

[StaceyKoprince]

You're very welcome. Good luck!

[Marghe]

Hello Stacey,

I have just ended up the quant review in Italian to better grasp the concepts. Now, according to my stated plan until the end of August, I should start from scratch the quant part through the Foundation of GMAT Math, with a better understanding, and preparing IELTS to do the test at the beginning of September.
However, Analyzing the time available along with the material to cover, I am thinking to integrate my previous plan with a RC study Session over the next 50 days in addition to a SC section from the Foundation of Verbal.
In fact, I would just read one article per day from scientificamerican.com , harvardmagazine.com, or University of Chicago Magazine and would train on the main point, the main idea, and diagraming toghether with making flashcard on new vocabulary. Second, I want to cover the SC topic in the Foundation of Verbal.
As a result, I would hopefully be advantaged when I 'll deal with the RC and SC into the Strategy Guide and with my overall preparation until the test date in addition to complement my IELTS test.

What do you think about my integration to my previous plan? Does it add value or does it give the opposite result of being overload in the next specific timeframe?

Margherita

P.S I read the GMAT Roadmap. It is amazing for its content and for its precious tips to get intellectually and emotionally introduced in the GMAT journey....

[StaceyKoprince]

I'm glad you like the Roadmap!

I like your plan to integrate quant and verbal learning - our brains actually do learn better with that variety. :)

Of course, don't do this simply by studying all day and all night. Balance is key. You might not get as much math done as you'd originally planned, but that's okay - you're just adjusting your plan, that's all. (Or maybe things will go faster than you thought!)

If you do start to feel burned out, take a day off. Don't keep pushing through - that'll just make you more mentally fatigued. You won't learn as well (wasting your study time) and the more burned out you get, the longer you'll need to take off to recover. So give yourself a break now rather than having to take a week off later on because your brain is about to explode. :)

Good luck - let me know how it goes!

[Marghe]

Hello Stacey,

Thanks for your replay.

Everything in the learning plan goes well until now even with the last integration. I want to be very meticulous on the learning strategy because, like in business, "the everything fits" is key to get the right efficiency along with the application of tools.

Therefore, I will keep you posted on my progress and for any further advice.

Best,

Margherita Vittoria

[StaceyKoprince]

:) buona fortuna!

[Marghe]

Hello Stacey,

So far everything is going well on my last prep plan. I spend some hours everyday and take off every Sunday to relax myself.
First, I have ended up the quant review along with drills from the Foundation book and have just started to re-do so the third time ( the first one was in Italian) in order to clear up doubts on some basic details, which link the concepts. I will be ready to start the Quant Strategy Set in September according to the plan.
Second, I covered the SC and RC sections from the Foundation of Verbal, and I was making a reading everyday for two weeks from scientificamerican.com. Then, three weeks ago, I had to switch from the RC to IELTS readings because the section's score is a bit volatile. Therefore, while keeping on with the GMAT Quant, I do three readings per day from IELTS sources. I hope that my reading comprehension will improve not only to satisfy the IELTS requirement but also to gratify the GMAT.
This is everything I have been doing since our last post, and I hope you agree accordingly with my job so far.

Next, I just took a look at the OG materials related to the Strategy Set, and I sow how the answer choices are structured. It is clear that I should acquire knowledge of the material to do well, but I found interesting that it is important to put my self in the shoes of the test writers to eliminate the wrong answers and come up with the right one. Beyond the preparation and the practice to become more expert and to know how to guess, I wonder how the pattern recognition would be faster to obtain.
I understood that categorization is important but I would like to know something more about the whole process.

Do you have any specific article on pattern recognition especially in quant or some tips that allow my development on such ability?

Thanks.


Margherita Vittoria

[StaceyKoprince]

I like that you give yourself some time off every week - that's important. A lot of people burn themselves out.

Your reading will improve even while studying the IELTS material - that's good.

For pattern recognition, take a look at the below (in the order given).

Know The Code
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... -the-gmat/

An example of Know The Code
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... -Problems/

A follow-on example of the above
http://www.manhattangmat.com/blog/index ... -disguise/

(Note: the problem in that third article is *really* hard. Your best approach might be to make a guess. If you've learned the Code, though, then you might be able to cross off a couple of answer choices first.)

You're going to be looking for these kinds of things yourself when you study. When going over a problem you've already done, always ask yourself, "What was the significance of each piece that they gave me?" If there was something that you didn't entirely understand when you first saw it, go read the solution to see whether it shows you a path that you didn't think of (if you have access to OG Archer, use our solutions, not the official solutions). Then ask yourself, "How would I know next time I see something similar that this would be a good approach? What are the clues that could help me to "decode" this part of the problem and have an idea about where to go from there?

[Marghe]

Hello Stacey,

Thank you very much for providing your articles and their given logical sequence. Definitely they answer my question for pattern recognition and more. I spent some time to read your articles, and now it is quite clear how to manage the inner workings of GMAT. The process is not easy. After all, that is the difference between a superior score and a lower one :)

From next week on, I try to apply your suggested approach while I will be covering the Quant Strategy Set in addition to the Verbal Strategy Set. From the latter, I will begin with the RC section, which is the hardest one with all due respect for SC and CR, of course. Similarly, I will work through your solutions on the OG Archer instead of the official solutions. I checked that I have access on it.

Regarding the Quant and Verbal Strategy Set, I see there are some Extra Chapters at the end of each book. They seem to be a bit complex and advanced. Could you please advise me on whether I need to cover also those extras to get my target score of 640?

Best,

Margherita Vittoria

[StaceyKoprince]

You probably do not need the Extra chapters - these contain advanced material that are the most useful over about the 80th percentile in the relevant section (Q or V).

If you do have certain areas that are big strengths for you, then you can look at the advanced material - but that's not a huge priority.

Good luck!

[Marghe]

Thanks for answering my question. Well, I like your advice. Over the plan, I will use the extras, which will correspond to my strengths if any, to offset my weakenesses.

I will let you know.

Best,

Margherita Vittoria