Best Study Breakdown for GMAT?
CF
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(Senior Baboon, 239
Points)
on 9/19/12 at 1:50pm
This is a question for anyone with insight into GMAT studying.
Do you think it is better to study for Quant for a few weeks then Switch to Verbal for a few weeks? Or have lets say 1 out of your 2 hours of daily study be Quant and the other half be Verbal? Or 1 week Quant 1 week Verbal?
What do you think is the best way to break down studying for the GMAT to maximize your time?





The first thing you need to
The first thing you need to do is take a practice exam to find out exactly where your strengths and weaknesses are. From there you can determine what needs work.
I suggest going to mba.com and downloading their free software. It comes with like 90 practice questions and two full free tests in the current test format full of retired questions.
You're born, you take shit. You get out in the world, you take more shit. You climb a little higher, you take less shit. Till one day you're up in the rarefied atmosphere and you've forgotten what shit even looks like. Welcome to the layer cake, son.
There is no good answer to
There is no good answer to this question. It is completely dependant on your learning style / strengths / etc. Personally, I am awful at quant, so the plan I am implementing is that I am going through MGMAT books (quant) and taking meticulous notes. I don't skip to the next chapter until I am able to walk through all the sections and completely understand each concept. I am not working the problems yet - would be useless. I am basically just trying to get myself to a point where I could take a practice exam and even if I missed a quant question, I would be able to look over it and say ' oh, that is from this MGMAT book, etc I shouldn't have missed that '. After I have this 'basic' understanding of the quant topics, I am going to switch to the verbal and move relatively quickly through it and start tackling more practice tests.
Some people might think this strategy is crazy, but I think it will work for me and that is all that matters - you have to figure out what works for you.
I'm going through that
I'm going through that official book at the moment, I do at least 30 quant then 30 verbal questions on a particular section, and rotate daily. You're going to have to do both on the day, and also doing 60 problem solvings in a row would be fairly boring.
Also, that diagnostic test didn't really tell me anything especially as there's no time limit on it, which is the only hard part to the test. So if you don't have a glaring weakness I think doing both is the way to go, it will also help you focus better throughout your study.
My advice is figure out your
My advice is figure out your target score first. Are you gunning for HBS, then you need to aim for a 720, Darden a 710, Cornell a 700 and so on. Take a GMAT CAT and see how close or far you land from your goal. I would suggest looking at Manhattan GMAT if you like books as well as Jeff Sackman's Total GMAT Math and Kaplan Math Workbook. If you prefer a class I like Knewton, be sure to look for discounts I know they run one with GMAT Club. You need to buy the original guide. Here are some hypothetical schedules: http://gmatclub.com/forum/gmat-study-plan-how-to-s... My suggestion is work on your weakest areas first, but don't get to bogged down on stuff like combinatorics etc.
BlackBox: I'm going through
I'm going through that official book at the moment, I do at least 30 quant then 30 verbal questions on a particular section, and rotate daily. You're going to have to do both on the day, and also doing 60 problem solvings in a row would be fairly boring.
Also, that diagnostic test didn't really tell me anything especially as there's no time limit on it, which is the only hard part to the test. So if you don't have a glaring weakness I think doing both is the way to go, it will also help you focus better throughout your study.
If you didn't time yourself you only handicapped yourself.
You're born, you take shit. You get out in the world, you take more shit. You climb a little higher, you take less shit. Till one day you're up in the rarefied atmosphere and you've forgotten what shit even looks like. Welcome to the layer cake, son.