How to study for the GMAT once you reach the 90th percentile?
How should one study for the GMAT once they start scoring in the 90th percentile? I am just beginning my preparation for the GMAT and recently scored a 700 on my first diagnostic test. I thought I could use Kaplan's GMAT Premier 2014 book to prepare myself to score in the 750+ range but it seems that the book is aimed towards poorer test takers and the content is too basic for my purposes. I spent about 6 hours reading 300 pages and was barely able to find a pages worth of useful information that I didn't already know. This seemed like a tremendous waste of time and effort. I would greatly appreciate tips/advice on how to efficiently devote my time to prepare for the exam (practice tests VS reading books like Kaplan) as well as recommendations for other prep books that are aimed towards better test takers. I have heard a lot of good things about the Manhattan GMAT books. Do you think it would suit me better than Kaplan?
Work through Manahattan's 'Advanced GMAT Quant'. It contains tips and tricks for tough questions and has lots of practice problems. The questions in the book are probably more difficult than those on the real test but they are great practice for advanced prep.
Even just the Manhattan practice exams have quant that is harder than the actual GMAT. Take those a few times to get the timing down and you should be good to go.
I also agree, do the manhattangmat advanced quant guide, it definitely helped me get over my math plateau.
You need to do more problem/question sets. MGMAT is good in that it has many problems for you to do in their books, not including 6 practice tests that you can take over and over.
Thanks for your replies. I am going to go ahead and order MGMAT online. I have heard people say that you need to spend about 200 hours preparing for the GMAT to do well in it. Does this apply to test takers who started out in the 90th percentile? I would imagine that it takes a considerably lower amount of time if you are just getting 5 questions wrong and you want to bring that down to 2 or so? Based on your recommendations above (going through advanced quant + finishing other problem sets + 6 practice tests), it seems like I could finish my preparation in about 50 hours. Does this seem right to you?
You need to take more practice tests to get an average, one isn't enough. That being said, if you start higher you definitely need less time. If you've got the fundamentals down then you need to work on timing, question formatting and tricks. The more you practice the more you recognize the patterns, which are key to scoring above 700.
Scores 700+ on GMAT without practice but doesn't think about searching for GMAT prep material with the word "advanced" in it.
Do the Manhattan gmat practice tests. If there's something you keep missing, study it. I foolishly bought all the MGMAT books when all I needed was the tests and some quant review. Just get one to get access to the tests. Also keep in mind they are more difficult than the real thing.
Is Kaplan really not useful? I scored 710 and 720 on the two free GMAT-provided practice exams, but GMAT Pill has helped me focus my thoughts on the SC so far. It seems less useful on the CR. but we'll see. I'll give an updated after I take the real thing along with all of my prep methods.
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