I have decided to write the GMAT. But how do I study?
A good GMAT score is one of the key success factors to get a ticket to your dream B-school. But easier said than done. With an average work experience of 4-6 years considered across all schools, majority of GMAT takers are working professionals left with limited time for preparation. Without the luxury of time, one needs to get it right the first time. The best foolproof plan is a combination of a timed syllabus breakdown + regimented and directioned study + good study material.
Understanding what students need and what it takes to crack a great GMAT score and for the benefit of test takers, we have designed a comprehensive 3months study plan for beginners. Although we do not recommend this plan, but still for the students who are tight on budget and do not want to enroll in any preparation course, this is a good plan to follow.
We will try to list out the free resources also that will aid you in your preparation for the GMAT.
The plan gives you a systematic approach to tackle the GMAT preparation. For best results test takers can opt for the On Demand Course and if required, can also supplement it with private tutoring available at Optimus Prep.
Getting Started with the 3 Months Self Study Plan:
The following study plan requires you to have
Official Guide
Official Guide for Verbal review
GMAT Prep Tests
3 hours study on the weekdays and 5- 6 hours on the weekends, on an average 20 hours of weekly effort.
Manhattan GMAT Sentence Correction book. If you buy this book, you get 6 free tests along with it.
Kaplan GMAT Premier. This book comes with 6 practice tests.
Access to GMATClub
Do’s
Identify your intended schools and then a target score. Just to give you an idea, the average GMAT for the top 10 schools swings between 715 – 725, for the next 10 schools the average is around 705 – 715, and for the next 10 it is 690 – 705.
Stick to a plan/regime for study
Build a foundation before jumping on to solving the problems and attempting the mock CATs. If you require any help in this, Optimus Prep On-Demand course makes sure that you are aware of the underlying principles. Private tutoring option is also available, if you still find gaps in your preparation.
Keep and Error log to record all the questions you got wrong. This Error log will be very useful in the 3rd month of the preparation.
Take a day off, preferably Sundays. This is completely on your discretion and how satisfied you are with your preparation.
The GMAT is like a marathon and your preparation is all about attitude and belief.
Don’ts
To get a good GMAT score, you need to score well on each of the sections. Make sure you do not fall under the following categories:
Some students are carried away by their strengths and do not look back at their weak section.
Some students pay so much attention to their weakness, that they forget about their strong section and end up getting a score which is not a true reflection of their potential
This causes an imbalance in the score and leads to a score that is lower than your target score and capabilities. Ensure that you do not lag behind in one of the sections and get that balanced score.
Do not jump onto the problems without understanding the concepts first. Just solving the problems and not understanding them will not do any good to your preparation.
The following is an exhaustive 3 month planner chalked out for each topic. At the end of each month there is a checklist (Learning Outcomes). Test takers should bear in mind that no course, no plan is effective without disciplined practice and constant evaluation and analysis of preparation.
Month 1:
Month 1-Week1 (10 Hours): Take this week as the opportunity to learn more about the GMAT and the various sections.
Start of the week by going to http://www.mba.com/the-gmat/test-structure-and-overview.aspx, and read about the GMAT.
Take out the Official Guide and attempt the Diagnostic test
Calculate your score as per the guidelines given in the OG and identify the areas you got most of your questions wrong.
The identification can be divided into the following categories.
Section Wise – Maths, Verbal
Question Type Wise- PS, DS or SC, CR, RC
Topic Wise – Topics wise bifurcation.
This identification will aid your preparation and help you target your weak areas. You can identify your weak point based on the number of questions you answered incorrectly in the aforementioned five areas. The same should be done after each mock CAT you attempt.
Month 1- Week 2 (20 Hours):
Follow the following steps for each session throughout Month 1 and Month 2:
Treat the Kaplan GMAT Premier as your text book for CR, RC and Maths. The book contains theory and concepts in addition to those listed in the Official Guide. For SC, you should refer to the MGMAT sentence correction guide.
Make sure that you pay equal attention to Maths and Verbal in each month so that you do not land up in one of the categories that we described above.
Make it a point to note down the questions you get wrong in your Error Log.
Even after this, if you feel the necessity, you can enroll in our Optimus Prep On demand course.
Solve the problems from the Kaplan premier after you have visited the concepts.
If you do not understand a particular solution, access GMAT Club and look for the solutions.
Now that you are aware about the structure of GMAT, let us start with the sections.
We have made a topic wise bifurcation for your ease, so that you can track your progress and know how much more you need to cover.
Month 1- Week 3 (20 Hours):
Month 1- Week 4 (20 Hours):
Attempt the CAT1 from the MGMAT/Kaplan without the AWA and the IR sections
Where do you stand after Month 1:
Percentage Completion of the Course:50%
Plan to take the mock on a Saturday/Sunday and take aside at least 2-3 hours for analyzing the mock CAT. At this point, you can skip the AWA and the IR sections while attempting the mock. You might face difficulty in solving some of the questions as the topics are not yet covered. Yet solving a mock CAT is a quintessential way to prepare yourself for the actual GMAT. Hence the more tests you attempt, the better it is.
At the end of the month, you should be comfortable with the topics covered and should be able to attempt these questions on the CAT without any difficulty.
Month 2:
Since you have a basic idea of the sections, Month 2 Onwards, you should start solving the problems from the OG.
230 PS, 174 DS, 124 CR, 140 SC, 28 RC
Solve 10 PS, 5DS, 5 SC, 5 CR questions and 2 RC passages each day. This will help you get a hang of the official questions and will bring you preparation closer to the types of questions you might see on the test.
If you do not understand a particular solution, access GMAT Club and look for the solutions.
Month 2- Week 1 (20 Hours):
Month 2- Week 2 (20 Hours):
Month 2- Week 3 (20 Hours):
Month 2- Week 4(20 Hours):
Go through the Integrated Reasoning Supplement bundled with the OG for practicing the IR questions.
For the AWA, refer http://gmatclub.com/forum/how-to-get-6-0-awa-my-guide-64327.html
Attempt the GMAT Prep Mock Test 1 with the IR and the AWA sections
Where do you stand after Month 2:
Percentage Completion of the Course: 100%
Plan to take the mock on a Saturday/Sunday and take aside at least 2-3 hours for analyzing the mock CAT. You should attempt the full length test along with AWA and the IR sections.
At the end of the month, you should be comfortable with the topics covered and should be able to attempt these questions on the CAT without any difficulty.
By the end of the month, you should have solved all the PS problems, 120 DS problems, 120 SC problems, 120 CR problems and all the RC Passages from the OG.
Make sure that you note down all the mistakes in your error log and then revise the content related to those mistakes by going through the videos.
Month 3:
Congratulations on making it so far. This last leg of your preparation will focus heavily on the following things:
Attempting the full length CATs under the test center like circumstances
Revisiting your error log and making sure you do not make the same mistakes again during your CATs.
Familiarizing yourself with AWA
Practicing Integrated Reasoning
Continue solving 10 PS, 5DS, 5 SC, 5 CR and 3 RC passages daily. If you have finished the Official Guide, you can switch over to Official Guide for Verbal for additional questions.
Month 3- Week 1 (20 Hours):
Attempt the MGMAT/Kaplan Mock Test2 along with AWA and IR.
Analyze the mock CAT taken thoroughly and find out the pain areas.
Go through the error log every alternate day, so that you do not make the same mistakes again.
You can schedule your GMAT if you are comfortable with your preparation at this stage. If not, you can opt for our on Demand course.
Month 3- Week 2 (20 Hours):
Attempt the MGMAT/Kaplan Mock Test3
Analyze the mock CAT taken thoroughly and find out the pain areas.
Go through the error log every alternate day, so that you do not make the same mistakes again.
Month 3- Week 3 (20 Hours):
Attempt the MGMAT/Kaplan Mock Test4
Analyze the mock CAT taken thoroughly and find out the pain areas.
Go through the error log every alternate day, so that you do not make the same mistakes again.
Month 3- Week 4 (20 Hours):
Attempt the GMAT Prep Mock Test 2
Analyze the mock CAT taken thoroughly and find out the pain areas.
Go through the error log every alternate day, so that you do not make the same mistakes again.
Where do you stand after Month 3:
READY TO ROCK THE GMAT!!!