Here are a few links that I thought would be helpful in providing me the thrust needed to beef-up my efforts in cracking GMAT:
11.10.09
Revisit
I thought I'd be done with my first attempt of GMAT ( circa Aug31st ), but thanks to my near dismal performance ( 660 :( ), I'm back to prepping for gmat and blogging my status.
The GMAT date this time is Nov 14th. Barely 5 weeks from now.
Here's the new material that I got after attempt1
1. Kaplan 2010
2. Princeton 1000+ questions.
I will update the CAT info once I decide on which tests I plan to take. I have afew things on my mind now viz., GMATFix, 800Score,etc.,
Since, I already took the MGMATs, I'm left with the Kaplan tests and ofcourse the new GMATPrep tests once I download them.
I do feel that I'm in a much better position than I was when I was about to take the test for 1st time, as I'm not aware of atleast a few of the pitfalls that can be overcome with diligence. But since I dont have the luxury of time this time around, I need to pace my preparation and try to utilize wk days in a better way than last time.
So, here's the plan.
Sunday's left:
Oct 18th, Oct 25th, Oct 31st, Nov 8th.
Every week: 2 CATs ( no essays ofcourse ) ( preferably on Wednesdays, Sundays )
I am going to revise the following material from last time:
1. OG 12th, OG 11th, OG Verbal 12th ( I dont have this book as of now ), OG Verbal 11th
2. Kaplan 2009, 2010
3. MGMAT SC guide ( That's what I did today - 5 chapters done, 5 to go )
4. Princetons 1000+
Also, I am going to make a habit of surfing beatthegmat forums a few minutes everyday to look at some of the inspiring posts and gameplans.
As of now, here's my plan on each weekday ( except the test date ):
1. 50 Quant questions, 20-20-20 Verbal questions.
http://www.beatthegmat.com/710-v-39-q-48-dream-come-true-t46242.html#195407
The GMAT date this time is Nov 14th. Barely 5 weeks from now.
Here's the new material that I got after attempt1
1. Kaplan 2010
2. Princeton 1000+ questions.
I will update the CAT info once I decide on which tests I plan to take. I have afew things on my mind now viz., GMATFix, 800Score,etc.,
Since, I already took the MGMATs, I'm left with the Kaplan tests and ofcourse the new GMATPrep tests once I download them.
I do feel that I'm in a much better position than I was when I was about to take the test for 1st time, as I'm not aware of atleast a few of the pitfalls that can be overcome with diligence. But since I dont have the luxury of time this time around, I need to pace my preparation and try to utilize wk days in a better way than last time.
So, here's the plan.
Sunday's left:
Oct 18th, Oct 25th, Oct 31st, Nov 8th.
Every week: 2 CATs ( no essays ofcourse ) ( preferably on Wednesdays, Sundays )
I am going to revise the following material from last time:
1. OG 12th, OG 11th, OG Verbal 12th ( I dont have this book as of now ), OG Verbal 11th
2. Kaplan 2009, 2010
3. MGMAT SC guide ( That's what I did today - 5 chapters done, 5 to go )
4. Princetons 1000+
Also, I am going to make a habit of surfing beatthegmat forums a few minutes everyday to look at some of the inspiring posts and gameplans.
As of now, here's my plan on each weekday ( except the test date ):
1. 50 Quant questions, 20-20-20 Verbal questions.
http://www.beatthegmat.com/
29.6.09
Update
Back to blogging after a couple of months.
May was hectic at work so I couldn't get back to GMAT until the end of May.
I couldn't give GMAT on my scheduled date of May 15th as something cameup in the last minute at work and I had to attend it!
I have begun GMAT prepping from 1st week of June. Since I was chilling at work for the better part of this month, I got a chance to do some serious prepping during weekday evenings and weekends.
I gave 2 MGMATs over last 2 weekends. From what I saw, I can't say that results have been promising but I can surely say that there is lots of room for improvement!
Here's what I accomplished over the month of June.
1. Official Verbal Guide
2. OG11
Verbal - SC, CR done. RC - currently working.
Quant - PS , DS - half done.
3. MGMAT1 - 590, Q-41, V-31 ( 6/21/09)
4. MGMAT2 - 620 Q-2, V-34 (6/28/09)
MGMAT1 - Quant
I was able to finish the Quant section with a few minutes remaining. This was probably because, I deliberately spent loads of time on some of the probability, geometry problems. Ideally, I should have skipped them if I realize the I'd be spending more then 5 minutes on each of them.
MGMAT1 - Verbal
I was able to finish verbal with almost 15 minutes left! I felt that I didn't do justice for some of the RC, CR questions out of my hurry to finish the test sooner.
Summary: After going through the solutions, I felt that I made a fair amount of cheap mistakes which I could have easily avoided had I been a little more cautious ( both in Verbal and Quant )
MGMAT2 - study
After MGMAT1, I felt that I ignored Quant for too long and picked up OG11 to practise quant. I finished half of PS/DS last week and brushed my verbal ( SC notes ) by practising RC for almost all of the week ( 4 weekdays - 1.5 hrs each day ). I felt much more confident about my verbal abilities and decided to for the test ( wknd ).
MGMAT2- Quant
MGMAT2 is much tougher than I expected!! Some of the problems read as big as CRs in the verbal and took most of my time. Out of my penchant to solve puzzles, I spent more time ( than 5 minute max ) on some of questions ( typically probability, and some geometry ). Eventually, I ran out of time and had to guess a few questions in the end. Not good.
MGMAT2- Verbal
Because of last test, I figured I can afford to work on the RC's and CRs much slowly than what I did in last week's practise test. I guess I was a bit toooo slow this time. Much more than the quant secion, I had to guess the last 8-9 questions ( 31-37 ) and a few questions inthe middle.
Summary: I am planning on trying a different practise test ( not MGMATs ) next week as I'm beginning to feel the MGMATs are a bit too tough and dont really act as confidence boosters!!
May was hectic at work so I couldn't get back to GMAT until the end of May.
I couldn't give GMAT on my scheduled date of May 15th as something cameup in the last minute at work and I had to attend it!
I have begun GMAT prepping from 1st week of June. Since I was chilling at work for the better part of this month, I got a chance to do some serious prepping during weekday evenings and weekends.
I gave 2 MGMATs over last 2 weekends. From what I saw, I can't say that results have been promising but I can surely say that there is lots of room for improvement!
Here's what I accomplished over the month of June.
1. Official Verbal Guide
2. OG11
Verbal - SC, CR done. RC - currently working.
Quant - PS , DS - half done.
3. MGMAT1 - 590, Q-41, V-31 ( 6/21/09)
4. MGMAT2 - 620 Q-2, V-34 (6/28/09)
MGMAT1 - Quant
I was able to finish the Quant section with a few minutes remaining. This was probably because, I deliberately spent loads of time on some of the probability, geometry problems. Ideally, I should have skipped them if I realize the I'd be spending more then 5 minutes on each of them.
MGMAT1 - Verbal
I was able to finish verbal with almost 15 minutes left! I felt that I didn't do justice for some of the RC, CR questions out of my hurry to finish the test sooner.
Summary: After going through the solutions, I felt that I made a fair amount of cheap mistakes which I could have easily avoided had I been a little more cautious ( both in Verbal and Quant )
MGMAT2 - study
After MGMAT1, I felt that I ignored Quant for too long and picked up OG11 to practise quant. I finished half of PS/DS last week and brushed my verbal ( SC notes ) by practising RC for almost all of the week ( 4 weekdays - 1.5 hrs each day ). I felt much more confident about my verbal abilities and decided to for the test ( wknd ).
MGMAT2- Quant
MGMAT2 is much tougher than I expected!! Some of the problems read as big as CRs in the verbal and took most of my time. Out of my penchant to solve puzzles, I spent more time ( than 5 minute max ) on some of questions ( typically probability, and some geometry ). Eventually, I ran out of time and had to guess a few questions in the end. Not good.
MGMAT2- Verbal
Because of last test, I figured I can afford to work on the RC's and CRs much slowly than what I did in last week's practise test. I guess I was a bit toooo slow this time. Much more than the quant secion, I had to guess the last 8-9 questions ( 31-37 ) and a few questions inthe middle.
Summary: I am planning on trying a different practise test ( not MGMATs ) next week as I'm beginning to feel the MGMATs are a bit too tough and dont really act as confidence boosters!!
14.3.09
Online Test material.
I am now done with the Princeton Review 2008 Edition. I did all the Practise questions and drills through out the book. As I mentioned in an older post, I also gave the GMAT Warm-up test sometime back. Improvement needed: Spend more time on going through the test results ( both right and wrong ). I also working on 3 Quant bins and 2 Verbal bins. The bins increase in their level of comlexity. I need to get back to the final bins ( Quant - bin 4, Verbal - bin 3 ).
For now, I am going to start working on Kaplan GMAT Premier program- 2009.
My preperation of 'Princeton Review' was not done with proper planning. I need to embark on a much tighter schedule for my Kaplan. Also, I need to write 2 practise tests each week. , from now on. Here are some of the online test resources that I found on testmagic:
GMAT Prep ( Free CAT )
GMAT Score ( Full length tests )
MGMAT ( Free CAT )
GMATLive ( Free Practise test )
800Score ( 1 Free Sample Practise test, 5 Practise tests - $24.95 )
Also, Princeton Review has 2 practise tests online, which I haven't looked into yet.
Kaplan book comes with 6 full-length practise tests. 1-book, 1-online and 4 on CD-ROM.
Eric on beatthegmat mentioned that the amount of time he spent on Kaplan is 12 days.
If that's a decent amount of time to spend on that book, I should shoot for 26th March to finish it.
Target date to finish reading Kaplan - 26th March.
TODO : Download the flashcards from beatthegmat.
P.S.: I know the coming week is going to be tough as my brother is arriving today to visit me during his Spring break.
More fun to come!
For now, I am going to start working on Kaplan GMAT Premier program- 2009.
My preperation of 'Princeton Review' was not done with proper planning. I need to embark on a much tighter schedule for my Kaplan. Also, I need to write 2 practise tests each week. , from now on. Here are some of the online test resources that I found on testmagic:
GMAT Prep ( Free CAT )
GMAT Score ( Full length tests )
MGMAT ( Free CAT )
GMATLive ( Free Practise test )
800Score ( 1 Free Sample Practise test, 5 Practise tests - $24.95 )
Also, Princeton Review has 2 practise tests online, which I haven't looked into yet.
Kaplan book comes with 6 full-length practise tests. 1-book, 1-online and 4 on CD-ROM.
Eric on beatthegmat mentioned that the amount of time he spent on Kaplan is 12 days.
If that's a decent amount of time to spend on that book, I should shoot for 26th March to finish it.
Target date to finish reading Kaplan - 26th March.
TODO : Download the flashcards from beatthegmat.
P.S.: I know the coming week is going to be tough as my brother is arriving today to visit me during his Spring break.
More fun to come!
9.3.09
Preparation, hithertho
My preparation has been going on and off for a few weeks now. I used to work in Maryland up until November '08. I changed jobs and moved to Chicago area back then. I should say the winter here kind of motivated me to get back to reading, since there wasn't really a lot to do in my free time during early days of my stay here. Howerver, I procrastinated for a couple of months and finally decided to buy material and jumpstart my GMAT prep. This happened in early January.( not exactly one of my primary new year resolutions ! ). To cut the matter short, here are the books I bought.
5. Manhattan GMAT ( CR, RC, SC ) - Need to purchase.
6. Flash cards - Need to make yet.
I have been working on Princeton review for the past month in a very hapazard fashion. By now, I finished the verbal and quant sections of the book. I got good scores ( 3 out of 26 wrong, 4 out of 26 wrong ) on the math 1 ( easiest ), math 2 ( easier ) bins resp. . I also took the diagnostic test in the book and scored a 550. I still need lots of work to do!
After going through the forum at beat the gmat ( an excellent resouce for gmatters, btw ) and a few othe blogs, I decided to design my schedule in as below and stick to it.
1. Weekdays - 8 hrs ( 4 days a week - 2hrs each day )
2. Weekends - 10 hrs ( 5 hrs each on sat, sun )
That sums up to 18 hrs each week, for the next 8 weeks.For now, my plans falls somewhere in between the 100hr and 300hr gameplans. I am currently working on my gamplane and I will update you all with that very shortly.
Intro
I am writing this blog with the purpose of tracking my progress during my GMAT preparation. It should also serve the needs of any other gmat aspirant and be able to act as a guidepost.
I have been pondering about GMAT for a longtime now and finally decided to give it ( I set the date to May 15th ). To be more precise, I have close to 8 weeks.
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