GMAT Prep Tips

The following have been well received so I thought i'd make sure to share it with you here.

GMAT Utility
If you do questions where a computer is available, you might want to check this utility out. It's a computer clock mini-app that can be setup to count down from a certain time or count up. You can also have it do snap shots. So, every time you start a new question, you could click the Snap button and the program will record the time interval for each snap. Here's the link

As you progress, you can have the progam show you a tabular sheet that tracks exactly how long it took you to do each question. Moreover, you can export the results to excel if you so wish. This is a non-registered software. It's fully functional, you'll just get prompted every time you launch it to register and pay. You'll still be able to use all the functions even though you don't register indefinitely.

The second thing is a personal survey I performed informally and formally of what people did to get 700+ GMAT Scores.

I found about 19 people who scored 700+ and found quite a few similarities in their study habits and what books they chose to prepare with. Here is a summary of that analysis.

Books used (98% used the following)

1. Kaplan GMAT book

2. Princeton Review book "Cracking the GMAT" (2005 is now out.)

3. Official Guide for GMAT

4. Power Prep Tests (Take one before going through OG) OG and Power Prep questions overlap.

Book/Resources used (Majority used 2 or more of the following)

1. Kaplan 800 - Hard GMAT questions - more than a few argued that this had the hardest questions they found.

2. 800-score tests – A good resource for tests.

3. GMAT Plus – A good resource for tests.

4. DeltaCourse-primarily a combination, probability, permutation advanced study guide with plenty of sample questions to practice with.

5. Barron's - All said study guide part either sucked or was moderately helpful, but questions were useful.

6. 800 Score tests – A good resource for tests.

7. Verbal Workout for GMAT -Princeton

Books/Resources all said sucked.

1. Arco Master the GMAT CAT (A very rare few said they used it for additional questions)

2. Petersons

3. Kaplan's online quick bank-Questions there can be found in OG anyway - Don't think it's available any longer as well.

4. Kaplan’s in-person GMAT prep course – a few who did it said that it didn’t help.

Study tips that every single 700+ scorer mentioned.

1. Record all mistakes on wrong questions and revisit them no sooner than 5 days. If still getting them wrong, then zero in on the subset's and go for more help.

2. Always read the explanation in the book to see why you get it wrong and take enough time to really understand the concept.

3. Pick a date and register. Don't study then register. There was a tendency to not take prep time as seriously.

4. Quite a few went through OG questions more than once. Not all questions on the repeat though, Mainly verbal sections and Quant that were areas of weakness.

5. Wrote practice essays at least 20 times under timed conditions.

6. Visit the test center before the day of test. Many did so a week or two before.

7. Time spent by most averaged between 3 and 4 months.

8. All averaged 2-3 hrs per day and no less than 10-12 hrs on the weekends.

9. Took advantage of every break during the GMAT. Take a bathroom break, some washed their face to wake up, got fresh air.

10. Study in blocks. One person mentioned studying in 80 minute blocks without getting up to build stamina.

11. In addition to double-checking answers whenever possible, knowing idioms quite well made the number one significant difference for improving proficiency with Sentence Correction questions.

Interesting note:
The Official Guide for GMAT contains questions that are in the 550 to 650 difficulty range.

DaveforMBA
www.daveformba.blogspot.com

Comments

[Armando Baez]

I was just browsing through the Internet and I stumbled upon this site. At the beginning of this article it makes reference about a time-saving utility (GMAT Utility) that can help with questions pacing on the GMAT. I am in the process of taking the exam in (2) months. I am interested in finding where I can find this file or perhaps the URL that will point me in the right direction to get a copy of this utility. I am very interested in using it.

Thanks,
Armando

P.S. Please drop me a note with the info.

[Jack Welch Junior]

"If you do questions where a computer is available, you might want to check this utility out. It's a computer clock mini-app that can be setup to count down from a certain time or count up. You can also have it do snap shots. So, every time you start a new question, you could click the Snap button and the program will record the time interval for each snap. Here's the link"

The link is not working and can you please give me the link for this download???

Thanks in advance!!

Sincerely,
JWJ