![\"gmat-New-year-2014\"](\"\/\/manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2014\/01\/gmat-new-year-2014.png\" "\\"gmat-New-year-2014\\"")
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Did you know that you can attend the first session of any of our online or in-person GMAT courses absolutely free? We\u2019re not kidding!\u00a0<\/i><\/b>Check out our upcoming courses here<\/i><\/b><\/a>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n Whether you\u2019ve been studying for a while or are just getting started, let\u2019s use the New Year as an opportunity to establish or renew your commitment to getting your desired GMAT score.<\/p>\n In the first half of this 2-part series, we\u2019ll talk about how to get started\u2014or re-started\u2014on your GMAT prep. In the second half<\/a>, we\u2019ll talk about how to learn.<\/p>\n Wherever you are in your study, you need a plan, and the first important thing to learn is that no plan is static. No plan exists that says, \u201cHere\u2019s what you\u2019ll do from Day 1 right up until Test Day.\u201d (No good<\/em> plan, at least!)<\/p>\n Most people can start off in very similar ways, but at some point down the road, you\u2019re going to have to customize based on your own needs. We\u2019ll talk more about that in the second installment of this series.<\/p>\n Start keeping a GMAT journal. Get a notebook, open up a file on your computer, or start a blog (though I\u2019d recommend making it a private blog, with an audience of just you). Write something in your GMAT Journal every day.*<\/em> Don\u2019t write everything, but do write:<\/p>\n (1) What you did that day*<\/p>\n (2) The two or three most important things you learned (such as \u201chow do I know when to cut myself off on a Quant problem?\u201d)<\/p>\n (3) One or two things you want to review at a later date (such as \u201creview modifier rules in 2 weeks.\u201d)<\/p>\n *Note that, on some days, you\u2019ll write \u201cRelaxed \/ took my earned GMAT break.\u201d Don\u2019t burn yourself out!<\/p>\n (Note: this section is NOT just for new students\u2014keep reading even if you\u2019ve been studying for a while or already know your goal GMAT score!)<\/p>\n You need to know your current GMAT score and the score level that will make you competitive at the schools to which you plan to apply. These two numbers will give you an idea of how much improvement you will need and may affect your prep plans, including the length of time you plan to spend and whether you work on your own.<\/p>\n If you haven\u2019t already (within the past 4-ish weeks), take a practice CAT<\/a> in conditions that simulate the actual exam as much as possible. Do the essay and IR sections. The mental effort it takes to do these sections can affect your performance on Quant and Verbal, so don\u2019t skip them because you don\u2019t care about the IR and essay scores. Take two 8-minute breaks, one after IR and one after the Quantitative section. Don\u2019t answer the phone, don\u2019t eat or drink except during the breaks, and so on\u2014basically make it as close to the real test as you can.<\/p>\n Many prep companies offer practice exams, so you have plenty of choices, but you do need to make sure that the exam does several things. First, the Quant and Verbal sections should be adaptive, just like the real test. Second, the test should record the time you spend on each individual question\u2014timing is a major<\/em> factor on the GMAT. Third, it should offer score reports that give you tons of data on your strengths and weaknesses.<\/p>\n GMATPrep\u00ae exams (from the makers of the real test) are great in general but do not give you the 2nd<\/sup> and 3rd<\/sup> items on this list, so don\u2019t use a GMATPrep CAT for this exercise. Save GMATPrep for closer to the time you plan to take the real test.<\/p>\n Next, go to the websites of the schools to which you want to apply (or may want to apply) and find the GMAT statistics for the most recent admitted students.<\/p>\n Record your practice GMAT score and the school statistics in your journal. As a general rule, your GMAT score is a \u201cplus\u201d for you if you are at or above the median for a given school, so ideally your goal score should be at or above the median for your schools.<\/p>\n How far are you from your goal? The further you are or the higher your goal GMAT score is, the longer you will likely need to prep for the exam. Most people prep for between 2.5 and 4 months (though obviously the length of time can vary). It\u2019s reasonable, though, to aim for a minimum<\/em> of 2 months unless you don\u2019t need very much improvement at all.<\/p>\n Next, use your test results to figure out your strengths and weaknesses in terms of both content and timing. You can use this article to help analyze a Manhattan Prep CAT<\/a>. Take notes on paper, then summarize your analysis in your journal. (Note: analysis is not the same thing as data. The data tells you what happened. Your analysis tells you why<\/em> you think it happened and what you plan<\/em> to do<\/em> about it in the future. Start by summarizing the data, but don\u2019t forget to take the next step and analyze.)<\/p>\n Also, what is your optimal learning style? Think back to undergrad. Did you do best when you had a small classroom of comrades with whom you shared the adventures of learning? Or did you excel when you worked on your own, or possibly met individually with your professor or TA? At work today, does it energize you to work with a group or do you focus better via one-on-one interactions? Do you prefer to do most of your work on your own or with others?<\/p>\n The answers to those questions will help you determine whether to study on your own, find other students with whom to study, take an organized class, or find a private tutor. There\u2019s no one right way\u2014there\u2019s only the best way for you.<\/p>\n Now that you know your strengths and weaknesses, you can use that info to help determine a rough timeframe. The ideal is to work without an external deadline (e.g., a school application deadline). You set a general timeframe \/ deadline for yourself and get started, but you\u2019re able to take more time if needed, since you don\u2019t absolutely have to take the test by a certain date.<\/p>\n If you are working against a deadline, though, then you have to plan more carefully. Be aware that you may also have to decide, at some point, to lower your goal GMAT score in order to take the test by a certain date.<\/p>\n Most people initially underestimate the amount of time they\u2019ll need to study. Plus, we\u2019re talking about a time period of 2 months or longer; it\u2019s very unlikely that you can pick an exact date (or even an exact week) so far ahead of time. If you have the luxury of time, set yourself a general timeframe, but start to think about specific test dates only when your practice CAT scores start to get into the range you want.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s how to set your overall timeframe.<\/p>\n Primary Study Period. For most people, primary study will take 8 to 16 weeks, though it may be a bit shorter if you\u2019ve taken the test before and you\u2019re not aiming for a significant (> 50 points) improvement. If, on the other hand, you\u2019re starting from scratch and you want an extra-high improvement (>150 points), or you have a crazy schedule and can\u2019t study very much \/ often, you may need more than 16 weeks. Also, if you take a class, your primary study will be at least the length of the class plus some additional time.<\/p>\n Review Period. You also need to factor in two other things that will affect your study timeframe:<\/p>\n Buffer. You may also want to include a couple of extra weeks of study time as an additional buffer, just in case. Work gets busy, people get sick, we procrastinate\u2026things happen.<\/p>\n Hard Deadlines. There are tons of resources available to help you get ready for the GMAT. If you take a course or work with some structured program, the materials should already be determined for you. Otherwise, you\u2019ll have to figure out what works best for you.<\/p>\n In general, there are three major categories of necessary resources:<\/p>\n a. Test content and methodology<\/strong> 2. Practice questions<\/strong> 3. Practice tests<\/strong> What\u2019s next? Join us Friday for the second half<\/a> of the series to learn how to learn!\u00a0?<\/p>\n Can\u2019t get enough of Stacey\u2019s GMAT mastery? Attend the first session of one of\u00a0her upcoming GMAT courses<\/a>\u00a0absolutely free, no strings attached. Seriously.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Did you know that you can attend the first session of any of our online or in-person GMAT courses absolutely free? We\u2019re not kidding!\u00a0Check out our upcoming courses here. Whether you\u2019ve been studying for a while or are just getting started, let\u2019s use the New Year as an opportunity to establish or renew your commitment […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[873,880,929,874,52871,930,2,52945,9],"tags":[329,53142],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-6916","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-for-current-studiers","category-gmat-101","category-gmat-prep","category-gmat-resources","category-gmat-strategies","category-gmat-study-guide","category-how-to-study","category-products-and-services","category-taking-the-gmat","tag-gmat-score","tag-gmat-timeline"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6916","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6916"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6916\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14497,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6916\/revisions\/14497"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6916"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6916"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6916"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=6916"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n1) Set Your Goal<\/h4>\n
2) Diagnose Your Strengths and Weaknesses<\/h4>\n
3) Plan Your Schedule<\/h4>\n
\n<\/em>You\u2019ll set a rough amount of time that you’re likely going to need for primary studying (that is, the time you take to master the material, not including a comprehensive final review). Be aware that this rough timeframe is likely to change as you see how fast you make progress.<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>You will also need to set aside time for review after<\/span> you finish your primary study and before you take the test. Most people spend 2 to 6 weeks on a comprehensive review after they finish their primary study. If you\u2019re going to do this in 2 weeks, you\u2019ll need to be able to spend at minimum<\/em> 10 hours per week. Pick a rough target based on what you know of your schedule for now but, again, be aware that this could change in the future.<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>You may not get the GMAT score that you want\u2014occasionally, people even get sick right in the testing room. It\u2019s smart to leave time to take the test a second time, if necessary. You are only allowed to take the GMAT once in a 31-day period (and 5 times a year), so plan this \u201cbuffer\u201d time into your prep schedule.<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>You will, of course, have to meet the application deadlines of your selected schools. If you can plan ahead, it’s preferable to get the test out of the way well before you have to start filling out the applications themselves. (Keep in mind that your GMAT score is valid for 5 years, so you can get started very early!)<\/p>\n4) Gather Your Resources<\/h4>\n
\nThese materials will teach you the what and the how: what\u2019s on the test and how to take the test. These materials will come from a test prep company (this is what test prep companies do!). You may decide to choose different materials from different companies, but I do recommend sticking with \u201csets\u201d of materials whenever possible. For example, if you\u2019re going to use the algebra study materials from one company, it\u2019s best to use that company\u2019s Quant materials in general. Likewise on Verbal.<\/p>\n
\nAs you\u2019re studying the material tested on the exam and how to handle the different types of GMAT questions, you\u2019ll also need to test yourself on GMAT-format problems. The best practice questions are the officially-released past test questions from GMAC (the makers of the GMAT). The latest three books (as of the time this article was published) are the Official Guide 13th<\/sup> Edition, the Verbal Review 2nd<\/sup> Edition, and the Quantitative Review 2nd<\/sup> Edition. The most recent online release is GMAT Prep 2.0 (including 2 free practice tests and some additional paid resources) and there\u2019s also GMAT Focus (for Quant only).<\/p>\n
\nYou\u2019ll want a mix of practice tests: GMATPrep (from the real makers of the test) and some tests from a test prep company. The GMATPrep test is the closest to the real thing, but doesn\u2019t offer explanations or analysis of your results. A test prep company\u2019s CAT will give you explanations and analysis.<\/p>\n
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\n![\"stacey-koprince\"](\"https:\/\/cdn2.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2015\/06\/stacey-koprince-150x150.png\")
<\/a>Stacey Koprince<\/a>\u00a0is a Manhattan Prep instructor based in Montreal, Canada and Los Angeles, California.<\/strong>\u00a0Stacey has been teaching the GMAT, GRE, and LSAT \u00a0for more than 15 years and is one of the most well-known instructors in the industry. Stacey loves to teach and is absolutely fascinated by standardized tests.\u00a0Check out Stacey\u2019s upcoming GMAT courses here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"