Starting OG problems

[AveryE572]

So I bought the complete strategy guide for the GMAT. I read the entire first book which was the roadmap and now I'm starting to read the actual study guides. I just finished the first two chapter in the critical reasoning book (which was the first book I started with) and now I'm not sure if I'm suppose to go online and do any OG problems yet. When do you start using the Navigator and doing OG problems and how often? After every chapter? after the whole book?

[Sage Pearce-Higgins]

It very much depends on your situation. Take a look under 'Official Guide Resources' in the Atlas Center and you should find a document with the title "2018 Offical Guide problem list". This has some suggested sets of Official Guide problems to accompany the strategy guides.

Have you done a practice test yet? I would suggest doing this asap to give yourself a feel of the GMAT, plus it will help you identify your weaknesses. You'll probably find that quite a few of the Math topics are at least a bit familiar to you, meaning that you won't need to read every last page of every strategy guide.

[FredericB588]

Hello,

I have a similar question. I have done the diagnostic test in the OG 2019, I know I have to focus on FDP, Algebra and Geometry.

I read book 0 (road map) up to the start of verbal.

I have finished book 1 FDP and done ok on the post chapter exercises. I have worked through all 3 levels of the quizzes (Easy, Medium and Hard) and I did poorly on all 3 but I thoroughly debrief each questions and re-did the ones I got wrong … should I move to the final quizzes even though I have done poorly on the mid-quiz? Or move to another topic?

Thank you for your help.

Frederic

[Sage Pearce-Higgins]

I would suggest moving to another topic. Leave FDPs for a few days and then come back and redo some problems. From what you wrote, it looks like the 'hard' quiz isn't useful for you at the moment. If you're not doing well on the 'easy' and 'medium' ones, then you won't see problems like the ones in the 'hard' quiz at this stage if you take a test. It sounds like consistency on easier level problems is your target right now.

It's good that you've picked out a few areas to focus on, but remember that GMAT isn't like a high-school test. You can't expect to simply "do" the Algebra book, and then finish that topic. You need to be willing to return to topics at different levels, and return to the strategy guides to redo problems. For example, I would suggest that you don't study any of the chapters marked 'Extra' at the moment. Save them for later, when your practice tests are over 650.

Also, as I mentioned to the other student in this thread, taking a first practice test is really important. What you're doing now is a useful prelude to that, but you won't really know where you stand until you've had the experience of doing the test, seeing a mix of topics, feeling tired, managing your time (and emotions). I would suggest that you do that soon.

[FredericB588]

Thank you for the feedback. Much appreciated.

Quick follow-up: do I understand correctly that, based on your reply, you don't consider the OG 2019 Diagnostic a "real" practice test?

1) If that is the case, out of curiosity, can I please understand why? Is that simply because of the algorithm?

2) If I understood correctly then, do you recommend I "burn" one of my 6 GMAT CAT test or one of the official ones that came with my purchase of the OG 2019?

Kind regards,

Frederic

[Sage Pearce-Higgins]

The diagnostic test in the Official Guide is problematic for a couple of reasons. First, it doesn't give you a real sense of timing pressure (and thus the need to "guess and move on"). Second, it's not adaptive, meaning that it actually contains some pretty tricky problems that may not be representative of what you'll see on the test.

Given that you have 6 Manhattan Prep CATs, plus 2 free GMAT Prep tests (with the possibility to buy 4 more), I'd strongly recommend using a practice test to get a real sense of your starting point (this isn't "burning" a test). Doing so may help your future studying be much more efficient as you'll both know your strengths and weaknesses a bit better and have an experience of taking the test. I would recommend using one of our Manhattan Prep tests, as these have question explanations, timing breakdown, and difficulty ranking of problems, all of which can help inform your future study.

[FredericB588]

Great - thank you for the reply. That totally makes sense to me as I did not think of it this way.

I will do one of the tests shortly and report back a question on a more tailored plan of attack from there if that's ok.

Kind regards,

Frederic

[Sage Pearce-Higgins]

Sure, please do.

[FredericB588]

Hi,

So I did my first practice test (CAT 1) last week and got Q34 with a pretty bad 26% percent estimated percentile.

As mentioned previously my geometry needs a lot of work and so does my "word problem".

I just spent the last two weeks reviewing in details both Manhattan strategy guides, strategy guide questions as well as the mid-term and final quiz proposed for each.

Every time, I tend to do "ok" at the quizzes but horrendous and the finals.

I have reviewed in detail what I did wrong for each set of problems (Easy, Medium then Hard), made some flashcards, etc. on both subjects. Should I move on to the next strategy guide and leave this for now, or try and re-do each problem again in both mid-term and final quiz until I get them right under 2.00?

I'm a bit nervous as my Quant study is taking much longer than I anticipated with minimal results thus far and I haven't really started to attack verbal yet.

Your input is greatly appreciated.

Kind regards,

Frederic

[Sage Pearce-Higgins]

Every time, I tend to do "ok" at the quizzes but horrendous and the finals.

Please could you clarify what parts you're referring to?

I have reviewed in detail what I did wrong for each set of problems (Easy, Medium then Hard)

As mentioned before, I strongly suggest you don't waste your time on Hard quizzes at this stage. If you're scoring 34 on quant, the you're unlikely to see that kind of problem. Getting consistent at lower-level problems should be your focus.

Should I move on to the next strategy guide and leave this for now, or try and re-do each problem again in both mid-term and final quiz until I get them right under 2.00?

If you're getting stuck with one topic, it's probably good to move on to another and come back to the first one after a couple of weeks.

I'm a bit nervous as my Quant study is taking much longer than I anticipated with minimal results thus far and I haven't really started to attack verbal yet.

You have my sympathy. Studying for GMAT can be maddening. It's a personal journey and, unfortunately, there's no single formula for success (hey, that's why I still have a job). Remember that, although there may be some content to master (a few formulas, some Math language, some grammar rules), the biggest challenge is to improve your skills. I would suggest that, when you review a problem from the Official Guide or a practice CAT, you log your work in a document such as an Excel spreadsheet. This will help you isolate your "takeaways" and will be a reference point for redoing problems. Have a read of this article: https://www.manhattanprep.com/gmat/blog ... ts-part-1/

[FredericB588]

I have posted two replies yesterday and they don't seem to appear in the thread. Is there a problem with this topic?

[FredericB588]

I have been using an error log and I have created all my own flashcards out of those errors I captured on the error log. Perhaps I need to do more basic/easy problem?

[Sage Pearce-Higgins]

I hope you managed to resolve the issue of your lost posts. Please email tech@manhattanprep.com if you have any issues.

Striking a balance between reviewing old material and doing new problems is a tough one. Leave the problems for a few days and then redo them. Even if you remember the correct answer, you can check that you remember the appropriate strategy and the logic of the problem. Also, sometimes you need to try out new problems simply to refresh your own interest. If you're really stuck, then taking a practice test is another way of hitting the "reset" button and seeing where you stand. The Foundations of Math recorded workshops are also a useful resource.

[UzmaP619]

Hello,
I am in Pakistan and don't have access to strategy guides.
I am working with OG 2019 and have seen improvement. I have taken one practice test and one CAT. My score was 510, up from 400 within a week's time.
However I am aiming for 760.
I also use CAT Tracker as reference but I can't find good resources on algebra and inequalities, easy-to-medium level geometry content, as this is what I am looking for - being consistent with easy and medium level questions.
Are there any free resources for me to polish my quant skills and master some content.

Thanks

[Sage Pearce-Higgins]

I would recommend the Manhattan Prep mobile app. It's not free, but it offers a lot of problems at quite a low price. You'll also find a 'Basic Math Diagnostic' on the Manhattan Prep website, a resource we offer for free. Other than that, I suggest trying free practice tests from different sources.