GMAT Fundas...

My first post after such a long time.One significant event has happened in this brief interval.I had taken GMAT and got a pretty decent score of 740!!After that a lot of people have asked me about the exam and the prep materials/methodology details.I had also read a lot of blogs on my runup to GMAT.With the idea that I'am giving something back to the blogosphere that continues to give me so much, I put forward my two cents about GMAT.

Funda1: GMAT is differrent from CAT:
Primarily ,while the aim in CAT is to maximize the number of questions attempted and accuracy ratio, the basic aim while taking GMAT is minimizing the errors while maintaining a near 100% accuracy.So they fundamentally differ in their approaches.If you are someone who is seriously preparing for GMAT and reading this blog then you must have identified that the first sentence is erroneous because of mistake in parallelism.Otherwise you need more hard work in days to come in the verbal section ;-)
Second difference between CAT and GMAT is the sections.CAT has a DI section which is very practice intensive.While GMAT has a Sentence Correction section that is practive intensive.If you can crack Quants in CAT(I mean clear cutoff in mocks) then quants in GMAT is a cakewalk.Only thing needed is caution against overconfidence and avoidance of silly mistakes.In verbal section, the staple diet of CAT is RCs, which are very huge.But in GMAT the RCs are shorter and easier.But CAT does not have SC(sentence correction).GMAT sentence correction KILLS you.Nothing but practice can save you.Instinct and good reading habits can help solve most of the SCs by elimination.But if you answer the level 1,2 questions and go to higher difficulty, you ll always end up with 2 likely answers.(and most probably the one you mark will be the wrong one ;-) ).
Third difference is that, CAT is time intensive.While GMAT is also timed, you can finish well within time if you care to take a few MockGmats and pace yourself well.The above structure is a typical example of AWA section.GMAT hangover still lingers in my head I guess :)

Funda2: Make a preparation Plan and try and stick to it.
I cannot claim to be a master in this department.The figures given are my estimates only and should be taken with a pinch of salt.Now that the disclaimers are done,I ll proceed to the actual matter in hand.
I ll present my time estimates first for person who has my profile.That is engineering graduate, decent maths background, good reading habits,taken atleast 1/2 potshots at CAT(I have taken 2 till now).Such a person need not do any maths basics preparations.He can directly start with the practice questions and tests.Only concern might be areas you know you are weak in, by virtue of all the mock CATS u had taken.My nemisis in Quants was , data sufficiency.In Verbal one needs to concentrate more on Sentence Correction.For such a profile, one would need atleast 2 months of full time preparation with 2 hrs/weekday and 6-8 hours on weekends.That comes to a total of22-26 hrs/week(Target this much..you ll end with with a 15 hrs a week).So identify your weak areas, target them and prepare a comprensive work plan.

Funda3: OG is bible.Spend Enough time for analysis.
When I say OG is the bible I mean it.It is the basic reference book.Make sure you buy the latest edition of OG GMAT® Review , OG GMAT® Quants Review , GMAT® Verbal Review.Make sure that you finish these books before you proceed anywhere else.The best methodology to use these books are to take questions in sets of 15-20 for 30 min durations and check the explanation of all questions.Please spend enough time on analysis.The aim of the exercise should be that you need to answer correctly 100% of the time, if a question is posed to you which is of the same format in the book.This only will get you 650-680 range score.

Fundas will continue......