MBA on the Horizon

In putting my study plan together, I'm having trouble tying a timeline to it because I'm not sure how long each step will take. In college, I was the one who would procrastinate like nobody's business, study like crazy the night before, and do well on the test. Mind you, I rarely took science classes, which I doubt I could have gotten through that way. I did, actually, take Physical Science (combination of physics and chem) and my study method didn't really work there.

Anyway, I'm not sure if my turbo studying will still work here, or if the 3 1/2 year studying hiatus will have hampered my skills. So I've put together a plan, non-time tied, and a separate plan with time slots carved out for studying (so I don't put it off).

Study plan:
1. Princeton Review book - read the book beginning to end to re-familiarize myself with the concepts, then work through all of the practice problems. I want to start here because I don't think a practice test would go well yet - I at least need a refresher first - and the practice questions are at the end, not throughout the book.
2. Complete the "diagnostic" test in PR and (depending on how prepared I feel at this point) one of the PowerPrep tests to find out where I'm scoring at this point, and how far I have to go.
3. Kaplan Premier Program book - read each section, then do the practice test at the end of each section and review it.
4. Complete full-length practice test at the end of Kaplan, and PowerPrep test to diagnose again.
5. Time for...Official Guide! Begin with the Math Review section, then work through the practice problems section by section.
6. Take Official Guide diagnostic test...and proceed to either the Official Guide Quant or Verbal Review book.
7. Take PowerPrep test. Ideally, I'd take the test at this point. If I'm not scoring at the level I want to be at, practice more on the areas where I'm not doing well - possibly either the Kaplan 800 book or some of the Manhattan guides (I'll probably reach out to the world of MBA applicants for advice if I get to this point).

So there you have it...the next month or few months of my life. My study plan for the week will vary from week to week, but for this particular one, I have a good amount of time so I get lots of study time. Starting today!

Posted in: GMAT, study plan on Sunday, November 30, 2008 at at 8:50 AM 2 comments Links to this post    

I sort of dropped off the face of the earth for awhile there, at least the blogging earth. Sorry about that. I try not to get too personal (or detailed) on this blog about specifics, but suffice it to say that I work for one of the companies that has been splashed around in the media quite a bit lately, and not in a good way.

Everything is fine and I feel secure in the job and in my future employment prospects, but it required my full attention for awhile and as a result, I have been a bit MIA.

But things have calmed down (or maybe I'm just used to it) and I'm back in the saddle, as it were. Time to get serious about GMAT studying...that's the first step.

The recent articles about the rush of applicants for b-school next year as a result of the current economic situation are a bit disheartening. Not enough to discourage me from applying, but enough to make me consider what my plan B will be should it become necessary.

To give you a quick glimpse into personality, my usual tagline is that I have the attention span of a squirrel. Not on individual things so much (I can sit and stare at a proposal with the best of them), but on more of a macro level. For instance, I have been in my current job for about 3 1/2 years, and it's kind of killing me. Not the job, just the lack of change.

So why do you care? Well, you might not actually. But I bring it up because I need a plan B - if b-school doesn't pan out next year, I need to have something else to move onto in the meantime for the sake of my sanity. What is that? Not sure. I will tell you that I am headed to a Peace Corp info session tomorrow night (turns out they have business development posts available) just to hear what they have to say, explore my options before the final hour.

In the meantime, GMAT studying it is!

Posted in: GMAT on Wednesday, November 12, 2008 at at 10:22 PM 1 comments Links to this post