#800score

I've decided to go for the GMAT for some time and finally have gotten the nerve to schedule the big date! I'm going to be taking my test in two months and have started to get things in order to best prepare for the test. Listed below are a few suggestions based off of what I've done that will hopefully help you with getting the process going:  

Schedule the test. This should be your first step as it'll help you with figuring out how to plan out your study timeline. Also, let's be honest... it's hard to be motivated to start studying without having an end goal in sight. Having a firm date should get you motivated to crack those books open. 

To figure out a date that works for you, make sure to bust out your Outlook calendar or whatever you use to record your commitments, both personal and work related. If you're project manager on a large project or you have a bunch of weddings to go to, you may want to consider scheduling your GMAT date for a less hectic time as you want to make sure you give yourself enough time to study. Once you've gotten a good idea of when you'll have enough free time for studying, set the data as some testing centers tend to fill up quickly. 

To register all you need to do is go to MBA.com and register. You create a profile, schedule your GMAT test data based off of availability, and then pay $250 to schedule. One thing to note is that once you confirm your registration, you can't cancel or change dates without having to pay additional fees, so make sure you're solid on the date that you end up choosing.

Get your study materials. Regardless of how you decide to approach your studying, whether self study, a private GMAT tutor, or a prep course, it's important to get the basics. I personally decided to go the self study route so for those of you who decide to choose that journey, you can read about what I decided to use. 

I started out doing some research on various sites like GMATClub and BeatTheGMAT to get an idea of what was available. The most popular options appeared to be the Official GMAT Guide, Kaplan, The Manhattan Guide, 800score and the Princeton Review among many other choices. A few things to consider: 

Make sure whatever material that you get will cover all aspects of the GMAT – Quantitative, Verbal, Analytical Reasoning, and Integrated Reasoning (IR). The IR section is relatively new, being integrated into the GMAT for the first time in June 2012, so you'll want to make sure that you are using a version after that date, especially if you are planning on using a used copy.

You'll want whatever you use to have practice tests, and particularly Computer Adaptive Tests (CAT) which is the standard that you'll be using on the GMAT. A lot of the mentioned companies above offer some form of CAT test. 

Make sure that there are plenty of questions to work from and that the explanations seem solid.

Something else to note is that when you do register  for the GMAT, you do get access to some practice questions and tests, however even though this is a nice resource to have, it most likely won't be enough if you're going the self study route. 

I ended up going a bit overboard I suppose with the materials that I purchased (which will be good for all of you reading as you'll get some additional perspective to the pro's/con's of the materials I used)... anyway, I ended up getting 800score (mixed bag of reviews, some extremely positive and some negative, but at $39.95 and all the material you get, it seemed silly not to, especially since I always figure you need to take what's said online with a grain of salt), Kaplan, and MGMAT.

Make a study plan. With my test date set and material in hand, I decided to create a schedule as per this seems to be a tip that many of the testing prep companies and other GMAT test takers recommend. Setting a schedule reinforces consistency, something that's important when studying for the GMAT. For my own personal goals, I did set a schedule of studying 3 hours on Wednesday, 1 hour on Friday and 3 hours on Sunday. 

This is my beginning journey and the steps I've taken so far. I'll keep thsi blog updated in the coming days and weeks with how the studying is going, what strategies I've employed, reviews about the material I'm using from 800score, Kaplan and MGMAT and anything else that seems relevant to the GMAT.