Here is one of the most common GMAT study plans used by GMAT Club Members:

Use one of the general guidebooks i.e. Kaplan Premiere Book (see here for a full list of recommended
books) to learn basic concepts and strategies. You can see how you perform on the Kaplan tests after
going through the Premiere book. (Note that Kaplan scores are sometimes off compared to the real
!"#$ so don%t get too hung up on it).
Month 1
&tart with !ath section first and focus 'ust on math alone (you can do both math and (erbal
but ) suggest you put all attention into one). Plan to spend * weeks on it.
&tart using an +rror ,og - keep track of your mistakes and guesses -this will become your study
guide in !onth ..
Optional Step: )f you are feeling the load is too hea(y and you are really weak in !ath -
get !!"# !ath /oundations book0 it is great in pro(iding a more general o(er(iew of math
concepts.
"t the same time$ start reading !"# /iction (see below for details on what it is for)
et in(ol(ed with the !ath /orum - you will learn a lot esp. when you try to teach someone or
e1plain something
"fter you are done with the math section - start taking the math portion of the tests you ha(e.
+(aluate results and decided if you need to spend more time in !ath and patch up certain
weak areas or mo(e on to 2erbal. #his decision will be based on your target !"# score. )f you
are looking for high 344%s and 544%s$ ) would not mo(e past 6uant unless ) was able to score
around 6** (again Kaplan tests e1cluded as they are much harder)
)f you need additional help in 6uant - refer to the !ath 7esources on !"#8lub or the !"#
!ath Books section. )n particular!anhattan !"# Number Properties book comes highly
recommended by many members. "nother book you may consider is theP7 949: - it contains
targeted !"# practice ;uestions$ which could be helpful in honing one%s skills.
)f you are comfortable with 6uant but want to get to 6<4=$ use the !"# 8lub #ests - they
contain only hard ;uestions and were designed as practice for high-le(el math scorers.
Month 2
&tart working on the 2erbal section. You can start with any section$ but my suggestion would
be to tackle &entence 8orrection first
+rror ,og >
Sentence Correction Optional Step: )f you are not a nati(e speaker$ you will need a good
grammar book that steps beyond !"# and gi(es you a strong background that you can use as a
foundation for !"#-specific books. &e(eral grammar books are recommended on the /orum
(best-gmat-grammar-book-for-international-students-5??.*.html). @e ha(e created a book
specifically for this need - Ultimate !"# rammar (it co(ers all of the tested grammar topics
on the !"#$ plus a bit more concepts that international students seem to struggle the most
(articles$ etc)). Ather books to consider are Kaplan 2erbal /oundations and !!"# 2erbal
/oundations - they are (ery well written but still not as detailed as Ultimate !"# rammar.
#his is for you to decide how much help you need or how much time you ha(e. "lso$ take a look
at !"# 8lub%s 2erbal 7esources for many copies of study notes.
/or your (erbal practice$ you can start with Kaplan 2erbal @orkbook - it has good strategies.
Bowe(er a (ery good alternati(e is the Power&core 2erbal Bible - i would say it is a good notch
higher in terms of (alue and score impro(ement. )t co(ers &8$ 87$ and 78.
Optional Step: " large number of !"# 8lub members actually skip the step abo(e and instead
use specialiCed books to tackle each of the ;uestions types. #he books they use areD
o &entence 8orrection - either !!"# &8 or Power&core &8
o 8ritical 7easoning - either !!"# 87 or Power&core 87
o 7eading 8omprehension - !!"# 78
o Note9D !!"# 87 and !!"# &8 come without any practice ;uestions. )nstead they
refer to ;uestions in the Afficial uide 9: and A 2erbal$ so you must ha(e those two
books to practice and preferably should not ha(e co(ered it in the past. An the positi(e
note - all !anhattan books come with access to 3 online 8"# tests$ so you should buy at
least one!anhattan !"# book (any one of them).
o Note:D #his approach of specialiCed prep takes closer to : months for (erbal
Critical Reasoning Optional Step: )f you need additional help with 8ritical 7easoning - Eo not
get both Power&core 87 and!anhattan !"# 87 - the books are (irtually identical (not really
but kind of). )nstead you can again use the P7 949: book for targeted practice with "ssumption
or 8onclusion ;uestions or you can go (ery hea(y weight and use ,&"# books$ but that%s a tad
too hardcore and usually unnecessary.
7eading 8omprehension is often the hardest areas to con;uer - there are no clear rules and it is
all about understanding of the passage. Unless you strongly feel that 7eading is your forte$ )
would recommend you pick up a reading habit for the time being. ) ha(e written a large post on
what ) call !"# /iction and its benefits - take a look. ) felt that reading books was a big
contributor to my &8 and 78 abilities. #here are no downsides to this really - worst thing
possible is that you would ha(e read some great books. "nd yes - make sure you read them
during your low producti(ity time (at night$ during transit$ etc).
2erbal forum should be your hobby by now
#ake the (erbal-only portion of the tests to e(aluate your progress (compare to how you did in
the diagnostic test).
Month 3
#his month should be spent on : thingsD taking full length tests (polishing your test taking
techni;ues$ timing$ stamina) and 7e(iewing your error log (going through your weaknesses$
making sure you understand why you keep making mistakes and how to sol(e e(ery problem
you encountered). You can start using +rror log earlier than this by the way - the earlier the
better.
&chedule your test if you ha(e not done so already.
&tart taking full length tests (including "@") - this is important for your test stamina. Plan to
spend a &aturday on this and then subse;uent test re(iew.
&pend a few weeks taking tests and drilling down into your areas of weakness. 8reate a Fblack
list of ;uestionsF that you continue to struggle with and find a way to sol(e them with minimal
mental effort.
!
Common Mistakes ith GMAT preparation
9D 7ushing to take tests before learning anything - waste of tests
:D &tarting with the Afficial uide - waste of official !"# ;uestions
.D i(ing !"# the worst time of the day - studying after a long day
*D &kipping basics and rushing to ad(anced topics
<D &tarting to prepare with poor +nglish proficiency
!ther thou"hts#su""estions:
" recommendation which seems to be working for me... &UEAKU and 7UB)K%s 8UB+...> Bit abstract 'ust
like your recommendation to read !"# fiction... these to me ha(e been working as priming tools... by
Eestiny8hild