Summary: 

• The newly introduced Focused GMAT format is less exhaustive but more focused, with the exclusion of traditionally challenging areas like Sentence Correction and Geometry.
• The preparation time has been reduced by 50%, and a rationalized study timeline suggests about 10 weeks of study, allocating 20 hours per week.
• The Only GMAT preparation materials that you need for a 720+ score are Manhattan GMAT Foundation Guide for basic concepts, Magoosh GMAT online prep for learning concepts and strategies, and GMAT Official Material for practice questions.
• The GMAT Official Practice Exams for focused edition are invaluable for simulating the actual test environment, improving time management skills, and providing post-exam analysis. These exams offer an authentic experience, closely mimicking the real GMAT examination, unlike most third-party mock tests.
• GMAT Club is recommended for further explanations on complex GMAT questions. Active participation in this community enhances understanding and provides opportunities for constructive feedback.
• Resources like E-GMAT, Manhattan Prep (now Kaplan), Princeton Review, and Target Test Prep are not essential if you’re using Magoosh, Manhattan Basic Guides and Official GMAT prep material.

Embarking on your GMAT journey can feel overwhelming. With an abundance of preparatory materials and resources often adding to the confusion rather than simplifying the process.

This guide, however, is all about keeping it simple and focused, mirroring the changes that the GMAT itself has undergone in 2023.

The GMAT in 2023 has streamlined its format, focusing more on core analytical skills and less on a wide variety of knowledge areas. Gone are the days when you needed a stack of different books to cover all possible GMAT topics. Now, your preparation can be more concentrated, yet equally effective.

In line with this simplification, I’ve curated a selection of key resources to guide your studies, eliminating the need to juggle numerous books and online platforms. By focusing on a few, high-quality materials and pairing them with a smart study plan, you can navigate the new GMAT landscape with confidence and achieve a 720+ score.

Let’s dive into the key changes in the 2023 GMAT Focused edition and reveal the most effective resources and strategies for mastering the new format.

Unveiling the New Shorted Focused GMAT Format in 2023

The new shorter focused GMAT, starting in Q4 of 2023, has been revised into a more streamlined structure consisting of three sections:

• Quantitative (Math): 21 problem-solving questions to be completed in 45 minutes. There is no geometry on the new GMAT.
• Verbal: 23 reading comprehension and critical reasoning questions to be finished in 45 minutes. There is no sentence correction on the new GMAT. Hurray!
• Data Insights: 20 questions, comprising of a mix of 4-5 data sufficiency questions and graphical analysis involving tables, charts, and graphs, to be solved in 45 minutes.

One of the major improvements is the provision to edit answers for up to 3 questions in each section. Also, a calculator is accessible in the Data Insights section.

Moreover, test-takers can select their preferred sequence of the exam sections, and there’s an optional 10-minute break that you can take during the exam.

A side note: In my personal strategy for tackling the Focused GMAT, I would opt to attempt the Verbal section first, followed by the Math section, and finally conclude with the Data Insights section. My rationale behind this decision is as follows: 

• Freshness for Verbal Challenges: The Verbal section, consisting of reading comprehension and critical reasoning questions, requires a high level of focus, attention to detail, and comprehension skills. Tackling it first allows you to approach this section with a fresh mind, which is often crucial for understanding complex passages and critical reasoning scenarios.
• Building Momentum with Quant: Once you have navigated through the Verbal section, moving on to Quant could help build your momentum. Problem-solving questions in the Math section often rely on a more structured, formulaic approach, providing a shift from the linguistic analysis required in the Verbal section. It’s a good transition, using different cognitive skills and providing a “break” of sorts.
• Data Insights for the Final Stretch: The Data Insights section draws on skills tested in both the Quant and Verbal sections. As such, having completed these sections earlier in the test, you’re essentially ‘warmed up’ and primed to apply these skills in a more integrated manner in the Data Insights section. By taking math and verbal sections first, you’ve just refreshed your memory and practiced these skills, which can help you perform better in the Data Insights section.

Simplifying GMAT Prep for the New Shorter Focused Edition

Less Exhaustive, More Focused Prep

The omission of Sentence Correction and Geometry, which were traditionally the most challenging areas for 90% students, has made the new GMAT much less daunting than the old GMAT and even easier than the New Shorter GRE.

The reduction of Data Sufficiency questions also lowers the cognitive load of the exam. Consequently, the expected preparation time has nearly halved from around 350-400 hours to approximately 200 hours. 

A Rationalized Study Timeline

While the actual study schedule will depend on the individual’s learning speed, a reasonable plan involves around 10 weeks of study, allocating 20 hours per week (on average 2 hours per day of non-stop GMAT prep). This schedule provides a balance between learning, practicing, and introspection, helping you to absorb the concepts and apply them effectively.

The Only GMAT Prep Materials You Need

1) Manhattan GMAT Foundation Guides

(for sasic refresher on quant and verbal)

These guides are excellent starting points, particularly for those who’ve been out of the academic loop for a while. They help to reinforce basic concepts and are a valuable resource for building a strong foundation. However, they do not cover advanced or specialized topics in great depth. Furthermore, as these guides have not been updated for the latest focused GMAT edition, you should omit the sections on geometry in the Quant guide and the sentence correction section in the verbal guide. 

Get Manhattan Foundation Guides here.

2) Magoosh GMAT Videos for Learning Concepts and Tricks

Once you cover the Foundation Guides from Manhattan, then you should move to Magoosh videos offers comprehensive lessons, covering all critical GMAT concepts, strategies, and techniques. The videos collectively cover all the topics you need to know for the GMAT.

In addition to teaching content, the videos also exhaustively cover all the strategies and tips for the new Focused GMAT. This includes time management strategies, approaches to eliminating incorrect answer choices, guessing strategies, and techniques for handling tricky question types. Moreover, their videos contain interactive elements such as quizzes to reinforce what you’re learning and keep you engaged.

DO NOT USE the Magoosh GMAT prep’s practice questions since they do not mimic the actual exam questions very well. Instead for practice, only use the official GMAT material discussed below.

Get Magoosh Video Lessons here.

3) GMAT Official Guides for Focused Edition

The GMAT Focused Editions guide is an indispensable resource, offering over 800 real GMAT practice questions to help you get a grip on the exam’s structure and question types. The 800 questions are divided as follows: 

• 220+ Math/Quant questions
• 220+ Data Insights questions
• 160+ Reading Passage questions
• 180+ Critical/Logical Reasoning questions

The GMAT Official Guide has managed to distinguish itself through its splendid and pinpoint explanations to verbal questions. Rather than simply providing the correct answers, the guide goes above and beyond to elucidate why each option is either correct or incorrect. The methodology employed is thorough and efficient: before diving into the question, they distill the argument or passage into easily understandable terms. Subsequently, they delve into the core of the question, highlighting precisely what it seeks to unravel. As a significant boost to comprehension, the guide takes the effort to rephrase the question, thereby facilitating an easier understanding of the original query. Furthermore, the guide ensures that all answer choices are thoroughly reviewed, not just the incorrect ones.

As for the mathematics component, the guide largely excels in its role of elucidating the problems. Most of the solution methods provided are succinct and accurate, constituting a reliable basis for tackling these questions. However, it’s noteworthy that roughly 20% of the problems are solved in a manner that appears less efficient and somewhat cumbersome. There seems to be a possibility for more effective techniques to address these questions than the methods currently adopted by the guide. Nevertheless, with the remaining 80% of questions being thoroughly and competently explained, reliance on the guide remains largely unstressed.

In the unlikely event that a question or explanation remains puzzling despite the guide’s efforts, a simple search on GMAT Club is recommended. Here, one is likely to encounter alternate viewpoints and in-depth explanations that are usually quite elucidating.

Get GMAT Official Guide here.

4) GMAT Official Practice Exams (1-6)

These timed mock exams are invaluable for simulating the actual test environment and boosting your confidence.

According to studies done by GMAT, taking 4-6 Official Practice Exams has consistently shown to elevateexam scores by 20-50 points. By immersing the students in an environment closely mirroring the actual exam conditions, these tests aid in familiarizing them with the structure and rhythm of the real GMAT.

Routine engagement with these practice exams also instills crucial time management skills. The ability to allocate time judiciously is integral to achieving success in the GMAT, ensuring no question is left unattended and thereby minimizing the risk of score reduction.

Beyond these immediate benefits, the Official Practice Exams offer extensive post-exam analysis. Each finished practice test generates a comprehensive score report, highlighting areas of strength and pinpointing those in need of further improvement. Such targeted feedback enables candidates to concentrate on areas demanding additional practice and comprehension.

Moreover, the Official Practice Exams hold a unique advantage over third-party mock tests, courtesy of their unparalleled authenticity. They offer not just official, standardized questions but also emulate the actual exam’s scoring algorithm. This dual offering generates an experience strikingly similar to the real GMAT examination.

Unfortunately, most third-party mock tests fall short of providing an accurate representation of the GMAT experience. The questions they present often deviate from the distinctive language and subtle traps of official GMAT questions, and their scoring algorithms tend to be inconsistent and less reliable. This deficiency stems from the fact that GMAT’s scoring algorithm is not publicly disclosed, leaving third-party platforms to guess in their attempts to mimic the GMAT’s proprietary scoring system. 

Exploring Optional GMAT Prep Materials

The GMAT Official Guide’s compilation of over 800 questions, which I recommended above, typically provides a comprehensive foundation for scoring well on the exam. However, some diligent students, committed to ensuring a thoroughly exhaustive preparation, may desire additional resources. If you identify with this group, there are further official practice questions available for purchase to push your preparation to the next level.

These supplemental practice sets offer completely unique questions, distinct from those included in the Official Guides. Thus, you won’t find any overlapping content. Nevertheless, the style, depth of critical thinking required, and the tested concepts mirror those in the Official Guides. Essentially, these sets provide an expanded pool of practice without introducing new techniques, tricks, or traps.

In total, these additional resources offer over 900 extra questions, supplementing the original 800+ from the Official Guides. However, keep in mind that diving into these resources requires a significant time commitment, potentially adding another six to eight weeks to the recommended ten-week GMAT prep plan.

As for their impact on your score, these resources can be instrumental if you’re striving to cross the 700 mark. If, however, you’re already consistently scoring above 700, these extra questions are unlikely to push you over the 750 threshold.

The best way to utilize these additional resources is by focusing on targeted improvement. Assess your performance on the initial 800+ questions from the Official Guides and identify any areas of weakness. Then, selectively purchase the optional resources from the list that specifically cater to these areas. There’s no need to buy them all. Tailoring your preparation in this way ensures an efficient and effective approach to maximize your GMAT score.

For Quant

Official GMAT Quant Guide

The GMAT Official Guide Quantitative Review provides focused practice to master the Quantitative Reasoning section of the exam with more than 150 questions that are not included in the Official Guide.

Get it here.

GMAT Focus Official Practice Questions – Quantitative

Count on 100+ Quant questions to master your approach to the Quantitative Reasoning section of the GMAT Focus Edition. With Official Practice Questions – Quantitative, you can focus your growth on Problem Solving questions with section specific official GMAT questions.

Get it here.

For Verbal

Official GMAT Verbal Guide

The GMAT Official Guide Verbal Review provides focused practice to master the Verbal Reasoning section of the exam with more than 200 questions that are not included in the main Official Guide.

Get it here.

GMAT Focus Official Practice Questions – Verbal 

Learn to read between the lines with 100+ Verbal practice questions to master your approach to the Verbal Reasoning section of the GMAT Focus Edition. With Official Practice Questions – Verbal, you can focus your growth on Critical Reasoning and Reading Comprehension questions with section specific official GMAT questions.

Get it here.

For Data Insights

Official GMAT Data Insights Guide

Refine your practice with 200+ additional Data Insights questions and detailed answer explanations, not included in the main Official Guide, to master the new section of the GMAT Focus Edition.

Get it here.

GMAT Focus Official Practice Questions – Data Insights

NEW! Drill down on Data Insights with 100+ practice questions to master the new section of the GMAT Focus Edition. With Official Practice Questions – Data Insights, you can personalize your prep with section specific official GMAT questions.

Get it here.

Leveraging GMAT Club

GMAT club is the solution to all GMAT related issues. It is an expansive community for GMAT aspirants, offering a space for in-depth discussions on GMAT questions. The best way to use gmatclub is as follows: 

When engaging with official GMAT preparation guides and resources, you may encounter questions for which the provided explanations lack clarity. In such instances, GMAT Club is an invaluable tool. Just search for the question on Google along with ‘GMAT Club’, and you will find a comprehensive explanation. However, avoid delving into forums or threads on GMAT Club that discuss unofficial questions. 

Once you start using gmatclub, you will find that there are a few experts like ‘Bunuel’ whose answers are reliable.

Moreover, strive to actively participate in the community. Responding to questions and offering your own explanations not only deepens your understanding but also opens up opportunities for constructive feedback from your peers. This active engagement can significantly enhance your preparation momentum, making the most of what GMAT Club has to offer.

Avoid Redundancies in GMAT Prep 

Despite the high ratings garnered by E-GMAT, Manhattan Prep (now Kaplan), Princeton Review, and Target Test Prep, these resources are not required if you’re already utilizing Magoosh for your GMAT preparation.

Magoosh provides the same level of quality, but at a more budget-friendly price point, making it an economically viable choice for many.

As of mid-2023, when this article is being written, combining Official GMAT prep material with Magoosh offers the most cost-effective, comprehensive resources for successful GMAT preparation.

Conclusion

The essential resources for GMAT preparation in 2023 are Magoosh video lessons, the fundamental Manhattan guides, and the GMAT Focused Edition guide(s). While this prep will not exceed $350, it promises a comprehensive and focused study plan, optimally designed to land you a 720+ score on the new GMAT. Top up your preparation with the GMAT Official Practice Exams for a successful test day experience.