Prepare for the GMAT in 5 Steps
Imagine yourself sitting in a classroom full of fifty other young professionals in an MBA program, discussing interesting topics like marketing strategy and entrepreneurship while you’re earning an advanced degree and opening doors for a new job or higher pay.
But wait! Before you can get there, you have to apply for admission, and you’ll need to take the GMAT as part of the application process. Your stomach probably turns at the thought and your heart might race just a bit as you think back to the algebra and geometry classes you had in high school. No one likes standardized testing, but it’s one of those necessary evils. Here are five steps to help you prepare for the GMAT:
1. Assess your current knowledge with a practice test
Download the free GMATPrep Test Preparation Software from mba.com. You’ll receive two computer-adaptive tests, which use the same technology used by the official GMAT exam. Take one of these tests to determine what score you’d get on the GMAT based on your current knowledge. Don’t be discouraged by a low score, as you’ll definitely improve over time! Save the other test for later.
2. Schedule a date for your GMAT exam
You can select a date and testing center at mba.com. The GMAT is administered year-round, but make sure you schedule your date in advance to secure your spot and give yourself enough time to study. If you scored above a 650 on your practice test, you should schedule your test in about a month. If you scored below a 650, give yourself two months to study for the test. You don’t want to give yourself so much time that you put off studying or don’t study enough to consistently build upon your understanding of the material.
3. Purchase GMAT study materials
You’ll need several study books that include helpful how-to’s and lots (and lots) of study problems. Here are some of the best resources you can get:
The Official Guides for the GMAT Reviews – there are three books you’ll want to buy:
- The Official Guide for GMAT Review, 12th Edition
- The Official Guide for GMAT Verbal Review, 2nd Edition
- The Official Guide for GMAT Quantitative Review, 2nd Edition
These books contain actual questions from previous GMAT tests that are arranged in order of difficulty. You’ll get brief explanations for each answer, but you won’t find much in terms of test-taking strategies.
Manhattan GMAT Strategy Guides – this is a collection of eight how-to books that provide helpful strategies for both quantitative and verbal problems. These books include excellent explanations of the fundamentals you’ll need to master for each type of problem. You’ll also have access to five practice exams with your purchase. Your scores on these practice exams will be very close to what you’d get on an actual GMAT exam.
There are many other brands of test-prep books, including Kaplan, Princeton Review, and the For Dummies series. If you feel like you need more help, check out the Princeton Review books, but use Kaplan as a last resort – their problems are typically harder than what you’ll see on the test (why study some concepts you’ll never even see!)
Finally, you should purchase a stopwatch if you don’t have similar functionality on your iPhone or other SmartPhone. GMAT testing centers no longer allow the use of pen and scratch paper, so you’ll also need a dry-erase board and markers as you study. Alternatively, you can purchase a test simulation booklet and marker that are very similar to what you’ll receive when you take the actual exam.
4. Set a study schedule & get to it!
Create a calendar for the next month or two prior to your scheduled test date. Mark dates and times when you’ll study practice problems or take practice exams. Try to study for several hours a day, three or four days a week.
It’s best to take one practice exam a weekend, preferably at the same time of the day that your official test is scheduled. Make sure you replicate testing conditions and take the practice exam all at once, allowing only time for the two scheduled breaks. Keep track of your scores over time to see how you’re progressing.
Always use your dry-erase booklet or board as you’re practicing problems or taking practice exams. This will get you in the habit of not being able to use a paper and pen or pencil on test day.
Timing yourself while answering practice problems is essential during your test preparation. On test day, you’ll have 75 minutes to complete 37 quantitative questions and 75 minutes to complete 41 verbal questions. You should limit yourself to about two minutes per problem. Even though you’ll be able to do some problems very quickly, make sure that you aren’t spending too much time on any one problem. Remember, you lose points when you don’t get through all the questions!
One strategy that works well is to time yourself as you complete a block of practice questions. You should be able to answer about twenty questions with varying degree of difficulty in roughly forty minutes. As you progress in your studying, make sure you’re able to consistently answer questions at this rate. Don’t worry about using a stopwatch when you take practice exams, but you should watch the time on the screen and move on when you’re still stuck on a problem after three minutes.
5. Get yourself ready the week before your GMAT test
Take your final practice exam one week before the test. This is a great time to take the second official practice test through the GMATTest Prep software you downloaded. Your score on this test should be very close to what you’ll get on the real thing! Hopefully your score has improved quite a bit since you took your first test.
You’ll use the last week to continue practicing problems. Focus most of your time on areas that give you difficulty, but don’t completely neglect what you think you know well.
It’s best to refrain from studying the night before your test. Find something else to do like watch a movie or go out to dinner with a friend. Make sure you get plenty of sleep though!
On the morning of the test, eat a healthy breakfast and head to the testing center about 30 minutes early. Take two small snacks with you (granola bars, trail mix, or pieces of fruit work well). You’ll have two brief breaks during your exam. Eating a small snack and getting a drink of water will help you stay focused during your exam.
Hopefully these tips will help you prepare properly for the months and week leading up to your GMAT exam. Once it’s over, you can start imagining yourself in that classroom again…
By: Gale Bowman
3-07-2010
After graduating from Notre Dame, Gale realized that young professionals need a source of reliable information as they face “real world” challenges. Gale manages WhatCollegeForgot.com and is pursuing an MBA at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
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