How to Prepare for the GMAT: Top 3 Tips

Are you considering to get an MBA or planning to expand your knowledge in the area of business further? If so, “The Graduate Management Admission Test” (GMAT) is usually a must requirement in admission to a graduate management programme.

GMAT is unlike any other exams where you can just cram for it in the last minute. In terms of test difficulty, it’s thought of it as middle-of-the-road. However, if you start early enough, you will definitely get a great score. Continue reading to find out the three best tips that you need to know in order to ace your GMAT.

1. Plan ahead

Most students taking the GMAT allow 3 to 6 months to study for the exam. This time should be spent learning about the test format and gaining content knowledge. It is important that you learn about the computer-based test, and practice writing essay for the analytical writing section, which presents excerpts of business writing and asks you to evaluate how well reasoned you are.

Also, don’t forget to register for the test early enough since the spots will fill up quickly. (Click here to register for the test).

2. Understand the GMAT test format

Knowing what to expect in your test will generally improve your test score. The test consists of three sections, with an optional 8-minute break between each one.

Analytical writing

One topic – argument analysis (30 minutes)

Quantitative

37 questions – data sufficiency, problem-solving (75 minutes)

Integrated reasoning

12 questions – multi sourcing reasoning, graphics interpretation, two-two part analysis, table analysis (30 minutes)

Verbal

41 questions – reading comprehension, critical reasoning, sentence correction (75 minutes).

When you answer a question correctly, the computer follows with a more difficult question; when you answer incorrectly, your next question will be easier. Within the first 10 questions of each section, the computer places you in a general scoring range based on the difficulty of the questions you answer correctly. Work carefully on the initial questions in each section to increase your chances of getting into a high-scoring category for the section!

3. Study for the GMAT test content

Purchase and use a GMAT study guide that includes plenty of sample tests. The more you practice, the better you’ll do. There are also lots of free resources available online such as software from mba.com. This software will teach you how the computer adaptive test works.

Schedule enough time to study and take sample tests. The more you study, the better you’ll do. It is better to study a little every day rather than to cram all your preparation into one week.

Learn to pace yourself. Take practice tests to train your time management for each section so you can finish the entire exam on time!

Put extra efforts on the first few questions of each test. As mentioned above, the computer adapts to your ability. The greater the number of difficult questions you answer, the higher your score will be!

Guess ONLY after you have removed one or two wrong answers. GMAT will penalize you a quarter of a point for each incorrect response, and the computer won’t let you return to unanswered questions. Your odds of guessing correctly improve with each incorrect answer you can eliminate.