The GMAT is one of the most crucial elements to a prospective business student’s application to any MBA program. The following three steps outline a program that anyone can follow and hopefully have you on your way to scoring over a 700 on your GMAT in only 2 months!
1) Develop a Consistent GMAT Study Plan and Stick to IT!
Developing a study plan that will get you ready for test day is one of the most important parts of your planning for the GMAT exam. Developing this study plan will keep you on a stringent path and increase your probability of achieving a solid score on exam day. Steps to take in order to create this game plan include:
– Figure out your time-line for Studying
Most students typically take an average of about 2 to 3 months to study for the GMAT. Some have told me that they have been able to ace the GMAT in 3 weeks, yet others have needed from 6 to 12 months of study time. Regardless, you need to figure out what is going to be best for you. Determining which days of the week you can study will be helpful too. But deciding on what your time frame will be, will let you determine how much time you need to devote to every day of study.
– Use Excel to create a GMAT tracking spreadsheet
I strongly suggest creating a spreadsheet which allows you to track every problem set and practice exam that you take. Create columns in excel which list possible answers, what you answered, correct/incorrect, and why you might have answered the problem incorrectly. Mark the problems with an “X” which left you completely baffled or that took you quite some time to answer. By revisiting these questions you can refine your knowledge and definitely pick up some points on exam day.
2. Get the Right Materials!
I recommend one of the following books in your preparation:
– Manhattan GMAT Set of 8 Strategy Guides, 4th Edition
Each of these books explains the layout of the GMAT, an idea of the questions that you will see, and just great information on how to organize your studies. They also provide some great practice questions and are a very good start in order to get in gear for acing the GMAT. Starting with one of these guides first will be a great strategy, and once you are comfortable with the material you can then switch over to the The Official Guide for GMAT Review
Now since you’ve set a schedule, have a spreadsheet to keep track of your progress, and have started working on one of the aforementioned GMAT review books, you’re ready to finish up your studies. You can use the Official GMAT Guide to focus on your problem areas and try to narrowly focus your study on the areas which need the most work. Continue to use your excel spreadsheet to track your progress and work to improve your overall knowledge.
3) Practice Makes Perfect!
Now is the time to start taking some practice exams under real exam conditions. In order to score a 700 on the GMAT you will need to take several practice tests. I would recommend that you take a practice test on a weekly basis, probably at least a month out from your actual test date. I would recommend that you work at least 30 problems from each category of the GMAT each week. One the weekend, I would take one timed test, but make sure that this is timed and under real test conditions. Don’t sit in front of the TV or your computer! Go to a library or an office and stay focused!! Be sure to give yourself the full 3 uninterrupted hours to take a Computer-Adaptive Test to follow the real structure of a GMAT exam.
So you are now on your way to acing the GMAT! What are you waiting for! Go get your books, set your schedule and start cranking away on some problems!
Thanks for this good review