How to Successfully Study for the GMAT Test

By Brittany Loeffler on October 20, 2017

The GMAT, or the Graduate Management Admissions Test, is required for students who plan to pursue an MBA. It’s a standardized test, much like the GRE or the SAT, that gauges different skills and is used to determine your eligibility for certain programs.

About 250,000 people take the test each year, which means there are plenty of study materials available to you before you take the test.

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What to expect

The GMAT is a timed test, totaling 3.5 hours. There are four different sections that evaluate different skills such as analytical writing, integrated reasoning, quantitative, and verbal. There are 90 questions and one essay portion to the exam.

Unlike the GRE, this test does not consist of mostly multiple choice questions. The analytical writing assessment will be a written essay about a certain topic. The integrated reasoning is based on evaluating data and situations and explaining it in your own words. The verbal section of the exam evaluates your speaking skills and grammar and sentence structure. The only multiple choice section of the test is the quantitative, or math, section.

The test does give you some flexibility of how to take it, though. You are able to choose the order of the sections when you take the test. There is no right or wrong way to take it, but it helps to play to your strengths.

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Take a diagnostic test

Before you start studying for the GMAT, take a practice test. This will help you to evaluate what you know and what you need to work on. Instead of wasting time studying concepts and topics that you already know, the practice test will tell you what concepts you need to spend more time on.

Not only does a practice test diagnose what you need to study, but it will also familiarize you with the test format and what types of questions will be asked.

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Make a schedule

It’s important to plan ahead and make time to study. This test isn’t something you can schedule a week in advance. The GMAT is a test that you need a couple of months to prepare for.

Make yourself a study schedule. This schedule should be realistic and fit your lifestyle. If you are someone who likes to go out on the weekends, then maybe it is best not to schedule time to study on a Saturday morning. It also helps to plan what you study and when.

Stay dedicated

Just because you took the time to make a study schedule doesn’t mean that it will help you pass the GMAT. Having dedication and sticking to your study schedule will. It can be easy to put off studying until the next day and then maybe the day after that until you realize that the test is just a couple of weeks away.

Make sure to stick to the schedule you made and don’t feel discouraged. Keep studying and you will succeed.

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Buy a prep book

There are plenty of great GMAT prep books out there, you just have to choose one. These books will give you plenty of information about what to expect on the test and what kinds of questions will be asked. A prep book will teach you what graders are looking for in the written assessment portion as well as the importance of the verbal portion.

Most books will also provide you with practice tests and sample questions, which are extremely valuable when it comes to studying.

Familiarize yourself with the language

Read through sample questions over and over again to get familiar with the language that will be on the GMAT test. When you know what kinds of questions will be asked and how they will be asked, you won’t feel tripped up or stressed when taking the test. Make sure to read through questions thoroughly to be sure not to miss anything important or misunderstand what it’s asking.

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Take a prep course

Depending on what type of learner you are, it may be beneficial to pay for a prep course taught by an instructor. Being in a classroom setting may help you learn and retain information better rather than sitting at home reading from a book. Having interactions with people and being able to ask questions can help you to study for the GMAT test.

Take practice tests

It can’t be stressed enough how important it is to take practice tests when studying for the GMAT test. Becoming familiar with the format, questions, and being under a time constraint can take off the pressure when you sit down to take the real test. Keep taking the practice tests up until the day you take the test.

Make sure to go over your answers and work on the concepts you get wrong. Learn from your practice tests. When you do this, you have a much higher chance to succeed on the real test.

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