When you begin researching business schools, the best thing you can do is to consider all the admission requirements to ensure that you’re a good candidate for the schools you would like to attend.
One of the most important things you’ll need to consider is going to be the GMAT exam.
The better your GMAT score, the better chance you have of getting into the top business schools. Not only that, the stronger your GMAT score, the more likely you are to get some scholarship opportunities that could save you some money on tuition.
Understanding how to study for the GMAT, whether this is your first go-round, or you’re retaking it to better your score, is absolutely essential to getting the best possible results. The good news is that if you have a strong study plan and a good strategy for test prep, you should be fine.
Not sure where to begin? Start with this list of tips that will show you how to study for the GMAT.
1. Create (and stick to) a GMAT Study Plan
Target Test Prep
Target Test Prep offers an extensive library of content, including practice questions and drills as well as expert support and guidance from experienced instructors. Students will better understand the GMAT's sections, build confidence in their skills, and develop strategies for tackling difficult problems.
The best thing you can do for yourself is to put yourself on a schedule. Knowing the timeline for getting things done is going to help remove some stress and allow you to prepare for the additional elements that are required for your application.
A GMAT study plan is going to allow you to break down the sections you need to learn in a comfortable amount of time. This isn’t a test that you can cram for at the last minute. You will need time to study, and a study plan will make everything easier.
If you’re not sure where to begin or how to create an effective study plan, consider a GMAT Test Prep course.
Courses like the ones at Target Test Prep offer a customizable study plan that is adaptable and works to your strengths.
Thanks to real-time progress tracking, Target Test Prep can help you to utilize every minute you have to study in a way that will ensure success. You’ll study the things you need, and you won’t have to worry about the rest.
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2. Find GMAT Prep Materials that you can Trust
A quick Google search will lead you to millions of GMAT test prep materials. You’ll find test questions, practice tests, courses, videos, and so much more. You’ll even find tips like these ones. The important thing to remember is that these materials aren’t all made the same. You need to find the ones that are easy for you to understand and that help you to retain the material you need to ace the GMAT.
So, what do you do about that? You can start by considering your sources. The benefit to getting your test prep materials from a test prep course is that this is all vetted material that has worked for others just like you. Additionally, these courses often offer guarantees about how much they can help to raise your score.
For example, Target Test Prep can help you to get to a score over 700! That’s well above the average score and it will help to get you noticed at the top business schools!
Courses like Target Test Prep are successful because they have instructors that are in the 99th percentile for the GMAT. These are the experts designing the study materials, tests, and practice questions. It works because they’ve been where you are, and they know what you need to know to get a top score.
3. Keep a Realistic Inventory of your Weaknesses
When you’re studying for the GMAT, there’s not a minute to waste. To maximize your study time, it’s important to understand what you’re good at, and what you need to work on.
In the moment, this can be a hard thing to keep an inventory of. You might be worried you don’t know something well enough and spend more time on it than you should. This time might be better utilized on one of the other sections, which could suffer during testing. The good news is, there are ways to ensure that you’re always kept on track.
All you need to do is continue tracking your progress during study times. This can be done using practice tests and questions. It will help you to get an understanding of what will be on the test, as well as showing you how prepared you are for the test in that moment.
Target Test Prep offers a full range of tracking tools that will help to customize your study plan, while also tracking your strengths and weaknesses, which continues to improve your study plan and maximize your study plan.
You could do some of this on your own, but the benefit to a test prep course is that the guesswork is removed. You aren’t going to have to take time to understand and evaluate your performance on test questions. Instead, you can take the practice test, look at the progress tracking and updated recommendations, and continue your course of study.
4. Don’t Linger on a GMAT Question
The most important thing you need to remember on test day is that you can’t spend too much time on any one question. It might seem logical at the time to ensure that every question is correct, but the GMAT is a timed test. If you waste several minutes on one question, ensuring that it’s correct, you run the risk of missing several questions that you don’t have time to answer later. Spending an unnecessary amount of time on one question can be a score killer.
The best way to avoid this is to be prepared on test day. Many of the top GMAT experts believe that if you have a strategy, you can get a higher score. Read the question and consider what you need to do to get the answer. As a rule, it’s best not to spend more than 2-3 minutes on a question if you can help it.
One thing that could help avoid this trap is to just ensure you’ve studied enough. The more practice questions and tests you experience, the more prepared you will be on test day. Utilizing testing materials via Target Test Prep courses can really prepare you to do well on the GMAT without spending too much time on any one question.
At the very least, remember that the process of elimination can be your friend. The GMAT is a multiple-choice test. If you aren’t sure what the answer is, start by removing the answers you know cannot be correct. Once you have the field narrowed down, you can go from there and it will be faster and easier for you to find the correct answer.
5. Focus on and Master Each Section before Moving On
The beauty of a study plan is that you can move through each section at a pace that is comfortable for you. However, if you’re having a problem or your progress tracking suggests you need more time on something you should take it!
To stay on track, you might think that it’s better to move on to other sections and then go back to your problem section. Really, the best thing you can do is study the section, master the section, and then move on.
This can be hard to do if you’re studying on your own. It can be difficult to take inventory of what you’re doing, keep up on your progress, and look towards the rest of your study goals to be ready for the GMAT.
Target Test Prep and similar courses help with this by giving you the time and details you need to be ready for whatever comes on your test. All of the information you need is broken down into the appropriate sub-sections, you can go over the materials and continue with practice questions until your progress has been updated and you feel comfortable with the materials.
Once you’re familiar with the section and confident you understand the material, then it’s time to move on. Make sure to give every section the attention it deserves because they all add up to your final score.
6. It’s Okay to Need Help
The average GMAT test score is 565. The top colleges want a score of 700+ for you to be considered a competitive applicant. The GMAT can be a stressful experience even before you start preparing to take it. Just knowing the stakes and the difference a test score can make this even more daunting than it needs to be. The first thing you need to do if you’re feeling overwhelmed is to take a deep breath. Sure, it’s scary, but it doesn’t have to be.
Don’t feel bad if you don’t think you can do it on your own, because most of the people that get top scores don’t do it on their own! They have help.
Prep courses, like the ones at Target Test Prep are designed to help you take all the guesswork out of the GMAT so that you can focus on mastering the subjects and getting a top score.
A good test prep course will save you time, money, and frustration. All of your available time can be spent learning the material and getting ready for the test. You won’t need to stress. Best of all, come GMAT test day, you’ll be confident in your abilities and that will surely show when you get your score!
Have any more questions about how to study for the GMAT? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
