GMAT Preparation Tips

After you have decided to study MBA from the top business schools around the world, the first step towards your dream university in the GMAT Exam. It is one of the most popular MBA entrance exams, conducted by GMAC. If you are wondering what is the best way to start the GMAT Preparation or How to get a high GMAT score in less time, then you are at the right place. Let us help you out through these GMAT preparation tips.

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Exam Name	GMAT
Full-Form	Graduate Management Admission Test
Official Website	https://www.mba.com
Popular For	MBA courses abroad
Conducted by	GMAC (Graduate Management Admission Council)
Mode of Exam	Computer-based adaptive test
GMAT fee	US $250 (INR 18,565 approx.)
Score Range	Min=200 Max=800

GMAT Preparation Tips

For those of you starting their GMAT study journey, here are some GMAT preparation tips  that will help you put the right foot in getting a high-GMAT-score: 

Select the correct time slot

To fetch a high GMAT score, you must plan the entire preparation process well, and the first thing to do the same is, selecting the right examination date. An average student needs at least need 3-month duration to prepare for the GMAT test. Thus, give yourself a good preparation time and avoid distractions. 

Choose the right study material

To fetch a GMAT score of 700 or more, you will definitely need expert guidance. We at Leverage Edu, provide the best supervision to the students aiming for high GMAT scores. Ranging from the study material to test the GMAT preparation tips, our experts can guide you in scoring a higher score and ace the GMAT. 

Know the GMAT test sections well

Before creating a study plan, it’s a good idea to familiarise yourself with the GMAT exam’s format. The exam is divided into four sections:

• The Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA part)- assesses your ability to think critically and articulate your thoughts.
• Integrated Reasoning (IR section) – assesses your ability to evaluate data and understand information presented in a variety of formats.
• Quantitative Reasoning (Quant part) – this portion assesses your ability to think quantitatively, solve quantitative problems, and understand graphs.
• Verbal Reasoning (Verbal part) – assesses your reading comprehension skills, editing talents, and ability to understand written arguments.

Time management

It is important that you are familiar with the examination structure and format. It will in the end save a lot of time if you are already knowing the directions. You have to be familiar with the timings too since GMAT is a computer-based adaptive test, you will be able to answer one question at a time, so be sure how much time you are going to take to solve each question. 

Identify your weakness

If you are following the correct way for GMAT preparation, then you should definitely identify the areas that are holding you back from attaining a high GMAT score. Pay extra attention to those areas, practice more on such topics, monitor if you are improving over a period of time, and keep revising such topics every now and then.

Practice, Practice, and Practice

As the common saying suggests, “Practice makes the man perfect”, one must continuously work on the questions, previous year papers, sample papers, and mock tests to increase their question-solving speed. 

Online learning

Opt for online learning platforms over traditional coaching classes as they would help you in saving some extra time for yourself. Also, when you are taking online guidance, you can work more closely on your problematic topics. This GMAT preparation tip will take you one step closer to fetching a high score. 

Time yourself

It is important to complete the exam on time. Thus, while solving questions or sample papers, time yourself to check if you have gained the correct speed or not. Keep doing this for a period of time and you will definitely see a difference in your performance. 

Don’t get stuck on just one GMAT question

Remember that there is a penalty for not finishing each portion of the test, and your score may drop with each unanswered question. Don’t get caught up in thinking about whether you’re answering every question right. Do your best, of course, but keep to a timetable. Spend no more than two and a half minutes on any single question. Make a calculated estimate if you’re stumped. This leads us to our next point.

Practice making intelligent guesses

‘Educated guessing’ is a useful strategy for coping with GMAT problems (particularly in the verbal portion) for which you are unsure about the answer. This involves rapidly ranking the five potential responses in order of appropriateness and excluding incorrect replies. It is possible to save time by rapidly removing two or three incorrect responses and then guessing out the remainder. Of course, a proper appraisal is preferable, but time restrictions might make this a luxury.

Also read: How to Tackle GMAT Exam Anxiety?

GMAT Quantitative Section Tips

The GMAT Quant section’s goal is to assess your ability to think mathematically, solve quantitative problems, and understand graphs. It comprises 31 questions, and you have 62 minutes to do it. The following tips will help you to master the GMAT math section:

1. You will not be able to use the calculator on this section, so you need to be very fast with your calculations. Start your practice adding and subtracting fractions and decimals. Learn all the exponent rules and all common roots.
2. A Q50+ score on the GMAT Quant section necessitates a thorough understanding of ideas as well as their application to problem solving. Thus, in order to get a decent and attractive score, you must first focus on getting the fundamentals correct.
3. A sectional exam with an equal mix of questions of varying difficulty levels is one approach to assess this. If you regularly score between Q45 and Q49, you have grasped the majority of the ideas and their applications.
4. The GMAT is not a concept exam, but rather an application test. Once you’ve learned the particular concepts, you should concentrate on learning the method of applying those principles to solve problems.
5. GMAT questions are designed to look HARD. No matter how difficult it looks, go slow and be confident as you only need to apply high school maths. Break your problem in 2-3 parts, begin with what you know, and you will be able to move towards the right answer.
6. An error log is a tool to keep track of and evaluate the practise questions you answer. Maintaining an error journal will assist you in determining why you answered a certain question wrong.  This will also assists in determining your weak points and the corrective actions you may take to get the weak point up to speed.
7. If a question gives you only variables and doesn’t ask you unique value, you must plug in smart numbers (like -1, 1, 0, 1) to make that problem easier.
8. Every data sufficiency question has the same order of answer choices, so you must memorize all of them well.
9. Start your practice with topic wise questions (level of difficulty which is slightly higher than your Diagnostic Test). Be sure that you only practice questions close to GMAT from reliable sources.
10. On average, you have around 2 minutes to answer a GMAT quant question. However, depending on your talents and shortcomings, you may be able to answer some questions in less time than others. It is critical to identify this reality and ensure that you comprehend the questions that will require less than the average time and those that will require more than the average time.

Verbal Reasoning Section Tips

Here are some GMAT preparation tips for verbal reasoning to help with your practice:

1. The initial step would be to learn all the basic grammar rules.
2. Note down any new words in a diary or journal and go through them regularly.
3. Always refer to an English-to-English dictionary to gauge the meaning of a word, so that you will easily get to know some of the synonyms of the same.
4. Learn more idioms – this will be of immense help in eliminating irrelevant answer choices.
5. Daily practice one or two GMAT practice papers.
6. Sometimes the purpose of a practise exam is to devise a strategy for dealing with frequent testing scenarios. When you go through your practise examinations, think about the instances that made you nervous and drove you to waste time. Consider the best course of action to take if you find yourself in a similar circumstance again. Then, use the strategy you devised the next time you take a practise test—and, of course, when you take the real GMAT.
7. The majority of GMAT practise material includes explanations. Explanations can frequently assist you in understanding the question and the credited answer, but they may not assist you in understanding your error. The trouble is that you will never see that question again. As a result, you must spend some time considering what the explanation will not address—the source of your error. If you know what caused the error, you may create a remedy and begin practising.
8. Always keep in mind that verbal improvements are frequently contingent on replacing poor habits with good practises.

Analytical Writing Section Tips

Here are some GMAT preparation tips for analytical writing to help with your practice:

1. Follow a proper introduction, passage and conclusion structure for the essay.
2. Your conclusion should be based on your entire essay statement.
3. Make sure to present an objective point of view of the essay unless asked otherwise.
4. Provide any argument with supporting evidence.
5. Be concise with your words. Just because you need to focus on a word limit, do not drag the sentence.

Integrated Reasoning Section Tips

Here are some GMAT preparation tips to help with your practice:

1. Focus on your graph reading skills. Even if you know the method, if you end up reading the graph details incorrectly, you will fail
2. Do not hurry with the answer, give each question considerable time
3. Solve practice tests to keep yourself up to date with your performance
4. Practise using on-screen calculator as you cannot use your own calculator

GMAT Preparation Tips for Beginners

If you are just starting with your GMAT practice, these tips will help you a lot:

1. Take the first GMAT Practise test to assess your current capabilities. This will help you pinpoint your weaknesses.
2. Focus on improving your weaknesses but keep your strong points at the back of your head.
3. Join online GMAT forums where you can connect with other students
4. Choose online/offline coaching and stick to that. Do not keep shifting between the two.
5. Take as many practice tests as possible.
6. The GMAT structure and scoring procedure are significantly different from those of most other standardised examinations, which is why you must put in extra effort to grasp them. It is computer-adaptive, which means that as you progress through the exam, the difficulty levels of the questions will change based on your performance.
7. You must carry out your preparations in a systematic manner. And in order to accomplish so, you must have a detailed roadmap/plan for your preparatory trip. Without a good strategy in place, you may get off track and fail to devote enough attention to key areas.
8. After assessing your strengths and weaknesses using the practise exam, you may see that a few essential concepts/skills require improvement.
9. The quality of GMAT exam preparation is more important than the amount. You must consider your time as part of your preparation budget and spend it wisely. To prepare for the GMAT exam, you should use practise exams or mock examinations.
10. At the time of the GMAT exam, you must be mentally and physically prepared. We understand that the preparation process might be taxing on your mental and physical wellbeing. As a result, taking adequate breaks in between your preparations can help you recuperate from the stress.

GMAT Preparation Tips for Working Professionals

Many working employees plan to take the GMAT and the time that they have is when they are doing a full-time job and have to manage a GMAT prep along with it. So, here are some tips you can use:

1. Create a personalized study plan that suits your routine
2. Use weekends to cover up any lags in the weekdays
3. Take help from your colleagues and family to take time out for preparation
4. Focus on your strengths more than trying to cover your weaknesses. Unless it takes less time, do not waste your weekdays in learning new things. Reserve weekends for that
5. Take a practice test every week to assess your performance

GMAT Preparation-Best Books

Apart from the GMAT preparation tips, here is a list of books that have helped many in getting a high GMAT Score. Have a look at it before you get started with your own preparation: 

Name of the book	Authored	Buy here
Complete GMAT Strategy Guide Set	Manhattan	Buy here
The Official Guide to the GMAT Review	GMAC	Buy here
GMAT Math Prep Course	Nova	Buy here
The PowerScore GMAT Critical Reasoning Bible	PowerScore	Buy here
Cracking the GMAT Premium – 2019 Edition	The Princeton Review	Buy here
GMAT Prep Plus 2019	Kaplan	Buy here
Prep Complete GMAT Course Set	Veritas	Buy here

GMAT Exam Pattern 

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FAQs

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