General GMAT Preparation Tips 2023
Following are some of the tips that can help you clear the GMAT in order to get admission to MBA courses in India and abroad.
Practice Consistently
The essential step while you are preparing for MBA entrance exams is to practice consistently. Constant practice will help you in getting used to all the type of questions that are asked in the exam and raise your confidence while preparing.
Maintain a Study Journal
To keep a track of the topics that you have covered and the ones that are still pending, you can maintain a preparation journal or a diary. Keep a daily record of the topics, questions and GMAT practice tests that you are covering each day. This way, you can achieve your daily targets for GMAT.
Exponentially Increase your Study Time
Since GMAT is a computer-adaptive test, make sure that you practice questions of different difficulty levels to get used to the exam pattern. As the date of the GMAT exam draws near, increase your study time and cover the syllabus effectively.
Focus on Sectional Targets
Don’t stick to a single section while planning your daily targets. Make sure that you practice quantitative ability questions, as well as, verbal ability questions daily to achieve a balanced score in both questions. It is essential to achieve good scores in both sections as universities consider sectional GMAT cut-offs.
Eliminating Answer Choices
A good method to opt for tougher questions is to eliminate the wrong answer choices. In such cases, eliminating the wrong answers would be much easier than finding the correct answer. Statistically speaking, eliminating the wrong answers will give you higher chance, i.e. 20-30% or even higher, to choose the right answer.
Make Time Targets
Apart from targeting the number of questions that you should practice also make time targets. For example, the maximum time limit you are given to complete 12 questions in the integrated reasoning section is 30 minutes. Therefore, your objective when preparing for the test should be to complete 12 questions in 30 minutes. You can start by first completing the 12 questions in 45 minutes and subsequently becoming faster at answering the questions, following this technique for other sections of the test as well. You can start with easy time targets and then move to difficult time challenges.
Check out the GMAT Exam Pattern to know exactly how much time you are given in each section of the GMAT test.
Take Preparation Tests
One of the most important parts of preparation is the GMAT practice tests. Make sure that you take as many practice tests as you can to get used to the proctored nature of the test in order to achieve a score above 700.
Analyse your Performance
After every GMAT practice test, make sure that you have analysed your score on the test. Look back at the questions that you were unsure about as well as the questions that you got wrong. Practice more of such questions to get a hang of them. Preparing for the GMAT exam can be as exhaustive as preparing for any other preparation MBA entrance exam. Keep yourself motivated and select the colleges that you want to target. Talk to the counsellors and get extensive guidance about the exam. Keep your head in the game. Keep up with the daily targets, practice every day and you will achieve a score above 700. Balance your preparation with short breaks and proper sleep to keep your mind fresh.
Develop and Follow a GMAT Study Plan
MBA and business master's applications contain several components, such as essays, letters of reference, resumes, and so on, and the last thing you want to do is juggle all of the things while simultaneously studying for the GMAT in a tight timeframe. Set a GMAT study strategy early in your business school path to prevent this problem.
You must also be familiar with the exam pattern and include them in your study strategy. It is the correct approach to understand the structure of the GMAT exam before developing a study plan. The exam is divided into four sections:
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The Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA section): Assesses your ability to think critically and communicate your ideas.
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Integrated Reasoning (IR section): Assesses your ability to analyse data and understand the information presented in a variety of formats.
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Quantitative Reasoning (Quant section): This section assesses your ability to reason mathematically, solve quantitative problems, and interpret graphs.
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Verbal Reasoning (Verbal part): Assesses your reading comprehension skills, editing skills, and ability to understand written passages.
Pick Your GMAT Study Material Wisely
There are countless test preparation resources available but choose wisely, as not all of these resources are reliable and carry the correct approach, study material, topics, syllabus, etc.
We recommend using GMAT Official prep materials to best prepare (and simulate the real test-taking experience). They employ the same GMAT scoring mechanism as the original test and feature authentic questions from previous tests because they were prepared by the GMAT's creators. Are you unsure about which Official GMAT Prep resource is best for you? This is a comprehensive selection of the most reliable GMAT preparation or study materials for test participants.
Practice Visual Literacy
Time management is an important GMAT test-taking approach, as we have already discussed. But are you seeking a quick approach to boost your productivity? Learn to read symbols, charts, and tables using visual literacy.
This type of visual data is frequently used on the GMAT, therefore understanding how to evaluate it quickly is essential. You may also see non-standard mathematical notations (or symbols related to a problem) on the GMAT Quant section of the exam, so it is essential that you are acquainted with visuals and can remain calm.
Improve your Mental Maths
When it comes to the quantitative component, mental maths is a time-saving technique you will want to have in your arsenal. Resist the impulse to go for your calculator at every opportunity while practising. Instead, practise conducting mental calculations. Since you will not have a calculator during the GMAT's real Quant part, you must practise your mental maths skills.
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