GMAT Prep Tips

Your preparation for the GMAT should be based largely on what you should expect on the actual GMAT. Now, I know that sounds obvious, but a lot of students study for the test without having any rhyme or reason for how they study. In order to prepare well for the test, you need to learn how the test works.

Focus on the First Five Questions

Both in the practice software and on the GMAT, you need to focus on the first five questions. These questions and used by the program to determine what range of questions you can handle. Your success on the first five questions determines a large proportion of your score and the rest of the questions help the program find tune your score. So, both in practice and on the real test, make sure you spend time getting those first five questions right.

Manage Your Time Wisely

The penalty for failing to finish any section on the GMAT is huge. In fact, it knocks you down to around the 55th percentile automatically. You should never fail to finish a section. Even if you simple have to click "C" for the last ten questions, you will suffer less from getting them all wrong than you would have from not finishing the test. Keep up with your time, and if you start to run out of time, simply go through, choose the same letter for the rest of the questions, and you'll probably still get at least a couple of those questions correct.

Read the Questions

I'm telling my students all the time to read the directions. As adults, sometimes we're no better at this than our kids. Be sure your read the directions and the questions carefully. Many an easy question has been missed when someone failed to read the question completely. Most of the time the test takes advantage of this and includes possible answers that someone might choose if they misread the question.

Guess Strategically

Unless you're running out of time, you shouldn't make random guesses. Try to guess strategically when you can. The best method is to use some of the tips and strategies that your study tools probably suggested. Try to eliminate wrong answers; if you can get it down to two possible answers, you have a 50% chance of guessing correctly. You have to answer each question or face a major penalty, so you might as well guess smart. WARNING: YOU CANNOT GO BACK TO A QUESTION YOU SKIPPED! I know on paper tests I used to skip the hard ones and go back, but that's no longer a possibility, so don't try it.

Study Smart, Test Smart, Guess Smart

If you study smart, then you'll be able to test and guess smart. Remember to always finish the sections and always do your very best on the first five questions. You'll thank yourself later if you remember only those two rules for taking the GMAT. Remember practice what you'll do, so practice these habits as you study.

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