How to Run the GMAT Marathon, Some Tips and Tricks

The Graduate Management Aptitude Test (GMAT), a major prerequisite for admission to top business schools and management institutes across the world, is likened to running a marathon race signifying preparations over a period of time for best results. If you are those preparing for the test, it would be worthwhile to take some tips and tricks from James Barker, Market Development Manager at GMAC and Cambridge Judge Business School MBA students Monsicha (Mint) Pongrujikorn and Kristina Chiappetta.

James says free test preparation software could be downloaded from the official website GMAT.com. “Many of the question types follow standard patterns so it’s useful to be able to quickly identify what each question is asking you to do. The practise exams can help you to strategize your exam timing, and follow the same computer-adaptive format as the real exam allowing you to gauge your potential exam performance,” the B-school’s blog quotes him as saying.

Kristina and Mint prioritise practising plenty of questions ahead of the test. It will help reveal your weaknesses. Candidates would also get a chance to familiarise themselves with the questions and the way they are phrased. Both of them had downloaded practice GMAT papers from the Official GMAC website. Kristina had also used practise questions from the website ‘Magoosh’.

“If I could go back in time, I would have started focusing on math skills – which were not my strength – ahead of taking the prep course. Class time is immensely more useful (they teach you techniques to answer the more advanced questions) if you have a solid foundation,” Krishna says.

While advising practising the whole test before taking the exam, Mint warns against spending all the time on it. Instead, the focus should be on the parts you find the hardest.

As in the case of joining a running club ahead of the marathon for toning up the muscles and improving endurance levels, it would be worthwhile to make use of test prep services. Both Mint and Kristina used classes and online test prep services to help them. Kristina opted for the Manhattan Prep, which involved weekly classes over the course of a few months.

She found the tests a bit harder than the actual GMAT. So there is no need to get too frustrated or flustered if your practise test scores are not up to your expectations.

Mint chose Kaplan. The first four weeks were spent on quants and then more generally at the test. She feels she benefited from the exam tips they offered such as eliminating the multiple choice answers which stand out as obviously being different to the rest.

If you are training for a triathlon and know that your strength is swimming, you need not spend all your time in the swimming pool. The same theory could be used for GMAT by identifying the weakest area and spending a larger proportion of time focussing on those sectors.

“If I could go back in time, I would have started focusing on math skills – which were not my strength – ahead of taking the prep course. Class time is immensely more useful (they teach you techniques to answer the more advanced questions) if you have a solid foundation,” Krishna says.

Mint warns against making the mistake of overestimating your strength in one particular area. For example, in verbal reasoning, you should still make sure you dedicate some time to working on relatively unfamiliar aspects like verbal reasoning.

The studies and practise tests should be taken within a specific time frame away from distractions. “I studied and took the practise test for months leading up to the actual GMAT – I’d go to my office on weekends to have a quiet, distraction-free space,” he added.

Mint says she used the app “Speed Math” by Pixerian to practise her mental arithmetic. Having a flashcard-style app at hand meant she could practise while she was at the bus stop, in queues or had the odd bit of time. However, such apps are not a substitute for comprehensive GMAT preparation. Others include “GMAT Math Flashcards” and “GMAT Idiom Flashcards” by Magoosh, as well as Pocket Prep’s “GMAT Prep”.

It would be worthwhile to familiarise yourself with test format at the earliest. Time yourself when you are doing practise questions so that you can get used to how long it feels to answer without needing to look at the timer. As for the test itself, Mint’s advice is to make sure to get the first 10 questions right. Those will put you in the upper percentile and ensure you get the harder questions, Mint says.

James points out that the computer-adaptive nature of GMAT means that the computer gives you harder graded questions after each correct answer you supply. Being exposed to a broad range of questions means you will be equipped to answer a broad range of questions as you successfully proceed through the exam, he adds.