Seven Tips For Acing The GRE/GMAT
Heading back to school is not an easy task. It does not matter how impressive your GPA or letters of recommendation may be--all paths lead through the testing center. This fall, I became reacquainted with standardized testing while preparing to submit my applications for Masters in Finance programs. Below are a few tips and methods that helped me hit my target score.
- Plan – Rome wasn’t built in a day… and neither are solid testing skills. In order to truly master the nuances of the test, you will have to dedicate a good chunk of time to studying and preparation. Once you know the earliest dates by which you will need your score, find a month long (or longer) period where you are able to study for the test.
- Commit – Ordering the practice booklet from Amazon is the easy part, actually beginning to study is where things get challenging. To create some economic incentives for yourself, sign up for the test date and pay your fees ahead of time. A hard deadline will force you to reach for your review book instead that second beer, something you will be grateful for come test day.
- Review – Both the GRE and GMAT cover rudimentary topics such as analytical writing, reasoning, problem solving and basic mathematics. It is safe to say that if you are reading this post you have done more complicated math, written on more complex topics and read more challenging material than you will ever see on the test. Despite that fact, it is crucial to revisit the basics before you begin your studying. Both private test companies and the test makers themselves publish free PDF’s that cover the foundational concepts you will need to ace the test. These review sheets are an invaluable tool for refreshing basic concepts as well as familiarizing yourself with the test itself.
- Benchmark – Diagnostic tests are a crucial tool that will help you focus your studying and maximize your results. Included in most test prep books (and easy enough to find for free online) these tests will provide topic by topic insight into what exactly you need to work on to get that perfect score.
- Practice – Grab a test book. For taking the GRE, Manhattan Test Prep’s 5lb Book of practice problems was an invaluable resource. After taking a diagnostic, the voluminous text allowed me to work on areas in which I was lacking without ever having to repeat questions. For the GMAT, I have found the GMAT Verbal Review and GMAT Quantitative Review books to be a great help.
- Test yourself – Take a good number of full-length tests before test day. Practice tests are not only the best way to ballpark your results, but will also help you iron out any last minute problems. In addition to free online tests offered by the company that develops the test, test prep companies will also allow you to take a limited number of free practice tests online. That being said, nothing will truly prepare you for the test experience itself like recreating the realities of the testing center. Head to the library with just your laptop, a pencil, and a piece of paper and take the test like it is intended (they won’t let you bring that chai latte and a fancy calculator in the room with you on test day).
- Celebrate – Congratulations, you are now ready to apply to graduate school! Go grab a few beers and celebrate; or maybe just head home, after all that studying your Netflix account probably misses you.
very helpful
@"brassmunkey" What site / company would you say provided the best pdf for reviewing the foundational concepts?
@"y3r0k91" The ETS provides an extremely helpful pdf for reviewing foundational math concepts for the GRE (http://www.ets.org/s/gre/pdf/gre_math_review.pdf). There is quite a bit of conceptual overlap with the GMAT on that sheet, but if you want dedicated GMAT material the Graduate Management Admission Council's official review guide has a similarly comprehensive review section.
Thank you, I wish you best of luck with the admissions process.
One of the things that helped me the most (180 point increase) was signing up for one of those online interactive GMAT review programs. I picked one that charged $30 a month (after a free one week trial) and had instant access to all sorts of problems from different topics, in computer adaptive format, with on the spot lessons and links to supplementary material whenever I encountered unusual questions.
I find that it was much easier for getting me into a daily routine since I didn't have to shuffle a bunch of books around each day and reorganize notes. It was also extremely convenient-my 15 minute review sessions were almost as efficient as my 4 hour immersion sessions-and i got to mark questions that gave me trouble for review. I'd typically take quizzes consisting ONLY of stuff I'd gotten wrong previously, eliminating the need for one of those time consuming error logs. It also helped me target my review to specific topics and question types. Trust me: after going through 150 consecutive speed rate distance problems of varying degrees, you won't wince when even the worst one shows up on exam day.
Consider it as an add on if its within your budget.
Hi TheGrind, that sounds like a great service! Would you care to share the url and why you chose that particular service? Were there comparable ones you were considering?
Sure. I don't want to be seen as advertising for a specific company but I used Magoosh, although there are numerous alternatives that do the same thing. Before proceeding, just check the ratings on gmatclub.
How to Hose the GMAT (Originally Posted: 06/18/2012)
Want to know how to hose the GMAT? Excerpts from the upcoming website launch of my new project below:
#1: Think outside the box. Sure, you can struggle with all the books and guides for months before attempting to hose the GMAT, but people who do this often overlook the easiest and fastest way: don't take the GMAT at all.
So if you just don't want to deal with everything the GMAT throws at you, be strategic and take the GRE instead. Not only is it much easier to get impressive percentile scores on the GRE, but many schools are also beginning to accept it as an alternative. If you don't get into an MBA program, the GRE then becomes your key to getting into one of those other master’s programs that are just as good as a top MBA if not better. (MBAs aren't the only ones who know the value of preserving "optionality"!)
These programs are also cheap and easy to get into, and you'll have much better career options since employers are starting to wise up and will soon begin to aggressively court top talent with unusual degrees. Don't believe this? We didn't either, until we visited some info sessions. Try it; you'll walk away wondering why anybody would get a top-tier MBA when they could get their masters in financial engineering, information systems, education, or communication from the only public university in this half of the state that was voted #1 in its class for three years running (from 2007-2009).
Great, so now that you've saved a ton of exam fees and tuition and put your life on "easy mode" with the help of hosethegmat.com, what will you do with all that money and effort you just saved? More credibility never hurts if you're going the non-MBA route, so invest for the future in a part-time certificate from one of the many exciting and flexible Ivy-league extension programs.
There's no cheaper or easier way to get a big-name business school on your resume. But with all the money you just saved, you don't have to stop at just one school. Imagine what employers would think if they saw Harvard, Stanford, and Wharton in the "Education" section of your resume!
#2: Don't set a target up front. Targets are what we call "negative inspiration", and we want to make your GMAT journey positive and fun. Sure, you know you could and should be at a 750, but it would be really discouraging if you set that target in stone and then don't hit it the first time. So if 720 is where you end up, you should feel good about it! Most people who take the GMAT (worldwide) would be thrilled to hit that score.
710? Great! Some good schools have medians lower than that. Can't get above 700? No problem. Just save more time to focus on your essays since everyone says that’s what really counts...see, most people charge way more for admissions advice than we do here at hosethegmat.com. (We just gave you crucial advice for free. Now that’s “value”!)
#3: Take a long-range view. If you don’t hit your target score this year, you can always try next year if you want. Worried you’re getting too old? Don’t! There are a wide variety of flexible, inexpensive, and cutting-edge MBA programs such as executive, weekend, and modular.
You’re worried they’re not as good? Don’t be. All the teachers and administrators of these new programs, as well as all the people who attend them, enthusiastically agree that they offer the exact same resources and educational experience as the full-time traditional MBA from the same school, along with a wide variety of additional benefits like “greater diversity,” “more mom-friendly,” and “more experienced classmates”. Even better, the applications bar is set much lower for these programs. So take your time -- the older you get, the more competitive your score actually becomes.
With the new flexible programs, it’s never too late to get the world-class education you should have started six years ago.
#4: Don’t try to go it alone. Read forums, blogs, and everything you can find about the GMAT. Adopt the mindset of the other GMAT afficionados you meet online. They are more experienced than you and have been trying to beat 700 for far longer. Ask them how hard you should work, what your target should be, and where the big difficulty cliffs are that you probably shouldn’t aim beyond. You should also reach out to these people when you need sympathy or a little ego boost. Top MBAs know it is important to combine “research” with “networking.”
#5: Find a practice schedule that fits your life. There is a misconception out there that you have to put in several hours every day in order to do the GMAT right. This practice of overstudying causes score inflation, which is the major challenge facing the GMAT "community".
Unfortunately, people who overstudy simply do not understand that they are making the GMAT journey harder for everyone else. So if you find yourself tempted to study for several hours or more every day, just remember that your friends on the forums are doing their part to keep the median down and hoping you do the same.
Despite this trend of score inflation, our clients are living proof that you still don't need to force-fit the GMAT into your busy schedule. Just try to read all the books before you take the test, or at least skim them and focus on reviewing the stuff you already understand. That will help you remember it a little better on test day. Try to work a problem or two every day, put in a good half-day once per weekend, take a practice test, and then take the real test when you feel like you’ve hit a plateau or are just tired and ready to be “done”. Then celebrate! It's over!
#6: Know what “median” looks like for your target schools, and do what it takes to get there. Yes, we know that some of those high-priced GMAT consultants are posting happy little bites of advice like, “Don’t worry if you’re below the median for your target school; half the students there are below the median too.” Like everyone else, we’ve also heard that heartwarming story about that one guy who got into Harvard with the 680. But let’s face it: who wants to be in the bottom 50%?
Not us. Just like we don’t want to be worse than the majority of test-prep companies, we won’t be satisfied with that outcome for our clients either. We here at hosethegmat.com are GMAT “ballers” who will teach you how to hit the median score for that median school you’ve been dreaming of. Just imagine how it will feel to know that you earned a median GPA and landed the salary that almost half the students at your school failed to achieve. We can’t make any promises, and your outcome may differ, but many of our students have even gone on to graduate with median student debt, marry median women, own homes with median market values, and drive median cars. Now that’s “results”!
If you liked these excerpts, shoot me a message to find out how you can get your autographed copy of my upcoming book, “How to Hose the GMAT,” for 15% off the cover price. Cheers, gentlemen.
WTF is up with #5? score inflation??!! i would understand if you were arguing that there's a diminishing return for hours spent studying, but it seems like you're asking people to study less (and score lower) to make things easier for others.
if i didn't know any better, i would say you're giving out BAD advice to the general public to help your clients get higher scores.
You are by far the worst user/poster/blogger on WSO. I hope for WSO's sake they are not affiliated with you.
Everything you post is a fucking abortion.
+1000000000000000000000
ugh... basically she's asking us to skip studying for the GMAT and get a certificate in education from Stanford lol.
Also very important:
Be ready for the computer-based testing format. It is not like the SAT's scantron method. Why is this key? When I took the SAT, one of the most important test-taking skills was to answer all the easier questions first and save the balance of your time to really knuckle down on the hard ones. Because of the GMAT's format of where you get a progressively harder/easier question after you answer the first question right/wrong you need to be ready for this.
Make sure you have software that does this for you.
GRE over GMAT....?
Pretty sure the post is meant to be tongue and cheek...it just wasn't done very well.
WOW. was this meant to be tongue in cheek? that's a relief because i thought OP was just a dumbass.
way too subtle for internet humor....
bankerella, you better be hot otherwise future's gonna be mighty unkind.
No it was pretty well done. If you couldn't tell after the first point, you need lessons in sarcasm.
bankerella?
...life seems a little more dull after reading this...
I bet that's really you in the photo too
How to Ace GMAT (Originally Posted: 02/19/2012)
Hi,
THanks
There are lot a of better resources out there for GMAT specific advice than this forum despite this being the b-school section of WSO. I'd suggest GMATclub.com for starters and any of the ancillary prep services such as Veritas or Manhattan GMAT. These would provide you with a much higher 'hit rate' in terms of answering questions/providing information on the exam because their sole purpose is to be a resource for the GMAT.
Outside of scoring highly on the GMAT, which there are numerous ways outlined on the sites of mention that are quite in-depth and proven to raise scores, the GMAT prep will really only help you score highly on the GMAT. The exam asks questions in a very specific way that may not necessarily be transferable to more practical uses; I'm thinking of Data Sufficiency questions most specifically here. The transfer I do see with the GMAT is its potential ability to enhance critical thinking skills with both numeric and verbal concepts. Never having to take a psychometric tests I don't know what they're composed of so if you could detail that I think you'd get a better answer. However, the GMAT tests heavily basic mathematics such as algebra, number properties, geometry, coordinate geometry, etc. basically anything you saw at the H.S. level. So if that type of material is on one of these exams the GMAT it may help.
Aside from psychometric exams and GMAT carryover if indeed it does have some, the other advantage I see to GMAT prep outside of scoring highly on the exam is in 'brainteasers' that you may get during interviews. Looking back on my interview process and the types of 'brainteasers' I've been asked, they're not actually brainteasers, but really logic based questions that build on certain mathematical concepts such as exponential expressions. GMAT math will help you here because it equips you with the basic tools to handle the math... you just have to provide the logic.
Hope this helps.
I haven't done this yet, but it may help. Try http://www.gmatpill.com. Supposedly, it's superior to other study methods since it helps you develop a pattern/method of studying (a plan of attack) depending on the type of question asked rather than merely practicing questions over and over without a method of raising your score.
Look up for inspiration,
Look down for desperation
look left and right for information
practice makes perfect
Study.
non-native speaker, scored 700+
1) take your first out of two practice GMAT CATs at mba.com
2) study: Manhattan GMAT Strategy Guides OG12
3) retake that SAME practice test at mba.com -> the questions will be different this time around, because you'll have improved across the board
if you need additional quant: Manhattan Advanced GMAT Quant http://gmatclub.com/tests/ Math tests
if you need additional verbal: Aristotle SC Aristotle RC PowerScore CR Bible
4) take the second of your two practice GMAT CATs at mba.com
5)
What works for you? GMAT Pill worked for me, but your stylenmight be better suited to Kap or MGMAT.
What was your score? Thinking of using GMAT Pill.
I think GMAT Pill's good for people who still have a reasonable handle on English and Math, but still need a little extra something. If you're like... an engineer, or a BS Phys + JD, then the OG alone would prolly suffice. Or if you need more personalised attention, then just pony up for some MGMAT tutoring sessions.
GMATclub.com is phenomenal, then beatthegmat.com afterwards. PoetsandQuants will also have a few useful resources, but they're more application focused than test prep.
Nvmd
i see alot of 700s, does anyone get 800?
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