There are several number properties that GMAT test takers need to know / memorize.  A lot of these seem simple at first glance; however, the GMAT is very good at finding ways to make straightforward concepts difficult.  Additionally, there are number property concepts that are not as straightforward as others.  One of the more difficult concepts is exponent properties.

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Over the years, GMAT instructors will tell you that they hear common refrains from our students and friends.  As I think about the past years of teaching, I have compiled a list of three of the most common pitfalls my students at Kaplan and personal friends have experienced while they are prepping for the GMAT.

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Two weeks ago I ran a marathon.  As I’m crossing mile 18, a couple things went through my mind.  These thoughts include:

1. I have got to be the craziest person alive (wait, there are 20k other people just as crazy!)
2. Man, I wish I trained better
3. This has got to be a great analogy for something

Well, my legs are speaking to me again and I just realized what situation this is analogous with: Taking a four-hour GMAT test.  As you are about to begin to study for the GMAT, keep these following principles in mind.

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It’s essential to prepare for the GMAT with full-length computer adaptive tests (CATs), because the CAT format has lots of unique features (for example, the importance of skipped questions).  Bottom line: you need to get your hands on some CATs and make sure that you practice wisely with them, because they are a relatively scarce resource.

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Last time I talked about anticipation stress and how it can impede your prepration for the GMAT.  But you’ve conquered that kind of stress, done a great job studying and made it to test day.  Congrats!  On test day, there is a chance that you might experience one of the following three situations:

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The slow down paradox: going slower on the GMAT can make you faster.

Recently, one of my GMAT tutoring students, an engineering undergrad at Penn, hit the test prep wall.  After a couple of months of study he was consistently scoring 670/680 on weekly practice tests, but he needed to do significantly better to qualify for Wharton’s sub matriculation program.  This student was a bright guy and a typical engineer, accustomed to attacking challenges and blowing through them.   His problem was quant. – all kinds of quant.  This was particularly surprising since, in both our sessions together and his homework, he demonstrated mastery of high-level content and methods. But something was falling apart under test conditions. Together, we analyzed his situation and soon saw a pattern.  Specifically, he was making unforced errors, misreading the problems and falling into traps.  Meanwhile, he was regularly finishing the section 15 minutes early!

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Guessing on the GMAT is a painful decision point – especially for advanced test takers.  In the past, sometimes we were punished for guessing (SATs) and sometimes we were made to feel like we weren’t fully prepared (college Spanish classes!).

However, on the GMAT, while we want to minimize the amount of guess we do, realize that having a guessing strategy in place is important.  A guessing strategy is more important in the Quantitative sections since most test takers find they have a more difficult time finishing that section.  However, it is also important to not lose track of time on the Verbal section.  Primarily there are two distinct times when you want to guess:

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For many GMAT test-takers, the biggest challenge in GMAT practice isn’t Data Sufficiency, Sentence Correction, or permutations, but rather finding the time to practice at all.  On average, the 700+ scorer prepares for about 100 hours for the exam, and finding those hours can seem impossible when you’re trying to keep your job, get promoted, avoid swine flu, and maybe even have a life.

Recently I coached a few of my students at one of Kaplan’s premiere corporate partners on this issue.  My advice: the Punchcard Method.

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During the last six weeks I had the opportunity to attend and present at World MBA Tour events in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco.  For those not familiar, these are large grad school fairs, co-sponsored by Kaplan, featuring dozens of the world's top business schools.  They also include admission seminars and panel discussions with admissions officers.

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The GMAC Official Guide is a fantastic book.  (So fantastic, that when students enroll in a Kaplan GMAT course, we buy a copy for them!)   While the book is stuffed full of good questions, make sure that you use it appropriately.  Case in point: The GMAC does not indicate the relative ‘toughness’ of a particular question.  Therefore, realize that if you are looking to score 600 + on Test Day, you will have to supplement your studying with additional material.  The following outlines strategies on how to use the Official Guide for the following sections:

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Last Thursday I had the pleasure of attending the GMAC Test Prep Summit and hearing about the GMAT from GMAC's VP of Research, himself a senior psychometrician (“psychometrician” = GMAT wizard).  Over the course of the day I picked up a lot of invaluable nuggets about how the test is scored, and over the next weeks I'll share these nuggets with you.

Today's topic: skipped or omitted questions.

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“Gosh, I wonder what the discrete probability of flipping this coin 5 times and achieving at least 2 heads is?”

While I truly hope that you aren’t spending your afternoons thinking about the theoretical coin in your hand, that exact question may be on your GMAT test.  Granted, the question itself is more advanced than the majority of Quantitative questions, but if you can answer it then you are on your way to a fantastic GMAT score.  Let’s breakdown the elements contained within this question to organize our thinking.

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Using my finely honed investigative skills, I’ve been able to obtain the results from Kaplan’s most recent survey of 260 business school admissions officers, including many from the most selective schools.  Of course by “investigative skills” I mean I simply asked for them.

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I’ve taught skiing for decades; GMAT prep for just years. Skiing happens outdoors, in the cold, pitting the body against elemental forces of gravity and weather.  In contrast, GMAT is indoors, warm (depending on the HVAC at the test center), and almost exclusively cerebral.  So I was surprised to discover useful parallels in these contrasting challenges.

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This question, long used by Stanford GSB, is the ultimate values question. Extremely open-ended by B-school essay standards, the candidate has the opportunity to take this question in any direction he/she wants. Compounding the challenge is that the length guidelines have historically been as open ended as the question itself.

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