GMAT Strategy

Just wanted to know if an average student can take GMAT after preparing for a month? Are there any shortcuts?

I'm thinking of taking GMAT and am browsing for the materials. The thing is that there's a friend who has prepared for more than 6 months and she still says that's she's not confident enough to take the test! This scares shit out of me.

HELP!!!

All I can really say is that different people have different abilites - some are better at math than verbal. Also, within these sections different people have different weaknesses. ALSO, different people grasp concepts at different rates - some get it right away, others need three or more examples before things "click."

I think the best thing to do is to take a practice test and/or a diagnostic test from the Official Guide to GMAT Review 11th Ed. and see how you do. Then, identify your areas of weakness and target these as you further improve your strong areas.

I have seen people on this forum who prepared for two months and scored well over 700. I have also seen people who practiced for months and cannot break the 500 mark. Then, there are people like myself, after about 4 or 5 months of practice all we can manage is a 640 to 660.

FINALLY, as we all obsess over the GMAT score, I think it is important to keep things in perspective.

Your GMAT score is only one of many variables that determine whether you are admitted to a certain school or not. I love the following story because it shows that you can get in to a very good program with a low GMAT score as long as you strengthen other areas of your application:

https://www.beatthegmat.com/admission-su ... t8107.html

Remember, you can be rejected from Stanford and Wharton with a 720 if other areas of your application are weak. You can also be admitted to these schools with a lower score if other areas of your application are strong.

I would actually go as far as saying that your essays are more important that the GMAT. Your GPA and GMAT score are evidence presented in the admissions court. However, your essays speak for you and make a case for how this evidence should be viewed and what other variables must be kept in mind.

That's all I have.

In my opinion if you don't already have a high level of knowledge of the GMAT content tested, then only blind luck can help you succeed. GMAT content is not to be taken lightly. You're friend who has prepared for 6 months and still doesn't feel comfortable has probably given you the most accurate description of what you're up against.

My background is in Critcal Care Nursing. I've been out of touch with math and english grammar for over 10 years. Most of the english used in medical charting consists of medical jargon and short phrases that are implied and understood by the readers (clinicians).

My advice to you is, if you seriously want to suceed and get into a good AACSB accredited school, then take your time and study like hell. Take study tips and strategies from the people on this forum.

My personal strategy is

1. GMAX online review course.

2. Manhattan prep booklets.

3. Princeton Review Book for test taking strategies.

4. OG 11, OG quant and OG verbal.

5. Power prep tests that you can download from mba.com once you register for the gmat test.

I hope this helps and I wish you the best of luck.

Drew

I agree with the above post in that it all depends on your background & familiarity with the concepts tested.

I was an economics major with a solid math background. Therefore, I didn't need to prepare more than a day for the quant section (though I probably could have scored higher if I spent a few more days on it).

If you look at the 'beat the gmat' section of this forum, you'll see accounts of high scoring individuals study anywhere from 1 week to 6 months+, all depending on their background and familiarity with the core concepts on the GMAT

Thank you AleksandrM, Drew and Jasonc for replying. I graduated last year (Bachelors of Business Administration) and my majors were Advertising and Marketing. I have been working in a bank and would like to continue studying... MBA is a necessity.

you are a bit short on work experience, so you will need a really good score in the GMAT, not to mention impressive application essays to convince them.
also u mention BBA, which is a 3 year course.
i think u need 1 more year of graduate study (12+ 4) before you are eligible to apply.

I guess I need a high GMAT score and very good essays. I read somewhere that being a girl, I might have advantage over the boys?!? Is that true. Especially the university I'm applying to, has more girls than boys for MBA!!!

FYI, BBA is a 4 years (8 semesters) course! Thank you for replying

i am so sorry abt that...dint realise its a 4 yr course
regarding the advantage of being a female applicant, i would be really surprised if univ. in US do tend to show such bias
this is the first time i have heard of this, but i am no expert, so u could be right .....will be looking at this thread more keenly to see others' responses

its true, schools are targeting diversity more than ever so a bright female is more likely to get admitted vs. a bright male.

about the gender issue...even if you are a girl and you do not do well on the gmat, there's no way that a top school will accept you. its only the case when two candidates have very similar profiles...such as gmat, work experience, etc and one candidate is a girl, then it's more likely that the girl would get accepted IMO. so, open up your books, and study hard!