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Jim's advice sounds good. I generally recommend 1-2 hours/day, 4-6 days/week or so. You'll probably do a CAT on the weekend, once per week is good. Good luck!

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Jen Kedrowski
Kaplan Test Prep & Admissions
GMAT Teacher
MBA Admissions Consultant
National Product Team Member

i am loath to give hard numbers in response to a question like this.

this sort of thing is highly dependent on ALL of the following factors:
* your attention span
* the level of stress in other areas of your life (more stress --> shorter effective study periods)
* your level of free time (you will not be able to study for N hours per day if you only have N hours per day of free time -- a good guideline is to allow at least 1-1.5 hours of unstructured time per day)
* your intake of stimulants and/or depressants
* your sleeping habits
* your level of physical exertion (moderate exercise --> better ability to concentrate when resting)

to analyze all of these factors in detail would be at best formidable and at worst impossible, but i find the following to be an effective guideline:
the MINUTE you find yourself "zoning out", STOP STUDYING for at least three hours.
go do something else.
if you find yourself "zoning out" in less than 30 minutes, try to get more sleep, adjust your caffeine intake (up if it's zero, down if it's over 200 mg/day), etc. or, if you're sedentary, start working out on the regular.

--

your mileage may vary. jim's numbers are a good average, but not anyone is average. i have met individuals who can study effectively for up to five hours a day, and others who are lucky to get 30 minutes of effective learning.
you're probably within jim's ranges, but if you're not, you owe it to yourself to calibrate your studying accordingly.

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Ron is a Director of Curriculum Development at Manhattan GMAT. He has been teaching various standardized tests for almost 20 years.

He wears white after Labor Day, gets 55% of his calories from protein, and takes standardized tests for fun.

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seconded.

and if you're the type who just WILL NOT listen to this advice, and MUST do something the day before:
(1) look for some xanax
(2) if that's not available, then work EASY problems - just to keep yourself "into the groove", maintain your confidence, and cement your fundamental problem-solving strategies.

...but it's still better to study a movie and a pillow.

_________________
Ron is a Director of Curriculum Development at Manhattan GMAT. He has been teaching various standardized tests for almost 20 years.

He wears white after Labor Day, gets 55% of his calories from protein, and takes standardized tests for fun.

Pueden hacerle preguntas a Ron o en inglés o en español.

If you send Ron a private message, please allow 1-2 weeks for a response.

Learn more about ron