4 Steps to Your Complete GMAT Study Plan - Part 1
Just getting started on your GMAT prep? Or perhaps youve been studying for a while but feel that youve hit a wall or dont have a good way to work?
Wherever you are in your study, you need a plan, and the first important thing to learn is that no plan is static. Most people can start off in very similar ways, and this series will tell you how. At some point down the road, though, youre going to have to customize more specifically based on your own needsand this series will teach you how to do that, too.
The second important thing to learn is how to learn. Seriously! The way you learned in most school classes is not the way you need to learn for the GMAT. Rather, for the GMAT, you are going to learn how to think flexibly and logically in order to reason your way through the test.
In other words, youre going to employ your executive reasoning skills to take this test like a great business person.
Er when should I follow that link?
Right now! Itll only take about 5 to 10 minutes to read that other article. :)
Im asking you to read that Executive Reasoning article right now because I want you to change your mindset towards the GMAT right from Day One (today). This series will periodically link to certain other resources. Ill tell you whether to follow the link immediately or wait until later.
Okay, lets dive in.
Step 1: Find your starting point and set your goal
Get a notebook, open up a file on your computer, or start a blog (though Id recommend making it a private blog, with an audience of just you). Call this your GMAT Journal.
Determine your goal score
(note: this section is NOT just for new studentskeep reading even if youve been studying for a while or already know your goal score!)
You need to determine the score level that will make you competitive at the schools to which you plan to apply. You also need to have an idea of your starting score. These two numbers will give you an idea of how much improvement you will need and may affect your prep plans, including the length of time you plan to spend and whether you work on your own.
First, go to the websites of the schools to which you want to apply (or may want to apply) and find the GMAT statistics for the most recent admitted students. Record these in your Journal. Look for the median or average score for admitted students, as well as the range of scores (often reported as the middle 80% range).
As a general rule, your GMAT score is a plus for you if you are at or above the median for a given school, so ideally your goal score should be at or above the median for at least some of your schools.
Are you curious about the scores for "your" schools? Go do some research right now and record your findings in your Journal! I'll wait.
Determine your starting scores
Next, if you havent already (within the past ~6 weeks), take a practice exam (also known as a CAT) in conditions that simulate the actual exam as much as possible.
Choose a practice test from a test prep company (most companies offer 1 free exam). You want an exam that:
- is adaptive (like the real test)
- will show you time spent per question after youre done
- will provide deep data on your strengths and weaknesses
Note: GMATPrep exams (from the makers of the real test) are great in general but do not give you the 2nd and 3rd items on this list, so dont use a GMATPrep CAT for this exercise. Save GMATPrep for closer to the time you plan to take the real test. (Later: follow that link and browse that website; download GMATPrep.)
Heres how to take the exam:
- Essay: 30 minutes
- Integrated Reasoning (IR): 30 minutes
- break: 8 minutes
- Quant: 75 minutes
- break: 8 minutes
- Verbal: 75 minutes
Don't skip the essay and IR sections. The mental effort it takes to do these sections can negatively affect your performance on quant and verbal, so its important to do the IR and essay to ensure that your Q and V scores are accurate. If a question looks crazy hard, just guess and move on; the ability to let go is part of how to succeed on the GMAT, anyway. (More on that later.)
Record your practice scores in your Journal.
Diagnose your strengths and weaknesses
Next, use your test results to figure out your overall strengths and weaknesses. This will help you to develop your study plan.
If you take a Manhattan Prep CAT, this article will walk you through how to thoroughly analyze the results. (Do this later; itll take at least an hour, probably longer.)
Take notes on paper as you go. When youre done, look over your notes and summarize your analysis in your Journal.
Note: analysis is not the same thing as data. The data tells you what happened. Your analysis tells you why you think it happened and what you plan to do about it in future. Start by summarizing the data, but dont forget to take the next step and analyze.
Youll see that the analysis article linked above talks about classifying different areas into buckets. You arent done with your analysis until youve filled those buckets. Theyll help you to prioritize your studies. Make sure to record your buckets in your Journal.
Next, what is your optimal learning style? Think back to university or high school. Did you do best when you had a small classroom of fellow students with whom you shared the adventures of learning? Or did you excel when you worked on your own, or possibly met individually with your professor or TA?
At work today, does it energize you to work with a group or do you focus better via one-on-one interactions? Do you prefer to do most of your work on your own or with others?
The answers to those questions will help you determine whether to study on your own, find other students with whom to study, take an organized class, or find a private tutor. Theres no one right waytheres only the best way for you.
Summary: Step 1
Review all of your information: your goal score, your starting scores, your strengths and weaknesses, and how you like to study.
How far are you from your goal? The further you are from your goal or the higher your goal score is in general, the longer you will likely need to prep for the exam. Improving from 700 to 750 is harder than improving from 650 to 700, even though the difference is 50 points either way.
Most people prep for between 2.5 and 4 months (though obviously the length of time can vary). Its reasonable to aim for a minimum of 2 months unless you dont need very much improvement at all.
In my experience, most people underestimate how much time they will need. Dont forget to factor in real life: work might get extra busy, you might get sick, or it might just take longer than you think to re-learn a bunch of math concepts you havent used in 10 years. When in doubt, add a month or two; its mentally better to plan for contingencies than to begin by thinking youll be done in 8 weeks and then realize you do need more time.
Join us next time, when well discuss overall schedules / timelines and what kinds of resources youll need to gather.