Thanks for your question, Nidhi! First, please note that there is no one study strategy that works for everybody, or that can guarantee you a specific score. But I am happy to offer you some suggestions. As for your first question, you will need to take the GMAT exam at least 20 days before your first application deadline to ensure the schools receive your official score report in time. Other than that, the best time to take the exam is when you are ready, and are confident you are able to achieve your best score.

While I cannot comment on the other test prep materials you mentioned I am happy to offer you some suggestions. The Official Guide to the GMAT Exam, 13th Edition, is produced by GMAC and uses real, retired GMAT exam questions, so it will give you a good idea of what to expect in the exam. You may also want to try the Official Guide for Verbal Review, for extra practice on the Verbal section.

And finally, you I suggest you take a look at this blog post from our research department. They looked at the study habits of students who achieved high scores on the exam: https://officialgmat.mba.com/2012/04/19/ ... mat-score/. I hope all of this helps.

Thank you so much. It definitely gives me a good direction to start with.

Regards,
Nidhi