{"id":30821,"date":"2015-10-09T11:36:57","date_gmt":"2015-10-09T18:36:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=30821"},"modified":"2016-07-27T16:02:33","modified_gmt":"2016-07-27T23:02:33","slug":"studying-for-the-gmat-start-before-you-start","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/studying-for-the-gmat-start-before-you-start\/","title":{"rendered":"Studying For The GMAT: Start Before You Start"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"5<\/a>
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Start \"dating\" the GMAT as soon as possible.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dr. Seuss once pondered: \"How did it get so late so soon?<\/em>\"\u00a0 In our hectic, electronic-media-driven age, this observation is all too apt on any one of a number of occasions.\u00a0 In particular, something like the GMAT can \"sneak up\" on folks before they feel fully prepared.\u00a0 If you know a GMAT lies in your future, how can you avoid having it \"sneak up\" on you in this way?\u00a0 I will give some paradoxical advice.\u00a0 When studying for the GMAT<\/a>, start before your start.<\/p>\n

What exactly do I mean by this quasi-Zen statement? Perhaps a more direct way to say it would be: wherever you are, whatever you are doing, no matter how remote the GMAT might seem, start now.\u00a0 Of course, that needs a little clarification.\u00a0 If you search the web, you will find things like three-month and six-month GMAT study schedules, and those are great.\u00a0 Let's say that the final three or six months before the GMAT are the \"engaged to the GMAT\" period. During that time, presumably, you will do GMAT prep questions every day, read about strategies every day, and take mock GMAT tests.\u00a0 That will be an intense time of focused studying.<\/p>\n

Before \"engagement\" comes \"dating.\" \u00a0Start \"dating\" the GMAT as soon as possible.\u00a0 Right now would be a good idea just to get the gist of the question formats on the GMAT.\u00a0 You don't need to learn every angle, every strategy, just yet --- that will come later.\u00a0 Right now, all you need is a brief perusal.\u00a0 In particular, if you look at the descriptions of the questions, and there's any one about which you feel, \"Oh no!\u00a0 I'll have to<\/em> learn<\/em> about that?! How will I do that?<\/em>\", then that's an excellent sign that you should start to get yourself comfortable with that question format long before you start the \"engaged\" stage of focused studying.\u00a0 Check out some free blogs from time to time, and just start to get acquainted with the GMAT.\u00a0 Start to assess the various options for prep material, so that by the time you pry open your wallet, you are making a highly informed decision.<\/p>\n

Consider your own relative strengths and weaknesses.\u00a0 If the Verbal section seems daunting, then start bolstering this right now.\u00a0 For example, read the Wall Street Journal<\/em> and the Economist<\/em> magazine regularly.\u00a0 If you can unpack the sentence structures and follow the arguments of those publications, what will stand you in good stead when you dive into GMAT Verbal material. Furthermore, if you say you want an MBA, that means you are saying that you intend to pursue a career in corporate management.\u00a0 If that's what your life is going to be all about, then why wouldn't you read the WSJ<\/em> and the Economist<\/em> as soon as possible, to give yourself as much experience of that world as you can get before leaping into the thick of it?<\/p>\n

If the idea of GMAT math<\/a> gives you the heebie-jeebies, then do some math every day.\u00a0 You may know that on the GMAT Quantitative section you can't use a calculator: you have to rely on mental math.\u00a0 Therefore, do mental math every day: addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.\u00a0 You need to know your times tables cold.\u00a0 Force yourself to work with fractions.\u00a0 Look for real world opportunities to do simple mental calculations: the tip on a meal, the total cost of a small grocery order, gas mileage of a car, square feet in a room, etc.\u00a0 Have a trusted friend hold a calculator and drill you on your mental math.\u00a0 You want these mental math skills to be well warmed-up and practiced before you have to start wrestling with GMAT math problems.\u00a0 Another math area on the GMAT are the graphs you will see on the Integrated Reasoning section.\u00a0 Those articles in the WSJ<\/em> and the Economist<\/em> are also invaluable because they tend to be littered with informative graphs.\u00a0 Study each graph, trying to glean as much information as you possibly can.<\/p>\n

Many people get average GMAT scores<\/a> because they don't start until they start.\u00a0 They ignore the GMAT as long as possible and procrastinate, and then at the last minute try to ride a wide binge of hectic preparation to success.\u00a0\u00a0 A tiny percent of the population can actually pull that off successfully: for most people, it's a disastrous plan.\u00a0 The long approach to the GMAT that I am recommending is really what will best serve most people.\u00a0 If you truly would like a good GMAT score<\/a>, then, even if the concentrated study period won't begin until later, start the low intensity but sustained studying as soon as possible.\u00a0 If you have that kind of preparation, the day of the GMAT won't come \"so soon<\/em>\": rather, it will come at precisely at the right time!<\/p>\n

\"5<\/a><\/p>\n

\"magoosh\"<\/a>This post was written by Mike McGarry, resident GMAT expert at Magoosh, a leader in GMAT prep<\/a>. For more advice on taking the GMAT, check out Magoosh\u2019s GMAT blog<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Related Resources:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0How Meaningful Is The GMAT?<\/a>
\n\u2022\u00a0Low GMAT Score? Don\u2019t Panic\u2026Yet.<\/a>
\n\u2022\u00a0GMAT, GRE, SAT, and All Things Test Prep<\/a>\u00a0[Podcast]<\/p>\n

Image\u00a0Designed by Freepik<\/a><\/p>\n

This article\u00a0<\/a>originally appeared on\u00a0<\/em>blog.accepted.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Accepted.com<\/a>'s\u00a0<\/em>experienced admissions consultants<\/a>\u00a0can help you create the most impressive application possible with\u00a0<\/em>comprehensive packages<\/a>,<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong>or provide targeted assistance from\u00a0<\/em>picking perfect programs<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0<\/em>designing a dazzling resume<\/a>,\u00a0<\/em>constructing engaging essays<\/a>, or\u00a0<\/em>preparing for intense interview<\/a>s<\/a>\u2026and more!\u00a0<\/em>Accepted.com<\/a>\u00a0has guided thousands of applicants to acceptances at top programs since 1994 \u2013 we know what works and what doesn't, so\u00a0<\/em>contact us<\/a>\u00a0to get started now!<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dr. Seuss once pondered: “How did it get so late so soon?”\u00a0 In our hectic, electronic-media-driven age, this observation is all too apt on any one of a number of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,11,939,775,243],"tags":[1894,583,399],"class_list":["post-30821","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gmat","category-mba","category-accepted","category-admission-consultants","category-blog","tag-gmat","tag-gmat-advice","tag-gmat-preparation","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30821","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30821"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30821\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30823,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30821\/revisions\/30823"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30821"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30821"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30821"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}