{"id":36503,"date":"2017-03-21T06:31:56","date_gmt":"2017-03-21T13:31:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/2017\/03\/land-your-score-finding-gmat-study-time\/"},"modified":"2017-03-21T06:31:56","modified_gmt":"2017-03-21T13:31:56","slug":"land-your-score-finding-gmat-study-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/land-your-score-finding-gmat-study-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Land Your Score: Finding GMAT Study Time"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Fit<\/a><\/p>\n

Jennifer Land explains how to maximize your available study time.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

When I coach students who are prepping for the GMAT, I find myself stressing two seemingly unrelated aspects of scheduling: finding study time and taking breaks. Both are necessary for landing your best score.<\/span><\/p>\n

How to find GMAT study time<\/span><\/h2>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t find the time to fit in all of the studying I need to do\u201d is a common sentiment among many of my students. So one of my tasks as a GMAT prep coach is to help them find the study time they need. The first mistake many test-takers make is <\/span>trying to find too much time<\/b>. Just like with other tasks, such as exercise and household chores, waiting until you have a long block of free time means not getting enough prep into your week.<\/span><\/p>\n

Use the time you have<\/b>. Have 20 minutes on the train during your morning commute? Use flashcards to drill yourself on math formulas. Have a lunch break you can spend quietly at your desk? Review approaches to tackling Critical Reasoning questions. <\/span>Kaplan students<\/span><\/a> have the GMAT Pocket Reference, which is a fantastic tool to use while commuting or during office free time. I recommend that you use offline materials during the day, when you are fitting prep into your workday. Old-fashioned book prep is still very important for mastering the skills necessary for the GMAT.<\/span><\/p>\n

On weekday evenings, <\/span>practice with test-like online questions<\/b> in whatever study time you have available. Kaplan students can turn to the <\/span>Qbank<\/span><\/a> to create quizzes for whatever content, question types, and difficulty levels they need practice with. Anyone prepping for the GMAT can download the <\/span>GMAC\u2019s online practice materials<\/span><\/a>. Answering test-like questions on a computer is essential, even if you only have 30 minutes at a time. <\/span><\/p>\n

Remember to take breaks<\/span><\/h2>\n

When setting up these evening study sessions, <\/span>build in break time<\/b>. Even if you only have 30 minutes, <\/span>take a quiz<\/span><\/a>, then take a one- to two-minute break before reviewing your answers and the explanations. Taking an eight-question quiz will take about 16 minutes, your break will take about three minutes, and reviewing will take about ten. If you have a full hour of study time, take a one-minute stretch break and repeat the cycle. <\/span><\/p>\n

This is a constructive bit of practice that <\/span>keeps you using the GMAT parts of your brain<\/b>, and if you put off practicing until you have time for a full practice test, you lose that regular GMAT brain exercise.<\/span><\/p>\n

Schedule frequent practice tests<\/span><\/h2>\n

You do need to set aside time to take regular <\/span>GMAT practice tests<\/span><\/a>; you cannot complete a practice test in 30-minute segments! I advise my students to plan to take a practice test each Saturday morning. But just as taking a scheduled break is important during weekday prep, taking the same mid-test breaks as you will on Test Day is critical as well. And <\/span>you must<\/b> take a break between taking the test and reviewing it<\/b>. My students review their practice tests several hours after taking them, or, ideally, they wait until the following day. <\/span><\/p>\n

Taking a practice test at the end of the week allows you to put into action what you\u2019ve learned during the week, and reviewing it the following day lets you <\/span>identify what areas you should practice<\/b> during the upcoming week. This rough guideline allows you to use whatever study time you have available, which will let you plan a constructive week of prep, increase your GMAT knowledge and experience, and reduce your stress about not having enough time.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ready to get started? Challenge yourself to a <\/span><\/i>free online GMAT practice test<\/span><\/i><\/a>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The post Land Your Score: Finding GMAT Study Time<\/a> appeared first on Business School Insider<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jennifer Land explains how to maximize your available study time. When I coach students who are prepping for the GMAT, I find myself stressing two seemingly unrelated aspects of scheduling:…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":120,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"1","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,558,243,940],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gmat","category-kaplan-blog","category-blog","category-gmat-prep-gmat","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36503","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\/120"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36503"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36503\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}