Best time of the day to take the GMAT test which time better

Question

Hey guys..
I was just over at mba.com planning to book my date.The center timing starts from 10:00 a.m and the last timing is at 3:30..with FIFTEEN mins interval..that is one could book the time for 10:00,10:15,10:30.....3:15,3:30..Apologies,mentioing this cos i don't know what ts like in the other states:(

Allrite so I was jus wondering what time would be the best cos i thot that whatever time i book it i plan to study those hrs till the date..im planning for arnd the 20th of oct. so if i book it at 10:00 am,in this mnth i'll make sure that im siiting with my books frm 10 to 2.

Pt.1: i am a morn. person so thot the first slot would be the best.But when i say "morn" i mean 4 am..so unless the test would have been at suppose 7/8 Am it would have been advantageous..being a morn person n' siiting at 10 doesnt really make a diff

Pt 2:The clincher.If i take the 10 am slot it means every 15mins somebody would be entering the room.Wont that be a distraction??From this pt of view probably i should be taking the very last slot!!

watssay??

Economist · Answer

Hi tejal

Good question. But I feel you are over-engineering a bit, don't get me wrong. In my opinion you just need to decide on a high level which part of the day you are active and fresh...a couple of hours here and there is okay. Also about your point regarding disturbances, believe me, once you are into the test you wont really notice who is coming and who is going..time will just fly away....and I am pretty sure that the authorities will make sure that disturbances are minimal...so just make up your mind and jump into the sea

SuperDewey · Answer

I would advise taking the earliest time. That would minimize the time you have to get worried and stressed out on the day of the test.

bb · Answer

Good question, though not sure how much you can do about it.

if you take your test at 10, somebody will come in every 15 mins. If you take it at 3:30, somebody will come out every 15 mins - no difference. Just put some ear plugs/headphones on and focus on the GMAT - i never really heard anything once my test started.

I'd suggest you go in the morning - most people are most productive at that time.

P.S. You don't have to study at the same time, all the time, just the last few days, take a full test at the same time, simulating your experience.

ant700gmat · Answer

I would go with the 10am slot. The longer you wait to sit for the exam, the more nervous you will get..

topher · Answer

My first exam I did an 8am time slot. I thought this would be good for me because I focus best in the morning and did all my practice exams in the morning. However, since my test center was pretty far away, I got up at 5:30am (plenty of sleep the night before) to take the test. Overall I was still a little tired and don't suggest too early a time.

10am sounds reasonable but I'd probably get hungry in between then. So I'd eat a big breakfast and have a small snack in the break. Good luck.

10am sounds reasonable but I'd probably get hungry in between then. So I'd eat a big breakfast and have a small snack in the break. Good luck.

bb · Answer

Reading through again, my suggestion would be - don't do anything out of ordinary. If you have never eaten beans for breakfast - don't try it the day of the GMAT. Actually, even if you usually eat beans for breakfast - don't eat them the day of the GMAT :wink:

My test was at 9 AM and I came 30 mins early, but the test center was closed and I had to wait in the lobby of the office building for the test representative to sign me (and others) in and take to the test room location. A bit annoying and unnerving when you are waiting to take the GMAT....

tejal777 · Answer

great input guys!
I had heard somewhere that ur brain takes 3 hrs from the time you get up to get into fully functioning mode...so if one gets up at 8 and thinks by 9 he'll be on high alert its actually not true!
Will sit for the first slot at 10A.m ..my lunch time AND my 1hr snooze time fall in between on regular days :wink:

.so the first thing i guess is making sure im awake during this 4 hr period regularly or im sure my body will go in nap mode on D-Day!

ronniebassist · Answer

might seem like a trivial issue but what do you guys think is the best time to take the actual test ?

i have 3 options at the New Delhi,India centre 10 AM , 1 PM and 5 PM .

i study the entire night and sleep till noon (i have taken a career break) . would 5 PM suit me better as a timing for the test ?

tejal777 · Answer

Hey i had the same issue and went for 10AM slot..
reason?Might sound trivial to you guys but imp to me..i found out that the centre had exactly THREE computers..the middle one being right in front of the A/C!Woul'nt want to be caught dead on that seat for 4 hrs.!!

run4run · Answer

I'm planning to take the exam May 25th (day before I leave for Europe). I'm from New York around the city but the only options I found were either at 8am or 3pm? Does anyone know if I can call the test centers up for additional options or if 8 am is a good time to take the test? Any advice would work well. I took it once before at noon which I did get a little tired at the end.

Run

Run

evangreen · Answer

Its always better to be a little hungry when taking tests (not famished). When your hungry the brain goes into a kind of survival mode that allows better processing. This was told to me by a friend doing research at ucsf medical school, her studies were finding that being hungry or full had statistically significant effects on brain processing speed and ability. She was thinking that this was part of the reason that a lot of people perform better in the morning.

Eat a very light breakfast and good luck

Eat a very light breakfast and good luck

bb · Answer

I am not sure about medical/other reasons, but people are often most productive in the morning (at least I am), not sure if 8 AM is a great time, but probably better than 3.... Wake up early (same time as you would on the test day) for a few days to get used to waking up at this hour if you are not. Also a good idea is to take a test the day before (any practice test with 2 essays) to understand how how it will feel

nonameee · Answer

I don't think there is a perfect time to take the GMAT. You get there too early and you're still sleepy. You get at 10am and you are hungry at 12. You get at 2pm and you are sluggish after lunch (plus lot's of unexpected things can happen to you earlier that day). Had it been a shorter test, then you could probably try to devise a strategy. But in case of GMAT I doubt it. It's all a matter of trade-offs.

bb · Answer

Also FYI - thought this would be relevant to this discussion: gmat-testing-center-physical-environment-80167.html

nonameee · Answer

bb, thanks for the the link. Really useful.

aisha12 · Answer

wow great stuff....I just signed up for my exam. They only had 8am and 9.45am. I figured 8am would be wayyy too early for me. 9.45 it is....Lets hope this is the first and last time that i have to take the GMAT. :D

jazzman · Answer

I'm also in favor of the morning test....signed up for 9am. Figure I can get a good breakfast in that will hopefully fuel me to a 700+ score.

elleesie · Answer

My first GMAT attempt was at 2pm, the only slot available on the day I wanted. I thought that was fine and dandy, except I'm usually a very early riser. I had hooouurs to stress out about the test. I got so nervous that whatever I tried to eat for breakfast and lunch made me a little nauseated. My second attempt is going to be at 10:30am! I figured 8am would be too early since I have to fight through LA traffic to get to the testing center.

Whatever time you feel the most productive and energetic is the best time to take the exam.

udvranto · Answer

While reading for GMAT, I came across a book called Thinking, Fast and Slow. It discusses an effect called priming. If you keep your lips straight or curved up as if you are smiling, you will do positive things (such as, rate a movie higher). Our brains can be primed to turn to one direction.

For this reason, try to keep a positive and happy attitude through out the test. Keep a little bit of time in the morning to do a few questions (priming). i.e. Don't schedule the test too early in the morning, thus not allowing yourself to have a relaxed start.

Slightly off topic, but relevant nonetheless.

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Best time of the day to take the GMAT test which time better

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