GMAT Study Strategy

Question

Hi! I am three weeks away from my GMAT exam and was wondering if there is any study plan I should follow. I just purchased the gmat club sectional test and practice tests.

dhruv23320 · Answer

Just keep grinding on those mocks

Reon · Answer

Make notes of your mistakes and keep revising them every 3-5 days until exam. Also take mocks at same time as your actual exam timings.

hr1212 · Answer

You can check out these articles - https://gmatclub.com/forum/what-to-do-3 ... 52506.html https://gmatclub.com/forum/gmat-club-we ... l#p3797012

AllisonBell · Answer

Hi! Great question. If at all possible, I’d actually recommend using this time to take official practice tests from MBA.com (the first two are available for free). Here’s what I’d suggest:

This week: 
 
 If you don’t already have a solid section-by-section time management strategy in place, or you want to check yours against an expert’s, review this article:  Everything You Need to Know about GMAT Time Management  
 Take a practice test (ideally an official one), timed, with the scratch paper you'll use on test day, and with the appropriate break 
 Review it thoroughly with an eye toward the effectiveness of your time management strategy and any low-hanging fruit you can brush up on this week. That would include any topics you just haven’t studied yet, places where you’re generally doing well but could improve on timing, or areas where you’re close but not quite all the way there.

Next week: 
 
 Take another practice test. 
 This time, review primarily with an eye toward knowing yourself. What were your strengths and weaknesses in terms of content? How would you recognize a problem you need to skip versus one you should invest time on? What are the most tempting habits that cost you time or cause you problems? 
 Assess whether you definitely want to take your test. Most people’s scores don’t move much in two weeks, so if you’re not happy with your score at this point, consider postponing. 
 Start a holistic review. Revisit all of the topics you’ve studied, any notes or flashcards you’ve made, and old problems that you’ve learned from. The idea is to think of this like a final exam in university — get all of the concepts and strategies fresh. This is a great time to do lots of replays and timed question sets. Focus on using Official Guide problems or the free practice problems on MBA.com whenever possible to get the most realistic experience.

Final week: 
 
 Take one last practice test about a week out. 
 Spend the week winding down rather than cramming. (Cramming can lead to burnout, fatigue, and stress that tends to negatively impact test day performance). Balance your studies with other activities that rejuvenate you, and make sure you’re getting a week’s worth of good sleep. 
 Continue your holistic review, replays, and timed question sets. 
 A couple days out, review the logistics of your test day and make sure you have / have done everything needed. 
 Resist the temptation to take a ton of practice tests. It won’t help, and it’ll likely leave you with little energy on test day. 
 Aim to peak on test day by planning a healthy, positive last couple of days before the test.

Good luck! Let us know how it goes!

Best,

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