The Graduate Management Admission Test is your entry into any graduate-level business program. And this test is a doozy, so your GMAT preparation has to be thorough.
The GMAT is a computer-adaptive test with four sections:
- Analytical Writing Assessment
- Quantitative Reasoning (or “Quant”)
- Integrated Reasoning
- Verbal Reasoning
To prepare, most people buy a GMAT review course and textbooks, and hunker down for several weeks. Good GMAT scores range from 600-700, although you can get into some schools with as little as a 400. The maximum GMAT score is 800.
The only way to really do well on the GMAT is to study hard. Read on to get some inside tips on how to prepare for the GMAT.
How to Start Studying for GMAT From Scratch
Whether or not you come from a business background, the playing field is pretty level when it comes to the GMAT. The test isn’t as much about knowledge as it is about your ability to apply known concepts to challenges and scenarios.
In other words, whether you’re tackling verbal problems, writing essays, or facing quant equations, you won’t just be delivering a memorized answer. Because the test gets that deep, you won’t just be learning facts and figures: you’ll be practicing these skills.
Here are some of the basic skills you’ll need to pass the GMAT:
- Basic math: algebra, geometry
- Logic and reasoning
- High-quality, analytical writing
- Equations and puzzles
- Test-taking skills, including a solid strategy and pacing
There are two first steps most students take when preparing for the GMAT:
- Choose the best GMAT prep course for your goals.
- Take a diagnostic test to see where you stand (here’s a collection of the best GMAT practice tests to use).
There are a lot of great GMAT review courses out there, most of which include video classes, GMAT prep books, quant practice, and more. You may also be able to find in-person GMAT classes in your area.
Whatever format you choose for your GMAT preparation, you’ll want to start with a diagnostic test. This will give you a baseline understanding of how well you would do if you took the GMAT without studying at all.
Don’t worry. This is not a predictor of your future success, but rather a starting point for your studies. It will help you set a goal for improvement, and make sure your study plan fits your needs.
Once you know where you’re starting out and the program you’re going to use, you’ll want to follow guidelines as you study for the GMAT.
GMAT Study Guide
There are three primary factors you’ll need to keep in mind throughout the course of your GMAT studies. In addition to focusing on critical subject matter and skills, you’ll want to be sure that you are consistently progressing toward test readiness.
Here are the steps to take and mile markers that can indicate your forward motion.
1. Set (and Stick to) Your GMAT Study Timeline
Most people study at least 8-10 weeks for the GMAT. Some study for as long as six months. Depending on your base knowledge and academic background, you may have some prior knowledge or skills that accelerate your timeline.
Whatever you bring to the table, you need to set a realistic timeline for your GMAT studies, and commit to it. You will have to make some personal sacrifices as you commit to the rigor of GMAT prep. Remember that your timeline is important and sticking to it is the surest way to achieve your goals.
2. Measure Your Progress
An initial GMAT diagnostic test can go a long way in setting your starting line, but it isn’t enough. You will want to take more GMAT practice tests along the way.
Depending on what is offered through your GMAT prep course, practice tests can be timed and even proctored for a realistic experience. Whatever format you choose, you should dive deep into the answers you miss. This can point you to important gaps in your understanding or areas of weakness.
Insight like this can direct your studies toward the most critical areas for growth, which will go a long way in rounding out your knowledge and abilities.
3. Practice GMAT Test-Taking Skills
All of the subject and skill study in the world won’t replace an absence of test-taking skills. There is a huge range of things you need to consider, not least of which is your actual strategy for the questions on the test.
Crucial test-taking skills include:
- Timing and pacing
- Knowing (and achieving) optimal time per question
- Mental math
- Scratch paper use and diagramming
- Memorization and use of formulas
When to skip a question and how to anticipate and measure time requirements while you’re in the test are even more facets you’ll have to conquer before you face the big day.
It may be useful to hire a GMAT tutor or coach, even for a couple of sessions, to help you refine your test-taking strategy.
GMAT Preparation Timeline
As you prepare for the GMAT, keep in mind that while your body of knowledge and skills grow, you won’t taper off your studies. You should have a plan in place that fills all of your intended study time with meaningful work. Here is an example of a GMAT preparation timeline for someone who is studying for 10 weeks.
Each week (after the first week), you should have core study activities and review activities.
| Week | Study Activities | Review |
| 1 | Take a diagnostic GMAT practice test, set a score improvement goal, and choose a study program. Compare the features of the top courses and choose the best fit for your needs. For example, Kaplan GMAT has live online classes, but Magoosh GMAT offers a full year of access to self-paced study materials. | Instead of reviewing, week 1 will be the time you establish your own GMAT study calendar, timeline, and study plan. |
| 2 | Start with basic math and critical reasoning. Core math will include percents, factors/multiples, calculations, percents and more. Work with real GMAT problems and explore answer explanations. | Review your diagnostic GMAT test results and take note of which areas will need the most study. |
| 3 | Continue with math and begin reading comprehension. Add algebra (quadratics, calculations, inequalities, etc.) and start learning reading comprehension strategies, using official GMAT passages. | Review basic math and critical reasoning. |
| 4 | Continue with math and begin sentence correction. Add geometry and statistics and start learning sentence correction strategies. | Review algebra and reading comprehension. |
| 5 | Shift focus to more sentence correction work and add word problems (diagrams, conversions, averages, etc.). Use real GMAT problems to practice grammar and sentence structure. | Review geometry, statistics and last week’s sentence correction. |
| 6 | Learn data sufficiency questions, going through all of the different types and committing most of the week to practice. Review RC and CR questions. | Review sentence correction work and algebra. |
| 7 | Do quant practice questions all week. Read a quant textbook, if possible. Do reading comprehension questions. | Review data sufficiency, statistics and sentence correction. |
| 8 | Practice integrated reasoning questions. Start timed question sets and a practice test. | Review quant. |
| 9 | Do quant practice questions again, as well as a brief review of core math concepts. Review last week’s practice test and take another one. Do several, full-length writing questions. | Review sentence correction and reading comprehension. |
| 10 | Take a practice test and do advanced, timed questions. Review all. | Review all. |
Above is a simple example of how you would time out your study plan. Ideally, you will use a beginning diagnostic GMAT test to create an individualized study plan that addresses the areas you most need to focus on.
GMAT Study Tips and Strategies
When it comes to passing the GMAT, there are a few different approaches to take. Below is a list of GMAT study tips and strategies that are universally agreed upon by most GMAT experts.
If you implement these basic tips, you’ll optimize the time you spend studying for the GMAT.
Learn the Test
The GMAT is a computer-based test with multiple-choice questions and written sections. Within the four sections of the GMAT, there are further divisions that relate to types of questions and answer structures.
For instance, quant is going to present you with both problem solving and data sufficiency questions. Verbal will throw you sentence correction, critical reasoning, and reading comprehension.
Even within those divisions are subcategories of questions that have been parsed out by GMAT experts over the years. Pay attention to all of it. The more you can wrap your head around how the test is set up, the better you’ll do.
Track Your Progress
Depending on your personality, one of the most difficult things about studying for the GMAT may be that you don’t ever achieve mastery.
Even if you take a full six months to study, there is no way you’re going to fully know everything about, say, algebra or statistics and everything about reading comprehension or grammar. The knowledge is simply too vast.
What you can do is know enough. Tracking your progress is the best way to keep your finger on the pulse of where your knowledge and skill levels actually are. This way, you can schedule your test date when you really are ready to pass the GMAT with the score you want.
Improve Note Taking
Taking notes is an enormously important strategy for GMAT preparation. So important, that many GMAT study courses have proprietary strategies for notations, symbols, and more.
As you work through the vast quantity of content on the GMAT, you’ll need to take notes. This will keep you from having to do time-costly things like re-reading passages or problems again and again.
Part of your note taking strategy will be to quickly analyze text to understand what you’re looking for and notice the elements that matter. All of this will be part of your GMAT test prep.
Don’t Forget Your Strengths
In the beginning, you’ll take that GMAT diagnostic test. This is the way you “set a baseline,” as we mentioned, for your GMAT study plan. In a practice test, you’ll quickly see the areas that didn’t give you trouble and the ones that did.
Now, it’s instinctive to turn all of your attention to your areas of weakness. However, don’t forget that you’ll also want to improve where you’re strong. Unless you got a perfect score on one of the GMAT sections in your diagnostic, you still have to practice writing or math or whatever area in which you did pretty well.
Don’t underestimate how hard the test will be. Since it’s computer-adaptive, the test will adjust to your level — the more difficult questions you answer correctly, the higher your score.
GMAT Study Resources
The right GMAT study resources make all of the difference. You can find a lot of free GMAT resources online that may address a specific question you have as you prepare. It’s also important that you invest in the best GMAT prep course for you. Read on to learn what’s out there and get quick links to find GMAT resources that can help you succeed.
Free GMAT Resources
There are plenty of freebies for GMAT studies available on the internet. These will be a great starting point and can be used to supplement your studies, but shouldn’t be the only materials you use for GMAT preparation.
These are some of the higher quality free GMAT resources currently available:
- GMAT Official Starter Kit (includes 2 Practice Tests)
- Free GMAT Practice Tests from The Princeton Review
- 7-day free trial of Magoosh GMAT
- Free GMAT Practice Test from Kaplan
- Manhattan Prep Free GMAT Starter Kit
Since many GMAT prep courses offer free trials of their content or free resources to download, taking advantage of them is a good place to start. These materials will give you a feel for the way the course content looks and feels, and which one suits your learning preferences.
This may not be a fast or simple way to get immediate answers to a question, or practice a certain question type, but it is a good way to vet a course you’re interested in.
Best GMAT Prep Courses
The GMAT prep course is, in fact, all-important. Most candidates will never succeed without one. A good GMAT course can make an enormous difference, offering guided attention and expertly created materials.
Here are some of the top GMAT programs, with links to our comprehensive reviews so you can learn more about them.
Magoosh GMAT Prep Review: Magoosh has a comprehensive self-paced GMAT program that offers a 50-point score increase guarantee. It has desktop and mobile versions and is lower priced than a lot of similar programs. You can get a 7-day free trial to check it out.
Manhattan GMAT Prep Review: Manhattan Prep is one of the oldest and most well-known test prep companies in the world. Their widely used GMAT prep programs have in-person and virtual courses with expert instructors. They also offer admissions advice and consulting.
Kaplan GMAT Prep Course Review: Kaplan is another very well-known leader in the test prep industry. They have live online GMAT classes, GMAT textbooks, GMAT practice tests, and in-person courses. They’re the one provider with a GMAT test day simulation.
The Princeton Review GMAT: This course is considered an excellent option for those who. are looking to get a high score and get into a top-tier MBA program. The Princeton Review’s most popular course package guarantees a 700+ GMAT score.
Target Test Prep GMAT Course Review: Target Test Prep has a comprehensive GMAT course with a $1 trial. They do focus mostly on quant but also offer instructor-led courses, GMAT practice tests, and a score improvement guarantee.
The Economist GMAT Review: This program is known for one-on-one GMAT tutoring, accompanied by an online learning platform and app. Packages include access to “ask-a-tutor” questions and a digital subscription to The Economist magazine for reading comprehension practice. You can try it with a 7-day free trial.
There are also unique or specialized resources, such as GMAT prep books, GMAT quant books, courses that just focus on quant, and GMAT tutors. It will be important to do your research and uncover the right resources that will best support your studies.
Taking the GMAT Without Studying?
The short answer is: Don’t do it. The GMAT is a hefty test, meant to weed out people who aren’t good candidates for business school. If you want to be a leader in business and get the coveted “MBA” as a title, you need to invest time in studying for the GMAT.
Since it’s not a pass/fail test, your score matters and you need a competitive one to get into the top MBA programs.
That said, there are a few options for accelerated study. Some GMAT study programs may offer tutoring or coaching. That individualized attention can get you to the finish line a lot faster than self-study or studying alone.
Even if you’re trying to prepare for the GMAT in a super ambitious timeline (say, 3-4 weeks), it’s better to cram than go into the test cold. Consider a condensed course, like Manhattan Prep’s Bootcamp or make a custom 1-month GMAT study plan to cover all the material.
GMAT Preparation FAQ
Here are some answers to frequently asked questions about preparing for the GMAT.
How much time do you need to prepare for the GMAT?
Most experts recommend that you spend at least three months preparing for the GMAT. Depending on the score you are aiming for, GMAT prep can take up to 120 hours of dedicated study.
How difficult is it to get a 700 on the GMAT?
Top MBA programs expect a 90+ percentile score on the GMAT, which usually clocks in at about 700. This is considered a high GMAT score and requires a lot of study. Most students who get a 700 or higher on the GMAT have put in at least 120 hours of study and invested in extra support like GMAT tutoring.
Can I prepare for the GMAT by myself?
GMAT self-study is not widely recommended. However, there are self-study GMAT courses you can purchase which will at least provide a framework of curriculum and study materials. To be sure that you are covering all of the relevant material and gaining meaningful strategies for the test, it’s best to make the investment in a GMAT course.
Is GMAT prep harder than the real GMAT?
Most GMAT prep uses GMAT practice tests and real GMAT questions from previous years. This means that the material you encounter in a GMAT course will be roughly equivalent to the content on the test. It’s important to use real GMAT materials, so that you become familiar not just with the subject-matter and ideas but the actual format of the test.
What is the best preparation material for the GMAT?
The best preparation material for the GMAT is the material you’ll actually use. You’ll want to shop online for a GMAT program that fits the bill. The right GMAT course will have the level of support you need the format in which you learn best. This may be an in-person GMAT class, an instructor-led online GMAT course, or a self-study track. Whichever you choose, it’s a good investment that will put you on the path to performing well on the GMAT.