Find below a few useful tips concerning the GMAT

1. Use the allotted time wisely. The total maximum time allowed to complete the test is three hours and forty minutes. To make the most of this time, familiarize yourself with the format, methods, sections and characteristics of the test ahead of time. Practice the test under similar conditions as present during the test so that on test day, you are able to orient yourself more quickly and get started with the sections without further delay.

2. Read the directions to the sections carefully. This might sound obvious, but misunderstandings in reading the directions to the sections can be very costly in the GMAT. The more practice you have, the more familiar you will be with the various sections, however, avoid skipping the instructions assuming you know what is needed for a specific section. It doesn’t pay to cut corners in the GMAT.

3. Read each question carefully. Again, we might be stating the obvious, but it is well worth remembering to carefully read the questions. It is a substantial part of the GMAT to test your ability to perform under time pressure and attention to detail is an element to this test. Some questions may indeed be designed to require careful reading in order to avoid any misinterpretation. Be alert and don’t assume you know a question after you have read half of it.

4. Take some time with the first five questions. The first three to five questions are of importance in computer adaptive tests (CAT), take your time for these. As we have highlighted in other sections of our site, this is an important issue. The underlying algorithm of the CAT will adjust the level of difficulty based on whether you have answered the previous question correctly. The first few questions in the test are designed to assess what level of difficulty you are able to manage. The level of difficulty you master in the test affects your GMAT score. Difficult questions are weighted more heavily in your final score than those of a lower level of difficulty. Once you have answered these first questions, the CAT will adapt the subsequent questions within the established range of difficulty for the section. The impact of these first questions can be significant. It thus pays off to make sure you don’t rush them.

5. Pace yourself well. Make sure you finish the test at all costs. There is a heavy penalty for not finishing sections of the test, or indeed the entire test. Time management plays a huge part in this. Make sure you have practiced the test in its full length beforehand and that you are comfortable with the pace you have set for yourself. An incorrect answer will be detrimental to your score, but not as much as the penalty for not completing a section.

6. Don’t panic, double check your answers before submitting them. You will be under time constraints as you are taking the test, but don’t allow this fact to play on your anxieties. Try and remain as cool, calm and collected as possible when answering the questions, and make sure that you have considered your answers carefully. There is nothing more frustrating than making an error due to lack of care and be penalized for it with a lower score.

7. Make an educated guess. If you must guess, use the POE (process of elimination) method to make at least an educated guess. In order to use the allocated time appropriately, you may have to guess the answer to some questions, rather than getting stuck on them, wasting precious time. But before you randomly choose answer ‘C’ as your default answer, try and arrive at the correct answer by eliminating the obvious wrong answer, narrowing the choices down. The more tests you have practiced on, the more these patterns of deliberate erroneous answers will become apparent to you. Once you have eliminated these obvious false choices, your probability of arriving at the right answer increases significantly.

8. Take notes. Ask for scrap paper and use it as much as possible to help you conceptualize tricky questions. Sometimes the difference between a computer screen and a piece of paper can have a considerable impact in helping you solve a problem. Make sure you ask for sufficient scrap paper right from the start so that no time is wasted by having to ask for more paper during the test. By practicing the test, you will have learned how much you rely on notes and graphs to conceptualize specific problems. Make sure you have sufficient material to work with during test times.

9. Focus. Consider this the marathon you have trained for all this time. The GMAT requires that you are as focused and organized as you can be for a duration of three hours and forty minutes. Ideally you will have had sufficient practice for the entire test and its various sections so that you have become used to the time limits, the types of questions and the best paths to the answers. Every straying thought will cost you time, every minute spent getting annoyed that you should have done more is a waste. On test day, just stay focused on the testing task that is before you. One step at a time. Also, make sure you don’t have to interrupt your concentration by having to ask for additional scrap paper – get plenty before you start (see number 8!)

10. Get a good night’s sleep before the test. Obviously, this is not a tip for GMAT day, but it is no less important. Get some rest before the test. You will have crammed for weeks or months before GMAT day, you will have had dreams of problem solving or critical reasoning, but come test day, there is nothing more you can do other than physically be in top form to perform your best.