The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) is an assessment test taken by students who are aspiring to pursue a management course at one of the business schools around the world. Almost every business school has a similar application process with students applying their candidature with an application form along with their GMAT score.
The GMAT exam is a computer adaptive test. It has 4 sections – Quantitative Reasoning, Verbal Reasoning, Integrated Reasoning, and Analytical Writing Analysis (AWA).
GMAT preparation helps candidates to gain a thorough understanding of the GMAT exam syllabus. GMAT preparation requires at least two months and up to six months to finish the entire GMAT course. Diagnostic tests are essential for GMAT preparation. Candidates identify their strengths and weaknesses based on their GMAT scores. GMAT preparation tips assist aspirants in understanding the GMAT quantitative and GMAT verbal concepts prior to the exam.
The first step would be to go to the official site (www.mba.com) and gather all the information about the GMAT exam. There you will get to know about the structure of GMAT – the various sections, time limit, types of questions and the score ranges. The meaning of computer adaptive sections and how it works is to be understood well. All these are essential before you start preparing for the actual exam. To have access to real exam questions and other free tools for preparation such as the two free practice exams, you need to sign up there.
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To prepare for any exam you need to have books and the GMAC, the owner of the GMAT exam, offers two important Review books. The GMAT official guide for 
Quantitative Review will help in reviewing the important concepts in Arithmetic, Algebra, and Geometry. It contains real exam questions with detailed explanations. The GMAT official guide for verbal section will help you in reviewing the content and format of the verbal section. Apart from the comprehensive grammar review, you get exam questions with explanations. Both the review books have the questions organized in the order of difficulty that is from easy to difficult ones. You can purchase the two Review books online.
Purchase the latest version of the GMAT Official Guide from mba.com. Using the access code within the latest GMAT official guide you can obtain all the online material which includes IR questions. The online platform has several interesting features such as building your own practice sets, depending on the difficulty level or question types. The GMAT practice test results are in-depth, plus the option to review or retake the practice sets is also available.
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Some important tips for preparation:
❖ Have a proper time bound schedule in place before starting the prep and keep 
reviewing it weekly. You should fix a tentative exam date and then start planning your prep.
❖ Your daily study timings should be fixed along with no. of questions to be practiced daily.
❖ Taking tests intermittently will help you in assessing your preparation. For this purpose, you may buy any test series pack or opt for Princeton Review’s online portal for GMAT prep. The online portal offers you video classes for understanding concepts and strategies, computer adaptive drills, pacing charts and 10 full-length tests that mimic the actual exam.
❖ Reviewing the tests taken will give you an idea of the areas you are lacking in. Once you have identified your weak areas/topics you need to do rigorous practice in those areas/topics to overcome your shortcomings or irrational fears.
❖ A lot of content is available online for practice but you need to have some smart techniques and strategies to handle an exam like GMAT. Time management is very crucial. A customized pacing chart will help in both Math and verbal sections.
All said, if your prep is not leading to a great score improvement, it is always advised to go for some coaching. At times, critical inputs from experts can make a big difference in your prep.
All the best!
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