Posted on by Phil

How I Studied for the GMAT

Every 6-10 weeks someone asks me how I studied for the GMAT and any advice I have.  Well, here’s my story!

Unfortunately, in college I was friends with a bunch of over achievers who thought it’d be a good idea to take the GMAT during senior year after they’d secured full time jobs.  So, due to peer pressure and insecurity, I too signed up to take the test.

I took the ManhattanGMAT class which was ~7 weeks long.  Each week consisted of 2 hours in a classroom, and 2 hours or so of homework.  I’d say I did around 1/2 of the recommended homework each week.  After taking the prep course, I immediately signed up for a date to take the actual exam which was about 2 weeks out.  The date was during my finals week at NYU, but I wanted to take it before I headed out for a post-graduation trip to Asia with friends (the same ones who’d peer pressured me into taking this exam!!).

Before the prep course, I took a practice test and scored ~610 (my memory is slightly hazy, but it was in that ballpark).  My goal was to get to a 700 by the time I took the test, and I was around a 680 by the time I finished the prep course.

The number one piece of advice for anyone taking this test is to create and use flashcards to internalize the information you need to answer the most difficult questions.  This was a strategy I stole directly from my Dad who used it to become a doctor (much harder than getting into bschool – so it seemed battle tested).

With that in mind, I went through the 7-8 books that the test prep course had provided, and made a flashcard for any piece of info that I thought would help me answer questions.  I made them for the types of triangles, grammar rules, and for the toughest types of questions (two trains going towards each other, the ones that require factorials, etc).

I had 200-300 flashcards, and would look at them when I had 5 mins on the subway, or while waiting for a friend.  When I’d correctly answered a given card in three consecutive cycles (I put the card on the bottom of the deck after I’d tried to answer it), I discarded it.

The week before the test, I studied for 3-4 hours/day (mostly the flashcards plus some practice problems).  The day before, I didn’t do anything but workout, eat some good food, and watch a movie.  It’s important to rest your brain and de-stress!  Now, I’d probably also do an extra long mediation session but I wasn’t into that back then.

I don’t remember exactly the slope of the curve, but there was a huge increase in my scores in the week before the test.  I started off maybe at the 700 mark for a practice test, and then got a 720, and a 750 before my studying ended (don’t take too many practice tests.  They are good to gauge where you’re at, but take a lot of time and aren’t very instructive in helping you improve).  I’m pretty confident if I’d pushed the test back another week I could have continued to improve…but the commonly accepted rule says increasing your score above a 700 doesn’t help too much in getting you into school.  Btw, I share these numbers only so you can see my progress from the original 610 to when I took the exam and what I did to get there – not to brag!!!

The day of the test of course I was a bit nervous.  The worst part of the GMAT is that they ask you “do you want to accept this score” after you take the test.  Basically, you can say “no” – and it’s like it never happened.  But, if you “accept the score” it goes on your record.  My advice: just accept the score unless you had a monumental meltdown for some reason.  Because of the way the test works, you get harder questions if you answer questions correctly.  So, if you’re getting hard questions, even if you can’t answer them, you’re doing well!

In the end, I scored a 740.  I remember not being completely happy with the score when I got it, and the person working the front desk who’d given me the score basically said “I don’t get it – if I got that score, I’d be jumping up and down!”

My advice is to not put that much pressure on yourself.  And, if you score above the range you need to get into your dream school, go celebrate!  Luckily, I came to my senses about 10 mins after leaving the test center and couldn’t wipe the smile off my face for a few days.

Good luck, don’t stress, and look forward to two of the best years of your life 🙂

14,712 Replies to “How I Studied for the GMAT”

  2. Howdy are using WordPress for your blog platform? I’m new to the blog world but I’m
    trying to get started and set up my own. Do you require any coding expertise
    to make your own blog? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

  3. fantastic submit, very informative. I’m wondering why the other specialists of
    this sector don’t understand this. You must continue your writing.
    I’m sure, you have a great readers’ base already!

  4. Hi there exceptional website! Does running a blog such as
    this require a lot of work? I’ve very little understanding of computer
    programming however I was hoping to start my own blog in the near future.

    Anyways, if you have any ideas or techniques for new blog owners please
    share. I understand this is off topic nevertheless I just
    needed to ask. Kudos!

  6. naturally like your web site but you have to test the spelling on quite a few of your posts.
    Many of them are rife with spelling problems and I to find
    it very bothersome to inform the truth nevertheless I will definitely come again again.

  7. Heya i’m for the primary time here. I found this board and I find It truly helpful &
    it helped me out a lot. I am hoping to give something back and help others such as you aided
    me.

  8. Does your site have a contact page? I’m having trouble locating it but, I’d like to send you an e-mail.

    I’ve got some ideas for your blog you might be interested in hearing.

    Either way, great site and I look forward to seeing it develop over time.

  10. whoah this weblog is fantastic i love studying your
    posts. Stay up the good work! You understand, a lot of people are looking round for this information, you can aid them
    greatly.

  12. Do you have a spam issue on this blog; I also am a blogger,
    and I was wanting to know your situation; we have developed some nice practices and we are looking to trade solutions with
    other folks, why not shoot me an email if interested.

  14. Hello there! Do you know if they make any plugins
    to assist with SEO? I’m trying to get my blog to rank for some targeted keywords but I’m not seeing very good
    success. If you know of any please share. Kudos!

  16. I do not know if it’s just me or if everybody else experiencing problems with your site.
    It appears as if some of the written text within your content are running off the screen. Can someone else
    please comment and let me know if this is happening to them too?
    This could be a problem with my web browser because I’ve had this
    happen previously. Thanks

  18. excellent submit, very informative. I’m wondering why the opposite specialists of this
    sector do not understand this. You must continue your writing.
    I am confident, you have a great readers’ base already!

  19. I know this if off topic but I’m looking into starting my own blog and was wondering what all
    is needed to get setup? I’m assuming having a blog like yours would cost a pretty
    penny? I’m not very web savvy so I’m not 100% certain. Any recommendations
    or advice would be greatly appreciated. Appreciate it

  20. Nice weblog here! Additionally your website loads up very fast!
    What web host are you the usage of? Can I get your
    affiliate link in your host? I desire my site loaded up as quickly as yours
    lol

  21. Thank you for the good writeup. It in fact was a amusement account it.
    Look advanced to far added agreeable from you!
    By the way, how could we communicate?

  22. I like reading a write-up that can receive visitors to think.

    Moreover, many thanks intended for allowing for without
    any help to brief analysis!

  24. Thanks for any other informative web site. The place else could I get that kind of information written in such
    a perfect way? I have a project that I am just now operating on, and I have been on the look out for such information.

  26. Everyone loves what you guys are up too. This type
    of clever work and reporting! Keep up the great works guys
    I’ve added you guys to my personal blogroll.

  27. Pretty nice post. I just stumbled upon your weblog and wished to mention that I’ve really loved
    browsing your blog posts. After all I’ll be subscribing on your rss feed and I’m hoping you write once more very soon!

  30. I really like your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you create this website yourself or did you
    hire someone to do it for you? Plz answer back as I’m looking to construct my
    own blog and would like to find out where u got this from.
    many thanks

  32. If you want to increase your experience only keep visiting this website and be updated with the most
    up-to-date news posted here.

  33. Hi! I’m at work browsing your blog from my new iphone!
    Just wanted to say I love reading through your blog
    and look forward to all your posts! Keep up the excellent work!

  37. Thanks for your marvelous posting! I actually enjoyed reading it,
    you could be a great author. I will ensure that I bookmark
    your blog and definitely will come back sometime soon.
    I want to encourage continue your great posts, have a nice morning!

  38. I am extremely inspired along with your writing skills and also with the format to your weblog.

    Is this a paid theme or did you modify it your self?
    Anyway keep up the nice quality writing, it’s uncommon to see
    a nice weblog like this one these days..

  39. Hey there! I could have sworn I’ve been to this site before but
    after browsing through some of the post I realized it’s new to me.
    Anyways, I’m definitely happy I found it and I’ll be bookmarking and checking back often!

  40. Fantastic blog! Do you have any helpful hints for aspiring
    writers? I’m hoping to start my own site soon but I’m a little lost on everything.
    Would you suggest starting with a free platform like WordPress or go for a paid option? There are
    so many options out there that I’m totally overwhelmed ..
    Any tips? Thanks!

  41. I do believe all the ideas you’ve introduced in your post.
    They’re very convincing and will definitely work. Still, the posts are very brief for novices.

    Could you please prolong them a bit from subsequent time?
    Thanks for the post.

  43. What i don’t realize is if truth be told how you are no longer really much more smartly-favored than you might be right now.
    You are so intelligent. You realize thus significantly when it comes to this subject, made me in my
    opinion imagine it from numerous numerous angles. Its like men and women aren’t fascinated
    except it is something to accomplish with Girl gaga! Your personal
    stuffs great. At all times handle it up!

  44. Hi! Quick question that’s completely off topic.
    Do you know how to make your site mobile friendly?
    My blog looks weird when viewing from my apple iphone.
    I’m trying to find a template or plugin that might be able to resolve this problem.
    If you have any recommendations, please share. Thanks!

  45. Good day! I could have sworn I’ve been to this website before but after browsing through some of the posts I realized
    it’s new to me. Anyways, I’m certainly happy I found it and I’ll be book-marking it and checking
    back regularly!

  48. Magnificent goods from you, man. I’ve understand your stuff previous to and you’re just extremely excellent.
    I actually like what you have acquired here, certainly
    like what you’re saying and the way in which you say it.

    You make it enjoyable and you still care for to keep it sensible.
    I can’t wait to read much more from you. This is actually a great site.

  49. You really make it seem so easy with your presentation but I find this matter to be actually something which I think I would never
    understand. It seems too complicated and extremely broad for me.
    I am looking forward for your next post, I’ll try to get the hang of it!

Comments are closed.