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; Stacey Koprince
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Chapter 2
These days, almost everyone preps for the GMATbut surprisingly few actually plan how to prep in order to maximize the chance for success. Prepping for the GMAT without a plan is like climbing a mountain without a trail map. You may be just starting out or taking a second crack at the official test, but whatever stage you are at, you need a plan. Its our hope that this article will help guide you on your way to developing your own personalized study plan.
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Chapter 2
Outside Constraints
Getting Organized
You need to factor in external constraints that will affect your study time-frame:
The application deadlines of your preferred schools. You have to work backwards from these set dates. Optimally, get the test out of the way well before you have to start filling out the applications themselves. Your GMAT score is valid for 5 years, so you can get started very early! Allow yourself one month of buffer time to ensure that you can take the test a second time if you decide to try for a better score.
TIP
You are only allowed to take the GMAT once every 31 days (and 5 times a year).
You may also want to add in a couple of extra weeks as an additional buffer, just in case. Work gets busy, you get sick, you procrastinate things happen.
TIP
If you conduct your research via books, be sure to use those which have been published in the last year or so.
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Getting Organized
Standardized Tests: When you took the SAT, did you do better than, worse than, or about the same as people expected based upon your performance in school? How stressed did you get when you took any kind of exam? Did your exam grades mirror your overall class grade? In a nutshell, do you tend to thrive or falter when you are in high-pressure testing situations? If you underperformed on standardized or other highpressure tests in the past, you may require more in-depth prep than those who did very well. Dont forget that the GMAT CAT has an extra complication: you must take it on a computer. If youre not used to taking tests on a computer (and most of us arent), this could negatively affect your performance. To acclimate to computerized testing, make sure that the practice tests you take are computer-adaptive tests taken under official conditions (75-minutes per section, 8-minute breaks between sections, etc.) Also, when completing practice questions out of a book, prop the book up vertically on your desk. Doing so will force you to look up and down while you use your scrap paperjust like on the real test! Study Style: Whats my pace? Are you someone who can study for hours on end, or does the book page begin to look like a Jackson Pollock after the first hour? How much prime time concentration can you realistically dedicate to studying each day? Do you struggle to memorize formulas and need to review content often to keep it fresh or do you have a photographic memory? Does it take you a long time to process and truly understand a new math concept, or can you read a concept once and immediately apply it?
Chapter 2
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