Your Introduction to the GMAT Exam: Advice From An Expert U2 GMAT Consultant
This guide is written by U2 GMAT Consultant, Hadi, CFA (MBA, The London Business School). In the guide, Hadi discusses important considerations for how to approach preparing for and taking the GMAT exam from his years of GMAT tuition experience.
What is the GMAT exam?
The GMAT is the standardised test required by most business schools from prospective students looking to apply to post-graduate business programs as such. Whether you are considering an MBA, a Master of Finance, a Master of Management, or any other master-level business degree, you will probably have to take the GMAT as a part of your application to your business schools of choice. For executive programs such as the Executive MBA, prospective students typically take the Executive Assessment, which is a variation of the GMAT exam.
The GMAT has four sections: Quantitative, Verbal, Integrated Reasoning, and Writing.
The quantitative section is in multiple-choice format, and is composed of two formats of questions: problem solving and data sufficiency. Problem solving questions are typical standardized test formatted math problems, with five answer choices to choose from. Data sufficiency, however, will be new to most of you. They are questions which ask you to determine the sufficiency of one or more pieces of data for answering a specific question. Data sufficiency problems can be intimidating at first glance, but with the proper approach, you can master methods of efficiently solving them.
The verbal section is also in multiple-choice format, and is split into three types of questions: sentence correction, critical thinking, and reading comprehension. Sentence correction questions present a sentence in which a portion of that sentence or its entirety is underlined, and you’re tasked with choosing the answer choice with the form of the sentence that is grammatically correct and clear. Critical thinking questions present a logical argument in the form of a short passage and ask you a variety of questions related to that passage and its argument. Reading comprehension questions revolve around a multi-paragraph passage with three to five questions regarding that passage.
The quantitative and verbal sections determine your headline GMAT score, whether it be a 770 or a 650. The maximum headline score on the GMAT is an 800, while each section is scored out of a section max of 51. The quantitative section will present you with 31 questions and an average of two minutes to answer each one for a total of 62 minutes of time for the section. The verbal section will present 36 questions with a total section time of 65 minutes, which gives you a little less than two minutes per question. Top MBA programs typically like to see at least a 700 or above headline GMAT score, however, that is not a prerequisite for admission.
The integrated reasoning section presents data or text in the form of graphs, charts, passages, and a variety of other mediums and then asks you one or more questions about the data presented in those mediums with multiple choices to pick from. The integrated reasoning section will present you with 12 separate questions (not including multiple answer questions) and you will have a total of 30 minutes, or an average of two and a half minutes per question, to complete the section. The integrated reasoning section is scored out of a maximum of eight points.
The writing section will present you with a passage containing an argument, similar to the critical thinking questions in the verbal sections. You will have thirty minutes to find and develop reasons for why the argument is flawed and examples to support your two to three reasons. You will have to type your mini-essay using your keyboard, the only section of the test which requires this. The writing section is scored out of a maximum of six points, and it will be the only score you will not receive immediately after you complete your test due to it requiring a person to grade it.
What does the GMAT really test?
The common misconception is that the GMAT is a purely maths and English comprehension test, but in reality, the GMAT is a critical thinking and problem-solving exam disguised with maths and English concepts. The scope of the exam is relatively narrow, with the quant section covering only arithmetic, algebra, and geometry, while the English section tests grammar, logic, and reading comprehension. However, if the GMAT was purely testing those concepts, it wouldn’t be much of a challenge.
Critical thinking
The GMAT is above everything a critical thinking exam. Its difficulty comes from how the questions test multiple concepts in an interrelated manner, testing both your concept comprehension as well as your ability to manipulate and approach questions in order to quickly solve them. If you think you’re going to muscle your way through the “algebra” questions using just algebra, you are in for a rude awakening. Mastering alternative problem-solving concepts such as creating your own numbers, plugging in answer choices, rephrasing/manipulating questions and answer choices, and optimal problem solving methodology are essential to breaking the 700+ score barrier, while you would not be able to earn a high score by memorising the formulas.
Attention to detail
You don’t know how frustrating it is to spend two minutes applying three different concepts involving two separate formulas and finally arrive at what you thought was the right answer and still get the question wrong because you forgot one tiny detail until you take the GMAT exam. Attention to even the tiniest and seemingly insignificant details is an essential aspect of mastering the GMAT exam. Does the question specify that the answer is an integer? Is it positive? Trust me, those details will make or break each question in all the sections of the GMAT, and you will learn this very quickly.
Efficiency
If the GMAT was not a timed exam and gave its takers as much time as they needed to complete each section, then even a monkey would score a 720. The real difficulty of the GMAT comes from the time pressure it places on its test takers. You will have two or fewer minutes to answer each question and trust me, that time flies. It is essential that you not only learn all the formulas and the different ways of manipulating the concepts you learned, but you will also have to learn to be fast, and that is one of the hardest skills to master.
How should I prepare for the GMAT exam?
Get the right resources. There are dozens of different paid and unpaid products, programs, courses, and online resources you can leverage to prepare for the GMAT. Although everyone is different and may require one or more of these resources, I recommend that everyone preparing for the GMAT purchase the Official GMAT Guide sold by the GMAC, the institution which administers the GMAT exam. The Official GMAT Guide comes as a physical or e-book containing all the different concepts you will need to master to succeed in the GMAT. It also contains an alphanumeric code which gives you access to over 500 official GMAT questions through an online question bank. This is your gold standard for GMAT preparation.
Practice, practice, practice. You can make all the study guides and cheat sheets you want, but if you’re not practising at least twenty quant and twenty verbal questions per day, you will not progress in your GMAT journey.
Review every question! Completing a set of questions exposes you to the different questions and concepts that the GMAT tests, but it is the review process that provides progression in your GMAT abilities. You should spend as much, if not more, time reviewing the answers to completed questions than you spent answering them. If you got the answer wrong, review to determine where you went wrong. If you got the correct answer, review to see how you could have done it better and faster, and to see whether you got lucky!
An expert tutor can save you countless hours of frustration! A competent and supportive tutor offers you the best investment of your time and money when taking the GMAT. The right tutor will not only help you master concepts and the art of solving GMAT questions, but they will also help you become more efficient in your self-study between tuition sessions. Not all GMAT tutors are created equal, and you should pick someone who will be invested in your success, is competent, and sets and holds you to a very high standard.
How can U2 help you with your GMAT preparation?
If you determine that a tutor will be the right investment in your GMAT journey, then U2 Tuition can offer you a personalised tuition experience with an expert GMAT tutor.
Outside of the tuition sessions, your U2 GMAT tutor will also provide you with targeted homework in order to maximise your time during the GMAT preparation cycle and so that you reinforce all the concepts needed to score a 700 or above.
We have been honoured to guide dozens of students to the GMAT finish line and help them overcome a major obstacle to reaching their business school dreams. If you would like to hear more about how a U2 GMAT tutor can help you on your GMAT journey, book a free consultation to discuss your goals and GMAT prep strategy with one of our expert tutors.
Best of luck!