GMAT
Prepare for your GMAT with our GMAT tips, while keeping up with the latest developments in GMAT news.
Latest Stories About GMAT
GMAT Tip: Stop with the Calculations, Already!
Timing is hands down one of the biggest challenges test takers have for the GMAT. The exam recognizes this, of course, and in fact sets up a penalty for those who leave the exam unfinished. Smart test takers have a solid understanding of the foundation of the GMAT – high... Read more »
GMAT Tip: Simplifying Fractions
In previous posts, we have discussed how the best way to tackle a difficult looking quantitative question on the GMAT is to clean it up – consolidating like terms, adding or subtracting inside of parentheses, or reorganizing variables to where it is easier not substitute equations. Not only is cleaning... Read more »
GMAT Tip: Don’t Fret Over Two Letter Words
Many students get frustrated when evaluating sentence correction problems, with the biggest point of frustration coming from feeling that they need to memorize chart after chart of idioms. While knowing idioms can certainly be helpful, if you are facing a short timeline, sometimes you can’t have your cake and eat... Read more »
GMAT Tip: Consider Algebra, Not Arithmetic
Many test takers fail to make the connection between not being permitted to use a calculator on the quantitative section of the GMAT and, well, not making intensive, calculator-required calculations. The reality is, when you are working through a question and think a calculator is needed and/or there is some... Read more »
GMAT Tip: Only a Kitchen Calculator
There are many different approaches in tackling a GMAT Quantitative question effectively. Algebraically, working backwards from the answer choices, considering “lucky twins” – a smart test taker is flexible and takes a fresh new approach by evaluating each quantitative question individually, taking the route that is efficient and effective. But... Read more »
So, You’re Terrible at Integrated Reasoning…
Since its release on the June 2012 exam, the Integrated Reasoning portion of the GMAT has had some test takers stumped. This 30-minute, 12 question section is oddly scored on a 1 to 8 scale, and no partial credit is given, even for multi-part, multi-answer questions. For the past several... Read more »
Our Latest Podcast: The Great Test Debate—GMAT Versus GRE
In early April, the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), which owns and administers the GMAT, announced that it is shaving half an hour off the test, bringing it down from four hours to three and a half. GMAC called it a “candidate friendly change designed to enhance the test taking... Read more »
Combinations: Consider the Grouping with the Slot Method
The GMAT loves to present combination questions that force people to sit next to each other, or in certain seats, and then have the test taker figure out how many different ways people not forced to be glued to possibly a very uncomfortable chair can be seated around them. Because... Read more »
Sentence Corrections: Not About the Grammar?
Gerunds, prepositional phrases, past perfect test, idioms…if you are a test taker who knows your E.B. White and Will Strunk book by heart, you should ace the Sentence Corrections section every single time, right? Not necessarily. While a cursory review of grammar is important to do well in verbal, a... Read more »
Probability Tip: Three Strategies That Aren’t Used Enough
Some GMAT instructors will say that students often place too much emphasis on studying for Probability and Combinatorics, rather than spending more time focusing on the heavy lifters of Algebra and Arithmetic. Like it or not, GMAT students get fixated on combinatorics and probability because a) these questions are never,... Read more »
A Shorter GMAT? It’s True—Starting April 16th
If you’re planning to sit for the GMAT exam in preparation for applying to business school, you might do well to hold off for a couple of weeks. According to the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), which owns and administers the GMAT, the test will be 30 minutes shorter than... Read more »
Integrated Reasoning Tip: More Integral Than You Think
The newest section of the GMAT, the Integrated Reasoning, is often discounted by students as “less important” that the bigger beasts of the exam, the Verbal and Quantitative sections. But many MBA programs have become more familiar with what the Integrated Reasoning examines and more than half of programs, particularly... Read more »
Sentence Correction Tip: Cut the Junk
Sentence corrections on the GMAT can be particularly tricky. There are so many rules and goals to keep in mind – not only does the correct selection have to be grammatically correct, but it needs to be concise and clear – at least, according to GMAC standards. The biggest strategy... Read more »
GMAT Critical Reasoning Tip: Mind the Gap
Let’s start this post with a critical reasoning question: When a group of people starts a company, the founders usually serve as sources both of funding and of skills in marketing, management, and technical matters. It is unlikely that a single individual can both provide adequate funding and be skilled... Read more »
The Managerial Approach to Sentence Correction
For most examinees, GMAT Sentence Correction can look a lot like a typical workday: you face a series of tasks and decisions that seem a bit daunting and quite a bit out of your control or expertise. But remember: the whole reason you’re taking the GMAT is to eventually become... Read more »
