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Studying for the GMAT is not as hard as it appears to be. With proper planning and the right GMAT study material, you can easily ace the exam. Moreover, you can either choose to study on your own or join a coaching centre. If you do so by yourself, then you need to have access to good GMAT preparation material and resources. However, if you do not have much time left and want to leave no stone unturned with your exam preparation, then you must seek professional guidance.
Despite the test being challenging, most tend to undermine the value of practice and opt for a relatively moderate and lenient preparation method. If you are extremely serious about getting into the business school of your choice, you need to devote a significant amount of your time to study. Just practising concepts for a few hours is not enough. Additionally, you must know what factors can improve or deteriorate your exam score. Hence, a dedicated amount of time and good study resources is what will help you to achieve your goal.
In this article, we have listed down some credible GMAT study resources that you can use to prepare for the exam. Besides, we have also added a brief 5-month study plan to get you started.
Key Factors that Determine Your GMAT Score:
I. Proper Planning:
Formulating a perfect strategy is the first step towards acing the GMAT. Your planning should be according to the time left for the exam and the areas you need to work on. Regularly assess the areas where you score low and work extra hard on them. It also includes working on your time management skills. Besides, while framing your success strategy, you should prioritize sections and identify the order which works best for you.
II. Right Guidance:
Getting into your dream business school is only getting harder with each passing day. With the competition constantly rising, you need a professional mentor to guide you while preparing for the exam. A guide/mentor could help you make well-informed decisions, give you feedback and ultimately help you ace the GMAT exam.
III. Environmental Factors:
Your external environment plays a big role in affecting your focus. It can influence your performance either positively or negatively. Hence, before you start studying for the exam, make sure there is no noise around you and that your ambiance is serene.
IV. Practicing the Right Set of Questions:
The GMAT exam follows a particular pattern. Before you start preparing for the exam, you need to go through the syllabus and understand it. Knowing the four sections the exam is divided into and practising accordingly will help you clear the exam and earn a decent score.
You cannot clear the exam without the right GMAT books and kits. These will help you develop the skills required for the exam and also in achieving a high score. However, with various resources available, it becomes a little hard to choose the right ones. Let’s take a look at some of the GMAT Study Material.
GMAT Study Material:
- CareerLabs’ Scientifically Designed GMAT Preparation Methodology includes free GMAT prep resources and unlimited mentoring from some of the industry experts. Moreover, you are benefited with comprehensive 150 hours of GMAT preparation, 60 hours of GMAT basic prep,3500+ practice questions (basic to high level), GMAT online live webinars and much more.
- GMAT™ Official Guide Bundle 2022 includes more than 2,000 questions from previous GMAT exams. It consists of 3 e-books: GMAT Official Guide, Verbal Review, and Quantitative Review. These books will help you evaluate your preparation and help you identify your strengths and weaknesses. These 3 books consist of essay topics, comprehensions, critical reasoning, sentence correction responses, and sample responses. This exam guide also includes 3 online question banks that allow you to create custom practice sets. You can study offline once you have downloaded these question banks.
- GMAT Official Starter Kit has 90 sample questions based on Verbal Reasoning, Integrated Reasoning, and Quantitative Reasoning. The first 2 full-length practice exams are free. This exam kit also allows you to create custom practice sets wherein you can increase the difficulty level as you improve. It lets you track your performance and helps in managing time. It is very beneficial in evaluating your progress. This is one of the best GMAT material free downloads, which you can access once you have created your MBA account on the official website. This kit is really helping in getting you started with your GMAT prep .
- GMAT Official Advanced Questions is especially for those who do not just want to clear the exam but also want a good GMAT score. It includes 300 Quantitative and Verbal Reasoning questions. It is the only official GMAT prep product that consists of hard GMAT questions from the previous years. Moreover, it helps you with problem-solving strategies from actual GMAT test-takers.
- GMAT Official Practice Questions 1 has over 350 verbal and quantitative reasoning questions from previous GMAT exams. You can choose between study mode (answers are revealed) and exam mode (answers are not revealed).
- Premium GMAT Study Collection 2022 is an all-inclusive set of 11 GMAT prep products comprising over 2000 questions with detailed answers. Online question banks can be used through a mobile app, and you can also work on them offline once you have downloaded them.
Getting ready for the GMAT exam takes the right approach. You need to develop the right study plan according to the time you have left and go through practice papers and GMAT exam material as much as you can while keeping your mind calm and maintaining a positive attitude. There is no one right way to study for GMAT that will work for everyone.
5 Month Study Plan for the GMAT Exam:
| First Month | Make sure you study for almost 10 hours every week. Keep the first month for practicing critical reasoning and reading comprehension. You should be able to finish at least 20% of your syllabus by the first month. |
| Second Month | Try to complete 40-45% of your course. Start with Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) while continuing with reading comprehension and critical reasoning. |
Third Month | By this time, you should be done with 60% of your syllabus. Instead of 10, make sure you study 13-14 hours every week. Take a mock test once you are done with 50% of your syllabus and know where you stand. |
| Fourth Month | Start practicing using official GMAT prep materials. Take mock tests and examine your progress. Submit 2 essays for grading. 80% of your syllabus should be over by the fourth month. |
| Fifth Month | Complete your remaining syllabus and submit at least 3 essays for grading. Make sure you take a minimum of 3 mock tests. |
Studying for five months straight can be a little exhausting, so make sure you take breaks in between. It will help regenerate you.
Thorough practice and following a strong study plan will help you stay on track and be consistent. Moreover, ensure the sources you take your GMAT study material from are credible. This is an important thing to note when making your study plan. Besides, take a sample test very early in your preparation process. This will help you identify your strengths and weaknesses and prepare accordingly. Do devote more time to these weaknesses but don’t lose track of your strengths. Taking regular GMAT mock tests will allow you to evaluate your progress and increase your ability to perform under pressure. You can also enrol with a online coaching service such as Careerlabs, as they will provide you GMAT study material pdfs that you can download.
Most importantly, make sure you stay focused and dedicated throughout your preparation phase. To keep yourself motivated, give yourself a little treat every time you accomplish a goal.
FAQs
- Where can I find good GMAT study material?
You can find useful study material from the official GMAC website when you register for the GMAT. In addition to this, EdTech companies like CareerLabs also offer reputable study material.
- Do I need GMAT mock tests in addition to study material?
Yes, GMAT mock tests are an integral part of your study resources as they will help you measure your preparation progress.
- What do I need to prepare for the GMAT other than the study materials?
Apart from the study material, you should also have a proper study plan in place that you can follow. This will help you achieve your target score.
Good Luck!
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