1. Pacing tips
Time management is critical to getting a high GMAT score. On test day, your nervousness will distort your time perception, making this even more difficult.
The GMAT is a computer adaptive test, meaning that the test adapts to your performance and you can't return to prior questions. This makes timing especially tricky. If you go too slowly, you could run out of time halfway through the exam. Or, if you go to quickly, you will be stuck at the end of the exam unable to go backward. Plus, by hurrying you probably made many careless mistakes like mis-reading a question or accidentially selecting the wrong answer.
Don't get stuck in a time sandtrap. Try not to waste more than 4 minutes on any individual question. Expect to spend between two and four minutes on any individual question. Part of the problem is that trick questions will be designed to waste your time.
Example:
What is 999,999 x 999,999?
Obviously you can solve this question by doing the math (and wasting a few minutes) or you could do it quickly as FOIL by converting 999,999 into 1,000,000 minus 1. You can then convert 999,999 x 999,999 into (1,000,000 - 1)(1,000,000 -1) = 1,000,000 (squared) - 2,000,000 + 1.
More than likely you just find the answer with "1" as the final digit and you have found the correct answer in less than 15 seconds.
So, if you find yourself spending several minutes on a question, you most likely have been played for a fool by those ever sneaky GMAT writers. Move on.
2. Don't panic.
The thing about telling people "don't panic" in a terrifying situation is that they tend to panic more. So telling someone "don't panic" when taking the GMAT is a bit empty. Instead, you should practice, practice, practice to get used to taking the test under timed conditions, and remember, if all else fails you can always cancel the exam at the end. Getting used to taking the test under timed conditions and taking the GMAT far in advance of the final date it is required by your business school will give you more confidence going into test day.
Don't panic. Rushing through the questions will just increase themistakes you make.
3. Fill in the blanks.
If you do run out of time, fill in all the blanks. There is a greater penalty for unanswered questions than guessing (where 1 in 5 may be correct).
4. Focus on Early Questions
The way the GMAT CAT is engineering, the early questions count more in determining your final score. Of course the problem is that your nerves are goint to be at their peak for the first few questions, so this is a bad combination. Your first question will be medium level, so if you are a high scorer you will find it easy, if you are a low scorer you will find it hard. The test will then adapt, delivering a harder or easier question depending on how well you've done so far. In general, you should put in more effort on the first ten questions.
5. Spend alot of time and take many tests
Some students spend over sixty hours of time and thousands of dollars preparing for the GMAT. Students looking to break 700 for a top school or who have been out of school for several years will require the most practice. Taking many practice tests will tend to benefit your scoring. Students often prepare for over 50 hours over 6 to 8 weeks.
6. Join forums
Practice and prepare in groups.Some are of the opinion that scores increase by 100 to 200 points as a result of heavy preparation courses (Classroom).
7. Focus on sections most amenable to improvement.
The essay section and the sentence correction sections questions will tend to show the greatest level of improvements with practice.For reading comprehension, find the method of reading passages that works for you. Timing is critical, try not to get bogged down in reading the passage.
Again, this is down to a lot of practice. Have 2 or 3 basic templates you can use to write your essays - this saves a lot of time and thinking during the exam (see the Test Tutor AWA Tutorials or the Princeton Review book for more details). Also, really practice brainstorming ideas in the first five minutes before you start writing. The work you put in then can make the rest of the essay much easier.
8. Learn to use scrap paper.
You can use scrap paper effectively by copying from the screen and doing work or taking notes on the scrap paper. You can also use the scrap paper to make an answer grid, which is helpful for eliminating answer choices.
9. "The perfect is the enemy of the good" Voltaire.
Don't try for perfection. Even if you are aiming for an 800 score, you still don't need to get every question right. This is liberating. You can get lots of questions wrong. So don't worry if you are stuck, just move on.
10. Take care to avoid needless errors.
After you have finished your practice GMAT exams, you'll find that many errors are simple carelessness. Oftentimes you mis-copy the text of a question onto scrap paper, make a simple mathematical error or mis-read a question. Eliminating needless errors is largely a matter of discipline, focusing and practice. After you catch enough of your own errors, you will start to see patterns and can act to prevent them.
Avoid perfectionism: Remember you do not have to get every question right to score 800. If you do not know or are not sure about the answer to a question then take the plunge and guess it. The worst thing you can do in the GMAT is spend 8 minutes on a question. If you spend this amount of time on any question it is because you do not know how to do it, and you will almost certainly get it wrong. Get it wrong (or right if you are lucky) quickly by guessing and save the time for questions you do know how to answer.
