We have offered many tips on how to prepare for the GMAT and its various sections. Today, let us see the top 5 GMAT preparation mistakes made by students. If you want to score well in the GMAT, avoid these five mistakes at any cost.
Starting too late
Some students leave it too late to start preparing for the GMAT. You have to give yourself 6-12 months to really do well at the exam. This will give you enough time to cover the subject areas and take practice tests. If you are coming back to studies after a long hiatus, this time period will condition your time well for the exam. Remember starting late is also detrimental to your admission decisions. The contrary is also true. Don’t start too early. You don’t want to burn out before the actual exam!
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Not devising a study schedule
Despite reading tons of articles on the best GMAT study schedules, you will still find many students not having a concrete study plan in place. Without a concrete plan in place, how do you plan to achieve a concrete score? Sporadic study schedules took nobody anywhere! When you are devising a study plan, take into account your strengths/weaknesses, time availability and exam date. Your study plan should be a dynamic one. It should change if you feel that certain areas need more preparation time.
Neglecting the essays
Most students obsess over the verbal and quant section scores. After all, these are the sections which will give them the coveted 700+ score. While focusing on these two sections is a good idea, you should not lessen your focus on essays. Essays are an important component of admissions and not scoring well will reflect badly in your application. Sometimes, when there is a close call between GMAT scores and GPA, essays can be the deal breaker. Practice writing your essays.
Not taking enough practice tests
If you go through our other articles, you will see the emphasis laid on practice tests. Sometimes students get too caught working on their problem areas and ignore practice tests. Never do that. Practice tests give you a chance to understand your own abilities as a test taker and offer insights for improvement. Take 6-8 practice tests before the exam. Also, make sure you take them under strict exam-like timed conditions.
Not spending enough time on reviews
You have spent lots of time tackling questions across sections. Even if you got the answers correct, did you have the most effective solution? Could the problem have been done faster? Could you finish the sections in time? This are some of the questions you need to ask after taking a practice test or solving practice problems. Based on these reviews, you should tweak your study plan to achieve your score objectives.
