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How to tackle the GMAT?

Our former editor Sarita Koendjbiharie MScBA, currently a PhD Candidate, took the GMAT in 2007 and obtained a score of 650. She says: “It is very important to prepare a couple of months in advance (at least three). Get the latest edition of the Official Guide for GMAT Review and study and practice on a daily basis. The book has over 800 real GMAT questions in its practice tests. Pay extra attention to the areas in which you are not so strong. Conclude with taking the GMAT with the Free GMATPrep Test-Preparation Software available on www.mba.com/mba/TaketheGMAT under GMAT Prep Products. It is key to learn how to pace yourself. If you do not know the answer, try to eliminate as many possibilities, make an estimated guess and move on. Good luck to all GMAT takers!”

Over 1,800 graduate business schools worldwide have the Graduate Management Admission Test or GMAT as one of their standard entry requirements. The GMAT is a computer adaptive exam delivered in English. The test was designed to help admissions officers evaluate how suitable individual applicants are for their graduate business and management programs. The GMAT measures basic verbal, mathematical and analytical writing skills, it does not however, measure other admission factors such as job experience, leadership ability and interpersonal skills. GMAT only predicts academic performance in the business school courses that are fundamental to the MBA degree. The GMAT is a standardized test. This means that it is given to all test takers under the same conditions making it a very reliable test for schools to compare students.

The components

The GMAT is divided into three main parts: an Analytical Writing Assessment, a Quantitative section, and a Verbal section. You will spend approximately 4 hours at the test center.

The Analytical Writing Assessment (60 minutes)

The Analytical Writing Assessment or AWA consists of two writing tasks: an Analysis of an Issue and an Analysis of an Argument. The responses to each of these tasks are scored on a 6-point scale by college and university faculty members from various subject matter areas. The AWA measures your ability in analytical reasoning and argumentation.

Optional break usually 10 minutes

The Quantitative section consists of 37 multiple choice questions that focus on two types of questions: Problem Solving and Data Sufficiency. This section requires knowledge of arithmetics, elementary algebra and commonly known concepts of geometry. The section tests your ability to solve and analyze  quantitative problems, and your skills in quantitative reasoning and basic mathematics.

Optional break usually 10 minutes

The Verbal section (75 minutes)

The Verbal section consists of 41 multiple choice questions. It has three types of questions: Reading Comprehension, Critical Reasoning, and Sentence Correction. In the Reading Comprehension part you will be presented short reading passages up to 350 words long. The topics of the reading passages are derived from the social, physical, and biological sciences and business related areas. The multiple choice questions are to be answered on the basis of the reading passages and test your interpretative and inferential abilities. The Critical Reasoning section tests your abilities in argumentation and evaluation, and organizing or devising plans or actions.

The Sentence Correction section requires a sufficient command of the English language since in this section you will be tested on two aspects of language  proficiency: correct expression and effective expression. The Quantitative and Verbal sections are computer-adaptive. This means that while you are taking the test, the computer will select each multiple choice question from a large pool of questions, adapting the questions to your own individual level. If you have answered the easier questions correctly, you get to answer harder questions making it possible to earn a higher score.

Your GMAT scores

If you have completed the GMAT or when your time is up the computer will calculate your scores. Before you view your score you will have one opportunity to cancel your scores. If you do not cancel your scores you can choose to see and print a copy of your unofficial scores for the multiple-choice sections (Quantitative, Verbal,  and Total) at the test center. At the beginning of the GMAT you are allowed to choose up to five different GMAT programs to send your scores to. You and these  programs will receive an Official Score Report (including the score for the Analytical Writing Assessment) approximately 20 days after you have taken the test.

The GMAT results in four different scores: Verbal, Quantitative, Total, and Analytical, Writing Assessment. The scores are reported on a fixed scale. The total scores range from 200 to 800. Most test takers score between 400 and 600. Most business schools with GMAT as an admission criterion ask a score

of 500/600 and above.

Test fee

The fee to take the GMAT is US$ 250 worldwide (excluding possible taxes) More information is available on the official website www.mba.com/mba/TaketheGMAT . There you can schedule a GMAT appointment at any test center around the world.

Contact information for Europe:

E: GMATCandidateServicesEMEA@pearson.com

T: +44 (0) 161 855 7219

(9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. BST)

Fax: +44 (0) 161 855 7301

Sources:

The Official Guide for GMAT® Review, 11th

www.mba.com/mba/TaketheGMAT