Ace the GMAT

[Web Exclusive] Experts say that acing the GMAT doesn't

guarantee you'll get into business school, but a low score
can deinitely !eep you out" #o how can you $a!e sure
you're in the running% &hec! out our GMAT cheat sheet to
learn how to ta$e the test"
MBA Survival Guide
GMAT Vets Tell All
Building A Better Test
What is the GMAT? Well, officially, the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) is a
threeandahalfhour e!am designed to measure your ver"al and #uantitative s$ills and %redict
your academic %erformance in the first year of "usiness school& The ver"al section of the e!am
consists of reading com%rehension, grammar, and logic #uestions, 'hile the math section tests
"asic alge"ra, geometry, and arithmetic& The Analytical Writing Assessment consists of t'o ()
minute essays&
*o', not so officially+ Although the GMAT theoretically tests your a"ility to do 'ell in "usiness
school, some say all it tests is your a"ility to do 'ell on the GMAT& But 'hether or not it,s a
good %redictor of either academic a"ility or future success in "usiness, it is an im%ortant metric
used in "usiness school admissions& -i$e all standardi.ed tests, the GMAT is a uniform tool for
com%aring students 'hose academic and %rofessional "ac$grounds vary 'ildly&
The GMAT &AT
Since /cto"er 0, 0112, the GMAT has "een offered in a com%uteronly format, $no'n as the
GMAT 3om%uter Ada%tive Test, or the GMAT 3AT& 4nli$e a %a%er test, the 3AT ada%ts to your
%erformance as you %roceed through the test& 5n fact, every %erson gets a different test
de%ending on ho' 'ell he or she is doing& 6our final score is "ased not on ho' many #uestions
you get right "ut on the difficulty level of the #uestions you ans'er correctly&
The test starts 'ith a mediumlevel #uestion that a"out half of the testta$ers are e!%ected to
get right& 5f you ans'er it correctly, your score goes u% and you get a harder #uestion7 if you
get it 'rong, your score goes do'n and you get an easier #uestion& This %rocess continues
throughout the test& 5n theory, "y the time you get to the end of each section, you,ll "e getting
a"out half of the #uestions right and half of them 'rong& (We,ll cover scoring in more detail a
little later&)
Another difference "et'een the 3AT and the traditional %a%er test is that you don,t have to
register months in advance to ta$e it& 5nstead, you ta$e the 3AT "y a%%ointment 'hich you
can ma$e even 8ust t'o days in advance at an official test center& Sim%ly call 9))GMAT
*/W (in the 4&S& and 3anada) or go to '''&gmat&org to register& 5f you %refer to sign u% the
oldfashioned 'ay, you can get the GMAT information a%%lication "ulletin at a local college
counseling office, li"rary, or :a%lan ;ducational 3enter (or call <)12202(() to have one sent
to you)&
The 3AT is offered si! days a 'ee$, three 'ee$s out of each month, at =)) testing centers& The
centers are located at Sylvan -earning 3enters, colleges and universities, and ;ducational
Testing Service (;TS) offices& There are some overseas centers as 'ell& The test costs >01) in
the 4nited States, ?uerto @ico, and 4&S& territories, and slightly more in other countries&
What 'inds o (uestions Are on the GMAT &AT%
The 3AT consists of a <)minute AAnalytical Writing AssessmentA (t'o ()minute essays, one
an analysis of an issue and the other an analysis of an o%inion), a 2Bminute #uantitative
(math) section 'ith (2 #uestions, and a 2Bminute ver"al section 'ith =0 #uestions given in
that order& Cive different ty%es of #uestions a%%ear on the test+ data sufficiency and %ro"lem
solving (in the math section)7 and reading com%rehension, critical reasoning, and sentence
correction (in the ver"al section)& Although these #uestion ty%es are some'hat ar"itrary, each
su%%osedly tests a different s$ill needed in the "usiness 'orld (e&g&, data sufficiency
theoretically tests ho' 'ell you $no' 'hen you can ans'er a #uestion or ma$e a decision)&
)ata suiciency *uestions consist of a #uestion and t'o %ieces of data& 6our 8o" is to decide
if the given data are ade#uate to ans'er the #uestion& Many students find these to "e some of
most difficult #uestions on the test& 6ou can e!%ect to see a"out 0( of them on test day& (The
e!act num"er of #uestions is an estimate "ecause it varies from %erson to %erson& 5f you get all
of your data sufficiency #uestions right, for e!am%le, the com%uter 'ill give you more #uestions
in a 'ea$er area& This is true of every section on the 3AT&)
+roble$,solving *uestions cover arithmetic, alge"ra, and geometry "asically, the math
you studied in high school& 6ou can e!%ect to see a"out D= %ro"lemsolving #uestions on the
3AT&
There are usually "et'een one and four reading co$prehension %assages (again, ho' many
is determined "y ho' 'ell you do on the first one if you ace it, you might not get another),
each "et'een D)) to =)) 'ords long& 6ou ans'er three to four #uestions on each %assage for a
total of 0) to 0B reading com%rehension #uestions, or close to =)E of the ver"al section&
&ritical reasoning *uestions, the logic %ortion of the GMAT, consist of a short argument and
a #uestion a"out the author,s assum%tions or ho' to "olster or 'ea$en his or her reasoning&
There are usually 9 to 0( of these (DBE of the ver"al %ortion) on the 3AT&
#entence correction *uestions, of 'hich there are around 0= (a"out =)E of the ver"al
section), sho' a sentence 'ith %art or all of it underlined& 6ou must decide if the underlined
%ortion is correct the 'ay it is or select the "est 'ay to re'rite it&
The essays, 'hich are actually the first %art of the test, as$ you to analy.e an issue and an
argument& Cor the analysis of an issue essay, you must state your %oint of vie' and then
su%%ort it 'ith your $no'ledge and e!%erience& Cor the analysis of an argument essay, you are
as$ed to identify the assum%tions an argument ma$es and then evaluate those assum%tions as
sound or unsound using outside e!am%les and information&
4nli$e the old %enciland%a%er version of the GMAT, the 3AT mi!es u% the different s%ecies of
#uestions 'ithin the "roader #uantitative and ver"al sections& This means you might have a
sentence correction follo'ed "y a critical reasoning #uestion follo'ed "y another sentence
correction #uestion& (The only %artial e!ce%tion to this format is reading com%rehension+ All
reading com%rehension #uestions for a %assage 'ill follo' one another&) And 'hile there is not
an entire e!%erimental section on the 3AT as there often 'as on the %a%er version, there are
e!%erimental #uestions scattered throughout the test& These #uestions don,t count, and
although the num"er of them varies, they usually ma$e u% a"out DBE of the e!am&
#o -ow )oes the Test Actually Wor!%
While the $inds of #uestions on the 3AT aren,t any different from those on the old %a%er GMAT,
the format and scoring method vary considera"ly& Cirst, there are some logistical distinctions&
4nli$e on the old test, you can,t s$i% #uestions& 6ou must ans'er a #uestion in order to move
on to the ne!t one& Also, you are %enali.ed if you don,t finish the test, so it,s im%ortant to ma$e
an educated guess if a #uestion is really holding you u%& Hint: Don't guess randomly at more
than two questions in a row because strings of wrong answers can dramatically affect your
score. The only exception to this is toward the end of the test -- if you are running out of time
you will have to guess to complete the exam, though try to eliminate at least one wrong
answer before guessing.
Then there is the scoring system& *ot all #uestions count e#ually& This is "ecause the 8um%s in
score are more e!treme at the "eginning of each section& 5n fact, t'o test ta$ers can get the
same num"er of #uestions right "ut have very different scores& Fere,s ho' it 'or$s+
Total scores on the 3AT range from D)) to 9))& The first #uestion in each section is 'orth 9) to
0)) %oints& 6ou start each section 'ith a score of B)), so if you get that first #uestion right,
your score goes u% to a"out <))7 if you get it 'rong, your score goes do'n to a"out =))& The
second #uestion is 'orth <) to 2) %oints& This means that if you get the first t'o #uestions on
a section right, you,re loo$ing at a score of a"out <2), "ut if you get the first t'o 'rong, you,ve
got a %altry (()& Fere,s the odd %art+ 5f you get the first #uestion right and the second 'rong,
you,ve got a B(), "ut if you get the first one 'rong and the second one right, you,ve got a =2)&
The relative 'eighting of #uestions affects your score that #uic$ly&
/f course, the scoring gets more com%le! as you ans'er more #uestions, "ut in general, after
the first five #uestions of a section, you,re 8ust finetuning your score& 5f you ans'er the first
five #uestions correctly, you,ll "e 'or$ing at a level 'ell a"ove 2))& 5f you get the first five
'rong, you,re 'ell "elo' ()) and 'ill li$ely get easy #uestions for the rest of the e!am the
$iss of death on the 3AT& 6ou can recover from ans'ering a fe' early #uestions 'rong, "ut
you,ll need to get a long string of #uestions right, as later #uestions are 'orth less&
As confusing as all this may sound, your score on the 3AT is li$ely to "e very similar to 'hat it
'ould "e on the %enciland%a%er version of the test& Before s'itching over to the 3AT, ;TS
%retested and normed it to ma$e sure the scores 'ere com%ara"le&
There are definite advantages to the 3AT& 5nstead of scheduling your life around a
%redetermined date, you can sign u% to ta$e the test 'henever is convenient for you& And,
unli$e 'ith the %enciland%a%er version, you can see your scores immediately after com%leting
the test& -ast, many %eo%le %refer to ty%e their essays& AWith the essays&&& 5 loved the
com%uter version,A said :evin Cleming, 'ho too$ the 3AT 'hen ;TS 'as %retesting it& A5 ty%e
%ro"a"ly si! times as fast as 5 'rite, so that hel%ed a lot& 5 li$ed "eing a"le to cut and %aste
and ma$e clean edits&A
/f course, there are some do'nsides to the com%uteri.ed GMAT& *ot "eing a"le to go "ac$ to a
#uestion is the main one& The e!%erimental #uestions also seem to unnerve students more on
the 3AT than on the %a%erand%encil version& /n the 3AT, Aif you thin$ you got a %ro"lem
right, you,re antici%ating a harder one,A e!%lains Will ?e%%o, 'ho is currently studying for the
e!am& A6ou might have gotten a hard one right, and then you get an easy e!%erimental
#uestion& And then you thin$ you might have gotten the last #uestion 'rong& That,s tough
%sychologically&A
Cinally, you have to use se%arate scratch %a%er 'hen ta$ing the 3AT& A6ou have to ta$e the
information from the screen that you need and someho' transfer that to the %a%er,A says one
student& ACor e!am%le, in reading com%rehension, you can,t circle $ey 'ords&A ?lus, you have
to scroll through the reading com%rehension %assages "ecause you can,t see the 'hole thing at
once on the screen&
+reparation .s Everything
*ot to sound li$e your mother, "ut if you ho%e to do 'ell on the GMAT, you really do have to
%re%are& By studying and familiari.ing yourself 'ith the test, you can su"stantially im%rove
your score& Cor e!am%le, grammar #uestions com%rise a"out =)E of the ver"al section of the
GMAT& 5f you haven,t thought a"out dangling modifiers since eighthgrade ;nglish (and 'e
ho%e you haven,tG), you,ll find that you can "oost your score a lot 8ust "y revie'ing a fe' "asic
rules& Try to allot at least three months to study for the GMAT though anything is "etter than
8ust "ree.ing into the test center un%re%ared&
The "est method, as 'ith any standardi.ed test, is to %ractice 'ith %ast e!ams& 3onsider
%urchasing The Official uide for !"T #eview $%th &dition', %u"lished "y ;TS& 5t,s the only
resource that contains official %ast GMATs& ;ven "etter, "uy the ?o'er?re% soft'are %ac$age,
also %roduced "y ;TS, 'hich has t'o %ractice 3ATs made u% of the same #uestions as in the
Official uide&
Hint: (t is a little )nown fact that &T* will allow you to ta)e a practice !"T +"T at one of the
test centers. Ta)e advantage of this offer.
4nfortunately, the resources %u"lished "y ;TS contain only a fe' tests7 you 'ill %ro"a"ly need
more %ractice tests than they %rovide& Also, these tests are from a fe' years ago and are
some'hat dated& Cor e!am%le, some math conce%ts that 'ere not on %revious e!ams have
"een added in recent years&
That,s a com%elling argument in favor of ta$ing a GMAT course offered "y a test%re% com%any
li$e :a%lan or ?rinceton @evie', a %o%ular study method among "usiness school a%%licants&
Although test %re%aration has "ecome an industry in itself and these com%anies have a
vested interest in getting you to "elieve that you need to ta$e one of their e!%ensive classes in
order to do 'ell on the GMAT it,s their 8o" to monitor the e!am, identify common tra%s, and
develo% strategies for finding correct ans'ers&
GMAT courses run around >0,))), "ut they can "e 'orth it if you go to all of the classes, 'or$
through most of the homestudy material, ta$e advantage of 'or$sho%s, free tutoring, and
e!tra hel% s%ecial sessions, and ta$e simulated %ractice 3ATs at the test centers& (:ee% in mind
that these are tests created "y the com%anies, so 'hile they closely mimic the GMAT, your
score on and e!%erience 'ith them 'on,t #uite "e the same as an actual e!am&) Also, some
%eo%le find that if they %ay money for a class, they,re more li$ely to attend&
?e%%o says that his %re% course hel%ed him in A"eing a"le to see a %ro"lem and identify the
ty%e of #uestion and $no' e!actly ho' to "rea$ that %ro"lem do'n&&&& 6ou $ind of $no'
already 'hat they,re loo$ing for&A Another "enefit 'as Areali.ing that you can get some of the
#uestions 'rong and it,s not going to affect your score that much& 5f you,re really stuc$ on one,
don,t "urn time move on&A
3ourses can also teach you ho' to a%%roach the Analytical Writing Assessment, 'hich is graded
"y "oth a %erson and a com%uter %rogram called the Aerater&A 6our score is the average of
their t'o grades7 if they disagree "y more than one %oint, a second %erson loo$s at your
'riting as 'ell& Besides chec$ing for grammar, s%elling, and usage, the erater loo$s for
characteristics li$e dis%arate sentence length, stylistic variations, and clear structure, 'ith the
main idea at the "eginning of each %aragra%h& 3lasses can teach you 'hat the erater is
loo$ing for&
5f you do decide to ta$e a course, you 'ill %ro"a"ly end u% choosing "et'een :a%lan and
?rinceton @evie'& They offer "oo$s, study guides, diagnostic tests, home'or$ "oo$s, lesson
%lans, online courses, and instructional materials on 3H@/M and video to su%%lement their
classes& They also offer o%tional 'or$sho%s on s%ecific test to%ics, and seminars a"out the
a%%lication %rocess and other issues related to "usiness school&
:a%lan is larger, older, and more conservative than ?rinceton @evie', 'hich is $no'n for its
more cynical, irreverent attitude& A?rinceton,s a good mar$eting com%any,A says GMAT tutor
Adrienne Wichard& AThey,re the ones 'ith free "eer and %i..a&A :a%lan tends to focus on
methodology and su"stance, 'hile ?rinceton @evie' concentrates more on tric$s and avoiding
tra%s&
@egardless of 'hich com%any you choose, there are some things you can do to get the most
out of your GMAT course+
Wor! on your endurance" The GMAT is a long test, so you should ta$e lots of %ractice tests&
#i$ulate test conditions exactly" Time yourself strictly, don,t cut out the 'riting section,
and %ractice at the same time of day your test is scheduled for&
/eview your practice exa$s thoroughly" Go over all of your ans'ers even the correct
ones and the e!%lanations your study guides %rovide& This 'ill hel% you reinforce conce%ts
and revie' formulas and shortcuts&
)on't wor! 0ust on your wea!nesses" ?oints are %oints, no matter 'here you gain them,
and you don,t 'ant your strengths to get rusty&
Hint: et your money's worth. (n addition to ta)ing advantage of the simulated practice +"Ts
and extra study sessions, ,-ever be afraid to as) for anything, because people want to ma)e
you happy,, says a former .aplan instructor. ,They're very customer-service oriented.,
3lasses aren,t for everyone, though& 5f you are 'ell "elo' average in math, for e!am%le, you
might need more s%eciali.ed hel%& 5n that case, you might call a local high school or college for
the name of a tutor or a "asic revie' course& Similarly, if you are in the u%%er D)th %ercentile
and have only a fe' areas of 'ea$ness, you might consider a %rivate tutor or a targeted,
trac$ed class (?rinceton @evie' sometimes offers the latter)& Both :a%lan and ?rinceton @evie'
offer %rivate tutoring for a"out >1) to >0(B an hour& Graduate students, teachers, and
inde%endent tutors often charge less&
The advantages of tutoring are o"vious+ fle!i"ility and individual attention& 6ou get to choose
the time and %lace to meet and, more im%ortant, you can focus on the areas 'here you need
hel%& ?rivate tutoring can also "e costeffective "ecause, although hourly rates can "e high, you
only %ay for the hours you really need& The disadvantage is that it can "e hard to gauge
'hether a tutor has a good "ac$ground and e!%ertise for 'hat you need and 'hether he or she
'ill truly "e hel%ful& 5f you need hel% in more than one area or 8ust 'ant a general "rushu%, a
course might "e a "etter choice&
Test )ay Tips
+ic! the best spot" 5f you live near multi%le test centers, chec$ them out "efore registering,
as some are #uieter and more organi.ed than others& /nce you get there, ma$e sure you have
enough light, ade#uate s%ace to 'rite, and a comforta"le chair& 5f you don,t, as$ for them&
Also, ma$e sure that your com%uter, mouse, and $ey"oard are 'or$ing7 you,re given a short
com%uter tutorial "eforehand 'hich should give you time to do this& The tutorial is also a good
time to 'rite do'n formulas, strategies, and mnemonic devices on your scratch %a%er&
)on't cra$ the day beore the test" There,s not much you can do to hel% yourself at this
%oint, and you 'ill 8ust stress out& @evie' a fe' $ey %oints, gather 'hat you 'ill need for the
ne!t day, and ta$e the night off&
+ac! reinorce$ents" Besides the standard items li$e your admission tic$et, a %hoto 5H, and
%encils or %ens for scratch 'or$, you,ll 'ant to "ring a small snac$ and e!tra clothes 'ith you&
Hress in layers, as test centers are notoriously either too hot or too cold& Hon,t "ring scratch
%a%er, calculators, or digital 'atches, none of 'hich are allo'ed& (Watches 'ith hands are
fine&) 6our %roctor 'ill %rovide scratch %a%er, and there,s a cloc$ on your com%uter screen&
+ace yoursel" Because the first five #uestions of each section are so im%ortant, start slo'ly
(although there are limits to this if you are aiming for a very high score), and then s%eed u%&
The onscreen cloc$ automatically stays on during the last five minutes of a section, "ut it can
"e turned on and off during the rest of the test& Turn it off during the first five minutes so that
you don,t feel %ressure 'hile ans'ering these crucial #uestions&
Guess strategically" Guess only if you are really stum%ed or tight on time+ 5f you have < to
0) #uestions 'ith less than five minutes left, try to eliminate at least one 'rong ans'er "efore
guessing& 5f you have 00 or more #uestions to go 'ith less than five minutes left, guess
randomly until you get to the last #uestion, and s%end all of your remaining time on that one&
Ta!e a brea!" The 3AT includes t'o o%tional fiveminute "rea$s& Ta$e them&
)on't outs$art yoursel" Hon,t get too caught u% in your $no'ledge of ho' the test is scored
and overanaly.e the difficulty level of every #uestion& 5f you get 'hat seems li$e an easy
#uestion, don,t %anic+ 5t might "e a tric$ %ro"lem, an e!%erimental #uestion, or 8ust one that,s
sim%le for you "ut hard for others& AAl'ays concentrate on the #uestion at hand,A says one
GMAT tutor& AHon,t 'orry a"out the one "efore it or the one after it&A
)on't rush to reta!e the test" /f course, it,s al'ays %ossi"le that you 'ill get really flustered
or have some other e!%erience that causes you to score %oorly on the test& But thin$ t'ice
"efore ta$ing the GMAT again& Ho you have a legitimate reason to thin$ your score 'ould
im%rove a second time around? Was your score lo' "ecause you 'eren,t familiar 'ith the test
format and ty%es of #uestions? Ho you have one or t'o clearly identifia"le 'ea$nesses that
targeted study could im%rove? 5f so, you may "e a good candidate to reta$e the test& The same
holds true if there 'ere e!tenuating circumstances a %ersonal trauma, illness, uncontrolla"le
nerves, or a %oor night,s slee%&
Fo'ever, if you a"solutely $illed yourself studying the first time, you may "e too "urned out to
do it all over again& Score 8um%s of 0)) or more are unusual, and your score 'on,t 8ust
magically go u% "ecause you,ve ta$en the test "efore& 5f you,ve ta$en the GMAT t'ice or more
already, you,ve %ro"a"ly done all the im%roving you,re going to do&
"licia "bell, a former writer and editor at /ashingtonian maga0ine, is currently pursuing a
master's in education at 1arvard. *he can be reached at a2abell3hotmail.com.