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GMAT is a standardized test that is taken by over 200,000 students and working professionals applying to MBA colleges in India and abroad. GMAT opens doors to more than 7000 business programs across the world. The exam takes a little more than 3 hours to complete and checks your quantitative aptitude, verbal reasoning and analytical writing skills.

GMAT scores are available as soon as you finish the exam and you can choose to report your scores to five MBA colleges. This is included in the test fee. You can also apply to business programs for 5 years after the date of your test.

IN THIS BLOG:

1. What is GMAT exam pattern?
2. How to crack GMAT in 2 months?
3. Week 1: Begin slow
4. Week 2: Learn basic techniques
5. Week 3: Begin DS and RC, Maintain a Performance Log
6. Week 4: Practice writing, Master Geometry, Book a GMAT slot
7. Weeks 5 and 6: Wrap up quant, move to online mode, practice intensively and analyze answers
8. Weeks 7 and 8: Test. Analyse. Repeat.

What is GMAT exam pattern?

Before anything else let’s take a look at GMAT structure or exam pattern. This will help you get an idea of what you are looking at. The exam consists of 4 sections:

  1. Verbal Reasoning: This section has 36 questions on reading comprehension, sentence correction and critical reasoning. These are to be attempted in 65 minutes.
  2. Quantitative Reasoning: This section measures your problem-solving and data sufficiency skills through 31 questions to be done in 62 minutes.
  3. Integrated Reasoning: IR checks your analysis and synthesis of information skills through one question to be completed in 30 minutes.
  4. Analytical Writing Assessment: AWA requires you to analyse an argument in written form. It has one question to be answered in 30 minutes.

How to crack GMAT in 2 months?

Being an Indian student, we are assuming that you already have some familiarity with Math and Verbal topics as you may have taken undergrad entrance exams or even aptitude tests at companies before. You may already know how to work out some questions of reading comprehension, sentence correction, time and work, inequalities, numbers and such topics, but you could be missing out on the right methodology.

Now, what is the right methodology to solve GMAT questions? The one which takes the least amount of time and yields the correct answer! With approximately two minutes to solve each GMAT question, you don’t have to necessarily arrive at a definite answer – you can look for cues, read the options and eliminate the wrong choices saving up to a minute per question. Three or four such questions can save you up to 5 minutes which you can then use to answer advanced level questions. But how do you identify which is a time-saving question and which one is a trap? That’s where practice comes in. There’s really no substitute to it. At Jamboree, we have a razor- sharp GMAT prep approach that keeps you focused on GMAT problem-solving strategies.

Our 2 month GMAT study plan is divided into three stages of learn, practice and test. Along with topics to be covered each week, the study plan  lays down the dos and don’ts of GMAT prep.

Week 1: Begin slow

Working professional or college student, you could be prone to distractions and find it hard to focus solely on study material during the first week. If you find your mind wandering, don’t push yourself too hard. Take it slow during this time. Brushing up on math and grammar fundamentals that you studied at school will help you put in the right mindset for the exam.

For this, many of our students attend our Math and English foundation webinars, which is the best way to revisit school-level math concepts and grammar rules.

Week 2: Learn basic techniques

GMAT Official Guide should be your sworn-in friend and guide all through your GMAT journey. GMAT OG, along with Jamboree study material, are the most reliable guides available for GMAT preparation. The second week should be devoted to going through the basic techniques for solving Critical Reasoning, Reading Comprehension and Sentence Correction as available in the Official Guide. Spend more time on Sentence Correction since it tests basic grammar rules. Also, go through and familiarize yourself with the different types of Reading Comprehension and Critical Reasoning questions.

In the quant section, focus on tackling techniques to solve Number problems and Percentages. Begin with low difficulty-level questions of Equations, if time permits.

Week 3: Begin DS and RC, Maintain a Performance Log

Week 3 should see you going through theories and techniques on Data Sufficiency. In DS, you are always given a question that is followed by two statements. You are expected to state if the information provided in the statements are sufficient to answer the question or not. You need not solve the question to answer correctly. DS questions require thorough practice. Aim to solve 5-10 DS questions every day. Follow it up with Problem Solving questions on Equations, TSD and Time and Work. Simultaneously, solve one Reading Comprehension passage every alternate day.

While you work out the problems, remember to create and update a Performance Log to record the errors that you are making as you progress.

Week 4: Practice writing, Master Geometry, Book a GMAT slot

In week 4, you should go through the Analytical Writing Assessment portion of the GMAT Official Guide. Every alternate day, attempt an Issue topic and an Argument topic within the prescribed time limit.

At the same time, you should master questions on Geometry. You should also continue to solve Verbal questions targeting 10 to 15 questions every day. During this time, your focus should be to increase your accuracy. Do not worry about time management. Continue to update your Performance Log.

A month into GMAT prep, now is a good time to book your GMAT test date. This will greatly improve your focus and sense of purpose.

Weeks 5 and 6: Wrap up quant, move to online mode, practice intensively and analyze answers

At month-end, your preparation should be in full swing. In quant, it is time to move on to slightly difficult topics like Sequences, Permutations and Combinations, Probability and Dice questions. Plan your time judiciously and practice these hard. In addition, solve 10 questions each of Problem Solving, Data Sufficiency, Critical Reasoning and Reading Comprehension.

In these two weeks, you should also move from solving questions in the Official Guide book to solving them in the online format of the Official Guide. GMAT is an online exam, so the more questions you do on a computer, the more confident will you be.

There is also another change in the offing. On the actual GMAT, you will be required to do both math and verbal questions within 3.5 hours. So, it is important for you to start developing mental agility. Your aim is to transition smoothly between questions testing different skill sets. Thus, it is extremely important for you to practice different types of questions daily.

After solving questions, do not hesitate to give time to analyse your answers. Of the 5 answer options available for each question, only one is the right answer. However, you have to be absolutely sure why the other 4 answers are wrong. Make no mistake, this is absolutely crucial to acing the GMAT.

Weeks 7 and 8: Test. Analyse. Repeat.

After the end of 6 weeks, you should be comfortable with medium difficulty-level questions on all topics of the GMAT Official Guide. Once you have done that, you will need to start taking full-length tests. Before starting the full-length tests, however, analyze your Performance Log and revise concepts where your accuracy level is below 70%.

If you are a working professional, you would be unaccustomed to exams for quite some time and sitting for 3.5 hours will, in itself, be a task for you! However, to know your exact level of preparation, you will have to take the full-length tests in their entirety and at one go, without skipping any section or taking breaks. Take care not to skip the AWA section while taking full-length tests.

Make sure to take all the available Official GMAT Prep Tests since they are the best reflection of the actual GMAT. The ideal routine will be to take one test on one day and spend the next two days analyzing your performance in the test and taking remedial action.

If your performance in any section is below par, then take the next 2 days to go through the GMAT Official Guide and revise the techniques involved for that section. Do not move on to the next full-length test unless you have revised and mastered the questions of the previous full-length test.

Students who have adhered to our GMAT Study Plan and followed instructions of the faculty, have seen their scores hit the 700 mark easily in our GMAT practice tests. As practice tests have slightly higher difficulty level, the actual GMAT sees them score 720 or more in 2 months.

If you have any questions about GMAT preparation or MBA admissions in India and abroad, feel free to contact our counselors for a 15 minute free session!

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