Preparation for GMAT is like a battle and it needs to be won at any cost. If you think like this then you’ve already won half the battle. And the other half is won when you figure out when exactly you need to get out there in the battleground with all your guns blazing. Basically, starting your preparation, constructing a plan and sticking to it till the very last moment of your preparation. Think like this, you want a ticket for a cricket match and many people are trying to get it. But the one who has planned things well in advance would surely have an edge and will probably land the ticket. So how is this related to ‘When to Start GMAT Examination Prep’?
The ticket here is that golden seat in your dream college and there are other aspirants like you giving the exam. So the person who plans well in advance and sticks by the plan is more likely to get the ticket. Or the seat in this case. So let’s discuss when to start GMAT Examination Prep. This article will surely help you plan when to start your GMAT Examination Prep. And if you are employed right now then it will teach you how to balance out your preparation and job. Let’s get started…
When to Start GMAT Examination Prep?
Answer to this question is very much important because the moment you decide as to when to start the clock in your mind starts ticking and keeps you aware of the deadline is approaching. The preparation of GMAT has to be done in a much-planned way. For that you need to answer the following questions first:
- The Target GMAT score
- The hours that can be spent per day for preparation
Once you have an answer to these questions then you can give a kickstart. Optimally 3 months of preparation is required for GMAT.
There should be enough gap between the GMAT exam date and your B-School application deadline at least 6 to 8 weeks because there are a lot of formalities to be done after giving the exam and the application process does take a lot of time indeed. So to apply for the right B-School for you should devote approx 5 months in which Preparation + Taking GMAT + Application Process can be done in the smoothest of the ways.
Retaking GMAT
It has been observed that out of all the test takers only 43% submit the applications rest all either look for other options or they plan to take a retake because there is always a room for improvement and if with increase in your score if a good pool of colleges comes in the contention so nothing is wrong in that aspect.
An aspirant has to wait for another 16 days after giving the previous GMAT to retake the GMAT. So on the 17th day if you feel you are perfectly prepared for giving the exam again so you should go for it.
An aspirant can take GMAT 5 times a year and 8 times in the whole lifetime.
The aspirant should consider retaking the GMAT exam once they have full belief in themselves in making it count and if the belief is there, results would surely be fruitful and figures over the years suggest that there has been an increase in the points after retaking the GMAT and the increase has been very significant.
Planning the retake is very essential and as a thumb rule for every 10 point increase in your previous GMAT score, you got to devote 10 hours for that. So if the deadline of your college is approaching then buckle up and retake the GMAT ASAP.
Managing
There are many aspirants who prepare for the GMAT exam while they work or they are in enrolled in a course so the majority of their time goes in working in the office or being there in the college. So when to start preparing for them has to be very important because without planning they would be landing nowhere. So 20 hours per week of study is very essential and if you could scoop out 2 hours a day on weekdays and around 4 hours or more on weekends then the preparation would go smooth. For the working professionals, it is highly advised to enroll in a distance-learning or an online course so that they can easily manage out between kinds of stuff.
I think now you will be able to think about when to start the preparation and how to get a good score.
