You’re ready to demonstrate that you’re serious about business school by showcasing your most relevant talents. Getting a master’s degree in business administration is a rewarding experience. The GMAT exam is one of the steps in this procedure. We’re here to help you figure out what you’ll need to get the best outcomes. It’s critical to understand how much time you should devote to studying each day. According to experts, you should exercise for at least 1.5 hours each day and for four or more hours on the weekends. However, this might not be enough. The amount of time you need to devote to this test will be determined by your personal demands. In other words, if you only need to study for an hour, you shouldn’t study for four hours a day. It’s critical to understand how much time you should devote to studying each day.

According to experts, you should exercise for at least 1.5 hours each day and for four or more hours on the weekends. However, this might not be enough. The amount of time you need to devote to this test will be determined by your personal demands. In other words, if you only need to study for an hour, you shouldn’t study for four hours a day. According to the GMAT official website, a student should study for the exam for ten to seventeen hours per week. Depending on how many hours a student has available to study, this quantity may change. A student should study for the GMAT for between eight and twelve weeks on average. If you wish to study full-time, you should set aside 15 to 17 hours every day to do it. You can study for up to 10 hours every week, depending on the score you want to get. However, if you want to improve your score by 100 points, you’ll need to study for an additional five to ten hours per week. The GMAT test should take eight to twelve weeks in most cases. If you are a recent college graduate, you should begin studying for the GMAT as soon as possible.

Putting Everything Together

People who achieve a GMAT score of 700 or higher spend an average of 90 hours studying. A good GMAT study regimen includes anywhere from 10 to 15 hours of study per week. If you do the math, you’ll have somewhere between 6 and 9 weeks to prepare for the GMAT, assuming you’re able to be 100 percent consistent every week and don’t take the GMAT twice. Give yourself a little more extra time than that to account for the unexpected. That’s why we recommend studying for three months, or a little longer if you’re taking the test again.

What Happens If GMAT Preparation Takes More Than Three Months?

The difficulty of remaining actively interested in your study is a challenge. More significantly, if you study for the GMAT for too long, you risk becoming exhausted. Studying can be demanding, especially when combined with full-time work. You also won’t be able to study your way out of GMAT exhaustion. The only way to avoid burnout is to take a long break from the GMAT and allow your mind to rest. In fact, burnout could be the reason your grade isn’t improving and studying even harder and for longer periods of time can trap you in a vicious circle of tiredness and frustration.

If you’ve been studying for the GMAT for more than three months and your scores haven’t improved despite your efforts, it’s time to take a break from it and then make a significant adjustment in how or what you’re studying. You won’t forget everything, and if you do, learning research says that relearning everything will only strengthen your recollections. Three months of steady practice is sufficient to become familiar with the material and learn how to take the test. That isn’t to say that everyone will achieve their target score in a few months, but if you’re spending too much time studying for the GMAT and are becoming burned out, you’ll need to make some adjustments to achieve your objective.

How Can You Effectively Prepare?

• Building GMAT knowledge is similar to working out at the gym. You must keep going and doing something every day.

Avoid losing momentum by stopping and starting your studies. You must also maintain your practice across all of the topics assessed in order to avoid losing your gains. You’ll notice that if you ignore a component of the test for a while in order to concentrate on other parts of the test, your performance in that section will suffer.

• It’s important to think of your preparation as three steps, regardless of your timeframe. You’ll spend the first stage learning about concepts and tactics. The timing aspect will be introduced in the second phase.
• In the third, you’ll practice mock tests (along with your time approach) to improve your mental stamina for the real thing.

8-Step Study Program

Learn the Basics of the GMAT Exam.

Before deciding how to prepare for it, learn everything you can about the GMAT. Examine the test’s structure, themes, and instructions. Investigate how others have prepared in order to learn about available resources and common test problems.

Determine Your GMAT Exam Objectives

To stay motivated and focused, set personal goals. If you want to get a specific GMAT exam score, take a practice test to see if your goal is realistic and what you’ll need to do to get there. You can also establish time-based goals, such as completing a certain number of practice problems each week, or activity-based goals, such as testing by a given date.

Create a Mental Picture of Your Ideal GMAT Learning Environment

Determine what you need to succeed, whether you study for the GMAT in eight weeks or for the entire six months. Determine the following features of your ideal learning environment: Is a more demanding environment better for you, or do you prefer a more supportive and encouraging environment? Structured, flexible, competitive, collaborative, self-paced, guided, communal, and individual are some of the other qualities.

Look Into GMAT Prep Choices

When reviewing GMAT best practices, keep in mind that there are three main exam preparation methods: self-study, attending a course, and working with a private instructor. The majority of applicants use more than one. A candidate studying with a tutor, for example, will continue to employ self-study strategies in between sessions.

Make a GMAT Study Program That You Can Stick To

Preparing for the GMAT exam necessitates both time and money, which are typically two of your most precious assets. Consider your money, schedule, and level of dedication when you consider how much time you have to prepare for the GMAT. Determine how much money you have to spend and what kind of learning environment you prefer to find the optimal combination of self-study, coursework, and individual instruction for you.

Carefully Consider Your GMAT Study Guide Selections

You’ve reduced it down to two or three GMAT prep alternatives at this point. Each one has been thoroughly vetted. If you are considering tutoring or a course, examine the specific teachers for experience, empathy, and vitality. Look for someone with considerable teaching experience, empathy to help you when you’re having trouble understanding a concept, and enthusiasm to keep you engaged after a long day. Investigate things as thoroughly as you would a course, even if you’re using the self-study method. Read reviews, especially from prior test takers with a profile similar to yours.

Create a Study Strategy for the GMAT Exam

Create your own study plan that combines your course or tutoring syllabus with details about when you will study and when you will complete sample questions and full-length practice tests, regardless of how you prepare for the GMAT exam. Include accountability measures to keep you on track, such as enlisting the help of a study partner or scheduling regular check-ins to review your GMAT exam progress and adapt your strategy.

Make a Commitment to Passing the GMAT Exam.

Is the GMAT a difficult exam? It isn’t easy, like any project you undertake for several months. You will do your best on GMAT exam day if you have a suitable GMAT preparation plan and commitment. Accept the challenge, put your best foot forward, and congratulate yourself on your minor accomplishments along the way.

Formulate a Detailed GMAT Study Plan

The First Thing to Remember About the GMAT Is That It Is Not a Test That Can be Crammed for

Consider it as though you were training for a marathon. You’ll want to prepare for test day with a strategy that steadily improves your abilities and endurance. Because the GMAT assesses your analytical and critical thinking abilities, you must be able to think flexibly and coherently about the material. Knowledge of the patterns in the GMAT content is required for these analytical and critical thinking skills. As a result, it’s better to gradually add this level of depth and flexibility.

Remember to Plan Ahead of Time for Your Studies

Put appointments with your GMAT books and practice exams on your calendar and stick to them. When the deadline is weeks away, it’s easy to procrastinate, so find a means to hold yourself accountable by setting a date reminder and/or having someone help you stick to your study schedule.

Be Deliberate With Your GMAT Dates, Just as You Are With Your Practice Times

You may not know exactly what you’ll do throughout each study period while you’re planning your GMAT study schedule in your calendar at first. You can add specifics about the goal of the sessions for the next several days each day.

GMAT Prep Time How Long Does It Take?

It’s important to remember that studying for the GMAT takes time. Plan on spending two to three months and 100–120 hours reviewing and practicing the content on a regular basis. On average, top GMAT scorers spend 120+ hours studying for Test Day over a period of time. The length of each study session will differ depending on your circumstances, but most students aim for sessions that last between one and three hours. When you split the average 120 hours of study time for a top scorer by the average ten weeks of study time, you get around 12 hours per week. This includes time spent in GMAT prep classes and tutoring sessions. It’s better to work two to three hours every day, six days a week, and take one day off per week if you split those hours out evenly.

How to Find GMAT Study Time?

Many test-takers make the error of trying to find too much time to study. Waiting until you have a large block of free time like with other things like exercise and domestic chores, means not getting adequate prep time into your week.

Make the most of the time you have. Examine several methods to solve critical reasoning problems. When you have a short break or are on the road, online prep tools allow you to practice quickly. When integrating prep into your workday, it is recommended that you use offline resources during the day. For acquiring the abilities required for the GMAT, old-fashioned book prep is still highly crucial.

Always Take a Break While Studying for the GMAT

Be sure to include break time when planning these evening study sessions. Take a quiz, and then take a one-to-two-minute pause before studying your answers and explanations, even if you only have 30 minutes. It will take roughly 16 minutes to complete an eight-question quiz, three minutes to take a break, and ten minutes to review. If you have an hour of study time, take a one-minute stretch break and repeat the cycle.

GMAT Practice Tests on a Regular Basis

You must schedule a time to take GMAT practice tests on a regular basis; you cannot complete a practice test in 30-minute increments. Every Saturday morning, I tell my students to take a practice test. Taking the same mid-test breaks as you will on test day is vital, just as taking a scheduled break is important during weekday prep. You must take a break between taking the test and evaluating it. My pupils go through their practice tests several hours after they’ve completed them, or better yet, wait until the next day. Taking a practice test at the end of the week allows you to put what you’ve learned during the week into practice, and reviewing it the next day allows you to decide which areas you should focus on during the following week. This approximate guideline allows you to make the most of whatever study time you have, allowing you to schedule a productive week of preparation, improve your GMAT knowledge and experience, and alleviate your worries about not having enough time.

Conclusion

Taking the GMAT exam will help you stand out during the application process. In MBA and other graduate business degree programs, it is the most generally used and trusted metric of academic performance. The GMAT exam is used and trusted by business schools to make admissions decisions. Taking the GMAT exam will help you stand out during the application process. It is the most generally used and trusted metric for determining academic success in MBA and other graduate business degree programs. Those who perform well on the GMAT exam are more likely to devote more time to studying. At work, however, there is no such thing as a cause-and-effect relationship. Even if you study for 90 hours, there is no assurance that you will achieve a score in the 700s.