GMAT Study Plan for working professionals: There is no magic sauce

Graduate Management Admission Test more commonly known as GMAT serves as a starting point for all the aspirants looking to get admission in coveted business schools across the globe. A global MBA serves as a ladder for all the young professionals to embark on their leadership journey of corporate life and hence comes as no surprise hundreds of thousands of aspirants appearing for GMAT exam every year. One of the common problems that most of the aspirants face while beginning their admission journey is how to go about and prepare for GMAT especially balancing the hectic professional life. So in this article we have compiled all the points which can help demystify GMAT study plan for working professionals to not only secure good marks but also admit from some of the best universities along with scholarships.

To crack the exam, it is imperative to understand what is the exact nature of the exam. Covered below is the exam pattern and structure to help understand the exam better. You can also visit our longer post about the exam here.

GMAT Study Plan For Working Professionals: Exam pattern

The exam is specifically designed to evaluate students on topics that are critical to success for any business leader. The exam is divided into four sections:

• Analytical Writing Assessment: Designed to measure students’ ability to think critically and to communicate their ideas
• Integrated Reasoning: Designed to measure students’ ability to analyze data and evaluate information presented in multiple formats
• Quantitative Reasoning: Designed to measure students’ ability to analyze data and draw conclusions using reasoning skills
• Verbal Reasoning: Designed to measure students’ ability to read and understand written material, to evaluate arguments and to correct written material to conform to standard written English

GMAT Study Plan For Working Professionals:

Exam structure

The exam has these four sections separately timed to a total of 3 hours 30 mins which also includes two optional breaks

Test section	Time limit / # of questions	Question types	Score range
Analytical writing assessment	30 minutes 1 question	Analysis of an argument	0-6 (In 0.5 marks increment)
Integrated reasoning	30 minutes 12 questions	Graphics Interpretation, Table Analysis, Multi-source Reasoning, Two-part Analysis	1-8 (in 1-point increments)
Quantitative reasoning	62 minutes 31 questions	Data Sufficiency, Problem Solving	6-51 (in 1-point increments)
Verbal reasoning	65 minutes 36 questions	Reading Comprehension, Critical Reasoning, Sentence Correction	6-51 (in 1-point increments)

Strategies Basis Years of Work Experience

Now since we have some idea about the exam let’s look at some of the strategies which is based on our years of experience and also feedback given to us by our students over years and data collated across various parameters

Preparation time

• This is by far the most common question asked by all the aspirants. One of the key points to remember when aspiring for a business school is that GMAT is just the starting point of the long journey and hence should be carefully approached to give sufficient time to apply for different business programs. Based on our in-house research and result of our working students, somewhere between 2-3 months is an optimal time to prepare for GMAT. This takes into account everyday study time of 2 hours with extra 3-4 hours on weekend. With the right guidance and sufficient practice this has generally worked out for most of the aspirants who have worked with us to secure over 700.

One size seldom fits all

•  There is absolutely no fixed way to crack GMAT. Based on our own observations best way to approach GMAT study plan for working professionals is to identify your weak areas and work harder on those and in the meantime keep practicing on your stronger areas. The best way to identify your weak and strong areas is to practice with mock test papers and then prepare study road-map according to your individual needs.

Practice:

• There cannot be enough emphasis on the importance of practice. Whatever you may do but keep solving as many question papers as you can amidst your GMAT Study plan for working professionals. These question papers need to be solved with real exam type scenario and should be properly timed. This helps in monitoring your progress for the exam, keeps ironing out weaker sections and helps identifying areas which need extra push.

Schedule

• Given that working professionals are able to spare limited time towards preparation it is imperative to have proper study plan and schedule. The idea for having a schedule is to utilize your time in the most efficient way to maximize output. Sticking to a schedule also allows flexibility to alter path in the midway to cater to weaker sections at cost of sections that have been prepared well.

Preparation material

• A lot of aspirants struggle with a question of what material to refer. While there is a ton of material available online, what you need is to identify the material and study methodology which best suits your requirement. There is a lot of flexibility which is being offered by classes today. What has really worked for students is a more personalized approach where they can utilize their study coach to go through the course material with them and with interventions where it is most required. Studying in large batches really doesn’t work as most of the students will have their own timings and most importantly individual learning needs and learning curve.

Professional Help for Professionals

Professional help: There are hundreds if not thousands of institutes who help students prepare for GMAT. One of the dilemma for most of the aspirants is which coaching institutes to choose from. We have always advised all our candidates that MBA is a journey and GMAT is just a starting point. So what you need is a professional coach and not somebody who could cover Verbal or Quant sections. Professional coach not only helps you in cracking GMAT but also helps you in selecting business schools, helping with your applications and most importantly to get scholarships.

READ HERE TO KNOW WHAT GMAT SCORE IS NEEDED FOR ISB?

Conclusion

While these are just some points which can help professionals to preparer GMAT study plan for working professionals. Obviously there are many other factors which have worked previously for many aspirants. But almost all of them agree with key findings which is the importance of having a strict schedule, practicing a lot on question papers and optimizing the time in best possible way. You can also read about our list of top 100 business schools outside US here and also how to go about selecting the right business school here. You can also watch our topper talk series here. In case of any feedback or suggestions of what worked out for you do write to us through the form below –