4 GMAT Prep Hacks Everyone Should Know
This week I am excited to have a guest blogger. Eliza Chute is an independent GMAT tutor, and she runs the helpful site http://bestgmatprepcourse.com/ (check it out, it has helpful course comparisons, discounts, and helpful GMAT tips). This post will be really helpful, especially since I have recently started studying for the GMAT again!
1) The POE Chart
Not being allowed to write on the actual test makes the process of elimination more complicated. Using POE is nonetheless an important part of finding the correct answer on the GMAT, especially for verbal, where finding the correct answer often means identifying the four incorrect ones. To be able to easily keep track of the answers you have eliminated, without having to rewrite ABCDE over and over, make a POE chart at the start of the test.
2) Utilize Memory Hacks
People tend to have visual memories. To utilize this throughout your GMAT prep, you should write examples of correct grammar and examples of incorrect grammar in different colors. That way, if you remember it visually, you will also remember if it is correct or not. Recent studies have also shown that people who write notes by hand tend to both understand and remember that information better than those who take notes on a computer. So to make your GMAT prep more effective, take your notes by hand.
3) Memorize Basics to Speed Up on Quant
The quant section is very difficult for many students. Many people tend to run out of time. If you are struggling with timing issues, you can work to memorize basic arithmetic, exponents and fractions. That way, you won’t waste precious time doing those calculations during the actual test. Some common elements to memorize include:
- Squares from 1-10
- Cubes from 1-10
- Pi=(approx.) 22/7
- Times table from 1-10
- 2 to the 1-10 power
- The decimal equivalent for 1/2, 1/3…1/9
4) Cheat Sheets
There are so many rules to remember for the quant and sentence correction questions. Cheat sheets can help you do this. Periodically reviewing information is an essential part of memorizing information. Creating a cheat sheet will force you to review the information. Also, having all the rules in one place will make any further study and review more efficient. You can also use your cheat sheet to help you get through practice problems when you first start doing them. Once you get more comfortable with the information, you should start to wean yourself off of using your cheat sheets.
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One Response to “4 GMAT Prep Hacks Everyone Should Know”
Cheat sheets are an absolute advantage. While studying for my Series 7, our firm enrolled all of us in a week long prep class and while the class was great I only really took away two things: the very gritty details about options and how to use a cheat sheet effectively. The easiest way to maximize this tool is to break a piece of paper into 8 quadrants and fill each with a series of equations (i.e. all volumes and surface area equations in one).
Once you are comfortable that you have all of the information you want, practice drawing it at least twice a day without looking at it. At first you’ll probably do terribly, but after a few days you will figure out how to do it quicker and quicker; my baseline for practice was four minutes, but by the end I had it down to three.
A few other tools I used were BenchPrep’s GMAT course, which I bought on Groupon for $15, and a question add-on from mba.com for $40. Along with the ~$5 colored note cards I bought (there is some fascinating science behind studying with colored paper/pens/highlighters) I spent less than $60 on my GMAT studying.