3 Mistakes to Avoid When Studying for the GMAT

The GMAT is a very difficult test that requires a ton of dedication and focus.  You really cannot afford to take this test lightly or you will do poorly more often than not.  Tons of people make very avoidable and crucial mistakes when studying that significantly harm their chances of doing well on the test.  This article will take a detailed look at three of those major mistakes and will try to help guide you on how to avoid making those mistakes yourself.

Don’t forget to do a ton of research ahead of time

The biggest mistake people make is they don’t do research ahead of studying.  They don’t spend time figuring out which are the best books to buy and they don’t plan out their studies and figure out how they will best spend their time.  This is a crucial mistake because there are a lot of incomplete or just bad study materials out there.  If you don’t do proper research, you could easily by one or multiple of these materials and then be put at a major disadvantage to all the people who are using the best study materials.  For example, in the GMAT Critical Reasoning section, there is one book that is the standard best book to buy.  You need to make sure you get the book versus another.  Make sure you spend two weeks before you even get started and pore through the Internet to figure out how best to spend your time and which books you should buy to maximize your score’s potential.  Avoiding this mistake will go a long way in doing well come test day.

Don’t take too many practice tests

A lot of people think that taking as many practice tests as possible is a really great idea.  I do agree that you should take 2-3 practice tests before the real thing so you can get used to the rhythm, timing, and pressures of taking the GMAT.  However, if you take too many practice tests, you will get too worried about the scores you are getting and you will lose focus on the main goal, which is getting better.  It’s also good to have some distance in between practice tests so you can really get a good gauge of how much you have improved.  I would really caution you against taking more than three practice tests because that would most likely have a negative effect on your ability to score your best on the real test.

Don’t take too long to study

I firmly believe that two months is all you need to study to do well on the test.  That gives you enough time to learn the fundamentals and then do a lot of good practice.  If you set aside a lot more time than that, you will naturally lose motivation and focus.  Putting some sort of time pressure on yourself is good because it keeps you really focused and motivated.  You don’t want your brain to get too fatigued and lazy by the time you take the test.  You want to be somewhere in the middle between cramming for the test and taking a really lazy approach to the test.  Make sure your GMAT study plan doesn’t take too long or you might later regret it.
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