How much time do you need to prepare for the GMAT?

When preparing for the GMAT, the one question that is predominant in your mind will be how long should you study for the GMAT or how much time you will need to prepare for the exam?

The time required to prepare for the GMAT is generally 2 to 6 months, depending on individual abilities. Coaching on the subjects under an expert trainer will help you score better while shortening the preparation time. Maintaining a preparation plan with a schedule is important than monitoring your progress by taking the provided mock tests and staying positive.

Here are some aspects you should consider when deciding on the time required to prepare.

Get to know the exam

The most important way to prepare is to get to know the GMAT Exam. The keys to a successful GMAT test are to know your own level of skill and abilities, what areas you are good at, and what you really need to learn and accordingly change your study habits.

Target score

Let's suppose you have taken a few practice tests and have decided that you want to improve your target score by 150 to 200 points. This will require hard work including more practice tests. You will need to sustain a diligent GMAT study plan for quite some time, which means a longer period of preparation.

A 3-month study schedule, with 1-2 hours of GMAT study time per weekday and a single 3-4-hour study session every weekend (about 10 hours per week) is adequate to produce 50-100-point score increase for most people.

If you want to substantially boost your score between 150-200 points, extend your study period with GMAT for longer than three months.

Generally speaking, the more you can spread your study over a long period of time — say, six months — the more time you will have to return to each topic a second, and even a third time.

Hours of study per day

In turn, how many days you will be studying depends on how many hours you can study every day.

Let's assume that for six months studying for 1 hour a day will be roughly equal to six hours of learning in a day for one month.  But the fact is most people have real limits about how much they can focus.

Some still have limits on how much information they can consume and assimilate in one day. Because of the cognitive limitations on focus and assimilation, the best option would be to study for the GMAT less-time-per-day for a longer number of days.

Strong and weak areas

You should also consider your strong and weak areas. Suppose you are good in math but weak in verbal you should focus your study time more on your weak areas to do well in your test.

These are some of the aspects you should consider when deciding on the time you need to prepare for your GMAT exam.

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