GMAT How to Prepare?

GMAT (translated Graduate Management Admission Test) is a popular standardized test that reveals the mathematical, language and analytical abilities of the test taker. It is required for admission to the MBA, to the magistracy (for specialties related to business, finance, administration), as well as to some PhD programs.
pass gmat
Currently, the GMAT exam is a necessary component of the resume and an important selection criterion for admission to the world’s leading business schools for the MBA program. In addition to the result of this test, other factors are taken into account:

Performance in previous places of study,
Experience in managerial positions
Letters of recommendation.
However, the GMAT remains the most important criterion for obtaining high qualifications in business and management. A quarter of a million students take this exam every year. Its cost is $250, and the result can be used within 5 years. Before passing, you can specify 5 educational institutions to which you want to send the test result. This can also be done after surrender, but for an additional fee ($28). Preparation for the GMAT test in is carried out by many specialized courses and teachers who have successfully passed the test themselves.

The history of the exam
In the 1960s, GMAC was formed on the initiative of nine leading business schools. Her mission was to develop a standardized adaptive test for the selection of applicants. In the first year (1953), the first center was established, where about 2,000 people took the GMAT test. The result was taken into account in admission to 54 business schools. Now 2,300 university admissions committees use the GMAT for admission to 7,000 business education programs. GMAT tests are accepted upon admission to the Higher School of Economics, St. Petersburg State University, Moscow State University, the New Economic School, the Skolkovo School of Management.
Where to take the GMAT test?
Registration must be done online on the GMAT website. There is also a list of testing centers. In Moscow, such a center is located on Leninsky Prospekt 2A, in the KAPA training center, office 506B.
Structure of the GMAT test

The testing process takes 3.5 hours. You can take breaks, but students rarely use them, as the amount of work is large. Tasks are grouped into four sections:
Parts of the GMAT Exam
preparation for gmat
verbal section
This part of the test tests grammatical knowledge, reading skills, the ability to quickly find errors in the text. It consists of 41 questions to be answered in 75 minutes. The tasks of this part are divided into the following types:

Reading Comprehension – tasks for understanding the text. Read the given passages, read the question and choose the correct one from the 5 possible answers.

Sentence Correction – Correct sentence errors as quickly as possible.

Critical Reasoning – tasks for critical comprehension of the read passages. Here it may be necessary to give an ending, refute assumptions, put forward an opposite opinion, etc.

Successful completion of the Verbal section requires excellent command of the English language, the ability to analyze texts, sufficient vocabulary, and logical thinking. Preparation for this part of the GMAT is about improving your English.
Math (Quantitative)
This is the mathematical section of the test, which gives an idea of ​​the preparation of the applicant in terms of algebra, arithmetic, geometry. There are no elements of higher mathematics: there is no need to take integrals and derivatives. But even the most prepared students experience difficulties, as they need to find non-standard logical solutions to mathematical problems in a short time – an average of 2 minutes per problem. It is given from 37 tasks and only 75 minutes of time. Some tasks require a solution, and some require an analysis of the sufficiency of data. You can prepare for the GMAT test in this part of it.
Analytical Writing Assessment
This section of testing is writing an essay with an analysis of the article read. The test subject’s task is to subject the arguments of the article to analysis and justified criticism. You can spend only 30 minutes on an essay. It is checked first by the Intellimetric program and then by the examiner. If the marks of the program and the person are significant, then another examiner will check the work.
Integrated Reasoning
This is the newest section of the test, which was introduced only in 2012. Its task is to assess the applicant’s ability to compare and analyze data. After all, this is the real daily work of specialists in the management field. The section consists of 12 tasks, among which there may be an analysis of a graph or a table, a two-part analysis, and processing of data from several sources. These tasks show the applicant’s ability to strategic planning, quick decision-making. The section is 30 minutes.
Important facts about the GMAT
The quantitative and verbal parts of the exam are the most important, as they form the overall score.
The maximum that can be scored when passing the GMAT exam is 800 points.
The median result to date is 540 bp.
Not having time to answer is much worse than giving an answer at random. This is an important difference between the GMAT and other tests. In the structure of the exam, there are questions that do not greatly affect the result. They are included only to assess managerial abilities: the speed of decision-making, the ability to perform a large amount of work in a short time, etc.
The last two parts, namely the essay and Integrated Reasoning, do not affect the number of points received. But their results can be critical if the admissions situation is controversial.
adaptability
GMAT is an adaptive test. This means that the difficulty of tasks decreases after an incorrect answer and increases after a correct one. The first question is at the average level, that is, about half of the dealers give the correct answer to it. And then the testing program adapts the process to the level of the testee. If the level set from the very beginning is not high, the result may not satisfy you. Even with a lot of correct answers. It is important to prepare for the GMAT, counting on the gradual complication of the test. And it is important to correctly answer the first ten questions.
What is considered a passing score?
After the test, the applicant will immediately know his result. Within 2 minutes, you must either accept it or refuse. This is a difficult choice, because passing scores in business schools are not the kind of information that is freely available. But you can find out the median and average scores from last year’s admissions campaign. For a high-class educational institution, at least 700 b. Second-tier universities can recruit applicants with a score of 500 b. and below. When evaluating the mean or median, keep in mind that half of the applicants were able to pass the GMAT below this result and get in.
Is 500 GMAT points a lot or a little?
Here is the real situation in autumn 2018. If we take the top 10 business schools with the highest GMAT scores according to News & World Report, their average score is 729. Let’s say Columbia Business School had a score of 736. And this is higher than that of 95-97% of those who donate. Looking at the bottom 10 business schools, their average GMAT score required for admission in 2018 was 483, lower than 75% of those tested.