Hi Timu,
I used to prepare students for standardized tests, including the GMAT
so I would be happy to answer your question.
Most of the things you will need to study in two weeks will be
test-taking strategies. While you are unlikely to be able to improve
your vocabulary much or dramatically increase your knowledge of math,
you will be able to learn more about the test, and learn more about
how to best approach it.
Before you start, you will want to ask yourself "How well do I need to
do on this test to meet my educational goals?" The next question is
"How far am I from that goal?" this will determine how much work you
have ahead of you.
In order to make that assessment, you will need to take a practice
GMAT test. Older tests are sometimes available at libraries, or
university bookstores often have books of tests available. The
important thing when you take a practice test is that you time
yourself, and that you try to approximate real testing conditions as
much as possible: upright in a chair, sitting at a desk or table, NO
interruption, etc. Take the entire test in one shot, just as if you
were in a real testing situation. Score yourself, then make some
plans.
Princeton Review does have one online test that you can take on their
website with no obligation, you might want to try that to start with.
It can be found here:
http://www.review.com/integrated/templates/defaultrh/testprep.cfm?TPRPAGE=79&TYPE=GMAT
Depending on your level of discipline, you may be able to sit down
with a good test prep book and grind through it. You also may want to
find a testing buddy [someone who is also going to take the test, or
perhaps someone who you are close to] who can help you move yourself
forward.
Some of the more popular test prep companies have online pages
describing the structure of the GMAT
Princeton Review
http://www.review.com/integrated/templates/defaultrh/testprep.cfm?TPRPAGE=9&TYPE=GMAT
Kaplan Prep
http://www.kaplan.com [click on GMAT, scroll down, click on
"about the GMAT"]
Google Directory GMAT section
http://directory.google.com/Top/Reference/Education/Products_and_Services/Test_Preparation/GMAT/?tc=1
Once you've familiarized yourself with the test, and the task at hand,
you will have to evaluate how you best learn new information. If you
are more of a book learner, getting a prep book out of the library,
training some and then taking *actual practice tests* frequently to
evaluate your progress is a good approach. I have had good luck with
Princeton Review's materials because I think they do a good job
explaining the workings of the test so it appears less daunting. Their
books are available at most major libraries. Using only their training
manuals, I scored quite well on my GRE. Your local library or
bookstore should have an entire section on test prep materials. I
would recommend getting some older practice tests to assess your
progress, as well as a test prep book. The Princeton Review has a book
called "Crash Course for the GMAT : The Last-Minute Guide to Scoring
High" which may be right up your alley.
If you are a more point-n-click oriented person, Test Tutor offers a
free online GMAT counrse at this URL
http://www.testtutor.com/gmat/
Some advice for the essay portion of your article, as someone who has
worked scoring essays for ETS -- good handwriting, clear
organizational style and interesting sentence structure are all key
points to making a good impression with your essay. Do not be nervous
at the prospect of having to do some writing, this is one of the
easier places on the test to really do well.
Also, at test time, since you will be taking a computer aided test
[CAT] make sure you have plenty of scratch paper and use it to keep
track of the answers you are mentally "crossing off" for each
question. Making use of scratch paper helps you keep track of where
you are, helps you organize your thoughts and is often essential to
doing complicated math.
Since the test -- as with many standardized tests -- has a timed
element to it, one useful strategy is making sure you are doing the
problem in the quickest, most efficient way. Many of the math
questions will have a long way to do it, where you make all the
calculations, and a shorter way, where you "guesstimate" but the
guesstimation allows you to eliminate all the other answers. Tricks
like this can help you really save time and having more time to spend
on questions that are actually hard and challenging is what it is all
about.
When test day comes around, make sure to know where the testing room
is beforehand, dress comfortably, eat well and try to follow your
normal routines [i.e. don't go to bed four hours early if that is your
normal pattern, don't stop drinking coffee if you always drink
coffee]. Make sure to stretch often, look around the room to reduce
eye strain, and be careful if your body is getting into tense postures
that will create tension in your brain.
I hope these tips and links have helped you. While two weeks isn't a
ton of time, it should be enough time to get you on the road to
scoring well on the GMAT. Best of luck to you.
sincerely,
jessamyn-ga |
