When To Take the GMAT And Why Earlier Is Usually Better

There is no set date (like there is for the SAT) that you must take the GMAT. So you have the liberty of scheduling a date and time for your testing at the nearest testing administration site.

In terms of time of the year, you obviously should take the GMAT before the application deadlines. We highly recommend getting the GMAT out of the way early so you can spend the time leading up to the application deadline on your actual application essay questions.

Because a lot of people found out about their Round 2 (most popular round) decisions by April 1. They all tell their friends which schools they were accepted in. And all their friends start thinking about applying to business school and decide to look for GMAT prep resources. So April is pretty popular because of that–and people generally take GMATs all the way into the application season in the fall/winter time.

Sounds good. Since I can choose when to take the exam, when is the best time to do so?

Perhaps the best time to take your GMAT is while you are still in school, or shortly afterwards. Remember, as you gain more real world experience, you lose the test-taking intuition that you used to have when you were in school. Taking an intensive test like the GMAT 5 years after your last rigorous exam can be quite challenging. Test-taking intricacies like operating in a time pressured environment, reading through answer choices, marking answers, and dealing with psychological issues are second nature to you when you are in school, but they become quite unfamiliar the longer you wait after college. You want to minimize this risk by taking the exam during the summer after graduation or the summer between your junior and senior year–this is the ideal time. Remember, the GMAT exam is valid for 5 years. If you have any intention of getting into business school sometime in the next 5 years, you should take it at your earliest convenience.

I am not in college anymore and I missed my chance to take the GMAT during this time. What do I do now?

Don’t worry. Thousands of people are in your shoes. You might not be used to the pressures of test taking so will need to pay extra attention to doing several practice exams mimicking exam-like conditions.

What do you mean by exam-like conditions?

I mean instead of just running through questions on a practice exam bit by bit, you should schedule an entire morning or afternoon to take the exam with a timer. Especially with the Computer Adaptive Test (CAT) format of the exam, you should take these practice exams AS IF it were the real thing, at least several days before your real exam and preferably earlier.

What else should I take into account?

If you are considering the GMAT, chances are you have a busy life. When applying to business school, you will need to dedicate time not only to your job, but also any extracurricular activities or initiatives you are pursuing. Part of an organization that holds ambitious yearly events? Put some time and effort and participate on the board in a leadership position. Itching for a promotion at your job so you can mention it in your Bschool application? You’ll need to put in the time and effort. You’ll also need to budget time for researching/visiting schools and writing those dreaded essays. And of course, you want a social life and time with your family. The GMAT is the LAST thing you want to worry about when juggling all these things. That’s why it is best to get it out of the way.

Should I study first and then schedule the exam or schedule the exam and then study?

This is a personal preference. I would recommend you to schedule the exam a few months in advance when you intend to take it. Pay the $250 (yes, not cheap) it costs to take the exam so that you are invested into the exam–forcing you to study. Otherwise, if you casually study for the exam, you may never progress anywhere.

What about this new GMAT section called integrated reasoning in 2012?

Yes, the new GMAT will be effective on June 5, 2012. If you’ve been preparing for the GMAT all along and end up taking the exam after June 5, you’re going to need to add some additional study time to prepare for this new part so that you’re used to the structure and timing of hte questions.

This new integrated reasoning will take the place of one of the 30 minute essays. You’ll actually get 3 scores now – Verbal, Quant, and Integrated Reasoning.

Wow, 3 scores?

Yes, 3 scores. The total score will still be out of 800 and you’ll still have that writing AWA score – but it’s based only on 1 essay instead of 2.

Should I take the GMAT before June 5, 2012 or after June 5, 2012?

This one’s a matter of preference. Take a look at a few sample integrated reasoning questions. Do they seem easy to you? You see, it’s all about judging how you will do relative to everybody else. If you feel these questions are really easy for you because you work with data sets daily on your job and are used to that kind of analysis, then by all means, take the exam AFTER June 5, 2012. There will definitely be a lot of people who did not properly prepare for the integrated reasoning if they take the GMAT shortly after June 5. For one, a lot of prep companies still did not release updated material for that section. And for two, a lot of people who are not in-the-know will even know about this. So if you’re reading this, you know about this new section. And if you happen to be really good with integrated reasoning questions, then you should take it after June 5, 2012 for a chance to stand out above the crowd.

For others who have been preparing for GMAT for months and months and don’t want to spend time learning new concepts, then you should take the GMAT before June 5, 2012 and avoid this new section.

Personally, I would recommend taking the GMAT after this new section comes out since I tend to be good with data sets and quantitative things. Doing so would help someone like me stand out from the crowd.

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Table of Contents | See Pricing

Verbal Videos: Sentence Correction | Critical Reasoning | Reading Comprehension
Quant Videos: Problem Solving | Data Sufficiency