Preparing for the GMAT can be challenging, but our speaker – Sergey Kouk, will share insights on how to structure your studies, understand the logic behind the GMAT score, and increase your score by 100 or more points.
Sergey Kouk is a senior trainer at Admit Master, one of the leading boutique test preparation, admissions consulting, and career coaching companies in North America. Sergey shares his own experience of achieving a 750 score after two weeks of studying, as well as his insights from working with thousands of clients for over 10 years in the GMAT preparation industry.
Admit Master is a professional GMAT Prep and MBA Admissions Consulting service created by a team of experienced GMAT instructors. They provide the highest-quality, personalized learning experience that will help you get a high GMAT score, apply to your dream business school, and unlock your true career potential.
How to plan for improving your GMAT score
In this webinar, Sergey outlines four steps or questions that you need to answer in order to plan your preparation. Firstly, you’ll need to know your testing score. You can do that by taking a diagnostic test.
Second, you need to figure out what your target score is. In order to do that you need to benchmark your target score against your dream school averages, including work experience and GPA. You also need to take into consideration the minimum score requirement if your schools of choice have one.
Now that you have estimated that gap, you need to work to close the gap. The third step Sergey shares is figuring out how much time you have to prepare. According to him, that consists of two things: when is the deadline to take your test and how many hours you can dedicate per week to prepare.
The fourth and final step is finding your strategy and deciding what level of prep you can afford. Can you join a group class or work with a private instructor? How often can you meet with this instructor? All of these are important questions that you need to answer as honestly as possible to make the most of your preparation.
How do I choose which test to sit - GMAT or GRE?
In the Q&A section, Sergey highlights that the GMAT is specifically designed for business schools only. Depending on the kind of Master’s degree you want to pursue, you can take one or the other. While many schools accept both tests, you should consider which test the school you favor would prefer.
He points out that if you are applying for an MBA program and it is your top choice, you will benefit more from the GMAT. But if you are applying to multiple programs including Masters of Engineering, the GMAT is not going to help.
What difficulties or traps should test takers avoid when they are preparing for the GMAT?
The first thing Sergey emphasizes is that the GMAT is not an academic test. It’s not a test you prepare for by reading and learning a lot of theory and then just taking the test. The preparation process is different. If you study for it like it’s a regular test, your progress will be very slow.
He then shares that the best way to go about it, is to start with the foundation – learn the basics. Then you have to learn strategies to steer you away from bad habits. He stresses the importance of practicing after you have learned the strategies and then consciously applying them.
Preparing for the GMAT is a difficult task no matter how you approach it. But with the right tools, you can make the process a lot simpler and you’ll be able to improve your initial score.
