GMAT Test-Taking Tips & Today's Expert: Veritas Prep

I'm Diana Jordan with MBA Podcaster. I'm working on an upcoming show about the GMAT. I have interviewed five experts who have been giving me their advice on how you can improve your GMAT score.

The fifth of five experts on this topic is Brian Galvin of Veritas Prep. Galvin is given to visual examples. He mentions the guy whose car broke down on the day of the test, and he had to sprint. Sweating, then chilled by the air conditioning, the GMAT test-taker finally calmed down after he realized he was nailing the answers because he was so well-prepared.

Then there's what not to do. Galvin says one student decided to stay in a hotel the night before her GMAT. And, since she'd heard that salmon was great brain-food, she dined at an all-you-can-eat seafood restaurant. Her plans got upended when she got food-poisoning and spent much of the night and the morning of the test day puking. The lesson here, Galvin says, is stick with your normal routine. Eat what is familiar to you. And do what is familiar -- for example, if you usually workout at night -- do it.

And that brings me to another one of his great stories. Galvin says he's a marathoner. Much like the GMAT test, in a marathon you log hundreds of miles -- or hours -- practicing, so by the time you get to test day or the day of the marathon, and you get out there, with the timer about to start..recognize that you've already done the hard part. And, that, he says, should give you confidence!

On the upcoming show, you'll hear from experts from PowerScore, Manhattan GMAT, Kaplan and Knewton. The finished show should be posted in a few weeks at MBA Podcaster.

(Updated! Listen to the completed show here: http://www.mbapodcaster.com/MBA_MoreInfo/gmat-test-taking-tips.asp?iEpisode=77)

GMAT Test-Taking Tips & Today's Expert: ManhattanGMAT

I'm Diana Jordan with MBA Podcaster. I'm working on an upcoming show about the GMAT. I've been interviewing five experts who are giving their advice on how you can improve your GMAT score.

Chris Ryan of Manhattan GMAT says if you're thinking of taking the GMAT, the sooner the better. After all, the scores are good for five years, and you can take the test several times -- schools expect that. Ryan says some schools, like Harvard Business School, raise an eyebrow if you take the GMAT a half-dozen times, but other schools don't mind if the figure gets into the low double digits. But, he emphasizes, since you have 31-days minimum between tests, in between, be sure you evaluate how you did on content -- your math and verbal -- and on process -- did you get freaked out during the test? And re-prepare, he says.

As you get closer to the GMAT test date, Ryan says skip the two-week every-day cram routine. It's better to break up your study schedule into eight one-hour sessons or four two-hour sessions. He says it's best to study for hundreds of hours spread out over a few months.

The night before the exam -- pay attention to your body's needs, and introduce nothing new. The day of -- focus on deep-breathing, progressive muscle-relaxation, and positive self-talk. And you will do just fine!

On the show, you'll hear from experts of Veritas, PowerScore, Kaplan, and Knewton, and I'm blogging about their test-taking wisdom. The finished show should be posted in a few weeks at MBA Podcaster.

(Updated! Listen to the completed show here: http://www.mbapodcaster.com/MBA_MoreInfo/gmat-test-taking-tips.asp?iEpisode=77)