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)