{"id":7107,"date":"2024-02-07T14:45:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-07T14:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/blog\/business-school-insider\/?p=7107"},"modified":"2024-02-09T16:41:33","modified_gmt":"2024-02-09T16:41:33","slug":"creating-a-gmat-study-schedule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.qa.kaptest.com\/study2\/gmat\/creating-a-gmat-study-schedule\/","title":{"rendered":"Creating a GMAT Study Schedule"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Studying for the GMAT<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is a serious time commitment, usually requiring two to three months or more. While most aspiring MBAs prepping for Test Day know what to study, you probably have many questions about <\/span><a title=\"How to Study for the GMAT in 3 months\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/blog\/prep\/gmat\/how-to-study-for-the-gmat-in-3-months\/\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">how<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to study<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014and more specifically, how to make the appropriate time commitment. Study schedules can vary depending on several variables, including your:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a title=\"What\u2019s a good GMAT score?\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/blog\/prep\/gmat\/whats-a-good-gmat-score\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Goal score<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting score<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Work schedule<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">School schedule<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Family obligations<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We at Kaplan have a long history of working with students and studying how you learn, which has allowed us to develop some general rules of thumb to keep in mind as you begin to form your personalized schedule to study for the GMAT.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\t<div  style='background:#ffffff;color:#444444;border-color:#7825ff;' class='av_promobox  avia-button-yes   avia-builder-el-0  el_before_av_heading  avia-builder-el-first '>\t\t<div class='avia-promocontent'><p>\nWe have free resources\u00a0that can help you raise your GMAT score.<\/p>\n<\/div><div  class='avia-button-wrap avia-button-right ' ><a href='https:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/study\/gmat\/'  class='avia-button  avia-color-theme-color   avia-icon_select-no avia-size-large avia-position-right '   ><span class='avia_iconbox_title' >GMAT Study Resources<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div><br \/>\n<div  style='padding-bottom:10px; ' class='av-special-heading av-special-heading-h2  blockquote modern-quote  avia-builder-el-1  el_after_av_promobox  el_before_av_heading  '><h2 class='av-special-heading-tag '  itemprop=\"headline\"  >Create a detailed GMAT study schedule<\/h2><div class='special-heading-border'><div class='special-heading-inner-border' ><\/div><\/div><\/div><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The first thing to know about studying for the GMAT is that this is not a test that you can cram for. Think of it more like preparing for a marathon. You want to build up to <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Test Day<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with a plan that gradually <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">enhances your skills<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and stamina. Because the GMAT tests your critical thinking and analytical skills, you need to know how to think flexibly and logically about the material tested. These analytical and critical thinking skills require knowledge of the patterns in the GMAT material. Therefore, it is best to build this type of depth and flexibility in a gradual way.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Next, remember to be deliberate in your study schedule. Make dates on your calendar with your<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/gmat\/books\"> GMAT prep books<\/a> and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/gmat\/gmat-practice\/free-gmat-practice-test\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">practice tests<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014and keep them! It\u2019s easy to procrastinate when the deadline is weeks away, so find a way to stay accountable by setting a date reminder and\/or having someone help you stay on track with your study schedule.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Along with deliberate practice times, be purposeful with your GMAT dates. Initially, when you are mapping out times in your calendar for GMAT studying, you may not know precisely what you&#8217;ll do during each study period. Each day, you can add specifics about the purpose of the next few days&#8217; sessions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At the beginning, the purpose of your session should be aimed at mastery of specific topics. Closer to Test Day, start to incorporate pacing and mixed practice into the goal of your sessions.\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<div  style='padding-bottom:10px; ' class='av-special-heading av-special-heading-h2  blockquote modern-quote  avia-builder-el-2  el_after_av_heading  el_before_av_promobox  '><h2 class='av-special-heading-tag '  itemprop=\"headline\"  >How long does GMAT prep take?<\/h2><div class='special-heading-border'><div class='special-heading-inner-border' ><\/div><\/div><\/div><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Remember, studying for the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/gmat\/courses\/gmat-prep-self-paced\">GMAT<\/a> takes time. Plan to spend about two to three months and 100\u2013120 hours reviewing material and practicing regularly. The <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">top scorers<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on the GMAT spend 120+ hours, on average, studying for Test Day over a period of time. The length of each study session will vary based on your specific situation; however, most students aim for sessions between one and three hours in a sitting.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you take the average 120 hours of studying for a top scorer and divide that over the course of the average ten weeks of studying, you get approximately 12 hours per week. This includes time spent in class sessions and tutoring sessions for the GMAT. If you spread those hours equally, it\u2019s best to do about two to three hours per day, six days per week and to take one day off per week.<\/span>\t<div  style='background:#ffffff;color:#444444;border-color:#7825ff;' class='av_promobox  avia-button-no   avia-builder-el-3  el_after_av_heading  el_before_av_heading '>\t\t<div class='avia-promocontent'><p>\nFor help prepping for a specific GMAT test date, check out our GMAT study guides:<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/study\/gmat\/how-to-study-for-the-gmat-in-1-month\/\">1-Month GMAT Study Guide<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/study\/gmat\/how-to-study-for-the-gmat-in-2-months\/\">2-Month GMAT Study Guide<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/study\/gmat\/how-to-study-for-the-gmat-in-3-months\/\">3-Month GMAT Study Guide<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><br \/>\n<div  style='padding-bottom:10px; ' class='av-special-heading av-special-heading-h2  blockquote modern-quote  avia-builder-el-4  el_after_av_promobox  el_before_av_heading  '><h2 class='av-special-heading-tag '  itemprop=\"headline\"  >How to find GMAT study time<\/h2><div class='special-heading-border'><div class='special-heading-inner-border' ><\/div><\/div><\/div><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI can\u2019t find the time to fit in all of the studying I need to do\u201d is a common sentiment among many of my students. So one of my tasks as a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/gmat\/courses\/gmat-tutoring\">GMAT prep coach<\/a> is to help them find the study time they need. The first mistake many test-takers make is\u00a0<\/span>trying to find too much time<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Just like with other tasks, such as exercise and household chores, waiting until you have a long block of free time means not getting enough prep into your week.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Use the time you have<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Have 20 minutes on the train during your morning commute? Use flashcards to drill yourself on math formulas. Have a lunch break you can spend quietly at your desk? Review approaches to tackling Critical Reasoning questions.\u00a0Online prep tools gives you quick practice when you have a short break or are on the go.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0It is recommended that you use offline materials during the day, when you are fitting prep into your workday. Old-fashioned book prep is still very important for mastering the skills necessary for the GMAT.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On weekday evenings,\u00a0<\/span>practice with test-like online questions<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0in whatever study time you have available. Kaplan students can turn to the\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/gmat\/practice\/practice-options\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Qbank<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0to create quizzes for whatever content, question types, and difficulty levels they need practice with. Anyone prepping for the GMAT can download the\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gmac.com\/gmat-other-assessments\/prepare-candidates-for-the-exam-classroom\/gmat-prep-materials-for-students.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">GMAC\u2019s online practice materials<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Answering test-like questions on a computer is essential, even if you only have 30 minutes at a time.<\/span><br \/>\n<div  style='padding-bottom:10px; ' class='av-special-heading av-special-heading-h2  blockquote modern-quote  avia-builder-el-5  el_after_av_heading  el_before_av_heading  '><h2 class='av-special-heading-tag '  itemprop=\"headline\"  >Remember to take breaks while studying for the gmat<\/h2><div class='special-heading-border'><div class='special-heading-inner-border' ><\/div><\/div><\/div><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When setting up these evening study sessions,\u00a0<\/span>build in break time<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Even if you only have 30 minutes,\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/kaplanquizzes.com\/quiz\/gmat.html?_ga=2.260847693.1179021387.1509383972-1466686274.1508188458\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">take a quiz<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, then take a one- to two-minute break before reviewing your answers and the explanations. Taking an eight-question quiz will take about 16 minutes, your break will take about three minutes, and reviewing will take about ten. If you have a full hour of study time, take a one-minute stretch break and repeat the cycle.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is a constructive bit of practice that\u00a0<\/span>keeps you using the GMAT parts of your brain<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and if you put off practicing until you have time for a full practice test, you lose that regular GMAT brain exercise.<\/span><br \/>\n<div  style='padding-bottom:10px; ' class='av-special-heading av-special-heading-h2  blockquote modern-quote  avia-builder-el-6  el_after_av_heading  el_before_av_sidebar  '><h2 class='av-special-heading-tag '  itemprop=\"headline\"  >Schedule a gmat practice test early<\/h2><div class='special-heading-border'><div class='special-heading-inner-border' ><\/div><\/div><\/div><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You do need to set aside time to take regular\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/gmat\/gmat-practice\/free-gmat-practice-test\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">GMAT practice tests<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">; you cannot complete a practice test in 30-minute segments. Plan to take a practice test early in your studies to get a baseline of your strengths and weaknesses. You should plan to review your practice test results several hours after taking them or <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ideally, wait until the following day.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Taking a practice test at the end of the week allows you to put into action what you\u2019ve learned during the week, and reviewing it the following day lets you\u00a0<\/span>identify what areas you should practice<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0during the upcoming week. This rough guideline allows you to use whatever study time you have available, which will let you plan a constructive week of prep, increase your GMAT knowledge and experience, and reduce your stress about not having enough time.<\/span><\/p>\n<div  class='avia-builder-widget-area clearfix  avia-builder-el-7  el_after_av_heading  avia-builder-el-last '><div id=\"text-76\" class=\"widget clearfix widget_text\">\t\t\t<div class=\"textwidget\"><p><span data-sumome-listbuilder-embed-id=\"70f62512b89832cc8e7fcd96b9d03245c2794cf0b7170fa257f26acec72436d9\"><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div><div id=\"text-77\" class=\"widget clearfix widget_text\">\t\t\t<div class=\"textwidget\"><p><span data-sumome-listbuilder-embed-id=\"71160db829b51adcc3539815988485f372b020407413c2957efe50cfe72ea639\"><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Studying for the GMAT is a serious time commitment, usually requiring two to three months or more. While most aspiring MBAs prepping for Test Day know what to study, you probably have many questions about how to study\u2014and more specifically, how to make the appropriate time commitment. Study schedules can vary depending on several variables, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39416,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[56,242,313],"class_list":["post-7107","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gmat","tag-gmat","tag-gmat-prep","tag-gmat-study-plan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.qa.kaptest.com\/study2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7107","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.qa.kaptest.com\/study2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.qa.kaptest.com\/study2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.qa.kaptest.com\/study2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.qa.kaptest.com\/study2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7107"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.qa.kaptest.com\/study2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7107\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.qa.kaptest.com\/study2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39416"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.qa.kaptest.com\/study2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.qa.kaptest.com\/study2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.qa.kaptest.com\/study2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}