GMAT Exam Review
Any person who's hoping to attend a graduate school of business in order to earn a Master's of Business Administration (MBA) degree will need to take the Graduate Management Admissions Test and do well on it. This test, which is commonly referred to as the GMAT, is used by most business schools to determine if a prospective student has the skills necessary to compete in an MBA program, and to gauge their chances of success of completing the program. The GMAT is not a test of business knowledge at all; it's a test of the general levels of knowledge that a college graduate possesses in the areas of math, analytical writing, and verbal skills. Taking the GMAT will take about four hours total, and the current cost to sit for the test is $250. The writing portion requires writing two essays in response to two different written passages provided for the test taker-on one essay the student will be asked to analyze an argument. On the other, they will have to analyze an issue. The time limit for each essay is thirty minutes.
The math portion of the GMAT consists of 37 questions involving the ability to solve problems and/or decide if enough information has been presented to enable one to solve the problems. Seventy-five minutes will be allotted for this part of the GMAT. The verbal part of the test is also seventy-five minutes long, and has 41 questions testing for reading comprehension, reasoning skills, and grammar and language skills (sentence correction). An important thing to keep in mind if you're considering taking the GMAT test is that it's computer adaptive. That means that the questions you see first will have a huge impact on your test score-if you do well on the first few questions on each section, you'll be given harder questions to answer in response. However, if you do poorly on the first part, your questions will be easier, and your score will be lower. It's important to take your time on the first questions you see in order to get the highest score possible. Scores will range from 200 to 800, and the test taker will be able to find out how they did immediately after completing the test, with the exception of the writing portion of the GMAT, which is graded by human beings, not the computer. Because of the cost involved in the GMAT, and due to how much is riding on achieving a high score, it's foolish to attempt to take the test without thorough preparation. A good study guide and prep materials are essential tools for anyone considering taking the GMAT.