How Long To Study For The GMAT?

It’s one of the most important questions you’ll ask yourself as you begin to turn seriously to the MBA admissions process: how long will it take to earn a competitive GMAT score?

There are multiple ways of interpreting this:

• Where can you best fit GMAT study time into your work schedule?
• When should you start your GMAT preparation given specific MBA deadlines?
• How long before you’ll be done with this difficult exam?!

But we believe the most useful way to think about the question is this: how much time should it take you to earn a competitive GMAT score versus how much time will it take?

The reason for framing the discussion in this way is to emphasize a common trap GMAT test takers fall into when studying for the GMAT Focus Edition. That is, most applicants needlessly extend the process, dragging out their GMAT preparation time due to inefficient processes and a poor understanding of what productive GMAT prep looks like.

In this article, we’ll explore the question of timing your GMAT study in a way that allows you to earn a competitive GMAT score all while meeting your business school deadlines and avoiding spending any more time than is necessary on study.

What is the GMAT really testing?

Less informed test takers often assume that GMAT study is time-intensive because of the amount of material that needs to be memorized. But this couldn’t be further from the truth.

In fact, with one caveat, the GMAT is not a content-based exam at all.

The GMAT primarily tests your critical thinking and problem-solving abilities, requiring you to apply concepts rather than just memorize them. This shift in focus from rote learning to creative problem-solving means that your study approach should prioritize pattern recognition and the use of strategic thinking for each question type.

Pair this approach with the exclusive use of official materials, and you will be well on your way to your target GMAT score.

But we’ve already hinted about the one caveat regarding GMAT content knowledge. We won’t keep you waiting—

The GMAT does assume you have a solid understanding of certain quantitative concepts, which might require additional review time before you can advance to the core aspects of your study.

As you prepare for the GMAT, this “content review” portion of your study should be focused on revisiting (or even relearning) fundamental knowledge, allowing you to progress to the next level of GMAT preparation.

To understand how this can affect your timeline, it can be useful to break down GMAT study into two phases.

The Two Phases of GMAT Study

When asking yourself “how long will it take me to study for the exam and earn a solid GMAT score?,” the only honest way to answer the question is… it depends.

That’s because the two phases of GMAT study are different for every student, with phase 1 being highly variable and situation-specific.

So what’s involved in phase 1?

Phase 1: Content Review

The GMAT is not a content exam. But this doesn’t mean it is a content-free exam.

Instead, there is a certain threshold of knowledge that is required to “play the game,” and for certain sections of the exam, that imposes a hard limit on your ability to answer difficult questions correctly.

As a result, it is impossible to do well on the GMAT without certain content knowledge, no matter how good you are at standardized tests or how good your grades were in high school and college.

But the exact amount of time needed for phase 1 is different for everyone. It may take some students two weeks, others two months, and still others many, many months.

We’ll discuss exactly what is involved in calculating the amount of time it will take you in one moment. But first, let’s consider Phase 2.

Phase 2: Strategic Practice

In the second phase of GMAT preparation, the focus shifts from mere content to the application of GMAT strategies to solve problems. You can think of this stage as “Learning by Doing” problems instead of just separating and learning content with drills or lessons.

During this stage, it is crucial to identify and practice specific types of questions within each content area. This approach helps uncover underlying patterns and helps you become comfortable with typical question setups.

Timing-wise, after the content review phase is complete, internalizing GMAT strategy and putting it into practice becomes a matter of dedication and commitment.

That is, if you’ve carved out time in your schedule to reliably and consistently practice with official material, while following a professional curriculum, the time it takes you to prepare for the GMAT shouldn’t stretch longer than 10 weeks.

The rest of this article will focus on figuring out how much time you will need for Phase 1. For more on the second phase of GMAT prep, we recommend you read our article on a GMAT study schedule.

GMAT Preparation Requirements for Verbal, Data Insights, and Quant

You already know that the GMAT does assume a level of underlying knowledge, and that a lack of fluency can hold you back from your target score.

But what exactly do you need to know?

Let’s start with the “good” news for GMAT Verbal and GMAT Data Insights.

GMAT Verbal

On the Verbal side, the GMAT eschews content knowledge in favor of reading skills, critical reasoning, and pattern recognition to solve problems successfully.

In this way, you can’t really prep content for GMAT Verbal. And in terms of cutting down on the preliminary work needed to begin serious GMAT study, this is a good thing.

(But it also means that quality instruction and study material will factor more heavily into your success. For more on choosing effective study material, read our explanation of Official GMAT Sample Questions, and specifically our write-ups on GMAT Critical Reasoning Questions and GMAT Reading Comprehension Questions).

GMAT Data Insights

For Data Insights, there is very little new content to learn once you have prepared for the verbal and quant sections. Yes – you may need to get familiar with a few different graph types or learn what a positive/negative correlation looks like, but overall Data Insights is simply testing core verbal and quant skills with unique question formats.

For instance, Two-Part Analysis questions usually test very particular quant concepts or common critical reasoning scenarios. Data Sufficiency questions test your ability to leverage information and apply critical thinking using various quant content areas. The remaining types present graphical and numerical data for which you must make accurate inferences and predictions.

A huge part of all Data Insights questions in general is reading comprehension: are you focusing on precision in wording, answering the proper question, and properly interpreting given information.

For your preparation, this will always be the section that you attack last, since it is a mix of skills from your verbal and quant prep. As for the verbal section, learning good best practices and strategies is key to success for Data Insights and you can read about these approaches in our article on GMAT Data Insights.

GMAT Quant

You guessed it. GMAT Quant will be the thorn in your side when it comes to content review.

Unlike GMAT Verbal and Data Insights, the Quant section is built on the assumption that you possess specific quantitative content knowledge—and there is no getting around the requirement. The better your fluency with the underlying quant content, the better you will typically do on the quant section.

It is rare that a test taker comes to the GMAT with all this content knowledge immediately at their disposal. Most students need to refresh their quantitative skills in order to move past the content review stage.

But in some cases, test takers will not only be required to refresh but to relearn certain concepts that escaped them as younger students.

Figuring out where you fall in this discussion is actually straightforward: you don’t need to take third-party “assessments” or burn through practice tests to try to establish a “baseline.”

Instead, ask yourself a series of fairly simple questions—and answer honestly:

• How far did you advance in high school math? How was the quality of your instruction?
• Did you take quantitative courses in college?
• Do you use quantitative skills on a regular basis in your professional life?
• How numerate are you, and do quantitative concepts come naturally?

If you want specific examples, how comfortable are you with manipulating numbers, finding the lowest common multiple, factoring, applying exponent and root rules?

By reflecting honestly on these questions, you should be able to get a rough idea of how much prep time will be needed. If you didn’t excel in math courses, rarely use quantitative methods (beyond a superficial level) in your professional life, and don’t consider yourself a gifted mathematics student, you likely need to build up your content knowledge before proceeding to phase 2 of GMAT study. To get a better sense of what leads to success on both phases of prep, you can read our article on GMAT Problem Solving.

How to Gauge Your Content Knowledge—Should You Take a Practice Test?

In the early stages of GMAT content preparation, many test takers will wonder if they should take a diagnostic test to figure out where their baseline is.

If you feel confident in the content being tested in the GMAT, this might be a good idea. However, there are a limited number of practice tests available, and taking a mock test before you’ve studied the underlying content is not typically the best use of these resources.

If you’ve already taken a GMAT exam in the past and you’re not wholly sure whether your improvements will rely on drilling the content or working on exam strategy, speaking with a tutor or getting an enhanced score report can also help you highlight any existing weaknesses.

Content Review Methods: Where to Start?

At Menlo Coaching, we are not shy about criticizing the use of third-party practice problems and unofficial material in GMAT curriculums.

And while the third-party resources that emphasize content and quantity aren’t necessarily the best suited to hone your GMAT strategy in phase 2, they can be a helpful first step in reiterating the breadth of tested content for those in need of more remedial review.

Indeed, one thing you will not find in an advanced GMAT curriculum based on official material is repetitive content drills—the majority of the content you will find in a reputable GMAT prep course will come from official GMAT question books and past GMAT tests.

Suppose you’ve reflected on your familiarity and comfort level with quantitative topics, and you realize you need to bring up your content knowledge. For the sake of the example, let’s say you have a particular weakness when working with fractions. An advanced curriculum will not contain 80 drills on adding fractions (and is not the place to look for this kind of review).

For fraction drills, you’ll need to seek out third-party study apps and other basic curriculums that are geared toward content review over advanced techniques.

This does not mean you should go out and buy a high school math textbook, or binge watch every Khan Academy video you can find!

While requiring some foundational knowledge, the scope of knowledge in GMAT Quant is narrow.

So you need to prep with GMAT-specific curriculums, but you can be less discerning (for this early stage) when it comes to the quality of their test-taking strategies.

Importantly, once you get your quant skills to an acceptable level using drills and/or unofficial questions, you should start improving by doing official problems.

“Learning by Doing” is essential for a test like the GMAT: by completing full official questions (and, when the time is right, an official practice test), you have the opportunity to improve not only in the content but also the other skills required to get these clever questions correct (reading carefully, choosing the proper strategy, etc.). Then, when you’re in a position to take mock tests, you should start to see progressive improvements in your GMAT scores.

The biggest mistake people make in preparation is spending too long disconnecting content from real questions and not honing the other skills required for success on quant questions.

It’s Almost Always a Good Idea to Start with a Prep Course

No matter where you fall in regards to the two phases of GMAT study, it is almost always beneficial to take a GMAT prep course in the early stages of your preparation. Of course, we recommend Menlo Coaching’s live GMAT prep course, which spans 5 weeks of class time and 5 weeks of individual prep.

For one, a GMAT prep course is the fastest way to find out whether you need more time on content review. In a live course environment, you’ll have to follow along with the instructor at a pace that leaves no room for doubt: if you are struggling to keep up with the curriculum, you’ll know that your underlying knowledge is not where it needs to be.

Connected to this, you’ll understand the competition you’re up against. This can be a great motivator: being exposed to other test takers first-hand will give you a sense of the expectations for quantitative performance set by the GMAT.

And finally, a prep course will help you learn what it takes to succeed on the actual GMAT exam: even if you end up needing to go back to the content review phase after a prep course concludes, you’ll be better equipped to review the right material and get started on phase 2 when you’re ready.

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