Prep time for the GRE/GMAT

If you took the GRE or GMAT, how long did you spend studying for it? There is a strong chance I will be taking the GMAT, but my time frame is short if I want to get into the program I am looking at this year. Curious, what everyone's experiences with this has been.

Also, if you could give me an idea how long you have been out of school it would help too. I'm around 7 years out.

im preppin for about 3 months for GRE, still in school

2 months should get you an 800 on GMAT.

I prepped for about 3 months during my last semester of college (I was only taking 2 classes) because I decided very late that I wanted to give b school a shot. Since I was always pretty good with Math, I concentrated on the Verbal section. I scored in the 89th percentile in verbal and 55th percentile in quant (Overall - 640). I definitely regret not taking out a little more time to study quant.

I've taken both tests but both were taken in the last century (damn crazy to make that statement!). At the time, the GRE was merely high school math, reading comprehension, and writing. If high school math is still fresh in your head, you're set.

The GMAT was also last century (gulp). I didn't do as well in the math but I slammed the 99th percentile for verbal. The math was a little more than high school math, which makes sense, as many GRE writers are going into decidely non-quant stuff.

So in answer, GRE you should be able to not even study if your high school math, reading comp., and writing are up to snuff. GMAT I would take a prep course.

Originally Posted by JMRouse

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If you took the GRE or GMAT, how long did you spend studying for it? There is a strong chance I will be taking the GMAT, but my time frame is short if I want to get into the program I am looking at this year. Curious, what everyone's experiences with this has been.

Also, if you could give me an idea how long you have been out of school it would help too. I'm around 7 years out.

I took two months. Started in late Sept/early Oct and took the GRE Dec. 16. Was out of college 4 years. At the outset I did practice sets of Quant and Verbal sections and was stunned by how much I forgot basic math and the GRE words used. So in two months I did flash cards (about 300 words) and worked through a whole GRE math workbook to relearn the basics. Took two practice tests the week before and scored 89th percentile in verbal, though math stayed terrible (40%) for 1190 total. Got 4.5/6 in Writing section that I didn't prep for until the day of the exam (no idea how it's looked at by schools). Been advised to take it again but as it doesn't work with my application deadlines (2 weeks!) I'm shooting for the wind and hope other aspects of application package do the trick.

GRE (taken in 2006): 700 M, 600 V, 6.0/6.0 W. I think that was like 75% math, 90% verbal, and 95% writing. I took this thing cold - my math could have been higher, the verbal was a monster. Tons of words that I never saw before.

GMAT: 720, 6.0 W. Spent maybe 4 days prepping sentence correction. Took one practice to get format down. Note: I took the LSAT, which prepped me on verbal hardcore (the reading comp and analytical questions on the GMAT are a joke compared to LSAT) so my verbal was already prepped. Without the LSAT I would have needed to spend a few weeks prepping verbal. Math wasn't bad but I should have done some prep as the questions are tricky (but not math tricky, like LSAT games tricky).

Prepping for 2-3 months for the GMAT should get you a 700+ easily if you are decent at standardized testing. Similarly on the GRE, a 1400+ should be achievable in a similar time period, as long as you pay attention to memorization of vocab (assuming the exam hasn't changed in the last 5 years) and just use a decent prep book. Manhattan Prep for the GMAT is best, I know that for sure. For the GRE I don't know. I didn't prep. :-/

I'm not sure that I agree that 2-3 months of prepping for the GMAT would equate to 700+ easily. If I remember correctly, the average score the year I took the test was about 570. I don't think 2-3 months of prep would put the average student that far above the average score.

Originally Posted by JayRod

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I'm not sure that I agree that 2-3 months of prepping for the GMAT would equate to 700+ easily. If I remember correctly, the average score the year I took the test was about 570. I don't think 2-3 months of prep would put the average student that far above the average score.

I guess I needed to clarify what I meant by good at taking standardized tests. If you are someone who scored in the 1350-1400 range on the SATs you should be able to crack a 700 on the GMAT. If might take more work than 2-3 months, but I didn't think it was too bad and I'm not insanely good with standardized testing.

I haven't taken either but my co-worker studied for 2 months and scored 750 except she's always been a full A+ student unlike me. I would be studying for GMAT if it wasn't for CPA exam I am studying for right now.. Good luck on your exam!

On styleforum, 700 is really a fallback score. Most members score 790+.

I took the GMAT in 2007 and didn't study. For the GMAT - brush up on geometry formulas and alegbra (FOIL, etc....). Ignore the verbal if your time is limited.

Like Pio, I literally did not miss a question on the verbal part. Granted, I've always tested well and had just finished law school, but the verbal part is still easy. Doing geometry for the first time since high school? A little more difficult.

-Thought about studying
-Didn't--am too alpha
-Go to upscale standardized testing centre dressed like a ******* badass
-take test drunk and throw up
-mom calls to ask how test went but I dont answer
-score over 9000
-Alpha as ****

Originally Posted by MrGimpy

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-Thought about studying
-Didn't--am too alpha
-Go to upscale standardized testing centre dressed like a ******* badass
-take test drunk and throw up
-mom calls to ask how test went but I dont answer
-score over 9000
-Alpha as ****



Almost, but I know you're (oh wait, "your" is alpha) a poser. A true alpha would have gotten hit on by at least five chics while taking the test. Maybe even gotten a little something under the desk while taking the test.

^ Sorry for the DT creep.

I did actually take the GMAT in the early 2000s. While I didn't sign up for a class, I worked through a Kaplan guide and found it very useful. The level of strategy required to write the test and the content difficulty may not justify paying for an actual course. But if you struggle with standardized tests, a good teacher may be able to offer some useful approaches.

In the end, I scored well but regretted not preparing better for the quant section. A bit of memorization goes a long way in this section.