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There are some specific tips and strategies that can be very helpful while you are planning to take GMAT. Two candidates with the same knowledge may not necessarily receive the same score on a GMAT test. This is because only one of them knows how to do well on the exam. These strategies are concerned with how you approach the test contents and your understanding of how GMAT is usually constructed.
These tips should only be used as an adjunct mechanism for preparing to take the GMAT and obtain the best possible score.

BEFORE THE TEST

Knowing the test directions
Understand the basic information regarding the computer based test format, Click here for that . Familiarize yourself with the test directions. But remember the directions for the questions in the GMAT Test might be slightly different from the ones in your study material. So always read the instructions carefully but do it quickly.

Overconfidence
Don't think that you can drop into the test testing center and cruise through the test with no effort. Think again. The test- if required by your chosen School - is important. Be forewarned: You should take it very seriously.

Over-preparation
Preparing for the test is like training for an sporting competition. Familiarize yourself with it and get comfortable with it. Build up your endurance. Aim to have your motivation, interest, and performance peak on the day. Preparation (training) e.g. getting comfortable with the test, correcting poor test-taking habits, developing an instinct for spotting wrong-answer choices and to finding your optimal pace. But after a time additional practice will give little additional benefit. So - don't over prepare by starting many months in advance or by postponing test dates to give yourself more time than you actually can usefully use for preparation.

Negative views
Don't make the mistake of thinking - I'll give the GMAT one go, and if I do poorly, I'll not try for an MBA program. With time and effort you could do very well. See it as preparation for your study. Register for and take the real test once as a full practice—just to get comfortable with the testing environment. You'll be far more relaxed the second time around. More than 90% improve their score in the second test.

Understand the level of difficulty of CAT (Computer Adaptive Testing)
On the Computer Based GMAT, your first question will be of medium difficulty. If you answer it correctly, the next question will be a little harder. If you again answer it correctly, the next question will be harder still, and so on. If your GMAT skills are strong and you are not making any mistakes, you should reach the medium-hard or hard problems by about the fifth problem. Although this is not very precise, it can be quite helpful. Once you have passed the fifth question, you should be alert to subtleties in any seemingly simple problems.
These questions at the beginning affect your score more than those towards the end. Take your time with those questions. It is vital that you get those questions right. Getting these correct will dramatically improve your score.

Practice, Practice, Practice
The main way to master your GMAT is through practice. Practice test questions under timed conditions so that you get used to the pace of the test. For example, if there are 30 questions in a section and you have a total of 30 minutes to complete the section, give yourself an average of 1 minute to complete each question. When you are practicing, keep your time in mind and remember that if you spend too much time on one question, you will have less time to spend on others.

The day of the test
Make sure you have gotten a good night’s sleep the night before the test. Do not get more sleep than usual, however; that might make you more tired. Eat whatever kind of breakfast you usually eat not so much that you will want to sleep your way through the exam and not so little that all you’ll be able to think about is food.
Get to the exam site at least fifteen minutes early you will not have to worry about the time and you will start the test in a more relaxed frame of mind. When it is time to begin, take three deep, slow breaths before you even start your test. This will help you to relax and focus on the work ahead. Finally, be confident! These tests count, but it is not a doordie situation. You will be amazed later in life at how few people ask you what you got on your GMAT! Just do your best and do not panic.

DURING THE TEST

Start slowly
The difficulty level of your test questions will be based on the correctness of your responses to first ones. If you answer the first questions wrongly the testing system will immediately move you down the scale of difficulty, and your reward for easier questions is less than for more difficult questions. If – for example through carelessness on the early questions- you give the testing system the impression that you're incapable of answering difficult questions correctly, you'll disadvantage yourself on the test.

Read the Questions Carefully
You should read each question carefully before answering. As silly as this may seem, the undisciplined test taker will feel the stress of the clock during the timed sections and will try to cut corners to save time however and whenever possible. As a result, questions are often misinterpreted. We will guarantee that you will encounter questions when you sit for the GMAT with incorrect choices that were deliberately designed to exploit a misinterpretation of what the question is really asking.

Be very sure of your answer before proceeding
With the Computer-Adaptive Test (CAT) for GRE, you cannot return to a question once you have attempted it. You cannot leave the difficult questions for later nor can you check your answers towards the end even if you have extra time. Complete your answer by clicking on "Next" and then "Answer Confirm." You can change your answer any time before confirming it by clicking on a different answer choice. So pace yourself properly and be very certain of your answers.

Should I Guess?
Guessing, like pacing, is more important on the CAT (computer adaptive testing) than on any other test you have ever taken. Because you have to answer a question before the GMAT CAT will allow you to move on to the next question, you should try to respond to each GMAT question, even if you need to guess.
The best approach is to give yourself enough time to answer every question in the GMAT. If you are running out of time at the end of a section and there are still unanswered questions, you should try to consider and answer as many questions as possible. Why? Because the number of unanswered questions will lower your score. Keep in mind, too, that guessing at random can also lower your score. You have to learn how to guess, for that read "Selection by Elimination".
You can still do well on the GMAT if you don’t answer every question correctly. If you can eliminate certain answers but can’t decide between two that you think could be the right answer, then guess. That’s an educated guess, and you are most likely better off making it and continuing with the test.

Pacing the GMAT test
Although time is strictly limited on the GMAT, working too quickly can damage your score. Many problems hinge on subtle points, and most require careful reading of the setup. Because undergraduate school puts such heavy reading loads on students, many will follow their academic conditioning and read the questions quickly, looking only for the gist of what the question is asking. Once they have found it, they mark their answer and move on, confident they have answered it correctly. Later, many are startled to discover that they missed questions because they either misread the problems or overlooked subtle points.

Question

#  #1 to 8

# 9 to 20

# #21 till end

Pace

 

 Go slowly because the questions are valuable. Double-check yourself before answering. Speeds up here to a “normal” pace. Be careful, but not as cautious as earlier in the test. Move rapidly and guess more frequently and make sure to finish all of the questions.
 

Selection by Elimination
The key guessing strategy is P.O.E (process of elimination). A big asset going into test day is knowing that one of the five possible answers must be right. If you can eliminate two of the choices, you can increase your chances of getting the right answer by 65% (from 20%- 1 in 5 to 33% -1 in 3). Here's how to do it...
  1. Eliminate answer choices you know are wrong. Even if you don't know the right answer, you can often tell that some of the answer choices are wrong. For example, on the Data Sufficiency questions you can eliminate at least two of the answer choices by determining if one of the statements is true.
  2. Avoid answer choices that look suspicious. For example, on Sentence Correction questions, beware of any answer choices that look completely different from all of the other choices. In the Quantitative section, you can usually eliminate any answers that are negative when all the other answers are positive.
  3. Once you have narrowed down the list of answer choices, pick one of the remainder. It is a myth that some answer choices, like A or C, are more often correct than other choices.

Timing yourself
  • Understanding the format of the test is important, because you’ll want to gauge your time according to what section of the test you are taking.
  • Pace yourself and keep track of your progress by knowing the amount of time you have left (it’s on the test screen). Each section is 75 minutes. You have about two minutes per Quantitative question and about 1.75 minutes per Verbal question.
  • Pay attention to the number of questions that remain in a section. There are 37 quantitative section questions. There are 41 verbal section questions.
  • Once a section begins, the time allotted starts to run down (shown as “TIME”).
  • Clicking on "HELP" doesn’t pause or stop the time.
  • Hiding the "TIME" information doesn’t pause or stop the time.
  • If you take an unscheduled break, time isn’t paused or stopped for a section
  • Between test sections, replenish your supply of scratch paper.
  • Take advantage of the five-minute breaks after test sections 2 and 3.
  • If a question is too time-consuming or if you do not know the answer, make an educated guess (see above).
  • If time is running out for a section and you haven’t answered every question, try to do so. (Remember, the number of questions answered affects your score.)

Approximate time you should spend on questions, depending on your skill level.

GMAT Question #

 1 - 8

 9 - 20

#21-end

High Scorer 85+ percentile

2 min 10s

2 min

1 min 55s
Medium 51-84+ percentile

2 min 20s

1 min 55s

1 min 45s
Low 1-50+ percentile

2 min 40

1 min 45s

1 min 40s
NOTE: You must respond to both essays and each multiple choice section of the test in order to receive scores.

The Importance of Scratch Paper
Another big asset you have going into test day is virtually unlimited scratch paper. Use it and make sure you have lots of it on test day (Note: calculators are not allowed).
You'll need scratch paper because you are taking a test off of a computer screen, and you can't write on the screen. The result is that you'll often have to carefully copy much of the question down onto paper without miscopying the information. This is awkward and difficult. It takes valuable time to recopy information and it increases the chance of a hurried error, so you have to be careful about what you copy and what you don't copy. Try to use scratch paper extensively on your practice tests to get a feel for this. There is no need to feel self conscious if you happen to have a few more sheets of this scrap paper than the other test takers. Additionally, you do not want to waste valuable test-taking time requesting additional paper should you run out during the middle of a section.

Don't Panic
If you have a bad day, you have the option of canceling. When you finish the test, the computer will offer the option of canceling the test or accepting it. If you cancel the test neither you nor any school will see your score. If you accept the test, the computer will display your score and it will be available to all schools (official scores will be mailed about two weeks later). Relax and make sure to schedule the test far in advance of when it is due. Make sure you have adequate time to cancel and reschedule the test if necessary.

Understand the implications of exiting a section or quitting the test
  • If you exit a section and confirm you want to exit that section, you won’t be able to return to it.
  • If you click "Test Quit," you won’t receive a score for any section, even if you answered questions for some or all of the sections.
  • If you click "Section Exit" or "Test Quit,” you have to confirm your decision. So, if you clicked either of these buttons by mistake or you change your mind, just select the option “Return to Where I Was.”
NOTE: The policy on taking the GMAT multiple times is that you can only take one computer-based test per month.  If you QUIT the test or canceled your scores, you are still considered to have taken one test for that month.



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