When prepping for the GMAT, you must be sure to not only prepare for the content that is on the GMAT, but also for the format of the GMAT. While most students realize the importance of the former, the latter must also be considered when creating a study plan.

The GMAT, unlike most tests you have probably taken, is a computer adaptive test. This means that if you answer a question correctly the next question will be a little harder, and if you answer a question incorrectly the next question will be a little easier. This continues throughout the exam, so the score you receive is not based solely on the number of questions you answered correctly, but rather is based on an algorithm calculation taking into account the difficulty of the questions you answer.

Since this method of scoring is new to most test takers, practicing with computer adaptive tests — we give you nine when you take our Kaplan course — is essential to being prepared on test day.

Additionally, computer based practice is essential simply to get used to the test layout. For example, most students are used to reading the reading comprehension passages on paper, where they can easily mark them up. However, you must get used to the split screen format used on the GMAT, as well as reading the passages off a computer screen, which can be surprisingly different from reading on a sheet of paper.

For both of these reasons, if you restrict your study to paper based materials, you will not be fully prepared when you sit down to take your actual test. The only way to get this preparation, and the higher score that goes along with it, is to make sure you do plenty of computer based practice.

Basic math content knowledge, such as the formula for the area of a triangle or the equation for calculating an average, is often the wolf in sheep’s clothing on the GMAT – test takers who lack proficiency in the basics find it very challenging to strategically approach questions in the Quantitative section.

In working with GMAT students, I have seen that learning the basic quantitative content areas and practicing how and when to apply them to test questions frees test takers to tackle Data Sufficiency and Problem Solving questions with greater confidence and speed. The best way to practice foundational math content is through drills and practice, first working basic problems that get you back in the habit of mathematical operations such as using the distributive property, dealing with fractions properly, and applying the rules of exponents and radicals. Even if you feel that you have a good understanding of one of these math content areas, it still pays to practice with it until the use of operations and rules becomes second nature.

As I always tell my students, you should practice, practice, practice, and then practice some more! Once you have refreshed your basic skills, you will be better primed to approach the complicated verbiage and the multi-step calculations that can create obstacles on the GMAT Quantitative section. Moving forward to test questions, you can flip through your mental files more quickly and pull up the math knowledge that you have practiced extensively and etched into your brain. It’s amazing how much faster a Data Sufficiency question goes when you recognize properties of systems of linear equations and can determine, aha!, if you have two distinct linear equations, you have enough to solve for the value of the two variables presented in the question stem! If the very phrase ‘linear equation’ makes your eyes cross, you are definitely a candidate for a refresher on the math content areas that the GMAT focuses on – Arithmetic, Algebra, and Geometry.

The slow down paradox: going slower on the GMAT can make you faster.

Recently, one of my GMAT tutoring students, an engineering undergrad at Penn, hit the test prep wall.  After a couple of months of study he was consistently scoring 670/680 on weekly practice tests, but he needed to do significantly better to qualify for Wharton’s sub matriculation program.  This student was a bright guy and a typical engineer, accustomed to attacking challenges and blowing through them.   His problem was quant. – all kinds of quant.  This was particularly surprising since, in both our sessions together and his homework, he demonstrated mastery of high-level content and methods. But something was falling apart under test conditions. Together, we analyzed his situation and soon saw a pattern.  Specifically, he was making unforced errors, misreading the problems and falling into traps.  Meanwhile, he was regularly finishing the section 15 minutes early!

Every time you make an “unforced” or preventable error on the GMAT, you’re falling into a trap designed to test your critical thinking skills and your attention to detail.  The test-maker frequently presents information in deliberately confusing order, separates data that need to be considered together, or uses terms with very specific implications.  Test takers need to be alert to these pitfalls while at the same time identifying the relevant content information and choosing the most efficient method to solve the particular problem.

Since he had plenty of extra time in the section, I challenged my student to slow down his reading of each question.  More specifically, his assignment was to read each question exactly once.  To read only once, he had to visualize the relationships and goal in each question.   I dared him to take the test-maker’s question and make it his own before proceeding – much as test-takers learn to paraphrase a critical reasoning stimulus or summarize each paragraph in a reading comprehension passage.

On his next practice test, the student put this new discipline to work.  He slowed down his reading and increased his understanding of each quant question before going to his noteboard to calculate.  It worked: his score shot up 30 points. His meticulous approach enabled him sidestep the snares that previously had been tripping him up.  And as he mastered the technique, his performance continued to improve.

Now, this may sound all well and good if you’ve got an additional 15 minutes to play with. A little more patience, a little more attention will obviously pay off if only you had the time.  Well, just maybe you do.  You see, in addition improving his score, the student also found that, by reading each question once and not having to go back again and again, he actually finished the section even earlier. Try it.