GMAT Prep For Dummies Cheat Sheet

Forget your calculator when you take the GMAT. The only things you need to bring with you to the test, besides a confident attitude and a good night’s sleep, are:

• Your appointment confirmation letter or email: When you schedule an appointment for the GMAT, Pearson VUE sends you a confirmation letter or e-mail that you should bring with you to the test. It proves you’re registered. Don’t despair if you can’t find yours, though. They’ll let you in if you have an appointment.

• A photo ID: You have to prove that you’re you and not your really smart neighbor who looks a little like you coming in to take the test for you. Any form of identification that doesn’t have your picture on it is unacceptable, but valid government-issued picture IDs, like driver’s licenses, passports, identification cards, and military IDs, are great as long as they’re originals (no photocopies) and they present your name and date of birth exactly as you stated them when you registered for the GMAT.

• The names of up to five of your favorite MBA programs: Pearson VUE sends your GMAT scores to five programs of your choice, so if you didn’t enter them online when you registered, be sure to have a list of your five favorites with you on test day.

The GMAT integrated reasoning questions test how well you apply logical reasoning to real-life situations. Here are some tips to guide you through this unusual section of questions:

• Sift through information to determine what is relevant.
• Carefully read questions and graphical or visual representations of information.
• Be prepared to draw inferences and make judgment, recognize cause and effect, identify relationships in information, and apply rules or principles from provided information.
• Expect to perform simple computations, such as percent change or averages.
• Ignore excess data that you don’t need.
• Answer questions based on the information given, not on your personal knowledge.
• Use the noteboard to keep track of information.
• Use the onscreen calculator only when necessary.
• Pace yourself so that you can answer all the questions and subparts in the given timeframe.

Data sufficiency questions require that you analyze the data in two statements and determine whether at some point there is sufficient information for you to answer the question. Here are some guidelines for approaching this question type, which is unique to the data insights section of the GMAT:

• Memorize the five fixed answer choices so you don’t have to refer to them.
• Read carefully to know exactly what the question posed is asking.
• Avoid making unwarranted assumptions, such as assuming the variable x is always positive.
• Be sure to check whether the second statement is sufficient when the first statement is determined to be sufficient.
• When the question posed asks for the value of a quantity, decide given information is sufficient only if exactly one numerical value for the quantity can be determined.
• When the question posed is a yes or no question, decide given information is sufficient only if a definite yes or no answer is possible.
• Don’t work out solutions to the question posed unless you can’t decide sufficiency without doing so.
• Use the onscreen calculator as needed.
• If a question is taking too much time, make a strategic guess and move on.

Does the thought of taking the GMAT math test make you break out in a cold sweat? Relax, and use these tips and tricks to help you tackle the quantitative section of the GMAT:

• Be prepared to use your knowledge of basic math, probability and statistics, algebra, and problem solving.
• Memorize formulas and other common math knowledge beforehand.
• Write expressions and sketch diagrams on the erasable noteboard correctly.
• Avoid making arithmetic or algebra mistakes.
• Check to make sure you didn’t overlook something when formulating an equation.
• Read all the answer choices before you select an answer.
• Eliminate answer choices that don’t make sense.
• If a question is taking too much time, make a strategic guess and move on.

GMAT reading questions are designed to test how well you extract information from a passage. So follow these suggestions when answering the reading comprehension questions in the verbal section of the GMAT:

• Read the entire passage. Don’t skim.
• Read the question prompt and ask yourself what type of question it is: is it asking for the main idea, for a fact from the passage, for the best answer based on your inferring, about the style and tone, or is it another type?
• Eliminate answer choices you know cannot be correct. Then return to the passage and look for your answer.
• In questions about the author’s tone, remember that the reading comprehension passages are usually written in fairly neutral style.
• In vocabulary questions, avoid guessing on a big word you don’t know just because it sounds impressive.
• When answering an inference question, look for logical hops in thinking, not giant, unsubstantiated leaps.

The critical reasoning questions on the GMAT are all about using logic. To maximize your potential on the critical reasoning questions in the verbal section of the GMAT, use these helpful techniques:

• There are several different types of critical reasoning questions, so it’s a good idea to read the question first before the passage. That will help you establish what the question is looking for: to support the argument, to weaken it, to conclude it, etc.
• Some passages have multiple questions. Always consider them separately.
• Do not bring your own knowledge to the question. Use only the passage provided.
• Remember that the argument presented is likely to be weak or flawed.
• Most critical reasoning questions will ask you to strengthen or weaken the author’s logic. It’s therefore important to be able to explain what the logic – not just the topic – is. If you can find the spine of the logic, you’ll be in better shape to weaken or support it.