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GMAT Time Management Strategies to Ace the Exam

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Rituparna Nath

Content Writer at Study Abroad Exams

The GMAT Time Management aims to answer maximum questions correctly in the test within the provided time. The GMAT time management is tricky as the syllabus is huge and every section requires some attention. Proper time management can help you avoid spending excess time on a single question, so that you can focus and give attention to the difficult ones. But with the right strategies, you can score well in the exam.

GMAT Time Management Strategies

The best GMAT time management strategy is to strengthen your test practice and track your progress in simulated real time. Let's break down several GMAT time management techniques, and correct some common misconceptions along the way.

  1. Pay attention to how you practice pacing and mark your progress

To enhance your GMAT time management including practice exercises it is important. It helps to keep a track of how long it takes you to answer each question. When you review the answers, note which types of questions you spend a lot of time on and which you answer more easily. This way you can work on the time taking problems to solve it faster.

  1. Know your weaknesses and strengths

During the test, there would be questions that make you falter and are sometimes not worth a lot of time and energy. Use your best judgment on questions that give you trouble, it is best to skip it. This way you save yourself time and use it on problems that take longer. On average, you will miss around 40% of the questions on the GMAT, so you need to understand while deciding which questions to solve and which ones to guess. Also, you need to practice GMAT test-taking tips to score high in exams.

  1. Do not spend more than 3 minutes on a single question

This should be taken quite literally, and you’re already pushing it if you’ve spent three minutes on one question. Taking the GMAT requires flexibility, and this is where you need to adjust to the test as it tries to adjust to you. Know when it’s time to cut the cord, so you can free yourself to answer more questions. Do not leave any questions unanswered, as each unanswered question costs you more than questions you answer incorrectly. Know the specific time constraints of all test sections, as charted out in the next point.

  1. Follow the benchmarks

It’s very important to know effective GMAT time management strategies as often students run out of time. The solution to this problem is a timing benchmark. This guides the student as they would memorize how many to answer within a certain period of time provided to each section.

Verbal Timing Benchmarks

GMAT verbal time management would include giving yourself nine minutes to solve 5 questions. Follow this tip during practice tests as well, this will enhance your speed.

Finish this question By the time on-screen
Q6. 55 mins
Q12. 44 mins
Q18. 33mins
Q24. 22mins
Q30 11mins

Quantitative Timing Benchmarks

GMAT quantitative reasoning solving tactic would be to practice five quant questions together but not taking more than ten minutes. Make sure not to give more than three minutes to any individual question.

Finish this question By the time on-screen
Q4. 54mins
Q8. 38mins
Q12. 30mins
Q20. 22mins
Q24. 14mins
Q28 6mins
  1. Make balance: Don’t go too fast or too slow

Best GMAT Time management techniques would include always keeping track of the time spent on each question, even if it’s a set of problems. It's very important to keep a balance. You need to solve the entire problem test paper to qualify in the exam. Below there is a table to give you an idea about the time management that is required for the exam.

Question Type Average Timing Minimum and Maximum Timing
Quant 2 minutes 1 minute/2.5 minutes
Sentence Correction 1 minute 15 seconds 45 seconds/2 minutes
Critical Reasoning 2 minutes 1 minute/2.5 minutes
RC: Reading 2-3 minutes 1.5 minutes/3.5 minutes
RC:General questions 1 minute 30 seconds/1.5 minutes
RC:Specific questions 1.5 minutes 45 seconds/ 2 minutes
  1. Be flexible

Instead of waiting for the exam day, practice tests help in your time management. Regular practice tests will improve your time management. As your score starts increasing day by day you’ll face harder questions which will take more time.

So be flexible to face questions without any particular order. As it is a computer adaptive test, the questions come in a random order, so you need to be prepared for it. Learning GMAT effective time management strategies will lead to better scores and improved overall academic performance.

*The article might have information for the previous academic years, which will be updated soon subject to the notification issued by the University/College.

GMAT 2023 : 27 answered questions

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Ques. MBA Preparation: What GMAT score can be considered good for applying to ISB Hyderabad with an average academic profile?

● Top Answer By Uday Pawar on 30 Jan 23

Generally speaking anything above 750 is a good score for admission to IBS Hyderabad. But even a high GMAT score does not guarantee admission to IBS Hyderabad because the shortlisting is profile-based. GMAT score is just a part of the entire selection process. You need to improvise your profile by working on other aspects also like  essays profile academics extracurricular activities Academics: Your 12th class marks graduation grades, post-graduation, and certification scores along with the GMAT cutoff is considered in your academic profile. Leadership: The leadership skills of the aspirants are tested on the basis of their prior achievements and roles. Personal attributes: This comprises your personal qualities like hobbies, talents, and extracurricular skills. Aspirants from diverse work experiences, cultures, and educational backgrounds are welcomed at IBS Hyderabad. So along with preparing well for GMAT, give importance to these parameters as well to increase your chances of admission....Read more

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Ques. What is the percentile required to get into ISB Hyderabad?

● Top Answer By Akanksha Sharma on 30 Jan 23

In case you are enquiring about the CAT percentile let me clarify that ISB Hyderabad does not take into consideration CAT scores. It accepts GMAT/GRE scores only. Most importantly, the ISB Shortlisting process is profile-based. This means even with a lower percentile you can manage to get shortlisted provided you have an excellent profile. There is no fixed cutoff for GMAT. However, a 700+ GMAT score isn't a must-have for ISB if your application is strong in other areas. According to an ISB spokesperson, candidates were admitted to the 2021 cohort with scores as low as 580, and as high as 780. So the GMAT score range for ISB is 580-780....Read more

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Ques. Is it worth spending 30k to join GMAT coaching at Crack ISB Hyderabad?

● Top Answer By Yash Bhati on 30 Jan 23

Yes, it certainly is worth paying a hefty fee of 30k for GMAT coaching at Crack ISB Hyderabad. The quality of trainers and the certainty of admission is what draw the candidates here. While there are many institutes that specialize in training for the CAT, very few institutes offer training for GMAT.  Crack ISB Hyderabad has many features that have made it so popular and demanding among GMAT aspirants The peer group is a productive and effective group discussion is possible The institute gives the admission essay reviews free of cost while most institutes charge around 20-25k The quality of editing is much better at this Institute mainly because the faculty comprises alumni of top B Schools  So it’s better to pay more for quality education than pay less or the same for substandard education. But remember an Institute can just prepare you for your entrance exam. It’s upon you to put in maximum effort and achieve your goals....Read more

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Ques. Why do students go for CAT, XAT, SNAP etc when almost all the B-Schools in India accept GMAT scores for the full time MBA?

● Top Answer By Nia Malhotra on 17 May 21

There is hardly any B-school in India that accepts GMAT scores for full-time MBA. IIMs, FMS, XLRI, JBIMS, IIFT, MDI, etc. are some of the institutions that accept GMAT scores.  However, students applying through a foreign national quota or NRI quota are eligible for GMAT score. ISB on the other hand accepts the GMAT for its full-time program MBA program. Here is the list of some B-Schools that accepts GMAT scores in India XLRI, Jamshedpur XIM, Bhubaneswar VIT Business School TISS, Mumbai TERI School of Advanced Sciences, TERI University TASMAC, Pune TAPMI, Manipal School of Management, Udaipur School of Management, NMIMS, Mumbai School of Management, International Institute of Management This is why most students go for CAT, XAT, SNAP, and other management exams for admission in MBA. Only foreign nationals or students with NRI Quota can apply through GMAT....Read more

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Ques. Does ISB Hyderabad need work experience apart from the GMAT score?

● Top Answer By Bejoy John on 30 Jan 23

Yes, ISB Hyderabad’s PGP program requires a minimum of 2 years of full-time paid work experience. This criteria came into force on 31st March 2016 and is still a necessity. For candidates who lack in this aspect, there is a back door entry called the Early Entry Option or the EEOs. Under this, you can apply right away, go through the selection process, and receive the admission offer but join only after working for 2 years. This can also be referred to as Deferred admission.  ...Read more

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