1.Assess your needs

The first essential step to creating a GMAT study plan is to figure out what you need from that GMAT study plan. For example, if you are already reaching your goal score in quant, it would be a waste of time to focus equally on quant and verbal. In order to assess your needs, you should start by taking a GMAT practice test. You can get two free from GMAC, when you download their GMAT prep software.

2.Learn the Core Strategies and Concepts

After you figure out where you weaknesses are and how far you are from your target score, then you can work to improve your weak spots by learning strategies and concepts. For some question types, like reading comprehension and reading comp, you will only need to learn strategy. For other question types, such as sentence correction and the quantitative section, you will need to learn many rules and formulas to do well. Thus, it is important to understand and memorize this important information through either a course or comprehensive strategy guide set. The best way to remember things is to take notes, so make sure that you do this.

3.Practice, Practice, Practice

You then need to practice this new found knowledge by doing lots of practice questions. I recommend that you save the official guides for this section. They are the best sources for practice questions since they have actual retired GMAT questions in them. This is also the time to work on your pacing, which means finding the right balance between speed and accuracy. The first step is improving your accuracy. There is no point to getting a good level of speed if you aren’t being accurate. So, start by doing practice questions without worrying about timing. After you have achieved your desired accuracy level, then work on improving your speed.

4.Build mental endurance

The GMAT is kind of like a mental marathon. People aren’t capable of running for four hours straight without any training. Likewise, people cannot fully concentrate for four hours straight without training. If you have already done a lot of practice questions then you have already begun building your mental endurance. The final step is to take at least five full-length practice tests. Try to simulate the test experience as much as possible. This means that you should take the IR and AWA sections and only allow yourself the allotted 8-minute breaks.

5.Give yourself a break

It is also important to give yourself breaks. If you are very tired and aren’t being productive with your studying, take a quick nap or meditate. It is also important to give yourself one day off from the GMAT per week, so that you don’t overdo it. And on the last day before your exam, you shouldn’t do any studying, to ensure that you show up refreshed and relaxed on test day.

The Graduate Record Exam, a computer-adaptive standardized test that is an admissions requirement for many graduate schools in the US.

The GRE was created in 1949 and has three sections: Verbal, Quantitative and Analytical Writing.

How is it different to the GMAT?

The GMAT places more emphasis on logic, while the GRE tests vocabulary and language comprehension more thoroughly. The quant section on both tests is usually tough for liberal arts folk!

How is it scored?

The Verbal and Quantitative sections are each scored out of a maximum of 700. The Analytical Writing section is scored out of 6. The scores are aggregated into a “scaled score” between 130 and 170.

Why are more business schools accepting it?

Over 1000 business schools worldwide now accept GMAT scores in lieu of the GMAT. The main reason seems to be diversity: business schools want to tap into the pool of potential candidates who take the GRE – a different demographic to the GMAT, which is solely for business school admissions. GRE takers include people in the sciences, social sciences and liberal arts.

Which business schools accept GRE scores?

Big hitters like Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, MIT Sloan, Chicago Booth and many others. Lots of b-schools came on board after the test was overhauled in 2011.

How do you prepare?

ETS, the company that runs the GRE, has official preparation software called PowerPrep, with practice questions, review material and practice tests. There are also plenty of unofficial guides from the likes of Kaplan and Barron’s.

Inside tip

The test from start to finish takes about four hours.  Take a sugary snack with you, such as a Snickers bar. Sugar apparently helps you make decision!

– Maria Ahmed is Editor of BusinessBecause.com, a professional networking and news site for the business school world. Visit the site for info on MBA jobs, MBA rankings and the popular Why MBA series!