MBA, GMAT-books and syllabus

GMAT exam comprises of three main sections:
1. Analytical Writing Assessment: This section has two essays which include:
i. Analysis of an Issue ii. Analysis of an Argument
You are given an essay with 30 minutes allotted for each section. You are required to analyse the given argument or the issue and explain your stand. You need to practice and make the right grammatical usage while answering.

2. GMAT quantitative section:
This section has two types of problems:
i. Problem solving questions ii. Data sufficiency questions
Problem solving questions are based on algebra, geometry or arithmetic and require use of formulae and concepts to pick out the answer. However data sufficiency questions are not straightforward. Here rather than finding the actual answer, you have to check and evaluate the data given and find out what data is enough to arrive at the solution.

3. GMAT verbal section:
In this section questions would be based on any of the three topics:
i. Reading Comprehension ii. Critical Reasoning iii. Sentence Correction
A thorough understanding of the rules of standard written English would help perform well in this section.
Though the GMAT score forms just one element of the MBA application, it plays a significant role considering the high number of applicant pool to the good business programs and the increase in competition. With a high score, you have an advantage over your fellow competitors and hence better prospects of getting in. If you aim for a high GMAT score, you need to have access to the right resources, books and organise yourself in the right possible way towards GMAT prep.It is a good idea to purchase the book 'The Official Guide to GMAT Review', the 12th edition being the latest one. This book contains actual GMAT questions asked in the previous years. It also has the solutions and explanation, so this would be a good investment on your part for your GMAT self-study. In addition to this book you may also wish to add to your list other books available on GMAT preparation. Best MBA Books provides a list of other books and resources. The book 'Beyond the MBA Hype' takes you on a complete journey on what to expect from an MBA program. It provides an insight into how the candidate should make their choice of the program. It also discusses post-MBA career options and answers a lot of queries that prospective MBA students might be facing.

Prep for GMAT:

It's better to start quite early with your GMAT preparations. There has to be enough time to cover all the topics in all the three sections. The GMAT test is computer-adaptive which means that you have to answer a question and if you answer it correctly, you get a next question with the higher level of difficulty. So there are no optional topics which you can leave out. You can start studying and concentrating on your weak areas or the not-so-favourite topics before you move on to the rest. This will ensure that you have sufficient time for revising and getting thorough with them.
You need to practice a lot with variety of question formats. This enables familiarity with the methodology of solving the various questions. It would be ideal if you are able to give some time each day for quantitative as well as the verbal section. You need to take complete practice tests once you are done with the GMAT syllabus.
In addition to self-study, you may also take coaching, either classroom training or online GMAT coaching. Online GMAT coaching has many advantages:
i) Flexible schedule ii) Pace and curriculum adapts as per individual capacity iii) Study from home
Good tutoring can turn out to be a good investment if you are able to gain insight about the right methodology for GMAT preparation, get access to the right study material, have guidance from experienced trainers and get regular feedback about the scope for improvement.

GMAT test centers:

You need to plan and schedule your GMAT test at the nearest available test center. Details of the dates and time are available on the GMAT official website www.mba.com. Planning in advance will get you a time and date of your choice. You should work out the details about the time needed for official GMAT scores to reach your respective colleges in time before the college deadlines.

A well-planned study schedule can help you strengthen the weak areas and put in your best performance in the GMAT test.