Students consider the GMAT and the GRE as their gateway to get into the dream international colleges. In India, there has been a consistent rise in the number of students studying in foreign countries. With more than three lakh students studying abroad, India is only second to China for students flying abroad to get an international degree. This trend could be one of the reason in the rise of GMAT and the GRE test-takers in India.
Do We Indian students approach these exams in the right way? Are we able to understand the exam pattern properly? More importantly, what are the top mistakes we, the Indian students make on tests like the GMAT and the GRE? Here we are discussing the top 10 mistakes that an Indian students make for these tests like GMAT and GRE-
1. Consider the Exams as Basic Tests of Subject Knowledge
There is a common misconception among almost all the students that every exam they are preparing is just a basic test of knowledge. But, the GMAT and the GRE are the tricky one. They test a candidate’s business communication skills, not the basic English. Also, they test their analytical application skills and not their basic Mathematics knowledge.
2. Wrong study materials Chosen for Preparation
There are so many institutions that sell GMAT and GRE prep courses and material online. They will just teach the techniques to understand and solve the questions quickly. But most of them will not teach the candidates how and where to apply those techniques while taking the exams.
A candidate preparing for any exams should pickup the right resources, which will be useful to ace them in the exam.
3. Practice Only for short durations
The GMAT and the GRE are tests that last up to 3 hours. When candidates practice mock test at home regularly then they will be able to solve them during exam. During mock test, they learn the accuracy and time management. And analysis of the given mock test, will be beneficial to focus on their weak areas.
To stay focussed for a 3 hours exam duration, they need to practice regularly the entire exam in the given time limit at home.
4. Rely only on weekends for preparation
A candidate preparing for the GMAT or the GRE should practice questions consistently, not just on weekends or whenever they find the time. Consistency is the key for the success.
Even if they are working, they need to ensure that they make the proper preparation timetable and follow them strictly. They musy set aside some time during the week and practice questions.
5. Try to find right Answers instead of the Best Answers
In GMAT/GRE exams, the expectation is to find the best answer from the five options provided, even if the answer doesn’t look right. The GMAT and the GRE are exams in which a candidate needs to find the appropriate answer. Most of the candidates waste their time in finding the the precise answer to a question without even looking at the options provided.
6. Attempt Only when 100% sure of an Answer
In our Indian education system, we have been taught to answer only if we are 100% sure that it is correct. But on the GMAT and the GRE, a candidate needs to learn how to make educated guesses on some questions. It will help in saving time for the tricky ones that they can solve!
7. Apply the “Brute-Force” approach
Studying for 14 hours a day or referred to every single book on the planet before taking an exam will not work for those who are preparing for the GRE or the GMAT. This will work only to have good grades in college. With such level of exams, it is about studying smartly by practicing and analyzing the questions and answers more.
8. Rely only on ‘Accuracy’
Do not rely on ‘accuracy’ as a metric for scoring because the GMAT assesses a candidate based on the underlying difficulty of the questions that they solve. The candidate will get to solve more questions of the different level of difficulties.
9. Exam Time Management
To be successful in any exam, student must be aware of Time Management. As the exam time period is fixed and its upto candidate that how well they can utilize that time for maximum attempt in the test.
The GMAT and the GRE are the tests that require a candidate to keep track of the time they invest in a question. All the candidate’s efforts will go in vain if they cannot answer each question in a stimulated time. The brain functions differently when there is time pressure, and they need to be prepared for the accuracy.
10. Not expect test questions to be tricky
The questions on these tests can be quite deceptive. The difficult questions on the GMAT and the GRE won’t seem different from the rest. The tricky question may look easy to solve. Due to this, a candidate might end up choosing the wrong answer quickly. It is only later when they analyze the question they realize their error.
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