How To Succeed On A Multiple-Choice Entrance Exam For Graduate School

Wednesday, November 16th, 2011

The GMAT (or GRE, LSAT, MCAT) is one more test between you and your top-choice grad school, it just happens to be a really important one.

Anxiety? Fear? You name the emotion that bubbles up when you find yourself up against an exam that you think may affect your future. I have been counseling students on grad school for over 17 years and I see the stress these entrance exams create, but knowing how your test works can truly reduce your anxiety levels. A big myth is that if you do well in school, you should ace your exam but as you may have experienced on your SAT or ACT, that is not always the case.

Here are my 5 key elements in succeeding on the GMAT, GRE, LSAT or MCAT:

Content Knowledge. Nothing can supersede knowing the material but that does not even ensure a great score as you need all the elements below. Review! Review!
Strategy. A game plan will help to ease your tension. It simply becomes a matter of execution. You must learn to pace yourself, guess and eliminate answers based on the exam. Know what you’re up against. The more familiar you are with your test, the better you’ll do. FYI: GMAT & GRE are Computer-Adaptive Tests (CATs) while the MCAT is a CBT (Computer Based) and the LSAT is a Paper & Pencil.
Confidence. This is a key element that most people overlook. It plays a huge role in high stakes testing and is impacted greatly by the other four.
Technique. A step by step way to actually attack certain question types will provide consistency to a higher score.
Practice & Analysis. Practice. Practice. Practice. Work on your weaknesses so you can build your score even more. By the way, as part of the partnership, you are eligible for a free practice test and an evaluation with one of our test prep experts – email anthonyr@review.com for more information.

If you can work on these 5 areas (NOT AN EASY TASK), you increase your chances at a higher score. The Princeton Review, Urban Interns test prep partner, is here to help if you feel you need more assistance with content knowledge, strategy, technique and/or practice – find out more from The Princeton Review now!