Articles published in How to Study

Here’s Why You Should Interleave Your GMAT Studies (and What that Means)

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Blog-InterleaveRecently, I wrote a post about how to get the most out of Official Guide (OG) problems during your studies. In that article, I discussed how to interleave your GMAT studies and I’ve got more to say on this strategy that’s of crucial importance to your studies.


What is Interleaving?

In a nutshell, interleaving is a way of mixing up your studies. For example, let’s say that you’re about to start studying the Fractions chapter of our Fractions, Decimals, & Percents (FDP) Strategy Guide. It’s only 8 pages long, so you should just read the whole thing straight through, right? (Note: if you actually have this guide,  pull it out right now and follow along below.) Read more

Avoiding Calculations on GMAT Data Sufficiency

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Blog-CalculationsDid you know that you can attend the first session of any of our online or in-person GMAT courses absolutely free? We’re not kidding! Check out our upcoming courses here.


The beautiful thing about GMAT Data Sufficiency is that we’re allowed not to do all of the calculations that a Problem Solving problem might require. Still, leave it to the GMAT to try to suck you into doing more than you need to do in order to get to the answer.

Normally, I just toss you into a problem and then we discuss, but today I’m going to warn you: the GMATPrep® problem that I’m about to give you is going to do its best to make you waste time. As you try this problem, ask yourself, “Do I really need to do that calculation? Is there an easier way?”

Try this problem from the GMATPrep free exams. Read more

Here’s how to use the holidays for GMAT prep (Part 2)

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Blog-Holidays2Last time, we talked about how to use holiday downtime to get ready for round 2 GMAT admissions. This time, we’re going to talk about what to do if you aren’t applying for round 2 this year.

We have two broad scenarios to talk about: Read more

Here’s how to use the holidays for GMAT prep (Part 1)

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Blog-HolidaysThe holidays are fast approaching and all of my students are asking me how best to use their extra downtime over the next few weeks. I have some different recommendations, depending upon your circumstances.

In this installment, we’ll talk about what to do if you’re aiming for the second round (in other words, your applications are due in January 2016—soon!). In the next installment, we’ll talk about what to do if this circumstance does not apply to you. Read more

Here’s why you might be missing GMAT Data Sufficiency problems – Part 2

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Did you know that you can attend the first session of any of our online or in-person GMAT courses absolutely free? We’re not kidding! Check out our upcoming courses here.


In our previous article, we divided the logical errors that test-takers make on Data Sufficiency questions into two types:

Type 1: You thought that something was sufficient, but it was actually insufficient.

Type 2: You thought that something was insufficient, but it was actually sufficient.

We already covered the most common reasons for Type 1 errors to occur and a few good ways to avoid them; now, let’s cover Type 2 errors. Read more

Two months and 80 points to go: How do I raise my GMAT score? (Part 2)

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Blog-Lincoln-PartIIIn the first part of this series, we talked about how to analyze your strengths and weaknesses and in which categories of “low hanging fruit” to concentrate your studies.

We left off talking about timing; let’s talk about how to make better decisions as you take the test. Read more

Two months and 80 points to go: How do I raise my GMAT score? (Part 1)

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Blog-LincolnMost second-round deadlines are in early January, so around now, a lot of people are asking me how to eke out the last 30 to 80 points they need to reach their goal.

Let’s talk about what to do to try to lift your score that last bit in the final 2 months of your study.

Is this article for me?

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Here’s why you might be missing GMAT Data Sufficiency Problems – Part 1

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Why are you missing data sufficiency problems blogDid you know that you can attend the first session of any of our online or in-person GMAT courses absolutely free? We’re not kidding! Check out our upcoming courses here.


Let’s talk about GMAT Data Sufficiency.

Specifically, let’s talk about getting GMAT Data Sufficiency (DS) problems wrong. And I don’t mean those problems that you missed because of careless math errors, or because of concepts you hadn’t learned yet. No, I’m talking about the missed DS problems that make you want to bang your head against the wall: How on Earth did I not get that?

There are two reasons you might have this experience: Read more

Manhattan Prep Instructor Stacey Koprince advises Business Insider on the “GMAT or GRE?” question

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Stacey Koprince Photo

Stacey Koprince

Business Insider recently reached out to our very own Stacey Koprince for expert guidance on navigating the increasingly relevant “GMAT or GRE?” conundrum.

Stacey told Business Insider that there are only two circumstances in which a prospective b-school student would spurn the GMAT for the GRE:  Read more

Help! Deadlines are approaching and I don’t have the GMAT score I want!

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Blog-HelpIn the past month, I’ve spoken to more than a few students who were aiming for round 1 deadlines but hadn’t yet gotten the GMAT scores they thought they needed for “their” schools. If you’re in this boat, too, let’s talk about your various options. Read more