![\"Manhattan](\"\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2017\/01\/1-26-17-blog-1.png\")
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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\u2019re not kidding! Check out our upcoming courses here<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n How long do I need to study for the GMAT? When will I be ready? How much time per week do you think I need to invest?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n These are the questions I get over and over and over, particularly from students who haven\u2019t started studying yet. They\u2019re usually trying to figure out whether or not they can manage class, and they\u2019re on the verge of a mild freak out.<\/p>\n You want the quick, bullet-point answer?<\/b><\/p>\n OK, here ya go. We offer a nine session class (typically once a week), and we say you\u2019ll probably want 2-3 weeks following the class to finish up studying. That\u2019s assuming that you do all of the homework, and that\u2019s also assuming that the homework takes you five to ten hours to complete between sessions.<\/p>\n Now, here\u2019s the longer answer that you\u2019re not going to like.<\/b><\/p>\n I can\u2019t answer those questions for you. Like, at all. Everybody is different and there is no magic bullet, one-size-fits-all plan to studying for the GMAT. I can make a prediction for you based on your current life schedule and your previous academic habits. But what it really comes down to is: How much do you want it? Seriously. That\u2019s the number one determining factor of how long it will take. If you\u2019re not sure that you want to go to B-school and you\u2019re just checking out your options, chances are, you\u2019ll drop out of class. Truly. It happens all the time. And that\u2019s okay! But why invest a lot of time, money, and effort towards something that you maybe would give a 3 on a scale of 1 to 10? If that\u2019s you, that\u2019s cool. Stop reading now and go grab a latte with all the money you\u2019ll save from not taking class at the wrong time. We\u2019ll be here for you when you\u2019re ready.<\/p>\n If, however, you know you want to make this life change, then here are some questions to help you figure out when you\u2019ll be ready:<\/p>\n If so, it\u2019s going to be relatively harder for you to find time and energy. Therefore, it will take you longer to study. For example, you might study after work 2-3 times a week for an hour and a half, and once on the weekend. You MUST give yourself days off – from both work and studying – or you will burn out. You might end up needing several months after class is over to catch up on homework and feel ready.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re out of college and you haven\u2019t done math for a while, it will take you longer to study. You\u2019ll need to invest a lot of time up front learning foundational math skills. What I DON\u2019T recommend is trying to study math on your own first before enrolling in a class or getting a tutor. I\u2019ve seen people do that a million times, and 990,000 of them end up giving up and not taking the GMAT at all. (Figure out that percentage as a quick math check!) Math is too overwhelming, and frankly, too complicated to teach yourself! You need someone to guide you EVEN MORE at the beginning. Once you have your foundation, you can work on it on your own. But that will take time. Probably more than that 5-10 hours a week I quoted you up top.<\/span><\/p>\n Kids? Friends? Relationships? Refer to question #1. Life takes time and energy, so again, it will take you longer to study. But, the good news is, these people who take your time and energy, can also GIVE you time and energy, through their love and support. Make sure you tell the right people what you\u2019re doing and how they can help. Very often, family members and friends don\u2019t even know what a challenge it is to go from a 560 to a 720, and so they don\u2019t understand what you need. Spell it out for them. Set your study schedule and have them help you stick to it! And on the flip side, don\u2019t tell those family members or friends who won\u2019t actually support you. You know who those people are. Just be ready to side-step them for the next few months.<\/span><\/p>\n Now, if you don\u2019t have a job, are independently wealthy, are a math genius, and don\u2019t have any obligations that eat up your time \u2014 tell me how you did that because clearly I am living the wrong life!! The truth of the matter is that most of you reading this will answer yes to one (or more!) of these three questions, so take heart that you are all in the same boat. Thousands of people manage to find the time to study and do well on the test every year, and you can be one of them. Take the anxiety you feel about finding that time, and channel it into creating a study schedule that is realistic and that you can stick to. If you\u2019re not sure how to do that, start here. Know that the road will be at least several months long, or possibly even a year long. And that\u2019s okay. But go into it with realistic expectations. This will be hard and it will take a while. But if you really want it, it will be worth it.\u00a0?<\/span><\/p>\n Want some more GMAT tips from Elaine? Attend the first session of one of her upcoming GMAT courses<\/a> absolutely free, no strings attached. Seriously.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Did you know that you can attend the first session of any of our online or in-person GMAT courses absolutely free? We\u2019re not kidding! Check out our upcoming courses here. How long do I need to study for the GMAT? When will I be ready? How much time per week do you think I need […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":156,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[880,929,2],"tags":[881,52955,52954],"yst_prominent_words":[53868,53657,53779,54440,53877,53635,53781,53775,54438,53798,54442,54439,53997,54441,54116,54336,53786,54437,53784,53867],"class_list":["post-12845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gmat-101","category-gmat-prep","category-how-to-study","tag-gmat-101-2","tag-gmat-newbies","tag-ready-to-take-the-gmat"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12845","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/156"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12845"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12845\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17060,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12845\/revisions\/17060"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12845"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12845"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12845"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=12845"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nDo you have a full-time job?<\/b><\/h4>\n
Have you not done math since 11th grade?<\/b><\/h4>\n
Do you have family obligations?<\/b><\/h4>\n
\n
\n![\"Manhattan](\"\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2017\/01\/elaine-loh-150x150.png\")
Elaine Loh<\/a> is a Manhattan Prep instructor based in Los Angeles, California. <\/em><\/strong>She graduated from Brown University with a degree in Psychology and a desire to teach others. She can’t get enough of standardized tests and has been a test prep tutor and teacher for over half her life. <\/em>Check out Elaine’s upcoming GMAT courses here<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"