![\"gmat-study-plan-schedule-guide\"](\"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2019\/08\/gmat-study-plan-schedule-guide.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Three months is enough time to see all of the material on the GMAT. It\u2019s also easy to waste that time if you study haphazardly. If you have about twelve weeks before your test date, this step-by-step GMAT study guide will help you make the most of your time.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Yes, even if you haven\u2019t studied at all!<\/span><\/p>\n Imagine a college class where you got to preview the final exam on the very first day. For the rest of the semester, you\u2019d know exactly what to pay attention to in class and what to practice. By taking a practice test early, you prepare your brain for the task ahead.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Before your practice test, read these pages, which outline the time limits and question types:<\/span><\/p>\n Here\u2019s where to get your first practice test for free:\u00a0<\/strong>Manhattan Prep Free Practice GMAT<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n If you choose a <\/span>Manhattan Prep GMAT course<\/span><\/a> or <\/span>GMAT Interact<\/span><\/a>, we\u2019ll provide the materials, the syllabus, and plenty of guidance. So, this study plan assumes that you\u2019re studying for the GMAT on your own. Here\u2019s what you\u2019ll need. <\/span><\/p>\n Create a calendar to manage your GMAT journey.<\/span><\/p>\n Start by putting your <\/span>official test date<\/b> and your <\/span>practice tests<\/b> on your calendar. Plan a practice test every other week, ending at least one week before your official test. A practice test requires about 5 hours of work in total: 2.5-3.5 hours to complete the test (depending on whether you include the Analytical Writing Assessment and Integrated Reasoning sections), and the remaining time to review. Schedule a review day on your calendar after every practice test.<\/span><\/p>\n Schedule at least one rest day every week<\/b> to refresh your brain. Be realistic about when you may be unable to study, as well. You might have good intentions of studying while on vacation, but when the time comes, it\u2019ll probably be tough to hit the books.<\/span><\/p>\n The most important study session is the review session. When you do a review session, there are a few different things you might be doing. You could quiz yourself with flashcards, reread a chapter you\u2019ve already read, analyze your <\/span>error log<\/span><\/a>, or\u2014most importantly\u2014<\/span>redo old problems<\/span><\/a>. Learning doesn\u2019t happen in the heat of the moment, when you\u2019re under pressure to quickly solve a problem you\u2019ve never seen before. It happens later, when you revisit that problem calmly and with an analytical mindset.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Schedule <\/span>one review session per week<\/b>, and don\u2019t blow it off! This is the most important studying you can do.<\/span><\/p>\n A good study plan has balance. Efficient studying finds a middle ground along a number of different dimensions:<\/span><\/p>\n Here\u2019s how that could translate into your first two weeks of studying:<\/span><\/p>\n This study plan is likely to be successful for a few different reasons.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n If the first two weeks of your study plan look like this, you\u2019re on the right track.<\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019ve recommended planning two weeks at a time because you should take a practice test approximately every two weeks. Analyzing each practice test will give you more information about your strengths and weaknesses, which will give you new ideas about what to study.<\/span><\/p>\n However, you can lay out the broad strokes of your study plan well in advance.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n During the first 6-8 weeks of your plan, here\u2019s what a study week might look like.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n During the following 2-4 weeks, here\u2019s what a study week might look like:\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n And here\u2019s what you might do the week before your test:<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Here are a few last-minute tips for building, maintaining, and using your GMAT study plan:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Chelsey Cooley<\/a> Three months is enough time to see all of the material on the GMAT. It\u2019s also easy to waste that time if you study haphazardly. If you have about twelve weeks before your test date, this step-by-step GMAT study guide will help you make the most of your time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[929,874,52871,930],"tags":[233,352,353,53139],"yst_prominent_words":[54159,53635,53650,54156,53778,55747,55745,53856,53636,53644,53630,54005,55746,55760,54116,55352,53789,54155,53637,53786],"class_list":["post-17347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gmat-prep","category-gmat-resources","category-gmat-strategies","category-gmat-study-guide","tag-gmat","tag-gmat-study-plan","tag-gmat-study-tips","tag-gmat-studying"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17347","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\/127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17347"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17347\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17365,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17347\/revisions\/17365"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17347"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=17347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}1) Take a GMAT practice test.<\/h3>\n
\n
2) Gather your GMAT prep resources.<\/h3>\n
\n
3) Create your GMAT study calendar.<\/h3>\n
4) Plan some review days.<\/h3>\n
5) Schedule your next two weeks of GMAT prep.<\/h3>\n
![\"gmat-study-schedule-plan-guide-1\"](\"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2019\/08\/gmat-study-schedule-plan-guide-1.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"gmat-study-guide-plan-schedule-2-weeks\"](\"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2019\/08\/gmat-study-guide-plan-schedule-2-weeks.png\")
<\/p>\n\n
6) Think about the big picture of your GMAT prep.<\/h3>\n
\n
![\"gmat-study-plan-guide-schedule-2\"](\"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2019\/08\/gmat-study-plan-guide-schedule-2.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"gmat-study-plan-guide-schedule-3\"](\"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2019\/08\/gmat-study-plan-guide-schedule-3.png\")
<\/p>\n![\"gmat-study-plan-guide-schedule-4\"](\"https:\/\/www.manhattanprep.com\/gmat\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2019\/08\/gmat-study-plan-guide-schedule-4.png\")
<\/p>\n7) Use your study plan wisely<\/h3>\n
\n
\n![\"Chelsey](\"https:\/\/cdn2.manhattanprep.com\/gre\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2015\/11\/chelsey-cooley-150x150.jpg\" "\\"Chelsey")
<\/a>\u00a0is a Manhattan Prep instructor based in Seattle, Washington.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em><\/i><\/b>Chelsey always followed her heart when it came to her education. Luckily, her heart led her straight to the perfect background for GMAT and GRE teaching: she has undergraduate degrees in mathematics and history, a master\u2019s degree in linguistics, a 790 on the GMAT, and a perfect 170Q\/170V on the GRE.\u00a0<\/em><\/i>Check out Chelsey\u2019s upcoming GRE prep offerings here<\/a>.<\/em><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"