How to Improve Your GMAT Score in a Week
Did you click on this because you’re thinking, “Help! My test is in a week (or two) but my score isn’t where I want it to be!” You’re not alone: “improve GMAT score in a week” is one of the top Google search terms.
People take months to get ready for their GMAT exam. Is it really possible to make substantial improvements to your score in just a week or two?
The answer is… yes and no. There are several concrete steps that you can take to improve your odds of “peaking” – scoring at the top end of your scoring range – on test day, and you’ll learn how today. That might be worth another 20 to 40 points for your score! But it’s unlikely that you’re going to lift your score by 100 or more points in the next week.
What’s my GMAT scoring range?
Standardized tests are reasonably precise, but they are not exact measurements. Your scoring capability is not a single, specific number; rather, it’s a range.
If you take a practice test today, your score is going to be a function of:
- Things that are not in your control (e.g., how many questions you happen to get in your stronger vs. weaker areas)
- Things that are at least somewhat in your control (e.g., how well you’re able to focus that day)
If you have a great day and get a little lucky, then you’re in a better position to max out at the top of your scoring range or even to outperform and pick up some extra points. If you have a bad day – and get a little unlucky – then your score will likely be at the lower end of your range (or possibly even lower, if you have a really bad day).
Let’s say you’ve taken two practice tests under official conditions in the past couple of weeks and scored 660 and 680. It’s reasonable to suppose that you’re prepared to score in roughly the 640 to 700 range on your official test a week (or two) from now.
In the last week or two before your official test, your main focus is to figure out how to end up closer to the 700 end of that range than the 640 end. You’re like an Olympic athlete gearing up for the gold medal match. How do you peak on The Big Day?
How to peak on Official GMAT Exam Day
If this will be your first time taking the official test, give yourself two full weeks for this phase of your studies; you’ll cycle through a series of steps in seven days, then repeat the cycle. (You can compress it to ten days if you must – 5 days per cycle.) If you’ve taken the official test before, it’s okay to take just one week to do one cycle (especially if you already used this process for your first official test).
There are two main strategies you’ll use to peak on test day:
- Develop and practice your test-day game plan.
- Review major facts, rules, and strategies.
To accomplish the first one, you’ll need to acknowledge this fact: Your strengths and weaknesses today are also going to be your strengths and weaknesses in a week or two. You’re no longer trying to change that fact or to make substantial improvement on weaknesses.
Instead, you’re going to develop your game-day plan: How will you take advantage of your strengths and minimize your weaknesses on test day?
Cycle 1 (5 to 7 days)
About 10 to 14 days before official test day, take an inventory of your strengths and weaknesses across all sections of the test (and write it all down). Then, take a practice test under official test conditions while making decisions accordingly. Give more priority to your strengths and move on more quickly from your weaknesses.
For example, I really like ratios and percents but am less of a fan of decimals. And my brain really doesn’t do well with complicated remainders problems. They take me extra time and I’m a lot more likely to make a careless mistake.
So I choose my battles accordingly. A complex ratio story problem? Bring it on! Long decimals with scientific notation or another complicated setup? (I’m looking at you, Official Guide 2022 problem number 256…) If I’m already behind on time, I might make an educated guess and move on. A theoretical remainder problem? Nope – I guess immediately and move on.
When you’re done with this practice test, analyze your results, but note that your goal is no longer “How do I turn my weaknesses into strengths?” Rather, the focus of your analysis now is “How well did my game plan work? What do I need to tweak or add to my game plan in order to make the most of my strengths and minimize my weaknesses on Test Day?”
For example, maybe I chose to spend a bit of extra time on a hard ratio problem (and got it right!) and I did bail fast on an ugly remainder problem (and that was the right call). Great! But maybe I got sucked into spending more time than I should have on a weird decimal problem. Noting that issue now will help me to be more disciplined on Test Day about letting go more quickly in certain circumstances.
Next, analyze your time management decisions. Imagine that, halfway through the section, you found that you were about five minutes ahead…and then you shrugged your shoulders and kept going, because there’s no problem with having extra time, right?
Actually, there might be: working too quickly can lead to careless mistakes. Do you notice anything like that when analyzing your results?
Next time you realize you’re moving too quickly, what do you want to do? Take a deep breath when each new problem starts. Make yourself write down all of your work (every last step!). Take 15 seconds to roll your neck and shrug your shoulders and rotate your wrists and ankles, or just close your eyes or look at the ceiling.
Alternatively, if you realize that you’re five minutes behind on time, how will you catch back up? Don’t make yourself have to figure out the best response in the middle of the stress of the test. Have a plan.
Throughout the rest of this first week, practice implementing what you want to do for these possible decision points – that is, practice implementing the pieces of your game plan. (Don’t take another full practice test; use shorter timed sets.)
Simultaneously, review the major question types and content areas and strategies. For example, you’ll almost certainly see more linear equations than quadratic equations. You will almost certainly need to strengthen or weaken an argument, but you may or may not be asked to find the flaw in an argument.
Your study materials from test prep companies will help you to know what is likely to be more vs. less commonly tested; if you have an instructor, ask them, too. Spend more time during your final review on the topics, question types, and strategies that you’re most likely to see and use on test day.
About one week before your official test, articulate to yourself what you want your game plan to be, including any changes or additions you came up with in the past week. (I again recommend writing this all out.) Then, take one of the official mba.com practice tests. There are two free ones and four more that you can buy.
Analyze that test strictly from the point of view of your game plan:
- What worked well and what didn’t? Adjust your plan for anything that didn’t work well.
- What did you plan to do but you didn’t follow through while the clock was ticking? Figure out what you can practice or drill this week to help yourself follow through during the real test.
- What careless mistakes did you make? Figure out what habits you can develop this week that will help you to minimize those types of careless mistakes in general. For example, write down every step of your work. Write down what you’re solving for. Write down the answer that you want to choose before you select it on screen.
In this second week, also continue your general review of the most common question types, content areas, and strategies. To practice, do timed sets, not full tests.
Finally, in the last day or two, wind down your studies. Still do some high-level review. Still do some practice. But do not study for 4+ hours the day before your official test. You’ll tire yourself out and be a lot less likely to peak on Test Day. (I’d keep it to a max of about 2 hours the day before.)
In that final week, keep a consistent sleep/wake schedule. If you don’t sleep well the night before your test (this is common!), you’ll still be okay.
The night before, gather your ID, snacks, and anything else you’ll need on test day. Plan to wear layers, so that you can adjust if you find yourself too hot or too cold. If you’re taking it at home, set up your testing area.
On the day of, don’t check your email. An hour before your exam starts, put your phone on airplane mode. You might even want to avoid the news.
About an hour before the test, take 10 to 15 minutes to do some very easy practice problems as a mental warm-up (don’t stress yourself out by struggling with a harder problem right before the test starts). For the same reason, don’t check the answers. This is the equivalent of stretching or jogging a little before you start the big race – don’t pull a muscle right before the race starts.
If you’re going to take the GMAT in a testing center, don’t bring the practice problems into the center. Either do them before you leave home or do them outside of the center and throw them away before you go into the center.
If you’re going to take the test at home, pretend that you do have to go to a testing center. Do your practice problems an hour before. Then, leave home and take a walk for about 20 minutes; this provides your brain some transition time to get ready for the test that you’re about to take.
Once the test starts, every time you start a new problem, take a deep breath and let it out slowly as you dive in. If you find yourself panicking about something, take a deep breath and ask yourself what your game plan says you should do. Don’t have a game plan for this situation? Get out of the situation – guess and move on.
But I need to improve my GMAT score by 100 points in a week
I have not-great news. It’s really unlikely that you’ll improve your score by 100 points in a week. Every now and then, someone does get really lucky… but what that person did isn’t going to work for you because that person just basically won the lottery.
I’m sorry to be the bearer of disappointing news. But I’m also happy to help you set realistic goals that might help you to get where you’d like to go.
You have two basic options:
- Lower your goal score.
- Postpone your exam.
If you choose to lower your goal score, make your new goal the top end of your current scoring range. Aim for 20-30 points higher than your last practice test (that was taken under official conditions), and then follow the rest of the advice in this article for peaking on Test Day.
If you want to keep your score goal, then you will need more time to get to your goal. You might still want to take the official test next week, but consider this test a “dry run” – see what the testing conditions are like and gain some experience managing Test Day nerves. Then, schedule your second, real test at a later date. (If you do need 100+ points, you will likely need a minimum of another month.)
Whatever you decide to do, spend your last couple of weeks developing and practicing your game plan and reviewing the most frequently-tested material so that you maximize your chances of earning your peak score on Test Day.
Want more to help you get ready for the big day? Manhattan Prep’s GMAT Free Starter Kit has lessons, practice problems, ebooks, and a full-length practice test – all free and all built by instructors who have scored in the 99th percentile (760 or higher) on the GMAT.
Good luck and happy studying!