Chris Lele

30 Day GMAT Study Schedule

Magoosh 30 day GMAT study plan

Are you ready for an aggressive GMAT study guide? Do you have what it takes—namely time—to commit yourself to GMAT preparation? Magoosh has put together a 30 day GMAT study plan that gives you everything you need!

  • This is a general plan, with broad goals and instructions for every week. If you want more specific tasks and more guidance broken down by day, check out our step-by-step GMAT schedule.
  • Unsure how long to study for GMAT prep? Magoosh has GMAT study guides that will help you learn how to study for GMAT prep in one, three, or six months!
    Below, I’ve put together what I believe to be the most effective 30 day GMAT study plan. Expect to budget 15 hours/week. But if you have the time to study, the dedication, and the grit—and only 30 days—this is the plan for you (this schedule is perfect to use in conjunction with the Magoosh 30-day plan).

    Improve your GMAT score with Magoosh.
  • Do you need to adapt this 30 day GMAT study plan to meet your needs? Check out this blog post for adjustment tips!

 

Essential Materials for 30 Day GMAT Study Plan

  1. GMAC’s The Official Guide for GMAT Review (OG) – The newest edition is the OG2021. If you are going to buy a new guide, get that one. Note: While GMAC has removed their list of AWA prompts from the 2020 and 2021 OGs, you can still find the GMAT essay prompts on this MBA.com PDF.
     
    If you happen to own the OG2020, OG2019, OG2018, OG2017, or even the previous OG2016, then it would be no problem using either of those with this study guide.
    • Don’t write in the official guide or any prep books. Do all your work on separate paper or on a computer. You will want to keep the books clean, so that later, if you need to look at a problem again, it is still fresh and unmarked.

     

    • The code in the back of the OG will give you access to GMAC’s Integrated Reasoning website with 50 IR practice questions; you’ll also need these.
  2. GMAT prep test (free download)
  3. Magoosh GMAT
  4. Magoosh GMAT eBook (general), Magoosh GMAT eBook (Integrated Reasoning)
  5. The Magoosh GMAT Diagnostic Test
  6. Magoosh’s Complete GMAT Guide. This comprehensive web-based guide to the GMAT gives you the quick but useful overview you need to understand this test. You’ll see how the GMAT is designed and scored, what skills it tests, how to find and use the best GMAT prep, and how to study for each test section.
  7. A guide to GMAT Practice Test Resources. This page includes instructions on where to find good full-length GMAT practice tests, and how to take practice tests and incorporate them into your studies.
  8. Manhattan GMAT Series (MGMAT)
  9. A journal or notebook (yes, a physical hard copy item)
  10. The two online forums: these are great places to ask questions about anything GMAT related, or simply to check out the discussions and see how others prepare for the GMAT.
    1. GMAT Club
    2. Beat the GMAT
  11. OPTIONAL: Additional official tests from GMAC

Week 1: 30 Day GMAT Study Plan

Top Priorities

  1. Take GMAT prep test 1: Sweat through an actual GMAT. Better yet, learn where you are currently scoring, and set a target goal for the day of exam. Also, assess your strengths and weaknesses. (For example: Is it GMAT math in general? Data sufficiency? Word problems? Reading comprehension? Sentence correction?) And tweak this study guide where necessary. If you rocked the quant section, then make your prep verbal-centric. If you really are worried about the Integrated Reasoning section, you can also focus on that (I wouldn’t worry about this section too much—the rumor has it that b-schools are not really weighing the IR section very heavily as of now).
  2. Sign up for the test: Sounds obvious. Well, imagine priming yourself over the next 30 days for the test only to find out you’ll have to wait another two weeks for an appointment. Not the end of the world—but you may lose that precious momentum.

To-Dos

  1. Work through Magoosh Lessons
  2. Use MGMAT series for extra practice
  3. Keep tabs on your progress
  4. Complete and review GMAT prep test

Improve your GMAT score with Magoosh.

Week 2: 30 Day GMAT Study Plan

Top Priorities

  1. Take two practice tests: Use Manhattan GMAT. Focus on reviewing all your mistakes post-test. Be sure to space the tests out by a few days.
  2. Put your newfound skills to use: There is no material better than the OG guide. Do little drills of 10 questions each, mixing it up with five questions from data sufficiency and five from problem solving. For verbal, create drills of 15 questions, breaking them up between sections.

To-Dos

  1. Work your way through the OG (described above)
  2. Tailor Magoosh to focus on certain areas
  3. Complete half of Magoosh Lesson Videos and half of the Manhattan Series Books
  4. Go through the Magoosh eBook, especially in those areas you feel you are struggling in most
  5. Take Manhattan Practice Test 2
  6. Review tests and Magoosh material

Week 3: 30 Day GMAT Study Plan

Top Priorities

  1. Identify weak spots: Anyone can complete 500 practice GMAT questions. Knowing the right answer is the key. Try to figure out which questions you are missing and the reasoning behind the correct answer (you will also want to understand why your answer is wrong). Use forums such as beatthegmat.com and gmatclub.com to ask experts to dissect a question and elucidate a given concept.
  2. Use Magoosh: Magoosh allows you to customize practice sessions based on specific concepts. Based on your weak spots, create special drills. What’s great about Magoosh is each question is delivered on the computer with a timer tracking your speed. That’s just like the GMAT!

To-Dos

  1. Continue working through OG (you should have finished about 500 total questions by the end of week).
  2. Use Magoosh’s GMAT prep (described above)
  3. Take Manhattan Test 3 and 4

Week 4: 30 Day GMAT Study Plan

Top Priorities

  1. Take final GMAT prep test: Gauge how far you’ve come in the past three weeks or so. Figure out which areas you are still struggling with. Remember, return to the Manhattan Guides and Magoosh whenever necessary. They will provide you with the foundation to answer questions correctly.
  2. Complete Manhattan Guides and Magoosh Lesson Videos: Remember, return to the Manhattan Guides and Magoosh whenever necessary. They will provide you with the foundation to answer questions correctly. It is also important to read through all the guides in MGMAT and watch all the Magoosh lesson videos. You wouldn’t want to miss anything!

To-Dos

  • Complete Official Guide
  • Complete all Magoosh questions and watch necessary videos
  • Review incorrect answers to GMAT prep test using your newly acquired skills
  • Address any lingering doubts on forums; send us a question through the Magoosh Help tab
  • Finish going through Magoosh eBook for any and all of those areas in which you are not 100% confident

The Day of the Exam

By the time your test date rolls up, we only have one big tip for you: don’t forget to breathe! You’ve completed an intense 30 day GMAT study plan. Put everything else, from MBA applications to business schools to even GMAT scores, out of your mind. You’ve got this!

Good luck!

Author

  • Chris Lele

    Chris Lele is the Principal Curriculum Manager (and vocabulary wizard) at Magoosh. Chris graduated from UCLA with a BA in Psychology and has 20 years of experience in the test prep industry. He’s been quoted as a subject expert in many publications, including US News, GMAC, and Business Because. In his time at Magoosh, Chris has taught countless students how to tackle the GRE, GMAT, SAT, ACT, MCAT (CARS), and LSAT exams with confidence. Some of his students have even gone on to get near-perfect scores. You can find Chris on YouTube, LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook!

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