1. Apply for the GMAT by telephone and pay by credit card. You have to pick up a brochure at the testing center nearest you, and you will get a phone number to call to apply. The testing center may recommend that you apply by fax; but if you do so you will only be sent confirmation of your testing date by mail. If your mail system isn’t 100% fast and reliable, it is better to apply by phone so that they can give you your test date right away. If you are in Russia you should call the Netherlands, +31-26-352-1577.
2. Take your breaks. The GMAT will give you a short break between each section of the exam. Take it! Many students are tempted to skip the break so that they can finish and go home. Uniformly, however, we hear from students who do this that they are very tired and unable to concentrate by the time they are near the end of the exam. So take your breaks, get up and walk around, and generally get your mind off the exam for a few minutes.
3. Roll your eyes. Eyestrain is a big problem when taking such a long exam on computer. When you find yourself getting tired or losing your concentration, most of the time it is at least partially because your eyes are tired. A couple of eye exercises can help—close them for 10 seconds and breath deeply. Open them and roll your eyes around in your head a few times. Then look up, down and side to side rapidly a couple of times; focusing your eyes far away and then close. All of this takes less than a minute, and will wake you up for enough time to improve your score.
4. Use your scratch paper. You are given scratch paper at the very start of the exam, and you keep it through the exam. So use it not just for figuring out the math, but for writing down formulae, study check lists, and anything else that you want to remember throughout the exam. You can even start writing down reminders before the exam starts—do it while scrolling through the directions.
5. Don’t ignore mouse exercises. The GMAT instructions give you a few exercises on using a computer and mouse. You may feel silly doing these and want to skip over them, but don’t do it. Using any new computer takes a few minutes of adjustment, and you are about to start a timed writing test with one. So play around with the mouse and make sure you know where the keys are before you start the exam.
6. Last but not least, make sure you take a few deep breaths before starting, being nervous and expectations of what the test will be like and really affect your performance. The more you practice and the more relaxed you are the better chance you have of not making simple mistakes on the test . And the better chance you have of obtaining the score you want.

Marian Dent is a Law and GMAT professor for Pericles ABLE. For more information about any of our Legal, Business, and/or Preparation courses please contact Pericles at 292-5188/6463, visit our web at www.pericles.ru, or write to us at info@pericles.ru

Автор: Marian Dent is a Law and GMAT professor for Pericles ABLE.