Welcome to the 2nd step in F1GMAT’s 10 Steps to Mastering M7 MBA Admissions series. I am Atul Jose.

In this series, I will break down 10 easy to follow steps that I have used to help clients get into M7 schools and the mistakes many clients confessed they made while tackling the multiple work, life, and admissions priorities.

So the 2nd step is to Start Early with GMAT Prep and Pivot to the GRE after 2nd Attempt.

We used to write tutorials on Mastering the GMAT. We still have a version of Reading Comprehension and Critical Reasoning Guides in F1GMAT’s Store, but a trend that could be the side-effect of our diminishing attention span across ages is the lack of endurance or attention to sit for 2-3 hours and complete a task.

GMAC – the organization behind GMAT had to shorten the test to Focus Edition, which is much more manageable in terms of completion rate.

We often quote studies on the impact of sitting for too long or the diminishing return of working on a task without a break or the 20-minute work, 10 minute break techniques. But the challenge is not the lack of endurance to complete a task. We are surrounded by digital trigger points like emails, tabs in your browser, messaging apps and worse news alerts that has truly diminished our ability to focus.

Now, add to our lack of focus, you put in a test like the GMAT that is not a straightforward problem-solving test, and you are faced with a huge challenge to be at par with peers applying for M7 and T20 schools. And the challenge is not universal.

I had summarized about the GMAT Scores by Undergraduate degrees – a while back in one of my analyses from a GMAC report. Now GMAC doesn’t reveal such split ups by undergraduate degrees.

Then, the undergraduate degrees that were consistently scoring at the top of the charts were Physics, Mathematics and Engineering majors and the performers at the bottom of the table were Marketing and Education undergraduates.

Arts and History undergraduates were also known to underperform.

Why am I highlighting and shaming my friends from Arts, Marketing, History, or Education?

It is not shaming. It is reaching the GMAT scoring limits with coaching – one-on-one or online and pivoting quickly to the GRE.

The GRE test is much easier for those who couldn’t improve their GMAT score by the 2nd attempt.

The improvement should be at least 20-30 points with each attempt.

In our estimate close to 30-40% of the test sent in top schools are GRE scores. So if your score doesn’t improve after the 2nd attempt, switch to GRE.

A big mistake applicants make is to delay the test date for the GMAT.

For Round 1 – ideally, the test date should be July 2ndweek. This will give you at least 1 month to pivot to GRE after a 2ndattempt a week or two after the first attempt.

August could be the month you could tackle GRE Prep and application essays for select schools (1-3) for Round 1 MBA application and the rest for Round 2.

If you are applying for Round 2, GMAT should be attempted latest by October 2nd week, a retake by last week, and pivot and preparation during the Month of November for the January deadlines.

To summarize, the #2 Step – To Mastering M7 MBA admissions is to develop a strategy to pivot to the GRE if GMAT Prep doesn’t work out.

Starting early with a GMAT test date is the way to go.

• M7 MBA Admissions Step #1 - Understand Schools
• M7 MBA Admissions Step #2 - Early Pivot from GMAT to GRE
• M7 MBA Admissions Step #3 - Go the Extra Mile