Are you eager to get into business school, but math is not your strong suit? Or maybe you’ve been out of school a few years and need a refresher on some key math formulas? MBAInsight has you covered; check out our guide for everything you need to know about the GMAT Math!

The GMAT exam is made up of a few different sections, one of which happens to be made up of 37 math questions.  Studying for the math or quantitative section is much different than studying for the verbal section.  Reviewing the basics of math that you learned in high school, taking practice tests and learning what to study based on your practice test scores are all great ways to help you prepare for the GMAT math section.

Understand the Structure of the Math Exam

First thing is first, if you want to study for the GMAT test, you need to understand exactly what you’re studying for; that means understanding how the test is laid out.  The math portion of the GMAT test typically takes up to 75 minutes in order to complete and is broken up into two types of questions: data sufficiency and problem solving.

Review the Basics

The GMAT is not designed to trick you, so you shouldn’t expect to have to cram for all forms of math; if you do, you’ll never be prepared.  The subject matter is pretty basic: arithmetic, algebra, and geometry.  Chances are, though, you haven’t spent a whole lot of time practicing these subjects since you were in high school.  Any GMAT math review guide will have a section on review and you can use these guides to prepare yourself for a refresher on those subjects.

Take a Practice Test

One of the best ways to prepare for the math section of the GMAT is to familiarize yourself with the types of questions that the test will ask you.  What is the best way to do that?  Taking a practice test.  Study guides will have practice tests that will help you challenge your knowledge of the subject matter and will help you track where you are at and what you need to study.

Use Your Practice Test Results to Identify Your Weaknesses

The key to improving your score is not to concentrate on the areas that you already excel at; the way to improve your score is to identify the questions that you struggle on and work to improve how well you do with them.  Use your work on the practice test to identify which areas you understand and, more importantly, where you can use the most work.  When you look to hit the books after your practice test, you can focus more time on these areas to help your score.

Keep Taking Practice Tests

The key to a great GMAT Math score is to work on the basics and challenge what you know on a regular basis.  Try to take practice tests at the end of each study week.  This will give you a quantifiable score of how much you are improving on a week-to-week basis.  On top of that, talking multiple practice tests will help you prepare for the test-taking environment and can help you overcome any anxieties that you may have during the actual GMAT test.

Properly studying for the GMAT math section basically means taking a lot of practice exams and learning from your mistakes on those practice exams.  Like anything else, the name of the game is practice.