Whether you’re a student who is currently preparing to apply for an MBA or Law program, or you are just in the process of considering the idea, it’s likely that you have spent at least a little time thinking about how to ace those exams (talking GMAT and LSAT here). As you should, because for many programs, your score on those exams is one of the key deciding factors on whether or not you get accepted!
Of course, there are other pieces of the puzzle that help to determine the outcome, like GPA, personal statement, and letters of recommendation. However, it is important to recognize that having an outstanding test score to submit along with those other pieces can help to offset any “iffy-ness” in any of the other categories.
So, we have determined and confirmed the importance of having strong GMAT or LSAT test scores to submit with the rest of your application. But how are you going to actually achieve those high scores?
Well, because each and every student is different, it is likely that no two study strategies (from beginning to end) are completely alike. However, here are a bunch of questions you might want to ask yourself before (or during, if you’re there) the process to help shed light on how to use your time wisely and see overall success:
I could easily go on and on with this list, but those are definitely some of the most important questions to ask yourself (and to fully answer) before moving on to step 2, which is choosing a prep course (and maybe even an admissions consultant if you’re an MBA applicant).
Now, you might be asking me, why can’t I just study for the GMAT or the LSAT with my own study plan? My answer is that yes, you certainly can. However, most students end up, at some point in the process, joining some sort of prep course to help give them the professional guidance and structure that is often necessary to perform well on these types of exams.
While not every student will end up enrolling in a prep course, it is extremely common because these types of courses often do a great job at helping to guide students through the study process. If you are a student who is thinking about (or currently) studying for one of these exams while also trying to balance your undergraduate degree, a job, or any number of other things, then enrolling in a prep course can be a load off of your shoulders because it means one less thing that you need to mentally plan out, not to mention the studying itself!
If you think that investing in some sort of prep course for the GMAT (like Target Test Prep) or LSAT is the move for you (which I think it is, too!), it is super important to make sure you check out all of your options before taking the plunge into any given program (you also make want to take look at an MBA admissions consultant like Stacy Blackman Consulting). They are expensive, after all! So, if you’ve made it this far, be sure to check out these resources to help you decide which prep course is the best fit for you:
Finally, I know that I didn’t touch on MBA consultants in this post as much as I focused on prep courses, but if you are applying for an MBA, this might be another thing that you want to consider. An MBA consultant can be a great resource to help you refine the aspects of your application, such as personal statements, letters of rec, and work on interview prep.
A consultant will also help you to find schools that are a good fit for you based on your profile, and guide you in marketing yourself to those schools in the best way possible. To cut down on the work that YOU have to do, check out this list of the best best MBA Admissions Consultants.
That’s all on MBA and Law admissions and testing for now! If you could use some scholarships to help you offset the costs of your current or future program, be sure to also take a look at some of these articles for some scholarships that you may be a good fit for: