If your dream is to be accepted at a top business school, the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) will likely play a significant role in making your dream a reality. The GMAT forms a crucial element of business school applications because it is one of the only application materials that is standardized. The varying rigor and difficulty of college coursework makes GPA a variable measure of knowledge and ability, and extracurricular activities are certainly not easy to compare, but GMAT scores put all of a program’s applicants on a level playing field. Whether you need GMAT tutoring in Atlanta, GMAT tutoring in Houston, or GMAT tutoring in San Francisco, working one-on-one with an expert may be just the boost your studies need.

The GMAT is composed of an Analytical Writing Assessment and three multiple-choice sections: Quantitative, Verbal, and Integrated Reasoning (IR). The sections combine for a grand total of three hours and thirty minutes of testing; the Analytical Writing Assessment and the Integrated Reasoning sections each last for a half hour, and the Quantitative and Verbal portions of the test each take seventy-five minutes.

On the Analytical Writing portion of the exam, you only answer one question, an extended response in which you are presented with an argument and asked to assess its strengths and weaknesses. You are given ample opportunity to further demonstrate your abilities to work with language and logic on the Verbal section, which includes three question types. Reading Comprehension questions present you with a short passage of about 250 to 400 words and challenge you to pick up on the meaning it conveys. Questions may ask about relatively straightforward concepts like main idea or argument, or they may ask you to demonstrate more subtle points of understanding by making inferences, describing the author’s tone, or analyzing how the passage is organized. Varsity Tutors offers resources like a free GMAT Practice Tests to help with your self-paced study, or you may want to consider a GMAT tutor.

Those who are more mathematically-minded will likely prefer the other two sections of the GMAT, the Quantitative and Integrated Reasoning sections. On the Quantitative section, you will face two types of questions, Problem-Solving Questions and Data Sufficiency Questions. While each of these question types can ask about arithmetic, algebra, geometry, or word problems, they are fundamentally different in what they ask you to do. Problem-Solving Questions are relatively straightforward and may remind you of math sections on other standardized tests; all you need to do is solve the problem presented and select the correct answer from the five given answer options. Data Sufficiency questions also ask you to solve questions, but instead of directly concerning the answer to the question asked, they instead challenge you to reflect on your work: what information was sufficient in order to solve the question? The problems featured on certain Data Sufficiency questions can’t be solved at all with the provided information, and you need to select the answer choice that conveys you recognize this point in order to get them correct. Many students choose to skew their review in favor of focusing on Data Sufficiency questions more than Problem-Solving questions because the process of solving a Data Sufficiency questions is likely less familiar than solving a Problem-Solving question, but it is important to make sure you feel prepared to face each question type on exam day.

No matter which section of the GMAT you find most difficult, the free GMAT Flashcards available on Varsity Tutors’ Learning Tools database can help you easily incorporate GMAT review into the free moments present in a busy schedule. Our flashcard content is organized in varying levels of specificity for each of the test’s sections, allowing you to focus your review as narrowly or as broadly as best fits your needs. Each GMAT flashcard features one multiple-choice practice question, and after you choose your answer, the correct answer choice is revealed along with a full explanation of how the problem can be approached and solved. In addition to the GMAT Flashcards and GMAT tutoring, you may also want to consider using some of our GMAT Diagnostic Tests. By beginning your review with resolve, knowledge of the specific sections and question types you are up against, and the great GMAT resources available on the Learning Tools database, you can get off to a good start in your studies and prepare to face your GMAT with confidence!