What Are the Dates, Locations, Cost of My Test? Click on the Links Below for More Information GMAT Dates, Locations, Cost GRE Dates, Locations, Cost LSAT Dates, Locations, Cost MCAT Dates, Locations, Cost SAT Dates, Locations, Cost PSAT Dates, Locations, Cost Should I take a test prep class or use a test prep book? Many students believe that the methods taught in retail books are inferior to those taught in the expensive courses. In reality, the methods are usually exactly the same. Often, the only noticeable difference between a test prep company's retail versus course textbooks are the examples used. As such, you will not necessarily lose out on methods, but, you must be honest with yourself and your abilities for self-organization, self-motivation and self-teaching. Are you good at learning from a book? Have you learned something from a book before? Are you good at motivating yourself? Are you good at time organization? If you answered "yes" to any of the following questions, you may want to consider using a retail book. Or, do you require structure? Do you want group interaction? Do you like having a teacher in case you have questions? If so, strongly consider spending the money for a preparation course. How long should I study for my test? This depends on your abilities and how much time you will devote per week to study. However, for almost all students for almost all tests, you should plan to spend a minimum of two months. If you plan to spend about 10 hours per week studying, the following are some general guidelines: GMAT, GRE, LSAT -- 2 to 6 months, MCAT -- 3 to 8 months, SAT -- 2 to 4 months, TOEFL -- 3 to 9 months. Can I take the test more than once? This depends on the exam and what schools you will be applying to. However, the best move is to plan to take the exam once, get the score you want, and then be done with the whole process. There are plenty of practice tests available for most tests. As such, do not take the real exam as a practice run. Take practice tests on your own until you are scoring at the level you hope to achieve, then take the actual exam. |