The GMAT - How Many Practice Tests Should You Take?

After studying for the GMAT for a while, it is inevitably a good idea to take practice tests. You should definitely get used to the rhythm, timing, and nerves of the actual test by taking at least one practice test before you take the real thing. The question then becomes: if it is a good idea and almost everyone recommends doing it, how many should you take? It is certainly tempting to take as many as possible. I initially felt this way when I was studying for the test. After I took my first practice test, however, I got really nervous and worried about all the questions that I missed. I was distracted for the next couple of days and didn't focus on re-enforcing the fundamentals and trying to improve. I quickly realized that while taking a practice test or two is definitely a good thing, taking more than three practice tests is potentially harmful.

As I hint above, taking too many practice tests can cause unnecessary worry and distraction in your studies. You will probably focus hard on the score you got and focus less on re-enforcing the fundamentals of the test with the goal of improving your abilities overall. Because of this, I recommend taking 2-3 tests before you take the real thing. These 2-3 tests will get you accustomed to the timing and rhythm of the test without getting you too worried and distracted. The way to improve on the test is by deeply learning the fundamentals and then going through increasingly difficult practice problems. It serves you no good if you worry a lot about your score and your missed questions on the practice tests. You will only get distracted and lose focus on the study methods that will actually help you improve.

So which practice tests are the best to take? I would recommend taking 1-2 Manhattan GMAT tests and 1-2 official GMAT Prep tests. The Manhattan GMAT tests are great because the math section is actually a little harder than the real test, so you become accustomed to more difficult questions before you take the real thing. The GMAT Prep tests are great because they closely resemble the actual test experience and contain official GMAT questions. I think it's especially important to take official sentence correction and critical reasoning questions, because unofficial ones sometimes have questionable answer choices. Overall, I truly believe taking a total of three tests is the way to go and 1-2 Manhattan GMAT and 1-2 GMAT Prep tests are all you need to ensure success come test day.

So which practice tests are the best to take? I would recommend taking 1-2 Manhattan GMAT tests and 1-2 official GMAT Prep tests. The Manhattan GMAT tests are great because the math section is actually a little harder than the real test, so you become accustomed to more difficult questions before you take the real thing. The GMAT Prep tests are great because they closely resemble the actual test experience and contain official GMAT questions. I think it's especially important to take official sentence correction and critical reasoning questions, because unofficial ones sometimes have questionable answer choices. Overall, I truly believe taking a total of three tests is the way to go and 1-2 Manhattan GMAT and 1-2 GMAT Prep tests are all you need to ensure success come test day.