How to Find Your GMAT Motivation

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Last Updated on September 28, 2023

For better or worse, your GMAT score likely will have a significant impact on both your business school candidacy and your long-term career path. The higher you score on the GMAT, the more MBA admissions options you’ll have available to you. Furthermore, in today’s competitive job market, some companies request that applicants submit their GMAT scores during the interview process. Thus, a high GMAT score can also make you a desirable hire.

While a top-tier MBA or a well sought-after job should seem like motivation enough to study as hard as possible for your GMAT, it’s easy to lose sight of the big picture, and thus lose the motivation to study.

This article will present several ways to sustain a high level of motivation throughout your GMAT prep. To start, let’s discuss the importance of enjoying what you’re doing.

• Enjoy What You’re Doing
• Recognize the Importance of GMAT Skills
• Invest in Yourself
• Don’t Listen to the Naysayers
• Practical Strategies to Increase Motivation
  • 1) Use Proper Study Materials
  • 2) Join a Study Group or Be Active on GMAT Forums
  • 3) Create a Study Schedule and Reward Yourself for Sticking to It
  • 4) Keep the GMAT Front and Center in Your Life
• Anxiety Can Be a Big Source of Low Motivation
  • 1) You Have Not Given Yourself Sufficient GMAT Prep Time
  • 2) You Have Expectations of Overnight Success
• Don’t Burn Yourself Out
• Discipline Trumps Motivation
• Visualize Your Success

Enjoy What You’re Doing

Whether we are talking about your job, college classes, or GMAT preparation, one of the most effective ways to be motivated is to enjoy what you’re doing. On the other hand, working hard and ultimately achieving your goals becomes almost impossible when you don’t enjoy what you’re doing.

If you can find joy in your studying, you’ll be significantly more motivated to put in the necessary study time, and thus give yourself a great shot at achieving your GMAT goal. If you are struggling to find that enjoyment, consider the fact that not only will a high GMAT score help get you into a top MBA program, but also the skills you learn will carry over to business school classes and everyday life. So, instead of viewing GMAT studying as a drag, look at it as an opportunity to improve your skills — and yourself. Let’s discuss this idea a bit further.

Recognize the Importance of GMAT Skills

Your GMAT skills transcend the exam and carry over into your daily life, which also should provide GMAT motivation. Without a doubt, these skills will help you in school, work, and beyond. For example, through preparing for Critical Reasoning questions, you can become a more decisive thinker, a person who is well-versed in logic, decision making, and executive functioning. You can become “the smartest person in the room” with your Critical Reasoning skills.

What about Sentence Correction? Think about it: today, nearly every work activity involves writing. Emails, texts, reports, blogs, chats — the list is endless. Imagine how much easier and more impactful your writing is when you are an ultra-confident writer who is able to notice every detail.

And Reading Comprehension? Well, you’ll be reading for the rest of your life. Can you imagine how much more you can learn and apply if you are super skilled at comprehending written information?

Getting good at GMAT quant also has so many benefits. Your mastery of quant improves your data-driven decision-making skills, which are critical skills in business and life. When your math skills are strong, and your quantitative reasoning skills are solid, a world of possibilities can open up to you. So, why not embrace and enjoy the process of studying for the GMAT? Why not become internally motivated to get this process done well, so that you can improve many areas of your life?

When your math skills are strong, and your quantitative reasoning skills are solid, a world of possibilities can open up to you.

Invest in Yourself

So often, we think of investments as equities or property or businesses. However, one of the best investments you can make is in yourself.

When you’re studying for the GMAT, you are investing in yourself. You are investing in your skills, abilities, and knowledge. Most importantly, the time and energy expended are an investment in your future. Unfortunately, most people in the world never get the opportunity to do what you are doing. Don’t let that get lost on you.

We already discussed how studying for the GMAT will help you improve your verbal and quant skills. However, the primary goal in scoring high on the GMAT is to gain acceptance to a top business school, so that you can land a great job and ultimately have greater earning power throughout your career.

According to the annual US News survey, the average starting MBA salary (with bonus) among the top 132 full-time MBA programs is $101,034, about $40,000 higher than the salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree in business. Even if we assume that your salary does not increase throughout a 30-year career (which is unlikely), that starting salary translates to roughly $1.2 million more in earnings, on average, with a top-130 MBA than without.

The disparities are even more significant when considering starting salaries for graduates from the top-10 full-time MBA programs. The average starting salary (with bonus) was $172,265, so over 30 years, you’re looking at an extra $3.2 million in earnings. Divide this 3.2 million by the 400 hours you spent preparing for the GMAT, and you’ll find that you “earned” $8,000 per study hour.

Another thing to remember is that, while the average cost of an MBA is around $65,000, not all MBA students end up paying the full cost (or any cost) for an MBA. Business schools offer various scholarships, which often come with the price tag of a high GMAT score. So, the next time you groan at the thought of sitting down to study for the GMAT, really think about the proverbial pot of gold at the end of the rainbow: high GMAT score = acceptance to a great (maybe free) school = great job = great salary.

Don’t Listen to the Naysayers

In the process of studying for the GMAT, you may encounter a small yet vocal number of your peers disenchanted with the GMAT preparation process. You’ll see that they are angry and almost detest the idea of having to study for the GMAT. These people will say things such as, “I’m great at business, so why do I have to take the GMAT?” or “What does the GMAT even test?”

You’ll discover that these people have probably struggled with their GMAT preparation. They spend a lot of time complaining and not enough time preparing. Don’t let these people color your view of the situation and bring you down with them. In fact, you can use your motivation to perform well as a competitive advantage. If the competition is not motivated to study, and you are, you will be more likely to succeed on the GMAT than they will.

Now that we’ve discussed some of the psychological aspects of staying motivated, let’s discuss some practical strategies for increasing your level of motivation.

Practical Strategies to Increase Motivation

To help stay motivated, you can put the following simple strategies into practice as soon as you begin your GMAT prep.

1) Use Proper Study Materials

I can’t tell you how many students have come to Target Test Prep almost ready to give up on the GMAT, after months (or sometimes years) of ineffective and disorganized studying. Here is a common scenario:

A student decides she wants to go to a top business school and sets her GMAT score goal at 730. So, she picks up a few GMAT books and immediately dives into her prep. Unfortunately, she treads water for 2 months with no plan, practicing a random array of GMAT quant and verbal questions and reading the solutions only to realize that she is not improving. While this student may be perplexed about her lack of progress, the reason for it is quite simple. Without following a detailed and organized study plan, it’s nearly impossible to succeed on the GMAT. This is true not only for the GMAT, but for almost everything we do in life.

So, before you dive into your GMAT studying, be certain that you have study materials that will provide you with a detailed road map showing you where you are and where you are going. The TTP course, for example, is broken down into specific missions that contain clear directions for what needs to be done and in what order. With that study plan, our students never have to think about what they need to study next; they just need to do it.

Having this type of structured GMAT study schedule will allow you to make consistent progress and always see where you are in relation to your end point. Thus, you’ll be better able to keep up a high level of motivation to work toward your goal of a great GMAT score.

2) Join a Study Group or Be Active on GMAT Forums

Studying for the GMAT can be lonely. If you are lucky, you may have a coworker, friend, or relative who is also studying for the GMAT, but usually that is not the case.

Feelings of loneliness and isolation can result in a lack of motivation to study. So, to keep yourself motivated, regularly interact with fellow GMAT test-takers. If you live in a large city, you could join a GMAT meetup in which you attend weekly or biweekly meetings with fellow GMAT test-takers. Regardless of where you live, you can become an active participant on GMAT forums such as GMAT Club, Beat the GMAT, or the GMAT subreddit, or even join an online GMAT group on Whatsapp or Discord. By interacting with other like-minded GMAT test-takers, you likely will stay motivated and excited to achieve your target score.

3) Create a Study Schedule and Reward Yourself for Sticking to It

I generally suggest that GMAT students study for 2+ hours each weekday and 4+ hours each weekend day. If you follow that study plan, you should be studying for about 18+ hours per week. While in theory it should be easy enough to study for 18+ hours each week, in practice, doing so is not always so easy. So, to keep yourself on track, create a study schedule and stick with it. You likely have a busy schedule, so you will need to be disciplined and creative with your study time. The key is to find a study schedule that works for you.

Also, reward yourself for consistent studying. Give yourself a cheat day occasionally by taking a day off from studying to do something fun and relaxing. Go to the movies, splurge on a spa day, or hang out with friends. Do something that will give your mind a rest from your GMAT prep.

4) Keep the GMAT Front and Center in Your Life

Have you ever heard the phrase “out of sight, out of mind”? A big part of keeping up a high level of motivation while studying for the GMAT is not allowing yourself to take too many days off from studying. Taking a day off here or there is no problem, but don’t allow one day to turn into two, and two to turn into four, and so on.

To ensure that the GMAT does not become a distant memory, you need to learn how to prioritize things in your life and make frequent use of the simple answer of “NO.” While you are studying for the GMAT, you’ll have plenty of opportunities to do things other than study. Here are some common scenarios, and how you should respond to them:

1. Happy hour on Thursday: Thanks but no thanks. I need to study for my GMAT.
2. Weekend road trip: Some other time. I need to study for my GMAT.
3. Brunch on Sunday: Sounds yummy, but I need to study for my GMAT.
4. Binge-watching Netflix: Nope! I need to study for my GMAT.

Remember, the fewer nonessential and non-GMAT-related activities you partake in, the more time you’ll have for your GMAT studying and the smaller chance you’ll have of losing motivation. Once you knock the GMAT out of the park, you’ll have plenty of time for dining out or ski trips in the mountains.

Now, let’s discuss how anxiety can affect your GMAT motivation.

Anxiety Can Be a Big Source of Low Motivation

A significant obstacle that GMAT students face is anxiety. If you’ve ever suffered from anxiety, you know that it can be paralyzing. If anxiety creeps in during your GMAT preparation, it will negatively impact your motivation to study. Let’s discuss two of the most common causes of GMAT-related anxiety and how to overcome them.

1) You Have Not Given Yourself Sufficient GMAT Prep Time

I can’t tell you how often I speak with GMAT students who need a 200+ point score increase yet are giving themselves only five weeks to study. Unfortunately, trying to obtain such a score increase in such a short period is like trying to push a boulder up a mountain; it’s just not going to happen. However, students will still try to make these situations work, and in doing so, they get overwhelmed with anxiety. Thus, they find it very difficult to make any progress at all in their GMAT preparation.

If you find yourself in this situation, your path is simple: reschedule your GMAT for a later date. While you may be taking the GMAT at a certain time to meet an application deadline, that deadline won’t matter if you don’t hit your target GMAT score. So, by giving yourself more time to prepare, you reduce any potential anxiety that could derail your motivation.

2) You Have Expectations of Overnight Success

One misconception about the GMAT is that you can study hard for a few weeks and score 730+ on test day. However, this type of “overnight success” is impossible for most GMAT students.

So, if you are just beginning your GMAT journey, do not expect to increase your score by 200 points in 2 weeks. By believing that such a score increase is possible, you are setting yourself up for failure. Then, when that miracle does not happen, you will likely feel demotivated. So, rather than rushing the process, take a gradual and structured approach to your GMAT studying. In the end, you will be happy that you took the time to do things the right way.

Now, let’s discuss a few other key points to keep in mind in order to keep your motivation high when studying for the GMAT.

Don’t Burn Yourself Out

We have already discussed the importance of making GMAT prep a top priority in your life and sticking to a study schedule, but we also need to be mindful that “burnout” is real. Every GMAT student wants to complete the GMAT preparation process as quickly as possible, but studying for 8 hours a day, 7 days a week, is likely not the answer. Remember, the human brain is an expensive organ for your body to maintain. There is a reason why studying for the GMAT for 3 hours will leave you more drained than binge-watching 8 hours of Netflix.

If you were studying for the GMAT in a vacuum, I suppose that you could study for 8 hours a day and be fine. However, you’re not in a vacuum; you’re studying for the GMAT in addition to other mentally draining activities such as a full-time job or school. So, to keep from burning out, try studying in 1- to 2-hour spurts rather than 4+ hour marathons.

If you plan to have long study sessions, do those on Saturday or Sunday, when your brain is fresh and well-equipped to handle a more extended period of GMAT studying.

Discipline Trumps Motivation

There will undoubtedly be times when you are not motivated to study. However, if you are disciplined, even on an “off day,” you will not skip your GMAT studying. In other words, discipline trumps motivation.

All GMAT students occasionally have a bad day such that the last thing they want to do is study for the GMAT. They may even ask themselves, “Does one day off really matter?” The answer you need to tell yourself in that situation is YES; one day matters. When you lack motivation, force yourself to study even if it’s the last thing you want to do. Trust me; your future self will one day thank you for having had such discipline.

Remember, discipline breeds motivation, and motivation drives success on the GMAT.

Visualize Your Success

Another important way to stay motivated is to visualize yourself walking into the GMAT testing room with a sense of preparedness, head held high and fully confident that you are ready to rock the GMAT. Then, imagine the well-prepared you the moment before you see the screen displaying your score at the end of the exam, knowing that you rocked the exam. At that moment, you’ll understand and appreciate all those months you committed to your preparation and all those weekends you spent studying when your friends were out having fun. You’ll realize that your entire life is going to be irrevocably changed for the better because of your commitment and your discipline. You will get a well-deserved reward for your hard work, and it will pay you dividends for the rest of your life.

Happy studying!