Inside the GMAT

This episode originally aired May 28, 2025. In this solo episode, host Zach breaks down everything you've ever wanted to know about the GMAT exam. Whether you're just starting to explore business school or already deep in prep mode, this is your all-in-one explainer for what's on the exam, how it's scored, how to prepare, and how to use your score to stand out.

Zach walks through each section of the exam, plus testing options, prep resources, accommodations, and what your score report actually tells you. You'll also get the facts on percentile rankings, test day logistics, and why a GMAT score is more than just a number.

No hype, no gimmicks—just real talk about the #1 test in business school admisions.

WATCH ON SPOTIFY OR YOUTUBE TO SEE ACCOMPANYING SLIDES & VISUALS

Register for the GMAT: https://www.mba.com/exams/gmat-exam/register

Chapters:

01:04 - Exam Overview & Features

03:53 - Scoring Explained

08:13 - Quantitative Reasoning

10:16 - Verbal Reasoning

13:18 - Data Insights

20:28 - Accessing & Sending Your Score

25:28 - Planning for Test Day

This episode originally published in May 2025.

In this solo episode, host Zach breaks down everything you've ever wanted to know about the GMAT exam. Whether you're just starting to explore business school or already deep in prep mode, this is your all-in-one explainer for what's on the exam, how it's scored, how to prepare, and how to use your score to stand out.

Zach walks through each section of the exam, plus testing options, prep resources, accommodations, and what your score report actually tells you. You'll also get the facts on percentile rankings, test day logistics, and why a GMAT score is more than just a number.

No hype, no gimmicks—just real talk about the #1 test in business school admisions.

WATCH ON SPOTIFY OR YOUTUBE TO SEE ACCOMPANYING SLIDES & VISUALS

Register for the GMAT: https://www.mba.com/exams/gmat-exam/register

Chapters:

01:02 - Exam Overview & Features

03:48 - Scoring Explained

08:06 - Quantitative Reasoning

10:08 - Verbal Reasoning

13:06 - Data Insights

20:22 - Accessing & Sending Your Score

25:22 - Planning for Test Day

"Just because it's written online, just because it's on your screen, doesn't make it true."

There's no shortage of GMAT advice online. The harder part is figuring out which advice is actually worth following.

In this episode of Inside the GMAT, GMAC Zach sits down with GMAT tutor and test prep advisor Rowan Hand to talk about how candidates can become smarter consumers of GMAT information.

Rowan has worked with more than 1,000 students around the world since 2005 and has experience as a question writer, explanation writer, and content editor. Together, Zach and Rowan explore why outdated GMAT advice continues to circulate, when another test taker's experience can be useful—and when it can be misleading—and how to evaluate tutors, prep companies, Reddit threads, and other online resources.

They also dig into one of the biggest new challenges for test takers: using AI for GMAT prep. Rowan explains where tools like ChatGPT can be helpful, where they can fall short, and why getting the right answer isn't always the same thing as learning the right approach.

In this episode:

• Why outdated GMAT advice can persist long after the exam changes

• Why official GMAT materials remain an essential part of prep

• How to distinguish personal experience from prescriptive advice

• How to evaluate GMAT tutors and prep companies

• What to look for when GMAT sources conflict

• Where AI can help with GMAT prep—and where extra scrutiny is warranted

• Why the best solution to a practice question is often the one you can apply again

• How to think realistically about your GMAT preparation timeline

The bottom line: whether advice comes from a tutor, Reddit, a friend, or an AI tool, don't assume something is true simply because it sounds authoritative. Check the source, consider whether the advice applies to your situation, and focus on approaches you can use consistently.

About Our Guest:

Since 2005, Rowan hand has worked as a GMAT/GRE Tutor and test prep advisor around the globe, teaching one-to-one and group courses in London, Paris, and Warsaw, and ultimately expanding his reach to multiple continents online. He's worked with clients from Hong Kong to Taipei to Perth to Sydney to Manila to New York to Chicago to Frankfurt to Riga to Moscow to help boost careers at schools ranging from HBS to INSEAD to MIT Sloan to Wharton to Cambridge Judge to IE, IMD, IESE, and more.

In addition to teaching, Rowan has worked as a question writer and explanation writer for numerous GMAT prep materials, and has developed a niche as a consultant editor, improving question explanations for better understanding by non-technical readers.

He's also published multiple #1 Amazon Bestsellers (GMAT and Test Prep), including The GMAT Work and Rates Guide, How to Beat GMAT Advanced Arithmetic, the GMAT Probability Guide, and more.

Helpful Resources:

Your GMAT Coach: https://yourgmatcoach.com/

Rowan's GMAT Guides: https://rowanhand.podia.com/

Rowan on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/gmatcoach

Rowan on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yourgmatcoach

Key Takeaways:

• Not all GMAT advice deserves equal weight. Outdated information, anecdotes, forum posts, prep-company content, and AI-generated answers can all sound authoritative even when they are incomplete or wrong.
• Official GMAT materials should remain a core part of prep. Rowan emphasizes that official questions have gone through the actual exam-development and review process, which third-party material cannot fully replicate.
• Online communities can be valuable if you use them critically. Reddit and GMAT forums are especially useful for comparing different solution methods, but candidates should focus on approaches that are understandable, repeatable, and transferable to other questions.
• AI can help, but confidence is not the same as correctness. LLMs can surface outdated information, make mistakes on certain GMAT question types, and sometimes reach the right answer using a method that is not especially useful for test day.
• Build your study plan around your actual starting point, target, and timeline. Rowan recommends working backward from application deadlines and allowing room for multiple exam attempts rather than relying on a generic prep timeline.

Chapters:

00:00 — Introduction 02:00 — Rowan's background in GMAT prep 05:28 — Why outdated GMAT advice sticks around 08:30 — Common GMAT myths and misconceptions 11:34 — When personal experiences become misleading 12:47 — What to do when GMAT sources conflict 14:52 — How to use Reddit and GMAT communities wisely 19:12 — Evaluating tutors and prep companies 24:08 — The risks of relying too heavily on AI 29:50 — Using AI more effectively during prep 30:03 — Building a realistic GMAT study timeline 32:00 — Where to find Rowan

Choosing a business school isn't just about choosing a program. It's also about choosing a city, a culture, a professional network, and a place you may call home long after graduation.

In this episode of Inside the GMAT, GMAC Zach sits down with Jinnie Hinderscheit, Head of Marketing for Post-Experience Programs at GEM Alpine Business School, to explore what it really means to study business in Europe.

Drawing on her own experience moving from the United States to France as an international student—and ultimately building her life and career there—Jinnie discusses the benefits and trade-offs of studying abroad, how local business ecosystems can create global career opportunities, and why factors like affordability, culture, friendships, and quality of life deserve a place in your business school decision.

They also explore what makes France and Grenoble distinctive destinations for graduate management education and how GEM connects students with an ecosystem built around technology, innovation, and global business.

If you're considering studying abroad—or simply wondering how much location should factor into your business school search—this conversation offers a new way to think about what you're really choosing when you choose a program.

Helpful Resources:

GEM Alpine School of Business: https://www.grenoble-em.com/en/

About Our Guest:

Jinnie Hinderscheit is an international marketing and communications professional specializing in higher education, research, and technology. At GEM Alpine Business School, she leads marketing and recruitment for the MBA, Executive MBA, and DBA programs. Her expertise includes international student recruitment, brand positioning, digital marketing, and program development.

Key Takeaways:

• You're choosing more than a school. The city, industries, alumni network, culture, and lifestyle surrounding a program can shape both your student experience and your career opportunities.
• Studying abroad can change how you work. Being immersed in unfamiliar cultures and multicultural teams can challenge your assumptions and develop skills that translate directly to global workplaces.
• Local and global aren't opposites. A strong local ecosystem can expose students to global companies, international classmates, faculty, and ideas while providing a concrete environment in which to apply them.
• The surrounding business ecosystem matters. Company projects, visits, internships, speakers, and work experiences can help students test career paths and build relationships beyond the classroom.
• Quality of life belongs in the decision. Jinnie argues that affordability, friendships, culture, and lifestyle aren't separate from the academic experience—they can affect how well a student is able to thrive.
• Make the experience count from day one. Her closing advice: use the career center, professors, company projects, language-learning opportunities, and friendships—and remember to enjoy the experience while it lasts.

Chapters:

• 00:00 – What does it really mean to study in Europe? 01:03 – Jinnie's journey from international student to life in France 02:06 – Why students choose Europe 04:14 – Advantages of studying in Europe 05:58 – Trade-offs to consider before studying abroad 07:01 – What you gain by stepping outside your existing network 09:02 – Why the city around your business school matters 11:17 – How local companies become part of the student experience 14:05 – Friends, culture, affordability, and quality of life 15:48 – How the local and global perspectives reinforce each other 17:27 – What international students bring to local companies 19:07 – Why study business in France? 21:11 – What makes Grenoble different? 23:02 – Grenoble's technology and innovation ecosystem 24:19 – What international students should know about GEM 25:40 – Who thrives at GEM? 27:10 – Jinnie's advice for prospective international students

AI can help you research business schools, brainstorm essay ideas, prepare for interviews, and organize the application process. But how much AI is too much?

In this episode of Inside the GMAT, GMAC Zach is joined by Hannah Artis, Senior Director of Graduate Admission, and Frank Fletcher, Senior Director of MBA Programs at the Masagung Graduate School of Management at the University of San Francisco.

They discuss how admissions teams are thinking about AI, where it can genuinely strengthen your application, and where relying on it too heavily can cause you to lose the most important part of your candidacy: your own voice.

You'll hear why AI can be an excellent "sparring partner," why an overly polished essay may actually work against you, how to use AI to prepare for an MBA interview without sounding scripted, and why critical thinking remains one of the most important skills you can bring to business school.

Plus, Hannah and Frank share practical advice for applicants who are still trying to figure out their story, their goals, and their "why."

Helpful Resources:

Masagung Graduate School of Business: https://www.usfca.edu/management/programs/graduate

Key Takeaways:

• Use AI as a sparring partner, not a substitute. It can challenge your ideas, help you brainstorm, and prepare you for difficult questions—but your judgment and answers should remain your own.
• Don't polish away your personality. Admissions teams aren't necessarily looking for a perfectly packaged candidate; the quirks, uncertainty, growth, and messiness of your story can help them understand who you really are.
• AI is particularly useful for research and preparation. Use it to explore programs, identify questions, organize deadlines, brainstorm, and practice interviews—but verify important information directly with schools.
• Never outsource the interview. Preparation is encouraged; scripted, AI-generated responses can prevent admissions teams from seeing how you actually think and communicate.
• Critical thinking remains the differentiator. Knowing which tools to use, when to use them, and how to navigate ambiguity matters more than simply becoming more efficient.

Chapters:

00:00 – Introduction 02:21 – How often does AI come up with MBA applicants? 05:59 – Where AI can genuinely help your application 07:14 – Using AI as a "sparring partner" 09:45 – Why your application doesn't need to be perfect 11:59 – The danger of outsourcing the reflection process 12:43 – AI, recommendations, and interviews 16:08 – USF's policy on AI in applications 17:06 – Are admissions teams using AI too? 19:18 – How business schools are preparing students to work with AI 22:42 – Why you shouldn't outsource your critical thinking 26:08 – The part of your application you should always do yourself 26:46 – Where it's reasonable to seek help 27:57 – How to figure out your story and your "why" 30:31 – Learn more about the Masagung School of Management

After almost five years at GMAC, Inside the GMAT host Zach Fernebok is moving on to a new opportunity.

In this special short episode, GMAC Zach reflects on why he relaunched Inside the GMAT, what he learned from talking directly with test takers, and why helping candidates cut through misinformation became one of the most meaningful parts of his time at GMAC.

Before signing off, he shares one final GMAT pitch: in a world that is increasingly noisy, persuasive, automated, and fast-moving, your ability to think critically may matter more than ever.

Take the GMAT for the score. Take it for your application. But also take something bigger from the experience—the ability to question assumptions, work through uncertainty, recognize when something only feels right, and think for yourself.

And don't worry: Inside the GMAT isn't going anywhere. New voices are coming, and the journey continues.

"We're not looking for people who know about business. We're looking for people who are ready to learn about business and who are ready to grow and to lead."

Is an MBA right for you? And what if you don't come from a traditional business background?

In this episode of Inside the GMAT, GMAC Zach is joined by Sandra Richez, Global MBA Program Director at EDHEC Business School, to explore how the MBA has evolved—and why candidates from engineering, the humanities, technology, nonprofit, healthcare, the arts, and other fields can bring enormous value to the classroom.

Sandra shares what business schools look for beyond traditional business experience, the transferable skills an MBA can help develop, and how the degree can create space to discover entirely new career possibilities. They also discuss the questions prospective students should ask themselves before applying, why choosing a program should start with your own goals rather than rankings, and what makes EDHEC's Global MBA experience distinctive.

Whether you already have a clear career goal or are still figuring out what comes next, this conversation can help you think more intentionally about whether an MBA belongs in your future.

This episode of Inside the GMAT is presented by EDHEC Business School.

Helpful Resources:

• EDHEC Business School
• Contact EDHEC Business School

Key Takeaways:

• There is no single "traditional" MBA candidate anymore. MBA classrooms increasingly include people from engineering, technology, healthcare, the humanities, the arts, nonprofit work, entrepreneurship, and other backgrounds—not just finance or consulting.
• A nontraditional background can be an advantage. Different professional experiences bring different strengths to the classroom, and that diversity improves peer learning, collaboration, and problem-solving.
• Business schools are looking for potential, not just business knowledge. Curiosity, resilience, openness to feedback, collaboration, communication, and a growth mindset can matter as much as prior experience in business.
• An MBA builds more than technical business skills. Beyond finance, marketing, and strategy, students can develop leadership, decision-making, communication, negotiation, cross-cultural collaboration, and the ability to operate amid uncertainty.
• An MBA can help you discover a career path you did not expect. Exposure to new subjects, classmates, industries, and applied projects can either broaden your options or help you narrow down what you actually want to do.
• The decision to pursue an MBA should start with your long-term goals. Ask where you want to be in five to ten years, what skills you are missing today, and whether you are ready to invest in yourself to close those gaps.
• Choosing an MBA program should be about fit, not rankings alone. Start with your goals, preferred location, format, career support, alumni network, specialization options, and learning environment, then use rankings as one source of information.
• The value of an MBA is broader than immediate salary ROI. The episode frames the degree as a long-term investment in transferable skills, leadership capability, career flexibility, and future possibilities.

Chapters:

00:00 — Introduction 01:04 — Meet Sandra Richez and EDHEC Business School 07:23 — Is the traditional MBA candidate a thing of the past? 09:49 — The rise of nontraditional MBA backgrounds 11:36 — What different professional backgrounds bring to the classroom 14:20 — What makes someone a strong MBA candidate? 16:32 — The broader skills you develop during an MBA 24:07 — Discovering unexpected strengths and new career paths 30:37 — How to decide whether an MBA is right for you 37:07 — How to choose the right MBA program 44:16 — What makes the EDHEC Global MBA distinctive 51:15 — What to do once you're ready to explore an MBA 54:15 — Closing thoughts

"Companies want to know the real person, the human behind those applications."

AI, technological innovation, and economic change are transforming the workplace—and creating new challenges and opportunities for professionals at every stage of their careers.

So, what skills will be most valuable? Where are the growth opportunities? And how can you stay competitive in an evolving job market?

In this special episode of Inside the GMAT, GMAC Deputy Editor Matt Kefford speaks with Sadia Cuthbert, Head of Cambridge Judge Careers at Cambridge Judge Business School, and Marcel Kalis, Director of the Career Development Center at ESMT Berlin, during the GMAC Virtual MBA + Master's Tour Europe.

Together, they explore the trends shaping the future of work, including the impact of AI on hiring and established career paths, changes in the global job market, and the growing importance of skills like curiosity, communication, adaptability, and relationship-building.

They also discuss where new opportunities may emerge, what candidates should understand about recruiting in Europe, and how business school students can make the most of career services, internships, company connections, and other experiences beyond the classroom.

Plus, Sadia and Marcel share practical advice you can put into action now as you prepare for whatever comes next in your career.

This special episode is brought to you by Cambridge Judge Business School and ESMT Berlin.

About Our Guests:

Sadia Cuthbert is Director of Careers at Cambridge Judge Business School, where she leads a dedicated team delivering a comprehensive programme of career development, skills training, and recruitment opportunities for experienced postgraduate students across the MBA, Executive MBA, and MFin programmes. Sadia began her career as an impact consultant working across South Asia, Mexico, and the Philippines, before transitioning into equity markets research at Bear Stearns and subsequently into equity sales. She spent 12 years in the City, London as an equity stockbroker specialising in emerging markets, at HSBC and Merrill Lynch. Deeply passionate about economics, development, and finance, Sadia brings a rare combination of frontline commercial experience and a genuine commitment to social impact to her work at Cambridge Judge. She is an active mentor and former board member of the Centre for Global Equality, an organisation focused on inclusive innovation. Sadia holds a Masters in Econometrics and Mathematical Economics from the London School of Economics and an undergraduate degree in Economics and Mathematics from the University of Sussex.

Marcel Kalis is Director of the Career Development Center at ESMT Berlin, where he has led career services since 2006. He built the function from the ground up and designs and maintains career-development programming for Full-time, Part-time, Global Online, MSc, and Executive MBA students. His work spans career coaching, job-search strategy, skills-development teaching, and the selection of speakers, lecturers, and coaches. Marcel develops networking opportunities that connect students with corporate partners through workshops, company visits, and events, while building relationships with ESMT founding companies, startups, NGOs, and other external partners.

Matt Kefford is Deputy Editor for GMAC.com, responsible for writing, editing, and producing multimedia content as well as driving content strategy for the website. A business education journalist for 5+ years, he regularly features as a judge on education industry awards and speaks at industry events. Previously, Matt has written and produced content for national news organizations including The Sunday Times, i News, and Sky News, as well as a number of regional titles. Matt has a B.A. in History from the University of Leeds and an M.A. in Journalism from the University of Sheffield. He is also a gold standard accredited journalist with the National Council for the Training of Journalists.

Helpful Resources:

Cambridge Judge Business School: https://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/

ESMT Berlin: https://esmt.berlin/

GMAC Tours: https://www.mba.com/connect-with-schools/gmac-tours

Key Takeaways:

• AI, technological innovation, and economic change are reshaping careers. Candidates need to be prepared for established roles and industries to evolve rather than assuming traditional career paths will remain unchanged.
• Growth often follows change. Areas including technology, energy, health, mobility, cybersecurity, and emerging businesses may create new opportunities as organizations respond to new challenges.
• Human skills remain critical. Curiosity, communication, adaptability, problem-solving, and the ability to connect with people can help candidates stand out in an increasingly AI-enabled hiring environment.
• Staying competitive requires being proactive. Networking, learning about industries firsthand, exploring unfamiliar companies, and building relationships can be as important as submitting applications.
• Business school is more than the classroom. Internships, company visits, experiential projects, exchanges, career services, and peer networks can help students develop the skills and exposure they need to navigate what comes next.

Chapters:

01:14 Overview of the GMAC Virtual MBA and Masters Tour 03:17 Key Factors Shaping the Business World Today 05:29 Major Trends and Developments in the Changing World 08:09 Current Job Market and Opportunities 10:11 Challenges and Misconceptions in the Job Market 12:09 The Role of Networking and Personal Branding 18:15 Future Industry Sectors and Long-Term Opportunities 19:14 Predictions for the Next 5 to 10 Years 23:39 Practical Steps to Enhance Career Prospects 28:44 Final Advice for Building a Future-Ready Career

Spoiler Warning: This episode discusses questions from the second free Official GMAT Practice Exam on mba.com. If you haven't taken that exam yet, there will be some spoilers.

What should you do after taking a GMAT practice test?

For the final installment of our six-week Summer GMAT prep series, GMC Zach and Menlo Coaching Director of Tutoring Hailey Cusimano go inside the results of a real student practice exam—and discover that the score itself tells only part of the story.

After beginning at a 545 and seeing her score fall to 515 after weeks of self-study, this student could easily have concluded that she simply needed more Quant practice, more Verbal practice, or more questions.

But a deeper review revealed something very different.

Across Quantitative Reasoning, Verbal Reasoning, and Data Insights, the same patterns kept appearing: overinvesting time in difficult questions, rushing when the clock became intimidating, getting lost in unnecessary details, and sometimes solving a problem correctly only to answer the wrong question.

Hailey breaks down how to spot those patterns, turn mistakes into actionable strategies, and use practice exams as learning tools—not just score predictors.

And the payoff? That same student eventually scored a 715.

If you're taking GMAT practice exams but aren't sure what to do with the results, this episode is your guide to finding the story behind your score.

About Hailey:

Hailey Cusimano is a 99th-percentile performer and a self-proclaimed standardized test nerd. Drawing from her years of experience as an instructor, she knows how to assess students' main obstacles and strategize accordingly, maximizing efficiency in short study windows. Plus, her enthusiasm is infectious, and most students find studying with Hailey actually becomes—dare we say—fun.

Helpful Resources:

Menlo Coaching: https://menlocoaching.com/

Register for the GMAT: https://www.mba.com/exams/gmat-exam/register

5 Traits of Successful GMAT Test Takers: https://tinyurl.com/insidethegmat

Purchase GMAT Official Prep: https://www.mba.com/exams/executive-assessment/prepare

Key Takeaways:

• A practice exam is more than a test-readiness benchmark. It can reveal patterns in your decision-making, pacing, confidence, and strategy.
• Don't automatically respond to a missed algebra question by doing more algebra—or a missed Reading Comprehension question by doing more Reading Comprehension. Ask why you missed it.
• Spending five minutes on a question you ultimately miss can create problems well beyond that one question by forcing you to rush later.
• "Silly mistakes" usually aren't random. Look for the repeatable process that made the mistake more likely.
• One problem can appear across all three GMAT sections. In this case, reading precision, task orientation, and answering the exact question being asked showed up repeatedly.
• More practice questions aren't automatically better. Review should produce an actionable takeaway you can apply to a different question later.
• Don't try to become a subject-matter expert on every Reading Comprehension or Multi-Source Reasoning passage. Understand the structure and return to details when they're actually needed.
• A rough practice score does not necessarily mean your preparation isn't working. Sometimes the data is exposing a fixable strategy problem.
• Confidence and momentum matter. A bad stretch in one section can affect how you approach the next.
• The goal isn't just to collect data about what you're getting wrong. It's to understand what needs to happen differently next time.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction to using practice exams effectively 02:07 Case study: Student's initial struggles and data analysis 04:55 Time management insights and question pacing 07:55 Verbal and quantitative section analysis 12:51 Big picture data insights and strategic adjustments 18:02 Common question pitfalls and how to avoid them 21:58 The importance of mental resilience and confidence 26:58 Building effective review habits and strategies 33:00 Final tips for exam day success

Practice tests are an essential part of GMAT prep—but are you using them the right way?

In Week 5 of our Summer Prep Series, GMAC Zach is joined once again by GMAT expert Hailey Cusimano to explore how candidates can make the transition from learning GMAT concepts to performing under test-like conditions.

They discuss why a practice test should be treated as data rather than a verdict on your readiness, when to start taking official practice exams, and how to practice pacing without burning through your limited supply of full-length tests. Hailey also breaks down some of the most common pacing mistakes—including obsessing over a two-minute-per-question benchmark, spending too much time on difficult questions, and unnecessarily double-checking questions you've already solved efficiently.

Plus, Zach and Hailey dig into the mental side of the GMAT: how momentum can affect your performance, why trying to predict the scoring algorithm can work against you, and how deliberately introducing manageable stress into your practice can make test day feel more familiar.

And if you're following the series, get a practice test ready: next week, Zach and Hailey will walk through how to actually review one.

About Hailey:

Hailey Cusimano is a 99th-percentile performer and a self-proclaimed standardized test nerd. Drawing from her years of experience as an instructor, she knows how to assess students' main obstacles and strategize accordingly, maximizing efficiency in short study windows. Plus, her enthusiasm is infectious, and most students find studying with Hailey actually becomes—dare we say—fun.

Helpful Resources:

Menlo Coaching: https://menlocoaching.com/

Register for the GMAT: https://www.mba.com/exams/gmat-exam/register

5 Traits of Successful GMAT Test Takers: https://tinyurl.com/insidethegmat

Purchase GMAT Official Prep: https://www.mba.com/exams/executive-assessment/prepare

Key Takeaways:

• Your practice test is data—not a verdict. A practice test isn't simply there to tell you whether you're "ready." It can reveal how you behave under pressure, where your pacing breaks down, what strategies survive under time constraints, and where your prep should go next.
• Don't wait until you feel 100% ready. Waiting for near-perfect accuracy before taking a practice exam can leave you "treading water." Once you've built a reasonable foundation and can learn constructively from your mistakes, practice tests themselves should become part of the learning process.
• Pacing does not mean spending two minutes on every question. Different questions deserve different amounts of time. Instead of constantly calculating your time per question, Hailey recommends thinking more broadly about high-value versus low-value time across the section.
• One difficult question can create a pacing snowball. Spending three or more minutes fighting with one problem may not just hurt you on that question—it can force you to rush several questions afterward. Recognizing sunk-cost thinking and knowing when additional time is no longer adding value are critical GMAT skills.
• Structure gives you something to fall back on under pressure. You can't eliminate every stressful moment from the GMAT. You can develop question-solving routines, pacing checkpoints, contingency plans, and even a consistent pre-test routine so your brain has something familiar to rely on when stress arrives.
• Stop trying to figure out how well you're doing during the exam. The apparent difficulty of the questions you see isn't a reliable way to judge your performance. Hailey has seen candidates mentally give up on sections they later discovered were among their strongest performances. Your job is the question in front of you—not reverse-engineering the scoring algorithm.
• Practice being imperfect. You can miss questions and still perform extremely well. Aiming to feel 100% confident about every answer can actually hurt performance if it causes you to overinvest time. Even strong candidates should have strategies for making a thoughtful, educated guess when necessary.

Chapters:

Chapters

00:00 Introduction and episode overview 02:54 Contextualizing practice test data 05:46 Balancing confidence and pacing in practice tests 09:07 The importance of review and reflection 12:14 The mental game: stress and momentum 14:56 Practical tips for consistent practice habits 18:08 Overcoming perfectionism and all-or-nothing mindset 21:07 Benchmarking and adjusting pacing strategies 23:56 The value of review and reflection 27:11 Understanding and managing the scoring algorithm 30:04 Preparing mentally for test day challenges 31:02 The importance of a structured routine 31:52 Handling the mental game and stress management 33:05 Avoiding all-or-nothing thinking in pacing 34:01 Using review to inform pacing adjustments 34:55 The role of contingency plans in test strategy 35:49 Common mistakes and how to correct them 36:49 The importance of resilience and grit 38:11 Final tips for test day readiness 38:51 Upcoming episode preview and closing remarks