<p>As a college sophomore, when should I begin to study for the GMAT? I would like to take it sometime senior year. My biggest concern is that if I do a couple practice tests a week starting now my progression and momentum will fizzle and there will not be many practice tests left for me to take come senior year.</p>
<p>You can take the GMAT as many times as you want, who cares, its not like the LSAT where your first score is crucial. So don't fret and just study whenever you feel best prepared and more importantly, motivated.</p>
<p>Thanks for the help baller. Call me crazy, but I am kicking around taking the test at this time next year. Here's why: There is a high probability that I will go home this summer and do some part/full time internship. Because I will be staying at home, I will have the opportunity to study more than I will the summer going into senior year. Also, I do not want to put it off until after graduation because I'll have a job. Next summer seems like the best bet. My main concern is not having enough work experience when my score expires. Is approximately thirty months of work experience good enough to make me eligible for top programs?</p>
<p>I don't think it's wise to take the GMAT this early. The average experience for most competitive programs is approximately 5 years. Three data points are shown below with just a quick Google search. </p>
<p>MIT Sloan: 4.9 years
Chicago: Average age: 29
Average years of work experience: 3 to 6 years
Haas: 5 years</p>
<p>Unless you've already got a great job lined up that will make you a top MBA candidate, I would wait to take the GMAT later when you are closer to applying. At least wait until you graduate, so that you have a good shot of getting 5 years of experience in before your score expires. And while I have no evidence to support this claim, I say that a recent score looks better than one that is about to expire. That's not something that they would probably hold against you, but ceteris paribus a fresh score looks better.</p>
<p>Also, the GMAT shouldn't take too much prep time. A month or so should be more than enough. If it takes much more than that, then you are seriously lacking and probably won't be competitive anyways.</p>
<p>Thank you for your response Sky. I see where you are coming from. It makes sense that my application becomes more desirable as my work experience increases. I would really like to get an MBA 2-3 years after undergrad though. I know every case is different but, hypothetically if i got around a 3.8 GPA and a 680 GMAT along with a couple years of work experience, would I be competitive for any of the Top 20 programs?</p>