With GMAT exam just a month away, the countdown has begun for the D-day. A final touch-up schedule, for example, can now be the difference between a 600 and a 700. To help you gear up and strategize your crucial time, our experts break down what's really required to pass the bar.

Even though it calls for a panic attack, you need to do one thing first – reality check.

If it’s your first take, make sure you know what you’re facing. Debrief yourself if you are a re-taker. Analyze your previous performance to single out what went wrong and thus what you need to work on. It's not too late to check for online resources or take the assistance of a professional GMAT tutor that will guide you on the best GMAT prep material. You can get everything that you need to know when it comes to choosing the best GMAT prep book if you visit www.examgenius.org

That done, you can now proceed to an age-old adage, how to study smart, not hard.

Span attention wisely

It is fairly apparent that quantitative and verbal acumen account as most important for almost all graduate programs. However, analytical writing section is undoubtedly imperative for a writing-focused program. Just to give you an idea- You need at least 700 for Top 10 schools and 650 for Top 50 to pass. So, know your game and do the math!

Set a Prep Timetable

Set achievable goals, but always aim for more. Study and practice in equal increments. It is important to tweak your study schedule every day by crossing out everyday goals. Don’t give up in a frenzy in case you miss targets, keep going and make up for the ‘white areas’ accordingly.

Practice Educated Guessing

As a general rule of thumb, you should guess on a question if you’ve already spent 90% of your allotted time on the question, aren’t close to getting a definitive answer, and have been able to eliminate at least one incorrect answer. Remember, making an educated guess gives you decent odds of getting the correct answer.

Set Time Milestones

Time yourself and evaluate how well you are able to manage your time. It’s okay to take longer than two minutes on a question. Just make sure you counter-balance this by taking less than two minutes to answer other questions. Your eventual target is to finish each section on time.

Sign Up for Mock Tests

Work your way through an actual GMAT paper and alter your prep time after gauging your highs and lows. If possible, take the prep test under conditions akin to those you will experience on Test Day, without distractions or interruptions.

Focused Study

Now that you have identified problem types that not only eat up your time but drop your score low, deal with them by reading strategies and explanations. Take super-concise notes that you can review later. This is a good time to reinforce your key strengths which will, in turn, boost your score.