When is the best time to take the GMAT after the course

[benmurunga]

I am not sure whether this question has already been answered, but I'm about to book my test date and wanted to know when would the optimum time be(i.e after how long should I take it), after having completed the manhattan 9 week course

[StaceyKoprince]

It really depends upon the individual student and his/her goals. Most people want at least 2-3 weeks after the course ends to review everything before taking the test. Some people take significantly longer than that, though.

I'm not sure how much longer you have before your course ends, but generally speaking, I advise my students to have a target date in mind but not to book the test until 2 to 4 weeks before the test date. (The exact length of time depends upon your flexibility. If you can take it on any day of the week and at any time of day, then you can get away with waiting until a bit closer to the test date to book. If you need to take it at 8a on a Saturday, or 11a on a week-day, then you may have to book a little farther in advance in order to ensure that you get a slot that you want.)

Also, what is your goal score? (You may have two: a minimum goal score and a "this would be great!" goal score.)

You should be within reasonable range of your goal score 4-6 weeks before you book the test (within 50 points and with a list of specific things that you know you need to learn in order to make progress), as measured by your results on a practice test taken under full, official test conditions (including the essays). When that happens, you may want to go ahead and book your test date for about 4-6 weeks later, with the understanding that you may change the date later.

7 to 14 days before your goal, you should be scoring at or above your minimum goal score (again, on a full, official-conditions practice test). If you are not there yet, then you may want to reschedule your test for a few weeks later (exact length depending upon how far you still are from your goal). As long as you reschedule more than 7 days in advance, you only have to pay a small rescheduling fee (I believe $50); you don't have to pay the entire fee for the test again.