We all have daily routines. What if answering a GMAT question every day became as natural as reading the news or brushing your teeth?

Answering a daily GMAT question is a quick and easy way to prep for the GMAT. Even if you don’t have time for hours of intensive studying, you can feel confident that you’ve taken a small step toward your GMAT goals every day.

This guide will share the best resources for GMAT Questions of the Day (QOTD). To start, let’s define exactly what a GMAT Question of the Day is.

 

What Is GMAT Question of the Day?

GMAT Question of the Day (QOTD) is a study tool that provides one GMAT question for you to answer every single day of the week. The easiest way to incorporate a daily question into your routine is to have the questions come to you.

There are a few prep companies that will email you a GMAT question every day. Other companies have GMAT apps that notify you at preset times to answer your GMAT QOTD.

Your other options include heading to a website for a GMAT Question of the Day or creating your own system from a large bank of practice questions. These options aren’t ideal, though, because it’s easy to forget to answer a daily question if it doesn’t come to you.

By taking all the effort of finding the question out of the equation, you can more easily incorporate GMAT practice into your daily routine. This guide will show you the best resources for all of the above options.

You should note that most GMAT Question of the Day resources only feature math and verbal questions. They don’t include Analytical Writing Assessment essay prompts or the multi-part Integrated Reasoning problems. As a result, GMAT QOTD is only useful for getting ready for the Quantitative and Verbal sections of the GMAT.

Before getting to the best sources for GMAT Question of the Day, let’s discuss what makes a good daily GMAT question. What do the best resources have in common?

 

 

What Makes a Good GMAT Question of the Day?

While there are plenty of free GMAT questions floating out there on the internet, not all of them were created equal. Some are a lot higher quality than others, and you only want the best ones as you prepare for this important exam.

So, what should you look for in a GMAT Question of the Day? It should offer the following four features.

 

#1: Realistic Problems and Format

The best GMAT questions are realistic representations of what you’ll see on the real test. Third-party questions can never be as true as those that come from the official test makers, but there are still some high-quality options out there.

They should represent the same question types — reading comprehension, critical reasoning, and sentence corrections in Verbal; problem-solving and data sufficiency in math — and come in a variety of levels, from easy to medium to difficult.

If the questions test irrelevant concepts or are way too easy, then they won’t help you get ready for the GMAT. As you practice with official prep materials, you’ll gain a clear sense of what’s tested on the GMAT and be able to spot unrealistic prep question from a mile away.

 

 

#2: Detailed Answer Explanations

You’ll understand some questions right off the bat. But what if you don’t understand a question, or you have no idea where to start?

Without detailed answer explanations, practice questions aren’t going to help you improve very much. The best GMAT QOTD come with clear, thorough explanations that walk you through the problem-solving process, step by step.

 

#3: Low Effort, i.e. Question Gets Sent to You

You could always take it upon yourself to answer at least one GMAT practice question every day. The best GMAT Question of the Day study tools, however, send the questions to you.

You don’t have to go searching for questions or set daily reminders. Instead, you’ll get an email or notification on your phone reminding you to answer the question.

At this point, the only effort you have to put forth is actually answering the question, reviewing the answer explanation, and reflecting on how you did.

 

#4: Record of Your Progress

Finally, the best GMAT Questions of the Day will keep a record of your progress. You should be able to look back on past questions.

If you miss any questions, you should be able to access an archive and answer them at a later date. Being able to look back on questions can also help you see patterns over time.

Now that you know what to look for in a GMAT Question of the Day, let’s go over where to find the best ones. Below are the top five resources for GMAT Question of the Day, ranked from best to worst.

 

 

Best Resources for GMAT Question of the Day, Ranked

Keeping the four features discussed above in mind, we’ve picked out and ranked the top five resources for GMAT Question of the Day. Remember that there’s one major drawback to all of these sources — they leave out the AWA and Integrated Reasoning section.

Read on to learn more about each one’s pros and cons.

 

#1: Kaplan

Kaplan tops the list with its excellent GMAT Question of the Day study tool. When you register an account with Kaplan, you can access a GMAT Question of the Day in one of two ways.

You can have the questions sent to you in an email, or you can access them by going to the website and signing into your account. Let’s take a look at the service’s pros and cons.

Pros

• Realistic math and verbal questions to help you get ready.
• Answer explanations are thorough and detailed.
• You can sign up for a GMAT Question of the Day email, so that the questions come to you.
• You can see your “longest streak” of questions you answered correctly and your “current streak” to make sure you’re keeping up with the questions every day.

Cons

• You can only access GMAT Questions of the Day going six days back on the website. You can’t browse questions earlier than that.
• There’s no built-in tracking system to help you look back on which questions you got right and which ones you got wrong.

 

#2: Ready 4 GMAT App

Prep 4 Test offers a GMAT Question of the Day app for Android and iPhones.

Pros

• Questions are realistic and come with detailed answer explanations.
• The app archives every Question of the Day from the day you download, so you can access previous questions.
• You can select a specific time of day to get notified about a new Question of the Day.
• The app also comes with flashcards and customizable practice tests.
• Since it’s on your phone, you can access it anywhere at any time.
• It’s free!

Cons

• Because you’re answering questions on your phone, you won’t get the realistic experience of taking the GMAT on a computer.

 

 

#3: Beat the GMAT

Beat the GMAT, like Kaplan, will send you a GMAT Question of the Day email. In fact, they’ll send you two, since they have separate lists for the math question of the day and the Verbal question of the day.

Pros

• The questions come to you every day via email.
• Math questions and sentence corrections are realistic and will help you prepare.
• You can join a chat forum where fellow test takers post questions, answers, and compare answers.

Cons

• There are no official answer explanations. Official posts only give you the answer, A, B, C, D, or E, but they don’t explain it.
• You could get misinformation from user comments and explanations.
• You’ll have to keep your own record of your progress.
• The majority of Verbal questions appear to be sentence corrections.
• You’ll have to alternate between math and verbal questions if you want to stick to just one GMAT question per day.

 

#4: Atlantic GMAT

Atlantic GMAT Questions of the Day don’t come to you, but rather are updated daily on the Atlantic GMAT blog. 

Pros

• Decent quality problem solving and data sufficiency questions.
• Some of the questions have detailed answer explanations written in a personable, easy to understand style.
• Since it’s a blog format, you can revisit all of the previous questions.

Cons

• It appears to only feature math questions and not verbal questions.
• The questions don’t come to you, so it’s lacking one of the major features of the best Question of the Day services.
• You’re on your own when it comes to tracking your progress.

 

 

#5: GMAT Club

Like Atlantic GMAT, GMAT Club has a blog with new GMAT questions every weekday. Every post includes both a math question and a verbal question. You’ll need to click through to the forum post for each question to see the answer explanations and use the timer to track your answers.

Pros

• Decent problem solving and sentence correction questions.
• You can look back on previous questions going back for months.
• The verbal answer explanations are very thorough.
• The popular forum allows users to discuss answers and other questions and concerns about the GMAT.

Cons

• The majority of questions are problem-solving math questions and sentence correction or critical reasoning verbal questions. You won’t see much of other question types, like data sufficiency and reading comprehension.
• The official answer explanations for math are very brief and may not be helpful if you’re struggling to understand a question. The verbal answer explanations can take up to 24 hours to appear on the site.
• Questions are not as high-quality as other sources. Some seem way too easy and some feature math that’s too advanced.

While the quality of the questions varies, all of these resources can be useful to insert some daily prep into your routine. At the same time, GMAT Question of the Day isn’t sufficient as your sole method of preparation. Where does GMAT Question of the Day fall short?

 

GMAT Question of the Day: 3 Limitations

One obvious limitation of answering one GMAT question a day is that it simply isn’t enough. Questions should only take an average of two minutes to answer.

Most people who score highly on the GMAT average over 100 hours of studying. If spent purely on taking and reviewing questions, this amounts to over 3000 questions! Needless to say, they don’t accumulate that amount of study time just by answering a daily GMAT question.

Besides its lack of thoroughness, how is GMAT Question of the Day limited?

 

#1: No Adaptive Format

The math and verbal sections of the GMAT are adaptive, meaning that the difficulty levels of questions change as you go. Questions should get harder if you’re doing well and easier if you’re making errors.

With GMAT Question of the Day, you don’t get to experience this adaptive testing. The difficulty levels may change, but you don’t get any practice going from an easier question to a harder one, or vice versa. Only computer-adaptive practice tests will give you this experience.

 

 

#2: Not Helpful for Time Management

One major challenge of the GMAT is time management. Each section is strictly timed, and you’ll only be able to answer one question at a time. You can’t skip or go back to any, but instead need to develop a test taking rhythm that allows you to get to all of the questions in time.

Practice tests help you work on your pacing. A GMAT Question of the Day does not.

 

#3: Missing AWA and Integrated Reasoning Questions

Finally, GMAT Questions of the Day only feature math and verbal questions. You’ll have to find your own AWA prompts, and rely on other practice materials for Integrated Reasoning questions.

Plus, you need to make sure you’re getting experience with all of the various questions types within the math and verbal sections. Not all GMAT Questions of the Day offer every question type.

While GMAT Question of the Day is just a starting point for your prep, it’s a great way to stay engaged with the GMAT and uncover your weak areas. How can you use GMAT Question of the Day in the most effective way possible?

 

 

How to Use GMAT Question of the Day

So, just how helpful is answering a GMAT question every day? How does it benefit you, and where does it fall short? Consider these three tips for making the most of the GMAT QOTD.

 

#1: Actually Answer a Question Every Day

First and foremost, GMAT Question of the Day is useful because it forces you to do some prep every day. A question only takes a couple of minutes, but this prep can add up over time.

If you start getting a backlog of questions that you skipped, chances are you won’t go back and answer them retroactively. The main benefit of QOTD is keeping you engaged with GMAT prep, if only in a small way, every single day.

 

#2: Review Answer Explanations

Since you’re only answering a single question with GMAT QOTD, you should take the time to really engage with answer explanations. Read through them, especially for the questions that confused you, and make sure you understand how to approach a similar question the next time.

To really reinforce the skill, you might find similar practice questions and drill with those. While GMAT QOTD aren’t the best way to learn concepts, they are useful for learning how to answer GMAT-style questions.

 

 

#3: Keep an Error Log

Answering single practice questions helps you familiarize yourself with GMAT-style questions and figure out your weak spots. You should write down any questions that you get wrong or that confuse you, and take time to go over the answer explanations thoroughly.

Getting questions wrong is a good thing early on in your prep, because you’ll be able to figure out what you need to learn and how you can improve. By finding your errors early, you can take steps to address them. Without making mistakes, you might never know what you don’t know until test day.

As we finish up, let’s go over some key takeaways you should remember about answering a GMAT question a day.

 

GMAT Question of the Day: Key Takeaways

Regardless of whatever else you’ve got going on in your busy schedule, you can stay engaged with the GMAT a little bit each day by signing up for a GMAT Question of the Day. The best GMAT QOTD come to you through email or an app on your phone, but you can also go to a GMAT Question of the Day blog and keep track of your own progress.

These daily questions are a great way to stay connected to the GMAT and reinforce skills even on the days when you’re not doing any other prep.

Keep an error log, track your progress, and use these questions to inform your GMAT study plan. Over time, you’ll have clear insight into what you know and where you can improve.

 

What’s Next?

What question types show up on the GMAT? Check out this guide for a sample of every GMAT question type, plus a description of the entire GMAT exam pattern.

How long should you study for the GMAT? Check out this guide to figure out how many hours you should commit to GMAT prep.

Is the GMAT really as scary as it seems? This article will tell you just how hard you can expect the GMAT to be.