Month: June 2010

GMAT Not a crammers Gallore:

I have been seeing lots of posts on how GMAT aspirants expect to see practice questions “as it is” in GMAT. Recently a 720 scorer on Scorechase [vs057] gave a very good advice (see his GMAT Voyage and experience). He has provided pretty good advice on his GMAT experience, but to top it all was his advice about MGs and VGs: do not mug them. And I completely agree. See my post about making best use of Scorechase MGs and VGs. Here is my take and justification of THE advice.

1. GMAC has a huge pool of questions.

GMAC has a pool of questions which dates back to many years. Ofcorse not all the old questions would be present in their database, but expecting to see some practice questions in the exam is like expecting to strike a bullseye with < 1/10000 probability

2. Cramming wont help: What if there is a slight change?

For example if the question you practiced is something like:

If A+B is odd, is B even?

1) A is even

2) A/B is odd

and the question in exam is

If A+B is odd, is B even?

1) A-B is even

2) A/B is odd

Obviosuly this is a simple example, but you would be surprised to see how many of them will mark the same answer for both the questions[claiming a dejavu]. If you understand the concept [in the question it is not given that A and B are integers], you can handle any such problem in exam. So MUGGING will actually cause you many problems than it is worth

3. B-Schools want smart people

B Schools want smart and analytical people. Thats one of the reason GMAT tests Math, CR and RC. If you mug and somehow get through the exam in flying colors [very less probability] there are all the chances that you would be caught in the interview

4. GMAT asks easy concepts

GMAT questions usually revolve around very basic concepts from high school. The questions are tricky, so instead of mugging carefulness and practice is needed. There are a few tough questions, but I can assure you if you practice Scorechase MGs, VGs for a couple of months or more, you will be fine. Remember practice is more important

5. Participation pays

GMAT Forums, like scorechase provide practice questions with fancy names (Math Gems and Verbal Gems). But these questions are very helpful to practice for GMAT, ofcourse books like Kaplan and Manhattan also have excellent questions for the same. If you just read the questions and solve them yourself, or see a tutor’s solution : you are MISSING A LOT. What will you be missing

– A Chance to post your solution and thus feel confident of your approach

– A chance to make a mistake and be corrected. So that you dont make a mistake in real exam

– A chance to see if some other people have posted a “Shortcut” to the question

– A chance to see what mistakes others make when solving the questions, learn from their mistakes and guide them

– A chance to see that sometimes your guidance may be wrong too

– A big chance to make friends and make a network of MBA aspirants which may help you sooner or later when you yourself apply

So my dear MBA aspirants, make yourself proud and earn your GMAT score. Dont cram anything. Practice good questions such as standard GMAT books and MGs and VGs posted on Scorechase. Stop looking for questions which u can see on GMAT. Understand the concept. Learning a concept is easy and being in touch with your fundamentals is absolute essential to become a successful MBA candidate.

All the best for your Prep.

“By taking the GMAT exam, you have a better chance of being targeted by business schools that are a good match for you—and learning more about their programs and admissions processes.” – GMAC

Do you want to get admission in Top Business schools? If yes, then you have to qualify GMAT exam. Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) is basically a computer adaptive standardized test in English language and Mathematics. Student can give this test at various locations all over the world. This standardized test is conducted by Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) to assess and predict an individual’s academic capability for MBA programs. This exam has three main parts i.e. quantitative section, analytical writing assessment and the verbal section. You have three and a half hours for attempting this question paper.

In the quantitative section, there are 37 multiple choice questions that contains two types of questions i.e. problem solving and data sufficiency. For completing the entire section, there is a maximum of 75 minutes. The verbal section consists of 41 objective type questions. These questions are based on reading comprehensive, sentence correction and critical reasoning. And the analytical writing assessment section contains two essays. In the first one, student should have to analyze an argument and in the second one, the candidate should analyze an issue.

In GMAT Exam, there are numerous questions ranging from a low to high level of difficulty. This is computer adaptive test where the first question may be difficult. If the candidate attempts this question correctly, then the computer will ask harder questions. If he fails to do the questions, the next questions will be the easier. Sharda Group of Institutions, the NCR’s largest educational group of North India, also prefers those students who have great score in GMAT exam. In many career oriented programs such as MBA, MCA, a candidate can take admission at SGI Institute on the basis of GMAT score. This institute believes in delivering superior quality education to the students under the proper guidance of distinguished faculty members. In other words, we can say that if somebody wants to get admission in Top Management institutes, then he has to qualify the GMAT exam.

I am looking for a good study help for the GMAT but cannot find anything that is consistently getting good reviews. Many of the materials that I thought would be good have solid well-proven reasons why you should not use them (Including the Kaplan guide…). I am looking for a book/online combo, not a class. Thanks for your help!

GMAT is a tough one. Are you hungry for a 700+ GMAT score ? Here are 10 steps to fulfill your ambition at the convenience of your home and at exceptionally affordable price.

Before we go to the list, lets understand, what does GMAT preparation actually consist of?

– 40% Concepts in Math and Verbal

– 60% Practice in Math and Verbal

Concepts consist of 30% theory and 70 %practice. So a major chunk of GMAT score relies on good practice and ans some on concept building.

There is unending resources on the web which will confuse you on what to read and what to follow for excellent GMAT score. I have a perfect system, and I know its correct becuase I just scored 750 with this approach:

There is new way in town to prepare for GMAT. The GMAT FORUM way. Here is how to prepare:

1] Join a GMAT forum : www.scorechase.com [Its free] . Available 24×7, all u need is internet and start GMATTING [from home …office anywhere].

2] Read about other GMAT test takers’ Experiences: GMAT Experiences and understand their strategy

3] Explore the website [navigation link on the left] to find all the areas of the website

4] Scorechase provides good GMAT Practice questions [Math Gems and Verbal Gems] in its GMAT Gold Seekers membership. Its really GOLD. ORDER for atleast 2 months of membership. These questions are written and solved by real GMAT experts [760+ scorers]

[Take the membership around the mid of the month so you will have 3 month questions to practice]. Imagine how amazing it would be when you see a familiar question in GMAT!

5] Do not hesitate to post your solutions. In fact post whatever you feel must be the correct answer. If someone finds a fault in your approach, that is one less fault you have to worry about in the real GMAT exam.

6] Seek help and advice, the tutors on Scorechase are always very helpful and also provide some personal councelling for preparation.

7] Scorechase also provides Private Tutoring at very affordable rates. If you need extra help take private tutoring in verbal or math. Pay only for the subject you need help on.

8] Always take a test date before you start to prepare, gives you an ambition and a perspective on how to pace yourself. You can postpone later.

9] Give enough time for applications after you take your GMAT. Essays are very important part of the admission process and they shouldnt be taken lightly at all

10] Enjoy your preparation!

Did you know the seemingly listening section of the TOEFL can really prove dangerous unless mastered properly? Since the listening test comprises different accents spoken by English speaking people, mastering all required skills is a must to get a good score. In this article, we present a few tips which we think will help you optimize your score in the listening section of the TOEFL.

As different dialects used by people of different English speaking countries appear in the listening section, you must be able to identify each individual sound. Hence, we suggest you to watch selective programs like sitcoms and hour-long dramas on TV on a regular basis. Why should you follow only these programs? Because these programs are spoken in dialogue and deal, finally with problems and solutions, and are similar to the conversation you will encounter on the TOEFL. You should take notes and make sure to identify the problems and solutions while listening to sitcoms and the hour-long drama. Start doing research on any idioms or slang you might hear. This will come in handy for you in the exam because many rhetorical function questions deal directly with idiomatic expressions.

Download news articles from a variety of sources like news articles from the BBC or Business English from I-tunes where English spoken words are used and listen to these words at least for half an hour every day. This will help you expand your vocabulary and even improve your pronunciation.

Keep in mind each difficult skill would appear very easy provided you have done a lot of practice on these skills.  Remember, the Toefl Test does not expect you to have a previous knowledge in any of its materials used in the test, so don’t panic if you find questions coming from any unrelated source. What you need to do is to practice as many listening exercises as possible before approaching the final test.

Though there are end numbers of materials and practice tests on the listening section of the TOEFL are available at your door steps, you must select the best one. We suggest you to follow the guidelines and strategies provided by Manhattan Review India. Manhattan Review India, a premier test-prep company having its head quarter in New York, and base in Hyderabad has been continuously preparing strategies on the listening section of TOEFL for test-takers to get high scores. With the help of its certified faculty, all conclusive study materials and time-tasted techniques, Manhattan Review India is providing training to thousands of its students to crack complicated tests like the GMAT, GRE, SAT, TOEFL and IELTS and join schools of their dreams.

I have recently registered a Gmat prep course at Kaplan. Since education expense is tax-deductible, can I claim what I paid to Kaplan as my education expense?

By the way, MBA is not required for my current job.
Thanks, Jseah114. But how does IRS know if MBA is qualified to improve my job skill? How does IRS check?

Test Prep: 6 Tips for GMAT Success
Think you’re ready for business school? Not until you’ve mastered the GMAT. Here are 6 tips to help.

Read more on US News & World Report