Gmat

GMAT preparation 8 rules for GMAT success Billie Winters associate UDC Program INDEX - 8 Rules for GMAT succes 1. The man and the plan 2. Rehearsal, rehearsal, rehearsal 3. The way to read 4. How to correct that sentence 5. Reason critically 6. Guesstimate 7. Don’t look for the right solution 8. Write simple and clear 9. Reviews of GMAT preparation books and software The GMAT The GRADUATE MANAGEMENT ADMISSION TEST (GMAT) is a required part of the admissions process for most business schools across the whole world. In addition, some graduate finance and economics programs use the GMAT during their admissions evaluation process. Due to its importance in the application process, candidates choosing to pursue a MBA should begin preparing for the GMAT CAT early to increase their chances of getting admitted in the school of their dreams. A GMAT can have a serious effect on your future career as 85% of all business school admission officers claim that the GMAT result is the most important factor in the admission process for highly rated business schools. 1. The man and the plan First, you have to figure out for yourself where you stand. Analyze yourself, what are your strengths and what are your weaknesses. You know which kind of questions you are going to face, so you just have to ask yourself the question which bridges will be the hardest to cross. You know you will have to take geometry questions in the Quantitative section; so are you strong enough with triangles and quadrilaterals, but too weak with circles' If you can answer this question about yourself you already know where the focus of your preparation should be put Why would you spend a lot of time on an a question you know you will probably answer it wrong in the end, no matter what' Knowing what you can, but especially what you can not, will prove very valuable in the time pressure that the GMAT puts on you. So to use your time wisely, it is very important to know your own abilities beforehand. 2. Rehearsal, rehearsal, rehearsal It should be stressed even more than three times. Rehearsal and practicing is key in getting a good GMAT result. This test isn’t just like an IQ test for which you can’t train, training is essential in getting improved results on a GMAT test. If you set aside time in a silent environment to prepare by taking some practice GMAT exams, you’ll be up for the hard work: sitting in a chair and focusing on test material for a few hours. But after all the hard work is very rewarding. Since the skills doesn’t come naturally for most people, why not practice' By practicing you will also get to know your own abilities, which, as mentioned already, are very important to know. We gathered some training programs and reviewed them for you. You can find them at the end of this E-book. 3. The way to read The part of “Reading Comprehension” requires you to really read each passage quickly and look for its most important ideas. It’s also crucial to understand that everything that is written is there for a reason, and those reasons are in general more important than the little details that can be found throughout the text. Taking notes is advised, and be structured while doing it. Also, learn the most frequently used types of flawed answers that are used in the GMAT test and get to know how you should avoid choosing them. 4. How to correct that sentence In the part “Sentence corrections” you will be given a few sentences which require correction. About twenty percent of all the sentences will already be correct as they are. A very good method to track those correct sentences is by reading them out loud in your mind. If you think they sound alright, most probably they are. Wording the sentences “tight” is an effective way of correcting sentences. Don’t use more words than necessary. If you can’t see a difference between multiple sentences, choose the shortest answer! 5. Reason critically The “Critical Reasoning” section requires you to recognize the most essential elements of any argument – evidence, conclusion, and assumptions. Remember the following logics: when a statement makes the conclusion more likely to be accurate, then that statement reinforces the argument. If it is the other way around, the statement weakens the argument. Get to know the most common errors in some reasoning (again, by rehearsal, rehearsal, rehearsal) and learn how to recognize them. Don’t be fooled by what you already know about a certain subject or topic, because that’s not the point. Act as if you don’t have more information than others about the subject and respond to the question, only in terms of the argument presented. 6. Guesstimate The “Multiple-choice questions” in the Quantitative section will require you to beak word problems into separate simple sentences that you redefine as numbers and symbols. Sometimes it can be interesting to sketch your own situation on a piece of scrap paper. Spend half a minute on examining the pictures and graphs that are given for graph interpretation problems before you go in depth in answering the questions. By all means use guesstimates as most answers are unique enough to really give a calculated answer. The logics are more important than the actual math’s! 7. Don’t look for the right solution For the “Data Sufficiency” section, it’s very important to keep in mind that you should not look for the right solution. Just reason whether or not you can get to a right solution by all the info that is given. Learn the directions and answer choices backward and forward before the test date, because for every single GMAT test, the answer choices are exactly the same. This will save you a lot of time on the actual test day. 8. Write simple and clear For the analytical writing part it would be best to use the four-step process in order to effectively structure your time and energy: brainstorm, outline, write and revise. Keeping your text simple and clear will make your point of view pop out even better. Be specific and avoid mechanical errors. Conclusion Being prepared is very essential. Unlike IQ tests, it is possible to train for a GMAT test, it is even recommended. The way questions are asked and the way answer choices are given are very standardized throughout all the tests. Since your future career most likely depends on your results for the GMAT test we recommend you not to take it very lightly. To better prepare for this important test there are some courses and preparation tests and books available online. Because not all courses and test offer the same quality, we reviewed the five courses and tests we could find online. Please feel free to take a look at the reviews below: 9. Reviews: Because preparation is the all important word for getting into a respected business school, a lot of GMAT preparation books and tests flood the internet. Therefore, we have evaluated the most important offers on the internet in terms of quality. Do they really deliver what they say' Are you really going to get a higher GMAT score if you prepare with the following books' We looked at the two main categories, namely Books and Software. BOOKS 1. Cracking The GMAT : This graduate test preparation (2009 edition) is available with DVD, but also without. Although this book seems less popular than the official GMAT books, we believe this book to be even more valuable in your preparation for the GMAT. Maths and writing are explained in a really hands-on matter, which focuses on the genuine GMAT questions. We were surprised to see that some preparation questions of this book were almost literally asked on the real GMAT tests. Deeper insights are also given for the more advanced students, which makes this book and DVD useful for beginners, as well as for experts. =>get it here 2.The Official Guide for GMAT review: This 11th edition of the popular official GMAT reviews delivers what is expected from it. Both quantitative as qualitative matters of the GMAT test are uncovered and explained how different questions should be tackled. A lot of exemplary questions are also provided, which makes it easier to understand the underlying logics of the GMAT test. We found this a useful score: 9.5/10 score: 8/10 book, but we thought it lacked deeper insights to be interesting for the more advanced students. We very much liked the tips section. => get it here 3. Official Guide for GMAT (quantitative): This part, which is also included in the entire Official Guide for GMAT review, focusses completely on the quantitative part, giving enough examples for everyone to understand the basics of the GMAT. => get it here 4. Official Guide for Gmat (verbal): This part, which is also included in the entire Official Guide for GMAT review, uncovers the secrets of the verbal section of the GMAT. Again, a lot of examples and the mainstream tactics to tackle the verbal problems are delivered. Similar questions that can be found in this book were also signaled to be on the real GMAT tests. => get it here 5. Kaplan GMAT 800: The 2008-2009 version of Kaplan's famous GMAT 800 series, is very useful, still lacks some depth. All necessary subjects and sections for taking a GMAT test are covered, but don't expect to learn alternative ways to reason or answer the questions than the mainstream ways that can also be found on the internet. The generic tips that were given were disappointing, but the amount of exemplary questions that were given were a plus. => get it here score: 7.5/10 score: 7.5/10 score: 6.5/10 SOFTWARE 1. GMAT exam Simulator: Unlimited sessions can be taken with this impressive simulator. Each simulated session includes a full-length adaptive GMAT exam with all three sections (AWA, Quantitative, and Verbal), a current set of realistic questions including the latest types with a guarantee of no repeats, a proven accurate scoring assessment showing the score you would have earned on the real GMAT, an answer and explanation for each question, timing analysis. Especially this last feature is something that we found very interesting and useful to take along with you on the real GMAT test. Questions in this software package are really complete and very much resemble the real questions that are asked on the test. We have even encountered some questions that were entirely the same on the test! A must for everyone who's preparing! => get it here score: 9/10 2. GMAT Prep Course software (Windows) Also available in the Macintosh version. A great piece of software with an amasing amount of extra features. For the maths section, an amazin amount (22 chapters!), are provided. This software includes all the mainstream info (questions, solutions, timing, ...) but also had a mentor mode which instantly corrects you when you are doing something wrong. This really helps as you instantly learn from your mistakes. Also the hints, insights and partial solutions are a nice touch to learn in an alternative way. These partial solutions can help you finding you way towards an answer, without actually giving the answer. We very much liked this feature and think GMAT prep course should be used by everyone. => get it here 3. Ultimate Vocabulary for the GMAT test: A simple piece of software which delivers what it says: preparing you for the vocabulary part. Because of the focus this software program is really intended for people who are struggling on this part of the GMAT test. Don't expect any fancy or in depth features. We recommend this software to people who already have taken the GMAT test, but failed on the verbal part. => get it here 4. Kaplan GMAT premier Program (2009 + book) Just like the Kaplan book ,which is included, we thought this package lacked some depth. Mainstream software features are available: doing a genuine GMAT test with intelligent design (adaptive to your answers), with time management features and detailed solutions in the end. Our software crashed a couple of times, which made it very unreliable. The content however was very good, without any extras. Nonetheless a good way to prepare yourself for the GMAT test. => get it here score: 8.5/10 score: 7/10 score: 7/10 Billie Winters Associate UDC Program