Get serious about GMAT (Here are 6 pointers)

Get serious about GMAT (Here are 6 pointers)

1.  Avoid booking a test date and then starting  your preparation. A common practice. Let’s not underestimate the exam. There is lots to learn. In all likelihood the prep time that you earmarked would turn out to be much less than required.

2.  Before you start working out math, grammar etc, make a list of all that is totally new to you. Refer to official publication, search online or meet a good instructor to assist you in this task.

3. Do a skill check: Knowing the concept is good, but your ability to apply the concept to answer a question is a different ball game altogether. At every stage of concept, learning do multiple choice questions and check your test skills.

4. Learn from mistakes, not yours but others’. What are other test aspirants saying? You can’t take everything to be true. But a good  observation can help you avoid the common blunders.

5. Ensure that you master every single rule, concept and logic. You are not taking a semester exam to choose ’important’ chapters.

6.Your practice test scores should be real, not inflated. You ought to consistently score at levels that match your target score, say, in  5 full exams, including essay and IR)

Happy prep

For more articles visit www.semanticslearning.com

Busines schools that take GRE scores

Use your GRE scores in these B. schools:
A lot of universities use GRE scores for MBA admissions globally. Here is a list of institutions that take GRE scores.
1.US colleges/programs
University of Alabama Birmingham
Arizona State University
Thunderbird School of Graduate Management
Stanford University
University of California Berkeley
University of San Diego
University of San Francisco
University of Southern California
Troy University Western Region
Yale University
Illinois Institute of Technology
Ball State University
Purdue University Main Campus
Harvard Business School
Hult International Business School Boston
University of Michigan Ann Arbor
Rutgers University Newark
Clarkson University
Syracuse University
Carnegie Mellon University
University of South Carolina
Vanderbilt University
Rice University
Texas A&M University Central Texas
University of Dallas
University of Houston Main Campus
University of Texas Arlington Main Campus
University of Texas Main Campus
George Mason University Fairfax
University of Wisconsin Madison

2.Canadian colleges
Simon Fraser University (Financial Risk Management)
Ivey Business School

3.Colleges in Europe
ESCP Paris
HEC Paris
INSEAD, France
Munich Business School,Germany
SDA Bocconi, Italy
European School of Economics,Germany
Erasmus University Rotterdam School of Business, Netherlands
U Amsterdam, Amsterdam Business School,Netherlands
Escuela de Alta Dirección y Administration (EADA),Spain
Instituto de Empresa, Spain
Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden
Business School Lausanne, Switzerland
Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne, Switzerland
IMD. Switzerland
University of St. Gallen, Switzerland
Hult International Business School, London
University of Cambridge, UK
University of Kent, UK
University of Manchester, UK

4.Colleges in South Asia
Asian Institute of Management, Philippines
INSEAD, Singapore
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
National University of Singapore
Singapore Management University, Singapore

Indian Business schools which take GMAT scores - Classified based on location

Indian B.schools which take GMAT  scores

North
1. IIM Ahmedabad
2. IIM Lucknow, Indore, Raipur
3. Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Delhi
4. IMT, Ghaziabad
5. IMI, New Delhi
6. School of Management, NIIT University, Neemrana
7. Birla Institute of Management Technology, Noida
8. Management Development Institute India, Noida
9. MICA, Ahmedabad
10. University of Delhi, Faculty of Management Studies
11. BITS Pilani

South 
1. Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad
2. IIM Bangalore,Trichy
3. Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai
4. Indian Institute of Science (IISc) - Bangalore
5. TAPMI, Manipal, South karnataka
6. IFMR, Chennai
7. SDMIMD, Mysore
8. Amrita School of Business, Coimbatore
9. PSG College of Technology, PSG Institute of Management, Coimbatore

East 
1. IIM Calcutta, Shillong,
2. XLRI, Jamshedpur
3. Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar

West
1. KJ Somaiya Institute of Management Studies & Research, Mumbai
2. FLAME School of Business India, Maharashtra
3. Goa Institute of Management, Goa
4. Prin. L.N. Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research , Mumbai

GMAT and reasoning

How to analyze an essay topic

How to analyze an essay topic.
Here is one

The following appeared as part of a memo from the manager of an automobile manufacturing company.

Because the demand for our automobiles is expected to increase dramatically, we need to open a new manufacturing plant as soon as possible in order to continue o thrive. Our marketing projections indicate that 80 million people will want to buy our automobiles. Yet our existing plant can only produce 40 million automobiles. The new plant can be opened on a part time
basis, with workers from our existing site rotating responsibilities, until an operational staff can be trained. A major airplane manufacturer was extremely successful using this rotating strategy when it opened its new plan five years ago.

Preliminary notes
How dramatic is the increase? the analogy is faulty- comparison between airplane manufacturing and automobile manufacturing- does rotation work strategy work here? Marketing projections can be exaggerations- ill defined premises- how did the company estimate the demand, can the volume increase achievable in the given time. How realistic is the projection? Is there no completion for the company?


Flaws in the argument.
80million want to buy our autombile.(on what basis the projection is made).
Are current Workers willing to work extra time(an assumption is made).
Follow the airplane manfacturers strategy(faulty analogy may not work).
Undermining competitors marketing strategy.
Assumes the markets wont change.
...

For more argument analysis visit: http://www.semanticslearning.com/gmatessay-and-IR-tips.asp

Lets motivate ourselves

Latest GMAT verbal tip 18-9-2013

Latest verbal tip added at http://www.semanticslearning.com/GMAT-verbal-tips.asp

Instruction comprehension: A closer look at the directions for SC questions.
You  see these directions with every sentence correction test that you take.  But have you taken a closer look at these?
Each of the sentence correction questions presents a sentence, part or all of which is underlined. Beneath each sentence you will find five ways of phrasing the underlined part. The first of these repeats the original; the other four are different. Follow the requirements of standard written English to choose your answer, paying attention to grammar, word choice and sentence construction. Select the answer that produces the most effective sentence; your answer should make the sentence clear, exact, and free of grammatical error. It should also minimize awkwardness, ambiguity, and redundancy.
Things to comprehend.
1.  There may /may not be error(s) in the given sentence. That is, the original sentence can be correct.
2.  it tests more than merely grammar – word use, arrangement of words equally important.
...............

Latest math tip

To solve a sum dealing with number of men and number of days taken to complete a work use the logic:  1 person takes 1 day to complete 1 unit of work.
If 20 men take 20 days to complete a work, How many days it will take 40 men take?
Assume 1 person takes 1 day to complete 1 unit of work. 20 men complete 20 units in 1 day. So in 20 days, 400 units is completed.
Hence 40 men will complete 40 units in 1 day and 40 men will complete 400 units in 10 days.
Answer is 10 days.

For more math tips visit. http://www.semanticslearning.com/GMAT-math-tips.asp

GMAT superia is compiling an online repository of - easy to understand tips for math/verbal/essay/IR.  Please copy them into your notebook and revise them regularly.

MATH tips:http://www.semanticslearning.com/GMAT-math-tips.asp
Verbal tips: http://www.semanticslearning.com/GMAT-verbal-tips.asp
Essay and IR Tips: http://www.semanticslearning.com/gmatessay-and-IR-tips.asp

Statement of purpose ( SOP ) - Template

More  on  sops
A  proposed structure  of presentation

Para 1- achievements summary
Sub heading 1. Academic
Sub-heading 2. Co-curricular
Sub-heading 3- social/community work
Sub-heading 4- career achievements of the last 2-3 yrs – specific details of contribution- eg. Cost management, productivity improvement

Para 2- challenges  and dimensions of work
Challenging tasks assigned /volunteered at school or college level
Challenges in execution
At job - Geographical reach, size  of wares/service managed  and customer base served

Para 3 - initiatives
School/ college level –to solve an existing problem or to improve upon an existing practice
What work was voluntarily sought and successfully carried out in your job

Para 4 – the value placed on you
By your employer, for your consistency
Any rapid rise in your career, extra rewards earned...

Integrated reasoning score - What to make of it

While going through GMAC's archives. I hit upon this analysis.

These numbers would have changed as of now.

The mean score was 4.0.
Prepare well for the IR section. This score might be the key when you use your GMAT score to apply to colleges in 2014 or 2015...

How to prepare for GMAT math

Mostly everyone while preparing for the GMAT math, studies official guide and few other books like Manhattan, Kaplan...

Although for some, studying these few GMAT books is enough to crack 99 percentile in the math, others are not able to crack the 600 barrier itself. What might be the reason?

Well, I feel that students who excel in math since school stand a better chance of cracking GMAT math with a minimal preparation.

For the others, who are just starting their math journey, not only they have to read the GMAT OG,they have to read basic math concept books, problem solving books, etc...GMAT OG and other GMAT books, just scratch the surface while preparing for math. First it is required to tune your brain to work with numbers and then numbers and words. The GMAT math books does not cover the entire skills which is required to reach 51 raw score in the GMAT math..

Watch this video. Some of the books mentioned will cover the additional sources which you need to refer to develop
1. math concepts
2. math reasoning
3 GMAT math.

GMAT sentence correction tips

Sentence correction faux pas by JOHN JOVI

What errors do the sentence correction questions present?

Subject- verb agreement, pronoun error, tense error, misplaced modifier, preposition error, faulty comparison ...
I am very comfortable with Subject-Verb-Agreement

Let me show you
Eg.  one of the countries participating in the SAARC meet is Indonesia.
Indonesia is one of several countries that is participating in the SAARC meet.

PS; John Jovi, you are right in the first, but wrong in the second…

Here’s the correct sentence:
 Indonesia is one of several countries that are participating in the SAARC meet.

Are you a quant person?

Are you a quant person?
Quantitative thinking ( thinking with numbers) is integral to corporate business careers. Hence MBA entrance tests contain a generous dose of quantitative problems. One’s performance in such problem solving is a manifestation of his overall problem solving ability.
Business Schools perceive quantitative scores as indicative of higher order thinking and decision making skills. They believe that quant thinkers can handle diverse business challenges. They can analyse, diagram, hypothesise, set goals, try permutations and combinations, perceive probabilistic outcomes and synthesis a possible outcome.

Quantitative personality is not necessarily a hardcore math person
For a quantitative thinker, math knowledge is one of the many tools in his quest for excellence in problem solving. It is also possible that one is a good quantitative person but not a math person.
By and large, a quant person is someone who can look at independent ideas and facts, look at a situation and be able to come up with a response irrespective the accuracy of the approach and thereby the solution.  It also means looking at a situation and draw up on one’s own repertoire of tactics for a possible way forward…. a possible answer... In short, a quant person  might have a great memory but is rather someone who reasons very well.

A quant person uses thinking skills approach to problems
So when a quant person looks at a math problem with varied factors, and probably requiring more than one mathematical concept, he  doesn’t get confused; he will pull the question apart and can see where one step leads into the other and can merge and manipulate the combinations to get the final answer. He goes beyond the given data, creates a problem field, assumes himself to be part of the problem, takes various experiences and knowledge points to extrapolate a position and direction. In other words, a quant person is empowered to handle problem situations well; one who says no ‘can’t’, until he has exhausted all possible knowledge, theories, and experiences before asking for help.

A quant person ‘transfers learning’
For a quant person, the idea of doing a lot of problems stems from the need to see the various possibilities of solving problems rather than an expectation of chancing upon an exam like problem. For effective ‘transfer of learning’ making observations while attempting a problem is the key.

The quant person in a nut shell should be inquisitive, innovative, fearless, flexible and an inherent risk taker. “the Science of Thinking” methodology attempts to inculcate quantitative reasoning in addition to quantitative aptitude in test aspirants. Visit www.semanticslearning.com for more details.
Read http://www.semanticslearning.com/beta/gmat-science-of-thinking.asp of thinking for more details

GMAT sentence correction error types

Sentence correction faux pas by JOHN JOVI

What errors do the sentence correction questions present?

Subject- verb agreement, pronoun error, tense error, misplaced modifier, preposition error, faulty comparison ...
I am very comfortable with Subject-Verb-Agreement
Let me show you
Eg.  one of the countries participating in the SAARC meet is Indonesia.
Indonesia is one of several countries that is participating in the SAARC meet.
PS; John Jovi, you are right in the first, but wrong in the second…
Here’s the correct sentence:
 Indonesia is one of several countries that are participating in the SAARC meet.