Preparing for the GMAT‘s an adventure, and now you can choose your own path! Just start the video, then click on a practice question you want to try — Problem Solving, Sentence Correction or Data Sufficiency.
You can keep clicking all the way to the right (or wrong!) answer, and our teachers will give you a fun surprise when you pick the correct path.
Happy studying, and let us know what you think!
Here at Knewton, we know that business school applications can be a lot of work. We’re eager to do everything we can to help simplify the process. While we can’t write your personal statement (keep dreaming!), we can do some of your b-school research!
In our B-School Profiles series, we’ve compiled key deadlines, stats, and fun facts about MBA programs around the globe. We’ll be adding many more schools to the series as time goes on, so stay tuned!
Mean GMAT: 690
Median GMAT: 700
Acceptance Rate: 26%
Mean Age of Entering Class: 27
Top recruiters for the 2009 to 2010 year include IBM Global Business Service, Bank of America, Bain & Company, and Johnson & Johnson.
Let me begin with a disclaimer: Try not to do do this! Seriously. Prepping for the GMAT in two weeks is, to put it mildly, a less than ideal approach. You won’t have time to cover every topic comprehensively, nor will you be able to master as many new concepts and test-taking strategies as you would in a month or longer.
That said, sometimes circumstances require a bit of cramming. Maybe you are planning to take the test multiple times. Maybe you need to make a deadline. Whatever the reason, if you only have two weeks to get ready, then you are going to need to be as efficient as possible.
Here is a breakdown of how to organize your time:
Day 1 – Diagnosis: Take a practice test. This will likely be your one and only assessment. If you score evenly on both sections, then you will need a more comprehensive study plan. If you ace verbal but bomb the quant, then you know to focus your attention there.
Days 2 to 4 – Prime the Pump: After you take an official practice test, spend the next few days going through as many practice problems as possible. If you have an Official Guide, make certain you read the explanations for all of the questions you answer incorrectly. Try to focus on the specific question types that are reducing your score the most.
Be sure to pace yourself too; most people hit diminishing returns in their studies after two hours of continuous work. Keep it under four hours each night and be sure to take breaks and review material constantly.
Days 5 to 6 – Make Your Notes: By now you should have a good idea where you need to focus. The goal here is to make a couple of pages of short, simple notes and reminders about the question types that hurt you the most. If Sentence Correction is your weak point, make a few reminder pages about grammar rules and idioms. If Data Sufficiency is killing you, jot down a few strategies and critical math concepts. This exercise is also worthwhile because it will help you remember your mistakes.
Days 6 to 11 – Targeted Practice: The scope of your practice during this time will depend on your diagnostic test. You may choose to focus only on Critical Reasoning questions during this time, or you may focus on a mixture of verbal and quant question types. Whatever you set as your range, you want to focus on questions related to your notes. Complete a few dozen questions in one sitting and try to relate all of the questions you get wrong to information in your notes.
Days 12 to 13 – Comprehensive Practice: Now is the time to think about test-taking strategies and pacing. You need to know beforehand how you will deal with confusing quant questions that will eat up your time on test day. If you have the energy, you may want to take a complete practice test, minus the essay section.
Day 14 – Zero Hour: The night / day before the test is the time to review your notes. Do NOT stay up late doing practice problems. You still want to get a good night sleep and have a peaceful morning the day of the test to get your mind ready.
I had the pleasure recently of spending a little time with Simon Lebus, the Chief Executive of Cambridge Assessment (CA). The last time I checked, CA was Europe’s largest assessment agency. During part of that conversation, Simon pointed me to a research report CA produced in 2008 on critical thinking. The research methodology combined expert judgment with a review of relevant literature in order to produce consensus about what critical thinking is (and is not) and about what skills it comprises.
The stated goal of the report “was to create a definition and taxonomy for Critical Thinking in order to support validity arguments about Critical Thinking tests and exams administered by Cambridge Assessment,” and while it may serve its purpose for CA, it does something of broader significance: it provides a taxonomy of sufficient granularity to undergird adaptive learning.
The taxonomy includes 5 high-level constructs: Analysis, Evaluation, Inference, Synthesis/Construction, and Self-Reflection/Self-Correction. At the second level, there are 26 concepts, including, for example, recognizing arguments and explanations, judging significance, considering the impact of further evidence on an argument, and making and justifying rational decisions. The CA report expands on this basic structure by providing further descriptors of each second-level concept. In the case of Evaluation, there are 9 sub-concepts, three of which are the following:
By my estimate, these descriptions could be deconstructed to generate roughly 100 finer-grained third-level concepts. “Detecting errors in reasoning,” for instance, is a concept built on more specific concepts related to recognizing common fallacies: mistaking correlation for causation, ad hominem attacks, straw man arguments, etc. These, in turn, could be deconstructed to generate many more specific concepts beyond that third level.
What results is a tree that starts to define the hierarchy of skills involved in Critical Reasoning mastery:
One can continue this deconstruction process as far, and only as far, as data supports — it is of little use to go below the lowest level at which students can be reasonably evaluated or instructed.
This kind of concept structure, with a defined set of relationships between various concepts, is one component of Knewton’s adaptive learning platform. By measuring student proficiencies at a fine-grained level — and by refining those estimates in the context of other student data — we can select appropriate instructional content for each student.
If a student needs help with the “Evaluation” part of critical thinking, for instance, her issue might be that she has trouble recognizing logical fallacies, or even circular arguments in particular. Tracking that kind of information can give educators tools to differentiate their instruction in a way that up to now hasn’t been possible.
Many taxonomies like the one above have been developed for many different domains, and there are often heated debates about which structures best represent the domain for some specific purpose. We think these debates are valuable, and ultimately result in clearer pictures of knowledge domains.
In cases where the dust has not yet settled, however, we can still provide adaptive learning – with the Knewton platform, our approach is to map to multiple structures simultaneously, and provide recommendations based on these multiple sources of information.
My conversation with Simon was exciting because every advance in the taxonomy of knowledge domains makes personalized learning more possible. The more we know about hierarchies of mastery, the better adaptivity we can provide.
This is a Data Sufficiency problem from Session 5, Extra Practice HW 3 (Quantitative Strategy). So far, 63.5% of Knewton students have missed it. How would you approach it?
Try it out, then share your answers, questions, and thought processes in the comments below. Remember, if you’re in our GMAT class now, add your teacher name and session to your comment (e.g., Zwelling, MW 1:30). We’ll post the official answer (in video form!) in a week or so. Good luck!
Update: Once you’ve tried the question, click the video below to see the answer and an explanation from Kyle, one of our GMAT team members.
Eunice sold several cakes. If each cake sold for either exactly 17 or exactly 19 dollars, how many 19 dollar cakes did Eunice sell?
[A] Statement (1) ALONE is sufficient, but statement (2) alone is not sufficient.
[B] Statement (2) ALONE is sufficient, but statement (1) alone is not sufficient.
[C] BOTH statements TOGETHER are sufficient, but NEITHER statement ALONE is sufficient.
[D] EACH statement ALONE is sufficient.
[E] Statements (1) and (2) TOGETHER are NOT sufficient.
Here’s another weekly MBA admissions tip from our friends at Clear Admit. For more advice about the b-school application process, check out their blog.
Today we would like to offer a handful of essay pointers in brief in order to help applicants avoid common pitfalls as they gear up for the Round Two deadlines. While we should caution that every applicant is unique and that some of these tips may not apply to everyone, we wanted our readers to have an introduction to some of the basic strategies they should be employing. As always, contact Clear Admit directly for more tailored advice to your candidacy.
1. Remember your reader. In application essays and resumes, applicants often get caught in the technicalities of their work, losing their reader in jargon. Keep it simple in order to make your discussion easy for your non-specialist audience to understand. Such clarity will help the reader to appreciate the nature and significance of your work.
2. Be specific. Specifics are of the utmost importance in application essays, as the adcom wants to see details of what you’ve accomplished in the past, what you would like to achieve in the future, and how you are a good fit for the particular MBA program. Explaining the reasons for your interest in the school will also help to differentiate you from the many other applicants arguing their case for a place in the MBA class, as they will show that you not only have clearly articulated goals, but also that you have a deep understanding of the MBA program and how it is uniquely appropriate for you*. Though applicants sometimes worry about the word limit, it is important to keep in mind that you can replace often vague and generic points with specific ones without adding any length. For instance, rather than stating that you would make a great and lasting impact on X industry, you can state that you would do A and B.
3. Focus on fully realized successes. In approaching essays about an accomplishment or achievement, applicants should focus on stories and projects in which a positive outcome has been accomplished or is ensured, as potential successes are not actual ones. Talking about a project that is ongoing or that is just starting to come together will not be as meaningful as one in which an applicant has already displayed leadership, initiative and creativity in accomplishing a goal. Though ultimate impact may have not yet been observed (an example being that increased profit has yet to be realized), one’s goals in the project should already have been attained (meaning, for example, that an applicant already built and motivated a team to achieve the desired end).
Check in with us next week for more advice on how to avoid the common pitfalls in applying to MBA programs. For personalized advice and counseling, send your resume to info@clearadmit.com and set up a free initial chat with one of our admissions counselors.
*Some programs, like Harvard Business School do not explicitly ask applicants to explain their fit with/interest in HBS itself. As such, when it comes to Harvard our comments about ‘specifics’ apply to the stories the applicant describes, but not to a ‘why HBS’ argument.
Every other Wednesday, our friends at Clear Admit will share one of their excellent tips for navigating the law school admissions process. For more advice, be sure to check out their blog.
This fall we offered some basic advice regarding how to start working on one’s resume for the law school admissions process. Today we want to offer some general tips for applicants on getting the most mileage out of their resumes, since it’s a powerful little document that forces applicants to distill their candidacy into a single page that focuses on key themes. With that in mind, here are a few simple tips to get you started:
1) First things first. You can lead with either your Education or Work section—depending on which aspect of your candidacy is more relevant. For example, if you are a senior in college, your academic experience is a better indicator of your abilities rather than part-time internships, whereas if you have been working for four years, this professional experience better displays your current potential than your academic history. Assess whether your work or education section is a more accurate reflection of your candidacy and choose the section that will be a more impressive introduction to your abilities. Given the academic nature of law school and the general youth of the applicant pool, most applicants are likely to lead with the education section.
2) Keep it simple. While you’ll certainly want to describe your educational achievements, as well as your professional responsibilities and accomplishments, if applicable, remember that this document needs to fit on a single page. Rather than overwhelming the reader with information, try to identify three or four discrete accomplishments or activities from your educational experience. Similarly, you should choose a few projects to complement a few concise statements about your day to day responsibilities in each of your professional positions. Remember that it’s also important to be as specific as possible about the impact you’ve had on the various organizations with which you have been involved by quantifying the results of your efforts.
3) Round it out. Don’t discount the importance of your interests and outside activities. Schools like applicants who are well-rounded and demonstrate a track record of involvement outside of work and the classroom, so formal extracurricular activities are a logical category to include. At the same time, information about your less structured information and hobbies is also relevant, as these details can lend color to your candidacy and help the adcom get to know you better. Remember to be as specific as possible; many law school applicants are interested in “travel” or “film,” so specifying a region you especially enjoy visiting or your favorite movie genre will be the key to setting yourself apart.
We hope that these general guidelines serve as a good starting point for applicants in translating their experiences and achievements into this brief but important document.
Placing modifiers correctly is one of the greatest challenges on the Sentence Correction portion of the GMAT. Different rules apply to different types of modifiers, whether they are participial phrases, adjective clauses, or appositives.
To see when modifiers get tricky, take a look at this GMATPrep® question:
Originally developed for detecting air pollutants, a technique called proton-induced x-ray emission, which can quickly analyze the chemical elements in almost any substance without destroying it, is finding uses in medicine, archaeology, and criminology.
(A) Originally developed for detecting air pollutants, a technique called proton-induced x-ray emission, which can quickly analyze the chemical elements in almost any substance without destroying it,
(B) Originally developed for detecting air pollutants, having the ability to analyze the chemical elements in almost any substance without destroying it, a technique called proton-induced x-ray emission
(C) A technique originally developed for detecting air pollutants, called proton-induced x-ray emission, which can quickly analyze the chemical elements in almost any substance without destroying it,
(D) A technique originally developed for detecting air pollutants, called proton-induced x-ray emission, which has the ability to analyze the chemical elements in almost any substance quickly and without destroying it,
(E) A technique that was originally developed for detecting air pollutants and has the ability to analyze the chemical elements in almost any substance quickly and without destroying the substance, called proton-induced x-ray
When dealing with modifiers, be careful to identify what modifiers the sentence is throwing at you, and make sure they are placed properly. If you’re choosing between two options that seem to shuffle modifying clauses or phrases around, think to yourself: What is the clearest and most logical sequence of modifiers?
In the sentence above, the most important point is the placement of the participial phrase “called proton-induced X-ray emission.” Normally, participial phrases set off by commas are very flexible modifiers. However, when a participial phrase NAMES the noun it describes, it must directly follow that noun (much like an appositive must directly follow the noun that it renames).
For example:
A boy ran down the street, named John.
This is incorrect, even though participial phrases set off by commas at the end of sentences can usually refer back to the subject of the sentence. Because “named John” NAMES the noun “boy,” it must follow directly after “boy,” as in:
A boy named John ran down the street.
We have the same situation in this SC problem. “Called proton-induced X-ray emission” is a participial phrase that NAMES the noun “a technique,” so it must directly follow “technique.” In C, D, and E, it does not follow “a technique,” so we can eliminate these answer choices. This leaves choices B and A.
A is preferable to B because it is poor style to stack two modifiers before the noun that they both modify. For example, “Exhausted from the hike, covered in dirt, John couldn’t wait to get home and take a shower” should be rewritten as “Exhausted from the hike, John, who was covered in dirt, couldn’t wait to get home and take a shower.” In the same way, “Originally developed for detecting air pollutants, a technique…” is a clearer option than the one in B. Additionally, the adjective clause beginning with “which” correctly describes the noun idea immediately before it.
Choice A is correct.
Here at Knewton, we know that business school applications can be a lot of work. We’re eager to do everything we can to help simplify the process. While we can’t write your personal statement (keep dreaming!), we can do some of your b-school research.
In our new B-School Profiles series, we’ve compiled key deadlines, stats, and fun facts about MBA programs around the globe. We’ll be adding many more schools to the series as time goes on, so stay tuned!
Application Deadlines 2010 – 2011:
Round 1: October 11, 2010
Round 2: January 5, 2011
Round 3: March 1, 2011
Mean GMAT score: 701
Acceptance Rates: 23%
Mean Age of Entering Class: 28
Ranking: #5 (Businessweek), #12 (U.S News)
Tuition: Resident ($85,979); Nonresident ($95,979)
Graduating Salary: $103,045
Current and former professors include Madeline Albright and Gerald Myers (former CEO of American Motors Corp). Notable alumni include Stephen Sanger (CEO of General Mills) and Robert Shaye (founder of New Line Cinema)
More and more business schools are revamping their curricula–not only to remain competitive with one other, but also to ensure that their students are developing the skills necessary for success in today’s changing world. Planning on getting an MBA in the near future? Pay attention: Your education will most likely reflect these changes.
This week’s MBA News Roundup features stories on updated b-school program offerings, as well as the experience of venturing abroad for a fulfilling educational and cultural experience. Enjoy!
1. Wharton School Follows Yale, Stanford with Overhaul of Business Curriculum
Planning to attend business school in 2012? Be prepared for a new education at schools like Wharton, Yale, Stanford and most likely many others in the near future. Read more details in this Bloomberg post.
2. Johns Hopkins Offers New Executive MBA Program
The International Business Times reports that Johns Hopkins are accepting applications for their inaugural EMBA class that begins May 2011. Want an MBA in 18 months? This may be a great option for you.
3. Chinese Students Flock to U.S. B-School
More and more Chinese students are coming to the United States for an MBA and the educational experiences seem to be occurring both inside and outside of the classroom. Be sure to check out this Poets and Quants article for more.
4. MBA in Asia: Stepping Stone into Greater China
In contrast to the previous article in the Roundup, CNN‘s Business 360 blog points out that although more Asian students are applying abroad to business school, more westerners are also applying to schools in Asia as well.
5. For New Grads, Jobs Still Tough to Find
This Wall Street Journal article features an interview with the president of the MBA Career Services Counsel, a professional association, who provides insight into what students can expect for post-MBA job searching.
Remember to follow KnewtonGMAT for more business school application tips, GMAT help, and MBA news!
