GMAT Blog

Greetings and welcome to another installment of Akil on the GMAT. I thought I’d share some of my thoughts and advice on how to study for the test. It seems more and more I encounter people who are studying wrong (oops I mean ‘incorrectly,’ since an adverb is needed to modify ’studying’).

First, to understand how to study properly you have to understand the nature of the GMAT. The GMAT is an adaptive test that assesses quantitative and verbal REASONING. As such, the GMAT is not a test that you get a great score by simply memorizing facts, since a reasoning test requires logic supported by facts, rather than simple fact regurgitation.

Regurgitating facts will most likely only allow you to get a score in the low to mid 500s (in the best case scenario). If you are satisfied with a score in the 500s, you should just get a list of formulas and rules tested and memorize them. [My marketing department requires that I insert a shameless plug here for Bell Curves flashcards, which give you a succinct, comprehensive list of the rules and formulas tested on the GMAT - all in a nice, pretty package.]

If you want to have a realistic shot at the higher scores, you will need to memorize the facts necessary for success on the test and then, more importantly, develop your ability to use those facts in context.

Are you Flashcard Guy/Girl?

Flashcard Guy/Girl can recite every rule when asked but cannot apply it when presented a problem utilizing that rule in an indirect or obscure way. Your goal is to first learn all the rules (you will need to embrace your inner Flashcard Guy/Girl for a little while), but you must quickly transition away from reciting rules to a true understanding and application of those rules. Let’s run a quick test to determine your level of Flashcard Guy/Girl-ness.

Complete the following statement.

If your response was that you cannot add numbers with exponents unless they have the same base and power, you are only partially correct. You should make sure that you learn what you should do not just what you shouldn’t.

If you said “To add numbers with exponents one must have the same base and the same power then add the coefficient of each term,” you would be correct.

Let’s try another before continuing:

If you realized how this directly connects to Rule 1 above, you are on your way to GMAT mastery. The correct answer here is 7x².

Now, let’s make the previous question GMAT appropriate and try it again:

Again this is a direct connection to our original rule, but with the additional twist that it hides the coefficients. The correct answer is 2x².

Let’s step it up to a medium GMAT question (the above questions are fairly easy):

If you were able to answer either of the two previous examples but were hesitant or unsure on this one, you have some Flashcard Guy/Girl in you. You were given a rule and problems where its application never varied, but as that rule was presented in a slightly unexpected manner you struggled. That’s what happens to Flashcard Guy/Girl.

The correct answer is B, because when adding numbers with exponents if your bases and exponents are the same you add the coefficients. Thus the question requires you to add (1)3⁴ + (1)3⁴ + (1)3⁴ which can be expressed as (3)3⁴ which is also 3⁵.

To do well on the GMAT you must not expect to apply rules as if on autopilot. Yes, we have exponents and they want us to add them, but we must seek to understand this particular context and how the rule applies.

Proper Preparation

To properly prepare for the test you must accomplish the following:

1. Learn the knowledge tested.
2. Learn to recognize when/where that knowledge is tested.
3. Understand how rules vary in their application from context to context.
4. Learn the tendencies of the GMAT.
5. Develop personal efficiencies.
6. Develop a personal pacing plan.

One of the greatest challenges in transitioning from the 500s to the 600s is learning how to leave behind Flashcard Guy/Girl.

- Learn to understand each rule, not to simply recite them.

- Learn to recognize each rule being tested.

- Learn to apply a rule to a wide variety of problems in a multitude of contexts.

Doing these things will help you gain an amazing GMAT score, admission to your top school, and an opportunity to take a leading role at one of America’s greatest financial institutions, such as Lehman, AIG, Enron, and WaMU (kidding).

Resource List

From time to time, I’ll try to add a list of resource products that will help support your studies. As founder of Bell Curves, I naturally have a bias for our materials, but I’ll always be honest about products I, and my students, find helpful. So, without further ado, a short list:

1. GMATPrep - the best practice tests, hands down! Use wisely, as there are only two available.
2. GMATFocus - a GMAC adaptive diagnostic tool. It’s a great source of adaptive questions. I would only use at the end of my prep cycle.
3. MathSmart - good basic math review created by the Princeton Review. If you have not seen fractions since 7^th grade, and they terrify you, this is a good starting point.

Until next time, I wish you knowledge, skill, and happiness.

Each year about this time I travel to several universities and speak to undergraduates about B-School and the GMAT, and each year I’m surprised by how much people don’t know about existing graduate school opportunities.  So today’s blog is dedicated to shedding some light on an organization that every aspiring B-School applicant should investigate: The Consortium.

The Word on the Street

First, let’s look at the word on the street about the Consortium. This is what a few of my GMAT students had to say about it:

“An organization that gives money to minorities for business school.”

“A group that provides scholarships to blacks and Hispanics for top 10 b-schools”

“A group of 13 business schools that allow minorities to submit one application and awards scholarships.”

While all of these statements contain at least a modicum of truth, they vastly undersell (and sort of oversell) the goals of the Consortium and the role the organization plays.  So let’s clarify:

What The Consortium Says

Here is what The Consortium’s website says:

The Consortium for Graduate Study in Management is the country’s preeminent organization for promoting diversity and inclusion in American business. Through an annual competition, The Consortium awards merit-based, full-tuition fellowships to America’s best and brightest candidates.

A notable absence from that statement is any mention of race, and while many of us view ‘diversity’ as synonymous with race, this simply is not the case.  CGSM revised their mission statement and application criteria to allow for a more inclusive approach. Consequently, anyone may apply to the Consortium as long as they can “demonstrate a commitment” to the Consortium’s mission of increasing diversity in American business.

Also note that the mission is not “diversity in business school” but rather in “business.” One of the major facets people overlook about the  Consortium (I think folks get blinded by the almighty dollar) is that the program is not merely a scholarship opportunity, but also an entrance into a network of professional resources designed to enhance your career opportunities and advancement. If you are serious about business school and committed to building your network with a group of diverse and talented individuals, then you’d do well to check out the Consortium.

Who is The Consortium?

As the name implies, the Consortium is “an association or a combination, as of businesses, financial institutions, or investors,” with a shared mission [The American Heritage® Dictionary]. The schools in this particular consortium are:

• Carnegie Mellon University, Tepper School of Business
• Cornell University, The Johnson School
• Dartmouth College, Tuck School of Business
• Emory University, Goizueta Business School
• Indiana University-Bloomington, Kelley School of Business
• University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Stephen M. Ross School of Business
• New York University, Leonard N. Stern School of Business
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Kenan-Flagler Business School
• University of Rochester, Simon Graduate School of Business
• University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business
• The University of Texas at Austin, McCombs School of Business
• University of Virginia, Darden School of Business
• Washington University in St. Louis, Olin Business School
• University of Wisconsin-Madison, Wisconsin School of Business
• Yale University, Yale School of Management

How Do You Find out More?

To find out more visit The Consortium online or attend an informational session near you. If you twitter follow them at twitter.com/cgsm_mba

At the end of the day, success in business depends as much on who you know as on what you know. In examining your graduate school options and opportunities, it pays to have a better understanding of both. Investigate your options. Go beyond just what you hear “on the street” when considering organizations and groups that may help you achieve your B-School and business goals.

Not satisfied with making the lives of hard-working, MBA-aspiring people in the workforce miserable with their pesky little test, the good folks at GMAC have now set their sights on the undergraduate demographic. A recent initiative has seen them launch a marketing campaign called “Direct Your Destiny,” which includes a web-based video campaign and other approaches aimed at increasing the number of GMAT test-takers from the undergraduate or recent graduate pool. I checked out the videos the other day, and have to say in all honesty that a couple of them are pretty funny.

In all seriousness though, many business majors or business-minded undergraduates should consider taking the GMAT, particularly if they’re pretty sure an MBA is in their future.

Here are a couple things to consider:

• Between 2004-05 and 2008-09, the number of GMAT test-takers younger than 24 years old increased more than 130%, for a year-over-year average growth of nearly 24% (Profile of GMAC Candidates Five Year Summary 04/05 - 08/09)
• Undergraduate test-takers have some of the best mean score outcomes out of all age groups.

There are also some very good reasons for undergraduates to consider taking the test earlier, rather than, as conventional (and questionable) wisdom dictates, waiting until you “have to” or are “ready to” go to business school:

• Undergrads are more attuned and acclimated to the rigors of intense study that the GMAT often requires. Just think about all those Orgo, Econ, and Psych finals you’ve been laboring over.
• Undergrads have more recently been using or tested on many of the concepts/skills the GMAT tests (think Quantitative and English requirements of most liberal arts programs, and, of course, all the high school math and English that essentially comprises much of the content knowledge needed for the test). If you let another five years pass, how much less fit and prepared will you be to recall all the little rules and formulas you need, and more importantly, how to apply them?
• GMAT scores are valid for five years. Depending on who you ask (and about which sub-demographic) the average age of matriculation for MBA students is somewhere between 25 and 30. This means that with appropriate attention to your graduate school and occupational plans/time line, your test score just after graduation would be just fine for application later.
• An increasing number of business schools have either already begun to or are considering developing programs that groom some (or all) of their undergraduate business majors for graduate business school, with a high percentage of them intended to enter the MBA program at the same institution.

With all these reasons in favor of getting the GMAT out of the way, it’s no wonder GMAC is pushing it, and why undergraduates must consider taking the test.

Good luck, and if you have any questions about the GMAT or would like to have us come to your campus to talk about the test, just send us an email at gmatsupport@bellcurves.com. If you are a student at Syracuse University or Morehouse College, be sure to come to our GMAT Information Sessions on your campus next month.

So you say you’ve reached a plateau with your GMAT scores? They’ve leveled out (or stayed level) and won’t for the life of you go any higher? You’ve been at it weeks (or months) only to see ten points here and ten points there? I feel your pain. Many test-takers find themselves caught in a similar place, and it’s a frustrating circumstance. The GMAT is designed to thwart score improvement. GMAC, which administers the test, seems to take a certain sadistic pride in touting its algorithm’s accuracy at determining one’s “true” ability on the GMAT, and even has research that shows the average retake score improvement to be somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 points. 30 little points! So what can you do to counter this trend? Let’s take a look in today’s post at some general things you might do to garner yourself a bump. In later posts we’ll return to this theme to look closer at people scoring at different levels to see how they might get themselves out of the GMAT scoring rut.

1. Study differently — the old adage that “practice makes perfect” only goes so far. For a test as specific and regimented as the GMAT, a certain kind of practice is required. One of the primary inhibitors to improvement is using the same methods over and over and over again (it is this simple fact that often turns peoples’ “three-month study plan” into a year-long struggle). Here are a few things you might do differently:

• Study Concepts/Topics NOT Questions — There is no substitute for learning and knowing the content. Period. Anyone that tells you differently is simply helping you to limit your score improvement potential. After you know the content front and back (all the rules, all the formulas, all the equations) you want study questions to see how they are SIMILAR to other questions. If you can’t see the similarity of a given question to other questions you’ve seen you either a) haven’t seen enough questions, or b) don’t fully understand what the question is testing. Seeing similarities between questions allows you to see the fundamental concepts being tested, and allows you to hone your ability to recognize those concepts in manifestations that aren’t always so easy to see. If you can see the concept and know the math behind it, your odds of getting  a question right go up, big time.
• Quality vs. Quantity – I cannot tell you how many people come to me saying things like “I’ve done all of the Official Guide, and Quant and Verbal Review Questions. I’ve taken a practice test every week for 6 months from just about every test prep company on the planet. I’ve done all the questions on your site and just about every other site imaginable. I’ve been at it a year and my score still hasn’t gone up. And…I’m out of practice material.” The extremity of this case is a little (only a little, trust me) beyond the common. If you’ve done all that but there was still no improvement, don’t you think it probably has something to do with how you’re preparing as opposed to how much you’re preparing? Instead of doing thousands of questions (the largely faulty “take a practice every week and my score will go up” mentality), spend more time with fewer questions. Which means…
• Analyze, Analyze, Analyze — Again, all problems share something in common with other problems. There are only so many concepts and so many ways to present the material. Thus, you should be spending a significant amount of time analyzing your results, rather than just checking whether you got questions right or wrong. If you don’t walk away from a question having learned something concrete and tangible about how you approach questions, take tests, recognize concepts or something similar that you can apply to other problems, then that question was a waste (and wasted opportunity). You won’t remember that problem again. You will make the same mistake again. The GMAT is almost as much about pattern recognition as content. You don’t see patterns by doing thousands of problems, you see patterns by closely assessing the problems you do.
• There are NO Irrelevant Topics or Questions — ever felt like you’ve gotten the same question over and over on your GMAT? That’s your brain telling you this stuff is all the same. The more you analyze, the quicker you’ll be to see those similarities that will allow you to find a way into trickier problems. Heed your subconscious. If something looks familiar, it probably is. You just need to understand how its similar (and how its different). You need to understand how strategies you’ve learned apply (or have to be adjusted) for this particular problem.

2. Develop multiple approaches to the same problem — There is almost always a better way to answer any given question. When reviewing a question, you want to ask yourself if there was another way, or if there was a faster way, than how you did it. Doing so will accomplish two things: a) hone your cognitive skills, and b) give you flexibility  in unfamiliar contexts.

3. Use your practice tests wisely — far too many GMAT-takers believe (or have been counseled to believe) that practice tests are a panacea for their GMAT-woes. They’re not. Practice tests are essentially for increasing your test-taking fitness, adjusting your holistic testing approach, and comprehensively assessing your standing. In and of themselves practice tests are not learning tools. You can learn a great deal from practice tests, but you’ll likely run out of tests before you learn all you need to learn. Generally, the only people for whom practice tests suffice as an improvement tool are those people already scoring relatively highly (indicative of a predisposition and level of preparation already commensurate with GMAT success). For everyone else, focusing on practice tests is an undue and incomplete approach.

4. Temper Expectations and Plan Accordingly — In most cases significant score improvement takes time. “Significant” is relative, but the higher you go on the scale the harder points are to come by. For most people, 100+ points requires both time and the appropriate study methods. Consider the time and effort required to grow exponentially as we go from 100 to 150, 150 to 200, and so on. 200+ points improvement is very rare indeed. If you’re looking for 200+ points improvement, know it’s probably going to take a very long time, a very intensive and organized approach, and infinite patience. Plan accordingly. How much time varies for each person, but you shouldn’t expect to be operating or succeeding on anyone’s schedule but your own. Remember, the GMAT seeks to mitigate score improvement potential. Sometimes overcoming that takes time.

Best of luck, and if you need us send us a message and we’ll help in whatever way we can.

Every year about this time I get a few Christmas Miracle phone calls. The callers don’t see it that way, but that’s in essence what the calls are. These calls (or sometimes emails) usually start rolling in around mid-December, when people are nearing crunch time for second round  b-school application cycles and frantic that their GMAT scores haven’t progressed to a point they feel will give them a reasonable shot at their schools of interest. Let’s take a look at the particulars of a couple such cases from this month.

Caller 1: We’ll call her Nunya Biznez

The first call was from a young woman who wanted to know how I could help her “get over the hump” and reach a GMAT score that would improve her chances of getting into the schools of her dreams. As I commonly do, I asked her to email me the relevant data (target schools, GMAT score history, GPA, etc.) so that I can be a bit more informed for the conversation. Here is what I received:

Official GMAT Exams
Date Taken	Overall	Quant	Verbal
August 2008	440	19/8%	29/52%
June 2009	340	23/13%	13/5%
Nov 2009	360	27/20%	15/8%
GMAT Practice Exams
June 2009	500	23/12%	35/77%
August 2009	540	35/44%	30/59%
October 2009	500	31/31%	28/51%
October2009	540	37/52%	28/52%
November 2009	460	27/20%	27/46%
December 2009	580	35/44%	34/72%

I’m applying to the Consortium second round and am scheduled to retake the GMAT on Dec 30.  My Consortium list is UNC Kenan-Flagler, Emory, Indiana, then Rice and HBS.

The following are the mean and middle 80% score range for the above schools:

UNC (Kenan-Flagler) - 664 // 600 - 740

Emory (Goizueta) - 690 // 630 - 740

Harvard Business School (HBS) - 711 // N/A

Rice (Jones) - 632 // 560 - 700

Indiana (Kelly) - 645 // 560 - 710

So in essence I was being asked to help Ms. Biznez do two things (1) improve her GMAT score significantly in 10 days and (2) improve her GMAT score by an amount that she had not be able to accomplish in almost 2 years of “study.”

On to Caller #2, who we’ll affectionately call  Noah Fense.

Noah called me after recently completing his 3rd attempt at the GMAT and emailed me the following information:

Here is my GMAT practice record and I was taking this tests every week before my test:

Math                Verbal          Total
GMATPrep I:         21                   28               410
GMATPrep II:        39                   27               550
Princeton Test:     36                   28               540
PowerPrep I:         33                   37               510
PowerPrep II:        38                   34               590

And I was going crazy the days before the test so I started taking the CATs every day on Bell Curves…

GPA from University of Southern Cal:  2.97

i have a 530 (my best gmat) here is my school list:

Wharton
Chicago
Stanford

Consortium Schools:
Kelley
NYU
Cornell
Michigan

What should i do?

The following are the mean and middle 80% score range for the above schools:

UPenn (Wharton) - 714 // 670 - 760

Chicago - 703 // 640 - 760

Stanford - 720 // 660 - 770

NYU (Stern) - 700 // 640 - 750

Indiana (Kelly) - 645 // 560 - 710

Cornell (Johnson) - 679 // 600 - 740

Michigan (Ross) - 701 // 650 - 750

So looking at the numbers, Noah was asking me to give him some hope he stood of getting admitted to the programs on his list. He wanted to hear from someone “in the field” that his application would be seriously considered and that he had a good chance of getting into his schools.

What we are looking at here are two really common questions we get. The first is,  “How do I raise my score by XXX points in XX days?” Note that the points’ number has three digits (100+ points) while the time frame has two (less than 30 days, or one month). The second is, “Do you think I have a shot?” The people who ask both these questions, in my experience, are serious about their goals, and have dedicated considerable time, effort and expense to improving their GMAT standing. Both are also stressed over the current predicament, and setting themselves up for a high potential for for disappointment. Lastly, at present levels, the scores for both people do not place them in a position where acceptance to their preferred schools is likely.

It is not to say that continued work and progress won’t yield the improvements (and thereby the scores) that would give them each a much better shot at getting accepted. It is possible, entirely possible. But what is not very possible is making an unreality a reality. I hate having to break this news to people, but I’d feel disingenuous if I gave them the the answers they wanted rather than the answers they needed. The answers needed are these:

1) It’s pretty much impossible to get 200+ points score improvement in less than 30 days. The GMAT is designed to resist any score improvement at all (average retake improvement: 30 points), let alone such a drastic increase.

2) Good GMAT scores are earned, not delivered by Santa. “Earned” is a relative term, but essentially it boils down to the fact that improving GMAT scores takes time and effort, then more time and more effort, and then more time and– you get the point. Tutoring and related instruction play a role, but its a role designed to supplement, guide, and maximize time and effort. It is not a replacement for time and effort.

3) No amount of massaging or beating around the bush or cosmetic treatment is going to make the numbers any less real. Schools publish their accepted students’ GMAT, GPA and work experience information for a reason: to appraise potential candidates of the viability of their application being accepted. Only in rare circumstances do those ranges NOT apply to a candidate (read: your name is Bush, Winfrey, or Zuckerberg). Those exceptions not withstanding, your odds of acceptance drop dramatically for every criterion in which you do not meet the ranges presented by those schools.

4) Know when to fold ‘em. If you are not currently a realistic candidate for the schools you are interested in,  you need to seriously consider taking time to apply more effectively next year. Given that most applicants submit applications in the first or second round, it follows that at most top 50 schools the vast majority of spots are filled by the time second round admissions are complete. If you are an outlier applicant you will probably be ill served applying in the 3rd round, unless your story is so compelling that they will overlook any other shortcomings. My advice for people in Noah’s or Nunya’s position is to wait a year, firm up the GMAT score, take some quant classes, and apply first round the following year.

I know this advice is not what most people want to hear, but its what most people need to know and seriously consider.

Good luck!