The GMAT, unlike most tests you have probably taken, is a computer adaptive test. This means that if you answer a question correctly the next question will be a little harder, and if you answer a question incorrectly the next question will be a little easier. This continues throughout the exam, so the score you receive is not based solely on the number of questions you answered correctly, but rather is based on an algorithm calculation taking into account the difficulty of the questions you answer.

Since this method of scoring is new to most test takers, practicing with computer adaptive tests — we give you nine when you take our Kaplan course — is essential to being prepared on test day.

Additionally, computer based practice is essential simply to get used to the test layout. For example, most students are used to reading the reading comprehension passages on paper, where they can easily mark them up. However, you must get used to the split screen format used on the GMAT, as well as reading the passages off a computer screen, which can be surprisingly different from reading on a sheet of paper.

For both of these reasons, if you restrict your study to paper based materials, you will not be fully prepared when you sit down to take your actual test. The only way to get this preparation, and the higher score that goes along with it, is to make sure you do plenty of computer based practice.

The old saying “it’s not what you know but who you know” has perhaps never had more resonance than it does in today’s MBA graduate recruitment market. As the global employment market has contracted in the past three years in line with the global economic turmoil; having access to a wide and diverse range of contacts has never been more important.

According to research into corporate recruitment released by the Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC) in June, 76% of employers are now using staff referrals for recruitment; while just 29% are using traditional print advertising to announce vacancies.

Networking has always been considered key to career development and access to the alumni network is frequently cited by MBA graduates as one of the major benefits of attending business school. Vanessa Gough, recruitment manager at IBM, says developing a network of contacts is “vital” to a successful career.

“Building your networking skills will help you create business relationships, which can help to open doors and give you access to career opportunities,” she adds, although she is keen to point out that networking is also about gaining access to skills and expertise that you do not possess. “So if you need help, or an answer to a question, there’s always someone in your network who will be able to provide it - or find someone who can.”

While few would argue with the importance of building and developing a bulging contacts book, the idea of networking fills a majority of people with dread and even fear. Heather White, chief executive and founder of Smarter Networking, a company that coaches people in networking skills, says it is important to remember that natural networkers are in the minority. “Maybe five or ten percent of people are naturals; for the rest of us, it’s a task or discipline that is self-motivated.”

Rachael Barker, alumni relations manager at Cambridge Judge Business School, says few MBAs candidates truly have the skills to network when they first arrive. “It is a skill that has to be nurtured. A relationship-building tool as it isn’t just about getting a job. Students need to stick at it and not expect a quick return.”

What is networking?

In its most basic form, networking is meeting new people at some kind of work event, a party, a conference or, perhaps, a formal dinner. While building and maintaining a network goes far beyond this, coping with face-to-face contact with strangers is the first fear that many have to conquer.

Give yourself a mission for the evening, advises Trixie Rawlinson, a senior partner at Impact Factory, a training company that specializes in personal and professional development. “Give yourself a hit list of about five people you want to meet and be clear what you what to achieve. Do you want to get their card or just make contact?”

“If you have a realistic task and you decide in your mind that it is fine to just do that; it will take the embarrassment out of asking for something.”

Dee Clarke, director of MBA career services at ESADE Business School in Barcelona, says MBAs often fall into a student mindset in these situations. “They tend to forget that they used to work and have overseen budgets or managed teams so they think they have nothing to offer the person they are talking to,” adds Clarke, a former campus recruiter at Goldman Sachs.

Similarly, says White, new students often forget to stay in contact with former employers and colleagues when leave to start their MBA. “They must keep their contacts from their former employer and those outside of the MBA sphere. In this day and age, it would be a massive mistake to lose them.”

Karen Siegfried, MBA executive director at Cambridge Judge, says that maintain and cultivating contacts is critical. “If you neglect it, it is more time consuming to reignite it than it is to build a new one. People are increasingly realizing the importance of being called up for a drink or lunch.”

Even as students, White believes MBAs should be aware of their personal brand, while Siegfried advises that planning and practicing an “elevator pitch” is essential preparation for networking. “You need to be clear about what you are looking for, your competencies, the value you would bring and you need to communicate that succinctly. It is your verbal business card.”

However, this does not mean that every encounter is all about the MBA pitching to potential employers. Rawlinson says it helps to act as a host and see the other person as a guest. “At that moment when your mind goes blank and your mouth is dry, think about what they might want. Do they need a drink? Is there someone that you could introduce them to? If you are just thinking me, me, me then you will panic. Remember, everyone feels difficult in these scenarios but people will always like you if you are nice.”

She says it is also important to leave a conversation properly as people “tend to slope off” or make excuses. “Own up when you want the conversation to end and thank the person for their time. It is much worse when people can’t finish a conversation but, on the other hand, don’t leave them standing alone. You can buddy-up with someone else so if you get really stuck, you can always hang them over to your partner.”

Networking online

The rise of online social networking is also having impact on how students can make and maintain contacts. IBM’s Gough says the company has used both Twitter and Facebook for both its student and graduate recruitment. She says: “For example, we have used Facebook to connect with our new starters before their commencement date to answer any questions they may have or to help facilitate their finding appropriate accommodation for their placement.”

Meanwhile, Barker says that these platforms such as Linked-In are useful for people keeping in touch despite being in different time zones and they can also, thanks to public profiles, help people to find common ground more easily.

It is best to pick one or two sites and make sure you maintain your profile properly, says Siegfried. “Because of the prevalence of social networking sites, it is important to have a presence on key sites. If you don’t, people might go looking for you and you might miss opportunities or be perceived as not being savvy.

“But choose your platforms carefully, check your Facebook page and make sure you are happy with what is there as potential employers will check.”

Rebecca Joffrey, co-director of career development office at Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, says she online networking is changing the formality of the first encounter that you have with people. “It helps you jump levels of formality very quickly. On the one hand, that’s very helpful but I don’t know how it affects the networking transaction and if it is the right way to go.”

The growth on social networking makes it very tempting for people to eschew the face-to-face events in favor of hiding behind their keyboard; for Siegfried it has elevated the importance of face to face meetings and phone calls. “People what to see who you are when it comes to recruiting,” she explains.

Developing networking skills — both on and offline — will be critical both during the MBA itself and for the next step afterwards. As Gough says: “I once heard a very successful executive say: “It’s not who you know, it’s who knows you. Your network is where your next role will come from, where you get support and information, and where you develop the relationships with your colleagues that will be valuable as you progress through the company.”

Caroline Parry is a freelance journalist and expert on the education industry, based in London. She is a regular contributor to TopMBA.com, the TopMBA Career Guide and the TopMBA newsletter.

Data Sufficiency Question:

For a certain exam, was the standard deviation of the scores for students U, V, W, X, Y and Z less than the standard deviation of the scores for students A, B and C?

(1) The standard deviation of the scores of students U, V, and W was less than the standard deviation of the scores of students A, B and C on the exam.

(2) The standard deviation of the scores of students X, Y and Z was less than the standard deviation of the scores of students A, B and C on the exam.

Solution:

Remember that standard deviation is a measurement of how spread-out a set of numbers are around the mean. As is usually the case on the GMAT, this problem does not require us to calculate standard deviation. Rather, we just need to understand the CONCEPT of standard deviation.

Statement 1 tells us that U, V and W have a lower standard deviation that A, B and C. However, this tells us nothing about X, Y and Z. Without knowing all of the numbers in the set, you are unable to calculate standard deviation. Statement 1 is, therefore, insufficient.

Statement 2 tells us that X, Y and Z is smaller than the standard deviation of A, B and C. Now, we do not know anything about U, V and W. For the same reasons as in statement 1, statement 2 is not sufficient.

When the statements are considered together, we know that the sets U, V and W and X, Y and Z both have a standard deviation that is less than the set of A, B and C. However, we do not know the relationship between the two former sets. It is possible that U, V, W, X, Y and Z are all closer together than A, B and C are, but it is also possible that the sets U, V and W and X, Y and Z are so far apart from each other that the overall set ends up having a larger standard deviation than the set A, B and C. Therefore, together the statements are still insufficient; answer choice (E) or (5)—not enough information here to answer the question.

Even though this appears to be a challenging problem on first glance, including data sufficiency and standard deviation, we did not have to use our scratch paper necessarily or compute any actual mathematical calculations….sometimes questions on test day will be more focused on your conceptual understanding, and instead of becoming overwhelmed when you see words like “standard deviation”, you should stay calm, read carefully, and remind yourself of the concepts you do know as you analyze the question.

Today is the first National Entrepreneur Day, as spearheaded by Grasshopper Group and declared by President Obama. In honor of the day we’ll take a look at the classic question, “Should entrepreneurs get an MBA?”

These days, programs to support entrepreneurship at MBA programs are on the rise.  Here are two perspectives:

• • Guy Kawasaki is somewhat famed for arguing entrepreneurs don’t need an MBA
• • Here’s an interesting contrary perspective from earlier this year, courtesy of Steve Blank at VentureBeat. He argues that once you succeed as an entrepreneur, you’re likely to need MBA-type skills more and more.

We have limitless experience counseling people who want guidance on whether to get an MBA. For most people, reframing the question helps. Many people ask, “Do I need an MBA? Can I get where I need to go without one?”

One way to reframe the question is to ask, If you get an MBA, will you be glad you did? It’s a very different question, and the answer to it is much simpler: MBAs are remarkably satisfied with the degree. The data given by GMAC in their Alumni Perspectives Surveyhints at MBA satisfaction. Your own anecdotal research is likely to uncover an overwhelming support of the degree by graduates. (And if you’re tempted to chalk this result up to consistency bias, I’d suggest you compare their responses with those who’ve been to law school and med school.)

Hopefully you’ll find this different “mental model” useful. It’s also refreshing to focus on what you want to do, rather than on what you need to do. As for mental models and reframing decisions – they, like most business subjects, are covered both in books and at business school. The choice is yours. ]]> http://blogs.kaptest.com/GMAT/national-entrepreneur-day-and-the-mba/feed/ http://blogs.kaptest.com/GMAT/what-is-the-gmat-testing-center-like/ http://blogs.kaptest.com/GMAT/what-is-the-gmat-testing-center-like/#comments Thu, 18 Nov 2010 17:48:24 +0000 Bret Ruber http://blogs.kaptest.com/GMAT/?p=397 While most test-takers know what to expect on the GMAT exam itself, many arrive on test day not knowing what to expect from the actual test center. If you can do a dry run, such as Kaplan’s Official Test Day Experience (offered to students taking our courses), that’s certainly going to help tremendously with your comfort level on what to expect fortest day. However, everyone should know what will happen at the Pearson Center before and after their exam. So let’s run through some of the logistics for the big day.

First, make sure to arrive at the test center early. If you show up late, you may not be allowed to take your test. Additionally, if you arrive early you will often be allowed to start your test upon arrival. Therefore, it is recommended that you arrive thirty minutes before your scheduled start time. Be sure that you bring required identification, as detailed on GMAC’s MBA.com website.

Once in the center, you will not be allowed to bring any of your person belongings into the test room. This includes your watch (in most cases), scratch paper, food, and water. However, you will be given a locker in which you can place your belongings. You will be able to go into this locker during your break, in case you have a snack in it, but do not plan to do so if you have any study materials with you. If you place those materials in your locker, you will not be allowed to access it until your test is over. Plus, you should be very careful with going into your locker much during the break just from a timing perspective—your breaks are ONLY 10 minutes, and the computer/time will start without you when that 10 minutes is up.

Lastly, remember that people will be taking tests other than the GMAT and tests will be starting continuously. This means that people will be moving around the room while you are taking your test, so do not expect total silence while taking the GMAT. You will be offered earplugs when you arrive, so keep the above in mind when deciding whether you are going to accept them.

As long as you know what to expect, the test center should not provide any surprises and your GMAT should run smoothly. Good luck to you on Test Day.

Remember: exponents simply count the number of times something is multiplied by itself.

With exponents, the most important concept to take into the test is the concept of similar bases.  If we have similar bases, the number properties of exponents allow us to manipulate them.  For instance, a^b and b^c do not allow us to manipulate them.  However, if the bases are the same, we can simplify the terms.

“Ok. I got the same base.  Now what?”

For the test, memorize the times that exponents need to be added, multiplied, or subtracted.  Flipping the way we look at exponents will help you memorize what to do when the time comes.

• Add Exponents: We add the exponents together when we are multiplying terms with exponents with each other.  For example:  2¹ * 2² = 2³
• Multiple Exponents: We multiply the exponents together when we have a term with an exponent raised to another exponent.  For example:  (2³ )³ = 2⁹
• Subtract Exponents: We subtract exponents when we are dividing terms with exponents by each other.  For example:  2⁴ / 2³ = 2¹

What about the following statement? 2² + 2² = 2⁴ .  What can we do with the terms when we are adding them together?  Nothing.  You have to work out each term and add the result.

Our last point is what to do with negative exponents.  Negative exponents can be simplified by dividing 1 by the term.  For example: a^-b is simply: 1 / a^b .

Continue to work on your number properties questions.  These are the source of some frustrating questions.  However, a few simple principles will get you through it.

Recently there has been an influx of institutions and business schools offering online MBA programs. Depending on the institution, these online MBA programs are called anything from ‘blended learning MBAs’, to ‘e-learning MBAs’, and from ‘fast track MBAs’, to the more traditionally branded ‘distance learning MBAs’.

Online MBA courses are designed for convenient access from anywhere in the world with an internet connection. If they choose, students can embark on the tough challenge of studying part time while working to pay the bills, looking after a family, or even studying full time on the opposite side of the world from where the actual business school is based.

For clarification, TopMBA.com defines online MBA programs as courses that are taught solely online, without visiting the school. Distance learning MBA programs are hybrid courses, where the predominant mode of study is online, but the student will be expected to attend some campus based lectures, such as a residential course during over a long weekend.

Choosing courses

But with so many different studying formats, and with few previous students as a result of the online MBA’s relative infancy, how does a potential MBA student decide which online MBA course is the right choice?

One option is to look at business schools that have already been accredited after operating regular MBA courses on campuses for many years. Many of these schools argue that MBA students are taught very similar if not the same curricula, and therefore graduate with the same skills.

“No matter which MBA platform a student chooses, everyone earns the same [qualification]” explains Jason Simmons, manager of admissions and recruitment, W P Carey School of Business at Arizona State University in the US. While he points out that options for elective courses may differ depending on which medium the MBA program is taught in, “all involve the same core curriculum, which includes a strong foundation in accounting, management, finance, marketing and supply chain.”

Drawbacks

While one obvious drawback to any MBA program taught exclusively online is the lack of face to face with fellow students, many argue that learning deep online skills is essential for the technologically evolved world.

“Teamwork is still a key component so students learn how to work in geographically dispersed teams, which is becoming commonplace in the corporate world,” says Eric Richards, chair of the Kelley Direct Public Programs at Indiana University’s Kelley Business School, USA. “Our online courses are very interactive, just as our face to face classes are. The only difference is the way in which the interaction occurs.”

A crucial aspect of online MBAs when compared to traditional campus based MBA programs is the availability of the online lectures, usually 24 hours a day, seven days a week. As Richard Wheatcroft, masters program director and senior lecturer in management at Open University in the UK tells TopMBA.com, “sometimes it matters more what the individual is doing, than the institution they are studying at.

“From a recruiter’s point of view, at a top business school with both full time and online MBA programs, graduates come out having studied a very similar syllabus. However, a graduate who has studied full time can only claim they can work hard. An online MBA graduate has already been working hard [while studying part time] for the last two years,” Wheatcroft notes, drawing attention to the benefits of gaining work experience while studying.

However, Wheatcroft, whose distance learning MBA at Open University is predominantly taught online did concede that there are drawbacks to an online MBA. “Networking is a problem, as online meetings simply can’t replace face to face interaction with fellow students,” he explains. “Also, there clearly isn’t the same [on campus] recruitment going on, as it’s a disconnected network, so it’s impossible.”

Eric Richards at Kelley Business School points out that the need for an online MBA student to have a great deal of self-discipline to graduate. “Since you are not required to be in a certain location at a certain time you must be disciplined enough to join in discussion forums, chat sessions, team meetings, and do your class assignments on a regular basis throughout the week,” he explains. “If you need to be at a class at a certain time to motivate yourself to keep up with your studies, an online program like Kelley Direct is not for you.”

Value to recruiters

Finally, probably the most important consideration for any online course, MBA or otherwise is how much it is valued after graduation. “Accreditation is very important here,” points out Wheatcroft, whose MBA course is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). The other international accrediting body that accredits schools overall is EQUIS, based in Brussels. AMBA (the association of MBAs) is based in London and accredits individual programs rather than schools. There are a number of schools that have one, two or even all three of these heavyweight accreditations.

“There are also national accrediting bodies in separate countries,” says Ross Geraghty, managing editor of the TopMBA Career Guide. “As there is little to stop almost anyone starting a business school or online MBA, it’s very important that online MBA candidates seek out and research a school’s accreditation before handing their fees over.”

In fact, many experts are becoming concerned over some online business schools that seem to operate purely for profit, rather than to educate their students. “Sometimes you want to ask, are you running a business or a business school?” Andy Policano, chairman of the board of AACSB International and dean of the University of California at Irvine’s Paul Merage School of Business enthuses, before giving his advice to prospective students.

“Some schools really do appear to be more concerned with making money than educating their students,” Policano worryingly points out, reiterating the importance that prospective students check that a business school is properly accredited before handing over their tuition fees.

Accreditation really is that important. Just because an organisation calls itself a business school, it does not necessarily mean they are genuinely interested in educating their students. It appears that, unfortunately something that many would assume to be an essential part of selecting, and paying thousands of dollars in tuition fees is all too often overlooked by eager students.

Don’t worry: these new questions won’t count toward your score. At the current time, they are experimental questions. For everyone taking the test before June 4, 2012, the takeaway is unchanged – taking the GMAT before the test change will save you the considerable headache of preparing for an additional, challenging section of the exam.

Here on the Kaplan GMAT blog, we’ll continue our series on the Next Generation GMAT by starting to dissect the questions. In this post, we’ll just give a quick summary of each one.

Question 1: Issues and Plans. You’re given an issue, and two plans, Plan A and Plan B. Then you have to evaluate the impact of a series of data statements (sound familiar?) on the success of the plans.

Question 2: Spreadsheet Work. You get a sortable spreadsheet and a calculator. Your task is to select all of the true statements (based on the spreadsheet) from a list.

Question 3: Formulas and Data. In this question, you have choose an algebraic formula, as you might do in an ordinary problem solving question on probability, but then you must apply the formula to a set of real data and match the result against graphs.

Question 4: Scatterplots and Regression Lines. You are given a scatterplot with regression lines. You must select from a number of drop-down menus to demonstrate knowledge of coordinate geometry and descriptive statistics.

Question 5: Critical Reasoning with Audio Clip. You must use an audio player to listen to a Critical Reasoning-type stimulus (in this case, an Explain question) and answer as you would a Critical Reasoning question in the current Verbal section.

Question 6: Double Multiple Choice. You must solve for two variables (in this case, in a question involving growth rates) and select the correct value for each of them.

Question 7: Email Critical Reasoning. Three emails are given, and an Inference question is asked based on those emails.

Question 8: Data Interpretation. Graphical data is presented and you must fill in blanks with correct values as based on the graphs. Similar to Data Interpretation questions on the GRE.

Question 9: Passage, Table, and Graph. You are given data in a passage and a table that you must combine to choose the pie graph that is correct, based on the data.

Question 10: Discussion, Graph, and Table. Similar to Question 8 and 9, in this question you must digest a couple paragraphs, a graph, and a table, and then choose numbers that make a statement correct, based on the information given.

As you can imagine, we have already made many observations and drawn some conclusions and judgments about these sample questions. We’ll share some of these in the future installments on the Next Generation GMAT. For now, you can be glad that you get to take the test before the change, and think of the 10 question formats under consideration more as a sample of what you’ll be doing in business school.

When dealing with algebra, always remember the cardinal rule of equations: what you do to one side you must do to the other. As long as you follow this rule you will always end up with mathematically true statements, even if they do not take you in the direction of the right answer. Thus, you can always backtrack through your steps and try another path. Just be careful with your math and make sure not to make any careless errors.

In order to minimize such errors, it is always a good idea to remove any fractions early on, because you will have an easier time working with integers. For the same reason, you should keep numbers positive when possible and always keep a look out for numbers that can be factored or cancelled out.

Lastly, if you arrive at an algebraic expression as an answer, but it does not match any if the choices, check to see if any of the options are the same expression written in a different way. This is most common when the result has a radical in the denominator. In these situations, multiply your answer by 1, writing 1 in a way that would eliminate the radical. For example, if you end up with 3/√3 multiply it by √3/√3, to arrive at (3√3)/3, if that helps you match an answer choice.

For more on this topic, including examples, see our Kaplan GMAT video on Equations.

When approaching a problem in which you will have to work with non-integers, you should always make an active decision whether decimals or fractions will allow you to get to the answer more quickly. In order to do this effectively on test day, you should practice solving both ways while studying. Exactly which problems will be faster using fractions, and which using decimals, will be different for everybody, so it is key that you determine the types of problems in which you find each more efficient.

Additionally, you should learn common decimal and fraction equivalencies. You must learn what 1/2, 1/3, etc., all the way to 1/11 equal as decimals, as these show up repeatedly on the GMAT. Additionally, if you know 1/8 = .125, you can quickly determine that 3/8 equals .375 by multiplying by 3.

If you encounter a fraction for which you do not know the decimal equivalent, your best move is to convert it to a fraction that has a denominator of 100 or 1000. Then just drop the denominator and put the decimal point in the appropriate place.

By using these strategies you will be able to work through problems featuring non-integers more quickly. This in turn will give you more time for other problems and, ultimately, lead to a higher score. For more on this topic, see our Kaplan GMAT Video on Fractions & Decimals.