The Best Possible Guidance For GMAT

About Expert's GMAT+Application Course

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For self-motivated, highly aspirant individuals, it is the best possible way to prepare for GMAT. I have used all my experience, knowledge, and passion to come up with this unique study material and the very concept of mentoring an individual from scratch till the day s/he enters a B school. Currently (26th Nov 2008) with 87 students, the concept is helping many passionate individuals.

Only serious, self motivated GMAT aspirants must opt for this course.

Fee :

In India : INR 9,700

Outside India : USD 700

Duration of the course

I customize the course as per the skills and time-constraints of an individual. The span varies from 30 days to 80 days. After analyzing performance in a mock test, I prepare a day to day schedule for the student. If the same schedule is followed sincerely, results are bound to follow!!

You Get:

The best possible study material:

12 Books capturing crux of tried and tested seven best study materials.

20 Simulated GMATs

40 Paper Based Mock GMATs

The best possible mentoring:

Continuous online assessment of your improvements and guidance accordingly.

Online replies to all your queries.

Authentic Counselling:

Online guidance for application essays, university shortlisting, recommendation letters and B school interviews.

Contact:

Mayank Srivastava (in Boston)

Founder

001-617-480-6219

expert.counsel@gmail.com

My counterparts in India,

Aanchal Sharma (in Delhi)

# 0091-9717041112

and

Anand Dubey (in Delhi)
# 0091-9717003033

My Experience in GMAT Training

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* Senior Academic Consultant for IMS Learning Resources (NCR) for two years. Trained more than 3,000 CAT/GMAT candidates. Now pursuing MBA from a renowned American university (with full scholarship)

* Scored 770 in GMAT, had an ISB admit

* All India Rank 1 in Combined Defence Services exam

* Had an IIM-L admit but instead joined the Indian Army (Short stint)

* Prepared study material and instructor's notes for Testheads LLC, USA (A leading GMAT Coaching centre in the US)

Visa Process

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Visa process is a critical part of your journey into the B school. The process involves two stages:

1. Getting I-20 (US) or the equivalent paper (for other countries) from the university
You would need to send a proof of movable asset, equivalent to your first year’s total expenses, to the university that has granted you admission. In case you have got scholarship, you need to show proof of total expenses less the scholarship amount. After receiving the sufficient proofs, university will approve your I-20 (or its equivalent) to you. This paper is the official/legal invitation to you from the university. Using this paper, you need to apply for the Visa.

2. Facing the Visa interview at embassy
You would need to take an appointment for the visa interview and face the interview to get your visa approved. Two basic aspects are checked in the interview:

Whether you will be able to bear the financial burden of your studies.
Whether you intend to migrate permanently.

If you are able to show sufficient cash for your first year expenses and convince that you do not have long term plans of staying in the other country, getting student’s visa is very smooth.

How do the enrolled students benefit?
The enrolled students are guided personally for each stage and correct suggestions regarding getting the right papers are given. Based on his background, the student is suggested to be prepared for few questions that he is likely to be asked in the visa interview.

Scholarships

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A very major concern is scholarships. Global universities get a lot of funding from the industries and the alumni for helping the deserving candidates. In MBA admissions, the scholarships are mainly profile based. That means, if a university likes you- it offers you an admission. If it likes you a lot and has the fear of loosing your candidature, it offers you admission as well as some scholarship, ranging from 10% to 100% of the tuition.

How to apply for the scholarships?
In most of the universities, you would not need to apply for scholarship and will be automatically considered for the same, as a part of the application. However, in many universities, you need to write a separate essay for applying for scholarship.

When do we get to know about the scholarship result?
Many universities declare it along with the admission results and many have a separate deadline for the same. Hence, sometimes there will be a dilemma that you have got the admission but are not clear about the status of scholarship.

Can one negotiate for scholarships?
There is no official procedure for ‘negotiating’ for scholarships but surprisingly, ‘yes, you can negotiate for scholarships’. The admission department of these universities is very friendly and approachable. You can have candid discussions with them and tell your situation. Sometimes, even writing an essay for scholarship- suggesting that there have been few drastic improvements in profile in past few weeks and the adcom should re-consider the candidature for scholarship, works.

How do the enrolled students benefit?
If scholarship is a main concern for my enrolled student, I help him in short listing the universities that are scholarship friendly. Moreover, different universities give weightage to different aspects while deciding on scholarships. Hence, based on a student’s profile, I make him apply to the universities where he has maximum chance of grabbing a scholarship.

B School Interviews

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Your application will be evaluated based on your over-all profile, GMAT score, application essays, and recommendations. On finding you a potential candidate, university will invite you for an interview. Following are the few ways in which global universities interview their candidates.

· Telephonic interview
It is the most common of all. The university will give you an interview slot straightaway or will ask you to choose a slot on its website. On the settled time, either a senior member from the admission committee will call you or will need to call him. ISB takes telephonic interviews only if you are not located in India and request for the same. Otherwise, it has multiple interview centres all over India and one needs to have a personal interview with a panel.

· Face to face interview with an alumnus
You will need to meet an alumnus from the university and have a personal interview with him. Universities request their alumni to take out some time and interview the candidates. In few cases, alumni interview is a stage between application and interview with the adcom. However, in most cases, alumni interview is the only interview involved. In either case, interview with alumnus is a make or break case and should be taken with utmost gravity.

· Face to face interview with an adcom member
You can e-mail to the universities you are deeply interested in and ask for scheduling a face to face interview with an adcom member when the university visits your country for a marketing event. This is a very good option as you will get to meet the person face to face and enquire a lot more about the course. Moreover, it also makes a university believe your seriousness about the course.

· Face to face interview at the university
Universities highly motivate a campus visit for the interview. While you may not like to visit a country just to face the interview, in case you are visiting the country due to some personal/professional work, you may like to visit the campus. Just e-mail the admissions department of the university, about your visit and wish for an interview. They would be able to schedule an appointment for you. For an admission interview, you need to have applied and got interview call. But for an information interview, you can visit the university any time in the calendar.

Which form of interview is best?
It doesn’t matter that what medium you are using for the interview. What matters is the message that you put across in the interview. Hence, please don’t think that you will have better chance if you have a face to face interview rather than a telephonic interview or vice-versa. See what suits you. I had all my interviews (except ISB) telephonically and I did a good job.

What is the nature of interview?
Unlike the Indian colleges, global colleges see interview as a two-way communication: while they are willing to know about you and decide the fate of your candidature, they are also willing to let you know about the university and the course.
These interviews are generally very light and there is no grilling, unlike in the interviews for Indian B schools (I have had the best of both worlds).

FAQs:

Why this university?
What after your MBA?
How will this MBA help in your long term goals?
Describe your current role and responsibilities.
How will your peers describe you in five words?
How will your supervisor describe you in five words?
Yours USP?
Your greatest achievement?
Run me through your resume (important…you should be able to do it 1-2mins)
What one thing you would like to change in your current organization?

How the enrolled students benefit?

I have a fair idea of which universities suit my students. Based on same, I recommend my students to approach the universities and meet their representatives personally in the events. Knowing the right universities makes the job easy for them.

When the interview is scheduled, I help the students by letting them know few delicate questions that they are supposed to face, based on the strengths as well as weaknesses in their profile. Knowing these questions beforehand helps them in preparing convincing answers well before the interview.

Application Form

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Apart from the application essays, transcripts, GMAT/TOEFL scores, and recommendations, you would need to answer plethora of questions concerning your academic, professional, and personal life.

While most of the questions simply ask details such as college, company, period of involvement etc, few questions ask for some creativity. Few examples are: achievements (during college, work, or/and extra-curricular activities), your role & responsibilities in current/past company, number of people you handled and how etc.

I recommend going through the application form of one of the global universities to have a practical idea of the nature of these questions. You will just need to register at the university’s website to access the application form. I found the HBS’s application form most detailed; so recommend you to have a look at its application form.

Resume

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All the B-schools ask for an updated resume as a part of your application. This resume is quite different from a job/professional resume.

Keep the following in mind:

People reading your resume are non-technical people. Hence, make your resume qualitatively strong and easy to be understood by a lay man.

Use it as a medium to show your professional maturity.

Focus on points like awards & achievements, promotions, team handling, training & development, international exposure, and a versatile role.

If you have less than eight years’ experience, make sure to have one page resume for all the non-Indian colleges.

You may include a career objective at top of your resume.

Get opinions from few experienced people.

Transcripts

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While all Asian and many western universities accept the four years’ mark sheet and certificate as enough proof for your undergraduation, most of the western universities ask for an official transcript, directly from the university where you did your undergraduation.

Transcript is an official document that talks briefly about your university and mentions your marks of all the years in one document. University’s stamp is put on all the pages of transcript, which is then sealed and stamped. This sealed packet is supposed to be couriered to the B school you are applying to.

Normally universities have a predefined format for transcripts and you just need to put your details and marks. University officials cross-verify the marks mentioned before putting the official stamp. In case your university does not have a format, the best way is to contact a senior who went abroad for his education. He will be able to give you the format. Get at least ten copies of transcripts as you don’t know how many you need and it is quite a complicated process in few universities.

I saved some money as I convinced all the B schools to consider scanned versions of transcripts. I said that if admitted, I will bring a sealed version along and they bought my story. In case the university insists on a hard copy, ask for student’s discount on couriers. All the main courier services give 50% discount on your application to foreign universities. However, you would need to remind them about the student’s discount.

Forwarding GMAT/TOEFL Scores

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Although small, forwarding GMAT and TOEFL scores is a very important part of your application. You get to forward your GMAT score to five universities as a part of your GMAT appointment. However, the irony is that you have to list the universities before starting the test. For forwarding scores to every additional university, you have to pay $ 28.

Similarly, you get to forward your TOEFL score to four universities before starting your TOEFL. For every additional university, you need to pay $ 18.

When you get over with GMAT, an unofficial report is handed over to you immediately. You can start the application process with that report but the university will not take decision on your candidature till it receives the official score. Official report for GMAT comes within a week and is sent directly to the five universities of your choice directly. For additional universities, you need to put request on www.mba.com and pay online. It takes 2-3 working days to get the scores to additional universities.

TOEFL report comes in around two weeks’ time and is sent directly to the four universities. For additional universities, you need to put request on www.ets.com and pay online.

Also, please understand that universities also charge an application fee for processing your application. You need to pay the application fee to the university, regardless of when you forward your score to it. While very few universities process application without application charge, most of the universities charge between $50 and $300.

Is TOEFL Mandatory?
It depends on the university you are applying to. All Asian universities and many western universities do not require TOEFL if your undergraduation was in English medium. However, few universities require TOEFL scores and do not process your application till they receive the score. Please check with university’s requirements before taking a TOEFL slot as it is a very boring and easy test and adds really no value to your application other than proving that you are comfortable with western English.

How Enrolled Students Benefit?
Enrolled students are made to answer a questionnaire and based on their response and their scores in recent mock tests, five universities are recommended to them. I very often see that applicant apply to a completely different set of universities than the set they opted for before taking GMAT. Even I applied to only one of the five universities in my initial list. Applying to the correct universities is first go saves $140.

Recommendations

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Admission committee pays serious attention to the recommendation letters you present them with. It’s very important to make the right person recommend you.

Process:
While you fill your application online, on one webpage you will need to give details of your recommender. A request from university is sent to your recommender for evaluating you. The evaluation is a set of ratings and/or a set of questionnaire. Your evaluator needs to complete the evaluation and submit it online to the university.

Who should recommend:
While the university gives you a wide range of recommenders to choose from, only few of them have the capacity to judiciously recommend you. People often believe that the recommender should be very high official in the company. That’s absolutely incorrect! Think: you are a project engineer in your company and are getting recommendation from the CEO of your company, a guy sitting seven ladders above you. How much does he know about you? Such applications are generally rejected and the candidates never realize the actual reason for their rejection.
Universities generally ask for two recommenders and very few ask for three. The best people to recommend you are:

Your immediate supervisor in current company. Even if he is just an Assistant Manager, always get one recommendation from him. If you due to some reason, you can not make him recommend you, go for someone who is as good as a reporting supervisor to you.
Your immediate supervisor in previous company.
A client you did a project for.
An official who trained you during your inception in the company.
An HR professional who is associated closely.

If nothing works out,

A peer or sub-ordinate.
A faculty from college.

While peers/sub-ordinates are not the best people to recommend you because they are not in a position to critically examine your performance, professors from college are not the best people again because they were associated long ago. Moreover, remember that MBA is not an academic course. It’s a professional course and it is in your best interest to get professional recommendations.

Application Essays

2008-11-27T20:04:00.000-08:00

Application essays, undoubtedly, form the most important part of your application package. While a strong set of essays can make an average profile look impressive, a weak set can mar the impression of the ‘person’ behind a strong profile and badly affect your chance of converting an application into an interview call or final admit.

I am very often asked that what approach one should have in mind while writing the application essays. If you can do the following, a good essay will automatically come up.

A clear, honest link among- what all you have done in life, what all you intend to do, and MBA.
Brainstorm every achievement that you have had in your life and put it in your essays where it makes sense.

We often limit achievements to merely academics, profession, and sports. Anything interesting that brought a drastic change in your life is an achievement. E.g.- overcoming dyslexia, recovering after a major accident, saving a person’s life- are all great achievements!

Do not hide any loopholes in your profile but address them judiciously in a relevant part in the essay. Almost all universities have an optional essay as ‘Anything else that you want us to know about you’. People considered my leaving Army as a loophole in my profile and many experts recommended that I should not talk about Army at all. But I wrote about the moral dilemma I underwent and how I chose the correct yet difficult path. Result- no university, to which I wrote about my stint with Army, could reject me.

Even if you do not have many achievements in past, you can win the adcom’s (admission committee’s) confidence by clarity of thoughts, personal qualities, and an incisive vision.

Specially focus on, and provide relevant examples for the following qualities (only those which really apply in your case): Leadership, handling a team, training & development, entrepreneurship, social service, philanthropy, multi-tasking, diversity, ability to face adversity, discipline, passion, dedication, time management, fast-learning, adaptability, humility, and team spirit.

Please make sure to give personal touch to your essays. People often make their essays very formal and hence, are unable to relate with the reader of the essays. Share your aspirations, qualities, passions….this is the right place & time….the more you let the adcom relate with you, better are your chances. My application essays are so personal that only four people till date have read them!

Respect word limit. Shorter is acceptable, longer is NOT.

If you have to submit a word document, keep 1.5-2 line margins and put borders. (Unless a different format is specified in the application.)

Avoid use of heavy vocabulary if it is not natural to you.

Try to have smaller paragraphs to convey the message more clearly. Have a new paragraph for every new type of information and to break the monotony.

Make one or two very sensible people, who know you well, read your essays and give you feedbacks. Incorporate their suggestions and proof-read at least four times to avoid any mistake.

Application essays provide a lot of opportunity to sham your self and fabricate success stories. I request you to be honest- not only because there is a chance of being caught but mainly because I believe that to succeed in the long run, one needs to be honest. This is my personal opinion and it may be wrong.

Frequently asked application essay questions:

Why do you wish to pursue an MBA, why from this university, and why at this point in your career?
What is your career vision and why is it important to you?
How will you like to be remembered?
One instance that changed your life.
What value will you add to the MBA class of our university?
If you could meet one person from past, who s/he would be and why?
Which global problem concerns you the most and why?
One trait that stands apart from others.
How will your current supervisor introduce you to a new supervisor?
Describe one moral dilemma that you faced and how you handled it.
Greatest achievement of your life.
How do you see your career progressing after this MBA?

How do the enrolled students benefit:

A set of 25 questions is given to the students and ask them to pour their hearts out. Based on their response, we get to know their background, traits, aspirations, achievements and shortcomings in the profile. Based on these answers, we formalize a structure for application essays for each university and the student writes his essays following that structure. He then sends us his essays for review and we edit the essays and give our honest feedback, from the adcom’s point of view. Student incorporates these changes and applies.

Application Process

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After short listing the universities, you would need to apply to the chosen ones and present to them, your strong candidature. The application process, a very delicate part of your journey into a global B school, is made of the following:

Application Essays
Recommendations
GMAT/TOEFL scores
Transcripts
Resume
Application form

The decision is based on the amalgam of aforementioned six factors. Hence, you need to deliberate a lot on all the six fronts to come up as a strong applicant for the prestigious B schools.

How do the enrolled students benefit?

Enrolled students are given personalized attention for each of the six factors mentioned above. Based on their profile, tips are given for presenting their case and all their queries are answered.

University short-listing

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Applying to the right university is one of the most important steps in your journey towards a great career. Always put enough research before deciding to apply. Key points that you must considering to apply are:

Whether the University offers concentrations of your choice (that is if you are clear about the concentration you want)
How old is the university.
Profile of faculty members
Profile of students- average age, average work experience etc.
Curriculum-have a look at the flow of the course and the electives that the school offers.
Record of performance of students from last 3 batches.

Generally, all of the aforementioned information is available in the university’s website.

Now, from a personal point of view, you must introspect your constraints, preferences, and requirements and use them accordingly to narrow down your list of universities. The factors you must consider are:

Learning- Never compromise on this front!
Duration- Length of MBA programs varies from 10 months to 21 months. A shorter MBA is a good option for highly experienced people or for those who are extremely clear about what they wish to do after their MBA.
Expenses- Yes, it’s an important factor to be considered.
Location- Some people have serious constraints such as staying in India/Asia. Many want to be in English speaking nations or developed nations. Hence, please ponder enough.
Brand Value- A very important factor for people who intend to grow in the hierarchy of big companies.

Try to find a balance among the aforementioned five factors and I assure that you will shortlist universities that suit you!

Remember a basic rule for university Short-listing- do not avoid the rankings and do not trust the rankings! All the rankings are skewed towards one geographical location or other. Hence, refer many rankings. Here is a list of the most reputed B school rankings:

Business Week
Financial Times
US News (For US B-schools only)
Wall Street Journal (For US B-schools only)

Apart from these rankings, following are the other good sources to know about universities:

Topmba.com- A very good site for knowing about colleges, their requirements, and the offerings. Use its B school scorecard option, it really helps.
Pagalguy.com- It does not have a global ranking or reviews of colleges. But it has a great user base. People from great schools are members (including me) of this forum. Hence, you can search for members in schools of your choice and leverage.

How the enrolled students benefit?

I help my enrolled students in short-listing their universities according to their profiles and personal preferences. Anybody who follows the guidelines on this page carefully, can shortlist universities efficiently.

GMAT Preparation

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Three sections- analytical writing assessment quantitative ability, verbal ability- form GMAT and a sound strategy when clubbed with the right study material can really make the process very easy for you.

On this site, I am trying my best to give you a brief idea of all type of questions that appear in GMAT. However, to get complete guidance, I strongly recommend enrolling with Expert’s.

The best books for GMAT have been consulted. After reviewing some 20,000 pages...finally 12 books comprising of 3,000 pages over all have been formed...i.e., best from many material has taken and clubbed with 20 best GMAT simulations. The entire package has been well structured to ensure that an individual starts from the easiest concept and gradually moves on to the difficult ones and in the process, keeps on getting adequate practice of real GMAT type questions. The result is "The Best Possible GMAT Material" :)

All the other study materials give all the concepts together and then, they provide all the questions & solutions together. Expert’s is the only study material that gives concepts as well as questions & solutions chapter wise.

Then, the entire study material has been trifurcated into a well thought of pattern viz. Understand, Practice and Master. Right material has been put at just the right place. Hence, a student starts from the most basic level and gradually moves to the difficult levels.

To ensure that the improvement is optimum, you are sent material for only one stage at a time. When you're 80-85% through with the very material, you would need to fill a form (provided by me online) mentioning number of correct attempts out of number of total attempts and your scores in each of the mock test.

Based on your scores in the practice sets and simulated GMATs, a detailed personalized mail suggesting the right plan of action along with the next stage material would be sent.

This way, a track of performance of each individual is recorded and personalized guidance is provided-section wise and within sections, topic wise.

Taking GMAT appointment

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Please be precise in filling your details as the same are used by GMASS (Graduate Management Admission Student Search) engine to shortlist relevant students for universities. Good universities give their criterion to GMASS and the very search engine finds the matching profiles and sends application requests to GMAT takers. Such individuals, without doubt, have very bright chances of converting the calls. I was searched by GMASS for Boston University and was sent an application request...rest is history. :)

When to take GMAT?

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At what point in calendar should GMAT be taken?

Well...there is no answer to this! You can take the test at any point you think you are ready with preparation. There are certain myths that the GMAC s/w keeps on getting easy and difficult...even if there is any truth attached to it, you can do nothing about it. Hence, give no heed and take the test when you think that you are at the peak of your preparation :).

There are two approaches...

Gain sufficient experience and when you see that you have gained enough professional maturity, plan your MBA and take GMAT at least one year before commencement of the very course. This is a good strategy when you intend to have substantial work-experience before starting your MBA.
Take the GMAT soon after you finish your college. This is a good strategy when you wish to start your MBA with just 2-3 years of experience. This would create a good back-up plan for you and you can plan your career ahead.

Although the score is technically valid for 5 years, please be advised to apply with a score not more than three years old.

How well in advance should one take the GMAT appointment?

I very often see individuals worried about getting an appointment. Trust me, it's something very trivial. We say in Army, take one thing at a time! Hence, first prepare for GMAT, small issues like these would take care of themselves and should not be given undue weightage.

There are two ways to take an appointment:
On the website : mba.com
Over phone, search on google, it's easily available.

There are two strategies that can be followed:

Take an appointment well in advance. Say 45-90 days before your GMAT and use the deadline as a motivation to prepare for GMAT.

Keep on preparing for GMAT and when you think that you have reached the peak, take an appointment of just 2-3 days later. Since one needs a gap of 7 days to re-schedule an appointment, many slots are cancelled just 7 days before. Hence, if you look for an appointment just 2-3 days ahead, you will almost always find one. If your luck is really against you, look for a less popular testing centre in your vicinity and you will definetly find a slot there. E.g. If you stay in north India and are not getting a slot in Delhi, look for Allahabad.

Do not study anything much during last 2-3 days, prior to your test.

Is a high GMAT score necessary?

2008-11-27T17:17:00.000-08:00

In your application essays, there should be a clear link between things you have done in life, things that you intend to do and how would an MBA help you at this point in time, from this particular institute. Once this link is ready, it becomes very easy to write application essays and face the interviews.

Just as a high GMAT score does not guarantee you a place, a low GMAT score does not defy you a place. Other important factors like your application essays, letter of recommendations, university grades, quality and length of work experience, extra-curricular ventures etc also play a vital role in selection.

Remember, end of the day, you need to be liked by the admission committee. If so, you will be through!!

Is GMAT difficult?

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About GMAT

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The GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Test) is an almost four hour long standardized exam designed to predict how test-takers will perform academically in MBA (Masters in Business Administration) programs. GMAT scores are used by graduate business schools all over the world to assist in making admission decisions.

You might also see the GMAT referred to as the "GMAT CAT"; the acronym CAT stands for "Computer Adaptive Test." The GMAT is administered only by computer now, except in certain obsolete locations, where the test is referred to as the "paper-based" GMAT. (Since you’re reading this on the Web, no doubt the GMAT CAT is available where you are.)

An almost four hour long computer based test, GMAT tests a variety of your skill sets.

First of all, you would encounter the Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) section. You would need to write two 30 minute essays, argument and issue.

You get an optional break of 5 Minutes (always avail it)

Then, you would face the Quant section. You will find 37 questions in total. It would be a mix of Data Sufficiency (DS) and Problem Solving (PS) questions.

You get an optional break of 10 Minutes (always avail it).

Finally, you get the verbal section. 41 question overall, a mix of Sentence Correction, Critical Reasoning and Reading Comprehensions.

Why a Global MBA?

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Although curriculum of most of the renowned MBA programs in the world is same, (unless you go for a dual degree or an off-beat concentration) the kind of learning varies immensely.

While an Indian MBA from one of the elite colleges (IIMs) prepares conceptually stronger managers, global schools provide much broader exposure and produce very practical managers.

The main benefits of a global MBA:

Broader Scope: One grows global from the day he enrols in a good university. While the option to get back to one’s own company is always open, one can opt for a career in different parts of the world.

Practical Learning: Majorly case based approach makes classes very interesting and decreases reliance on books. One gets to learn even from exams, which are mostly case based. Even a statistics paper will teach you to look at things from a logical point of view and will involve little calculations.

Strong Peer Group: People from more than twenty nations, with more than five years experience on average, will be studying with you. The trans-cultural exposure teaches to look at things from multiple angles.

Better self-assessment: The good global colleges make you undergo various psychometric tests and let you have information interviews with highly experienced professionals. One really gets to know where his balance of aptitude and aspirations lie.

Enjoyable Experience: While people often crib about the time in a B school, my experience so far suggests that if you are clear about what you want out of your MBA, and possess a big heart, you can really enjoy your time in the B school.

Global Network: Good colleges have history of 100 years or more and hence, a very strong alumni base. By the time you get over with your MBA, you will have a great network of people with different cultural and professional background. You can leverage immensely from this network.

What does GMAT look like?

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An almost four hour long computer based test, GMAT tests a variety of your skill sets.

First of all, you would encounter the Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) section. You would need to write two 30 minute essays, argument and issue.

You get an optional break of 5 Mins (always avail it)

Then, you would face the Quant section. You will find 37 questions in total. It would be a mix of Data Sufficiency (DS) and Problem Solving (PS) questions.

You get an optional break of 10 Mins (always avail it)

Finally, you get the verbal section. 41 questions overall, a mix of Sentence Correction, Critical Reasoning and Reading Comprehensions.

Is GMAT a difficult test?

2008-06-15T16:07:00.000-07:00

It depends on the current skill set of the individual. For few it's easy, for others it's not.

However, one good thing about GMAT is that its pattern is more or less fixed. Same set of concepts are checked and the scope of syllabus is limited. So, if you put efforts in the right direction and refer to the right material, you can easily do well at it.

Please refer to www.bestgmatmaterial.blogspot.com to be a part of my GMAT consultancy and avail my regular guidance for all the stages in your journey for a global MBA.

Remember, do not be distracted by plethora of material available on net. You can score well by doing only 1% of it and you may jeopardize your GMAT by solving even 50% of it. What's important is not the number of books/study material you finish...what's important is how much you gain from every page that you read. Structure in which the study material should be referred is a critical factor in examining your success.

In case you want a source for just the right combination, in the right order for GMAT, please refer to this page...

http://bestgmatmaterial.blogspot.com/

Solving just what is a part of this material can ensure optimum results if you follow my advices.

Is a high GMAT score mandatory for securing admit into a decent B school?

2008-06-15T15:57:00.001-07:00

Answer is 'NO'. Universities look for an impressive overall personality, formed by the amalgam of one's academics, work experience and extra curricular activities. You need to convince the admission committee that you are in the right shape to make optimum use of their MBA curriculum and go on to be a good alumnus.

In your application essays, there should be a clear link between things you have done in life, things that you intend to do and how would an MBA help you at this point in time, from this particular institute. Once this link is ready, it becomes very easy to write application essays and face the interviews.

Just as a high GMAT score does not guarantee you a place, a low GMAT score does not defy you a place. Other important factors like your application essays, letter of recommendations, university grades, quality and length of work experience, extra-curricular ventures etc also play a vital role in selection.

Remember, end of the day, you need to be liked by the admission commitee...if so, you would be through!!

At what point in the calender should GMAT be taken?

2008-06-15T15:37:00.000-07:00

Well...there is no answer to this! You can take the test at any point you think you are ready with preparation. There are certain myths that the GMAC s/w keeps on getting easy and difficult...even if there is any truth attached to it, you can do nothing about it. Hence, give no heed and take the test when you think that you are at the peak of your preparation...:)

At what point in one's career should one take GMAT?

2008-06-15T15:33:00.000-07:00

There are two approaches...

1) Gain sufficient experience and when you see that you have gained enough professional maturity, plan your MBA and take GMAT atleast one year before commencement of the very course. This is a good strategy when you intend to have substantial work-experience before starting your MBA.

2) Take the GMAT soon after you finish your college. This is a good strategy when you wish to start your MBA with just 2-3 years of experience. This would create a good back-up plan for you and you can plan your career ahead.

Although the score is valid for 5 years, please be advised to apply with a score not more than three years old.

How well in advance should one take the GMAT appointment?

2008-06-15T15:17:00.000-07:00

I very often see individuals worried about getting an appointment. Trust me, it's something very trivial. We say in Army, take one thing at a time! Hence, first prepare for GMAT, small issues like these would take care of themselves and should not be given undue weightage.

There are two ways to take an appointment:

On the website : mba.com
Over phone, search on google, it's easily available.

There are two strategies that can be followed:

* Take an appointment well in advance. Say 45-90 days before your GMAT and use the deadline as a motivation to prepare for GMAT.

* Keep on preparing for GMAT and when you think that you have reached the peak, take an appointment of just 2-3 days later. Since one needs a gap of 7 days to re-schedule an appointment, many slots are cancelled just 7 days before. Hence, if you look for an appointment just 2-3 days ahead, you will almost always find one. If your luck is really against you, look for a less popular testing centre in your vicinity and you will definetly find a slot there. E.g. If you stay in north India and are not getting a slot in Delhi, look for Allahabad.

Do not study anything much during 2-3 days prior to your test.

How to register for GMAT?

2008-06-15T15:01:00.000-07:00

GMAT is a computer based test that is conducted many times a day at various centres authorized by GMAC (Graduate Management Admission Council), the governing body for GMAT. You need to create an account on the official GMAT site, mba.com, and take an appointment online.

Please be precise in filling your details as the same are used by GMASS (Graduate Management Admission Student Search) engine to shortlist relevant students for universities. Good universities give their criterion to GMASS and the very search engine finds the matching profiles and sends application requests to GMAT takers. Such individuals, without doubt, have very bright chances of converting the calls. I was searched by GMASS for Boston University and was sent an application request...rest is hostory...:)

Why GMAT?

2008-06-15T14:51:00.000-07:00

Unlike other aptitude tests, GMAT is not confined geographically and is accepted by almost all the major universities throughout the world. From Indian point of view, it makes more sense to opt for GMAT when one has two or more than two years of experience. Prior to that, CAT is a very good option. When more experienced, it makes sense to use the experience and go for a global MBA that gives a different exposure with a more matured peer group with most of the individuals already having few years of managerial experience.

What is GMAT?

2008-06-15T14:21:00.000-07:00

Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) is the standardized test used by business schools all around the world. While it is not the only thing that universities consider while deciding the fate of an individual, it definetly is a very important factor and critical in context of Indian B schools.