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GMAT Score: Admissions Criteria 1. What is a Good GMAT Score?

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GMAT before everything else. It's sad, but it's true: your GMAT score is probably the most important factor in determining whether you will be admitted to a top business school. I need to clarify that statement, though. Most applicants believe there is a significant difference between a 680 and a 720 on the test. There isn't. The extra 40 points won't help your chances of being admitted. That's why I'm frustrated when I hear from people who score 680 and insist on retaking the exam. Most of them would be better served by burning their GMAT-prep books and turning their attention to the application essays (the next step in the process). If you hope to have a reasonable chance of being admitted to a top program, though, your GMAT score will need to be "in the ballpark." If it isn't, you'll have a hard time winning a spot at top-tier schools no matter how good your work experience and undergraduate GPA might be. That's why I believe GMAT score is the most important factor in being admitted to a top program. If your score isn't in the ballpark, you won't be in the game. So What's Considered "In the Ballpark?" At virtually all of the top programs, the ballpark starts in the mid 600s. That doesn't mean there is a strict cut-off ; there isn't. But if you look closely at top schools' numbers, you'll see that below about 620 your chances of being admitted fall pretty dramatically. To determine whether you're a viable candidate at a specific school, find the program's "middle 80 percent" GMAT range. Virtually all schools now report this data. (As do we.) If you're within a school's 80 percent range, you have a reasonable chance of being admitted; and you may be viable even if you're below the range. You should never let your GMAT score be the sole factor that determines where you apply. Simple math dictates that 10 percent of students attending MBA programs scored below the schools' reported 80 percent range (and 10 percent scored above it). The most common mistake that MBA applicants make is using a school's median GMAT score as a viability gauge. If, for instance, a program's median score is 680, applicants believe they have to hit that number in order to be admitted. It should be obvious that half of the current class fell below 680, but that doesn't seem to register and many applicants self-select out. I've talked many applicants into applying to MBA programs they are now attending (or have already finished) because they were initially discouraged when their GMAT scores fell slightly below their target schools' medians. The Bottom Line: Don't let the numbers intimidate you. Use the 80 percent range, not the median GMAT value. If you're slightly below the 80 percent range, apply anyway. Ten percent of your classmates next year will be in the same boat. Are the Separate Scores for Math and Verbal Important? Yes, especially the math score. The admissions people put a lot of emphasis on math skills when making their decisions. (See the discussion on GPA for more on this.) So it's important that you do well on the math portion of the GMAT. The math and verbal scores range from 0 to about 52. (I know that GMAC claims the scale can go as high as 60, but it has never actually gone over 52). My strongest students are those in the "40-40 Club." That means they score in the 40's in both math and verbal. It's great to have that kind of balance, but if you are going to be stronger on one portion of the test than on the other, it's clearly better to be stronger in math. work.

The 7 Criteria
GMAT SCORE You won't be admitted to a top-tier MBA school without a pretty decent GMAT number. The schools' own statistics prove this simple truth.

GMAT Score

MBA APPLICATION ESSAYS It's common for applicants with great essays but only acceptable GMAT scores to beat out candidates with higher numbers.

MBA Application Essays

MBA APPLICATION TIMELINE When you submit your application can be as important as what you say in it. At the elite schools, you'd better be in one of the first two rounds.

MBA Application Timeline

UNDERGRAD GPA Undergrad GPA is not as important as most applicants believe. But there's a caveat: if your math grades suck it will pay to do some

MBA Undergrad GPA

WORK EXPERIENCE This isn't the type of experience you have at work, it's the amount. As applications rise, schools want students with more experience

MBA Work Experience

RECOMMENDATIONS Recommendations are often a better reflection of the recommender than of the applicant. I think they should be dumped.

MBA Recommendations
What if I Hope to Apply to Top Schools But My GMAT Score is Below 600? You need to take the test again. I'm not saying that you can't get into a top program you can but your chances are slim. So if you have time to take the test again, you'd be foolish not to. And that brings up a good point about multiple test scores. I'm not aware of a single top school (or even an average school for that matter) that still averages GMAT scores. I'm sure that someone out there will find a program that does so, but until I hear from that person, let's stick to the general rule: schools consider only your highest GMAT score. at all. INTERVIEWS Interviews can be very important, but their impact varies widely from school to schooland some schools don't use them

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GMAT Score: Admissions Criteria 1. What is a Good GMAT Score?


Can I Take the Test 15 Times and Report Only My Highest Score? Sort of. Before the GMAT exam begins, the computer will ask which schools you would like your scores forwarded to. You get five schools included in the cost of the test, and any additional programs will cost you $25 each. You can elect not to have your scores forwarded to any schools. After you have seen your scores (you get them immediately after finishing the test), you can then pay $25 each to have them sent to the schools you choose. Your "GMAT transcript" will report only your three most recent scores. So if you took the test four times and scored 450 each time, but didn't have your scores forwarded, you could still pull off that miraculous 700 the fifth time and then send your scores. The admissions office would see only two 450's and a 700. It doesn't really matter, though, whether you send your transcript after each test or wait until you score the number you want. In the end, the school's application will ask you to specify the score you want the admissions committee to consider. (And, no, you can't mix and match your best verbal score and your best math score from different tests.) (By the way, the cost of the final pencil-and-paper test was $84 and additional score reports were $10 each. Now it's $250 and additional score reports are $25 each. That's a great example of what happens when a monopoly is allowed to operate. Maybe someone in business school can come up with a way to introduce free market forces into the GMAT administration process.) What About the Essay Score on the GMAT? You will have to write two essays on the GMAT (the "Analytical Writing Section"). They will be scored on a scale of 1 to 6, and those points will not be added to your other GMAT score. The essays are extremely simple. I teach my students a basic template to follow and they do very well with it. They regularly score perfect 6's (the 99th percentile) just by following the template. It's been my experience, though, that your essay score is worthless, so I spend very little time on it in class. A few years ago I asked the admissions director of a Top-5 school what she was doing with the essay scores. She laughed at me and said she wasn't using them at all (though that isn't what her brochures say). I have to agree with her. The GMAT essays are ridiculous. Given how well some students have done by following a simple formula, the scores seem meaningless. And now the essays are graded by computer, making them even more worthless. So don't spend a lot of time studying for the AWA essays, and don't put too much emphasis on your essay score. I can assure you the admissions committee won't. A Special Note: The actual essay topics you will see on test day are disclosed in advance! You can find a complete list of them in the current edition of The Official Guide for GMAT Review. Having the list tempts some people to try to write their essays ahead of time. The pool of essay topics is so large, however, that it would be impossible to write an essay for each (and remember them all) before test day. Your time would be better spent studying the other sections of the GMAT. What About Taking the Exam Under "Non-Standard Accommodations?" Most people don't know that they can take the GMAT with what is called "non-standard accommodations." That means you can get twice as much time as everyone else, if that's what you need to compensate for a medical condition. GMAC doesn't promote this accommodation very aggressively, but I've had many of my students take the test "non-standard" and all of them who have gotten a truly significant accommodation (such as double time) have gone up at least 100 points from what they were scoring with me on practice tests given under standard conditions. I had one student who consistently scored in the mid 500s with me. He took the test under non-standard conditions (he got double time), went up more than 100 points, and was accepted at Harvard. I don't think Harvard would have taken him in the mid-500s, so the special accommodations worked out particularly well for him (as did HBS). Should I Take a GMAT-Prep Course? If you hope to go to a top school, you'd be crazy not to prepare for the GMAT. Being admitted to Kellogg or Columbia or Stanford or a similar school is well worth the time and money invested in a good prep course. I don't want to steer you toward one company over another, but I would suggest that you take the longest, most comprehensive course available in your area. And look for a good instructor. A good teacher can reveal subtleties about the test that aren't written into any book, and just having the structure of a class will force you to work harder than you would if you chose to study on your own.

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GMAT Score: Admissions Criteria 1. What is a Good GMAT Score?


The Bottom Line On GMAT Scores : How to get a Perfect GMAT Score Perfect GMAT scores are surprisingly rare at the top business schools. Every year I'm shocked to see the highest reported score at Stanford, Harvard, Wharton, Kellogg, Columbia and the other top schools because it's typically a 790 or 780 or even a 770. Getting a perfect GMAT score isn't terribly difficult if you're willing to work (ask my students how hard I work them), but it also isn't necessary and you shouldn't waste your time prepping for points you don't need. Take the GMAT very seriously, though. If you score 560 you won't be going to Wharton, and all of your excuses for not finding time to study will be little consolation. Work hard in your course! And if you don't like your first score, take the test again. Keep taking it until you get the score you want.

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MBA Application Essays: Admissions Criteria 2. How to Write a Great MBA Essay.

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Develop the right application strategy in your essays. Once you've gotten your GMAT score into the proper range the most important thing you can do is write good essays, not try to push your score up a few more points by retaking the exam. An extra 30 points will not be worth nearly as much as a well thought out set of essays that convince an admissions officer that you have something valuable to contribute to his school. Your work background will determine who you compete against for admission spots. But what you say about your background and how well you say it will determine whether you beat those competitors. That's why the essays are so important.

The 7 Criteria
GMAT SCORE You won't be admitted to a top-tier MBA school without a pretty decent GMAT number. The schools' own statistics prove this simple truth.

GMAT Score

MBA APPLICATION ESSAYS It's common for applicants with great essays but only acceptable GMAT scores to beat out candidates with higher numbers.

MBA Application Essays


The Admissions Process To understand the admissions process, you have to look at it from an admissions officer's point of view. Each year the staff tries to assemble a well-rounded class consisting of people from a broad range of work backgrounds. It's important that they assemble a diverse group because many assignments in Bschool are collaborative and interdisciplinary. Consequently, projects will be more successful and students will learn more if their teammates can contribute their own unique perspectives. The admissions staff faces a tough challenge, though, in assembling a diverse class because the vast majority of applicants to top programs come from only two broad work categories: finance and consulting. Many of these people have worked at the most prestigious firms. They got good grades as undergraduates (or they wouldn't have been hired by top firms), and almost all of them take GMAT prep courses because that's part of the culture at their firms. In other words, they have a lot going for themselves. I've coached a lot of applicants with this type of background. They've come from large asset management companies, top investment banks, and well known consulting firms. They are very competitive and tend to do well on the GMAT. (I've had whole classes of them that averaged over 700.) And they make the competition in their categories pretty tough. If admissions officers were to select candidates strictly on the basis of GMAT scores and undergraduate GPAs, their student bodies would be comprised almost entirely of people from finance and consulting backgrounds, which would make for bad class dynamics. The admissions people know about this disparity, of course, and they compensate for it by starting with an ideal profile of the class they hope to end up with. A Typical Class Profile Given the differences among the top schools, I'm always surprised at the consistency they show when selecting their classes. At most programs, approximately 60 to 65 percent of admitted students will come from finance and consulting backgrounds. Below is a typical admit profile. The chart seems to show that finance and consulting are the best backgrounds from which to apply (they offer the most spots), but as I've already mentioned, a disproportionate number of people apply from those backgrounds, making them very competitive categories. The consistency in composition should tell you something about how admissions officers choose their classes. Namely, if you come from a finance background, you will, for the most part, compete only with other finance people for the limited number of finance spots available. If you are a consultant, you will compete with other consultants. It's more a practice dictated by circumstances than an explicit policy acknowledged by admissions officers (though some acknowledge it). Although there are no strict quotas for each category, the final numbers are amazingly consistent from year to year regardless of the number of finance or consulting people who actually apply. The at all. INTERVIEWS Interviews can be very important, but their impact varies widely from school to schooland some schools don't use them RECOMMENDATIONS Recommendations are often a better reflection of the recommender than of the applicant. I think they should be dumped. WORK EXPERIENCE This isn't the type of experience you have at work, it's the amount. As applications rise, schools want students with more experience UNDERGRAD GPA Undergrad GPA is not as important as most applicants believe. But there's a caveat: if your math grades suck it will pay to do some work. MBA APPLICATION TIMELINE When you submit your application can be as important as what you say in it. At the elite schools, you'd better be in one of the first two rounds.

MBA Application Timeline

MBA Undergrad GPA

MBA Work Experience

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MBA Application Essays: Admissions Criteria 2. How to Write a Great MBA Essay.
overwhelming number of applicants from a few categories, coupled with the need to assemble a diverse group, in effect, forces admissions people to pit consultant against consultant and investment banker against investment banker, even without an explicit policy to do so. And it makes sense to compare apples to apples. After all, what evaluation criteria would you use if you had to choose between an asset manager and a software engineer? Which Categories are the Most Competitive? Investment banking and management consulting are probably the most competitive categories. Virtually everyone who works in those fields needs to go to B-school in order to move up in the industry. To my knowledge, no school has ever released the median GMAT scores of its students grouped by occupation, so I have to rely on my personal experience. But it's clear to me that, ON AVERAGE, accepted candidates from the very competitive finance and consulting backgrounds have higher GMAT scores than do accepted candidates from less competitive categories. I've coached too many students not to see the pattern. Don't be discouraged if you fall into one of these categories. Later we'll talk about how to differentiate yourself in the application essays so you won't look like all the other consultants or investment bankers in the pile. What are the Less Competitive Categories? I'm sure you're wondering about this one. After, "What do you score on the GMAT?" it's the question I'm asked most frequently: "What's the easiest work background from which to apply?" Think about it from the admissions officer's point of view. Say you have 300 seats to fill. About 100 will go to applicants from finance backgrounds, and about another 100 will go to people from consulting backgrounds. You will use the final 100 spots to broaden your class and add some depth of experience to the group. You will need some marketing people and some people from technical backgrounds. And every class has a few disenchanted lawyers and doctors along with some real outliers people with tremendously unique experience that will be valuable to their classmates. But none of these is the easiest category. In my experience, the easiest background from which to apply is nonprofit, in part because very few people from nonprofit firms apply to top business schools. B-school has a reputation for being a very competitive place, and competition isn't part of the culture of the average nonprofit corporation. So I regularly see people with very modest GMAT scores get accepted by top B-schools because those schools are trying to broaden the perspective of their classes and, at the same time, promote what is becoming an increasingly important business sector. A number of schools have even developed substantial nonprofit curricula to address the needs of managers in that sector. So, for what it's worth, that's what I've seen with nonprofit applicants. But I've also seen a fair number of people from government and military backgrounds who get into top programs even though their GMAT scores are pretty modest (below their schools' median 80 percent range). Again, I think these people add depth to a class, and admitting them allows business schools to reach into important public-sector organizations to influence the ways in which they are run. Your Essay Strategy All of this plays into your strategy. In writing the application essays, your strategy should be to highlight the unique experiences you've had both on the job and in your personal life that you believe will be valuable to your classmates. If you were assigned to an economic development project in Vietnam, for instance, that's unique. So is working in a refugee camp in Afghanistan. Very few people can bring that kind of experience to the table, and schools are looking for applicants who can share that background in the classroom. They will gladly discount GPA and GMAT scores to get those people into their programs. But you don't need experience in a Third World country to have something unique and valuable to offer. A lot of my GMAT students are consultants with big firms such as Bain, BCG, and Deloitte. In large part, they all have the same generic work experience, and most of them make the mistake of discussing that experience in their essays. Think about how that looks to an admissions officer. She's got a pile of applications on her desk from consultants in every Bain and Deloitte office around the world, and every applicant is talking about the same thing. How does she decide who to choose? Be Unique When I work with applicants who are consultants, I ask them not to write about the mundane tasks that everyone does at the pre-MBA level but instead to focus on one or two of their assignments that were unique and interesting. I ask them to go into detail about that work. Tell me exactly what you did and

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MBA Application Essays: Admissions Criteria 2. How to Write a Great MBA Essay.
why you think it was important work. Convince me, as an admissions officer, that your experience will be valuable to your classmates and I'll let you in. That's the key to getting into top business schools. Convince me in your essays that you have something unique to share with your potential classmates, and I'll ignore your not-so-hot GMAT score and undergraduate GPA. I see it all the time. People with modest GMAT scores but valuable experiences are regularly admitted to top programs. The problem, of course, is writing about yourself. That's tremendously hard to do. You may think that a certain experience is pretty mundane, but others may find it interesting. I'm amazed by the experience that some people will leave out of their essays. I remember one applicant who, after we had already worked through a couple schools, told me she had been a world class figure skater as a teenager and was still active in skating. When I asked her why she hadn't told me that at the beginning she said she didn't think it was important. Essay Tutorial Most people I meet have experience that is good enough to get them into top programs, but they don't know what admissions people are looking for so they stumble through some mind-numbing babble in their essays and end up being rejected. Our consulting work with applicants involves talking through their work experiences, determining what in their background is unique and valuable, and then making sure that they get that valuable experience down on paper in a clear and concise manner. We want a reader who knows nothing about the applicant to be able to understand his story and to find something in that applicant's background that is unique and valuable to his potential classmates. Remember, the evaluation process is mostly about what you can do for the school, not what the school can do for you. Be sure to read our brief tutorial that addresses some do's and don'ts of application essay writing. Our work with applicants is much more detailed, but the general comments found in the tutorial should get you started.

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Seven Criteria Overview (1) GMAT Score (2) Application Essays (3) Application Timing (4) Undergraduate GPA (5) Work Experience (6) Recommendations (7) Interviews

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MBA Application Timeline: Admissions Criterion 3. MBA Deadlines.

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If you don't apply early you probably won't be going to a top school. There is so much competition among schools for the best candidates that admissions officers can't afford to pass on good applicants in the early rounds. Consequently, there are very few open spots remaining after the January deadlines. Although there are opinions to the contrary, I still believe it's best to apply in the first round, especially if you feel you're a strong candidate. Most schools have three application periods, but some have as many as five. (And some programs work on a pure "rolling" basis.)

The 7 Criteria
GMAT SCORE You won't be admitted to a top-tier MBA school without a pretty decent GMAT number. The schools' own statistics prove this simple truth.

GMAT Score

MBA APPLICATION ESSAYS It's common for applicants with great essays but only acceptable GMAT scores to beat out candidates with higher numbers.

MBA Application Essays


The drawback to the first round is the quality of its applicants. There are a lot of "sharks" in that round. They aced the GMAT, got good grades in college and have great work experience. (Those Bastards!) To top it off, they managed to get their acts together and finish their applications in time for the first-round deadlines. You don't necessarily want to be compared with those freaks, so it's tempting to skip the first round in hopes of finding more slobs like you (and me) in round two. That strategy sounds good, but there's a problem with it. There will be more than twice as many applicants in round two as there were in round one, and they will be competing for fewer open spots. How Many People Apply in the First Round? MBA UNDERGRAD GPA A typical top program might have 600 to 800 applicants in the first round and 350 seats to fill. To complete the class they'll admit about 500 people. This brings up the concept of "yield," the percent of applicants who actually accept offers made by schools. Harvard has the highest yield at about 87 percent. After that comes Stanford at about 80 percent. Then the numbers drop significantly. Kellogg, for instance, has a yield of only about 60 percent, which means it must make 830 offers to fill a class of 500 students. So if I know that Kellogg will make 830 offers per year and that only about 600 people will apply in the first round, I might be willing to swim with the sharks and try my chances early. The second round at top schools may have more than 2,000 applicants, all competing for the leftovers. I don't like those odds. It's too easy to get lost in the shuffle. If I apply early, I know I'm going to face some stiff competition, but at least I know there are a reasonable number of spots still available. So listen to the admissions officers when they say apply early. And remember that it typically takes two months to collect your undergraduate transcripts, complete the online application forms, write your application essays, and get your boss to finish your recommendations. It's important that you apply to at least six schools, and doing so takes time. What if I Want to Retake the GMAT But My Deadline is Coming Up? I encounter this problem all the time. "If I apply now I won't be able to retake the GMAT, but if I wait until I can take the test again I'll miss the upcoming application deadline." It's a judgment call that depends on both your GMAT score and the deadline you're thinking about skipping. If your GMAT score is already in the mid 600s, apply at the upcoming deadline. A few more points won't help as much as making an early deadline. If, on the other hand, you scored 600 or below and you are fairly certain that you will go up on the next test (and you will accept only a top school), you might want to skip the deadline. But waiting until February or later to apply makes things more difficult. There are few spots available after the January deadlines, so think hard before blowing them off. Applying to Business School in Round 3 at all. INTERVIEWS Interviews can be very important, but their impact varies widely from school to schooland some schools don't use them RECOMMENDATIONS Recommendations are often a better reflection of the recommender than of the applicant. I think they should be dumped. WORK EXPERIENCE This isn't the type of experience you have at work, it's the amount. As applications rise, schools want students with more experience work. Undergrad GPA is not as important as most applicants believe. But there's a caveat: if your math grades suck it will pay to do some MBA APPLICATION TIMELINE When you submit your application can be as important as what you say in it. At the elite schools, you'd better be in one of the first two rounds.

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MBA Application Timeline: Admissions Criterion 3. MBA Deadlines.


This can be dangerous. Being admitted in the final round (typically in March) is harder than it is in other rounds. After evaluating candidates, we advise many not to apply in March but to wait and apply in November, which is the first round of the following year. Stronger candidates can be admitted in round 3, and we're not afraid to apply then, but candidates with serious deficiencies should usually wait eight months and spend that time addressing their deficiencies.

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MBA GPA: Undergrad GPA - Admissions Criteria 4.

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Surprising, isn't it? You would think that your undergraduate GPA would be weighted more heavily, but at most schools it isn't and for good reasons. First, most B-school applicants were not planning to apply to graduate programs, so they might not have focused on playing the grade game the way most premed or pre-law students did. Why hold mediocre grades against an applicant who had no intention of applying to grad school five years down the line? Second, that was then and this is now. I've been told by many admissions people that they discount undergraduate GPAs because they are old measures of performance. Admissions officers are more interested in how you perform now thus the emphasis on GMAT scores. I remember one director, however, pointing out how the emphasis on GPA can vary from candidate to candidate. He said that he has to rely more heavily on GPA when evaluating the candidacy of a relatively young applicant who has been in the workforce only a short time. For another applicant with five years of work experience, however, he puts more emphasis on that experience and on the applicant's GMAT score, and less emphasis on his (more distant) undergraduate GPA. While I list GPA as number 4 in order of importance, you shouldn't think that its value is set in stone. The evaluation process is fairly holistic, so if you performed well in college, emphasize that performance and the admissions staff may buy into it. If you didn't perform well, talk about your terrific GMAT score and ignore your undergrad years. Whatever you do, don't whine about your mediocre grades; take responsibility for them. There is one excuse, however, that you can get away with. If you worked and paid your own way through undergrad, be sure to mention that in your essays. Working is the one universal justification for bad grades. (A comment I've heard from many admissions officers.) A Caveat to Your Undergraduate GPA While you might be able to explain away your less-than-stellar undergrad GPA by informing the admissions people of the Twinkies-and-beer lifestyle of your college years, you won't be able to slide bad math grades by them quite so easily. Admissions people will look very closely at your undergraduate math performance. As I mentioned in the GMAT section of this Web site, admissions officers are very concerned about math skills. If you believe that your math grades are not up to par and that your performance on the math portion of the GMAT isn't good enough to make up for those grades, do everything possible to take a math course through a local university before applying to B-school. You need to allay the admissions committee's fears about your ability to cut it in math-intensive classes. While you can be accepted into a great MBA program with only better-than-average verbal skills, you won't be accepted if you are suspected of having anything but strong math skills. So fix your math profile. The Bottom Line On GPA You can't change your GPA, so there isn't much sense in worrying about it. People with bad GPAs get into great schools all the time, though, because they have strong GMAT scores and good work experience. work.

The 7 Criteria
GMAT SCORE You won't be admitted to a top-tier MBA school without a pretty decent GMAT number. The schools' own statistics prove this simple truth.

GMAT Score

MBA APPLICATION ESSAYS It's common for applicants with great essays but only acceptable GMAT scores to beat out candidates with higher numbers.

MBA Application Essays

MBA APPLICATION TIMELINE When you submit your application can be as important as what you say in it. At the elite schools, you'd better be in one of the first two rounds.

MBA Application Timeline

MBA UNDERGRAD GPA Undergrad GPA is not as important as most applicants believe. But there's a caveat: if your math grades suck it will pay to do some

MBA Undergrad GPA

MBA WORK EXPERIENCE This isn't the type of experience you have at work, it's the amount. As applications rise, schools want students with more experience

MBA Work Experience

MBA RECOMMENDATIONS Recommendations are often a better reflection of the recommender than of the applicant. I think they should be dumped.

MBA Recommendations
Don't let your GPA keep you from applying to top business schools. The median GPAs reported by some top programs can be intimidating, but the GPAs of accepted students vary a great dealeven more than do their GMAT scores. (The middle 80 percent range at top schools can be 3.0 to 3.8.) One thing you can do, however, to address your GPA is take some classes through a local university extension program. School is a lot easier the second time around, and you might be surprised to find that you can now get good grades in classes you used to hate. Performing well in school now should convince admissions officers that you can do well in their program regardless of your undergraduate GPA. at all. MBA INTERVIEWS Interviews can be very important, but their impact varies widely from school to schooland some schools don't use them

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5. MBA Work Experience


The application essays address the type of work experience you have. Admissions officers also consider the amount. Most of you know that the average number of years of full-time work experience has risen dramatically at the top B-schools. Schools that only recently averaged two or three years now average five. And that number keeps rising. You don't want to apply too early. I have many ambitious students in my GMAT classes who insist on taking their shot at the brass ring with only two years of full-time work experience. (And that's by the time they would enter school, not when they plan to apply.) Although some of them are exceptionally bright and do well on the GMAT, very few of them make it into top-tier programs. Most end up "trading down" to a backup school or getting rejected altogether. I have to admit that I agree with admissions officers who reject inexperienced applicants. The whole objective in assembling a business school class is to put together people who can share unique experiences from their industries. If you have two years in your industry and another applicant has five years in the same business, I'm going to take the more experienced candidate over you, even if his GMAT score is a little lower than yours. But That Won't Happen to Me! I know, you're different. You think your 720 GMAT and 3.6 GPA will get you into Wharton. After all, you have almost two years at Salomon. But look at the numbers. Only two percent of last year's class at Wharton had less than two years of full-time work experience. That means 15 people out of 8,300 applicants (one of the highest acceptance rates out there). That gives you a 1-in-553 chance. Be serious. Wait until you have at least three years (by the time you would enter). I have had a few students who have gotten into top programs (including Wharton) with only two years of experience, but they were the exceptions to the rule. The vast majority of inexperienced applicants get the ax and have to reapply the following year with a lame story about why they were rejected previously. And, by the way, you don't get to apply from ground zero the year after you have been rejected. At many schools all you are allowed to submit is an updated information form and a single essay explaining what has changed in your life since you last applied. What if I Changed Jobs? I hear this question a lot and I've heard a number of admissions officers address itenough that I'm finally starting to discern a pattern among their answers. The general opinion seems to be that changing jobs isn't a problem, especially if the change involves some kind of promotion. But "job churning" is frowned upon because the admissions people want you to have more than just a surface understanding of your industry. You need to bring a certain amount of expertise to the classroom, and changing jobs every six months will make it difficult to develop an in-depth understanding of a specific industry. So try to stick with one job (or, at least, one industry) for a year or two. Otherwise you won't have much to offer a school.

The 7 Criteria
GMAT SCORE You won't be admitted to a top-tier MBA school without a pretty decent GMAT number. The schools' own statistics prove this simple truth.

GMAT Score

MBA APPLICATION ESSAYS It's common for applicants with great essays but only acceptable GMAT scores to beat out candidates with higher numbers.

MBA Essays

MBA APPLICATION TIMELINE When you submit your application can be as important as what you say in it. At the elite schools, you'd better be in one of the first two rounds.

MBA Application Timeline

MBA UNDERGRAD GPA Undergrad GPA is not as important as most applicants believe. But there's a caveat: if your math grades suck it will pay to do some work.

MBA Undergrad GPA

MBA WORK EXPERIENCE This isn't the type of experience you have at work, it's the amount. As applications rise, schools want students with more experience

MBA Work Experience

MBA RECOMMENDATIONS Recommendations are often a better reflection of the recommender than of the applicant. I think they should be dumped.

Next: (6) MBA Recommendations

MBA Recommendations

The 7 MBA Evaluation Criteria


Seven Criteria Overview (1) GMAT Score (2) Application Essays (4) Undergraduate GPA at all. (5) Work Experience (6) Recommendations

MBA INTERVIEWS Interviews can be very important, but their impact varies widely from school to schooland some schools don't use them

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MBA Recommendations: Admissions Criteria 6. How to Write a Great MBA Recom...

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6. MBA Recommendations
The recommendations represent an opportunity to sharpen your skills as a forger. Everyone forges their own recommendations. OK, not everyone, but most people write their own or provide a heck of a lot of "guidance" during the process. I know this because I'm on the "sell side" of the admissions transaction. (Wow, I sound like an investment banker.) My students constantly ask what they should write in their recommendations. It isn't that applicants are trying to cheat the game; the problem is that most recommenders don't want to take the time to write a long letter or respond to the online questions and fill in the "grid boxes" that are part of most MBA recommendations. So they ask the applicant to do the dirty work and agree to sign the finished product.

The 7 Criteria
GMAT SCORE You won't be admitted to a top-tier MBA school without a pretty decent GMAT number. The schools' own statistics prove this simple truth.

GMAT Score

MBA APPLICATION ESSAYS It's common for applicants with great essays but only acceptable GMAT scores to beat out candidates with higher numbers.

MBA Application Essays


Letting Your Boss Write Your Recommendation You'd almost be crazy to let your boss write your recs. Frankly, he has no idea what he's doing and he can inadvertently screw up your chances of being admitted. I see it all the time. To avoid that problem, I recommend that my students give their recommenders a list of the questions they'll be asked to respond to and to provide them with some sample (meaning "appropriate") responses. Don't leave your fate in your boss's hands. He's a clown who doesn't know what he's doing. Give him some guidelines, and if he asks you to complete the recommendation forms yourself, don't hesitate to do so. The schools all know that many of the recommendations are from the applicants themselves. (Yes, I've confirmed it with the admissions people.) What if I Don't Want My Employer to Know That I'm Leaving? This is a tough situation. Schools hear this question from hundreds of applicants every year. They always answer something like, "Well, just do the best you can." It's a lame response. I've never heard a good answer to this question. My suggestion is that you get a recommendation from one of your customers, but that isn't always possible. The top schools want two recommendations (except Harvard, which asks for three). If you can't get the full quota, then get what you can get. That causes a lot of worry, but in the end I don't think it makes much difference. Just include a note stating why you can't get more recommendations. The schools will understand. MBA WORK EXPERIENCE A Few Pointers on the Letters of Recommendation There's an entire section on writing the recommendations at this Web site, so I won't address it here. Be sure to check that section out, though, after finishing the Seven Application Elements. A Final Comment on the Letter of Recommendation You may hear from some admissions people that they put a great deal of emphasis on letters of recommendation. I hope, for the sake of applicants, that they are bluffing to justify putting your recommender through an arduous process. The quality of your recommendation is so closely tied to your recommender's ability to write that it wouldn't be fair to place much emphasis on it. Some recommenders are very good writers, and some have even gone to top MBA schools and know what to write about. Others are terrible writers and don't know what the admissions people are looking for. If you don't believe that the recommendation is more reflective of the writer than of the applicant, then have your boss write a letter for you. I'll make up a recommendation for your officemate (against whom you are competing for a spot at Wharton). You can judge for yourself which candidate looks better on paper. MBA INTERVIEWS Interviews can be very important, but their impact varies widely from school to schooland some schools don't use them at all. MBA RECOMMENDATIONS Recommendations are often a better reflection of the recommender than of the applicant. I think they should be dumped. This isn't the type of experience you have at work, it's the amount. As applications rise, schools want students with more experience work. MBA UNDERGRAD GPA Undergrad GPA is not as important as most applicants believe. But there's a caveat: if your math grades suck it will pay to do some MBA APPLICATION TIMING When you submit your application can be as important as what you say in it. At the elite schools, you'd better be in one of the first two rounds.

MBA Application Timing

MBA Undergrad GPA

MBA Work Experience

MBA Recommendations

Next: (7) MBA Interviews

The 7 MBA Evaluation Criteria


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MBA Interviews: Admissions Criteria 7. How to ace the MBA interview.

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7. MBA Interview
The interview is last in importance? That doesn't make sense. Before you get all bent out of shape, let me explain. I agree that the interview can be a critical part of the admissions decision and should not always rank dead last in order of importance. But its importance varies dramatically from school to school. At some schools, your interview can make the difference between being accepted and spending another year riding your desk 60 hours a week. At others, however, it's meaningless and deserves to be listed last. And the policy changes from year to year. For years Stanford, for instance, refused to interview any applicants. (It was crazy.) Now they interview virtually everyone they admit. So interviewing can be meaningless or it can be critical. That's why it got this weird position in our admit criteria. Who Should and Who Shouldn't Interview? If you think you're a bad interviewer, don't volunteer to interview. Let your application do the talking for you. I've known a lot of people who I thought were bad interviewers. They had good work experience and great undergraduate GPAs. I could see from their practice tests that they would end up with a strong GMAT score, but I was afraid they will do more harm than good if they meet with their schools. So I discouraged it. All I can say is that it was a tactic that often worked. Do I Have a Choice? Increasingly, the answer is no. Schools now decide who will interview and who won't. As applications have risen, MBA programs have had to ration interview timeslots, so interviews are now rarely at the applicant's discretion. If your application get's past the initial screening phase and a school wants to see you, the admissions people will send an invite. Never turn down a request to interview. Your chances of being admitted after doing so are zero. Should I Interview with an Admissions Officer or an Alumnus? It's best to interview with someone on the admissions committee, but that isn't always possible. You shouldn't worry too much if you end up having to interview with an alumnus or even a current student. That person will write up a report that will go into your file. Just try to get along with your interviewer. A Few Pointers on the Interview 1. Whenever possible, interview with someone of the opposite sex. (Don't make me explain why.) 2. Dress formally unless your interview is with an alumnus and the situation calls for casual clothes. I've noticed that a lot of interviews here in L.A. take place at beachfront cafes on Saturday mornings. Situations like that call for casual clothes. 3. Relax! Don't come off as stiff and overly formal. You want your interviewer to like you, so treat him or her like a friend. 4. Prepare your answers ahead of time. (See the section below for common questions.) Typical Interview Questions The questions asked by interviewers for different schools are surprisingly similar. My students interview all over the country, but they all come back with the same list of questions. Virtually all of the interviewers cover the same topics. (Which makes sense, if you think about it.) The basic interview process goes as follows. Phase 1 - Your Upbringing and Undergraduate Experience at all. work.

The 7 Criteria
GMAT SCORE You won't be admitted to a top-tier MBA school without a pretty decent GMAT number. The schools' own statistics prove this simple truth.

GMAT Score

MBA APPLICATION ESSAYS It's common for applicants with great essays but only acceptable GMAT scores to beat out candidates with higher numbers.

MBA Application Essays

MBA APPLICATION TIMELINE When you submit your application can be as important as what you say in it. At the elite schools, you'd better be in one of the first two rounds.

MBA Application Timeline

MBA UNDERGRAD GPA Undergrad GPA is not as important as most applicants believe. But there's a caveat: if your math grades suck it will pay to do some

MBA Undergrad GPA

MBA WORK EXPERIENCE This isn't the type of experience you have at work, it's the amount. As applications rise, schools want students with more experience

MBA Work Experience

MBA RECOMMENDATIONS Recommendations are often a better reflection of the recommender than of the applicant. I think they should be dumped.

MBA Recommendations

MBA INTERVIEWS Interviews can be very important, but their impact varies widely from school to schooland some schools don't use them

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12/04/2011

MBA Interviews: Admissions Criteria 7. How to ace the MBA interview.


Be sure to prepare a brief outline of your upbringing before going to your interview. (Don't bring it with you.) It's easy to get lost and ramble into a long pointless diatribe when talking about your upbringing, so make your replies short and to the point. You will generally be asked a number of questions about your undergraduate experience. What was your major? Did you like it? (Meaning, was it the right decision?) Do you think your grades are an accurate reflection of your ability? Did you work as an undergrad? (This is important because it may help to explain why your GPA isn't 4.0)

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MBA Interviews

Phase 2 - Work Experience Since Leaving College You need to know your whole work history before walking into the interview. Look up the approximate dates of promotions or job transfers. The questions go something like the following: What was your first job out of undergrad? Have you been promoted? Have you ever supervised employees? Have you switched firms? If so, why?

Phase 3 - Career Goals and MBA Plans This is the part of your story that has to hold together. If they ask about career goals and you tell them something that is completely inconsistent with your experience, you're going to be in trouble. Be sure to mention a career goal that actually requires (or benefits from) an MBA. Be able to answer the question, "Why do you need an MBA?" Be able to answer the question, "Why do you need an MBA from this school?"

Phase 4 - Your Turn to Ask Questions Be sure to study the school before interviewing so you can ask informed questions about it. Knowing specific details about the program should convince the interviewer that you are serious about attending his school. A Final Note of Encouragement on the Interviews Subjecting yourself to interviews is tough. After two or three you begin to feel like a piece of meat. Just remember that everyone has to go through the same process. Below I'll post an e-mail messages I got it from one of my students just hours after he had a particularly bad interview at a top-10 school. Pardon the language, but I think it will help to put things into perspective. John, "F---ed up the interview. Felt like I was being lectured by my mother. "I can't tell if she was assisting me on the application by giving me pointers or subtly rejecting me and preparing me for it. One thing was clear, my 2.5 GPA did nothing positive for me. "Apparently, applications are up 25% on top of 30% last year, and she seems to have an attitude about it. Talked about how they want the 'worldly class' of some f---ing pyramid she kept demonstrating in the air. "Felt like Tom Cruise in Risky Business when he blew it with the Princeton guy. Walked out thinking, 'Indiana's not so bad....'" - Thomas (He was rejected.)

Seven Criteria Overview

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The 7 MBA Admissions Criteria Homepage: GMAT Score, Application Essays, Timi... Page 1 of 2

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The Seven MBA Applicant Evaluation Criteria


MBA admissions officers evaluate candidates using seven criteria. For many years I conducted admissions seminars designed to help applicants get into top MBA programs. This Web site is a condensed version of those seminars. In it I address the qualities admissions officers are looking for in candidates and include anecdotes from my former GMAT students, many of whom are now in or have already graduated from the country's top business schools. Those top schools will evaluate seven elements of your candidacy. There is significant variation in the emphasis placed on each of those elements, but as someone who has worked with hundreds of applicants, I have also noticed distinct similarities among the top programs. I've arranged the seven elements in what I feel is their order of importance. My rankings are based on my own experience, and I will be the first to admit that they are regularly contradicted. I have plenty of former students at Harvard, Wharton, Stanford and every other top school who were admitted because admissions officers liked something in their applications and threw out the rule book to accept them.

The 7 Criteria
1. GMAT SCORE You won't be admitted to a top-tier MBA school without a pretty decent GMAT number. The schools' own statistics prove this simple truth.

GMAT Score

2. APPLICATION ESSAYS It's common for applicants with great essays but only acceptable GMAT scores to beat out candidates with higher numbers.

MBA Application Essays

3. TIMING When you submit your application can be as important as what you say in it. At the elite schools, you'd better be in one of the first two rounds.

MBA Application Timeline

4. UNDERGRADUATE GPA So don't be discouraged if you feel a little weak in some of the categories that I place high in my ranking. As I write this, I can think of former students at all three of the schools I just mentioned who had glaring weaknesses in important categories but managed to convince the admissions staff that they had something valuable to offer. Keep in mind as you read through the seven items that their ranking applies only to top MBA programs. Less competitive schools have entirely different motivations behind their admissions decisions. After running through the seven items, be sure to look at the GMAT tutorial and the tutorial on writing the essays. And if you're interested in working with an editor on your application essays, feel free to contact us. Good luck. 5. WORK EXPERIENCE This isn't the type of experience you have at work, it's the amount. As applications rise, schools want students with more experience Undergrad GPA is not as important as most applicants believe. But there's a caveat: if your math grades suck it will pay to do some work.

MBA Undergrad GPA

MBA Work Experience


John Evans 6. RECOMMENDATIONS

7 MBA Evaluation Criteria


Seven Criteria Overview (1) GMAT Score (2) Application Essays (3) Application Timing (4) Undergraduate GPA (5) Work Experience (6) Recommendations (7) Interviews

Recommendations are often a better reflection of the recommender than of the applicant. I think they should be dumped.

MBA Recommendations

7. INTERVIEWS Interviews can be very important, but their impact varies widely from school to schooland some schools don't use them at all.

http://mbaapplicant.com/7_application_elements.html

12/04/2011

GMAT Prep Homepage at MBA Applicant.com

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GMAT Prep Homepage


As the most important element of your MBA application, the GMAT has to be your top priority. I'm amazed by the lack of effort the average MBA applicant puts into preparing for the GMAT exam. It's crazy. This test will have an enormous impact on the rest of an applicant's life, and yet most people invest very little time and appallingly little effort in it. They believe the "innate ability" fable that accompanies most standardized tests and feel they can improve only so much.

GMAT Test Sections


75 minutes of math; 75 minutes of verbal; 2 essays That's all that stands between you and 21 months in Palo Alto. GMAT Homepage 20 Questions About the GMAT GMAT Strategy GMAT Structure

You need to take the test seriously and study the curriculum for as long as it takes to achieve your target score. Many of my students study with me for a full year, and some study longer. What To Do with Our GMAT Section First, read our responses to 20 common questions that people ask about the GMAT. You can find the link at the bottom of this page. Next, read through our explanation of the five question types that appear on the GMAT. There are three verbal areas (sentence correction, critical reasoning, and reading comprehension) and two math areas (problem solving and data sufficiency). Then read our commentary on non-standard accommodations. You may qualify for extra time on your exam. Many of our students have. Finally, link through to the official test site to download the GMAT information bulletin, find a test center in your area, schedule an exam or contact GMAT customer service. Scheduling Your Test Reserve a time slot as early as possible! Seats are often at a premium, especially as application deadlines approach. And remember the 31-day rule. If you decide to retake the exam you'll need to wait 31 days from your previous test to do so. I've never understood why the contractor that runs the test centers can't simply install more computer terminals in order to relieve the overcrowding. That seems easy enough, but when you're a monopoly, customer service isn't usually your first priority.

Verbal Sentence Correction Critical Reasoning Reading Comprehension Math Problem Solving Data Sufficiency Other GMAT Non-Standard Test Accommodations

Official GMAT Exam Links


Links to the official GMAT Web site. First download the GMAT Information Bulletin, then schedule your exam. GMAT Information Bulletin Schedule a GMAT Test Date Contact GMAT Customer Service Some Advice: OK, I'm clearly biased because I teach the GMAT exam, but take a GMAT prep class. If nothing else, sitting in a classroom with other test takers will motivate you to study harder.

Next: 20 Questions About the GMAT >

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GMAT Test: 20 Questions About the GMAT

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20 Questions About the GMAT


What to know about the GMAT before taking it. Facts and fables about the most important test you'll ever take. Thanks to the Internet, you can learn almost anything you want about the GMAT without ever leaving home. Much of what you'll read, however, is wrong. The Web is full of GMAT misinformation and paranoia: "Is it really true that people who take the test stoned score higher? Will I get fingerprinted at the test center? Are other people cheating while I'm not?" Don't laugh; these are real questions I've seen posted on the Internet. (The correct answers are: sometimes, no and yesin that order.) Let's tackle some of the common GMAT myths and misconceptions.

GMAT Test Sections


75 minutes of math; 75 minutes of verbal; 2 essays That's all that stands between you and 21 months in Palo Alto. GMAT Homepage 20 Questions About the GMAT GMAT Strategy GMAT Structure Verbal Sentence Correction

1. What if I take the test more than once? Will schools average my scores? No. I'm not aware of a single school that still averages GMAT scores. Back in the day, policies varied from program to program, but then one year everything changed. Suddenly the schools all agreed to unify their practice. Now virtually all of them accept only your highest score.

Critical Reasoning Reading Comprehension Math

2. What about the math and verbal sub-scores? Do schools use them? Yes. In fact, your math sub-score is critically important. Admissions officers are terrified of admitting candidates who will bomb out because they can't handle the math-intensive courses. So getting an acceptable math score is important. The verbal sub-score isn't quite as critical, and applicants who speak English as a second language are often given extra leeway for low verbal scores.

Problem Solving Data Sufficiency Other

3. What about the AWA scorethe essay? Do schools use it? Almost never. Adding the essay to the GMAT has been a total failure. 4. If the essays are so unimportant, is it okay to skip them? Definitely not. It's true that schools place virtually no weight on your AWA score when making the admissions decision, but ignoring the essays completelyas some unwise test takers have donemakes the applicant look lazy. Write the essays. If nothing else, it's a good way to warm up for the two parts of the exam that matter dearly. 5. Is it easier to improve in math or verbal? Most GMAT prep students who take a class improve more in math than they do in verbal. The concepts in math are more concrete and the answer choices are less ambiguous. 6. What is an acceptable GMAT score? It varies from school to school and candidate to candidate. Applicants from overrepresented work backgroundssuch as banking or consultingneed higher GMAT scores, while candidates from underrepresented work backgrounds can be admitted with significantly lower numbers. Regardless of a candidate's work background, however, being admitted to a top-tier program with a score below 600 is almost impossible. 7. How much can I improve on the GMAT? The GMAT curriculum can be mastered completely. The people who write the exam aren't robots with superhuman brain power. They're ordinary worker bees who follow prescribed formulas to write predictable test questions. Because I've studied the test for so long, I know every concept that appears on the exam. If I can master it, you can master it. 8. What do you score on the GMAT? 800.

GMAT Non-Standard Test Accommodations

Official GMAT Exam Links


Links to the official GMAT Web site. First download the GMAT Information Bulletin, then schedule your exam. GMAT Information Bulletin Schedule a GMAT Test Date Contact GMAT Customer Service

9. What is your personal favorite section and least favorite section of the GMAT? Favorite is data sufficiency (lot's of cool techniques to apply), and least favorite is reading comp (too many boring passages about how flies mate). 10. What are your suggestions for how to improve the GMAT? More vividly detailed reading passages about how humans mate. 11. When should I take the test? At least 31 days before your first application deadline. There is now a 30-day waiting period between test administrations for people who want to take the test more than once. Schedule your test early enough to take it multiple times and still make your deadline. 12. Any suggestions for test day? Arrive super early. Sneak Skittles in your shirt pocket. Go commando. 13. Should I use GMASS, the Graduate Management Admissions Search Service? Yes, checking the GMASS box at MBA.com or on your computer on test day will allow schools to recruit you based on your GMAT score and selfreported GPA.

Some Advice: OK, I'm clearly biased because I teach the GMAT exam, but take a GMAT prep class. If nothing else, sitting in a classroom with other test takers will motivate you to study harder.

Read More

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GMAT Test: 20 Questions About the GMAT


14. Should I elect to send my scores every time I take the test? Yes. The fee you pay to take the exam includes sending your scores to five schools. Beyond that, you can send scores to more programs at a cost of $25 per school. (Outrageous.) There is no advantage in holding off on sending your GMAT transcript until you get the score you wants. Schools will use only your highest score anyway, so don't wait until you've taken the test many times and then be forced to pay $25 per school. Send your scores with every test. 15. Does the GMAT 'measure' anything? Apparently not. No one claims that the GMAT is an intelligence test or that it measures any kind of aptitude or potential. In fact, the Graduate Management Admissions Counsel is so lawyered up on this issue that it invests more energy clarifying what the test doesn't do than explaining what it does. The only justification ever given for administering the test is that there is a slight correlation (median correlation = 0.51) between GMAT scores and first-year grades in business school. (Shockingly, the study conducted to find that modest correlation was paid for and conducted by the very people who write the test.) There is apparently no correlation whatsoever between a student's GMAT score and his or her second-year grades. Go figure. 16. They take my picture at the test center as part of the security process. Is it true that schools can pull up that picture on the Internet? Yep, and they often do. That "security" picture is made available to schools (for some stupid reason), so don't be caught wearing your "Legalize It!" T-shirt and flipping off the camera. 17. What is the average GMAT score? In the 2008-2009 test-taking cycle, the worldwide average was 539. 18. What's the gender breakdown among GMAT test takers? 60% male; 40% female 19. Which undergrad majors score highest and lowest on the GMAT? Physics (606); Education (485) 20. Which U.S. states have the highest and the lowest average GMAT scores? The highest isn't a state at all, it's the District of Columbia (593). The lowest is Mississippi (441).

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GMAT Test Prep: Critical Reasoning Questions at MBA Applicant.com

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GMAT: Sentence Correction


What do idioms, verb tenses and ambiguous pronoun references have to do with your ability to manage? I have no idea, but MBA programs believe they can predict your performance in business school. I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that sentence correction is the easiest section of the GMAT to master. I know that drives some people crazy, but hear me out. The sentence correction section involves correcting grammatical errors. And because there are only about 25 or 30 errors tested on the exam, they can all be memorized.

GMAT Test Sections


75 minutes of math; 75 minutes of verbal; 2 essays That's all that stands between you and 21 months in Palo Alto. GMAT Homepage 20 Questions About the GMAT GMAT Strategy GMAT Structure

Of course, each error has its variations, and the test authors do their best to disguise the errors; but still, they can be memorized. And with practice they can be mastered. Sentence correction was the first section I mastered completely. But You're a Writer! OK, so I had an advantage. Should I Read Grammar Books or Take an English Class?

Verbal Sentence Correction Critical Reasoning Reading Comprehension Math Problem Solving

I get asked this question all the time. It makes sense if you know very little about the test, but those of us who are experienced with it know that the GMAT curriculum is highly specific and very limited in scope. Most of what you would read in a grammar book or learn in an English class isn't tested on the exam. It's better to focus on GMAT-specific grammar, so taking a class that isn't focused on the exam is usually a bad idea. Favorite Grammatical Error Tested?

Data Sufficiency Other GMAT Non-Standard Test Accommodations

Misplaced modifier. Simple, easy to fix, most test takers blow it. Total low-hanging fruit. Least Favorite Grammatical Error Tested? Subjunctive mood. Stupid thing to test. Important in the Romance languages; not important in English. Any Study Recommendations? Yes, focus on sentence correction before critical reasoning or reading comp. Of the three verbal question types, sentence correction is the easiest to learn. Links to the official GMAT Web site. First download the GMAT Information Bulletin, then schedule your exam. GMAT Information Bulletin Schedule a GMAT Test Date Contact GMAT Customer Service Some Advice: OK, I'm clearly biased because I teach the GMAT exam, but take a GMAT prep class. If nothing else, sitting in a classroom with other test takers will motivate you to study harder.

Official GMAT Exam Links

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