The conveners of the Common Aptitude Test (standardized test for admission to various IIMs and other business schools in India) are trying hard to bring the test at par with GRE and GMAT, while keeping it simpler and less complicated for the candidates. In the year 2009, the paper based exam was converted into a Computer Based Test, much to the dismay of the students in India who found it challenging to give the test on-screen. Nevertheless, the test remains to be computer based and with adequate practice sessions, candidates are able to get familiar with the on-screen test environment. Read more…

For some testers, GMAT questions based on assumptions, inferences and conclusion are easily the bane of their existence, for the simple reason that all the five answer choices seem to be highly likely. You read the first choice and think, ‘ya, this could be the right answer’. Come down to the second choice and you are already confused as to which of the two choices is correct. Next three choices are hardly going to ease the dilemma, unless of course you are an expert at solving critical reasoning questions.

How do you become an expert? Simple! It is imperative that you know the tips and techniques for solving critical reasoning questions and practice a lot of these kinds of questions. It is believed that once you have mastered the required skill for solving CR questions, you will read every other text in a way as if you are looking for assumptions, conclusions and inferences.

To help you in your GMAT preparation, we have compiled an online practice test of 20 CR questions that vary in difficulty level, from medium to hard. The questions are set strictly according to the current GMAT pattern and is sure to prove a great resource for those who are about to take the GMAT test in the near future.

At the end of the test, you can check your score and also the right answers to the questions. We advise you to astutely analyze the questions and solutions, so that you get an idea as to where is it that you are going wrong while solving the test questions.

Take the GMAT Critical Reasoning Test now!

“Words have meaning and names have power”

This particular line I think summarize the importance of writing winning admission essays, if you want to make it to the any of the most renowned business schools in the world. While the GMAT scores and the undergraduate GPAs reflect your academic and intellectual aptitude, the college essays not only are an indicator of your verbal prowess but your leadership abilities. Even more than that, the essays prove to the admission committee members that the applicant portrayed by the words is indeed a blessing to the MBA program and will contribute handsomely to the pool of knowledge and experience.

However, that doesn’t mean you should stoop down to painting yourself in false light and concoct false tales to prove your mettle. Remember, words have meaning and it always pays to write honest and meaningful words. Read more…

This is a follow up to the last post in which we reported the survey analysis by the MBA.com that claims that MBA education in business schools can help one unravel his/her entrepreneurial instincts. There were substantial evidences behind that claim and we respect the view point too.  However, one cannot but put up the point: is business school education mandatory for entrepreneurial success?

The unanimous answer is obviously NO. The MBA degree does not assure success in one’s entrepreneurial ventures and not all MBA grads are treated with reverence in the Silicon Valley or at the Wall Street. In fact, the hottest companies and ventures in the market are owned by the college dropouts of yesteryears who had the nerve to think beyond the stereotypical. Yes, we are talking about Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook), Steve Jobs (Apple Inc, which was a garage startup) and Bill Gates (Microsoft Corp). Do you think an MBA degree would have made a difference to their businesses today? Read more…

According to the findings of the Global Management Education Graduate Survey 2011, conducted by the mba.com, management education availed at the business schools help the candidates with entrepreneurial drive, by instilling in them the important managerial virtues such as market research, decision making skills, financial projection and management etc.

Well, it is not at all easy being an entrepreneur. It takes more than grit, determination, passion, ability to strategize and make decisions and innovation. Above all, it requires patience, a sound knowledge of the target customer base, market dynamics in the particular industry in a particular region and belief in one’s products and services. Though only 5% of the class of 2011 expressed interest in starting their own entrepreneurial venture, the consensus on the importance of business school education in sharpening one’s managerial skills was clear and profound. Read more…

Fidgety fingers, sweat beads on the brow, frown lines, forced smiles: typical expressions of the majority of the GMAT test takers, not at the time of the main test, but at the time of the first diagnostic test, taken to gauze the preparation and performance level.   Some GMAT candidates are quite wary of exhausting the only two most authentic diagnostic tests provided by the mba.com, and hence they look for free (and even paid) GMAT sample tests online on various GMAT prep sites.

Though it is for the benefits of the students that these online diagnostic tests are provided, one never really knows if the questions therein are ideally the kind of those asked on the actual GMAT, or the Computer Adaptive pattern of GMAT exams has been implemented by the website or not. The test scores can be real eye openers for some, while many often fall into depression due to dismal scores (Hyperbole is a figure of speech)

Only two days back, a GMAT candidate reported this after an online diagnostic test from one of the free testing sites: I COULD ONLY GET XXX MARKS – YZ PERCENTILE

There was the obvious fear of testing, as confirmed in the subsequent statements, “I realized after the test that there was lack of concentration as well as I knew that this is diagnostic only. (I can’t explain the feeling but this is what made me afraid of my love for test)”

“I did finish my maths test in 51 minutes. Means I could have been more focused and could have given more time to certain questions….There were around 3 questions which I recognized that I am posting wrong answer but by then I posted it already and couldn’t go back”

This is not the end of the world though. The best thing to do is to work hard on the concepts and take as many tests as possible, but from the right testing sites, by which we mean from those websites that have questions on the similar level as that of the GMAT tests. The Original GMAT Guide from GMAC gives you the correct details about the syllabus and the types of questions. Moreover, you can take help from GMAT prep companies and online tutors. There are innumerable resources to help you in your GMAT preparation and also get over your fear of testing.

Online MBA has suddenly acquired a cult status, what with the ease with which one more degree can be added to the professional resume of people from virtually all walks of life. Irrespective of whether you are a doctor, engineer, software consultant, portfolio analyst, a healthcare expert or even an academician, you can always benefit from an MBA degree. And there is no reason why you shouldn’t join the management bandwagon when you can easily get the degree online at very reasonable costs, without having to even step out of your home or room.

(Please don’t smirk, even if I seem to be writing about the online MBA as if I am advertising the shopping and home delivery services of a departmental store. The commercialization of higher education has sped up the transformation of MBA degree into a commodity that is now also marketed and sold online.) Read more…

The question is certainly more relevant today than it was a decade back when the online MBA industry was in its nascent stages, as the growth and reach of internet technology had not been as profound in the third world countries as they are today. Also, in the last 10 years, the significance of an MBA degree has increased multifold, with the result that professionals with specialization in healthcare and fashion related fields are signing up for MBA degree programs.

However, not everybody could dream of graduating from the HBS, Stanford GSB, Chicago Booth, IIM-A or London School of Business. In fact, given the cost of studying business management at reputed universities over the world, many candidates were not sure if they wanted to leave their current job, shift to another town or country and pursue an MBA education that would set them back by at least three years, financially speaking. Read more…

Given the fact that we have already touched upon more important aspects of GMAT and business school education, this post on GMAT score range indeed comes quite late. But the old age adage goes, better late than never, and therefore, we are here with a discussion on the GMAT score range. Interestingly, we have already discussed the concept of GMAT percentile for admission to the business schools. Thing is that nobody talks in terms of percentile when it comes to business school applications. It is always the scaled score that is talked about.

There are three main sections in the GMAT exam, namely Quantitative Section, Verbal Section and the Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA). The first two are scored in the range of 0 to 60, with most of the students getting between 9 and 44 in verbal and between 7 and 50 in quant. It is very rare for anybody to score below 9 or 7 and above 44 or 50 in Verbal and Quant respectively. Read more…

Currently, I’ve come across a lot of students who have apparently taken a break (six months or more) from work in order to prepare for GMAT and dedicate more time towards college admission process. Well, to sum it up in the most euphemistic way, “this approach is going to reflect negatively upon your admission prospects.”

I agree that business school admission procedure is rather tedious and involves close to 10 months (3 months of GMAT preparation on an average, then filling out application forms, writing admission essays simultaneously, college visits, scholarship essays and forms, taking classes for extra credits and many other things). Read more…