Should I quit my job and focus on the GMAT for the next 8 months of my life? Gmatbuddy client and MBA hopeful Now this is different from taking 2 or 3 weeks off to zero in on your GMAT chops and get into zen mode as the test day draws near. I am talking about quitting your job and … Read More
Is an MBA worth it? The 3 main benefits
Is an MBA worth it? Ask someone who has one and they’re likely to inflate its value, ask someone who doesn’t and you’re likely to receive advice against it, perhaps some outright hate. In this post you will learn: The reasons people give for having done an MBA The REAL reasons why they actually did an MBA Main objections to … Read More
GMAT percentiles & the 99%th percentile Verbal score boost
In this post you will learn What GMAT percentiles are How they matter Why you should not neglect Verbal Guidelines to profoundly improve your Vebral score What are GMAT percentiles? Gmat percentiles express your performance in comparison to the pool of all GMAT test takers over the course of three years. For example, if you scored 700 on the GMAT … Read More
MBA application and interview questions (2019)
The MBA application – your toughest hurdle By far, the admissions hurdle is the toughest to overcome on the road to earning an MBA. Including the work you will put in for the GMAT, a good MBA application will on average cost you between 6 to 12 months of preparation if all goes well. There are exceptions but this is … Read More
Why you failed the GMAT – 10000 hours of mastery
Two points to understand why you failed the GMAT To understand why you failed the GMAT, you must understand two things very well: Mastery What the GMAT is and what it measures Mastery Mastery is a term popularized by Malcolm Gladwell, and very briefly suggests that you must practice a skill for about 10000 hours to master that skill. You … Read More
What is the GMAT? What test prep companies don’t want you to know
What the GMAT is not It’s important to first remember that the GMAT is not an IQ test. It is extremely common that prospective candidates seem to be convinced that the GMAT is an IQ test. Even after they are presented with the argument against that, they are likely to maintain some aspect of this belief especially after they have … Read More
new gmat timing format – what this means for your score
The new GMAT exam will now be 30 minutes shorter, down to 3.5 hours. This change will take effect on April 16, 2018. One of the main turn offs for prospective test takers were the long 4 hours they had to endure. The Quantitative and Verbal reasoning sections consist of 37 and 41 questions respectively, each lasting for 75 min. … Read More
Gmat reading comprehension – looking for structure
Gmat reading comprehension is a struggle for many prospective test takers. The GMAT is a test of understanding and inference. That’s it. Every question type reflects that fact. Failure to answer correctly is very often a function of a failure to understand. The “oh!” moments you have when checking answers are a tell sign that you didn’t understand something well. … Read More
Why you’re stuck in GMAT score prison
There are two main reasons your GMAT score dropped on the retake: A phenomenon and your approach, and the phenomenon applies because of the approach. Reason 1: Regression towards the mean Regression towards the mean is the phenomenon that if a variable was extreme on its first measurement it will probably be close to the average on its second, and … Read More
Gmat anxiety, the lizard brain and common sense
Gmat anxiety is a main cause of test day under performance. It is common to tell oneself to ‘be less stressed’ or to ‘get over your anxiety’. But, there is little value in forcing yourself to calm down. Over the course of millions of years the human brain evolved into a complex structure capable of high order thinking. But there … Read More