When you’re deciding what score to aim for, it’s important to remember that the population of test-takers writing the GMAT is smarter and better-prepared than (probably) any other population you’ve been graded against before.

If you got a 95th percentile score on the SAT, or a 3.9 GPA at a good university, those numbers don’t mean that you “should” do just as well on the GMAT: many of your fellow test-takers are thinking the exact same thing, with the exact same background!

It’s the nature of a test on a curve: if a 680 is a 90th percentile score, that means 89 percent of test takers won’t reach a 680. Yes, that’s obvious, but it’s important to recognize just how good at this test you have to be in order to secure one of those spots in the top 5-10 percent.

This is an excerpt from a longer article by Jeff Sackmann, originally published at GMAT Hacks.  Jeff has created several valuable GMAT-preparation resources, including Total GMAT Math and Total GMAT Verbal.

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Graduate programs in business saw mixed trends in applications in the last year, according to a global B-school survey released Wednesday by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC).

Only 44% of full-time MBA programs saw applications increase this year, compared to 66% reporting such an increase last year and 77% the year before that. A similar percentage of part-time programs reported an increase, relatively level compared to results a year ago.

Executive MBA programs may be a key growth area for business schools. Of those surveyed, 59% reported gains in applications this year, compared to only 37% a year ago.

“The findings from this survey underscore the importance of flexibility and creativity in delivering management education,” said Dave Wilson, president and chief executive officer  of GMAC.

“People can always derive great value from going to business school; our surveys attest to this fact. But many changing factors affect the kinds of programs that best meet their needs. Applicants need to find the very best fit for their own game plan.”

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It’s a recurring theme in GMAT preparation: It’s all about managing your time. It doesn’t matter how carefully you pore over a Reading Comprehension passage or analyze the twists in a Data Sufficiency problem if you can’t finish the test in the allotted time. And the time allowed just isn’t much.

Because the GMAT is an adaptive test, it’s virtually a given that you will get questions wrong. You can get a handful of questions wrong on each section and still get a 700 or higher on the test. The questions you get wrong (and the ones you answer correctly!) will be very hard ones, but you’ll still miss a few. The trick, then, is using that knowledge to your advantage.

This is an excerpt from a longer article by Jeff Sackmann, originally published at GMAT Hacks.  Jeff has created several valuable GMAT-preparation resources, including Total GMAT Math and Total GMAT Verbal.

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Introducing MBA TV! Check out this video to learn about our upcoming class.

I am super excited to be launching a new GMAT/MBA course with Grockit TV!   Here is the scoop, straight from Grockit:

FREE GMAT Course Taught by National GMAT Teacher of the Year, Including MBA Admissions Consulting from Nation’s Leading Expert

Grockit has teamed up with Stacy Blackman, one of the leading MBA Admissions consultants in the country, to offer a one-of-a kind comprehensive Business School test prep and admissions program.

Details of the program include:

• 16 hours of comprehensive online GMAT instruction. The course will cover both Verbal and Quantitative sections of the GMAT.
• The course is streamed live over the internet in Grockit’s interactive online classroom.
• The GMAT test prep portion of the course is taught by Farb Nivi, Founder of Grockit and former GMAT Test Prep Teacher of the Year.
• Stacy Blackman will provide 4 hours of MBA admissions consulting covering what to do and not to do while navigating the MBA admissions process and how to use the application to effectively market yourself to your desired programs. 
• The live interactive course meets twice each week for 8 weeks – Saturdays at 10 am PST and Wednesdays at 6 pm PST. Saturday sessions will be comprised of 1 hour of GMAT test prep, and ½ hour of Admissions Consulting. Wednesday sessions will meet for 1 hour and focus exclusively on GMAT test prep. 
• The course begins Saturday, August 28th at 10 am PST.

This incredible course would usually cost over $1,000 but Grockit is offering it for free. Registration is required at Grockit. We’ll send you an email reminder with the course schedule. It will always be free to watch the classes live on Saturdays and Wednesdays. If you can’t make those times the entire course of 16 lessons is available to download to watch whenever you want for just $99.99.

Register Now.

If you’re just starting out and not very comfortable with the underlying math, you don’t need to time yourself on every question. Yet. But under any other circumstances, you should be aiming for 2-2.5 minutes on every single practice problem you do. If you can’t do it, work on the problem, review the explanation, go over it with a tutor–whatever you need to do–until you can.

Eventually, you’ll get 120 seconds ingrained in your head. The two minutes that used to fly by will stretch out a little longer for you, and completing each problem in that amount of time will come much more naturally.

Just as important, you’ll learn to recognize problems–immediately, not after you’ve worked on them for 3 minutes–that you won’t be able to finish in the allotted time. On test day, that skill is as valuable as any other time-management technique, because you need to skip those questions.

This is an excerpt from a longer article by Jeff Sackmann, originally published at GMAT Hacks.  Jeff has created several valuable GMAT-preparation resources, including Total GMAT Math and Total GMAT Verbal.

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