Pacing for Each Question

So, generally, people run out of time at the end because they're spending too much time on other problems earlier in the section. Here are the guidelines you should be following:

SC - about 60-75 sec; max of 90 sec

CR - about 2m; max of 2.5m

RC - about 2.5m (short) to 3.5m (long) to read; about 1 min for general purpose questions; about 2 for everything else

In general, on any problem, don't spend more than 30sec beyond the guidelines. You mention some types above that are the slowest for you, but really measure everything against these guidelines - anything going beyond these is too slow.

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Importance of Focus & Attitude

“attitude” is defined as “a way of looking at life; a way of thinking, feeling or behaving ,A organizations value the right attitude more than the level of the aptitude. If you can combine your high level of competence with the right commitment, it will be a real winning combination of great value, particularly in difficult times.Also the need is to be focused, Many of us in India often exhibit a tendency to pursue multiple options at the same time:

1. apply for institutions abroad for advanced degrees (MS / PhD)

2. take the CAT examination to seek admission into IIMs

3. appear for competitive examinations (like Civil Services) while working for a software company .Such a lack of focus often leads to confusion both at the individual level and for the organization that employs them. By spreading your energies too thin, you end up doing poorly on all fronts; in turn, it leads to poor performance, while you could have easily come out with flying colours, if only you had focused your energies on one activity. In today’s competitive world there are more options available to young college graduates; but there is intense competition that must be faced if you want to pursue any options. Evaluate your strengths and your aspirations; prioritize the options and pursue the most relevant option that suits YOU.

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International MBA: Making the decision

I believe I used a framework that I would like to call "the four Ps of b-school decision making". The four Ps (no connection to Jerome McCarthy's theory on marketing) are Programme, Prospects, Price and People.

Programme
I had seen many of my fellow applicants recite B-school rankings at the drop of a hat. Rankings, thus, seemed like the logical place to start the investigation. Since the brand value of an MBA is one of the key components of the money you spend on the MBA, I felt that the total value of the programme would be reflected, to a great extent, in the rankings.

However, to ensure that I was not swayed by the "one-year wonders" (schools that suddenly peaked in one year and slipped off the rankings thereafter), I tabulated rankings for schools over three or four years. To make sure that my impression was correct, I also looked at rankings from about five publications. The emerging pattern showed that certain schools maintained a respectable position consistently, about 15 of which I put up on my shortlist.

Then I considered the specifics of the programme itself such as whether it had a one-year or two-year format or anything in between, assigning a higher weightage to those of shorter durations. I pored over the brochures to glean information on the specialisations the programmes were known for. I attached a marginally higher weightage to those with strengths in corporate finance, my main area of interest.

I jotted down the flexibility available in choice of electives. I also performed a reality check by noting the acceptance rate at the shortlisted schools. The best schools would also have the highest number of candidates competing for them, right?

In the case of business schools from non-English speaking native regions, an additional (cultural) feature caught my attention and my fancy -- the bilingual study methods -- ensuring that every participant would have an advanced (business) level of proficiency in the local language. This was peculiar to some European programmes and given my personal interest in languages, I gave them an additional vote.

Prospects
The purpose of the MBA, at least in the immediate term, was to accelerate my career path, which subsumed the aspiration for a more lucrative work opportunity. Therefore, the work prospects after the programme would be a key determinant of my decision. I examined the employment/ recruitment statistics at the shortlisted schools -- the percentage of students placed through the school's career services, the major sectoral groups that recruited them, the range of remuneration they were offered, and the locations they were offered positions at.

This consolidated picture told me which schools were preferred by which employers for what type of candidates at what locations and for how much money. It also suggested to me the extent of personal initiative an international candidate might have to take to balance the support provided by the schools' career offices in job search.

The other two Ps Price and People willbe discussed in next Post.

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Why an MBA from abroad?

Some of the main reasons why people decide to do an MBA abroad are:

They want to work in a particular country -- employers are keener on MBA graduates who have studied in the country where they operate.

They want a brand name that is recognised globally on their CV.

International MBA classes tend to have a more diverse population in terms of nationalities, backgrounds (educational and professional), genders, etc, which enhances the quality of the environment and the learning.

International B-schools tend to have a more global coverage of topics in their syllabi.
International B-schools are more likely to have access to a wider base of resources such as alumni network, faculty, guest speakers, libraries, employers, etc.

Some schools offer shorter duration formats such as a 10-month/ 16-month MBA, allowing candidates to return to work quicker

Almost all the reasons applied in my case. To future MBAs , I recommend that you come up with reasons that resonate most with your aspirations and the kind of experience you are looking for. If this will be your second MBA, then it will be imperative to articulate the thinking since you will most likely be asked this question in your interview.

It is all right to continue to fine-tune this reasoning during the process of MBA prep, but ensure that there is a consistent thread in your story. I cannot emphasise enough how critical your belief in this story will be and how many times this belief will be questioned during and after the process.

Reference : rediff,testfunda

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Why MBA?

I needed to answer two questions: why an MBA? And, why abroad? These remain important for any candidate.


Why MBA?

So, why did I do an MBA? When faced with this question, I put myself through the 'ART' test. The test asks three questions of a candidate considering doing an

MBA:

Do you want to Accelerate your career in the current industry?
Do you want to Rotate to a business/ corporate function within the current industry?
Do you want to Transform your skill-sets to change to another industry?

An affirmative answer to any one question is, superficially, sufficient reason to want to do an MBA. The important thing for me was to identify exactly where this career move was focused. I decided that A -- Acceleration resonated the most with me.

I was working with a group of bright, motivated individuals. My superiors provided me with learning opportunities now and then. However, I had reached an invisible hurdle beyond which growth demanded an additional set of skills, which I felt an MBA would address. Now that the toughest part was over, the next step was to elaborate and justify this answer with valid reasons.

It is completely acceptable for you to want to achieve more than one of the above objectives through an MBA. But a careful drilling-down into the story is critical.

Acceleration
This could be in terms of the number of steps of the hierarchy that the MBA will help you to jump and/ or the amount of money it will enable you to demand in the job market. It could also mean an accelerated career path, a fast track, which your organisation can provide you with by virtue of your MBA degree.

There could be environmental factors, such as a dynamic industry scenario or a downturn, that warrant different skills and techniques to successfully handle business realities. As a middle/ senior manager or as a businessperson, you may feel the need for an MBA to ensure that you maintain or increase the pace of growth of your business.

Rotation
You have made good progress on your career path, obtaining a promotion every year or two, handling greater responsibility with each, and drawing a larger pay packet at each level. However, the growth is unidirectional, with a greater volume of work supervised at each level, but no additional faculties being developed. You wish that you could gain a broader perspective of business and contribute in a wider spectrum.

What you really want is to have a cross-functional understanding of your industry and carry over the learnings from one role to another, thereby adding to your set of skills. The MBA will help to provide you with the tools and techniques to comprehend and assimilate nuances of the various aspects of running a business.

Transformation

There may be a better word for this route, but an MBA is based on the premise that you will use the learning in the programme to transfer the skills you developed in your career pre-MBA to the role and industry you move to post-MBA. Hence, what you want to achieve is a transformation of your skill-set, through a set of frameworks and techniques learned in the MBA, which will help you to contribute, to a new role, in a new organization, in a new industry.

You could well want to be your own boss, fan that entrepreneurial fire burning inside, but know that you will have enough of a business perspective to create a successful venture. You essentially want to change careers, without having to start at the bottom of the new ladder, and be taken seriously in the new role, based on your past work experience and the new skills developed through the MBA.

Another way of checking whether you have nailed the reasons is by asking yourself whether any other route will help you achieve the same results. For example, if you believe that you have sufficient experience of the marketing and project management areas but find yourself wanting when it comes to financial concepts, then you may want to consider a short-term course that provides you with basics in finance.

If, however, you want to be the finance whiz kid, then consider a Masters in Finance or a Chartered Financial Analyst programme. It is important to understand the level of specialisation you desire. An MBA is usually oriented towards general management, with some scope for specialisation. In my case, I was quite certain that I wanted skills that were tangible across functions and industries. No specialised course could have addressed that requirement.

Why am I emphasising the need for this reasoning so much? Because the Admissions Committees stress on it. The reason that Admissions Committees are extremely keen on understanding your motivation for pursuing an MBA is a significant investment in your development. They want to ensure that the candidates they recruit to the MBA class are mature professionals who have weighed the benefits of the MBA adequately before making the investment decision. Additionally, they want to be certain that when you graduate, you will have gained something tangible in line with your expectations, and, thus, will be a confident brand ambassador for the school.

The thought process that I went through in this stage of my MBA prep was tested several times during the phases leading up to the admissions -- when I decided which B-school to apply to, when I took my GMAT, when I wrote my essays (especially here!), when I was arranging for the funding, and when I appeared for my interviews (probably the deal-breaker). So it helped tremendously to have clarity in advance.

Author is Oxford Alumni
Reference: rediff, testfunda

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Done with GMAT

My AWA argument topic was about postal service increasing postal service price, to increase revenues and lower mail amount for better efficiency. Analysis topic was Amense good cooperation among countries and technology advances should we be citizen of a country or citizen of world. I gave a good lecture on how to be good citizen of the earth and our responsibility to help the poor.

Maths was good, I went with a very positive attitude. the 1st 2 questions were very tough i took 7 mins but did not get shattered, did solve it and moved ahead , there was a series DS question in which C could have given answer as both had 10 as a common number is the second term but after expanding upto 7th term I could another common number at 38. So taking from this if you are going good and such easy qustion comes there will be 100 % a trap in that. I was in a very positive atitude singing while answering the questions. GMAT is no longer an easy exam , All questions upto 17th where tricky with some traps. I had to do last 8 questions in 5 mins :) Dont regret that as I have learnt from all my mock that the end questions matter very less. GMAT goemetry is also tough with three dimension figures question in which we have to find details of angles. There were many percentages questions, standard deviation.

English was a blow. 1st question a tough SC, about tenses. Then a clause one. After a logical conculsion CR, then a short RC (like a big CR )with primary purpose , 2 CR type questions.
The sentence correction was testing much more that common 9 errors.
The SC level was also tough one SC in middle arround 14th question took me more tahn 3 mins, with POE I had two then was getting confused .
2nd RC about a damsremoval and effects of water was 9-13 question, I still dont understand what the passage is talking about.
Third RC was about rRNA and study of its nucleotide for comparison of what not. This was 3rd RC at arround 18-21 question , It ate up alot of my precious time, After this I only had 25 mins left to do 20 questions.So had to rush through it, at end for 5 questions had to blindly guess.

At end of test I was not that sad and devastated I was last time. I had given a fight and did very well in Maths had a positive attitude and a force that I could do it . The day before gmat I had done 30 mins exercise that got away all my tension and in morning of GMAT again I did exercise mainly pushups which again gets a positive energy in you, had a heavy breakfast and tea, After AWA I had rebull , little apple and hersheys.I did 20 pushups also in the canteen.Believe me this gets lot of energy back in you. Then again after Maths section was really happy had redbull, apple and lots of water. Then again the pushups. Remember to pee just before going in to the testing area. I was in a good mood and fighting till the 21st question of the RC , but the fact remains that RC has become tough, They are giving more of critical reasoning types RCs Also Sentence correction section of GMAT is testing more area of grammar then before including quotation marks , commas etc
If you people think I havent prepared enough for GMAT, the next post will tell you about my preparations.
k

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IFJ

Its a type of verbal question in CAT , It has come only one in CAT so far,It very trick but if you keep these in minds you will be able to crack it

FACT.

1. Universal truth2. Analyzed truth3. Something which can be verified- abstract things cannot be verified4. Something which has transpired.
JUDGEMENT

1. Abstract description is a judgment2. Futuristic prediction.3. Phrases are judgments.

INFRENCE

.1. For abstract description cause is given2. reporting of any event is inference.3. Anything transpiring is inference.4. “So”, “Thus”, “therefore” characterize some cause but not 100%.
These are some basic rules to check which statement is a fact, inference or a judgment.Example- sachin is a good cricketer.This is a judgment not a fact . coz it cud be any sachin. And even if it is given sachin tendulkar it is a judgment.

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GMAT Learnings

Sentence Correction is toughest and most confussing part of GMAT , Practice is one of teh best ways to tacke the same . When you read the sentence Look carefully at the 5 choices and quickly scan the differences. And while reading the main sentence Check for the followng Error in the sentence,
1.Clear and concise and not Awkard or Reddudance of any word.
2.Subject verb agreement .
3. Verbe tense mood and Voice.
4.Pronouns
5.Modifiers
6.Parallelism
7.Comparisions
8.Idioms(go through all 100 idioms one time you will get an idea)

[To Know in details You can Download Manhattan Verbal and go through]

ANd try to illiminate the choices to get the best suitable Answers, Remember all choices may be correct but you have to get the best one.

Practice all 138 SCs from OG11 religiously before going to 1000 SC

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