I have been off the blogospere for a while; I took a vacation. I had very limited access to the Internet, so I have been unable to both blog and read the many blogs I generally frequent.
And as soon as I log in to my Blog reader, I am stricken with a sense of panic. All the admission deadlines are out. The essay topics have been analysed, discussed, drafts written. I feel left behind! There is much to catch up on! I need to get my applications back on track.
But I do not regret the time off. It gave me an opportunity to look at my life and my past and really figure out what are the moments in my life that have defined me. I am sure that insight would help me during my essay writing... when I finally get to it.
I was also able to discuss the application process with one of my recommenders. Giving them a perspective about this admission process is also important, especially in a situation like mine, where the recommenders are but slightly acquainted with the US application process. I was happy to meet and discuss the aspects of the admission process as well as the expectations of the adcom from a recommender in the application process. And that set my mind partly at ease. I am wondering whether I should give my recommenders the links to my blog as well. I do not want to be constrained while writing the blog; but I believe my professional recommenders might find my personal and MBA blog a rather interesting read. I just need to decide what to share and what not.
I need to organize my thoughts and get started as soon as possible. I hope I can write about my Stanford School visit in my next post.
Well, it's going to be a long ride... I hope it would be worthwhile at the end of it ! Here's wishing the entire "app"ing community a wonderful experience and all the very best!
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
The GMAT Story -- Part II
In continuation of my earlier post...
Concentration : The average person's attention span is about 20-30 minutes. When it is truly interesting it can be a bit more ... an hour to 90 minutes at the most. If you can keep your mind focused beyond that, it is remarkable! And the catch is -- The GMAT is a 4 hour exam. You need to be able to concentrate on what you are doing till the end -- without giving in to the temptation to "just get it over with". Believe me, after 3 hours of working things out, the temptation is not a mild little thing in the back of your mind, it is a demon shouting in your inner ear, "Just select C on all of them and let's just get it over with and let's get out of here now now now NOW!" And that, my friends, is NOT fun!!
There are 2 "Optional" breaks within the GMAT exam. The truth is that this break is not optional at all. No matter how little you think you need it , take the break. You probably would not "really" need it for another 30 mins, but by taking a break then, you can probably avoid the fatigue that comes after that half hour. DO NOT spend it agonizing over whether the essays were clear or the answers in the quants were right. Go out, have a snack if you feel like it, drink some water, go to the rest room. If you have some time, do some deep breathing or take your iPod or mp3 player and listen to a few minutes of relaxing music. As far as possible, do not think about the next portion of the exam you are going to take and do NOT do any last minute reading. The best you can do for your exam is keep your mind fresh and focused and not clutter it with information that would not help much anyway.
Time Management: You have 30 minutes for each essay, 75 minutes for 37 quants questions, 75 minutes for 41 verbal questions. It is good to always know where you are with respect to time while doing the exam. It is too easy to get bogged down by a few difficult questions in the middle and lose track of the time. Try and be alert to how much time you have left and how many questions you are yet to attempt. That does not mean you have to have your eye on the clock all the time, but i would say, practice being conscious of it so that you can make that "guess or solve" decision if you need to. Honestly, for me , this is easier said than done, because I did MAKE that mistake. I am sure my score would have been at least 20 points higher if I had not made the mistake of sitting too long on one problem and missed out on attempting another properly.
For all of the strategy , practice, practice and more practice is the key. When doing your practice tests, try to mimic the exam environment as far as possible-- including even taking the optional breaks and relaxing in between. Do not take any unscheduled breaks, or have snacks in the middle. Use the same number of sheets that they usually give you for the exam. I used to take at least two practice tests a week and I would go to my office on the weekends at 8 am in the morning to get that exam atmosphere while doing the tests. Even where the tests offered a pause, I did not opt for that because I wanted to be familiar with the way I plan to be on the exam day. I really think that helped because I knew exactly what I had to do every minute of the exam. That is not to say I did not make any mistakes, but that the practice paid off in terms of increasing my comfort level during the exam.
Another important thing!! Don't get too bogged down by the practice test scores. That was another thing I learnt the hard way. I crossed 700 only on 5 of my practice tests and the ones on the weekend before by actual GMAT were DISMAL. I honestly considered rescheduling the exam-- but the actual test turned out to be not so bad after all ;-) .
Well that's it. I know it is a looooong lecture, but well... you can practice "Reading Comprehension" !! :-D
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
The GMAT story - Part I
And slowly my "Blogommunity" is beginning to build up. For those of you who are yet to write the GMAT, let me share my experience and what I learnt from it. Perhaps it might turn out helpful :-)!
GMAT is not a test of intelligence. Consequently, getting a good score does not require an IQ of 140 above. The whole story seems to hinge on speed, concentration, time management and accuracy.
Speed and Accuracy: These NEED to go hand in hand. You cannot compromise on accuracy for speed or vice versa. Knowing when to take a chance and when not to, makes all the difference between an average score and a good score. For example , if you have 5 minutes left and you decide to take a guess in a question that you are not sure of, getting it wrong will not reduce your score as much as if you do that in the first five minutes. Yes, this point is in every GMAT Prep guide on the market, but it really is important to understand that it makes a LOT of difference.
Try to come up with a strategy to make that "guess or solve" decision. An example for a working strategy would be : If in the first 13 questions in quants, you are unable to find the answer in 3 minutes, make a calculated guess and move on. In the next 13 questions, make that guess if you are unable to complete it within 2 minutes. In the last set, stick strictly to the one minute time, especially if you don't have a lot of time left. This is just an example of a strategy; you can go with whatever you are comfortable with. The point is that you need to think about when it is worthwhile to spend some extra time and when it is better to take a chance and keep moving and you need to have a rough guideline to follow.
Devote some real time to practice the average difficulty level questions as they are the ones that you would be facing till the last 15-20 minutes and they contribute most to your score. It's all very well to keep practicing the tougher questions, but the "return on investment" is less :-). Getting an answer correct in the first two sets count a lot more to your final score! That's not to say you can ignore the very difficult questions in your prep; you need to go through and work them out too. But increasing your speed and accuracy in the average difficulty bucket would also help by giving you additional time to work on the tougher problems during the exam. The trick is to plan your prep in a way as to improve your efficiency in cracking the exam , not the problem -- this is not a Math Olympiad or a Language certification. It is not an achievement to just solve the toughest problem in the GMAT exam! What you need to do is get the best possible score.
You know, that is probably why this is in a "Management Aptitude test". After all, this is an exercise in making quick decisions, solving problems, knowing when it is worth it to keep going, and when it is better to quit!
... To be continued!
GMAT is not a test of intelligence. Consequently, getting a good score does not require an IQ of 140 above. The whole story seems to hinge on speed, concentration, time management and accuracy.
Speed and Accuracy: These NEED to go hand in hand. You cannot compromise on accuracy for speed or vice versa. Knowing when to take a chance and when not to, makes all the difference between an average score and a good score. For example , if you have 5 minutes left and you decide to take a guess in a question that you are not sure of, getting it wrong will not reduce your score as much as if you do that in the first five minutes. Yes, this point is in every GMAT Prep guide on the market, but it really is important to understand that it makes a LOT of difference.
Try to come up with a strategy to make that "guess or solve" decision. An example for a working strategy would be : If in the first 13 questions in quants, you are unable to find the answer in 3 minutes, make a calculated guess and move on. In the next 13 questions, make that guess if you are unable to complete it within 2 minutes. In the last set, stick strictly to the one minute time, especially if you don't have a lot of time left. This is just an example of a strategy; you can go with whatever you are comfortable with. The point is that you need to think about when it is worthwhile to spend some extra time and when it is better to take a chance and keep moving and you need to have a rough guideline to follow.
Devote some real time to practice the average difficulty level questions as they are the ones that you would be facing till the last 15-20 minutes and they contribute most to your score. It's all very well to keep practicing the tougher questions, but the "return on investment" is less :-). Getting an answer correct in the first two sets count a lot more to your final score! That's not to say you can ignore the very difficult questions in your prep; you need to go through and work them out too. But increasing your speed and accuracy in the average difficulty bucket would also help by giving you additional time to work on the tougher problems during the exam. The trick is to plan your prep in a way as to improve your efficiency in cracking the exam , not the problem -- this is not a Math Olympiad or a Language certification. It is not an achievement to just solve the toughest problem in the GMAT exam! What you need to do is get the best possible score.
You know, that is probably why this is in a "Management Aptitude test". After all, this is an exercise in making quick decisions, solving problems, knowing when it is worth it to keep going, and when it is better to quit!
... To be continued!
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
The Story so far...
I am really excited about this blog! This is the first time I am posting directly onto a blog, rather than typing out something , editing, correcting, reviewing and then simply copying the finished bit onto it. It's the first time I am simply letting my thoughts flow and typing it out as it comes directly onto the net. It's a bit scary; like posting some part of your diary out in public. But this is a journey I want to share, and I hope I can record what I learn as I blunder my way through this maze of application processes.
It's all new to me-- the application processes in International schools. Where I'm from, the most you to do apply to a school is send scores of the qualifying exam and fill up a form. Yes, there is the exam, the group discussion, and the interview, but the whole process of finding out who the candidate is and how he or she can contribute to the school culture, how he or she would benefit from the school; the essays, the resume: the works... I was intrigued, then fascinated, and now I am jittery. I do not profess to know myself so well as to answer these probing questions about my past , present and future. Which is probably how most people are when they start, but it is really all about figuring that out -- what I want, what I have to offer. Whether I get the admit or not, I know this is going to be really difficult -- and really exciting. It's an opportunity to figure out what I am and what I really want from life. It's not something that many people go though life knowing.
So where am I in my journey?
I have decided that I want an MBA. That was the first milestone. I want this. Totally and absolutely. It's not so much that I was shaky about it before, as that it always seemed an impossible dream. Then I realised that it was only impossible because I would not try for it.
I have cracked the GMAT -- that was the second milestone. I did break the magical 700 barrier at the first attempt and am pretty happy with my score. Preparing for the GMAT was something I did that proved to myself that "even I" can really stick to a plan and routine and follow it though to the end. I have come a long way from my not so responsible college days where routine and plan were just not part of my dictionary. I have learnt to put my mind and heart into something and resist the temptation to slack off. That's good to know... considering that it's something I thought myself pretty bad at.
I have almost figured out what I want to be doing ten years down the road after my MBA. Now this is the part that I am still working on. I know where I am looking to make an impact, but I don't have a concrete idea on what I plan to do. So many students change that life goal given the exposure and opportunities of the MBA experience. I know that there is something deep inside me that has been there since I was in school, that I have idly thought of once in a while without really reaching out for it. But can I make it my life goal? If I do , I don't think it will be that easy to give up. The mists are still swirling, and I am giving myself the time to think it through. I don't want my plans to sound half baked in my essays, but -- oh how fast the days fly by!!
Well that's it ... that's where I am. Now let's see where I go from here!
It's all new to me-- the application processes in International schools. Where I'm from, the most you to do apply to a school is send scores of the qualifying exam and fill up a form. Yes, there is the exam, the group discussion, and the interview, but the whole process of finding out who the candidate is and how he or she can contribute to the school culture, how he or she would benefit from the school; the essays, the resume: the works... I was intrigued, then fascinated, and now I am jittery. I do not profess to know myself so well as to answer these probing questions about my past , present and future. Which is probably how most people are when they start, but it is really all about figuring that out -- what I want, what I have to offer. Whether I get the admit or not, I know this is going to be really difficult -- and really exciting. It's an opportunity to figure out what I am and what I really want from life. It's not something that many people go though life knowing.
So where am I in my journey?
I have decided that I want an MBA. That was the first milestone. I want this. Totally and absolutely. It's not so much that I was shaky about it before, as that it always seemed an impossible dream. Then I realised that it was only impossible because I would not try for it.
I have cracked the GMAT -- that was the second milestone. I did break the magical 700 barrier at the first attempt and am pretty happy with my score. Preparing for the GMAT was something I did that proved to myself that "even I" can really stick to a plan and routine and follow it though to the end. I have come a long way from my not so responsible college days where routine and plan were just not part of my dictionary. I have learnt to put my mind and heart into something and resist the temptation to slack off. That's good to know... considering that it's something I thought myself pretty bad at.
I have almost figured out what I want to be doing ten years down the road after my MBA. Now this is the part that I am still working on. I know where I am looking to make an impact, but I don't have a concrete idea on what I plan to do. So many students change that life goal given the exposure and opportunities of the MBA experience. I know that there is something deep inside me that has been there since I was in school, that I have idly thought of once in a while without really reaching out for it. But can I make it my life goal? If I do , I don't think it will be that easy to give up. The mists are still swirling, and I am giving myself the time to think it through. I don't want my plans to sound half baked in my essays, but -- oh how fast the days fly by!!
Well that's it ... that's where I am. Now let's see where I go from here!
Here I go...
I'm doing the same thing every other admission-obsessed MBA aspirant is doing. I am reading MBA applicant and student blogs, scouring Accepted.com and ClearAdmit.com blogs for itsy- bitsy details, lying awake at nights wondering what I am going to write in my essays, reading Richard Montauk like a bedtime story every night, bookmarking School websites containing information I need to remember. It's not even started yet and the application process is already taking over my life.
Yup, that's my introduction. I am MBA aspirant shooting for 2008 Fall.
There is so much to do! So much to consider, to understand, to decide. So many thoughts to organize and to channel. There is something very cleansing in putting thoughts into words -- I am hoping to find the answers to the really big questions in my soul searching with this blog. More than anything else, this is a way to connect with other MBA obsessed bloggers out there who will probably be the only ones who can understand and share the highs and lows of this momentous journey. That is to say that this blog the only hope I have to prevent my friends running in the opposite direction each time I open my mouth: because right now, the MBA admission process is all I seem to have to talk about :-).
Will I make it? I hope so. At the end of it, I know I will be a whole lot wiser than I am now. Maybe my blog would help someone as the applicant blogs for this year are helping me now. If nothing else, I know I will make friends here with similar dreams and aspirations and headed in the same directions. Here's to dreams -- and making them come true!
And so begins yet another MBA Applicant blog!
Yup, that's my introduction. I am MBA aspirant shooting for 2008 Fall.
There is so much to do! So much to consider, to understand, to decide. So many thoughts to organize and to channel. There is something very cleansing in putting thoughts into words -- I am hoping to find the answers to the really big questions in my soul searching with this blog. More than anything else, this is a way to connect with other MBA obsessed bloggers out there who will probably be the only ones who can understand and share the highs and lows of this momentous journey. That is to say that this blog the only hope I have to prevent my friends running in the opposite direction each time I open my mouth: because right now, the MBA admission process is all I seem to have to talk about :-).
Will I make it? I hope so. At the end of it, I know I will be a whole lot wiser than I am now. Maybe my blog would help someone as the applicant blogs for this year are helping me now. If nothing else, I know I will make friends here with similar dreams and aspirations and headed in the same directions. Here's to dreams -- and making them come true!
And so begins yet another MBA Applicant blog!
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