GMAT Discussions

A Great New Deal from Kaplan Test Prep
Buy now and get more for free! If you’re gearing up to study for the GMAT, Kaplan Test Prep has a great offer for you. With the purchase of a GMAT prep course, Kaplan will give you free access to hours of extra prep materials. The promotion ends September 30, 2011. Click here to get started today!

On Cloud 770 (Q 50, V 47)
GMAT Club member “vivesomnium” shares their thoughts on scoring a 770 just a few days agol Congratulations! Join the Conversation

$10 Off GMAT Club Practice Tests
We extended the Labor Day special for $10 off our GMAT Club practice tests. Just enter the code “LaborDay” to get the discount! Save $10 Now

GMAT Debrief: 770 (Q51, V45)
GMAT Club member “wjdgusqls” took the test and came back to report the score later that afternoon! Now, that’s commitment to the community. Join the Conversation

Test Center Faux Pas: 8 Things to NOT Do
A list of the eight things to remember when it comes to the testing center. What should you bring/not bring? What can you eat or drink? Join the Conversation

Brain Food: The Best GMAT Snacks
What are the best choices for food and drinks to prepare your mind and body for the rigors of a long test experience?  Join the Conversation

MBA/Admissions Discussions

Can a C+ (or Lower) Ruin Your Chances?
Can just a single bad grade in undergrad subvert your chances of getting into B-school? Discuss the ways to explain that one bad grade on your transcript. Join the Conversation

Applicant Guide for 2012: Guides, Schools, and More
Here it is: a single forum post that lists all the various discussions, threads and conversations about what’s new in 2012. Schools, MBA guides, and more. Find Your Topic

The 10 Biggest B-School Lies
A semi-serious look at b-school culture, attitudes, and — best of all — the people you meet there. As originally posted by Forbes. Read the List

POLL: This Year’s Most Difficult Application
Yale? Harvard? Which school boasts the most difficult application to B-school? You might be surprised what the GMAT Club community thinks… (see last week’s poll results). Vote for the Most Difficult

MBA News: Apps 10% down, Salaries Down Too
What does this news mean for you? What decisions are you making now about your future B-School plans? Does the drop in applications mean better opportunities for applicants? Read the News Report

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GMAT Discussions

12 Must-Have GMAT Study Tools
We’ve compared the best GMAT Tools available, and created this list of the ones you shouldn’t go without.  From flash cards to iPhone apps, which of these 12 tools will get you the best score possible? Click to find out!

Welcome Revolution Prep to our GMAT Club Forum
Revolution Prep has joined our partner program, and is offering up to a 20% discount on their GMAT prep courses, for GMAT Club members. Learn more

The ONE THING I Wish I Would Have Known About the GMAT
Hindsight is 20/20. We’ve asked the GMAT Club community to share the one thing they wish they would have known or done before their GMAT experience. Win an Amazon gift card for your contribution! Join the Conversation

How I Jumped From 700 to 770
A step-by-step debrief on how one of our own MBA Section Directors bumped their score 70 critical points. Great reading. Learn more

A Whopping 130-Point Improvement
Another debrief — this time from GMAT Club member billyjeans — about a massive 130-point jump from 640 to 770. How did they do it? What do you think of the study plan?

Critical Reasoning Problem CHALLENGE!
Answer this CR problem, and our moderators will pick the best answer by the end of the week. Winner gets a FR*EE t-shirt and FR*EE access to GMAT Tests for a year! Answer the Problem

I Took a Dare and Bumped My GMAT Score to 760
GMAT Club member mayansd got greedy and DARED himself to do better on the GMAT after scoring a 720. Luckily, it paid off with a higher score. Which tools did he use? Do You Dare?

FREE GMAT Club Tests on Labor Day (September 5)
In honor of Labor Day, we’re opening up the GMAT Club Test Bank for all GMAT Club members. Don’t take the day off; take the opportunity to get ahead! Learn More

MBA/Admissions Discussions

GMAT Club is sponsoring and participating in the Which MBA? online MBA fair, presented by The Economist, next week on September 7 & 8. Admissions officers, deans, recent graduates and current students will be on hand throughout the event to answer attendees’ questions… you could even win an iPad 2! Sign up now – it’s free!

Why Would You Even Want to Get an MBA?
GMAT Club member Vorski asks an earnest question: “Why get an MBA?” It’s already yielded a lively discussion on the merits of an MBA. What do you think? Why get an MBA degree? Share Your Thoughts

Military Applying to B-School
GMAT Club member Sorter started a military thread looking to connect with fellow enlisted men and women looking to get into B-school. View the Military Thread Discussion

Funny Fake MBA Application Questions
The funniest questions that AREN’T on applications (but should be). Add yours to the thread! Get Ready to Smile

Connect with Admissions
We’ve invited admissions staff from four major schools around the world to participate in the GMAT Club forums. Ask them questions or get advice on the admissions process!
Asia – HKUST
Europe – IMD
Europe – Cambridge
North America – Cornell (Johnson School)

Get the GMAT Club  ”Best Stories of the Week” sent to you via email, simply by registering for the site. It’s fast and free!

GMAT Discussions

Kaplan Just Released New GMAT Practice Questions
Kaplan’s Set #12 of practice questions are a great GMAT primer. We’ve seen Kaplan release a number of practice questions over the past few months, and they just unveiled a new set.

If you’re in thinking about Kaplan services, or just want to see how their service looks and feels, this is the perfect way to dip your toe in the water. Get started!

Don’t Give Up! “How I went from 660 to 730.”
GMAT Club member Phani Deepak shares what it takes to improve your score dramatically. In-depth study plans, thoughtful tips, and even an offer to answer questions! Congratulations Phani! 8 Replies – Join the Conversation

What it takes to score 760
Another phenomenal score, this time from GMAT Club member Alchemist1320. Recommended books, practice tests, and even suggestions for test-day personal preparation. 7 Replies – Join the Conversation

Who’s Scared of Practice Tests?
Practice tests can be an intregral part of measuring your GMAT studying progress, but what if you’re afraid of knowing the truth about your abilities? Is it absolutely necessary to take GMAT practice tests? 6 Replies – Let us know what you think

Whoa! 770!
Another great score from GMAT Club member McGurt, who shares an extensive debrief, including 9 helpful hints for test day. 12 Replies – What do you think of the study plan?

I have NO IDEA How I Scored 700…
What classes and books did GMAT Club member “123man” use to surprise himself by scoring so high? Are GMAT surprises a good thing, or should you know your limits? 4 Replies – Join the Conversation

MBA/Admissions Discussions

GMAT Club Members are More Likely to Get Admitted
It pays to be a part of a community: based on our internal poll, we broke down admissions numbers, school by school, and compared them to national averages. Believe it or not, GMAT Club members are 60% more likely to get into B-schools like Stanford, Yale, and Kellogg. What are your chances to get into the country’s best B-schools? See the results!

What is HKUST Looking For?
Ranked #6 in the world and #1 in Asia, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology is a prestigious school We’re lucky to have their admissions team answering questions in the forum. 8 Replies – Ask your Question

Ask Cornell Admissions!
The admissions team at Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management is actively answering questions and giving advice on their admissions process. 5 Replies – Talk to Cornell

Low Undergraduate GPA? No problem.
Don’t let a few bad grades in college get you down. We have a number of success stories from B-school applicants who had low grades as undergrads. What helped them get in? 112 Replies – Read the Stories

The Best Books for Getting into Business School
All the major books reviewed by our community. From essays to GMAT scores, interviews to real-life experience, read up on how to get into the right school for you.
39 Replies – See what books made our list

Get the GMAT Club  ”Best Stories of the Week” sent to you via email, simply by registering for the site. It’s fast and free!

Here are 6 tips to help you meet your GMAT goals — and keep your day job.

1. Start with a realistic plan.

Your first step is seeing where you stand. Take a full-length GMAT practice CAT under test-like conditions to get a realistic assessment of your skill set. The result of your diagnostic should be used to evaluate and better understand your strengths and weaknesses.

The diagnostic will also give you a better idea of how much time you’ll need to set aside for GMAT prep (this also depends on how many hours/week of study time you’ll be able to squeeze in around your work schedule). If you’re only looking to increase your score a few points, you may only need a month or so of prep work. If you’re looking for a bigger gain, don’t worry — it’s definitely possible, but it might take you a bit longer to get there.

2. Target your weaknesses.

You’ve scheduled precious time to study for the GMAT around your work hours — now make sure you’re making the most of that time. The more specifically you target your weaknesses, the faster you’ll see tangible improvement. Examine the results of your practice tests and problems carefully — if you consistently have trouble with Data Sufficiency algebra problems but always get Data Sufficiency probability problems right, don’t waste your time studying probability! Do enough review to maintain your strengths, but focus your attention predominantly on your weaknesses.

3. Don’t break study dates with yourself.

As Woody Allen put it, “80% of success is showing up.” Create a realistic schedule for yourself that takes into account your personal preferences. If you’re a zombie before 9 AM, don’t fool yourself into thinking you’ll be able to get up early and prep before work. Instead, set aside time during lunch, at night, or on the weekends. Experiment with different strategies to see what works best for you, and treat your “study dates” with yourself like you would a work meeting. Not showing up shouldn’t an option. Your discipline will be strengthened each time you don’t feel like studying but compel yourself to. Soon, you might start to enjoy your sessions or view them as a satisfying challenge, a way to “work out” your analytical muscles!

4. Be positive and keep the big picture in mind.

Let’s be real: working full-time and studying for the GMAT isn’t going to be a walk in the park. But don’t despair: it won’t last forever. Keep an inspirational quote or a picture of your dream b-school above your desk to remind you of your larger goals.

Stay positive about your GMAT skills too. While focusing on your weakest areas, you should also maintain your mastery of areas in which you excel. Confidence matters. Don’t get too down on yourself if you’re having trouble with a certain section or type of question — the more you practice, the better you’ll do.

5. Make it social (if that works for you).

Consider adding a slightly competitive or collaborative element to your GMAT preparation. Find a co-worker who’s also taking the GMAT — you know they’re out there! — and set up a weekly study group where you trade off running question drills. At the very least, social motivation may help you keep your study dates with yourself, just like a gym membership. And you may be able to share your strategies and frustrations with others.

6. Maintain momentum.

It’s good to aim for perfection, but at the same time, recognize that no matter how much studying you do, you won’t be able to eliminate the need to think on the spot and handle unfamiliar variations of familiar problems. Also recognize that the test gets harder the better you perform, so it will always feel like an uphill climb to some extent.

Don’t let small setbacks get you down. If you have an especially busy week at work and can’t get in your GMAT prep, don’t waste time beating yourself up. The sooner you start back up with your study plan, the sooner your days of GMAT prep will be done!

Next Steps

Do you have a GMAT plan? Share it with the community on the forum. We’d love to hear your thoughts on what it takes to do your best.

No plan, or your current plan isn’t working for you?  Check out our marketplace of online, classroom, and instructor-led prep courses, many with GMAT Club discounts.

Originally posted by Christina Yu at Knewton. Knewton is a GMAT Club partner.

Though Manhattan GMAT already has classes in London (http://www.manhattangmat.com/london-classes.cfm# ), they recently started offering classes in Paris as well, with the first class scheduled to begin on January 18 (http://www.manhattangmat.com/paris-classes.cfm# ).

Cognizant of the vast numbers of test-takers further East, Manhattan GMAT has also begun to address those students’ needs with an online class specifically scheduled at a convenient time for those in India (http://www.manhattangmat.com/india-online.cfm ) and the Middle East (http://www.manhattangmat.com/prep-dubai.cfm ).

For those whose time zones make even the India class inconvenient, Manhattan GMAT is also offering a class specifically scheduled for students in China (http://www.manhattangmat.com/prep-china.cfm ), Taiwan (http://www.manhattangmat.com/prep-taiwan.cfm ), Japan (http://www.manhattangmat.com/prep-japan.cfm ), Korea (http://www.manhattangmat.com/prep-korea.cfm ), Hong Kong (http://www.manhattangmat.com/prep-hong-kong.cfm ) and Singapore (http://www.manhattangmat.com/prep-singapore.cfm ).
For a full listing of locations for Manhattan GMAT, check http://www.manhattangmat.com/gmat-prep-programs.cfm .

Accepted.com editors and consultants will now answer your admissions and application questions on LinkedIn! Ask us about anything from school selection to choosing essay topics to interviewing to dealing with waitlist woes to choosing the right school when you have the delightful dilemma of multiple acceptances. We’ll respond ASAP.

In addition, we plan to invite other professionals (like GMAT prep experts and career counselors) to join in this group. It’s in its infancy now, but with your participation it will become a resource that will serve you for years to come.

Join our LinkedIn Group today!

Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best

In these instances, sometimes your only defense is to plant your feet firmly on the ground, forget the rules, and pretend that you’re saying the sentence to your best friend. Pick whichever choice makes you feel the least ridiculous. However, this strategy should be reserved for those times when your knowledge of grammar isn’t helping much. Even if English is your second (or third) language, remember that using your ear and feeling the sentences on your tongue can still be one of your most powerful tools.

Take a look at the following question:

Students in the metropolitan school district lack math skills to such a large degree as to make it difficult to absorb them into a city economy becoming ever more dependent on information-based industries.

(A) lack math skills to such a large degree as to make it difficult to absorb them into a city economy becoming
(B) lack math skills to a large enough degree that they will be difficult to absorb into a city’s economy that becomes
(C) lack of math skills is so large as to be difficult to absorb them into a city’s economy that becomes
(D) are lacking so much in math skills as to be difficult to absorb into a city’s economy becoming
(E) are so lacking in math skills that it will be difficult to absorb them into a city economy becoming

Pretty nasty, right? Reading each choice aloud helps to clear things out.

This question is testing the proper use of the idioms “such X that Y” and “so X that Y,” in which Y should be a clause. The original sentence uses the idiomatically incorrect to such a large degree as to, rather than “that.”

Choice C uses lack as a noun instead of a verb, so the noun students loses its corresponding verb. Lack as a noun would be correct if students were a possessive, but unfortunately it isn’t. Choice D’s lacking so much in math skills as to be is unidiomatic because of the awkward insertion of much. Choice B is unnecessarily wordy and convoluted. Not only do we have to a large enough degree rather than simply so, but we also have an extra relative clause, economy that becomes, rather than simply economy becoming. In the absence of concrete grammatical errors, we need to look to stylistic concerns. Here, Choice E is far better stylistically. It uses the correct idiom “so X that Y” and is clear and concise. Choice E is correct.

Although at first glance their antecedents may seem unclear, the pronouns it and them in Choice E are not ambiguous. The pronoun it refers to the following phrase to absorb them into a city economy. What will be difficult? To absorb students into a city economy. Compare this to simple phrases such as “It is easy to bake a pie.” The pronoun “it” refers to the action “to bake pie.” What is easy? To bake a pie. The active version of this sentence is “Baking a pie is easy.”

The pronoun them can logically refer only to students, since it does not make sense to describe skills as absorbed into a city economy. It’s important to keep an eye out for pronoun errors, but don’t assume an answer choice is a weaker option just because you see pronouns.

Takeaway: Familiarity with correct idioms and proper pronoun usage will be invaluable come test day. That said, don’t forget that you can occasionally rely on your ear to steer you in the right direction.

Most studies approximate that 70 percent of individuals with an amputation experience phantom sensations in the amputated limb, often in the form of pain that is identical to the pain that they typically experienced when the limb was still attached to the body but contorted in an unnatural position.

(A) that is identical to the pain that they typically experienced when the limb was still attached to the body but
(B) that is identical to the pain that they typically experienced when that limb was still attached to the body but that was
(C) that was identical to the pain that they typically experienced when the limb was still attached to the body but was
(D) identical to the pain that they typically experienced when that limb had still been attached to the body but that had been
(E) identical to the pain that they would be experiencing when the missing limb was still attached to the body but when

Sometimes an answer choice will be wordy and awkward, and students will be tempted to dismiss it because they’ve been taught to look for clarity and conciseness. The trouble is that the other choices, though perhaps more elegant, distort the meaning of the sentence and make it illogical. The wordy and awkward choice is actually correct. This trick makes sentences like the one in the question above especially difficult to navigate.

Got your answer? Let’s see how you did.

The original sentence, though slightly awkward, is grammatically correct. The sentence compares the pain caused by phantom sensations to a previous pain caused by a limb placed in a contorted position; the pain is identical to the pain experienced when the limb was attached but contorted… At first glance, the sentence might not appear to be in parallel form, but the different elements in the comparison accurately describe what they are supposed to describe. All the other choices introduce errors.

Choice B adds the word that and the verb was in an attempt to parallel the previous that with pain. However, this makes two parallel clauses about pain, and the pain…that was contorted makes no sense.

Choice C changes the first verb to was. Since the verb experience in the non-underlined portion of the sentence is in the present tense, the verb describing the pain must be in the present tense as well. The first part of the comparison is about the pain that is currently experienced; the second part of the comparison is about a past feeling of pain.

Choice D, like B, illogically describes the pain as pain…that had been contorted and incorrectly uses the past perfect had been, which must describe an event that took place before other past tense events in the sentence. However, the pain that they typically experienced was pain that took place at the same time that the limb was attached; the limb was not attached before they experienced the second type of pain compared.

Choice E uses would be experiencing to describe the pain that people actually experienced when a limb was attached to their bodies. Would be describes a hypothetical event, one that would be taking place if some other condition allowed for this event to occur.

Choice A is correct.

Takeaway: Instead of relying on conciseness alone, always keep in mind what the sentence is about. Intelligible sentences won’t always be grammatically correct, but be careful that you don’t veer too far in the opposite direction and discard wordy answer choices whose meaning is clear. Trap answers will often on the surface appear to be more “grammatical” than the correct answer. In many cases, though, they sneakily alter the correct meaning by masking it with awkwardness.

Written by Matthew Busick.

Pacing the Essay

Thirty minutes isn’t a great deal of time to write Shakespeare. However, you don’t need to be as eloquent and esoteric in your style. What you need to be is clear, organized, and direct. The best way to accomplish those three objectives is to spend a significant amount of time planning your essay before you start typing the essay. Kaplan has specific templates and approaches that we discuss in our course; however, I’m going to simplify our approach for this post:

• Step 1: Spend about 8 minutes planning your essay
  In this step, make sure you critically assess the argument and issue at hand. Keep yourself unbiased and objective as you initially understand the argument or issue presented.
• Step 2: Spend about 20 minutes writing your essay
  During the writing step, this is where you pull together the ideas you came up with during the planning stage of the essay. While you were objective during the planning stage, in the writing stage, you drop that objectivity and vociferously attack each essay appropriately. However, make sure you also mention the other side – i.e. acknowledge the dissenting point of view. Indicate that while you understand the different point of view, it is not as strong as your position.
• Step 3: Spend about 2 minutes proofreading your essay
  Most test takers fail to conduct this final step. Please! Take two minutes to review what you wrote. While you are not restructuring the argument in this case, you need to re-read the essay, correct spelling mistakes, and liberally add structural words.

Length of the Essay

The length of the essay is actually the least important component. The essay is graded on four dimensions – length is not one of those dimensions. Generally, shorter is better (if you were able to clearly articulate your points with specific and clear examples). At the end of the day, the length won’t matter if you are sure to include the following points:

1. At least two clear points that articulate your position, broken down by the different essays:
   1. Argument = Two clear flaws of the argument
   2. Issue = Two clear points that defend your side of the issue
2. At least two clear examples that drive your point home
3. At least one counter point (with rebuttal), broken down by the different essays:
   1. Argument = One clear strengthener point that the author could include to support his position
   2. Issue = Acknowledgement of a potential point someone on the other side of the issue would argue

If you have these three components in a well-written essay, you’ll score at the top of the AWA range; no matter what the length of the essay.

Make sure you practice full-length CAT tests that have essays included! Before you ever see a quantitative question on test day, you will have already spent 60 minutes writing two intense essays, so it’s important to make sure you practice under the same test like conditions. Good luck!

Brian Fruchey
Kaplan GMAT

The title of this post is: Flipping the sign to inequalities. The only difference to simplifying inequalities compared to normal equations is the times when we have to flip the sign. There are two consistent times when we must always flip the sign:

1. When we multiple by a negative number.
2. When we divide by a negative number.

While these situations may seem straight forward, the GMAT has found fun ways to increase the difficulty. Let’s look at an advanced Data Sufficiency question:

1. Is ?

1)
2)

As we evaluate the first statement, we see that the base of the exponents is the same . Since this inequality is just like an equation, we can drop like bases. However, do you know what happens when you square a fraction? If you square a number between 0 and 1, the number actually gets smaller. Thus, as we look at Statement 1, if we drop the fractional base, we have to flip the sign as well!

(To help clarify: . If we calculate the equation, we see the answer is – which is mathematically correct. If we drop the base without flipping the sign, the inequality reads , which isn’t mathematically accurate.)

Thus, Statement 1 simplifies to: . As we further simplify the inequality, we move our numbers around and achieve or or . Since , it is also greater than -4: Sufficient.

Let’s look at statement 2: Quadratics and inequalities are difficult when combined – the squared variable results in two possible solutions. For this example, a savvy test takers notices we can factor out from the equation. Translating this to . As we look at this situation, we know that either is negative (less than zero) or is negative (less than zero) – but not both. Here we probably have to test both situations.

Test 1: and – one positive and one negative (check out the blog post regarding binomials for further reading on the sign issue). If we solve for y in the above situation, we get the outcome of and . Is this possible? is both greater than 0 and less then -3? Nope. Thus, this scenario is not the right answer.

Test 2: and . If we solve for in this situation, we get the outcome of and . Is this possible? Yes! We can re-write this as . Or, in other words, Statement 2 is sufficient by itself!

The right answer to the above Data Sufficiency question? Either statement on its own is sufficient!

Let’s quickly review the times we need to flip the inequality:

1. When we multiple by a negative number.
2. When we divide by a negative number.
3. When we remove exponential bases that are between 0 and 1
4. When we are dealing with a quadratic equation (there will be two solutions: and ) – don’t forget that binomials usually have two solutions!

Good luck as you practice with inequalities. This was a complicated post! Don’t worry if it doesn’t set in immediately. Print out this screen and read it a couple times – you’ll get it. This is just one of the advanced math topics included among the Kaplan GMAT math material in the newly revised course. If you’ve gotten beyond the intermediate questions and algebra topics, you may be ready to work through advanced topics like this in preparation for the toughest questions on test day.

Brian Fruchey
Kaplan GMAT