PrecisionFive wrote:
Hi everyone,
I am currently a grade 12 student but I am the kind of person who likes to plan ahead. I am almost certain that I would like to do my MBA after completing my undergraduate degree in Mechatronics Engineering from the University of Waterloo. I am aiming for a score on the GMAT in the range of 750 in order to be competitive for the top business schools such as Harvard, MIT, Chicago, NYU and Wharton. My undergraduate will take approximately 5 years to complete and I know that GMAT test scores are only valid for 5 years. As such, I want to start preparation now and take my first exam in one year, preferably the summer of 2016. Since I am so new to this and new to standardized testing (Didn't take SATs as I am completing undergrad in Canada), I have a couple of questions.
1. What is the best study plan for me? Am I doing this too early with only high school experience?
2. What study materials should I buy to study?
3. Do business schools, specifically the ones I have listed above, look down on multiple attempts? If so, at what point are your chances of admission decreased? (I have researched this but I seem to have found varying opinions.)
4. Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated as I have a very long time before applying to business school for MBA, almost 5-6 years. So I am open to any suggestions that you may have.
I request that in answers, you use as many abbreviations as possible so I get used to them such as
OG (which I believe refers to
the Official Guide however I am not sure) but please make sure you also state the full form so that its clear.
Thank you in advance and sorry if its in the wrong section of the forum.
I think you would know that GMAT has two main sections - Quant and Verbal.
With an Engineering degree, i think your Quant concepts would be strong. Keep all your high school books for review if needed later. For Verbal, focus on passive learning for the next 3-4 yrs. Read as much as possible - lots of books, national dailies, the Economist, other good magazines.
Alongside, enjoy your under-grad! You will not get this time back and will repent worrying too much! After 4 yrs, you will be all set to take on the GMAT challenge and if you are conceptually good, all you will need is a 3-4 month prep to hit that 750 you are targeting!
Don't take GMAT too early. You don't know what will happen in these 5 yrs. You might get a great, very meaningful job offer immediately after your program and might want to work in it for a year or two before you do MBA. Then your score will elapse and you will have to restart the whole process.
The schools really don't care much about 2-3 attempts since most test takers take multiple attempts but it is good to avoid them. A person with a single score of 760 might be considered a tad better off than a person with 600 - 680 - 760 since the first one might be considered more 'natural' and might be expected to handle the curriculum with less effort. Since you are anyway planning ahead, try to ensure that all you need is a single attempt.