Suggestion on making Study Buddy Forum a More Usable Resource

HI bb,

It feels to see the initiative live and running. I just a couple of minor tweaks which could greatly make the resource even more valuable.

1. It would be great if we could have filters for all the columns, especially the test date, because as newer entries would get updated on the table, the date of the test would be in the future. So the any person can find the buddy whose test date is close to his or her test date. I suggest we have a field of undecided too.

2. I just had a suggestion, if we could split the location column into two different columns - the city and the country. I realized that all the date being entered will not be uniform. Having two separate columns would really help in filtering down to the location.

I have listed some other columns that could be added, in order to facilitate matching like minded test takers and making this initiative even more valuable.

3. I think you should add the column of the attempt the person will be sitting for. A person who has given the exam will have a very different strategy from a person who will be appearing for it for the first time.

4. There could also be a column of the number of hours already devoted to the prep. These could just be a broad ranges like 0-20,20-40,40-60,60-80 and 100+ hours. The level of understanding of the exam changes a great deal as the hours devoted increase.

5. Target Score.

I feel that the filters may not be visible in in the current view. Hence, you could share the url of the sheet as a footnote so that people can access and filter the results. I do not know how feasible will that be.

As a suggestion to keep the data bank a valuable resource. I think someone should keep retiring those study buddy request whose test date has already been more than 2 months old. If this is not done, then the database will be just contain data of people who have either given the exam. Any person desirous of looking for a study partner, could submit the request again after two months of his previous request.

If you do need anyone, I would be happy to moderate and keep the data bank updated and crisp.

Regards
Sails

Thanks Sails911

I have added another column for the target score and split country/city - i considered the split at start and it is a good idea.
As to other considerations - I think they make sense; however, I would probably wait on those (retake, how much studying has been already done). There are things even a complete newb can still help a pro with - they can motivate each other, encourage). The same way a person who has taken the GMAT 2 times can help a new test taker... we can't have blind leading blind - we need someone who has more experience teaching those who have less.

P.S. I have added the link to the spreadsheet and published it here:
https://gmatclub.com/forum/looking-for- ... 48276.html

Thank you - that's a great suggestion. I agree that the current approach/system are cumbersome. Let me see how we can optimize it. I wonder if we just use a Google form for the time being - that would be quick.

hi sails901 bb

This is such a gr8 initiative. Am in, hopefully we can chip in more aspirants
from nearby locations.

WR,
Arpit

Hey bb

On a second though, I did think that some of the other features could sort of limit the interaction between potential study buddies and also add too much data (which may not always prove handy). I do completely second your opinion on the other suggestions.