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mbaMission Admissions Consultant
Joined: 25 Apr 2013
Posts: 4420
Given Kudos: 1
What to Do If You Have Decided to Postpone the GMAT Exam for a Year
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14 Apr 2018, 08:00
14 Apr 2018, 08:00
Expert Reply
| FROM mbaMission Blog: What to Do If You Have Decided to Postpone the GMAT Exam for a Year |
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With regard to the GMAT, raw intellectual horsepower helps, but it is not everything. Manhattan Prep’s Stacey Koprince teaches you how to perform at your best on test day by using some common sense. In the past, we have talked about what to try if your deadlines are rapidly approaching and you do not yet have the score that you want. What if you decide to postpone the exam and possibly your B-school applications? First, a pep talk. You made a choice; you did not “fail.” You could, for example, choose to apply this year but lower your standards in terms of where you apply. In fact, depending on your goals, this may be better than waiting a year to try to get into a “better” (or at least more highly ranked) school. On the other hand, let us say that you are only willing to spend more than $100K if you can get into a certain “level” school, and your GMAT score is holding you back. In that case, postponing for a year may be the way to go. Any “helpful” friends or family members who say, “Hey, I thought you were applying to business school!” can be told, “It is actually a smarter career move for me to wait until next year.” They do not need to know that the GMAT had anything to do with that decision. So how do you get that score? There is no guarantee you will get a certain score. Now that you have given yourself some more time, though, put together a smart plan that will give you the best possible chance. Take a break If you are already burned out (and most people in this situation are), take a breather. The best thing you can do for yourself right now is clear your brain and ratchet down the stress levels. Come back to the GMAT with a fresh perspective in January. Set up a plan Whatever you were doing before was not working for some reason. You need to figure out why so that you can then figure out what kind of plan will work for you. First, what was your broad study plan/pattern? Were you working on your own or with friends? With a class? With a tutor? Second, what materials were you using and how were you using them? How were you actually studying/learning when you were not in class or with a tutor? If you had/have a teacher or tutor, contact him or her for help with this step. Make sure to provide detailed information about how you were working on your own and any ideas you have about what was and was not working. Also ask other experts for advice—post on some forums, speak to other teachers or tutors, and so on. The article Developing a GMAT Study Plan contains a number of useful resources to help you figure out next steps. Note that the article is a two-parter. I have linked to the first part here; the second half is linked at the end of the first part. Questions to ask yourself
Research your options now (class? books? online materials?) and set things in motion so that you can hit the ground running when the time comes. Then, after taking a break, you can come back with a clear head, a fresh perspective, and a plan—all of which are critical if you want to have a good shot at overcoming the GMAT! |
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mbaMission Admissions Consultant
Joined: 25 Apr 2013
Posts: 4420
Given Kudos: 1
MBA Admissions Myths Destroyed: I Should Quit My Job to Study for the
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15 Apr 2018, 09:00
15 Apr 2018, 09:00
Expert Reply
| FROM mbaMission Blog: MBA Admissions Myths Destroyed: I Should Quit My Job to Study for the GMAT |
 The GMAT is the sole piece of data that is truly consistent from one candidate to another. Therefore, many MBA applicants get carried away and place undue emphasis on it, when the test is only one of several important aspects of an application. In extreme cases, some applicants consider quitting their jobs to focus on the GMAT full time—not a great idea! Why is it not ideal to quit your job to improve your GMAT score? Quite simply, it sends the message that you cannot manage what many other MBA candidates can manage quite well. In your application, you will need to account for any time off; if you honestly note that you quit your job to study for the GMAT, you will place yourself at a relative disadvantage to others who have proved that they can manage work, study, and possibly volunteer work simultaneously. By taking time off, you will send the unintended message that you cannot achieve what many do unless you have an uneven playing field. This is not the message you want to send your target academic institution, which wants to be sure that you can handle the academic course load, a job hunt, community commitments, and more. Regardless of the admissions committees’ perceptions of taking time off, we believe a calm and methodical approach is your best bet. By furthering your career as you study, you will have a sense of balance in your life. On test day, you will have a far better chance of keeping a level head, ensuring that you will do your best—which, of course, was the point in the first place. |
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mbaMission Admissions Consultant
Joined: 25 Apr 2013
Posts: 4420
Given Kudos: 1
Visiting B-School Campuses Multiple Times—and a Reminder on Best Behav
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16 Apr 2018, 09:00
16 Apr 2018, 09:00
Expert Reply
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Visiting B-School Campuses Multiple Times—and a Reminder on Best Behavior! |
 Many MBA applicants set their sights on more than one school. In the fortunate case that a candidate does gain admission to multiple business schools, how does he/she choose between two (or more)? If you cannot determine a definitive “winner” based on specific academic or professional criteria, you may now need to make a campus visit or, for some, another campus visit. If you have not yet had a chance to visit your target school(s), we advise you to get to know the program(s) better before deciding where to invest up to two years and $100K or more. However, even if you have already visited your target campuses, this may be a good time for a second, more focused trip. Many candidates go on marathon tours of business school campuses in the fall but have only a limited window in which to get to know each program they visit. After the admissions committees have defined your choices and shifted the decision power back to you, you can really devote some time to familiarizing yourself with your target schools and completing diligence that may not have been possible before. For example, as a nervous prospective student, you may not have truly pushed the students you met to define a program’s weaknesses, or you may not have felt that delving deeply into the recruiting situation on campus was appropriate during your initial visit. Similarly, you may not have experienced the social environment on campus, preferring to maintain a strictly professional profile. Although attending “welcome weekends” will allow you to meet and mingle with your potential future classmates, visiting campuses now—while classes are in session and the schools are operating as they will next year—will provide valuable insight that will facilitate one of the most important choices of your life. Visiting target schools can not only help prospective students make a positive impression on the admissions committee, but also give candidates the opportunity to personalize their applications (essays and interviews, in particular—depending on the timing of the visit) and may even help them select their schools. But remember, whenever you visit campuses, you should always be on your best behavior. Although the receptionist in the Admissions Office is not a “spy,” and your tour guide’s main concern is not to inform the admissions committee of your actions or comments, both of these individuals will likely feel compelled to report any bad behavior to the committee. We spoke with one former receptionist (now an admissions committee member) at a top-ranked school who said that if she encountered rudeness from a visiting candidate, she would make note of it and send a message about the incident to the admissions director—who would subsequently remove the candidate from consideration for admission. Although we imagine most candidates plan to be on their best behavior during any school visit, we nevertheless offer this important reminder. |
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