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21 Jul 2016, 08:00
| FROM Veritas Prep Blog: Important Admissions Insights from the 2016 AIGAC MBA Applicant Survey |
 AIGAC (the Association of International Graduate Admissions Consultants) presented insights from its survey of recent MBA applicants and graduates at their annual conference last month. On your own business school application journey, knowing the trends below may help you know what your peers are thinking and better inform your choices: Let’s look at some of the most interesting findings this study presented: School Selections Impacted by Cost-Consciousness 41% of MBA applicants in this study indicated that affordability affected their final school choices, while 21% factored program cost and access to financial aid into creating their lists of target schools. Related to this, applicants this year showed more of an openness to business school options other than the traditional two-year MBA program than they had in the past. This could be because these options reduce opportunity costs of the time away from employment prospects. The study also showed applicants’ interest in shorter full-time MBA programs (less than 2 years) jumped significantly from 33% in 2015 to 40% in 2016. Reputation (Ranking) Still Matters Most Although affordability has become an increasingly considered factor in the application process – with 30% of survey respondents including net costs in their school evaluations – an MBA program’s ranking is still the most influential aspect in deciding where to apply, with 74% of respondents factoring this into their school choice. Other major school factors applicants considered in the application process were impact on career (48%), city/geographic location of the program (46%), and school culture (38%). Optimism on Post-MBA Career MBA applicants remained optimistic with their post-MBA prospects this year, with 41% of respondents expecting salary increases of greater than 50% within 6 months after completing their business school education. The most popular post-MBA target career paths for applicants remain Consulting, Finance/Accounting, and Technology. The AIGAC report also shared actual post-MBA career trends, which showed a declining number of graduates going into Finance (from 43% in 2007 to 29% in 2013), while those going into Technology more than doubled (from 8% in 2007 to 17% in 2013). Engaging Help for the Competitive Application Process Realizing how competitive the MBA application process is, many applicants are tapping multiple sources of support. Top support systems are friends (44%), professional admissions consultants (39%), and family (30%). Only 17% of applicants reported going through the entire process with help from “no one”. These findings show that applicants are realizing the benefits of gaining additional business school insights and wider perspectives as they compete for the coveted spots at the top MBA programs. Although the decision of where to ultimately pursue your MBA should, of course, be your own, hopefully this information can better inform your application process and help you determine some factors to consider when choosing a business school. For more details about the 2016 AIGAC MBA Applicant Survey, please see AIGAC’s White Paper or slide presentation. Applying to business school? Call us at 1-800-925-7737 and speak with an MBA admissions expert today, or take our free MBA Admissions Profile Evaluation for personalized advice for your unique application situation! And as always, be sure to find us on Facebook, YouTube, Google+ and Twitter. Written by Edison Cu, a Veritas Prep Head Consultant for INSEAD. The post Important Admissions Insights from the 2016 AIGAC MBA Applicant Survey appeared first on Veritas Prep Blog. |
21 Jul 2016, 13:00
| FROM Veritas Prep Blog: The 2016-2017 Common Application: How to Get Started |
 The Common Application is going to be offline from July 21 until August 1, 2016 while all of the dates and details are updated for this upcoming application season. For the first time in the Common App history, students who created an account before August 1st will be able to roll over all of their saved information to the application when it is officially released on August 1st. So, for those of you who have gotten a head start, your information will be ready to access again on August 1st. For those of you who may not have had a chance to create an account just yet, don’t you worry! There are things you can work on now while the application is down to get you started on the right foot when it is officially open again on August 1st. Strategize your essays: The Common App announced in January that they are not changing their essay topics this year. Take a look at the prompts and brainstorm your strategy for your personal statement. Need a little guidance? Check out our tips for making your personal statement stand out! Finalize your college list: When the application opens again on August 1st, it will be time to hit the ground running. The best way to prepare yourself for filling out college applications is to know exactly where you plan to apply. Check out commonapp.org to learn about the 700 colleges who use the common app. You can also use collegeconfidential.com to identify best-fit schools for you. Select your recommenders: Most schools you apply to will request that you submit letters of recommendation from a teacher, coach, counselor, etc. Once the school year officially begins, all of the seniors will be asking their favorite mentors to write these letters, so start to think now about who you want to write yours! We generally like to suggest that you provide your recommender with a resume or list of accomplishments that they can reference when writing this letter of recommendation, so start putting together those resources, too. Enjoy yourself: Yes, that’s right, we’re telling you to take a break and enjoy the rest of your summer! The best way to kick-off application season is to be relaxed and have a clear mind. Make sure to take some time for yourself before you dive into these college applications so that you are able to give it your best effort from start to finish! Are you interested in learning more about the Common App and how admissions committees at top universities actually evaluate college applications? Register for our free workshop here. And as always, be sure to follow us on Facebook, YouTube, Google+, and Twitter! Laura Smith is Program Manager of Admissions Consulting at Veritas Prep. Laura received her Bachelor of Journalism from the University of Missouri, followed by a College Counseling Certificate from UCLA. The post The 2016-2017 Common Application: How to Get Started appeared first on Veritas Prep Blog. |
22 Jul 2016, 17:00
| FROM Veritas Prep Blog: How to Land a Consulting Job Offer Abroad |
 Management consulting is one of the most competitive industries to break into, and it can become even more difficult to enter if you plan to work at offices outside your school’s immediate region. Looking at this challenge primarily from the perspective of the MBA applicant, it is important to consider the ways you can best position yourself for success before you even step on-campus. This approach is important because once you are on-campus and committed to a program, your options may be limited with regards to maximizing your chances of landing an offer at an international office. Let’s explore a few criteria that should factor into your school selection if you aspire to work as a consultant in an international office: Location: Where is the location of your target program? Is this location in close proximity to the offices you are interested in? These are two very important questions to answer as you refine your target school list. The closer your school is to the region in which you wish to work, the better off you will be. As international as many management consulting companies claim to be, local hiring needs often still claim priority, with companies hiring the greatest number of employees from local business schools. Targeting MBA programs in close proximity to your desired office is a very savvy move if you are interested in working internationally in consulting. Geographic Placement: In what regions of the world does your target school place students? How local, national, and global is this placement? This is another important consideration, as this information can provide you with insights into your program and the track record it has with placing students in your desired region post-MBA. The number of alumni a school has in a specific region can better inform you as to your chances of securing employment in that same region come graduation day. Hiring Offices: How many students has your target office historically hired from the MBA program you are interested in? This is another great indicator of how challenging it may be for you to emerge from business school with an offer from your target employer. Generally, you can find this information either from your school’s employment report or from firm-specific recruiting websites. Alumni Representation: Is there a strong presence of alumni at your consulting office of interest? Generally, companies will leverage alumni from schools to conduct most of the leg work during their on-campus recruiting process, which signals a commitment by firms to the program and its students. A strong alumni base within an office (and overall) is another positive sign that your target school has a successful track record with a particular firm. Landing an international consulting job offer does not have to be a mysterious process – do your diligence before you land on-campus to maximize your chances of reaching your global career goals. Applying to business school? Call us at 1-800-925-7737 and speak with an MBA admissions expert today, or take our free MBA Admissions Profile Evaluation for personalized advice for your unique application situation! As always, be sure to find us on Facebook, YouTube, Google+ and Twitter. Dozie A. is a Veritas Prep Head Consultant for the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. His specialties include consulting, marketing, and low GPA/GMAT applicants. You can read more articles by him here. The post How to Land a Consulting Job Offer Abroad appeared first on Veritas Prep Blog. |
25 Jul 2016, 12:00
| FROM Veritas Prep Blog: Quarter Wit, Quarter Wisdom: Divisibility by Powers of 2 |
 We know the divisibility rules of 2, 4 and 8: For 2 – If the last digit of the number is divisible by 2 (is even), then the number is divisible by 2. For 4 – If the number formed by last two digits of the number is divisible by 4, then the number is divisible by 4. For 8 – If the number formed by last three digits of the number is divisible by 8, then the number is divisible by 8. A similar rule applies to all powers of 2: For 16 – If the number formed by last four digits of the number is divisible by 16, then the number is divisible by 16. For 32 – If the number formed by last five digits of the number is divisible by 32, then the number is divisible by 32. and so on… Let’s figure out why: The generic rule can be written like this: A number M is divisible by 2^n if the last n digits of M are divisible by 2^n. Take, for example, a division by 8 (= 2^3), where M = 65748048 and n = 3. Our digits of interest are the last three digits, 048. 48 is completely divisible by 8, so we conclude that 65748048 is also divisible by 8. A valid question here is, “What about the remaining five digits? Why do we ignore them?” Breaking down M, we can see that 65748048 = 65748000 + 048 (we’ve separated the last three digits). Now note that 65748000 = 65748 * 1000. Since 1000 has three 0s, it is made up of three 2s and three 5s. Because 1000 it has three 2s as factor, it also has 8 as a factor. This means 65748000 has 8 as a factor by virtue of its three 0s. All we need to worry about now is the last three digits, 048. If this is divisible by 8, 65748048 will also be divisible by 8. If it is not, 65748048 will not be divisible by 8. In case the last three digits are not divisible by 8, you can still find the remainder of the number. Whatever remainder you get after dividing the last three digits by 8 will be the remainder when you divide the entire number by 8. This should not be a surprise to you now – 65748000 won’t have a remainder when divided by 8 since it is divisible by 8, so whatever the remainder is when the last 3 digits are divided by 8 will be the remainder when the entire number is divided by 8. In the generic case, the number M will be split into a number with n zeroes and another number with n digits. The number with n zeroes will be divisible by 2^n because it has n 2s as factors. We just need to see the divisibility of the number with n digits. We hope you have understood this concept. Let’s take look at a quick GMAT question to see this in action: What is the remainder when 1990990900034 is divided by 32 ? (A) 16 (B) 8 (C) 4 (D) 2 (E) 0 Breaking down our given number, 1990990900034 = 1990990900000 + 00034. 1990990900000 ends in five 0’s so it is divisible by 32. 34, when divided by 32, gives us a remainder of 2. Hence, when 1990990900034 is divided by 32, the remainder will be 2. Our answer is D. Getting ready to take the GMAT? We have free online GMAT seminars running all the time. And, be sure to follow us on Facebook, YouTube, Google+, and Twitter! Karishma, a Computer Engineer with a keen interest in alternative Mathematical approaches, has mentored students in the continents of Asia, Europe and North America. She teaches the GMAT for Veritas Prep and regularly participates in content development projects such as this blog! The post Quarter Wit, Quarter Wisdom: Divisibility by Powers of 2 appeared first on Veritas Prep Blog. |
25 Jul 2016, 15:00
| FROM Veritas Prep Blog: The Importance of Challenging Your Worldview in College |
 College is a time for many important things, and one of those is re-imaging the way you view the world. For many college first-year students, life has (up until this point) been lived in one place with people of mostly similar backgrounds. Once in college, however, you will be exposed to a variety of viewpoints, opinions, cultures, and experiences that will be very different from your own. Many colleges recruit students and faculty from all over the country and the world, so there’s a good chance many of the people you meet will be from places you know nothing about. While this may seem scary to some, it is actually a great opportunity for learning and growth. By engaging with diversity in all its forms, you will be able to see things from different angles and expand your perspective to better understand the full complexity of the world. Recognizing socioeconomic, racial, ethnic, sexual, religious, and political diversity are important to seeing the world through fresher, clearer, more well-informed eyes. Our worldviews are often limited by what we have seen in our own lives, so when we make a sincere effort to understand how people from different backgrounds understand the world around them, we learn new modes of thinking and encounter challenging questions we may not have previously been aware of. In seeking out new perspectives, your resulting opinions will be stronger, you will be a more worldly person, and you will recognize that there are always new things you can learn more about. Whatever opinions you hold now can continually be improved, updated, and amended. Here are some things you can do on or off campus to make sure your time in college allows you to critically reassess your views and opinions: Seek out people who disagree with you. It’s easy to get caught in an echo chamber of people who already share your opinions, but this doesn’t force you to challenge the way you think. Making an active effort to be friends with people with different political or religious beliefs will ensure that you don’t get stuck in an opinion bubble. Plus, when you have good relationships with people who disagree with you, you are more likely to realize that their opinions come from good faith, not from a radical desire to “ruin” the world. Advocate for unpopular opinions. This can be a hard role to play in conversation, but it’s important to be a voice that won’t just kowtow to the dominant ideology. When someone makes a claim, it’s valuable to be the one to push back on it (respectfully), since this can cause all people involved to more deeply examine why they hold their beliefs. You don’t have to play the “devil’s advocate” and stick up for opinions that you truly find appalling, but you can ask probing questions, critique arguments, and voice the viewpoints that nobody else is sharing. Explore unfamiliar topics. On college assignments, students have a tendency to write about things they are familiar with. This may make for easier work, but it doesn’t have the kind of benefits that learning about unknown topics does. When you do a research paper on a culture you know little about, or write a philosophy essay on a moral dilemma you hadn’t considered before, you will be able to learn with an open mind and grow in areas you hadn’t previously imagined. Sure, it might be hard to dive into an unfamiliar topic, but in the long-term, learning how to challenge yourself like this is sure to come in handy. Reflect on your own beliefs. Being away from home, college is a good time to reflect on where your beliefs came from. Sometimes things that seem central to your identity are actually just a byproduct of your upbringing, and may not be what you really believe when you take the time to reflect. By really analyzing why you think what you think, you’ll often realize that a different way to think is just as or even more reasonable. Self-reflection is an important part of personal growth, and college – the hallowed place of learning – is the perfect place to perform that growth process. If you are curious and bold in your thinking in college, your beliefs will change and grow throughout your time there. Although this thought may be disconcerting, the uncomfortable process of intellectual growth and development is exactly what college is designed for. Do you still need to help with your college applications? We can help! Visit our College Admissions website and fill out our FREE Profile Evaluation for personalized feedback on your unique background! And as always, be sure to follow us on Facebook, YouTube, Google+, and Twitter! By Aidan Calvelli. The post The Importance of Challenging Your Worldview in College appeared first on Veritas Prep Blog. |
25 Jul 2016, 17:00
| FROM Veritas Prep Blog: Corrections for The Official Guide for GMAT Review, 2017 |
 The below information about The Official Guide for GMAT® Review, 2017 is from the Graduate Management Admission Council – the makers of the GMAT exam. This content was originally posted on The Official GMAT Blog. We recently released The Official Guide for GMAT® Review, 2017 and we have discovered that this version contains a number of typos that occurred during the publishing process. We understand that these errors may make it difficult to understand certain content and could affect the study experience for the GMAT exam. Below, we’ve outlined options that provide updated materials. For complete details and a full list of Frequently Asked Questions, please visit: https://wileyactual.com/gmat. I have the 2017 Official Guide. What should I do? You have the following options:
Both the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) and Wiley deeply apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused individuals studying for the GMAT exam. We are committed to high-quality publication standards, and moving forward we will make every effort to ensure that our study products are superior. GMAC customer care representatives are available to answer any questions or concerns at customercare@mba.com. To inquire about a replacement copy of The Official Guide for GMAT® Review, 2017, contact your regional Wiley customer support here. The post Corrections for The Official Guide for GMAT Review, 2017 appeared first on Veritas Prep Blog. |
26 Jul 2016, 10:00
| FROM Veritas Prep Blog: 3 Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Campus Visit |
 Business school visits are a lot of work, and they take time to set up before you actually step onto a campus. Below are 3 steps you can take to make sure you have a successful visit with your target schools. (Before you dig into this article, be sure to check out 2 Ways to Prepare for Your Campus Visit.) 1) Sign Up for An Official Visit Most campuses offer official visit programs that allow you to sign up to sit in on a class, learn more about the program, and sometimes have lunch with current students. These programs could be a half-day, full day, or even a weekend of events, such as Fuqua’s Weekend for Women. Each school will vary slightly, so take a look at their websites for more information. These visits will be great introductions to the campus life and the specific programs that you are interested in – you’ll get to see how the students interact in class and what the professors are like before you choose to spend two years there. 2) Use Your Network Once you sign up for a visit, let your network know that you will be on campus! If you’ve met an admissions representative, or had any phone chats with current students or alumni, contact them and see if they’ll have time for a quick meet up to grab coffee or a bite to eat. Engaging with the school’s community shows your continued interest and also helps admissions representatives remember you once your application comes through. If you haven’t had too much contact with students yet, this is a great time to email the leaders of campus clubs and ask if they can meet with you so you can learn more about their experiences. Remember that these students are sure to be very busy, so ask for a quick 15-minute chat where you can buy them a tea or a coffee. If they are available, chances are they will be more than happy to meet with you. 3) Make Your Official Visit Unofficial This one might not be as easy for some to do (and it is probably best if it comes naturally) but it will really help you get a sense of the school community. Try to take advantage of any random run-ins with current students. During the Fall Friday for Women event at Yale, I met someone in the bathroom who I started chatting with. We quickly became friends and she invited me to a fellow student’s birthday party that evening. At that event, I was able to meet a dozen other MBA students and it was helpful to see the social side of business school life in an informal setting where no one was officially trying to sell me on a program. If you can form genuine relationships with students, no matter what campus they are on, it will help you and your application. These relationships will allow you to craft more genuine essays, and regardless of whether or not you attend that particular program, that person can still be a great resource for you when you are later networking for jobs – networking is a huge aspect of business school, so it will only help you if you can start before you even apply to your target schools. Without these school visits, I would have no idea how to go about choosing the right program for me. It was Michigan’s admitted student event, Go Blue Rendezvous, where I was really able to see myself on campus, and it was after that weekend that I knew it was the right place for me. If you’re lucky enough to have a decision to make after your applications are reviewed, these visits will definitely come in handy when you are choosing where to put down your deposit. Applying to business school? Call us at 1-800-925-7737 and speak with an MBA admissions expert today, or take our free MBA Admissions Profile Evaluation for personalized advice for your unique application situation! As always, be sure to find us on Facebook, YouTube, Google+ and Twitter. Colleen Hill is a Veritas Prep consultant for the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. The post 3 Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Campus Visit appeared first on Veritas Prep Blog. |
26 Jul 2016, 12:00
| FROM Veritas Prep Blog: 5 Great Jobs to Hold in College |
 I, like many of my peers in college, held jobs throughout my undergraduate career in order to help make ends meet. Working while taking classes, especially at a demanding university like UC Berkeley, isn’t an easy thing to do, especially when hours worked begin to dig into study time. I knew many undergraduates who resented their jobs at cafés, restaurants, parking garages, and theaters in the neighborhood for putting extra pressure on their study schedules. As far as college jobs go, I and a few of my friends were extremely fortunate to find positions that not only gave us the flexibility we needed to keep our studies on track, but also offered us opportunities to learn important job skills or to engage with our fields. I realized quickly that, even though undergraduate students often don’t have many options when it comes to jobs, college work hours don’t have to feel like a waste of time. Here are five of the best job options we found: Tutoring Just about every university (or university area) I know of offers paid tutoring opportunities, which are a great way to develop leadership, communication, organization, and public speaking skills. Tutoring hours are often flexible, and tutoring subjects that you yourself study can help you stay sharp in your own field. Many tutors I know also love their work because of the positive impact it can have on students. Note-taking I took notes for my university’s Disabled Students Program, which paid me a stipend in exchange for detailed lecture notes for disabled students’ use. Some universities also allow private note-taking companies to hire students to take high-quality lecture notes, which are then sold to other students. Taking notes on lectures, especially those in your field, allows you to combine learning time with work. If you’re enrolled in the course that you’re taking notes on, you can earn money in exchange for work you’d be doing anyway. Research Assistantships These aren’t always paid, but it’s worth looking into them either way. Gain experience in and exposure to your field, build relationships with experts, and contribute to interesting projects by working with researchers at your university. The hours are often very flexible; in many cases, research assistant projects can be completed from home. Internships Again, these aren’t always paid, but are definitely worth exploring anyway. Holding internships in your field will offer you work experience, exposure to your field, and sometimes even academic credit if your university accommodates it. If you need to work during college, it makes a lot of sense to do the same work you’re going to college to learn about in the first place. Short-term Employment Do you study computer science? Help a local business redesign its website. Do you study journalism? Hone your writing skills by looking for work as an editor, drafter or blogger for a nonprofit near you. Doing short-term work related to your field of study will help you better craft the skills you’ll need to succeed post-college and will look great on your resume, too. Do you still need to help with your college applications? We can help! Visit our College Admissions website and fill out our FREE Profile Evaluation for personalized feedback on your unique background! And as always, be sure to follow us on Facebook, YouTube, Google+, and Twitter! Courtney Tran is a student at UC Berkeley, studying Political Economy and Rhetoric. In high school, she was named a National Merit Finalist and National AP Scholar, and she represented her district two years in a row in Public Forum Debate at the National Forensics League National Tournament. The post 5 Great Jobs to Hold in College appeared first on Veritas Prep Blog. |
27 Jul 2016, 14:00
| FROM Veritas Prep Blog: Early Thoughts on NYU Stern’s 2016-2017 Application Essay Questions |
 Application season at NYU Stern is officially underway with the release of the school’s 2016-2017 essay questions. Let’s discuss from a high level some early thoughts on how best to approach these essay prompts that have remained relatively consistent over the last few years. The two essays Stern requires are structured to give applicants a chance to showcase both the professional and personal sides of their applications. Essay 1: Professional Aspirations Why pursue an MBA (or dual degree) at this point in your life? What actions have you taken to determine that Stern is the best fit for your MBA experience? What do you see yourself doing professionally upon graduation? (750 words) This is a very multi-layered prompt provides applicants with a great opportunity to share their professional game plan and why Stern specifically is a key part of this. This prompt differs from other more traditional “career goals” essays by including multiple questions that will tease out many details of your planned career trajectory. Keep your approach simple here and consider addressing each aspect of the question in order. The wording of this prompt signals that you should touch on the past a little to provide context for the factors that have brought you to this point in your professional journey. Make it clear that you are self-reflective and have a deep understanding of where you have come from and where you are going professionally. Don’t shy away from honestly assessing why now is the right time to pursue your MBA. Whether it is personal maturity, industry changes, desired promotion or something else that is motivating you, the impetus of your timing is important to have pinned down. The second aspect of the prompt involves “fit.” Stern is really looking for specifics here, so don’t shy away from the detailing your research of schools and how Stern in particular has stood out for you from other MBA programs. The more you can personalize this aspect of your response, the better. The rationale and likelihood of reaching your identified career goals post-MBA is also a key aspect of how Stern will evaluate its applicants. Connecting your personal development goals to Stern’s unique offerings is critical to showcasing true fit with this program. Essay 2: Personal Expression Please describe yourself to your MBA classmates. You may use almost any method to convey your message (e.g. words, illustrations). Feel free to be creative. Many programs have begun to move towards more open-ended and creative essay prompts such as this. The goal of this prompt for Stern is to get to know who you really are. Unique to most other MBA programs, Stern provides various multi-media options for candidates to use to convey their message. This allows you the opportunity to have a unique and creative approach in answering this prompt. Keep in mind that the use of more non-traditional media can really stand out in a typically text-heavy process. Think creatively about how you plan to share your response, even if you are only using words. Creativity is not only limited to the medium – how you structure and organize your response could be another interesting way to stand out. This essay is an opportunity to balance out the heavy professional focus of Essay #1 with elements of your unique personality. Make sure you share details that would be relevant to someone who you are potentially about to spend a lot of time with over the next 2 years. This essay is a great place to showcase your interpersonal skills as well as how you plan to utilize them while working with your future classmates. Just a few thoughts on the new essays from Stern – hopefully this will help you get started. For more thoughts on Stern and its application essays, check out our free Essential Guide to Top Business Schools. Applying to NYU Stern or other business schools? Call us at 1-800-925-7737 and speak with an MBA admissions expert today, or take our free MBA Admissions Profile Evaluation for personalized advice for your unique application situation! As always, be sure to find us on Facebook, YouTube, Google+ and Twitter. Dozie A. is a Veritas Prep Head Consultant for the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. His specialties include consulting, marketing, and low GPA/GMAT applicants. You can read more articles by him here. The post Early Thoughts on NYU Stern’s 2016-2017 Application Essay Questions appeared first on Veritas Prep Blog. |
28 Jul 2016, 13:00
| FROM Veritas Prep Blog: Debunking 6 Popular Myths of the Part-Time MBA |
 Do you think that you aren’t a good fit for a part-time MBA? Think again! Part-time MBA programs have rapidly evolved over the last five years, adapting to the changing needs of the workforce and to their students. Here are some common myths about part-time MBAs and why you shouldn’t let them stop you from applying: Myth #1 – “I don’t have enough work experience.” Sure, the average part-time MBA student has more years of work experience than the average full-time student. The reality is, on average, this is only a two year difference – an average of seven years of experience, compared to the average of five years that full-time students have. If you have a “below average” tenure of work experience, the scope of your responsibilities and quality of your experiences can outweigh the quantity. If you manage and evaluate a team of employees, handle large projects or budgets, or have P&L responsibilities, don’t rule out a part-time MBA. Myth #2 – “I don’t live close enough to the school.” Part-time MBAs have evolved from weeknight only programs to weekend programs, hybrid flex/commute programs, online programs, and opened alternate campuses in other cities. Just because you don’t live within a reasonable drive of a school doesn’t make it out of reach anymore. For example, many UCLA FEMBA, Kellogg and Booth part-time students fly in and out for Saturday classes (typically up to 2 hour flights each way, including across borders), and many more fly across the country for flex programs. NYU Stern has opened an additional location in Westchester, UT Austin McCombs also has campuses in Dallas and Houston, and UNC Kenan-Flagler now has a fully online part-time program. Myth #3 – “I travel too frequently for my job to do a part-time program.” Similar to Myth #2, enrolling in Saturday classes, flexible programs or online programs can allow you to earn your MBA while still managing your career and travel schedule. Part-time programs are also understanding that there is a reason you are enrolled in a part-time program – your current career is important to you. Schools want you to be successful and will work with you to meet your schedule. This can mean switching from a weeknight program to a weekend program, or taking a semester or even a year off. Most part-time programs will allow up to five years for students to complete their graduation requirements, so depending on the school, you will have plenty of time to travel for work and attend your MBA classes. Myth #4 – “It takes too long to do the program part-time.” While a typical part-time MBA program is three years instead of two, there are many options for acceleration. If you have the flexibility to take additional classes, many programs will allow you to graduate early. For instance, McCombs in Dallas and Houston both have two-year part-time program options, and Kellogg has an accelerated part-time program that takes just over one year to complete. Myth #5 – “I can’t make a career switch without doing an internship.” This may still be the case for some industries, but certainly not the majority. Leveraging your transferable skills, the knowledge you’ve acquired at business school, the network you’ve developed, and career services your school offers are often enough to make your career change. Many part-time programs also have capstone projects that students complete for companies, allowing them to complete an “externship” while still working full-time to help facilitate their transitions. Myth #6 – “I don’t have access to on-campus recruiting or career services as a part-time student.” Generally, unless you are fully-sponsored by your employer (and even then, with their permission, this restriction can be waived), you’ll have the same access to career services and on-campus recruiters that full-time students do. Keep these points in mind when considering applying to a part-time MBA program – these programs are a lot more accessible than you might think! Applying to business school? Call us at 1-800-925-7737 and speak with an MBA admissions expert today, or take our free MBA Admissions Profile Evaluation for personalized advice for your unique application situation! As always, be sure to find us on Facebook, YouTube, Google+ and Twitter. Nita Losoponkul, a Veritas Prep consultant for UCLA, received her undergraduate degree in Engineering from Caltech and went from engineering to operations to global marketing to education management/non-profit. Her non-traditional background allows her to advise students from many areas of study, and she has successfully helped low GPA students get admitted into UCLA. The post Debunking 6 Popular Myths of the Part-Time MBA appeared first on Veritas Prep Blog. |
28 Jul 2016, 16:00
| FROM Veritas Prep Blog: The Do’s and Don’ts of Being an Intern |
 Congratulations! You’ve just gotten your first internship offer, and you’re ready to accept. Now that you’ve completed the search, application, and interview processes, survived the tense waiting period, and written up a few new bullet points to add to your resume, it’s tempting to think that the hard part is over now. But far too many interns end up squandering their internships by forgetting that being an intern comes with responsibilities–and that being a good intern, or a bad intern, can impact you and your career beyond just your resume. Here are a few tips on how to make the most of your internship: Understand what you’re signing up for. Are you sure you’ll be doing work, or at least contributing to work, that either interests you or teaches you something useful? Have you asked? Do you have the time in your schedule to commit to this internship? If you have met, or can meet, your potential coworkers before accepting the internship offer: do you think you’ll get along with them? Be sure that you’re a good fit for this position, and that this position is a good fit for you. If either of those things is not the case, your internship could turn out to be a worse experience than it’s worth. Take your work seriously. Are you getting paid? Great. If not, that’s no excuse to not take your internship seriously. Often, the experience and connections you gain from internships are more valuable in the long term than your salary, especially since interns usually don’t have very high salaries anyway. You aren’t really working for free: remember that you applied for the position in the first place, and that you’re exchanging your work for the opportunity to learn about that business and what it contributes to. Besides, making a good impression on and genuinely aiding your supervisors and coworkers can pay off through connections and letters of recommendation later on. Don’t snub menial jobs. Accept that some of your work will probably be administrative or very low-level. Filing, stapling, and the occasional coffee run may be boring, but it’s necessary work, someone has to do it, and even your higher-ranking coworkers probably do some of this too (if not more.) Just be sure that you’re spending most (or, at the very least, a significant portion) of your internship time learning useful things. Be aware of your work level. Ask for more work if you’re sure you can handle it. If you’ve got all of your internship responsibilities under control and have both the time and the competence to take on a bigger project, let your supervisor know. You may even consider taking the initiative to propose and assume responsibility for a new project that you think could support the work of your team. Only look for more responsibility if you’re sure you have what it takes to live up to higher expectations. Remember that, if you end up not being able to handle that responsibility, you impact not only yourself and your own work but your team’s as well. Keep your ears and eyes open. Much of the value of an internship comes from exposure to work beyond your internship duties. Get a feel for the conventions, politics, and priorities of your field and your organization by shadowing meetings, paying attention to conversations around you, asking (appropriate) questions, setting up informational interviews, and doing your own side research on interesting topics and issues that come up. Follow these tips and your new internship is sure to be beneficial to both you and your company. Do you still need to help with your college applications? We can help! Visit our College Admissions website and fill out our FREE Profile Evaluation for personalized feedback on your unique background! And as always, be sure to follow us on Facebook, YouTube, Google+, and Twitter! Courtney Tran is a student at UC Berkeley, studying Political Economy and Rhetoric. In high school, she was named a National Merit Finalist and National AP Scholar, and she represented her district two years in a row in Public Forum Debate at the National Forensics League National Tournament. The post The Do’s and Don’ts of Being an Intern appeared first on Veritas Prep Blog. |
28 Jul 2016, 16:00
| FROM Veritas Prep Blog: Early Thoughts on Berkeley Haas’ 2016-2017 Application Essay Questions |
 Application season at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business is officially underway with the release of the school’s 2016-2017 essay questions. Let’s discuss from a high level some early thoughts on how best to approach the essay prompts, which are essentially the same as the prompts from last year. There are three full essay questions for Haas, with Essay 2 providing the applicant multiple options to choose from. Essay 1: If you could choose one song that expresses who you are, what is it and why? (250 words) The most important thing about what song you choose here is that the song you choose does not matter. The fact that the school does not care what language, culture, or even what the lyrics are should signal this to you. It is all about “why” this song is so important to you, so when selecting a song think long and hard about a song that provides some insight into who you are. The more authentic the better, so use this as an opportunity to really let the Admissions Committee in so you can stand out from other candidates. Essay 2: Choose one:
There is a common theme between these three potential essay prompts, so it can be difficult for applicants to decide on which one to pick. Overall, with all three of these prompts, Haas is looking to understand how you have handled uncomfortable situations in the past. Again, which prompt you choose does not really matter for this essay – what is most important is to dive deep and be vulnerable and reflective on the experience you choose to share. Essay 3: Tell us about your career plans. How have your past experiences prepared you to achieve these goals? How will Berkeley-Haas help you? (500 words) Essay 3 is the longest of the three essays and is by far the most traditional. This is your opportunity to really connect the dots for the Admissions Committee and help them understand how a Haas MBA will uniquely position you for success in your future career path. Spare the generalities here and get specific – highlight how your past, present, and future all link together with the Haas MBA. Hint: Haas’ “Defining Principles” are a great place to start! Just a few thoughts on the new batch of essays from the Haas School of Business – hopefully this will help you get started. For more thoughts on Berkeley and its application essays, check out our free Essential Guide to Top Business Schools. Applying to Berkeley Haas or other business schools? Call us at 1-800-925-7737 and speak with an MBA admissions expert today, or take our free MBA Admissions Profile Evaluation for personalized advice for your unique application situation! As always, be sure to find us on Facebook, YouTube, Google+ and Twitter. Dozie A. is a Veritas Prep Head Consultant for the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. His specialties include consulting, marketing, and low GPA/GMAT applicants. You can read more articles by him here. The post Early Thoughts on Berkeley Haas’ 2016-2017 Application Essay Questions appeared first on Veritas Prep Blog. |
29 Jul 2016, 18:00
| FROM Veritas Prep Blog: 3 Business School Essay Mistakes That are Easy to Make |
 Before even reading the essay questions and prompts for their MBA applications, most business school candidates have made a checklist (written or mental) of the accomplishments, highlights, and goals that they want to share in their essays. While this is very helpful in mapping out your stories to share and the overall profile you want to present, be very careful of these common mistakes in your essay responses: Not answering the questions! As an example, take a look at the prompt below from one of the top MBA programs: “Describe the achievement of which you are most proud and explain why. In addition, describe a situation where you failed. How did these experiences impact your relationships with others? Comment on what you learned.” This prompt may seem simple at first – all applicants are able to identify the achievement they want to play up and can extensively set up the details regarding it (even going so far as to fill in unnecessary details). This results in a having a very limited space to discuss the failure aspect of the question. Surprisingly, even with the great care taken to reflect, review, and revise, more often than not, applicants forget to address the question about how these experiences impacted their relationship with others. Applicants will often get fixated on one or two parts of a longer prompt and totally miss out on critical aspects of the question. This is a very basic mistake committed during the essay-writing process, and it can happen no matter how much time and effort you have invested. Thus, be mindful of the need to the match each aspect of the given prompts with your responses before clicking the submit button. Not showing how! You know that you need to share awards, distinctions and accomplishments to strengthen your application chances, however, just as importantly, you also need to identify how you were able to earn these. Relating the specific actions you took and your outstanding personal qualities to these accolades will help demonstrate your potential to do the same in the future. So, take your essays as opportunities to showcase the key factors that led to your successes, and choose the ones that would also be applicable to your future endeavors. For example, you may have inherently physical gifts, such as extraordinary hand-eye coordination, that allowed you to excel in multiple sports, but it might be better to highlight qualities such as focus, drive and leadership skills, as these would be more applicable to the endeavors you’re sure to take on during your post-MBA career. Not explaining why! Another chance to connect with the Admissions Committee on a deeper level is to explain your motivations, both for what you have done in the past and for your future plans. Whether explicitly prompted to or not, sharing more of yourself by explaining your background, values and interests in a reflective and honest way will help you put forth an engaging application package, and will allow the Admissions Committee to get to know you better. Sounds easy, right? Avoiding these three simple mistakes will surely raise your chances for a homerun application. Applying to business school? Call us at 1-800-925-7737 and speak with an MBA admissions expert today, or take our free MBA Admissions Profile Evaluation for personalized advice for your unique application situation! And as always, be sure to find us on Facebook, YouTube, Google+ and Twitter. Written by Edison Cu, a Veritas Prep Head Consultant for INSEAD. The post 3 Business School Essay Mistakes That are Easy to Make appeared first on Veritas Prep Blog. |
01 Aug 2016, 11:00
| FROM Veritas Prep Blog: Advanced Number Properties on the GMAT – Part VI |
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Most people feel that the topic of number properties is hard or at least a little tricky. The reason is that no matter how much effort you put into it, you will still come across new concepts every time you sit with some 700+ level problems of this topic. There will be some concepts you don’t know and will need to “figure out” during the actual test. I came across one such question the other day. It brought forth a concept I hadn’t thought about before so I decided to share it today: Say you have N consecutive integers (starting from any integer). What can you say about their sum? What can you say about their product? Say N = 3 The numbers are 5, 6, 7 (any three consecutive numbers) Their sum is 5 + 6 + 7 = 18 Their product is 5*6*7 = 210 Note that both the sum and the product are divisible by 3 (i.e. N). Say N = 5 The numbers are 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 (any five consecutive numbers) Their sum is 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 = 20 Their product is 2*3*4*5*6 = 720 Again, note that both the sum and the product are divisible by 5 (i.e. N) Say N = 4 The numbers are 3, 4, 5, 6 (any five consecutive numbers) Their sum is 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 = 18 Their product is 3*4*5*6 = 360 Now note that the sum is not divisible by 4, but the product is divisible by 4. If N is odd then the sum of N consecutive integers is divisible by N, but this is not so if N is even. Why is this so? Let’s try to generalize – if we have N consecutive numbers, they will be written in the form: (Multiple of N), (Multiple of N) +1, (Multiple of N) + 2, … , (Multiple of N) + (N-2), (Multiple of N) + (N-1) In our examples above, when N = 3, the numbers we picked were 5, 6, 7. They would be written in the form: (Multiple of 3) + 2 = 5 (Multiple of 3) = 6 (Multiple of 3) + 1 = 7 In our examples above, when N = 4, the numbers we picked were 3, 4, 5, 6. They would be written in the form: (Multiple of 4) + 3 = 3 (Multiple of 4) = 4 (Multiple of 4) + 1 = 5 (Multiple of 4) + 2 = 6 etc. What happens in case of odd integers? We have a multiple of N and an even number of other integers. The other integers are 1, 2, 3, … (N-2) and (N-1) more than a multiple of N. Note that these extras will always add up in pairs to give the sum of N: 1 + (N – 1) = N 2 + (N – 2) = N 3 + (N – 3) = N … So when you add up all the integers, you will get a multiple of N. What happens in case of even integers? You have a multiple of N and an odd number of other integers. The other integers are 1, 2, 3, … (N-2) and (N-1) more than a multiple of N. Note that these extras will add up to give integers of N but one will be leftover: 1 + (N – 1) = N 2 + (N – 2) = N 3 + (N – 3) = N … The middle number will not have a pair to add up with to give N. So when you add up all the integers, the sum will not be a multiple of N. For example, let’s reconsider the previous example in which we had four consecutive integers: (Multiple of 4) = 4 (Multiple of 4) + 1 = 5 (Multiple of 4) + 2 = 6 (Multiple of 4) + 3 = 3 1 and 3 add up to give 4 but we still have a 2 extra. So the sum of four consecutive integers will not be a multiple of 4. Let’s now consider the product of N consecutive integers. In any N consecutive integers, there will be a multiple of N. Hence, the product will always be a multiple of N. Now take a quick look at the GMAT question that brought this concept into focus: Which of the following must be true? 1) The sum of N consecutive integers is always divisible by N. 2) If N is even then the sum of N consecutive integers is divisible by N. 3) If N is odd then the sum of N consecutive integers is divisible by N. 4) The Product of K consecutive integers is divisible by K. 5) The product of K consecutive integers is divisible by K! (A) 1, 4, 5 (B) 3, 4, 5 (C) 4 and 5 (D) 1, 2, 3, 4 (E) only 4 Let’s start with the first three statements this question gives us. We can see that out of Statements 1, 2 and 3, only Statement 3 will be true for all acceptable values of N. Therefore, all the answer choices that include Statements 1 and 2 are out, i.e. options A and D are out. The answer choices that don’t have Statement 3 are also out, i.e. options C and E are out. This leaves us with only answer choice B, and therefore, B is our answer. This question is a direct application of what we learned above so it doesn’t add much value to our learning as such, but it does have an interesting point. By establishing that B is the answer, we are saying that Statement 5 must be true. 5) The product of K consecutive integers is divisible by K! We will leave it to you to try to prove this! (For more advanced number properties on the GMAT, check out Parts I, II, III, IV and V of this series.) Getting ready to take the GMAT? We have free online GMAT seminars running all the time. And, be sure to follow us on Facebook, YouTube, Google+, and Twitter! Karishma, a Computer Engineer with a keen interest in alternative Mathematical approaches, has mentored students in the continents of Asia, Europe and North America. She teaches the GMAT for Veritas Prep and regularly participates in content development projects such as this blog! The post Advanced Number Properties on the GMAT – Part VI appeared first on Veritas Prep Blog. |
01 Aug 2016, 14:00
| FROM Veritas Prep Blog: How Are College Applications Actually Evaluated? |
 The Common Application is live! Most (if not all) college applications are now available for you to access, meaning that application season is officially here! We here at Veritas Prep get very excited about this time of year – we connect with students all around the world who are ready to tackle applications to their dream schools. We are inspired to come to work every day because we get to work with the most ambitious students and help them reach their most ambitious goals. We’re a team of college admissions nerds experts who have a unique insider’s perspective to how college applications are actually read and evaluated by admissions committees. As the 2016/17 application season officially begins, we wanted to provide you this insider look into our 4 Dimensions of a College Applicant. When admissions committees read their hundreds of applications a year, they are looking to evaluate candidates through these 4 dimensions: Dimension 1: Academic Achievements Your academic achievements demonstrate that you’ve mastered high school academics, but most importantly, they indicate to admissions committees how you’ll be able to handle the academic rigors at their school if you are admitted. To evaluate your academic achievements, admissions committees will review your:
The most selective schools in the nation often report that 75% of their applicants are qualified for admission. Since they, unfortunately, do not admit all of the students who may be academically qualified to attend, admissions committees look carefully for match and fit factors. Essentially, they’re looking for the right group of students who accurately and creatively represent themselves in their applications in a way that demonstrates their perfect fit for the campus culture, academics and community. When admissions evaluates your match and fit factors, they’ll be looking closely at your:
Laura Smith is Program Manager of Admissions Consulting at Veritas Prep. Laura received her Bachelor of Journalism from the University of Missouri, followed by a College Counseling Certificate from UCLA. The post How Are College Applications Actually Evaluated? appeared first on Veritas Prep Blog. |
01 Aug 2016, 18:00
| FROM Veritas Prep Blog: Early Thoughts on MIT Sloan’s 2016-2017 Application Essay Questions |
 Application season at MIT Sloan is officially underway with the release of the school’s 2016-2017 essay questions. Let’s discuss from a high level some early thoughts on how best to approach these new essay prompts. This year, Sloan has made some changes that echo prompts used in the past. Let’s explore how to best approach your responses: Cover Letter: Please submit a cover letter seeking a place in the MIT Sloan MBA Program. Your letter should conform to a standard business correspondence and be addressed to Mr. Rod Garcia, Senior Director of Admissions. (250 words) This year, Sloan brings back its “Cover Letter” essay, which it retired a few years back. Sloan was one of the schools that ushered in this recent trend of non-traditional essay prompts. Your response here is limited to only 250 words so it is important to be even more concise as you address the prompt. Given the word count, it may make sense to leverage a story-like narrative to touch on a few relevant personal accomplishments that distill your goals, passion, values and interests. The key here is to orient your response around Sloan’s core values that have always been heavily influenced by the ability to problem solve and drive impact. So with these factors in mind, really think about what you can uniquely bring to the student community at Sloan. Do not limit your impact just to the Sloan community – MIT alumni have impacted the world in many different forms so think about how the school can be the impetus for you to do the same. This is where research comes in handy, so do your due diligence. Keep in mind, with the tight word limit you don’t want to stray far away from the prompt, so stay focused on the type of support you choose to include in your response. Similar essay prompts in the past have asked applicants to “describe accomplishments” and/or “address extenuating circumstances,” so keep these elements in mind as well as you structure your response. Optional Essay: The Admissions Committee invites you to share additional information about yourself, in any format. If you choose a multimedia format, please host the information on a website and provide us with the URL. (500 words or 2:00 minutes) Not all optional essays should be considered optional, and in this case I suggest candidates utilize this essay accordingly. This essay is a really an opportunity for Sloan to get to know you, and with so few other touchpoints in the application process, you should make the most of this space. Sloan gives candidates a pretty good runway on this one with a lengthy word and multimedia count (as far as “optional” essays go), but you will still want to keep things focused. Use as much of the real estate as you need for your answer and none more. You should really use this space to get personal; it is a great opportunity to differentiate yourself so make sure it is not something you have previously covered elsewhere in your essays. Just a few thoughts on the essays from Sloan – hopefully this will help you get started. For more thoughts on MIT and its application essays, check out our free Essential Guide to Top Business Schools. Applying to MIT Sloan or other business schools? Call us at 1-800-925-7737 and speak with an MBA admissions expert today, or take our free MBA Admissions Profile Evaluation for personalized advice for your unique application situation! As always, be sure to find us on Facebook, YouTube, Google+ and Twitter. Dozie A. is a Veritas Prep Head Consultant for the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. His specialties include consulting, marketing, and low GPA/GMAT applicants. You can read more articles by him here. The post Early Thoughts on MIT Sloan’s 2016-2017 Application Essay Questions appeared first on Veritas Prep Blog. |
02 Aug 2016, 19:01
| FROM Veritas Prep Blog: How to Explain Work Gaps in Your MBA Applications |
 If you have a prolonged gap in activity – either at school or at work – on your resume, you probably already know that explaining it can be difficult. Being open and ready to address this “hole” in your profile with the Admissions Committee will greatly benefit your application. Let’s examine the two major ways you can tackle work and education gaps in your business school essays and interviews: Be Open and Ready Be prepared to answer questions from the Admissions Committee regarding your gap. Being ready to discuss your gap will allow you to be composed when asked about it during your interview. An honest demeanor will help keep the interview on the right track, while allowing you to explain the context of the gap. Addressing this openly in your essays also gives you the chance to take control of the message and show your character, personality, and purpose. Over the years, I have had successful clients who had gaps in their educational or professional history be admitted to top programs. Reasons for these gaps have ranged from choosing to take a break to explore other countries, to taking care of the family business, to recovering from illness. Being forthcoming about the reasons for these interruptions helped demonstrate their authenticity and made it easier for the Admissions Committee to appreciate their personal growth. Add Another Dimension Explaining the reason for your breaks will also allow the Admissions Committee to gain more insights about your personal life story and your priorities. For instance, an applicant who had to overcome personal issues to eventually complete his undergraduate degree reflected thoughtfully that his struggles at that key point allowed him to build resilience and empathy – the same qualities that have formed the foundation of his leadership principles. Communicated sincerely, a message like this will come across powerfully, especially when supported with the context of applicable leadership activities you may have taken on during, or after, your gap. Another applicant had to take over the family business due to his father’s illness while he was still studying. Doing so helped shape his sense of responsibility at a young age, and his maturity served him well in taking on early leadership roles. Experiences such as these are attractive, as business schools look for applicants with strong leadership potential. Additionally, your travels can be used to show your international motivation, openness to new experiences, and ability to relate to diverse cultures. Sharing your involvement with worthy organizations while you are on break will also give a peek into the causes you hold dear. Highlight this whenever possible, as it will show your personal enrichment and act as a unique addition to your profile. To conclude, don’t be too secretive about your education or work gaps. Instead, use your gap as an opening to connect with the Admissions Committee on an even deeper level. Applying to business school? Call us at 1-800-925-7737 and speak with an MBA admissions expert today, or take our free MBA Admissions Profile Evaluation for personalized advice for your unique application situation! And as always, be sure to find us on Facebook, YouTube, Google+ and Twitter. Written by Edison Cu, a Veritas Prep Head Consultant for INSEAD. The post How to Explain Work Gaps in Your MBA Applications appeared first on Veritas Prep Blog. |
03 Aug 2016, 12:01
| FROM Veritas Prep Blog: How to Tackle Kellogg’s 2016-2017 Video Essays |
 Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management has double downed on the recent trend of video essays, bringing back their video essay for another year. Kellogg has continued to tweak the questions and format over the years but the general premise and ways to succeed in this aspect of their application have remained consistent. As far as the operational aspects go, you have a week to complete the video essays after submission of your application – the video essays themselves are pretty straightforward and should be approached as such. I believe that these video essays are genuinely used so that the admissions committee can “get to know” the candidate on a more personal level. Therefore, the applicant should try to be friendly and open about the questions (while still being appropriate, of course) rather than overly stiff and formal. The video essays can also be used as another way for the Admissions Committee to get a little glimpse into the personality traits of applicants. This is not something that will be really tricky or challenging, such as a mini-case – it is much more personal. Kellogg is looking to see how you come across in an unscripted, conversational moment. The important thing to remember here is to convey calm confidence and answer the question directly within the time allotted. The good thing about these video essays is that you have a bank of 10 practice questions to prep with, so utilize this to get a feel for the questions and the technology. I would also recommend practicing a few responses for timing purposes to see how long or short a minute really is. This is the kind of thing where I think over-preparation could potentially backfire, since you don’t know what the questions will be (outside of video prompt #2, which the school has made publicly available to all). Remember, the objective of the exercise is to be yourself and have fun, so be ready to be flexible in your responses to what you are asked. Your personality should be consistent with who you have portrayed yourself to be in the application (which should be in line with who you really are) while factoring how the Admissions Committee perceives you (young candidate, international, brain, etc.). Prep some responses to common questions under each of the prompt categories, but keep in mind that these questions are not meant to be brain teasers, just personal questions you should have sorted through about yourself and your interest in the school prior to completing your application. One question will be Kellogg-focused, another will be more personal and the last will exploring a challenge you have faced. Finally, try and have a good structure in your responses to the questions – communication is obviously one of the major elements being tested here, so stay poised and show off that executive presence Kellogg values so much. For more thoughts on Kellogg, check out our free Essential Guide to Top Business Schools. Applying to Kellogg or other business schools? Call us at 1-800-925-7737 and speak with an MBA admissions expert today, or take our free MBA Admissions Profile Evaluation for personalized advice for your unique application situation! As always, be sure to find us on Facebook, YouTube, Google+ and Twitter. Dozie A. is a Veritas Prep Head Consultant for the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. His specialties include consulting, marketing, and low GPA/GMAT applicants. You can read more articles by him here. The post How to Tackle Kellogg’s 2016-2017 Video Essays appeared first on Veritas Prep Blog. |
03 Aug 2016, 13:00
| FROM Veritas Prep Blog: Does Your College Pass the “Broken Leg Test”? |
 Don’t worry, college-bound high school students – this post is not about another test you have to take. I’m sure you’ve had just about enough of testing for a while! The “broken leg test” is a term that I learned from a family friend, and it has to do with the college search process. For athletes that want to continue to play sports in college, there’s another aspect of looking at schools: finding a college sports team that you like and that will take you. But my family friend’s advice to athletes was to make sure that the search for a good athletic program didn’t overshadow the search for a good academic and social fit. He told athletes to consider whether they would still like the school they wanted to go to if they got injured and were no longer able to be on the sports team. Hence, the broken leg test. This is, first-and-foremost, good advice for athletes. Sports are, of course, a big part of school for athletes, but college is too big an investment for athletics to be the only consideration. Applying the broken leg test is a good way to make sure that an athlete’s college choice is well-reasoned and positions the athlete well for the future, no matter what injuries may occur. The idea of the broken leg test can be valuable for non-athletes, too. Making sure that your college choice isn’t disproportionately based on one factor is a smart thing to do. It forces you to think broadly about the aspects you want your college to have, and not get caught up in one little detail that catches your eye. There are so many things to love about college, and life is so unpredictable, that you’re more likely to be happy if your reasons for choosing a school are numerous. Consider the following example: Imagine a student – let’s call her Caroline – really likes College X. She visited College X during a special concert performance on campus and loved the performers and the atmosphere. However, with a careful application of the broken leg test, Caroline should be wary of putting too much stock in this one experience. Possibly, the concert doesn’t usually draw as talented of artists, or the student body acts much differently on normal days of the week. Would Caroline still be happy at College X if concerts and other events like this weren’t nearly as good when she went to the school? Only if the answer is yes should Caroline still consider attending College X. So, for athletes and non-athletes alike, the idea of the broken leg test is a good thing to keep in mind when choosing a college to attend. If, for some reason, you were unable to participate in one major college activity you had planned to participate in, would you still be happy at the school you chose? Keeping that question in mind is a good way to make sure that even if something drastic happens, your college choice is still a good one. Do you still need to help with your college applications? We can help! Visit our College Admissions website and fill out our FREE Profile Evaluation for personalized feedback on your unique background! And as always, be sure to follow us on Facebook, YouTube, Google+, and Twitter! By Aidan Calvelli. The post Does Your College Pass the “Broken Leg Test”? appeared first on Veritas Prep Blog. |
03 Aug 2016, 16:00
| FROM Veritas Prep Blog: Probability and Combinations: What You’ll Need to Know for the GMAT |
 If you’ve been paying attention to the exciting world of GMAT prep, you know that GMAC released two new practice testsfairly recently. I’d mentioned in a previous post that I was going to write about any conspicuous trends I noted, and one unmistakable pattern I’ve seen with my students is that probability questions seem to be cropping up with greater and greater frequency. While these questions don’t seem fundamentally different from what we’ve seen in the past, there does seem to be a greater emphasis on probability questions for which a strong command of combinations and permutations will prove indispensable. First, recall that the probability of x is the number ways x can occur/number of total possible outcomes (or p(x) = # desired/ # total). Another way to think about this equation is to see it as a ratio of two combinations or permutations. The number of ways x can occur is one combination (or permutation), and the total number of possible outcomes is another. Keeping this in mind, let’s tackle this new official prompt: From a group of 8 volunteers, including Andrew and Karen, 4 people are to be selected at random to organize a charity event. What is the probability that Andrew will be among the 4 volunteers selected and Karen will not? (A) 3/7 (B) 5/12 (C) 27/70 (D) 2/7 (E) 9/35 Typically, I’ll start by calculating the total number of possible outcomes, as this calculation tends to be the more straightforward one. We’ve got 8 volunteers, and we want to know the number of total ways we can select 4 people from these 8 volunteers. Note, also, that the order does not matter – group of Tiffany, Mike, Louis, and Amy is the same as a group of Louis, Amy, Mike, and Tiffany. We’re not assigning titles or putting anyone in seats, so this is a combination. If we use our combination formula N!/[(K!*(N-K)!] then N, our total pool of candidates, is 8, and K, the number we’re selecting, is 4. We get 8!/(4!*4!), which comes out to 70. At this point, we know that the denominator must be a factor of 70, so anything that doesn’t meet this criterion is out. In this case, this only allows us to eliminate B. Now we want our desired outcomes, in which Andrew is selected and Karen is not. Imagine that you’re responsible for assembling this group of four from a total pool of eight people. You plan on putting your group of four in a conference room. Your supervisor tells you that Andrew must be in and Karen must not be, so you take Andrew and put him in the conference room. Now you’ve got three more spots to fill and seven people remaining. But remember that Karen cannot be part of this group. That means you only have 6 people to choose from to fill those other 3 spots in the room. Put another way, think of the combination as the number of choices you have. Andrew and Karen are not choices – you’ve been ordered to include one of them and not the other. Of the 4 spots in the conference room, you only get to choose 3. And you’re only selecting from the other 6 people for those spots. Now N = 6 and K = 3. Plugging these into our trusty combination formula, we get 6!/(3!*3!), which comes out to 20. Summarizing, we know that there are 20 ways to create our desired group of 4, and 70 total ways to select 4 people from a pool of 8, giving us a probability of 20/70, or 2/7, so the correct answer is D. Takeaway: Probability questions can be viewed as ratios of combinations or permutations, so when you brush up on combinatorics, you’re also bolstering your probability fundamentals. Anytime you’re stuck on a complex probability question, break your calculation down into its component parts – find the total number of possible outcomes first, then find the total number of desired outcomes. Like virtually every hard question on the GMAT, probability questions are never as hard as they first seem. Plan on taking the GMAT soon? We have GMAT prep courses starting all the time. And be sure to follow us on Facebook, YouTube, Google+ and Twitter! By David Goldstein, a Veritas Prep GMAT instructor based in Boston. You can find more articles written by him here. The post Probability and Combinations: What You’ll Need to Know for the GMAT appeared first on Veritas Prep Blog. |
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Hi Generic [Bot],
Here are updates for you:
ANNOUNCEMENTS
 Wednesday, Apr 24, 2024 11:30am NY / 3:30pm London / 9pm Mumbai Watch earlier episodes of DI series below EP1: 6 Hardest Two-Part Analysis Questions EP2: 5 Hardest Graphical Interpretation Questions
Tuck at Dartmouth
AGSM at UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE
 Free Resources
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