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01 Jul 2014, 16:00
| FROM Veritas Prep Blog: GMAT Scores vs. Average Starting MBA Salaries |
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It’s not a stretch to say that the more prestigious the business school you attend, the higher your starting post-graduation salary will tend to be. The more prestigious your MBA program is, the more options you will tend to have in the job hunt, and the higher potential employers will be willing to go to hire you. The more options you have and the more marketable you are, the more you’re probably going to make when you come right out of business school. But, believe it or not, the correlation is actually very strong when comparing average GMAT scores and average starting salaries at top business schools! So, strong, in fact, that the relationship can neatly be summed up by this formula: 325 x GMAT Score – $123,000 = Starting Salary This is just an approximation, of course, but it works surprisingly well at giving you an idea of what starting salary you might have in store for you when you graduate with your MBA, given a certain GMAT score. To see more about this strong correlation, take a look at the newest infographic that we put together. (Click on the infographic below to enlarge it.)  Of course, this demonstrates a correlation, but that’s not the same as proving causation. Your future salary will be determined by your own choices, including which MBA program you attend and what job you take immediately after graduation. If you’re a good fit for your company, you should be able to negotiate a salary that both parties can be happy with. By Scott Shrum |
07 Jul 2014, 10:00
| FROM Veritas Prep Blog: Find the Correct Answer for Diagonals of a Polygon in This GMAT Question |
 In today’s post, we will give you a question with two solutions and two different answers. You have to find out the correct answer and explain why the other is wrong. But before we do that, let’s give you some background. Given an n sided polygon, how many diagonals will it have? An n sided polygon has n vertices. If you join every distinct pair of vertices you will get nC2 lines. These nC2 lines account for the n sides of the polygon as well as for the diagonals. So the number of diagonals is given by nC2 – n. nC2 – n = n(n-1)/2 – n = n(n – 3)/2 Taking quick examples: Example 1: How many diagonals does a polygon with 25 sides have? No. of diagonals = n(n – 3)/2 = 25*(25 – 3)/2 = 275 Example 2: How many diagonals does a polygon with 20 sides have, if one of its vertices does not send any diagonal? The number of diagonals of a 20 sided figure = 20*(20 – 3)/2 = 170 But one vertex does not send any diagonals. Each vertex makes a diagonal with (n-3) other vertices – it makes no diagonal with 3 vertices: itself, the vertex immediately to its left, and the vertex immediately to its right. With all other vertices, it makes a diagonal. So we need to remove 20 – 3 = 17 diagonals from the total. Total number of diagonals if one vertex does not make any diagonals = 170 – 17 = 153 diagonals. We hope everything done till now makes sense. Now let’s go on to the part which seems to make no sense at all! Question: How many diagonals does a polygon with 18 sides have if three of its vertices, which are adjacent to each other, do not send any diagonals? Answer: We will use two different methods to solve this question: Method 1: Using the formula discussed above Number of diagonals in a polygon of 18 sides = 18*(18 – 3)/2 = 135 diagonals Each vertex makes a diagonal with n-3 other vertices – as discussed before. So each vertex will make 15 diagonals. Total number of diagonals if 3 vertices do not send any diagonals = 135 – 15*3 = 90 diagonals. Method 2: The polygon has a total of 18 vertices. 3 vertices do not participate so we need to make all diagonals that we can with 15 vertices. Number of lines you can make with 15 vertices = 15C2 = 15*14/2 = 105 But this 105 includes the sides as well. A polygon with 18 vertices has 18 sides. Since 3 adjacent vertices do not participate, 4 sides will not be formed. 15 vertices will have 14 sides which will be a part of the 105 we calculated before. Total number of diagonals if 3 vertices do not send any diagonals = 105 – 14 = 91 Note that the two answers do not match. Method 1 gives us 90 and method 2 gives us 91. Both methods look correct but only one is actually correct. Your job is to tell us which method is correct and why the other method is incorrect. 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! |
07 Jul 2014, 17:00
| FROM Veritas Prep Blog: School Profile: Impact the World with a Degree from Wellesley College |
 Wellesley College, an all-female liberal arts college and a member of the Seven Sisters consortium of women’s colleges, is ranked #37 among Veritas Prep Elite College Rankings. It is located in the upscale suburban town of Wellesley outside Boston, Massachusetts. The school is guided by its belief in what it calls The Wellesley Effect, an abiding faith in their their ability to develop powerful young women who go on to impact the world in significant ways. To that end, notable women the like former U.S. Secretary of State, U.S. Senator, and former First Lady, Hillary Rodham Clinton; former U.S. Secretary of State and U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., Madeleine Albright; author, Nora Ephron; journalist, Diane Sawyer; actress, Elisabeth Shue; and astronaut, Pamela Melroy have all passed through Wellesley on their ways to imprint the Wellesley Effect on the world. Wellesley has been providing higher education to women since 1875. It began as a liberal arts college focused primarily on humanities; it then added renowned science programs in the 1960s and began exchange programs with other colleges like MIT and Brandeis University. Today, the college emphasizes an interdisciplinary approach to education. They offer over 30 departmental majors, 22 interdepartmental majors, and an individually designed major. Wellesley also belongs to the Babson, Olin, Wellesley Collaboration, which gives students the advantage of each college’s expertise in entrepreneurship, engineering, and liberal arts respectively. Students can take advantage of select double degrees with MIT or Brandies. Wellesley also offers internships and study abroad programs to further enrich their academic offerings. Eighty percent of Wellesley students go to graduate or professional schools within the first decade after graduation. Being one of the larger liberal arts colleges at over 2,500 students, they still maintain an 8:1 student to faculty ratio; only professors teach classes, and they are limited to teaching two classes per semester. This arrangement ensures ample attention for every student. Students live in one of five dorms on the Quad, four dorms in the Tower Complex—although the Lake House is reserved for upperclassmen, or three dorms on the East Side. There are also apartments, houses for Davis Scholars non-traditional (older) students, Spanish and French only houses, and a Feminist/Vegetarian Cooperative. The five dining halls include Kosher and vegetarian options. Perhaps the most unique options are the student-run Café Hoop with late night snacks and drinks; El Table serving soups, salads, sandwiches, and snacks; and Punch’s Alley, a student-run pub featuring $3 beers. Wellesley has a total of four cafés from which to choose, plus a S’mores pit. There are countless clubs, groups, and societies that address nearly every interest imaginable; every student will be able to find her niche at Wellesley. Check out their list of 50 Things to Do Before You Graduate. The Vil refers to the downtown area of Wellesley, which is within walking distance and where students can go for sushi, a haircut, or a new pair of jeans or shoes, plus a whole lot more. Nearby Boston offers a world of opportunity to unwind. Choose anything from taking in a game at Fenway Stadium to whale watching in Boston Harbor to a night out at House of Blues. Wellesley students have plenty of opportunities to take it all in and to socialize with students from other prestigious area colleges. Wellesley supports 14 NCAA Division III competitive teams in the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC). The crew team, known as Blue Crew, is a frequent NEWMAC champion. Wellesley crew members comprised the country’s first intercollegiate rowing team for women. Many of the school’s varsity teams in other sports bring home conference championship titles, or have individuals in the sports who bring recognition to Wellesley. The school boasts two individual national champions in tennis and track and field. In addition to competitive conference sports, Wellesley hosts a vibrant group of club teams, including water polo, ultimate Frisbee, sailing, two styles of snow skiing, rugby, ice hockey, equestrian, and archery. Wellesley’s devotion to student fitness is grounded in brain research that connects physical activity to cognition. Students may participate at any level from competitive to recreational, depending on personal preference. One of the longest held traditions at Wellesley is hoop rolling. It began in 1895 when graduating seniors, wearing their graduation gowns, participated in a race rolling wooden hoops. Traditionally, the winner was said to be the first to marry, and in the 1980s the first to become CEO, but these days she is said to be the first to be successful—in whatever way she defines that. The winner also receives a bouquet of flowers from the college president, and then her classmates throw her into Lake Waban. Sophomores traditionally plant a Class Tree on campus accompanied by a marker with their year of graduation next to it. Another longstanding annual tradition is Marathon Monday on Patriot’s Day, where Wellesley students create the “Wellesley Scream Tunnel” along the town’s portion of the Boston Marathon, cheering on participants. Other traditions include step-singing, Spring Week, and Lake Day. If you’re ready for high-octane engagement, you’re driven by a deep desire to succeed at a high level, and you enjoy the camaraderie of powerful women—Wellesley is your school. We run a free online SAT prep seminar every few weeks. And, be sure to find us on Facebook and Google+, and follow us on Twitter! Also, take a look at our profiles for The University of Chicago, Pomona College, and Amherst College, and more to see if those schools are a good fit for you. By Colleen Hill |
08 Jul 2014, 14:00
| FROM Veritas Prep Blog: Should You Go In-State or Out-of-State for College? |
 Choosing which university to attend is one of the first big decisions you’ll make as you move into adulthood. Depending on the institution and location, substantial costs could be involved that impact you and your family’s future. Fortunately, you have literally thousands of options across the United States. One of the first choices to consider is whether an in-state or out-of-state university is for you. It’s not an easy decision, since there is so much more to it than simply cost and location… There are many factors to consider! Take a look at our latest infographic below to get a head start on the research process. You can start with the pros and cons below to help yourself make an informed decision! (Click on the infographic below to enlarge it.)  By: Scott Shrum |
08 Jul 2014, 15:00
| FROM Veritas Prep Blog: The Importance of Innovation in Your MBA Applications |
 In addition to being a strong leader, a team player and an all-around impressive contributor to the workplace, business schools are looking for innovative thinkers. When you hear the word innovation, many think of filing patents or launching products, both of which would certainly go a long way towards demonstrating innovative thinking to be sure, but innovation can be so much more. What business schools really like to see is creativity, even in roles where you wouldn’t think there’s much room for it. Perhaps you work in a bank and came up with a new and clever way to process the loan paperwork—something which cut down not only the processing time, but perhaps also the number of people required in the process? The accounting field is another one where you might not think a lot of innovation is going on, but there’s actually a goodly amount of creativity in managing the numbers, and showing the admissions committee how you have done so with passion can be just the right recipe for a winning application. After all, no two tax returns are alike! Of course, entrepreneurs have a fairly easy time convincing the adcoms they are innovative, after all, starting up a company, especially one which has shown some success, takes a lot of ingenuity. But what about intra-preneurship? That is, taking processes and procedures within the rank and file of the everyday, established job and turning it upside down in a way which improves something for everyone involved? Even seemingly small, but creative contributions to your office can be presented in a way which shows the admissions committees you are unafraid to color outside the lines a bit and take a calculated risk in order to make things better. You might have even demonstrated innovation as a student, for example, by pulling off a high GPA in an engineering program when high engineering GPAs are difficult to come by. In fact, being creative in how you think of creativity at the workplace can show innovation itself! Don’t be afraid to make novel connections between what you have done both in and out of work and how you are a unique thinker. Business schools love to imagine their graduates will go on to lead the next generation of outside the box thinkers, so spend some quality time really asking yourself how you can demonstrate innovation in your own career and you will be on your way to impressing your target schools. Craft a strong application! Call us at 1-800-925-7737 and speak with an MBA admissions expert today. Click here to take our Free MBA Admissions Profile Evaluation! As always, be sure to find us on Facebook and Google+, and follow us on Twitter! Scott Bryant has over 25 years of professional post undergraduate experience in the entertainment industry as well as on Wall Street with Goldman Sachs. He served on the admissions committee at the Fuqua School of Business where he received his MBA and now works part time in retirement for a top tier business school. He has been consulting with Veritas Prep clients for the past six admissions seasons. See more of his articles here. |
09 Jul 2014, 08:42
| FROM Veritas Prep Blog: SAT Tip of the Week: Math in Translation |
 For those of us who grew up speaking English, we rarely find a personal benefit from translating English into another language. One big exception to this is in the math world. We may find ourselves able to understand the most erudite texts with ease, but figuring out how to interpret mathematical terms can be difficult without a little translating. Here is a quick and easy guide to help translate our language of communication into a language of computation. 1. Define Your Variables 2. Look for key words (“Sum” “Product” “Is added to” “Is twice” “Fixed cost” “increases __ for every increase/rotation/” etc.) 3. Replace English with an equation 4. Check with real numbers for plausibility Let’s look at an example of how you may use these steps on a problem on the SAT. “A number is multiplied by 4. This product is the same as the sum of this initial number and 4. What is 3 times the initial number?” In this problem we are simply told that we start with “a number”. If the problem gives us “a number” or “some number”, it is trying to communicate that we are dealing with a variable. Let’s define our variable as m. We could call it anything. The letter is a placeholder to indicate it is unknown at this time. Now let’s look for key words. “Is multiplied by 4” and “is the sum of” indicate multiplication and addition respectively. So the problem is stating that if you times m by 4, it should equal m plus four or: 4m = 4 + m 3m = ? I added the “3m = ?” because I like to write down the thing that I am solving for and quantity that we need is “3 times the initial number”. From here on, it should be a piece of cake to solve this equation. 4m = 4 + m -m -m 3m = 4 /3 /3 m = 4/3 3m = 4 Let’s look at what I call a “Taxi Problem.” Taxi problems are not always about taxis; they are essentially derived from problems where a taxi is charging some amount per mile over a certain distance. This could also be used to define phone call charges or any situation where there are costs accrued after some quantity of distance, time, or use. This example would be a classic taxi problem: “A taxi traveling m miles charges a fixed charge of $3.50 for the first mile and then c cents for every quarter mile traveled. What is an equation that describes the cost of taxi ride over 2 miles in terms of dollars?” We can start at the very beginning and define our variables. I’m going to call the cost we are trying to find in dollars d. This may seem obvious, but be sure that the variable you are solving for is alone on one side of the equation. An equation for d should solve for d, which means having d by itself on one side of the equation. We have defined d as the cost in dollars, and m, the number of miles, and c, the cost per quarter mile in cents, are defined for us. Let’s get to work on finding those key words. “Fixed charge for the first mile” is a big key phrase that tells us we are going to be adding the per mile cost to $3.50. We can pretty much guarantee our equation will look something like “3.5 +[per mile charges][number of miles]”. We are also told that the cost of the first mile is included in this fixed cost, so any per mile charges should be multiplied by m - 1 (instead of m) to reflect that the charges are for all travel after the first mile. This is a detail that many students miss the first time around. “Cents for every quarter mile” indicates that the taxi will charge c cents four times for every mile after the first, so in order to convert the cost per quarter mile to a cost per mile, we will have to multiply the cost by four. Let’s skip to step four and check for plausibility. If the cost was 25 cents per quarter mile, every mile of travel after the first would cost 4 (25 cents) or one dollar. This demonstrates another problem. c is in cents right now, so if we plug in the work we just did to our initial work we would have an equation that looks like this: d = 3.5 + 4(c)(m-1) If we stick with c as 25 cents, then a trip of 3 miles would cost 3.5 + 4(25)(2) = $203.5! Even in NY, that is too much money. This shows us we still need to convert c to cents, which can be done by dividing c by 100. Let’s check our work with real numbers now. d = 3.5 + 4(c/100)(m – 1) d = 3.5 + 4(25/100)(2) = 5.5 This answer is much more reasonable and accounts for all of key phrases in the word problem. Though word problems can be tricky, with a little translation they can become simple equations that are easy to solve or manipulate. Just remember to go through these steps and always check with real numbers to see if the equation is plausible. Happy test taking! Plan on taking the SAT soon? We run a free online SAT prep seminar every few weeks. And, be sure to find us on Facebook and Google+, and follow us on Twitter! David Greenslade is a Veritas Prep SAT instructor based in New York. His passion for education began while tutoring students in underrepresented areas during his time at the University of North Carolina. After receiving a degree in Biology, he studied language in China and then moved to New York where he teaches SAT prep and participates in improv comedy. Read more of his articles here, including How I Scored in the 99th Percentile and How to Effectively Study for the SAT. |
10 Jul 2014, 11:00
| FROM Veritas Prep Blog: Dartmouth (Tuck) Application Essays and Deadlines for 2014-2015 |
 Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business recently released its application essays and deadlines for the 2014-2015 admissions season. Like so many other top MBA programs these days, Tuck has eliminated an essay, going down to just two required essay prompts this year. The two essays that remain are taken directly from last year’s application (with just one subtle tweak to the second essay prompt). Without further ado, here are Tuck’s MBA application deadlines and essays for the coming year, followed by our comments in italics: Dartmouth (Tuck) Admissions Deadlines Early Action round: October 8, 2014 November round: November 5, 2014 January round: January 6, 2015 April round: April 1, 2014 Tuck barely changed its application deadlines since last year. Note that Tuck is one of the few top business schools to offer an Early Action admissions option. “Early Action” means that the decision is non-binding, although if you are admitted you will need to send in a $4,500 deposit by mid-January, or else you will give up your seat. If Tuck is your top choice, or at least a very strong 2nd or 3rd choice, Early Action is a great way to signal your enthusiasm for the school. Also, if you want to know the fate of your Tuck application before most other schools’ Round 2 deadlines come, then aim for Early Action, which allows you to receive your decision by December 18. Applying in any other round means that you won’t receive your decision until mid-February. Dartmouth (Tuck) Admissions Essays
By Scott Shrum |
10 Jul 2014, 17:00
| FROM Veritas Prep Blog: Dartmouth (Tuck) Application Essays and Deadlines for 2014-2015 |
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Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business recently released its application essays and deadlines for the 2014-2015 admissions season. Like so many other top MBA programs these days, Tuck has eliminated an essay, going down to just two required essay prompts this year. The two essays that remain are taken directly from last year’s application (with just one subtle tweak to the second essay prompt). Without further ado, here are Tuck’s MBA application deadlines and essays for the coming year, followed by our comments in italics: Dartmouth (Tuck) Admissions Deadlines Early Action round: October 8, 2014 November round: November 5, 2014 January round: January 6, 2015 April round: April 1, 2014 Tuck barely changed its application deadlines since last year. Note that Tuck is one of the few top business schools to offer an Early Action admissions option. “Early Action” means that the decision is non-binding, although if you are admitted you will need to send in a $4,500 deposit by mid-January, or else you will give up your seat. If Tuck is your top choice, or at least a very strong 2nd or 3rd choice, Early Action is a great way to signal your enthusiasm for the school. Also, if you want to know the fate of your Tuck application before most other schools’ Round 2 deadlines come, then aim for Early Action, which allows you to receive your decision by December 18. Applying in any other round means that you won’t receive your decision until mid-February. Dartmouth (Tuck) Admissions Essays
By Scott Shrum |
10 Jul 2014, 18:00
| FROM Veritas Prep Blog: Timing is Everything on the GMAT: One Strategy to Help You Succeed |
 One common complaint I hear from GMAT students is: “I can get the right answer but it takes me too much time.” Many people preparing for the GMAT feel this way at one point or another during their preparation. While this complaint has some merit, it can usually be paraphrased as “I’m approaching the problem with little to no strategy.” Relying on brute force to get the right answer is rarely the best approach. The old adage states that a million monkeys writing on a million typewriters will eventually produce the greatest novel of all time (It was the best of times, it was the blurst of times…). This problem speaks to the inherent time management skill required to succeed on the GMAT. Almost any question you will face on test day can be solved with a brute force approach. However, you won’t have a calculator and you will be under constant time pressure to complete each question fairly quickly, so simply running through every possible numerical combination seems like a fool’s errand. There may be a time when the brute force approach works, but it is like trying to break into someone’s e-mail by trying 00000001, 00000002, 00000003, etc until you find the correct password. You’d probably have more success with a logical approach (such as guessing birthdays or other important dates) than with trying every possible permutation until the lock opens. Approaching the problem in a logical and methodical way should be your goal for both quant and verbal questions. The approach as such may vary a little, but pattern recognition and extrapolation are two skills that will come up over and over again. If you’ve ever asked a 5-year-old what 2 + 2 was, they generally answer 4. If you ask them what 1,002 + 1,002 was, you’d usually get a lot of blank stares and puzzled looks. (My attempts to explain that they are essentially the same question have led to more crying fits than I’d care to admit). The GMAT uses the same elements of misdirection to bait you into thinking this particular problem is one that you can’t solve. Let’s look at a quant problem to get an idea of what we’re looking to do on these questions: How many positive integers less than 250 are multiple of 4 but NOT multiples of 6? (A) 20 (B) 31 (C) 42 (D) 53 (E) 64 This is the type of question that most people can get with unlimited time. You can simply go through every possible number from 1 to 249 and see if each number meets the criteria. Apart from going cross-eyed halfway through, you will also spend an atrocious amount of time on a question clearly designed to reward you for using logic. Let’s look at this question logically and see what we can determine. Firstly, it only cares about positive integers, so we can disregard zero. This is helpful because a lot of questions hinge on whether or not zero is included, but that won’t matter in this instance. Furthermore, only integers matter, and we’re looking for multiples of 4 but not 6. Your initial pass on a question like this might look might concentrate on the multiples of 4 and you might write (part of) the following sequence down: 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32, 36, 40, 44, 48, 52, 56, 60, 64, 68, 72, 76, 80, 84, 88, 92, 96, 100… After writing a couple of dozen numbers, you may try to figure out the pattern and extrapolate from there. Numbers divisible by 6 are to be eliminated, so you could rewrite this sequence: 4, 8, 16, 20, 28, 32, 40, 44, 52, 56, 64, 68, 76, 80, 88, 92, 100… Even with this, we have a long sequence of numbers, some of which are crossed off, and less than halfway through the entire sequence. Perhaps approaching the question from a more strategic approach would yield dividends: The number must be divisible by 4 but not by 6. Calculating the LCM gives us 12, which means that every 12th number will be divisible by both of these numbers. We want the integers to be divisible by four, but not by six, so 12 is out. Along the way, we stop by 4 and 8, both of which are divisible by four but not by six. So every 12 numbers, our count goes up by two, and we start the pattern again. 1-12 will give two numbers that work. 13-24 will give two more numbers that work. 25-36 gives two more, 37-48 gives two more and 49-60 gives two more as well. Thus, through 60 numbers, we have 10 elements that are divisible by 4 and not 6. From here, it might be easier to go up in bounds of 60, so we know that 61-120 gives 10 more numbers. 121-180 and 181-240 as well. This brings us up to 240 with 40 numbers. A cursory glance at the answer choices should confirm that it must be 42, as all the other choices are very far away. The numbers 244 and 248 will come and complete the list that’s (naughty or nice) under 250. Answer choice C is correct here. There are other ways to get the right answer, but the fastest ones all hinge on pattern recognition. Figuring out that every 12 numbers gives two more answers can take us from 1 to 240 in one shot (20 sequences x 2). Alternatively, once finding 4 elements at 24, you can probably easily envision multiplying the total by 10 and getting to 240 straight away (like warping over worlds in Super Mario Bros). Timing is one of the key elements being tested on the GMAT, and one of the goals of the exam is to reward those who have good time management skills. Given 10 minutes, almost everyone would get the correct answer to this question, but the exam wants to determine who can get it right in a fraction of that time. On the GMAT, as in business, timing is everything. Plan on taking the GMAT soon? We have GMAT prep courses starting all the time. And, be sure to find us on Facebook and Google+, and follow us on Twitter! Ron Awad is a GMAT instructor for Veritas Prep based in Montreal, bringing you weekly advice for success on your exam. After graduating from McGill and receiving his MBA from Concordia, Ron started teaching GMAT prep and his Veritas Prep students have given him rave reviews ever since. |
11 Jul 2014, 11:00
| FROM Veritas Prep Blog: 5 Tips for Requesting Teacher Recommendations |
 Colleges judge applicants by pouring over a variety of materials, from test scores and grades to personal statements and a list of extracurriculars. One component of the application, however, can seem particularly nebulous and perhaps beyond the control of students: The teacher recommendations. They are required by many colleges around the country and serve as a way for admissions committees to get an external perspective on their applicants. Nearly every other component of the application is more or less within the direct control of the student: grades can be boosted with extra effort and new study techniques, test scores can be improved with sufficient preparation, and extracurriculars are available to you to make your own. Teacher recommendations, on the other hand, are much more subjective, personal, and they rest in the hands of someone other than yourself. How then, can you ensure that you make the right impression? 1. Choose wisely. Different colleges have differing policies on the number and type of teacher recommendations you can submit. Never submit more than the allowed number, but try to pick your teacher recommendations strategically. You should always pick teachers that like you and know you well. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean the teachers from classes you got straight A’s in. Having recommendations from subjects you struggled in can show your ability to work through a challenge. 2. Remember your manners. This is not trivial advice. Simple gestures like saying “please” and “thank you,” indicate a level of politeness and maturity that are bound to make your teacher think more highly of you. 3. Ask early—timing is essential. Teachers, much like students, are very busy people. Recommendations are best when done well ahead of the deadline. Not only will recommendations be of the highest caliber when you give the teacher sufficient time to write them, but also it is easier on the teachers if you ask them early. Certain high schools might have policies for the dates in which you are allowed to request recommendations, so abide by those if they exist. Either way, however, make sure you are aware of the deadline set forth by the colleges and ask well in advance of those deadlines. Also keep in mind that there are far more students than teachers, and you won’t be the only student asking for a recommendation. 4. Waive the right to see your recommendation. Most applications have a box to check that gives you the option to waive your right to view your recommendation. While this may seem like a leap of faith to have your recommendation be sent directly from the teacher to the institution, it demonstrates a certain level of trust between you and your teacher, which is a good message to send to perspective colleges. From the admissions committee lens, it eliminates any possibility that you might be in cahoots with your teacher. 5. Help the teachers get to know you before asking for a recommendation. The truth is that if a teacher doesn’t know you well, he or she simply cannot write a recommendation with the level of enthusiasm, nuance, and familiarity that you need. A generic teacher recommendation might not hurt your application, but it certainly won’t help your chances at getting into an exclusive “top-tier” college. Throughout sophomore and junior year in high school, try your best to get to know a handful of teachers really well. Go see your teacher in their office to ask questions and express a genuine interest in their subject. Have a memorable (positive) presence in the classroom by being prepared and raising your hand frequently. While a relationship with your teacher can’t really be forced, making this effort to reach out to teachers can make the difference between a decent recommendation and a glowing one. Best of luck to you in your college application process! Still need to take the SAT? We run a free online SAT prep seminar every few weeks. And, be sure to find us on Facebook and Google+, and follow us on Twitter! Michael Rothberg is a Veritas Prep SAT instructor. He began tutoring his freshman year of college and is excited to help students conquer the SAT by unlocking their academic potential. Currently a rising sophomore at Harvard University, he is a Cognitive Neuroscience and Evolutionary Psychology major and Staff Reporter at the Harvard Crimson. |
11 Jul 2014, 16:00
| FROM Veritas Prep Blog: GMAT Tip of the Week: LeBron James Says Don't Be Cavalier About Your Initial Data Sufficiency Decision |
 It’s all anyone can talk about today – LeBron James has decided to reverse “The Decision” and return home to play for Cleveland. In doing so he forced many people to change their minds. Let’s take a look at some of those people: -LeBron himself, who once decided to leave and now comes home as the prodigal son -Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, who once wrote a scathing letter about James the week he left the Cavs for South Beach -Cavaliers fans, who once burned LeBron’s jersey and rallied against him -Dwayne Wade, who just last week opted out of a $40 million contract to restructure his deal to create space to attract more players to his and LeBron’s Heat team -And hopefully you, in the way that you approach Data Sufficiency What does that mean? Consider this question: A Miami-based sporting goods store is selling LeBron James #6 jerseys at a deep “everything must go” discount. If each jersey sells for (not one, not two, not three, but…) four dollars, how much revenue did the store earn from the sale of discounted LeBron James jerseys on Friday? (1) On Friday, the store sells 100 of the white jerseys LeBron wore for home games, and 80 of the black jerseys that LeBron wore for away games. (2) On Friday, the store sold 50 of the red jerseys that LeBron wore for nationally-televised Sunday games. After statement 1, you were probably thinking “sufficient” and taking your talents to A or D, right? “Home” and “Away” seem mutually exclusive, so shouldn’t that tell you that there were 180 jerseys sold total at $4/each? If you made The Decision to pick either A or D, you’re not alone…and you have a lot of reason to feel confident. But like LeBron has shown us, it’s never too late to change your mind. Statement 2 supplies information that *should* give you reason to change your mind about statement 1 – there’s a third type of jersey that the store sold, and so statement 1 didn’t tell the complete story. Statement 2 helps to prove that statement 1 actually wasn’t sufficient, allowing you to change your mind and reconsider your answer*. (*This problem probably doesn’t have a valid solution since there’s no great way to tell mathematically if there might be a 4th type of jersey; this wouldn’t appear as a question on the actual test, but the logic of “statement 2 should prove to you that you didn’t know everything you thought you did on statement 1″ is absolutely fair game) The lesson, really, is this – although “the book” says that you should treat the statements as completely separate, wisdom will show you that often one statement will give you a clue about the other and allow you to change your mind. Typically this happens when: -One statement is OBVIOUSLY not sufficient or -One statement is OBVIOUSLY sufficient In either of these cases, that obvious piece of information will likely shed some light on what may be important for the other statement. For example: Is a/b > c? (1) a > bc (2) b < 0 Here statement 1 may well look sufficient…but look how obviously unhelpful statement 2 is. Why is it there? To alert you to the fact that b could be negative – in which case you would have to flip the sign when dividing by b in statement 1: Statement 1 when b is positive: a > bc becomes a/b > c (YES!) Statement 2 when b is negative: a > bc becomes a/b < c (NO!) So while you may have quickly made The Decision – in a youthful spirit of hubris – that statement 1 is sufficient, patience and maturity should lead you to reconsider after statement 2 offers useless-by-itself information that can only serve as a clue: maybe you should change your mind! Such is the game of Data Sufficiency – much like in NBA Free Agency, hasty, youthful decisions can be reversed, and often on challenging questions the correct answer requires you to let “the other statement” convince you that you’ve made a mistake. So learn from LeBron – it’s okay to change your mind; maybe, in fact, that’s The Decision that’s correct. Are you studying for the GMAT? We have free online GMAT seminars running all the time. And, be sure to find us on Facebook and Google+, and follow us on Twitter! By Brian Galvin |
14 Jul 2014, 15:00
| FROM Veritas Prep Blog: How to Go From a 48 to 51 in GMAT Quant - Part I |
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People often ask – how do we go from 48 to 51 in Quant? This question is very hard to answer since we don’t have a step by step plan – do theory from here – do questions from there – take a test from here – read posts from there etc. Today and in the next few weeks, we will discuss how to go from 48 to 51 in Quant. Above Q48, the waters are pretty choppy! Questions are hard less because of the content and more because they look so unique – even though they’re testing the same concepts. Training yourself to see familiarity in the obscure is difficult, and that happens from seeing a lot of problems. There is barely any scope for making silly mistakes – you must run through all simple questions quickly and neatly, leaving you plenty of time to think through the tougher ones. It’s important to have enough time and keep your cool, which is easier to do if you have more time. The question for today is: how do you handle simple questions quickly? We have mentioned many times that most GMAT Quant questions do not need Algebra. We can easily solve them by just analyzing while reading the question stem! Here is how we can do that: Question: School A is 40% girls and school B is 60% girls. The ratio of the number of girls at school A to the number of girls at school B is 4:3. if 20 boys transferred from school A to school B and no other changes took place at the two schools, the new ratio of the number of boys at school A to the number of boys at school B would be 5:3. What would the difference between the number of boys at school A and at school B be after the transfer? (A) 20 (B) 40 (C) 60 (D) 80 (E) 100 Solution: This is a pretty simple non-tricky PS question. To solve it, most people use an algebraic method which looks something like this. Girls in school A : Girls in school B = 4 : 3 So number of girls in school A = 4n and number of girls in school B = 3n Since in school A, 40% students are girls and 60% are boys, number of boys is 6n. Since in school B, 60% students are girls and 40% students are boys, number of boys is 2n. If we transfer 20 boys from school A, we are left with 6n – 20 and when 20 boys are added to school B, we get 2n + 20 boys in school B. (6n – 20)/(2n + 20) = 5/3 You get n = 20 Boys at school A after transfer = 6*20 – 20 = 100 Boys at school B after transfer = 2*20 + 20 = 60 Difference = 40 Answer (B) This method gives you the correct answer, obviously, but it does take quite a bit of time. On the other hand, this is what should go through your mind while reading the question if you are focused on using logic: “School A is 40% girls and school B is 60% girls.” School A – 40% girls School B – 60% girls “The ratio of the number of girls at school A to the number of girls at school B is 4:3” When we read this line, we should take a step back to the previous line with the % figures. We see that school A has more girls than school B (4:3) but its % of girls is lower (only 40% compared to 60% in B). This means that school A has more students than school B. Say something like school A has 200 students while school B has 100 (use easy numbers). So school A has 80 girls while school B has 60 girls. This gives us a ratio of 4:3. (If you do not get 4:3 on your first try, you should tweak the assumed numbers a bit but you should stick to simple numbers.) Then verify the rest of the data against these numbers and get your answer. School A has 120 boys and school B has 40 boys. Transfer 20 boys from school A to school B to get 100 boys in school A and 60 boys in school B giving us a difference of 40 boys. This takes lesser time but requires some ingenuity. That could be the difference between Q48 and Q51. Hope this gave you some ideas. Try the reasoning approach on other simple questions. With practice, you can save a ton of time! 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! |
14 Jul 2014, 18:00
| FROM Veritas Prep Blog: Breaking Down the 2015 Official Guide for GMAT Review |
 This month, the Graduate Management Admissions Council began offering new versions of the popular Official Guide for GMAT Review series, now labeling by year (OG 2015) as opposed to edition (the last was the 13th). For the nuts and bolts we’ll let you read the official press release or visit the official website, but here’s what you should know about the new resources: 1) The questions in the Official Guide 2015 series are the same as in the previous editions. So if you already have the Official Guide 13th edition or the Verbal or Quant 2nd editions, you won’t find new questions with the new books. 2) The biggest new feature is that the practice questions in the book are also available in an online tool. If you love the GMAT Question Pack the way that we do, this is a fantastic feature, allowing you to carve up the ~900 problems into quizzes, delineate your practice by difficulty level, and take advantage of study tools like the ability to bookmark questions and type in notes to remember later. 3) The online tool includes ~20 question diagnostic quizzes for each practice type, using GMAC’s knowledge of question difficulty to help you gauge your ability level relative to your goals. To Buy or Not To Buy? If you already have the previous versions of the Official Guide (the 13th edition of the Official Guide for GMAT Review or the 2nd edition of the Official Guide Quant Review or Official Guide Verbal Review), don’t race out to buy the new Official Guide 2015 books. Instead, put that money toward the aforementioned Question Pack, which will provide you with new questions and increased computer-based functionality. If you don’t have a previous edition Official Guide, by all means purchase the new one. There’s no better resource for practicing officially-written questions, and the new tech tools will enhance your practice sessions with diagnostic feedback and the opportunity to practice on a computer screen, just like you’ll attempt questions on test day. What to Watch For As with any unveiling of new technology, the current web interface includes a few things that may not be ideal and may end up being tweaked. But for this first phase of deployment, you should be careful to note that: •The question delivery order online is not the same as the delivery order in the book. So if you’re planning to start online, then continue in the book (or vice versa) there isn’t an easy way to ensure you won’t see repeat questions. •Reading Comprehension problems in the “Practice” and “Exam” modes are delivered without keeping passages together, so you’ll usually only get one problem for the passage you just read (and then the other problems associated with that passage will come at some point later). For this reason, it’s still likely best to do your RC practice out of the book and not online. (Note: the diagnostic quizzes deliver RC problems in order with their passages, so that functionality works well) •Presumably since so much of the GMAT’s recent tech investments have been for Integrated Reasoning, the online tool includes an on-screen calculator for all problems. This does NOT mean that you’ll have it for quant problems on test day – ignore this tool as you practice the quantitative section!! •The user interface takes a few quizzes to get used to; you’ll need to name each problem set that you begin (so think about meaningful names to keep yourself organized) so that you can review them later. Importantly, the diagnostic quizzes do not save once you’ve left the review screen, so when you take a diagnostic quiz make sure that you review it thoroughly before you click away! •The online access is good for six months from activation, whereas the book lasts just about forever. Keep this in mind when you activate – the clock is ticking… Overall Review As always, the Official Guide for GMAT Review series remains the best destination for officially-produced practice problems and belongs on the bookshelves and in the backpacks of virtually all serious GMAT students. And GMAC continues to evolve into newer, more user-friendly ways of delivering practice problems, helping students to better simulate the test-day experience. The online tool is launching with a few little hiccups that will surely be cleaned up soon – among standardized tests GMAC has to rank as one of the most student-friendly and open-to-feedback – and should prove a useful resource. As we’ve said, the biggest “negative” to the new suite of OG books is that you won’t find any new problems, so if you’re currently studying with the “old” versions (13th overall, 2nd of subject-specific) don’t feel the need to rush out and buy the new ones. But if you’re ready to begin your Official Guide journey, the Official Guide 2015 series is an invaluable study tool. Are you studying for the GMAT? We have free online GMAT seminars running all the time. And, be sure to find us on Facebook and Google+, and follow us on Twitter! By Brian Galvin |
15 Jul 2014, 12:00
| FROM Veritas Prep Blog: Duke (Fuqua) Application Essays and Deadlines for 2014-2015 |
 The Fuqua School of Business at Duke University has released is MBA admissions deadlines and essays for the Class of 2017. Duke hasn’t added or cut the number of required essays this year, although it did add a new option for the second required essay. The “25 Random Things” prompt remains, which makes us happy! Here are the Duke (Fuqua) application deadlines and essays for the coming year, followed by our comments in italics: Duke (Fuqua) Admissions Deadlines Early Action: September 17, 2014 Round 1: October 20, 2014 Round 2: January 5, 2015 Round 3: March 19, 2015 Fuqua’a admissions deadlines are virtually unchanged vs. last year. On important note about the school’s Early Action deadline: Even though it’s called “Early Action,” which most schools interpret as “non-binding,” Fuqua considers it to be binding. So, we only recommend applying in this round if Fuqua is clearly your first choice. If it’s not, then save your application for Round 1, which still gets you your final decisions from the admissions committee before the holidays. Duke (Fuqua) Admissions Essays Required Short Answer Questions (Just 250 characters each)
This trio of short questions (and really, really short answers!) has not changed since last year, so our advice mostly remains the same. The three above short answers should add up to only about 150 words, if it’s easier for you to think about them that way. With the three short questions, the Fuqua admissions team really is just looking for the high-levels facts about you. In other words, they’re looking for less hand-waving and “big picture”-speak and for a more succinct, “to the point” story to help them quickly get a read on why you’re even applying to Fuqua in the first place. Think of this as your chance to make the admissions team’s job a little easier… Rather than making the admissions team sort through your application essays to figure out why you’re applying to Fuqua, here you’re spelling it out in three bold, unmistakeable headlines. One more thought: It’s easy to look at the third question and think it’s meant to be a curve ball, but this sort of adaptability is important to show. No one knows how exactly their career will unfold, and with this question the Fuqua admissions team wants to see if you “get” that idea and have at least thought through some alternatives.
Instructions: Choose only 1 of the following 2 essay questions to answer. Your response should be no more than 2 pages in length.
By Scott Shrum |
15 Jul 2014, 16:00
| FROM Veritas Prep Blog: Beyond Memorization: How to Master Advanced SAT Vocabulary |
 Memorizing vocabulary words is a basic component of SAT test preparation. Knowing advanced vocabulary is useful in Sentence Completion questions, passage comprehension, and essay writing. Advanced vocabulary is also handy beyond standardized tests; it can be applied to both academic and professional reading and writing, and builds cultural capital. Unfortunately, many students who spend hours memorizing vocabulary words do not retain them long-term. Others gain only a patchy understanding of each definition and end up capable only of recognizing the words in context, not actually employing them in writing. Mastering vocabulary words is far more useful than simply memorizing them. Here are a few tips and tricks for moving beyond memorization towards gaining total command of advanced vocabulary. Learn thoroughly and actively. Do not attempt memorization if you are too tired, hungry, or stressed to concentrate. Cramming and skimming are inefficient—and sometimes entirely ineffective—ways of learning. Take occasional snack breaks to keep yourself energized and alert in order to make the most of every minute you spend. Review frequently. To embed information in your long-term memory, it is necessary to revisit that information regularly. Pick one day each week to review all of the vocabulary you have learned so far. Study with a friend or ask someone to quiz you. Working with a friend can keep you accountable and on task. If you’re naturally extroverted, working with a friend can also energize you, improving your focus and retention. Vary your memorization techniques. While studying new vocabulary words, read the words and their definitions out loud. Read them in reverse order. Read them silently to yourself. Write them by hand. Type them into a word processor. Make flash cards. Use online study tools like Quizlet. Varying your memorization techniques and patterns will help you to associate each word with its definition, rather than with a specific order or type of recitation. Use them whenever you can. The best way to learn a new word is to actually incorporate it into your daily vocabulary. Try using new words in conversation with friends and family, school assignments, or personal journal entries. Doing so will boost your confidence and familiarity with advanced vocabulary. The frequent repetition will strengthen your associations between each word and its definition. Get creative. As a member of my high school debate team, I regularly printed and laminated speeches I had to memorize, then hung them up on my shower wall. An old SAT prep student of mine recited SAT vocabulary words aloud every morning on the way to school. There are countless ways to review vocabulary words; try coming up with original strategies that work with your schedule and learning style. Memorizing advanced vocabulary doesn’t have to be difficult or boring. Move beyond rote recitation in order to make your learning experience more effective, efficient, and interesting. Happy Studying! Still need to take the SAT? We run a free online SAT prep seminar every few weeks. And, be sure to find us on Facebook and Google+, and follow us on 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. |
16 Jul 2014, 09:00
| FROM Veritas Prep Blog: SAT Tip of the Week: The Answer Choice Advantage |
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One of the biggest differences between the SAT and other non-multiple choice tests is that for nearly every question on the SAT, the correct answer is right in front of you! Given that the answer is right there, the real trick is figuring out how to use this to your advantage. Let’s look at an example to show us how we can use these answer choices to our advantage. “If x and y are numbers such that (x + 11) (y – 11) = 0, what is the smallest possible value of x² + y² ?” A) 0 B) 11 C) 22 D) 121 E) 242 The first thing to recognize is that one of these answers is the correct answer. This means that, given the parameters of the problem, one of these choices should spit out an answer that makes sense if used in the above equations. The easiest thing to do to check which answer choice will give a plausible solution is to plug one of the choices in to our given equations. A) 0 x² + y² = 0 (Plausible, both x and y must be 0) (0 + 11)(0 – 11) = 0 (not possible) By plugging in our first answer choice we are given some very important information. We see that in the equation “(x + 11) (y – 11) = 0”, one or both of the quantities within the parentheses must be zero. That is one of those rules of algebra that we all learned a million years ago in our first algebra class called the zero- product property : If ab = 0, then a = 0 or b = 0. Given this fact, we need x to equal -11 or y to equal 11 in order for the first equation to be possible. This will help us in testing our next answer choices. B) 11 x² + y² = 11 (Not plausible given we need x to equal -11 or y to equal 11) C) 22 x² + y² = 22 (Not plausible given we need x to equal -11 or y to equal 11) D) 121 x² + y² = 121 (Plausible, x² could equal 0 and y could equal 11, or x could equal -11 and y could equal 0) (-11 + 11)(0 – 11) = 0 or (0 + 11)(11 – 11) = 0 (Plausible) At this point we are actually done. The answer choices are always listed in order of smallest to largest and we are looking for the smallest number that would satisfy these parameters. Even if (E) gives us a plausible answer, it is a larger number than (D) and, thus, is an incorrect answer. There are a number of different kinds of problems where plugging in the answer choices are useful, but these tend to be problems where either an equation or some parameters are given and the goal is to find out which answer choice fits given what is stated in the problem. Even if plugging in an answer choice doesn’t give an immediate answer, it can shed some light onto some aspect of the problem that might not be immediately visible, as we saw above. So go ahead and use those answer choices. They are there to help you – not to hurt you! Plan on taking the SAT soon? We run a free online SAT prep seminar every few weeks. And, be sure to find us on Facebook and Google+, and follow us on Twitter! David Greenslade is a Veritas Prep SAT instructor based in New York. His passion for education began while tutoring students in underrepresented areas during his time at the University of North Carolina. After receiving a degree in Biology, he studied language in China and then moved to New York where he teaches SAT prep and participates in improv comedy. Read more of his articles here, including How I Scored in the 99th Percentile and How to Effectively Study for the SAT. |
16 Jul 2014, 15:00
| FROM Veritas Prep Blog: Veritas Prep Consultant Spotlight: Get to Know Marcus, Wharton MBA |
 Are you applying to the world’s top business schools? Do you need help crafting the best application possible and standing out to admissions committees? Veritas Prep has the most stellar MBA admissions consulting team in the industry – we’re talking the Jedi Knights of admissions consulting – and we can help you achieve your MBA goals! At Veritas Prep, you have the opportunity to work with the ideal consultant for your needs. We have the most diverse and experienced MBA admissions consulting team ever assembled. Get to know one of our consultants right now: Marcus: Head Consultant, Wharton MBA Specialties Include:
“What is most rewarding is helping applicants leverage the non-traditional aspects of their backgrounds. This could be an applicant who doesn’t have any business background to speak of at all, or someone who works in finance but has some unique non-business extracurricular activities. Typically, the applicants are unaware of how powerful these non-traditional aspects of their backgrounds are. For me, it’s very rewarding to help them with this realization and then subsequently tell their story effectively to the admissions committee.” What is the most common application pitfall you help clients work through? “Every applicant struggles with different aspects of their application. But the most common challenge is undertaking the required introspection for admission to a top tier school. Ultimately, this is what sets apart a good application from a great one. In order to guide my clients through this process, my job becomes that of coach rather than purely providing feedback, i.e. I ask the appropriate questions that triggers their own thought process.” If I attend Wharton, where can I get the best Philly Cheese Steak in Philadelphia? “There is a long standing rivalry between Pat’s and Geno’s in South Philly. Those are both excellent places, but my own personal favorite is Abner’s on 38th and Chestnut, which is a short walk from Huntsman Hall.” Want to work with Marcus? Learn more about him here, or find the expert who’s right for you here! Visit our Team page today. Want to craft a strong application? Call us at 1-800-925-7737 and speak with an MBA admissions expert today. Click here to take our Free MBA Admissions Profile Evaluation! As always, be sure to find us on Facebook and Google+, and follow us on Twitter! |
17 Jul 2014, 13:00
| FROM Veritas Prep Blog: Increase Your Speed on Reading Comprehension GMAT Questions |
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One common complaint that people have when finishing the GMAT is that they are mentally exhausted. Indeed the exam is a marathon that tests your overall endurance, but also your time management skills. You have about two minutes per question in the math section, and slightly less than that on the verbal part. Since timing is such an integral part of the exam, it’s important not to lose too much time on any specific question type on the exam. It’s perfectly natural to be more at ease with certain question types and thus process them faster than others, but you don’t want to have entire categories of questions you’re trying to avoid (or at least, not too many of them). Last week, I discussed timing issues on a quantitative question, and many of the concepts covered are applicable to the verbal section as well. Maintaining a good pace and avoiding spending undue time on perplexing questions are fundamental elements of a good GMAT score. However, I wanted to delve further into a particular type of question that often causes timing issues on the exam. Particularly when exhausted near the end of the test, students often dread coming across protracted Reading Comprehension passages. Reading Comprehension (or RC for friends and family) poses a unique challenge on the GMAT. Every quantitative question and every other type of verbal question is entirely self-contained. A question will ask you about something, and then the following problem will be a completely different question about a completely different topic. Reading Comprehension questions ask you three, four and even five questions about the same prompt, and the prompts can be dozens of lines. Indeed, the first question on Reading Comprehension expects you to read through the entire passage, creating an inherent timing concern. Surely you can’t be expected to read through the entire passage in 2 minutes? (You are expected to do so, and don’t call me Shirley.) Indeed, you can read through the passage in about two minutes, but you’re unlikely to be able to both read the passage and answer the (first) question posed during that span. For RC questions, I often find the best strategy is to separate the passage from the questions. If you read the question first, you risk skewing the analysis of the passage towards the question you have in mind, so it’s best to read the passage first without reading the question on the opposite side of the screen. The goal of this initial reading is to be able to identify the main idea of each paragraph and the primary purpose of the passage as a whole. You can read the passage in about 2 minutes and then spend about 1.5 minutes on each question, yielding a total of 8 minutes for 4 questions, roughly what you’d expect to spend holistically. Let’s try this approach on a GMAT Reading Comprehension passage. At the end of each paragraph, try to summarize the main idea in about 3-5 words. You can even write these words down if you want, but it should be sufficient to think about the ideas. Biologists have advanced two theories to explain why schooling of fish occurs in so many fish species. Because schooling is particularly widespread among species of small fish, both theories assume that schooling offers the advantage of some protection from predators. Proponents of theory A dispute the assumption that a school of thousands of fish is highly visible. Experiments have shown that any fish can be seen, even in very clear water, only within a sphere of 200 meters in diameter. When fish are in a compact group, the spheres of visibility overlap. Thus the chance of a predator finding the school is only slightly greater than the chance of the predator finding a single fish swimming alone. Schooling is advantageous to the individual fish because a predator’s chance of finding any particular fish swimming in the school is much smaller than its chance of finding at least one of the same group of fish if the fish were dispersed throughout an area. However, critics of theory A point out that some fish form schools even in areas where predators are abundant and thus little possibility of escaping detection exists. They argue that the school continues to be of value to its members even after detection. They advocate theory B, the “confusion effect,” which can be explained in two different ways. Sometimes, proponents argue, predators simply cannot decide which fish to attack. This indecision supposedly results from a predator’s preference for striking prey that is distinct from the rest of the school in appearance. In many schools the fish are almost identical in appearance, making it difficult for a predator to select one. The second explanation for the “confusion effect” has to do with the sensory confusion caused by a large number of prey moving around the predator. Even if the predator makes the decision to attack a particular fish, the movement of other prey in the school can be distracting. The predator’s difficulty can be compared to that of a tennis player trying to hit a tennis ball when two are approaching simultaneously. According to one explanation of the “confusion effect,” a fish that swims in a school will have greater advantages for survival if it (A) tends to be visible for no more than 200 meters. (B) stays near either the front or the rear of a school. (C) is part of a small school rather than a large school. (D) is very similar in appearance to the other fish in the school. (E) is medium-sized. This passage only has two main paragraphs, and really each one is mostly about a theory as to why fish form schools (theory C: to get business degrees). We can summarize the first paragraph as the evasion theory and the second paragraph as the confusion theory. Overall the passage is primarily concerned with differing theories as to why fish tend to regroup in many disparate situations. Looking over the question, it is specifically concerned with the “confusion effect”, which was theory B in the second paragraph. We can now focus our attention on the second paragraph to answer the question about survival. Rereading the passage, nothing was mentioned about the front or back of a school, as well as the size of the school, which eliminates answer choices B and C. Answer choice E similarly makes decisions based on the size of the fish, which was only discussed in terms of small fish. We can fairly quickly eliminate this choice as being a medium sized fish was never even mentioned. Only answer choices A and D remain. Answer choice A is mentioned in the general sense for all fish in schools, and so would be a dubious choice as a great advantage since it applies to all fish in a given school. This is equivalent to saying we should promote Bob because he breathes oxygen. Answer choice D offers a logical choice, which is almost verbatim in the middle of the second paragraph “In many schools the fish are almost identical in appearance, making it difficult for a predator to select one.” This answer lines up with the text and we’ve eliminated the other four choices, making D an easy selection (also possibly recalling memorable moments from Disney’s Finding Nemo). The questions on Reading Comprehension tend to be somewhat less tricky than the other verbal sections (Sentence Correction and Critical Reasoning). This difference is somewhat due to the fact that reading through passages takes time and inherently contributes to the difficulty of the question. The trouble isn’t just finding the right answer, it’s reading through 300 words of drivel without falling asleep and then isolating the important aspect to answer the given question. Especially since the verbal section is the last section of this test, it’s important not to waste too much time and get mentally fatigued. A good timing strategy is crucial to getting the best possible result on your GMAT. Plan on taking the GMAT soon? We have GMAT prep courses starting all the time. And, be sure to find us on Facebook and Google+, and follow us on Twitter! Ron Awad is a GMAT instructor for Veritas Prep based in Montreal, bringing you weekly advice for success on your exam. After graduating from McGill and receiving his MBA from Concordia, Ron started teaching GMAT prep and his Veritas Prep students have given him rave reviews ever since. |
18 Jul 2014, 10:00
| FROM Veritas Prep Blog: Would You Pass the Very First SAT? |
 In Spring 2016, College Board will yet again roll out a revised version of the SAT Test. It is reported to mirror the coursework a student would encounter in high school and will return to a 1600 scale and an optional essay. The test has been redesigned, revised, and reworked continuously for decades. Let’s explore the history of the SAT and pose the question, “What was the first SAT like?” At the turn of the 20th century, a group of northeastern colleges convened at Columbia University in an effort to set standards for secondary school education and to create an examinations for college-bound students in a variety of subjects. The result? The College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB), a company that has lasted over a century and exists today as the College Board. Originally, all the college examinations were subject tests, ranging from Botany to Latin, similar to the SAT Subject Tests that are administered today. However, instead of multiple choice questions and an 800-point scale, the tests consisted entirely of essay questions and were scored on a scale from “excellent” to “very poor” in a fashion similar to the modern AP exams. The CEEB’s model, however, morphed slightly in 1926 when the very first SAT (back then, an acronym for Scholastic Aptitude Test) was created by a Princeton psychologist named Carl Brigham, who had previously aided the US Army in rewriting the examinations for officer candidates. On June 23, 1926, just over eight thousand students took the test. For the most part, the 1926 SAT bore a closer resemblance to an IQ test than to the more familiar math, reading, and writing questions of today’s SAT. It included nine “sub-tests,” each of which examined a different skill set; logical inferences, analogies, and identifying patterns in number series. There were no “bubbles” to fill in or essay section. Most questions could be answered with a number, word, or brief phrase. Additionally, there was a section that tested students’ ability to learn vocabulary and grammatical rules…in a made-up language. Students were asked to translate a series of sentences in an artificial language into English. In another subtest, students were provided with definitions from a variety of subjects with a corresponding number of words in alphabetical order. They were instructed to match each definition with the correct term in the list of words. The biggest difference, however, was the race against the clock. Compared with today’s test of 3 hours and 45 minutes, the SAT in 1926 allowed only 97 minutes to answer 315 questions. This requires a rate of 3 questions per minute, which is unthinkable given the amount of time spent just to read the directions for each subtest. So whether you’ve just recently taken the SAT or you’re about to join the millions who have, just remember you’re not the first to wrestle through the long lists of vocabulary words and math problems in the hopes earning a ticket to your dream college. If anything, the test today is more manageable than it was some 88 years ago! Still need to take the SAT? We run a free online SAT prep seminar every few weeks. And, be sure to find us on Facebook and Google+, and follow us on Twitter! Michael Rothberg is a Veritas Prep SAT instructor. He began tutoring his freshman year of college and is excited to help students conquer the SAT by unlocking their academic potential. Currently a rising sophomore at Harvard University, he is a Cognitive Neuroscience and Evolutionary Psychology major and Staff Reporter at the Harvard Crimson. |
18 Jul 2014, 12:00
| FROM Veritas Prep Blog: GMAT Tip of the Week: 5 Questions To Ask When Preparing For Your GMAT Retake |
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If you’re taking the GMAT with the intent of applying to a top-tier business school, there’s a relatively fair chance that you’ll end up having/wanting to retake the GMAT. Which may sound horrible, but it’s true – in fact, several top schools note that their average students take the test more than twice, so if you see a frustrating score pop up during your first, second, or even third attempt don’t let yourself get too down. Rest assured that: -Schools only care about your highest score -A frustrating GMAT performance can be a fantastic teaching tool to help you maximize the score on your applications They key to bouncing back from a poor performance is to analyze it soon after you took the exam, and to do so in a way that helps you address all the items that contributed to a rough outing. To do that, you should ask yourself these five questions within a few days of having taken the test: 1) Did you have any pacing issues? And to follow up more closely: Did you have to rush/guess/not-finish? Did you end with more time left than you thought you would? In either case, you didn’t pace yourself optimally, and you can learn from that. If you felt rushed the entire time, ask yourself why – did you spend far too much time on any one question? Were you just sluggish from the beginning and can’t account for the time? Did you make mistakes and have to go back to restart problems? Whatever the reason for a pacing problem, you now know what you need to address. If you need to get quicker, try timing yourself on practice sets to both get used to working more quickly and learn which mistakes you make when you’re rushing, so that you can avoid them. If you wasted too much time on just a couple questions, note their setup/content (involved-diagram geometry? long-winded word problem? multiple roots that you just couldn’t eliminate?) so that you can try to get more familiar with the content in practice, and so that, failing that, you can know when you may just need to guess on test day. Or if you had too much time at the end, you now know that too – which types of problems would you get right if you only had 15-20 extra seconds to slow down or check your work? Now you have that time to spare. 2) Did any question or two get you down, waste your time, shake your confidence? Many who experience a frustrating test can just about pinpoint “It all seemed like it was going well, but then I saw ______________ and it all went downhill from there.” If you have a similar experience, you can learn from that – why did that problem get you down? How can you identify a “time-suck” problem and know when to guess and live to fight another day? If your confidence was shaken, why? Knowing the types of problems that you need to face a little more confidently or time-effectively – or just guess since no one ANSWER will ruin your day but one QUESTION can certainly do so if you let it – can help you avoid that pitfall on your next attempt. 3) Did you see anything that you felt unprepared for? Any question types or content areas that you saw way too much of (and that you were kind of hoping you wouldn’t see much of)? Many students go into the GMAT feeling prepared, but then see questions that seem like they’re completely out of nowhere. Why is this so frequent? Because often they’re studying from a limited pool of questions (maybe those in the Official Guide for GMAT Review) and after seeing the same questions a few times each they’ve mastered the *study* questions but not necessarily the thought processes required for new questions. Or perhaps they’ve focused on certain content areas and forgot/avoided others, or studied content in a way disproportionate to what the GMAT actually tests (this happens frequently with Sentence Correction – people study tons of idioms, which aren’t often if ever tested, and don’t do nearly enough work on logical meaning). Either way, if you see concepts tested on your official exam and know you weren’t as prepared as you needed to be, now you have a blueprint for what you need to emphasize before you take it again. 4) The night before your test as you struggled to relax and fall asleep, which 2-3 things were on your mind? Similarly, it’s not uncommon to cut a few corners when studying, doing one more set of number properties problems, for example, when we know we really should be focusing on geometry. That night before the test tends to be quite truthful…what you knew you should have studied but justified to yourself that you’d get to later, or what you could talk yourself into thinking you’d do well but really didn’t understand as well as you should – those things probably came to light as you laid down with your thoughts the night before the test. And now you have a new chance to address those. 5) Given your test day experience, what do you wish you had studied more (or less)? What do you wish you had done differently? This catchall question should speak for itself – now that you’ve faced the real test under real conditions, you should have a better understanding of what you need to do. Practice tests and study sessions are extremely helpful, but there’s nothing like the experience of knowing that “this time it counts” to really teach you how you’re going to perform under pressure with the full experience. Many examinees fail to live up to their expectations when they’re first in that situation; those who end up at the schools of their dreams, though, learn everything they can from that experience and then add that to their study regimen to make the second (or third) time the charm. Are you studying for the GMAT? We have free online GMAT seminars running all the time. And, be sure to find us on Facebook and Google+, and follow us on Twitter! By Brian Galvin |
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Hi Generic [Bot],
Here are updates for you:
ANNOUNCEMENTS
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