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What Do You Hate About GMAT?

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krishp84
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Why do YOU hate the Gmat? 19 Aug 2011, 12:43
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This is a very broad-ended question that can be easily countered.
Supporting GMAT in a post that asks "Why do YOU HATE the GMAT?" is a great way of attracting attention.

But without knowing the purpose of GMAT, shooting the GMAT down is a biased approach.
Academic Purpose of GMAT - "Are you equipped to handle the curriculum of B-schools ?"
YES - There are people who can handle the curriculum because of their passion, but that is the minority. For the majority, it is "Survival of the Fittest". So B-Schools logically use GMAT to determine the fitness level to their course.

If someone is saying they HATE GMAT - I would counter asking - "Propose a new style, create a new business plan and prove that it serves the purpose better than the existing one." Logically, hating will make sense only after getting these data points :P Otherwise it is just our personal whims and fancies that do not make sense and change over time with experiences !!!
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galaxyblue
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Why do YOU hate the Gmat? 30 Dec 2011, 21:21
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I am smart. Smart smart smart.

I took the GMAT. It said I am not. Not not not.


Can I get an MBA?

I guess not not not.

J/K :lol:
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jazzman
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Why do YOU hate the Gmat? 13 Feb 2012, 01:08
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I don't mind it right now. It's been a great refresher on math/verbal topics that I will need to use in getting my MBA.
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M3tm4n
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Why do YOU hate the Gmat? 13 Feb 2012, 02:41
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heyholetsgo
I thought it might be a good idea to have a topic where people can *complain* about the GMAT. You know, just tell us why you HATE this damn test so much. I think this might help some frustrated people out there to cope with the anger instead of throwing the laptop out of the window.

Personally, I hate the GMAT because it doesn't test anything of real importance and whatever it tries to determine (intelligence?), it does a terrible job doing it! It is a joke that after years of education, hundreds of grades you received in school and college and many letter of recommendations from professors and employers it all comes down to a 4 hour GMAT session. Random knowledge such as “0 is an integer” or some stupid and inconsistent GMAT grammar rules determine your future and I wonder how schools could possibly use this test to evaluate people? We might as well be tested in a spelling bee or some other silly competition such as learning the last 1000 digits of pi…. Seriously, the time preparing for the GMAT is a waste and killing my private life (well that and work, haha). In the end it all comes down if you study your ass off and if your are lucky enough to have a good test day. The only people benefiting from the GMAT are the ones in the test prep industry and the few natural, good standardized test takers.
I feel better know, you should give it a try…
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100% agree with you. I also think that this test is killing my time.
I am working as a software engineer. Also programming iPhone apps part-time but I feel so stupid when I try to score a 600 at this test. I am currently learning with MGMAT and I get more and more confident with it, but the verbal section can screw the sh*t out of me.
It has nothing to do if you are eligible for a MBA or not.
I can go for a PhD easier than for an MBA but I don't want to do a PhD.
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chessgiants
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Why do YOU hate the Gmat? 19 May 2017, 23:49
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PTK
Hi all, :)
Since reading this thread I have already awarded heyholetsgo +2 kudos, one for starting this discussion and another one for the post above I agree that
Quote:
( it does not test intellegence, but only neuronal processing speed, and this a VERY one dimensional view of intelligence)...

Back to discussion, I innitially hated the GMAT after I prepared for test for the second time. After 6 or so months I has fallen in love with it. :) ... and no wonder I started to perform better and better. GMAT is like a sport, the more you exercise the better you perform, but at the point one will face ones limit, like in sport.

to openbox1
Quote:
I'm a firm believer that anyone can ace the GMAT IF they study hard and more importantly study efficiently. If you can prep well for the GMAT, what stops you from prepping well for tests/courses at B-schools. Nothing!

Sorry dude, but you are comparing apples with oranges. Your assumption that everyone has the same conditions and equal amount of time for the GMAT preparation is wrong. Than based on that assumption you conclude that "prepping well for tests/courses at B-schools." - this is therefore wrong.
To give you an example: I am working in financial advisory services. I study hard and dilligently during 3 weeks, then the deadline for the project is approaching and I spend in office about 14-16 hours during the next 2-3 weeks in a row. Do you believe that making a break (well I can't study with such schedule) for 2-3 weeks and then coming back to books makes the preparation efficient?! Or sleeping for 4 hours and then studying for 2 hours a day is efficient?!
Another example is a friend of mine who is a middle manager in a medium sized company, works 8 hours per day, and during his working day he is able to dedicate " at least 2-3 hours to the GMAT". Do you feel the difference?
They both are not in equal positions.
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but at least, you have the money to purchase any test preps that have similar questions to real gmat, then you just read the explanations for all questions by heart. This is the easiest way to learn GMAT. I have no money to afford all tests prep.
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chessgiants
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Why do YOU hate the Gmat? 19 May 2017, 23:55
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krishp84
This is a very broad-ended question that can be easily countered.
Supporting GMAT in a post that asks "Why do YOU HATE the GMAT?" is a great way of attracting attention.

But without knowing the purpose of GMAT, shooting the GMAT down is a biased approach.
Academic Purpose of GMAT - "Are you equipped to handle the curriculum of B-schools ?"
YES - There are people who can handle the curriculum because of their passion, but that is the minority. For the majority, it is "Survival of the Fittest". So B-Schools logically use GMAT to determine the fitness level to their course.

If someone is saying they HATE GMAT - I would counter asking - "Propose a new style, create a new business plan and prove that it serves the purpose better than the existing one." Logically, hating will make sense only after getting these data points :P Otherwise it is just our personal whims and fancies that do not make sense and change over time with experiences !!!
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well, I disagree with you.
There is another way to weaken your argument. Since GMAT must have much to do with the post-graduation programs and courses, ones just need to read and master all homework assignments or questions from those programs and courses to deal with gmat questions. In reality, such plan never works, but you cannot argue that those people who follow the plans are not the best fittest.
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jxav
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Why do YOU hate the Gmat? 20 May 2017, 03:05
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While I fully agree that GMAT does not test the 'intelligence' of an individual. There is no single absolute definition of 'intelligence'. At least for me 'intelligence' is the ability to appropriately act to certain circumstances for reaching objectives.

However, each individual will have different exposure, culture, environment, personality, experience, etc. Those values will sum up a person's characteristics, way of thinking and in short overall capability as a professional/student. With this in mind, I think standardized test is necessary to somehow 'gauge' the capability of that person.

GMAT is definitely not without, and actually has a lot of flaws. This is my personal opinion, but lets say a person came from a French Private Equity, the guy encounters numbers on a daily basis, however those numbers are definitely not GMAT maths and in terms of pure 'quantitative' terms it is less daunting then lets say engineering. Lets say this PE guy is an absolute beast in interpreting quantitative data, analysing the related qualitative aspects in the data and make a conclusion from those. From what I have experienced from the GMAT, the PE guy is most likely to succeed in IR section, but might have a hard time in relearning quant and ofc verbal, meanwhile the engineering guy will have easier time in learning the quant at least as he has a stronger 'fundamentals and framework' on quant. Despite the French guy is highly successful in his field and earns hundreds of thousand of bucks annually, I would not be surprised if after 3 months of study he will score lower than the engineering guy. Does this means the French guy is less intelligent than the engineering guy? Absolutely not.

However, just like an IQ test, GMAT test does have some correlation between someone's intelligence in terms of logical aspect and problem solving and one cannot fully dismiss the importance of such test, especially if such qualitative aspect as intelligence is very hard to measure.

This is just my personal opinion by any means, I hope it does not offend anyone reading this.

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mcelroytutoring
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Why do YOU hate the Gmat? 30 Dec 2017, 17:07
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Hate is a very strong word, and shouldn't be thrown around lightly for exams that we personally elect to take. Yes, it is a frustrating, difficult, and at times unfair test, but complaining about the GMAT definitely falls into the category of "first world problems," in my opinion.

If you truly hate the process of preparing for and taking the GMAT, then stop preparing for and taking the GMAT. Easy. Otherwise, quit complaining and get to work like the rest of us!

Now, should it be free and not $250? Well, that's a different issue. But in this capitalist world, you have to spend money to make money, and isn't that what business school is all about--investing in yourself?
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