Beat The GMAT - the MBA Social Network

As promised, we discuss medians today! Conceptually, the median is very simple. It is just the middle number. Arrange all the numbers in increasing/decreasing order and the number you get right in the middle, is the median. So it is quite straight forward when you have odd number of numbers since you have a “middle” number. What about the case when ... Read More

You most likely already know that GMAT questions of the same type can appear in various forms. Some forms of Critical Reasoning (CR) arguments do not state conclusions explicitly. What you do in such cases? This post will look at a Strengthen the Argument CR question that doesn't state a conclusion but requires you to identify information that, if true, ... Read More

The title of this post may seem facetious.  After all, even the person most allergic to math, most traumatized by math, still remembers how to count!  The GMAT, of course, generally will not ask you, for example, to count from one to seven.  The GMAT may give you a more complex scenario, and ask you to count how many ways can such-and-such happen.  ... Read More

Sun Tzu is famous for saying, in The Art of War, “know thy enemy, know thy self” (a loose translation, but that’s the famous quotation that has lasted centuries). And while at Veritas Prep we hesitate to call the authors of the GMAT “thy enemy,” we still advocate that you learn to Think Like the Testmaker, much as Sun ... Read More

We haven’t tried one of these yet: multi-source reasoning. These questions will consist of 2 or 3 tabs of information with accompanying questions. MSRs tend to have 2 or 3 associated questions, though it’s possible to have just 1 or more than 3. The one we’re going to try has been released as a sample question on the mba.com website and contains ... Read More

Hoping to encourage more of its MBA graduates to pursue career in social enterprise, NYU Stern has just announced a new Loan Assistance Program for full-time, part-time and Executive MBA grads. The program, launched with the support of Stern’s Social Enterprise Association MBA club, seeks to ease some of the pain of repaying student loans for ... Read More

By Jen Dziura

As a GMAT instructor, I’m always in the right frame of mind to notice grammatical errors in the world around us.

(One might also say that, as a GMAT instructor, I’m also the sort of nerd who takes iPhone pictures of these grammatical errors.)

What’s wrong with this sign?

If you don’t see the problem, take a ... Read More

We’ve just released our new eBook, and it’s on Integrated Reasoning!

It includes:

An overview of the section as a whole, including scoring Overviews and strategies of/for each question type Practice questions of each question type Recommendations for what and how to study to do your best on this new section!

And it’s free! So ... Read More

This past Sunday, Penn’s Wharton School crowned another batch of new MBA graduates. Dr. Mehmet Oz, the author and TV personality who dispenses advice on a variety of issues related to health and well being, gave this year’s commencement address. In his speech, he offered Wharton grads his “Top 10 Tips for Success and Happiness.”

We ... Read More

There is no reason for a GMAT student to ever use Barron’s. That it is very stark and unequivocal piece of advice. But Barron’s does such a poor job of attempting to impart GMAT wisdom that I feel I must warn the masses by being as plain as I can: avoid this book.

That Barron’s is such a travesty in GMAT is a surprise, considering that it does ... Read More

By Stacey Koprince

Last week, we talked about what to do if you’re rushing to finish the test before it changes. As promised, this week, we’re going to talk about how to add integrated reasoning to your list of tasks if you’re planning to take the Next Generation GMAT®.

First of all, the quant and verbal sections are not changing at all, nor ... Read More

Do you love technology — particularly web technology? Are you a strong student with an analytical mind? Are you looking to supplement your education with real-world experience? Veritas Prep is looking for a smart and motivated student to work in our IT department as a summer intern — with the potential to extend to part-time work when school ... Read More

We invite you to test your GMAT knowledge for a chance to win! Each week, we will post a new Challenge Problem for you to attempt. If you submit the correct answer, you will be entered into that week’s drawing for a free Manhattan GMAT Prep item. Tell your friends to get out their scrap paper and start solving!

Here is this week’s problem:

For ... Read More

Last week we discussed arithmetic means of arithmetic progressions in GMAT math problems. Today, let’s see those concepts in action.

Question 1: If x is the sum of the even integers from 200 to 600 inclusive, and y is the number of even integers from 200 to 600 inclusive, what is the value of x + y?

(A) 200*400 (B) 201*400 (C) 200*402 (D) 201*401 (E) ... Read More

Knowing the best way to prepare for your GMAT can be the difference between a great score and a mediocre one; a spot at the top or floundering in mid-level obscurity. For this reason, it's imperative that aspiring Business school students show some management-level decision making skills when it comes to choosing the best GMAT preparation model. Read More

The 45º angle Fact: All lines with slopes of 1 make 45º angles with both the x- and y-axes.

Conversely, if a line makes a 45º angles with either the x- of y-axes, you know immediately its slope must be . This first fact is true, not only for y = x and y = –x, for all lines of the form y = mx + b in which m equals either 1 or –1.  If the slope ... Read More

A great guest post from our friends at BusinessBecause.com, enjoy!

Business education, teaching methodology, language and culture varies massively across Europe. Of course it’s a hugely diverse continent, with several hundred b-schools across divided between it’s 50 countries and 23 ‘official EU languages’ spoken (although others are also used).

Europe ... Read More

Read that sentence from the title again (please…in honor of Mothers Day we should certainly mind our Ps and Qs!): Colorless green ideas sleep furiously. Does that make any sense?

Not at all, but grammarians have to admit that *grammatically* it’s not a flawed sentence, in that it proceeds with Adjective, Adjective, Plural Noun, Plural ... Read More

By Joe Lucero

Let me start off by saying that hard work and mastering each question topic is the best way to conquer the GMAT. There is no Up-Up-Down-Down-Left-Right-Left-Right B, A, Start cheat code that can replace months of intense studying. That said, getting a 700+ score on the GMAT sometimes means having a few tricks up your sleeves. Here’s ... Read More

You had it all planned out. You were going to prepare for the GMAT in April and May, take the GMAT on June 1, and absolutely crush the exam. The GMAT would be done, and you never would have crossed paths with the new Integrated Reasoning (IR) section. But then life got in the way. You had long long nights at work, you fell behind in your study schedule, ... Read More

Think about what distinguishes an effective manager from a pencil-pusher.  The dutiful pencil-pusher can verify: A is a fact, B is a fact, and C is a fact.  The effective manager can say, well, if we know A & B & C, it would not pay to do G, but it would be beneficial to pursue M, and it’s even worth the risk to pursue W.   Lots of ... Read More

By Andrea Pawliczek

In a world where we are often carrying at least one device, if not multiple devices, that can complete calculations, there is little need to do calculations manually. For this reason, the lack of a calculator on the GMAT quantitative section is a significant point of concern – or perhaps even fear – to many test takers, even ... Read More

Just in the past week two top-ranked business schools announced new plans to add online learning components to their MBA programs. According to Bloomberg Businessweek, Dartmouth’s Tuck school will deliver some of its introductory prerequisite classes online, helping students prepare for the school’s core curriculum on their own time, at ... Read More

By Jane Cassie, MGMAT Instructor

I love teaching, but I also love to travel. In 2009, I took a year off to travel around the world. And the thought that kept returning was, “What would have been different in my life if I’d done this ten years ago?” So Loop Abroad was born.

Loop is a high school travel program that brings students to Southeast ... Read More

Every January, we make predictions about the coming year in this space. Our 2012 edition includes predictions for weaker international application volume at U.S. business schools and growth in non-traditional graduate management programs. It’s still far too early to see how those predictions will pan out, but today we want to get a little more ... Read More

Fact: the suffix “-al” is one of the standard adjectival ending in English.

A host of complex and interesting adjectives end in “-al”, including adjectival, mercurial, floral, diurnal, banal, nominal, cardinal, terrestrial, vestigial, perennial, and epiphenomenal.  Incidentally, those would all be good words with which to have ... Read More

Remember out immensely popular free Integrated Reasoning workshops from last month? Well, they’re back! Due to overwhelming student demand, we’ve added for more workshops, which you can now register for.

Sign up fast before they sell out!

Tuesday, May 8th (8:00 – 10:00pm EST) Instructor: Tommy Wallach

Saturday, May 19th (1:00 – 3:00pm ... Read More

We invite you to test your GMAT knowledge for a chance to win! Each week, we will post a new Challenge Problem for you to attempt. If you submit the correct answer, you will be entered into that week’s drawing for a free Manhattan GMAT Prep item. Tell your friends to get out their scrap paper and start solving!

Here is this week’s problem:

The ... Read More

Today’s post is again focused on arithmetic mean. Let’s start our discussion by considering the case of arithmetic mean of an arithmetic progression.

We will start with an example. What is the mean of 43, 44, 45, 46, 47? (Hint: If you are thinking about adding the numbers, that’s not the way I want you to go.)

As we discussed in our previous ... Read More

I’ll begin with a typical GMAT Critical Reasoning question.  As a case study, consider this question from the OG13e, CR #115 (OG12e, CR #114):

Guidebook writer: I have visited hotels throughout the country and have noticed that in those built before 1930 the quality of the original carpentry work is generally superior to that in hotels build ... Read More

Don’t reproduce spoken-English mistakes in GMAT Sentence Correction  

It’s logical, but …

Consider the following sentences.

1) Unlike the full gram of potassium found in a baked potato, a banana has only about 600 milligrams.

2) So upset with the low wages set in the new contract, management had to hear a long litany of complaints ... Read More

By Stacey Koprince

Has anyone not heard yet that the GMAT is changing on June 5th? If you’re sure you won’t need to take the new test, you don’t need to read this article. If you are planning to take the new test, though, or if you think you might have to, then read on.

Scoring Over the past week, GMAC has released some additional information ... Read More

On the GMAT, Data Sufficiency questions can be tricky. But perhaps most frustrating about Data Sufficiency questions are those that somehow trick you when, upon further review, they gave you absolutely everything you needed. When you look back at them, you can’t believe that you got them wrong – but you should also notice patterns in why ... Read More

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window.addEvent('domready', function(){ var mySlide2 = new Fx.Slide('#top-panel2'); mySlide2.hide(); $('#toggle2').addEvent('click', function(b){ b = ... Read More

GMAT has announced that the test will be changed after the 5th of June because the old version does not fully capture candidates' logical thinking, analytical reasoning, and general data management skills. With these skills in increasing demand, the new IR section is a logical step in GMAT development. Lee Milligan, Admissions officer at Copenhagen ... Read More

Then this article’s for you. Everyone I’ve talked to recently falls into one of two camps:

I need to take the test before it changes and I’m running out of time! Help! I need to take the new GMAT with IR and I don’t know what to do! Help!

If you’re in the latter category, read last week’s article and check back again next week, when ... Read More

An article that appeared in yesterday’s edition of The Harvard Crimson described an interesting phenomenon that is happening in the first cohort of students who were admitted to the HBS 2+2 Program back in 2008. Rather than entering Harvard Business School as first-year students last fall, a surprising number decided to keep working and delay ... Read More

What does a cat do when it prepares for sleep on a cold night? It tucks in its paws and rolls up its body to make itself as round as possible. It does so, obviously, to keep itself warm, to minimize release of heat through the body surface. Given its volume, which cannot be decreased, the cat is minimizing its surface area. In other words, the animal ... Read More

Some fast facts about the GMAT’s new Integrated Reasoning section.

Fact: Right now, the GMAT has a Verbal Section (75 min), a Quantitative Section (75 min), and two Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) essays (Analysis of Argument and Analysis of Issue, 30 minutes each).

Fact: Right now, your GMAT score report tells you: (a) V score, (b) Q score, ... Read More

We invite you to test your GMAT knowledge for a chance to win! Each week, we will post a new Challenge Problem for you to attempt. If you submit the correct answer, you will be entered into that week’s drawing for a free Manhattan GMAT Prep item. Tell your friends to get out their scrap paper and start solving!

Here is this week’s problem:

From ... Read More

As different as applicants are from one another, it’s amazing how often we see them make the same mistakes over and over. We recently asked our team of admissions consultants, “What mistakes do you see applicants make most often?” and we frequently heard the same themes: not highlighting extracurricular activities in the right way, ... Read More

Using the information given in diagrams to your advantage The following sentences appear in the directions to the GMAT Problem Solving questions.

 

A figure accompanying a problem solving questions is intended to provide information useful in solving the problem.  Figures are drawn as accurately as possible.  Exceptions will be clearly noted.

Many ... Read More

We are excited to announce our participation in the 2012 Stacy Blackman Consulting Challenge!

The SBC Challenge was created in order to give four deserving MBA applicants a terrific set of tools that will maximize their chances of being admitted to a top business school. SBC will be distributing four scholarship packages valued at over $6500! Winners ... Read More

Just weeks after ending its joint EMBA program with Haas, Columbia Business School has announced it will go it alone with a new executive program called EMBA-Americas. As its name suggests, the new program will serve experienced professionals living in North and South America.

While Columbia previously served EMBA students in New York and in the Bay ... Read More

I hope the theory of arithmetic mean we discussed last week is clear to you. Let’s see the theory in action today. I will pick some mean questions from various sources (Official Guide, GMAT prep tests, etc.) and we will try to use the concepts we learned last week to solve them.

Let’s start with a simple question.

Question 1: For the past n days ... Read More

We’re less than six weeks away from the grand unveiling of the Integrated Reasoning section within the “Next-Generation GMAT”. So at this point it’s fairly safe to say that most readers of this article will see Integrated Reasoning on their exams.

As we mentioned earlier this week, that’s absolutely no cause for alarm. ... Read More

Despite some similarities between the Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree and the Master of Economics (M.Econ.) degree, the two are quite different. Your choice of degree should depend on the specific topics you want to master, the blanks in your resume you want to fill, and the opportunities you seek in your academic or professional career. Read More

Learn about the importance of this elite category of modifiers.

Not all modifiers are created equal! All noun modifiers, by definition, give additional information about the noun they modify.  BUT, the importance of that additional information can vary significantly.  Consider the following two sentences, both with modifiers underlined.

 

1) ... Read More

Last week at Veritas Prep HQ we passed around a Harvard Business Review article called “Be Proud of Your Accomplishments, Not Your Affiliations.” That article title could not more perfectly sum up how we feel about so much of what goes into your business school applications. Above all, admissions officers want to know what you’ve done ... Read More

In keeping with our 5th Edition Release Week festivities, we’re really excited to bring to you an interview with three of the people behind our awesome new 5th Edition Manhattan GMAT Strategy Guides.

Below is part 2 of a 2 part interview with David Mahler, Stacey Koprince, and Liz Moliski. Learn what part of the books was hardest to write, what ... Read More