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      04-01-2009, 07:16 PM   #1
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GMAT Help, Recommendations, Advice!

Hi, I plan on going to business school and I know I have to take the GMATs.
However, I don't have a particular school I want to go to because I want to be able to choose based on my GMAT score. I'm not the academic overachiever, but I'm also not an idiot. I've never studied more than 2-3 days in advance for a test so I'm willing to commit to this. I work 40 hours full-time and I plan on spending 2-3 months studying. For the future I plan on having my own business some day.

Anyway, to start, I need to know:

1. What GMAT materials would you recommend and why?

2. Should I take a prep class?

3. And what are the pros/cons of going to business school?

Thanks in advance and your help would be greatly appreciated.
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      04-01-2009, 07:39 PM   #2
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hey man, good to here you are wanting to take the next step.

When i took my test i didn't have much time but used the GMAT prep books available at barnes and noble. I used Princeton and Kaplan and the combination of both helped me a lot. Obviously you can devote more time to any sections you are rusty on (math or english) as they have separate study materials for each section.

I would say that the prep course helps but its not cheap. My friends and I did well and we used extensive study methods using the books materials alone. I think with the time you are giving yourself the books should be sufficient to get yourself a really good score, with you knowing your study habits and what not. Other downside to prep courses are that they are expensive and most are set times, with you working full time it might not only get stressful but tiring which may not allow you to get the most out of it. This is another advantage of the books, study at your own pace and focus on things you need to improve on more instead of sitting in a class and learning things you are good at already.

Hope that helps.

Pros of business school - with the crappy economy an MBA can only serve to further your present career and give you more options to pursue. Your personal self achieving will be high and thats never a bad thing.

Cons - $$$$, that's it.

All positives in my opinion of you ask me, investing in yourself is a great thing. Once you've invested in yourself, invest in some mods!

might want to move this to a different section of the forum
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      04-02-2009, 12:25 AM   #3
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I didn't take the GMAT, but I did take the GRE. I found that the study books were extremely helpful and probably the best way to prepare was to take the practice tests.

Good luck.
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      04-02-2009, 04:11 PM   #4
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I too took the GRE and studied on my own. I have issues sitting down and studying for a stupid test like the GRE. I would recommend the class if you are undisciplined like I am. It's not that I'm undisciplined in general, but my mind wanders because the shit is really really boring. If I had to do it again, I would prolly sign up for a course. When you think about it, your ultimate goal is to do well on the test, so if you can afford it and have wandering mind like I do, then take a prep course.
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      04-02-2009, 05:42 PM   #5
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1. What GMAT materials would you recommend and why?
Use the official books. Kaplan books are a mess with many mistakes (read Amazon reviews). The official books have real GMAT questions from prior years and will give you the best idea of what to expect. I also recommend you download the prep software from the GMAC website that includes a few subkect-specific testlets and 2 full lenght tests. Take the prep test first to figiure out your areas of strenght/weakness and then come up with a study plan. Depending on what area you need to work on, there are non-official books you can use as well. Also, Kaplan has a prep test online as well, which is free and can't hurt to try.


2. Should I take a prep class?

Depends on your studying habits. It will give your studying more structure, if you need that. To me it's a waste of money and time. If you DO decide to take the classes, read the reviews of the local classes online. It looks like Princeton Review has better classes here (in Los Angeles) than Kaplan but it may be different in your area. Again once you take a sample test you will know what needs more work.

3. And what are the pros/cons of going to business school?

The MOST important thing in making that decision IMO is the school. You can get an MBA from an online university or you can get one from Harvard. The school you go to has a huge impact on what kind of jobs you can get afterwards, what companies will even bother talking to you/recruiting you and definitely on how much you get paid. This is again my personal opinion but given the cost (money, time, etc), the number of ppl with MBAs out there, the current and expected future demand (in this maket), it may be a better idea to pursue something other than MBA if you can't get into a good school. That of course is the GENERAL trend. There might be (and I am sure there are) graduates of Uiniversity of Phoenix who've landed good paying jobs.

Also, since you mentioned you'd like to have your own business someday, look into programs that are focused on entrepreneurship. There are many rankings available online.
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      04-03-2009, 01:31 PM   #6
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Dang, awesome help guys. So I've decided to prolly get Kaplan because their questions are more difficult (some say), but I also hear they don't update their content & pool of questions. I also plan on getting another one, but I'll have to see which ones have good reviews and which ones are best suited for myself.

As far as a prep class goes I have a feeling I may not use it to its full potential ie. not listening, be too tired etc. But then again it will force me to at least get some sort of studying done. So coming from that you can tell I'm not well disciplined and not too good at studying, however, then again there's more at stake with this "big test," which will in turn force/motivate me to do well. So I guess I'm still on the fence with this. I'm thinking I may get a friend or a few to help tutor me, or I'll pay for a class to help me on the area that needs improvement.

The idea about a school that empshasizes entrepreneurship sounds like a good idea, but then again I was thinking about what's practical for this upcoming economy. Since I graduated with a B.A. in Econ back in '06 my booksmart skills will be a bit rusty. Also, since then I've been involved with sales, insurance, home lending, and currently retail management. As lost as I find myself like other people my age, I'm just trying to figure out what I want to do in life or at least have a path/plan/direction to go. So now more questions:

4. I find myself to be a more visual and linear type of person so if there's a process, then I can memorize it and apply it when I recognize its use. I think I have a little bit of an odd mind when it comes to analyzation and logic so I'd like to know the appropriate way to take the test. Should I just get Kaplan & Princeton? Or maybe the Official Guide?

5. I know it matters what school I go to, but how much? I want to make sure I'm getting an education and not just a certificate. I also want to make sure I get a decent job afterwards.

6. Another also... I have a 2.8 GPA (didn't know I'd be applying to business school) and that sucks for top business schools. I know that will affect my choices, but I'm wondering what else I can do about it?

Anyway, my study plan is to take a sample test to gauge where I'm at, then do one of the reviews and take another, and do another review and take another sample. Then I'll try and focus on my "needs improvement" areas and take another exam. My friend said to take it right after when I'm ready and to not overstudy because he did that and regretted it. After I get a good score, I'll guess I'll narrow down my choices and try and speak with that school to see what I can do to get in.

Thanks again in advance and expect more questions. And yes I know I should just be on some sorta' mba forum, but I like this place.
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      04-03-2009, 03:12 PM   #7
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For me, the most important thing was to realize that the GMAT was an endurance test. After you take a practice test you will be tired. When you take the your practice test do it exactly like you would at the testing center. Give yourself the appropriate breaks and do the two 30 minute essays at the beginning.

I'm not too regimented in my studying either, so taking a prep course was helpful for me. Basically, it forced me to allocate time to study. When deciding what prep course to take, look at what kind of people they have as instructors. I ended up going to Veritas. All of their instructor scored in the 99th percentile on the GMAT. The classes are very small, so you get a lot of attention. They also give you access to 15 practice test (I think i took all of them) and tons of study material (the study material together was about 10 inches thick).

Another place i looked for more material was http://www.beatthegmat.com/ . You will find even more practice material there.

In the end, if you put in the time and effort, you can do well on the exam.
I got a 720 (95th percentile).

I also see that you are thinking about getting a Kaplan book. I've looked at their material, but was not too impressed. They try to teach you little "tricks" to get better scores. Like on their reading comprehension sections, they want you to skim for content and structure, then read the question, and then go back to the article and look up the answer. The problem with this is that you don't understand the full context of the article or the question. I found it much better to do one thorough reading and then do the questions. I'm a pretty slow reader and thought that the Kaplan method was better initially, but it turned out that i was not understanding the articles and was missing questions because of this. The Veritas method seemed counterintuitive but actually worked better for me. Of course, your mileage may vary.
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      02-15-2018, 12:37 AM   #8
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Making a law career is not easy as you have to go through many difficult exams. The first step is to pass the LSAT in order to get admission in a good university or law school. I think that the Best LSAT Prep Course and ebooks are being utilized by many candidates nowadays and that’s why they are getting good scores as well.
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      02-16-2018, 12:40 PM   #9
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Happy Friday! I'll throw in my $.02 on pros & cons of business school. Preface this by saying I do not have an MBA, only my B.S. in Business Admin. I believe the pros & cons of business school very much depend on the industry/company you plan to utilize the degree for.

Having had to pay for my undergraduate degree out of pocket, you really start to think about how much those loans are costing you for the value you are getting. I'm constantly having to evaluate this myself, although I'll admit the idea of going back to school to get my MBA does not exactly sound appealing .

You mentioned starting your own business in the future. May be worth taking a few minutes to really consider how an MBA would add value to you. Since no one needs to hire you to run your own company/business, having that on your resume won't do a ton in that regard. However if you enjoy learning in a class room setting or maybe want to further your knowledge in a certain area, an additional degree may provide some benefit. Have you thought about what kind of value having an additional degree would bring to your own business?

If you don't end up starting your own gig and continue to work for "the man", some industries will pay you much much more to have your MBA or hire you over someone else because you have the degree & they do not. However in this case it often helps if your degree specializes (if you can) in the company or industry you are trying to advance in. You didn't mention an what type of business you would like to start, but an example: Say today you get your MBA in Marketing, but want to try to get a job at a hedge fund. That degree wouldn't be as useful to you as something in Finance or M&A or Statistics, etc. I'm not saying there is no value if you had your MBA in marketing, but part of the appeal to many companies is the specialty you would bring with your specific skill sets/degrees. Now say you applied to an Ad agency right after you get your MBA in Marketing, that would give you a much better chance to get that promotion or foot in the door or higher salary because it's very applicable to the position you are applying for. Another option is some companies may pay for your degree if it's applicable to your work. For example, at my old company they would have paid for me to get my finance/Business Admin MBA because it was related to my role. Had I tried to get my MBA with a concentration in HR or marketing, my company would not have paid for the degree because it wasn't related to my role.

Of course there are intangibles (social abilities, soft skills, etc) and the case of being "well rounded", but in my experience these are secondary if you are going into a company "cold" or working with someone who doesn't know you. I'm not sure of your exact situation and if you would have to pay for this degree, but if you do have to pay, really consider what value you're getting. Many programs can cost $50k and go north of $100k very easily to get your degree. If you're looking just to learn some more before you open a business, could you maybe take a few classes at a school to help in your areas of interest? (For example Accounting 101 if you feel you're not the best at bookkeeping). Something like that may cost you much much less & take much less of your time before going after a whole degree. If you end up working for someone who gives you $5k more a year because you have your MBA, is that worth the time and cost? What if they give you $50k more, worth it then? Go through that process of thinking why you want your MBA and I think you will make the best decision you can for yourself! Be intentional with your choices and you will go far. Good luck with whatever you decide to do!
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      02-18-2018, 09:29 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Maresca33 View Post
Making a law career is not easy as you have to go through many difficult exams. The first step is to pass the LSAT in order to get admission in a good university or law school. I think that the Best LSAT Prep Course and ebooks are being utilized by many candidates nowadays and that’s why they are getting good scores as well.
You might not have realized it but you revived a 9 year old thread. Hopefully the OP has gotten his MBA and nice gig by now.

As to which method of GMAT study is best. Go the self prep method if you can truly be disciplined about the process. Set up a schedule and dedicated time in it for GMAT study, then stick to it. If you're stuggling with that, sign up for the prep course. Your GMAT is your access card to B School so you want to maximize your score.

As to if an MBA is worth it, I went back to school in 2001 to get mine (originally graduated with a BS in Engineering in 1978) and it's definitely paid for itself and more.
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