Adieu

Thank you all who have been visiting my page despite me discontinuing writing. It surely feels good. I have enjoyed blogging all along. We have lots of encouraging people here and it surely is fun to blog. How can I ever forget the constant support and genuine advice that I got all throughout last year, be it about taking a decision to not attend a BSchool, or about a sick friend.

But then, why am I not posting now? Valid question, but I am sorry to disappoint you; I have no clear answers. Perhaps, I because I am in the BSchool race a second time, I find it too confusing and self-demanding that not posting about the experience eases off the pressure in a way. I would have loved to share my thoughts, my own strategies all throughout, but I want to be more sure before recommending something to all of you out there. Again, like Forrest would also agree, writing a second time is a lot tougher. I definitely don't want my blog to be a frightful, worrying chronicle. So till I have some definite success on the BSchool front, let me just take a break. Perhaps, I will return back to this page someday.

Till then, I hope your zindagi continues rocking. Bye and all the best.

OG 11 vs. OG 10

The most salient changes involve a rehashing of the explanations (NOTE: the following changes apply to all three books). On the quantitative side, problem solving questions are illustrated with more step-by-step solutions. While there seems to be little change as far as the approach taken (i.e. how to solve), the Guide now categorizes each problem by topic (e.g. properties of numbers, geometry area, etc), and the physical layout of each problem is much easier to read. In the data sufficiency section, the solutions are also more logically organized by statement. Statement (1) is addressed, deemed sufficient or insufficient and then statement (2) is dealt with similarly in a separate paragraph. This makes the process of solving data sufficiency much clearer.

On the verbal side, the explanations were overhauled to even greater extent. It seems that the authors have recognized the student's need to clearly understand why each wrong answer choice is wrong because the explanations are now organized by answer choice. This much welcomed change allows the student to practice the systematic elimination of wrong answer choices that is so vital to success on the verbal section of the GMAT.

Topic categories are also assigned to each question in all three verbal question types. To this end, reading comprehension questions are officially divided into six types: main idea, supporting ideas, inference, application (of information), logical structure and style/tone. Likewise critical reasoning questions are separated into one of three categories: argument construction, argument evaluation and evaluation of a plan. Perhaps even more noteworthy, are the situation and reasoning sections included in each critical reasoning explanation. The situation section recaps the argument in fewer words and the reasoning section highlights the logic involved in solving the question. Lastly, in sentence correction, there are eight grammatical issues by which the questions are identified (many are tagged with more than one issue). The explanation begins with an overview of all of the errors that occur, not only in answer choice A, but also in the other four answer choices. Then the answer choices are listed one-by-one with their respective errors. The new format offers greater readability and utility.

How many of the questions in the 3 new Official Guides are the same as those in their predecessor, The Official Guide to GMAT Review, 10th edition? On the math side, the 10th edition included 441 problem solving and 274 data sufficiency. Of those, 328 of the problem solving and 215 of the data sufficiency show up in either the 11th edition or the Quantitative Review. In addition, the 11th edition offers 121 unique problem solving and 82 unique data sufficiency questions. This amounts to a net gain of 8 problem solving and 23 data sufficiency in the new editions. It is worth noting that The Official Guide for GMAT Quantitative Review contains no new questions; it is completely redundant to the 10th edition. All of the unique questions in the new guides appear in The Official Guide For GMAT Review, 11th edition. On the verbal side, 201 of the 10th edition's 268 sentence correction questions appear in the new guides, along with 67 new questions in the 11th edition. In critical reasoning, 160 of the 205 questions in the 10th edition appear in the new guides, along with 63 new questions in the 11th edition. This amounts to a net gain of 18 critical reasoning questions. Lastly in reading comprehension, 33 of the 48 passages from the 10th edition are represented in the new guides, along with 11 new passages. This represents a net loss of 4 passages in the new guides.

In terms of the difficulty level of the new questions the 11th edition, it seems that the 11th editions are comparable to the 10th. While a few of the hardest questions from the 10th edition have disappeared, they seem to have been replaced by a fair number of difficult questions at the end of the 11th edition's data sufficiency and problem solving sections, as well as in the new 100-question diagnostic section at the beginning of the book. A significant added benefit to the 11th edition and the two supplemental books is the GMAC's claim that the questions in each section are arranged by increasing level of difficulty. The cautious student should keep in mind, however, that this is only an assertion made by GMAC. As a final note on the new materials available from GMAC to prepare for the GMAT in 2006, the GMAC has made available new software to emulate the test-taking experience. The software includes five 15-question practice sections and 2 adaptive practice exams. There appears to be no overlap between the questions for the two exams and the questions contained in three new Official Guides. The software also matches the format of the new exam, administered by Pearson Vue testing centers, in terms of font, color scheme, and screen layout. The GMATPrepTM software is available for free download at www.mba.com.

Erasable noteboards on the GMAT?

How awkward would it be to right on a whiteboard? How thick would the pens be? How would the erasing process work? Well a couple of weeks into the new year, with the transfer of powers complete, it seems that the concerns were mostly for not. The scratch paper change is not such a big deal after all.

The "erasable noteboards" are nothing more than a spiral bound packet of 5 legal size sheets of yellow laminated paper. The pages are numbered from 1 to 10 (front and back). The cover page (page 1) contains a disclaimer and information about how to adjust the test center chair. Pages 2 through 10 are blank sheets of laminated graph paper. Each of the pages has a 1 inch blank margin at both the top and bottom of the page. The graph paper has 33 rectangular boxes across the page horizontally by 71 rectangular boxes down the page vertically.

The writing implement is a special black pen with a tip that is finer than a Sharpie. The ink is erasable, but the test center does not provide a wiper or an eraser. This isn't a major issue since if you have filled up your notebook, you may raise your hand and a proctor will provide you with a new 10-page booklet. Based on our own experience and those of our students, the pens typically don't run out of ink but the head does seem to flatten a bit by the end of the quant section. The proctors, however, are more than willing to provide the student with a new pen upon request. So what effect will the new "scratch paper" have on the GMAT test taking experience? The short answer is not much. Nonetheless, students preparing for the GMAT would likely benefit from practice with graph paper. Graph paper has some obvious advantages on the quant section - for creating tables, for geometry figures, and for organization in general. On the verbal side, the columns can be used to set-up A,B,C,D,E options for eliminating incorrect answer choices on each question. The laminated paper and special pen take a bit of getting used to so, if possible, using similar materials during practice can also help.

Overall the new materials feel more like the old scratch paper then some newfangled whiteboard as was initially described on the GMAC website. You can rest easily knowing that not too much has changed in this department.

New 2006 GMAT by ACT - Track the changes

Here is a list summarizing the major changes to help you if you intend taking the GMAT. Note that the list is organized in order of decreasing importance.

1) THERE ARE NO CONTENT/SCORING CHANGES TO THE EXAM. All the changes are related to the test-taking experience and the administration of the exam.

2) NO MORE SCRAP-PAPER! INSTEAD THE TEST-TAKER WILL RECEIVE ERASABLE WHITE BOARDS, though it appears that NO ERASER is provided to the test-taker. To quote from http://www.mba.com/: "The test administrator will provide you with a booklet of five (5) noteboards. If you fill up your noteboards during the test, please raise your hand; the administrator will collect the noteboards you have and give you replacements. You may not remove the noteboards from the testing room during or after the test and you must return them to the administrator after the test."

3) YOU MUST NOW WAIT 31 DAYS BEFORE RETAKING THE EXAM. A test-taker can only take the exam ONCE in any 31 day period. Thus, if a test-taker takes the exam on Jan 5, 2006, she will not be able to take it again until Feb 5, 2006. This is a significant change as the rule used to be that one could take the exam once per calendar month. This allowed a test-taker to take the exam on Jan 31 and Feb 1. No more! Note that test-takers can still only take the exam 5 times within any 12 month period - this remains unchanged.

4) SCORE REPORTS WILL NOW CONTAIN ALL EXAMS TAKEN IN THE LAST 5 YEARS (including cancellations). Previously, score reports contained only your last 3 exams/cancellations. In addition, if a test-taker retakes the exam and wants to resend his/her scores to programs that previously received the score, the test-taker must RESELECT those schools at the time of the retest.

5) OFFICIAL SCORE REPORTS WILL NOW BE AVAILABLE ONLINE INSTEAD OF BEING MAILED TO THE TEST-TAKER. Official Score Reports will be available online to test-takers and the schools they've selected approximately 20 days after the test. Official Score Reports are now mailed to the student by request only.

6) DON'T SKIP THE AWA ESSAY SECTION! Official Score Reports will only be provided if the test-taker has responded to BOTH essay questions and completed the Quant & Verbal sections. This eliminates the possibility of "skipping" the essay section and just doing the Quant & Verbal.

7) IF YOU SCORE AN 800, YOU CAN'T RETAKE THE EXAM FOR 5 YEARS. (Not that anyone who gets an 800 would want to take the exam again!)

Side Note: I just made changes to my template and lost all the links I had in the earlier version. (How much not having a back-up can backfire?) I especially miss the varied helpful admission links like mbabuzz, clearadmit blog, accepted blog, biz deans talk etc. If anyone amongst you can send me some of those helpful links, I'll be obliged. My email id is 4chillpill AT gmail DOT com

Selecting a school

Finally I have something to say which doesn’t talk about GMAT; thanks to median2k9’s post on School Selection.

While the confusion on school selection seems justified, having gone through the ordeal once, I would suggest that it is important to stress more on the fit factor than on the available rankings to find the target schools. I know the task sounds daunting but perhaps how we can come up with an initial narrow list is by initially gathering some general information about the school and then speaking to fellow students. More often than not, an initial interaction with the school staff and students gives you a hunch whether you really belong to the school or not. In fact you can even question these students about how many students take up your intended major and what major firms recruit from the career field you are interested in. Of course, there are lots and lots of questions you can ask these current students, but your idea is feel the ‘feel’ of that school. Don’t commit any avoidable blunders by asking obvious questions, and do speak to many people to get a fairly accurate idea about the school. This initial interaction saves a lot of your time and energy to cut through the information clutter pasted on the websites. If you are humble and courteous enough when you speak to the students, most of them will return the favor and be candid in offering you their advice about how a particular school can or cannot help you in your goals. Additionally, sometimes a school’s environment might just not excite you despite its achievements or reputation, but if you talk and explore, you have more probability of being on the right track.

A little later, when you have a smaller target list ready and you are roughly informed about the various opportunities, you can visit the school sites, research the courses, find about the career development centers etc. You can now ask the Adcoms if you have some specific questions, start speaking to school alumni and get closer in finding your fit. This time you can cut through the information overload; all you are doing now is finding a stronger answer to WHY School A. School visits and information events can complement this research all along. With patience and persistence, you should really be able to find YOUR schools.

Well, that is going to be my method, but if you have more inputs to share, please feel free.

Cheers
Chillpill

More thoughts on GMAT

GMAT occupies more of my time than I would like to admit. With both office and other extra curricular activities, even if I appreciate the fact that GMATting is less nerve wrecking than the application process, the test still feels very much like a test. So yeah, the standardized test occupies my mind more than I would gleefully like to admit.

The test has become my mood predictor. The day becomes good if I answer more of my practice questions correctly, and not so good if my performance goes low. And, it has also become my schedule organizer, for it gets utmost priority in almost all of my work. Talk of the fun weekends, but at least for now, long hours of masti elude me. I'll need to grant myself some days off after the test; for now, the plans only get a position in my diary.

How is my preparation otherwise? Well, my silly friends still manage to hang on with me, and though I try to drop them often, they just somehow know how to cling on to me. Uff, when did 1/2 become an integer? LOL, when it comes to these dumb errors, I top the list. I have a feeling that just by minimizing these careless mistakes, I can push my scores significantly. The new strategy that I have come up with is to cross check at least my first 10 questions in each section. I believe that they set the pattern for the type of questions that are thrown, and hence getting the initial few right is more important. However, this method involves a risk of running short on time, and so I am trying to work a little faster during the test. Presently, I manage to finish just on time; I guess I need to work on speed as well.

Easier Game?

I long of the days when I will be able to think outside GMAT. Even if I devote only 2-3 hours of concentrated attention to the study material, I still can’t seem to get it out of my head at any point of time. All this makes me wish I was giving it earlier, not because I am too prepared but because I honestly think that GMAT is ruling my daily routine. Why, it even creeps into my dreams…

That said, however, the GMAT is a far simpler than cracking the applications. At least we have fairly defined testing content, numerous help-books and discussion forums to take help from. Why, we even have an approximate idea of the score we can expect?

But as for the applications, you simply have no idea. Amongst the thousands of talented people applying from all corners of the world, you story has to stand out. You wonder how strong your strengths are, how weak the weaknesses are, and you struggle to make a fine balance between the two. While finding the answers to the standard essay questions – What sets you apart? What leadership skills do you have? How does School A help you in your ambitions? – you are a lost person. Sometimes you have lots of people to offer an advice, and sometimes you are completely by yourself. While you might have had an extremely successful journey so far, you fret over what the Adcoms will make out of your package. Your result remains a mystery till the very end. You might be feeling super confident after a fantastic interview when you learn that a fellow applicant has been offered an Admit, and all your hopes dash to the ground. You spend sleepless nights re-assessing your online submission, and checking that decision deadline date time and again.

So, isn’t the GMAT an easier game?

Have I been caught?

You know how it is when one of your friends rings you and asks, “ Oh hey, do you blog?” And between whatever conversation that follows, your head keeps reeling back and forth, “How did he know?”

In my case at least I can say with some surety why people can guess my identity - plainly because, I haven’t camouflaged myself. Except for becoming Chillpill, there is nothing else that has been hidden. And hey, almost everyone who writes to me also learns my real name (read off-screen name) from my signature ending. I believe in honesty, and I guess that shows. I simply don’t feel the need to be too anonymous.

Yet however, being anonymous has its own advantages. For one, I don’t want people to recognize me by what I blog about. The blog is MY blog, yes, but I am beyond what I am in this blog. I exist beyond the MBA struggle as well…

Second, this page is a chronicle of some daily events in my life, and although I have refrained from making it a personal saga, it does talk of my roller coaster business school ride in ample details. Are you getting what I mean? This single archive reflects more about my passion and current interests than may be even my very close ones would know, and hence, even if it is not very personal, it is in its own way, personal. So yeah, Chillpill looks better, at least on this computer screen.