Test Taking Psychology 101

You have practiced. You have revised. You have practiced some more. And you have revised even more.

But when it comes to taking the test itself, you sweat. You don't remember the concept. You can't remember the strategy that you should be applying for this question type. You completely blank out.

In short, you choke.

Afterwards, disappointed with your 600+ score, you take a look at your answers. "What the hen was I thinking?" seems to be your recurring theme. "The correct answer was so obviously X!". Story of your life?

Relax. You are not alone.

Of course, you have to know your basics. Your formulas, your strategies, your shortcuts. But these are NOT the only things that the GMAT tests.

A huge part of what the GMAT tests is NOT content, but how you are able to handle pressure, manage time, and deal with your emotions.

Think about it. Aren't those the exact qualities that a future manager/leader is supposed to have?

Remember that as a test, GMAT is designed to push you to your failure point. It is upto you, how you handle that failure point.

So what could help you make the final leap - from a test taking novice to an expert? 

Here are some tips that you might find helpful:

1. Before you start the test, KNOW that you have put in the required efforts to crack it. You know everything that is there to know about the test. All you need to do now is to apply everything. What stands between you and success is YOU. So get your own doubting self out of the way! BELIEVE IN YOURSELF! Take a couple of deep breaths and start the test, slowly but steadily. 
2. Initially in your preparation, look at it after every 5 questions or so. You will soon be able to internalize the clock, and can then reduce the frequency even further (maybe 10). Do NOT look at the clock after every question. 
3. After every 5 questions or so (maybe when you look at the clock), take a couple of deep breaths and clear your mind. Taking a short 3 second break like this will improve your concentration levels.
4. Don't get egoistic about any question. If you are unsure of an answer, you can do one or more of the following:
• If you are ahead of the time-targeted question curve, slow down. Take a deep breath. Try and remember the concepts related to that question. Did you miss anything? If you still can't figure out the answer, go with your gut feeling.
• If you are behind the time-targeted question curve, go with your gut instinct. Deep breaths. Clear head. And dive on head to the next question.
• REMEMBER: the GMAT does NOT punish you for a single wrong answer!
5. Remember that there are sample questions. You REALLY don't want to waste your time breaking your head over something that is not even going to count towards your final score!
6. Initially atleast, you can ignore the last 3 or 4 questions in your section. These questions are going to be the toughest questions in your test, and yet will not give you very high returns in terms of score. Hence, treat your test to consist of only 33 / 37 questions, and time yourself as such. (Of course, you WILL have to mark the answers, even though it is only a guess). Later, as your speed and timing improves, you can tackle all the questions.

Finally, remember that a great GMAT score is just a good GMAT score, combined with some smart strategic guessing and keeping your cool!

Darden releases deadline dates and essays

Darden recently released the essay questions and the deadlines.

MBA Application Essay Questions 2010–2011

1. The Darden MBA program expects students to actively participate in learning teams, the classroom, and the broader community. Please share one or two examples from your past experience that best illustrate(s) how you will contribute to this highly engaging and hands-on learning environment. (500 words)
2. Please discuss how a global event that has taken place in the past two years has impacted the way you think about leadership broadly and personally. (500 words)

Application Deadlines 2010–2011

Round	Application due by 11:59 PM (EST)	Interviews Begin	Decisions Released	Deposit Deadline	Materials Charge
1	Oct. 14, 2010	Mid-November	Jan. 12, 2011	Feb. 22, 2011	June 2011
2	Jan. 5, 2011	Late January	Mar. 24, 2011	TBD	June 2011
3	Mar. 30, 2011	Late April	May 12, 2011	TBD	June 2011

Please note that interview notification can take place at any time up until the decision release date for the deadline in which you have applied.

If you are offered admission, there will be several admitted student events that you can attend throughout the late winter and spring, including regional events around the country and events in Charlottesville on February 4 and April 15-16.

Chicago Booth GSB 2011 Essays - Some insights

Chigago Booth released their 2011 essay questions yesterday.

Since many amongst you might be thinking of getting started on your essays even now, here is some insight as to what they might be looking for in each essay.

1. The Admissions Committee is interested in learning more about you on both a personal and professional level. Please answer the following (maximum of 300 words for each section):

a. Why are you pursuing a full-time MBA at this point in your life?
b. Define your short and long term career goals post MBA.
c. What is it about Chicago Booth that is going to help you reach your goals?
d. REAPPLICANTS ONLY: Upon reflection, how has your thinking regarding your future, Chicago Booth, and/or getting an MBA changed since the time of your last application?

These short essays will require you to know yourself. You will need to understand where you have been and where you are going. Before you begin drafting the responses to these essays, take some time for self-reflection. Why do you want to return to school? Why is the MBA the right degree for you?

We know that many of you will use your MBA experience to help you figure out what kind of job to pursue next. Even though your future career plans may not be clear at this time, you should still be able to discuss your goals and how they relate to obtaining an MBA.

For reapplicants, question 1d is where you can tell them what, if anything, has changed since the time of your last application. What has occurred in your life or career that has either reinforced or changed your goals? What lessons have you learned or how have you grown since you last applied to Chicago Booth?

2. Chicago Booth is a place that challenges its students to stretch and take risks that they might not take elsewhere. Tell us about a time when you took a risk and what you learned from that experience (maximum of 750 words).

You’re probably wondering, “What kind of risk do you want me to discuss?” To be honest, it can be ANY form of risk that you have taken. It can be a risk related to your professional, academic or personal life. It can be a risk that resulted in either a positive or negative outcome. They just want to see how you have challenged yourself, and what you learned from that experience. How has that experience influenced your future actions?

3. At Chicago Booth, we teach you HOW to think rather than what to think. With this in mind, we have provided you with “blank pages” in our application. Knowing that there is not a right or even a preferred answer allows you to demonstrate to the committee your ability to navigate ambiguity and provide information that you believe will support your candidacy for Chicago Booth.

This is probably the trickiest part of the entire application. You have at your disposal 4 absolutely blank pages, to fill with whatever you think is necessary to make your profile standout.

(Please remember that they will taking printouts of this presentation. Hence flash, animation, music, etc are absolutely useless!)

Just because you are given absolute freedom, does not mean that you should abuse it. You have to be very careful about the content that you put here. Are there any blanks in the other areas of your application? Are there certain messages about yourself that you have not been able to communicate to the admissions committee? If so, then the presentation will be an opportunity for you to provide them with this type of information. After reviewing your presentation, they want to have a BETTER AND MORE COMPLETE understanding of who you are and how you think.

Also, please remember that it is the content – not the design – that should be the focus of the presentation. Not everyone is a design guru. So, whether it’s through photos, images, graphs, or just words, the goal is to communicate your messages as effectively as possible.

We at GMAT Toppers wish you all the best for your application

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GMAT to introduce new section in 2012

The Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) recently announced that they are going to be adding an innovative new section designed to measure people's ability to evaluate information from multiple sources. Called the "Integrated Reasoning" (IR) section and scheduled to be introduced in June 2012, it will provide business schools with a window into how prospective students respond to the kinds of complex challenges they will encounter as managers in today's information-rich business environment.

The IR section will contain questions based on multiple sources, e.g. charts, spreadsheets, graphs. Test takers familiar with Indian competitive exams such as CAT and XAT will be familiar with these. However, the ability to listen to complex spoken material and form judgement will also be tested, and this is something that is going to be new to most of us.

This section is going to be replace one of the Analytical Writing Assignment (AWA) essays. GMAC mentions that the other sections of the GMAT exam, i.e. Quantitative and Verbal Ability Skills, will be not be changed and the scoring system will also remain the same.

So in short: the bad news is that the new section is going to be virgin territory for many people. With very little grounds on which to prepare, many people might find it tough going.

The good news however, is that most of you will not have to worry about it at all, as it is only going to be launched in June 2012! :)

The good news is that the Quants and the Verbal section remains untouched!

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