GMAT Review

[chickee]

hi! i need help!
i've been based here in singapore for the past 2 1/2 years doing IT work and wish to take my masters in business administration next year.
for this year, i'll concentrate on getting a high score in GMAT.
does anyone know of any school or center that caters to this?
i want to be in a classroom and review so I can get a high score for my scholarship as well.
please help! i need to start the reviews soon so i won't miss the enrollment!!!!!
thanks everyone!
i'm hoping to hear a lot from u.

[Makan24-7]

which MBA schools are u aiming for? depending on the schools, you may not need to invest so much in a classroom experience.

that said, the popular ones around the world are Princeton Review, Kaplan and Veritas. Check whether those are around in Singapore.

my advice is to do self-study first and then assess whether you really need such a class.

my next statement might ruffle a few feathers but there seem to be what we use to call "GMAT factories" in India and China with account for my most of my Chinese and Indian classmates had scores ranging from 740-780. Cant say what they do there but it accounts for the high average GMAT scores amongst the East Asians. If you had a chance, you might want to check them out. With hindsight, maybe I should have made a 3 month trip to China and find out what they teach.

Singaporeans and Malaysians at my school generally score about 700-740...

[mho]

Chickee , I respond to your qn after I deal with some business

my next statement might ruffle a few feathers but there seem to be what we use to call "GMAT factories" in India and China

With VERY ruffled feathers , I am surprised by this.
I'm from India and never heard of these factories which do produce results. If they do exist, I am quite confident that they are not a significant source of 700+ scores.

In India there are scores of institutes that cater to another exam called the CAT for entry into the hallowed Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) . They have introduced some courses for GMAT . As far as I know the market for GRE factories is much bigger than the GMAT equivalent. I think its also got something to do with GRE writers mainly being students and GMAT candidates being professionals who do not have time for classroom courses and private study.

After that display of righteous indignation I may now get to the point

Chickee,

Like Makan24x7 said , its better to do your private study first and give some mock GMATs available on Kaplan/GMAT registration CDs to assess your strengths/weaknesses before you decide on a classroom course.

I doubt you will need it but also if you will have time for spending time on those classes and doing the mandatory private study.

Anyway , here is something wrote after I gave my GMAT - its a long post with info for test takers.

http://www.urch.com/forums/just-finishe ... -post.html

Use the numerous forums at scoretop.com , 800score.com , testmagic.com and pagalguy.com - many have tons of information , test taking strategies and problem-solving/verbal qn discussions.
You will find that hardly any of those who score 700+ and write their experiences like I did have actually takes a classroom prep course. Now , there may be many arguments for that , but I feel self study is the best.


Good luck.

[Makan24-7]

Oh Chickee, one more thing, when you sign up for the GMAT test, make sure you give yourself enough time to receive the free GMAT self-study CD that they send to you. That's also another decent guide. I signed up only 2 weeks before I actually sat for the test and the guide they sent came 2 weeks AFTER I had taken my GMAT.

Hahaha nice one, Ashok/mho... I think u look pretty cute with those ruffled feathers there. A lil' bit of gel and you'll look like a million bucks!

Truth is, a lot of MBA candidates are actually being paid by institutions to memorize questions and to pen them down once they exit the halls... Ethics and morals aside, gosh, I wish I knew this BEFORE I took my GMAT back in 2000. As it is, I'm 10 points short of being qualified as a p/t GMAT instructor at Manhattan, Kaplan or Princeton who gets paid US$150-200 an hour... Sigh, you need a 750 score to qualify.... Crap! There goes good and easy money.... Maybe it's for the better.. God forbid I actually "teach" MBA wannabees... Scar them for life.

[batliwala]

Hi Chickee,

there are a few websites with test strategies posted. You can check them out at www.gmatclub.com, www.testmagic.com, www.scoretop.com, www.800score.com.There is also wealth of information in yahoo groups (gmattutor, gmattutordata, gmattutordata1), check for them in the files section and for the links given in links section. Trust me some of the links given in links section was mindblowing. I also remember about a popular site called JiJing from china....and as MHO mentioned check subscribe to scoretop vip question pool... to get a feel of some real q's I think there are a couple of schools in Singapore, and one such school is High Q http://www.highq.com.sg/. If I am not wrong princeton review also have a coaching school here...pls do a google search.

Get hold of latest OG...during my time 4 yrs back it was OG 10th Edition. Take the powerprep test before reviewing OG (else your score will be skewed). Kaplan/ Princeton both have good preparatory books, use them to know the strategies and for practise tests. If you are in the 700+ club from the powerprep tests...get hold of Kaplan800 for tougher questions. I have to go now... all the best with your prep.

Cheers,

[chickee]

thanks guys, ur awesome =)
i'd come back later wid more questions.
i'll take ur suggestions to heart and make sure i self study first.
i'd try to get some books from the library and see how well i do.

[smritiarora21]

what I can also recommend is to visit these global GMAT communities:
beatthegmat.com and gmatclub.com

One more book which really helped me to ace IR: http://gogmat.com/integrated-reasoning- ... -on-gogmat

[friendlybossy]

I have a few conversation last year with a friend who complaint that he got a 780 GMAT, a stellar profile with 6 years of solid work experience in IT and great CCA records yet was dinged to all top schools he applied to and only got negligible scholarship to very low rank schools. The problem seems to be his race is Indian. Every years applicants from India and China flood the business schools all over the world with higher and higher GMAT, impeccable profile and impressive resumes, but it turns out that after they actually enter the MBA programs, they are the least successful in getting a good job after graduation. Communication is probably their weakest problem, the education system in China and India churns out many students with extremely high grades but they do not perform well in the work place where communication and soft skills play an important role. They are more suited for IT jobs or the PhD rather than an MBA. So with top business schools, it is safer for them to reject these applicants because they are unable to meet their expectation of getting a good job in management after graduation. A GMAT of 780 will be very impressive for an applicant from Ghana or Honduras but for an applicant from China or India, it adds modest value to the application