First thing’s first. GMAT/GRE scores are not viewed in the same way by admissions committees as they are by you–the applicant. To an applicant, a 620 is a good score, a 630 is a better score and a 610 is an inferior score. To the adcoms, all three are essentially the same, to learn more …
Q: I got accepted into a few of my second choice schools, which would be fine if I was rejected outright by my top choice schools…but I wasn't. My top two schools wait listed me. What do I do? The other schools are pressing me for a decision and tuition deposit. But if I get …
There's an (not so) old joke: What do you call a failed businessman? A business school professor. Surely if the guy teaching the stuff (how to make money) knew how to apply it (make money) would he be standing in a lecture hall assigning homework to 60 arrogant future capitalists? Maybe, maybe not. But the …
Flattery usually raises the same question as being overly polite does: What do you want? Which is why it is so dangerous to include statements that are intended to flatter the school in your application essays. Things like: “USC has always stood for educational excellence and professional integrity.” “Berkeley’s alumni network is the best in …
No matter how naturally gifted one is at tackling GMAT questions, there comes a point during everyone's test preparation when they wonder where these diabolical questions come from and what the whereabouts of their creators are. Because they need to be killed. Now! No joke. It happens all the time. At some point, a student …
General consensus among grad school admissions officers is that the GMAT/GRE accounts for 40% of an applicant’s final admissions decision. There are exceptions, of course. Some specialty programs–religious studies, speech therapy, musicology, theology, folklorian literature, to name a few–technically require the GRE but look more for “program fit” than they do the quantitative metrics of …
Q: My quant factors (GRE & GPA) are all really strong…what I am worried about is my “other” stuff–especially leadership positions. How do I answer the leadership essay that all B-schools require if I don't have any leadership experience? A: Really? None. Like…ever? Not once has your footprint been stamped on a project you've been part of, …
Journalist Annie Murphy Paul recently posted an article on the Mind Shift website entitled Why Confusion Can Be A Good Thing. In it, she discusses the role that confusion can play in augmenting learning. It's worth a read. Much of what Paul talks about relates perfectly to the GMAT/GRE. Let's take a look at her …
There’s a longstanding rule for actors on stage or in front of a camera–never break the fourth wall. The literary equivalent of that for journalists and novelists is that the writer should never appear in his or her story. First-person columns notwithstanding, most stories are generally better told from the perspective of an objective reporter …
