How the GMAT Relates to Business School
The GMAT is a necessary hurdle on your way to business school, but sometimes it’s hard to see why. What do these multiple choice questions really have to do with a masters in business administration? If this question plagues you, take a look at this recent post from the GMAC. It explains exactly how two types of questions”data sufficiency and critical reasoning”measure abilities required by business schools.
Data Sufficiency. This question type, which requires you to determine what’s necessary to solve the problem, is ultimately a test of your ability to weed through minutiae for the important details. And sorting through information is an essential skill set, given the data-rich nature of the modern business environment, says Booth School of Business professor Pradeep Chintagunta. To successfully manage in this environment requires translating the data into usable information, he says, adding, The skills tested by the Data Sufficiency part of the test are consequently critical to managerial decision making.
Critical Reasoning. These questions probe your ability to evaluate the relative strengths of arguments. If you can handle a critical reasoning question, you’re prepared for collaborative b-school projects requiring you to judge others’ ideas. And those projects, in turn, are designed to get you ready for the real world. MBA programs can provide students with decision-making processes, says Valter Lazarri, MBA director of the SDA Bocconi School of Management, Milan, but they need a raw ability to connect facts, to detect patterns, to discriminate true causation from spurious correlations.
Of course, it is easier to sort through information when you understand its substance”hence our content-based curriculum. And don’t fret if you’re struggling in these areas. With diligent practice, you can develop your natural abilities.
Layering in Data Sufficiency Questions
This week, we have a follow-on article from Chris Ryan, Manhattan GMAT’s Director of Instructor and Product Development. Chris introduced the concept of layering to us in this article on Sentence Correction. Layering is a technique used by a test writer to make a question more difficult. Today, Chris is going to show us how layering works in data sufficiency questions.
Note: I’ve repeated the introduction from the first article below, in case some of you haven’t read that one. If you did read the first one, the first few paragraphs will be review for you.
We all know that the GMAT is a computer adaptive test, and computer adaptive tests give us questions based on the difficulty level that we earn as we take the test. How do the test writers at ACT (the organization that writes the GMAT) determine which questions are harder than others?
First, ACT engages in a process called “normalization,” wherein all freshly written questions are tested by actual test takers to determine what percentage answer the questions correctly (we know these questions as experimental questions). If too many people answer correctly, the question may need to be toughened up. If too few people answer correctly, the question may need to be dumbed down. ACT is looking to assemble a pool of questions that covers a range of difficulty, from cakewalk to mind-bending, and the test takers help them do so.
The Distinction Between a 700 Score and a 760 Score
[This article has been updated in a new post featured May 9, 2014. Read the newest version of The Distinction Beween a 700 Score and a 760 Score]. Recently, I was asked to write an article addressing what it takes to score in the 99th percentile. I have some reservations about writing such an article, but I agreed to write it.
First, I’m going to tell you why I have reservations about writing this article. A lot of people may read this article and think: Great! I can just do this and score in the 99th percentile! In order to have this conversation in the first place, however, we have to assume that the tester is already scoring at least 700, if not higher.
In other words, you cannot start with the information in this article (unless you’re already at 700+!). In addition, I can’t write an article that tells anyone, at any current level, how to get to 760. What I can do is write an article detailing the differences between a 700-level scorer and a 760-level scorer. What you can do, if you really want a 760, is first get yourself to a very solid 700-level “ using other articles and resources, not this one. (A very solid 700-level refers to someone who can consistently score 700 under full, official test conditions; it does not refer to someone who got 700 once after skipping the essays.)
GMAT Expands Globally
The GMAT just keeps expanding. GMAC reports that there are now more than 500 centers worldwide where you can take the test, up more than 25 percent since 2006.
A record 267,000 people took the test in 2009, and for the first time since its creation, there were more international than US test-takers (by just a single percentage point). A lot of the growth comes from China and India. The number of Chinese citizens taking the GMAT rose 35 percent in 2009, while 7 percent more Indians took it. The growth in the number of test-takers on the subcontinent has been explosive recently, increasing 128 percent in the last 5 years.
To meet the additional demand, the GMAC is opening an office in India, according to the Times of India. It will be the company’s third, after the US and UK. “I feel there’s great potential for growth in the country,” GMAC CEO David Wilson told the paper.
GMAT Tutorials
Over time, our Instructors have written a number of articles about various GMAT-related substantive topics. Now, our Internet ace Michael Dinerstein has worked to transform several of those articles into online tutorials. For those of you who struggle with more than one continuous paragraph of text, your ship has come in!
In all seriousness, they’re a lot easier to make use of now. Kudos to Mike for bringing these awesome kernels of wisdom to students everwhere!
Don’t Stress Over Difficulty Levels
Studying for the GMAT is a formidable undertaking. There are so many potential topics of study — and so much study time to be allocated — that it is often difficult, and may even seem impossible, to decide where to start or where to focus.
Still, there are some topics that are definitely less important than others — and, in the case of most students, simply not important at all. Probably the most prominent of these topics, in the minds of students, is “difficulty level”.
On the GMAT forums, I see many posts inquiring about the specific, numerical difficulty level of problems. While these numbers – if they can be nailed down at all – are an interesting curiosity, they are essentially irrelevant to students’ strategy; the only people who benefit from knowing specific difficulty levels are people who write the exams.
In other words: Do NOT worry excessively about the difficulty level of the problems.
You should NEVER bother trying to assign specific numbers to the difficulty of a problem; the only levels of difficulty that will ever affect you are “hard”, “easy”, and “just right”.
In fact, you should never give much thought to the difficulty level of the problems — no matter whether you are taking the actual exam or just studying. Here’s why.
When you study, an excessive focus on difficulty level will cause you to abandon the “big picture”, causing you to focus excessively on specifics. That’s not a good thing, because the only true purpose of studying is to discover general principles and techniques that will solve not only the problem at hand, but also OTHER problems — similar problems that may appear on future exams. (These general principles and techniques are what I have called “takeaways” on the forum and in classes.)
Here’s why “difficulty level” doesn’t really matter when you study: it’s quite possible to derive a takeaway from any easy problem, and then use it to solve a much more difficult problem in the future — or vice versa. Therefore, it is imperative that you study all problems within your grasp with the same intensity, without worrying about “difficulty level”; you never know which problems will give you the takeaways that you will need on your official test.
Then, there’s the matter of taking the actual exam. In this circumstance, it’s also not worthwhile to worry about the difficulty level of problems — because you will be completely unable to judge it with any accuracy. Therefore, if you even let your thoughts wander to “difficulty level”, not only will you be engaging in a completely unproductive thought process, but you will also be diverting mental energy away from the much more important task of answering the questions themselves!
Instead, your single most important mission during the official exam is to “MONOTASK” — i.e., to think about nothing other than the objective content of the problem in front of you, and the techniques that will solve that problem. Outside concepts — such as “difficulty level” — should not even enter your mind while you take the official test; they’ll do nothing but raise your stress level.
IS IT EVER APPROPRIATE TO THINK ABOUT DIFFICULTY LEVEL?
About specific difficulty level — trying to nail it down to the nearest hundred?
NO.
Never.
However, if you are studying from a source that is roughly ordered by “difficulty” — such as the Official Guide quant section — then it may be helpful to have a very general, very vague sense of the “difficulty” of the problems you’re working on. In particular, if everything in a given section just seems too hard, then move back a bit; if everything seems a bit too easy, then move forward.
This is pretty much the only situation in which the notion of “difficulty level” will help you. And note that it’s still not helping you solve the problems – it’s just helping you decide which problems to study in the first place. That’s not something that will transfer onto the official test.
Remember — monotask!
SO WHY DOES MGMAT TELL US SO MUCH ABOUT THE TESTING ALGORITHM?
Mainly, we give you this information in order to justify our advice about time management and overall planning.
When we tell our students things such as “NEVER spend too much time on one problem”, inquisitive students will sometimes want to know why — especially because this would be terrible advice on old-fashioned paper tests. This is the ONLY reason why we explain about “adaptive algorithms” and “difficulty levels” – because it’s the machinery behind our advice.
In this respect, we’re not unlike a mechanic who might explain the workings of an anti-lock brake system to a curious customer. Is the customer ever really going to need to know how anti-lock brakes work? Of course not – the customer just has to know how to use the anti-lock brakes, and in what ways they might differ from traditional brakes. The customer will never need any knowledge of the inner workings of the brake system (unless he/she plans to become a mechanic) – but it’s the foundation of the functional knowledge that the customer does need.
It’s the same with the “adaptive algorithm” and “difficulty levels”. Are you ever really going to need to know the nitty-gritty of how these work? Nope – you just have to know how to manage your time and how to proceed through the questions, and in what ways this test might differ from traditional paper-based tests. You will never need any knowledge of precise difficulty levels, or of the precise workings of the adaptive algorithm (unless you plan to write tests yourself) – but we present it to you, as full disclosure, because it’s the foundation of the functional knowledge that you will need.
Good luck!
Free GMAT Guide
Here at Manhattan GMAT, we spend a fair amount of time introducing our students to the ins and outs of the GMAT (e.g. How are the essays weighed and scored? What are the practical implications of the test being computer adaptive?). The GMAT is a unique test that raises its own distinctive issues and challenges, and learning about the test (as opposed to simply practicing test questions) is itself a valuable component to achieving a high score.
In response to popular demand, we have compiled answers to many of the questions that most students have about the GMAT in this FREE guide – the GMAT Uncovered. This guide is available electronically via download at our site. We are confident that the GMAT Uncovered will address many of the questions you may have about the GMAT, including questions you didn’t even know you had! It was written by Stacey Koprince, one of our extraordinary Instructors, so you know it’s good.
Happy reading!
Techniques for Managing GMAT Stress
Stress and anxiety, for many people, are integral components of their daily lives. In fact, anxiety is a necessary human response. In manageable doses, anxiety protects you from life’s dangers. You naturally feel anxious standing on a cliff and looking over the edge. In essence, your body is heightening your awareness of this potential threat and emphasizing that some action might be necessary to protect your well-being. The same is true with performance or test anxiety. When you are asked to perform, the tension produced from normal anxiety heightens your awareness of the situation and helps you to focus on the danger (i.e. task as hand). With this additional focus, you are more easily able to successfully complete your goal, whatever it may be.
For many people, however, this natural, beneficial anxiety response is superseded by an uncontrollable feeling of dread. When asked to prepare for and then take a test, individuals manufacture feelings of such importance about the test that they become overwhelmed by the anxiety associated with it. Symptoms of test anxiety affect both the body and the mind. Hearts race, hands become clammy, breathing grows labored, minds go blank. Worse still, test anxiety is a vicious cycle: worrying about the test causes increased anxiety, which causes increased worry about the test. As GMAT instructors, we have seen or heard of this response all-too-frequently with our students. Recently, a student who was consistently scoring between 35 and 40 on the quantitative section of her practice examinations score a 6 on her actual test. That’s right, she dropped from a score of approximately the 60th percentile to the 1st percentile. When asked what happened, she simply said, I panicked. She explained she just couldn’t understand the first problem, and from there her mind just went blank. For the remainder of the section, she was unable to organize her thoughts or regain her focus. Although this case is extreme, many students have allowed test anxiety to undermine their test taking abilities, resulting in scores that are well below their true abilities. This strategy series will focus on methods to control your test anxiety as you ready yourself for the test.
Interpreting Manhattan GMAT Assessment Reports
Looking for advice on evaluating your practice exams? Be sure to check out this article too.
First Steps
If you are just beginning to look into the GMAT, we recommend reading through The GMAT Uncovered before continuing. The same information can be obtained by attending our in-person or Live Online GMAT Open House Sessions. You can read more about these programs here.
If you feel like you have a good understanding of the exam, then it’s time to take a practice test! Until you’ve taken a full practice GMAT, there’s no way of knowing exactly how much you need to prepare for the exam. Fortunately, ManahttanGMAT makes this easy by offering a free computer adaptive exam that will serve as a useful diagnostic tool. Before you continue to structure your prep program, it is important to take a full exam. Additionally, in the scope of your business school application, it’s important to know the average GMAT score of the schools you are applying to. Here is a list of the top business school programs and their associated GMAT scores to get you started.
Foundations of GMAT Math
Our 8 Strategy Guides, organized by topic, have been around for several years. However, we were seeing some students who hadn’t looked at math in a LONG time and wanted a refresher.
So, after months of development, we are very happy and proud to announce the publication of our brand new Strategy Supplement, the Foundations of GMAT Math! This book starts from the basics to give students those “Oh yeah, NOW I remember how to FOIL” moments. We start with Order of Operations/PEMDAS and algebra, and go from there to fractions, geometry, exponents, divisibility and other flashback-inducing topics. If you’re confident in your math skills, you may not need this book at all. But otherwise, you may like it a great deal. You know who you are . . .
All Manhattan GMAT Course Students will receive this book for free as part of their course materials. If you’ve already started your course and want this book, contact studentservices@manhattanprep.com/gmat/ and they’ll hook you up (you may have to pay shipping depending on your location, but the book will be free).
Kudos to our curriculum wizards for their latest contribution to the best in GMAT Prep!