11 Resume Myths Busted: Realities Revealed

Crafting the perfect résumé is a hard-enough challenge before trying to factor in all the myths there are about the process. However, some of those common myths — including your résumé can't be more than one page or it's OK to have some white lies on your résumé — hold very little water among companies looking to hire employees. To separate fact from fiction, several experts gave the truth behind some of their favorite myths on what companies look for in a résumé. 

Myth: Grade point average is a top consideration

Truth: I don't even consider it when I am interviewing potential employees. I know that a 4.0 can mean that you took relatively easy classes to pad your GPA. I also am aware that you can be excellent in your major and have non-related topics destroy your GPA. For me, that was Spanish and statistics, neither of which is necessary or relevant in my chosen line of work. What I am more interested in is examples of your work as a showcase of your ability. – Shelli Dallacqua, president, Shelten Media

Myth: Résumés should be one page.

Truth: Résumés are allowed to be two pages unless you are stretching the information. One page just isn't enough, unless you are right out of school. — Jill MacFadyen, career and outplacement coach

Myth: Achievements should be highlighted in a separate section.

Truth: By separating accomplishments from the experience, recruiters are more likely to overlook this section. Instead, showcase them by bulleting them in the relevant sections. —David Hardtke, chief data scientist, Bright.com

[50+ Job Skills You Should List on Your Résumé]

Myth: Résumés should have your entire work history.

Truth: If you have been working for 30 years and the first few years were in an outside field, you can certainly drop selective things. Same thing is true about internships after you have 10 to 15 years of experience, unless those internships or prior employers and your work are awesome examples of what you are capable of or the employer's name itself may garner some interest. – Tiffani Murray, résumé writer and career coach, Personality on a Page

Myth: Your résumé should be general to increase your chances of getting a job.

Truth: Highly customized and targeted résumés are the only ones that are successful in securing interviews that can lead to job offers. Instead of marketing a general résumé, job seekers should take the time to do extensive research to understand the required skills, expertise, experience and qualifications for their job target. This information can used as a guideline for tailoring résumés and other marketing materials. – Abby Locke, executive career architect at Premier Writing Solutions

Myth: Paper résumés are enough.

Truth: LinkedIn is changing hiring. In another few years, employers will not be able to hire without it and the LinkedIn profile is replacing the need for a résumé. – Tom Armour, co-founder High Return Selection

Myth: Don't include social media information.

Truth: Because most recruiters are now visiting your publicly accessible social media pages anyway, it is a good practice to include them in your contact information on your résumé. Specifically, you should include a link to your LinkedIn profile. Just make sure to keep your social media pages consistent and professional. Information on your LinkedIn profile should match your résumé — be sure to check that dates of employment and other key facts are consistent. — Eric Semon, director of customer success Hiring Thing

Myth: White lies are OK

Truth: Honesty is the best and only policy.  A résumé is a factual history of your work experience. Do not embellish or overstate your accomplishments or responsibilities. Employers value integrity and you demonstrate that by being honest and forthright in all your interactions, starting with your résumé. Many companies will use outside firms to perform verifications with prior employers and schools. – Lynne Sarikas, director ofNortheastern University's MBA Career Center

Myth: A PDF is better than a Microsoft Word document

Truth: Résumés should not be posted in PDF format. PDFs can sometimes prevent keyword- scanning software on job boards or applicant-tracking systems from picking up critical information that allows you to be found or captured — in essence making you invisible. —Megan Pittsley-Fox, career coach, résumé writer and recruiter at Work Life Careers

Myth: A good résumé will get you a job.

Truth: A good résumé will get you an interview. Once you are in front of the hiring manager, you will need to sell yourself even better than the résumé sold you to gain the phone call. The résumé is only one step in the very involved job search process. – Melanie Denny, professional résumé writer and president Résumé Evolution

Myth: Don't sweat the small stuff on your résumé — a few grammatical errors or typos are expected.

Truth: Sweat the small stuff because it shows that you pay attention to detail, and are serious and professional. Otherwise, you come across as careless and most employers don't want to hire careless people.

FIND THE FUND

Want to study abroad but concerned about how to finance your education?
Here are a few awards that can aid you in your pursuit of a degree in some countries

Studying abroad is an expensive proposition, but some financial support can ease your cost burden -completely, if you bag an all-expenses-paid scholarship. You can find a host of full or partial scholarships and fellowships for different levels of study, from various governments (including Indian), universities, trusts, companies and other organisations. A good point to start your search for funds is the website of the embassyhigh commission or the education promotion agency of the country you wish to study in or of the institution you intend to attend. Here is a small slice of numerous awards for international students in different parts of the world:

UNITED STATES

Fulbright-Nehru fellowships: These include a broad range of awards like the Master's, doctoral and postdoctoral fellowships among others. The fellowship benefits include J-1 visa support, round-trip economy class air travel from the fellow's home city to the host institution, fees, living and related costs. However, sometimes the fellowship may not cover the entire costs and the awardee may have to supplement grant benefits through other resources.

● Rotary scholarship: Rotary offers fully-funded academic fellowships to study at its peace centres in different parts of the world, including the US. These cover tuition and other fees, room and board, round-trip transportation and all internshipfield study expenses. The fellowships are for short-term courses as well as full-time Master’s lasting for 15-24 months with a practical internship.

● Inlaks Shivdasani Foundation scholarships: Meant for postgraduate (PG) level study in the US and in Europe, the scholarship pays for tuition fees, living expenses and one-way travel for a specified period. In the case of specific programmes, the financial coverage would be discussed directly with the candidate.

UNITED KINGDOM

● Commonwealth scholarship and fellowship plan: The scholarships are for PhD programmes of up to three years’ duration (one year for a split PhD), one-year taught Master’s and six months of clinical training. These are for engineering and technology, science (pure and applied), agriculture, social sciences and the humanities. Winners receive funding for economy, return international travel, tuition fee and maintenance and other allowances.

The fellowships are for postdoctoral study.

● GREAT scholarships: GREAT provides 370 scholarships worth about Rs 100 million to Indian students in 260 undergraduate (UG) and PG courses at 36 UK institutions. The award value varies from institute to institute.

● Gates Cambridge scholarships: This covers the full cost of studying for a full-time PG degree in any subject at Cambridge. Apart from the airfare, visa costs and tuition fee, students receive a maintenance allowance. They may apply for discretionary grants like family allowance, academic development funding, among others, as well.

● Rhodes scholarships India: Funding PG study at Oxford, this award provides for all fees, a personal stipend, private health insurance and airfare costs.

EUROPEAN UNION

Erasmus+ scholarships: These fully-funded awards cover all costs including travel, living, insurance and visa. Under Erasmus+, India is a partner country, permitting Indian universities to link up with their European counterparts to become a member in a consortium.

AUSTRALIA

Australia awards: Funded by the Australian government, these international scholarships and fellowships offer the next generation of global leaders an opportunity to undertake study, research and professional development.

● International postgraduate research scholarships (IPRS): These scholarships are aimed at international students to pursue a PG research qualification in Australia and gain experience with leading Australian researchers.

● Joint academic scholarships online network (JASON): Developed jointly by a number of universities, it is meant to assist PG aspirants find information regarding funding opportunities through various scholarship programmes run through universities, charitable foundations, government and private institutions

NEW ZEALAND

New Zealand India sports scholarships: These were recently launched for Indian students intending to study Bachelor's degrees, graduate diplomas or PG sports-related programmes at New Zealand universities, institutes of technology and polytechnics in 2015.

A New Zealand government funding scheme means that all international PhD students accepted for enrolment in New Zealand pay a substantially reduced tuition fee.

 Source - times of india sep 22

Bright kids fly out with scholarships



Funding Comes From Cambridge, LSE and Ivy League Universities

For the cream of Bangalore schools, the world is in their pocket. It's raining    scholarships, making the foreign education dream all too real.

Students of the class of 2014 at the International School Bangalore (TISB) have got a whopping $9.1 million in scholarships to study in foreign universities. Anindya Sharma from National Public School, Indiranagar, got a 100% scholarship at the prestigious Cambridge University .

“The scholarships are from prominent universities like London School of Economics, Russell Group Universities, UK, Stanford University , California Institute of Technology . The scholarships are only going up every year,“ said NPS chairman K P Gopalakrishna. At Canadian International School, all 54 students have got scholarships to the tune of $1.6 million, said school executive director Shweta Sastri.The story is no different at Indus International School (IIS) where at least 50 students have got $4.22 million to study undergraduate pro grammes at foreign universities. Lt. Gen (retd) Arjun Ray , CEO of IIS, said the quality of teaching, job opportunities abroad and research facilities in these universities is attracting students.

Interestingly , it's not just UK and the US. At Greenwood High International School (GHIS), 15 students have obtained scholarships worth $1.7 million. GHIS trustee Niru Agarwal said students are also heading to Singapore.

This year, around 20% of students got scholarships at Inventure Academy. Nooraine Fazal, managing trustee and co-founder of IA, said the entire four-year programme got a $350,000 scholarship while last year's scholarshipamount was significantlylower.The scholarships take care of tuition fee and living expenses, she added.

Santanu Das, principal of Sarala Birla Academy, said, “Around 60% of our students got the scholarship, approximately each student got $5,000 in scholarship on which they will go abroad to pursue UG courses in industrial engineering, journalism, sound system and other subjects.“

THIS HIGH SCORER IS ON A ROLL

Clocking 97.6% in his Class 12 examination, Anindya Sharmafrom NPS Indiranagar bagged the Dr Manmohan Singh Award given by the Cambridge Trust. The 100% scholarship from the prestigious Cambridge University takes care of his tuition fee and boarding.

Winning is second nature for him. He won the bronze medal and a Best Solution award at the World Olympiad in Beijing, and was placed among the top 1% at the Physics Olympiad. “I'm taking up a four-year course in computer science and mathematics at Cambridge. I had to choose between IIT Chennai, IISc Bangalore, Indian Statistical Institute, Chennai Mathematical Institute and Cambridge. I'm looking forward to do research in computer science with mathematics once I complete my course,“ he told TOI.



Source : TOI 18th Sep 2014

What Is a Good GMAT Score?

A 780 is a great score, sure—but you don’t need that kind of score. You probably do need something higher than 500, though. How good is good enough?

The short answer to the question is this: a good score is a score that will make you competitive at a particular school. So the first question to ask yourself is where do you want to go?

Then, hit the Inter-web and find out what kinds of scores those schools report. Most schools report both an average score and a “middle 80% score” (the latter gives the score range for the middle 80% of people admitted in that year).

So, if Stanford has an average of 732 (which is what their website says as I write this!), then clearly you need a 750, right?

Wrong. Really wrong, in fact. I was inspired to write this article because of two recent blog posts written by my colleague Jeremy Shinewald, founder of MBA Mission. The posts are fantastic—and they are both linked in this article. They are mandatory reading for all of my students (and not because he mentions me in one of them!).

First, remind me what the word “average” means.

Right … in other words, many of the admitted students scored below 730. In fact, Stanford’s reported scoring range is from 550 to 790. (Yes, someone got into Stanford with a 550! I’m sure that person was absolutely amazing in some other way or ways, and so the admissions committee didn’t care about that one below-average data point.)

I’m not suggesting, of course, that you only need a 550 or even 600 to get into Stanford. Ideally, you want to be pretty close to the school’s average. The school is not, however, going to ding you for getting “only” a 700. (You might get dinged for other reasons of course … )

What’s a good quant score? What’s a good verbal score?

Schools do check the Quant and Verbal sub-scores as well as the overall score—and this is another source of anxiety for test-takers. Have you heard about the 80/80? Many years ago (actually, we could be speaking in decades at this point), some people did talk about wanting to see 80th percentile sub-scores for quant and verbal. I haven’t been able to verify whether actual business schools ever said they wanted this, but the topic has been around for a long time.

As of early July 2014, there are now only two Quant scores above the 80th percentile: 50 and 51. Clearly, the top business schools don’t admit only people with 50s and 51s any more than they  admit only people with 750 scores. There wouldn’t be enough people to go around!

So what’s going on? Percentiles are a relative ranking; they change over time. The sub-scores themselves are fixed. The skill level that it takes to score 45 today is the same skill level required to get a 45 five years ago, or fifteen!

In 2007, a Quant score of 45 was the 77th percentile; today, a 45 is the 63rd percentile. But the underlying skill needed to reach that score hasn’t changed one bit, and here’s the important part: the schools know this.

They aren’t actually interested in how your percentile ranking stacks up against the rest of the pool of test takers. Their main goal is to make sure that you can handle the rigorous work that will be required of you when you reach b-school. Pay attention to the actual scoring level, which tells you something real. A quant 45 was once “good enough” for schools and nothing has changed: it still is today!

But seriously … If I just get a 750, I’ll be a shoo-in, right?

Wrong. The schools don’t admit based on GMAT scores. The GMAT is more of a threshold indicator: show me that you can handle my rigorous program, and then I’ll consider the other (more important) parts of your application, such as your work history, your essays, your recommendations…in short, your story. That’s how I’ll actually make my decision about your application.

Seriously, consider who’s telling you that you don’t actually need these crazy high scores. I work for a test prep company; our whole reason for existing (and making money!) is to help people get higher scores. If even I’m telling you that you don’t need a 750 or a 50 or 51 on quant, then believe it! 

But … But … This is the only thing I can control …

Here is the heart of the anxiety around this test. Your GPA is already set. Your work career can’t be substantially changed in a few months; your history is what it is. So you feel as though this is it: the GMAT is how you can give yourself the best possible chance to get in!

You can’t bomb the test, of course, but there are a lot of other things you can be doing with your very valuable time than chasing a 750 (or even a 720). You could actually pick up an extra project at work, try to get yourself into a team leader or mentor role, or work towards a promotion.

Also, don’t underestimate the time and effort required to put together a great application package. Ideally, your package will tell a coherent story, something that fits together across all pieces of the application and jumps off the page so that the admissions committee can really visualize you and get a sense of who you are and why they want to have you at their school. For instance, have you thought about what you want to tell your recommenders to emphasize (in terms of both strengths and weaknesses) so that their recommendations dovetail with your own essays?

Source : Beat the GMAT 

UK set to toughen student visa rules further from Nov 2014



From November it will be more difficult for Indian students to travel to the UK. Britain on Tuesday announced a fresh crackdown on student visas as further measures of the Immigration Act came into force.

Tougher rules will be imposed on universities and colleges who sponsor international students to study in the UK from November.

Currently educational institutions can enjoy highly trusted sponsor status if the home office rejects 20% or fewer student applications. But that figure will be cut to 10% in November after a three-month grace period for colleges and universities to re-examine and improve their admissions procedures. If more than one in 10 applications are being rejected from November onwards educational institutions could lose their right to bring in new students from overseas.

The change will ensure all institutions are administering immigration rules to enjoy the benefits of bringing in foreign students.

The numbers of students to all universities coming to the UK from India fell by 38% between 2011 and 2012.

It is estimated that the overall value of UK higher education exports to the economy in 2011-12 was around $17 billion. Income from international (non-EU) students generated through their tuition fees in 2012-13 came to $5 billion, which represented around 30% of all tuition fees. Data revealed by the Higher Education Funding Council for England shows that the number of Indian students fell from 18,535 in 2010-11 to 13,250 in 2011-12 and further to 10,235 in 2012-13.

UK has recorded a sharp dip in overseas students enrolling in universities -the first fall in 29 years -thanks to Indians giving it a skip.
Home secretary Theresa May said, “We are building an immigration system that is fair to British citizens and legitimate migrants, but tough on those who abuse it or flout the law.

Pharmacy - Prescription for a rewarding Career

Careers in Pharmacy 

In India, the pharmacist’s career is still synonymous with dispensing medicines.

A peek at pharmacy career abroad reveals all of the mentioned below….

Well-rounded: Exciting blend of health care, direct patient contact, business, and technology

You  can choose a two -fold career path 

People Driven   Vs Industry driven

People Driven : Community Pharmacy/Hospital/Managed Care(review therapy) /Consulting/Drug Stores. Majority of pharmacists work in community pharmacy, but growing number of pharmacists working in other health care settings, such as…

 Industry Driven:

Pharmaceutical Companies: Pfizer, Merck --- research, Sales ,QA, Marketing.

(for Marketing/Sales look at special courses as in MBA in Marketing Mgmt offered at USP)

Govt labs: FDA ,NIH

Biotech Industry: Mol Bio techniques

Academics: Teaching & research

Medical publishing/Technical Writing:

Special career tracks like hospital management/administration –You  can Requisites : work experience of 2+ yrs , GMAT and TOEFL, MBA in Health Care Administration/ or University of Wisconsin - Madison
M.S. Program (with concentration in Hospital-Pharmacy Administration)

Choosing your specializations 

Choose your subjects wisely:

While taking up a degree program you want to decide on an intelligent mix of courses so that you are able to fit the job market and also match your interests

Apart from interests(align your project work here) consult seniors, faculty,

Study job market – for the past one year the trends are medicinal chemistry /pharmacology ( also applicable to RGUHS)

These are the some of the specializations available at the school of pharmacy – for a MS/PHD program

•          Drug Discovery & Design(synthesis of new drugs)

    Fields; Medicinal Chemistry, Combinatorial chemistry, Biotechnology

•          Drug Delivery: dosage of drugs

     Fields: Pharmaceutics, Pharmaco-kinetics

•          Drug Action: how drug works in the body

    Fields :Molecular biology, Pharmacology, Pharmaco-dynamics, Biochemistry ,Toxicology

•          Drug Analysis: Separating,identifying & quantifying components Fields :Analytical Chemistry

•          Cost effectiveness of Medicines - Pharmaco-economcis

•          Regulatory Affairs: Pharmacy Administration

Some top universities and their courses

Marketing for e.g MS in marketing  Univ of sciences , philadelphia

MS in Hospital administartion –Wisconson Madison ,Ohio State univ

Ohio State University and many other schools also offer Hospital Administration/Hospital Management – MBA

What does the shortage of pharmacists mean for pharmacy graduates?…

Growth in pharmacist jobs

More and more people today have started questioning the medicines they consume.

Due to this…

1.Increased life span

2.Sophistication of medicines

3.Increased emphasis in patient care

Salary Outlook

Placement Services at University of Georgia –Athens organizes career fairs each year –recent graduates have been placed in agencies like NIH, FDA,Pfizer

Their graduates have received multiple offers with a salary of $45,000.

Australia –starting salary is 9, 000 –12,000 dollars

UK the starting salary is 16,000 –21,000 pounds

Ideal career progression in terms of salary the range can be anywhere between 45K – 80K  starting from a staff pharmacist to a pharmacy director 

References

www.pharmacynow.org 

GMAT Quant - The Specifics

MBA Student Testimonial - the Best motivation

Here is a student testimonial This is what keeps me going ..these motivating words of my students...


I was enrolled with iGG during my application process where biruda was my mentor. I had also conisidered a couple of other counselling institutions but I found her the most competent and effective.
My journey with her's been phenomenal. A tremendous advantage with IGG is that you can counsel with her online - skipping the hassle of travelling and waiting for appointments with counsellors. I was surprised to see her respond almost instantly to my queries, and there were barely any barriers for accessibility and I could decide the kind of interaction evertime - be it audio call, skype discussion or email conversation.
Another benefit is an extremely well-organized and professional approach. Her guide documents, application planner, shortlisting criteria for universities and mock interviews proved highly beneficial. I loved the way she organized schools of my choice into aspirational and achievable categories. She always worked towards achieving a mid point between my aspirations and the realistic picture. I'm supremely impressed by her systematic guidance and encouraging attitude.
I also highly appreciated her emphasis on a well - rounded application. She never burdened me with unattainable exam goals but instead stressed upon overall grooming and developing strong documents. Her orientation on starting early was an important step which awarded me with sufficient time to build a very strong application and also gave me reaction time incase of set backs. Most schools I applied to very highly competitive and hence being proactive gave me a strong lead.She is abrest with most of the latest courses and universitites/ schools. I was surprised to receive various tips and guidelines about competitive exams, though out of her scope. In short, she is someone who will deliver results and not just talks."

Nazm Singh - Class 2014 MBA Babson 

Hacking the GMAT in 8 days

• This is how I scored a 730 (96th percentile) on the GMAT in 8 days:  The summer before I started my senior year at Northwestern University, I finished my internship and still had a month left.  My brain was getting bored, so I picked up an LSAT book and decided to take the test.   After the first week, I put the book down.  I really did not like that test.  So then I opened up a GMAT book and took a practice test…it was much better.

  I went back to college, and from time to time I would pick up the GMAT book, but never actually spent much time on it.  Then one day, I decided to take the GMAT.  Why?  First, I thought it would be a fun way to test myself.  And second, it wouldn’t hurt to have the GMAT done incase I decided to apply to business school (once you have a job, it will be hard to find time to study).

    I  started reading GMAT forums.  I remember reading everywhere that it took on average 100 hours to master the GMAT.  I took a look at the next day that the GMAT was being offered…it was 8 days later.  I signed up, went to sleep, and woke up the next morning eager to start my 100 hours.

  Why is this guide important?  As soon as I signed up, I looked for a guide for taking the GMAT in 8 days.  No guide was nearly this short.  The shortest course I found was the Manhattan GMAT course during which you stay in a hotel for 2 weeks and learn the GMAT non-stop. 

  Materials to purchase (*):

  • Official GMAT Guide
  • Official GMAT Quant Guide
  • Official GMAT Verbal Guide
  • Official GMAT Integrated Response CD
  • Manhattan GMAT
    • Algebra GMAT Strategy Guide
    • Fractions, Decimals and Percentages GMAT Strategy Guide
    • Number Properties GMAT Strategy Guide
    • Word Problems GMAT Strategy Guide

  * Purchase all of these in e-book format.  On the actual test, you are going to be looking up at the computer, down at your paper, and then back up at the computer.  Get in the habit of doing that by using electronic books.  Additionally, time is a huge constraint; you need your books NOW.  Getting them electronically is a massive advantage as you can get them in seconds.  Personally, I downloaded all of mine off of Kindle.  Oh and also, since it was on my Kindle, I could pull up textbooks on my phone and study while commuting on trains or busses!

  The test is broken down into 4 parts:

  1. Essay

  • You analyze an argument

  2. Integrated Response

  • Mix of quant and verbal

  3. Quantitative

  • Data sufficiency
  • Problem solving

  4. Verbal

  • Reading comprehension
  • Critical reasoning
  • Sentence correction

  First, forget the essay.  At the time I took the test, most business schools had publically stated that they didn’t care about the essay.  And literally, the only prep I did for the essay was the night before I took the test.  I went through about 20 essays (both in the official guide and the Manhattan GMAT guide) that had scored a perfect 6 out of 6, realized that they all had the same format, memorized the format, and reproduced that on the test the next day.  Sure, I only got a 5/6 on the essay, but when you only have 8 days, every second of study time is valuable. I have typed up my essay notes below:

  Essay (formally referred to as the Analytical Writing Assessment):

  1. Identify/ Summarize the evidence +conclusion
  2. List the flaws (3 to 5)

            a) Cause and Effect

                i. Conclude that x causes y when y causes

                ii. Conclude that x causes y when y causes x

            b) Statistical

                i. Sample is not representative of the entire population

                ii. Conclusion does not match statistics

       3. Analogy

                i. Not enough similarities to draw conclusions

       4. Other

                i. Unsubstantiated assumptions

                ii. Vague words: some, many, few

                iii. Ignoring supply+demand fundamentals

                iv. Drawing a strong conclusion based on weak evidence

       5. Find 1 or 2 ways to strengthen the argument

       6. Choose the top 2 to 4 flaws -> write essay

       7. Proofread

  Essay outline:

  1. Tell what you are going to say
  2. Say it
  3. Tell ‘em what you told ‘em

  Intro:

  • First sentence: paraphrase argument and state that it is flawed.
    • General Format: The author concludes x based on y, however…
    • Second sentence: In drawing this conclusion, the author not only fails to X, but also Y, furthermore, the author Z’s.

  2nd Paragraph (biggest flaw)

  • State your point
  • Elaborate and/or provide examples
  • Explain why this indicates a weakness

  3rd and 4th paragraph

  • Repeat what you did in the second paragraph

  Last paragraph

  • Explain how the argument can be strengthened
  • Suggest ways in which we can evaluate the conclusion
  • State that the argument is flawed
    • General format, “As it stands, however, the argument is flawed for the reasons indicated.”

  GENERAL ESSAY NOTES:

  • Keep it simple- it’s a computer program and a person grading (and they only take 2 minutes to read your essay)
  • Time management
    • 5 to 7 on discussion points
    • 20 minutes writing
    • 3 to 5 proof reading
    • Vary length of sentences
    • Use transition words generously
      • ex: first, second, third, therefore, additionally, consequently, because, since, finally, similarly, conversely
      • Don’t refer to yourself

  Integrated Response

   For this section, I would only do the practice problems from the official guide.  Make sure you do the ones in the book, as well as the problems that come on their CD (it comes with the book).  I did both the official guide and the Manhattan GMAT guide.  I simply just learned way more from the official guide questions.  And unfortunately, I lost the CD with the additional practice questions :(

  When I took the test, most of the top business schools had publicly stated that they did not care about the IR section (Harvard Business School said that they would still consider it).  This was because the IR section was brand new when I took the GMAT.  Therefore, business schools didn’t have historical data to evaluate IR scores.

  Quantitative:

  2 sections

  • Problem Solving: basically like normal multiple choice
  • Data Sufficiency: you are given two statements, and you need to decide which of them are true (this type of question is unique to the GMAT)

  Both quantitative sections test fundamentally the same skills: your ability to do math, so I will address them both at once.  Doing well on the quantitative portion comes down to how many practice problems you have done.  The more problems you work through, the more likely it is that those same problems will show up on your actual test.  Don’t waste your time with the lessons.  Learn which problems you really don’t know by trying to do them and working through them with the answer key.  To cut down on time, start at the end of the Official GMAT Quantitative guide and work backwards.  Questions at the end are generally harder, so you will learn faster.

  I first started with the syllabus that the Manhattan GMAT instructor had given me.  It had lessons and then practice questions selected from the GMAT guide and the Manhattan practice books.  After the 3rd day of working through the syllabus, I knew I would not finish in time for the test, so I only worked on official GMAT math problems for the rest of the time.  One of the biggest takeaways that I got from doing both the Manhattan math problems and the official GMAT math problems was that the official math questions were much more accurate and helpful in terms of what was actually on the test. On the other hand, Manhattan solutions to problems usually showed faster and simpler methods to solving similar problems.

  Another key strategy is to use Khan Academy.  There are going to be times when you are burned out from working through problems.  When this happens, open Khan Academy and navigate to the GMAT page.  There I found that he had recorded himself working through every math problem in the old GMAT official guide.  This is extremely useful, since you can see someone work through problems and explain step by step what they are doing and why.  This was probably the best tool for quickly learning the math section that I used.

  Along the way, you may realize that you forgot how to long divide or multiply two numbers.  You will also realize that it is easy to miscount zero’s and decimal places.  You have been warned.

  Random notes on the Math Topics:

  • Ratios
    • You will see these a ton.  They are very easy to make a simple mistake on.
    • Factors and Multiples
      • You need to memorize divisibility rules
        • Ex: A number is divisible by 9 if the sum of the digits is divisible by 9
  • You need to memorize the square of 1 through 20
  • Rates
    • These probably gave me the most difficulty.  Drawing a picture of the problem helped.
    • Systems of Equations
      • Most times, this means just plugging one equation into the other
      • Overlapping Sets      
        • Quickly draw and label a Venn diagram
        • Right Triangles
          • There will be a bunch of rules listed on these in both the Mahnattan GMAT book and the Official GMAT book.  You need to memorize all of these.
          • Inequalities
            • Rearrange the inequality
            • Exponents
              • There will be a bunch of rules listed on these in both the Mahnattan GMAT book and the Official GMAT book.  You need to memorize all of these.
              • Percentages
                • If you have trouble on these, draw a box and shade in the appropriate percentages so you can visually see the problem
                • Coordinate Geometry
                  • Draw stuff and count spaces carefully

  Verbal – use the official guide

  • Reading comprehension
    • First, skim the questions so that you know what you are looking for
    • Read it like it is a story.  Understand the general flow of the logic, and write a small note next to paragraphs so that you can quickly reference paragraphs when answering questions
    • Critical reasoning
      • Just do a bunch of these.  Take all the ones you got wrong, and go over them with a friend.  This is important because when you initially try to solve the problem, you will create a line of logic in your head that makes sense to you.  It is hard for you to change your line of logic without someone else helping you to think differently
      • Sentence correction
        • Both the Official GMAT Guide and the Manhattan GMAT Guide will have a list of common sentence corrections that you will have to look for.  I have reproduced my outline of this section below:

  Types of Errors:

  • Misplaced modifier
    • Misplaced
      • Modifier is placed far away from subject, thereby not modifying it
  • Dangling
    • Not really clear what it is modifying
    • Ex: I got some tips for how to protect myself from the police.
  • Squinting
    • Modifier may modify 2 different subjects
    • Ex: Students who miss classes frequently fail the course
    • Pronouns do not agree
    • Improper comparison
    • Wrong subject/verb agreement
    • Wrong verb tense
    • Improper sentence structure
    • Incorrect idiom: You simply need to memorize these.  I have listed common idioms below to kick start you…
      • between: 2 people
      • among: 3 people
      • fewer: a specific #, ex: fewer children (countable nouns)
      • less than: a continuous quantity, ex: less devastation (quantities)
      • farther: distance
      • further: degree
      • contrast A withB
      • dated at
      • responsibility to
      • same to A as to B
      • so A as to be B
      • much: used for an uncountable quantity, such as rain
      • many: used for a countable quantity, such as people
      • aid in

  Other tid-bits:

  • Where you study is important:  Fortunately, my girlfriend lived about a minute away from my house.  When I studied, I would only take my GMAT material to her place and study at her desk.  She would do work directly behind me.  Therefore, anytime I felt like taking a break, there was someone behind me to call me out on checking E-mail or Facebook.  This held me accountable and helped me to stay focused.
  • Diet:  While studying for the test, I was on the Ketogenic diet.  I’m not sure how this affected my mental performance, but having cut out carbohydrates, I did feel like my energy was lacking at certain points in my study marathon.  On the other hand, it greatly simplified my choice of food, so I put almost no mental effort into choosing my food.  Maybe this helped me focus on the GMAT more?  I don’t know.
  • Signing uphere:  If you are going to take the GMAT seriously, you need to sign up.  If there is no deadline (test date) and you haven’t paid the $250 to take the test, it is going to be much harder to motivate yourself.  Sign up here.

  Wrap-up:

  At one point, I wanted to stop because life got boring.  I would literally study all day and eat really plain food (because of the Ketogenic diet).  However, during the last day of studying, I felt abnormally happy.  I had come to appreciate the test since I had spent so much time learning it.  The strategy written above for hacking the GMAT in 8 days worked for me.  I wrote this post so that I could help others hack the GMAT in 8 days, so if you think I could add value to this post in any way, please let me know and I will do my best to help.

  Source : taken from a student's blog