Recently we had the opportunity to talk to students who were having difficulty with GMAT Verbal Critical Reasoning questions. Often, they tended to run into issues when the first GMAT Verbal Critical Reasoning question showed.

One mistake that a lot of students on the GMAT test in this situation is that they look at the argument too soon. This may not make a lot of sense, but it can really hurt your chances of solving the Critical Reasoning question when you take the GMAT test. On Critical Reasoning question, looking at the argument is not the first thing we should do. The first thing we should do is read the question stem.

After reading the question stem, we can understand the type of question we’re about to solve. For example, we can find out if this is the Assumption question or weaken the Conclusion GMAT test question. Furthermore, some GMAT question stems provide additional information beyond the basic question.

To summarize this strategy for solving GMAT Critical Reasoning questions:

(1) Read the GMAT question stem first. First find the question type and if there is more information, then use it to help you find the conclusion as quickly as you can.

(2) After you’ve found the GMAT question type, tell yourself what you need to do on GMAT questions like these

(3) Anticipate. If there are certain GMAT question traps you tend to take, understand why you tend to make those GMAT test mistakes and make sure not to make them.

We hope this was of help in preparing for the GMAT Critical Reasoning Questions.

Your Candidacy:  Community Service/Extracurricular Activities

Business schools pride themselves on training future leaders, not just educating a bunch of people who know how to calculate an IRR and overuse the word “leverage.”  They look out for individuals who are concerned about doing great work and improving the world around them.  Some young business people feel that even though they have not prioritized “extracurricular” activities early in their careers, they will definitely emphasize these sorts of activities once they are more established.  However, more often than not, the patterns we establish towards community activities early in our careers remain fairly steady.  If you feel that your commitment over the last several years to outside causes does not reflect the balance you want to establish in your life…well, put your money where your mouth is and get involved.

Leverage your interests

Why are extracurricular activities important to begin with?

• They show that an individual is multi-dimensional.  They demonstrate interests, passions, and personality.
• Being involved outside of work shows that you can balance multiple commitments.
• They can show that you have a larger view of the world – that you see what is happening outside of your office and you are interested in being involved and contributing in some way.
• They make you a more interesting person – someone that can contribute to the diversity and vitality of a class and alumni network.
• It’s an opportunity to demonstrate qualities such as creativity, leadership, teamwork, communication skills, and initiative.

If you haven’t been participating in outside activities, look up a few opportunities on the internet and get involved next weekend.  It’s really as simple as that, to be honest.  Candidates who get involved even early in the year they apply will have a six- or even nine-month track record by the time apps are due.  Or, if you have been involved with outside activities over the last couple of years, consider stepping your activities up a notch.

When thinking about ways to become more involved, don’t get hung up on traditional volunteer work.  There are many, many ways to become involved and highlight your unique contributions.  A good place to start is with your own interests and passions.  Think hard about what excites you, and how you can leverage those interests.

Founded in 2001, Stacy Blackman Consulting has helped thousands of MBA applicants gain admission to the most selective business schools in the world.  The Stacy Blackman team, comprised of MBA graduates, former admissions officers and expert writers, editors and marketers, helps clients develop and implement a winning marketing strategy.  Stacy Blackman clients have a significantly increased probability of admission to top schools and are frequent recipients of merit scholarships.  The company is regularly featured in publications such as BusinessWeek, the Wall Street Journal and the Economist.   Visit the Stacy Blackman blog for daily news updates and admissions tips, and check out the company’s e-publications for more in depth school by school guidance.

Recently we had the opportunity to talk to students who were having difficulty with GMAT Verbal Critical Reasoning questions. Often, they tended to run into issues when the first GMAT Verbal Critical Reasoning questions showed.

One mistake that a lot of students on the GMAT test in this situation is that they look at the argument too soon. This may not make a lot of sense, but it can really hurt your chances of solving the Critical Reasoning question when you take the GMAT test. On Critical Reasoning question, looking at the argument is not the first thing we should do. The first thing we should do is read the question stem.

After reading the question stem, we can understand the type of question we’re about to solve. For example, we can find out if this is the Assumption question or weaken the Conclusion GMAT test question. Furthermore, some GMAT question stems provide additional information beyond the basic question.

To summarize this strategy for solving GMAT Critical Reasoning questions:

(1) Read the GMAT question stem first. First find the question type and if there is more information, then use it to help you find the conclusion as quickly as you can.

(2) After you’ve found the GMAT question type, tell yourself what you need to do on GMAT questions like these

(3) Anticipate. If there are certain GMAT question traps you tend to take, understand why you tend to make those GMAT test mistakes and make sure not to make them.

We hope this was of help in preparing for the GMAT Critical Reasoning Questions.

If you are just beginning to study for the GMAT test and feeling a bit nervous about your ability to solve the math problems, then you can take it easy on the first few GMAT practice questions that you practice. You shouldn’t time yourself on every question. On the other hand, if you do feel comfortable with the GMAT Math Practice Questions, then you should aim for 2-2.5 minutes on every GMAT Math practice problem you do. If you can’t do this, then work on the problem, review the explanation; go over it with a tutor, until you are able to. Don’t ever forget that the GMAT test is a beatable exam.

At a certain point, you will be able to solve each GMAT Math Question in 120 seconds. This will great improve your ability to score well on the GMAT test. The two minutes that used to fly by will last a little longer for you, and completing each problem in that amount of time will happen much easier. You will see your score on the GMAT test improve.

Lastly, you’ll learn to recognize different types of GMAT Math questions. This should occur immediately, and not after you’ve worked on them for several minutes. When you finally do take the GMAT test, that skill is as valuable as any other time-management technique, because you need to skip those GMAT Math questions. Best of luck on the GMAT test. We think you will do great.

Improve Your Candidacy, Then Improve Your Application

For people applying to major business schools, October, November, and December will inevitably be months filled with typing, spell-checking, typing, editing, typing, proofreading…and then some more typing.  But (depending on your deadline) July, August and even September can be very fruitful months both for your professional development and for improving your business school application – or, more precisely, for improving your business school candidacy.  While many b-school aspirants see the spring and summer solely as a time to take a GMAT prep course, it can actually be the best time to begin planning for the application – and more importantly, to identify the elements of your candidacy that you wish to improve.  Two easy ways to bolster your overall candidacy (before the final rush of the fall and winter when you are immersed in writing essays and compiling application materials) are to seek new responsibilities at work, and use travel to expand your personal and professional horizons.  In the coming weeks we will tackle the many ways to bolster candidacy; below we discuss work and travel.

Seek Out New Responsibilities at Work

Applicants who take stock of their professional accomplishments in the months ahead of their application process may just end up seeing some holes.  Scratch that: they will always see holes.  Filling holes is what getting an MBA is all about.  But we want to make sure we have demonstrated some skill and capability for growth in the areas we have targeted for our future careers.  Sometimes, it makes sense to make progress in these areas before business school.  Even just a couple of assignments in a new area can confirm that you are indeed interested and that you have the capacity to achieve at a high level in the future.

Travel

You’ve worked hard the last several years.  You’re going to spend a ton of hours cooped up studying for that pesky GMAT, and in the fall you’re going to spend 50 to 100 hours in front of your computer writing and editing essays.  You deserve a vacation.  But instead of just making a quick jaunt to Vegas for golf and gambling, consider planning a vacation with a dual agenda of fun and personal enrichment.  Injecting a bit of a learning agenda into your trip can expand your personal horizons, help more fully define your career objectives, and provide you more material for essays and interviews.

Founded in 2001, Stacy Blackman Consulting has helped thousands of MBA applicants gain admission to the most selective business schools in the world.  The Stacy Blackman team, comprised of MBA graduates, former admissions officers and expert writers, editors and marketers, helps clients develop and implement a winning marketing strategy.  Stacy Blackman clients have a significantly increased probability of admission to top schools and are frequent recipients of merit scholarships.  The company is regularly featured in publications such as BusinessWeek, the Wall Street Journal and the Economist.   Visit the Stacy Blackman blog for daily news updates and admissions tips, and check out the company’s e-publications for more in depth school by school guidance.

You may end up facing some tough concepts on the GMAT Verbal Questions on the GMAT test. Don’t be too worried about these concepts though. The following is some help on how to solve these practice GMAT verbal questions when dealing with colon’s.

1). To begin, a colon is often used to introduce a list at the very end of sentence

An example of this is: John’s home has four rooms: a kitchen, a dining room, a bedroom, and porch.

2). Additionally, a colon can be used to introduce an example related to something that had just been brought up.

An example of this is: The man had only one desire: to see his bank account.

3). On GMAT Verbal questions, a colon is used to introduce a quote.

4). On GMAT Verbal questions, a colon is also used after the salutation in a letter

5). A colon can be used to seperate hours from minutes when the time is written.

There are also times when a colon will be misused on the GMAT Test. Here are some examples:

1). On the GMAT verbal questions, don’t use a colon after such as or including

An example of this is: All of the old people were there, including : X, Y, Z, and A

2). On the GMAT verbal questions, don’t use a colon directly after a form of verb be

The three most popular mucisians of classical music, according to the news, are : Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven.

3). On the GMAT verbal questions, don’t use a colon between a verb and its object or between a preposition and its object.

The family went to: United States, Montreal, and Quebec.

We sincerely hope this was of help to you on your GMAT Verbal Questions. Best of luck on your GMAT Test and on the GMAT Verbal Questions.

Today we’re going to discuss the GMAT Verbal Question regarding “Ago” and “Since”. There is a good chance that you’ll end up seeing this on the GMAT test.

When facing GMAT test questions on “Ago” and “Since”, understand that both of these words are talking about the past, and often they can be exchanged for one another. This can make it tricky on the GMAT Test.

For the word “Ago”; this is referring to the present to current day. This word is used after the word or phrase it is referring to.

An example of this is: The mother gave birth a few minutes ago.

When dealing with the word “Since” on the GMAT test, understand that this is referring to the past to the present. It is used with the present or past perfect tense.

An example of this is: Karen hasn’t eaten since dinner.

We sincerely hope this was of help to you on your GMAT Verbal Questions. Best of luck on the GMAT Test!

Unfortunately, when you are dealing with GMAT Verbal Questions, you are likely to across the following GMAT Verbal Questions. The following is regarding the different between “Aim To” and “Aim At.”

When looking at the words “Aim to” make sure to understand that the GMAT Verbal definition is to try or intend to do something.

An example of this is: Mcdonald’s aims to please customers.

You should include a verb after “Aim To”.

Separately, when looking at the word “Aim At”, understand that the GMAT Verbal Test definition of this is to plan, intend or to have as one’s purpose,

An example of this is: In his last presentation the Senator took aim at the opposition country.

We sincerely hope this was of help to you on your GMAT Verbal Preparation. Be sure to follow up if you have any other questions on GMAT Verbal Preparation Advice.

Here is some GMAT Verbal question advice on when to use “Less” and “Fewer.” These two words can cause a lot of trouble for many people, but we hope this GMAT Verbal Question advice helps. It is so critical to learn and memorize these grammatical errors, as they will continue to show up on the GMAT test. If you are looking for more advice for GMAT Verbal Questions, visit this GMAT Verbal Question Advice link.

1). What separates the words “Less” and “Fewer”

Less is used often before objects that cannot be counted.

An example of this is: Derek makes less money than you.

The word “Fewer” is used right before nouns that are greater than 1

An example of this is: The teacher has got fewer issues than her used to have.

2). When dealing with the words “Less of” and “fewer of”, recognize that these words are often determined by the words before them.

An example of this is: At the high school reunions, there are fewer of us each decade.

When look a nouns that do not have determiners before them, remember that these words do not use “of.”

An example of this is: If you want to lose fat, eat less meat. (Do not say: less of meat)
3). Additionally, nouns can be not included after less and fewer if the meaning of the sentence is obvious.

An example of this is: Some people go to WalMart, but less/fewer than 20 years ago

4). Lesser is often used to mean “smaller”

An example of this is: the lesser of two evils.

We sincerely hope this was of help to you. Remember to keep studying hard on these GMAT Verbal Questions; you’re going to go great on the GMAT test. If you have any questions for GMAT Verbal Questions, feel free to reach out.

GMAT Verbal Questions can be very difficult. Most of us realize how difficult these can be and how important it is is to understand specific grammatical rules. The following is a GMAT question explanation on the difference between “Among” and “Between” in GMAT verbal questions.

1) When using the word between, it should be with two items.

An example of this is: Tim was standing between Stef and Adam.
2) Some more information you should know about this GMAT Verbal Grammatical Rule: Between can be used to talk about distances as well as the prior mention.

An example of this is: He will be at home between six and ten.

3) Additionally, you should use the word “Between” before each.

An example of the following rule is: There seems to be less and less food between each dinner.

4) For the word “Among”, you should use this with three or more items.

An example of this is: Terry divided her wealth among her three daughters.

5) Remember that you should between when something is between several separated things. You should use among when something is in a group that cannot be seen distinctively.

An example of this is: My house is between the trees, the beach and the town.

We sincerely hope that this was of help to you. If you are interested in reading about more GMAT verbal advice, be sure to stay tuned.