How To Effectively Prepare For The Online GMAT
The Graduate Management Admissions Council recently decided to make the online GMAT a permanent option.
Originally introduced at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the at-home GMAT was meant to be a temporary solution to shuttered in-person test centers. After multiple extensions to cutoff dates, GMAC decided to ultimately make the at-home exam a permanent solution.
Testing at-home can have both its advantages and disadvantages, from cheaper testing fees to increased distractions at home. Business Insider recently spoke to testing experts and instructors on how applicants can best prepare for the online GMAT.
IMPORTANT RULES TO NOTE
One of the key rules to note about the at-home GMAT is that candidates are only allowed two GMAT online exam attempts. All online exam attempts will count towards a candidate’s five GMAT exam attempts during a rolling 12-month period and eight total limits.
With differences in each test takers’ at-home environments, GMAC requires all test takers to meet minimum system requirements and minimum acceptance workplace standards for its online exam. External, connected devices such as monitors, extended keyboards, writing tablets, a touchscreen stylus, or any other similar on-screen writing devices are all banned from at-home test taking environments.
“The biggest thing GMAT takers at home should know is: Always be ‘head up’ and look at the screen during the test,” Ibrahim Firat, the founder of Firat Education, tells Business Insider. “In the event that their heads are down for some time, there is a chance the proctor may cancel his/her test.”
Additionally, online GMAT test takers are required to use an online whiteboard feature that records written notes to the proctor. Experts stress the importance of prepping for the exam without physical pen to paper notes.
“My best guess is that, on average, test takers will need a couple of weeks to get to the point where they can do everything they need to do using the online whiteboard,” Stacey Koprince, content and curriculum lead at Manhattan Prep, tells Business Insider. “It’s true that I only had about 72 hours to get used to the online whiteboard before I took the official GMAT, but I’ve been working with this exam for two decades. It’s likely that students will need longer than I took. And, frankly, I could have made good use of another couple of days.”
UTILIZE PRACTICE TESTS STRATEGICALLY
Not all GMAT practice tests are created equally. GMAC has two official GMAT practice tests available for free to test takers. These two practice tests are designed to match the real exam’s format. But test takers can also choose to prepare using practice tests prepared by test-prep companies. Experts say that practice tests from test-prep companies may not be an accurate indicator of your real score.
“The reason is that the test-prep companies generally make their test harder than the actual test in order to better prepare their clients,” Ingram tells Business Insider.
When it comes to practice tests, experts generally recommend starting with the GMAC practice exam as a baseline to see where your strengths and weaknesses lie. It’s important to take the baseline practice test prior to studying in order to give yourself an accurate representation of where your performance stands.
“This will replicate the test setting at home and give you a good idea about what adjustments you need to make at home prior to taking the official test,” Firat tells Business Insider.
After getting a baseline of where you stand, experts recommend highlighting your strengths and weaknesses and moving onto test-prep resources and programs to improve.
“After four weeks of solid work on the above steps, review for one week, take practice test two, and repeat the steps above for another four to six weeks, but more targeted and focused,” Firat tells Business Insider.
Sources: Business Insider, P&Q, GMAC
Booth faculty member heading to class
What Chicago Booth Looks For In Its MBA Interview
The University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business had an estimated acceptance rate of 25% for its 2020 full-time MBA program.
Booth placed at number two in P&Q’s Top Business Schools ranking for 2020 and consistently ranks amongst the top 10. It’s safe to say that the B-school doesn’t admit just anyone. Booth specifically seeks out applicants who can benefit from and contribute to its flexible approach to the MBA and data-driven philosophy.
Bill Kooser, MBA Admissions consultant and Director at Fortuna Admissions and former Booth Associate Dean, recently wrote about what applicants should expect from Booth’s MBA interview and how to best prepare.
HOW BOOTH INTERVIEWS WORK
Booth MBA interviewers will only review your resume prior to your interview.
“The thinking is that this allows for conversation to flow more organically, as you and the interview get to know one another,” Kooser writes.
Community is important at Booth. The school enlists current students and alumni to conduct MBA admissions interviews (which are now done virtually due to COVID-19). Interviews generally last anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes. Kooser says the typical Booth interview consists of the following flow:
- Resume and work-related
- Specific behavioral examples/questions
- Personal fit-related
- Prompt to ask questions of the interviewer
“Similar to the Stanford GSB interview, Booth favors behavioral style questions, operating from the conviction that past behavior is the best predictor of future performance,” Kooser writes. “With these types of questions, your interviewer will be delving for very specific examples of what you did – along with why, what was going through your mind at the time, the impact on others, and the outcome.”
Once your interview is complete, the interviewers sends a report and your admissions file to an admissions team member, who offers one of three recommendations: admit, deny, or review. Lastly, the admissions director ultimately makes a final decision.
GO BEYOND YOUR RESUME
Kooser outlines a sample of behavior style questions that applicants may expect in their Booth interview. Most importantly, applicants should remember to go beyond their resume and offer more details during the interview.
“Use the interview to highlight areas of your personal and professional life that are not already represented in your application,” Kooser writes. “Walk me through your resume’ is a common opening question, however, be especially careful in responding; your interviewer has already seen your resume and is looking to glean more depth from you than a professional history timeline.”
Additionally, applicants should prepare by thoroughly reviewing Booth’s values and approach to the MBA and aligning their own values and goals.
“Remember that the purpose of the interview is to establish a connection with the person across the table (or the video channel), and to convince them of why you are a good ‘fit’ with Chicago Booth,” Kooser writes.
Sources: Fortuna Admissions, Poets & Quants, Poets & Quants
A Majority of MBA Grads Want Lifelong Learning, Study Finds
MBA grads are looking to continue their education post B-school.
A new study by the Association of MBAs (AMBA) and Business Graduates Association (BGA) polled 2,110 MBA grads and found that more than a third have accessed lifelong learning post-MBA from their B-school. Lifelong learning opportunities are defined by AMBA & BGA as courses, modules and other initiatives related to MBA study that graduates can complete or attend after completing their MBA and throughout their careers.
“Business changes continually, as do individual career paths, so in a volatile world MBAs must keep abreast of evolving trends and issues constantly, and make sure they are nurturing and enhancing the skills they need continuously, in order to succeed in their career trajectories,” David Woods-Hale, Director of Marketing and Communications at AMBA & BGA, says.
LIFELONG LEARNING
The B-school landscape has evolved over the years to offer students more options to the MBA including flexible and cheaper degrees. But lifelong learning has also been an option that’s seen a growth in demand amongst students and grads.
Harvard Business School and Columbia Business School are a few of the top B-schools that have recently begun adding certificates and lifelong learning to their program offerings. At HBS, lifelong learning consists of alumni access to exclusive insights, training, and support from faculty and the fellow alumni community. Whether through case discussions or virtual programming, HBS alumni are given a variety of resources to continue learning well past graduation.
The AMBA & BGA study found that almost three quarters of surveyed MBA alumni who had taken part in postgraduate lifelong learning opportunities from B-schools said they were either ‘very satisfied’ (32%) or ‘fairly satisfied’ (41%), with what they had completed or attended.
Amongst lifelong learning opportunities, MBA grads seem to be most interested in tech-related refreshers. The most popular topic cited by respondents was data analytics for managers (47%), which were closely followed by digital strategy (45%). Other popular topics among survey participants, included strategy execution (42%), global leadership (41%), and global strategy (39%).
POST-MBA SATISFACTION
Despite the growing demand for lifelong learning opportunities, a majority of MBA grads appear satisfied with their careers post-MBA.
71% of the MBA grads polled by AMBA & BGA were either ‘very satisfied’ or ‘fairly satisfied’ with the impact that their MBAs had had on their careers to date.
When asked to reflect upon their MBA experience and what areas could be improved upon, 54% of grads said they would have liked ‘more networking opportunities’; 37% would have liked ‘more knowledge and skills specifically to help them start a new business’; 34% would have liked ‘more content on how to run a profitable business’; and 31% would have liked ‘content that was more appropriate to the industry in which they work’.
“If 2020 has taught us anything, it is that business continuity and success depends on leaders who know what they want to achieve and understand how they can make a difference in the world,” Woods-Hale, of AMBA & BGA, says.
Sources: Association of MBAs, The Wall Street Journal, Harvard Business School
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