5 essential GMAT study tips every student must know

To do your best on the GMAT exam, you will not need magic tricks or secrets, but only a study plan and timely preparation. Studying well for GMAT will not only help you secure a good score on the test but also help you in building valuable skills for future studies. After the pre planning as mentioned in the previous post, it's time to costume up and take a deep dive into the ocean!

Time Table

Remember how as kids we used to make a timetable, stick it on the wall and forget its existence? Well this is some what like that, with just a tad bit of difference. Don't stick it to your wall, stick it in your brain! There’s nothing better than having a chart out plan of days left for exam and topics to cover. Plan it in a way that you prioritize chapters and concepts that are your weaknesses. Not only will it help you increase efficiency in your studies but will also give you mind peace. A calm mind yields better results in an examination hall than a chaotic one.

Progress Brick upon Brick

Ever seen someone constructing the 10th floor of the building before even starting with the ground floor? This is the most common mistake that students usually commit, with an attitude of “If i can solve the most difficult question, then my entire concept is clear”. However appealing and short this method sounds, it will not really take you too far.

Start with easier questions in the beginning. But again, the definition of easy and difficult is relative to every individual. Be your own judge for questions according to the results obtained in the practice test that you took in the beginning. Master these questions before you move on to the next difficulty level.

Mix it up!

When you solve questions belonging to the same chapter at one time, you already know what kind of question or what concept type you're gonna face ahead. Questions in GMAT are not so straightforward. They are such that would need multiple concepts to solve. So when you're done with a set of concepts, it is advisable to mix up the questions for further practicing.

Read the questions properly.

Don't just skim through the questions, make it a habit to read the questions thoroughly. At times the language of the question is tricky and you might end up selecting the wrong answer even when you were familiar with the concept.

Overshoot the target score!

Don't overestimate the GMAT prep results. Students have been found experiencing an increase or decrease in their score by an average of 30 marks. Aim for the score that is 50 more than your target score. Keep practicing until you’ve reached your target!

But the most important thing of all is, don't try to cover everything under the sun. Visit those problems that you think you know. You will be surprised by how many concepts we take for granted. Time every Practice session and every question that you solve, because a correct answer is as important as getting it in the right amount of time.

Hope this article helped you in building your confidence and develop a winning approach.

About Skill Maestro At Skill Maestro, We guide prospective students about the entire application process as well as suitable universities as per their profile/test scores. We have consulted dozens of prospective students for MIS across the globe. We have a physical presence in Indore where we also help students prepare for GRE, GMAT & SAT Follow Us  on Google+!

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5 tips to start your GMAT preparation on a right note

With GMAT comes loads of career opportunities, given that you score well. The GMAT test has a marked difficulty level that takes diligent practicing over a period of time. But it does not just include practicing, but also expanding and consolidating knowledge over this said period of time that should be ideally dedicated to the preparation for the test. If you are a novice or a stagnant test taker, then you might want to make best utilization of the time at hand and get your best score. To ensure that, a few things are a must before you dip your toe in the water.

Know about the exam

For the beginners, learning everything about the test is the most essential step of all. Get thorough with the basic facts about GMAT and the way it is conducted. The official website for GMAT also provides a lot of resources and can be used for strategizing the preparation for the test.

Weightage to all four sections of the test is unequal for calculating the final score. Even the marks provided for essay writing are reported separately from the GMAT score. So instead of solving endless sample questions, one should prepare for the test in an organised and strategic manner.

Determine the right time to appear for the test

A high portion of deciding this depends on when you plan to attend graduate business school. Explore various programs and check for their application deadlines and required minimum GMAT score. Take such date for the test that is not too close to the application deadlines. Start your preparation keeping in mind the required score and the GMAT test date.

Take a practice test

A practice test before you even begin with your preparations sure is intimidating, but it's the best way to know where you stand and how far you have to travel to reach your desired score. There are a lot of practice tests available, but the one you choose should be a full length computer based test which is timed in the same way the actual GMAT test is. Because of the test, you'll get a clear view of the types of mistakes you make or the types of questions that you make most of the mistakes in. Also you'll know the speed with which you're working on each question, because solving the question in a set period of time is as important as getting the correct answer for it.

Strength and Weaknesses

The practice test will give you an idea of your strength and weaknesses. Analyze your score in verbal and quant and see for areas that might be the reason you're losing out on the score. While you work on the questions that are your weaknesses, make sure that you time it out. As the actual test is timed, practicing questions on the clock will benefit you more.

Study Plan

Plan your studies according to the target score and time available at hand. The most efficient study plan would be the one which is regular and consistent. Remember that quality>quantity, so solve questions that target your weaknesses. Grasping concepts is also more important than just solving the questions, which means cramming your studies in the few weeks before exam will not yield you your best result. 

Try studying on computer based programs so that you get habitual of solving sums over the screen, rather than jotting everything down on the paper which is very time consuming. A structural progression is always better than a haphazard one. Hope this post succeeded to fuel your preparation for the GMAT test.

About Skill Maestro At Skill Maestro, We guide prospective students about the entire application process as well as suitable universities as per their profile/test scores. We have consulted dozens of prospective students for MIS across the globe. We have a physical presence in Indore where we also help students prepare for GRE, GMAT & SAT Follow Us  on Google+!

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How to Start Building Your Profile for Applying for MS programs abroad

Is getting into a top notch foreign university for your masters’ program your dream? Well, dreams are easier to achieve when you have a beforehand fair idea about how to prepare yourself for the journey. Most students aspiring for an MS do not have sufficient knowledge of what universities expect in their profiles, and it is quite disheartening when they face multiple rejects from universities. In this post, therefore, we list a few tips on how you can start building your profile for applying for a masters’ program abroad.

Identify your USP and start building relevant achievements

In order to make your application powerful, you can identify your USP/strengths and start towards building relevant achievements in that particular area. This helps give the admissions committee a direction to build an impression of you and provides consistency to your application. At the same time, it also proves that you are passionate about that thing and are determined to perform more and more.

For example, if you have good oratory skills, you can start participating in various MUN Conferences (Model United Nations), parliamentary debates etc. Or say, if you have good leadership skills or an entrepreneurial streak, you could engage yourself in organizing community services or an NGO or initiating a club in your college etc. Whatever you choose upon, make sure you work meticulously on building that particular thing. You can then use these details of your resume in writing powerful Statement of Purpose (SOP) and also ask your professors to highlight the same points in your Letter of Recommendations (LOR)

Internship at a prestigious organization

An internship or any sort of work experience at an organization that has a challenging and competitive process of selection can add on very strongly to your application. This gives the admissions committee an insight that you are dynamic enough to get selected into an organization whose recruitment process was highly competitive.

Certificate Courses

Taking up recognized certificate courses can help in the admissions committee viewing your application in a positive light. It gives the indication that you are committed to learning even outside the classroom and are curious and determined enough to learn more and more. So you can consider taking up relevant certificate courses or even online MOOCs, whenever you have holidays or free time.

Publishing research papers

This can be an extremely strong add on to your profile, and can make your profile look really robust. Publishing research papers in reputed journals is not everyone’s cup of tea and if you manage to publish one, you could strongly increase your chances of being selected. This gives the admissions committee the outlook that you have research interests and are capable of academic writing, and thus, could be a potential asset for their university.

Thus, having listed these four important tips, we are sure that if you start working assiduously on these guidelines, you can create a robust application for applying abroad. And along with this, if you also manage to get a good test score, you are certainly good to go!

About Skill Maestro At Skill Maestro, We guide prospective students about the entire application process as well as suitable universities as per their profile/test scores. We have consulted dozens of prospective students for MIS across the globe. We have a physical presence in Indore where we also help students prepare for GRE, GMAT & SAT Follow Us  on Google+!

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4 Biggest Mistakes that people make while preparing for the GRE

Are you aiming for a really high GRE score? A critical factor in ensuring your success on the GRE is knowing what not to do. Skill Maestro lists 4 common mistakes that most people commit while preparing for the GRE. Avoiding these mistakes can help you streamline your time and efforts more judiciously, which can be a significant score booster.

Last minute preparation

Many GRE aspirants slack most of their early preparation time and try becoming a ‘samurai’ in the last few weeks. Most of them think that working under pressure might increase their productivity. This is, however, a common fallacy. That’s because GRE is an aptitude based exam and not some undergraduate college exam where full swing last minute prep can help you ace the exam. GRE requires tacts and tricks to crack it. You cannot expect last minute prep to help you crack the GRE. Preparing for the GRE is a process.  If you want to crack it, you need to be methodical right from the beginning. Remember, cracking the GRE is a skill that you can acquire if you give yourself sufficient time. 

Focusing only on one section

It is quite common for students to underestimate either quant or verbal section of the GRE, thinking that they have the natural ability for a particular section, which leads them to systematically neglect their preparation for that section. This can be deadly. For example, many students underestimate the quant section of the GRE and take it too lightly. This can prove to be lethal because GRE is a tricky examination and building familiarity with the common traps that the test throws you with is important. And only practice can help you with that. Thus, no matter what it is always advisable to have a balanced study plan.

Not charting your performance after practice tests

Practice tests allow you to monitor your performance for patterns, weaknesses and strengths. Therefore, just seeing your score on the practice test and not charting the mistake patterns you have committed can be a blunder. Understanding your mistakes, weak areas and strong areas can help you quantify your progress and accordingly help you create a study plan for yourself. This can make a significant difference in your performance. 

Reviewing only the questions that you got wrong

It is essential to review each and every question that you practice, because getting the right answer is just not enough - how you got the right answer is more important. You might get an answer correct with a lot of drudgery that can eat up your energy and time, leaving you with less of it for other questions. Thus, knowing the most efficient way to approach questions is extremely important. Thus, review all the questions that you practice and look out for the solution process given in the answer sheet and ask yourself what’s the most cost efficient way of approaching this question.

We hope this article would make you more methodical in your GRE prep plan. After all, knowing what not to do is also crucial! 

About Skill Maestro At Skill Maestro, We guide prospective students about the entire application process as well as suitable universities as per their profile/test scores. We have consulted dozens of prospective students for MIS across the globe. We have a physical presence in Indore where we also help students prepare for GRE, GMAT & SAT Follow Us  on Google+!

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How important are extra-curricular activities in your application?

Do you think having just a good GPA or a good test score enough to get into a top ranking university? The answer is no! Extra-curricular activities might just be as important for your application to be accepted.  In this post, we try to answer why.

Almost all applicants at top ranking colleges have excellent academic record!

At highly selective schools, almost all applicants have a reasonably good GPA as well as good test score. The university obviously can’t admit all of those applicants who are equally good academically. It is here that extra-curricular activities can help draw a distinguishing bar. Selective colleges are attracted to students who are curious, active and eager relative to their peers.

Universities want to build diversity in their classrooms

Many a times, universities look for other details beyond a strong academic record so that they can create diversity in class. Thus, you would at times see some applicants who might not be academically extremely stellar being selected to top ranking universities – it is the right mix of their extra- curricular activities and beyond classroom engagements in a relevant area that gets the ball rolling for such applicants. Therefore, if you have got the right mix of extra curricular activities to showcase, that might just cover up your not so stellar grades.

Extra-curricular activities speak a lot of things about you!

Admissions committee get to know a lot about your personality with the kind of extra curricular activities you have on your profile. For example, if you have initiated a club in your college, it conveys the admissions committee of your confidence, leadership, initiative, team work and networking skills. Universities specifically value activities wherein you have showed leadership and created an impact. After all, they want that their campuses give birth to future leaders in business, academia or research.

Finally - It’s not about quantity, but about quality!

This is a word of caution. While extra- curricular activities are important, they are not the by all and end all for your admission. Scores do matter, and of this, there is no doubt. Extra-curricular activities act like the icing on the cake of your application and make your application look appealing to the admissions committee. So, rather than flooding your profile with a deluge of different extra-curricular activities, it is better to narrow down your domain to 2-3 areas (say, community service, or, literary club, or soccer club , or research club, or anything that you are passionate about) and have your extra curricular activities revolve around those areas. This will help you convey a ‘narrative’ about yourself to the college admissions committee.

Thus, to conclude, while your GPA and test scores, do matter, extra curricular activities are the cherry on the top of the cake, and they complement your academic profile. The catch is maintaining the right, relevant mix of extra curricular activities on your application which can convey a robust, dynamic impression of your personality to the admissions committee.

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6 ways to equip yourself with GRE/GMAT/SAT much before you begin your test prep formally

They say “A little progress everyday adds up to big results”. Most people start preparing for the GRE, GMAT or SAT just months before they have to actually take the exam. Most candidates give themselves a 3 month/6 month/12 month prep time to formally prepare for these exams. But it is a wise decision to equip yourself with the skills tested on these exams years before you face the actual test situation, just by making the certain skills a part of your everyday life, so that you can master the skills in small doses.

Wondering how? Skill Maestro lists some tips to equip yourself adequately with the skills tested on these exams much, much before you actually start preparing formally. 

Habituate yourself to non-fiction reading daily

All the standardized tests throw at you dry non fiction, academic styled passages, often not from your area of study. It is often a struggle to tackle reading comprehension, since many of us are not habituated to read those serious and dry academic passages, and hence mastering such reading comprehension passages requires a lot of practice. Hence, the best way to equip yourself for cracking reading comprehension is to already have a sound and thorough practice of reading such material. 

You should habituate yourself with reading heavy, analytical columns from magazines and newspapers to get your reading and assimilation speed fast. Get yourself daily to read a piece of reading from newspapers like the New York Times or magazines like the Scientific American. If you get accustomed to reading such pieces, you’ll take lesser time in dealing with the RC section when you actually plan to prepare for the test, thus giving you a competitive edge over others.

Maintain a vocabulary diary

Vocabulary is important to master for any competitive exam, and as such students preparing for these exams have to learn some 2000 odd words in any case to crack these exams. Those with an already good flair of vocabulary definitely get an edge over others. Hence, it is advisable to build your vocabulary way before you intend to start preparing for the tests. It will help you save your time which you would have otherwise devoted to learning words you didn’t know. 

To be adept at vocabulary, you can maintain a diary and start writing words you come across with their meanings and usage. This also has a bearing with point number 1 – when you get yourself to read the academic styled pieces, you are sure to come across with new words, note those words in a diary along with meaning and usage.

Start using applications for word games or speed reading

With a deluge of smart phone apps, you should definitely get your hands on apps that help you in your language skills. There are plenty of apps available for word games, vocabulary building and speed reading. This will help you ‘learn by fun’! You will never come to know that you have actually acquired essential skills for your test through this!

Practice writing analytical pieces – like say movie/book reviews and critique!

Almost all standardized tests have an analytical writing component. Many students struggle with this section, since it is not just about writing flowery language or being a literary genius, but is more about developing strong arguments and expressing critical thought process. You could equip yourself with such skills by developing a blog of your own for commenting and writing reviews about the movies and books you have read! This will not only be fun, but will help you develop analytical style of writing, just what is required in your tests!

Audit your way through practice tests to know what exactly the tests require of you

It is a good idea to sift through full length GRE/GMAT/SAT practice tests to get a hang of what exactly these tests demand of you. Once you get a fair idea, you can tweak  your daily habits in a way such that it revolves along the lines of acquiring the skills required in the test.

Start  estimating calculations and validate them later 

Estimation and ball-parking is an important skill required in competitive tests. Often you do not have the time to perform lengthy calculations, especially in the data interpretation section. The good news is that the test makers also do not expect you to perform those lengthy calculations! The answer choices in the tests, especially in the data interpretation section, are often such that if you can make a reasonable estimation, you are good to go!

Hence, make it a point to start estimating calculations in your daily routine – this will help you save your considerable time in the quant section, especially in the data interpretation part. 

These were some ways you can equip yourself with the skills needed for the standardized tests much before you formally start your test prep. Adopting these ways can help you gain a competitive edge over others, for sure! 

We hope that this post cleared the essential differences between the GRE and the GMAT when making a choice to study abroad. Skill Maestro wishes you all the best for whichever option you think is more suitable for you!

About Skill Maestro At Skill Maestro, We guide prospective students about the entire application process as well as suitable universities as per their profile/test scores. We have consulted dozens of prospective students for MIS across the globe. We have a physical presence in Indore where we also help students prepare for GRE, GMAT & SAT Follow Us  on Google+!

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How to manage GRE/GMAT prep if you are a working professional?

GRE/GMAT are no easy going tests that can be taken lightly – both of them require thorough and adequate preparation. It is relatively easier to take out time for test prep when you are already a student, because you are already fixated in that momentum. However, with working professionals, things change a bit and it becomes relatively difficult to take out time for adequate test prep. 

This post is for all such working professionals who are wondering how to manage their working hours and schedule to take out adequate time for test prep.

Make judicious use of your commute times

Commute times which people see as a hindrance and waste, can be turned into a favourable opportunity if only you use them wisely. You may use your travel time for brushing up on concepts or revising vocabulary. If you have joined a coaching for test prep, you can revise the portions taught in the classes while you commute. You can make use of flash cards for vocabulary while travelling or can maintain your own diary of vocabulary and revise them while commuting. One of the most effective ways to use your travel times for test prep is by listening to audio lectures and audio vocabulary tapes. 

Constant Practice/Revision at regular intervals

This may sound like a cliché but when you are a working professional, staying focussed becomes a bit difficult and you tend to forget soon the concepts and words you have learnt amidst your professional work. Thus, regular practice and revision becomes all the more important when you are a working professional.  You may take out a fixed amount of time at regular intervals for review and revision. For example, you can set aside an hour in every two days for reviewing and practicing the previous concepts. This will help you break the interia which working professionals often get trapped into when they venture back to studies. In addition to this, you must definitely take a practice test, say, each Sunday. 

Use good test prep applications

There is a wide proliferation of GRE/GMAT prep centric apps which you can use for your prep. For example, there are many apps specifically built for vocabulary enhancement for GRE/GMAT. Many apps help you in explanation of math concepts tested in the GRE/GMAT. It is wise to use these apps, since you can use them even while you are at work. All you need is your smartphone!

Invite other test aspirants for revision sessions

This is another effective way for you to stay focused and motivated in your test prep. If you have any friends also preparing for GRE/GMAT, you can set up your revision sessions with them – this will help you as well as them to spend some more time on preparation. Not only this, it will also help you monitor your progress viz a viz, the other person and is a good motivational booster.

These are a few small tips how can manage your GRE/GMAT preparation while working. At Skill Maestro, we have coached several GRE/GMAT aspirants who were working professionals and helped them dovetail their work schedules with their test prep. Almost all of them have got their admits to top universities even after tight work schedules. If you are also a working professional aspiring for GRE/GMAT, Skill Maestro wishes you all the best and welcomes you to interact with our test mentors.

We hope that this post cleared the essential differences between the GRE and the GMAT when making a choice to study abroad. Skill Maestro wishes you all the best for whichever option you think is more suitable for you!

About Skill Maestro At Skill Maestro, We guide prospective students about the entire application process as well as suitable universities as per their profile/test scores. We have consulted dozens of prospective students for MIS across the globe. We have a physical presence in Indore where we also help students prepare for GRE, GMAT & SAT Follow Us  on Google+!

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