GMAT-It's never too early!

Hi All! I was reading WSJ this morning and the curious bug inside me urged me to look for the articles on MBA in US. All of us have heard of the phenomenon called GMAT. I read in one of the articles that there could not have been a better time than now to go for a higher education degree. I kept on reading to find that all the counsellors of the US Universities are suggesting the college grads to take the GMAT right after the degree. The chief reason for this being the fact that a high GMAT Score is one of the most important criteria for the most coveted B-Schools, and the other areas, apart from the past academic records, can be built around the achieved score.This piece of information somehow was able to clear the mist that has been shrouding all of us for so long that GMAT should preferably be written by people with a work experience of atleast a couple of years.

I wanted to share this with all my students so that if the exmas haven't been upto their expectations this year and in case they are planning to take CAT the next season, then voila here is a new opportunity for all final year students. Continuing my search for more dope on GMAT, I also chanced upon a blog which stated instances of GMAT score. It said, "A recent test-taker received a scaled score of 45 in verbal (98th percentile) and 40 in quant (66th percentile) and an overall score of 700 (93rd percentile). Notice how much closer the overall percentile is to the excellent verbal percentile. If the overall percentile were simply an average of the individual percentiles, this person would have received about 640. But because the combination of an outstanding verbal performance with a fair quant performance is so rare, the overall percentile and score will be much higher than the lower quant percentile. Another person, who scored 49 in verbal (99th percentile) and 37 in quant (56th percentile), received 710 (95th percentile), even though the quant performance here was a full 10 percentile points lower than that in the previous example. Again, an outstanding performance in verbal significantly offset a middling performance in quant.Does this work in reverse? That is, will an outstanding performance in quant so dramatically offset a middling performance in verbal? No. This combination is much more common, given the increasing number of international test-takers, who often have excellent math skills but relatively weak command of English. Even among native speakers of English, it is more common to see relatively high quant scores coupled with fair to middling verbal scores. Because these combinations are less rare, they are not rewarded as highly. For example, a test-taker recently received a 50 in quant (97th percentile) and a 37 in verbal (82nd percentile), but "only" a 670 overall (89th percentile). So the truly excellent quant performance was not enough to pull the overall score above 700.While an excellent verbal performance can indeed take up some of the slack from a weaker quant score, keep in mind that most business schools want to see strong skills in both sections. In fact, some of the top 20 schools apply the "80/80 rule", which requires that successful applicants reach at least the 80th percentile in both sections."

Interesting isn't it? So now all of you know that it's never to early to start preparing for any challenge...after all there can never be any end to question types and the early bird ALWAYS catches the worm!!! You can trust me on that!

Let the CET MOCKS Mock conventions!!!

For all MBA aspirants, MH-CET shall be the last option of getting into one of the much coveted B-Schools in India. Beyond February 15th, there shall only be MAT in May that might be of any help, however that excludes the Top 20 management programs in the country. Considering all the colleges in Maharashtra , the total number of seats is 6500+, however one has to keep in mind that a lot of these seats are reserved under various quotas.
MH-CET is a 200 marks, 150 min test with 200 objective type questions testing the applicant's aptitude in Math, English and Reasoning. Although a sound knowledge of Math and English is essential, a sharp aptitude for solving reasoning based questions is critically important to crack CET. A minimum score of 100+ is desirable to make it to the best schools accepting the CET score. From a bird's eye view, the paper has a considerable number of questions pertaining to vocabulary, grammar, number system, data interpretation and visual reasoning, with algebra and geometry taking a backseat, however the importance of them cannot be ignored.
Assuming that most of the test takers are already through with their basics of Math and English, it is now mandatory for every aspirant to start testing his competency in the various sections by taking the Mock Tests. The mocks are very effective tools to help the student gage his performance. One has to make sure that one is getting tested across various Math, English as well as Reasoning based questions of varying difficulty levels. Apart from giving the students a variety of questions in a stipulated amount of time, the Mocks also help them evaluate their performance against 3000- 4000 test takers from the State. At this point of time every applicant should be ideally writing 2 tests in a week that would prepare them not only for the actual test but also make them aware of their weak areas, if any, so that they can start working on them. The test taker should also make it a point that one of the 2 tests should be compulsorily taken in a simulated environment so that he can get the feel and tension of the actual test day. Apart from merely writing the tests, the most crucial thing is a thorough analysis of the paper once it is over. An effective analysis of 200 questions should not take less than 120 min , and every test taker should devote that time after every Mock so that the mistakes in concepts and strategies are not repeated in the remaining of the papers. Every student should make sure to discuss the paper with his peers or with a mentor so that better ways to solve a problem can be devised and learnt. A poor performance in any of the Mocks should not dishearten one, rather one should take the learning out of it and be careful not to repeat any of those mistakes in future. A student can however safely rely on the Mock scores and therefore should take every test very seriously.
Especially at Career Launcher, a very comprehensive and detailed web analysis of every mock is provided which is very helpful for a student since it points out critical areas of concern and improvement and also gives the student a ranking and percentile across a considerably large chunk of test takers. In fact apart from the Mocks, the Full length simulated tests' scores can also be uploaded on the web to get the analyses of the same. With 26 days and only 3 Sundays left to the actual test, every test taker can comfortably take 15 Mocks which shall arm them with all the necessary competencies. Mock CETs are indeed a very effective way to prepare yourself for the real challenge.
Rest a lot depends on your ability to deal with a nerve wrecking situation...keep a check on the clock and I am sure nothing can stop you from getting a good score.
All the best and go break a leg!

Puzzles

hi all,
After a long time but i am back with a puzzle.
1-The hour hand moves 25 degree backwards and then it moves 35 degree forwards.Then it moves to the position diametrically opposite from which it moves 100 degree backwards.Finally it moves 60 degree forward.On what hour does it finish.
2-Using two,three and four of these numbers [5,9,17,19,22,36,41,42,64] make three totals of 100.

Some Grammar Dose

Did you know a mere addition or deletion of a letter in few English words could alter their meanings? Well it’s time to make a note of few such words. I was just snooping around through my favourite grammar website grammarbook.com and found something interesting and I had to share it with you guys. Here we go..

All ready vs. Already
These two words may sound alike when you say them, but they have distinct meanings.
All ready means entirely ready.
e.g. We are all ready to go to the party.
On the other hand: Already means previously or so soon.
e.g. Is it 9 o’clock already?

All together vs. Altogether
All together, which is a phrase, means in a group.
e.g. We got ourselves into this mess all together.
Altogether is an adverb meaning entirely, completely, everything included.
Altogether, the items cost over 45 Rupees.

All right vs. Alright
The word alright means the same as the phrase all right; however, alright is not considered a correct spelling in more formal writing.

Altar vs. Alter
Altar means pedestal, usually of a religious kind.
Example: They exchanged wedding vows at the altar of the church.
Alter means to change.
Example: Please don’t alter your plans until we have the final schedule approved.

So that's it for now.I will keep you posted when I come across interesting nuances of English Language

how to use this last month effectively??????

The clock is ticking. Here, it’s no allusion to any biological event; instead the phrase signifies the upcoming CET, 2009. CET is the most awaited and the last MBA entrance exams of the season. The former entrance exams, which probably didn’t turn out to be the platforms for a lot of aspirants to prove themselves, CET remains as their only last chance. Also, many test takers just bank on this particular entrance only.
Clichéd sayings like ‘CET is knocking at your door’ are doing their rounds. So let’s try hitting the nail on the head. To maximise on the remaining time is very crucial. Before going to the ‘how to’ let us understand some basic underlying facts. CET is completely a speed based test. While various other entrance examinations test a candidate’s ability to apply the concepts learnt and reason out with them. The focus is not so much on speed as much as it is on Application and Reasoning. This is exactly the opposite for CET. CET questions cannot be termed as difficult. Though there are a few tricky type questions to differentiate between an average and an intelligent student, the questions in the CET are more based towards solving, which when done intelligently without relying on pure procedure yields a great amount of speed. Usually focussing on practising different types of questions on could give the aspirants a certain amount of edge. Although understanding the basic fundamentals will mark an average student from a real cracker. CET -2008 had 105 reasoning based questions like 30 marks of visual reasoning, questions on verbal reasoning and also analytical reasoning. Trying to at least look at all the 200 questions is imperative. Any question left unseen could leave a candidate filled with remorse later on. As all questions have equal weight age that is 1 mark and since there is a 200 lot to choose from, a good test taker would at least glance through all questions. The focus is not so much on the accuracy as there is no negative marking.
Like the old saying goes ‘practise makes a man perfect’. Now the time should be utilised in just solving n number of papers based on the CET pattern. However not analysing one’s strengths and weaknesses could be very fruitless. Taking a minimum of 1 test a day and maximising on the strengths by taking more number of questions on specific sections would definitely bear results. The aspirants should keep speed as their element. Only solving a variety of questions will help them attain the desired speed. With the rising number of applicants, a cracker will stand out when he can solve maximum number of questions effectively. The trick is not to get stuck to any questions. A strict and disciplined study regime of 6-7 hours would get most of the people through, although concentrating on reasoning types of questions and giving the verbal section and the maths section their due is most essential. Talking about which, the English section had 50 questions where as the maths section had 45 questions.
Last but not the least, a calm, strategic test taker goes a long way and cashing in on the remaining time could see the students cracking. Don’t be inclined towards to ‘DONT’s’ and avoid everything you are asked to avoid.
So let’s get cracking and as time hardens the people who labour hard, let us leave no stones unturned.
All the best!

100 %ile from CL!

Congratulations to Nishant Sinha from Career Launcher, Delhi for scoring a perfect 100 %ile in CAT 2008! You did us proud!

With today being the culmination of an year-long effort, here's wishing the best of luck to all of you! Please do inform your percentile rank and the calls that you get to your mentors at CL. Simply send a reply to this message...

All the best!

Anirudh and other mentors at CL, Pune