GMAT Studying: How to Stay Motivated

April 23, 2012 by



I’ve been studying for the GMAT for some time now, and I’m fighting an uphill battle.  My score increases a little bit each week, but I’m still not hitting my goal.  Recently, I started to feel defeated, so I decided to take a break.  I closed my books and took some time to rest my mind.  As a result, I had to change my test date to the end of May.  I also decided that if I don’t get the score I want, I will go ahead and study the new Integrative Reasoning section of the test and retake the GMAT again in August.  I was so gung-ho in the beginning, I think I may have psyched myself out.  I’m sure many test-takers have had this happen.  I am writing this to let you know, you’re not alone.

My hiatus has allowed me to re-charge and re-focus.  I’m getting back to my studies this week feeling confident and renewed.  My fellow blogger, Eli Meyer, recently wrote that “the GMAT is a marathon, not a sprint.”  He was talking about the experience of taking the test, but that assessment is just as true of GMAT prep.  It is a long process, and we have to keep ourselves motivated. Time away worked for me.

What do you do to stay motivated and refreshed during the long process of studying for the GMAT?

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The GMAT: Where It’s Been, Where It’s Going, and Why It Matters

March 25, 2012 by



If you have 1 minute 13 seconds to spare, then watch this.  Kaplan has put together a killer video that will bring you from the launch of the GMAT way back in 1954 up to the launch of the New GMAT on June 5th of this year.  Production quality rocks, information is packed in, and we’ve made it so you can learn more and make good decisions.

The video will direct you there, but please visit www.testchange.com to learn even more about the new test section known as Integrated Reasoning.  Also, have a look at our infographic called The GMAT: Demystified & Digestible featured on PoetsandQuants.com.  The name says it all!

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GMAT Blackout

March 18, 2012 by



GMAC has posted a FAQ page on their website www.MBA.com regarding the upcoming Next Generation GMAT (which basically means the same ol’ GMAT with one less essay and one more section in its place).  For those who have no idea what I’m going on about, have a look at www.testchange.com and my blog thread for a lot more info.

Among the list of Qs and As, one exchange reads thusly:

Q)    When is the last day I can take the current version of the GMAT exam?
A)    June 2. The GMAT exam will not be offered June 3 and 4 while test centers prepare to administer the new exam.

That’s right, there’s gonna be a blackout!  As you may know, the Next GMAT Generation is going to be born on June 5th.  However, please be sure your birth plan includes June 2nd as the last possible Test Day, not June 5th.  Also, take a moment to think about how fast test centers are going to fill over the coming months and how extremely competitive those last seats on those last days will become very, very shortly.

Think forward, act now.  It is time to start prepping.

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Learning Integrated Reasoning—Kaplan launches the first GMAT IR curriculum

March 17, 2012 by



Kaplan Test Prep & Admissions is the first test prep company to launch a comprehensive curriculum for the new Integrated Reasoning (IR) section, which is being added to the GMAT on June 5, 2012.  In addition to in-class, online, and lesson on-demand training, Kaplan has robust, detailed, and accurate practice problems for test takers who are planning to tackle the GMAT after June 5th.

For those who have been following the developments during the run-up to the New GMAT, you know Kaplan is committed to the type of product leadership that translates into our students’ success.  At www.testchange.com—Kaplan’s dedicated GMAT test change website created in consultation with GMAC—everyone can learn about the new IR section and what the score means to aspirant graduate management students.  The idea is that no matter what, we are ready so you’ll be ready.

Finally, Kaplan is offering up to $150 off our GMAT course packages for the month of March.  We truly want to lock in as many strong GMAT scores as we can before the test change hits in June.  These scores will be valid for 5 years, and IR will just be something that other people have to deal with.

The iron is hot, folks.  Time to strike.

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The New GMAT: Integrated Reasoning, pt. 4

February 25, 2012 by



In our final post of the New GMAT Integrated Reasoning question format series, we are going to dive into the fourth of four new question formats test takers will see as of June 2012: Multi-Source Reasoning.  Previously, we looked at Graphic Interpretation and Two-Part Analysis question formats; two of the four new formats GMAT test takers will see in the upcoming Integrated Reasoning section.  In this post, we will continue our new format probe with an examination of Table Analysis questions.

From the test maker’s website regarding Multi-Source Reasoning questions:

“Click on the page to reveal different data and discern which data you need to answer the question.”

My first impression of Multi-Source Reasoning questions: wow.  Out of the four new formats, MSRs are, for me at least, the most interesting, the most unique, and perhaps the most challenging.  They remind me of assessment centers, actually.  If you have ever participated in one of these performance evaluation/selection tools, I think you will agree that the MSR questions bear notable similarities to the activities within assessment center work simulations.

Ultimately, however, although the packaging may be novel the question types are not.  In the first of seven examples GMAC has posted for you, each of the three questions associated with an email exchange are inference questions.  You will find inference questions all over the GMAT Verbal section in both Reading Comprehension and Critical Reasoning question types.  Here, in the MSR format, test makers force you to mix quantitative assessment with critical reasoning and strategic reading skills.

This post brings our Integrated Reasoning New Question Format Series to a close, but the conversation is by no means over.  For more information on the New GMAT, please visit our dedicated website (www.testchange.com) and keep coming back for more on our GMAT Blog.  Always nice to have you over for a visit!

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The New GMAT: Integrated Reasoning, pt. 3

February 23, 2012 by



Previously, we looked at Graphic Interpretation and Two-Part Analysis question formats; two of the four new formats GMAT test takers will see in the Integrated Reasoning section poised to hit would-be management grad students in June.  In this post, we will continue our new format probe with an examination of Table Analysis questions.  For more information on the New GMAT, please visit our dedicated website: www.testchange.com.

This is from the test maker’s website regarding Table Analysis questions:

“Sort the table to organize the data so you can determine whether certain conditions are met. Each question will have statements with opposing answers (e.g., yes/no, true/false, inferable/not inferable); select one answer for each statement.”

Excelophiles unite!  If you are a raving Excel lunatic that just can’t get enough sortable data, then Table Analysis GMAT questions are your new guilty pleasure.  Want a taste?  Click here for three luscious tables.

As for me, I cannot say I am one of the aforementioned Excel-heads, but I do find these question formats to be kinda fun.  As with previously reviewed IR formats, Table Analysis questions borrow heavily from other GMAT question types.  In one of the above linked examples, the test taker is asked about three facts that, if true, would or would not help explain some of the information from shown in the table.  For those of you with even a modicum of GMAT prep experience, you will easily note that these are an interesting take on strengthen/weaken Critical Reasoning questions.

It is also worth noting that in none of the nine questions (3 questions over 3 tables) that comprise this sample set did I have to engage in any calculations.  Rather, my attention to detail and knowledge of a few quantitative concepts was all that was needed.

Finally, I don’t believe I’ve mentioned this before, but in the Integrated Reasoning section of the New GMAT, test takers will have the use of an on-screen calculator—a very surprising move by GMAC.  Please do not take this development to mean that test takers will get one of these computation tools on the Quant section, however.  All math in those 37 questions must be done in your head, by hand on your noteboards, or avoided all together via critical thinking.

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The New GMAT: Integrated Reasoning, pt. 2

February 22, 2012 by



In our next installment of the new question format series, we’re going to investigate Two-Part Analysis questions.  Remember, the GMAT is changing in June and that change means a while new section called Integrated Reasoning.  This new section will feature twelve questions in four new formats and result in yet a third score (AWA, GMAT Quant and Verbal in aggregate, and now IR).

This is from the test maker’s website regarding Two-Part Analysis questions:

“Select one answer from each column to solve a problem with a two-part solution. Possible answers will be presented in a table with a column for each part.”

In case you’re feeling particularly curious, GMAC offers up five two-part analysis questions for you here.  Answers to each are provided, but don’t expect any explanations.  As you work through these example questions, be sure to either write down the answers you choose or look at the correct answer before you move onto the next graphic.  You cannot review in full after completing.  Anyway, because I am always the most interesting guy in the room, I couldn’t help but spend my free time working through these beauties.  I was surprised at what I found.

First, not all of them are quantitative problems.  Most were, but one was basically a short Reading Comprehension passage with two detail-meets-inference questions and another was very similar to a logic game you might find on the LSAT, though extremely subdued compared to those lovely puzzles.  In all cases, the two questions played off of one another or were in some way related.  Also, when there was math required to get to the right answer, it was nothing new and old reliable strategies saved the day (e.g., Picking Numbers and Backsolving).

At this point, we have covered half of the new question formats (Graphic Interpretation and Two-Part Analysis) with two more to come (Table Analysis and Multi-Part Reasoning).  I am heartened after reviewing these initial formats.  I know what folks need to learn in order to succeed on the GMAT, and while some serious attention will need to be paid to the Integrated Reasoning section, I report with pleasure that the content and concepts tested do not appear to be novel in regard to the rest of the test.  Much of your Verbal and Quant prep will transfer over to IR.

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The New GMAT: Integrated Reasoning, pt. 1

February 15, 2012 by



Let’s have a quick look at one of four new question formats test takers will see on the New GMAT among the twelve Integrated Reasoning questions in the new section: Graphics Interpretation.  From the test maker’s website:

“Interpret the graph or graphical image and select the option from a drop-down list to make the answer statements accurate.”

For your enjoyment, GMAC provides four in-format graphics consisting of two or three questions each (click here to get started).  While the answers are provided, unfortunately the explanations are not.  Also, be sure to either write down the answers you choose or look at the correct answer before you move onto the next graphic.  If you answer all of them consecutively with the plan to go back and review them consecutively, you will be disappointed (like me!).

As for this inquisitor, I found the Graphics Interpretation questions to be pretty interesting.  The math tested is straight from the GMAT quant section (e.g., probability, percents, overlapping sets).  However, not all of the questions are based upon calculation or even your understanding of quantitative concepts.  Rather, as the name of the new question format suggests, some questions rely on your ability to orient yourself and then “read” the graphical information (check out the second question about the Earth’s geological history graphic for an example).

I anticipate similar complaints from my future GMAT students to those I receive from my current GRE students: the graphs are hard to read.  That complaint is usually associated with hard-to-distinguish starts and stops of bars, trend lines, etc. or data points that are difficult to correlate with x- or y-axis values.  However, the GRE graphs associated with that test’s similar question type (Data Interpretation) seem of lesser graphical quality than the ones I’ve seen so far from GMAC.  That is, the resolution for the GRE charts and graphs is worse making them more of a pain to use.  For what it’s worth, the struggle to read the charts and graphs is an intentional element of the game.

Stop in next time for a brief review of Two-Part Analysis questions.

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The New GMAT: Integrated Reasoning

February 13, 2012 by



The new section of the GMAT, called Integrated Reasoning, is going live on June 5, 2012.  While we here at Kaplan implore everyone in the free world to take the GMAT before this date, we are hard at work preparing for the test change so we can start training our bar-setting students to blow it out of the water when the time comes.

In a series of four short posts, I am going to focus on the new question formats that comprise the twelve Integrated Reasoning questions test takers will see in the new section.  In part 1, we’ll have a look at Graphic Interpretation questions.  But before we get into it, here are some FYI question specification bullet points I found here on MBA.com:

  • A given prompt, or question setup, may have multiple questions.
  • All answer choices for a single question are presented on the same screen.
  • Test takers respond to each question before moving to the next question prompt.  Once a question has been answered, candidate cannot return and change the answer.
  • Narrative prompts (text on tabs) are approximately 300 words or fewer.
  • Answer options will not provide information or clues that help test takers solve other questions.
  • A single prompt may provide the information to solve several questions, but the questions are independent of one another. Test takers do not have to answer one question correctly to be able to answer another.

For additional information on the New GMAT, Kaplan has set up a dedicated website at www.testchange.com.  Have a look now and revisit often to stay up to date on the latest New GMAT news.  Also, be sure to come back to our blog for the IR question exposé series.

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GMAT Arbitrage

February 12, 2012 by



Arbitrage is a glorious thing.  Simply put, arbitrage happens by exploiting differences in price for the same good.  Say the currency exchange market (forex) in Asia is trading the US dollar at 1.5 British pounds per USD (yes, I know it’s actually the other way around these days, but let’s have some fun), while the European market is trading 1.25 British pounds per USD.  I could leave New York, head to Tokyo, and buy a whole bunch of British pounds with my US dollars, say $100 worth.  With my newly minted £150, I could then fly off to London and sell them in exchange for dollars.  Since in London I get $1.00 for every £1.25, then due to the market inefficiency I will receive $120 back, yielding a nice $20 profit on my original investment.   Yay for me!  (And all I had to do was circumnavigate the globe.  Easy peasy.)

Not surprisingly, finding arbitrage opportunities is extremely difficult and exploiting those opportunities is nigh impossible.  For example, in the forex markets, big banks have incredibly powerful computers constantly scanning currency exchanges and will instantaneously capitalize on them for the brief seconds they exist before the markets equalize.  Mere mortals like you and I will never know what it’s like to feel the flush of free money created out of thin air.  Or will we?

Kaplan has created a website dedicated to the New GMAT: www.testchange.com.  (Actually, one of the videos posted there was the inspiration for this blog entry.]  As you may already know, the GMAT is changing in June 2012 by introducing a new section called Integrated Reasoning.  The current GMAT demands 100-120 hours of diligent prep time if you are looking to achieve a competitive score (e.g., 650+).

After June 5th of this year, GMAT test takers will have a brand new section to prepare for in addition to the AWA, Quant, and Verbal sections current test takers must master.  So how does this present an arbitrage opportunity?  If you prepare for and take the GMAT before June 1st, then you will lock in your GMAT score for five years and never have to even think about IR.  Those that do not lock in their scores will have to devote the 100+ hours of prep time you put in, then spend another 30 hours or more learning about integrated reasoning data sets and the new question types that accompany them.

Think smart.  Act strategically.  Let other folks buy the GMAT for 130+ hours of their time.  Your market is selling it to you for a much cheaper price.  I’ll be drilling down on the five new IR question types in some upcoming posts so come on back for a tall drink of schadenfreude.

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