Give Aspiring MBAs What They Want This Season
December 11, 2012
Bloomberg Businessweek posted an article that reaches beyond the superficial issues tangentially relevant to the aspirant MBA.
The article gets straight to the most timely and crucial concern at the forefront of any prospective b-schooler’s mind as well as their closest friends and family: holiday gifts. Whether you need ideas for giving or receiving, Bloomberg’s survey of students, professors, and administrators at our nation’s top schools is sure to provide sage advice that will bring ear-to-ear smiles of gratitude this season.
Conveniently, the write-up is broken down into categories: technology, travel, fashion, rest & relaxation, and stocking stuffers and more. Here, we highlight a few of the best ideas then offer up some more of our own. At the end, let us know what missed the list!!
From the article:
- PowerPoint remote. This simple device future students can use in their upcoming and at times seemingly endless number of business school presentations makes all the difference in the world. The presenter is not tethered to the keyboard or mouse and can focus more on conveying information that catches the attention of the audience, professors included. Clickers take a presentation to the next level and students who use them will be the envy of their peers.
- Plane tickets or vouchers. Students are poor or at least poorer than they would be if they were working instead of going to school, and travel costs are always high. Ask for or give money toward airfare even if a trip is not currently on the radar.
- 3-hour Four Seasons spa package. Because… why not?
From Kaplan GMAT:
- Test-prep help. This gift can come in a couple of different forms. One of the most effective and least expensive ways to help a future MBA beat the GMAT is a simple promise of support. The GMAT demandstime. Write it down (or ask for a card): vow to make sacrifices that will help a test-prepper eek out solid study time.Financial help toward GMAT test prep classes is a gift that can yield huge impact. A lot of us want to make others’ dreams come true during the holidays, and help getting admitted to a top choice program is a way to wield some real holiday magic.
- A new suit. Even for those that already have several, a new suit makes everyone feel great. Feeling great helps ease interview and presentation nerves—two things MBAs will know all too much about.
- IOU textbooks. It may have been awhile since you bought a textbook from a university bookstore and even though you might remember they were expensive, trust that prices have only risen. When staring down the barrel of a $195 accounting tome, a shot of some cellared holiday cheer will be most welcome.
- Interest. Let’s finish out with another free gift that keeps on giving. The road to business school can be lonely and daunting. A reliable soundboard that truly cares about navigating the twist and turns as a co-pilot can be a tremendous gift to individuals seeking an MBA. It may sound corny, but sincere interest can be the best gift ever. Pledge to be there as a shoulder to lean on during the ups and downs of preparation road.
Hurricane Sandy: GMAT Classes and Communication
October 29, 2012
To our GMAT students:
As always, we are committed to the success and well-being of our students and our faculty. As a business, we try our best to remain in operation during periods of inclement weather to provide information about class cancellations in your area and to provide assistance to ensure that you can continue with your studies with minimal disruptions.
We have a team of Kaplan representatives ready to help. However, due to increased call volumes, students may experience a delay in reaching an Enrollment and Experience representative by telephone or email. We appreciate your patience during this time. Please be assured that we remain absolutely committed to your educational success and want to do our part in easing any concerns you may have.
We will contact you if there are any changes to your regularly scheduled class. If you do not receive any notification, you should assume your class will meet as scheduled.
Most importantly, we hope you and your families stay safe during this time. Your safety and well-being is a primary concern, and we look forward to continuing to support you as best we can.
Kaplan GMAT Alumn: Making Business Social
May 10, 2012
In an earlier post, we kicked off a Kaplan GMAT student success story series. We want to share our students’ successes to inspire you to reach for your goals because they are attainable. In fact, your goals are so important to us that you can win cash and prizes just by telling us about them! We want to know: Where will you take you?TM
Jeff Gibbard never had a problem with creativity. But in order to get his social business agency off the ground, he needed to give himself a left-brain advantage. After preparing for the GMAT with Kaplan, he got a scholarship to Drexel’s fast-track MBA program and eventually founded his own social business agency.
Q: Why did you decide to get an MBA?
My undergrad degree was in film and media arts. During my studies I explored other creative outlets such as photography, graphic design and basic web development. I tried to start a few businesses, and it quickly became very clear that, in order to reach my full potential, I needed a business education.
Q: So after you decided to go for an MBA, what was the biggest surprise about what it takes to get into business school?
I can’t say that anything really “surprised” me, but it was definitely an adjustment trying to juggle work, a relationship, studying for the GMAT and getting everything together for my MBA application. I had done my research, so I knew what to expect, but knowing what needs to get done, and actually doing it, are not the same thing. I was also a bit nervous about how competitive my top schools were.
Q: What did you do to become competitive?
In all honesty, Kaplan helped a lot. My first GMAT score prior to my GMAT course did not cut it. A strong GMAT score was necessity to get into my top choice schools. I knew I could get a good enough score, but I also knew I needed help to get there. It was honestly the best decision I made on the road to business school. Kaplan’s GMAT prep course allowed me to raise my score to such an extent it translated into not only admission into the program of my choice, but also a scholarship to go there.
Q: And now?
Now I run my own company, doing exactly what I dreamed of doing one day. My company, TrueVoiceMedia, lets me apply my creative skills everyday while using everything I learned in graduate school to grow my business by virtue of helping others grow theirs. I love what I do, and I know I couldn’t have gotten here without getting my MBA degree. I also know that I wouldn’t have been able to receive that education if I hadn’t made the choice to get competitive and raise my GMAT score. So, sincerely, thank you for the role you played in my success. I am very grateful.
Now that you’ve read about where Jeff took himself, we’d like to hear from you! Where will you take yourself? Tell us what lies in your future, what your ambitions are, how you’re going to leave your mark on this world. In short, tell us what and who you’re going to be. We want to hear the story of the “future you”—in 120 characters or less—and give you the chance to win cash and a free Kaplan course. Click here to enter.
GMAT Coaches and GMAT Players
January 14, 2012
To become excellent at something takes work. Coaches have their roles and players have theirs. Right now, I coach GMAT players. I want them to become excellent, I want them to win. I provide what I can—structure, knowledge, parameters, technique, and so on. What I cannot provide is commitment, discipline, the right attitude, or the just plain hard work it takes to achieve. Those things are on the shoulders of the players.
A student recently asked me what I thought I could score on the GMAT if I took it tomorrow. I thought for a moment and said, “I don’t know. Well, I’d probably do pretty good, but I wouldn’t score near what I could score if I prepped for it.”
He was surprised. “What do you mean? You teach the GMAT!”
“Yeah, that’s true, but imagine I was a tennis champ turned tennis coach. Teaching someone how to play tennis competitively is not the same thing as actually playing tennis competitively. If I decided that I wanted to get back onto the court and make another run at a championship, I’d have a lot of training to do, a lot of hard work. Sure, my ramp up would go a lot quicker than it did when I first started learning to play, but I would still have to train.”
I think this off-the-cuff analogy is a good one. While physical skill is not directly comparable to cognitive skill, my student took the point I intended to make: everyone has to train. The GMAT is not easy. In fact, the GMAT—being a computer adaptive test—will get as hard as you let it. No one, not even 90%+ scorers think the GMAT is easy.
If you want to get an excellent score, you have to train and train hard. Prep courses, books, videos, podcasts, and whatever else is out there come in varying quality, but even if you find the best prep business out there the most they can do is provide what you need to succeed. It’s up to you to use it.
