Any AT'ers take the GMAT?

[Q]

I'm in my senior year and have been debating about grad school, but figure this would be a good time to study and prepare for if I do decide to take the GMAT.
(I have a lot of free time and need to put it to good use).

I browsed on Amazon for some guides, but there are a ton and I am not sure what is best. I'm thinking a practice test would be a good starting point, so I can see my before and afters.

For those of you who have taken it, what did you do to study? Any tips?

Thanks all.

 

[AtlantaBob]

Yeup, took it (and went to B-school) -- the good news is that it's easier than the LSAT. I was a little odd, and only had about 2 weeks to study for it -- I just used the online service provided by the test company (you get access once you sign up). The hardest thing to get used to is doing math on a 8.5"x11" "whiteboard."

Also, the test adapts to how you're doing -- but don't overthink it. I had some ridiculously easy math questions at the end of my test, and thought that I had bombed it -- but the real result was quite the opposite. It's nice that you get the results at the end of the test, though!

 

[Q]

Thanks for the reply.

Did you take it during school or a few years after? Going to grad school would be a huge achievement for me, since my #1 flaw in school right now is being 'lazy' -- I have a good GPA but I just never really study, and I really want to get past this, since I know post BS you can't slide by like I have been doing.

 

[Shadow Conception]

What're you getting your degree in? I always thought that aside from parties I'd be working my ass off in college.

 

[Elbryn]

I dont think the test is that difficult. it's pretty much just like any other standardized test. start with the things that get you the most bang for the buck, how to take standardized tests, then move on to things like material.
ie: it's adaptive, so the better you do early on, the better your end score will be.
it's also multiple choice, learn to cross off obvious wrong answers to make guessing easier
i don't recall if they had a formula sheet. i think they did but could be wrong, if not, take a few minutes early on to brain dump a sheet of equations on paper before taking the test.

If you are inherently lazy, trying to study for a test that doesn't have a definitive date doesn't work so well. pay the money, set a date, force yourself to take the test

i took it 4 years after undergrad. if i had my druthers, i'd take it as soon as possible to the end of school. that stuff you know now will fade quickly and the test results are good for several years after taking for applications to schools. you'll also have more time now than if you start working.

 

[SandEagle]

took it 2 yrs after undergrad for MBA. wasn't too difficult, but I didn't study for it either

 

[sactoking]

I took it about 4 years after I graduated with my bachelors. I used a study book I had purchased my 3rd year in school, so it was about 7 years old. The questions themselves aren't too hard, but the format of them isn't typical. For example, on some of the math they give you a scenario and 3 or 4 pieces of additional info, you have to determine which (if any) additional items are needed to solve the scenario. Don't be surprised if your verbal score end up being higher than you expect: the number of engineers that take the GMAT lowers others' math scores and inflates your verbal. When I took the SAT I was near-perfect on the math and above-average on verbal, when I took the GMAT I was 99th percentile on verbal and only 95th on math.

 

[dfuze]

I'll be taking it by the end of the year. Coworker already took it and he said it was pretty tough. I think he said he didn't pass the first time but was close and the 2nd time got the needed score to get in.

Personally I think the test is good for those who've been out of school for a while, to be sure you're ready for the rigors of the program. But if you just graduated and are going to the same school for the masters, I see it as nothing more than just another money grab on their part.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Took it a year after undergrad. I just prepared by taking a few practice tests, it's just like the SATs.

 

[AtlantaBob]

Thanks for the reply.

Did you take it during school or a few years after? Going to grad school would be a huge achievement for me, since my #1 flaw in school right now is being 'lazy' -- I have a good GPA but I just never really study, and I really want to get past this, since I know post BS you can't slide by like I have been doing.

I took it while I was in the middle of grad school (getting a much less useful degree). In general, it was much easier than the GRE as well (although the math portion of the GRE is a joke, the vocab section is pretty difficult).

Having said that, while I don't think that "academic" grad school was that hard, the MBA program was (comparatively) easier. I don't want to feed the stereotype that it's all about going to parties and playing golf.... but a good portion of it involves those activities. Care to share where you're thinking about going for B-school?

 

[Q]

I took it while I was in the middle of grad school (getting a much less useful degree). In general, it was much easier than the GRE as well (although the math portion of the GRE is a joke, the vocab section is pretty difficult).

Having said that, while I don't think that "academic" grad school was that hard, the MBA program was (comparatively) easier. I don't want to feed the stereotype that it's all about going to parties and playing golf.... but a good portion of it involves those activities. Care to share where you're thinking about going for B-school?

Thanks for the replies everyone.

I am going to have a BS in Marketing once I graduate this year, so for "B school" I feel I don't have a huge amount of choices when or if I do decide to pursue it. I'm pretty much limited to an MBA, or possibly a Marketing MS (only one year program), but I feel MBA is much more useful and valuable. Either way, I need to work post undergrad for experience, but want to take the GMAT while I still have some of the math in my head. (math is my weaker part vs verbal).

For those of you that replied, did you all have engineering degrees?

 

[AtlantaBob]

I had a liberal arts background (English/Econ) before I took the GMAT.... and I definitely support the whole MBA over an MS in Marketing -- the MBA is more generalizable, but you can still concentrate on marketing if you want. Good luck with the job market....

 

[silverpig]

I took it about 4 years after I graduated with my bachelors. I used a study book I had purchased my 3rd year in school, so it was about 7 years old. The questions themselves aren't too hard, but the format of them isn't typical. For example, on some of the math they give you a scenario and 3 or 4 pieces of additional info, you have to determine which (if any) additional items are needed to solve the scenario. Don't be surprised if your verbal score end up being higher than you expect: the number of engineers that take the GMAT lowers others' math scores and inflates your verbal. When I took the SAT I was near-perfect on the math and above-average on verbal, when I took the GMAT I was 99th percentile on verbal and only 95th on math.

It's actually mostly the fact that a LOT of students from China/India take the GMAT. I have a physics background and was ~90th percentile on math, but yeah 99th or so on verbal too.

OP: Of all the books, I liked the Princeton Review ones best.

 

[Mani]

I took Princeton Review primarily to pace my study and it had some very helpful pointers particularly on math and the sentence correction part of verbal (imagine it's similar for Kaplan/ Manhattan). I set aside about 2 months to study and on average spent around an hour a day on it during that time as I was working. It was probably overkill but ended up with doing very well with that plan so if you're wanting to consider a top school I would recommend putting the time in.

 

[Q]

So 2 recommendations for the Princeton review book then? I have been debating which one to get -- reading reviews on Amazon helps, but not once you realize that each review has pros and cons for all the other books, and it just gets confusing. (ie. people reviewing the Official GMAT review guide give pros and cons to all other books, but then when you go to one of the different books, it's the same thing all over again and now THAT one is the best)

 

[Mani]

So 2 recommendations for the Princeton review book then? I have been debating which one to get -- reading reviews on Amazon helps, but not once you realize that each review has pros and cons for all the other books, and it just gets confusing. (ie. people reviewing the Official GMAT review guide give pros and cons to all other books, but then when you go to one of the different books, it's the same thing all over again and now THAT one is the best)

You're going to find very few people have actually read all the books and compared them. People have been successful with several different ones - I think you can pick just about any highly-reviewed Amazon book and it would be fine. I went with the Original Guide, Princeton review, and Kaplan's GMAT 800 book and those prepared me extremely well.

 

[Babbles]

I'm working on my MBA degree now.

I used the Princeton Review and the official GMAT review book. I found that the official GMAT review book had way better questions - they are actual old test questions and allegedly the only legal source of them - however, I found that the Princeton Review gave better tips for test taking strategy.

I am a glutton for punishment and have taken many graduate entrance type exams. I found the GMAT to be much more difficult than the GRE and about on par with the LSAT. The GMAT and LSAT, though, are so crazy different it is somewhat difficult to make an honest comparison between the two.

 

[Elbryn]

i had an engineering undergrad. why buy the books? go borrow them from the local library. you'll be able to get a wide selection of study books, software is usually in them as well. if you can renew, then pay the fine. typically works out to be less than the cost of buying the books anyway. also works to help force action, knowing there's a fine looming

i went that route for almost all of my standardized tests. Sat, Act, gmat, pmp. nice and cheap