Beautiful B-School Photo Contest

Just a few days ago I noticed that my University of Michigan pictures are among honorary mentions at Accepted.com. After browsing through other folks' pictures, I thought I had a descent chance to make it to top 3. But, I guess, my pictures may have too little to do with the Ross b-school (the building is simply such a plain-vannila one.) I guess my time will not come until two years later, when the new building is up and running. Arghhh! I just want the top prize $500 so badly~~~

Suns v. Spurs Series (1)

Earlier in the series, a former spurs, Sean Elliot, said Suns are no different from what they were in '05. However, after watching five games, I think Suns definitely became a way better defensive team. Their game 2 & 4 victory resulted from their ability to make stops down the stretch in late phase of the game. Kurt Thomas is occacionally effective against Duncan, while Ginobili is not as explosive as two years ago.

In the two teams' 2005 showdown, Spurs were clearly the better team. This time, the result of every game was sort of like rolling a dice. The funny thing is, as Steve Kerr pointed out, Spurs have to count on their offense, while Suns have to count on their defense. When Spurs shoot poorly or Suns do a good job forcing turnovers, there would be more open-court opportunies, circumstances that Nash always exploits extremely well.

As Spurs are only one win away from conference finals, nothing would come easy for them. They need heroic actions like what Parker did in game 1 or Ginobili did in Game 5. I do expect Ginobili to step up, because I think he is the Spur who is playing with most energy and emotions right now.

Reflections on Dealing with GMAT

Some reflection on dealing with this monster:

Math
I am mostly worried about the DS part because it is farely easy to commit a mistake. To build my skill, first I bought PRINCETON REVIEW Math Workout. I think this book works for me, especially for the DS part, it also help to build the overall math concepts we need to know. After studying this book, I embarked on GMAT Club's 25 challenges. Before the actual exam, I did about 3/4 of those challenges and they certainly made me feel more comfortable. At first I made around 68th percentile but then steadily hit around the 85th~95th range.

SC
Like what I did with math, I began with PRINCETON REVIEW verbal workout. But the book did not work well and my confidence almost always took a beating from the questions posted on this forum. Then MGMAT SC saved me. After studying this book, I am able to approach SC questions methodically. In the final weeks, I also made sure I master all the questions in OG.

CR & RC
These are my most inconsistent parts. For CR, again, I think it is essential to master the OG. I studied PRINCETON REVIEW Verbal and Kaplan GMAT 800. Although they help me to form the basic framework to approach the questions, the exercises inevitably deviate somewhat from what it looks like on the real test.
As for RC, I read about PRINCETON REVIEW's way, Kaplan's way, and MGMAT's way to approach articles, but none of them worked well. Then I sort of found out an optimal strategy for myself through exercises. In fact, what I do is just read every article as thoroughly as possible, without any skimming and skipping, which I think could make us overlook cue words and signal words. Because those cue words and signal words are essential in solving questions such as "what the author would be most likely agree?" or specs questions, we just can't afford to overlook them. Due to this strategy, it took pretty much time for me to finish a set of questions - as many as 11 min for 80-row articles -, but it is manageable for me since I can make up the lost time by SC.

Final Weeks
In the final weeks I did two PRINCETON REVIEW practice test and three MGMAT ones. PRINCETON REVIEW tests are not useful, especially the Verbal part. MGMAT ones are more similar to questions of ETS, and I think they are reliable gauge on whether you are on the right track. Although I did two Power Prep tests too, I did not take the results too seriously because I began the studying with OG.

In the last week, I wrote down a list that contains notes on the strategy of approaching each section of test. For example, on CR, I wrote "identify the conclusion and premises of the argument," and on RC "pay attention to shift of scope and subjects." I would review the list every time before I did the practice test. On the test day, I did not bring the notes but simply thought about them during the breaks. This indeed help me focus on taking care of the test instead of worried about the score.

A week before the test, I suffered insomnia and could barely fall asleep for two days. Afterwards, I stopped studying at night, ate more vegetables and made myself as relaxed as possible before sleep. Otherwise I would not do well on the 9AM exam.

For me it is not a good idea to hang out in the forum before the actual test. Before the test you should be as confident as you can be. Unless your confidence is stone-concrete, why bother jeopardizing it with those tough questions posted on the forum? Just make sure to have enough practice every day, then you'll be fine.

Materials
OG 11th
PRINCETON REVIEW Math Workout
PRINCETON REVIEW Verbal Workout
Kaplan GMAT 800
MGMAT SC
MGMAT CR & RC
GMAT Club 25 Challenges

Practice Tests
Power Prep 1 750 Aug 16
Power Prep 2 740 Oct 5
PRINCETON REVIEW Practice Test 1 680 Oct 20
PRINCETON REVIEW Practice Test 2 700 Oct 26
MGMAT Practice 1 660 Oct 16
MGMAT Practice2 700 Oct 21
MGMAT Practice3 720 Oct 27

Assessment for MBA application season 06-07

A lazy dude finally made up his mind to share his own experience…

GMAT: 760
Toefl: 108
Undergrad: NCCU BA (GPA <3)
W/E: 3yrs (two foreign financial institutions)
Some extracurricular at college; a couple of awards deemed at work

Apply for: Chicago GSB, NYU, Cornell, UM, UT, Indiana, Rochester
Straight Dinged: Chicago GSB, NYU, Cornell
Admitted: UM, UT, Indiana, Rochester

Making the wish list
Picking the schools was a painful process. I had decent test scores, but there are three major red flags in my profile: poor gpa, mediocre extracurricular, and no managerial experience whatsoever. To make up my mind, I have my profile evaluated by Paul Bodine at gmatclub.com. Finally, weighting several factors such as odds, strengths in finance, recruiting, teaching quality & curriculum (some would say it’s bs,) I came up with this list.

One thing I regret was I did not read through those articles in this forum about choosing the right school and what elite schools can offer, so I would suggest those who are working on their applications spend some good time browsing this forum.

Grappling with Essays
I knew from the start I had an ordinary profile, so I tried to make it look a little bit different. For example, as I accounted for a project, I would begin with conversations between team members to illustrate the problem we were facing. Indeed, there is a fine line between being creative and being gimmicky, but I think I need to take chances since I don’t have enough “right stuff.”

To brainstorm for my essays, I read virtually all books on b-school essays available at PageOne. Also read some “self-development” books that I would never touch again in my life. Whenever I could not write something readable, I went to book store to search for ideas.



Finding What to Say
As mentioned in an earlier post, I would recommend “How to Interview Like a Top MBA.” The sample questions cover most of what you would encounter in interviews. Since I could not find an appropriate person to conduct mock interviews, I just made sure I had answers for all kinds of questions and rehearsed a few times.

I had two in-person interviews and two telephone interviews. I had the most productive interview with a UT alum because he kindly advised me to brag about myself instead of praising the school when asked “why xxx school?” I applied this lesson quickly to my UM interview, and it seemed to work.



In the end, I would not tell you “just keep faiths, you will get there.” However, I think it is extremely important to know yourself well – your needs, your strengths, your weaknesses, etc. Introspection about yourself may be the most exhaustive yet rewarding experiences in this whole journey. Enjoy!