Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) Orientation

1. Graduate Management Admission Test(GMAT)Orientation

2. What is the GMAT? • Graduate Management Admission Test • Computer adaptive test • Does not measure creativity or motivation • Does not require specific business knowledge • Test measures • Verbal Skills • Mathematical Skills • Writing Skills

3. Signing Up • Online: www.MBA.com • Phone 1-800-GMAT-NOW • Local Testing Center Pearson Professional Centers – Santa Maria Gill Office Building, 1010 South Broadway, Suite F Santa Maria, CA 93454 (805) 348-1240 • Reservations required • Cost is $250

4. Essential Item!!! • Go to www.mba.com/mba/TaketheGMAT • Go to “GMAT Prep Products” • Select “Free GMAT PowerPrep Software • Provide name/Email • Download free test prep software program • Look and feel of actual test • Contains full length test that is very reflective of actual test • Scores generated are very accurate to actual test results

5. Free GMAT Software!

6. The Big Day • Check in at least 30 minutes before assigned time • If late, fee will be forfeited • Current Photo ID required • Examples: driver’s license, passport • NOT STUDENT ID! • Verification process • Sign confidentiality statement and rules agreement • Thumbprint, photo and audio/video taping

7. Free Practice Test • Free practice test ( login): www.princetonreview.com/cracking • GMAT Pre-test • GMAT Warm-Up Test (page353) • GMAT Practice Test (page 399) • Math Workbook for the GMAT Math

8. Test Procedures and Regulations • No testing aids: calculators, books, notes, etc • Scratch paper and pencils provided • Two 5 minute breaks, cannot be exceeded • No eating or drinking in testing center • Cannot leave testing station without approval • Personal items will be locked up • Dismissed for disruptive behavior Cancellation of score if you fail to comply

9. Rescheduling At least 7 days in advance - $50 rescheduling fee applies Less than 7 in advance - full fee is forfeited Canceling At least 7 days in advance – $80 partial refund Rescheduling and Canceling

10. Getting Your Scores • Scores sent to up to 5 institutions/programs • GMAT yields four scores: verbal, quantitative, total, analytical writing • 2/3 of total scores are between 400 - 600 • Out of 800 total points • May view scores for multiple-choice sections upon completion • Official score mailed in ≈ 2 weeks

11. Canceling Scores • May cancel, on computer, immediately following last section of test • Scores cannot be canceled once viewed • No partial cancellations • Fees not refunded if you cancel • Cancellations reported to score recipients

12. Repeating the GMAT • No more than one time in a calendar month • Even if scores are canceled • Latest scores and two most recent scores are reported to designated recipients • Test scores valid for 5 years

13. GMAT Format

14. General Tips! • The first questions are weighted more heavily than the rest • It’s not the number of questions you get correct that determines your score – it’s the level of difficulty • Questions increase in difficulty as you answer questions correctly • Concentrate on getting a series of questions in a row correct • Answer as many questions as possible • If you are not sure, guess! • Pace yourself, but be aware of your time • Confirm your answers only when confident • Be careful about exit and quit commands

15. Quantitative Section: What’s Covered • 37 questions in 2 formats • Problem Solving (much like the SAT): 19 questions • Data Sufficiency (unique to GMAT): 18 questions • Test general knowledge of arithmetic, basic algebra, & basic geometry • No calculus, trig, or complicated geometry

16. General Advice… • Always reread the last line of the problem to make sure you’ve actually answered the question • Use Process of Elimination: • To eliminate obviously wrong answers quickly • To avoid overworking the problem • To maximize opportunity to “guess” correctly

17. Arithmetic • Topics tested • Axiom and Fundamentals (properties of integers, + & - numbers, even & odd) • Arithmetic Operations ( + - x / etc.) • Fractions & Decimals • Ratios • Percentages • Averages • Exponents and Radicals

18. Algebra • Cosmic Problems: asked to write an equation that will answer a question regardless of what a “certain number x” is • PLUG IN: pick numbers for the letters in the problem • Plug in from the outside in (A,E,B,D,C) • Avoid using 0, 1, and numbers in the problem • Why not solve algebraically? • Makes difficult problems easy • Test designed with many ways for you to screw up using algebra

19. Example of a Cosmic Problem • What is two more than 3 times a certain number x? • A. 3x-2 • B. 3x • C. 2x-3 • D. 2x+3 • E. 3x+2

20. Solving Non-Cosmic Problems • Non-cosmic problems have specific answers • WORKING BACKWARDS • Start with choice C, plug number into problem to see if it works • If choice C is too small, choose the next larger number • If choice C is too big, choose the next smaller number

21. Geometry • YOU MUST MEMORIZE ALL FORMULAS • Study problems that are drawn to scale to eliminate crazy answers • Not all diagrams are drawn to scale • Geometry problems always involve more than 1 step • Topics Tested • Degrees and angles, triangles, circles, four-sided objects, solids and volume

22. Data Sufficiency • Consists of a question followed by 2 statements • You don’t decide what the answer is • You decide WHETHER the question can be answered based on the info in the 2 statements

23. Data Sufficiency Answers (40%) • The first statement ALONE answers the question • The second statement ALONE answers the question • You need both statements TOGETHER to answer the question • Both statements SEPARATELY answer the question • Neither statement together or separately answers the question

24. How to Crack Data Sufficiency • Look at one statement at a time • Memorize AD or BCE • If statement (1) answers the question, write down AD • If statement (2) also answers the question, the final answer is D • If statement (1) DOES NOT answer the question, write down BCE • Evaluate statement (2) to narrow down the remaining choices

25. Data sufficiency In these questions you have to determine if the statements contain the necessary information to answer the questions. Is x > 4? 1) x < 92) x is an integer Answer choices:(A) Statement (1) is, by itself, enough to enable you to answer the question, but statement (2) is not enough.(B) Statement (1) is not enough, by itself, to answer the question, but statement (2) is enough. (C) Combining statements (1) and (2) provides enough information to answer the question.(D) Either statement, by itself, provides enough information to answer the question.(E) Neither statement contains sufficient data to answer the question.

26. You will have 75 minutes to answer 37 Problem Solving and Data Sufficiency Problems. • You have roughly 2 minutes to solve every math problem. • Questions are worth less and less as the test proceeds • Slow down focus on questions at the beginning • Finish all sections

27. Some Math Strategies • If n is an even integer, which of the following must be an odd integer? • 3n – 2 • 3(n + 1) • n – 2 • n/3 • n/2 Hint: Use substitution!

28. Plug-in the answers! • The sum of the digits of a two-digit number is 12, and the ten's digit is one-third the unit's digit. What is the number? • 93 (B) 54 (C) 48 (D) 39 (E) 31

29. Ballpark Strategy • If 0.303z = 2,727, then z = a)9,000 b)900 c)90 d)9 e)0.9 what could reasonably be in the range of the answer?

30. Answer the question that is asked. • Read the question carefully. • If your answer matches one of the choices given, your answer is not necessarily correct. • Some of the choices given correspond to answers you would obtain by making simple errors, such as adding instead of subtracting or confusing area and perimeter.

31. Verbal Skills: What’s Covered • Sentence Correction • Reading Comprehension • Critical Reasoning

32. Verbal Skills • You will have 75 minutes to answer 41 questions, or about 1 minute and 48 seconds per question • Sentence Correction: 15 questions • Reading Comprehension: 15 questions • Critical Reasoning: 11 questions

33. Verbal Section Tips: Sentence Correction • Remember that only the underlined passage contains “errors” • Remember that the “error” may not be “grammar” • Don’t judge “correctness” by your ear alone: GMAT English is different from language used in daily life and conversation. • Make a checklist of “things to look for,” such as pronouns, misplaced modifiers, parallel construction and verb tense—review this frequently as you prepare for the GMAT

34. Verbal Section: More Tips on Sentence Correction • Use a process of elimination (logic) to find the correct answer rather than trying each possible answer in the sentence to hear how it “sounds” • The first answer (A) will always indicate that the original sentence is correct, so if you are certain the original in incorrect, skip it to examine the remaining options; approximately 20% of GMAT answers are “no error” on the verbal section • Identify the variables—what changes—in the remaining options and focus on how the differences affect the meaning of, or clarity of, the sentence

35. Verbal Skills: Sentence Correction • May I venture to say that I think this is performance is the most superior I have ever heard? • May I venture to say that I think this performance is the most superior • May I venture to say this performance is the most superior • May I say this performance is the most superior • I think this performance is superior to any • This performance is the most superior of any Hint: eliminate redundancies!

36. Verbal Question: Sentence Correction • Using it wisely, leisure promotes health, efficiency, and happiness. • Using it wisely, • If used wisely, • Having used it wisely, • Because it is used wisely, • Because of usefulness, Hint: who or what is “using”?

37. Verbal Question: Sentence Correction • With the exception of Frank and I, everyone in the class finished the assignment before the bell rang. • Frank and I, everyone in the class finished • Frank and me, everyone in the class finished • Frank and me, everyone in the class had finished • Frank and I, everyone in the class had finished • Frank and me everyone in the class finished Hint: pronoun error or problem with verb?

38. Reading Comprehension • Read a passage on a social science, business or science issue • Answer questions about the passage’s main and supporting points, and implications • You will be able to refer to the passage when answering the questions, but you will only be able to answer one question at a time • Questions are NOT arranged in order of difficulty in this section

39. Tips for Reading Comprehension Questions • To save time, read the first question to find out what you should look for before you read the passage itself • Identify the main point in a passage or paragraph • “Topic sentences” are usually but not always first; once you find it, skim the remaining paragraph • Locate “transitions” and connecting words to help you see the relationship between ideas (however v. in addition) • Look carefully at the questions and answers to find important qualifying words, like “approximately” or “usually”—as on the math section, make sure you are answering the question

40. Critical Reasoning • Read a short passage (shorter than reading comprehension passages) • Answer questions about logic related to the passage • Consider every word carefully—don’t skim! • Look to the question for clues about answers and pay careful attention to strongly worded statements (must, always, never v. can, usually, sometimes)

41. Sample Critical Reasoning Question Department stores range from two to eight floors in height. If a store has more than three floors, it has an elevator. If the statements above are true, which of the following must also be true? • Second floors do not have elevators • Seventh floors have elevators • Only floors above the third floor have elevators • All floors may be reached by elevators • Some two-floor department stores do not have elevators Hint: focus on what MUST be true as the question prompts, not on what MIGHT be true

42. Sample Critical Reasoning Question • Farmers in the North have observed that heavy frost is usually preceded by a full moon. They are convinced that the moon somehow generates the frost. • Which of the following, if true, would weaken the farmers’ conviction? • The temperature must fall below 50 degrees Fahrenheit for frost to occur • Absence of a cloud cover cools the ground which causes frost • Farmers are superstitious • No one has proven that the moon causes frost • Farmers are not experts in meteorology Hint: Look for the answer that would weaken their belief the most powerfully!

43. Analytical Writing • Two essays in 60 minutes • Two essay types: Analyze an issue and Analyze an Argument • Typed on a computer screen using word processor • Normal word-processing functions like copy and paste will be available

44. Analytical Writing Assessment • Each essay is read by two readers and given a score from 0-6 in half-point increments • First readers are business professionals, business school professors, and college teaching assistants • Computer software called “E-rater” grades the paper, too—it’s the second reader • If there is serious difference in score between the first reader and the computer software, a third human reader makes a final decision • Human graders have about 2 minutes to grade each essay

45. Analytical Writing Assessment • Write as much as you can—longer essays usually score the highest! • Aim for four or more indented paragraphs rather than one long stream of text—indenting suggests organization • Practice for the exam by typing—don’t write by hand—to improve your accuracy and speed

46. Analysis of Issue Tips • You will need to choose a side on the issue • You must provide reasons why you chose your side • Think: X is correct/good or incorrect/bad BECAUSE… • Try to brainstorm several “because clauses” to turn into body paragraphs in your essay • Provide “transitions” at the beginning of body paragraphs (Ex. also, additionally, in contrast, etc) to show the relationships between your ideas

47. What Graders Look For • Understanding of issue • Developed ideas, good organization, logical connections/transitions • Effective support of main point(s) • Good use of language—variety of sentence lengths and styles

48. Analysis of Argument Tips • You are asked to critique (find the weaknesses of) an argument • Find the assumptions that underlie an argument and challenge them OR show how they could be strengthened • Use knowledge of logical fallacies to comprehend questions AND to analyze the argument

49. Analysis of Argument: Assessment • Same as for Analysis of Issue, except that they also look for good use of LOGIC TIP: You must memorize the types of logical fallacies frequently used on GMAT, such as post hoc fallacy and faulty analogy! If you don’t understand the logic vocabulary and concepts, the questions may be confusing!

50. Study Strategies • Buy the book! • Treat it like a class • Commit to specified study time(s) • Test yourself realistically • Do use downloadable GMAT software • Do take full length test to identify weak areas and get rough estimate of score • DO NOT allow yourself to exceed time limits • DO NOT use calculators