GMAT Study Thread Forum

[Instinctive]

cool

im taking the test for mostly for fun

i need a hobby and like the challenge

also, many [non-legal] employers apparently like when candidates have high scores
http://gmatclub.com/forum/gmat-score-us ... 21669.html
http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/co ... 412671.htm

Yeah, I've read (from TLS-esque sources) that a very high gmat (700+) can get an applicant with a JD in the door for an interview with MBB in rare cases.

A 700 score is not high by any means to impress MBB, should be 750 minimum.

That might be going a bit far. 730 is median at H/S/W

[bpolley0]

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[Nulli Secundus]

I did not use any test prep company, I just used a shitty Princeton Review prep book. "Cracking the GMAT" I believe.

50 Q 40 V 5 AWA 8 IR

Lol oh yeah? You want to post your linkedin? I scored a 650 and I know what it takes to get there. The Princeton book isn't going to cut it.

Really?

[bpolley0]

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[Nulli Secundus]

How would posting my linkedin and outing myself help my case here? I fill out the information in Linkedin myself, I have a score report PDF somewhere, I ll PM you if I can locate it in the next few days. But seriously 750 is not that high, its not even %1.

[bpolley0]

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[juzam_djinn]

If you've prepped for the LSAT and gotten over a 170, you should be able to rock the GMAT verbal

then after that, the math really shouldn't be that hard. you don't even need a particular study program or guide...just do an absolute ton of problems. it's really basic math concepts and a few number property tricks over and over

honestly, it's really not too hard to get a 750+ on the gmat. For most, it'd be a LOT harder to get a 170+ on the lsat. HTH BREH

[bpolley0]

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[juzam_djinn]

it's anecdote vs. anecdote: I scored over 750 on the gmat after less than a month of studying, yet it took me several months to really crack and understand the LSAT to get a 99%ile score

don't really understand how your response is related to my statement; all I'm getting out of it is that you are pissed off at the current landscape of gmat prep courses and gmac itself haha

[bpolley0]

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[kcdc1]

Did not know that a high GMAT score would be favorable for non-law jobs. I would think it would be tacky to put it on your resume, so mechanically, how would that work? Just hope they ask?

I just don't believe you just waltz In and took it and scored above a 750 without prep.

Depending on your math background, it may be very possible to do this.

[Nulli Secundus]

If by landscape you mean the fact that the test prep companies are colluding w/ gmat to stop people who refuse to pay 6k for tutoring to score in the 700s and the fact they won,t release their exams obviously indicates they are hiding something yeah sure, you caught me. I just don't believe you just waltz In and took it and scored above a 750 without prep given the time restraints and the breadth of the material being tested. Like I said if what I am saying is false why don't they release my exam and prove I? If what I am saying is false, why not just post your linkedin page? A well not really worth arguing about as anyone with an understanding of basic Econ could look at the test prep companies pricing and market structure and see it,s nonsensical

You seem to think that if you cannot do something, noone else can.

And you have presented me with a learning experience. I must have sounded almost as crazy as you during some of my rants.

[chuckbass]

If by landscape you mean the fact that the test prep companies are colluding w/ gmat to stop people who refuse to pay 6k for tutoring to score in the 700s and the fact they won,t release their exams obviously indicates they are hiding something yeah sure, you caught me. I just don't believe you just waltz In and took it and scored above a 750 without prep given the time restraints and the breadth of the material being tested. Like I said if what I am saying is false why don't they release my exam and prove I? If what I am saying is false, why not just post your linkedin page? A well not really worth arguing about as anyone with an understanding of basic Econ could look at the test prep companies pricing and market structure and see it,s nonsensical

You seem to think that if you cannot do something, noone else can.

And you have presented me with a learning experience. I must have sounded almost as crazy as you during some of my rants.

We should start requiring those who claim to have 170+ to post linkedin pages

[FSK]

My experience so far is that GMAT Is not hard. I just haven't done algebra in a few years.

[bpolley0]

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[juzam_djinn]

If by landscape you mean the fact that the test prep companies are colluding w/ gmat to stop people who refuse to pay 6k for tutoring to score in the 700s and the fact they won,t release their exams obviously indicates they are hiding something yeah sure, you caught me. I just don't believe you just waltz In and took it and scored above a 750 without prep given the time restraints and the breadth of the material being tested. Like I said if what I am saying is false why don't they release my exam and prove I? If what I am saying is false, why not just post your linkedin page? A well not really worth arguing about as anyone with an understanding of basic Econ could look at the test prep companies pricing and market structure and see it,s nonsensical

I really don't care about arguing with you about this; i was merely trying to correct some misconceptions that seemed to exist in this thread regarding difficulties of the GMAT, which all in all is a very easy test compared to, say, the LSAT or MCAT

heck, if you read my post, you'll see that I'm clearly not engaging you in an argument about the test prep companies or the state of that industry...I really don't see how ANYONE would want to get into a discussion with you given some of your nearly incoherent ranting lol.

and i could care less if you believe me about my gmat score or if you want to imply that I don't have "an understanding of basic econ." I do, however, want to recommend that you stop caring about the test prep companies and just start asking for advice in order to find a study method for the gmat that works for you. Arguing about the anti-competitive behaviors of a particular industry on a random online forum to a bunch of students won't do anything, whereas trying to improve your score might help you. HTH

[FSK]

If by landscape you mean the fact that the test prep companies are colluding w/ gmat to stop people who refuse to pay 6k for tutoring to score in the 700s and the fact they won,t release their exams obviously indicates they are hiding something yeah sure, you caught me. I just don't believe you just waltz In and took it and scored above a 750 without prep given the time restraints and the breadth of the material being tested. Like I said if what I am saying is false why don't they release my exam and prove I? If what I am saying is false, why not just post your linkedin page? A well not really worth arguing about as anyone with an understanding of basic Econ could look at the test prep companies pricing and market structure and see it,s nonsensical

I really don't care about arguing with you about this; i was merely trying to correct some misconceptions that seemed to exist in this thread regarding difficulties of the GMAT, which all in all is a very easy test compared to, say, the LSAT or MCAT

heck, if you read my post, you'll see that I'm clearly not engaging you in an argument about the test prep companies or the state of that industry...I really don't see how ANYONE would want to get into a discussion with you given some of your nearly incoherent ranting lol.

and i could care less if you believe me about my gmat score or if you want to imply that I don't have "an understanding of basic econ." I do, however, want to recommend that you stop caring about the test prep companies and just start asking for advice in order to find a study method for the gmat that works for you. Arguing about the anti-competitive behaviors of a particular industry on a random online forum to a bunch of students won't do anything, whereas trying to improve your score might help you. HTH

LSAT is a joke compared to MCAT. That test actually required knowledge, and a ton of it. When a test is scored out of 45, and the median for the top med schools is 36-37, you know somethings up.

[juzam_djinn]

It depends how you define "difficulty" b/c some people see learning vast amounts of facts/rules as difficult, while others think more fluid reasoning questions are harder.

The MCAT tests the former and LSAT tests the latter. Just b/c the test is out of 45 and a good score is in the high 30's does not by itself mean the test is difficult. Studying for the MCAT requires a lot more time though, b/c you can't rely on natural intelligence when you're expected to know actual facts. You have to put in the time to memorize. That being said, take a look at the MCAT verbal section and tell me it's not a joke compared to the LSAT. On top of that, at the heart of it, the science knowledge the MCAT tests on is really very basic. It's stuff that any decent STEM student should be able to grasp very quickly.

For most law students, the idea of doing even basic physics/math is terrifying, so yes, the MCAT and possibly even GMAT would be harder for them. That doesn't mean it's objectively more difficult.

[bpolley0]

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[AbhiJ]

Just because test prep tutors charge 200$/ hour doesnot
mean anyone in the 760+ range could do a business at that rates. Test Prep firm would pay the individual tutors 50% of the base rate. I am not sure how many hours are the tutors actually able to do ? This is because most MBA applicants can take many cheaper optionssuch as self study, online courses, plothera of free sources and after all even at Kellog SOM 50% score less than 710. MBA Applications are much more than your GMAT score.
While its possible to offer part time tutoring as a side project it can never be an enterpreneur's dream.

[lhanvt13]

hopping on this train. I'm a quant so the verbal is going to kill me. I need some poet help

Hopefully this lands me a career in management consulting if biglaw doesn't work out

[Instinctive]

I did not use any test prep company, I just used a shitty Princeton Review prep book. "Cracking the GMAT" I believe.

50 Q 40 V 5 AWA 8 IR

Lol oh yeah? You want to post your linkedin? I scored a 650 and I know what it takes to get there. The Princeton book isn't going to cut it.

LMAO


For more anecdotal evidence, I hit 730 cold (with zero prep). LSAT studying has you so prepped for verbal it's like taking an MLB player and sending him to have fun in AA ball for a month. The math is all stuff you learned in high school.



On point for the thread -> If you can take the GMAT only a month or two after the LSAT and study the quant stuff in between, you should be golden. GMAT verbal is nowhere near the level of difficulty of LSAT stuff. Towards the end of my cycle I was really regretting the 30-70 points I left on the table by not studying quant at all, and if things hadn't worked out for me in the end I'd have been pretty upset with myself.

Tl;dr - study the quant stuff. It's very easy math, as in all stuff I learned in high school, but if you're like me and didn't have any math in college... a month of studying will make a huge difference.

[bpolley0]

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[juzam_djinn]

If by landscape you mean the fact that the test prep companies are colluding w/ gmat to stop people who refuse to pay 6k for tutoring to score in the 700s and the fact they won,t release their exams obviously indicates they are hiding something yeah sure, you caught me. I just don't believe you just waltz In and took it and scored above a 750 without prep given the time restraints and the breadth of the material being tested. Like I said if what I am saying is false why don't they release my exam and prove I? If what I am saying is false, why not just post your linkedin page? A well not really worth arguing about as anyone with an understanding of basic Econ could look at the test prep companies pricing and market structure and see it,s nonsensical

I really don't care about arguing with you about this; i was merely trying to correct some misconceptions that seemed to exist in this thread regarding difficulties of the GMAT, which all in all is a very easy test compared to, say, the LSAT or MCAT

heck, if you read my post, you'll see that I'm clearly not engaging you in an argument about the test prep companies or the state of that industry...I really don't see how ANYONE would want to get into a discussion with you given some of your nearly incoherent ranting lol.

and i could care less if you believe me about my gmat score or if you want to imply that I don't have "an understanding of basic econ." I do, however, want to recommend that you stop caring about the test prep companies and just start asking for advice in order to find a study method for the gmat that works for you. Arguing about the anti-competitive behaviors of a particular industry on a random online forum to a bunch of students won't do anything, whereas trying to improve your score might help you. HTH

My point was simple: That in a completely competitive market where you have absolutely no way of differentiating your goods or services, that you can't charge monopolistic prices. It seems that test prep companies obviously believe they can charge monopolistically based on their tutoring rates. Ultimately, if MBA graduates are so good at business and you can score a 700+, it would be in your best interest to start a test prep company, and drive down prices by charging a lower rate for your services. It's basic Economics and it isn't incoherent at all.

If you don't care about arguing then don't respond to my post with ad hominem attacks.

Look buddy, nobody engaged you in this argument in the first place. It was a random point you brought up all on your own. I then brought up a different random point, that the GMAT was not to be feared esp. in comparison to the LSAT. You decided to respond to me as if I was challenging your assertion.

Also, just to help you out a bit with your logic, there's no reason you should assume that a biz student's "best interest" involves starting a test prep company, regardless of whether or not there are rents to be had. It's just strange to think that, just b/c there may or may not be some profits to be had, it behooves students to start test prep companies.

Also google: Definition of ad hominem attack. HTH

[FSK]

I did not use any test prep company, I just used a shitty Princeton Review prep book. "Cracking the GMAT" I believe.

50 Q 40 V 5 AWA 8 IR

Lol oh yeah? You want to post your linkedin? I scored a 650 and I know what it takes to get there. The Princeton book isn't going to cut it.

LMAO


For more anecdotal evidence, I hit 730 cold (with zero prep). LSAT studying has you so prepped for verbal it's like taking an MLB player and sending him to have fun in AA ball for a month. The math is all stuff you learned in high school.



On point for the thread -> If you can take the GMAT only a month or two after the LSAT and study the quant stuff in between, you should be golden. GMAT verbal is nowhere near the level of difficulty of LSAT stuff. Towards the end of my cycle I was really regretting the 30-70 points I left on the table by not studying quant at all, and if things hadn't worked out for me in the end I'd have been pretty upset with myself.

Tl;dr - study the quant stuff. It's very easy math, as in all stuff I learned in high school, but if you're like me and didn't have any math in college... a month of studying will make a huge difference.

180, though 730 cold seems a bit high to believe.