anyone taken a GMAT recently?

cstmar01

Sooooooo I'm probably going to try and go back and get my MBA soon. I haven't taken the GMAT and I hate tests but just looking for anyone that has taken it recently that could offer and idea of 1. how bad was it, and 2. what material or books they used to prep for it and how well the material helped. For the LSAT I was using the Princeton Review.

Most of my friends decided to go into the work field rather than go onto grad school, so I honestly don't know anyone that took it. The only test I started getting ready for was the LSAT my senior year but decided I didn't want to go to law school. I'm currently working but seeing my work will pay pretty much the whole thing (They finally changed a few things so that it will be that way) and the next job I want almost requires it, I want to go part time and get it.

Any help would be appreciated.

crap should be taken THE GMAT or taken a GMAT test. blah.

Big Dawg

I also took the LSAT right out of college, then also decided I didn't want to be a lawyer. Almost 10 years later I took the GMAT. While that was still a while ago, I think that things haven't changed all that much. For the LSAT, I took a Kaplan course and did pretty well, but felt that I didn't do as well as I could have. For the GMAT, I diligently worked my way through a Princeton Review book. I did very well on the GMAT, and felt good about my effort. I thought the book was a great prep tool, better than the class. But, that was because I was willing to be patient and thorough in my prep work. I also think I was a bit more mature, and that helped too. If I was less motivated, a class might have made more sense.

cincycat13

Can't help too much. I took it when it was still a paper test back in like 1997. I picked up a big name study guide from a local bookstore and found it helpful. There was an essay section at the end and the guides provided a nice 1-3-1 paragraph outline with transition phrases and topic sentences to make it simple. (Engineer's hate english). As a paper test, you knew the first 1/3rd of the questions were "easy" and the last 1/3rd were hard so that if you thought you knew the answer on a last question, it was probably a decoy answer.

I believe it is now a progressive computer format test in that if you get the easy ones...it jumps to more advanced ones. Either way, a study guide with test strategies should get you through it. It shows you what they test for, and how to identify the types of questions. It was not that bad. Good Luck!

cstmar01

Thanks for the info guys. I'm pretty serious about doing well as my job progression depends on it. Preparing for the LSAT wasn't too bad because I had been studying and preparing for awhile as well as had known people who took it and was given advice ect on it. (I was a pre law person so that helps get you prepared as well.)

This seeing its the MBA and I didn't really know ANYONE who graduated that went on right away to get their MBA is just a bit different for me so I'm freaking out about it a bit more.

cnh

Not to be a Debby-downer.....but aren't MBA's a dime a dozen these days after most of them got laid off during the big business downturn and downsizing!

Personally, if you have a job, which you do, and if you're employer is going to flip that bill, which you say they will...the only way I would bother with an MBA is if I knew for 'sure' that my current employer was going to 'promote' me once I had this.

Because I really don't think there are many jobs for MBAs in the U.S.A. at this point. In China yeah...they need more here. Back home...people are still scratching their heads trying to decide if the U.S. has 'recovered' or is just getting ready for phase two of the recession....hey Walmart is your, our, LARGEST employer!

My kvetching aside....I see Lawyers, MBAs, Engineers and whatever other U.S. professional you wish to name working in China for MUCH LESS than they could make in the U.S. because they can't find a job back home?

In any case....cstmar01 I hope you do very well and it opens up a wonderful career path for you regardless. I'm also one who does not think a whole lot of GMAT, LSATs, GREs, SATs....and so on. I have a terminal degree in my field from one of the best Universities in the U.S. Took some of those tests, did well enough to get grants and entry, and I mopped the floor with the people who had perfect scores on those tests! I still don't understand why so much emphasis is put into that 'nonsense'....Educational Testing Services.....lol....there's a money maker for you! In fact that's the ONLY reason it exists--because it's become an INSTITUTION that can make a lot of money doing very little. And few studies have demonstrated that what it tests means 'anything' at all!

cnh

venomclan

I think that the MBA is what you make of it. It is a good general degree to have. While it is competitive in the working world, having it cannot hurt you and and can lead to many career paths, not just Wall St.

Other less quantitative degrees that are popular these days are Management and Leadership. These degrees are appearing more and more in the business world.

As to the GMAT question, many MBA schools waive this test if your GPA is high enough and or depending on your work experience.
Venom

cstmar01

cnh wrote: »

Not to be a Debby-downer.....but aren't MBA's a dime a dozen these days after most of them got laid off during the big business downturn and downsizing!

Personally, if you have a job, which you do, and if you're employer is going to flip that bill, which you say they will...the only way I would bother with an MBA is if I knew for 'sure' that my current employer was going to 'promote' me once I had this.

Because I really don't think there are many jobs for MBAs in the U.S.A. at this point. In China yeah...they need more here. Back home...people are still scratching their heads trying to decide if the U.S. has 'recovered' or is just getting ready for phase two of the recession....hey Walmart is your, our, LARGEST employer!

My kvetching aside....I see Lawyers, MBAs, Engineers and whatever other U.S. professional you wish to name working in China for MUCH LESS than they could make in the U.S. because they can't find a job back home?

In any case....cstmar01 I hope you do very well and it opens up a wonderful career path for you regardless. I'm also one who does not think a whole lot of GMAT, LSATs, GREs, SATs....and so on. I have a terminal degree in my field from one of the best Universities in the U.S. Took some of those tests, did well enough to get grants and entry, and I mopped the floor with the people who had perfect scores on those tests! I still don't understand why so much emphasis is put into that 'nonsense'....Educational Testing Services.....lol....there's a money maker for you! In fact that's the ONLY reason it exists--because it's become an INSTITUTION that can make a lot of money doing very little. And few studies have demonstrated that what it tests means 'anything' at all!

cnh

I agree with your whole statement. There is a huge amount of people that do have them and it could be debated if it a good choice due to the economy to go out and get one. However with the job I currently am working, and the job I want to move to next, I have been told because I didn't get a business degree that that would hurt me in trying to progress to the next level and the MBA would be "the better choice". I had graduated with a double major which was Political Science-Pre Law, and the other was Public Administration and Policy Analysis. I did have to take some of the "intro" business courses, however was told I would need more in depth ones in order to progress.

For the job I would want, they would like the MBA due to leadership skills as well as dealing with financial statements ect. My other choice over getting an MBA is going back and taking more undergrad courses and get the business degree, however they won't pay as much towards those classes (because its under grad) and I felt the MBA would be better than just doing another undergrad BS degree.

And to explain a bit, the job I want isn't even in the same "department" I am currently in. Right now I hold the highest position in the department besides my manager so that's not really any room for progression there. I would have to leave the department and its the other one I would need the advanced degree for. I know I could switch companies, however I really do like my company and would rather stay with them if possible.

mystik610

cstmar01 wrote: »

Thanks for the info guys. I'm pretty serious about doing well as my job progression depends on it. Preparing for the LSAT wasn't too bad because I had been studying and preparing for awhile as well as had known people who took it and was given advice ect on it. (I was a pre law person so that helps get you prepared as well.)

This seeing its the MBA and I didn't really know ANYONE who graduated that went on right away to get their MBA is just a bit different for me so I'm freaking out about it a bit more.

It certainly takes some work experience to appreciate the value of an MBA beyond the fact that 'it looks better.' When I was working in a dead-end straight field straight out of college and wanted an MBA simply because 'it looked better', it simply didn't happen. I didn't have the real motivation, because I didn't have a clearly defined goal and focus that made an MBA necessary.

Eventually I switched to a different industry, saw where I eventually wanted to go, and realized the real value of an MBA. It goes beyond simply having the title...there was a certain level of personal, professional, and intellectual development that I needed to go through. An MBA wasn't the sole answer of course, but the synergy between the work and educational experience certainly went a long way. Once I realized that, I had the laser sharp determination to get through the GMAT, and get into grad school.

There are people who go through there undergrad, and eventually go through business school and still find themselves lost. Academically they might have been brilliant, but they are otherwise clueless because they lacked any experience that taught them how to apply their academics. In those cases, work experience is more important than education. But as long as you can see the MBA as more than a title, and have a clearly defined goal of how to apply it to get where you want to be....go for it!

cstmar01

mystik610 wrote: »

It certainly takes some work experience to appreciate the value of an MBA beyond the fact that 'it looks better.' When I was working in a dead-end straight field straight out of college and wanted an MBA simply because 'it looked better', it simply didn't happen. I didn't have the real motivation, because I didn't have a clearly defined goal and focus that made an MBA necessary.

Eventually I switched to a different industry, saw where I eventually wanted to go, and realized the real value of an MBA. It goes beyond simply having the title...there was a certain level of personal, professional, and intellectual development that I needed to go through. An MBA wasn't the sole answer of course, but the synergy between the work and educational experience certainly went a long way. Once I realized that, I had the laser sharp determination to get through the GMAT, and get into grad school.

There are people who go through there undergrad, and eventually go through business school and still find themselves lost. Academically they might have been brilliant, but they are otherwise clueless because they lacked any experience that taught them how to apply their academics. In those cases, work experience is more important than education. But as long as you can see the MBA as more than a title, and have a clearly defined goal of how to apply it to get where you want to be....go for it!

well for me its not that I want to get it to just get it. I'm mostly going because it would help me excel to the next level in terms of jobs and help me achieve my goals in terms of a job and where I want to be in the next 5,10, 15 year marks.

I am very goal focused, I have a list of what I want to do in life for employment, an idea of what I want to make at certin levels, and the ways I will go about doing it all. For me an MBA is a logical step because it will help me advance to the next level and I don't really see how I would be able to without it. I love my current job but I don't want to do it for 15 years straight. I want to progress and advance myself to the point where I know that I made the best use of my talents and ablity. Right now my job is great, I love the people I work with, I get taught a lot about various issues, and love my employer. The MBA would help me take it to the next level as well as I really want to make sure I'm prepared for the next job I would like to take on. I really don't want to go into a job and not be ready for it and get lost in what I'm doing.

Big Dawg

cstmar01 wrote: »

I agree with your whole statement. There is a huge amount of people that do have them and it could be debated if it a good choice due to the economy to go out and get one. However with the job I currently am working, and the job I want to move to next, I have been told because I didn't get a business degree that that would hurt me in trying to progress to the next level and the MBA would be "the better choice". I had graduated with a double major which was Political Science-Pre Law, and the other was Public Administration and Policy Analysis. I did have to take some of the "intro" business courses, however was told I would need more in depth ones in order to progress.

For the job I would want, they would like the MBA due to leadership skills as well as dealing with financial statements ect. My other choice over getting an MBA is going back and taking more undergrad courses and get the business degree, however they won't pay as much towards those classes (because its under grad) and I felt the MBA would be better than just doing another undergrad BS degree.

And to explain a bit, the job I want isn't even in the same "department" I am currently in. Right now I hold the highest position in the department besides my manager so that's not really any room for progression there. I would have to leave the department and its the other one I would need the advanced degree for. I know I could switch companies, however I really do like my company and would rather stay with them if possible.

I graduated from a fine liberal arts college with a history major and a political science minor, and anticipated going on to law school. However, as the time to go approached, I realized I wasn't ready/didn't want to become a lawyer. Instead, I moved to NYC and got a job (yes, I did spend some time working on Wall Street).

Later, when I was ready, I got my MBA from NYU, for many of the same reasons you cite. It was a great decision, and I've never had a moment of regret or doubt - and I paid for all of it myself! I do think, though, that the school you choose matters - try to get into the best program you can, both for the piece of paper but especially for the education.

Dawg

cstmar01

Big Dawg wrote: »

I graduated from a fine liberal arts college with a history major and a political science minor, and anticipated going on to law school. However, as the time to go approached, I realized I wasn't ready/didn't want to become a lawyer. Instead, I moved to NYC and got a job (yes, I did spend some time working on Wall Street).

Later, when I was ready, I got my MBA from NYU, for many of the same reasons you cite. It was a great decision, and I've never had a moment of regret or doubt - and I paid for all of it myself! I do think, though, that the school you choose matters - try to get into the best program you can, both for the piece of paper but especially for the education.

Dawg

See that might pose a small problem. The school I would attend allows me to work my full time job that I currently hold and go take the classes online or take classes at the college I did my undergrad at. I would like to have my company help me go to school so that way I don't have to take as many student loans out to pay for it. Also that way I stay with the company I like and get the degree that they help me pay for, which gives added incentive for them to keep me as an employee or help me in the future with my job goals (or so I hope, could work against me but my company is pretty good about things like this). Granted its not the BEST program, but it is considered a decent one around the area and many people that have taken it have gone pretty far with it.