How To Save Valuable GMAT Time
MetroMBA’s sister site Clear Admit recently offered up some essential tips about how to get an MBA, specifically when it comes to saving valuable GMAT time, which you can read below.
When working through GMAT Quantitative problems, at times some students will comment, “well, I solved this problem this way, so that’s fine right???”
Totally. As we’ve covered in quite a few posts, there are always several different ways to get to the correct answer for a problem solving or data sufficiency question. However, there are ways that are more efficient than others, and it’s all about what you do “inside” your work on the problem that makes a difference.
Reality: the GMAT is a timed test. With oodles of time, it’s likely that a lot of us could get to the right answer. But the GMAT expects that you complete quantitative questions without a couple minutes, on average. This means that each question CAN be done within that time frame, but it’s more likely that a savvy, high-scoring test taker will average out to two minutes a problem.
There are quite a few problems, particularly in the 500 range, that can be completed in just a spare few seconds if you understand the core concept being tested. There are others that require a few calculations, but once you see the pattern or where a problem is moving, the right answer becomes apparent. And, lastly, there are questions in this space that are best accomplished working backwards from the answer choices, because those answers choices show us where to get started.
Completing these questions as quickly as possible is essential to “saving up seconds” for higher order thinking questions.
But, once we get to the more complex questions, where we save time is all on a) recognizing when we’ve taken the wrong path and need to circle back and/or b) having efficient scratch work.
Many students are so used to “showing the work” that they waste time in scratch work writing out steps they already understand or manually doing calculations in their heads, on their fingers, or simply, more efficiently. Saving seconds allows us to apply time where it is needed (setting up the problem, double-checking the right answer) supporting a high score.
Over the next few posts we’ll highlight questions that fall into this category. In the meantime, as you approach your quantitative practice, think – where can I shave seconds?
Stay tuned to MetroMBA and Clear Admit for more valuable advice about admissions, GMAT tips, and more.
The QS World MBA Tour Is Coming To These Select Cities
There are few better opportunities to learn about the exemplary business school opportunities than at an MBA fair. And luckily, for many prospective MBA students, that opportunity will soon be arriving in their city with the QS World MBA Tour.
How to Master the Letters of Support on Your MBA Application
While business schools require candidates to submit anywhere from 1-3 recommendations as part of the regular admissions process, we’re devoting this admissions tip to a lesser known relative of the formal recommendation: the letter of support. The letter of support is very different from a typical letter of recommendation, in ways that we will detail below. In fact, we’ll use this admissions tip to share the following information:
• What is a letter of support?
• Who can author and submit such letters?
• When should a letter of support be submitted?
• What should a letter of support cover in terms of content?
• Should I seek out a letter of support at my target schools?
• How many letters of support should I seek out?
So without further ado, let’s dive into this lesser known element of the MBA admissions process.
What is a letter of support?
A letter of support is a short document (1-2 pages in length) that is submitted on behalf of an applicant by a third party – often without any involvement from the candidate. The letter is addressed to the director of admissions and seeks to make a case for the applicant’s candidacy at a given school. In many respects, a letter of support is really just an informal letter of recommendation.
Who can author and submit a letter of support?
Letters of support typically come from any one of three sources:
- Students at the school to which you applied
- Alumni of the school to which you applied
- Faculty of the school to which you applied
These are the stakeholders of the institution, and as such, have a voice in the campus community that the admissions team is open to engaging. The logic is that stakeholders in the school community should naturally seek to positively influence the outcome of admissions decisions (e.g. they should want the best and brightest to join the community of which they are a part) and that they will speak up (via a letter of support) if an exceptional candidate they know has applied.
When should a letter of support be submitted?
Most letters of support are submitted after the candidate in question has applied – usually within 2-5 weeks of the application submission date. The reason these letters should not be submitted prior to the candidate’s application is because it creates an extra hurdle for the admissions team – they can’t ‘match’ the letter to a file in their system until they actually have the application. It also makes sense, from a timing perspective, for the letter to come in after the application so that it can provide a bit of color commentary – or even a last word – on the candidate.
What should a letter of support cover in terms of content?
The key narrative should be about your fit with the school. The author of the letter does not need to follow the questions the school asks of the required recommenders. Schools are always interested to learn about how a candidate would integrate into the learning community of the program – and a supplemental recommender should be able to address this, through the lens of her own experiences with the school and with you. The more heartfelt and detailed the recommendation, the more useful it will be to the admissions team. A few sentences won’t make much of an impact, but a page or two that brings the applicant’s background and personality to life will signal that the writer really cares about your candidacy.
Should I seek out a letter of support at my target schools?
This is a question that many candidates ponder. The answer is that it depends on whether or not you know of someone who qualifies to submit such a letter (e.g. a student, alum or professor at the school) AND who knows you well enough to write a supportive and illuminating letter. Of course, you will also want to take into account a given school’s policy on such letters (more on this below).
Beyond whether you should seek out a letter of support, it is also worth considering what you might do if someone offers to write a letter on your behalf. Some schools actively encourage their stakeholders to offer informal recommendations (letters of support) for candidates they know. These schools may even have a process in place to solicit such input. Engaging with alumni, students and faculty in this way can also become an effective marketing tool for the school, allowing the members of their community to actively reach out and shape the next generation of MBA candidates.
Of course, some schools actively discourage any additional materials, post application. So if you are going down this path, then you should take into account the individual school’s policy for additional materials post-application submission. Of course, even in cases where a school tells applicants not to submit anything once their application is ‘in process’ it can still be fair game to a) have a supplemental recommender provide a recommendation prior to submitting your application, or b) if a member of the school community submits a letter unbeknownst to you. Of course, in the case that such a letter comes in prior to your application, you may find that it is harder to ‘match’ that letter to your file (as we indicated earlier).
How many letters of support should I seek out (if any)?
In most, if not all, cases, a single letter of support (per school) is sufficient. The risk of soliciting multiple letters is that it might suggest a ‘letter writing campaign’ (with the applicant overtly attempting to pull strings) and may not be welcomed by the admissions committee.
A Final Thought
For those who are unable to gain a letter of support from a stakeholder of the school, don’t panic. While this type of letter can help a school learn more about fit, the majority of candidates will not have this type of informal recommendation – and schools work hard at being fair to candidates with varying degrees of access to their school during the admissions process. As always, there are many other aspects of a candidacy that the school considers before making an admissions decision.
This article has been edited and republished from our sister site, Clear Admit.
Admissions Tip: Clearing Up the Background Check
With a slew of schools releasing their R1 notifications, we know that many of our readers will be asking about the background checks conducted by leading programs. Here are some quick facts to help explain the process:
1. What are background checks?
Background checks involve the verification of information that a candidate has provided in his or her MBA applications. Although the process varies from school to school, it usually includes checking that an applicant attended the undergraduate (or graduate) school(s) that he or she claims to have attended, received the grades indicated and earned the GMAT score reported. It also involves the verification of the candidate’s employment history, job titles, starting and ending dates and salary/bonus information. Finally, some background checks involve contacting recommenders to verify their support and confirming applicant involvement in community activities.
2. Do all schools conduct background checks?
When do they do this? How do they have time? Many of the leading MBA programs like to verify the information that has been provided by applicants. This is typically done only for those applicants who are admitted, since there is no sense in expending resources to verify information for applicants who do not make the cut. Most background checks occur in the spring – after decisions for most rounds have been released and students begin sending in their deposits. In many cases, the schools outsource this function to a professional risk consulting firm like Kroll.
3. Why bother with background checks? Don’t the schools trust me?
The purpose of background checks is to protect all stakeholders of the MBA program (students, faculty, staff, alumni) from those who would falsify their backgrounds to gain an unfair advantage in the admissions process. Some schools opt to investigate the backgrounds of a relatively small sample of randomly selected admits, hoping that the mere possibility of a check will give applicants incentive to be as honest as possible. In a way, this measure therefore serves to increase the adcom’s trust in its applicants.
4. What about very minor discrepancies?
It’s natural for admitted applicants to get anxious at this point in the process, wondering whether their offer of admission might be rescinded if, for instance, the “start date” for an old job is one week earlier than the start date that HR reports during the background check. The good news is that most schools report any discrepancies back to the applicant and give them a chance to explain a plausible mistake. Having said that, it of course makes sense to do your best to verify all of your information before applying to school, so that you can be certain that the data you report is accurate. Should any potential issues come to mind after submitting, you might consider preemptively contacting the adcom if the error is serious enough.
5. Won’t the background checking process alert my employer to the fact that I am applying to b-school?
Since the process typically takes place long after you’ve been admitted, this ideally won’t be an issue, as most applicants give their employers ample notice and take some time off before school. Having said that, the schools still try to conduct the checks in a discrete fashion, consulting with your HR department to verify your dates of employment and salary – but not necessarily revealing that you are heading to business school.
6. How can I ensure a smooth background check?
While the obvious answer is to be honest in your applications, it’s also important that you don’t fudge anything out of laziness (a common occurrence). Dig up those old W-2 forms or check with former employers in order to present the committee with the most accurate information you can.
Stay up to date with all of our latest MBA admissions tips here.
This article has been edited and republished with permissions from our sister site, Clear Admit.
Admissions Tip: Top 5 MBA Interview Questions
Interviews, interviews, interviews … it’s all anyone seems to be talking about these days, and with good reason. Wharton is scheduled to release its interview decisions tomorrow, Harvard Business School has already sent its invitations out, as have many other top schools.
Instead of driving yourself crazy with worry, why not buckle down and perfect your answers to the questions you are most likely to be asked? To help you prepare, Clear Admit has prepared Interview Guides and Interview Archive to compile its very own Top Five list of the questions that most often make their way into MBA admissions interviews at leading schools.
While these refer primarily to questions asked as part of blind interviews, they can certainly also come up as part of non-blind interviews. In those cases, you’ll want to be prepared to go deeper into some of the specific experiences you shared in your application. For a quick refresher on the difference between blind and non-blind interviews, click here.
For detailed insights into each school’s interview process, the questions they ask, and how to tackle those questions, access Clear Admit’s Interview Guides.
Top Five MBA Admissions Interview Questions
Walk me through your résumé.
The real trick with answering this open-ended question is to gauge how much detail is too much. Imposing a structure can help. “It’s best to err on the side of brevity,” says Alex Brown, who asked this very question of many hopeful Wharton applicants during his time working in admissions at the Philadelphia school. “Think of this résumé walk-through as simply laying the groundwork for deeper discussion of your background and accomplishments.” A good idea is to develop a two- to three-minute run-through, beginning with where you grew up and went to college, what you studied and perhaps something you enjoy outside of work. Then move into a concise overview of your work experience, beginning with your first job and continuing to present day, making sure to explain why you made the choices you did and what you learned in each major role. “This kind of high-level overview gives your interviewer the perfect opportunity to ask for more detail about specific points if she wants it,” Brown says. If you have a gap of three or more months due to unemployment or some other cause, you should be prepared to address it, Brown warns, although in a short résumé question as part of the interview, it may not come up.
What are your career goals?
With any luck, you will already have a well-honed response to this question, developed and refined as part of the process of writing your application essays. “If you are looking to shift industry or function, this is your chance to explain your reasoning and that you have carefully thought through what may be involved in successfully making the transition,” Brown says. Keep in mind why the adcom is asking this question, Brown suggests. “They want to know how focused you are on the MBA and whether you are in a position to take advantage of the resources business school offers or at risk of getting overwhelmed,” he says. Present a very clear post-MBA goal, Brown recommends. “Schools prefer to admit students who can explain exactly what kind of job they want to pursue beyond graduation and articulate how it will set them up to obtain their long-term career objectives,” he says. Schools are also looking, with this question, to see if your goals make sense and are feasible in light of your past experiences; are you able to articulate a clear path and plan?
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Why X school?
Here, schools want to see if you have really done your research on their program and whether you are a good fit with their culture. So, do your research. “I recommend a three-pronged approach to make a truly compelling case for your interest in a given school,” Brown says. Start with academics, he says, naming specific courses and professors that you are interested in. “Remember, your interviewer wants to see that you have really researched the school.” Second, mention specific clubs, conferences and other special programs that will help position you for your career goals. “Even better, show how you would contribute to the school community, such as by organizing an event to share specific knowledge you bring with your future classmates,” Brown suggests. Third, show that you have a good understanding of the school’s community, culture, class size and location and have thought about how these fit with your personality, goals and background. “If you have visited campus or talked with current students or alumni—definitely say so, lead with this.” Brown stresses. “Beyond showing that you’ve invested time in getting to know the school, this also helps your interviewer have a mental picture of you on campus.” he says.
Give us an example of a time you took a leadership role.
The way interviewers ask this question can vary—sometimes you’ll be asked directly about your most notable leadership experience and other times you’ll be invited to describe your general leadership style. “It’s important to keep a few basic principles about leadership in mind,” Brown says. “A leader is someone who has a strong vision or point of view and is able to see things others are not,” he continues. A leader must also have excellent communication skills. Choose an example that demonstrates these points. An ideal leadership example will describe a time when you negotiated with and persuaded key stakeholders, such as clients or a supervisor, to buy into your vision and then delegated the work and managed colleagues or juniors. “If you encountered obstacles along the way, share how you dealt with them,” Brown says. “If possible, you should also show success through quantified results,” he adds. As important as a successful outcome is demonstrating how you drew on the help of others where necessary. “No one is successful on their own,” Brown says. Show that you understand that strong leadership means teamwork and playing well with others, he says.
Tell us about a time you failed.
As tempting as it may be to say that you’ve never failed at anything…that is not what that adcom is looking for here. “In fact, this is a favorite question for those who appear to be ‘rock stars’ on paper,” Brown says. But rock stars make mistakes, and having an example in your back pocket of a time things did not go according to plan can show humility as well as your capacity to learn and grow. “The best answer to this type of question ends with a more recent experience where you took the lesson you learned from the failure and put it into play, affecting a better outcome.” he says.
These five questions certainly don’t cover everything your interviewer is likely to ask you, but they do touch upon some of the things you’re most likely to be called upon to share as part of your MBA admissions interview. You can take some of the anxiety out of the interview process by giving each one some thought, drawing on some relevant experiences from your past, and practicing the responses you would give. Don’t practice too much so that you appear overly rehearsed—since it’s important to seem both authentic and genuine—but prepare enough so that you’ll be ready to truly put your best self forward.
This article has been edited and republished with permissions from Clear Admit.
Admissions Tip: Word Limits and Character Counts
MBA candidates naturally have a good deal of information they want—and need—to convey in their materials, and getting the important ideas down under restrictive word counts is a difficult task. While it might be tempting to run a bit beyond the guidelines to slip in that one extra thought, it’s important to keep the reasons for these limits in mind.
Essay Word Limits
In addition to being a medium for explaining your goals and sharing your story, the essays and short answers also serve as a test of the applicant’s ability to communicate clearly and concisely, not to mention follow directions and answer a question. Because business schools and post-MBA employers place a premium on all of these elements, adhering to word and character counts ultimately works to the candidate’s advantage.
Another important consideration is the reader’s time. Because of high application volume and the need to give every applicant fair and thorough consideration, schools are forced to limit the amount of information in each file. If you consistently extend your answers beyond the suggested limits, you are essentially asking the reader to give you more time than they are devoting to the other applicants. In other words, if you were to ignore the limits and overshoot by 30 percent throughout, this might imply that you consider yourself to be 30 percent more interesting than everyone else who applied – which could create concerns for your own lack of self-awareness.
That being said, there can be some leeway. For the vast majority of programs, it’s generally acceptable to exceed the word limit by 5 percent. There are, of course, a few exceptions:
- Caveat #1: If a school gives you a range (e.g., 250-750 words), you should ideally stay within that range.
- Caveat #2: If a school gives you a page limit (e.g., 2 pages), you should stay within that limit – without excessive margin manipulation or font size reduction.
- Caveat #3: In the rare case that a school’s application system truncates the answer once the limit is exceeded, then it is absolutely important to remain under the limit.
In terms of the other end of the length issue, it is unwise to consistently fall more than 5 percent below the limits; this is valuable room in which to share further relevant information about your candidacy. By falling short, it might signal a lack of effort on your part for developing your best application, or a lack of experiences or accomplishments for you to share with the admissions committee. There is one exception to this, the schools’ optional essays. While some of these essays include word count limits, brevity is typically the rule when choosing to include additional information; the word limit should not be the target.
Beyond the long-form essays that most schools require, many programs also include what are commonly referred to as ‘short answer’ questions in their application data forms. These range from schools asking candidates to describe their post-MBA career plans in a sentence or two to broader queries about how a candidate first learned of a given MBA program. In these ‘short answers’ schools often use character limits instead of word count, and their online systems often truncate responses that run long. As such, we advise a more strict adherence to the word count or character limits associated with ‘short answers’
Best of luck to all those fine tuning their applications!
