Conventional wisdom tells you: If you just keep your head down, focus on learning, practice a ton of questions, you’ll achieve that score. Everyone thinks that’s how preparation works. Traditional education has ruined our ability to learn effectively – it made us take a test, get a decent score, and then move on to the next year. 

Traditional education doesn’t focus on “Analysis”. And we tend to bring that “bad understanding” of how learning and test preparation works into our GMAT preparation.

There is no doubt in my mind that hard work is one of the pillars of success. But, it’s just one of the pillars. It is not a guarantee! 

On the GMAT, you need to constantly improve. If you haven’t score 700+ on a practice test after months of hard work, ask yourself: Why aren’t you improving? 

Here's is that answer: The lack of Analysis.

Not everyone is created equal- you will either be a poet or a quant, which means you’ll be good at only 50% of the test before starting preparations. 

You’ll have to work on the other 50%.

And it’s not by brute force or hard work that you’ll get results. It’s by analyzing your tests and practicing the right way. 

I have already written about how you can do that: here

Check it out. It is my most popular post and that's for a reason!

Paradox questions confuse test takers. The question is how do I correctly answer a CR question that is paradoxical?

Usually, paradox questions say something like: "Resolve the paradox". And that is a clue! The test makers want you to resolve the paradox.

How do you resolve a paradox? Let us understand with an example:

The Mayor promised that the local economy would do amazingly well, once the new stadium was completed. He provided the logic that since tens of thousands of people would come to watch sports events every month, these people would have to stay in nearby hotels, eat at local restaurants and shop for goods from the local shops. However, sales figures show that there was no impact on the revenue of the local retailers, hoteliers . In fact, in many cases, the sales actually went down.

How do we explain this paradox?

Obviously, there has to be a plausible explanation. There could be many, but on the GMAT only one of the options given would be correct.

In order to resolve the paradox, use the Bridge technique. The premise states x, which should give result y, but in reality gives result z. So there has to be some fact that would be able to bridge the gap between two contradictory things.

Bridge technique says that you need to choose an answer choice that Proves there was no paradox in the first place!

Let us say there were 3 choices:

Choice A: The stadium itself failed to attract crowds. -> doesn't explain why sales went down
Choice B: The mayor was lying -> irrelevant to the argument
Choice C: Sports fans bought snacks and other food items inside the stadium and never had to stay overnight. Also, local people avoided shopping downtown when such events took place, because the traffic and rush was just mind boggling.

That last choice explains everything. Fans never had to stay overnight. They did not eat at local restaurants, because they visited only for games and stadiums provided enough "food" for them. Plus, since the locals avoided the local shops during events, obviously local businesses not only did not profit from the stadium, their revenue actually went down.

That choice shows that there was no paradox to start with!

So, use the bridge technique and simply pick the choice that proves there is no paradox! Other choices will either be IRRELEVANT or won't completely explain away the paradox.

Statistics are extremely important in life. But, on the GMAT, you don't need to have the skills of an economist to crack problems. Generally, the test makers rarely provide problem solving questions related to stats, but they almost always provide data sufficiency questions related to stats.

So, knowledge of some rules is all you need to tackle most DS problems related to statistics.

The most common "rule" that you should become familiar with: what happens to a stat when you add a new parameter or subtract a new parameter? Does the mean change when you suddenly multiple the same number across individual parameters? What is the one thing that rarely changes?

I'll give you the answers to all these questions in just a second. But, first let us understand why we need to know this stuff. Basically, statistics problems are trickiest when they are combined with the Data Sufficiency format. You can't or shouldn't solve anything related to a DS problem, unless you want to waste a lot of time.

So, the alternative is to know certain "properties" related to statistics, in case the test makers decide to play statistical mind games with you.

Rule 1: Any time you add,subtract, multiple or divide anything with the individual components of a series, the Mean and Median change.

For example: Mean of 2,3,4 = 3  , but if we add 1, mean of (2+1,3+1,4+1) = 4

Notice: Mean increases by 1 as well!

Rule 2: Range and Standard deviation DO NOT change on addition or subtraction.

For example, Range in the above example was = 2. Even after addition of 1, the range still remained 2!

Rule 3: Range and Standard deviation DO CHANGE on multiplication or division.

For example, if we have original series as 2,3,4 and new series as 2x2,3x2,4x2 or 4,6,8 ...
Then, the range changes from 2 to 4!

Notice: Range increases by a factor of 2 as well.

Those are the 3 rules that you should know. The example given by me should be enough for you to remember these rules.

What is your leadership style? Don't know?.. find out.
What are some of the strengths and weaknesses that really make you YOU?
What is unique about your personality and how you handle problems?

One of the most important qualities of a true leader is that the leader knows himself much better than those who follow him.

Like Sun Tzu said,

"If you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles" 

So before you even put pen to paper (metaphorically) to write down an essay, you better know everything about yourself.

Of course, you can use the old technique of keeping a journal with you and noting down qualities, examples and anecdotes about you. This technique of course is time consuming, although extremely helpful.

A better way to do things would be to simply take a few personality tests and see what they say about you! That will not cover the "examples and anecdotes" part, but it will certainly give you a clear sense of who you are as a person and as a leader.

Start with the Myers Briggs test, or the multiple free adaptations of the test available online. Don't ask which one, anyone would do! If one doesn't satisfy your intellectual taste buds, take another one.

Then, move on to leadership tests that give you more insight into your leadership style. Take a few tests that tell you about what kind of a team mate you are too.

Finally, BE HONEST about what you find out and if you can, discuss with your peers or those who know you best.

Once all that is done, then you can move on to the next step- which is thinking about all the different life stories that you would want to utilize while writing your essays.

Even if you don't completely agree with what the tests say, at least now you have something better to work with.

Leadership is not always quantifiable, but certain traits are easily identifiable. So find out who you are as a leader, as a team mate and as a person, and use that knowledge to choose schools, write essays and get into a school that is a REAL fit for you.

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Free just for today - 25th Aug, 2015:

One Page to Bind them All

For the uninitiated, this list will act as the starting point. For those who’re already familiar with various GMAT strategies, this will act as a revision list:

GMAT Quant Strategies:


When you don’t have a formula, always go back to the basics:

• An equation with 2 variables x and y can be solved for both variables only if there is another equation. 
• The angle on a straight line, a triangle and a semi-circle are always 180 degrees. 
• Fractions, ratio, proportions, number properties problems can be easily understood and solved using a number line! 
• When you do have a formula but you can’t seem to find the right answer, try a backup method. 
• If the backup method doesn’t work, guess and move on. 
• On DS questions, try reading the second statement first and then analyze the first one. You are less likely to mentally carry facts from the first statement to the second. 
• 2 minutes is generally the limit. But, if you don’t know how to solve a question, you should quit immediately and guess, instead of wasting your time.

GMAT Verbal Strategies:

• A reading comp passage is not for “detailed scrutiny”. Read it in under 4 minutes without delving into the details. 
• Directional words and tone are important on RC. 
• For Critical reasoning questions, always remember that assumptions are the key in most cases. 
• Always try to identify and differentiate between premises, examples, intermediate conclusions, and main conclusion. 
• If you are unable to differentiate between the main and intermediate conclusions, try reading the whole argument and draw a logic diagram if you need to. Sort of like A->B B->C so C->A or A->C? 
• Be careful not to invert causal relationships. The test makers love it when you do that. i.e. if A leads to C, its not necessary that C will also lead to A! 
• For sentence correction questions, when all else fails, just look at the meaning and the relationships between nouns, pronouns, subjects, verbs and objects. 

GMAT Test Taking Strategies

• Practice timing. Utilize one of the many timing strategies freely available on gmat forums.
• Hide the clock when possible.
• Do not fret about the first two sections. It’s the last two that count for the 800 score.
• Carry eatables, such as MARS bars, that release energy quickly. And utilize your breaks.
• Take a minor 30 second break after every 10 questions.
• If you fall behind on time, guess a question. It’s better than to rush in the end and get a series of questions wrong.
• Learn to leave your ego behind. When something doesn’t get solved, just quit. Not worth ruining your score over a single question.
• DO NOT practice much on the day before or even right before the test.
• DO NOT fall for the trap of learning something new right before the test.
• Stay calm. It’s just a test and you can take it again if it doesn’t go well.

GMAT Practice Strategies:

• Practice under timed conditions.
• However, when learning a new concept, you can practice untimed until you grasp the concept.
• Do not solve a hundred questions a day! Practice answering just 15 questions a day.
• Once the 15 questions are done, analyze them until you have extracted every last bit of information from those questions.
• Use a matrix to keep track of your progress in various sub-sections such as SC, DS, RC, etc.
• Keep a journal in which to note down new concepts or ‘thumb rules’ you run into while practicing.
• Keep an error log and revisit the question you answered incorrectly after a few weeks. Answer them and see if you get them right.
• Take the GMAT Prep test as many times as you want. Questions don’t always repeat and the software has a ton of new questions to offer.
• Test prep companies are in business for a reason. Most of them offer free flash cards, practice tests, etc. Utilize their services or books. But remember to rely on your hard work.
• When in doubt, ask people on the forums for their answers.

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How not to fall for "trust your ear"

This is a more generic post as compared to the previous "Back to the Basics" posts. Certain stylistic elements, and colloquialisms are different for Americans, British, Chinese, Indians, Africans, etc.

A sentence may be considered "correct" or "wrong" simply based on how that sounds to a certain person. However, on the GMAT, only the sentences that follow the rules are correct. Even though the GMAT was focused more on idioms many years ago, that is not the case today.

As a result, today when test makers create a sentence that "sounds" like its correct, they do so in order to trick you. It is the easiest trap to set. People simply do not use elimination when the answer apparently stares them in the face.

So I highly advise that instead of trusting your ear, trust your process of elimination and trust the rules that the test makers generally want you to know.

Another highly sensitive subject on the GMAT- is the Sensitive subject. A reading passage or a critical reasoning question may focus on an issue that is close to your heart. You may feel emotional while reading that passage- however- do not fall for the trap of marking answers based upon your feelings!

The GMAT is not a test of political science, religion or other such subjects. And generally test makers steer clear of such topics. However, they do insert topics other than political or religious that are generally considered "social science" type sensitive passages.

Again, do not fall for a trap while answering any of the GMAT questions. It is an objective type test, where attachment to the subject matter of a single passage is not warranted. Just use the process of elimination and stay objective.

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