ix

Acknowledgments

I owe thanks to Dr Jim Clayden for contributing the algebraic questions and many of the data sufficiency questions. His contribution makes this a far better book than it otherwise would be.

I am grateful to Steven Redman, who, for a number of years, directed a Spanish GMAT® prep school and provided useful insights into the challenge of the GMAT®, particularly to the non-US-educated candidate.

I am also indebted to Moz Gamble who undertook a careful reading of the verbal sub-test questions, and suggested a series of improvements and corrected a number of errors and ambiguities. Any remaining errors or omissions are entirely mine.

x

This page is left intentionally blank

1

1

What is the GMAT CAT®?

GMAT® stands for the Graduate Management Admission Test and CAT stands for Computer Adaptive Test. Originally, the GMAT® was a paper and pen test, but since 1997, it has been taken in its current CAT format at a computer screen. The test is currently administered by ETS, Educational Testing Services, based in Princeton, New Jersey in the United States, but this could change, with a different administrating body taking over. You can find invaluable information about the GMAT® and register to take the test at http://www.gmat.org.

The stated purpose of the GMAT® is to predict how well you will do in the first year of business school. It attempts to do this by investigating your ability to answer multiple-choice questions in algebra, geometry and arithmetic, the conventions of written English, the comprehension of complex passages and analysis of complex argument. You are also expected to write two essays.

Over half of the institutions worldwide that offer graduate business programs are reported to require a GMAT® score from applicants, especially for a place on the fulltime courses. The test will currently (2007) cost about $250. In addition to this, you will have to fund the cost of travel to a test center. There is no reduced fee or waiver for low-income candidates.

For many schools you need a good GMAT® score

Competition for places at the more prestigious business schools is fierce. These are the schools that tend to require you to take the GMAT®, and a high GMAT® score is essential if you are to secure a place in one of these institutions.

The score range for the GMAT® is 200–800, but ETS reports that scores above 750 and below 250 are rare. Two-thirds of all candidates score between 400 and 600. The students at a good school will have an average score of over 600. The students at

2 How to pass the GMAT®

Harvard in 2004 had an average score of 707, around the top 10 percent of all scores. To gain a place at the majority of popular schools you need to be able to score better than two-thirds of all candidates. Then you can be sure that your GMAT® score will support your application.

These averages are based on a very broad range. Some people will get into the school of their choice with lower scores than others. There will not be a minimum GMAT® score that you will have to achieve. The GMAT® is only one of the assessments used to decide if an applicant is to be offered a place.

You may need a well-balanced score

While many schools concentrate on your overall score, others also look for a wellbalanced score. By this they mean a score that is consistently good across the subtests and essays. For this reason, the candidate who, for example, is strong verbally, but numerically challenged, may not get the place they hoped for, despite a good overall GMAT® score. Equally, the mathematics genius who cannot write a good essay or is totally mystified by the conventions of English usage may also find they are denied a place in the school of their choice.

Doing really well, for example, in the mathematics part of the GMAT® will compensate for a weaker performance in the verbal parts of the test. But this compensation needs to be within certain limits. The need for a balanced GMAT® score makes it important that candidates identify and work to address areas of personal weakness. If you have always found mathematics difficult but until now have succeeded despite this, then it is time to correct that situation. Equally, if you have happily applied the rule of English usage implicitly but found the rules of grammar baffling, then it is better to review them now and come to know the rules explicitly. You will then be more confident, will recognize what is behind a question and be better able to recognize the significance of the subtle differences in the suggested answers.

Many, probably most, GMAT® candidates are stronger in one part of the test. But if you believe that in your case this imbalance risks being judged as too great, then make sure you start work early to address it. Everyone can become proficient in the numeracy and syntactics required by the GMAT®. It is simply a matter of practice and sufficient time to complete it. It takes some candidates longer to reach the required standard in any area of personal challenge but given hard work and determination, everyone can achieve it. It can be boring, painful even, but if you have decided to do an MBA and your business school requires you to obtain a good balanced score in the GMAT® then you have little alternative but to get down to some serious hard work.

What is the GMAT CAT®? 3

The types of questions and assessments

Become entirely familiar with each aspect of the GMAT®. Whatever your background, or personal challenges, begin your program of revision or review by becoming completely familiar with each part of the GMAT®: the kinds of questions or assessments, the amount of time allowed and the number of tasks or questions. These are all essential pieces of information and acquiring them must be the first step in your campaign.

Read carefully the information provided at www.gmat.org and www.mba.com. You will realize that the GMAT® is made up of three principal parts and you are allowed an optional five-minute pause between each of these parts:

1.The Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) comprises two essays, to be completed in one hour (30 minutes each). One involves the analysis of an issue; the other, the analysis of an argument.

2.The quantitative sub-test comprises 37 questions to be completed in 75 minutes. It is made up of two styles of questions, entitled problem-solving and data sufficiency. The order in which these questions occur is randomly determined by the computer.

3.The verbal sub-test comprises 41 questions to be completed in 75 minutes. This sub-test has three styles of questions, entitled reading comprehension, sentence correction and critical reasoning, and once again, the order in which these questions occur is determined by the computer.

Some of the questions in the quantitative and verbal tests are non-scoring, as they are being trialed for inclusion as scoring items in future tests. You are not given any indication as to which are scoring, so treat them all with the same determination.

Things to remember on the day of the test

The most important thing to take with you when you attend the test center is suitable ID. For reasons of test security, the test administrator will want to be able to confirm that no one is impersonating you and completing the test on your behalf. It is essential therefore that the name on your ID exactly matches the name on your test appointment.

The most usual forms of ID are a passport, national ID card or a driver’s license. Note that acceptable ID must not have expired and must contain your name (spelled exactly the same as on your test appointment), a recognizable photograph and your signature. Read carefully and follow the instructions regarding ID on the mba.com website, and contact the MBA if you have any doubts as to the suitability of your ID.

You are also required to sign a confidentiality statement and must follow the test center’s regulations. Beforehand, be sure to read through the pages on the mba.com website on the test center conditions, procedures and regulations.

4 How to pass the GMAT®

You are not allowed to take very much into the test room. They provide you with everything you need or are allowed, including scrap, or scratch paper, for doing rough work. You are not allowed to bring a calculator or any other sort of aid or cell phone in the testing room. A stopwatch is provided on the computer screen.

It would be a big mistake to arrive late for your appointment. So locate the center and make sure you can find it with time to spare. Aim to arrive at least 30 minutes before your appointment time.

If English is not your first language

The business school of your choice may require you to pass the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or IELTS (International English Language Testing System) tests as well as the GMAT®. The school to which you apply will inform you of its policy.

Some parts of the GMAT® are likely to present a greater challenge, so you need to adjust your program of revision and review accordingly. For a speaker of English as a second language, the reading comprehension and critical reasoning questions are likely to prove the most challenging. You might find yourself at an advantage in the sentence correction part of the test: many native speakers of English have forgotten or never formally learned the rules of English grammar, while you will have. The mathematics sections, however, are not likely to prove a greater challenge or offer you any advantage over a native speaker.

To meet the challenge of reading comprehension and critical reasoning, at an early stage and, if possible, daily, spend time reading quality newspapers and journals. This will help build your vocabulary and improve your proficiency at assimilating the meanings of the complex sentences and sentence structures that occur in the GMAT® passages. Look up unfamiliar words. Practice writing 70-word reviews of articles found in these publications.

Be prepared to undertake a considerable amount of GMAT® practice before the real test. Practice will help you achieve a considerably better score, so start early and make a significant commitment in terms of the time spent practicing on realistic material. For many non-native speakers of English, practice will mean the difference between success and disappointment. When practicing, become disciplined at looking up words you are unfamiliar with, in particular the terms that relate to the GMAT® test itself. Be sure that when you undertake practice tests, if you come across any term you are unfamiliar with then look it up.

6 How to pass the GMAT®

taken at a computer terminal, and it takes a bit of getting used to. Practice with the free GMAT® download at mba.com.

Beware that diagrams on the computer screen may be misleading, especially in the case of geometric shapes, tables and graphs, as the screen can distort the image or the scale or both! The test author is aware of this and will have provided sufficient information to arrive at the answer. So, wherever possible, take what is said and avoid drawing unnecessary assumptions about the appearance of a diagram, table or graph on the screen. For example, if a shape is described as a cube, but on the screen the sides do not all seem equal, ignore it and treat the shape as a cube. Equally, if a table or graph says that x is the largest but on the screen it looks like y is the same or, in fact, bigger, take no notice and treat x as the largest.

If you suffer a disability

If your ability to undertake the GMAT® could be adversely affected by a disability, then speak to the business school you are applying to and seek its advice on how your requirements can best be accommodated. Provide full details of your condition and be clear on the special arrangements you require when you register online for the test. You may be allowed: (1) extra time; or (2) a test reader; or (3) someone to record your answers. Braille or large-text versions of the test may be made available.

It is reasonable to expect that your requirements are given proper consideration and, wherever possible, are accommodated. Evidence of your condition may be required. Be sure to mention your needs at an early stage so that the organizers have time to accommodate them and you have sufficient time to obtain any formal proof of your condition that they may require.