the_grip on 21/3/2007 at 19:14
Just curious if anyone has studied for and passed the GMAT... i'm thinking of enrolling in an MBA program, but it's been a few years since school and i will need a refresher. Any recommended resources are appreciated (google gives an umpteen million cheese ads for GMAT resources)!
Rug Burn Junky on 21/3/2007 at 19:27
GMAT's just like any other standardized test, best way to prep is to just practice the same types of questions constantly until they're second nature.
Pick up as many sample questions as you can and do them over and over.
Normally, test prep courses are a joke, since they don't offer anything you can't get on your own, but with the GMAT, the analytic sections may need some oversight and feedback, since they're essays, so it might be worthwhile.
As for courses themselves, everyone I've ever spoken to has said that Kaplan and Princeton Review are interchangeable, and that they're better than smaller test prep places, since they have better resources/connections.
I've debated taking them myself, but figured that unless I went to Harvard or Wharton, biz school was money down the drain since I can already interview for banking/finance jobs without the two year salary gap.
the_grip on 21/3/2007 at 20:02
Thanks for the tips.
Yep, i'm still tossing the MBA idea back and forth as well. It's been a couple of years since i first considered it, and i'm still indecisive about if i should go for it or not. Now, with a wife and a one year old, i know that it's not going to be getting easier time-wise, so doing it now would be easier than later.
i'm a software developer and manager of other developers, but my brother-in-law absolutely insists that a MBA is essential if i want to ever leg up from where i am (i.e. CIO, etc.). i also do have a fascination with economics, etc., so i know i would probably enjoy at least part of the education. Larger software firms (Microsoft, Oracle, etc.) are also eating up developers that have business credentials right now... all the hubub for ERP systems and the like are creating some demand for that mix of skills. A MBA also provides some measure of fire insurance (i.e. if the company i work for dissolves or something else happens, it gives me a bit of resume material).
Who knows - it's a tough decision. If i do it, i'll be going to a school that is top-rated for technical degrees (Univeristy of Texas at Dallas) and they have a decent MBA program that can be tuned for the technology sector, but i'm still somewhat indecisive.
Nonetheless, if i am going to do this, then i need to take the GMAT.
Thanks again for the help.
