anyone taken the GMAT recently?

There is a software you can download for free, I think it is called Powerprep or something like that. I took it about a year and a half ago or so and that is all I looked at before. It's probably enough.

 

yea PowerPrep worked fine for me. I bought the book actually, did the sample tests and it worked out well.

 

I'm taking it Nov. 8th. I bought the Kaplan book for about $30 bucks and then will download that software from the gmat website. I think that should get me there. anybody care to divulge what they got and/if they got into a school of their choice

 

I had to take it 3 years ago but I didn't have to do well on it at all to get into the MBA program that I am in because my undergrad GPA was so high. So, needless to say, I didn't study for it.

However, this PowerPrep sounds good, so I would look into that.

I will warn you that when I took it there was a critical writing part at the beginning that was graded separately from the verbal and math parts. I found out later that places don't even look at that part which made me angry considering that I scored like a 93 percentile on that part!

 

Yeah, I did not know that either. I was really unprepared, I basically only knew where I had to show up and about the three different parts of the test, that was pretty much it, but how they were weighed etc., I did not even know. I had only done a few practice questions out of the software the evening before. Not only that, I showed up late for the test, too. I think they film you during the test, by the way, they really want to make sure that nobody cheats (I would not know how people could cheat there anyway).

 

I took the GRE recently, and I found the PowerPrep software helpful for that.

When I took the GMAT back in 1991, I used the Princeton Review book, and I felt like it helped me.

 

I'm in the exec. MBA program of the Univ. of Chicago now, but I did not need the GMAT for that, they did not require it. I think my GMAT score might have helped, though, even though I would have probably re-taken it had I wanted to get into a full-time program at Harvard, for example.

 

I don't know how much the test has changed, but years ago the math was super simple. I took a class and it probably depends on the instructor, but you could get some decent 'tricks', but they wasted my time with practice tests during the class. (I could have done those elsewhere...just trying to fill the time I guess) The class could also give you a comfort level with the test...interacting with someone who knows the test intimately is a benefit.

I did well on the math, but I did miss 1. The verbal stuff I recall took a decent amount of mental effort for me since I was so nervous that I only had an hour or two of sleep the night before. I actually fell asleep during the test for a few minutes. I definitely recommend a good night's rest!

 

You're in Chicago? I'm confused. How long have you been there?

 

I've been here for a bit less than a week this time. The format of my program is that we meet for one week about every six weeks, and most of my classes are in Barcelona. The whole program lasts 20 or 22 months or so.

By the way, I should be in class right now .

Regarding the test, my experience was actually the opposite, since I did not really prepare, I had quite some trouble with the math questions (simply because it had been like 10 years since the last time I had looked at any math at all, in high school, that's also why I think I could have done a lot better with a little preparation for that math crap), but I was in the 99th percentile on the verbal part (I also had a perfect score on that stupid essay test they had before, by the way). The verbal part kind of lifted me up.

 

It's pretty good. So far, somewhat basic, but it is probably essential that you get one of those types of books, just to familiarize yourself with the test and what to expect. For example, you lose mroe points for not answering a question (i.e. not finishing a section) than you do for getting a question wrong, so you know to just guess at the end if you are running out of time. And then, obivously, it tells you all abotu the test, what to expect in what order, what type of multiple choice question there are, how many there are, etc. etc. I've just started. They tell you not to cram at the very end, but I think if I do too much right now, I will forget it all.

 

I have a daughter who is a junior in high school and she is in the top 5% and wants to get PHD in Pharmacolgy at U T. Any one have any advice on what she needs to study for the test to get in? She very good in math (not from her mother or dad) but what else does she need to key in on? What is this Powerprep stuff, any links to this stuff?

 

Um...if she is a Junior in High School, I'd think she should be focused on the SAT or ACT.

The GMAT would be taken your Junior or Senior year at College.

Would pharmacology require a GMAT? Perhaps they require an MCAT?

How does a Junior in High school know what they want to do in life anyways? She might go to college and decide to be a lawyer, or a computer programmer or a teacher...

...anyways, its probably too early to worry about the GMAT.

 

I took the GMAT in January using the Kaplan book, the PowerPrep software, and the Official GMAT book. I think the official book is one of the best preparation tooks. The Kaplan book provides additional guidance and test-taking tips. I think the GMAT is the type of test where you can really benefit from doing repetition of problems. It did for me, especially since my math skills were rather rusty. I scored in the 99th percentile.

 

http://www.utexas.edu/pharmacy/divisions/pharmtox/index.html

 

Thanks for the good link.

 

So you must have had a score very close to 800, right? Very impressive.