Mba Business

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GMAT sentence correction: start with simple examples
Many people are understandably intimidated by the complexity of the sentences in the sentence correction problems on the GMAT. Most resources teach sentence correction skills using similarly complex examples, which can make it hard to recognize the relatively simple concepts that are being tested on the exam. You wouldn’t study algebra to learn ...
A common consulting case question: sizing the market
Market sizing questions are commonly asked in consulting case interviews. These questions may range from topics such as “what is the retail apparel market size in France?” to “how many pounds of trash will get composted every year?” The important thing to remember is that the interviewer is not looking for an exact correct answer. Instead, they ...
Using Porter’s Five Forces to analyze the theme park industry
One of the fundamental frameworks necessary to help us understand the economic factors that affect the profits of an industry is Michael Porter’s Five Forces. The Five Forces creates a structure that encompasses a business’s upstream and downstream partners, as well as categorize broad economic issues within an industry. We will be applying the ...
5 key lessons I learned from the MBA application process
Applying for an MBA program is an intense, transformative, and rewarding journey that can be both exciting and incredibly overwhelming. Here, I share some key lessons learned throughout my own application journey. While these worked for me, it’s important to understand the best strategies and timeline for you.
How to write compelling MBA admission essays
Already getting overwhelmed about writing your MBA essays and you haven’t even started yet? I’ve been there. Everyone has their own trusted process and unique story to tell, but here are three quick tips that helped me put my best foot forward in the admissions process:
How to stand out during management consulting case interviews
The case interview is an interactive word problem based on a real consulting situation. This will typically take 20-30 minutes and will happen after a behavioral interview. In this blog post, we will discuss the purpose of the interview, types of case interviews, the structure of case interviews, and how to stand out.
How to craft the perfect resume
The amount of information in the world, according to Statista, has increased nearly 15x over the last ten years and much of this information is personal information on you and me. It is remarkable, then, that employers and business schools still require a resume, a simple, yet complex, one-page summary of all your accomplishments and experiences.
FAQs: Case Interviews
You got into business school - congrats! After taking a moment to celebrate, you'll want to start thinking about recruiting for the industry that you are interested in fairly early on. If you’re interested in becoming a consultant, that’s great! Consulting allows you to explore a number of different industries while gaining important ...
Once upon a combination, er, permutation…?
Counting is hard. At some point or another, virtually every business school aspirant stares down a GMAT quant problem that requires more mileage than what finger-counting can provide.
The 3 most important GMAT math formulas
To solve many of the quantitative questions on the GMAT, it is essential to understand a couple key equations. This article will clearly lay out 3 very important formulas.
How algebra is like a chainsaw: or using common sense on the GMAT
A question I often like to ask my students is, “If you didn’t know how to use a chainsaw, would you play around with it?”Usually the student jokes with me and says of course, but then admits that no, they probably wouldn’t.At least not until they’ve received some training.The reason is obvious: using a tool that you don’t know how to handle is ...
How to apply to business school with a non-traditional background
Applying for business school as a non-traditional candidate can be a nerve-wracking experience, especially when the top schools are constantly advertising their placement in consulting, investment banking and tech companies. But there is a reason business schools are not 100% filled with students from those backgrounds, as business school is truly ...
How to land that job in investment banking
Investment bankers in real-life are very far removed from population depictions in media such as The Wolf of Wall Street. Instead, the day-to-day life of an investment banker is pretty similar to many other finance jobs consisting of meetings, emails, building financial models in Excel and creating presentations—just with the dial turned up to 11. ...
GMAT Sentence Correction
Out of the types of questions asked on the GMAT Verbal section, Sentence Correction questions may strike native English speakers as the easiest. After all, you usually know whether a sentence sounds grammatically correct or not. However, it is for this exact reason that Sentence Correction questions can be among the trickiest to solve if you are ...
How to break into the tech industry without a technical background
An increasing portion of MBA graduates are seeking out tech jobs over traditional consulting or investment banking career paths. Why? Tech jobs come with desirable perks: above average salary, stock options, flexible work schedules, strong professional development opportunities and free food! As the tech industry continues to grow, so do its ...
Investments to curb climate change are rising. Here’s what to know.
ESG assets are on a path to exceed $53 trillion globally by 2025, which would represent more than a third of the expected $141 trillion of global assets under management. Although the EU and US are starting to develop and adopt regulations, they are still years away until robust ESG standards and policies are enforced in the financial sector. ...
GMAT Verbal time and resource management
There are two fundamental rules if you want to do well on the GMAT:
Utility-based data marketplaces
In "Computer Mediated Transactions" by Hal Varian, Varian offers an insightful look at how and why innovation has accelerated so rapidly within the realm of the internet. The piece offers some interesting insight regarding the historical development of the internet starting in the 1990’s, but it also makes some prescient predictions about the ...
What you need to know about Harvard Business School
HBS has a great reputation as being one of the top business schools in the world, and people are often keen to apply just for its reputation alone. However, it can be helpful to really understand what you’re signing up for when you start at HBS. Academics are such a critical component of the learning and growth you undertake during your MBA, and ...
What surprised me the most about Columbia Business School
While this post originally started as a “Why I chose CBS” post, I realized halfway through writing the post that the reader (you!) would be learning a lot more about me than about Columbia Business School. So instead of diving deep into why I chose to attend CBS, I want to spend more time telling you what surprised me the most about CBS.
Why I chose MIT Sloan
In early 2016, I stood at a crossroads with the incredible chance to attend one of the elite MBA Programs: MIT Sloan. My two years in this program were rewarding, enriching, and absolutely unforgettable. Here's why I chose to attend this fantastic program:
Why I chose Yale School of Management
As one of the top business schools in the world, Yale School of Management takes a slightly different approach than most. At Evans Hall, you’ll find students from a wide array of backgrounds, all attracted by SOM’s mission of educating “Leaders for Business and Society”. This is because SOMers believe that, at its core, business is about people, ...
Advice for international students pursuing an MBA in the US
The application process to get into top MBA programs in the US is daunting, even more so for international students, as there is additional work required for the applicant and different acceptance conditions to navigate.
How to determine the optimal price of a product as a monopolist
In business, finding the right price for your product is crucial. Price it too high, and few people will buy; price too low and the business leaves money on the table. But how do you determine the right price? We will explore this question with a simplified example, looking at Umbrella Corp (UCorp). Note that in this simplified case, UCorp is a ...
So what’s the deal with the virtual GMAT?
For anyone else like me who’s naturally a planner, you’ve probably found yourself particularly frustrated by all the wrenches thrown at you and your MBA decision processes during the pandemic. You may find yourself asking questions like:
Finding patterns in exponent problems on the GRE Quantitative section
One thing about GRE quant questions and standardized test math questions more broadly: if a question seems impossible or like it will take a ridiculously long amount of time to complete… It isn’t as difficult as it seems! Let’s dive right into a practice problem to see an example. Take the following numeric entry problem:
Bloom’s Taxonomy
One of the basic tenets of my coaching philosophy is to teach a student to teach themselves. The vast majority of the learning process should take place solo. Learning the LSAT or the GMAT is more like learning a language than it is like learning a subject, and there is just no way—no matter how long you stick with it—that you’re going to learn ...
GMAT Critical Reasoning questions: know your conclusion
For many people, Critical Reasoning questions are among the toughest verbal questions on the GMAT. The Critical Reasoning arguments on the GMAT can get pretty convoluted! We are presented with a series of statements and assumptions, followed by some conclusion. Then, we are asked to either strengthen the argument, weaken the argument, or consider ...
The power of prime factorization for the GMAT quantitative section
We have all encountered factor trees at some point during grade school. When I first encountered them as a kid, the whole exercise seemed unnecessary and silly. I thought to myself, “Great. I can list all the prime factors of 48. But, to what end?” It was not until much later that I realized the utility of prime factorizations. On an exam like the ...
How to tackle GMAT Sentence Correction questions
Focus on one aspect of the sentence to narrow down your options. Face it. GMAT Sentence Corrections can be a little overwhelming! And, if you are like most people, you might approach a sentence correction by carefully reading through all five responses and picking the answer that “sounds best.” You may even answer many questions correctly using ...
Work/Rate/Time problems on the GMAT
For many people studying for the GMAT, Work/Rate/Time problems prove to be a particularly sore spot on the Quantitative Reasoning section. In this lesson, we will learn an efficient and effective way to tackle these problem types algebraically.
How to Methodically Crack Tough “Primeness” Questions on the GMAT
Questions that ask you to determine if a number is prime are ubiquitous on the GMAT. You can expect to come across at least a few on exam day, so knowing how to quickly determine a number’s “primeness” will be necessary if you’re looking to break the 700 ceiling.
GMAT tip: look for dangling modifiers!
Trusting your ear can get you far, but knowing some key grammar rules gets you even farther! Many people describe their approach to Sentence Corrections on the GMAT in the following way: they read through all five answer choices and simply choose the answer that sounds the best. Honestly, this is not a bad approach. Many of the wrong answers will ...
Traditional vs non-traditional MBA candidates
What are business schools really looking for?
The Pomodoro Technique
Maybe you have just begun studying for the GREs; maybe you’re about to write your personal statement for applications; maybe you have a set of formulas you need to memorize. Whatever it is you are setting out to begin, your relationship to that work and how it fits into your life isn't just a matter what it is you want to accomplish, but how you ...
How do I autofill formulas in Excel?
Excel has been a through line of my academic and professional career. It is a skill that, once mastered, helped me in many spheres of my life. I've had to help a lot of people with varying levels of Excel proficiency. In this post, we’ll talk about how to autofill formulas in Excel. If you’d like to learn about additional strategies in Excel, you ...
MBA Admissions: GRE vs GMAT?
Should you take the GMAT or the GRE for MBA applications? First, let’s start with the key difference between the tests:
Making spreadsheets “dynamic” with cell referencing in Excel
What is a cell reference? In Excel, it is when a cell derives its value based on the value of another cell. The below is a simple example of a cell reference. Note that the value in cell A3 is derived from the value in cell A1. How do you create a reference to another cell? In the cell that you want to create a cell reference, press the '=' key on ...
Solving tough algebra problems with Excel’s Goal Seek feature
I’ve introduced many friends, colleagues, and students to the Goal Seek feature in Excel, and I usually get a similar reply: “Woah – how cool!” No matter the person, most everyone is surprised that they hadn’t heard of the tool before, and lament the fact that they hadn’t known about it sooner.
Don’t neglect reading comprehension
Focus on weaknesses, but capitalize on strengths The GMAT has no shortage of intimidating problem types. For many test takers, Data Sufficiency and Critical Reasoning alone are enough to induce heart palpitations. Understandably, many students focus on these very intricate, complicated question types - and rightfully so! It is no easy feat to ...
Four Excel quick tips to navigate data faster
"Give it to me in Excel." There's a high probability that you've heard this phrase in school, at work, or from someone that needs data. Excel has made it tremendously easy to sift through data and make it more interpretable. The vast majority of users in the business world use Excel, so it pays to be well-versed in this powerful tool. During my ...
How to get started on the GRE Math section
How do you feel about math? Let’s take a minute to think about math and how we feel about it. Good memories or bad? Or both? If I were to draw an analogy about math and anything else, it would be a foreign language. You can’t forget what you learned in arithmetic and expect to do well in algebra, just like you can’t forget how to conjugate French ...
Best practices for market sizing for case interviews: part 3
So far in our series of Casing 101 blogs, we have reviewed structuring the problem via an initial framework and navigating case math. In this edition, we will cover another problem-solving exercise that is common in case interviews: market sizing. At first, market sizing may seem daunting – how can we possibly estimate the number of televisions ...
4 best practices for case interview math: part 2
When we last left off in this series of Casing 101 blogs, we had structured a detailed framework that broke the problem into its unit-level variables and presented it to the interviewer (see link here). But this is just the beginning. From here the interview will move into a series of problem-solving exercises including math problems, ...
How to prepare for case interviews: part 1
After all your preparation, it’s all come down to this moment. For months you have networked, practiced your “fit” stories, and done countless mock case interviews with friends. You sit down at the table with your interviewer and exchange introductions. Before you know it she says “let’s start the case” and proceeds to read you the interview ...
An Insider's Look at an MBA at Wharton
This past weekend, I ventured back to Philadelphia. A lot was going on: the Wharton MBA reunion; the Wharton Class of 2017 graduation; and a much needed trip back to the Penn Museum. Walking through campus, seeing the familiar and iconic pit stops - Claes Oldenburg’s button, the Benjamin Franklin statue nearby, and our beloved Huntsman Hall (where ...
How to Choose an MBA Program Once You've Been Admitted
You’ve spent months preparing for the GMAT and writing countless essay drafts. The interviews were stressful - but only another step in a series of MBA application obstacles. At work, you check your email and phone constantly, hoping that an acceptance (and not a rejection) will arrive at any moment. It comes. You’ve been accepted to Wharton. A ...
How to use logic to beat the vocab section of the GRE
When logic beats vocab While a college vocabulary is certainly larger than a high school vocabulary, particularly for students of the humanities and social studies, there are still a precious few of us who regularly use or even see words like “tyro” or “contumacious.” The majority of text completion (TC) and sentence equivalence (SE) questions do ...
Microsoft Excel – The Route to Success, One Spreadsheet at a Time
Good ole' lemonade stand! Microsoft Excel is a critical software tool used in any business, academic, or professional environment. It improves efficiency and productivity, provides a universal platform for basic or sophisticated data analysis, and enables the effortless creation of detailed graphs, charts, and tables. Here's why you should be ...
How Can I Stand Out As a Business Major? Creative Writing!
It's fun to stand out! You’re not just any old business major: you’re an innovator. But how do you learn how to disrupt while you’re taking classes that are teaching you all the rules you need to know? Business majors can often get a bad rep for taking cookie-cutter classes that don’t prepare students for the actual business world. That’s why some ...
Does the GMAT Integrated Reasoning section really matter?
The short answer? Yes and No. It depends on what types of school you’d like to be admitted to, how much time you have to study for the exam, and what you want to do after business school. That said, the GMAT Integrated Reasoning section is definitely not as important as the Quantitative and Verbal sections of the exam.
Tips for Writing Your MBA Essay
Makes ya wanna proofread, huh? Taken your GMAT and gotten a score you like? Great. Picked the schools where you want to apply and maybe planned a campus visit or two? Awesome. Asked some people who know you well and whom you trust to write on your behalf? Brilliant. Now for the big to-do: writing the essays. You might be feeling a little ...
MIT Sloan interview preparation: the behavioral event interview (BEI) decoded
If you are reading this, you likely just received an invitation to interview for the the MIT Sloan MBA program. If so, congratulations! Being offered an interview means that you should be confident that the admissions committee thinks you can truly excel academically at MIT Sloan and now it just comes down to fit. At this point, your chances of ...
Guide to Your MBA Recommendation Letters
Go ahead, ask him for a letter! [Image source: The Office} Letters of recommendation, those sneaky devils. Despite being a critical component of the application, a lot of prospective MBAs pay little mind to obtaining their letters of recommendation. As a b-school hopeful, you might be more concerned with taking the GMAT or crafting the perfect ...
How to approach overlapping set problems on the GMAT
Overlapping what? Overlapping sets are, by far, one of the most complicated topics on the GMAT. Any good GMAT coaching regimen should focus on demystifying this topic. But if you put in a little bit of elbow grease and apply a formulaic approach, these seemingly overwhelming questions can score you big points. As a private GMAT tutor in Boston, ...
Does success on the GMAT predict success in MBA classes?
Most business schools have a core curriculum that is heavily tilted toward quantitative subjects. Nearly all schools require graduating students to be proficient in basic finance, accounting, economics, and statistics, for example. Many MBAs often speculate that a student’s GMAT score is highly correlated with his or her GPA once at business ...
Business School Admissions: A Great GMAT Score Pays Dividends
Most MBA applicants put considerable emphasis on their GMAT preparation in order to get into the best schools. Though the GMAT score is an important aspect of the application, it is just one part of a person’s overall “story” in business school admissions; a great score will not guarantee access to a great school. However, success on the GMAT has ...
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