JumboTests Blog

According to recent findings released by the Graduate Management Admissions Council, the growth MBA programs have been experiencing over recent years may be slowing down.

Less than 45% of full-time MBA programs reported an increase in applications, compared to 77% two years ago, and 66% last year. Part time programs reported applications are comparable to last years numbers.

One program area that is experiencing growth are the Executive MBAs, with 59% of these programs reporting an increase in applications this year – compared with only 37% in previous years.

“The findings from this survey underscore the importance of flexibility and creativity in delivering management education,” said Dave Wilson, president and CEO of GMAC.

“People can always derive great value from going to business school; our surveys attest to this fact. But many changing factors affect the kinds of programs that best meet their needs. Applicants need to find the very best fit for their own game plan.”

Welcome to the last day of August! Hope you enjoyed your summer, because it’s all about to come to a screeching halt. If you’re like the majority of SAT test takers, it’s almost time to get your brain out of vacation mode and back into school mode. It’s tempting to try and squeeze every last second out of the summer brain freeze, but you may find yourself paying for that in two weeks time. Instead, why not try these 5 tips to help kick start your brain into school mode?

1. Start getting up earlier. Move your schedule up by half an hour each morning. Making this change slowly will be an easier transition from summer to school. Plus, this way, when your body needs to be up at 8:00am your brain will be too.
2. Read a (good) book. Harry Potter and Twilight are great fun reads, but how much are they challenging your mind? Why not head down to your local library and check out some of the classics? If you like murder-mystery, try Sherlock Holmes. Prefer horror? Check out Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde! In the mood for romance? Pick up Pride and Prejudice or Wuthering Heights.
3. Play some puzzle games. Crosswords, sudoku, jigsaw puzzles, word searches – you could even do some online SAT Prep!
4. Create a study schedule. Start the year off on the right foot by scheduling your test prep right in amongst your school work. If you can keep you studying up for 21 days, you’ll have created a habit, and it will be easiest to create this habit at the start of the new school year when homework is light!
5. Plan your own field trip. A museum, a local art gallery – even botanical gardens or the zoo. Take advantage of your last days of freedom to visit somewhere fun, that will also engage your brain.

Welcome to the dog days of summer. It’s hot, humid, and chances are you’d rather be enjoying the sunshine then studying for your TOEFL. So today we’re keeping it short and sweet with 1 simple tip to prove your overall TOEFL score: Practice your summaries! Learning to write expert summaries will help increase your score in the listening, speaking, and reading sections of the TOEFL.

Not sure how to write a fantastic summary? Follow these 3 steps:

1. Ask yourself three questions; how was the idea presented? How was the idea supported? How was the idea concluded?
2. Highlight the answers to these questions within your practice text
3. Rewrite what you have highlighted using your own terminology. Now reread, did you make sure to keep the same ideas? If not, try another rewrite.

Welcome to the dog days of summer. It’s hot, humid, and chances are you’d rather be on a patio then studying for your GRE. So today we’re keeping it short and sweet with 7 GRE essay tips, so you can get in your study and go back to enjoying your summer.

1. Always provide a reason or example to support any point you make. Consider this the cardinal rule of essay writing.
2. Use transition words and phrases to help the reader follow the flow of your discussion.
3. Try to include brief introductory and concluding paragraphs – these “bookends” will help your essay appear well-organized.
4. Compose your introductory remarks last — after you’ve completed the rest of your essay. Why? Your essay might evolve somewhat from your initial thesis; if you’ve composed your introduction first, you might need to rewrite it.
5. But don’t let writing mechanics (grammar, sentence construction and diction) slow you down. Content and organization are far more important to GRE readers.
6. It’s fine to occasionally refer to yourself in your essays — but keep it occasional. Phrases such as I think, it is my opinion that and in my view are superfluous and a waste of your typing time.
7. Don’t overdo it on your vocabulary. There’s nothing wrong with demonstrating a strong vocabulary, but if your essay reads like a thesaurus, readers will suspect that you’re using big words as a smokescreen for poor content.

With 190 million twitter users and 500 million Facebook book users, B-schools have come to realize the importance of training MBA candidates to understand and develop marketing strategies that reflect the rules of online marketing. Schools like Harvard, Columbia, London Business School, INSEAD, HEC Paris, and others have begun adding courses on social media to their curricula, addressing the corporate demand for social-network-savvy employees.

“In the realm of technology it’s possible for us to teach our students a tool that their bosses don’t have, and they can provide that added value from day one,” says John Gallaugher, associate professor of information systems at Boston College’s Carroll School of Management.

Who’s offering what?

• Columbia Business School offers four Internet marketing courses, Two of which (Social Media and Media and Technology) will be offered for the first time next spring,
• Stanford Graduate School of Business has a new course designed to promote social good through nonprofit businesses entitled The Power of Social Technology.
• Harvard Business School has introduced Competing with Social Networks, a second year elective that is so popular there are 3 student enrolled for every available seat.
• INSEAD offers Advertising and Social media Strategy, a two month course focusing on non-traditional marketing techniques to prepare student to deal with the new media landscape.

Flashcards. They’re one of the oldest methods for studying and increasing your vocabulary, but did you know there’s right way and a wrong way to use them?

Most people will run through their cards, take out the words they’ve gotten right and repeat. But that is not actually the most effective way to learn. Here’s how you can make sure you’re getting the full potential out of your time with the cards.

The key is frequency. You need to keep seeing the cards you get wrong frequently, but you also need to see the cards you got right – just not as often as the ones you got wrong. This is what’s known as spaced repetition. Here’s another way to think about it, for every three words you don’t know, throw in a word you do, and if you can slip multiple cards of words you don’t know? Even better.

The trouble with this method is that to space the cards properly (without letting you memorize the order), you’ll need a some assistance. Think of it as a great time to study with a buddy. Not only do you each get to practice with your own words, you can review your friend’s while organizing their flashcard deck.

When preparing for any big exam, it’s important to start your studying early, which can unfortunately mean study routines become a little too familiar after a while. To keep your study habits as effective as they can be, make sure to add a little change to your routine every month or so. Not sure what to change? We’ve got 5 suggestions for you.

1. Time of day. Many choose to study at the end of the day with whatever “leftover” time we have, but did you know it’s easier for your brain to complete tasks in the morning? Try rising 1 hour earlier each day to squeeze in a new study time.
2. Rearrange your study room. A location change is ideal, but often free space (with power and Internet access) can be a hot commodity. So instead of moving, just rearrange your furniture. Put the desk along a new wall, move your bookshelves and get some plants to add colour to the room.
3. Try a new test style. If you’ve been studying by completing partial practice tests, try a full length test – or vice versa!
4. Add music to the background. Choose music that doesn’t have lyrics or words and keep it at a low volume. If you’re already listening to music; try a new CD or artist.
5. Review with a friend. This shakes up your routine, and gives you a chance to be social as well. Each week, meet with a friend to go over what you have studied that week. This will help diversify your perspective on what you’ve been studying and give you someone to ask for help if you find yourself stuck on a problem.

If you have dreams of studying abroad, but are afraid that you’ll never be able to afford it, take some inspiration from this week’s story. Sometimes, dreams do come true.

Recently ETS Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Walt MacDonald announced the winners of the 2010 TOEFL Scholarship Program in India. Established in August 2009, the scholarship program recognizes academic excellence by TOEFL test takers throughout India.

Over 300 competitive applications were received for the 2010 TOEFL Scholarship program. The scholarship winners demonstrated an outstanding ability to communicate in English, effective leadership skills, and well-rounded balancing of strong academics and extra-curricular activities, such as community service.

In the end, seven high-performing Indian students were honoured with scholarships for postgraduate study in 2010-2011. Three US$10,000 and four US$5,000 academic scholarships were awarded to students who were accepted at a college or university in the U.K., U.S. and Canada. The scholarship winners were from diverse regions of the country including Chennai, Mumbai, New Delhi, and Solapur. Of the seven TOEFL scholarship winners, three will be attending universities in the U.K., three will be studying in the U.S., and one will be pursuing academic study in Canada.

“It is a great honor to personally award and celebrate the outstanding achievements of the seven scholarship winners,” commented MacDonald. “The TOEFL Scholarship Program in India stems from ETS’s mission to promote equity and excellence in education. We hope that the scholarship program inspires other students in India to strive for academic excellence and pursue their educational goals.”

If you have been hunting for information on B-Schools you’ll have realized that many schools have released their application essay topics. Many schools also release GMAT blogs that are full of tips with how to write a strong application essay. Stanford, however, has taken the opposite approaching and provided mistakes to avoid while preparing your B-school application essay. Here are their tips, slightly modified so you can use them for any school application:

1. Making your essays to general. Often one of the essays you’ll be asked to write will ask you a direct question about why this school. Why Chicago Booth’s MBA program? What appeals to you about Stanford’s leadership philosophy? If you’ve been asked to explain why you want this school above others be sure to address that in your essay.
2. Using out of date examples. When using examples from your own life, make sure they are recent and relevant to the topic of discussion. Some schools will even provide you with a set number of years you can work back to.
3. Combining your short essays into one long essay. If you’re asked to write a number of short answer essays (Stanford, for example asks people to pick 2 out of 5 topics to discuss), make sure you’re following instructions and writing separate pieces.
4. Cutting and pasting from other essays. Cutting and pasting text, even your own, can be a big risk. You may interrupt the flow of the essay, risk not properly addressing the question, or worst of all, entering the wrong name of the school. Always write original text for each essay, even if the ideas are they same.
5. Not being genuine. Don’t write about what you think the right answer should be, or what you think the readers want to hear. They want to know what you truly believe the school should know about you.
6. Messing with the format. Always double space, always use 12-point font, always chose Arial, Courier or Times New Roman fonts, first to ensure that your essay can be downloaded by the reviewers, and second to ensure they can easily read it.

You don’t have to be scared – just follow some simple rules/directions and you will increase your test score on the math-section without difficulty.

Here are 5 things you should remember about the SAT Maths section:

1. You don’t need to know “high level” math. Often, test takers are scared that they will fail this section simply because they did not take high level maths classes. But they’re wrong! Test questions are based on the lessons and formulas that everyone learns in high school, so don’t worry, you have acquired the knowledge to pass it!
2. You don’t need a calculator. While a calculator will make things faster and easier for you, you could actually write the entire SAT without one. What does that mean? No ridiculous numbers.
3. Stay calm and double check your work. We all know, when we rush we are more likely to make an oversight. But it would be pretty bad to lose marks because you added instead of subtracted, so take the time to run a check on every simple math calculation you do.
4. If a problem seems “too simple” you may have missed something. The SAT math section does include many trap answers. If you solved a problem in a very easy way, especially near the end of this section where the questions become more difficult, you may well have made a mistake. Go back, reread the question and make sure you have all the information.
5. Memorize Definitions and Basic Theorems. While it isn’t necessary, it will be very helpful for you to know and remember the basic calculating operations (like the Pythagorean Theorem, order of operations, sequence rules and the volume of as many shapes as you can cram into your head). The SAT math-section contains a few questions you can answer just by memorizing the definitions.

Fantastic news for those of you looking to write the GRE in 2011. To promote the release of the GRE Revised General Test, ETS will be offering a 50% discount on the test fee to all those who take the test between August 1 and September 30, 2011.

This GRE revision has literally been years in the making and ETS officials are confident that it will be a success among students. “We know students are going to find the overall testing experience better with the introduction of the GRE revised General Test,” says David G. Payne, VP and COO for College and Graduate Programs at ETS. “The questions more closely reflect the kind of thinking they’ll need to do in graduate and business school, and the new test taker-friendly navigation features allow them to use more of their traditional test-taking strategies. These are really big changes that will appeal to test takers. In addition to these enhancements, we think the 50-percent discount will encourage more students to take the GRE revised General Test sooner, so students themselves can tell other students about their positive experiences.”

The GRE revised General Test will deliver many new features when it is introduced, including:

• More “real-life” scenario questions to better reflect the kind of thinking students will do in today’s demanding graduate and business school programs
• Less reliance on vocabulary out of context, more emphasis on reading, completely removing antonyms and analogies
• Many new navigation features, including the ability to skip questions and go back to them later within a section for a better test-taking experience
• New answer types, such as filling in a number or providing more than one response when asked, so students can better demonstrate what they know
• An on-screen calculator for the Quantitative Reasoning section*

“We are expecting the GRE revised General Test to be quite popular when it is introduced,” says Payne. “Registration for the GRE revised General Test will open on March 15, 2011, so individuals interested in receiving the 50-percent discount should register early for a testing date between August 1 and September 30, 2011, to ensure they can take advantage of the special limited-time offer. This is big news for test takers, so we expect word to spread quickly.”

There is, however, a word of caution delivered with this news. Individuals taking the GRE revised General Test in August or September 2011 will receive score reports starting in November 2011, as extra time will be needed for the statistical work necessary when launching a new test. Normal score reporting of 10 – 15 days will resume in December 2011 and so any student who needs test scores before November 2011 should take the current GRE General Test.

Today we’re talking about intonation – that is the rise and fall of the pitch of someone’s voice when they are speaking. Intonation plays a large role in audio communication by providing the listeners with clues about what they’re hearing. Intonation can actually change the meaning of a sentence. Take a moment to say the following sentence alloud in a monotone voice. Jim went to the park Because you kept your tone flat, anyone listening to your conversation will percieve that sentence as a statement. Where is Jim? At the park. Now try saying it alloud once more, however raise the pitch of your voice on the word park. By raising your pitch, you’ve change the statement to a question and signifying to your audience that you are unsure as to where Jim is.

Check out more examples of how intonation affects the meaning of sentences by completely a this listening test on attitude questions!

Congratulations – one more year of school down! Time to power your brain down for three months right? Wrong. Summer vacation is great, but don’t let all your hard work during the school year go to waste. Here are 5 (fun!) ways that you can keep yourself mentally stimulated over the summer break.

1. Don’t do anything….for a week. It’s completely understandable that you need a mental vacation and would be happy to spend 6 hours a day flipping through lolcat pictures or failblog – just don’t do it all summer. Set a reasonable about of time to give yourself a break and stick to that mental vacation schedule.
2. Host a “classic” movie night. Invite your guests bring their favourite modern movie adaptation of a classic text – you might just feel inspire to read the books.
3. Visit museums, art galleries, or historical sites in your city.
4. Learn a strategy-heavy game. World of Warcraft does not count; think chess, or pick up a book on logic puzzles.
5. Unleash your creative genius. Learn a new instrument, paint, cook write poetry, dance, or even planting flowers in your back yard can work a part of your brain that too often gets stiffled in the classroom.

Bonus tip: Don’t forget about all the quick and interactive ACT tests you can do online to keep your mind sharp.</p

Today is our very last installment of the types of Reading Comprehension programs – congratulations on getting through all of them! We’re closing our mini-series with a look at Word in Context questions; questions that test your ability to figure out how a word is being used in sentence. You can recognize these questions as they often ask ” The word x could best be replaced by…” or “Which of the following words are closest in meaning to word x” Using the following question an example, here are 5 tips that can help you through this section.

Most of what has been presented to this committee is to stir up feelings in your souls and has not the slightest bearing on proving conspiracy in this case. In this context word “bearing” has closet meaning to:

a) connection

b) posture

c) endurance

d) location

e) resemblance

1. Let go of your first associate with the word. You may hear “bearing” and think location, you may think connection, you may even think posture – and you’re right; bearing can mean all those things, but what you must do is figure out what bearing means in the context of this sentence.
2. Rewrite the question. To help you let go of the meaning you attach to the word, write the question as a fill in the blank, like this: “Most of what has been presented to this committee is to stir up feelings in your souls and has not the slightest _ on proving conspiracy in this case.
3. Substitute words and eliminate what doesn’t fit. Run though the list of choices, reading each one into the blank. Right away we can easily eliminate posture, endurance and location.
4. Check the rest of the sentence, and beyond for clues. It’s almost certain that eliminate wrong answers will still leave you with a choice to make, so consider both the context of the sentence in question, and the sentances within the larger passage for clues.
5. Go with your gut. If you’ve done everything you can do; trust your instinct and make a choice – do not waste time staring at the page. Remember, you’ve got a 50% chance of guessing correctly!

Remember, the best defense against the SAT is a strong offense, so get busy practicing the questions, expanding your vocabulary, and get comfortable answering as many questions as you can before test day.

If you’re interested in completing your MBA, but not ready or able to commit to a full time program, a Hybrid MBA may be the solution you’re looking for. Hybrid MBA’s offer a mix of online instruction with in-class instruction allowing student to attend the school of their choice without necessarily having to give up their job, moving, or adding endless hours of commuting to their day.

Many people considering an MBA are reluctant to pursue a completely online program for fear that they may be considered less prestigious by their peers, and that is a valid concern. Why bother going to the trouble of completing such a demanding program if it is not going to bring you the opportunities you’re looking for? However, hybrid programs are gaining popularity with more and more schools as, after the initial fiscal investment of designing the program, these programs are relatively low maintenance using less campus services and resources. This means the number of schools offering these type of programs is growing and now includes many presitigous schools like Duke/Fuqua School of Business, Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business and Babson College.

Despite the need for an extensive vocabulary, sentence completion can be one of the easier sections of the GRE. Using the three tips below, you can see how you can use logic to narrow the list of possible answers and help eliminate your guess work.

1. Answer the question before looking at the choices. Imagine reading this sentence: Frustrated by the failure of his first experiment the chemists confidence was ___________. Before even reading your options, take a look at the rest of the sentence. We know the first experiment was a failure, and the chemist is frustrated, so we can automatically eliminate any positive words (such as bolsters or strengthened) from out list of answers.
2. Keep your eye peeled for indicator words. Indicator words will also provide clues as to what type of word you should be looking for from the potential answers.
   • Contrast indicators (yet, although, but, however) – these indicate the answer will be opposite to the key parts of the sentence. For example: Although most indigenous people were thought to be hostile, many settlers report to have a ___________ relationship with the tribe. Because the sentence starts with although, we know to look for a word meaning the opposite of hostile.
   • Support indicators (and, likewise, furthermore) – these indicate the answer will continue along the tone already set. Be on the look out for synonymous!
3. Watch for Apposition; an advanced grammatical structure in which words or phrases are placed next to each other, and the first phrase is defined or clarified by the second phrase. Note: the second phrase is often set off from the first by comma, semicolon, hyphen, or parentheses. For example: His novels are ___________, using direct coupling of a simple subject and verb where many others would fall to verbosity. Whatever the missing word is, we know it means to be direct, clear, and succinct.

Did you know that you can use word families to expand your vocabulary? Or perhaps the better question is, do you know what word families are?

Word families are groups of words that have a common feature or pattern. Sometimes it is because they share the same letter producing a similar sound (like cat, rat, and fat), while other times it is because they share the same route word, yet a new word is used in order to be grammatically correct within the sentence. For example:

• The woodland act act of 1956 was created so that people could increase their enjoyment of local forests. (noun)
• Sarah enjoyed the movie she rented (verb)
• Though it was cloudy, the rain held off and the walking tour was enjoyable for all (adjective)
• Wuthering Heights, though sad, is a most enjoyable read (adverb)

What are some other word families you can think of?

Today’s tips come from Amit Jain, a first year MBA student chronicling his time at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business via his new blog. Below, are 5 things to complete before starting your MBA, according to Jain.

1. Find your focus. If you come into the program focused on what you want to do both during your MBA as well as post-degree, you’ll have a leg up over your fellow students.
2. Finish your pre-assignments early. This is especially true for students moving to attend school. Once you arrive at your destination you’ve got find a home base, get to know the city, settle into a new routine, and so much more. Save yourself the last minute stress by finish your pre-course work before moving.
3. Explore the school. Heading to the campus before it’s swarming with people can give you time to get your bearings and find classrooms so you won’t be lost your first day.
4. Open you mind. Your MBA program is a melting pot of students and ideas; keep your mind open to people and activities no matter what you first opinion – you may be surprised by how you feel about them at the end of the term.
5. Spend time with you family and friends. You’re about to get very, very busy… Make the most of out your spare time while you still have it.

We’re continuing our focus on types of questions asked in the SAT Reading Comprehension section, and this week we’re looking specifically at technique questions. Like many other comprehension questions all the information you’ll need to find the answer is in the text, however with technique questions you’ll need to be aware of speficic types of literary devices (like metaphors, allusion, or irony) in order to decode the author’s meaning and answer the question. The good news? Usually there are less of these types of questions than any other reading comprehension question. Here are some tips to help you through this often troublesome section.

1. Brush up on your definitions. If you can’t recognize a simile (a comparison drawn between two things using the words like or as), an oxymoron (a combining of two words that mean to opposite into one expression, such as a wise fool) or a cliché (an expression that has been so overused it’s lost it’s expressive power) you will not do well on this section. It may be time for you to break out the flash cards.
2. Eliminate impossible answers first. If you know your definitions, you can cross out some of the options before having to think too hard. For example, if there is no comparison in the highlighted passage yet simile or metaphor are listed among the answers, you know you can eliminate those as both of these literary techniques require a comparison.
3. Don’t forget the author’s purpose. Knowing what point the author is trying to make in the passage can also help you identify the technique being used. For example, if you know the passage is making an argument in favour of something yet the highlighted phrase seems contradictory, the author may be using sarcasm or irony to make their point.

Studying for TOEFL on your own can get boring and you may find it difficult to stay motivated, plus you’re missing out on some easy learning opportunities. By occasionally studying with a partner, you can breath new life into your routine and learn more by sharing the perspectives and information you learned while studying. After all, don’t they say that two heads are better than one?

Here’s how you can work with a partner to improve your reading and comprehension skills.

1. Get two copies of some newspaper or magazine articles
2. Take some time to each article on your own
3. Come back to your partner and take turns asking each other the following questions:
   • Who was the article about?
   • What was the main point of the article?
   • When did the action or event take place?
   • Where did the action or event take place?
   • Why did the action or event happen?
   • Does the author of the article show any bias for or against the subject?