JumboTests Blog

Starting last week, the UK government officially put in place the first of the changes to their Tier 4 (student level) Visa. The changes, which were first announced last month, cause a stir among current and potential international students, particularly those attending English Language schools as students would need a speak ‘higher level’ of English than previously required. Here’s a deeper look at the changes already in place, as well as those coming in the future.

• Students may only work during school terms, and no more than 10 hours per week (half of what was previously allowed).
• If you are studying for 6 months or less, you cannot bring dependents to the UK.
• If you are able to bring dependents, they cannot work unless they qualify as a highly skilled or skilled migrant worker (Tier 1 or 2 Visa).
• Starting April 6, 2010, if you are not studying a university level course, and are coming from outside of the EU, the institution you attend must be on a list of “highly trusted sponsors’.
• Starting in the summer of 2010, you must be able to speak English at an intermediate level (which means a TOEFL score of at least 41 on the ibt), and you will need to show a test score to prove your abilities.

2009 turned out to be a very good year for the GRE – record breaking in fact. Not only did overall test volumes rise by 1 percent, but exam registrations lept by over 9 (that’s over 675,000 people!), and in the biggest news of all, the number of business schools accepting GRE scores from applicants to MBA programs increased 68 percent.

“Clearly students across the globe are seeing the value of taking the GRE General Test to pursue a graduate degree or business degree like an MBA,” said David Payne, VP and COO for College and Graduate Programs at ETS. Furthermore, “MBA programs are telling us that they need to broaden and diversify their applicant pools to meet the demands of today’s global economy. And they see accepting GRE General Test scores as a great way to reach hundreds of thousands of potential candidates that they could miss if they accepted only the GMAT scores,” he continued.

Payne also expects to see further growth for the GRE over the coming years. Partially attributed to the continuging global economic crisis that has adults returning to graduate schools in droves, either seeking an edge in an increasing competitive job market, or simply to delay graduating in a recession; but also due to the fact that ets will soon begin launching the GRE Revised General Test. The Revised GRE, according to ETS, will offer a more user friendly test structure, along with changes to question types, and the elimination of some question types all together.

But remember, just because the number of test takers and applicants to post graduate programs is on the rise does not mean that seats in those programs are, meaning competition for these elite spaces will become even tougher. Better get back to studying!

If you have served in the military, corporations want you, and that means top MBA programs want you too. Even if your GMAT score leaves a little to be desired, your experience serving can give you a serious edge.

According to coporate recruiters, veterans bring an affinity for leadership and strong teamwork skills to their workplaces, and tend to be highly successful in business because of their keen sense discipline and ability to create camaraderie amongst coworkers. Recently, the Wall Street Journal detailed exactly what makes veterans so attractive to schools. “They automatically know how to work in a team and they have respect, an impotant characteristic for business schools.” Stacy Blackman, an MBA admissions consultant, told the paper.

Thanks to programs like the Yellow Ribbon program, and the funding increase in the GI bill, Business Schools are able to do more than ever to help attract veterans to their programs with military job fairs, dedicated veteran’s scholarships, and government partnered scholarships. Along with these initiatives, which can not only assist with tution costs, but also housing and books, many schools are have created transitional programs that start a few weeks before the school term that can help ease nontraditional students into campus life, or teach them how to translate their military backgrounds into corporate friendly language.

The results of the 2009 SAT trends are in, and the new is good! Almost 16% of the 2009 public high school graduating class achieved an exam score of 3 of higher, meaning they are most likely to be successful at the college level – a number up from 15.2% in 2008. Futhermore, there was an increase in low income students writing the AP exams – up almost 2% from 2008. Additionally, low income students (a group that have traditionally done poorly on these exams) made up 14.7% of students receiving an a score of 3 of higher.

“This positive trend is encouraging…” said Caston Caperton, president of the College Board (who administer the SAT test) said. “Credit goes to educators at all levels and policymakers whose diligence has ensured more students are able to take AP courses and do well on the exams.”

Unfortunately, it was not all good news. Equity and performance gaps still appear amongst traditionally under served students (such as Latino, Native, and African American students). The number of student experiencing AP success in these groups remains less than students from the overall graduating class. While a number of states has been able to elimate the gap for certain minority groups, none have been able to close the gap completely, meaning that despite some successes, there is still more work to be done.

We often talk alot about the GRE. How to best practice, tips for getting top marks; but what about the reason you’re taking the GRE? Graduate school. How do you know which school you to choose? Here are 5 things to help you make that decision.

1. Location; what’s beyond the school? Keep in mind that in addition to attending this school, you’ll also be living in this community. You may want to chose a city you could see yourself working in after grad school is done, after all, you can make a lot of connections in four years.
2. Job Placement; what comes next? One of the main reasons to attend graduate school is to create career opportunities, so make sure you factor in what kind of support you can expect from your school once you’ve graduated. Do they offer a mentoring program? What’s the graduate placement rate? Finding out this information will create a clearer picture of what you can expect once you’ve finished school.
3. Cost – it’s not just tution. When creating your potential budget you’ll need consider cost of living in each city. For example, rent is always more expensive in larger cities than smaller ones. The potential for financial aid factors here as well. Can you afford to fund yourself with student loans, or do you need a scholarship as well? Which school will give you the largest amount of financial support?
4. What degree will you get? People can get so caught up in the name of the school they attend that they forget to check if their preferred program of study is actually available at that school. Pick the program first, then find a school that offers it.
5. What is the type and size of the institution? Public or private? Secular or religious? Large and researched focused, or small and instructional focused? What’s the average graduate class size? You’ll want to pick a school that not only suits your learning style, but also exemplifies at least some of your own personal values – after all, you’ll be spending a lot of time there, you want to be comfortable in that school.

As of February 14, 2010, international students graduating from universities in Quebec will be granted a “certificate of selection” that puts them onto the fast track for Canadian citizenship. This is very good news for those you taking your TOEFL with the hopes of immigrating to another country someday.

According to local media sources, on a recent visit to the University of Mumbai provice premier Jean Charest told the packed meeting that “any student who secures a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree from any university in Quebec will obtain a certificate of selection to become a citizen of Canada.” According to Mr. Charest, once the certificate had been recieved the federal government would then carry out health and security screenings before awarding citizenship.

This announcement was directed at Indian students, likely hoping to sway some to Canada in light of problems students have experience in both Australia and Britain – two destinations popular with Indian students. However, this offer is not limited to Indians, rather all international students and Canadian hopefuls.

There is more to getting into your dream school than acing the GMAT, so this week we’re bringing you tips on your MBA interview from the UCLA Anderson School of Management’s MBA admissions director Mae Jennifer Shores.

• This is not a popularity contest. It does not matter how well you connect with the interviewer. They are assessing you for academic readiness and overall ability to contribute to the school’s MBA program.
• Advance preparation is not necessary. You will not be asked to prove your mastery of any particular subject. Questions asked will be straightforward involving topics you would have covered in your application.
• Over preparing could hurt you. These interviews are meant to be a dialogue, so follow the interviewer’s cues for tone. Excessively pre-rehearsing your speech can limit the ability for your personality to shine through.
• Length does not indicate success. Interviews are set to last 30 minutes, however as with most interviews, some will run longer and some finish faster. This is normal and not likely to be a reflection of the interviewer’s feelings towards the candidate.
• Your interviewer is walking in blind. Interviewers do not see application in advance in order to eliminate preconceived notions of the candidate. Your interviewer knows as little about you as you do them.
• All interviews carry the same weight. While interviewing on campus allows you to get a better feel for the school, it has no impact on your admissions decision.
• Do not see feedback where there is none. Interviewers are unlikely to provide you with feedback during or after the interview. Take care not to misinterpret any verbal or non-verbal communication from the interviewer.

College entrance exams used to be simpler. If you lived on the coasts you wrote the SAT; if you lived in the middle, the ACT. But now, the ACT is accepted in all public colleges, and the exams are different enough that students are likely to score higher on one than the other simply that exam plays to their strengths. So how do you choose which exam to write? One theory is to play to you strengths. If you are a fast reader, have a strong memory, and process information quickly, you fit in with ACT high scorers. If you have a strong vocabulary, strong reading skills, and enjoy test-taking strategies, you fit in with SAT high scorers.

Here are some other things to consider:

• The Act is shorter. Even when adding the option writing test, the ACT is 25 minutes shorter than the SAT.
• Act questions are notably more knowledge-based and straightforward. This difference can be a lifesaver for students who find it difficulte to process naunced information.
• The SAT does not include any science or trigonometry. The ACT does.
• The basic writing fee of the ACT is cheaper than the SAT.

It may seem like a costly investment right now, delaying your entry into the workforce during a recession by going to graduate school could earn you an extra $100,000.

Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, Yale School of Management economist Lisa Khan tracked wages of college graduates before, during, and after the last major recession of the 80s, and found that the impact of graduating during a recession can be extremely long lasting – up to 15 years. During her research Kahn found that those who graduated during a recession earned up to 8% less in their first year than similar workers who graduated in stronger economic times, and still earning up to 5% less by their 12th year out of college. To break it down to dollars, this means the average recession college graduate will earn $100,000 less over an 18 year period compared to those who graduate during strong economic times. Recession graduates also have a slower and more difficult climb up the career ladder, plus an increasing widening gap between the most successful and least successful grads. And the worst news from the study? There is very little you can do about it – except delay your entry into the workforce, increase your qualifications, and hope for better economic times.

A pretty compelling reason to consider graduate school now.

In order to score the higest marks possible in the TOEFL speaking section you will need to make your speech as natural as possible. Sentence stress has a big impact on how natural your speech sounds; think of stress as providing the rhythm of your sentence. If you stress the wrong words, your speech, while grammatically sound, will come out sounding awkward. But how do you know which worlds you should be stressing?

Here’s a quick breakdown:

There are basically two types of words that make up a sentence; content words, and function words. As the name suggestions, content words provide the content (or, the important bits) of your sentence, while function words string them together. If you’re unsure of wheter a word is a content or function word, try this rule of thumb. If a word can be removed from the sentence, and the sentence can still be logically understood it is a function word; if the word cannot, it’s a content word.

Click here for even more information, plus examples of content and fuction words.

What’s this? We’re providing you with a way to cheat on your SAT? Well, not exactly. What we’re talking about is how you can most effectively prepare for your SAT essay to gain an edge over your fellow test takers.

Here’s how: prepare your examples ahead of time.

With only 25 minutes to create, write, and edit your essay, coming into the exam with well thought out examples will be a huge asset to your time management. Creating examples before you see the question may sound impossible, but because SAT essay prompts are based on general life themes (such as: success, failure, justice, un-requited love, happiness, etc) you actually can create examples related to these themes before you write.

Here are some tips to help get your creative juices flowing:

1. Make a list of your stand out memories. Look over your life; what sticks out? Is it feeling homesick at summer camp, running a charity drive for a local shelter, maybe even your first crush? What makes these memories so significant for you? Can you spot any themes?
2. Keep up with the current events – and not just by watching what’s trending on Twitter. Watch the news, read your paper, and make lists of the current issues, as well as point both in support of, and against them. Now see if you can counter argue those points. Feel extremely ambitious? Try to counter the counter-arguement!
3. Go back to your books. Make a list of each classical text you read and its corresponding themes. A Picture of Dorian Grey – art vs immorality, the supremacy of youth and beauty; The Catcher in the Rye – alienation, the ‘phoniness’ of the adult world, coming of age; Lord of the Flies – loss of innocence, perseverance, desire for power and corruption. Remember, the SAT is testing what you learnt in school, so you’ll definitely want to make use of these texts if you can.

The Graduate Management Admissions recently implemented the use of ItemFind to help them investigate websites and other study materials infringing on copyrighted content from the original GMAT test. Developed by Lawrence M. Ruder, Vice President for Research and Development at GMAC, the software has already been used to shut down a study website that encouraged those who had taken the test to share their questions and answers.

“Any posting of real questions… impinges on the integrity of an exam and makes the test users question whether a test is indeed reliable and valid” says Rudner. “We at GMAC believe all test companies have a responsibility to assure the quality of their product and are glad to see ItemFind beginning to be used…in the industry”

In addition to closing the website, GMAC cancelled the score of 84 test takers on the grounds of potential cheating. The point to you need take home: where you study for the GMAT matters. Be sure your study material is high quality, as well as legal.

By now, those who applied for their MBA in round 1 should have received a decision from the school’s admissions council. Some will have been accepted, some will need to make plans to boost their application and apply again; other still have been told to wait.

Being waitlisted is a very nerve wracking experience as it leaves you hanging in limbo, unsure of what your future holds one way or the other. Recently, to help those stuck in this position, the Ross School of Business (University of Michigan) added an FAQ section about the waitlist. Here are some highlights from what they had to say:

• There are no set numbers on the waitlist. The number of students admitted from the waitlist changes every year, and even the number of people admitted to the waitlist itself often fluctuates.
• The waitlist is not ranked. Anytime a space opens, there entire list is reviewed and each individual considered for potential fit within the entire class.
• Decisions regarding your status will be announced by the notification date of the next round. That means, if you were waitlisted in Round 1, you should receive updates regarding your status by the notification dates of Rounds 2 and 3.
• You will not be able to meet with anyone to discuss your application; however there are circumstances under which you can update your application. These circumstances include increased test scores, promotions, awards, or other major achievements. Be warned though; if you are going to update your application, the new information submitted should be “significant”. A 50 point rise in the GMAT may be significant, a 10 point rise is likely not.

To read the full article, visit the Ross School of Business admissions website.

Think you’ve studied it all before? Think again. Last week we added 3 new vocabulary tests to help you prepare for your TOEFL exam. These practice tests make fantastic study tools for a number of reasons. First; they’re short, so you don’t have to set aside a long period of study time just to get in a bit of practice. Next; they’re online, just like the TOEFL IBT, so you’ll get practice with this exam format. Finally, all practice tests include a timer that you can use to track the amount of time spent on each test, making it easy for you to tell if you’re completing the sections with time to spare, or if you need to speed up!

Why not try one of our new tests right now?

• TOEFL Idioms
• TOEFL Vocabulary Test
• TOEFL Verbal Test

Last week, we added 6 brand new, full length, practice GRE tests – that’s almost 350 questions, all of which you can access for free. These full length practice tests make fantastic study tools for a number of reasons. First, unlike the shorter section focused tests, these tests require your brain to shift gears as you pass from section to section. Next, as these are much longer tests, the require focus and concentration for extended periods of time, testing not only your subject knowledge, but your ability to keep your mind focused. Finally, all JumboTest tests include a timer that you can use to track the amount of time you have spend on the exam. However, unlike other practice tests, this timer counts down from two hours, so you can easily see if you are going to run out of writing time should you continue to move at your current pace.

Since there are 6 different tests, you can take them them during different stages of your studying to help track your learning progress. Try completing one a week for each of the six weeks before you write the GRE. When reviewing your answers, take note of which sections you preformed well in, and which still need some work.

Got some time? Why not get started on a test right now?

Last week, we delivered some quick tips to help you get your SAT essay of to a solid start. Now we’ve come to help you tackle the meat of your essay – body paragraphs.

Just as an essay can be broken into three sections, so should your body paragraphs. We just use different terminology to name each section. Instead of calling the sections an introduction, body, and conclusion, we say topic sentence, example, and concluding sentence when referring specifically to body paragraphs. The topic sentence tells the reader what this paragraph is about, the example supports your thesis, and your concluding sentence will either tie your example to your thesis, or create a segue into your next example. You’ll score top points if you can create a concluding sentence that both ties your example to your thesis and creates a bridge to your next example.

Here are three more tips to keep in mind when writing body paragraphs:

1. This will be the longest part of your essay, so leave ample time to write it.
2. Stay away from making any controversial statements; you simply do not to have the time or space to argue them effectively.
3. If you’re running short on time, this is the section of your essay to cut. It’s not ideal, but better to only have two examples than a weak introduction or a missing concluding paragraph.

For more than 45 years, the TOEFL test has been the world’s most highly regarded academic English-language assessment, accepted at more than 6,000 universities and colleges in more than 130 countries, and now TOEFL is making it even easier for students to study abroad.

After the success of scholarships programs for both Korean and Indian students, ETS will be expanding its scholarhip program to include students from China. 40 scholarships worth $1,500 US each will be awarded to the highest preforming TOEFL students. Applications for the scholarship are due by April 15, 2010, and winners will be announced in May 2010.

Want to know if you are eligible for these scholarships? Find out, as well as how to apply by clicking here.

With a number of schools now accepting both the GRE and the GMAT, applicants can choose the exam that best suits them. But how does one make that decision? Here are some things to consider before picking which exam to write:

1. Which exam is accepted by your school? If your top choices don’t accept both exams, the decision is made for you. If they do, consider what the majority of students accepted have taken, it could signal a preference for one exam over the other.
2. Consider your demographic. Some schools are using them to expand their applicant demographics, realizing that due to it’s lower price point, as well as higher number of testing facilities the GRE is the more accessible of the two exams.
3. What are you post degree plans? Some employers also consider GMAT scores when hiring, particularily those in the investment banking and consulting field. If you career path lies within the fields, this should influence your decision.
4. When do you plan to apply? Currently, the majority of B-Schools accept only GMAT scores, so if you’re considering applying within the next year, you may want to right the GMAT to keep as many doors open as possible. However, both GRE and GMAT scores are valid for 5 years, so if an MBA is in your future, but not for a few years, this will be a less restricting consideration.
5. Which will you preform better on? “If… your background is in education or writing or the arts and you’re much stronger in vocabulary than in probabilty and statistics – there’s a reasonable chance you’ll do better on the GRE” said Kaplan spokesperson Carina Wong. Ultimately, your MBA application package needs to highlight you strengths, and show your ability to succeed in B-school; choose the exam that do this.

Imagine this: You’ve just gotten your SAT essay prompt, and quickly come up with a strong thesis, as well as some great supporting argument. Writing this should be easy, but you find yourself staring at a blank page unsure of how to being – what do you write before your thesis statement? The introduction to your essay can be just as challenging as the body itself as we often second guess our words in an attempt to make a fantastic first impression. But don’t worry, here are 3 tips to help you write an awesome introduction to your SAT essay.

1. Create a Hook. This is the place to draw your reader in. Try a person antidote, or famous quote – just make sure to keep it brief. No more than 4 lines long.
2. Show the issues important and complexity. Do jump straight into the thesis, instead show the reader why this subject is worth talking about.
3. Provide your opinion. Letting the reader know where you stand shows exactly what you intend to argue in your essay and is the prefect lead into your thesis statement.

Ready for a bit more studying without having to crack open your text book? Here is part two of Ten ways to improve your TOEFL essays without studying!

1. If possible, write in the active voice. Writing in an active voice (he runs instead of he ran) show that you’re thinking beyond basic grammar or structure and making changes to the tone of your writing. As long as you’re using tense correctly, this will score you extra points.
2. Learn the function of a conjunction. If you didn’t know, conjunctions are words that link two or more ideas/phrases together (and, but, because, etc). One of the most common mistakes when writing is to start a sentence with a conjunction, but how can you start a sentence with a word that points to another idea? Don’t make this mistake!
3. Use proper essay structure. Think of your essay like a map, with the beginning, the middle, and ending showing the reader where to go. Make each of these sections clear to help the reader understand your thoughts.
4. Use topic sentences. Just as a essay’s structure provides a map for the entire essay, and topic sentence is a map for each middle (or body) paragraph. The topic sentence should tell the reader what is about to be discussed as well as state a reason that supports your thesis statement.
5. Use your comma properly. Adding commas to your writing will help create longer sentences, state multiple ideas, add flow, and generally breath life into your writing. Just make sure you haven’t fallen into run-on sentence territory!

Now that you’ve got all these new tips to put into practice, why not try a TOEFL Essay practice test?