Free GMAT Critical Reasoning Online Class for Our Friends in India!

This coming Wednesday, August 4, Veritas Prep will host a free live online GMAT Critical Reasoning lesson for our friends in India. Everyone is invited to attend, but this one has been scheduled to work best for people on IST. The 3-hour class will run from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM IST.

Taken directly from Veritas Prep's full length, $1,600 GMAT course, this lesson will demonstrate proven strategies for conquering the GMAT's Critical Reasoning questions, representing one of the most difficult facets of the verbal half of the exam.

The class will be taught by Brian Galvin, Veritas Prep's Director of Academic Development and a top-rated U.S. GMAT instructor with over seven years of GMAT teaching experience. After teaching hundreds of students from India and Southeast Asia through his popular online events, Brian would like to take this opportunity to host a session at a convenient time for Southeast Asian students – 7:00 PM IST. We hope that you'll take this opportunity to get Brian's valuable insight and ask him any questions that you have about the GMAT.

After registering for the class, you will receive a confirmation email verifying your enrollment. On August 3rd, the day before the class, you will receive an additional email from Veritas Prep with an electronic copy of the Critical Reasoning lesson booklet and instructions on how to access the live online class.

Also, during the free trial class Brian will unveil a special offer for all GMAT students in India. But you have to resister and attend the online class to get the offer!

You can read more and register here. We look forward to seeing you online next Wednesday!

Photo courtesy of GoonSquadSarah, under a Creative Commons license.

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HBS 2+2 Application Deadline Announced for 2010

Harvard Business School has just announced this year's application deadline for the HBS 2+2 Program: June 15, 2010. Note that this is a couple of week's earlier than last year's deadline.

Harvard launched the HBS 2+2 Program to encourage high achieving undergraduate students who are not on a "business track," to pursue careers in business. The program targets students focused on non-business concentrations such as engineering, liberal arts, science etc. Accordingly, they're looking for students coming from those majors, rather than from undergraduate business programs. (If you're in college now and fall into the latter camp, have no fear! That's what the traditional HBS two-year MBA program is for.)

If you're current a college junior, this deadline announcement is most relevant to you, since you will apply right after your junior year ends. To get a feel for what to expect in the coming months, take a look at the HBS 2+2 Program Timeline on Harvard's web site. You'll notice that the timeline suggests taking the GMAT or GRE this spring. If you haven't yet gotten ready for the test, take a look at Veritas Prep's GMAT prep options.

After getting the GMAT or GRE score that you want, then you'll need to focus on writing a terrific application. Fortunately, we've been helping applicants do that for years, and we have helped many HBS 2+2 Program applicants since the program's inception in 2008. To get an early read on your own admissions chances, give us a call at 800-925-7737 and speak with a Veritas Prep MBA admissions expert today!

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MBA Admissions Tips for Minority Applicants

Every year we receive countless inquiries from minority applicants who want to know if an MBA program is right for them, and what their minority background means for them in the MBA admissions process. The following are seven tips that we often share with our clients who come from these backgrounds:

• You Do Fit In! ­– Many underrepresented minority applicants have a vision of business school that includes a sea of similar-looking people, all with very similar professional and cultural backgrounds. This is definitely not the case, and admissions officers at top MBA programs constantly work to dispel this myth. Don't fool yourself into thinking, "They'd never want me. I don't fit the mold of a Harvard MBA." The very things that make you different could be what get you into a top business school. Embrace these things, and resist the urge to bury them in your admissions essays.


• But Don't Expect "Diversity" Alone to Get You In – Every year business schools are challenged to fill their classes with a diverse mix of students, and that diversity applies to so much more than your sex or ethnicity. What about your professional background makes you unique? What about your upbringing gives you a different perspective that you will bring to the classroom? What career ambitions do you have that might catch the admissions committee's attention? Make sure you know yourself and can articulate how you would enrich a business school classroom discussion.


• Know What You'll Do With an MBA – It's okay if you still don't know exactly what you want to do when you graduate from business school, much less what you want to do twenty years from now. But business school admissions officers will expect that you understand what an MBA will do for you and – maybe more importantly – what it won't. Even if you're not sure whether you want to do investment banking or private equity, you'll need to show admissions officers that you have realistic career expectations and that you'll be marketable to prospective employers when you graduate.


• Reach Out to Students and Alumni Like You – Many top business schools have clubs that serve the needs of minority students and alumni. These people can help you really get to know an MBA program before you apply, as well as help you with the job search once you're in school. It's pretty easy to find these clubs on a school's web site, and their members are usually very happy to help someone in your shoes. Don't hesitate to reach out and ask for their advice.


• And Mentor Those Who Come After You – In business school and in the business world in general, many minorities benefit from strong networks of experienced mentors looking out for more junior people. Hopefully you have been (or will soon be) on the receiving end of some of this mentorship. If so, "pay it forward" and help a young professional or soon-to-be graduate who might benefit from your experience. While you may still feel young and inexperienced, you have a great deal to teach someone in college who is still deciding what they want to do when they grow up.


• Get Involved With MBA-Related Organizations Now – The National Society of Hispanic MBAs, The National Black MBA Association, and The Consortium for Graduate Study in Management are just three of the organizations that exist to help minorities discover the value of an MBA and thrive in top business schools. While many minority MBA students only discover and take advantage of them after they get to business school, these groups have plenty to offer even if you're only casually considering an MBA. Sign up for their newsletters and attend their events to develop a deeper understanding of the value of a business education.


• Take Enough Time to Ace the GMAT – While a strong GMAT score alone won't get you into a top business school, a low score can keep you out. But how do you get a high score? None other than the Graduate Management Admission Council (the organization that runs the GMAT) conducted a study in 2005 that showed a clear correlation between time spent preparing for the GMAT and an applicant's score – those who scored over 700 on the exam averaged well over 100 hours of preparation. So, get your hands on as many resources as you can digest, hire a tutor or enroll in a GMAT prep course if you need more help, and give yourself at least a couple of months to prepare for the exam properly.

If you are a minority applicant, keep these principles in mind as you begin to prepare your MBA applications. If you would like more help in the process, the MBA admissions experts at Veritas Prep can help you define your target business schools, clarify your career goals, and perfect your MBA admissions essays.

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What Counts as Significant International Work Experience?

For international experience to be significant it has to be something that you can write about at length and appropriately in a b-school essay.

1. Can you articulate how you lead a team in a multi-national or cross border environment? This is what the adcom would want to see if you were writing an essay. A lot of applicants have worked occasionally overseas. More important is what you learned, how it changed your perspective, how you overcame an obstacle and how you produced a positive team outcome.
2. That is, what you got out of it and what you can put down on paper is what will set your experience apart from other applicants. That is where I consider the line drawn with respect to whether or not an experience is significant.
3. With respect to any extracurricular international experience (start-up, professional volunteerism, etc.), if you can write about it effectively as part of your positioning then it’s significant and should be considered for an essay topic. So yes, this could fall under international experience as you interacted with others with perhaps different operating norms and value sets.
4. Remember, I always tell my clients “WWACD” or “What Would the Adcom Do?” Keeping that perspective help put a reality check on a lot of questions that pop up during the admissions process.

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