This is the latest in a series of How To Analyze articles that began with the general How To Analyze A Practice Problem article (click to read the original article). In this installment, we’re going to analyze a specific Sentence Correction question. Try it now (1 minute, 15 seconds):

Research has shown that when speaking, individuals who have been blind from birth and have thus never seen anyone gesture nonetheless make hand motions just as frequently and in the same way as sighted people do, and that they will gesture even when conversing with another blind person.

A) have thus never seen anyone gesture nonetheless make hand motions just as frequently and in the same way as sighted people do, and that

B) have thus never seen anyone gesture but nonetheless make hand motions just as frequently and in the same way that sighted people do, and

C) have thus never seen anyone gesture, that they nonetheless make hand motions just as frequently and in the same way as sighted people do, and

D) thus they have never seen anyone gesture, but nonetheless they make hand motions just as frequently and in the same way that sighted people do, and that

E) thus they have never seen anyone gesture nonetheless make hand motions just as frequently and in the same way that sighted people do, and

After trying the problem, checking the answer, and reading and understanding the solution, I try to answer these questions:

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Were there many ringers taking the GMAT for other people?

Apparently, GMAC isn’t taking any chances. In the aftermath of the Scoretop affair, we now get news from the Wall Street Journal that GMAT test-takers will soon be subject to a palm scan.

Though this seems a bit aggressive, the truth is that it’s really not much of a change; students were already getting fingerprinted, photographed, and videotaped when they took the test. The palm scan is simply the next level of fingerprinting.

Still, it certainly sends the message that one shouldn’t expend energy doing anything but studying for the GMAT itself!

ManhattanGMAT’s prep courses are ordinarily priced around the industry standard (despite the fact that we pay our Instructors $100/hr. + bonuses, about 4 times the prevailing rate). The conspicuous exception is in the Los Angeles area, where MGMAT courses are only $1,090, about 25% cheaper than normal.

Why the discrepancy? Do we like Los Angelenos better than others? Are our pricetags made of ice, such that they melt in the sun?

The actual reason is that several years ago, we accepted an invitation from our friends at Pepperdine University to host our GMAT courses in their very nice campuses throughout the Los Angeles area. In return, we agreed that we would offer discounted pricing.

So if you live in Los Angeles, you can add discounted ManhattanGMAT courses to the long list of great things about living in L.A., along with the sunshine, palm trees, beaches, etc. 🙂

When we study practice problems, our overall goal is to master the problem we’re working on right now. What does mastery mean? It means that, when we see a future different problem that tests the same thing as this current problem, we will recognize that the future problem has certain things in common with this current problem, and we will know what steps to take as a result ” we will, literally, recognize what to do on the future different problem, a problem we’ve never actually seen before.

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Our friend at MBA Mission, Jeremy Shinewald, has provided us with the first of two parts of an MBA Article that discusses how to plan for the road ahead when you apply to b-school. Jeremy expounds upon the importance of being proactive in a meaningful way. He recommends:

• Visiting campuses now
• Meeting with alumni or current students
• Taking a leadership role in the community
• Advancing personal achievements
• Enrolling in additional courses

Of course, the article does read much better than the “Top 5” list I wrote above, so check out the article and get started planning your MBA!

Be sure to check back next week for the second part of the article.

Businessweek is staying on top of the ongoing aftermath of Scoretop being shut down. It’s certainly getting a ton of attention, as this article is currently the 2nd most read on the Businessweek site.

Hopefully, you’re reading about Scoretop only as an interested observer!