We invite you to test your GMAT knowledge for a chance to win! Each week, we will post a new Challenge Problem for you to attempt. If you submit the correct answer, you will be entered into that week’s drawing for a free Manhattan GMAT Prep item. Tell your friends to get out their scrap paper and start solving!
Here is this week’s problem:

How many distinct positive factors does 30,030 have?

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I’ve spoken with multiple students lately who received a disappointing (lower than they were expecting) score on the Quant section and who all said that the Quant felt relatively easy or straightforward. How is that possible?

First of all, thinking that a test like the GMAT is easy is actually a warning sign: things probably are not going very well. If the test was going very well, then you’d be seeing some seriously hard—next to impossible—problems.

Second, the test writers are phenomenal at writing questions that don’t seem all that complicated but are in fact your worst nightmare. My worst nightmare is not an impossible question—I know I can’t do it, so I just pick and move on. My worst nightmare is a question that I think I can do, and I spend a decent chunk of time doing it, and then I get it wrong anyway—even though I’m sure I got it right! Read more

We invite you to test your GMAT knowledge for a chance to win! Each week, we will post a new Challenge Problem for you to attempt. If you submit the correct answer, you will be entered into that week’s drawing for a free Manhattan GMAT Prep item. Tell your friends to get out their scrap paper and start solving!
Here is this week’s problem:

For how many different pairs of perfect squares is the difference of the squares equal to 105?

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Here are the free GMAT events we’re holding this week. All times are local unless otherwise specified.

12/10/12 – Houston, TX – Free Trial Class – 6:30-9:30 PM

12/10/12 – Online – Free Trial Class – 8:00-11:00 PM (EST)

12/12/12 – Toronto, ON – Free Trial Class – 6:30-9:30 PM

12/16/12 – Santa Monica, CA – Free Trial Class – 2:00-5:00 PM

Looking for more free events? Check out our Free Events Listings Page.

We invite you to test your GMAT knowledge for a chance to win! Each week, we will post a new Challenge Problem for you to attempt. If you submit the correct answer, you will be entered into that week’s drawing for a free Manhattan GMAT Prep item. Tell your friends to get out their scrap paper and start solving!
Here is this week’s problem:

Operation F means take the square root, operation G means multiply by constant c, and operation H means take the reciprocal. For which value of c is the result of applying the three operations to any positive x the same for all of the possible orders in which the operations are applied?

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I’ve been speaking with a lot of students in this position recently “ welcome to December. Most second round deadlines are rapidly approaching and some students, unfortunately, don’t yet have the score they want in order to apply. What to do?

What you CAN’T do

There are some things you can do “ but we can’t expect miracles either. If you tell me that your test is in less than 2 weeks and you need to improve your score by 100 or more points, I’m going to (gently) tell you that such a goal is unrealistic. I’m not going to discourage you from going for it (it doesn’t hurt to try), but you should also start examining your other options are. These could include accepting your lower score, changing the schools to which you apply, or postponing your candidacy to a later round or a later year. Some people, thinking through this, actually end up deciding that they’d rather wait a year anyway and take their time with the whole application process.
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Here are the free GMAT events we’re holding this week. All times are local unless otherwise specified.

12/3/12 – Philadelphia, PA – Free Trial Class – 6:30-9:30 PM

12/3/12 – San Diego, CA – Free Trial Class – 6;30-9:30 PM

12/4/12 – Online – Free Trial Class – 9:00 PM – 12:00 AM EST

12/5/12 – San Francisco, CA – Free Trial Class – 6:30-9:30 PM

12/6/12 – Chicago, IL – Free Trial Class – 6:30-9:30 PM

12/6/12 – New York, NY – MBA Admissions Myths Destroyed – 7:00-8:30 PM

12/6/12 – Online – Thursdays with Ron – 7:00-8:30 PM EST

12/8/12 – Santa Monica, CA – Free Trial Class – 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM

12/8/12 – Online – Free Trial Class – 2:00-5:00 PM EST

12/9/12 – Boston, MA – Free Trial Class – 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM

12/9/12 – Chicago, IL – Free Trial Class – 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM

12/9/12 – San Francisco, CA – Free Trial Class – 2:00-5:00 PM

12/9/12 – Santa Clara, CA – Free Trial Class – 5:30-8:30 PM

12/9/12 – Online – Free Trial Class – 7:00-10:00 AM EST

Looking for more free events? Check out our Free Events Listings Page.

We invite you to test your GMAT knowledge for a chance to win! Each week, we will post a new Challenge Problem for you to attempt. If you submit the correct answer, you will be entered into that week’s drawing for a free Manhattan GMAT Prep item. Tell your friends to get out their scrap paper and start solving!
Here is this week’s problem:

For a particular company, the profit P generated by selling Q units of a certain product is given by the formula P = 128 + (“Q²/4 + 4Q “ 16)^z, where z > 0. The maximum profit is achieved when Q =

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Last time, we took a look at a Comparisons problem; in today’s article, we’re going to examine another one. This question is from the free problem set included in the new GMATPrep 2.0 version of the software. Try it out (1 minute 15 seconds) and then we’ll talk about it!

*  In Holland, a larger percentage of the gross national product is spent on defense of their coasts from rising seas than is spent on military defense in the United States.

 

(A) In Holland, a larger percentage of the gross national product is spent on defense of their coasts from rising seas than is spent on military defense in the United States.

(B) In Holland they spend a larger percentage of their gross national product on defending their coasts from rising seas than the United States does on military defense.

(C) A larger percentage of Holland’s gross national product is spent on defending their coasts from rising seas than the United States spends on military defense.

(D) Holland spends a larger percentage of its gross national product defending its coasts from rising seas than the military defense spending of the United States.

(E) Holland spends a larger percentage of its gross national product on defending its coasts from rising seas than the United States does on military defense.

I think this one follows nicely from the conversation that we had last week. We’ve got another comparison structure, we’ve got an entire sentence underlined, and yet there are also some differences here.
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Here are the free GMAT events we’re holding this week.

11/26/12 – New York, NY – Free Trial Class – 6:30-9:30 PM

11/27/12 – New York, NY – Free Trial Class – 6:30-9:30 PM

11/27/12 – Atlanta, GA – Free Trial Class – 6:30-9:30 PM

11/27/12 – Ann Arbor, MI – Free Trial Class – 6:30-9:30 PM

11/27/12 – Dallas, TX – Free Trial Class – 6:30-9:30 PM

11/27/12 – Santa Monica, CA – Free Trial Class – 6:30-9:30 PM

11/28/12 – New York, NY – Free Trial Class – 6:30-9:30 PM

11/28/12 – Arlington, VA – Free Trial Class – 6:30-9:30 PM

11/28/12 – Glendale, CA – Free Trial Class – 6:30-9:30 PM

11/28/12 – Santa Clara, CA – Free Trial Class – 6:30-9:30 PM

11/29/12 – Online – Free Trial Class – 8:00-11:00 PM

12/1/12 – Boston, MA – Free Trial Class – 10:00-1:00 PM

12/1/12 – Austin, TX – Free Trial Class – 1:00-4:00 PM

12/1/12 – Online – GMAT Preview – 1:00-2:30 PM

12/2/12 – Washington, D.C. – Free Trial Class – 2:00-5:00 PM

12/2/12 – Irvine, CA – Free Trial Class – 5:30-8:30 PM

12/2/12 – Online – Free Trial Class – 4:00-7:00 PM

Looking for more free events? Check out our Free Events Listings Page.