This Thursday, October 30th, our friends at mbaMission will be running Interview Workshops in our New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles centers.  These workshops will prepare you for the sorts of questions your MBA Interviewers are likely to throw your way.  We’re very glad to be able to offer these events to the Manhattan GMAT community.  These workshops are FREE.  However, space is limited in each location; click on the appropriate link above to register.

mbaMission will also be running an Interview Workshop next Thursday, November 5th, in Washington D.C.  Thanks to mbaMission for putting these events on!

Here’s more detail on the GMAC Summit from MGMAT Instructor Stacey Koprince:

Last week, I attended the GMAC Test Prep Summit, a biennial gathering held by GMAC specifically for test prep companies.  Most of the things we discussed are probably only of interest to those of us who work in the industry. There were a few things, though, that would be quite useful for students to know.

When Dr. Lawrence Rudner (GMAC’s Vice President of Research & Development and Chief Psychometrician) speaks, it’s definitely in all of our best interests to listen. He’s basically responsible for the construction and continued operation of a valid GMAT CAT. All data and quotes in this article courtesy:

Rudner, Lawrence M. (2009). GMAT Psychometrics. Materials presented at the 2009 GMAC Test Preparation Summit, New York City, NY. October 15, 2009.

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BusinessWeek just posted an article that talks about a trend among employers using GMAT Scores as a proxy for ability, sometimes to determine which candidates to interview.  The article even includes accounts of Business School administrators and professors advising MBA students to re-take the GMAT (after they’ve already begun attending Business School!) in order to burnish their credentials.

Who knew?  Apparently, your GMAT score sticks with you and may matter even after you get your admissions letter.  It’s a good reason to do as well as possible.

The above also suggests that students and others in the job market may be well-served to take the GMAT to be able to stand out to potential employers.  E.g. if you’re a senior in college and get a 750, that score on your resume might catch a company’s eye.

GMAC, the publishers and administrators of the GMAT, are hosting their bi-annual summit here in New York on Thursday.   The purpose of the summit is to let those in the GMAT ecosystem know about research, trends, and upcoming changes to the test (if any).  We’re very privileged to be invited again this year!  It’s always a fascinating day when you get to hear from and speak to the minds behind the GMAT.  We’ll post an update here after the summit regarding items of interest.

Update – Well, the GMAC Summit 2009 is now in the books.  In all frankness, there wasn’t much revealed to interest the average GMAT test-taker, aside from an affirmation of points made earlier (e.g. the early items are not worth expending extra time on).

Some of the items discussed include:

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Our friends at mbaMission receive many questions about Business School Interviews.  What types of questions will they ask?  Is it better to interview with the Admissions Committee or an alumnus/alumna?  How much do these interviews matter?

In an interactive presentation, Jeremy Shinewald, founder of our Admissions Consultant partner firm, mbaMission, will offer advice on best practices to help you prepare and succeed in your business school interviews.  He will explore the different types of interviews, what each admissions committee is looking for, and tips for time management.  There will also be a Q&A session after the presentation.

Like a rockstar, Jeremy has scheduled two workshops to try and accommodate everyone’s busy schedules.  The first one will occur on Wednesday, October 21st, from 8:30 – 10:30 P.M. EST.  The second will  take place on Sunday, October 25th, from 3 – 5 p.m. EST.  Both events are free and take place in our interactive online classroom. Space is limited, so click on the appropriate link to sign-up today.

Emily Sledge, one of our veteran Instructors who also serves as an Instructor Developer, is moving from sunny California to St. Louis!

Emily first joined MGMAT back in 2005 and has helped literally hundreds of students achieve their GMAT score goals.  Before then she earned an engineering physics degree from Cornell, an MBA from UCLA, and a 790 on the GMAT.  Whew!

We know the students in Orange County will miss Emily terribly.  On the other hand, this is fantastic news for Missouri!  If you’re in the St. Louis area and would like to get on our mailing list for upcoming courses later this year, click here.

Best of luck with the move Emily!

It’s a little bit of Digg, a little bit of ESPN, and it’s all GMAT-related. . . it’s the Manhattan GMAT Study Hall!

One of our ultra-talented and well-loved Instructors, Ron Purewal, will be appearing online to answer your questions on Tuesday, October 6th, from 9 – 10:30 EST.  Click here to sign up.  Yes, it’s free.   🙂

Our friends at mbaMission have put together an impressive set of Insider’s Guides to Top Business Schools.  These guides can be very useful in distinguishing one school’s program from another and helping students tailor their essays accordingly.

We are VERY happy to report that current Manhattan GMAT Course Students will receive one of these guides (a $25 value) for FREE.  If you’re a current student, go to your student center and click on the right menu on the top call-out.  Or click on this link and log-in.  Thank you mbaMission for making this benefit available to our students!

Manhattan GMAT’s award-winning flash cards (okay, they don’t give out awards, but if they did . . . ) are now available online.  They’ve actually been downloadable for print for quite some time, but we went ahead and made them web-friendly as well.  With the new interface, you can ‘flip’ the cards onscreen, flag the cards that were tricky to you, and save your progress to return for another session.

You can, of course, still download and print them for a more corporeal experience.  To choose either flavor, click here.  However you choose to make use of them, we hope you find them handy!

Manhattan GMAT is very proud to announce its first business school admissions officer panels of the season.  We often partner with top business programs to give our students the inside track on what’s on the minds of school administrators even as many students are starting to work on their application essays.

In our Chicago center, on Thursday evening, September 24th, we will be joined by admissions officers from Kellogg, Chicago Booth, and Columbia Business School.  The moderator will be our own Chris Brusznicki, himself a Kellogg alum (though he promises to be impartial).  The admissions officers will present and then take questions from attendees. Click here to sign-up – attendance is free but space is limited.

The following week we will have an additional panel here at our New York center on Thursday evening, October 1st.  Admissions officers from Columbia, NYU Stern, and Kellogg will each be in attendance to convey their thoughts and take questions.  Click here to sign-up in order to attend.  Chris Ryan will be moderating the New York panel. 

If you can’t make it to either of these panels, we will be hosting other seminars later in the season, including online events with admissions consultants and others. You can also sign up for our free events mailing list to stay informed of future events.

If you’re in Chicago or New York, we’ll see you soon!