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

8/5/13– Glendale, CA – Free Trial Class- 6:30PM- 9:30PM

8/5/13– Washington, DC- Free Trial Class– 6:30PM- 9:30PM

8/5/13– Online- Free Trial Class– 9:00PM- 12:00AM (EDT)

8/5/13– New York, NY- Free Trial Class– 6:30PM- 9:30PM

8/7/13– Durham, NC – Free Trial Class– 6:30PM- 9:30PM

8/7/13– Dallas, TX- Free Trial Class– 6:30PM- 9:30PM

8/7/13– New York, NY-Free Trial Class– 6:30PM- 9:30PM

8/7/13– Online- The Last Minute MBA Application presented by mbaMission– 4:00PM- 5:30PM (EDT)

8/7/13– Bellaire, TX- Free Trial Class– 6:30PM- 9:30PM

8/8/13– San Francisco, CA- Free Trial Class– 6:30AM- 9:30PM

8/10/13– Boston, MA – Free Trial Class– 10:00AM- 1:00PM

8/10/13– Online- Live Online GMAT Preview– 2:00PM- 3:30PM (EDT)

8/10/13– New York, NY – Free Trial Class– 2:00PM- 5:00PM

8/11/13– Online – Free Trial Class– 7:00AM- 10:00AM (EDT)

8/11/13– New York, NY – Free Trial Class– 5:30AM- 8:30PM Read more

Catch up on some business school news and tips with a few of this week’s top stories:

5 Essential Tips for Surviving Awkward Networking Events (Brazen Careerist)

Networking events are awkward. And when you don’t go to them often, you might have no idea what to do or how to act.

MBA students take their skills on the road (Graduate Guide)

Four Harvard Business School students are making a difference and learning in the process through a project known as MBAs Across America

Inflated GPAs Good For MBA Applicants (Poets & Quants)

To get into a highly selective business school, is it better to have a higher grade point average from a school where grade inflation is the norm?

Stress Management at B-School (Bloomberg Businessweek)

Case studies, class projects, recruiting, clubs, travel… the life of an MBA student is enough to make otherwise levelheaded adults crack under the pressure.

If You Don’t Define Your Personal Brand the Market Will (Both Sides of the Table)

Don’t forget about personal branding, the most important way to proactively control your career development and how the market perceives you.

Did we miss your favorite article from the week? Let us know what you have been reading in the comments below or tweet @ManhattanGMAT

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

7/29/13– Philadelphia, PA – Free Trial Class– 6:30PM- 9:30PM

7/30/13– San Francisco, CA- Free Trial Class– 6:30PM- 9:30PM

7/30/13– Online- Free Trial Class– 8:00PM- 11:00PM (EDT)

7/30/13– New York, NY- Free Trial Class– 6:30PM- 9:30PM

7/30/13– Washington, DC- Essay Writing Workshop presented by mbaMission– 7:00PM- 8:30PM

7/31/13– London – Free Trial Class– 6:30PM- 9:30PM

7/31/13– Chicago, IL- Free Trial Class– 6:30PM- 9:30PM

7/31/13– New York, NY-Essay Writing Workshop presented by mbaMission– 7:00PM- 8:30PM

8/1/13– Chicago, IL- Assessing Your MBA Profile presented by mbaMission– 7:00PM- 8:30PM

8/3/13– Online- Free Trial Class– 1:00PM- 4:00PM (EDT)

8/4/13– Online- Free Trial Class– 10:30AM- 1:30PM (EDT)

8/4/13– Santa Monica, CA – Free Trial Class– 2:00PM- 5:00PM
Read more

It’s been a very busy 2013 here at Manhattan Prep! We’ve already worked with over a dozen non-profit organizations this year, supporting their programming and initiatives through in-kind donations, discount programs, and much more. We love to find new ways to team up with these organizations, connecting with pre-MBAs from all over the country who are striving to make a difference.

Below are some highlights from our giving so far this year. We encourage you to check out these organizations to see what awesome things they’ve been up to!

Read more

Catch up on some business school news and tips with a few of this week’s top stories:

Startups Recruiting More MBAs (Poets & Quants)

Startups are getting increased attention from MBAs and they’re apparently returning the love, according to a new survey.

Why Your MBA Should be Accredited (About.com Education)

If the degree or business school is not accredited, your achievements may not even be recognized by an employer.

14 of the Most Essential Lessons You Learn in Business School (Business Insider Australia)

Top business professors share which case studies they think are the most essential for future business leaders.

The Best TED Talks By B-School Professors (Poets & Quants)

Generally, the best TED talks by B-school faculty tend to be delivered by professors whose names are rarely mentioned outside their own schools.

Master the MBA Interview as an International Candidate (U.S. News Education)

Prospective students should anticipate making some mistakes when speaking English, but shouldn’t expect that to ruin the interview.

Did we miss your favorite article from the week? Let us know what you have been reading in the comments below or tweet @ManhattanGMAT

Last week, GMAC updated its percentiles for GMAT scores. The organization does this once a year to smooth out any differences in the testing pool.

What do I mean by “differences?” The demographics of the people taking the exam change over time. In particular, over the last ten years or so, GMAC has seen a huge increase in the number of non-United-States-based students taking the test. A majority of these students speak English as a second (or third!) language; a majority also have a better grounding in quantitative skills than the average U.S.-educated student. These differences lead to changes in the data over time.

Scaled Scores vs. Percentiles

GMAT results are reported using various “scaled scores.” We receive a 2-digit score for quant, a separate 2-digit score for verbal, a Q+V-combined 3-digit score, and two more separate scores for the essay and IR sections.

Think of these scaled scores as “skill levels.” They reflect a specific, measurable level of ability. Here’s the interesting thing: the skills needed to reach a certain level do not change over time. A quant score of 45 today reflects the same skill level as a quant score of 45 earned ten or even twenty years ago.

What does change over time is the percentile ranking associated with that score. A percentile ranking reflects how much better you did than a certain percentage of the test-taking population. For example, if you score in the 75^th percentile, then you scored better than 75% of the people taking the test—not just that day, or that week, but for the past couple of years (or whatever timeframe is designated for that test).

Imagine that you give a math test to a bunch of 10-year-olds. The scoring algorithm is very simple: if you get a question right, you get one point. You then gather all of the scores and figure out percentile rankings for that group. Let’s say that a certain score (let’s call it 5) represents the 50^th percentile. A student who scores 5 earned a better score than 50% of her peers.

Then you take that exact test and give it to a bunch of 14-year-olds. They’re a lot better at math. The same score of 5 might represent only the 25^th percentile for this new group, because more of these students have better math skills and can answer more questions correctly. A score of 5 still means the same thing (in this case, 5 questions right), but the pool of testers has changed and so the percentile rankings change too.

This is essentially what happens with the GMAT over time as well. If more people who are good at math start taking the test, then that score of 45 (which represents a certain, fixed level of skill) will drop in the percentile rankings because more people will be capable of performing at that level or higher.

We’ve seen especially big demographic changes on the GMAT over the last 5 to 10 years. In 2006, a quant score of 45 was rated the 78^th percentile. Someone scoring at that level had better quant skills than 78% of the people taking the exam around that time.

Today, that same skill level of 45 rates the 66^th percentile. This does not mean that someone scoring a 45 today is worse at math than someone with the same score in 2006; rather, the two students are equally good. Instead, a greater percentage of the population taking the test today has stronger math skills.

You might be thinking: oh, great. So that means I have to do even better at math. Actually, the opposite is (sort of) true. Keep reading.

This Year’s Trends

Read more

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

7/22/13– Chicago, IL – Free Trial Class– 6:30PM- 9:30PM

7/22/13– Boston, MA- Assessing Your MBA Profile presented by mbaMission– 7:00PM- 8:30PM

7/22/13– Austin, TX- Free Trial Class– 6:30PM- 9:30PM

7/23/13– Online – Live Online GMAT Preview– 8:00PM- 9:30PM (EDT)

7/23/13– New York, NY – Writing a Standout HBS Application Essay presented by mbaMission– 7:00PM- 8:30PM

7/24/13– Santa Monica, CA – Free Trial Class– 6:30PM- 9:30PM

7/24/13– Toronto, ON- Free Trial Class– 6:30PM- 9:30PM

7/25/13– Online – Free Trial Class– 9:00PM- 12:00PM (EDT)

7/25/13– Boston, MA-  Free Trial Class– 6:30PM- 9:30PM
Read more

Catch up on some business school news and tips with a few of this week’s top stories:

Wharton’s Record GMATs for New Class (Poets and Quants)

Despite a 5.8% fall in MBA applications, Wharton said it has enrolled a larger first-year class of 855 with an average GMAT score that is seven points higher at 725.

The World’s Best Business Schools (Business Insider)

Having an MBA can give you an edge in the cutthroat world of business—but only if you pick the right school.

Leadership Lessons from The Harvard of Europe (Forbes)

Associate Dean at HEC Paris talks about how leadership is far more about being knowledgeable and gaining respect than being able to do a good presentation in the boardroom.

Cornell To Offer One-Year MBA in NYC (Poets and Quants)

The Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University will soon offer a one-year MBA program based at Google’s New York City campus.

MBA Teaching urged to move away from focus on shareholder primacy model (Financial Times)

Academics and others are being increasingly vocal about how deeply entrenched the idea of shareholder primacy is in management.

Did we miss your favorite article from the week? Let us know what you have been reading in the comments below or tweet @ManhattanGMAT

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

7/15/13– West Hollywood, CA- Free Trial Class– 6:30PM- 9:30PM

7/15/13– Seattle, WA- Free Trial Class– 6:30PM- 9:30PM

7/16/13– Dallas, TX- Free Trial Class– 6:30PM- 9:30PM

7/16/13– San Diego, CA – Free Trial Class– 6:30PM- 9:30PM

7/16/13– Evanston, IL – Free Trial Class– 6:30PM- 9:30PM

7/16/13– Irvine, CA – Free Trial Class– 6:30PM- 9:30PM

7/17/13– Online- Choosing the Right B-School presented by mbaMission– 12:00PM- 1:30PM (EDT)

7/17/13– Boston, MA – Free Trial Class– 6:30PM- 9:30PM

7/18/13– New York, NY-  Free Trial Class– 6:30PM- 9:30PM

7/20/13– New York, NY- Free Trial Class– 10:00AM- 1:00PM

7/20/13– Santa Monica, CA- Free Trial Class– 10:00AM- 1:00PM

7/20/13– Arlington, VA- Free Trial Class– 10:00AM- 1:00PM

7/21/13– New York, NY- Free Trial Class– 10:00AM- 1:00PM

7/21/13– Online- Free Trial Class– 2:00PM- 5:00PM EDT

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

Catch up on some business school news and tips with a few of this week’s top stories:

Boost B-School Applications by Attending Diversity Events (U.S. News Education)

Attending diversity events can give minority MBA candidates a window into the admissions process.

Three Myths About Your Strengths (Harvard Business Review)

HBR addresses the shift in focus from correcting weaknesses to identifying and expanding on strengths.

B-School Chart of the Week: June 2013 Social Currency Ranking (mbaMission)

For a different perspective on the value of an MBA, mbaMission turned to the New York Times society pages, where the editors select and profile promising couples.

Ask Farnoosh: What’s the Right Business School Program for Me? (Yahoo Finance)

Here is some advice for picking a program that meets your career objectives while carrying a price tag that doesn’t keep you indebted for decades to come.

In Business, Foreign Language Skills Help (Graduate Guide)

Whether individuals plan to work with colleagues in other countries or conduct business with companies abroad, having a global perspective helps.

Did we miss your favorite article from the week? Let us know what you have been reading in the comments below or tweet @ManhattanGMAT