17. September 2007 by ChrisC.

I recently found an article in the MBA section on the Business Week website.  It discussed the importance of planning ahead and budgeting personal expenses during the MBA experience.  It’s so much fun budgeting when you have income, I can only imagine the joys of budgeting when there is none. 

There are so many expenses that I didn’t think of that are attributed to this pursuit of higher learning.  Even before you get in to a program there are GMAT fees - the test and any prep courses you decide to take, travel expenses for recruitment fairs, school visits, and interviews.  The list goes on. 

While we tend to focus on the results we hope to get from obtaining an MBA (great job and salary), we sometimes forget about the expenses that will incur in the process.   So while we’re busy working through the application process and planning for the GMAT, essays, etc…..don’t forget to do your personal financial forecasting and planning. 

Check out the article…  If you have any budgeting and financial planning tips, do share!

The Basics of MBA Budgeting

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10. September 2007 by ChrisC.

Last week I started doing practice problems out of The Princeton Review GMAT Math Workout…it’s an old edition…but its a start.  I’ll upgrade later.

I love how “The Prince” (as I affectionately call the book) created a character named Joe Bloggs.  Joe Bloggs is Mr. Average Thinker.  It was so frustrating to realize that at times I fell for the same traps Joe fell for. So now I’m channeling the inner Joe in me, so that I can be aware that answers to most GMAT questions are not as obvious as they seem.

After channeling Joe, I moved on to the next chapter…my favorite - Data Sufficiency.  You know, the “Statement 1 or 2 Alone is sufficent” “Both statements together are sufficent, but not alone”, “Each statement alone is sufficent”, “Neither statement is sufficent” jazz.  Data Sufficiency gets Ms. Bloggs here everytime.

The objective in this section is not to solve the problem, but to determine which, if any, of the given statements could be used to come up with an answer.

For those who suffer from analysis paralysis, like myself…this can be a daunting task.  What do you mean I can’t conquer this equation and revel in the victory of figuring it out?  Even still…I get caught up with overanalyzing the statements….and this can be a waste of precious GMAT time.

The Prince breaks it down this way:

Don’t try to look at both statements at the same time. Instead look at one statement at a time, determine if you can answer the question using that statement, and eliminate appropriately.  Look at statement (1).  If it provides enough information, then the answer is either (A) or (D).  If it doesn’t, your choices are (B), (C), (E)…and just keep narrowing down from there.  Right now, seems easier said than done.  I’m getting the hang of it, but there are still some questions that keep tripping me up.

I will continue my quest of turning my Data Insufficiency into Data Supremacy.  If you have any tips you’d like to share on how to tackle this section, please share!

GMAT Book of the week:

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7. September 2007 by ChrisC.

I have been inspired by a lovely young lady named Jade to start a blog…in hopes that some fire will spark and I will get moving on starting my path to grad school.  I need motivation BAD!

Me

My name is Chrishette, and  I’m a southern belle from the ATL. 

Age: 27…and having a late 20s crisis.                                                                                                                                                   In my ”life plan”,  my goal was to have completed a master’s program by the time was 30.  That and learning how to fly an airplane are high on my things to do list.  Man, the clock is ticking…..   

Target GMAT Score Range: 690-730

Undergrad Alma Mater:  Washington University in St. Louis - Olin Business School 

School I’m applying to:  University of Southern California MBA/MRED program.  Back up…Georgia State University MBA-Real Estate Finance Program.  It’s all about the Real Estate, baby.

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