Gmat -> Mba

[Stiffe]

was told to post in OT

Looking into doing a MBA, i have realized that technical route is probably not for me. Worked for eletrical plant in summer for last three years and have laid my eyes on the manager route.

I will be graduating with a EE degree from a state school next spring.

How is the gmat? Did you do well on the first time you took it?
I was going to take it in August but seeing it is 250$ to take it once i'm really going to study and then possibly take it a second time to see if i can improve my score.

What books did you use to study from? guides? what are good MBA schools...
i should prolly note that my school gpa will prolly be aroudn 2.6-2.8 out of 4.0. Average for my school in engineering.

SO yeah...i'm NOT the smartest EE student around.

 

[archiloco]

to start off you will be on probation when you start your MBA because of your GPA, they will look at how you do and take you off probation after a few semesters, GMAT is tough no calculator and very time restricting. need to study at least 3-4 months beforehand, and make sure u register for the test because they send you a practice test in a cd that's exactly same software they use when taking the test......study study study (any of the books they sell on barns and noble should be ok) take practice tests over and over. all i can say good luck, and you prolly need to start off in a smaller university because of GPA.

 

[Shortcut]

for starters, get the gmac study guide - it'll supply you with ample practice problems

download the practice tests off mba.com too - note that these tests are a lot easier than the real thing - but imo, its the UI of the GMAT is what you want to get familar with here.

and unless you got 250 bucks burning a hole in your pocket, its worthwhile to take a practice exam, and even work through some practice problems before taking the real thing

 

[Stiffe]

Yeah so basically just study study. Smaller university like?
I go to Long Beach State, Ca so i was hoping that i could stay there
Do recommendation letters help a whole lot?

Practice exam as in take teh test frist? or just download and buy practice exams.
I've bought two books for the GMat. How long did you people study for the tests. I know it about the quality of studying but roughly how long did u prepare for it. Alotted time is what i'm thinking about.

 

[Shortcut]

YES, recommendation letters matter. In fact, here are the key factors that admission crews scrutinize (in no particular order)

Your application essays
work experience
recommendation letters from 2+ managers/professors (depending on the school you apply to)
GPA
size of your package

 

[rsd]

Gmat is a little harder than your typical SAT/GRE type exam, at least to me it was. Especially the verbal/english part was tough (though somehow how I did better in that than math). I took it only once, but I say I studied a solid 6-8 weeks (after work and such). I got a 700 overall, which I think is decent, but probably didn't matter to be honest since I'm doing my MBA part-time anyway.

 

[Shortcut]

yeah, about 2-3 months of studying for me - i could only study after work and on weekends. you could prolly do it in a month if you've got nothing to do all day

 

[mb]

I wouldn't say you need to study 3-4 months ahead like archiloco suggested... I started studying lightly 3 weeks before, and only studied hardcore for the ~5 days leading up to it. Although I guess everybody is different and you may need more time.
I feel iffy about suggesting the Kaplan book I used. On one hand I did get a decent score (520) for the small effort I put into it, and the bad test conditions I was under (people coughing, taping their pens, me not realizing that I could have just put those stupid headphones on so I wouldn't have to hear any of it until the end of the exam, girl near me wearing way too much perfume that bothered my eyes and made it hard to concentrate), but from what others have told me you are much better off with using other study guides.
I got into the MBA program I wanted, so I didn't bother retaking it. IIRC, people really don't do that much better on the retake.