Vader Jive (Darth That is...)

I found this one when I was checking the business headlines. It will take about 10-minutes to watch so enjoy.

Interest rate cut!? Sweet…aw, snap, there’s small print…

Out of the corner of my eye I caught sight of a headline announcing that the federal government was cutting interest rates on federal student loans over the next few years. By 2011 the Stafford Loan is going to see a cut from 6.8% down to somewhere in the neighborhood of 3.4%. That’s a 50% cut equating to thousands of dollars less that must be paid back. I was instantly taken in by this exhilarating news. Upon reading the small print I was very much dismayed to find that the interest rate cuts would only effect those going into undergraduate school. For those of you (i.e. myself) going into your graduate studies (and quoting one of my favorite movies): forget about it. For a country that preaches education and training in advanced skills this makes it very hypocritical for those of us starting our graduate studies. Do they think that just because we’re getting advance training that is will guarantee more money immediately upon graduation? To Washington DC: Do you think you can throw us a bone?

G-mat, [dʒiː.mæt])

I am taking the GMAT once again and it no longer seems like the beast that it once was. It is now more of a pain in the bum than anything else as I’ve already been accepted into a graduate program. The impulse was there to give up on several occasions but in the end I did persevered though not with the higher scores that we all hear about from people who merely  “took a weekend class and then aced it.” On this little tidbit: with the exception of a chosen few I believe that a lot of these people are full of poo and only out for a good razz –they had a hard time too.

A huge challenge of the GMAT was it’s psychological nature. I knew the material but there were always the constant fears of taking longer time than I should on one problem or not enough time on another. There were the questions with the seemingly obvious answers that may or may not have be wrong. I took the test on many occasions getting a less than desirable score that were simply the result of a bad day. There were always the constant thoughts of:

• “The GMAT is going to keep me out of graduate school, it’s going to keep me from my dream.”    OR
• “Why the heck do I have to take this thing anyway?”

The simplest answer that I ever heard to the question was: “Just Because.”

It is only now, in pursuit of “free money” to reduce inevitable debt, that I have chosen to engage the beast once again. I am very much more relaxed than before and it’s great to not have a mind full of doubts. The only part that I don’t like is that I need to shovel out another $250 to GMAC. A little tip for those of you in the early stages: try to get a decent score (something 630 or above seems standard) because it can get expensive.

For those of you who are still on the other side of that great chasm called “The admissions process” hang in there. Someone wants you because it is not necessarily all about your GMAT score. There are schools, great schools in fact, that DON’T actually put too much emphasize on the GMAT score and that really DO look at the fit of the individual. So, you may very well need to take the GMAT multiple times. Hang in there folks!

Technorati Tags: Taking the GMAT,Coping with the GMAT,Why Take the GMAT?,Do I need to take the GMAT?

GMAT Test Prep Software Issues!

Hey GMAT takers (and retakers!)

What's shaking? It seems that there are issues with installing the current GMATPrep® Test Preparation Software from MBA.COM. People will install it and then they will get an error message. Here are the instuctions to stop the error message:

Configure the AVG software to prevent it from scanning the GMATPrep file during installation.

• Open the AVG program. From the Tools menu, choose Advanced settings and then choose PUP exceptions. Click the Add exception button. 
• Locate GMATPrepSetup.exe as the file you want to exclude from the virus scan.
• Click the Add button to save the setting. 

Install the GMATPrep software.

Exclude the GMATPrep directory from being scanned when you run the application.

• Open the AVG program. From the Tools menu, choose Advanced settings. 
• In the left pane, select Resident Shield and choose Exceptions.
• Click the Add path button and locate the directory you want to exclude from the virus scan, normally Program Files\GMATPrep.
• Click the OK button to save the setting. 
  
  
  Source: http://www.mba.com/mba/thegmat/downloadfreetestpreparationsoftware
  
  
  
  

There’s No Place Like Home…

It has been quite a while since I’ve made an entry of any kind to this blog. For the one or two people who may or may not be looking back at this page: I apologize.

Anyway, these days I am living in Kansas City, MO (or as I have come to learn: KCMO) and I guess it actually isn’t half bad. Also, I’m only here for about 4-months so, as they say in Melbourne, that’s alright! Since coming back I’ve been trying on and off to find some type of part-time employment on at least a part-time basis. With that said I am also feeling the effects of this recession.  It was getting me down for a while hearing:

…We’re not actually looking for anybody right now. It’s not that business is bad but we’re being careful these days. Maybe give us a copy of your resume (or fill out an application) and we’ll give you a call if anything opens up. We’ll definitely be interested in talent like yours when things pick up again…

…and that’s the basic story I’ve been hearing everywhere. I’ve since shifted the mind set to the fact that I’m going to be in school come August and right around that time is when I’ll be eating my own words wishing for the good old days.

Grace Jones (aka Strange)

The other day I saw Grace Jones perform here in Sydney at a free show. It much more than I thought that it would be. Previously my basic thought process was that she was a freak of nature. Now after the show. Yes, she's still a freak of nature but then she is also a truly creative and unique artist who really appreciates her fans. In own words, "You'd better be good to my f*ckin' fans!" The back story is this: she was doing a version of "Pull up To my Bumper" and at some point during the show she started inviting her fans up to the stage to pull up to her bumper. Anyway, as all songs eventually do, it ended and the fans were being ushered off of the stage by the guards. Some of the guards were being a little rougher than they should be and that's when Grace caught wind. Enter the quote.

Standing Out

Earlier today Amber and I had a conversation with one of our good friends on a subject that is very near and dear to the heart of anyone who has applied to graduate school. It is a subject that is also very much a sore spot for these same people. This subject is of course the graduate school application process. It begins with hours and hours of preparation for the GMAT. After this necessary unnecessary task of taking the test is completed, (sometimes taken many times!) the search for the perfect school has to be preformed. Once the list has been narrowed down to a few choice selections the application process must be completed. A large part of this task is the essay writing process. The questions usually sound something like this:

• Why our school?
• What are your short and long-term career objectives?
• How and why will a degree from our school, combined with your past experiences, enable you to achieve objectives?
• How would you make the world a better place?
• What are your strengths and weaknesses?
• Tell us about a time that you failed at something that was important to you.

Response can have require lengths ranging from 100 up to as much as 1500 which means that it can be very difficult to stand out from the crowd. The answer to this one involves getting help from people who have gone through the same process because guess what: they have probably all gone through the same thought process. It's reading the questions and then staring at the blank screen. You find yourself wishing that the essays would write themselves but unfortunately they won't. It can get very discouraging. It can feel as if you're spinning your wheels; you can feel like you getting nowhere fast.

My only advice is this: don't be afraid to read other essays so as to explore different writing styles and ideas -they can really get the creative juices working. Once written have your friends read them over for you and be ready and open to criticism remembering that it is all constructive. It was you after all who asked them for the help. If this is impossible to accept their input without taking offense then try not to use someone that you live with.

Happy writing!