All About Gre

GRE
The GRE® General Test measures verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning, critical thinking, and analytical writing skills that have been acquired over a long period of time and that are not related to any specific field of study. The GRE® Subject Tests gauge undergraduate achievement in eight specific fields of study.

GRE verbal and quantitative scores and undergraduate grade point average were evaluated as predictors of multiple measures of long-term graduate school success.
The GRE General Test measures critical thinking, analytical writing, verbal reasoning, and quantitative reasoning skills that have been acquired over a long period of time and that are not related to any specific field of study.



Analytical Writing - The skills measured include the test taker's ability to

    * articulate complex ideas clearly and effectively
    * examine claims and accompanying evidence
    * support ideas with relevant reasons and examples
    * sustain a well-focused, coherent discussion
    * control the elements of standard written English.

Verbal Reasoning - The skills measured include the test taker's ability to

    * analyze and evaluate written material and synthesize information obtained from it
    * analyze relationships among component parts of sentences
    * recognize relationships between words and concepts.

Quantitative Reasoning - The skills measured include the test taker's ability to

    * understand basic concepts of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, and data analysis
    * reason quantitatively
    * solve problems in a quantitative setting.


Who Takes GRE and Why?
Prospective graduate applicants take the General Test. GRE test scores are used by admissions or fellowship panels to supplement undergraduate records and other qualifications for graduate study. The scores provide common measures for comparing the qualifications of applicants and aid in evaluating grades and recommendations.
The Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) are the tests taken by individuals who aspire to go to graduate schools of USA Universities, to pursue Masters or Doctorate in the Sciences or Humanities area of study. GRE is administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS). The GRE is only one of the many and yet an important criterion required by graduate schools to measure an individuals application. The examination is intended to measure the skills that one has obtained during high school and in college.

Over all Test Tactics

• Learn the section directions now. Use the time saved during the test to work on questions.
  Be especially careful in the first portion of every section. Successful answers to the earliest questions will lead to higher scores.
• You can write on the scratch paper provided. You can also remember to bring some extra scratch paper. Use the process of elimination to cross out wrong answers; do scratch work.
• Easy questions usually precede hard ones.
• Double check your work and answer before you click on the screen bubble. You cannot skip any question and you cannot go back after you've answered a question.
• Answer every question, making educated guesses if you have to. Just try to eliminate one or more choices before guessing.
• Don't spend too much time on any one question. You should spend only seconds on the easiest questions, and hesitate to spend more than 1-2 minutes on even the hardest ones.
• Bring a watch to the test center. You can't be guaranteed that there'll be a working clock there.
  Don't bring a calculator since you're not allowed to use one.
• Bring a couple of IDs to the test center. Make sure at least one of the pictures actually looks like you. Also bring any authorization voucher you may have received from the Educational Testing Service.
• Read the words in the question carefully. Be sure to answer the question asked and not the question you recall from a practice test.
  Know the Question Types to Expect on the GRE: * analogies * sentence completion * reading comprehension * math multiple-choices * quantitative comparison
  
  

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Common Personal Interview Questions

Though there is no dearth of articles on interview etiquette, there is an actual shortage of good articles on the most crucial factor in an interview — the interviewer’s questions and your answers. Many problems candidates have include nervousness and stammering in an interview, which is directly related to the candidate’s unfamiliarity with the questions and a general lack of preparation.

TCYonline.com experts present for the readers of Rediff.com, a few of the most commonly asked interview questions. There are no ready-made answers to the questions, instead, the attempt is to try to help you arrive at the correct answer yourself, so that you sound natural and coherent in an interview. Ultimately, an interview is a mirror to see your inner self and a subjective, specific and honest presentation is the key to success.

Q. Tell me some thing about yourself.
This is how most interviews begin and this is one question you cannot afford to be unprepared for.
To frame a good answer it is always helpful to know what is it that the interviewer wants to know about you. An interviewer would like to know.
~ Your educational background
~ Your work experience, if any
~ Your strengths and achievements
~ About your family background
~ About where you are coming from academically, professionally
You should be short and crisp about all the points mentioned above. If the interviewer needs an elaboration s/he will ask you.

Q. Why do you want to join this institute?
This is one question you should answer honestly and pragmatically. Ideally you should choose an institute based on certain criteria. Such as
~ Ranking/ placements
~ Courses offered
~ Fee
~ Location
It is good to do a little research on the institute, its placements and about certain specialisation(s) it may be known for. An informed analysis of the institute can convince the interviewer that you are sincerely interested. It also helps you in identifying parameters critical for you while choosing the particular institute.

Q. Which other institutes have you applied to?
This is a question that is very much linked to the previous question. For example, if you say that you had chosen IRMA because you have a flair for Rural Marketing and while answering this question you don’t mention the name of other institutes known to offer quality course in Rural Marketing you are in trouble. So these two questions are to be prepared simultaneously avoiding conflicts in answers.

Q. How will you add value to this institute if you make it through?
This is an opportunity to showcase your strengths but remember it is essential that your strengths should be supported by related achievements.
Your background and circumstances can also be your strengths and can be used as equally important points in supporting your answer.
Remember, an achievement doesn’t necessarily mean a prize. It can also be your successfully coming out of a crisis situation or you managing to run a small project with your friends.

Q. What do you consider your biggest failure?
CAUTION: This is not an opportunity to pour out your darkest secrets. This is a question that is best played down. For example, if you are overweight, you may mention — “I have been trying to shed weight for the last few years but couldn’t do it still.” The answer should be framed so that it does not reflect badly on your career thus far, or your future career.
Another way of answering would be a smart statement: “I have never allowed failure to drag me down. I just got up, took my lesson and picked my way forward.” Here it would help to have a certain experience picked out.

Q. Why have you chosen this career?
This is an area where a mature and realistic answer is expected. People choose their career based on several reasons, such as:
~ What is your aptitude?
~ What kind of a social, professional and personal environment do you desire?
~ What is your background and achievements?
~ What motivates you?
~ What activities do you enjoy?

Q. What is the last book you read?
Many experts would tell you that you should know the ins and out of the books and everything about the author and his writing style. If you know these facts, it can’t hurt, but if you are not the kind of a person who would research the background and other facts about books, but read for fun, it is okay to mention it. The only thing is that your answer should be natural, convincing and rational.
For example, if the interviewer asks you for more detail about the author you may just reply.
“I’m sorry but I haven’t read much about the author. But I liked this book because…”

Q. How will your contribute to this campus if we select you?
This is a question that directly relates to your strengths and aspiration. Take this as an opportunity to showcase the various qualities that you possess which may benefit the college, academically, culturally or in any other way.

Q. Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?
This is not when you start throwing in fancy designations. Instead, concentrate on the kind of roles people in those designations are expected to play. If the question specifically asks for your professional goals then stick to it, otherwise it is a good idea to balance it with your personal goals.

Q. Who is your role model?
Your role model can be anyone a public figure or even someone from your family. It is a good idea to know a lot about the person you would make your role model. It is important to focus on the qualities that inspire you and how you try to inculcate those qualities in yourself. It is always important to tell why s/he is different from her/his peers.

Q. Do your have any questions for me?
“No” would be a bad answer. It is good to have a few questions that relate to the academic and cultural environment of the institution. This will show your enthusiasm.

In a nutshell, an interview just analyses how balanced and rational you are. So, just be yourself! Preparing yourself for the questions listed above will give you the confidence to handle even unexpected questions. You should ideally write down your answer to these questions (but please don’t try to mug up answers you think would be ‘ideal’) and practice giving interviews along these lines with a friend.

CAT exam preparation tips

Few tips from my side to crack the Cat-

1- If you are doing your Graduation than start preparing from second year of graduation.

2- If you completed Graduation and ready to give the Cat in next coming November, Prepare ar least 10-14 hours daily and seriously.

3- Minimum 10 hours study required before the 6 months of Cat exams.

4- Minimum 10,000 Vocabulary (new databank) required to prepare.

5- Daily two hours required to study newspapers and Editorials. (English)

6- Read at least two magazines, one novel each week.

7- Try for the shortcuts of mathematics. Calculations must be strong.

8- See any type of graph in any where you find, try to interpret that as fast as possible.

9- Change your attitude. Make one decision strictly. And only try for right decision or don’t answer in case of ambiguity.

10- Read whatever you love. But try to read on different subjects articles.

11- Before three months of Cat, Daily solve one set of available question paper.

12- Try to make logical sense everywhere.

13- Try to solve calculations mentally.

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How to select right Coaching for CAT or MBA exams

The first thig which one looks for if they are giving CAT for the first time is which coaching institute to join.
Usually people join one among the big ones like TIME, IMS or CL depending on
1) Which is nearest to their place
2) What their friends are joining
3) How many students have successfull cracked CAT from that coaching.

There are various types of coaching institutes and the only thing common is they all promise you success. Every year, the Indian Institutes of Management churn out more than one thousand five hundred graduates. The past ten years would alone have seen some ten thousand IIM-certified MBAs entering the market. So take all the claims as good examples of marketing and pick through what works for you best.

The types of coaching institutes are: -

Mass Coaching Institutes - They admit everyone, charge a fee and use a combination of classroom and written material. This approach is a relatively less-risky approach, as most people would want to join institutes that claim to have hundreds of success stories over the years. Remember what matters is your own success and the student needs just one seat in the right MBA institute. Try and check the percentage success rate of the institute as in how many candidates successful as a percentage of the total seats admitted. If you have specific weaknesses in one of the individual sections mentioned above, you can go in for specialized coaching.

Specialized Coaching - Generally, mathematics or numerical ability is one area where people prefer specialized coaching as this is the skill that basically needs to be re-learnt as the exams are of the level of high-school mathematics but need to be done in accuracy as possible. Specialized coaching institutes generally conduct exams to offer a limited number of seats, and this is also because they are unable to provide educational infrastructure for all

Postal Coaching for Written Exams - The need for postal coaching is because it is relatively less expensive and also offers you flexibility to set your own pace.

Coaching Only for Group Discussions / Interviews - Once cleared with your exams, you can go in for polishing your soft-skills and hone your initial impressions by attending these coaching programs.

Using More Than One Institute / Coaching Material - An optimized approach works best, as each coaching institute’s curriculum has its own strength and weakness. Some institutes are very good for English Comprehension Skills while others are better for Mathematics-related studies. The best approach is a hybrid-approach which uses sample papers from previous years, study materials from more than one institute and mock tests. To cut down on expenses, you can form a study group that shares study material. It is best if you take in a lot of feedback from ex-students of coaching institutes to spot the relative merits and demerits of each one. This is best done if you take time on this activity as it is important and maybe even crucial for eventual success.

What to do :-
1)  What you can do as an aspirant is get to know few students who are studying in these clases before joining one.
2) There is huge difference for the same coaching institute from city to city and sometimes place to place.
3) If you don’t know anyone then go around some forum (Cat4mba, totalgadha, pagalguy,  solidgyan etc) for CAT and you always ask people there about the coaching institute.
4) Join atleast 2 test series and analyze the test after giving them, which will let you know more about strength weakness and stratagy.
5) For solving quant which is usually the nemesis for most of the people writing CAT, try soom books like QA by Nisit k. sinha or QA by Arun Sharma. Both these books are great.
I think all these will help in makin a more informed choice before joining any coaching than just joining for the sake of it. Choose the right business school, focus on those exams, and choose one or multiple coaching methods as customized to your own need and self-assessment. This will be the first and one of the most crucial decisions for your entrance preparations. Above all, work diligently and at a steady pace, and success will only be an exam away.

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