June 21, 2012 – A few strategies that can be used for quick maths

This post is intended as a continuation of the previous dilemma. I have been traversing different sources of study materials recently and was lucky to have a chance to spend a week of trail with an online study portal. There were a few things that I understood there that were really good and are shaping my resolve to use the quick maths more regularly. I am only listing a few of them so that if someone is interested they can dive into the deeper depths of that specific analogy. Along with the names I am providing some simple explanations as reference for the usage / application.

i.                    Process of Elimination

This is undoubtedly one of the most widely known terms of usage. However I would think that in the pressures of the actual test environment this trick is under-utilized. Personally I find that I fail to apply it to the trickier problems. This process of elimination helps when one can arrive at some understanding of the possible answer.

ii.                  Substitution : Plugging in the value

I find this strategy is helpful when solving for the problems with ages, mixtures, percents and even more in Data Sufficiency questions. The skill or the trick here to be learnt is on the good numbers that can be plugged in. A specific piece of information that is helpful is that when dealing with fractions, multiply the unique denominators of all the fractions involved and use that number for the substitution.

iii.                Tables

This methodology is really helpful in all the cases where the solution is leaning towards a Venn Diagram. If there are two distinct choices then this solution should be applied more frequently. An example would be in a class of students 5 girls are tall and 4 boys are fair. Blah blah blah…no girl who is fair is short…blah blah blah…find the boys who are not fair. These are the typical examples of applying the tables setup.

iv.                Data Sufficiency (AD or BCE)

This is also another very popular trick when guessing on the DS questions. It is really helpful in eliminating the answer choices. The trick for me to work and learn on here is when it comes down to choosing between C and E. While the probality of choosing a the correct answer between C and E is 50%, somehow I am presently not making the correct choice and am hence working on this aspect.

I will edit and add on more such pieces of possible tricks as and when I come across them. Hope this post was helpful and informative to those new to quant or trying to find quick options.

June 20 , 2012 – The dilemma : Quick maths or the traditional quantitative approach?

Hello there, it has been a month since my last post. Somehow work always seems to increase when you least want it to grow on you. L These are the few petty matters in the life of an B-School applicant after all J

With respect to the quantitative problem solving questions, this dilemma has been testing my nerve for quite some time now. The basis of this issue rises from the way one’s approach is conditioned to approaching the problem solving quant problems. Being from an engineering background with plenty of exposure to mathematics, the natural approach for problem solving is to take the mathematical way. Believe me this approach will rarely fail. The trick however on the GMAT questions is most importantly there are only 2 minutes per problem and secondly that the questions are not actually meant to test the depth of the quant skills of the test-taker but instead the application of the basic math concepts. Following the natural mathematical approach gets really tough on the harder quant questions since the wording of the problem gets really tricky.

With this in mind, I have consciously decided to try the smarter way of solving the quant problems. This is a very demanding approach and needs immense practice. The end result should possibly result in relative improvement in time taken to solve the problems and also in making informed guesses on the harder problems. Now, a rather straight forward question is that why is this approach so demanding, if one decides on following this approach shouldn’t it be easy enough?

Let me try to explain this with a simple example. The below question is one of the easier questions in OG 12 problem solving quant section. Please take your time in trying to solve it.

A rainstorm increased the amount of water stored in State J reservoirs from 124 billion gallons to 138 billion gallons. If the storm increased the amount of water in the reservoirs to 82% of the total capacity, approximately how many billion gallons of water were the reservoirs short of total capacity prior to the storm? 

A. 9 
B. 14 
C. 25 
D. 30 
E. 44 

Ok, so since you now have attempted to solve this problem it is time to move on to checking the answer. But hold on for a second, the example was not for evaluating the answer but rather for evaluating the approach.

So, when I first looked at this problem, my natural instinct told me that form the equation and solve for the unknown variable. If (82/100) = 138 then x% = 124. Find the value of x and solve up for the total of 100% and subtract 124 from it to get the answer. Voila!

Some potential drawbacks here are that the calculations involved are slightly tedious and can take a significant amount of time. So then how can this be solved using another approach? The answer choices are close enough. So even though this is an easy question they answer choices do not scream out on the correct answer. Notice the word “approximately” in the question stem. So the approach that I now intend to take for such problems is as below.

138 billion = 82%

13.8 billion = 8.2% i.e. ~ 14 billion = 8%.

Now, remaining % in tank is 100 – 82 = 18%.

This can be loosely translated to ( 8% + 8% + 2% ) i.e. 14 + 14 + ~3.5 which gives us 31.5 billion. Now a very important point to take note of is that this is NOT our final answer. We want to find originally (before the rain) how much short of capacity was the reservoir? So we need to keep in mind that something (138-124 = 14 billion) needs to be added to 31.5 to get the desired answer. Now look at the answers, only 44 is greater than 31.5. Our answer is hence E.

To sum it up, as per my personal observation, very seldom will the test the core of your mathematical skills. The second approach, which I by now have thoroughly realized, is not straight forward to apply. It needs quite a lot of practice but the rewards will be good. So, I intend to work out on applying this approach more. Let us see how it goes.

But the bottom line is that one should take the approach one is most comfortable with. There are no extra points for the approach taken hence the approach which suits one best should be used. Hopefully this post has been of some help and has made you think again.

May 29, 2012 – Powers in the Quant Section in GMAT

While I have been working on the quant section, POWERS is one of the topics that is tested and on which questions can be expected. Below are a few pointers to keep in mind with regards to the Powers that I have been able to recollect and which I have read in a few quant related articles --:

1.                 Keep in mind the properties of Powers (Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication)

2.         0 is an EVEN number

3.         An even power is always positive, whether the base is positive or negative. 

             Eg :-- 

                       (-2)^2 = 4 and (2)^2 = 4

4.         An odd power retains the base's original sign.

             Eg :-- 

                       (-2)^3 = -8 and (2)^3 = 8

5.                 Adding and subtracting powers with the same base:

               

                        DON'T: add or subtract the exponents

                        Example: x³ + x⁵ ≠ x⁸

                        Do: extract the highest common factor.

                        Example: x³ + x⁵ = x³(1+x²)

6.        If you're not sure that you factored the expression correctly, check that re-expanding the brackets does return to the original expression. This is a method to cross-check and should be used if you have time and are unsure of your answer

7.       Like terms (same base and same exponent) can always be added/subtracted:

6a² + 3a² = 9a²

8.        Whenever one encounters an even root in the GMAT, it only represents the positive solution. Which is why x in the quadratic equation x^2-4=0 will equal ±2, but if it is stated as only √4 then it will equal 2 alone. By EVEN Root, the statement refers to square root or 4^th root, 6^th root and so on.

9.       In other words, both positive and negative roots must be considered if we placed the square root ourselves, as part of solving an equation, for example.

10.      If the root sign is already there to begin with, it signifies only the positive root (This is a mathematical convention).

May 20, 2012 – The importance of time on a minute by minute basis

It has been quite some time, a month to be precise, since I last updated an entry here. The reason though was a valid one that being that I had a much needed vacation and got some time off. This was particularly needed to recharge the sagging batteries since the last unsuccessful admission application cycle which seemed to have sapped my energy. Hopefully this will refuel and fully recharge my batteries for this season.

I was fortunate to experience the transport services in the United Kingdom during my vacation. The most important takeaway from my experience there was the importance of time on a minute by minute basis. I missed a few trains and buses since I was late by a minute or two. That said, when I was before time the train / bus was running about 3-4 minutes late. An irony indeed :D !

It is not rocket science to link that the GMAT being an adaptive time based test makes one value the importance of time. That said, personally, I have experienced that though one does realize that one has only 75 minutes for the 37 Q / 41 V questions it is letting go that needs practice and more practice. Sometimes we just get stuck into a question for too long (too long can be anything from 4 minutes to 7 or 8 minutes). We feel like we might be able to solve the question but then it just does not happen. I recommend that if it is taking more than 3 minutes then it time to just make an educated guess and move on. It is better to guess on the DS than performing one on the PS.

What do I mean by letting go here exactly? So let me just explain it in a slightly more detailed manner. The 75 minutes are normally split into either a small question count or a minutes slot as per one’s convenience. I prefer splitting the number of questions to be completed / left corresponding to the minutes left on the test. For a tentative plan please find the illustration as below --:

Q.05 – 63 mins left

Q.10 – 52 mins left

Q. 20 – 33 mins left

Q. 30 – 14 mins left

Q. 35 – 4 mins left

I devised this during my first attempt since the time clock on the GMAT shows us the time remaining. I would advise you to devise your own strategy time clock for reference. I have observed that the question from 5 to 10 tend to be more intensive. My personal observation has been that the first 3-4 questions tend to be of Problem Solving and then the next 2-3 questions tend to be of Data Sufficiency. Also my own testing experience is that I tend to relax from questions 13 to 25 tending to miss the time and trying to increase my accuracy. I have decided that I have to consciously prevent this from happening again in my attempt this time. I will be taking care of this issue during my mocks as well.

I am working towards preparing a strategy for my preparation now. I know that I need to really work hard on my Quant side to push it to a score of 48 or 49 Q. The problem is that I know the basics but somehow am not efficient enough in the application.

I have a few things in mind for this issue. One is the concept of Ball-Parking. I attended the BeatTheGMAT webinar on the IR and during a session by the instructor from MasterGMAT he illustrated an example on this concept of Ball-Parking. I will try and understand more on this concept and provide an entry once I have a concise understanding of this interesting concept. Getting back to the table now to decide up on a good strategy to supplement and aid my preparation.

A chance to win scholarship by writing out essays

For all those who are in the process of applying to a B-school or preparing for GMAT, the BeatTheGMAT site is like a repository for information, problems and a lot more. The site is hosting the annual scholarship this year and the deadline for the scholarship is 23rd April night. The rewards include quite a few goodies which include GMAT prep courses, admission consultancy freebies and so on. For more details, please refer to the site below --:

 http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/scholarship

To sum it up, like its aptly mentioned in the information, what do you have to lose?! So get going, get writing, this might be a good opportunity to get a feel of what writing essays in an application is all about. 

Cheerio.

April 15, 2012 – Retrospective Introspection (Part 3 – Reasons for the ding)

On the other front, I have been thinking on the cause of rejection and failure to even get an interview call. I am awaiting feedback from Indian School of Business (ISB) and I have a gut feeling that they would say that I lost out in view of the competition and a below average GMAT score. 

I was able to come down to the following possible chinks in the armour --:

a. GMAT. This was the weakest link and a no-brainer really. I have started preparing again and will be giving it in the new pattern as I believe that the new Integrated Reasoning ( IR ) section would be a good indicator of my data analysis abilities if I intend to apply for a consulting job. Also since this IR section has replaced one of the essays it will not have any bearing on my actual GMAT (Q/V) score. This is one area that I will improve and if things go as per my plan this will not be an issue this time around.

b. I did not spend enough time on my essays as I should have. Thanks to the critical suggestions and suggested improvements by an ex-colleague who also happens to be an alumni from ISB, they were decent enough but I think the content that I enclosed in them did not pack enough punch in them. I need to improve on really choosing the content material with a lot more care in my next application.

c. My extra-curricular activities were not good enough. This might be a possibility but 2 of my achievements were representing the state in a national competition for a sport during my secondary schooling days and heading the IEEE student’s chapter in which we had organized educational sessions for the school students in the schools run by the municipal corporation. I am afraid I cannot do much more in this part as of now. 

d. Recommendations. I though hard on this part and I am convinced that I had the two best judges of my ability to recommend me. I did not seek to read their recommendations owing moral obligations but I am pretty sure that they both would have surely done great justice in their feedback. The more important point is when re-applying I can either choose to use these same recommendations or then use new ones. The guys that I had chosen were the best choices and the ones who observed me from the closest quarters. I am not at all keen on seeking recommendations from my present organization as it will probably end all chances of any progression in my present profile. 

e. Spreading my net of schools to apply. I am thinking on this aspect and had thought on it the last time as well. The US schools and European schools are way out of budget. Also the most important thing is that 2 years might be a rather large investment and I would rather prefer ISB’s 1 year course. I am delving further on this aspect as of now.

A few points that I have been trying to do in addition to all the above points are --:

I. I have been trying to get in touch with alumni having pre-MBA background similar to min so that I can get an idea on the possibilities after getting a MBA. That is to really pump up and be clear in my Why MBA aspect.

II. Evaluating the need / possibility of an admission consultant for my re-application. I am not sure on this aspect as of now though I am seriously contemplating it.

April 14, 2012 – Retrospective Introspection (Part 2 – Whether to re-apply)

Moving ahead, a very important question that has been troubling me is whether I re-apply immediately this year or wait for a year and then re-apply.

There a few things in this aspect as below --:

i. The Positives --:

The positives of re-applying after 1 more year are plenty, more significantly increased international exposure, reduced financial burden to pay the steep fees and increased clarity on future goals, etc. 

ii. The Negatives --:  

There are a few personal things that would make it difficult to push it ahead by another year. This is the prime most reason of my not wanting to push it ahead by a year.

iii. Changes since the last application --:

If I am to re-apply immediately this year then I will need to show the improvements from my last re-application. On this point I have a few positives. The biggest change is international exposure of almost 5-6 months at 2 client locations. One was a new customer for the company and I was designated to handle the first big revenue impacting event (i.e. the Christmas and New Year period) after the purchase of our product. I handled it pretty well and there were no issues/outages. This is a big achievement since I had just completed 6 months in the organization and had moved out from my comfort zone of my previous job in a different sub-vertical to a new sub-vertical in my existing job profile.

Second up, I was immediately sent for my present assignment for duration of almost 6 months. This customer is our biggest customer in terms of size of market, contribution to our revenue and in general the deciding account for the entire customer group clients. This customer had just upgraded to a new architecture and release and was not satisfied with the project results. My presence in this project was to support and to stabilize the upgrade and resolve any issues. So far it has been fantastic in terms of stability achieved and issues have almost become zero and the customer has also released the payments and has expressed satisfaction in the new product features.

Third, I have been given a promotion as well as a change of designation. This is relatively appreciable since as I have mentioned above I am only 6 months old in the organization.

These are the most important improvements in my profile since the last application. 

It is the negatives that I am considering and at this point I am pretty much convinced to re-apply immediately this year.