Educational Consultants
If you’re a high school student studying for the SAT, you may be doing it wrong. You can have the best tutor, buy the best books, and still not see the benefit you believe you should be seeing. That’s because you might be overlooking a critical aspect of studying – when you do it. You … Read more
A parent recently asked me, “Why are there no individual SAT student cases published?” Excellent question. I started teaching full time as a GMAT instructor and have helped students gain admission at top tier business schools since I was an undergrad – it started completely organically, friends, friends of friends, older brothers/sisters. By the time … Read more
SAT scores: how do you compare? Here are the standard SAT scores for some of the most top-tier colleges, including Harvard, Yale and Duke. One of the perils of working as an Instructor is explaining what I do when I meet someone new. If you’re an Architect, you probably don’t get the, “Oh my G, … Read more
So what’s going on with the girls? Isn’t it supposed to be easier for girls to get in? I received a frantic phone call yesterday . . . a former student who won’t be applying for at least another year called to ask why strong work experience, 740+, female candidates were getting deferred to … Read more
At Prepwise we tend to attract high achiever students. Many find coping with the SAT while excelling in school and extracurricular activities painful. What follows is our tried and true method for taking the pain out of preparing yourself for a stellar high school career without dropping any balls. Objective: create the best opportunities for … Read more
The 22-Hour Student For students with a significant gap between current GMAT score and target score, 200+ points, it is imperative to bring a consistent attack to foundational materials. Expect to spend 22-25 hours a week on foundational, building block and GMAT materials over a period of 12-15 weeks. What does a 22-hour study week … Read more
Composition of a 700 – updated June 2019 GMAT scoring is not obvious at first glance and many instructors and consultants focus on percentiles rather than the scaled scores, fueling more confusion. If you have read that business schools “need to see 80th percentile” in both quant and verbal and that you need at least … Read more
How much time should you expect to spend on GMAT prep? If you are over 550 and are within 100 points of your target score, you can effectively prep for the GMAT over 12 weeks, averaging 10-12 hours a week if taking a long course (9 weeks or more), 8 weeks, averaging 12-15 hours a … Read more
Adding on to Probability and MegaMillions, considering magnitude of this operation . . . The probability of winning the MegaMillions lotto is 1 in 176Million. Buy one of each combination, you will win. You will also spend $175,711,536 in after tax dollars for the privilege of winning.So let’s make it worth our time. Starting jackpot, … Read more
Remembering the conversation from Probability and MegaMillions, here’s how to rig the game. Buyer beware, this has been tried…. Probability of winning the MegaMillions lotto: 1 in 176Million The probability of winning and everyone else losing does not change much as you add more people to the mix because the probability of losing is so … Read more
The comments on this infographic inspired some LottoMillions thinking. What is the probability that you win the jackpot and no one else wins? http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2012-11/dismal-odds-winning-lottery-infographic The odds of winning are based on you selecting the correct numbers out of a larger set of numbers. Keep in mind that the odds of being a lottery winner (not … Read more
The GMAT is crafty in the way it tests you on vocabulary. One of the benefits of the GMAT versus GRE is that the GMAT does not require you to memorize a list of 600 words. The GRE essentially does. But that doesn’t mean that the GMAT is not testing you on vocabulary . … Read more
Since newspapers and magazine are happy to supply accidents and or bad grammar, I am happy to share. Find an error online or in a newspaper, send it: kate_at_prepwise_._com This gem comes from the Wall Street Journal in an article on the Khmer Rouge (July 26, 2010): After an estimated 1.7 million Cambodians die during … Read more
Success requires endurance. GMAT study habits – Being Mediocre I recently blew a gasket when student asked me to reconfigure his study plan for the umpteenth time. He hasn’t followed any of the plans I’ve created for him and always has an excuse . . . none of which have been compelling. So here’s … Read more
Spelling Errors It is easy to get caught up in your typing. It starts by reversing the h and the t in the. Spelling errors just happen. Then you start dropping a comma here and there. Next thing you know ur ritng n txt spk. And frankly, that’s just silliness. I’m a bit more of … Read more
The Little, Brown Handbook is a mainstay in college writing classes. If you didn’t know, several tutorials are available online too. For budding grammarians and novices alike, Click here to visit. This is a useful way to test your knowledge and solidify your skills as a grammarian.
Mathematical Data: Women vs. Men A common misconception among students is that girls are bad at math. Indeed, most of my female students have heard this, but it’s not the whole story. Take a look at this data plot. The reality is, at the extremes, men outperform. At the extremes. In other words at the … Read more
Falling and Failing by pushing our bottom third into teaching. According to McKinsey and Co., Finland, Singapore and South Korea have 100% of their incoming teachers coming from the top 1/3 of their college classes. The US . . . has a dismal 23%. Over 47% of our teachers graduate in the bottom third of … Read more
Excuses: a fun look at failure This is the abbreviated version of a Saturday Night Live skit (Basement Karate – Bryan Cranston). What was so striking was the little boy’s reaction to getting shellacked by his old man. I have heard some of the exact same phrases out of my GMAT students…. I know, I … Read more
Crush Your Competition – the Superstar Effect The best way to win? Be better. How much better? Soul crushingly better. Sound cruel? The Weekend Journal shared a great piece about the Superstar effect – how some stars are so much better than everyone else in the field that they literally crush their competition before the … Read more