Based on my GMAT experience, here are some tips:

Preparation time – This varies from person to person. If you can spend lot of time on preparation then 2 months should be sufficient. Else if you dont leave your office till late in the evening like I do, 3-4 months should suffice. It’s a good idea to start earlier and have look at the questions, lessons and GMAT structure and gradually pick up steam to reach your peak on the GMAT day.

Material- Official Guide (OG) is a must combined with either Kaplan or Princeton. I used OG (for the quantitative section) and Kaplan (for Verbal). You can use the lessons and strategies from Kaplan and practice OG questions. I used Kaplan and the lessons were really helpful

By section
Quantitative – The quantitative skills tested on GMAT are pretty basic. Most of the Math required is already taught in school curriculum and requires simple formulas. Solve each question and then look at the answers. Books do recommend you to use elimination and other techniques to save time. However, I think anyone from India or engineering background should be able to solve each and every problem with time to spare. If you are reasonably good in Math, only place you can lose points is data sufficiency. Sometimes you see a question, assume something and jump to conclusion. You can go wrong there. For example, there might be 2 linear equations and you have been asked if to find value of one variable. It might seem that you can use both equations to get a unique solution but if you look carefully, both equations might reduce to similar forms.

If you not that strong quantitatively, start your preparation early and read all reference material on math once or twice then practice lots of questions from OG. Lessons are not as important as Math reference if you slightly weaker in this section. If you get your basics right you can easily do well in this section.

Verbal – I had a notion that your verbal score is totally based on verbal skills that you have developed over the years and it is not possible to improve it significantly. By the time I wrote GMAT I knew this was not the case. GMAT verbal follows specific patterns and answers are arrived at following certain rules. Of course your score depends on your verbal abilities but you can improve them significantly. That’s where I missed out.

First thing is to make sure that you take the lessons for each of the 3 sub-sections. Kaplan lessons are great. Take them more than once till you remember all the points mentioned on the lessons.

Sentence correction – From lessons you will find that there are only few variations of grammatical mistakes tested on the GMAT. Lessons takes you through each of them and there tells you how to spot them. Keep that in mind and apply them without exception while practicing questions. Make sure to practice enough, such that spotting errors comes naturally. Finding the correct answer from here on should not be difficult.

Reading Comprehension – Again, lessons help a lot. When you read that passage make sure to think critically and question ‘so what’s the point, what does the author want to convey’ this way you would understand what the author is trying to Imply and get the context and scope. Most RC questions on GMAT are based on these. Also for some questions, wrong answer choice might look more in scope and context of the actual passage i.e. by directly referring material in the passage. If you question these choices by ‘Is this really what author wanted to convey?” you can find flaws in these choices.

Critical reasoning – For this read the question before the text so that you know what you are looking for. You need to concentrate hard and spend some time on these questions.

Overall, the 3 most important factors that determine your final score are – Focus, hard work and self-belief.

For instant messaging fans (like me ), this rates right up there with the Berlin Wall. Working hand-in-hand with the friends at MSN, Yahoo! is hammering out a solution to connect our two thriving global IM communities.

Which means soon (Yahoo is thinking the first half of 2006), with my Yahoo! Messenger I would be able to see when my MSN Messenger are online without logging in to my MSN messenger. Moreover, I would be able to share IMs and emoticons, easily add new contacts from either service to the respective Messenger Lists, and more.

I am sure this is what most of us have been asking for it.

And Yahoo is delivering they called the world’s largest IM community. It’s a wonderful bridge that makes staying in touch easier and more enjoyable for everyone. Hm… I just hope Yahoo can speed up this process as I cant wait to experience this

I finally submitted my application to University of Virginia for the Darden MBA program class of 2008 in October 2005. It was indeed a relief for me considering the fact that I had to quickly do my GMAT (oops… I had a mere 650 score. Not bad for my application afterall. I will be sharing my experience soon) and that I had to write like 7 application essays (4 for Darden MBA and 3 for Stanford MBA) at the same time. Moreover, I always get home around 9.30pm in the evening which really put me in a very tight schedule. I ensured that the whole application was tight as I cant imagine wasting the 140USD application I paid through a friend’s credit card. It is not that the amount is that much but the stress I went through before I could get someone to pay the fee on my behalf is enormous

And the first mail came in. When I saw that the sender is from Darden Admission Committee, I knew there was definitely a problem as I didnt expect to hear from them until first week in December when the status of my application would be announced. My suppossed Account Officer sent me a mail in which she asked me to send her my TOEFL score as the admission committee had just discovered that I didnt submit any TOEFL score with my MBA application. The implication? I might have to write the TOEFL exam within stipulated time or forfeit my application (I cant even imagine this not with all the sleepless nite I had putting up the whole application together). I therefore sent her a mail explaining that the official language in Nigeria is English Language and based on this I should be qualified for a TOEFL Waiver. I thought the mail will do the magic only to receive a mail now from the Assistant Director of Admission viz:

Dear Emmanuel,
Thank you for your interest in the Darden School MBA program. I will need more information from you before I feel comfortable offering you a TOEFL waiver. Please send to me your GMAT score with the verbal percentile and AWA score. Do you conduct business in English everyday?

I look forward to hearing from you.

Regards

Hm… Imaging her asking me if I conduct business in English? However, this sets me thinking. Does it mean that Nigerians speak a different kind of English?. If NO, why do we have to do TOEFL then before we can be considered for any admission into US schools? This I dont actually understand. I have cases in which some of my friends were denied admission into US schools until they did the TOEFL. I know that English language is not only Nigeria’s official language, it is the only recognised language within the Education system. For instance, right from my KG to my university, I was taught in English Language. In fact, it took me some time before I could pick a second Language - Yoruba, which is even supposed to be my official language

Anyway, I sent a very comprehensive mail to the assistant director of admission and she replied telling me that I had been given a TOEFL Waiver. But the question still remains why do I have to be given a TOEFL waiver when my supposed official language is English.

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you just wish you could influence others around you? Dont worry… You can develop yourself to such a state. Nobody was born with this trait. Every known person who has influenced people in one way or the other has learnt to master some keys. So, you have got to make up your mind that in everything you do, you will affect lives positively.

Find below some of the things I have learnt from Management Guru - Brian Tracy.

Do Nice Things For Others
One of the best ways to influence someone is to do something nice for him. Many successful salespeople make a habit of taking their prospects out to breakfast or lunch. During the breakfast or lunch, they do not talk about their products or services unless the client brings it up. They merely make small talk, ask questions and listen. They work on building trust, and they work on establishing a friendly relationship. At the end of the breakfast or lunch, they tell the prospect that they will be getting in touch with him sometime in the future with the possibility of talking to him about helping him in some way.

See Them As Friends and Partners
The best salespeople and businesspeople in the world are those who look upon their customers and prospective customers as friends and partners. They always look for ways to help their partners improve their lives in ways that are not directly related to the products or services they sell. They sow seeds, and they reap a harvest. They trigger a desire in people to reciprocate. When the time comes for those salespeople to approach their prospects with the possibility of buying their products or services, the prospects are wide open to the questions and inputs of the salespeople. The prospects have a deep-down desire to reciprocate.

Send Thank You Notes
One of the best ways to use this principle in your interactions is to continually look for ways to say and do positive things for people. Look for ways to do kind acts and favors for your friends and prospects. Send thank-you notes. Send birthday cards. Send clippings from newspapers about subjects that you feel may be of interest to them. Always keep your promises, and follow up on your commitments. Always do what you say you will do. Do everything possible to put in, knowing confidently that you will ultimately be able to get out far more. You will reap if you sow.

Be a Go-Giver Rather Than A Go-Getter
Someone has observed that no one ever built a statue to a person to acknowledge what he or she got out of life. Statues are built only to people to acknowledge what they gave. The most powerful, influential and successful people you will ever meet always look for ways to do nice things for others. When you meet someone under almost any circumstance, one of the best questions you can ask is this: “Is there anything that I can do for you?” Always look for ways to put in rather than to take out. The successful man or woman of today is a “go-giver” as well as a go-getter.

Be Open and Empathetic
The more that people feel that you are open and empathetic and sensitive to their needs and concerns, the more open they will be to your influencing them positively in some way. And the more you can influence others with the power and impact of your personality, the more you will accomplish, and the faster you will accomplish it. The more rapidly you will move toward the great success that you desire and deserve.

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you find it difficult to track whereabout of your goods? Dont worry… there is now a sort of relief for you. SimpleTracking.com is providing customized RSS feeds for tracking your packages via UPS, USPS, or FedEx. You have a few options to choose from and basically a simple form to submit and you’re off! I love this idea and I am tempted to order something online right now just to try this service out. I’m sure that it will only get better with time and more user feedback.

GUARANTY Trust Bank Plc is set to open a subsidiary company in Accra, Ghana. The company, Guaranty Trust Bank (Ghana) Limited has already been granted a provisional licence by the Ghana Central Bank pending the formal opening of business by the bank in January next year.

Business Champion reliably gathered that GTB Ghana Limited would be pumping in about 90 billion cedis about US$11 million into its operation as opposed to the 70 billion cedis minimum share capital prescribed by the Ghana’s Central Bank.

The Managing Director designate of the Guaranty Trust Bank (Ghana) Limited, Mr. Dolapo Ogundimu, who spoke to newsmen in Accra at the weekend had revealed plans by the GTB Plc to expand its business operations across the West African subregion.

GTB’s adventure into Ghana brings to three, the number of subsidiary banks to be established by the bank in other West African countries. GTB operates in Banjul, the Gambia and Freetown, the Sierra Leone capital. The Ghana office came on the heels of Zenith and Standard Trust Banks establishing office in Accra.

Mr. Ogundimu who conducted newsmen on a tour of the Ghana’s proposed corporate head office still under construction had explained of the vision to bring what he described as the culture of banking excellence to the Ghana’s financial landscape.

GTB Plc he said is poised to revolutionize banking practice in Ghana through its introduction of unparallel customer service. The bank he said will emphasize more on service delivery as opposed to product rebranding.

“We are a team driven to deliver the utmost in customer services. We are synonymous with innovation, building excellence and superior financial performance and creating role models for society,” Mr. Ogundimu had remarked.

Mr. Ogundumi who is been moved from his current desk as the chief executive officer of GTB Sierra Leone had informed that the bank has done well in its operations in The Banjul and Freetown, an indication that the Ghana adventure will prove to be another success story.

I cannot believe the number of changes that are going on currently in the competition for internet publishers and for companies advertising on the internet.

I spent a bit of time last week updating my site with Google sitemaps. Google is now allowing you to submit your site and you can get statistics on your sites - all for free! Anything which can show Google how good your site is must be a good thing. In some ways it is also giving Google a tremendous amount of data on sites on the Internet. I can’t help feeling sites that don’t follow Google’s latest initiatives will fall behind.

I believe that this will create various opportunities for SEO marketers and internet marketing businesses to keep up with all of the latest technology. I am sure we will see SEO becoming a full-time profession like accounting; companies will either hire internal staff or outsource this work.

Congratulation Nigerians! Our new First Lady flew into the country via Port Harcourt International Airport on Sunday night after a successful Tummy Tuck in a German Hospital and sex transplant at a London Jail.

This is the content of a text message I got this morning from a friend in the office. Contrary to his theory of a mystery escape, there were indications on Monday that the Governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, disguised as a woman to beat the British security operatives on surveillance at his residence in London.

Well, can we then say that God has blessed us with a new First Lady? Only time will tell

Seems like a dream! I had just read Gbenga’s Nigeria Rocks again when I stumbled on BBC news and Kazey’s report on the Nigerian Governor who just skipped bail. I still find it hard to believe the story even as I am blogging now. Why? This is the governor that is not expected to get close to any airport or seaport. So, how did he escape? The head of Nigeria’s anti-corruption body, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), told the BBC’s Hausa service that Mr Alamieyeseigha had “forged documents” and “dressed as a woman” to escape the UK. This is indeed a scandal. But how could he escape the so-called UK Bail? Only heaven can tell this. Anyway, I choose to remain calm and watch the turn of events in the next few days.

A group of frogs were traveling through the woods, and two of them fell into a deep pit. All the other frogs gathered around the pit. When they saw how deep the pit was, they told the two frogs that they were as good as dead. The two frogs ignored the comments and tried to jump up out of the pit with all of their might. The other frogs kept telling them to stop, that they were as good as dead.

Finally, one of the frogs took heed to what the other frogs were saying and gave up. He fell down and died. The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could. Once again, the crowd of frogs yelled at him to stop the pain and just die. He jumped even harder and finally made it out. When he got out, the other frogs said, “Did you not hear us?”

The frog explained to them that he was deaf. He thought they were encouraging him the entire time.

This story teaches two lessons:
1. There is power of life and death in the tongue. An encouraging word to someone who is down can lift them up and help them make it through the day.
2. A destructive word to someone who is down can be what it takes to kill him or her. Be careful of what you say.

Speak life to those who cross your path.

The power of words…. it is sometimes hard to understand that an encouraging word can go such a long way. Anyone can speak words that tend to rob another of the spirit to continue in difficult times. Special is the individual who will take the time to encourage another.