Here are 5 hacks that will ensure better understanding of the Quants section:

1. Numbers are your friends.

Usually, big calculations can throw us off our game, and we end up blundering. That’s because the complex string of numbers often makes us forget that we know numbers. In order to get better at numbers, consider 20 random calculations (can be addition, subtraction, multiplication or division  – whichever you’re most uncomfortable with) and solve it within a set period of time. This will increase your focus and deal with numbers better. You’ll also start figuring out shortcuts for big calculations, and remember tables easier.

2. The formula to become the formulae wizard

Take down a list of the important formulae, and take a long, hard look at them. You don’t need to rote learn the formulae. Once you know how they were derived, or even the logic behind their output, it gets much easier to keep track of them. Every morning, before you begin your studies, take aside a couple of minutes to just look at your list of formulae. This stimulates learning by visual memory. If you’re an auditory learner, then record a tape of yourself reciting those formulae and play it whenever you wish to.

3. Analyse to Maximize

More important than any other hack is this age old tradition. The reason why mock tests exist is so that we can prepare for the real ones. But, instead of directly beginning with timing yourself, for the first couple of tests, don’t. Once, you get the idea of how long it’s taking you to figure out the question, you can work on minimizing that time. Analysis after a test will help you see which areas require work.

4. Strengthen your language

Understanding the problem question is the biggest hurdle. The longer it takes you to figure out the data, the more marks you lose. Having a strong understanding of the language that the test is in, will encourage you to focus wholly on the data provided instead of decoding. That means more time to actually work with the data, and solve more questions.

5. Keep all options open

Ah no, this doesn’t mean that all options are correct. It just means that sometimes there are more than one interpretations of a question. You need to consider the entire data given, pay attention to the footnotes or the conversion values given. These areas usually require you to be thinking laterally instead of factually. So, for the sake of the question given, you have to forget what you think is factually correct.

The most important point here is, that constant practice and being in touch with the subject will get you closer to your target score. Unless your test has negative marking, attempt everything. But, if you’re unfortunate enough to be attempting a test with negative marking, you need to learn to choose which topics you’re the strongest at, and decide which questions you will solve.

You can always connect with a Study Partner to help you stay focused and keep you motivated. You can register at www.StudyPal.co to connect with a prep buddy nearby.

Yes. Let me run through it level by level.

The L1 exam is multiple choice but has wide syllabus: all asset classes, Corporate Finance, Economics, Financial Reporting and Analysis, Quantitative Methods, and even a heavily weighted (and tricky!) section on Ethics. Although slightly general in nature, I have found it to be great primer to people without a traditional finance/business background. It ensured that I was on solid ground, be it a lunch with the boss or day to day business meetings. Suddenly the Financial Times started making sense to me.

L2 is where you get deep into valuation methods across asset classes. Your ability to read Financial statements is strongly tested here. The curious thing is that valuations come up very often in business, even if you are not working in finance and that the ability to think about the ‘value’ is a huge plus to have.

L3 is very heavy on Portfolio Management and Wealth Planning. What makes it harder is that half of L3 is a subjective exam, so the ability to give ‘to the point’ answers while keeping an eye on the clock is key. Although, I wasn’t going to Portfolio/Wealth Manager anytime soon, the syllabus was great training for getting a big picture view of these jobs.

You’ve got a CFA & are now pursuing an MBA degree, what is the advantage of doing both

Two things drove me to earn the CFA designation: the desire to expand my knowledge (coming as I did from an Engineering background) and to differentiate myself from other applicants in the job market. At that time, it was important for me establish myself in the industry.

Similarly, while the MBA is learning about Operations/Strategy/Negotiations/Change Management/ How Organizations work etc. and breaking into new sectors/geographies; it is also about Networking among people from diverse backgrounds and learning from their experiences. Thus, the MBA makes me a more ‘compete’ person.

Also, the brand recognition of a top MBA and the avenues it opens up can be a huge plus in the long run.

In summary: (MBA = Broad and General Skills) and (CFA= Deep and Specific Financial Skills). So the MBA lets me build on my finance expertise and gives me the choice to break into new areas: General Management, Consulting or go back in finance, albeit with a steeper career trajectory.

What are the pre-requisites to do the CFA exam?

For L1, you can start in the last year of your Bachelor’s program and once you finish your degree, you can sit for L2. You can sit for L3 the next year but note that the charter is awarded only after you have 4 years of approved work experience. Remember that L2 and L3 are only conducted once a year in June, so you cannot rush your way through the charter

So how did you prepare for it? Did you take any financial or economics courses?

I relied on CFA Institute provide books for L1 and studied in a study group with another friend of mine (who is now taking the IAS exam!). Having some company really helped as we were able to talk things over and clarify each other’s doubts. But this wasn’t so hard as I was still a student at IIT Bombay and used to being around books.

For L2 and L3, I studied alone, relying mostly on Schweiser guides. Once you start working, it gets so much harder to lock yourself up in a room and study. Managing a 12 hour/day working day does mean that you have to be very efficient in planning your time. My advice is to start early and keep a regular pace (both of which I did not do!).

What kind of edge are you expecting this certificate to give you in terms of financial security, jobs, salary along with the MBA?

Apart from finance sector jobs which value the CFA greatly, there are a number of synergies that are created by having both the CFA and the MBA. But I will talk about the two primary synergies here.

Firstly, it increases my recognition with all employers. The fact that I earned the CFA while working at full time jobs and cleared it on the 1 attempt every time tells them a lot about my diligence, analytical abilities, and time management skills.

Secondly, finance is an integral part of most jobs today, even in the Consulting and Corporate sectors. My CFA training gives them comfort that no matter what sort of finance problem at hand, I will be able to find a solution to it.

Long story short, not only does the CFA get me a seat at the MBA interview table, it also helps me perform better at my post MBA job.

Interviews play a very important role in the selection process of all management B-Schools. Many students feel that the interviewers are free to ask questions from any area and hence luck plays a very important role in final selection (which is not true), due to which their preparation for interview sometimes becomes burdensome and lacks excitement and enjoyment. Some of them may neglect the importance of preparation due to this.

One of the best ways to prepare is to make a list of probable questions and answer them one by one. Some of the questions frequently asked in the interview are as follows:

1. Tell us something about yourself.

2. Goals in life.

3. Strengths & Weaknesses.

4. Why MBA?

5. Why this B-School?

Many students while answering the question “Tell us something about yourself” do not give brief introductions and end it abruptly. This is an important question and a person must answer it systematically without mugging up the answer. A student can start an introduction with his/her academic background or present job profile (if working) followed by what kind of individual that student is i.e. strengths and goals of his/her life. If any achievements are there that should be included then hobbies and interest and in short family background at the end. For questions related to goals, strengths and weaknesses a good introspection is required by the candidate. Questions like “Why MBA?” should be answered keeping your goals and strengths in mind. Many students (Fresher’s or Candidate with work experience) do say that they want to become a good manager, CEO of an organization or want to start their own business that’s why they want to do MBA. This may not satisfy the interviewers and hence one need to rethink about it. If a candidate is a fresher then they can talk about things like before entering corporate world an MBA will give them good knowledge about how the organization works. It will also help them to understand different aspects of business like Marketing, Finance, and HR in detail. Overall it will give them the opportunity to get equipped with qualities and knowledge required to do well in their career.

Candidates with work experience already have some knowledge of work culture in an organization. So the answer for “Why MBA?” for them could have points like:

1. Looking for a greater role to play in an organization or wants to contribute in growth as well as decision making aspects of organization.
2. To gear up for new challenges an MBA will provide necessary exposure, opportunity to interact best brains from different parts of the world and a broader outlook required to fill in the big shoes in future.

Overall a student should have a good clarity and vision about his/her career and future to get a final selection.

– T.I.M.E Aurangabad

With CET just a month away we wanted to share a few study tips coming straight from our experts who have been there done that.

TIP #1: Focus:

Before you start to pick up those huge books and start to scribble just wait there. First things first, set the environment where you study. Today we live in the world with numerous distractions and our addiction towards smartphones and those apps are great time killers. So just shut it. Remain focussed and start with a goal in mind “to get into a top B-school”.

#determination #dedication

TIP #2 Basics:

Get through the basics quickly, remember the difficulty level of the questions is very low in CET so get through the syllabus. You have been doing it for a year or so now, so this should not take time. The syllabus is very basic with most of the concepts taken from the 10^th grade.

#revision #syllabus

TIP #3 Study with a pal:

Studying together with someone who is going to take CET is quite helpful. You can discuss your doubts, challenge each other and work together to achieve the common goal. If you haven’t found one yet, you’ll surely find one at Studypal.co

#teaming-up #Study-partner

TIP #4 Speed and Mocks:

CET is a time based exam. You need to work hard to improve your speed of solving and calculating. You may gain it by doing speed drills, just set the time and always better it. Vedic maths may also help. You should be able to solve a question in about 30-35 seconds. We recommend you to at least take 20 mock exams so that you get the timing right. If you haven’t started on your mocks yet just log on to oliveboard.com and start taking mock exams.

#30seconds #mocks

Final Tip:

Remember that being well hydrated is essential for your brain to work at its best. Make sure you keep drinking plenty of water throughout your revision and eat healthy.

Good luck!

StudyPal.co is providing Free Study Material for CET

Sign-up to get it directly to your email.

Check out the MBA admission cut-offs below 

Note: 2012 cut-off includes written test (200) + GDPI  (40)

Hari Krishnan, Managing Director, Asia-Pacific & Japan at Linkedin tells us about his global MBA experience at INSEAD and how to leverage your network.

1. You have worked in different organizations – Large companies, Fast growing Silicon Valley Companies and Start Ups. What have you learned from each?
   
   My aspiration has always been to be a business builder and leader. To do so, I needed to work at different companies, different industries and companies at different stages of development.At Cisco, I worked for a large company at the peak of it’s powers. To be in the Silicon Valley during the dotcom boom and bust periods was a very educational lesson which has served me well. Above all, I learned how good companies manage employees, take strategic investment decisions and build business.I worked/co-founded 2 separate startups – Travelguru and Stylkist. While one exited successfully through an acquisition, the other one grew well but eventually was sold after breaking up its core assets. I learnt how to build an industry (E-Commerce in India) and build a company from the ground up. Struggles such as figuring out how to make payroll, manage cashflow, hive off business lines etc are so much more existential in nature at that stage of a company’s existence.I also helped 3 American digital companies enter India – Yahoo, MySpace and most recently LinkedIn. I learnt the challenges of being an MNC subsidiary, setting up tax entities, and managing expectations across cultures and geos.All of this has allowed me to be better at prioritization, focus on talent and growing businesses.
   
   
2. How has your MBA from INSEAD enabled you to lead?
   
   It opened me up to cultural differences especially in the professional context. It allowed me to face up to and conquer my own biases and understand how to be successful in global settings. It also showcased the strength of a strong network and good old fashioned hard work.
   
   
3. You have studied on three continents. What would you say to students looking for a global experience?
   
   Be flexible in your approach, open-minded in your thinking and let the experiences wash over you. You will be so much better as a person and a professional once you have done this. But do not underestimate how uncomfortable the actual process of studying in another culture may feel. Its character building stuff!
   
   
4. Business today is becoming social. How would you encourage students to foster social engagement at school and at work?
   
   Professional networks are about making yourself more successful and productive, if they are done well. I would encourage three things:
   • Be authentic: be yourself, don’t pretend to be something/someone you are not.
   • Share more freely: The more you contribute, the more value you will get out of your network.
   • Quality over quantity: A network of trusted, high quality people is worth much more than just arbitrarily networking with all and sundry.
     
     
5. Any tips for our aspiring MBA’s ?
   
   Understand WHY you want an MBA. It can be a wonderful experience, but don’t expect a silver bullet. It will not make you a superhero, just a little better at things like time management, people management and perhaps fill skill gaps like finance, negotiation ability etc.
   
   
6. Can you tell us a bit about Linkedin University?
   
   LinkedIn has 238M+ members globally and this means we have a large number of career paths and we know the career outcomes for the alums for thousands of schools globally. We believe we are uniquely positioned to help university students build a path from college to their career. In the future, you could also foresee a time when highschool students apply to colleges and specific programs using the career outcome data of alums of that college/program, which they will find on LinkedIn. We are only just getting started with services for this key stakeholder group.

I am often hungrier while writing an article about food rather than while I’m cooking it. Thinking can make us pretty hungry. According to medical researchers, our brain cells need double the energy as the other cells in our body, causing our body to crave food to restore this energy during intellectual activities like test prep.

So if you are preparing for standardized tests and often get the munchies, it is merely your brain insisting on a glucose boost. Sorry to be a damper on a guilt free study binge by stating the obvious, but over-snacking and eating the wrong things during your hunger pangs will certainly be counterproductive. It can cause your brain to get too much glucose and slow down. Not so smart after all!

However, there is nothing better than a healthy snack to keep your mental juices flowing.  So why don’t we make this snack time doubly productive by eating not just healthy but brainy foods too.

There are four main nutritional components that help our brains function to their full potential and even reinforce new brain cells. Here is a list of healthy powder foods that will provide the right nourishment for those long study days.

1. Glucose (carbohydrate) – The energy giver
   
   • Banana smoothies
   • Bean and corn salads
   • Popcorn
   • Lentil soups
   • Whole grain crackers with hummus

    

2. Fatty acids (omega 3-6) – The brain lubricant
   • Smoked salmon or grilled sardine fingers snacks
   • Avocado and chia smoothie
   • Walnuts
   • Cashew nuts
   • Flax seed rich energy bars
   • Tahini (sesame paste) dip

3. Antioxidants – The restorer
   
   • All kinds of berries
   • Spinach soups
   • Steamed garlic broccoli
   • DIY Energy drink: Coconut water with chia seeds
   • A variety of teas

    

4. Amino acids (protein) – The protector
   
   • Grilled fish, meat, liver and tofu snacks
   • Egg white salads
   • Yogurt snacks with honey and flax powder

And here are two simple and quick recipes for you and your study buddy.

AVOCADO SMOOTHIE

Serves – 2 glasses
Prep time – 20 minutes

Ingredients:

1 avocado
3 tablespoons chopped dates
5 tablespoons 0% fat greek yogurt
½ cup Soymilk
¾ cup water
2 tablespoons chia seeds

Methods:

Mix the soymilk, water and chia seeds in a glass and leave aside letting the chia seeds absorb the water and fluff up.

Put the avocado, dates and greek yogurt in a blender and blend till they form a smooth paste.

Put the avocado paste in a mixing bowl with the soymilk mix and gently combine the ingredients together with a spatula.

Chill in the refrigerator and drink the cold avocado smoothie during your study break to give your brain a jumpstart!

BEAN SALAD

Serves – 3
Prep time – 20 minutes

Ingredients:

½ cup red beans
½ cup sweet corn
½ cup chopped coriander leaves
¼ cup spring onions
¼ cup chopped walnuts

Dressing:

½ a lime, juiced
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon paprika powder
1 teaspoon honey

Method:

Mix together all the ingredients for the dressing and leave aside.
Put the remaining ingredients in a large mixing bowl and toss till the produce have come together nicely.

Mix in the dressing and serve chilled.

Remember to graze through your study days, eat nutritious snacks and keep it light.

Enjoy!

When should students applying for MBA to Ivy League schools start their application process?

At ReachIvy we start working with students up to 4 years before as it takes time to build all aspects of a compelling application.   We have students starting as early as the completion of their undergraduate degree.  We coach and mentor students, understand who they really are and create achievable benchmarks for them.  Students also need time to research the universities and programs, take the necessary standardized tests (e.g. GMAT, TOEFL), gather letters of recommendations, frame essays, organize funding and much more.

How important is the GMAT score in the admissions process?

GMAT is an important aspect of the admissions process as it provides the schools with your academic potential, however it is only one piece of the puzzle. Most universities have a holistic approach and they weigh all aspects of the application, including essays, letters of recommendation, work experience and extra-curricular activities.  Thus, a high GMAT score does not guarantee admission to a top school.

What are your top 5 must do tips in the application process?

1. Start early – get a head start.  Begin your research and exploring potential options early.
2. Stay organized – Make lists and keep track of deadlines.
3. Involve your family – they are a great resource and may know you better than you think.
4. Engage in extra-curricular activities – get involved in activities at your school/college/club/community.
5. Be a leader – take initiatives in your areas of interest.

Are ECAs really all the crucial or is it more a checkbox for the application?

Extra-curricular activities are a decisive part of the application.  MBA Schools are looking for leaders and individuals who will give back to the school.  The extra-curricular activities that you undertake are a reflection of who you are and can provide invaluable insights to the admissions committee that your grades may not reflect.  Additionally, these activities outside of work and the classroom will provide you with diverse experiences to enhance your essays.

How many schools should students apply to and in which round?

We recommend applying to about 5 schools. Most Universities have 3 to 4 rounds; we advise applying to your top choices in the first and second round.  The early bird catches the worm!

Did you study with a partner or by yourself for the GMAT? If yes, why?

I studied by myself for the GMAT as none of my friends were taking it around the same time. At the time of my GMAT prep I was running my start-up Dream11.com and had long working hours, which meant studying at odd hours of the night and squeezing in time on free weekends. I was not able to find a study partner in my city who had a similar educational background and studied during my time preference. More importantly, I would have wanted someone with a similar score & college aspirations as mine but did not have a platform of finding such a study partner.

What resources did you use for the GMAT?

I primarily used Manhattan GMAT books & prep courses as well as Karan Gupta Tutorials

Did you use a college counselor? Which?

While applying to CBS I took advice from ReachIvy

Would it have helped to have a StudyPal in your city to prepare with? Would you have used StudyPal.co?

Yes, it would have helped to keep me motivated and share the load of balancing my work and test prep with another who was going through what I was. Moreover, if the study timings matched and I could find someone who was at a similar level of preparedness to me, I would definitely have used StudyPal.co

Can you provide a few lines on your experience at MBA and life in NYC

Columbia is an awesome fit because its right in the middle of NYC so I have the best of everything – Wall Street, Silicon Alley, Restaurants, Nightlife.

CBS’s strong Entrepreneurship program, focusing on hands-on learning, lends well to learning & growing of my start-up Dream11.com.

The Graduate Record Exam, a computer-adaptive standardized test that is an admissions requirement for many graduate schools in the US.

The GRE was created in 1949 and has three sections: Verbal, Quantitative and Analytical Writing.

How is it different to the GMAT?

The GMAT places more emphasis on logic, while the GRE tests vocabulary and language comprehension more thoroughly. The quant section on both tests is usually tough for liberal arts folk!

How is it scored?

The Verbal and Quantitative sections are each scored out of a maximum of 700. The Analytical Writing section is scored out of 6. The scores are aggregated into a “scaled score” between 130 and 170.

Why are more business schools accepting it?

Over 1000 business schools worldwide now accept GMAT scores in lieu of the GMAT. The main reason seems to be diversity: business schools want to tap into the pool of potential candidates who take the GRE – a different demographic to the GMAT, which is solely for business school admissions. GRE takers include people in the sciences, social sciences and liberal arts.

Which business schools accept GRE scores?

Big hitters like Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, MIT Sloan, Chicago Booth and many others. Lots of b-schools came on board after the test was overhauled in 2011.

How do you prepare?

ETS, the company that runs the GRE, has official preparation software called PowerPrep, with practice questions, review material and practice tests. There are also plenty of unofficial guides from the likes of Kaplan and Barron’s.

Inside tip

The test from start to finish takes about four hours.  Take a sugary snack with you, such as a Snickers bar. Sugar apparently helps you make decision!

– Maria Ahmed is Editor of BusinessBecause.com, a professional networking and news site for the business school world. Visit the site for info on MBA jobs, MBA rankings and the popular Why MBA series!