I was working in Investment Banking at the time, so needless to say I worked long hours and had to squeeze in GMAT prep at nights and occasional free weekends. Turns out chatting at the water cooler actually does help, because little did I know, a colleague in a different division was also in the same boat as I. So we decided to become study buddies and met up three times a week.

During our very first session we realized that our skills complemented each other’s. While I was strong in the Verbal Section, he was a Quant Guru who needed to improve his sentence correction and reading comprehension. Together, we tackled almost every OG question successfully. More importantly, through discussion we were able to flesh out sound reasoning that related back to the basic concepts, which we could then hone individually.

My time management improved and I became more efficient. Where I used to slip in an episode or two of 30 Rock during my numerous breaks and shamelessly still kudos myself on a hard night’s work, I could now get some much needed sleep rather than dream about Liz & Tracy. I stopped procrastinating! Once we established our study routine it was easier not to slack as we had preset breaks where we would discuss mistakes and doubts.

Most importantly, and most of you can sympathize with this, I got the motivation I needed to study. At times it really can get pretty difficult to solve those OG problems and read through the Manhattan GMAT Verbal books, there are 6 of them. But, by meeting at different locations such as coffee shops, local libraries and small eateries it became more social and just that little less painful. At least I wasn’t cooped up alone in my room late at night all the time. Funnily enough, studying with a partner also helped me study better individually as I wanted to prep better for our next session.

Studying with a partner also instilled in me that sense of accountability. I did not want to be the one who had not done the problems we assigned ourselves, and let down the team so to speak.  It would have also been a pretty unproductive session had I done that.

This experience made us both realise the importance of studying with a partner, someone who has a similar background to mine or whose work and study schedule are in sync with mine. That is thrwhy we started StudyPal.co, where you can find a StudyPal or a StudyGuru in your city studying for the same test as you.

-Akkshay Chugh
CEO, StudyPal.co

Join Us and lets change the way people study. To find a study partner near you, sign up at www.studypal.co today!

The GRE experts at Magoosh have just released the Ultimate GRE Guide, which is a great resource for anyone starting to study for the GRE. It answers every question an aspiring graduate student might have, from the very basic (“What is the GRE?”) to the advanced (“How do you get a perfect score?”). It organizes a lot of the information from the Magoosh blog, and points you to other sites (especially to http://ets.org/gre!) that may offer more help. Best of all, it’s free! Think of it as a crash course to the GRE—once you finish learning all of the basics of the exam, you’ll have more time to focus on scoring well. Enjoy!

This post was written by our friends at Magoosh.

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!

1. Tell us about CollegePond and its Founders

Collegepond is an online/offline-counseling career guidance, test preparation and admissions counseling outfit. We help talented students achieve their goal of studying at top Universities across the globe. We have guided over 2000 students in obtaining admission to the elite universities in USA, France, NZ, Australia, Singapore, UK and Hong Kong. Our strength lies in highlighting the most optimal path in achieving students’ career ambitions. Our directors are also featured in Education Times regularly.

More information about us can be found on www.collegepond.com.

Suraj Bajaj completed his undergraduate dual degree from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton Business School and College of Arts & Sciences. He holds an MBA from Columbia Business School.  Suraj has spent 10 years working at leading investment banks and Big 4 Accounting firms where, in addition to his work responsibilities, he was involved in recruiting new graduates as well as lateral hires.  He has also passed the CPA examination and has written articles for various journals. Over the past seven years, Suraj has been involved in helping aspiring, talented young individuals set their career objectives and develop an action plan to achieve the same. He has guided students in obtaining admission to the elite universities in the US, France, Australia and United Kingdom. Suraj heads Collegepond’s counseling division and works with students to ensure that they are on course to achieve their desired career path.

Jimeet Sanghavi has worked at Citigroup & Bloomberg and has a Master’s Degree in Computer Science from Stony Brook University. His spectrum of experience ranges from being an IT Analyst to Key-Account Manager to University Recruiting Captain to Teacher and Faculty Member. He decided to pursue his love of teaching and counseling which he had been doing even from USA over the last 5 years.Thanks to his recruiting efforts, he has an excellent rapport with the Career Centers of these universities which helps gauge the job placement scenarios of different schools every year. Jimeet heads Collegepond’s test preparation division and helps students crack the GRE, GMAT, TOEFL, and SAT exams.

2. How should students considering GRE start their test prep?

You should approach GRE in a way similar to training for a marathon. You need to build up gradually and be steady throughout. It is unlike a college exam where you take crash courses and study at last minute and scrape through.

GRE is an exam of aptitude as well as your nerves. You need to condition yourself with a lot of mock exams periodically to assess whether your efforts are being reflected in your scores. One simple recommendation to improve your GRE score is to become an avid reader.  By reading, we mean understanding the grammar, contextual reference and word usage and not just skim through a page-turning novel. Also, it is important to brush up your high school algebra and geometry (not trigonometry) and remember the formulas at a bare minimum.

We also recommend studying with a study partner of forming a study group. You can find a GRE study partner at StudyPal.co

3. What are the resources students must use for their GRE test prep?

There are various reference books available in the market and on the internet.  It is important that students utilize the Powerprep material provided by ETS when registering for the exam. It comes with 2 mock exams which are almost a replica of the GRE exam. It is important to thoroughly exhaust the question-set provided in this software.

4. How long does one require to prepare for the GRE?

On average a student requires about 200 hours of study. This encompasses reading, tutoring classes, homework, mock exams, analysis of exams, etc

5. What are your top 4 study tips for students?

(a) Practice is the key. The more you practice the better you become.

(b) More often than not, GRE is more an exam of your grit and confidence than what you know. You need to be confident, not let a difficult question affect your mindset for the next one

(c) Time-management is important. Solving something correctly in the appropriate amount of time is crucial. It is also important to manage your time between your GRE prep, work, & family commitments.

(d) Form a study group; it helps to keep you motivated and on schedule.

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!