EssaySnark

  • about
  • contact
  • help
  • sign up
  • login
CLICK FOR MORE!
  • Essay Questions
    • Harvard
    • Stanford
    • Wharton
    • Chicago Booth
    • Kellogg
    • MIT Sloan
    • Tuck
    • NYU Stern
    • Columbia
    • Yale SOM
    • Berkeley Haas
    • UVA Darden
    • Duke Fuqua
    • Michigan Ross
    • UCLA Anderson
    • Cornell
  • Strategy Guides
    • MBA Reapplicant Guide
    • Pitching Entrepreneurship as Your Post-MBA Career
    • Applying to European Business Schools
    • School-Specific MBA Application Guides
      • Harvard 2022 MBA Strategy Guide
      • Stanford 2022 MBA Strategy Guide
      • Wharton 2022 MBA Strategy Guide
      • Kellogg 2022 MBA Strategy Guide
      • Chicago Booth 2022 MBA Strategy Guide
      • Columbia 2022 MBA Strategy Guide
      • *MORE SCHOOL-SPECIFIC GUIDES HERE*
  • MBA Consulting
  • My SnarkCenter
    • My Strategy Guides
    • My Favorite Posts

Resources for GMAT prep

While GMAT (or GRE) preparation is not EssaySnark’s primary expertise — we are EssaySnark not GMATSnark, after all — we obviously want to help you be successful in this important part of your application as well.

There are a wide range of test prep providers that you can research. However, just like with the market for admissions consultants, we don’t offer opinions on GMAT companies — there’s some good, some bad, and some ugly. You’ll need to do your own research. One tip though: When you ask your friends which test prep company is good, try to figure out if your friend’s personality and study style are similar to yours. If your girlfriend who landed a 3.8 in chemistry at Princeton says Company X is good, well, that might not be so relevant if you are an art history major!

The other advice we can offer is that if you’re trying for a top MBA program, you should probably take the GMAT rather than the GRE. We go into the reasons why in a variety of posts on the blahg; here’s a slightly more recent one from 2017.

Here’s some additional GMAT-related articles:

  • ($) Is a 710 GMAT enough to get in?
  • ($) If you took the GMAT while you were in college and now X years later you’re applying for an MBA
  • The shame of a low GMAT score
  • ($) Canceling your GMAT score is a bad idea (plus, how many schools should you apply to?)
  • ($) To Round 3 or not to Round 3?
  • ($) Updating the admissions office on changes to your profile post-submit: GMAT/GRE/classes
  • ($) Just In Time MBA App Prep: What if you JUST decided to apply to bschool? Like, NOW?
  • ($) The submit-then-retest strategy for your GMAT or GRE
  • ($) How to get off the waitlist
  • ($) What if a high GMAT score is a liability?
  • ($) How MBA admissions works at lower-ranked bschools (aka, the advantages of a higher GMAT score)
  • ($) Why you can’t really rely on class profile data in understanding your own chances
  • ($) Can you take the GMAT or GRE too many times?
  • ($) Do the schools look at all your scores?
  • ($) Is it possible to take the GMAT or GRE too many times?


We’ve also published a few articles on other sites:

  • 3 Truths about the GMAT on BusinessBecause (May 2013)
  • How GMAT Prep Sets You Up for Success in Your MBA Essays on the Magoosh GMAT blog (April 2013) (which is not to say you can’t nail the test just fine with self-study!)

And some recommendations from BSers who’ve gone before:

  • qshdz recommended the McKinsey Problem-Solving Test to study for Integrated Reasoning
  • bschool2013 recommended GMATHacks , a free site with study tips

If you have free resources that have worked for you, please pass them along!

If you go through a Comprehensive Brave Supplicant MBA Profile Review, you will get specific input from EssaySnark on your GMAT or GRE score and how you are positioned against the schools you have selected.

 

Next step >> Selecting schools

UPCOMING MBA APP DEADLINES

  • INSEAD Jan '24 Intake Rd 3
    in 2 weeks
  • INSEAD Jan '24 Intake Rd 4
    in 2 months, 0 weeks
  • Harvard Round 1: Sept. 6
    in 2 months, 3 weeks
  • Harvard Round 1: Sept. 6
    in 2 months, 3 weeks
  • Stanford Rd 1: Sept. 12
    in 3 months, 0 weeks
  • Columbia J-Term: Sept 13
    in 3 months, 0 weeks
  • Wharton Round 2
    in 6 months, 3 weeks
  • Harvard Round 2 (FINAL HBS RD!)
    in 6 months, 3 weeks
  • Stanford Round 2
    in 6 months, 3 weeks
   
   

CLASS OF 2025 MBA APPLICATION STRATEGY GUIDES

From a former BSer:
"love the guide books!"




    The 2022 Stanford MBA Application Guide - for "what matters most" in your MBA application!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Stanford GSB for the Class of 2025
   
    The 2022 Harvard MBA Application Guide - updated for the Class of 2025!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Harvard Business School!
   
  The 2022 Wharton MBA Application Guide - even more advice on how to get to a win with those essays!
SnarkStrategies Guide for The Wharton School - with clear guidance for the 2022 essays!
   
  The 2022-2023 Columbia MBA Application Guide
SnarkStrategies Guide for Columbia Business School for 2022-2023 applications
   
    The 2022 MIT Essay Guide covers the org chart, the cover letter and 'introduce yourself' video, plus the new optional short-answer question on "the world you come from" -- and everything else you need to know!
SnarkStrategies Guide for MIT Sloan MBA - totally revised for the Class of 2025!
   
    The 2022 Kellogg Essay Guide - with a full methodology to identify your 'lasting impact' and your 'values'
SnarkStrategies Guide for Kellogg MBA - revised for 2022!
   
    The 2022 UVA Darden MBA Application Guide gives insights on the essays, Early Action, the possibility of a test waiver, and everything else going on here!
SnarkStrategies Guide for the Darden MBA - updated for the Class of 2025 requirements!
   
   
The Yale SOM MBA Application Guide for Class of 2025 candidates!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Yale SOM - updated for 2022
   
    The 2022 Berkeley-Haas MBA Application Guide - updated for the Class of 2025 application!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Berkeley Haas - refreshed and updated, with brainstorming exercises and structured maps to help you focus your stories!
   
    The 2022-2023 NYU Stern MBA Application Guide that covers the essays, the EQ Endorsement and test strategies!
SnarkStrategies Guide for NYU - discusses your requirements for the Class of 2025 essays!
       
   

EssaySnark® is a registered trademark. All content copyright © 2010–2023 Snarkolicious Press · Privacy Policy