Intro to the GMAT

And
MBA Admissions
By Rich Carriero, Next Step Test Preparation and
Stacy Blackman, Stacy Blackman Consulting

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction to the GMAT ................................................................................................................................ 3
What Is The GMAT? ....................................................................................................................................................... 3
Why Take The GMAT? .................................................................................................................................................. 3
What Is The Format Of The GMAT? ......................................................................................................................... 3
What is a Computer Adaptive Test (CAT)? ........................................................................................................... 4
How is the GMAT scored? ........................................................................................................................................... 5
When Should I Cancel My Scores? ........................................................................................................................... 6
What's A "Good" Score? ............................................................................................................................................... 7
Preparing for the GMAT ................................................................................................................................... 8
How Is The GMAT Different From Other Tests? ................................................................................................. 8
Mindset Is Huge .............................................................................................................................................................. 9
So How Do I Prepare? .............................................................................................................................................. 13
Mastering the Most Common Word Problem Types.............................................................................15
Overlapping Sets .......................................................................................................................................................... 16
Averaging Consecutive Integers ............................................................................................................................ 17
Percents........................................................................................................................................................................... 18
Compound Ratios ........................................................................................................................................................ 20
Combined Work Problems....................................................................................................................................... 21
Inventory and Revenue ............................................................................................................................................. 23
Compound Interest ..................................................................................................................................................... 25
Combinations ................................................................................................................................................................ 26
Distance Problems ...................................................................................................................................................... 28
The Train Problem ...................................................................................................................................................... 30
Introduction Stacy Blackman Consulting ..............................................................................................33
What Should I Write About?.................................................................................................................................... 33
What Is Program X Looking For? .......................................................................................................................... 33
What are the top business schools looking for? ....................................................................................35
High-Impact Leadership ........................................................................................................................................... 36
Passion............................................................................................................................................................................. 37
Vision ............................................................................................................................................................................... 37
Integrity .......................................................................................................................................................................... 38
Service ............................................................................................................................................................................. 38
Intellectual Vitality ..................................................................................................................................................... 39
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Initiative .......................................................................................................................................................................... 40
Solutions Focus ............................................................................................................................................................ 40
Self-Awareness ............................................................................................................................................................. 41
Maturity .......................................................................................................................................................................... 41
Collaborative ................................................................................................................................................................. 42

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INTRODUCTION TO THE GMAT
WHAT IS THE GMAT?
The GMAT is a standardized test accepted by
virtually all business schools as a means of
assessing certain reasoning skills. It is created by
the Graduate Management Admissions Council.
The GMAT tests mathematics, argumentation,
reading comprehension, English grammar, essay
writing and integrated reasoning. More than any
of these individual skills, the GMAT presents
business school admissions personnel with a
standardized measure of your ability to solve
problems.

WHY TAKE THE GMAT?

While cumulative grade point average and personalized admissions metrics like recommendation
letters, interviews and personal statements are important and will, in all likelihood, have a greater
bearing on your chances of acceptance to the MBA programs of your choice, they are also inherently
subjective. A member of an admissions team might not be aware of the rigor of your undergraduate
curriculum or the credibility of the good people who wrote your recomendation letters. The GMAT,
however, gives admissions personnel a standard by which to compare all applicants. Business schools
only admit candidates who score in a certain
competitive range. While schools won't usually tell
you what that range is, you can often find out the
median score of last year's accepted applicants just
It is true that harder questions are
by checking out the b-school's website.
worth more but herein lies the

WHAT IS THE FORMAT OF THE GMAT?

The GMAT is a computer adaptive test delivered by
computer at any one of hundreds of testing centers
in the United States (and a few that are overseas).
The testing center will look like a giant computer

By Rich Carriero

dilemma of the GMAT--because the

test is adaptive, you don't get to the
harder questions unless you get the
easy ones right

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lab, only with lockers for your personal belongings and intense security. The test is comprised of four
scored sections interspersed with timed breaks. It takes about three and a half hours from end to end.
You bring nothing with you into the testing room. You will not have access to a calculator (except for
an onscreen calculator during the integrated reasoning section). You will do all scratch work on a
series of laminated sheets with a marker. Only the responses the computer records will be used to
assess your score.
Below you can see the sections and timing conditions of the test.

Section

# of Questions

Time

Analytical Writing

30

Integrated Reasoning

12

30

Break
Quantitive

37

75

Break
Verbal

41

75

WHAT IS A COMPUTER ADAPTIVE TEST (CAT)?

A CAT test is a test that adapts to your performance. Only the quantitative and verbal sections are
computer adaptive. All quant and verbal questions have a measured difficulty rating. On both sections
the computer starts you out with a question of medium difficulty. If you get the question right, you
will then be given a harder question and if you get it wrong, you'll next see an easier question.
The theory goes that as you go through the section getting questions right and wrong according to
your knowledge and ability level, the computer is fine-tuning its assessment of your performance.
Again, in theory, the computer's assessment is so sensitive that at the end of a section were it to give
you a slightly harder question, you would get it wrong and if it gave you an easier question you would

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get it right. That is the reason why many test takers get the same or very similar scores on repeat
performances--provided that between each test they didn't change anything substantive about the
way they prepared.
The computer adaptive nature of the test poses many unique challenges that you won't encounter
with other standardized tests. Here are a few:

 You can't skip around during a section. You must answer each question in
order--thus, time management is critical.
 You can't go back to any questions you've already answered, so keep your
focus on the question in front of you.
 CAT tests tend to punish strings of wrong answers more harshly, so be sure
to make it through to the end of each section.
 The jump in difficulty level between early questions is larger than between
later questions. Thus put a little more time and effort into avoiding careless
mistakes early on.
The last two points have been a cause of some controversy over the years. Many prep books used to
tell students to spend more time on early questions than
later ones. The problem is that test takers had a tendency
to overdo it and would spend 3-5 minutes on each of the
first 10 questions. Naturally they would then wind up
Being accepted to business school
running out of time, squandering their early gains. The
has more to do with character
best strategy, therefore, is one of moderation. Follow the
than anything else-do you have
same strategies on early and later questions but if you
what it takes to be a successful
have any doubts about an answer to an early question, it
business manager.
doesn't hurt to check your work.

HOW IS THE GMAT SCORED?

The actual scoring formula to the GMAT is a bit of a trade secret of the test maker. However, we know
there are three basic components:
 Number Of Questions Answered
 Number Correct
 The Difficulty Of Correct Answers

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Business schools only admit

candidates who score in a

It is true that harder questions are worth more but herein

lies the dilemma of the GMAT--because the test is adaptive,
you don't get to the harder questions unless you get the
easy ones right.

certain competitive range

Based on the scoring formula, you are assigned a raw score

for the quantitative and verbal sections. The raw scores are
then averaged and compared with the scores of other test
takers to give you your scaled score. The scaled score falls
somewhere along a 200-800 spectrum and is the number most people will give when asked for their
GMAT scores. Your essay, on the other hand, is graded holistically by human graders and, potentially,
a computer program. Your essay will be given a grade between 0 and 6. Integrated Reasoning is also
scored separately on a scale of 0-8.
At the end of your GMAT test administration you will be asked if you want to cancel your scores. If you
decline this option you will be told your unofficial verbal and quantitative scores, as well as your scaled
score, immediately. Your AWA and IR scores will be reported on your official score report, which will
come later in the mail. Remember, if you cancel, the test will not tell you your unofficial scores.

WHEN SHOULD I CANCEL MY SCORES?

Almost never. It is quite common for test takers to come
out of the GMAT feeling drained and not confident about
their performances. This is not a reason to cancel your
score as your sense of how you did may not be accurate.
On the flip side, many have come out of a GMAT thinking
they aced it only to find out that they bumbled into every
trap in the book and got a score well below their
expectations. Only cancel your score if you have a very
good reason to do so. If you fell asleep or became
violently ill during the test or completely botched your
timing and failed to answer half of the questions on a
section, THEN should you consider cancelling your score.

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WHAT'S A "GOOD" SCORE?
The short answer--whatever you need to get into
business school. If that doesn't do it for you, think back
to the SAT. The scale is the same--200 to 800--and how
people view it is essentially the same, too. The scale is
designed so that the median score is about 500. It has
drifted over the years, however, and really falls
somewhere between 500 and 550. According to popular
wisdom, above 600 is considered "good" and above 700 is
considered "excellent."

Only cancel your score if you

have a very good reason to do
so. If you fell asleep or became
violently ill during the test or
completely botched your timing
and failed to answer half of the
questions on a section, THEN
should you consider cancelling

your score.
Such judgments really mean more for bragging rights and
competition amongst friends and rivals. What matters
most is how the schools to which you are applying
perceive your score. Many b-schools use a minimum
GMAT as a cutoff but don't necessarily give any more consideration to candidates who score well
above that cutoff. Being accepted to business school has more to do with character than anything
else--do you have what it takes to be a successful business manager. This doesn't necessarily correlate
with the highest GMAT scores. In fact, an admissions rep from an Ivy League business school once told
me that he had never admitted anyone who had scored an 800 on the GMAT.

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PREPARING FOR THE GMAT
Take responsibility for your preparation. To begin with, it is very important to acknowledge that
preparing for the GMAT is a commitment. Improving your score will require both time and effort. This
kind of prep is akin to having a part time job or
internship; you should only proceed if you know you
can properly commit to the experience. If you have a
demanding job or a 17 credit study schedule that will
not permit a minimum of 8-10 hours of study per
week for a period of two to three months, you might
want to consider delaying your GMAT until a time
when your schedule is more forgiving.
It's not what you know that matters. In 15 years as a
tutor I have encountered hundreds of students who began tutoring in a state of frustration bordering
on despair. These were intelligent people, many of whom had been quite successful in their careers or
who had graduated college with exemplary academic records. Despite their impressive transcripts and
resumes, however, the GMAT had a way of humbling them to the point that they doubted their grasp
on academic concepts they had learned in middle school. In most of these cases, what they assumed
was that their knowledge was faulty. When in reality it
was their approach that needed to change.

HOW IS THE GMAT DIFFERENT FROM OTHER TESTS?

S This kind of prep is akin

Most tests in high school and college focus on content

to having a part time job

or internship; you should
only proceed if you know
you can properly commit
to the experience. T

learned in class.

In advance of such tests, professors

usually schedule review sessions during which you learn

what material to prioritize in your studies and what the
format of the questions will be. While not a recommended
strategy, it is possible to cram two months of art history,
systems physiology or accounting into a few nights of
feverish study in preparation for such tests.

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However, the makers of the GMAT assume you know the concepts that appear on the test. After all,
most GMAT test takers have completed courses in
calculus, statistics, trigonometry and the like. The
GMAT is more concerned with reasoning. GMAT is
You must become a savvy test taker.
using high school math to assess your ability to solve
One who looks for quicker, more
complex, unfamiliar problems quickly and intelligently.
logical solutions and who is
Solving such problems is a skill, closer to the ability to
constantly on the lookout for traps.
speak a foreign language or play a musical instrument.
Because it is a skill-based test, the GMAT cannot be
crammed.

MINDSET IS HUGE
The major mistake that many of my former students made before we began working together was that
they prepared for an achievement test. They studied all the relevant concepts, brushing up on their
fractions and verb tenses. They made flash cards and did reams of homework problems. Despite all of
this, their GMAT scores did not improve. The problem was one of mindset. They kept expecting to see
concepts tested in pure, academic ways. They kept waiting for the GMAT to give them systems of
equations to solve, binomials to FOIL and proportions to cross-multiply. They were laboring under the
assumption that the GMAT would one day straighten out and behave like an achievement test.
Have you ever been to a country where prices are settled by haggling? Sellers exaggerate the value of
their wares and buyers, by turn, feign disinterest to knock the prices back down. Imagine if you went
to such a place but knew nothing about haggling. Everywhere you went you went you asked "how
much?' and paid the quoted price. You would probably soon find yourself broke and flying home. In
order to avoid such a fate, you have to learn to operate by a different set of rules and adopt an entirely
different mentality. Similarly, on the GMAT you can't just go blindly ahead, treating the test like just
another exam in school. The rules are different and you must change your mindset accordingly. You
must become a savvy test taker. One who looks for quicker, more logical solutions and who is
constantly on the lookout for traps.
Practice intelligent laziness. Consider this common type of word problem.
Every mile marker along a certain highway is a different color. Every blue marker is
followed by a yellow marker, every yellow is followed by a green, every green is followed
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by a white, every white is followed by a red and every red is followed by a blue. If a
driver begins at a yellow marker and drives in one direction without taking any turns,
what color will be the 357th marker?
If you're truly prepared for the GMAT, the first thought that should
cross your mind when you read a problem like this is there is no
way they expect me to sit there and count 357 colors. That is the
perfect response! The GMAT rewards logical, intuitive problem
solving and punishes straightforward, brute force calculation. The
very fact that this problem is asking for an outlandish number like
the 357th mile marker should be your clue that there is a much
easier way to solve. In this case, the solution begins with
recognizing that the pattern repeats every five markers. So after
355 markers the pattern has repeated a certain number of times
starting with a yellow and ending with a blue. That leaves two more
markers to start the next pattern--a yellow, followed by a green.
The problem can be solved in your head in about 30 seconds, if you
know the intuitive solution.
Always remember that you're expected to do each math problem in about two minutes without a
calculator. Sometimes you may have to go over that by as much as 30-60 seconds but the average
should be about two minutes. Therefore, when a problem seems like you'll need either a calculator,
fi e i utes al ulatio o oth, thats a su e fi e lue that the e's a i tuiti e solutio that you're
missing.
Know the scams. In business, on the internet, on city streets there are always scams that the
unscrupulous run on the unsuspecting from shortcounting your change at the drive-thru to phishing
scams in your email inbox. In life there are two basic
defenses against getting ripped off.
Suspect
everyone and learn the scams. Well each question
type on the GMAT has its own scams designed to bait
you into making the wrong choice.

By Rich Carriero

The GMAT rewards logical, intuitive

problem solving and punishes
straightforward, brute force
calculation.

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Problem solving questions often build their traps into the wrong answer choices. Consider this
common percent question.
A bus increases its speed by 20% once it gets on the highway. After clearing city limits
the bus increases speed by a further 20%. By what percent did it increase its speed in
total?
A)

40

B)

44

C)

45

D)

46

E)

50

Ask yourself this simple question early and often. What do they want me to choose? In this case, as
you probably already realized, they want you to pick 40%. 20 + 20 = 40; what could be simpler? You
were also probably wary of that answer because it's just too easy. That's precisely the right reaction.
Whenever you encounter a problem solving answer that seems too easy to be trusted, ask yourself
what is wrong with that choice. This will usually lead you to the right answer in a roundabout way. In
the case of the bus question, 40 is the wrong answer because the second 20% increase was based on a
higher speed than the initial speed and would therefore be a larger jump than 20% of the initial speed.
An easy way to solve this problem is to plug in 100 for the initial speed of the bus. After a 20% increase
the bus will be traveling at 120. Increased by an additional 20% the final speed will be 144.
On data sufficiency questions, trap answers usually take the form of the obviously sufficient
statements or combinations of statements.
What is the average of x and y?
1) 3x + 4y = 18
2) 5x = 20 - 5y

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In this problem trap answer is based on the algebra
rule that in order to solve for every variable in a
system of equations, you must have the same
number of equations as you have variables. Well, in
this case it makes sense that since you have two
variables, you would need both statements 1 and 2,
giving you an obvious choice C, right? Wrong: the
question didn't ask for the value of either x or y but

You must practice to the point

where you can recognize what a
question is really asking and employ
your toolkit of concepts and
strategies to get a correct answer in
a reasonable amount of time.

their average. In order to find the average of x and y

you only need their sum. In statement 2 you only
need to add 5y over to 5x and then divide by 5 to get
the sum, x + y. Divide both sides by 2 and you have the average. So the answer is B.
There are a few lessons to take from this question.
 First, nine times out of ten when the GMAT asks for some combination of variables (sum,
difference, product, quotient or average) you don't need to solve for the individual variables.
 Second, don't do more on DS questions than you need to.
 The moment you realize that you can solve statement 2 for x + y but not statement 1, you're
done.
 Finally, always beware of the obvious C. When it seems elementary that you can find the
answer from the combination of statements, always examine both statements very closely.
One of them is usually sufficient on its own in a way you didn't even realize.
Traps are even more common on the verbal side of the test. In reading comprehension, you are
essentially supplied the answers to most of the questions. Since the test maker knows that you
probably know what the answer to the question should be just from having read the passage, he has to
trap you in some other way. This is usually accomplished by making the correct answer flat and
unattractive while dressing up wrong answers in the verbatim language of the passage. In sentence
corrections wrong answer traps are frequently constructed by writing a sentence with one obvious
error and then planting more subtle mistakes into all but one of the choices that correct that error.
Critical reasoning questions, on the other hand, are littered with answers that are not relevant to the
central assumption.

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The default setting for most test
takers on the verbal side of the
GMAT is a little game I like to call
what answer sounds good? Basically,
the student reads the question, then
gives
each
answer
equal
consideration before choosing the
one that sounds best. This is a
strategy designed to lead you into
wrong answer traps. The test maker
deliberately writes wrong answer
choices that are tempting and sound
plausible. Sifting through them is like going shopping without a list--you are going to make impulse
decisions. Predicting the answer, on the other hand, gives you a better criterion by which to judge
your answers. It's not a question of what answer sounds the best but which one conforms best with
that you've researched and predicted. It's like shopping with a list.
On the whole, always approach the GMAT with a healthy dose of skepticism. Expect traps. Expect
problems to try to sucker you into long, unnecessary calculation. The more you learn to think the way
the test maker does, the better off you are going to be.

SO HOW DO I PREPARE?
Certainly, preparing for the GMAT starts with mastering all of the concepts the GMAT actually tests.
You must then learn the various ways the GMAT will employ these concepts--ways that are often
anything but straightforward. You must also learn the various strategic approaches to the test that will
save you time and keep you out of wrong answer traps. You must then practice to the point where you
can recognize what a question is really asking and employ your toolkit of concepts and strategies to get
a correct answer in a reasonable amount of time.

S Take responsibility
for your preparation.T

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This all takes time. To stay organized you should
create a study schedule. If you have a tutor, he or
she can help you do this at the beginning of your
preparation. If you're working on your own, you
need to consider how much time you have and how
large an increase you're looking for. These two
variables will tell you how long your plan needs to
be. Next, lay out your schedule week by week.

You must then practice to the point

where you can recognize what a
question is really asking and employ
your toolkit of concepts and
strategies to get a correct answer in
a reasonable amount of time.

Designate days for studying new concepts, days for

homework, days for practice tests and days off.
Alternating math and verbal study is usually a good
idea and will allow you to absorb concepts a bit more quickly.
Closer to the test, review becomes increasingly important. A question I often get from students is how
do I know what strategy to use on a particular problem? Well, at first this comes from trial and error.
On particularly difficult questions you should abandon the notion that there is only one right way to
solve the problem. There are often two or three ways to solve the same question. Try them all on the
same problem. Perhaps a method you haven't considered is faster or more accurate. Finally, field-test
your problem solving methods using practice tests. With enough tests the decision of which strategy
to use will become intuitive and nearly automatic.

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MASTERING THE MOST COMMON WORD PROBLEM TYPES
As we've discussed, there are many different ways to improve on the GMAT.
 You can cut down on unnecessary mistakes by carefully reading and performing calculations.
 You can increase your insight into the test, in the process adopting intuitive problem solving
strategies.
 You can learn the traps laid by the test maker and how to avoid them.
 You can boost your knowledge of the concepts the GMAT actually tests from prime numbers to
compound interest.
These approaches alone will help you climb from an average score to a competitive score. What about
when you're stuck at a 680 and want to get a 700? Now what do you do? At this point your
preparation needs to be much more specific. You
need to master the types of tough, but common,
word problems in which the core concepts are
actually embedded.
Do you remember the train problem? You know;
the one from middle school on which you
wracked your brain for an hour and still couldn't
figure it out? It always went something like this:
A passenger train departs from Smithfield, bound
for Jonesboro, at 8 AM traveling at 70 miles per
hour. At 9 AM another train departs Jonesboro
for Smithfield on a parallel track. If the towns are
1070 miles apart and it takes 11 hours for the two
trains to pass each other, what was the speed of the second train?
Now at some point you either figured out how to solve that problem or you didn't. If you did, the
solution never left you and you even wanted to get that question on the next test. If you didn't, such a
question may still give you chills. What you're going to learn in this chapter is how to finally break
through on questions like that. It's slow going but once you have all of your basic strategies and

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formulas down pat, the only way to improve further
is to finally break through on at least some questions
you are consistently getting wrong.

It's slow going but once you have

all of your basic strategies and

OVERLAPPING SETS
In general, counting problems are quite common on
the GMAT. Many questions ask you to count up

formulas down pat, the only way to

improve further is to finally break
through on at least some questions

you are consistently getting wrong.

large strings of consecutive numbers or calculate
arrangements and combinations of objects. One of
the most stereotypical counting problems involves
overlapping two sets of objects. The tricky concept
here is that when two sets intersect, the objects in the intersection are counted in both sets. For
example, if 20 members of the high school track team are also on the National Honor Society, simply
counting the rosters of both organizations will lead to an inaccurate count because the 20 members of
both are being counted twice. The key to solving these problems is subtracting out the duplicates.
Example
A clothing boutique has 45 sweaters. If 28 sweaters are white, 25 sweaters have stripes
and 5 sweaters are neither white nor striped, how many sweaters are both white and
have stripes?
Solution
You can immediately understand the problem if you add up the three groups: 28 + 25 + 5
= 58. If there are only 45 sweaters than a good number of the white sweaters must also
be striped. The easiest way to solve for the overlap is to use a simple formula.
Group1 + Group2 - Both + Neither = Total
In our case:
28 + 25 - B + 5 = 45
58 - B = 45
-B = -13
B = 13

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AVERAGING CONSECUTIVE INTEGERS
The best thing about average questions is that they are predictable. If you score a 73, 80, 81, 78, and
77 on your five quizzes in a certain course, you know your class average will fall somewhere between
77 and 79 and if you needed to find an exact number, the formula for doing so is simple and easy to
remember.
Average problems can be divided into two types:

Weighted

Unweighted

The five quizzes above have a weighted average because the numbers in the set are not evenly spread
out. In an unweighted average the numbers are evenly spread and the following rule applies.
The average of an evenly spaced set of numbers is equal to the median.
Example
The sum of 7 consecutive integers is 1001. What is the largest of these numbers?
Solution
As we've discussed previously, your first intuition in a problem like this should be that
there's no way the GMAT expects you to figure this out by counting or trial and error. So
there must be a simpler way. Because the numbers are consecutive integers the rule
above applies. The average of the 7 numbers must be the median--or middle--number.
1001/7 = 143
From here we can just count out the remaining numbers.
140 141 142 143 144 145 146
The greatest of these numbers is 146

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PERCENTS
Percents are one of the most common problem areas for a great
many students. The main reason for this is that unlike other
part/whole values such as fractions and decimals, percents cannot
stand on their own as real numbers. 1/2 is a number. 0.7 is a
number. On its own, however, 80% is not a number. A percent
only has value in reference to the whole of which it is a part. Thus
80% of a million dollars is $800,000 but 80% of 0 is 0.

A percent only has value in

reference to the whole of
which it is a part.

One of the most common mistakes that people make when solving percent questions is comparing
percents of different totals.
Example
What percent of students at Parkville College graduate with a 3.5 GPA or higher?
1)

60% of the women graduate with a GPA below 3.5.

2)

30% of the men graduate with a GPA higher than 3.5.

Solution
If we evaluate statement 1 we realize that if 60% of women have a GPA below 3.5, then
40% have a GPA above. What about the men? This statement is insufficient. If we
evaluate statement 2 on its own we see that we are now missing the percent of women
who scored above 3.5. It might seem like the answers are sufficient together. We know
that the percent has to fall somewhere between 30% and 40% but we don't know the
breakdown of men and women. If there were an equal number of both, then the answer
would be 35% but without that information we have to choose E.

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Example
From 1970 to 1980 the value of a house appreciated by 10%. From 1970 to 1990 the
value of the house appreciated by 40%. By what percent did the value of the house
increase from 1980 to 1990?
A)

50%

B)

30%

C)

27%

D)

25%

E)

20%

Solution
As always, let's get the obvious out of the way first. The answer is not 30% because that's
just too easy. But what exactly is wrong with that answer? We know that the 10% and
40% increases are comparable because they are both relative to the same starting value-the value of the home in 1970. However the 1980 to 1990 increase is relative to the value
of the home in 1980, a different total. So we cannot answer the question through mere
subtraction.
The problem is best solved through picking numbers.
Assume the 1970 value of the house is $100,000. This means that the value of the home
in 1980 is $110,000 and in 1990 is $140,000. All we now have to do is calculate the
percent increase from $110,000 to $140,000. That's a difference of $30,000. Since the
starting value in 1980 is $110,000, if we divide $30,000 by $110,000 we get .2727 or
roughly 27%.

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COMPOUND RATIOS
Ratios are another common problem area for many students.

Ratios can only be

The basic concepts of a ratio are complex enough, particularly

when you have to navigate between part to part and part to
whole ratios. Matters really get dicey when you have to work
with more than one ratio at a time. Like percents, ratios can
only be compared when they are related to the same basic
quantity.

compared when they are

related to the same basic
quantity.

For example, if we say there are three apples to every five lemons in a fruit bowl and two lemons to
every nine bananas, we cannot make a direct comparison between apples and bananas. We know
there are more bananas but not the exact ratio. To solve this problem we need the lemons to act as an
intermediary between apples and bananas and to do that we need the same number of lemons in each
ratio. What we really need is the common denominator of the two lemon values. In this case the
number of lemons in the first ratio is 5 and in the second it's 2. The common denominator is thus 10.
So now we need to multiply each ratio by whatever number makes the number of lemons equal 10.
(3 apples: 5 lemons) x 2 = 6 apples: 10 lemons
(2 lemons: 9 bananas) x 5 = 10 lemons: 45 bananas
Now that the number of lemons is the same in both ratios, we can simply stick the two ratios together
and we get:
6 apples: 10 lemons: 45 bananas
We can also say the ratio of apples to bananas is 6:45 or 2:15.

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Example
A set of poker chips contains four colors: blue, green, red and white. The chips are worth
$100, $20, $5 and $1 respectively. If the ratio of blue to green chips is 3 to 7, the ratio of
green to white chips is 1 to 6 and the ratio of red to white chips is 2 to 5, what is the
ratio of red to green chips?
A)

2:7

D)

12:5

B)

5:12

E)

7:2

C)

10:7

Solution
A question like this is best solved with a chart.
Connect the first two ratios by finding the common denominator of the green values--in
this case 7. Leave the first ratio alone and multiply the second by 7 to get 7:42. Then
combine to get 3:7:42.
Next find the common denominator of the white values--in this case 210. Multiply 3:7:42
by 5 to get 15:35:210 and 2:5 by 42 to get 84:210 and then combine.

Blue

Green

15

Red

White

42

35

84

210

The final ratio is thus 15:35:84:210. Beware of the trap in the question. You are looking
for the red to green ratio, not the other way around. The ratio is 84:35, which reduces to
12:5.

COMBINED WORK PROBLEMS

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Combined work problems involve dividing up a
job amongst multiple machines or workers. These
are easy problems to become adept at because
there are very easy formulas that you can use to
solve them.
If it takes one worker A hours to complete a
certain job and another worker B hours to
complete the same job, then working together it
takes AB/(A+B) hours to complete the job.
Occasionally you will see three workers/machines.
If it takes one worker A hours to complete a certain job, another B hours and third C hours, then
working together it will take
ABC/(AB + AC + BC) hours to complete the job.
Example
It takes Giovanni 12 hours to wash the 100 cars on a used car lot. It takes Amber 15
hours to wash the same number of cars. How long will it take if they work together?
A) 15 hours

D) 8 hours

B) 12 hours

E) 6 hours 40 minutes

C) 9 hours 30 minutes

Solution:
This is an example of a stereotypical combined work question. You know A and B so just
use the formula.
12x15/12 + 15 = 180/27 = 20/3 = 6 2/3 or 6 hours 40 minutes

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INVENTORY AND REVENUE
One of the most commonly tested algebra concepts tested in
word problems is the set of rules governing systems of
equations. Let's quickly review the rule.

In order to solve for the

value of EVERY variable in
a system of equations you

In order to solve for the value of EVERY variable in a system of

equations you need as many DISTINCT equations as you have
variables.

need as many DISTINCT

equations as you have
variables.

Note the two words in capital letters. It is possible to solve for

one variable or for some combination of variables like the sum,
difference, product, average or quotient of variables without
having a many equations as variables. Another common trap is that the test maker will give you the
same equation twice as in x + y = 10
and 2x + 2y = 20 or x = 10 - y.
One of the most common ways to test your knowledge of systems of equations is the inventory and
revenue problem. In this problem a vendor sells a number of products as different prices. You are
generally told the total number of items sold and the total revenue collected and then asked to find
the number of each individual item sold.
Example
A record store sells albums for $9 each and 45 RPM singles for $4 each. If on Friday the
store sells 130 records and earns $770 in revenue, how many more singles were sold?
A) 20
B) 30
C) 50
D) 80
E) 110

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Solution
First, it's always a good idea to use the initials of the unknown items as your variables to
avoid confusion. In this case we'll say that A represents albums and S represents singles.
Because we have two variables, we know that we need to write two equations. In
problems like these the first and simpler equation involves the inventory sold.
A + S = 130
The second equation involves the revenue. How is revenue calculated? By multiplying
the cost of each item by the number sold and then adding the two products.
9A + 4S = 770
At this point we solve algebraically through substitution or combination.
combination.

Let's use

9A + 4S = 770
A + S = 130
Multiply the second equation by 4 and subtract from the first.
9A + 4S = 770
- 4A + 4S = 520
5A = 250
A = 50, If we substitute 50 for A in either equation we get S = 80.
Is this what I wanted to know? No! The question didn't ask for A or S (although the value of each is
represented in the answer choices). We were asked for the difference, which is 30.

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COMPOUND INTEREST
Compound interest is a concept familiar to most students who want to attend business school. As
opposed to simple interest, in which the interest payments on an investment never change, in
compound interest situations each interest payment is added to the principle and thus the amount of
interest accrued grows with each compounding.
The formula for compound interest can be seen below:
Where P = principle, r = interest rate, n = number of times compounded annually and t = number of
years compounded.
The problem with this formula is that it's practically useless without a calculator for all but the simplest
calculations. Thus, what you really need to understand to solve these questions is how to compound
manually.
Example
On January 1st, Elliot invests $5000 in a venture that pays an annual interest rate of 24%
compounded quarterly. How much interest will Elliot earn after six months?
A) $500
B) $600
C) $618
D) $666
E) $1200
Solution
If Elliot's investment compounds quarterly, that means that 1/4 of the annual interest rate
is added to the principle each quarter. We cannot, however, make the mistake of
compounding 12% once (which would give you $600) because the second interest
payment is made on a larger principle than the first. With that in mind, the calculation is
simple, if a little tedious by hand.
$5300 x 1.06 = $5618. Thus the total amount of interest accrued after six months is $618.
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COMBINATIONS
Combination word problems are among the most
difficult on the GMAT, particularly without a
calculator. Combinations differ from permutations
in that order does not matter. While this leads to
fewer results that a permutation question, it
requires more calculation and you probably need
to remember the formula, which appears below.
In the formula n refers to the number of distinct
objects in the pool and k refers to the number of
objects to be chosen. The actual calculation
involves a great deal of cancelling factorials before
multiplying the remaining numbers.
Example
A committee of seven people is to be chosen from the student council at Queensville
High School. Four of the members must be boys and three must be girls. If the student
council is comprise of 20 members, half of whom are boys, how many committees can be
formed?
Solution
One typical GMAT trap you can see in this problem is the need for separate calculations.
In this question you need to separate the men from the woman, figure out how many
combinations of each are possible and then multiply the results.

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For the men n = 10 and k = 4.
10!
4! (10 - 4)!

First, perform the operation in parentheses

10!
4! 6!

Divide the larger denominator factorial into the numerator

10 x 9 x 8 x 7
4x3x2

Now divide

10 x 3 x 2 x 7 = 420

Now perform the calculation for the girls.

10!
3! (10 - 3)!

10!
3! 7!

10 x 9 x 8
3x2

5 x 3 x 8 = 120

Finally multiply the two results. 420 x 120 = 50,400

Remember that since we're counting objects, the answer must work out to be an integer. That means
everything in the denominator must be cancelled out. Since the numbers in the numerator and
denominator are multiplied, you can divide any number in the denominator into any multiple in the
numerator and vice versa.

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DISTANCE PROBLEMS
If you remember any one thing from high school geometry, it's probably Pythagorean Theorem.
There's a reason for that. While the theorem is especially handy for finding the hypotenuse of a right
triangle, the range of its applications is much greater. Consider the distance formula from coordinate
geometry.
While intimidating and cumbersome, this formula is really nothing more than Pythagorean Theorem.
The line connecting two points in a coordinate plane can be considered the hypotenuse of a right
triangle. In this right triangle the differences between x values and between y values act as the legs of
the triangle.
Example
A line crosses the X axis at -2 and intersects the point (2, -3). What is the distance
between the X intercept and that point?
Solution
The problem is essentially asking the distance between the points
(-2, 0) and (2, -3). We should begin by drawing out the coordinate plane and plotting
those two points. Next we should connect the point. Now, to create our right triangle we
drop a line from (-2, 0) down to (-2, -3). This line is 3 units long. We should then draw a
line over from (-2, -3) to (2, -3). This line is 4 units long. We then quickly realize that the
GMAT has given us a 3:4:5 triangle so that we can avoid messy math. So we know our
hypotenuse is 5.

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Example
A truck driver drives 20 miles east from town A, 20 miles north and then another 28
miles east to reach his destination at town B. How much shorter would the trip have
been if he could have driven from A to B directly?
A) 10
B) 12
C) 16
D) 20
E) 52
Solution
Using Pythagorean Theorem to find distance is not limited to coordinate geometry
problems. We can use the same principles in any 2D plane. Instead of up and down we
have north and south. Instead of left and right we have east and west. In this problem
the simplest way to solve is turn the whole thing into one big right triangle. It doesn't
matter in what sequence the driver takes each leg; all we need consider is the total
distance traveled north and the total traveled east. In this case 48 miles east and 20 miles
north. The answer will be the hypotenuse of a right triangle with sides of 20 and 48. As
usual, the GMAT builds in a short cut. If we divide both numbers by 4 we get 5 and 12.
We're looking at a 5:12:13 triangle. The hypotenuse is therefore 4 x 13 = 52.
Are we done? No! The question asked for the difference between routes. The original
route was 20 + 20 + 28 = 68 miles. The difference is therefore 68 - 52 = 16 miles.

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THE TRAIN PROBLEM
The train problem is really a question of
combined rates. When two objects are
approaching each other, they close the
distance between them at a rate that is the
combination of their speeds. When they
move in the same direction, they approach or
move away from one another at a rate that is
the difference in there speeds.
The easiest way to conceptualize it is to think
about driving in a car. When driving on the highway the other cars that are moving at the same speed
that you are don't appear to move. Faster cars catch up and move away from you at the rate at which
their speed exceeds yours. You catch up to and pass slower cars at the rate at which your speed
exceeds theirs.
Example
A passenger train departs from Smithfield, bound for Jonesboro, at 8 AM traveling at 70
miles per hour. At 9 AM another train departs Jonesboro for Smithfield on a parallel
track. If the towns are 1070 miles apart and it takes 11 hours for the two trains to pass
each other, what was the speed of the second train?
Solution
In this problem we must first account for the hour head start the train from Jonesboro
has. It that train is traveling at 70 miles per hour, it will travel 70 miles between 8 AM and
9 AM. This will leave the trains 1000 miles apart with 10 hours to close that distance. We
can then just divide 1000 miles by 10 hours to get 100 miles per hour. The trains are
approaching one another, so this represents the sum of their speeds. Since we know the
train from Jonesboro is traveling at 70 miles per hour, the train from Smithfield is
traveling at 100 - 70 = 30 mph.

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READERS OF OUR E-BOOK

Receive a $50 discount on
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Founded in 2001, Stacy Blackman Consulting (www.StacyBlackman.com) has helped

thousands of MBA applicants gain admission to the most selective business schools in
the world. The SBC team, comprised of MBA graduates, former admissions officers and
expert writers, editors and marketers, helps clients develop and implement a winning
marketing strategy.

SBC clients have a significantly increased probability of admission to

top schools and are frequent recipients of merit scholarships.
The company is regularly featured in publications such as

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Visit the Stacy Blackman blog (www.StacyBlackman.com/blog) for daily news updates
and admissions tips, and
Checkouttheco pa yse-publications: www.StacyBlackman.com/store
for more in depth school by school guidance.

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INTRODUCTION STACY BLACKMAN CONSULTING
MBA program applications require you to respond to a series of essay questions on a variety of topics
including your career progress, career goals, accomplishments and setbacks, and potential
o t i utio stothep og a sstude t o
u it .
Befo eputti gfi ge stoke oa d,itsagoodp a ti etofi st o side ho ou eade ill e, hat
the subject matter is, and your objective for the writing assignment. The answers to these three
questions are fairly straightforward:

Who is My Reader?

The Admissions Committee

What is the Subject Matter?

My attributes, strengths, achievements, and goals, which

combine to form a complete picture of me.

What is My Objective in Writing These Essays?

To earn an acceptance letter

The e t uestio is tsoeas toa s e :

WHAT SHOULD I WRITE ABOUT?

The subject matter of the essays your attributes, strengths, achievements, and goalsis decidedly
broad. At this point, most applicants feel a bit stumped. As they consider possible directions for their
essays, one question crops up again and again:

WHAT IS PROGRAM X LOOKING FOR?

Ifthe o l k e hatthead issio soffi e s e elooki gfo ,the the dha ea u h easier time
selecting essay topics and stories that will feature those relevant attributes and talents.
It ould ehelpfulifea hs hoolsad issio s o

itteetold oue a tl hatthe e elooki gfo .

Representatives of the program from admissions officer to current students certainly offer plenty of
clues, but there is no definitive source of reference.

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The Dean of Admissions for one of the top programs responded as follows when asked what his
program was looking for:
We look for people who will contribute in a meaningful way to our communityWedo tjustlookat
one thing we look at the whole picture and think about the fit.
When reviewing your application, the admissions committee is trying to determine if who you are,
hat ou e a o plished, a d hat ou hope to a hie e i the futu e is a good fit fo thei
institution. With this in mind, we can refine our answer to the question above about your objective for
thisessa iti g assig e t. You e dgoalis,of ou se,toea a a epta elette , utthe a
you do so is to persuade the admissions committee that you fit. You must look at your strengths and
achievements through the lens of the admissions officers. The essays are your opportunity to
o
u i ate those st e gths a d p o ide ultiple easo s to elie ethat ou ill fit i e t ea s
class.
You may be saying to yourself:

OKAY, GREAT! BUT WHAT SHOULD I WRITE ABOUT?!

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WHAT ARE THE TOP BUSINESS SCHOOLS LOOKING FOR?
Thetruecommoncharacteristicsofourstudentsaredemonstratedleadershippotentialand
acapacitytothriveinarigorousacademicenvironment.
HBS Admissions

Columbia Business School looks for intellectually driven people from diverse educational,
economic, social, cultural, and geographic backgrounds. Our students share a record of
achievement;demonstrated,strongleadership;andtheabilitytoworkinteams.
Columbia MBA Admissions

Theadmissionscommitteeevaluateseachapplicantsscholasticability,personalcharacter,
motivation, leadership ability, interpersonal skills, career performance, and management
potential.
KelloggsWebsite

Were looking for outstanding individuals, and the very qualities that define you make the
GSBastimulatingplacetolearn.
Stanford MBA Admissions

Welookforpeoplewhowillcontributeinameaningfulwaytoourcommunity.Wedontjust
look at one thing we look at the whole picture. Andthinkaboutthefit.
WhartonsDirector of Admissions

It is well known that a top business school must believe you possess exceptional leadership potential.
As one admissions committee member put it, they want toseea portfolio of experiences, initiatives,
and accomplishments that reflect a habit of leadership .
Business school libraries are overflowing with books on leaders and leadership. There are multiple
opinions about what leadership is exactly, whether the quality is innate or developed, and what makes
a leader effective or ineffective. Before we go any further in our discussion of what an admissions
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o
itteeislooki gfo ,it ould ehelpfultoha ea o ki gdefi itio ofleade ship.Wellusethe
definition offered by an HBS admissions officer:
Leadersarepeoplewholeavetheirfootprintsintheirareasofpassion."
Understanding that your leadership potential will be evaluated is only of limited application when it
comes time for you to choose topics and stories for your essays. Based on over a decade of experience
helpi g ou lie ts ga e ad issio s lette s f o top s hools, e e asse led a o e
comprehensive list of the qualities that goes deeper than leadership alone. These qualities interact and
overlap and combine to form great leaders. They are:

High-Impact Leadership
Passion
Vision
Integrity
Service
Intellectual Vitality

Initiative
Solutions Focus
Self-Awareness
Maturity
Collaborative

An effective application will convince the admissions committee that you possess the strengths they
are looking for. In the following section of the guide, we discuss these qualities in more detail so that
you can decide which of your strengths to feature and what stories to tell to convince the admission
committee that you fit.

HIGH-IMPACT LEADERSHIP
Leadersarepeoplewholeavetheirfootprintsintheirareasofpassion."
HBS Admissions Officer

The definition above offers important clues about what the admission committee will be looking for
when evaluating your leadership potential. They will want to see evidence that you have made a
positi e i pa t i.e., left ou footp i ts o the o
u ities of hi h ou e ee a pa t oth
personally and professionally. This makes perfect sense when you think about it, because your past
leadership achievements are the best gauge of your potential for realizing your future ambitions.
Thead issio soffi e suseofthete footp i ts i thedefi itio isalso ea i gful.You eedto
provide concrete examples and tangible evidence that you made a difference. The admissions
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committee understands that you are early in your career, so the do te pe tthat ou illha eleda
entire company or founded a not-for-profit. If you have, great! If not, the admissions committee
appreciates leadership on any scale, from organizing a classroom to directing a combat squad. The
scale of your achievement is not as important as the fact that you left indelible footprints. Your job
description provides the baseline of what is expected of you. Applicants who are accepted to top
programs have gone above and beyond, challenged the status quo, and made a i pa t.The a e t
accepted simply because they are different but because they have made a difference.

PASSION
The leade ship defi itio a o edoes t e d ith the o d footp i ts leaders leave footprints in
their areas of passion. The admission committee will expect you to articulate what you are passionate
about and will want to see evidence that you have actively expressed those passions inside and outside
of work. An MBA program prepares its students to make a mark on the world, but no school can
supply you with passion. The hope is that you will arrive on campus on day one with a burning desire to
make the world a better place.
Grand achievements are rarely the work of a single individual; passion is critical because leadership
requires harnessing the energy and talents of others. Your spirit and desire to achieve something
meaningful will be necessary to activate and motivate your team and, some day, an entire
o ga izatio .Its otjust ou footp i tsthati te estad issio s they also want to see the footprints
of those who are following you as you blaze a new trail in an area of passion.

VISION
Ki Cla k, a e e t dea of HB, el o ed the e lass ith these i spi atio al o ds: You can
literally change the world. Choose wisely and choose well." It is fair to assume that the admissions
committee will expect that your passions and abiding interests have shaped your personal vision and
future aspirations. Your vision for making an even greater impact in your areas of passion in the future
is a key aspect of your leadership story.
Top business schools are generally not interested in candidates who are seeking an MBA degree to
hasten their climb up the corporate ladder. Even if you are early in your career, it is possible to provide
examples of how you have formulated, communicated, and achieved a vision. The time horizon might
be short and the scale of what you accomplished might have been limited. Nonetheless, in your essays

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you can demonstrate that you have a talent for seeing how things can be improved and a track record
of rallying others to embrace that picture of the future and work together with you to realize it.

INTEGRITY
In light of a litany of corporate scandals business schools have increased their commitment both to
admitting students who possess an unfailing moral compass and to ensuring that the program provides
the tools and training to prepare graduates for the complex ethical decisions they will face in the
future.
Many schools have dropped a previously standard ethical dilemma question from their applications.
One reason for this is that too many candidates wrote about situations in which they had to choose
between right and wrong and, invariably, they chose the right path (i.e., they are ethical). In a sense,
the question led many respondents to adopt a narrow definition of ethics as the choice between being
honest and dishonest. Ethics and integrity cannot be so narrowly defined. First of all, some of the most
complicated ethical situations are when you are forced to choose between the lesser of two evils.
Integrity is not a single attribute but a combination of attributes. In his book Integrity, Dr. Henry Cloud
defi es i teg it as the ou age to eet the de a ds of ealit . He the p o ides spe ifi t aits
required for integrity: creates trust, unafraid of reality, results-oriented, solves negative realities,
causes growth, and finds meaning in life. His list may help spur your thinking about how you might
convey your integrity to the admissions committee not in a single ethical dilemma but in large and
small ways throughout your essays by describing what you thought, felt, said, and did.
The challenge for applicants is to figure out how to communicate the quality of integrity in their essays.
It bears mentioning that integrity is one of those qualities that is often more convincing when
reinforced by a third party, so consider ways that your recommenders might build the case and supply
examples that you possess high ethical standards. If one of your accomplishments relates to a difficult
ethical situation that you handled effectively, this is one way to provide evidence of honesty,
forthrightness, and expertise in navigating ethical conundrums. The mistake essay is another potential
opportunity to share an experience in which your ethics were tested and an ethical decision had to be
made perhaps following a misstep that you then corrected.

SERVICE

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Most candidates who have goals of attending business school at some point in the future understand
that the schools want to see evidence of community service. In response, they dive into a community
service project in hopes of checking the community service box on the application. Unfortunately, they
never stop to think about why the admissions committee is interested in their community service
a o plish e ts.The e e softhead issio s o
itteea e tlikejudges hoha ese te ed
you to 100 hours of community service. Rather, they are interested in your community service work
because it provides insight into your deeper interests and the causes that you care about. Most of us
eed a jo to ea a pa he k, ut o
u it se i e a i g a judges a date is optio al.
Therefore, you will want to put a great deal of thought into what kind of community work you do. If
the only reason you can come up with for being involved with a particular organization is because you
think it will look good on your business school application, you may be wasting your time.
The second reason the admissions officers want to see evidence that you are the type of person who
devotes energy to making a community stronger is that they must decide whether or not to invite you
into their community. You will be as busy in an MBA program as you are at your day job. Do you have
the dynamic energy and drive to get i ol eda dgi e a ke e he its otst i tl e ui ed?If ou
have a habit of contributing energy to the causes and communities you care about, then the
admissions committee is likely to conclude you will make their student community stronger.
Bill Geo ges o k o authe ti leade ship offe s a othe i po ta t i sight i to h e ide e of
se i e is i po ta t. He ites that Leadership style can be broken down into takers and givers.
Takers are often charismatic personalities who end up making decisions to enrich their own coffers and
careers. Givers, on the other hand, create value and empower employees to become leaders. Thisisa
critical distinction that sheds some light on why some candidates who have resumes of impressive
leadership achievements might not make the cut. The admissions officers are not only concerned with
your achievements; they are also interested in the connection between those achievements and who
you are, the means you used to reach the ends you achieved, and the value of your achievements to
theo ga izatio o o
u it .Leade shipsto iesi hi h ou eputthe eedsofothe saheadof
your own are therefore much more compelling to the admissions committee.

INTELLECTUAL VITALITY
Top MBA programs seek out students who have a passion for learning. The intellectually vital individual
possesses the intellectual curiosity to spark a lively and provocative discussion in a seminar and a

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dinner-table conversation or has the initiative to take that same topic and turn it into a research
proposal or honors thesis. The admissions officers will be reviewing your application for evidence of
passion, energy, and genuine interest in expanding your intellectual horizons. Academic settings and
your academic history are obvious places for them to look, but your intellectual curiosity should shine
through in personal and professional settings as well.
Intellectual vitality could be the subject of a single essay, but more likely, it will be a theme that is
touched upon as part of a larger story. Consider what things you have done to expand your knowledge
and explore new areas of interest. Admissions officers should have the sense that you are a lifelong
student who is avidly interested in learning new things and sharing your newfound knowledge with
others. Intellectual curiosity is infectious, and business schools hope that yours will enrich the learning
environment of your future classmates.

INITIATIVE
Situations in which you have taken initiative versus being assigned a task and performing it well are
worth sharing with admissions officers. Consider times when you have stepped forward to address a
long-standing problem in your organization or community or instances in which you volunteered for
additional responsibilities outside of your job description.
Early in your career your superiors may be reluctant to entrust you with major leadership
responsibilities because your ability to lead is untested; therefore, candidates who have actively sought
out opportunities to make an impact will stand out from the competition in the application process.
Admissions committees are interested in learning about how you have demonstrated initiative, made
significant contributions, and gone above and beyond the call of duty.

SOLUTIONS FOCUS
The central questio i usi ess asestudiesis ot

hatdo outhi k ut athe

hat ould ou

do. Thatis ottosa that ou a ilit toa al zethe ele a tissuesi the asea eu i po ta t, ut
admissions committees will be looking closely in your application for evidence that you have applied
your analysis, formulated an action plan, and, most importantly, executed on that plan.
When faced with a problem there may be a number of ways to tackle it. Your ability to look at a
problem holistically and to develop and implement a comprehensive solution rather than a series of

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point solutions is important. Business schools are evaluating your potential to be an effective general
manager. The general manager, as opposed to a functional manager (e.g., the head of marketing) is
responsible for implementing cross-functional solutions that activate the capabilities of an entire
organization. Consequently, achievements in which the impact you made required the coordination
and effort across the organization will be of great interest to the admissions officers.

SELF-AWARENESS
Recently, Dee Leopold, the managing director of admissions, listed self-awareness as one of the key
attributes her committee is looking for in candidates. She went on to say that the admissions
committee expects candidates to share how their life experiences have shaped their outlooks and
perspectives about the world.
Self-a a e essis ta ualit that oude o st ate telli gasto ; athe ,ithastodo ithho ou
tell the story and your ability to communicate what you learned. Being able to explain to the
admissions committee why you value one accomplishment above others, what you learned from a
setback, or the deeper meaning of your career goals is evidence of self-awareness. Furthermore, the
self-aware individual has knowledge of both his or her strengths AND weaknesses.
Whe iti g ou essa s go e o d just attli g off the plot, I did A, the I did B, a d e
a o plishedC. Thead issio s o
itteealso a tsso ei sighti to hat ou e ethinking and
feeling, why you made a particular choice given the alternatives, what you value, and what is
meaningful to you. As you will see when we discuss the essay questions, there are opportunities,
particularly in the accomplishments essay and career vision essay, to demonstrate self-awareness.

MATURITY
A quality that goes hand-in-hand with self-awareness is maturity, and maturity was a quality
spe ifi all e tio ed the s hools a agi g di e to of ad issio s as ei g i po ta t. I ea s
past, the average number of years of work experience for admitted students was four. Lately, the
trend has been to accept younger candidates, a handful directly out of college. The quality and extent
of life experience and how you have matured, crystallized values and passion, and formulated a
worldview as a result are more important than the years that have elapsed since you graduated from
ollege. Matu it is t a atte of g o i g olde its a atte of g o i g ise . The fa t that the
admissions committee is looking for evidence of maturity suggests that you should find opportunities

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to share defining moments in your life. Remember that maturity and wisdom are very often the result
of experiences that take place in our lives outside of work. Try to balance the personal and professional
and share a portfolio of experiences that reveal your human side not just your business persona.

COLLABORATIVE
Ibelievethatwearemuchmorecollaborativethanpeoplethink.Imean,weliketowinand
we like to compete withourcompetitors,butwhenyourehere,itsaverycollaborative,very
feedback-richenvironment.
Whartonsadmissions

Teamwork is very important at business school. Many schools incorporate learningteams into
the formal curriculum. In the first year, students are assigned to learning teams and will be
required to work with these teammates throughout the first year. When reviewing your
application, the admissions committee will be assessing both your capacity to lead a team and
your ability to be a team player. The complexity of the problems and diversity of challenges that
you will face at business school mean that a rigid, leader-follower team structure will be of limited
application. Instead, a collaborative model in which the teams leadership is fluid, responding
flexibly to challenges as they present themselves, is called for.
Effective collaboration requires you to be aware of the strengths and weaknesses and specific
knowledge of your teammates. When you do take the lead, you must ensure that all energy and
talents of your teammates are fully utilized because the contributions of every team member will
be required to succeed. Successful collaboration also requires you to be the type of person who
shares credit for results. By the end of the project or assignment, it will probably be impossible to
say who was in charge or who was the most valuable player. Your capacity for working in a fluid,
dynamic team environment, taking the lead when necessary, capitalizing on the strengths of
others, and handing over the reins when the time is right are important attributes for fitting in at a
top school.
We have armed you with a list of the fundamental qualities and attributes that the admissions
officers are looking for as they review your application, so that you can be sure to emphasize and
accent these characteristics in your essays. The intention here is not to give you a cheat sheet or a
list of buzzwords to paste into your essays. Rather, you should study this list closely and feature

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the qualities that describe you, and use your essays, interviews and stories to supply the
admissions officers with convincing reasons to believe that you possess these characteristics.
Good luck as you begin this incredibly rewarding process.

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