In today’s working world, sometimes it takes more than a Bachelor’s degree to get ahead in your career. If your aim is to work in business, finance, management, operations research analysis, IT management, management analysis, or information security analysis, then you are going to need to acquire an MBA (Master’s in Business Administration) or an MFin (Masters in Finance) before any of the necessary doors will open for you. Recent studies show, for example, that MBA graduates are now being given top priority by head hunting recruiters and HR departments across several major industries. Renewed enthusiasm for the global economy, corporate expansion, and a general clamor for higher education mean great things for MBA graduates looking for work or a career change in 2015 and beyond. According to a recent study by the Graduate Management Admission Council, firms have been hiring more business school graduates with each passing year since the 2008 recession.
The first step to a rewarding position in any of the above fields is pursuing a graduate degree and every reputable school of business, management, or finance will be looking at your GMAT (or graduate management admission test) score. The reality is this: most people who pursue an MBA or MFin study part time while staying employed with their current company. Choosing to attend a graduate school while working is difficult enough; studying for your GMAT while having a full professional and social life is even more difficult. Luckily, there are many test preparation centers that can help people obtain better GMAT scores, and finding one may be the best decision you make before taking the test.
Of course, different GMAT courses have different styles of teaching, so it pays to look into a test prep center before you commit. Some instructors believe that the GMAT is a standardized test, and a great deal of focus is placed on a standardized teaching approach, while others believe that through analyzing and breaking complex subjects into smaller digestible parts, students are better able to grasp the complex analytical, writing, quantitative, verbal, and reading skills that make up the test. Still other test centers others teach test mastery through critical reasoning skills.
When taking the GMAT the student’s analytical writing and problem-solving abilities are assessed through a computer adaptive test. Other factors that are evaluated are data sufficiency, logic, and critical reasoning skills. The exam itself is split into four sections: analytical writing assessment, integrated reasoning, quantitative, and verbal which lasts about three and a half to four hours. The best test prep center will have a proven curriculum and approach to the test that best suits your strengths and the challenges of the GMAT. A top-notch test center will combine all of these techniques, and will differentiate teaching platforms based on your particular needs. Whether through tutoring students with one-on-one sessions, or offering full-sized classes, live online programs, e-books, or other digital products, a test center will have everything you need to succeed. What every GMAT course has in common is the aim to help the individual excel and pass the test with flying colors.
Of course, you will need to find a test prep center near you before you can enroll. Many of Canada’s brightest financiers, business buffs, and management masters live and work in Toronto. If this is the case for you, why not study at a centrally-located test prep center, one that is sure to be located in Toronto’s downtown core? Quantum Test Prep is a GMAT preparation center located steps from Bay Street at 1 Yonge — Canada’s most famous street.
Wherever you study, be sure that the instructors are highly trained with many years of in-classroom teaching experience and practical knowledge and ability. Most of the instructors at Quantum Test Prep centers received their master’s degree in education (MEd) or have an MBA and therefore understand what it takes to make a student succeed in the GMAT. With their knowledge and ambition the instructors help students gain the confidence to take the GMAT and to score in the top percentile. As with any discipline, practice pays, so one of the most important keys to achieving a high GMAT score is to find a test center that offers copious amounts of practice tests to help you learn the test inside and out.
Most prep centers will offer these practice tests — and a specialized instructor who can help take you through your answers — in a classroom setting with other people, online, or in private one-on-one sessions, and classes are usually offered weeknights after work or most often over the weekends — after all, if a test preparation center isn’t flexible, how can it meet your needs?
Besides helping you achieve higher test scores and offering you practice tests, a dedicated and focused instructor will also help you understand your own study habits, strengths, and yes, even weaknesses. This kind of close tutelage will also help reduce pre-exam stress and will actually help you perform in unquantifiable ways. Having someone with practical, first-hand knowledge of the exam helps ease students’ fears about the test, which means that, on top of the mastery of the GMAT’s subject matter, you will also feel confident and will perform better with the help of a GMAT prep course at Quantum. Just follow all the advice listed above, and you’ll pass your GMAT and be off to a top business school in no time.