Winding Down My GMAT Prep Class

Headed home on the train after session eight and last week was Easter so there was no class and the week before, I was in bed sick the entire weekend so I regrettably didn't attend. This past week was more geometry more than anything else I didn't expect it to go so well. Im not sure if this is the part I remembered or if everything just clicked for me but I found myself skipping sections because it was quite easy and intuitive.

There's only one more week to go and it's mid April and I really didn't have a plan as to when I wanted to attend but the fall timeframe isn't out of question but Ceilidh (my teacher) said that we should be in no rush to take the test and we should wait until we're close to our goal score in the practice tests to schedule that actual test. She also said that red weeks before round one applications are due (September), is when it's tough to schedule a test.

This must mean she's taking about us applying in October or November for next September(2016) which I would normally be okay with but I'll be 46 in July so time is of the essence. I will still have time to take the test twice if I wait until two months after class but to take it a second time,

Over the past few weeks, I've gotten to know some of my classmates. One girl has an English degree from Harvard and another girl is in Columbia Law School whereas my table mate (two people to a table in class) went to U Penn and will most likely apply to Wharton.

I crossed Baruch off my list as they're just too difficult to deal with and I've noticed that the way a school treats a perspective student (well me anyway) is in direction relation to the quality of the program. NYU has done so much to me to help me see the value of their program yet Pace University has done everything to try to make it difficult for me to be able to assess their program. The higher level the program, the better the caliber of teachers and students, the higher the cost, and the higher level of service offered by the college.    

A Different Approach

It’s Sunday again and I’m headed back home on the train. Studying isn’t getting any easier and with the pressure going up at work, it’s taking more of a tool on the body which leaves less time for study. I was totally drained Saturday morning and although I meant to begin studying at 8 or 9am, I began somewhere around 12pm. I studied for and hour and took a walk hour off and then studied for another hour. I kept this pace up until 7pm, took an hour off, and then went at it for another hour. Even at this pace, I didn’t finish all of my homework even though I had logged another eight hours during the week.

I woke this morning feeling horrible about where I was with regard to study and about my current work situation. Back in November, there was a 15% raise and another 2.2% raise a few weeks back but the pressure has gone up and the workload has increased. Even though I know it’s not the case, I feel like I’m not pulling my weight and at any moment, I’m going to be found out and they’ll ask me to leave.

Over a Month and Still Going Strong

Week 4 is in the bag and week 5 is upon us or upon just me really. As for he term 'in the bag', I never really understood it because when you say 'I was half in the bag' it means you were drunk and week 4 isn't twice as drunk. Anywho, the past week was a tough one as I knew I was behind with Data Sufficiency and last Monday was the Apple event where the Apple Watch was reintroduced along with the new MacBook which stole the show. I was so juiced when I got home last Monday night that it was all Apple. I spent the night reading everything I could find out about the event and watching the Apple product video. I spent the rest of the night writing a humor column about the Apple Watch.

Going on Week Four

With week 3 in the bag and week four off to a smooth start, I'm excited at the way things have been going. With my quant a bit weaker than it should be, I focused on just quant basics on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. This put me behind as far as my homework was concerned and, even though I logged 16.5 hours, I didn't the weekly assignments.

Walking to class today, I was a bit nervous as I know my quant isn't quite up to par. I didn't want to get in the situation where we'd get an in class problem, and rather than working on solving the problem the teacher posed, I'd be staring at my iPad hoping the answer with all of the supporting work would just appear on the screen.

Weak 3

I'm on the train home from week 3 and this was somewhat of a painful one. Not physical although my back does hurt quite a bit and there is a mini-blizzard (that means snow) in NYC. It was a very disruptive work week with layoffs and my boss being carried out on a stretcher in the midst of all of that. My VP's last day was Friday and I was the only one, below the EVP/CFO level in finance. 

I logged almost 14 hours of study, which is three hours less than last week, but I finished all of my assignments. There are two things I didn't get to do. I'm having trouble with my quant stuff and more specifically algebra (also the name Buckwheat's horse from The Little Rascals) which doesn't have me so concerned as I slammed dunked algebra in high school but that was thirty years ago. 

The algebra didn't click any better in class today but I really didn't spend any extra time on it this past week. The ultimate success formula is: 1) know what you want 2) take action 3) notice the results 4) make changes based on those results and start over. Clearly I need some help and not just in the 'increasing my meds' realm. One of the books in my Manhattan prep class is Foundations of GMAT Math and I need to spend time getting back to basics since it's 30 years since I've used those basics. 

I'm sticking to my one hour in the morning and I'll probably up it to one hour at night but I make that nighttime hour my back to basics. To make up some of the time lost at night, I'll probably do 1/2 on lunch. That will be over 16 hours of scheduled study just to get my homework assignments done. I should get them done in less time and devote some of that 'free time' to Math Foundations.

Day Two of Year Five

It's day one of week two or really it's day eight but if you you take into account when I came up with the idea of going for my MBA it's day eight of year five...anywho, I'm standing on the train platform waiting for the doors to open (they do realize it's below freezing, right?) and  I've learned a lot in the last week especially when my specially created plan was put to the everyday reality test. We've all heard the phrase 'the best laid plans of mice and men...' and I can honestly say I've never seen any mice making plans or at least not writing them down, no opposable thumbs and all, but with Dragon Dictation and Siri with her voice recognition, that voice just gets me, who knows what nice are up to. 

In the Beginning

It's day two of what seems like my 300th false start. Work has been the #1 excuse among 1000 excuses none of which will get me into grad school. I let work know that I wouldn't be working late, at least not every night to be able to prep for grad school.

I registered for a Manhattan GMAT class as I hear it's the best and rather than pace myself, I'd rather pay someone to provide structure and accountability; yesterday was the first day of a nine week class.  There a few concerns with the GMAT and with my grad school studies in general:
1) it's been more than a few years since I finished my undergrad (2008) and my degree was in English Literature and Creative Writing and not a quant degree - I slam dunked the Algebra Regents exam but that was in 1987, more than a person legal to drink between me and the test
2) I do have a quant job but my title doesn't exactly say 'this guy is MBA material' - I have informed my job that I will be beginning my MBA (potentially this fall) and I don't want to be at the same level by September - my job is not really one of an analyst and I really work like more of a project manager - I build financial models for marketing teams
3) my work history is scattered at best - there seems to be no common thread holding it all together - I met with current MBA students at an MBA event and one of them said the key is to find that common thread and sell that - make it seem like all of you job choices were a conscious decision...a plan from the start