No GMAT in Ghana? Not again SiliconPro

I just got an SOS call from a friend that he couldn’t find a test centre in Ghana to take the GMAT. I thought that was odd, because a few weeks back another friend took the GMAT at SiliconPro (the only test centre in Ghana for many years).

I only hoped it wasn’t true.

Same thing happened last year:

- I met a lady at a Columbia MBA session in Accra whose scheduled test date had been canceled because SiliconPro had shut down for renovation.

- I know a couple of people who took the GRE in place of the GMAT (because some b-schools had started accepting the both GRE and the GMAT)

- There were a few of us who visited neighbouring countries to take the test. I took mine in Nigeria. It is very stressful testing in another country.

So I checked up the GMAT registration site hoping my friend was wrong, only to find out that Ghana has no test centre for the GMAT.

I’m really wondering what excuse Silicon Pro has this time around.

I hope it is just a routine server update/maintenance issue. (SiliconPro website says it is under maintenance)

Watch this space for updates!!

1st Round of Applications - Olin, Terry and Sloan?

I've been getting (un)solicited mails from these schools. Actually I visited their websites some time back and now I'm reaping the results of it. Getting their mails and attention and I'm already under pressure to start applying as they keep reminding me that 1st round of applications are ending soon (Oct 15 for most)
I'll be damned if I let this round pass me. I am still competitive with my profile.

3 things working for me.

1. I'm Ghanaian /African (note, very few African apply to business schools - special species)
2. My 6## score from last time is still competitive, all things considered
3. I have some great work experiences that show demonstrated leadership.

Ps. these MBA programs are cute because they all have a name like MIT's MBA program is called Sloan MBA.

why I keep two blogs

My personal favourite blog is the one I keep on wordpress (http://hollatainment.wordpress.com). I love it because I do my fun stuff there. Blogging about Trotros, Ghana, my locality and some more trotro.
I actually hope people will read that blog. I hope I don't have to resort to SEO to get people reading but then again it will be pointless because I know very few people in Ghana read blogs. I can't imagine not reading blogs. Yes, I am curious...and yes, I love to read satiric lines but also I want to learn new things in a personalized way and that is why I go to blogs and search for them and read them and for most part smile to myself and occasionally post a comment.
And it is nice to read other people's comments. Active and engaged minds.

This blog here is a blog-mentary. I will definitely need it later on in life just to remind me about myself, jog my memory about this time in my life. And for some reason I don't care if people read it or not, comment or not.

I got to go back to finish off the Rates, Counting and Probabilities, then Verbal here I come!!

turning point

I've got my head in the game. Spurned this offer and trusted a dream that might never be. Taking a risk is part of life but does it make sense to forgo 'pick me' 'pick me' and wait for the right thing?

Darn it!!

However, I know this will be a turning point around which lots of nice /sad stories will come.

Definitely mark this date. 5th October, 2010.

Take a chance!!

Making Progress & (not) Measuring It

I definitely feel I'm making lots of progress now. It is funny how painstaking studies bring out the small things you've missed all the while. But even more interesting is the amount of studies I've done since I started teaching the GRE. It has become one of the turning points in my GMAT story (feeling very good about my chances of getting a better score).

I've been taking lots of review tests and I'm doing quite well.

Funny enough, what I've always been missing are what I now call the basics of GMAT. Like the Pythagoraen triples; 3:4:5, 5:12:13, the '2' types of Right Triangles; 1:1:sqrt2, 1:2:sqrt3.

You need to know these basics intimately and should be able to see them in whatever guise they come to ace the GMAT.

Back to my reviews. I've seen tremendous improvement and I personally think a GMAT question is termed difficult if you have to rely on about 2 or more skills to solve the problem in question.

Pretty soon I'll start documenting my progress and keep an error log and plot things and fairly estimate my chances. I feel good about my chances of gaining another 100 points on the GMAT though.

Wish me luck and godspeed!

Late Night Studies

My eyes are really bleeding at this point.
My friend from work, former workplace, came through to do an all nighter.
It started well. We got distracted. The lights went out. Wireless went off. Lights came back.
Time was running, excess stress from work was taking over, eyes were heavy...Darn this cycle of day. Taking an hour, errrm, 4hr sleep and wake up refreshed. Sleeping on the floor. Great way to get some sleep but not so caught up in the sleep. Trench time on the war front.

Nice way to go...Up at 4am...Angles, Triangles, Right Triangles (1:1:2^1/2) and 3:4:5.....what? Pythagoras Theorem hasn't changed since I last saw it. Thank Goodness....Sleep wasn't enough. I think there is accumulated stress from all grueling weekends. Forget it. Got to go back to sleep.

My eyes are really bleeding at this point but needed to squeeze in this post....2hrs of eyes falling out studies. GMAT 2010/ MBA 2011 here we come.

GMAT vs GRE

By all means write the GRE if you can memorize words, their synonyms and antonyms and can juggle your numbers fairly.
The GMAT is for you if you are highly analytical. Even the Verbal test needs an analytical mind.

I want to write the GRE on the back of the teaching I'm doing now, but I have to know about 500 words.

I want to re-write the GMAT but Probabilities, Rates and Counting are beating me down. Does it matter that the second time I took the test I gained a 100 points?

If only I could gain another 100 points on the GMAT!

How am I going to improve on my old score

I am tempted to talk about my old score but want it to remain in the woodworks until i get a better score and then compare the pre-GMAT experiences and all.

Honestly, I'm still not studying the way I should. Who am I deceiving, I'm not even studying for the test I plan on taking.

My complacent keeps telling me that I'm doing okay; after all, I'm teaching the GRE with relative ease.

But I'm taking notes of my weaknesses (as I remember them to be from when I last took the GMAT). My Probability, Series and Sequences and Rates are what I need to work on.

Just wish me a 'study well' after you read this.

Why I didn't go to school this year

Everyone who knew I had gotten into graduate school was so happy for me.
Thanks for sharing in my joy!!

But I didn't go to school as planned, so you'll have to deal with me for another year.
I'll be easy to live with this time around.

I'm contemplating whether to re-take the GMAT or not.
Damn the GMAT!! And I'm not even talking about the $250 I have to pay.

If I got some tuition scholarship with my old GMAT score, do I aim for a higher score and more funding?

The hours, Hours, HOURS of studying and pacing myself and logging errors and reviewing the errors is hard!!!

But there is B-SCHOOL to go to.

Let's go for it!!