Posts by Veritas Prep

Believe it or not, getting to the right answer for a Critical Reasoning question can be as simple at reading the prompt carefully and strategically eliminating answer choices that are out of scope of the passage. A lot of answer choices can “sound good” but really don’t do anything in the form of answering the… Read more

With Critical Reasoning questions, many test takers forget the immense importance of figuring out the gap, or disconnect, in the reasoning in the question being provided. Understanding this gap is essential to determining what answer choice fits to resolve the gap. The next step is moving to evaluate what the question asks you to find… Read more

There are many different approaches in tackling a GMAT Quantitative question effectively. Algebraically, working backwards from the answer choices, considering “lucky twins” – a smart test taker is flexible and takes a fresh new approach by evaluating each quantitative question individually, taking the route that is efficient and effective. But how does said test taker… Read more

Since its release on the June 2012 exam, the Integrated Reasoning portion of the GMAT has had some test takers stumped. This 30-minute, 12 question section is oddly scored on a 1 to 8 scale, and no partial credit is given, even for multi-part, multi-answer questions. For the past several years, it was a matter… Read more

The GMAT loves to present combination questions that force people to sit next to each other, or in certain seats, and then have the test taker figure out how many different ways people not forced to be glued to possibly a very uncomfortable chair can be seated around them. Because free will, clearly, is not… Read more

Gerunds, prepositional phrases, past perfect test, idioms…if you are a test taker who knows your E.B. White and Will Strunk book by heart, you should ace the Sentence Corrections section every single time, right? Not necessarily. While a cursory review of grammar is important to do well in verbal, a common mistake that test takers… Read more

Some GMAT instructors will say that students often place too much emphasis on studying for Probability and Combinatorics, rather than spending more time focusing on the heavy lifters of Algebra and Arithmetic. Like it or not, GMAT students get fixated on combinatorics and probability because a) these questions are never, never as straightforward as remembering… Read more

As you read GMAT Critical Reasoning problems, you might be struck by how different the questions can be: some are about biology, others about geology, and still others about politics, home repair, corporate strategy, and a whole host of other topics. But, strategically speaking, Critical Reasoning problems are all a lot more similar than meets… Read more

When faced with Geometry problems with variables, many test takers will approach the question with fear, believing they are forgetting some obscure geometric rule that is the only path towards a correct answer. In reality, as we’ve covered in a few past posts, the understanding required to do well on Geometry questions on the GMAT… Read more

If you hit the road over the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S., you joined millions of other Americans who traveled more than 50 miles to get to their feast of turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce. And more likely than not, you probably sat in traffic for some portion of that journey and enlisted the help… Read more

While many folks in the U.S. celebrate the arrival of Thanksgiving (or an excuse to watch American football and pig out on decadent sweet and savory treats), there are others who cringe at the idea of cooking an extravagant multi-course feast. If you’re wondering what late night calls to the Butterball turkey help line have… Read more

Graphs, charts and tables are all around us. If you flip on the evening news, there’s bound to be a set of statistics that’s better explained with a chart. You probably don’t even think twice about the visual aid. So, why do graphs and charts provide such a stumbling block on Integrated Reasoning? Chances are,… Read more

Everyone gets nervous and anxious in the weeks and months leading up to test day, but what about the last week or two leading up to test day? If you’ve been sticking to a study plan and schedule, you may still be looking for ways to up your test day game. • Inventory what you… Read more

You’ve prepped for months, sacrificed happy hours and quality time with your friends and stayed up late and risen early just to get in an extra few drills. Much like an endurance athlete, you’ve put in the time, and the only thing left to do is execute. Often the hardest part of the days leading… Read more

If you’ve ever played a sport, you probably have a love-hate relationship with drills. Whether it was running pyramids at the track, shooting countless free throws, or taking batting practice until you thought your shoulder would fall off, you probably didn’t feel yourself getting better in the moment. If you’re like most, you probably got… Read more

When I was a kid, all I wanted was a cool mono-syllabic last name. People would fumble through my clunky last name and inevitably layer some hybrid of odd accents in all of the wrong places. I just wanted to play lacrosse and hear “Go Capps” or “Go Carp!” Since I couldn’t change my name,… Read more

There’s probably no other GMAT question type that instills more fear in candidates than data sufficiency. It’s unique to the GMAT and evaluates a candidate’s ability to discern when s/he has enough information to come to a conclusion. And those who are able to efficiently and successfully tap into those higher-order reasoning skills are ultimately… Read more

When the Graduate Management Admission Council introduced the Integrated Reasoning section a few years ago, it was in response to considerable business school feedback around evolving technology, changing student skill-sets and the need to continue adapting. Now with a few years of data available, schools are starting to determine how to best utilize this score… Read more

Whether you’re a day or a month into your GMAT preparation journey, you know how important it is to have a plan and to be able to manage your time well.  If you start researching the GMAT online, chances are you’ll come across the following two questions pretty frequently: 1) When is the best time… Read more

Taking practice tests is an essential component of your GMAT study regimen. But it’s not the mere act of taking the test that provides you with your greatest opportunity for improvement. Sure, taking the test is helpful: it exposes you to more practice problems, forces you to consider pacing and work under timed pressure, and… Read more

As summer starts to wind down, many college students are frantically trying to squeeze in a few more weekends at the beach before heading back to the dorms and classrooms. But for anyone thinking about business school or a graduate management degree, there are 5 things you can do before graduation to help you prepare… Read more

Quick recap: we typically see four different question types on the GMAT – Strengthen, Weaken, Assumption, and Method of Reasoning. Many students find the assumption questions to be one of the toughest nuts to crack because of how difficult it is to discern what type of logic the author uses to form his/her argument. Assumption… Read more

In our last two posts (Part 1 and Part 2) we’ve covered overlaps between the GMAT and GRE for those students who find themselves in the situation of requiring both exams for dual degree programs. In this post, we’ll address how to dominate all things essays. First and foremost – this is not a creative… Read more

While strengthen, weaken, and inference questions tend to make up the bulk of GMAT Critical Reasoning questions, another question Critical Reasoning type that appears often is those that require completing the blank, following the prompt: Which of the following most logically completes the argument below? These question types are asking you to figure out what… Read more

You’re great at grammar, right? You know your idioms, correlative conjunctions, and indirect objects by heart. You could probably teach about past present and future perfect tense to a room full of eighth graders. But, when faced with the Sentence Correction section, you’re still getting 65% or 70% of questions right. If you’re fantastic at… Read more