Cracking GMAT - Things to keep in mind

By Harshit Maloo

(Harshit is currently in the final year at St. Stephen's College. He secured 780/800 in GMAT)

For those of you who don’t know, the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) is an exam, the scores of which are accepted by most of the internationally acclaimed Business Schools including Harvard Business School, Yale School of Management, Stanford Graduate School of Business and so on. Most of us in our pre-final or final year of college attempt this examination for the ISB-YLP program, as did I.

The very first thing to keep in mind is when you would want to give the exam. If you are constrained by deadlines for applications, then as the case may be. Otherwise, I’d recommend giving the exam at a point when you know you can devote at least a month beforehand for preparation. It isn’t usually a good idea to keep it near your college examinations or other entrances (GRE or CAT). However, with adequate preparation, it is possible to do well in all scenarios.

Choice of Examination Centre is something that is overhyped. I have seen a lot of debate over which centre is better for the examination. Personally, the date and time should take precedence over the location. The centre at Pitampura, where I gave my examination is nice and quiet. It seats a maximum of 3 examinees at a time, which ensures peace and keeps away chaotic situations. It is a good idea to visit the test centre once before your GMAT date to not waste time in navigation on the day of the exam.

Preparation time is relative from person to person, their background, and their level of comfort with Mathematics (Class X level) and English. As soon as you begin thinking about giving the GMAT, it is essential to give a diagnostic or an online mock test to evaluate where you stand. This can be done as early as 3 months prior to the examination. Preparation can then start accordingly.

There is a misconception that GMAT cannot be taken without tuitions, and that preparation time for it needs to span months. You can prepare for GMAT in the last 3 weeks also, but you have to make up for it by burning the midnight oil and doing nothing else for those 20-something days. A comfortable preparation time would be about 6 weeks.

The very first reference book you need to follow is the GMAC Official Guide. This book contains the basic preparation material; it will set the flow in motion. It is just the first step, as it does not contain 800-level questions in abundance. I would suggest keeping track of your performance during the first two weeks and then delving into higher-level books according to your areas of difficulty. The Manhattan guides for individual sections are extremely helpful in this regard. As you read the material, you’ll realize that even the higher-level books contain basic material, and acing the GMAT is all about practice and time management.

I’ll go into further detail, section wise:

Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA)

AWA is the first section, for 30 minutes. You are given a 4-5 line argument that you need to comment upon. You should aim to write about 4-5 paragraphs of 3 sentences each. It is not a lengthy task. The introduction and conclusion are standard, but in the body each paragraph must pick a separate point about:
(a) How the argument is invalid if certain assumptions are disregarded?

(b) What could be added to the argument to complete it?

(c) Any additional comment on the argument or its fallacies.

Be sure to not diverge far from the topic at hand. Since the essay is checked by software also, it is essential to have the keywords and basic vocabulary – with NO spelling mistakes. If you try and differ too much from the normal phrases and try to draw analogies, it might backfire.    

Integrated Reasoning

Integrated Reasoning is the next half an hour section that contains 12 questions. Each question has 2 or 3 subparts to it. IR is relatively easy, and it tests you on basic logic rather than on math. This is the only section where use of online calculators is allowed. 

The problem with IR is that there are limited resources to study it, so you have to make the most of what is available through the GMAC Software and certain other mock tests.

Quant

There is an optional break before beginning your Quant section for 8 minutes. You can use this opportunity to relax, stretch a bit, have a quick bite to eat (a chocolate does good for you J) and some like to gulp down an energy drink!

The Quant section tests speed and accuracy more than anything else. The concepts, formulae and so on can be brushed up using the reference material. But what it doesn’t prepare you for is the nerves, and the widely observed phenomenon that you automatically tend to double check your answers and thus lose on time as compared to when you were sitting at home and giving your mocks. When it comes down to crunch time, and you see that you do not have too much time remaining, do not linger on a question. It is not a taboo to make an intelligent guess (I made one in my Quant Section!). Your main aim should be to attempt ALL questions as you are heavily penalized for not completing the exam.

Verbal

The Verbal section starts after another optional break. This section tests your use of the written English language. Remember, what ‘sounds’ right may not always be right, because in our day to day usage of the language, we tend to misuse grammar and phrases. The Manhattan Sentence Correction guide and the Kaplan 800-Level Verbal Guide are of immense help in this regard. It is a recommended to attack these rules and idioms a few at a time as the list will seem overwhelmingly long towards the end.

With respect to Verbal again, only practice can serve your purpose. All the strategies and rules that you’ll read about will be of no use unless you can implement them. This should reflect in you mock test performance as you keep giving them.

Mock Tests

There are a horde of mock tests available online, some free and some for which you need to shell out a few dollars. I highly recommend giving as many mocks as humanly possible before the exam. Since all your other practice material will be divided into sections, and the questions will be also divided accordingly, it will not give you a fair idea of whether or not you are able to use all the principles you have learnt in a test like environment, where the type of questions and their difficulty vary.

While giving mocks, keep in mind that your score and percentile do not matter much. Each company’s mocks have different scoring algorithms and a different database of students against whom your percentile is scored. What you should review is the questions you were unable to solve, or solved incorrectly. Keep tab of which type of question persists in troubling you, and then go back and work on that area using the additional reference material.

You should save your GMAC mocks till the last week as they provide the most accurate image of your position. They have two mocks and they can be reset to take advantage of the vast question base. When you give the tests after resetting the score, some questions might be repeated, so do not get too happy if the scores are high!

You should be relaxed the day before your GMAT – if you do all that’s advised above, you will definitely be. It is an easy examination; all you have to do is put in some effort.        

Preparing for the ISB-YLP programme

By Satyaki Dhar

The YLP Programme is offered by the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad to provide guaranteed admission to its one year MBA Programme contingent on the applicants securing 21 months of work experience post earning their under-graduate degree. In case you aren’t aware of the programme, you can always find information about it at – http://www.isb.edu/young-leaders-programme

The application process for the ISB YLP Programme consists of three stages. The first stage begins towards the end of the pre-final year of your undergraduate degree. The deadline ISB sets for this stage is around the first week of March. The second stage will require you to take the GMAT, obtain two recommendations and write a few essays. This stage usually has a deadline of around the first week of August. The third stage is the interview and this is held face-to-face at the ISB Campus at Hyderabad. Interview slots range from mid-August to mid-September.

The application itself, considered as a whole consists of the following parts –

1)      Essays

2)      Curriculum Vitae (CV)

3)      Video

4)      Recommendations

5)      GMAT score

6)      Written case-study

7)      Interview

Essays: Essays seek to find out your perspective on how your life has been. In my application year, the essay topics were “Describe your two most significant achievements”, “What is your career aspiration immediately after graduating from the ISB?”, “Describe a past experience that has shaped who you are today”  and “Please provide additional information that will significantly affect the consideration of your application to the ISB”.

The last one is pretty standard. You need to look through your application and see if there is any other important point that you’ve missed out on due to the constrictions of the online application.

The achievements essay appeared again in the following year I believe. If it does appear again, my opinion is that in addition to telling them what the achievement was and how you went about doing things, you should also touch on why you chose this over your other achievements.

Other topics have kept changing.

CV: ISB traditionally asks for the one page CV. The difficulty in this isn’t how to compress everything into a page, but I feel its picking the right points to put on that page.

The best advice that I ever got in this area, and I’ll pass it onto you – make a complete list of all the achievements that you feel are worth mentioning.  More recent achievements are to be given greater weightage and as the time elapsed since the achievement increases, the impact of the achievement needs to be that much greater in order for it to feature on your list. Then prune that list according to the scale of the effort and impact of the achievement. Try to strike a balance in order to show consistency and diversity.

Speaking about diversity - I’ve heard is greatly valued for the ISB process. How much diversity should you represent on the CV? That’s a difficult question, but even if you’ve done a lot of things you’ll be able to represent only 2-3 adequately well on a one page CV. So you would end up talking about only your most important ones while the rest would have to be accommodated through other parts of your application.

So once you’re done selecting the achievements you want to put on your CV, get down to making it. There’s only that much structuring you can do for a one page CV, but the standard sections that most of us who applied kept it to were – Academic Qualifications (Including academic awards, scholarships), Internships/Projects/Research, Extra-curricular achievements, Awards (Other ECA awards) and a Miscellaneous section if required. Some of us created special sections in order to highlight certain special skills acquired (Such as Writing or Web-design) and that works as well.

Video: Now this the fun part of the YLP Application. Atleast I had fun shooting my video. You’ll need to don your formals (Well, I did) and speak about the topic that they’ve provided for 90 seconds. In my application year ISB wanted to know if they were to admit one more student to the YLP Batch, why should it be me. Take some time and plan out the answer. I personally took around a week and wrote down the whole answer and thought I’d memorize it, but that didn’t work too well.

My tip, if you aren’t an exceptionally good speaker, make the extra effort to write down the whole thing. Since its only 90 seconds you’ll need to optimize on every word if you want to pack in the maximum number of points. Even if you are a good speaker, write it down once and say it to yourself to see how much time it takes. Editing can also become a lot easier if you write it down.

Recommendations: Recommendations provide the only third-person perspective to your application and hence the process of choosing your recommenders must be carefully thought through. Recommendations can be both professional (Internships, work-experience), academic ( Teachers, academic instructors/counsellors) or extra-curricular (Related to any sport, society activity that you participate in. The single most important point that you should consider before approaching a recommender is that person’s position (NOT post) to comment on your life. Choose people that you think know you well and would be in the best position to comment on your life.

Once you make a list based on that criterion, you could start boiling it down using the kind of information that you might want to represent to the school. For example, it can be expected that an ECA Staff-Advisor will primarily talk about your enthusiasm and work in a certain activity or a teacher will talk mostly about your performance in class. 

Another factor you should consider is the credibility of the person providing the recommendation. If the Principal of your college would roughly write the same things on your recommendations as a Professor would, the person in the higher post (Professor) would be the better choice.

Talking about expectations, my conjecture is that since you’re applying straight out of your undergraduate degree and aren’t expected to have much prior work experience one recommendation should be from an academic viewpoint. Since you’re still a student and your profession is studying , someone should be willing to talk about how you perform there. Most of the people who were accepted that I know of had submitted two academic recommendations.

GMAT score: I believe this plays quite an important role in your application. Getting a 700 in GMAT isn’t really rocket science. From what I have noticed, your GMAT score is usually a function of how many questions you’ve practiced. There are exceptions ofcourse. The concepts are fairly simple and easy to grasp but practice does make a difference. It helps improve your speed and accuracy, both of which are well-tested during the exam.

It takes a bare minimum of 6 weeks to prepare for the GMAT. Around 2-3 hours of practice every day during that period should be enough for a 700. Do plan your study period and continuously assess your progress.

There is enough material and advice on the GMAT available on online forums. Lastly, in my opinion, coaching for the GMAT is really not required. Self-study as long as you’re willing to stick to a schedule should be fine. I know people who ended up getting as much as 780 with self-study, so it’s possible.

Written case-study:  Don’t be scared if you haven’t solved a case before. The cases are very basic and require nothing than a little common sense. Knowledge of class 11-12 Economics might be considered an advantage, but is not a necessity. If you’re planning to study though, you might want to pick up any Beginners Economics textbook (G.Mankiw, may be) and learn about demand-supply, revenue-cost etc. The first 2-3 chapters should suffice.

Lastly, the case-study is a an hour long written one so while on one hand it gives you more time to think, ISB naturally also expects you to be more precise in your answers. Examples of cases: I don’t remember the prompts I heard word to word, but they were something to this effect –

1)      Discuss the viability of a radio cab service in a metro. How would you go about pricing such a service?

2)      European mobile phone company wants to enter the US mobile phone market. What factors would you consider?

3)      Credit Card company is facing intense competition in the industry. What would you recommend for it to survive.

Interview: The average duration of an interview is between 10-15 minutes. The Written-Case Study and the Interview process are held on the same day.

The interview began with the generic question “Tell me a little bit about yourself…”. This is a standard question for most interviews (I realised that only later) and you can go ahead and prepare an answer for this. Be ready to talk for a good 2-3 minutes. You could give a short summary of your CV or alternately talk about things you can’t mention on your CV (For example: Personality traits). You could talk about how your life has progressed and how you have become the person you are today. Personally I mentioned a combination of all of these and how it has led me to apply for a deferred MBA program. You need to justify why you want to pursue an MBA, and why you want to take the YLP route.

Post that they tend to quiz you on the material you’ve already submitted (CV, essays, recommendations) and try to iron out the inconsistencies. Remember, they’ve got enough experience and have given enough time to your application before shortlisting you so lying would be a humungous risk. Be prepared to talk in detail about any activity, any point you’ve mentioned in other parts of your application. For this you might need some time for contemplation. Be clear on what your goals are, how you’ve gone about trying to achieve them and how the MBA & YLP fits into the picture.

All-in-all I felt that the interview process was meant to be a cross-check. I felt that they were trying to evaluate if I was capable of being the person that I had represented myself as on paper. There might be a few subject related questions

Lastly, again looking at the whole application - in my opinion, try to avoid over-laps. Don’t go to recommenders who will talk about something you’ve already written about in an essay. Don’t write about the same activity in more than one essay. Try to represent as much information as possible through the options available. It gives them a better all-round picture and helps them understand if you’re the kind of person they’d like in their class. Best of luck!

Satyaki Dhar graduated from St. Stephen's College (Mathematics Honors, Batch of 2013). He was the President of Finance and Investment Cell and perhaps one of the most active members of college. He got admission to ISB - YLP programme. Currently, he is pursuing Finance at London School of Economics.

Job Interviews (Case Studies)

An option that many people do consider after their under-graduation is to work. Many do so if they have already got an offer from ISB (which requires you to work for 2 years) or otherwise. The companies that usually visit campuses are consulting firms, investment banks, etc. Almost all consulting firms will test on case studies – though the focus might be different. Some may focus on guesstimates (Ex: BCC), some focus on quantitative skills (Ex: Monitor), and some focus only on Business Case Studies (Ex: McKinsey). Investment banks will require you to have a very good knowledge about finance and good with numbers (Ex: Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, CitiBank)

Business Studies and Guesstimates
 
Study Material: You can find various Case Books here.
Click here for Case Books

There are usually three types of business case studies: (1) A company wants to increase it's profitability. How should it go about it? (2) How to increase the market share? (3) How to enter a market? And guesstimates can be anything.

Few case studies I was asked in some of my interviews or my friends were asked at McKinsey interview:
#1. U.S. Apparel Company want to enter into China. How should it go about it? 
#2. U.S. entertainment channel wants to enter into India. What should it do? 
#3. You take a flight from X to Y and then from Y to Z. You take airline A for your journey from X to Y and an airline B for your journey from Y to Z. You pay total of Rs. M for the entire journey. How much of this Rs. M will go to each airline?
#4. Give two ways in which Reliance can increase its market share.
#5. If it is 2007, and you want to open a mall in South Delhi, how much investment would be required and when will you break-even (asked at BCC - Final Round)

Few guesstimates I was asked in some of my interviews or my friends were asked:#6. How much money you need in your pocket now, if you want to open a coffee shop in this area? (A.T. Kearney)

#7. How many footballs can be put in this room (1) when room is empty (2) the room is as it is now (tables, chairs, etc there) (asked at BCC)

#8. Estimate the amount of toll collected in a day in Delhi-Gurgaon highway. (asked at BCC)

If you need help with any of the above cases or otherwise you can write to us.
Some general things to keep in mind while approaching case studies and guesstimates.

1. Clarify the question (know what is asked properly before answering)

You need to clarify with the interviewer what he expects you to do/ how he wants you to approach. For example in the case #1. mentioned above, you need some more information, so yes, ask questions.

·  Ask questions about the background. For example, what kind of apparel company is it, where all is it operating at the moment, what is the purpose of entering the China market (is it just to expand or they want to use cheap labour cost, etc.)

·  Paraphrasing the question always helps (though not necessary) It makes sure you have got the question right.

2. General guidelines to approach

In the various workshops I attended, all of them emphasized on MECE - mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive sets. So, a way to approach a problem should be to divide it according to this MECE rule.

I would suggest - Never mention Porter's 5-forces model, 4Cs, 6Ps, etc that many case books talk about. I never used them. Yes, read them once. These help you to think about a problem in MECE way. Note: Even if you apply these in any case, don't directly mention during the interview that you are applying it.

Drawing a flowchart: This is highly recommended. It tells the interviewer that you are approaching the problem in an organized manner. And most importantly, flowchart also ensures you took MECE into consideration and focussed more on whatever was required.

It's always better, that once you have clarified the question, ask the interviewer for 2-3 minutes and use this time to draw the flowchart.

One thing that I was always told and I experienced is that the case study is solved by both - the interviewer and the interviewee. So, it's better to make the interview interactive by involving the interviewer while you are solving by asking questions. (This doesn't mean that you ask unnecessary questions) 

Guesstimates

For guesstimates, it's better that you have some idea of population, demographics, etc of India, U.S., etc. It always helps (though if you don't know, there's no harm in asking the interviewer about it) In guesstimates, don't randomly throw numbers. Everything should be backed by some logic. 80-20 rule etc comes handy. It's better you practice quite a few guesstimates as they aren't easy.

I'll write about my interview with an investment bank in much detail in a later post. For any questions, post below as comment. If you need any help with job interviews/CVs etc, you can mail it to us at eureka123.ssc@gmail.com 

This article is written by Gaurav Poddar. He received job offers from BCC and Deutsche Bank after graduating from St. Stephen's College.

Preparing to study at LSE (London School of Economics)

By Pankhuri Tandon

Securing an admission at the London School of Economics and Political Science is a matter of both good performance and good timing. The application for MSc. Economics requires the following:

1.        GRE
2.        2 academic recommendations
3.        Marks
4.        Statement of Purpose
5.       Resume’

1.  GRE: The Msc. Economics programme of LSE requires its applicants to submit a GRE score. This GRE score should not be more than 5 years old. The MSc. Economics program at LSE gives more importance to your score in the Quantitative section of GRE than your score in its Verbal Section and Analytical Writing Section. LSE has explicitly mentioned that for securing admission into the one-year Msc. Economics program, the applicant should score above 160(out of 170) in the quantitative section. For the two-year MSc. Economics program, they require a score above 163 in the quantitative section. So make sure you manage to cross this ‘cut-off’ in the quant section of GRE.

 You should aim to give GRE before October. This is for 2 reasons:

a)      The quicker you give GRE, the faster you complete your LSE application. You should aim to finish your LSE application before the first week of January (I shall explain reasons for this later in this article). Note that you receive your official GRE score 15-30 days after the date you have given your exam.

b)      If you are not satisfied with your GRE score, you can give the exam again, but only 21 days after your current exam date. So make sure you keep that margin.

Also, it is important that you have your passport made before you give GRE, as the exam centre only accepts the passport as a valid ID proof.

2. Recommendations: You need to have two recommendations from the teachers who have taught you in college. You do not need to send the recommendation letters in your application; you just need to provide the name and email addresses of the teachers who will write recommendations for you, and LSE will contact them itself. Still, you need to ask the teachers for a reference as soon as you start with your LSE application, because they take time in writing them. Teachers have a lot of preoccupations already, and as the month of December begins, more and more students start with their application and come to ask them for recommendations. The only thing that delayed my application till mid-January was a recommendation that was not sent by my referee. Make sure you keep reminding them to write for you!

3. Marks: Marks in your undergraduate course is the most important criteria for selection at LSE. For MSc. Economics, LSE requires you to score at least 70% (aggregate till the final year) in your undergraduate course. Moreover, LSE gives a lot of importance to your score in maths, statistics and econometrics at your undergraduate level.

4. Statement of purpose (SoP): Although your marks and references are given the highest importance in you LSE application, statement of purpose is an essay (1000-1500 words long) through which the admissions committee analyse your thinking, and your suitability for pursuing the course. A SoP should clearly articulate why you want to pursue the course in that institute(why particularly in that institute?) , and why you have the right aptitude for the course. For this, not only do you need to describe the abilities you have that will help you in the course, but also show that your thoughts and views are consistent with what you are going to study in the course. Make sure your SoP doesn’t look like your CV in prose. It should explain how the things you did till now were with a purpose of helping you in what you are going to do now (the postgraduate course), and how the course you are going to do now will help you in your ultimate goal of the future.

Deadlines to be followed

Although there is no deadline for applying to MSc. Economics at LSE, the seats get filled quickly. Also, most scholarships require you to have an admission offer before you can apply to them. Typically, the deadline for the scholarships is in the period of February-April. So try to obtain the admission offer by January-February. Moreover, LSE usually takes 8 weeks to process your application, so it is best to send your complete application (including recommendations) by December.

Scholarships

The most well-known scholarships are Inlaks Scholarship and Commonwealth Scholarship. LSE also provides scholarships, under its Graduate Support Scheme. Moreover, this year LSE has announced 50 new scholarships for Indian students! :D  There are also organisations like J.N. Tata Endowment and Narotam Sekhsaria Foundation that offer loans at nil or low rates of interest. I advise that you should try to obtain funds from as many sources as possible rather than concentrating your energy on just one fully-funded-scholarship. There are many small scholarships that just escape our attention. Make sure you keep checking regularly in newspapers and online about any new scholarships.

Each scholarship application requires as much effort as one application for admission into a university. Most scholarship applications need a statement of purpose and recommendations (2-3). Note that you can get a recommendation from a teacher only a limited number of times (usually 4), so make sure you manage your ‘profile of recommendations’ from different teachers well. Many scholarships ask you to describe how you will arrange your funds for pursuing the course abroad. My sincere advice is: please describe it as honestly as possible. Trust me, being honest will increase your chances of getting that scholarship.

(Pankhuri Tandon graduated from St. Stephen's College in 2013 and is currently pursuing Economics at London School of Economics. If you have any queries regarding LSE applications, you can leave a comment below)

IGIDR (Test and Interview)

By Sakshi Gupta

IGIDR entrance has two stages, a computer based entrance examination and then an interview for the shortlisted candidates. The level of the examination is in colloquial terms, “manageable”. There are four sections in the paper-

1.  Comprehension, Reasoning and Analytical ability

2. Basic Mathematics

3. Economics

OR

4. Advanced Mathematics

(To pass the exam one has to pass all individual sections.)

Section 1 includes reading comprehensions, vocabulary, rearranging jumbled words, analytical reasoning etc. preparation for which can be done from any book containing these sections that one can get their hands on.

Section 2 has the 10^th-12^th level mathematics’ questions. Revising these concepts is essential because the questions are facile but at the same time convoluted if one doesn’t recall the concepts (LCM/HCF, integration, limits, polynomials, relative speed etc.)

Section 3 is a better option for economics’ students as the questions can easily be done if one is comfortable with the undergrad syllabus. There is nothing really to worry about the economics section, it has (mostly) direct questions from the syllabus. Those preparing for other examinations DSE, ISI, JNU etc. shouldn’t essentially need separate preparation for the IGIDR economics section. The same practice material should suffice. The sample questions can be obtained from http://www.igidr.ac.in/newspdf/msc-infhandout.pdf

However, it should be made sure that one is comfortable with the online pattern of the exam for which the sample is available on www.igidr.ac.in . It is important to go through it once before the exam so that one can concentrate on solving the questions rather than struggling with the computer during the examination.

Note: The pattern of the paper given above is for 2013 and is liable to change, so be sure to check the website for the pattern of the examination.

The second stage is the interview. Here again what one needs to be sure of is her/his basics of economics. A typical interview would last for 15-20 minutes. The first question asked in the interview is generally ones favorite subject in economics, and that then becomes the basis of the interview (so be very sure of what you want to say). However it is not essential that they stick to your chosen subject throughout but most of their questions come from there.

Some of the questions that were asked in the IGIDR interview were:

What is consistency? What is heteroscedasticity, how do you detect (tests), its consequences and correction methods? (Econometrics)

Explain the income and substitution effects (through a diagram on the board) when the price of one good out of the two given goods increases. (Microeconomics)

What do you understand by PPP (purchasing power parity), UIP (uncovered interest parity) and CIP (covered interest parity)? (Macroeconomics/International Economics)

Draw the graph of xǀxǀ (Mathematics) etc.

The interview is not going to be very tough so be calm and confident, even if one doesn’t know the answer to a question don’t panic because there are more questions to come. While answering, try to be precise and clear e.g. the answer to what is heteroscadasticity could be the problem of unequal error variances i.e V(u) is not a constant. Similarly for consequences, mention lost efficiency first (unbiased, linear are common consequences for all and thus they wait to hear lost efficiency).

This is not at all the hard and fast rule, everybody has their own way of dealing with interviews and it is fine as long as you are confident about it. Just remember to brush up your basics before you go for the interview and rest should be fine! :)

(Sakshi Gupta scored 85.2% in B.A. Economics (H), Batch of 2013, from St. Stephen's College. She is currently at DSE. She cleared DSE, ISI, JNU and IGIDR entrances. Post your queries as comments below.)

Tips for preparing for DSE entrance

By Orville Dustin Mondal (Rank 7 in DSE entrance)

The most important thing about preparing for the DSE entrance test is continuity. You need to be completely comfortable with the recommended course material (which, for DU students is basically second year stuff, under the older course)-emphasis on 'COMPLETE'. Because only when you're comfortable with it can you go on to the practicing bit of preparing. Trust me it's extremely annoying (not to mention disconcerting) when you're doing a question and you start thinking,"do I know what they're talking about here?". Once you're through going through the course content, which really doesn't take too long, you need to start questions (yeah, I know that's obvious) and this is where continuity comes in. You need to get your hands on as much practice material as you possibly can. This is especially important for those of us who have a burning, unquenchable desire to keep on at it with economics but just don't seem to have that natural knack for solving essentially simple but convoluted questions. And truthfully, DSE mainly throws out things that we do know how to do. Sure there's the odd instance where they decide to dig through a masters textbook on stats and fling us something we more or less have no chance of figuring out-but that is extremely rare, not to mention ultimately inconsequential (one question should not stand between you and the cut-off). 

Where does one get material from? Well the past papers are a great way to start. Trust me there'll be more than a few head scratchers. The papers get you into a certain way of thinking about the questions. Our university exams are pretty straightforward (not just DU, by the way) and DSE most definitely (usually) is not. You need to have a tiny idea of what to expect-the papers are an excellent primer. But beyond that, your options are limited unless you enroll in one of the (way too) many coaching classes spread around the city (or, alternatively, you could have an inside source that gets you the material). Classes aren't always helpful. Seriously, they aren't for everybody. Nor are they necessary for everybody. Blisspoint or Ecopoint (they're these two places that offer classes, in case you didn't know), all you need is material. You need questions. Get them. Get a lot. How you get it is of course more problematic. Just don't go around dropping small fortunes hoping for the ideal stash of exam info (case in point, Mr. A. G., while no doubt an extremely helpful and, perhaps, likable person, cannot guarantee success. Self help is very very important). Don't strategise and leave out this or that subject. The course DSE recommends for preps isn't magnificently vast and you can easily practice for all of it. 

Finally, you need a solid p2p network. Peer support is unbelievably helpful (believe me). I only had it for the last 9 days of prep and it was frustratingly fantastic to see how others could solve stuff I had been stuck on for weeks. The entrance is, to put it mildly, manageable. It doesn't take an insurmountable mountain of work to be confident enough to take it and do good in it (okay, maybe I'm being a little pretentious here). 

So, in the end, all you need is to know the core subject content, have lots of material to keep you busy for about 3 months of more or less sincere work, and a strong peer support network. 

Orville graduated from St. Stephen's College in 2013. He got Rank 7 in DSE entrance and is currently pursuing M.A. Economics at Delhi School of Economics.

Cracking GRE

By Shruti Lakhtakia

The Graduate Record Examination is required by most universities in the UK and the US as a part of the application material. A note for those who are pursuing finance based courses - the GMAT is sometimes allowed in place of the GRE, make sure you check the requirements of the particular course and university you are applying to.

Ideally, you should plan to study for an optimum six-eight weeks before taking your GRE. The test itself consists of three sections - Analytical Writing, Verbal and Quantitative. It is a good idea to begin by taking a diagnostic test (available in most books) that will give you an idea of where you stand. My recommendation would be to begin with a general book (Princeton Review, The GRE Official Guide by ETS, or Barrons), which clearly lay out the entire test - its structure, the kind of questions, and basic concepts used in each section. After doing one or more of these books, you could begin to go through questions in the Princeton Review book of 1000 Questions, which has several drills arranged topic-wise. Simultaneously, you should begin to work on specific sections that you are having difficulty with. Some people find the Verbal section difficult to deal with, others the Quantitative section. Depending on what your relative strength and weakness is, look for a book that is specifically directed at your problem area (published by Kaplan, or Barrons).

The more practice tests you do, the better it is. I believe that the GRE is more a test of how you manage your time and how well you work under pressure, than anything else. Start practice tests (I recommend online tests, but begin with the basics - use the tests given in the books first) when you have about three weeks to go for the exam. But then again, time it well so that you have sufficient time to practice - so if you have an important event or test in college, plan accordingly. Another important tip would be to remain consistent with all your sections, primarily Verbal and Quant. Even if you are super confident about being able to tackle one section, do not neglect it completely. Being in practice close to the exam is important.

Improving your vocabulary is an important part of the GRE process, so start early. The more you read, the better your vocab will get. If you don't have sufficient time, then look for an appropriate word list on the internet (I used the Barrons word list), and work through it systematically. Be sure you know the words that turn up frequently on the GRE - these are the words you see all the time on practice questions: you know you've seen them before, but can't remember what they mean.

Lastly, as I said before, time management is the key. Start early. Plan for the test keeping in mind all other engagements and activities that you will be undertaking simultaneously. The GRE is not tough. It is tricky in that you must be crystal clear with concepts, and you must manage your time wisely - both before, and during the test. Good luck!


Shruti Lakhtakia graduated from St. Stephen's College in 2013. She scored 334/340 in her GRE exam. She is currently pursuing Masters in Development Economics from Oxford. 

How to prepare for DSE entrance (Delhi School of Economics)

Dear all

Delhi School of Economics entrance will basically test your knowledge of Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Statistics, Econometrics and Mathematics.

At the time of applying, you need to select between Option A and Option B. You make a choice based on your major during the under-graduation. Students of Economics Honours opt for A, whereas those of Mathematics Honours opt for B. (I do not know of students from other streams applying to DSE for a Masters in Economics, so if you’re that exception, and are reading this blog, please look at the past year papers and see which subject you’re more comfortable with- Economics or Mathematics, and make a choice accordingly).

For lack of much knowledge about Option B of the entrance examination, I’m going to stick to elaborating on Option A (Which is the one that I appeared for).

Past year Papers

Option A Paper 2009

Option A paper 2010

Option A Paper 2011

Option A Paper 2012

1.      PATTERN OF THE PAPER

The paper consists of 2 sections.

Section 1: 20 multiple choice questions

Marking scheme: +1 for the correct answer, -1/3 for a wrong answer, 0 for unattempted question

Section 2: 40 multiple choice questions

Marking scheme: +2 for the correct answer, -2/3 for a wrong answer, 0 for unattempted question

2.       ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

I have heard of the following two coaching institutes/tutors:

i)                    Amit Kumar Goyal

ii)                   Eco Point

Ps. I attended Amit Goyal classes. He charges Rs. 50,000 for around 25 classes. He covers microeconomics, mathematics and econometrics/statistics very well. However, he takes only one class for macroeconomics, which means you will have to prepare that subject pretty much on your own.

Why I chose his classes?

i)                    He’s organised. Every class is of 7 hours which are divided as follows: 10am-1pm he teaches, 1pm-2pm is lunch break, 2pm-5pm he gives us a test to solve (which is more like an assignment, ie. you’re allowed to form your own little group and think about the problems), discusses the test and also takes any doubts that you might have

ii)                   It’s conveniently located. Until last year, he used to take classes at YWCA (10 mins walk from Patel Chowk Metro Station)

3.       BOOKS YOU MAY USE

Microeconomics: Hal Varian (Intermediate Microeconomics), Hal Varian Workbook, Osborne (for game theory), Nicholson and Snyder (for production theory), Gregory Mankiw’s Principle of Economics (for microeconomics if you need to strengthen your basic concepts), Bernheim Whinston (reference text for comprehensive explanations of topics if needed)

Macroeconomics: Dornbusch and Fischer, O. Blanchard, Development Economics by Debraj Ray (for Solow and Harrod Domar growth models)

Or you can just pick up the reading prescribed by Delhi University for the 2^nd year students of the annual examination mode- this would be the best rather than trying to read from 3 different books.

Econometrics and Statistics: Gujarati’s Introductory Econometrics, Degroot and Schervish

Mathematics: Sydsaeter and Hammond

Photocopies of the required portions of the above mentioned readings used to be available at the DSE photocopy shop until the previous academic year. With the new piracy raid, I’m not sure if they will be available any longer. Contact your seniors for their readings, if you fail to get them at DSE, I suppose. Those going for jobs or MBA’s should surely be willing to part with theirs.

4.       TIPS FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

i)                    Solve as many past year papers as possible (starting from the year 2004). In this year’s DSE entrance examination, atleast 10 questions were lifted straight off from the past year papers, word to word, figure to figure. I answered all of those within a minute, and save a whole lot of time for the harder questions. Additionally, past year papers are diagnostic tests of sorts. Based on the questions you’re unable to answer, you will get the exact idea about which areas you need to practice most.

ii)                   ‘General Equilibrium’ is given a lot of weightage in the examination. There are certainly going to be atleast 3 questions in section B from that topic, so make sure you practice it well (numerical as well as theory)

iii)                 Do not forget to take a pen, pencil, eraser, and CALCULATOR on the day of the examination. Take some energy drink (anything with glucose) for refreshment.

iv)                 Do not try to judge yourself before the examination. Remember, you’re as good as anyone else. Be confident, and make sure you go inside the examination hall motivated to think and apply your brain. You may have never solved the probability question that you see in the paper (although I can assure you that you would’ve seen a variant of it in the past years  :P), but that should not mean that you will not be able to crack it if you spend 2-3 minutes to think about it.

v)                  Do not make uncalculated guesses. Remember, you’re negatively marked for each wrong answer.

            If you have any queries, post below as a comment. You can also mail it to Vaishali Garga at vaishaligarga@gmail.com.

Regards,
Vaishali Garga

            Vaishali Garga is an economics graduate from St. Stephen's College (Batch of 2013). She got Rank 19 in DSE entrance this year. She also got admission offers from London School of Economics, Oxford and Brown Universisty. 

Preparing for ISI entrance (Indian Statistical Institute)

Dear friends
Getting an admission offer from Indian Statistical Institute for MSc in Quantitative Economics (MSQE) is not tough if you are consistent and work for it in a proper way. In this article I have tried to explain the pattern of the exam, books to be used for preparation and some general points to be kept in mind.

There is no need for taking coaching especially for ISI entrance. If you are taking coaching for DSE entrance, it'd help in the ISI exam too. The entrance test for ISI does not have complicated, twisted questions. It's simple and straightforward if you have covered the syllabus well. I hope this article helps.

If you have any queries, or anything to share about MSQE entrance exam, feel free to post it below as comments. I'd be happy to address them. For more information about ISI, visit the website here. Good wishes.

Warm Regards,
Gaurav Poddar

There are two stages for MSQE entrance (MSc Quantitative Economics) at ISI:
Stage 1: Written test
Stage 2: Interview

Stage 1: Written test
There are two papers in the written exam. Paper 1 covers Mathematics and is objective MCQ type questions. Paper 2 covers Microeconomics and Macroeconomics and is subjective.

Paper 1: Mathematics and Elementary Statistics
This section tests Class 11th and 12th level Maths focusing mainly on Algebra and Calculus. The best way to prepare for it is to pick up RD Sharma or RS Aggarwal and revise the concepts and all the formulae. Once done, practice questions from past year Sample Papers (Links given below). Another very useful source for practicing is a book "Test of Mathematics at the 10+2 Level: Indian Statistical Institute" For elementary Statistics, if you are a DU Economics graduate student, you need not prepare. Just brush up the concepts from any book like SC Gupta.

As I had done Science at 10+2 level and had also prepared for engineering entrances, I didn't find this section tough. But remember, this is the most important paper as, if you are unable to clear the cutoff in this Paper, your Paper 2 which is subjective won't be even marked. For those who are weak at Maths, you must put in a lot of effort.

Two points that I'd like to mention from my personal experience:

1. Whenever you are practicing any question, first solve it in the way you know, which may be using a long method. Then, before moving on to the next question, stop and think if there is a shorter way to solve it. Sometimes, in the exam when you are running short of time, using short methods is always handy and saves time for tougher questions.

2. Read the instructions carefully. Sometimes, there is negative marking and sometimes there is not. In our year, nothing was mentioned. People started asking the invigilators if there is negative marking. Different invigilators told different things. In this situation, I tried to solve 80% of the questions and for 2-3 questions which I wasn't very sure of but had some idea, I took a guess and the rest I left unanswered. Under such a circumstance, I feel one shouldn't mark choices randomly on the assumption that there is no negative marking when it is not clear.

Paper 2: Microeconomics and Macroeconomics
This section tests the knowledge of Micro and Macroeconomics. To put it clearly, you need to be thorough with Micro and Macro that is taught at the undergrad level in DU to B.A. Economics (H) students. And hence, the name of the books to be used will be familiar.

For Micro - (1) Hal. Varian (2) Rubenfield and Pindyck (3) Nicholson and Snyder
For Macro - (1) Dornbusch and Fischer (2) O. Blanchard (3) Development Economics by Debraj Ray (for Solow and Harrod Domar growth models) (4) Osborne (I'd recommend this for Cournot and Bertrand problems)

Practice questions from sample papers given below. That should be enough. If you are also practicing DSE past year papers, that would be great.

Two points that I'd like to mention again from my personal experience:
1. Read the instructions carefully. Usually there are 10 questions and you have to attempt as many as you can in the given very limited time. However, in our year, the instructions said clearly "Attempt any six questions" This makes life easier as you just need to pick 6 questions you know and attempt them nicely. There were students who did not read the instructions and tried attempting all the questions and couldn't give their best in the first six answers which would have been evaluated.

2. Manage your time well. This is the problem I faced. I was actually not aware of how much to write for each answer, how much should I explain. So, I spent a lot of time in the first 2-3 questions, writing the answers in the DU exam-way and had to hurry towards the end. So, manage your time. And it's NOT important to fill pages. The answer can be half a page and be correct if it makes sense.

Stage 2: Interview
Once you clear the written test, you will be called for an interview. It's a very simple process. I was given two questions, one of Maths and one of Economics and in 15 minutes I had to solve any one of them. After 15 minutes, I had to go in front of the interview panel and solve that sum on the board. That's it! If you are able to solve, you are selected. If you are unable to solve, you might not get selected. It's a do-or-a-die thing. There were absolutely no other questions. No questions on current affairs, no questions on why I want to do Masters, why ISI, etc. (I'll talk more about Interview experiences in another post)

Click on the links below to view the past year sample papers and syllabus.
Syllabus and Sample Paper 2012
Syllabus and Sample Paper 2011
Syllabus and Sample Paper 2010
Syllabus and Sample Paper 2009
Syllabus and Sample Paper 2008
Syllabus and Sample Paper 2006
Syllabus and Sample Paper 2005
Syllabus and Sample Paper 2004

Gaurav Poddar is an economics graduate from St. Stephen's College (Batch of 2013). He secured 85.2%. He also got placed at 'Bain and Company' and 'Deutsche Bank'. Currently, he is pursuing MSQE at the Indian Statistical Institute, Delhi.

My Essay for Rhodes

© Jalnidh Kaur

Dear applicant for the Rhodes Scholarship
Everybody is unique. You would know by now that a Rhodes essay is a highly personal one, and so essays are widely different across different individuals. The essay is nothing superficial, but a true reflection of one's real self - your dreams, aspirations and plans for the future. 

I have been receiving loads of requests to share my essay, I have already shared it with a few aspirants of the current year. Deep inside, I have been introspecting whether I have been promoting cronyism by this kind of selective sharing with people who are requesting me for the same. In the interest of equal opportunity and as a hardcore proponent of knowledge sharing, I am sharing it publicly. Please find the essay below. 

Writing the essay last year was a truly wondrous experience. I thought it involved long travails into my self and I became much clearer and maturer after having written it. Often the only person people don't know much about, is their own selves. And the essay asks you do just that hard chore - knowing yourself and expressing yourself. I hope you too will succeed in the task and will enjoy the journey.

Good wishes with your application.
Regards
Jalnidh Kaur

It has been a strange summer. While the temperature shot up like never before, I was juggling between two diametrically opposite worlds. One, a luxuriously conditioned and hi tech workspace where things moved fast and the surroundings were spic and span, the other was a mess - dust, heat, garbage and stink; streams of sweat would rush down my spine while the sun would scorch my face.

The first was that of a regional stock exchange where the AC chilled me to the bone while the second was the very visible underbelly of my city. The first was more an act of courtesy to a boss; the second was an act of personal choice.

Paradoxes abound in our little world. As an undergrad student, I have always been awed at the contradiction between a conditioned and an unconditioned weather, between the classy basketball court at my school and the rickety one at a government school, between public sector and private sector, between affluence and penury, between North Delhi and South Delhi.  Of course perfect equality and justice are just ideal goals and chimeras, even Rawls would acknowledge the impracticality of the same. What philosophers, economists and policy makers strive to achieve is a less unjust society, all policies are attempts to remove clear injustices to an extent possible. 

Fascinated by one of the attempts to eliminate injustices in the domain of health, I chose to independently study the RasthriyaSwasthyaBimaYojana – RSBY (National Health Insurance Scheme) in my summer this year. The scheme provides a handsome health insurance cover to the population below poverty line to deliver social security. I interviewed these beneficiaries to study how their lives changed.

While, philosophical parleys with peers at college always tend to bend to one side, either extreme libertarian or extreme socialist; I have learnt through this study how private sector, government and the poor can all come together in a symbiotic manner and create mutual benefits.  Research has been a delightful discovery and the search for truth has instilled a new knowledge hunger in me – to find out bits of truth from the ground and supplement the mathematical rigor of economics with empirical evidence. Most importantly, I have learnt how technology and efficient delivery can create a workable incentive matrix and create social change.

Five years ago, I chose to opt for economics out of sheer enthusiasm of exploring it. I wanted to study a discipline which could understand the social complex of interrelationships objectively and evaluate it quantitatively. Over time, I have discovered the depths of the discipline and the implements it equips its follower with. Economics principles are like a toolchest. Through analytical frameworks and models, I feel equipped with more gear at the end of every lecture. The freedom it bestows on its student is just so enthralling – one could study anything from markets in education to health to nuclear physics. This limitless horizon has allowed me to explore my minor fields in depth along with my major. My philosophical inclinations along with a brush with Boulding’s views on going beyond the rudimentary and strait-jacket assumptions of the discipline have motivated me to integrate my everyday ruminations with the principles of economics.

Another interest which has over time closely integrated with my discipline is ‘education’. New constructions are in full swing in my locality. In the vacations following my board exams I started teaching kids of the construction workers who would romp aimlessly in streets every day. The bench under a shady tree in the park became our classroom. They loved shouting the English alphabet aloud as if trumpeting their first baby step towards literacy in the neighborhood. I told them what an 'echo' is – when you shout aloud, your voice hits the houses nearby and it returns. They shouted louder to hear their voices echoed by the newly built posh houses around, content to discover the power of their own vocal cords.

Over time this little initiative which we christened as ‘Éclair’ (Enlightenment), has blossomed into a country wide street school chain functioning in three states including Delhi. My school and college batch mates pitched in this voluntary initiative as guest faculty. Till date, we have been able to get ten kids 'enrolled' in regular schools– it is an achievement that rejoices me much more than any of my personal educational accomplishments. I have discovered my pedagogic inclinations through this initiative.

As I look ahead at the expanding horizon that economics has thrown open for me, I see myself doing an M. Phil in Economics from Oxford. This would equip me with more tools in my toolbox and allow me to understand the world of inequalities and injustices better. I have had a vibrant exposure to financial markets and live trading in a stock exchange during my internship and I have seen the world of poignant injustices. Capital markets offer huge dividends and bonuses, of a scale and size that people down the poverty lane, below the poverty line cannot even dream of. I aim to use my learning from the study of social sector schemes in developing countries and that about capital markets to arrive at logical solutions. An M.Phil in Economics will provide me an academic base and better foundational framework within which these inequalities could be examined. I shall be in a better position to assess various developmental strategies and propose better solutions, most importantly. A dedicated focus on academic research at Oxford will help me explore the world further and allow me to go beyond limited model-specific assumptions of the discipline.

Five years ago my essay on International Peace won me laurels at the University of Hawai’i and East West Center, USA. The essay ended with a note of conviction – Make history by design and not by accident. Today as I mull over these lines, I am of a firm conviction that disparities in our world could be bridged with value-based interventions and firm foundations in social science research.