Taking The GMAT

Hello everyone and welcome to EnglishPod.

My name is Marco.

My name is Catherine and today we have a special dialogue for you all about this important

test that you need for going to graduate school.

That's right.

Today we're going to talk about the famous or very scary GMAT.

Alright so the GMAT, G-M-A-T, is the test that students will take when they want to

go to graduate school for business management, so an MBA program.

That's right.

It's pretty much a standard test that you have to take, as you say, to get into one

of these programs.

Today, we're going to talk a little bit about the sections of the test and more or less

how it's structured, but not too much in depth.

That's right.

Let's take a listen to our dialogue.

We'll be back in a moment.

I can't seem to progress up the career ladder no matter how hard I try.

And I have been here for two years already.

Well, have you thought of getting an MBA?

I heard it does wonders in getting you to the top.

An MBA, hey?

Well, my degree wasn't in business.

The business schools won't be interested in me.

Nonsense.

The business schools measure your ability through a test called GMAT.

GMAT?

What does that stand for and what will the test contain?

Graduate Management Admission Test.

It contains three parts, analytical writing assessment, the quantitative section, and

the verbal section.

Not only does the test score you on the number of questions answered, but also on the difficulty.

Okay, this sounds a little tough.

How am I supposed to practice for this?

Up to you.

You could have a one-on-one session with a tutor or group sessions.

You can also use free or private computer software.

Going to church might help as well.

No matter what I do, I'm going to ace this test and go on to become a corporate fat cat.

That's the spirit.

All right, we're back.

So now let's talk about some of the language we found on Language Takeaway.

Language Takeaway.

All right, so there's a lot of great stuff here.

The first one we've got is actually more about a job than school.

This is the career ladder.

That's right, Ash is complaining how he can't seem to make any progress in the career ladder.

So what is a career ladder?

We know what a ladder is.

A ladder is a tool that you use to climb from a low place to a high place.

So for example, if you want to go on the roof of your house, you have to use a ladder.

A career ladder is like an analogy.

When you start a career, you start at the bottom and you climb up, up, up to the top.

So going from the bottom to maybe the president of an organization.

So that's called the career ladder.

Yeah, climbing from the bottom of a career area, like for example, being the mailman

at an office building to being the president of that office.

Okay, so this is what Ash is complaining about, that it's hard or he can't really seem to

go up the career ladder.

And so Mindy suggests that he should take the GMAT and go into graduate school.

So as we said, the GMAT is a test that you take, but what does it stand for?

What is GMAT?

GMAT stands for Graduate Management Admission Test.

Okay, so that's the test that you take when you want to go to school.

So you have to send your scores to the admissions office of the school you want to go to and

they will decide if they're high enough or not.

Okay, very good.

So not everyone can go to graduate school and you have to take this test and pass it

basically.

So there's no pass fail, but certain schools will say that a score is high enough and other

schools will say that a higher score is more important.

So you can maybe go to a better school if you have a better score.

Okay, and well, Mindy went on to explain the three parts of this test.

The first one she said is analytical writing.

All right, so analytical writing is a very common part of a test.

For example, I think the SAT also has analytical writing and basically you're asked to read

something and then write about it.

And analytical means that you have to really use your mind to make an argument.

It's not just read and repeat, read and repeat.

So basically it comes from analyzing.

You analyze what you read and then you write about it.

That's right.

You have to think and you have to understand what you read and then you have to write something

that makes sense.

It's logical.

Do you put your opinion in analytical writing?

No.

So it's all based on facts.

Based on facts and logic and argument.

Uh-huh, okay.

So you have this part of analytical writing.

And then Mindy talks about the quantitative section of the test.

So what is this?

So the quantitative section, you think of the word quantify, quantity, quantitative

has to do with numbers.

Math, basically.

So you have to be able to understand basic math, some algebra, some arithmetic, some

statistics for example.

So quantitative sections on tests are the math sections.

Now from my understanding, even though it is a math section, it's not really like they

give you a problem, an equation and you have to solve it.

It's more like analysis, right?

They give you some information and you have to use math to solve it.

That's right.

So there are a number of different parts.

One of them is like what you say.

It's kind of a, it's about logic while using algebra to solve these problems.

I think the other part of it has to do with statistics and being able to understand trends,

graphs, things like that.

So this is the math section of the exam.

So not only do you have to be able to read, understand and analyze what you're reading,

you have to be able to be good at math.

And then finally we have a verbal section.

What is this all about?

This is about your English language and grammar skills.

So the verbal section will test your vocabulary knowledge.

Do you understand what big words mean?

Also will test your ability to read passages and analyze them.

So I guess this part is the most important, one of the most important parts for foreign

students who obviously don't speak English as their first language.

This makes sure that you have a good enough English level to be able to take a graduate

program in English, right?

Part of it's that there's a special test that will test your English abilities, but this

is absolutely an important part for a non-native English speaker on the GMAT.

You have to, it's hard for English speakers who were born speaking English, you know,

natives English speakers.

Yeah.

So it's something that really you should devote your time to if you are a non-native English

speaker because there will be some very challenging words there.

Okay.

So those are the three sections of the GMAT.

And so to finish off language takeaway, Ash said that he's going to take this test because

he wants to become a corporate fat cat.

All right.

Now this is an interesting term.

This is not something we talk about in the office.

This is something we talk about with friends.

So corporate fat cat, you think corporate, corporation, this has to do with business.

So basically we're talking about very important businessmen, but fat cat's not a good thing,

right?

No, it's not really.

You refer to a fat cat, a corporate fat cat, as a businessman who you consider to have

a lot of money, but obviously you make the analogy that they're fat because they have

so much money.

And it's kind of a way of saying that businessmen are not the, corporate fat cats are not the

best people around.

No, you're basically saying that these guys, these men on top, they're rich, but they're

kind of lazy.

And so he wants to be a corporate fat cat.

He wants to be very rich and powerful and not have to work so hard.

Which obviously is not really the case always, but this is a common term that, as you said,

you wouldn't really mention it in the office, but it's more of a satirical way of describing

speaking about businessmen.

All right, so now let's finish off language takeaway and move on to some phrases on Fluency

Builder.

I can't seem to progress up the career ladder no matter how hard I try.

And I have been here for two years already.

Well, have you thought of getting an MBA?

I heard it does wonders in getting you to the top.

An MBA, hey?

Well, my degree wasn't in business.

The business schools won't be interested in me.

Nonsense.

The business schools measure your ability through a test called GMAT.

GMAT?

What does that stand for and what will the test contain?

Graduate Management Admission Test.

It contains three parts, analytical writing assessment, the quantitative section, and

the verbal section.

Not only does the test score you on the number of questions answered, but also on the difficulty.

Okay, this sounds a little tough.

How am I supposed to practice for this?

Up to you.

You could have a one-on-one session with a tutor or group sessions.

You can also use free or private computer software.

Going to church might help as well.

No matter what I do, I'm going to ace this test and go on to become a corporate fat cat.

That's the spirit.

All right, in Fluency Builder today we have a number of really great phrases you can use.

The first one is from Mindy.

She says, I heard it does wonders in getting you to the top.

Right.

She suggests getting an MBA.

I heard it does wonders to improve your career.

This is actually something that you might hear in a commercial.

It does wonders means it really helps.

It's really beneficial to you.

You might hear it in a commercial, for example, with a face cream.

It does wonders to your skin.

It really makes your skin look good.

By using this phrase, it does wonders, you're basically saying it's fast, it's effective,

it's almost a miracle of how much it can improve your career or in this case of the cream,

how it can improve your face.

That's right.

The MBA does wonders.

It's almost miraculous how positive and effective it will have on your career.

Exactly.

Okay.

It does wonders.

Then Ash was asking how he's supposed to study for this and Mindy answered, well, you know

what?

It's up to you.

You have a lot of options.

She said, up to you.

Up to you.

This means it's your decision.

We can use this in normal life.

You and I are out, Marco, and I say, well, I don't know what to eat.

What do you want to eat?

I can say, oh, whatever.

It's up to you.

Up to me.

That means I get to decide what we eat and I want pizza.

Okay.

Very good.

All right.

Up to you is a way to say, no, you decide.

It's up to you.

It's your decision.

Okay.

For our next phrase, Ash was saying that he's going to study really hard and he's going

to ace the test.

All right.

Now, to ace a test, this is a phrase that we use.

We can use it in high school and college as well, not just MBA programs.

To ace a test means to do perfectly on it.

That means to get an A or even 100%.

It's important to remember that we have this grading system, A, B, C, D, F. A is the top.

You ace it means you don't make any mistakes.

Remember that, A for ace.

Okay.

You can even use it if it's not really a test.

Like a job interview, you say, I aced that job interview.

I ace it.

In sports, oftentimes, we see this tennis.

It's a sports analogy.

Tennis, when someone serves a ball and the other player can't even hit the ball back,

it's an ace.

You get a point.

That's right.

It's an ace for that.

Even good sports athletes, you call them aces.

After a job interview, I can say, wow, Marco, I really aced that interview.

I aced it.

That's right.

Mindy says, well, you know what?

That's really good.

That's the spirit.

That's the spirit.

Now, this is something you say to someone when you like their attitude.

If I say, oh man, I did really bad.

This is stupid.

I don't want to study.

You say, well, that's a bad attitude.

If I say, you know what?

I'm going to do awesome.

This is great.

I'm going to kill this.

I'm going to ace it.

You can say, that's the spirit.

That's the spirit.

That means good attitude.

That's the right way to think about this.

So you're kind of even encouraging that person.

You're saying, you know what?

I really like your attitude.

That's the good way of thinking.

Exactly.

So if you want to push someone and say, good for you.

This is a good way to approach it.

You say, that's the spirit.

Okay.

Awesome.

So this is all the language that we have for Fluency Builder.

Why don't we take a break and we'll be right back.

I can't seem to progress up the career ladder no matter how hard I try.

And I have been here for two years already.

Well, have you thought of getting an MBA?

I heard it does wonders in getting you to the top.

An MBA, hey?

Well, my degree wasn't in business.

The business schools won't be interested in me.

Nonsense.

The business schools measure your ability through a test called GMAT.

GMAT?

What does that stand for?

And what will the test contain?

Graduate Management Admission Test.

It contains three parts.

Analytical Writing Assessment, the Quantitative Section, and the Verbal Section.

Not only does the test score you on the number of questions answered, but also on the difficulty.

Okay, this sounds a little tough.

How am I supposed to practice for this?

Up to you.

You could have a one-on-one session with a tutor or group sessions.

You can also use free or private computer software.

Going to church might help as well.

No matter what I do, I'm going to ace this test and go on to become a corporate fat cat.

That's the spirit.

All right, we're back.

So now talking about the GMAT and an MBA.

This seems to be a very popular topic nowadays.

Everyone wants to get obviously a good education and go to graduate school, which means getting

your master's degree or your doctoral degree.

What do you think about the GMAT and the MBA?

Is it a miracle worker like this girl says she does?

Wow, it does wonders for your career.

Do you think that's really the case?

I don't know.

Maybe if you asked me five years ago, I would say yes.

But I really believe that it depends on the person.

Nothing is a miracle cure.

I do think that if you really have a good attitude and you work hard, you'll get a lot

out of it.

But if you think it's going to get you a job, you're wrong because you have to get yourself

a job.

So I think it depends on the person.

Now obviously also it depends on the country, right?

Now how popular or how important is it for people to have, let's say, an MBA to get ahead

in business in the United States?

I'd say it's pretty important.

You don't have to have an MBA.

I mean, you can start your own business.

And if you're successful, you'll probably start more businesses.

But getting an MBA is also a very good opportunity to network, to meet people, to find out more

about the industry that you want to start out in.

And so I think in that sense, it's pretty important because it's a way to start making

contacts.

Yeah, you definitely meet a lot of people with work experience from different backgrounds,

international students.

So it's obviously a great thing.

But obviously to be able to do one of these programs, like get an MBA, you have to take

these tests, which I understand are very, very difficult.

They are very difficult and it can be very expensive.

I mean, graduate school itself is $100,000, $200,000.

And then to prepare for the tests, you could spend another $1,000 just getting classes

or tutoring.

So I do think that it can be a lot of money up front.

But there are places that you can go to study and you could even study on your own using

your computer.

Yeah, exactly.

I think this is a very interesting topic because in many different cultures, in many different

places, education or, for example, higher learning, like getting an MBA, has different

levels of importance.

Like in Europe, a lot of Europeans maybe don't really even pay too much attention to getting

an MBA.

Whereas in other countries, they might really emphasize like you have to have an MBA.

It's really good.

It's really good for your career.

So it's very interesting to see how in different places they handle it.

It is interesting.

And I'm actually very curious to hear from our users.

Have you ever thought about getting an MBA?

Are MBAs important to do business in your country?

Let us know.

Our website is EnglishPod.com.

All right.

We'll see you guys there.

Bye.

Thank you.