C All copyrights to this file vests with
TM
MITUL GADA & ASSOCIATES PVT. LTD.
No part of this presentation either in part
or in whole shall be copied, printed,
electronically reproduced, sold or
distributed without the written consent of
the company and any such violation would
entail initiation of suitable legal
proceedings.
An orientation on
study abroad planning &
new GRE prep guide
by Mitul Gada
UK
USA Australia Canada
Europe
Academic
Career Prospects
Visa Regulations
Costs
Availability of
Scholarships
Poor Average Very Good Excellent
www.mitulgada.com
Breakup of Costs Average Annual Figures in USD
Actual costs vary greatly depending on program type, degree
level, university, geographic location, etc.
www.mitulgada.com
Scholarships
Graduate Assistantships Trusts / Scholarships in
• Teaching India for Studies Abroad
• Research
•K C Mahindra Scholarship
Scholarships and Fellowships •Nehru Trust for Cambridge
offered by Universities University and Trinity College
•Singapore International Airlines
International Organizations – Youth Scholarships
offering Scholarships •Nanyang Technological
•Fulbright Commission University (Singapore)
•The United Nations •J N Tata Endowment
•AMIDEAST •ITC Scholarships
•World Health Organization
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Loans
International Banks Indian Banks
• With/Without Co-signer •Security to be provided by
1. Citibank parents
2. Bank of America
• Upto 25 years to repay •State Bank of India, Bank of
• Begin installments upon graduation or India, Andhra Bank, Syndicate
a year after Bank, Canara Bank, Private
• Competitive Interest Rates (10 - 15%) Banks, Centurion Bank of Punjab
Other Loan Programs
• Access Group •Upto 15 years to repay
• Sallie Mae
• International Education Finance
Corporation
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Application Procedure
Standardized Tests
• GRE
• TOEFL
• Future Career
Additional requirements
•Applications
•Preferred Subject (Major) • Work Experience (if any)
• Extracurricular Activities
• Short-list Colleges • Academic Transcripts
(be realistic) • SOP
• Recommendation Letters
• CV’s/Resumes
• Financial Aid/Scholarships (if req)
www.mitulgada.com
TOEFL (Test Of English as a Foreign Language)
• Accepted in the US, UK, Canada, Singapore
• Internet-based Test (TOEFL iBT) – Administered by ETS
• 4 Sections - Listening , Speaking , Reading , Writing
• All sections worth 30 points. Total score out of 120.
Good Score 90+
• Scores valid for 2 years ; register at www.toefl.org
• NO coaching required for an above average student
• Get any 2 books out of: Barron’s, Kaplan, Princeton, Cliffs
www.mitulgada.com
“The Application Race for the Aug intake”
Pre
Prepare
Departure
and
Orientation
Complete Apply
Admns. For
Shortlist GRE- & Send
Decisions Student
Decision Unis TOEFL Apps
Visa
Feb– Feb– Jun – Oct – Mar– May– Jul–
May Jun Oct Jan May Aug Aug
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How Important Are These Scores?
Large University Small University
Personals
Scores
Scores
Personals
Grade Point Grade Point
Average Average
Personals include Applications,
Work Experience, Extra
Curricular Activities
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Essays, SOP, LORs
Describe how you
Don’t use flowery
Essays
Consider this a will contribute to
language and please
“sales pitch” the college’s
follow instructions
unique community
Talk about your
LORs
Choose the
characteristics and back them Ensure its genuine
“right recommender”
with examples
Resumes
Make a strong Proof read for
Keep it concise,
presentation of yourself and spelling errors
comprehensive, relevant
your qualifications
Study-abroad Consultants
There are two types of study abroad consultants you come across:
1) Commission based agents who have B grade tie-up universities
and whose advt. we see regularly in the newspapers or who call
you up via telemarketing. Beware of them.
2) Genuine study-abroad consultants who are very few in number.
Always take some references of some past students before you
approach them.
We are not professional consultants and hence restrict ourselves
only to test prep but we do guide our students regarding various
aspects of applications based on our knowledge and our interaction
with our ex-students. We also help students with a list of genuine
study-abroad consultants so that they can approach them easily.
www.mitulgada.com
GRE as a computer adaptive test
The software calculates your score based on:
• The number of questions you answer correctly
• The difficulty of the questions you answer
• The number of questions you complete
• You loose more points for leaving questions incomplete than you do for
an incorrect answer
• The NEW GRE is adaptive by sections (not by questions). The difficulty level of the
next section depends upon your performance in the previous question. Jumping around in
a section is allowed.
Questions that appear early in the test impact your score to a
greater degree than do those that come toward the end of the
exam
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Computer Adaptive Test Scoring Pattern
700
x
1250
x
600
Score/Difficulty
Amy
500
1050
x
400 Brian
x
300
200
1 2 3 4 5 6
Question #
The new GRE Structure
The overall testing time for the computer-based GRE® revised General Test is about three hours and 45
minutes. There are six sections with a 10-minute break following the third section.
Structure of the Computer-based Test
Measure Number of Questions Allotted Time
Essay (Issue) 1 30 min
Essay (Argument) 1 30 min
Verbal Reasoning (2 sections) 20 (approx) per section 30 min per section
Quantitative Reasoning (2 sections) 20 (approx) per section 35 min per section
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
• ¹An unidentified unscored section may be included and may appear in any order after the Analytical Writing
section. It is not counted as part of your score.
• ²An identified research section that is not scored may be included, and it is always at the end of the test.
• The Analytical Writing section will always be first, while the other five sections may appear in any order.
The NEW test features
The GRE revised General Test design features advanced
technology that allows you to freely move forward and
backward throughout an entire section. Specific features
include:
• Preview and review capabilities within a section
• A "mark and review" feature to tag questions, so you can skip
and return later
• The ability to change/edit answers within a section
• An on-screen calculator for the Quantitative Reasoning
section
• New answer formats, including tasks such as numeric entry
and highlighting a sentence in a passage to answer a
question
MATH SYLLABUS
ARITHMETIC GEOMETRY
• Number properties • Lines n angles
• Fraction n decimal • Triangles
• Percents • Polygons
• Ratio n Proportion • Circles
• Averages (mean, median, mode) • Solid Geometry
• Exponents n roots • Co-ordinate Geometry
ALGEBRA MISCELLANEOUS
• Basic Algebra • Counting (P n C)
• Simple Equations • Probability
• Quadratic Equations • Rates (STD / Time n work)
• Inequalities • Sequence n Series
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TRIVIA
• Register at www.gre.org
• Costs U.S. $ 170 Postponing charges : $ 50
• An option of discarding the score.
• Scores to 5 colleges free. $ 20 for each additional score.
• Once in a calendar month. Maximum 5 attempts in a year.
• Any date is available if booked one week prior to the desired date.
• A decent score : 1200+ ; Exceptional score : 1400+ ;
Average score worldwide : 1050
• Score valid for 5 years.
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GRE acceptance :
Countries: US, Canada, Singapore, Australia, France,
Spain, UK, China & Belgium
Courses : Masters in engg., medical, arts, law,
& also management
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How is GRE different from
school/college syllabus exams?
• importance of concepts
• a lot of “reasoning”
• methods and steps don’t matter
• taking help from the options
• quick thinking
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How is it different from the CAT?
• difficulty level (much easier than CAT)
• type of questions (word and language problems)
• topics included (no calculus)
• no LR/DI section
• only 1 question appears at a time; hence
selection of questions not possible
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How is the GRE testing related to
practical life technical aspects?
• time management
• stress management
• working with the available resources
• “out of the box” thinking
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The 2 factors on which your score depends:
• inbuilt aptitude for this exam (which differs from
person to person ; hence don’t compare and don’t
generalize the study plan)
• up-gradation till a certain level (taking genuine GRE
training, using the right material, taking authentic
tests, organizing your study plan based on your
strengths and weakness)
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The 3 imp skills for acing the quant sec:
• Concepts
• Understanding the language of the question
• Approach
-Conventional - Modern
(Variables (Substitution
Equations Back solving n elimination
Formulae) Approximation
Following the trend
Visualization
Diagramatic presentation)
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The 2 imp skills for acing the verbal section
• VOCAB and its application
(sentence completion, sentence equivalence)
• Reading skills
(reading comprehension)
Authentic GRE material
Basic
• Kaplan GRE math & verbal work books
• Nova GRE
• Princeton review GRE
Advance
• Barrons GRE
• The Big book
• Kaplan GRE premier program
• Orkut threads
• Mitul’s hard math & hard verbal questions
Don’t use hard copies of books. Use only “soft copies” from day 1 so that u
get accustomed to read from the computer screen.
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Please DON’T refer to :
•CAT material
•R.S. Aggrawal books
•Any un-authentic Non-GRE material
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How to start your preparation?
• part A (vocab, topic wise concepts n practice)
• part B (section tests : quant &verbal)
• part C (full length tests : 10 approx)
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• Best time to prepare (2nd year of graduation or when
u r relatively free at work front)
• Total duration of preparation(for an above average
student, 2 months without work/college and 3.5
months along with work/college
• Per day efforts (6 hrs. without work/college, 2 hrs
with work/college)
• Prioritize GRE over your job, college, socials etc…
(a half hearted preparation and attempt can cost u
time, money and carrier plan)
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Bottom line
• test of endurance (maintaining concentration for 4
hrs at a stretch)
• test of maturity (keeping yourself calm n composed
without getting panic)
• test of smartness (you don’t have to be super
intelligent to crack the GRE; just be smart enough)
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Practice tests tips !!
• start with easy tests; gradually move towards tougher ones
• take atleast the last 5 tests along with AWA sections
• take the tests in ideal testing conditions
• always check the explanatory answers after u finish the test
• different tests have different scoring patterns. So don’t panic
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Importance of “genuine”
GRE TRANING
• myths n misconceptions
• direction and regularity
• comparative performance
• avoiding loss of opportunity cost (time n money)
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The parameters should be competent TRAINERS…
not BRANDS…
• meet the faculties before enrolling
• check their competence and experience
• material provided and the support reg doubts
• ask for a demo session if possible
• consult some ex-students and ask them about their
experience
• beware of false claims
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How are “WE” different ??
• expertise : trainers with 2200+ GRE score and
indepth subject knowledge
• experience : exclusive GRE experience of 10 yrs.
• methodology : topic wise practice, sectional tests,
full length tests
• material : GRE power dvd
• Support : doubt solving sessions till the exam date
www.mitulgada.com
our “GRE Power DVD” (priced @ Rs. 1500)
• Around 10 ebooks including princeton, kaplan, the
big book, nova, petersons, cambridge etc.
• Around 20 full-length computer adaptive tests
• A pool of around 2,000 questions on quant and verbal
including the past GRE questions
• Online flashcards
• Application guidelines and documentation checklists
including samples of transcripts, LOR, SOP, bank
statements, transcripts, scholarship forms, visa
documents etc.
Classflow MATH
ARITHMATIC
ps-1 Introduction to GRE, number properties
(substitution, back solving, approximation, visualization, following the trend etc.)
ps-2 Percentages and QC-1
ps-3 Ratio n proportion, averages, mixture n solns
ps-4 Fractions n decimals, exponents n roots
BASIC ALGEBRA
ps-5 Algebric expressions, expansions, simple equations, quadratic equations
GEOMETRY
ps-6 Plane Geometry (lines n angles, triangles, polygons, circles)
ps-7 Solid Geometry, Co-ordinate geometry
MISCELLANEOUS
ps-8 counting (p n c), probability
ps-9 Rates (STD, time n work), sequence n series
ps-10 Standard deviation, percentiles, stats
• Doubt solving sessions
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Options for students:
• Classroom training
• personal training
• video-conference training
(for students outside Mumbai)
• Only material; GRE power dvd
(all e-books, question bank & test series)
IMP: To students who have already scored decently (1200+) in GRE,
we generally recommend not to take any coaching as just preparing
from our GRE power dvd will suffice. We give all the necessary
guidance reg how to go about the power dvd and draft a rough study
plan for them.
But for those who haven’t been exposed to any kind of “entrance”
training earlier definitely should not take any chance. They certainly
miss the important concepts, shortcuts, smarter approaches,
regularity, interaction with other GRE students etc. which can
happen only in a classroom ambiance. Not scoring on GRE for the
first time not only makes you spend again but also makes you waste
a lot of time again. Moreover it also shakes your self belief. And all
this is definitely not worth saving a few grands. You might as well
finish it off once and for all by preparing in style and hence not
leaving any stone unturned.
A lot of students who claim to “manage” GRE on their own forget
that they don’t have to manage it but have to “excel” at it.
Our course includes not only the concepts, shortcuts,
approach and practice but also regularity, direction and
guidance regarding which topic to prepare from which book,
which books to start with, which books to end with, which
tests to take, when to take them, suitable time to appear for
the exam and other imp things related to the exam and
applications.
Our comments on the above mentioned aspects of training
eliminate any scope of confusion and frustration among
students, bring a lot of convenience and clarity in the training
process and make sure that the prep is going in the right
direction.
The “GRE SCAM”
According to a recent article by TOI, since there is dearth
of genuine GRE trainers around, a lot of non qualified
individuals pose themselves to be training for the same.
Ignorant students become easy prey to such consultants
who lure them by tall claims and low pricing.
The issue is that you realize the problem only once you
pay up as most of these test prep companies neither
provide any testimonials nor any demo/trial GRE session
which helps you making a judicious choice when it
comes to authentic GRE training.
continued…
Hence we have uploaded a list of more than 75
students, along with their scores & email ids, so that
you may have a reference check with few of them before
you proceed. As a lot of these students are second
timers, we have also mentioned their earlier trainers with
whom they dint have a pleasant experience.
“We are the only GRE prep center in India to do so to
maintain utmost transparency.”
Further, we also allow demo/trial GRE sessions at any
of our centers so that before you enroll, you exactly
know what you are paying for. Prior registration required.
We generally recommend students to follow the above
two steps with all the GRE test prep companies that they
have shortlisted. You cannot go wrong with this sensible
and logical way of reference check.
www.mitulgada.com
TESTIMONIALS
• Meenakshi Iyer, jaysh_s@yahoo.com (previously joined K.P. Singh, IMFS)
• Radhika , rd_k85@yahoo.com (previously joined K.P. Singh, IMFS)
• Mansi Kothari, mansikothari86@gmail.com (previously joined Geebee)
• Neelam Verjee, nverjee@gmail.com
• Rohan Mehta, rohan_m2000@hotmail.com (previously joined Princeton)
•
• Siddharth Gupta, siddharthgupta1234@gmail.com (previously joined Jamboree)
• Ankur Seksaria, ankurseksaria@gmail.com (previously joined R.Saraswati, Vile Parle)
• Sanjit Oberoi, soberoi@gmail.com (previously joined IMS)
• Hitesh, electronic_rogue@yahoo.com (previously joined IMS)
• Abhishek Kothari, abhismailbox@gmail.com (previously joined Jayant Pai, dadar)
• Vivek Laddha, vivekladdha@gmail.com (previously joined TIME)
• Rachita Kumar, (matunga), rach.kumar@gmail.com (previously joined KGC, pedder
rd)
• Merlyn D’souza, Merlyn.ds@gmail.com, (previously joined both Sonia Mutalia,
khar & IMS)
• Nikhil Tanwani, (khar), nikhiltanwani@gmail.com (previously joined Sonia Mutalia,
khar)
• Anand Piramal (Piramal group), Harvard, anandpiramal@gmail.com (previously joined
Ezra, colaba)
• Puneet Sehgal, (juhu), Darden, puneetsehgal@hotmail.com (previously joined prof
Narsee, andheri)
• Nikhil Keswani, nikhilkeswani@gmail.com (previously joined prof. Narsee, andheri)
• Uday Kumar, yuukay76@hotmail.com (previously joined Eduworld, churchgate)
• Rohan Suryavanshi, Bhopal, rohans69@gmail.com (previously joined KGC, pedder rd)
• Kulin Lalbhai, Wharton, redbrother@gmail.com
• Sahil Arora, sahil.arora@gmail.com
• Aditi Jain, aditipjain@gmail.com
• Dr. Dhaval Jhamb,drdhawal@gmail.com
• Amit Agnihotri, HEP France, agniamit@gmail.com
• Devesh, deve57@gmail.com
• Mugdha Mishra, mishra.mugdha@gmail.com
• Neha Tankhiwale, nehatankhiwale@gmail.com
• Bijitendu Sarker, bijitendu@yahoo.com
• Nitin Bajaj, Pepperdine University L.A., nitinsbajaj@gmail.com
• Sindoor Thakkar,sindoort@gmail.com
• Divyesh Kumar (D.K.) dsawilani@yahoo.com
• Pranav Chaturvedi, pranav.p.chaturvedi@gmail.com
• Sreenivas Prabhu,ESADE, Spain, sreenivasprabhu@yahoo.com
• Nikhil Jaisinghani, nikhiljaisingh@hotmail.com
• Neha Mansukhani, neha.mansukhani@gmail.com
• Ruchi D’souza, Kuwait, ruchi165@gmail.com
• Nirant Sanghvi, nirant_rulz@hotmail.com
• Kinnari, kinnari987@gmail.com
• Gautam Kitchlu, gautamkitchlu@gmail.com
• Mitul Patel, mitul1982@gmail.com
• Nikit Gangwani,nikit.gangwani@gmail.com
• Rahat Qazi, rahat.qazi@gmail.com
• Vijeta Shah, vijeta19@rediffmail.com
• Avani Wadhwani, avani_w@hotmail.com
Kairus Kavarana, kairuskavarana@gmail.com
Aditi Doshi Mehta, doshi.aditi@gmail.com
Dishank Kamat, kdishank@gmail.com
Aditya Sangle, adityasangle@gmail.com
Amisha Gulati, amishagulati@yahoo.com
Ajay Aswani, ajayaswani@gmail.com
Natasha Bharucha, natashabharucha@gmail.com
Aarti Karia, aarti_karia@hotmail.com
Aseem Nambiar, aseemnambiar@gmail.com
Akshay Chug, Wharton, akshayc7@gmail.com
Leesha Tirodkar, leesha_tirodkar@hotmail.com
Vikram Kukreja, vikramdityakukreja@gmail.com
Pooja Raheja, poojaraheja9@gmail.com
Rutu Shah, shah_rutu@hotmail.com
Trimaan Chandok, trimaan_chandock@hotmail.com
Ridhi Ghelani, ridhighelani@hotmail.com
Neeraj Dubey, dubey.neeraj@gmail.com
Manoj Nair, manojdevnair@gmail.com
As mentioned earlier, traveling convenience is a very trivial
factor when it comes to Authentic GRE training. Mentioned
below is the details of few students who have understood and
followed the above mentioned point and have travelled all the
way to our Andheri / Kemps Corner center.
Neeraj Dubey, dubey.neeraj@gmail.com (Thane)
Nikit Gangwani, 650, nikit.gangwani@gmail.com (Thane)
Amisha Thakkar, thakkaramisha@gmail.com ( Mulund)
Khushboo Gala, khushg15@gmail.com (Bhandup)
Siddharth Gupta, siddharthgupta1234@gmail.com (Vashi)
Jaspreet Singh Bedi, bedijs@gmail.com (Chembur)
Aakash Shah, aakashshah85@gmail.com (Vapi, Gujarat)
Our students this year in
HARVARD
• Anand Piramal (Piramal group),
anandpiramal@gmail.com
• Kulin Lalbhai,
redbrother@gmail.com
Mitul Gada & associates Mitul Gada & associates
4th floor, A-wing, Damodar Mahal,
BEST complex, Cumballa hill road
Next to Mc Donalds, lane opp Shalimar hotel
Above Sinhal Classes Next to Birdy’s
Opp. Railway station, Kemps Corner,
Andheri (W) Mumbai - 400036
Mumbai – 400058
Fax: +91 22 2628 7508
Email : math@mitulgada.com
Web : www.mitulgada.com
Mobile : +91 98197 15357
Mitul Gada & Associates’ new GRE centers
in
THANE & VASHI
(opening this month)