1) Have a study game plan. As you probably know, cramming does not help you learn in the long term or the short term. Make a test prep schedule on your Outlook or Google calendar that carries you from now to test day. Block off specific times for studying, and include benchmarks to help you keep track of your progress. For example, if your start point is 530 and you’re aiming for a 680, how many hours of prep are you willing to put in to make this a reasonable goal? Preparing well in advance will not only help your score, it will help you feel relaxed and confident when you sit down to take the test.

2) Win the war, even if you have to lose a few battles. Going into the test with the goal of scoring an 800 is a surefire way to sabotage yourself. If you get stumped by the first question, you'll spend too much time on it, and you'll have no time or confidence for the rest of the test. The key to scoring high is accepting beforehand that you may get a few questions wrong. Brush off tough questions with a quick "oh well" and refocus on the next question with 100% confidence. Don't let tiny setbacks ruin your chances for an excellent score.

3) Take a practice GMAT with the AWA. Really. Many people think they spent so much time honing their essay skills in college that they don't need to worry about the AWA. They know that their AWA scores don’t directly affect their GMAT scores. But keep the stamina factor in mind.  Writing an essay for a class is a far cry from writing an essay in a high-pressure test environment. We highly recommend taking GMATPrep CATs with the essays first. Jumping into Quant right off the bat is one thing; spending a full hour brainstorming and writing feverishly, then hitting Quant and Verbal is entirely another. Test day should not be the first day you do anything. Even Hemingway would have wanted to take at least one CAT with the AWA.

Knewton.com offers live online GMAT and LSAT prep courses. Visit their website for more information or for free practice tests and sample questions.

To apply or not apply. That is the question many of you are asking yourselves as admissions deadlines approach. Is it time to go for the MBA? The JD? MD? PhD?

Here’s the answer: it depends.

I know that’s a cop out, but it’s true. It really depends on you, your circumstances, and your goals. I’ve seen too many people—clients, friends, and others—target degrees that ultimately don’t make sense for them. And with today’s unprecedented (in our lifetimes) economic challenges, making the right decision about how to spend the next one to eight (PhD’s can take that long) years of your life is even more crucial.

As someone on his fourth career—counting at-home dad—I should know. My full bio’s elsewhere on this site, but I went straight from undergrad to a PhD program in clinical psychology. It took six years to complete the degree and less than six months for me to leave the field, afterward. Do I regret doing my PhD? Not really: it helped me secure a management consulting position and writing work in academia; and those three letters do look nice on business cards. Do I wish I’d thought more about my strengths and interests and gotten more professional experience before taking that six-year plunge? Absolutely.

In that spirit, let me offer some thoughts on each major graduate degree, and what to think about as you consider applying.

PhD: Having earned one, I think the best reason to pursue a PhD is to secure a career in academia. For professorships at big-name research institutes, it’s the only way in. Sure, people go into industry after becoming this “other kind” of doctor, but I would argue that they don’t need the degree to get there, and even that their time would be better spent gaining real-world experience. Beyond that goal issue, this is the right degree for you if you live and breathe research—using data of all kinds to build on existing theories, generate new ones, and explain phenomena. You should love all things research, including debating theory and methodology with others, to be a serious PhD candidate. As you can imagine, earning a PhD also takes tremendous discipline—for that matter, so does being a professor. It’s not for those who need a lot of structure and guidance.

MBA: The vast majority of my clients are MBA applicants. I help most write very specific goals into their essays. My guess is that post-MBA very few end up doing exactly what they say they will. That tells you several things, one of which is that this is a strong all-purpose degree, and not just for the business world. What other degree turns out so many bankers, consultants, non-profit heads, marketers, operations consultants, policymakers, and so on? None. So there are many good reasons to get the degree, which takes the least time of any advanced degree (one to two years) and generates a lot of job opportunities. Even today. Beyond recruiting, MBA programs endow students with fantastic networks—some debate this point, but I’ve seen how much my friends, colleagues, and even my wife (Kellogg MBA) have benefited from b-school contacts. Any reasons not to go? If business or related fields aren’t really your thing—as I discovered as a strategy consultant—don’t go. If you hate structure and data-based problem-solving and team projects, don’t go.

MD: My brother, both brothers-in-law, and many, many friends are doctors—not med students, not residents, not fellows, but practicing doctors. Most hate how long it took for them to get to this point: they watched friends make “real money” for years while they worked impossibly long hours for little monetary reward. Now, most love what they do, and are thrilled to be in such a stable field that allows them to truly help people while making a reasonable living. But is it for you? I think it comes down to enjoying solving the problems that doctors solve. That sounds self-evident, but I think people forget, especially after all the TV shows that highlight the profession’s highest and lowest moments, that in the end it’s often you in a room with patients and/or other doctors, trying figure out how to diagnose and treat a given set of symptoms. Are you good at that kind of pattern-matching-based problem-solving? Are you okay with the idea of dissecting a cadaver (you have to, in med school)? Do you mind dealing with people often at their worst (other than pathology, radiology, and maybe some other specialties, you’ll have to)? Ask yourself these questions to understand if you’d be happy as a physician.

JD: I know the least about this grad degree. But I do know that a very large number of trained lawyers do not work as attorneys—many are in the business world and elsewhere. That tells me at least a couple things: one, that getting a job as an attorney may be difficult, given supply and demand (it’s definitely a bad job market for lawyers right now); two, that many people rush into law school without really knowing if they want to be lawyers. So think hard about it. Maybe it makes sense to work in the field before committing to grad school. Research what attorneys do, day to day. Again, TV has glamorized litigation (i.e., trial work), but many lawyers rarely set foot in the courtroom. If you find a path that seems to match your skills and interests well, it’s a good sign.

The bottom line: think hard about your grad-school decision. Don’t get a degree because you feel you “should” or you don’t have a lot of other options. If and when you decide a graduate degree is the way to go, my fellow editors and I would be happy to help you make it happen.

By Dr. Sachin Waikar, formerly a McKinsey consultant and now an author and advisor to business and grad school applicants.

The only 2010 MBA Admissions Telethon before the round 2 deadlines is this Monday. MBA applicants applying round 2 or later are welcome to participate this Monday, November 23, 2009 between 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM PT / 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM ET/ 8:00 PM - 10:00 PM GMT.

Ahh, you ask, "What is the MBA Admissions Telethon?" Good question. It is a free, innovative Accepted.com program providing direction and advice to 2010 applicants.

"Nice-sounding buzz, but what is it?"

Two hours when 12 MBA admissions experts will be available to answer your individual questions via telephone. Free. Prior to calling in, you will receive a brief, 6-question questionnaire and submit it along with your resume to a designated email address. (No essays, please.) When you call in, your consultant will review the information you provide, and you will have 15 minutes to discuss with him or her your most pressing MBA admissions questions.

It's free, easy, and requires only a telephone. Oh yes, you do need to register. You can do so and obtain additional details at 2010 MBA Admissions Telethon.

The Chronicle of Higher Education explored results of a recently released GMAC study of MBA application trends in “Foreign Demand Drops for American M.B.A. Degrees, Study Finds”  While the trend for business school attendance seems to be on the rise globally, in the United States, there's been a drop in demand, especially from international applicants. Likewise, the number of GMAT tests taken worldwide this year hit a staggering 265,613; the majority of test-takers were non-American, and only 59% of them sent their scores to United States MBA programs, as compared to 65% last year and 75% in 2000.

34,449 GMAT exams were taken in Asia in 2009, up 75% since 2005. North American test-takers totaled 21,376, up 30% since 2005, Europe lags behind at 5,291 exams taken (up 25% since 2005), followed by the Middle East and North Africa at 4,713 (a 43% increase over the last four years), and then Latin America at 1,661 test-takers (up only 18%). 

There are a few things that account for the increase of international MBA applicants and the decline of those applicants' interest in the U.S. First, the decline of the global economy has made it harder and harder for students—both stateside and abroad—to afford graduate programs, let alone American programs that tend to be on the more costly side. Second, international business schools have taken strides to beef up the quality of their programs, making staying local more appealing to students who would otherwise travel for a good education.

Other Business School Trends

• Business school students are getting younger and younger. There was a huge representation of under-25-year olds at testing centers this year, up 161% from last year.
• Overall, women make up 40% of the world's GMAT testers. The number is higher in Asia, at 51%, and lower in India and Pakistan, at just 24%.
• American MBA programs continue to embrace diversity: There was a 36% increase for Asian-American applicants, 26% for blacks, and a 20% increase for Hispanics.
• Part-time and executive MBA programs are becoming smaller, in part due to a 3% decrease in students receiving full reimbursement.
• The increase in MBA applications leveled off last year. 66 percent of programs received more applications this year than last year. A year ago, 77 percent saw increases.

Let Accepted.com help you increase your chances of admittance to your dream MBA program, whether on home soil or abroad. Since 1994 Accepted has helped applicants like you improve their competitive edge by strengthening their application strategy, polishing essays, and assisting in the taxing quest for financial aid. These numbers all say one thing: MBA are still in high demand and with hard work, the degree could be yours in a just a few years from now!

Accepted.com is hosting two MBA admissions chats this week:

• UCLA Anderson. Tomorrow, Monday, November 16, 2009 at 10:00 AM PT/1:00 PM ET/6:00 PM GMT, Mae Jennifer Shores, Assistant Dean and Director of MBA Admissions & Financial Aid, as well as other members of the UCLA Anderson community will participate in an Anderson admissions chat at Accepted.com. Bring your questions and get answers.
• Consortium. On Wednesday, November 18, 2009 at 11:00 AM PT/2:00 PM ET/7:00 PM GMT, Accepted.com will host an online chat for those interested in applying through the Consortium for Graduate Study in Management. Rebecca Dockery, the Consortium's Recruiting Manager, and current members of the Consortium will be available to answer your questions

Please set your alarms and join us in the Accepted chat room.