Dear customer,

Welcome to the May edition of ICON+’s MBA Access Newsletter. You are receiving this e-newsletter because you inquired about our test prep and/or admissions consulting services.

As you gear up for the start of your MBA program, consider the experience of a current MBA student. Ask yourself, "How can I get the most out of my b-school experience?"

Indian School of Business Info Session
18:30 - 20:00, Thurs, May 19
ICON+ Raffles Campus

Contact natsuko@icon-plus.com to register for the above.

GMAT Trial Class
11:00 - 13:00, Sat, May 28
ICON+ Raffles Campus

Contact vivian@icon-plus.com to register for the above.

Q: Why did you select the Nanyang MBA?

A: Firstly, the Nanyang MBA ranks very highly in Singapore and even in the world. The Financial Times most recently ranked it 33rd globally. The ranking suggested that it was a good university and program. Because it ranks highly, it attracts very good professors and students, from whom I can learn. I have, in fact, learnt a lot from my peers’ experiences.

Secondly, I think the Nanyang MBA is very international. In my batch, there are students from about 28 countries, and those students come from diverse backgrounds. Therefore, the Nanyang MBA has a very open culture, unrestricted to the Singaporean culture. I chose the school for the international environment that makes it so unique.

Finally, the location is more convenient for me as a part-timer. Since my evening classes are held at the Alumni Club, which is near the Buona Vista MRT, it is convenient for me to get off work and go to classes. This is helpful as it is very hard to balance work and studies. I suppose that SMU, with its downtown location, would make balancing even easier.

Read the full interview.

Just about a year from now, GMAC will launch the Next Generation GMAT. Starting in June 2012, right in between admissions cycles for most US business schools, test-takers will be scored on a new Integrated Reasoning section.

The GMAT has actually been modified 9 times in the past to better suit needs of test-takers and business schools. The upcoming enhancement will be the 10th version of the exam.

The reason for this upgrade? GMAC has consistently conducted surveys of b-school faculty members. In the most recent years, those surveyed indicated the need for students to be able to evaluate information from a variety of sources and draw integrated conclusions. In short, the Integrated Reasoning section will assess students’ ability to handle the complex, knowledge-rich business environment of the modern world.

Read full article.

Two weeks ago, we posted a blog about the increasing popularity of the TOEFL. To be fair, the numbers of IELTS test takers have also been rising.

On March 9, 2011, IELTS, calling itself “the world’s most popular high stakes English language test”, announced that it had hit a whopping 1.5 million test-takers across the globe for the year 2010 alone. The greatest number of registrants took the exam for academic purposes, but many test-takers cited migration as their main aim for sitting for the IELTS.

Read full article.