Business School Audio Study Material & Prep

When choosing a career path, knowing the best way to prepare for the schooling you will endure is key. 

Acceptance into a business school is a prestigious accomplishment and will pave the way for a successful career in business with the appropriate resources and guidance gained via MBA admissions.

There are several ways to prepare for business school, including studying for different exams and familiarizing yourself with different concepts and materials. The following topics will touch on the different exams and ways you can study and prepare yourself for admission into the business school of your choice. 

Overview of Different Entrance Exams

Entrance exams are one of the most common forms of admission requirements, regardless of the chosen degree path. For business admissions, there are several exam scores that will be taken into consideration during admission.

GMAT

One of the most common and necessary things that can prepare you for business school is to take the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT). With a total possible score of 800, the GMAT is an exam that is necessary for admission into business school and can take nearly 4 hours to complete. 

It will test you on the following 4 components:

• Analytical writing to assess problem-solving and critical thinking skills

• Integrated logical reasoning to assess data analysis abilities

• Mathematical and quantitative reasoning to assess numerical comprehension

• Verbal and deductive reasoning to assess reading comprehension

Score performance on the GMAT is considered to be a very adequate indicator of the applicant’s academic ability to perform well in business school. As a result, the score of the GMAT plays a serious factor in admissions. 

GMAT scores will follow you not only into the business school of your choice, but some may persist throughout your career. Applicants who seek career paths in project management consulting or investment banking after graduation may be required to submit their GMAT score prior to their employment being considered.

GRE

Held in slightly lower regard than the GMAT, the Graduate Record Examinations General Test (GRE) is another exam that is commonly utilized for admissions into business school. 

The GRE can also take a 4-hour period to complete, but also tests in 4 main areas:

• Analytical writing session, broken into 2 sessions

• Quantitative reasoning session, broken into 2 sessions

• Verbal reasoning session, broken into 2 sessions

• A variable session that is unscored with experimental questions

When it comes to admissions specifically into business school, a GRE score may not hold as much value as a GMAT score. Where the GMAT is specifically geared towards skills that are necessary for success in business, the GRE is more of a general overarching exam that can apply in admissions into graduate programs in a variety of studies, not only limited to business.

For those students who are seeking to be admitted strictly into business programs, the GMAT may be the better choice when deciding between the GMAT or the GRE.

CPA

Applicants who desire to become Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) during their graduate program will need to take the Uniform CPA Examination (CPA Exam). The CPA Exam is different from the GMAT and GRE in that it is not a required examination to gain admission to business school, rather it will be valuable upon the completion of an undergraduate business degree or during the progress of a graduate business degree specializing in finance. 

Like the GMAT or GRE, the CPA Exam will contain 4 sections:

• (AUD) Auditing and Attestation

• (BEC) Business Environment and Concepts

• (FAR) Financial Accounting and Reporting

• (REG) Financial Regulations

Different areas of the CPA Exam will contain multiple-choice exam questions, task-based simulations, and written communication assessments. The exam is significantly longer than the GMAT or GRE, extending a total of 16 hours and taking roughly 6-12 months to complete. 

Test Preparation: Study Guide & Prep Course Options

Because they are quite costly and high scores on exams such as the GMAT, GRE, and CPA Exam are very important to admissions and employment, it is always recommended that applicants spend time with study guides and exam prep courses to ensure that they are adequately prepared for the exams they intend to take.

The GMAT is known to be a particularly difficult exam, with a pass rate of less than 10%. One reason the GMAT and GRE can be difficult exams to pass is due to the level of vocabulary needed. For those who are studying from abroad and seeking admission into an American business school, the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) Exam may be necessary to prove proficiency in English prior to taking the GRE or GMAT.

There are several options available for exam preparation depending upon your learning style. Some online options for test preparations include tools such as test prep videos that familiarize applicants with the best test-taking strategies, workbooks with practice test questions or live online courses with practice exams. Alternatively, depending on your location, some learners may prefer an in-person prep class for a more interactive learning experience.

Audio Business School Exam Prep

As with any learning task, repetition is the key to retention. One of the best ways to ensure that you are retaining your expensive preparation course is to transfer your study material to text to speech that can be taken with you anywhere. For a task such as this, a text to speech tool such as Speechify can be a huge help. 

Reading materials that would be used for test prep and studying can be very dry and bland which may require a different mode of consumption rather than just reading to be able to retain the information. Books or study guides can be purchased on amazon or other providers, imported to your device, and synthesized into audio content with the Speechify app, compatible with iOS, Chrome, and Android. Nearly any device can take your online test prep materials and turn them into an audio course.  

For those who are studying with hard copies of study guides or test prep course materials, Speechify offers OCR scanning that can turn photos of any reading materials into audio content. Simply open the speechify app on your device or smartphone and use the camera icon to capture photos of the pages you want to have read to you. Snap the photos, click the arrow icon when finished, and get to listening! Speechify turns all of your scanned materials into your very own podcast link, allowing you to listen from any device.

Especially useful for those who are trying to prepare for their exams while navigating a busy lifestyle, Speechify’s ability to turn your test prep materials into audio content can be a game changer. Work out, run errands, and take the dog for a walk all while studying with your audiobook of test materials. 

Anything can be an audiobook when you have Speechify on your side. Click for more information on how to use Speechify for Audibooks!

FAQ

• What tests do you need for Business School?

While admissions professionals claim that they have no preference between the GRE and GMAT for admission into business schools, many students benefit more from taking the GMAT as the scores are taken more seriously in career choices upon completion of business school. 

• What’s the difference between GMAT and GRE?

The GMAT and GRE are very similar in their content and assessment styles but the main difference between the two is the ability to save questions for later with the GRE whereas you are not allowed to skip or go back to questions while taking the GMAT.

• What’s a good GMAT score?

According to MBA experts, a GMAT score between 650 and 690 is considered to be good while anything over 700 is exceptional. 

• What’s the best GRE test prep?

Some of the top providers of GRE test prep courses are Magoosh, Kaplan, Manhattan Prep, and The Economist. These are just a few among several other options that are available depending on your budget and learning style. Some of the benefits these study aids offer are materials such as flashcards or practice questions.

• What study prep is there for the CPA exam?

The top-rated CPA Exam review study courses are Becker CPA Review, Gleim CPA Review, Roger CPA Review, Ninja CPA Review, and Surgent CPA Review. Choosing the best option for you will depend on your learning style and budget.