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
USA
UK
Europe
Australia
Academic
Career Prospects
Visa Regulations
Costs
Availability of
Scholarships
Poor
Average
Very Good
Excellent
Canada
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
• Teaching
• Research
Scholarships and Fellowships
offered by Universities
International Organizations
offering Scholarships
•Fulbright Commission
•The United Nations
•AMIDEAST
•World Health Organization
Trusts / Scholarships in
India for Studies Abroad
•K C Mahindra Scholarship
•Nehru Trust for Cambridge
University and Trinity College
•Singapore International Airlines
– Youth Scholarships
•Nanyang Technological
University (Singapore)
•J N Tata Endowment
•ITC Scholarships
www.mitulgada.com
Loans
International Banks
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With/Without Co-signer
1. Citibank
2. Bank of America
Upto 25 years to repay
Begin installments upon graduation or
a year after
Competitive Interest Rates (10 - 15%)
Other Loan Programs
• Access Group
• Sallie Mae
• International Education Finance
Corporation
Indian Banks
•Security to be provided by
parents
•State Bank of India, Bank of
India, Andhra Bank, Syndicate
Bank, Canara Bank, Private
Banks, Centurion Bank of Punjab
•Upto 15 years to repay
www.mitulgada.com
Application Procedure
Standardized Tests
• Future Career
•Preferred Subject (Major)
• Short-list Colleges
(be realistic)
• GRE
• TOEFL
Additional requirements
•Applications
• Work Experience (if any)
• Extracurricular Activities
• Academic Transcripts
• 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
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Internet-based Test (TOEFL iBT) – Administered by ETS
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4 Sections - Listening , Speaking , Reading , Writing
• All sections worth 30 points. Total score out of 120.
Good Score 90+
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Scores valid for 2 years ; register at www.toefl.org
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NO coaching required for an above average student
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Get any 2 books out of: Barron’s, Kaplan, Princeton, Cliffs
www.mitulgada.com
“The Application Race for the Aug intake”
Decision
Feb–
May
Shortlist
Unis
Feb–
Jun
Complete
& Send
GREApps
TOEFL
Jun –
Oct
Oct –
Jan
Prepare
and
Apply
Admns.
For
Decisions
Student
Visa
Mar–
May–
May
Aug
Pre
Departure
Orientation
Jul–
Aug
www.mitulgada.com
How Important Are These Scores?
Large University
Small University
Personals
Scores
Scores
Personals
Grade Point
Average
Grade Point
Average
Personals include Applications,
Work Experience, Extra
Curricular Activities
www.mitulgada.com
Resumes
LORs
Essays
Essays, SOP, LORs
Consider this a
“sales pitch”
Choose the
“right recommender”
Make a strong
presentation of yourself and
your qualifications
Describe how you
will contribute to
the college’s
unique community
Talk about your
characteristics and back them
with examples
Keep it concise,
comprehensive, relevant
Don’t use flowery
language and please
follow instructions
Ensure its genuine
Proof read for
spelling errors
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
www.mitulgada.com
Computer Adaptive Test Scoring Pattern
700

x
Score/Difficulty
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1250
x
600
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Amy
500
1050
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x
400
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x
Brian
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300
200
1
2
3
4
Question #
5
6
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
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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.
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²An identified research section that is not scored may be included, and it is always at the end of the test.
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The Analytical Writing section will always be first, while the other five sections may appear in any order.
The NEW test features
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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
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ARITHMETIC
Number properties
Fraction n decimal
Percents
Ratio n Proportion
Averages (mean, median, mode)
Exponents n roots
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ALGEBRA
Basic Algebra
Simple Equations
Quadratic Equations
Inequalities
SYLLABUS
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GEOMETRY
Lines n angles
Triangles
Polygons
Circles
Solid Geometry
Co-ordinate Geometry
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MISCELLANEOUS
Counting (P n C)
Probability
Rates (STD / Time n work)
Sequence n Series
www.mitulgada.com
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.
www.mitulgada.com
GRE acceptance :
Countries: US, Canada, Singapore, Australia, France,
Spain, UK, China & Belgium
Courses : Masters in engg., medical, arts, law,
& also management
www.mitulgada.com
How is GRE different from
school/college syllabus exams?
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importance of concepts
a lot of “reasoning”
methods and steps don’t matter
taking help from the options
quick thinking
www.mitulgada.com
How is it different from the CAT?
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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
www.mitulgada.com
How is the GRE testing related to
practical life technical aspects?
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time management
stress management
working with the available resources
“out of the box” thinking
www.mitulgada.com
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)
www.mitulgada.com
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)
www.mitulgada.com
The 2 imp skills for acing the verbal section
• VOCAB and its application
(Text 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.
www.mitulgada.com
Please DON’T refer to :
•CAT material
•R.S. Aggrawal books
•Any un-authentic Non-GRE material
www.mitulgada.com
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)
www.mitulgada.com
• 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)
www.mitulgada.com
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)
www.mitulgada.com
Practice tests tips !!
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start with easy tests; gradually move towards tougher ones
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take atleast the last 5 tests along with AWA sections
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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
www.mitulgada.com
Importance of “genuine”
GRE TRANING
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myths n misconceptions
• direction and regularity
• comparative performance
• avoiding loss of opportunity cost (time n money)
www.mitulgada.com
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
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Doubt solving sessions
www.mitulgada.com
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.”
1) Randomly email 20-30 students and ask them about their experince &
value addition with us.
2) Attend demo/trial GRE sessions at any of our centers so that before
enrolling, 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
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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
Shagun Mehta, shagunmehta@gmail.com (previously joined Princeton)
Manav Bhahmbhatt, manav.brahmbhatt@yahoo.in (Previously joined CLIMB FIRST)
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)
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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
Adir Bhastekar, admire_kids@rediffmail.com
Robin Dsouza, robindsouza87@gmail.com
Kunal Lala, kunal.lala@gmail.com
Pranay Ambwani, pranayambwani@gmail.com
Karan Sharma, karansk@gmail.com
Sawmya Jagannath, sawmyaj86@gmail.com
Amrit Pal Singh, amritpalsinghsaini@yahoo.co.in
Abhilash Joseph, josephabhilash@rediffmail.com
Soham Narang, sohamnarang@gmail.com
Advait Phatarford, advait.phatarfod@gmail.com
Sakshi Sehgal, sakshisa06@gmail.com
Rhianna Prabhu, rhianna.prabhu@gmail.com
Dipti Hingorani, dipti.hingorani@yahoo.com
Rayomand Pastakia, rayomand.pastakia@hotmail.com
Hiral Sanghavi, hiralsanghavi88@gmail.com
Mihika Baruah, mihikabaruah@gmail.com
Bhavik Khandhar, bhavikkhandhar@gmail.com
Zahir Kachwalla, zahir.kachwalla@gmail.com
Prachi Parikh, prachi89@gmail.com
Radhika Mehta, radz.mehta@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, nikit.gangwani@gmail.com (Thane)
Khushboo Gala, khushg15@gmail.com (Bhandup)
Siddharth Gupta, siddharthgupta1234@gmail.com (Vashi)
Ajatshatru Kotwal, ajatkotwal@gmail.com (Vashi)
Rischav, rischav@gmail.com (Vashi)
Rahul Shah, rahulmshah08@gmail.com (Pune)
Paras Shah, paras990@yahoo.com (Ghatkopar)
Hitesh, hitesh1221@gmail.com (Chembur)
Smit Badai, smitbadai@gmail.com (Pune)
Ruchi (kuwait), ruchi165@gmail.com
Nikhil Keswani, nikhilkeswani@gmail.com (Lagos, Africa)
Vivek Shah, vivshah@gmail.com (U.K.)
Kairus Kavarana, kairuskavarana@gmail.com (Columbia, USA)
& many more …
Our students this year in
HARVARD
• Anand Piramal (Piramal group),
anandpiramal@gmail.com
• Kulin Lalbhai
redbrother@gmail.com
• Edouard Delvaux, (Harvard 2 + 2 program)
edouarddelvaux@gmail.com
In a nut-shell…
1) Do proper reference check with some past students of a particular institute.
2) Don’t get carried away by any “guarantee score”. Use your common-sense.
No body can give guarantee on your behalf. If at all a “guarantee” was
possible, GRE wouldn’t have existed at the first place !!
3) It’s the trainers & not brands who help you upgrade your score. Hence do
attend trial classes for both math n verbal and observe their competence,
experience, material used etc.
4) Do not be “penny wise pound foolish”. The cost of GRE training is not
even 1/100th of the total cost of your masters program.
5) If studying on own from the books were enough, then there wouldn’t be
any concept of GRE training. Don’t take chances with your scores. An
authentic GRE training can only upgrade, not downgrade, your scores.
6) Something which is closer to your place may not be a better place for GRE
prep. Travelling is less painful than not getting the desired and deserving
scores in GRE.
7) Make sure that not only the concepts are in place, but also the over all
planning reg the material, practice, approach,mock tests, analysis, booking
the exam date etc. is impeccable.
Mitul Gada & associates
Mitul Gada & associates
4th floor, A-wing,
BEST complex,
Next to Mc Donalds,
Above Sinhal Classes
Opp. Railway station,
Andheri (W)
Mumbai – 400058
Damodar Mahal,
Cumballa hill road
lane opp Shalimar hotel
Next to Birdy’s
Kemps Corner,
Mumbai - 400036
Fax: +91 22 2628 7508
Email : math@mitulgada.com
Web
:
Mobile :
www.mitulgada.com
+91 98197 15357
Mitul Gada & Associates’ new GRE centers
in
THANE
&
VASHI
(opening this month)