Japan Trips and Treks

Some of the readers of this blog may have noticed the list of schools (See the left-column) that I sponsor for Japan Trips and Treks.  I wanted to briefly explain why I do this.

In 2010, I sponsored IE, HBS, LBS, Tuck, and UCLA's official Japanese student organized trips to Japan. In 2009, I sponsored Berkeley, HBS, and Tuck's trips.  In 2011, I look forward to providing financial support again for this worthwhile cause.

I do this because I believe in promoting international understanding.  Personally, I love Japan, which is good because I have been residing in Tokyo since 2001 (and prior to that from 1995-1997), become a permanent resident this year, and have already spent over 25% of my life here. Like with any country, people have different stereotypes about Japan that will be challenged by actually visiting the place. I believe that future business leaders are in an excellent position to have a more refined way of looking at the world and that one of the things the international aspect of an MBA education provides is a real global perspective. I know the Japanese students at these schools will serve as wonderful guides to their classmates who are interested in Japan.  Giving an insider's perspective to their classmates, even those who never actually do business in Japan, will hopefully come away with great memories and a positive view of Japan.

I provide financial support to help subsidize the cost for students to travel here because it is expensive.  Especially with a strong Japanese yen, the cost to come here is relatively high.  Between 2008 and 2010, the yen jumped in value by approximately 10% against the US dollar, which is something that even budget conscious travelers cannot avoid.  I know that the total level of  support that I and other sponsors provide cannot fully cover these additional costs, but I know every little bit helps.

For applicants, I hope that when you are assessing which schools to apply to, you consider whether student clubs organize international trips.  The schools that do so are clearly ones where the students know how to make things happen. Putting together a one-week highly planned trip while you are busy studying is no easy thing.  Those who do it are really showing a strong sense of commitment to their fellow students.

Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of attending parties during the Tokyo phase of IE and UCLA's trips this year and was really impressed both by the commitment of the trips' organizers and the enthusiasm of the participants.  It was great having the opportunity to meet (and drink) with the participants.

-Adam Markus
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Guest Blogger: 河野太一のGMAT OG12解説 SC10

This is another post from Taichi Kono, author of two textbooks on TOEFL and one on TOEIC and a highly experienced TOEFL, TOEIC, and GMAT instructor. Most of his posts will be in Japanese. This post is on GMAT sentence correction. His other posts can be found here.
-Adam


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河野塾代表の河野太一です。年来の友人である Adam Markusさんのご厚意で、"The Official Guide for GMAT Review, 12th Edition"の解説ブログの内容の一部をこちらにアップさせていただくことになりました。オリジナルは河野太一のGMAT OG12解説でご覧いただけます。なお、オリ ジナルのほうは予告なく内容を変更することがあり、ここに上げたものと相違があることがありますのでご了承ください。私のこれまでの記事やGMAT以外の 話題についてはこちらをご覧ください。


SC10
下線部の 前後だけで解けそうに見えるが、センテンスの基準となる時制を見抜くために、実は全体に目を通さないといけない問題。can endureのcan、because they haveのhaveを見ると現在時制が基準になっているのが分かる。what would otherwise beは「そうでなければ〜になるであろうもの」という「仮定」で、wouldは「可能性の遠さ」を示す過去形助動詞。内容的に「現在通用する一般論、真 理」になっていることも考慮に入れる必要がある。

(A)　先行詞がa heat-exchange networkと「事物」であること、制限用法で使われていることから、whichとthatのどちらでもOK。「現在通用する一般論、真理」を語るのに 過去時制はおかしい。

(B)　thatはOK。keepsの現在形もOKで、これが正解。

(C)　whichはOK。 現 在完了形は、現在に足場を置きながら過去に視線を投げ、過去から現在までを見渡す「歴史的視点」。「現在通用する一般論、真理」を語るには現在の一点だけ 見ればよく、過去にまで視野を広げる理由がない。

(D)　thatはOK。(C)と同じ理由で、（現在完了形の一形態である）現在完了 進 行形がマズイ。

(E)　完了形をVing化したもので、これもダメ。


-河野太一


河野塾で はTOEFL/IELTS/GMATの個人授業を提供しております。なかなかスコアが上がらずにお悩みの方、きめの細かい効果的な個人指導をお求めの方 は、ぜひinfo@konojuku.comまでお気軽にお問い合わせください。

Guest Blogger: 河野太一のGMAT OG12解説 SC9

This is another post from Taichi Kono, author of two textbooks on TOEFL and one on TOEIC and a highly experienced TOEFL, TOEIC, and GMAT instructor. Most of his posts will be in Japanese. This post is on GMAT sentence correction. His other posts can be found here.
-Adam


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河野塾代表の河野太一です。年来の友人である Adam Markusさんのご厚意で、"The Official Guide for GMAT Review, 12th Edition"の解説ブログの内容の一部をこちらにアップさせていただくことになりました。オリジナルは河野太一のGMAT OG12解説でご覧いただけます。なお、オリ ジナルのほうは予告なく内容を変更することがあり、ここに上げたものと相違があることがありますのでご了承ください。私のこれまでの記事やGMAT以外の 話題についてはこちらをご覧ください。


SC9
「類似」の 前置詞likeと「イコール」の前置詞asの優劣と、呼応関係を問う問題。主節の主語との呼応だけを見て瞬殺しよう。

(A)　 Like ...の比較対象は主節の主語。the idolizationという「物事」とJames Joyce and Virginia Wolfという「人物」では比較にならない。

(B)　Asのコアの意味は「イコール」。theはBrontës（ブロンテ姉妹）と Brownings（ブラウニング夫妻）の両方にかかっている。この人たちはそもそもJames Joyce やVirginia Wolfとイコールではないわけだが、ここでは所有格でidolizationにかかっており、「物事」と「人物」の比較になっているから、ますますダ メ。Asを「～として」と解釈すればそのおかしさが分かる。OG解説はasを接続詞と最初から決めてかかっているが、前置詞用法があるのを知らないのだろ うか。

(C)　Like thatのthatは代名詞でthe kind of venerationを指しているのだろうが、主節の主語は「人間」だから比較が成り立たない。

(D)　解説不要。itはthe kind of venerationを指したいのだろう。

(E)　「人物」対「人物」でこれが正解。わざわざthe ...-sと複数形になっているのがイヤラシイが、まあ問題なく解けるでしょう。


-河野太一


河野塾で はTOEFL/IELTS/GMATの個人授業を提供しております。なかなかスコアが上がらずにお悩みの方、きめの細かい効果的な個人指導をお求めの方 は、ぜひinfo@konojuku.comまでお気軽にお問い合わせください。

Interview with Dartmouth Tuck Class of 2011 MBA Student

A Japanese member of the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth's class of 2011 was kind enough to answer my questions.  "Tuck 2011" is a former client and one of the organizers of Tuck's 2010 Japan Trek.  As a matter of disclosure, I was one of the 2009 and 2010 Treks' sponsors.
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Adam:   What has your first year at Tuck been like?
Tuck 2011: It has been extremely busy year for both studying and job hunting. It's unbelievable that academic is year is about to end.

Adam: How do you like life in Hanover?
Tuck 2011: I love it. Since my hobby is to play sports, I enjoyed ice hockey in winter and golf in summer. If you would like to make close friends, I think Hanover is the best place since you would spend most of time with friends from your school. (In other words, there are not too many other people to spend time with.)
 
Adam: What is the Tuck community like?
Tuck 2011: The Tuck community is like family. Literally for those who live on campus since they spend most of time together. Everybody is friendly and you don't need to worry about making friends here. From an academic point of view, collaboration between students is highly emphasized in Tuck and you will experience and learn to work together with others.

Adam:  I know you played a major role in organizing the Japan Trek, but did you actually have time for other extracurricular activities?  If so, which ones are you active in?
Tuck 2011: In addition to preparation for Japan Trek, which I spent about 5 hours a week n, I played ice hockey about 3 hours a week. Other than that, I couldn't have participated extracurricular activities so far. What has prevented me from participating in such activities is job hunting. For Japanese students, job hunting starts in fall when no American students are doing it.  School gives us large amount of homework assuming students are not starting recruiting. Thus, fall term was extremely rigorous for Japanese students looking for job. I also did recruiting in winter too since some consulting companies start their recruiting in winter.
 
Adam: Are there any common characteristics you find amongst your classmates?
Tuck 2011: Friendly, collaborative and loves Tuck!

Adam: Do you have any specific advice for those considering application to Tuck?
Tuck 2011: One should confirm that you actually fit to Tuck community both in terms of personality and in regards to Hanover from an  environmental perspective. If they fit to you, emphasize so in the application process.

Adam: As you know, Tuck really emphasizes leadership and making contributions in its application essays, so do you have specific advice on either topic for applicants?
Tuck 2011: In Tuck many of activities such as Admitted Student Weekend are organized by students. I would recommend applicants to specify what they can contribute not just by following what students have done before but by finding overlap between your interest and contribution to the community. For example, one of colleague just started Sales Club since she is interested in sales and she thinks sales is one of the most important functions in companies.

Adam: Anything else you would like to tell us?
Tuck 2011: I hope applicants would not give up if they really want to go to MBA. I, myself, spent a few years for the application process. If you quit, you will never be able to go.

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I want to thank Tuck 2011 for taking the time to answer my questions.
-Adam Markus
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Attend my Free MBA Reapplication Webinar

On April 28th at 9pm PST/April 29th at 1pm Japan time, I will be presenting a webinar titled "MBA Reapplication for Success" as part of the AIGAC Graduate Admissions Virtual Summit.  I will be taking questions as part of that webinar. Space is limited, but still available.  For details, see http://www.aigac.org/summit/2010.  A  recording of the webinar will be available (details to follow).
-Adam
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