u/Colossalloser

Hello everyone,

I plan on taking the GMAT on November 5th, which will be my final attempt. My first attempt will be sometime in mid-September. I was working, but I’ve decided to take time off and focus solely on the GMAT until November, since I need the results for my PhD applications in late November.

For reference, I wasn't a quant kid, so the quant bit is proving to be kinda tough. But now that I can study full-time, I wanted to ask if there is any specific strategy I ought to stick to. I’m aware I should’ve made this post a long time ago, but hey, better late than never.

I’m aiming for at least a 650+. For context, I took the GMAT last year with almost minimal prep and was humiliated beyond my existence - it was a puny 380. So yeah, this is going to be a big jump.

I know I should’ve given it more time and started sooner, but I didn’t, so I need to make do with what I have now, which is roughly 2 and a half months. I can focus full-time and have nothing else on my plate, just going to focus 100% on this.

Please give me any suggestions or tips you guys might have! Thank you very much for reading. Cheers!

I’m planning to apply for a Marketing PhD for the 2027 intake, mostly to business schools, and I’m trying to figure out how I can make myself as competitive as possible.

I’m currently studying for the GMAT, so hopefully I can get a somewhat decent score. I have roughly one year of industry experience, and I graduated from my Masters last year. I did get a Distinction on my dissertation, but unfortunately I wasn’t able to get any other research experience, and I don’t have any research papers or publications under my name.

I’ve been looking at the profiles of current PhD students at some of the business schools I’m interested in, and boy oh boy, they’re golden. Multiple research papers and publications, awards, academic and industry experience across different countries, work with nonprofits and more. They seem to have done everything under the sun. And I feel so puny in front of them.

So I suppose what I’m really asking is: what can I realistically do at this stage to position myself better and actually have a shot at getting into the unis on my list?

For those who’ve been through the process, which components tend to carry the most weight: GMAT, research experience, research proposal, academic record, work experience, publications, fit with faculty, etc.? And is there anything I can still realistically do over the next year to strengthen my profile?

I know these programmes are extremely competitive, but I’d really appreciate some honest advice on what I should be prioritising rather than looking at these profiles and feeling like I’ll never get in.

Thank you very much for reading, appreciate it!

Let’s have interesting conversations and pretend we’re in a different era. 

I love writing emails and letters. Anything retro and relatively old, I’m in. Anything that requires one to put in more effort and string together a few sentences as opposed to sending a “sup, bruv?” 

Our language is really going for a toss. “Skibidi Toilet Ohio Rizz” needs to get “yeeted” off this planet. I’m a sucker for long, beautiful sentences with so much depth and personality that it makes you want to read it again, and again and wonder. Same goes for short sentences that are written using perhaps the simplest of words and yet they’re as poetic and meaningful as they come. 

Let’s decide a persona and an era to live in. And then write to each other. We can write about our lives, but just not with a very obvious 21st-century vernacular. We can hash out the details over text. 

I’ve never actually sent anyone a letter, truth be told; I’ve never really seen a stamp on a letter either (Museums don’t count). And I don’t want to do it with someone just for the sake of it. I actually want to get to know you. Build a relationship. And most importantly, have fun! 

The art of writing, sending and receiving letters is something I find very fascinating. Plus the handwriting, the way one signs off, kind of paper, the colour of ink, and so on, can tell you so much about the person. It’d be so much fun getting to know a person like this. Not to mention, it’s not instant gratification; I’ll have to wait for it, and I like the idea of, not just, inculcating patience (boy do I need that) but also, the idea of having to look forward to something. 

I want to do it with someone in the UK because I was kind of hoping we could send letters every week. I think any period of interval longer than that, and it’s easier for life to get in the way. Every week, I’m guessing, is doable, plus because it’s every week, it doesn’t have to be something you spend 2 hours on; 15 minutes or perhaps 20 (if you’re slow like me) would suffice. 

Thank you, everyone, for reading, and do let me know if you’re interested. Looking forward to hearing back! 

Not now. I need some time. But after, I hope you do. Wherever you might be, I hope you’re there. If you’re unable to, I’ll come find you.

I’m getting into content creation and videography, and I absolutely love filming. I do have a DSLR, but it’s too bulky for me to comfortably shoot videos with, so I’ve been using my phone instead. I want to keep using my phone until I get more consistent and improve, and then invest in a proper vlog camera. So I can save up for one, and I also want to feel like I’ve earned it.

I have two phones: an iPhone 16 Pro and my old iPhone 12 Pro Max.

I used to film in ProRes Log on my iPhone 16 Pro because I loved having that flat grey/log footage to colour grade in Final Cut Pro. The problem is that the files are *huge*. It takes ages to AirDrop everything to my Mac, storage becomes a massive issue, and even though I edit from an external SSD, I still end up running out of space. I have loads of footage, and I’ve had to delete older clips that I’d have liked to keep simply because I don’t have the storage.

Because of that, I’ve started filming using the regular video mode (or sometimes Cinematic mode) on my iPhone 16 Pro, or I’ll just use my iPhone 12 Pro Max since it’s my older phone.
The downside, of course, is that it’s no longer ProRes Log, so I don’t get that flat grey look that gives me much more flexibility when colour grading.

One thing I tried was using HandBrake to compress my ProRes Log footage after filming so it wouldn’t take up as much space while hopefully retaining that flatter look. But that still means I have to AirDrop everything to my Mac first before I can even use HandBrake, which takes forever.

So at this point, I’m thinking of just filming on my iPhone 12 Pro Max. My question is: is there any software, app, workflow, or technique that can make non-ProRes footage more colour-grade friendly? I’m not expecting miracles, but I’d love something that gives me a bit more flexibility. I really miss having that flatter image to work with because grading regular phone footage just doesn’t give me the same results - it feels like there’s much less room to play around with the colours.

What do people usually do when they’re filming on iPhones **without** ProRes Log but still want to do decent colour grading? Is there a workflow I’m missing, or is this just one of those trade-offs until I eventually get a dedicated camera?

Any advice would be really appreciated! Thank you very much for reading!

I’m planning on taking the GMAT in October and going to start preparing now. I haven’t really bought any guides, I can’t seem to find a pdf version of the latest 2026-27 one, so I just wanted to know, how important is it? Is it vital during the prep for gmat?

There’s a bundle option, with the official guide + verbal + quant + data insights guides of each of the three, do I really need all three + the official guide or would the official guide suffice? It’s around 60 quid so just wanna know if it’s a necessary investment.

I scoured the internet as much as I could but it’s a lot of mixed reviews, and I’m now uncertain, so please do tell me what you think I ought to do.

Any advice would be very appreciated, and thank you for reading!

Hello everyone,

So I’ve just started a new job and I need to commute by bike. I’ll be getting off at Sunningdale station and then biking to my workplace (it’s a vet hospital), but it’s kind of in a wooded area and not really in town.

They sent me directions, but it’s clearly for cars and mentions going via the A30. It looks like a motorway / high speed road and I’m stressed.

So I wanted to ask;

- Is it generally okay/safe to cycle on roads like the A30, or should I be avoiding them completely?

- How do you usually find safer or more cycle-friendly routes in situations like this?

- Or if I do end up having to take a road like that, are there specific things I should be doing?

- Are there any apps, tips, or general “rules” I should follow when cycling on roads without dedicated bike lanes? Or do I just get off and walk the bike if I’m unsure?

I took my new bike for a spin the other day and I was so wary of possibly being on a non bike path that every single time someone passed me, I was almost convinced they were gonna tell me it’s unlawful and call the cops on me, or just tell me to get the fuck off the road. I know, it’s irrational and nobody gives a flying fuck, in fact I doubt anybody even noticed me. But yeah, I just get anxious and I just want to be prepared and ride my bike in peace in accordance with all the rules and just not be a nuisance. I apologise for my unnecessary ramble.

Anyway, any advice or tips would be very welcome. Thank you very much!

Edit: My final destination from Sunningdale Station is Pears Hill, Westwood Road, if that helps.

A30 London Road has these narrow sidewalks on either side of the road, can I ride on it? Or is that not allowed?

Second Edit; tried the A30 and tried the route through the golf course / Ridgemount rd, A30 is far better. At least I won’t have to walk my bike through the fucking thicket till the golf course, swatting off spiders. I ride on the pavement. I cannot in good conscience ride on the actual A30 road. Some lorries and trucks are playing mad max fury road out there, and I reckon a few cars were convinced it was a formula one race. Plus 40 km/ph speed limit so no way. I ride my bike nice and slow on the narrow pavement and then bike up the Westwood Road and pears hill. Very doable (apart from a few spots where it feels like the road is almost vertical steep. Anyway I managed. Thank you all. Always open for suggestions / tips tho.

I’m 5’1 and weigh 55kg and usually I keep getting caloric deficits that range from 900-1300 from different sources.

In theory, maybe they all work. But in practice, for all the short people out there, what actually works?