Now more than ever getting an advanced degree seems like a smart move. But with an increasing number of people applying to graduate school you'll need to ace the particular entrance test you're going to take. You can set yourself apart from the crowd by using brain fitness training as a way of boosting your problem-solving ability prior to taking the test.
Standardized entrance tests such as the GRE, MCAT and LSAT all aim to assess your problem-solving and analytical skills. But to increase those skills you need to increase your fluid or innate intelligence which has for a long time been thought impossible. Last year however university researchers showed that it is possible to increase fluid intelligence and general problem-solving ability with a new kind of brain fitness training exercise.
The scientists took graduate students from the University of Bern and subjected them to a training program that progressively increased their visual and aural working-memory. After 19 days of training, fluid intelligence for each person in the trained group increased by at least 40% over and above that of the control group members. Imagine the benefits for a graduate entrance test.
Since the team released its findings just last Spring, most of your graduate-school competitors won't yet be aware this new test-prep approach. And, as an added bonus, working-memory training, unlike regular test prep, will give you an advantage in school as well as in the test, since it boosts your overall attention and general problem-solving skills.
But before you rush off to buy brain training software, make sure you're looking for the right kind. The working-memory training protocol used in the study is called "dual n-back" working-memory training. (To make your search easier, and in the interest of full disclosure, I was so inspired by the team's findings that I incorporated the dual n-back training method into the Mind Sparke brain training software, Brain Fitness Pro.)
With the economy tightening and jobs becoming more competitive, it's smart to increase your marketability with an advanced degree. And with the new findings on working-memory training, it's even smarter to prepare for your graduate entrance test with a good dose of brain training.
Standardized entrance tests such as the GRE, MCAT and LSAT all aim to assess your problem-solving and analytical skills. But to increase those skills you need to increase your fluid or innate intelligence which has for a long time been thought impossible. Last year however university researchers showed that it is possible to increase fluid intelligence and general problem-solving ability with a new kind of brain fitness training exercise.
The scientists took graduate students from the University of Bern and subjected them to a training program that progressively increased their visual and aural working-memory. After 19 days of training, fluid intelligence for each person in the trained group increased by at least 40% over and above that of the control group members. Imagine the benefits for a graduate entrance test.
Since the team released its findings just last Spring, most of your graduate-school competitors won't yet be aware this new test-prep approach. And, as an added bonus, working-memory training, unlike regular test prep, will give you an advantage in school as well as in the test, since it boosts your overall attention and general problem-solving skills.
But before you rush off to buy brain training software, make sure you're looking for the right kind. The working-memory training protocol used in the study is called "dual n-back" working-memory training. (To make your search easier, and in the interest of full disclosure, I was so inspired by the team's findings that I incorporated the dual n-back training method into the Mind Sparke brain training software, Brain Fitness Pro.)
With the economy tightening and jobs becoming more competitive, it's smart to increase your marketability with an advanced degree. And with the new findings on working-memory training, it's even smarter to prepare for your graduate entrance test with a good dose of brain training.
About the Author:
Oxford-trained scientist, author, and technologist, Martin G. Walker is a member of The British Neuroscience Association, Learning and The Brain, and MENSA. His company Mind Evolve Software publishes free information on the field of neuroscience and brain training as well as effective and affordable brain training software under the brand name Mind Sparke.
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