You are what you are and of course you are UNIQUE, but it is important to show this aspect of yours in your essays. If you have more than a year before you apply to Business School, there are few things that you can do to strengthen your profile.
Community Service
Isn't it a great feeling to give back to your community? Not just for application purposes. At some point in your life, you would have wanted to pursue your dream to make a difference. Something that you are very passionate about but never took a shot at it. Well this is the time. Do it for your own sense of satisfaction. It also brings to light that you are not just a person who dreams. Actions speak louder than words!!!. If it is truly genuine it will show in your essays and this can make a world of difference
Coursework
You have been thinking about going to Business School, but have you taken any B-school related courses? For example, do you know what Finance is all about? Do you know about the case study method? If you are keen on finding out, you could probably take few courses in Finance or Leadership management. If you lack analytical or quantitative skills, scoring an A in financial accounting can diminish some of those concerns for the Adcom.
Monday, April 2, 2007
Thursday, March 29, 2007
School Selection
I would strongly encourage you to visit schools before you apply. However for some of you it may be impossible to visit. In these cases, try to contact students from your demographic at various schools. There are few things to keep in mind while selecting schools
1. Career goal - Are you planning to change your career post MBA (though you may not want to mention this in your application)
2. Career Services (long term help and support)
3. Class size
4. School strengths and weakness
At times prospective students forget to account for class size. If you plan to change your career and end up in a school with large class size, it is even more difficult to achieve your ultimate goal. This is simply because you will be competing with hundreds of other students applying for that same job. You really need to distinguish yourself at that point. You might also be competing with people from other backgrounds who already have a firm grounding in the area you plan to work in.
Class size is a very important factor. Try to get in touch with students who have made the exact same career change. Their perspectives will help you decide.
In most top 10 schools the career services do a great job of ensuring that most students are recruited by top firms before they graduate. However try to find out from alumni about the long term support. Did they ever use career services somewhere down the line in their career?
"Fit" is a very important factor. You want to spend the best two years of life at B-school and build long lasting friendships.
1. Career goal - Are you planning to change your career post MBA (though you may not want to mention this in your application)
2. Career Services (long term help and support)
3. Class size
4. School strengths and weakness
At times prospective students forget to account for class size. If you plan to change your career and end up in a school with large class size, it is even more difficult to achieve your ultimate goal. This is simply because you will be competing with hundreds of other students applying for that same job. You really need to distinguish yourself at that point. You might also be competing with people from other backgrounds who already have a firm grounding in the area you plan to work in.
Class size is a very important factor. Try to get in touch with students who have made the exact same career change. Their perspectives will help you decide.
In most top 10 schools the career services do a great job of ensuring that most students are recruited by top firms before they graduate. However try to find out from alumni about the long term support. Did they ever use career services somewhere down the line in their career?
"Fit" is a very important factor. You want to spend the best two years of life at B-school and build long lasting friendships.
Friday, March 23, 2007
Round 1 Vs Round 2
There are mixed opinions when it comes to Round 1 vs Round 2. From my experience, if you belong to the over represented demographic then it is best to apply in Round 1. Do not wait until Round 2. This also depends on class diversity to some extent. If you are an Indian engineer, then definitely apply in Round 1. If you are Indian with a different background such as finance then you might stand a fair chance in round 2 as well. However I tend to think this also depends on schools.
Harvard
From many of my friends I hear that R2 is more competitive at Harvard than R1. Secondly in R1, they don't have a class yet. So you stand a good chance with all 900 seats open! I also tend to think that Harvard uses the waitlist in a different manner. I am not sure whether they evaluate Harvard R1 waitlist with R2. In most cases they seem to look at the waitlist only when the yield is low. My advice is to apply in R1
Wharton
Wharton seems a little more fair when it comes to R1 vs R2. I would still not recommend Indian engineers to apply in R2. Wharton does evaluate R1 waitlist with R2. Incase you are a strong candidate when compared to the R2 pool then you would get an admit.
Columbia
Columbia has a rolling admission process. It is best to apply as early as possible. If you belong to the over represented demographic then you should apply by first week of December. The chances of an admit are very slim if you apply in January. You would most likely end up with a DWI. Infact many Indian engineers who apply in ED are placed on a waitlist and evaluated with the RD applicants. Hence do not get discouraged if you are on a waitlist.
Stanford
Stanford has a very small class size. Hence it is definitely best for any demographic to apply in R1. I would recommend this for any school that has a small class size. It is very competitive to get into these schools.
Harvard
From many of my friends I hear that R2 is more competitive at Harvard than R1. Secondly in R1, they don't have a class yet. So you stand a good chance with all 900 seats open! I also tend to think that Harvard uses the waitlist in a different manner. I am not sure whether they evaluate Harvard R1 waitlist with R2. In most cases they seem to look at the waitlist only when the yield is low. My advice is to apply in R1
Wharton
Wharton seems a little more fair when it comes to R1 vs R2. I would still not recommend Indian engineers to apply in R2. Wharton does evaluate R1 waitlist with R2. Incase you are a strong candidate when compared to the R2 pool then you would get an admit.
Columbia
Columbia has a rolling admission process. It is best to apply as early as possible. If you belong to the over represented demographic then you should apply by first week of December. The chances of an admit are very slim if you apply in January. You would most likely end up with a DWI. Infact many Indian engineers who apply in ED are placed on a waitlist and evaluated with the RD applicants. Hence do not get discouraged if you are on a waitlist.
Stanford
Stanford has a very small class size. Hence it is definitely best for any demographic to apply in R1. I would recommend this for any school that has a small class size. It is very competitive to get into these schools.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Congratulations to all Wharton R2 admits
Congratulations folks! You have done it.
Those who got a ding - please do not feel disheartened. There is nothing to lose. Hopefully you are yet to hear from other schools. If not, apply early next year and I am sure you will make it. Reapplication is a sign of continued interest and also shows your determination to achieve your goal
Go for it! Goodluck. Let me know if I can be of any help in your application process.
Those who got a ding - please do not feel disheartened. There is nothing to lose. Hopefully you are yet to hear from other schools. If not, apply early next year and I am sure you will make it. Reapplication is a sign of continued interest and also shows your determination to achieve your goal
Go for it! Goodluck. Let me know if I can be of any help in your application process.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
B-school Diversity
I often read questions such as these in BW forums "I will be a permanent resident next year. I will become a US citizen next year. Will it increase my chance of getting an admit in top schools?". Lets look at HBS class profile for example(courtesy- HBS website).
32% constitutes international pool and lets say, HBS would like representation from 70 countries then perhaps 69 countries fall in the 32% bracket! Whew! that is way too competitive. Then I read a response from one of the admissions consultant. She happens to have some experience in the HBS Adcom. According to her HBS considers country of birth and not citizenship toward diversity.
For example, you could be born in the UK, but lived through out in India and currently work in the US. Even under these circumstances you will be considered with the UK pool of applicants. Why is that diversity? Somebody - please enlighten me. If I live all my life in India but was just born in the UK, what would I know about UK(apart from reading newspapers, magazines etc...)? This seems totally absurd to me.
Well, if this is really true then future parents- you might be better off having babies in some country which is highly underrepresented in the HBS applicant pool. In the name of representing 70 to 72 countries, that very "country of birth" might make a difference!
I don't know about other schools. I will enlighten you when I learn more about them.
Ciao
| North America | 68% |
| - United States | 62% |
| Asia/South Pacific | 14% |
| Europe | 11% |
| Central and South America | 4% |
| Africa | 1% |
| Oceania | 1% |
32% constitutes international pool and lets say, HBS would like representation from 70 countries then perhaps 69 countries fall in the 32% bracket! Whew! that is way too competitive. Then I read a response from one of the admissions consultant. She happens to have some experience in the HBS Adcom. According to her HBS considers country of birth and not citizenship toward diversity.
For example, you could be born in the UK, but lived through out in India and currently work in the US. Even under these circumstances you will be considered with the UK pool of applicants. Why is that diversity? Somebody - please enlighten me. If I live all my life in India but was just born in the UK, what would I know about UK(apart from reading newspapers, magazines etc...)? This seems totally absurd to me.
Well, if this is really true then future parents- you might be better off having babies in some country which is highly underrepresented in the HBS applicant pool. In the name of representing 70 to 72 countries, that very "country of birth" might make a difference!
I don't know about other schools. I will enlighten you when I learn more about them.
Ciao
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
GMAT score and career goal
Shoot for a 70o+ GMAT score. It does not hurt to retake the exam if necessary. If you belong to the Indian demographic then its best to have a 700+ score. You could still make it to schools with scores above 650 but then why take the risk. It is totally possible to get a 700+ score on the GMAT. Just do it!
In this post I would like to focus on the career goal essay. At times I notice that some folks tend to mention finance as their career goal though they come from an engineering background. This totally does not make sense to the Adcom. It is best to avoid this mistake. Write a goal that makes more sense.
For example, if you are from liberal arts and apply to a core technology firm then I as a recruiter would definitely reject you. It just does not make sense. Don't get me wrong. I am not saying that we should not be a career changer. It is totally acceptable. But it does not make sense to communicate this in the application process if you don't have a strong reason.
If you were an engineer and went into investment banking and have 3 years of experience in that area, then you can mention IB as your career goal. If you are an engineer and have just appeared for CFA level 1,2 or 3 but do not have any work experience then I don't think you have strong reasons for moving into finance. Well I know it is the money that attracts you but that very fact becomes obvious in your application as well!
Choose a goal that totally makes sense- given your background, career and profile. You have been there and seen it. So you know what exactly to do next and that story is far more believable! Who knows- when you go to B-school there might be a new area that attracts you. Therefore my advice is convey the right story.
In this post I would like to focus on the career goal essay. At times I notice that some folks tend to mention finance as their career goal though they come from an engineering background. This totally does not make sense to the Adcom. It is best to avoid this mistake. Write a goal that makes more sense.
For example, if you are from liberal arts and apply to a core technology firm then I as a recruiter would definitely reject you. It just does not make sense. Don't get me wrong. I am not saying that we should not be a career changer. It is totally acceptable. But it does not make sense to communicate this in the application process if you don't have a strong reason.
If you were an engineer and went into investment banking and have 3 years of experience in that area, then you can mention IB as your career goal. If you are an engineer and have just appeared for CFA level 1,2 or 3 but do not have any work experience then I don't think you have strong reasons for moving into finance. Well I know it is the money that attracts you but that very fact becomes obvious in your application as well!
Choose a goal that totally makes sense- given your background, career and profile. You have been there and seen it. So you know what exactly to do next and that story is far more believable! Who knows- when you go to B-school there might be a new area that attracts you. Therefore my advice is convey the right story.
Monday, March 19, 2007
ManhattanGMAT CAT and GMATprep
If you have taken the ManhattanGMAT CAT, deduct at least 40 to 50 points from the actual score. These CAT's were introduced in the month of October/November. Until then ManhattanGMAT had non-adaptive tests. I ended up scoring 780/770 on the ManhattanGMAT CAT tests but this was far from reality when it came to the actual test. Many of my friends communicated the same message. So if you score a 780 on the CAT, expect a 720-730.
GMAT prep is close to what you score on the actual day. It is safe to expect +/- 20 points. Infact I scored lower in Quant on the actual GMAT. I took the GMAT twice and ended up scoring less in Quant in both attempts. I scored close to a 50 in GMATprep CAT's.
GMAT prep is close to what you score on the actual day. It is safe to expect +/- 20 points. Infact I scored lower in Quant on the actual GMAT. I took the GMAT twice and ended up scoring less in Quant in both attempts. I scored close to a 50 in GMATprep CAT's.
Thursday, March 1, 2007
GMAT prep
In this post I will provide some feedback about the GMAT prep service that I used.
I used ManattanGMAT prep service. I enrolled in the online course. We paid nearly 1000$ . This course is not that useful especially if you are strong in math. Their GMAT SC class is good. However I think one can just buy their GMAT-SC book. Their CR and RC book is not useful. The RC strategy is really bad since it does not cater to the most recent ones that appear in the GMAT
Do the OG first, but this is good only to get a 650+. For all those aiming above 700, you need to practice a lot using the GMATprep software.
During class visits, students told me about websites such as scoretop.com and testmagic.com. In these forums, you get to discuss all your doubts with peers and usually you receive good explanations. Since GMAT is all about learning your mistakes, I suggest that you use these websites during practice.
Please allocate 3 months for practice. You will improve your score if you practice the correct way. I have not used any other test prep service and so I cannot comment about the others. If other applicants would like to comment about GMAT test prep services, please post a comment and I will be happy to post them on this blog.
I used ManattanGMAT prep service. I enrolled in the online course. We paid nearly 1000$ . This course is not that useful especially if you are strong in math. Their GMAT SC class is good. However I think one can just buy their GMAT-SC book. Their CR and RC book is not useful. The RC strategy is really bad since it does not cater to the most recent ones that appear in the GMAT
Do the OG first, but this is good only to get a 650+. For all those aiming above 700, you need to practice a lot using the GMATprep software.
During class visits, students told me about websites such as scoretop.com and testmagic.com. In these forums, you get to discuss all your doubts with peers and usually you receive good explanations. Since GMAT is all about learning your mistakes, I suggest that you use these websites during practice.
Please allocate 3 months for practice. You will improve your score if you practice the correct way. I have not used any other test prep service and so I cannot comment about the others. If other applicants would like to comment about GMAT test prep services, please post a comment and I will be happy to post them on this blog.
First post
I am planning to use this blog to share my experiences in the MBA application process. I also call upon other class of 2009 applicants to share their experiences on this blog. This is more like the "class fo2009" advice to future potentials. We will talk about everything - right from GMAT prep to submitting the application.
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