In @ HBS, Stanford, Wharton and Chicago

angelflyfly

去年秋天下定决心申请MBA，申请的5所学校都在R2。 一直在CD上潜水，由衷感谢大家的分享。

申请的学校：Harvard, Stanford, MIT(LGO through Sloan), Wharton and Chicago
录取：Harvard, Stanford, Wharton and Chicago
拒绝：MIT(LGO through Sloan)

我在最初选学校定位的时候发现集中贴中的背景介绍很有帮助，所能也想在这里简单分享一下：
重点本科 （非top4) ，工程专业, GPA: 9.48 out of 10
海外工程硕士
GMAT: 740
Toefl: waived
工作行业： 新能源
三年半工作经验 （2年轮岗项目 ＋ 1.5年项目管理）
海外工作经验

几点简单的分享，这只是我个人的经历和想法，希望能为大家提供参考的价值：
1，考虑到MBA是一项具大的投资，我也曾犹豫过是否申请。但是我希望自己能在具有更充足信息的情况做出决定，在不断了解这个学位的过程中也学到很多并拓宽了知识面。所能我建议也在犹豫的同学们可以从试图深入了解各个项目开始。
2，我在准备GMAT的过程中将主要时间都放在了语法及逻辑上，几乎没有练习数学，最后在考试中没有完成数学部分，建议大家要做适当的数学习题以保证速度。
3，我在选校上用了比较多的时间，初期是参考各个排名, 看些网评，如poetsandquants.com/ 和在CD浏览。如前所述，使用集中贴中的背景介绍给自己做一个简单的测评。Campus visit 是很好学习有机会, 如果条件允许，也很建议大家去体验。我还读了Clear Amit的School Guide, 感觉至少是个系统的总结，并方便比较。
4，我最初只想申请Harvard, Stanford 和MIT 三所学校, 听取朋友的意见后又加申了2所，自己感觉5所学校是个适度的工作量。前3所学校申请完后，很多资源都可再利用。
5，在写Essay时，读了65 Successful Harvard Business School Application Essays, 很受启发。在所有Essay中，我在Stanford的‘what matters most to you’上花费了最长的时间，总是无法达到自己满意的程度，但感觉这也是最能帮助自己做self-reflection并允许申请者展现自己独特方面的essay。 Harvard 的 Post Interview Self-reflction 虽然只给申请者24个小时，但是没有字数限制，如我写了近800字。
6，我接到了5所学校的面试，也有5点想分享：1）找个有过类似经历的朋友做MOCK interview很有帮助，如我的朋友就指出我语速过快等问题。同样，也能增强自己的信心；2） ＣＤ上有的面经写得很具体，比如我就将‘夏天亲吻的小鱼’的面经通读了几遍（在此谢谢她）； 3）实战是最好的练习，我在做第四所学校的面试时，能够感觉到自己的提高，这从侧面体现了加申两所学校的一个优点；4）与Wharton进行的是电话面试，没有几会参与Group面试，如果有些同学也有相同的境况，希望我的录取结果能帮助他或她减少些错过Group面试对录取结果的疑虑。如果有几会的话，我会选择Group面试，因为我认为这应该是一个很好的锻炼，能从另一个角度展现自己还可能结识一些新朋友； 5）我发现自己不是很擅长Behavior面试，易在Situation上花费过多的时间。我在练习过程中让自己将整个故事表达出来，并给自己简单的计时，如果您也有相似的问题话，可以参考我的方法。
7，我在选推荐人时的几个标准，大家可以借荐：了解申请者；希望申请者成功；英语书面表达能力强。如果说整个过程是一个很好的Project Management实战，那这就是Stakeholder Management也是对申请人人际交网能力的一次检验。

祝大家好运！

谢谢！

更新 2013 年4月6日  
发贴后有些网友写信问了一些问题，其中两个尤其有意义，所以在这里贴出来，与大家分享。

1, The first one is about the industry I am in. I worked in the same renewable energy company during the last 3.5 years, and I also updated this piece of information in my profile. This is my first job after school and I truly enjoyed working in the industry and the company. When I firsted joined the company, MBA seemed so far from me, and the idea of applying for it developed naturally over time.

2, '[size=11.818181991577148px]请问你在campus visit以及和校友networking的方面有什么建议和体会么?' found it a very good question and would like to share some of my thoughts:
1) Plan early and register early if possible. In some shcools, the seats for classes can be gone weeks early.
2) Try to attend a class during your visit. For instance, personally, I found the case method in Harvard very interesting and challenging, which really motivates to apply. Similarly, in Chicago, I was even allowed so speak during the class discussion. In some classes, you might be able to hear students' presentation, and that is also good opportunity to learn about the current students. In some schools, you can even regester for specifc courses in advance. But for some other schools, you get to pick the course the time you register at the reception, so try to arrive a bit earlier as well. On one hand, you get to talk to other visitors and on the other hand, you have more choices when picking the course. I have very limited knowledge in Fianace, Accounting, so if it is in the middle of the term, I would choose Strategy, Marketing or Negotiations.
3) If you could, visit the school at the start of each semester/term, and there are two mainly benefits, the first is that you could follow the classes easily and what is more, there are more activities outside classes happening during those times and current students tend to have more time for socials. If the visit is planned during the exam period, the activities will be much fewer.  
4) Donot forget the activities outside the classes. For instance, in HBS, each Friday you get a chance to have lunch together with current students and in Wharton, there is  Happy Hour each Thursday, where you get to meet lots of students.
5) Go with a campus tour. Some schools offer tours led by current students. Even not, there might be a campus tour offered by the whole university.
6) Attending the off-campus information sessions could provide you access to some alumni, which is able to provide information of another perpective, so not a bad choice either.
7) Do not forget the city/town if location is something that matters to you.  
8) Be prepared, so you have your questions answered.

I chose not to focus on my personal feelings since there are too many players in this process, personality, life attitude, networking skills, luck and etc. However, I did believe it very good experiece, and hope what I wrote above can help make your experience more enjoyable.

Enjoy the process!

gtym7

LZv587......

leolu810

恭喜lz。

pigman007

。。。太牛

iunknown

围观牛魔王。。。

特里凡得琅

这真的太牛啦  膜拜

dmask

拜服！此贴不火无天理

nlarthur

牛魔王现身！恭喜楼主

lindalibinbin

omg.......

Can you please share with us what was unique about your experience (or about the way you presented yourself) that secured such outstanding offers?

DerekS

恭喜楼主！
楼主是个有心人，essay应该写得很赞