placement? productivity?我的"偏见" (上: 名校篇)

benxu

In general I agree with what you said here:

1. Ranking is only for reference.
2. On-campus visit can be very risky.
3. The faculty's encouragement (pre-offer) does not guarantee your position in their program, no matter how promising it sounds like.

But you completely misunderstood my objectives in writing the "other post," which I assume you referred to the one about visiting schools.

1. American applicants have the privilege and advantage to visit schools, so I shared the visiting information with the others who are not in the States.  
2. Top 10 schools are extremely competitive. So don't risk applying when you have low GPA or etc.
3. Most of the "biggest names" are helpful and down-to-earth, willing to share their understanding of the field with prospective students.

Thus to anyone who is applying next year, I strongly suggest visiting a selected number of schools, provided that (1) you can afford the trip, and (2) you are ready to go.  However (in case any one who loves so much to argue), I have to state that "there is no best application strategy for all; every one has own strengths and weaknesses and should address them differently when applying."

And yes, I got an offer from a great school. Thanks for your concern, pitty girl.  But I will pass the "showing-off in front of you" part. It is not worth it.  

I would no longer reply to any comments that misaddressed my post.  But I like your statement that "vanity hurts in the long run." Well, all is vanity.

According to your other post, you are applying for 2011 Fall marketing, aren't you? And your post has a sense of Chinese obsession about rankings and "reputations". That's why I say "newbie". B-schools are different from other programs; and vanity will do no good for you in the future. I'm replying your post because I hope that new comers will not be mislead. At least, spending so much time on visiting schools seems not a very good idea; you'd better be a good RA for a professor, work on your papers, etc. Unless you already have strong recommendation and outstanding research experience or shining working experience, I don't think visiting will help you much. Actually, it may kill you if you speak poor english and behave inappropriately. Even if visiting helps, it only helps you get on the waiting-list. Don't take their praise seriously before you get the offer; B-schools professors have both high IQ and EQ. I saw many people stumbled.
Btw, in order to to show off in front of me, at least you should get the offer from your "5.0" schools. Look forward to your application summary. Good luck.

-- by 会员 pitty111 (2011/3/17 12:33:28)

judydongxueni

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