发表于 2006-8-24 17:19:00
楼主
Here's something I put together for someone who is applying to B School this year. Hopefully, it will be useful to a few others as well.
Preliminary Research
Understand what an MBA can mean in terms of the input (commitment) and output (possibilities). Evaluate post MBA career options and determine if they meet your interests and long term plans. It is not about just getting into the right school - it is about getting into the right school to get on the right career track.
Pluck the low lying fruit
Get done with that GMAT test - it really is the easiest part of the application. Pick up GMAT books and brush up your math skills, you will soon find yourself scoring in a consistent band of +/- 20 points. You can increase the score by atleast 50 points if you can analyze your scores, identify your weak areas and put in some hard hard work. It is good to be visiting GMAT related forums at this point.
Detailed Research
Look through the various rankings. Think of schools to lie in the following categories - Super Elite, Elite, 15 to 25 bracket or the Tier II and 25 to 50 bracket or the Tier III.
- Pick a career path and then pick schools. If you are interested in a career in A, I think it is risky to do it in a school known the world over for careers in B. The company you are interested in may not recruit at the school. You may not find enough folks to help you with the networking.
- Make a list of all things that is important for you. For instance, the demographics of the location is important to me. I come from a country with a billion people and living in a town with just 10,000 folks would be traumatic !! I place a premium on the school's website and tech-savy nature. For me, that is a sign of how the school can connect me with the world. A collaborative environment is also important for me.
- The first thing that you should look for when evaluating schools is the employment statistics. You should know what % of class is employed at graduation, what % is employed through school activities, what % is placed in the industry/function of your choice, what companies recruit for the industry/function of your choice. It is important that the entire class is placed well - that is how you build a network. Next, look at the academics and the faculty. For me, more practical the training the better. Thirdly, look at the strength of the community feeling. Mail current students and counselors and see the response. Remember to look at the tuition and loan options.
It is good to start visiting the various B School forums at this point.
Put down your Story
First, make a two-page resume. Delete all the industry jargon and ensure the points are more action-result based. Next, put down one page responses to the following questions
- What are your career goals for 5 years from now and 20 years from now ?
- Why MBA? Why now ?
- Two career related accomplishments
- One instance of failure and what you learnt from that failure
- One non career related accomplishment
- An ethical dilemma.
Understand the application process
Your GMAT scores, acads, work experience and how you present yourself in your essays and interviews will determine if you get selected. There are rules to how a short coming in one aspect can be overcome in another aspect of your application. You could get away with slightly below average acads if you have exemplary work experience but the reverse is unlikely to be true. You could get away with a slightly below average GMAT score if you have some truly unique stories to tell - again the reverse may not be true.
Preliminary Research
Understand what an MBA can mean in terms of the input (commitment) and output (possibilities). Evaluate post MBA career options and determine if they meet your interests and long term plans. It is not about just getting into the right school - it is about getting into the right school to get on the right career track.
Pluck the low lying fruit
Get done with that GMAT test - it really is the easiest part of the application. Pick up GMAT books and brush up your math skills, you will soon find yourself scoring in a consistent band of +/- 20 points. You can increase the score by atleast 50 points if you can analyze your scores, identify your weak areas and put in some hard hard work. It is good to be visiting GMAT related forums at this point.
Detailed Research
Look through the various rankings. Think of schools to lie in the following categories - Super Elite, Elite, 15 to 25 bracket or the Tier II and 25 to 50 bracket or the Tier III.
- Pick a career path and then pick schools. If you are interested in a career in A, I think it is risky to do it in a school known the world over for careers in B. The company you are interested in may not recruit at the school. You may not find enough folks to help you with the networking.
- Make a list of all things that is important for you. For instance, the demographics of the location is important to me. I come from a country with a billion people and living in a town with just 10,000 folks would be traumatic !! I place a premium on the school's website and tech-savy nature. For me, that is a sign of how the school can connect me with the world. A collaborative environment is also important for me.
- The first thing that you should look for when evaluating schools is the employment statistics. You should know what % of class is employed at graduation, what % is employed through school activities, what % is placed in the industry/function of your choice, what companies recruit for the industry/function of your choice. It is important that the entire class is placed well - that is how you build a network. Next, look at the academics and the faculty. For me, more practical the training the better. Thirdly, look at the strength of the community feeling. Mail current students and counselors and see the response. Remember to look at the tuition and loan options.
It is good to start visiting the various B School forums at this point.
Put down your Story
First, make a two-page resume. Delete all the industry jargon and ensure the points are more action-result based. Next, put down one page responses to the following questions
- What are your career goals for 5 years from now and 20 years from now ?
- Why MBA? Why now ?
- Two career related accomplishments
- One instance of failure and what you learnt from that failure
- One non career related accomplishment
- An ethical dilemma.
Understand the application process
Your GMAT scores, acads, work experience and how you present yourself in your essays and interviews will determine if you get selected. There are rules to how a short coming in one aspect can be overcome in another aspect of your application. You could get away with slightly below average acads if you have exemplary work experience but the reverse is unlikely to be true. You could get away with a slightly below average GMAT score if you have some truly unique stories to tell - again the reverse may not be true.
Understand your strengths and weakness. Understand the pool in which you are applying. There will be more then one applicant with the same or higher GMAT score, work experience and acads, the only differentiating factor is your story. Nothing can compensate for weak essays.
Essay Writing
Shortlist the schools and estimate your chances at each of the schools. Applying to more then 4 schools is tough on you and the people who will write your recommendation letters. Look through resources available at sites such as ClearAdmit for tips on essay writing. Always remember that the adcom does not want to hear any one story - they want to hear a different story. Build on the stories you put down earlier - mould them to answer the question asked.
Planning and Applying
I would recommend starting your preparations atleast a year before you plan to apply. Spread your applications over round1 and round2. This gives you time to apply to your backup colleges - in case your college of first choice gave you the ding or puts you on the waitlist.
And hey, this is just my perspective. Good luck with the applications.
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