Ask Jon Frank- P69-Q&A:WHY MBA? 7 OVERLOOKED REASONS TO GET AN MBA

chengya

Hi, Jon,

I wonder how important the online application form is. There are places we need to describe job duties, activities, community services etc.  Do we need to fill out these as well as we did on  essays? Or the forms actually only are used to generate general information?  Lots of places I put very concise description there, and some of them not even reach half of their words limitation.   I just don't have idea how much efforts we put on these online form, do we need to put same effort to describe an activity, job duties as we do on essays, or we just need to put correct info there is enough. Can you give me some insight? Thank you very much.

JonFrank

Hi, Jon,

I wonder how important the online application form is. There are places we need to describe job duties, activities, community services etc.  Do we need to fill out these as well as we did on  essays? Or the forms actually only are used to generate general information?  Lots of places I put very concise description there, and some of them not even reach half of their words limitation.   I just don't have idea how much efforts we put on these online form, do we need to put same effort to describe an activity, job duties as we do on essays, or we just need to put correct info there is enough. Can you give me some insight? Thank you very much.

-- by 会员 chengya (2010/12/28 12:50:31)

Hey there—these forms aren’t as important as the essays of course—but it is critical that you don’t make any errors.  Don’t write too much, and don’t get into too much trouble. Just find a comfortable format, be consistent, and don’t write too many words!  Get in, get out, and don’t make any mistakes.  That’s the key here…good luck!


Jon Frank

HaoBinfen

thanks.

jueasign

Hi Jon, happy new year! Wish you and a prosperous 2011! Thanks for your great tips and generous help on CD! They are really useful!

I just submitted an application, but I got a question here:

After I submitted the application, I found that the effective date of my promotion should be July 1 instead of May 1 as I stated in my Resume. HR of my firm said it took some time for my registration to be processed and recognized (I am a licensed person). However, I did start doing tasks that involved more responsibilities since May 1. In this case, does it matter? And if so, should I contact the school to rectify soon?

Many thanks!

Regards, jueasign

JonFrank

Dear Jon,

Could you please advise how to structure an optional essay? I need to address the following two issues but don't know how to connect them smoothly.

-- Low GPA in an exchange program
-- Not choosing my current supervisor as recommender

Is there anything else that I should include in the optional essay?

Thanks as always.

-- by 会员 HaoBinfen (2011/1/2 22:33:32)

Always happy to help of course.  J  You should structure the thing juuust as you’ve laid out above.  Two paragraphs.  The first would be your addressing your GPA.  “I would like to address my low GPA in the YYY program.  I believe that it doesn’t reflect my academic abilities, because….”  Then, same thing in your next paragraph.  “I have not selected my current supervisor to write my recommendation because blablabla.”  iece of cake—250 words max.  Good luck!


Jon Frank

JonFrank

Hi Jon, happy new year! Wish you and a prosperous 2011! Thanks for your great tips and generous help on CD! They are really useful!

I just submitted an application, but I got a question here:

After I submitted the application, I found that the effective date of my promotion should be July 1 instead of May 1 as I stated in my Resume. HR of my firm said it took some time for my registration to be processed and recognized (I am a licensed person). However, I did start doing tasks that involved more responsibilities since May 1. In this case, does it matter? And if so, should I contact the school to rectify soon?

Many thanks!

Regards, jueasign

-- by 会员 jueasign (2011/1/5 10:04:11)

Hey there!  Thank you so much for the fond wishes--it has truly been SUCH a joy getting to know so many kind, generous, thoughtful people on CD.  So thank YOU for sharing your experience with me.  As for this promotion issue, I wouldnt worry about it.  If an adcom member does call, which is very unlikely, the HR person will simply explain (yes we had thought May, but it turns out to be July--the applicant had no way of knowing.)

Dont worry about this--you are just fine.  No need to reach out to the adcom here.


Good luck to you!


Jon Frank

DeeGao

Hey Jon
Quick question:
How much hope is there for international applicants in R3 ?
Do you think there is still hope in R3 or its better to wait till next year?

sereinsun

Hi Jon! So glad I found your post on ChaseDream. I'm looking to apply for fall 2011, hence I'm just starting the research. One question I have for now is how important do you think extra curricular activities (i.e. volunteering) are? I saw a lot of applicants emphasized their extra curricular experiences in at least one of their essays and it seems to be a positive reinforcement. What are you thoughts on this matter? Thanks in advance!

Best,
sereinsun

jueasign

Thanks much Jon!!

JonFrank

Hey Jon
Quick question:
How much hope is there for international applicants in R3 ?
Do you think there is still hope in R3 or its better to wait till next year?

-- by 会员 DeeGao (2011/1/14 0:38:16)

Hey there!  Well, there is always hope of course.  J  As you have seen, there will always be cases in which people have the ability to overcome incredible odds—HBS especially has taken a number of applicants this year who wouldn’t have had a shot last year—the standards and “the bar’ is always moving around a bit.  However, Round 3 is VERY tricky.  Especially for international applicants.  I wouldn’t recommend it—I would only apply Round 3 if you are on the older side, and don’t reeeally have much of a choice.  If you can wait a year, if you have a job etc., that’s what I would recommend.  Wait.  Your chances will be better NEXT year.  So apply round 1!!!


Jon Frank