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

JudithTsai

Hi Jon, thanks for sharing your insights with us. You really helped many CDers solve their puzzles on the road to MBA. I'm wondering whether you can help me to check whether my target schools are realistic and whether the one which i selected is fit for my career goal.

Thanks ahead for your time and efforts on my question.

JonFrank

Hi Jon, thanks for sharing your insights with us. You really helped many CDers solve their puzzles on the road to MBA. I'm wondering whether you can help me to check whether my target schools are realistic and whether the one which i selected is fit for my career goal.

Professional experience: 3 year British Venture Capital focus in mainland China market. Main job is early stage  
                                      funding and technology commercialization; built and managed the first office in
                                      mainland china, settle down three projects in china.
                                    2 year entreprenueship, now running a Advertising company with 10 employees.

Education: Bachelor of engineering,major in Double E, GPA is 3.83, TOP2 of 75 students, founding a HR
              company with a Singapore friend in college

Test Score: GMAT 730/4.5; TOEFL 108


Career goal:Build a consulting company in mainland china to provide technology transfer and early stage funding
                 services.

Target school: MIT  Chicago
                      Duke (Dream School)  Hass
                      UT-Austin    Cornell Johnson

I know MIT and Chicago might be tough based on my test score but i still would like to have a try.

Thanks ahead for your time and efforts on my question.

-- by 会员 JudithTsai (2011/10/4 10:04:32)

Yes my friend, I do like your chances very much.  Your test scores are good (though not exceptional) but your work experience, especially in the international stuff, is VERY strong.  Well done!  One question though—why bother with consulting?  Why stray from your background in VC, or your background in entrepreneurship?  It feels like consulting is NOT a logical progression for you.  Why introduce this kind of career shift, if you already have some good credibility in finance and entrepreneurship?  That would be my advice dude, keep things niiiiice and simple.  No changes if you don’t need one…


Jon Frank
HBS 2005

DORAEMONMM

Hi Jon，
Thanks for your advises and postings on CD, it is really a great help!! Appreciate if you could give me some suggestions on below questions:
I've taken GMAT for 5 times : The highest score is 710, if I want to get in M7, do you suggest I retake? Will M7 reject me because too many attempts in GMAT even I finally got higher than 710? If yes, with 710, what range of school I can choose? thanks for your time ahead.

JonFrank

Hi Jon，
Thanks for your advises and postings on CD, it is really a great help!! Appreciate if you could give me some suggestions on below questions:
I've taken GMAT for 5 times : The highest score is 710, if I want to get in M7, do you suggest I retake? Will M7 reject me because too many attempts in GMAT even I finally got higher than 710? If yes, with 710, what range of school I can choose? thanks for your time ahead.

-- by 会员 DORAEMONMM (2011/10/11 18:19:28)

Hey there.  Yes you are right, it would be foolish to retake the GMAT.  Five times?  J  That is more than enough.  You now have what you need to apply to a top-20 or top 30 school.  Not M7, but a top school just the same.  You have also likely missed Round 1, right?  So again, top 20 or top 30 will be fine, especially in Round 2.


Jon Frank
HBS 2005

JudithTsai

Thanks John. Your insights means alot for me.

JonFrank

QUESTION:

I believe most b-school applicants intend to land a different job (either in another industry or in another position, or both) after they get their MBA. But I’ve heard you say that adcoms don’t like career-switchers. So how do I deliver an essay that speaks my mind and is honest, and, at the same time, convinces the adcom?

ANSWER:

It’s easy, dude.

Don’t talk about career changes in your essays for the adcom.

I know that doesn’t seem to make sense but stick with your past background. Speak your mind…as though you were going to stay along the lines of your current job. That is your best bet for sure.

Career changes make adcoms nervous. Why? Well, here’s the deal. Adcoms like people who prove they will be wildly successful one day. (Wildly successful people make b-schools look good. They also make a lot of money….and then donate that money back to the school that helped them get there. Yes, even business school is a business.) And for adcoms, someone who has experience in a field are much more likely to be successful than someone who doesn’t.

Think about it. If you were reading two applications and both people wanted to own their own hedge fund one day, but one applicant has worked at a hedge fund for 5 years and other has spent the past 5 years in consulting ….who do YOU think would have a better chance at achieving that long-term goal?

The truth is, it doesn’t matter how badly to WANT to make that career change; the adcom is going to go for the sure thing. And that, my friend, is not the career switcher.

So…why bother? Why stick with the career-change story? Why take that risk? Just stick to what you know in your application and show those adcoms that you’re a sure thing.

Then, once you’ve got that MBA under your belt, you can switch careers as many times as you want.

It worked for me….

– Jon Frank

JonFrank

QUESTION:

I heard it could be helpful to impress the adcom if you visit the school. Is this true? And will it REALLY help me get admitted? It just seems to be so expensive to go visit all the schools I’m applying to, especially if I might have to return for interviews. Also, if I do visit, is it possible to talk to someone in admissions about my personal situation?

ANSWER:

Yes, my friend, if it is at all possible you SHOULD try to coordinate a campus visit.  Yes, it will cost $1,000 USD or so, but compared to the $150K that you are going to spend, that isn’t a very large amount. Especially considering how important the campus visit is at many schools.

I was recently speaking with an adcom member at a school based in Europe.  She made it EXTREMELY clear to me that if the applicant hasn’t visited, she simply will NOT believe that he wants to go to that school.  eriod.

Interesting, eh?

But she makes a good point. How can you prove to a school that you KNOW that they are the best school for you, if you have never even visited?  It is possible, of course, but why not take that risky element out of the mix and just….visit? Adcoms will be impressed, and you will also experience cool things and meet cool people that you can reference in your applications (and, you know, reach out to when you get to campus next year).

Now, what should you be doing during that visit? Obviously, there is a TON of stuff you can do that will be both helpful for your application and productive.  First of all, reach to to the admissions committee.  Granted, they will likely not take your meeting… but there is no shame in trying.  Also, you should visit classes.  Ideally even something that is relevant to your career goals.  And finally, do your best to reach out to students as well.  So, for example, if you are interested in the Venture Capital Club, try to meet with a person (or two?) who is a member of that club! Find out about the club, find out about the campus, and find out about their life in the MBA program. Don’t do this just because you will be able to write about it in your apps, but also because you will learn what it is REALLY like on campus.

And isn’t that something you’d like to know before you decide to spend the next 1-2 years there?

Hope that helps shed some light,

Jon Frank
Founder PrecisionEssay

jauly

Hi Jon,

Please help. Would it be too bold for me to apply for top 5 or top 10 US business schools with below background?

Education: BA Economics
we: 3.5 years in one of the top 3 insurance broking firms. 3-month overseas training experience.
G/T: G730, T109
GPA: 3.3/4.0

If you need more information, please let me know. Many thanks in advance!

-- by 会员 fido12 (2010/9/22 0:00:28)

Hello there!  While a top five school will be very challenging for you (given both your GMAT and your TOEFL, a top ten program is quite possible. 10-15 for sure.  Haas, Ross, places like that should be right in your comfort zone.  Good luck—and go get em!  J


Jon Frank

-- by 会员 JonFrank (2010/9/23 12:06:01)

Hi Jon,

is it true that HBS concerns the GMAT scores so much? i see the average for last year is 72*. I just got a 720+5.5, is it possible for me to apply HBS using this score. my background is double bachelor degree at top2 university in china, but GPA is so so (3.2) and master degree at singapore university. 6 years working experience in singpaore manufacturing (semicon) company as process and quality engineer.
by the way, does the nationality make any difference? i am holding singapore passport. thanks

JonFrank

Hi Jon,

Please help. Would it be too bold for me to apply for top 5 or top 10 US business schools with below background?

Education: BA Economics
we: 3.5 years in one of the top 3 insurance broking firms. 3-month overseas training experience.
G/T: G730, T109
GPA: 3.3/4.0

If you need more information, please let me know. Many thanks in advance!

-- by 会员 fido12 (2010/9/22 0:00:28)

Hello there!  While a top five school will be very challenging for you (given both your GMAT and your TOEFL, a top ten program is quite possible. 10-15 for sure.  Haas, Ross, places like that should be right in your comfort zone.  Good luck—and go get em!  J


Jon Frank

-- by 会员 JonFrank (2010/9/23 12:06:01)

Hi Jon,

is it true that HBS concerns the GMAT scores so much? i see the average for last year is 72*. I just got a 720+5.5, is it possible for me to apply HBS using this score. my background is double bachelor degree at top2 university in china, but GPA is so so (3.2) and master degree at singapore university. 6 years working experience in singpaore manufacturing (semicon) company as process and quality engineer.
by the way, does the nationality make any difference? i am holding singapore passport. thanks

-- by 会员 jauly (2011/10/18 22:24:52)

Yes my friend, sadly for Chinese applicants the GMAT score is very important.  While the average is 720, you can be sure that the average for Chinese candidates is much higher than that.  You guys are just so smart!  J  But yes, you can certainly apply anyway.  You will have a real chance, if your essays are fabulous.  Singapore will make your life easier than China, that is for sure…


Jon Frank
Founder PrecisionEssay

JonFrank

Getting Over Writer’s Block
QUESTION:

I finally decided on the list of schools I’ll be applying to in Round 2 this year and now it’s time to start my essays. I just… don’t really know where to start. Or how. Got any tips for getting over writer’s block and getting words on paper?

ANSWER:

Hey there, happy to answer this question.  We get it often–it’s “an oldie but goodie” around these parts.  Let’s get into it.

If you are stuck in front of a complicated-looking batch of questions, the first thing to do is… ignore them.  All of em.  Ignore the questions.  Instead, focus on the stories you’ve gotta tell.  List ‘em, write ‘em down.  What are your greatest hits?

The key is for you to tell YOUR stories.  So, no matter WHAT the questions are, you need to make sure that you talk about the best, coolest, most impressive things that you have done.  Back when I was younger (and I’m not thaaat old) we used to buy CDs.  And nobody really knew anything about Bob Marley, but everyone had the Legend album.  So why am I talking about this?  Because THAT album is Bob’s legacy.  What are YOUR greatest hits?  Don’t pick the essay question that is easiest to write. Forget the essay questions all together!  Think about what your GREATEST HITS are, what your best stories are.  Then figure out how to fit your stories into THOSE questions.

Now, there is a risk here.  The risk is that you ignore the essay questions, and somehow find a way to write essays that have NOTHING to do with the question asked.  Hmmm. That would be bad. Don’t do that. What you should do is find a way to make YOUR stories ACTUALLY answer the question.  So, how will you do that? That’s what you’ve gotta figure out.  But I’ve gotta tell ya, the same story can be tweaked a zillion ways to answer…ANY question.

When I applied to bschool, my best story was the time I built my very first building as a real estate developer.  And if need be, I could tell that as my greatest success (building the thing), my greatest failure (it didn’t get done til after I left the company), a great leadership exercise (I had a team working for me), a great teamwork exercise (I worked with a team)…you get the idea.  But no matter WHAT they asked me in the app, one thing was for certain: I was gonna tell that story in every single app.

And it worked. For every school I applied to…

So for those of you dealing with writer’s block, step away from the computer, channel your inner Bob Marley and think about what would be on your Legend album. Then get writing.

Good luck,
– Jon Frank