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

ballackahn

Hi Jon,

Appreciate your answers and comments here, quite useful. Could you please help to evaluate my background below and give some advice?

My background:

W/E: 2 yrs in in a Fortune 500 company as management trainee, mainly do some sales and marketing job.
      from this July, I joined my father's company, assuming general manager, the company focusing on mining.
G: 760+3.5 T :100 I plan to retake T to get a higher score for R2
Bachelor in Eningeering In China top school GPA:3.6+
Other: a founder of a charity foundation which donates 0.5M USD a year to help orphans ,permanent director of the 3rd council of China Charity Federation
Career goal: entrepreneurship in US in short-term, developing my home business in long-term  
Target School: R2: HBS CBS Stanford(dream school)  Yale  Wharton R1:MIT Duke Tuck

Thank you for your help.

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

-- by 会员 JonFrank (2011/10/25 23:43:25)

hi John, after reading your suggestions on the essay, I have a quick question.
I worked as an auditor in the big 4 for about 4 years. I mean I certainly have some stories in the big 4 to tell but these stories seems would be a little bit overlapped with the stories of other big 4 applicants, which is a big pool of competitors.
On the other hand, I really had an interesting life when I was in the university, so I have some cool stories to tell as a students(took part in the first Shakespear Play in our university, led the cheer leading teaming of the school to win severial competitions and many backpacking experiences), so should I focus on the stories during the work or should I mention my stories as a student? will the adcoms think school lifes are too far away for the MBA applicants? Or the best option is mention both the experiences in work and as a student, but how to allocate the percentage?
Oh, another question. About the recommendation letters. Almost every school require two recommendations. But since I have only worked in one company, should I get both the letters from one company or should I get one of them from one of my internships? I mean if I get both letters from one company, will the adcoms be bored? But I got the internship almost 4 years ago and I only did it for 2 month.
And about the reference letter, which is better? The letter come from a manager (one know me a lot) or one come from a partner( higher level but just a nodding acquaintance)?

-- by 会员 可乐罐子 (2011/11/7 22:41:58)

Hey there—gosh lots of questions!  J  I will do my best to answer all of them for you.  Yes, since it is business school, you will need to focus more than 50% on BUSINESS, and not on undergraduate work.  The college stuff is okay for one essay, but no more than that for sure.  And it is ideal to have a letter of recommendation from two different places; perhaps someone at university?  Or someone who is connected with your extra-curriculars?  That would be ideal for you, to have two kinds of people.  The Internship is better than two recs from the same place.  Hope this helps my friend!


Jon Frank
Founder PrecisionEssay

可乐罐子

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

-- by 会员 JonFrank (2011/10/25 23:43:25)

hi John, after reading your suggestions on the essay, I have a quick question.
I worked as an auditor in the big 4 for about 4 years. I mean I certainly have some stories in the big 4 to tell but these stories seems would be a little bit overlapped with the stories of other big 4 applicants, which is a big pool of competitors.
On the other hand, I really had an interesting life when I was in the university, so I have some cool stories to tell as a students(took part in the first Shakespear Play in our university, led the cheer leading teaming of the school to win severial competitions and many backpacking experiences), so should I focus on the stories during the work or should I mention my stories as a student? will the adcoms think school lifes are too far away for the MBA applicants? Or the best option is mention both the experiences in work and as a student, but how to allocate the percentage?
Oh, another question. About the recommendation letters. Almost every school require two recommendations. But since I have only worked in one company, should I get both the letters from one company or should I get one of them from one of my internships? I mean if I get both letters from one company, will the adcoms be bored? But I got the internship almost 4 years ago and I only did it for 2 month.
And about the reference letter, which is better? The letter come from a manager (one know me a lot) or one come from a partner( higher level but just a nodding acquaintance)?

-- by 会员 可乐罐子 (2011/11/7 22:41:58)

Hey there—gosh lots of questions!  J  I will do my best to answer all of them for you.  Yes, since it is business school, you will need to focus more than 50% on BUSINESS, and not on undergraduate work.  The college stuff is okay for one essay, but no more than that for sure.  And it is ideal to have a letter of recommendation from two different places; perhaps someone at university?  Or someone who is connected with your extra-curriculars?  That would be ideal for you, to have two kinds of people.  The Internship is better than two recs from the same place.  Hope this helps my friend!


Jon Frank
Founder PrecisionEssay

-- by 会员 JonFrank (2011/11/8 13:25:43)

Thanks Jon, now I know what to do

ballackahn

Hi Jon,

Appreciate your answers and comments here, quite useful. Could you please help to evaluate my background below and give some advice?

My background:

W/E: 2 yrs in in a Fortune 500 company as management trainee, mainly do some sales and marketing job.
     from this July, I joined my father's company, assuming general manager, the company focusing on mining.
G: 760+3.5 T :100 I plan to retake T to get a higher score for R2
Bachelor in Eningeering In China top school GPA:3.6+
Other: a founder of a charity foundation which donates 0.5M USD a year to help orphans ,permanent director of the 3rd council of China Charity Federation
Career goal: entrepreneurship in US in short-term, developing my home business in long-term  
Target School: R2: HBS CBS Stanford(dream school)  Yale  Wharton R1:MIT Duke Tuck

Thank you for your help.

JonFrank

Hi Jon,

Appreciate your answers and comments here, quite useful. Could you please help to evaluate my background below and give some advice?

My background:

W/E: 2 yrs in in a Fortune 500 company as management trainee, mainly do some sales and marketing job.
     from this July, I joined my father's company, assuming general manager, the company focusing on mining.
G: 760+3.5 T :100 I plan to retake T to get a higher score for R2
Bachelor in Eningeering In China top school GPA:3.6+
Other: a founder of a charity foundation which donates 0.5M USD a year to help orphans ,permanent director of the 3rd council of China Charity Federation
Career goal: entrepreneurship in US in short-term, developing my home business in long-term  
Target School: R2: HBS CBS Stanford(dream school)  Yale  Wharton R1:MIT Duke Tuck

Thank you for your help.

-- by 会员 ballackahn (2011/11/10 12:27:38)

Hey there—I will make this simple for you my friend.  I LOVE your profile…if you can raise your TOEFL score.  J  With your current TOEFL, you will have a hard time getting into any of these places.  With a new TOEFL (105 or better) you WILL have a shot.  You don’t need the 109 to get into HBS, but you DO need to be 105 or better—your 100 is y our biggest liability right now for sure.  if you can fix that, you will be in great shape this year.  And of course, you will need amazing essays of course….  Hope this helps and good luck!


Jon Frank
Founder PrecisionEssay

JonFrank

QUESTION:

I planned on applying for my MBA last year but my GMAT score just wasn’t good enough and I had to re-take it. Now I’m 31 years old and want to start an MBA program in 2012. Am I too old to get into a full-time top 15 program? Is it easier to do part-time? And if so, will that look as good for employers?

ANSWER:

At age 31 it is late to get in. But it’s not impossible. Military guys and international students will make up most of the peeps who are at school in their 30′s. If you don’t fall into either of those categories, however, you still have a shot. And a good one at that.

First of all, consider European programs where the average ages tend to be older.  Also, there are some US programs that also have older average ages. Tuck, Wharton and Ross are open to older applicants, as well as others. Some other schools, like HBS and Stanford, will be virtually impossible to crack at this point. Do some research and find out the average ages for students at various b-schools.  I know US News and World report has that information, as do b-school forums like Beat the GMAT and GMAT Club.

Since part-time programs are SO much easier to get into, I’d say at age 31 that it’s still worth trying to get into a full-time program.  That’s where you meet the most folks, learn the most, tap into the best networks, etc. Give the full-time thing one last try before digging into other programs.  At age 31 (assuming your test scores are solid now), you should be juuuust fine.

Good luck this year!

– Jon Frank

Founder

spoiledchild

Hi, Jon. I have some questions.
I am a government officer in the Quality Supervision Bureau of the municipal Government of Suzhou, the second largest industry city in China, and I am the youngest(30 years old already
L) middle-level leader (deputy director of a department) in this bureau. My job responsibility is focusing on operating annual Mayer Quality Award, which is based on the criteria of US Boldrige Award and aims to raise awareness of quality management and recognize companies that have implemented successful quality-management systems, and making short term and long term quality management plan for municipal government. My GMAT score is 730, and iBT score is 105, all just taken once.

One of my career goal is to be the Director of Operation in a large-scale private enterprise in Suzhou, and my short term goal is attend a leadership or rotation program of an international company in order to learn the overall company management skill which I am lack of. A top MBA degree is a ticket for me to enter the business world.


Another seemingly more logical and ambitious career goal is to create a quality management consulting firm, providing operation and production improvement consulting for local private enterprises. This goal fits my past career experience and I do have a deep view of the quality management deficiency of Chinese manufactures. To achieve this goal, I plan to attend a top consulting firm to get consulting experience in operation and collect varieties of cases to prepare for my future career.


Q1: If you were an admission committee member, which career path seems more logical, convincing and competitive?


Q2: Do you think I have a chance to be admitted in TOP20 US Bschools? Any recommendation and suggestion?


My school list is as follows:
DukeMichiganCornellUNCEmoryWUSTLVanderbiltNotreDame


Thanks for your time. Looking forward to your reply.

OxSead

My school list is as follows:
DukeMichiganCornellUNCEmoryWUSTLVanderbiltNotreDame

-- by 会员 spoiledchild (2011/11/27 19:10:20)

哇 前五间选校完全跟我的一样

JonFrank

Hi, Jon. I have some questions.
I am a government officer in the Quality Supervision Bureau of the municipal Government of Suzhou, the second largest industry city in China, and I am the youngest(30 years old already
L) middle-level leader (deputy director of a department) in this bureau. My job responsibility is focusing on operating annual Mayer Quality Award, which is based on the criteria of US Boldrige Award and aims to raise awareness of quality management and recognize companies that have implemented successful quality-management systems, and making short term and long term quality management plan for municipal government. My GMAT score is 730, and iBT score is 105, all just taken once.

One of my career goal is to be the Director of Operation in a large-scale private enterprise in Suzhou, and my short term goal is attend a leadership or rotation program of an international company in order to learn the overall company management skill which I am lack of. A top MBA degree is a ticket for me to enter the business world.


Another seemingly more logical and ambitious career goal is to create a quality management consulting firm, providing operation and production improvement consulting for local private enterprises. This goal fits my past career experience and I do have a deep view of the quality management deficiency of Chinese manufactures. To achieve this goal, I plan to attend a top consulting firm to get consulting experience in operation and collect varieties of cases to prepare for my future career.


Q1: If you were an admission committee member, which career path seems more logical, convincing and competitive?


Q2: Do you think I have a chance to be admitted in TOP20 US Bschools? Any recommendation and suggestion?


My school list is as follows:
DukeMichiganCornellUNCEmoryWUSTLVanderbiltNotreDame


Thanks for your time. Looking forward to your reply.

-- by 会员 spoiledchild (2011/11/27 19:10:20)

Hello my friend and sorry for the late response—yes, I do think that you will get into a top program.  While Michigan and Cornell will be stretches for you, schools like Wash U, Vanderbilt etc. would be delighted to have you I am sure.  I wish your TOEFL were just a bit higher, but it is fine for those schools (Cornell and Ross…it is a tad low, as you know.)  Now honestly,  you wont like my answer to your other question.  Actually BOTH career goals are just fine!  I would believe either one.  The key will be that your description of your CURRENT job will need to change, according to which one you talk about.  If you chose the consulting route, then you should describe your current government job in THOSE terms—working with teams, solving problems…doing all the stuff that consultants do.  If you choose the other path, your description of your current job should reflect THAT path.  But given your background, and provided that you craft your essays VERY carefully, either one could work.  I hope this helps, and good luck!


Jon Frank
Founder PrecisionEssay

needthat

Dear Jon,

What kind of long term goals are compelling enough for top 15 school?
I heard that American always prefer starting own company than working for corperate. Corperate seems to be the last way out?
Is GM for a division of a multinational grand enough for the time span of "long term"? How about senior management?