My 2 cents on the entire application process...

I've been on this forum browsing and posting since the end of April 2008. Many of the postings and the thoughts about b-school and the application process seem to be skewed, or maybe I just happen to read certain posts and have magically missed the ones where people think logically about the application process and b-school in general. I have decided to present what I believe are myths and/or assumptions about b-school and the application process. I realize that something I may label here as a myth actually has some truth to it, and a more accurate label may be "exaggeration" rather than myth. If this happens to be true in what I say, please look at the core of what I'm saying. If you think I'm 90% correct, don't scream and shout about the 10% disagreement.

Myth #1
To make a ton of money in my career I have to go to an M7 school.

My thoughts...
I think the key phrase to this is "have to" and second key phrase is "ton of money". I acknowledge this is not the only motivating factor for going to b-school, and in this economy, that's a good thing. I think it is human nature to want to take something such as our success and place the responsibility for that success in the hands of some other person or thing. If we don't get into an M7 school, then we can say "That's why I'm not a millionaire/CEO/CFO/handsome model-dating stud." or "Things would be going exactly as I wanted them to go IF ONLY one of the M7 schools had let me in." We want to think we did all that we could and the deck was stacked against us. Our current situation couldn't possibly be a result of our own decisions or our own failures, but the truth is that when we recognize the connection between our decisions and our success, that's when we get control and can really make things happen. When you acknowledge that you can work harder and capitalize on presented opportunities, then you are not longer subject to what happens TO you. (Yes, things do happen TO you, but you're reaction to these circumstances is under your control.) There are many people that are amazingly successful and didn't go to an M7. These people work hard and take things while others work only as hard as they are required and wait for things to come to them.

How's this for a hypothetical? You borrow a friend's car to go on a date. You get pulled over for going 7 mph over the limit, and the cop is about to give you a warning when he sees a plastic baggie under the back seat. You're arrested for possession of cocaine (great friend you've got there,huh?). Do you want the lawyer that went to a top law school and was last in his class because he has a horrible work ethic and is going to screw up your case, or do you want the attorney that isn't as naturally smart as the top law grad but works 3 times as hard and will do his best which results in the charges being dropped? The same logic applies for b-schools. You don't have to have an MBA from an M7!!! Will people give you more opportunities because of your pedigree? Certainly. But this does not equate with a need to attend one of these schools. You can go to a lower-ranked school and work your tail off. You will have to make some of your own opportunities. Many people in companies would rather hire MBA's that go out and make things happen for themselves rather than wait on someone to come to them because they have a Kellogg MBA.

Where you went to school for your MBA does not change your personal abilities to succeed once you're done. Focus on that. Sure, go to the best school you can get into, but even if you get into Stanford, don't think that your ticket is punched forever. Do you think no Stanford graduate has ever failed?


Myth #2 - A 710 GMAT score is so-so.

Are you kidding me ? This is absolutely insane to me. If you look at this and see it as average among accepted students at the top schools and you're not used to being average in your entire life...welcome to b-school. You moved from the pond in Tenneessee to the Great Lakes. You may have taken up 1/2 of that little pond, but there you blend in with the school in the Great Lakes. And once you're done with b-school, you're swimming in the ocean my friend. Average is not a bad thing depending on your location. Average in b-schools (or most grad programs in general) is still going to be above average to the rest of people. The state with the highest % of population 25-and-older with master's degrees was Massachusetts, with 14.5%. That's the higest. So even in the highest state, once you get that MBA, you're more educated than 6 of out 7 people. I think the words I'm looking for are "relativity" and "perspective".

For those people that think their 700+ score is "not great", follow these simple rules:
1) Never talk about your score in public (I mean outside of GMATClub) and certainly not at b-school
2) If you do talk about it at b-school, duck. I say this because I hope someone that hears you and has a lower score smacks you back to reality. If you don't mind getting hit, break Rule #2.
3) Go volunteer at a shelter regularly. The very fact that you are now considering applying to b-school means so much, and evidently this significance has been lost on you. There are people that would kill (some literally) to have the opportunities you have had to this point. I don't care how difficult it has been for you to get to this point...it's still exponentially better than billions of others in this world. Don't apologize for your abilities or the opportunities you've been given. Be thankful for them because if you didn't take these opportunities when given the chance, that'd be a shame too.

I hope this wasn't too much of a rant, but I think some people on here need to get a better sense of perspective.

My mom has a bachelor's degree and is a high school english teacher. My father has a high school dimploma and has taken many college classes. My brother is an ER doctor in Ohio and I'm an attorney in Oklahoma. My parents have said numerous times they've been asked by people how they were able to raise 2 sons that went on to get doctoral degrees. I'm not sure how they responded, but it makes me so happy that I've brought my parents that honor and sense of pride that they're recognized by those around them for how they raised my brother and me. You are doing the same thing for your family. You've got your bachelor's degree and will be getting an MBA from somewhere. You don't know yet where, but you WILL get this degree. Appreciate this and tell your parents or whoever raised you "Thank you for giving me what I needed to be able to do the things I'm doing today." If you do this out of the blue, it will blow them away. You didn't fall on the top of the mountain, and you weren't climbing alone.