Calling All Georgetown 2011 Applicants (Updated)

I had my interview today and I think it went well (fingers crossed). My interviewer was very friendly and engaging. She definitely put me at ease without making things seem too casual. It helped that we had a number of things in common (more than I was expecting).

1. Tell me about yourself.
2. What are you ST/LT goals?
3. Why do you want to get your MBA?
4. Have you had a chance to visit campus (before today)?
5. What attracted you to Georgetown?
6. Tell me about your international experiences.

I guess I went through those question fairly quickly (too quickly?) because we had 15 minutes left for me to ask her questions - fortunately I had a number on hand.

My advice (not groundbreaking) is just to arrive a little early - mostly because it's darn cold outside and it takes my face at least 10 minutes to adjust to a normal color after walking around in this weather. There is a cafe in the Leavey Center (building directly north of the Hariri Building). It was nice to grab a coffee there ahead of time.

Does anyone have any idea of when we hear back with an up/down? Will they release all the decisions at once, or on a rolling basis after the interviews are complete? I'm not sure, but if I find out I'll be sure to share.

This past weekend was the Admit weekend for Round 1 applicants. I was unable to attend Friday's events but from what I heard they were well organized and fun. From what I recall, Friday's events included an introductory speech by the b-school Dean, a mock class with a finance professor, breakfast/lunch with current students, a presentation with the career center folks, and then prospective students were invited to join current students for drinks at a local watering hole in Georgetown.

I drove from NYC at 4:30am, settled into my hotel in DC, and then made my way over to Gtown a bit after 9am. I toured the building (which is incredible) and explored the area within the immediate proximity of the Hariri building. From there we enjoyed a small breakfast with current students and then were given a presentation by current students regarding housing. The presentation was very well organized and the students were impressive. We then had a presentation with a lady from the student services office that reviewed the Georgetown curriculum, study abroad opportunities, and the unique structure/interactions of each class and cohort of students. This presentation was followed by lunch (sandwhichs and wraps..pretty good) with fellow applicants and strategically placed first-year students. I was pleased to hear some students discuss the relatively successful results that they have encountered thus far in their internship searches. I was pleased to hear that many of the tops companies within my prospective industry (finance) recruit McDonough thoroughly. I will admit that the lunch itself was overshadowed by the amazing view from the banquet hall that the meal was held within. It was absurd. The afternoon continued with a presentation from current students that discussed clubs, classes, and life at Gtown. Of course all presentations were interactive and we were incouraged to ask any questions that we may have had. Finally, and perhaps most impressively, a panel of alumni was assembled and spoke to us with regards to their experience at McDonough and their experience as alums. These alums went on to careers ranging from PE to consulting to government. I was moved by their passion and love towards the school. The evening wrapped up with a banquet held in the same top-floor auditorium that housed our lunch. Caterers had set up tables where they served drinks (beer, wine, cocktails, etc) and prospective students mingled with current students, alums, and MBA program reps. It was a nice way to end the night

In all, I was very impressed by what I had a chance to see at Georgetown and it seemed as though other admits shared in my euphoria. I went into the weekend leaning towards attending McDonough (unless I am accepted off of Duke's waitlist) over Goizueta and this weekend may have clinched it. There was a certain energy or aura within the confines of the b-school and its students that gave me the impression that Georgetown is special and exciting place to be at this point. I am not one to base every decision off of rankings, however after visiting other schools and putting each into perspective, I would be inclined to wager that Georgetown will rise through the ranks in the coming years with a stronger applicant/student base and a terrific professional network within key industries.

On a side note, unfortunately I did not receive any merit-based aid from Gtown at the time of my application. I did receive aid, albeit small ($10k per year) from Emory which is the other option that I am most strongly considering. I contacted Georgetown hoping that they might match or reconsider an offer and they essentially called my bluff and wont budge. I am still leaning towards Georgetown (again, provided Duke doesnt accept me off of the WL) but the decision is certainly more difficult.

Thanks for the great writeup! I agree about the space in the Hariri building you're referring to. We ate lunch there during the Diversity Day presentations. It's fabulous. The view will probably be even better when the construction outside is finished (although I'm not sure what they are building).

I think you're spot on about Georgetown rising in the ranks. If only because it's associated with such a great university that seems willing to give the school the financing it needs to compete. Also: location, location, location.

Let us know when you end up making your final decision. It sounds like you have some really good options. I went to an info sessions for Duke, but ended up not applying there. Mostly because they didn't offer the dual degree options I was looking for outside of the university (G-town doesn't either - but they have a strong MA program in the field I'm interested in). I would also much rather be in DC, even if that means I'd be at a school that is a bit further down in the rankings. Also, I really dislike college basketball. That may be a silly reason not to go to a particular MBA program, but I'm from NC originally and I know firsthand how crazy people around there get about their teams. All the current students/alumni that spoke at the Duke event I attended mentioned how great it was to attend games and discuss the team's performance during networking events with alumni. No thanks!

I hear Georgetown has a basketball team too - but I think it might be a bit easier to leave it in the background (fingers crossed).

To build off of a couple of points I mentioned in my previous post...

I spoke with a number of students regarding the various publications that rank MBA programs and their thoughts on Georgetown's position. The students all were in unison that almost every aspect of the MBA program has been reformed or revamped recently in an effort to raise the profile of McDonough to that of the university's other schools and programs. One student told me that the current dean, who arrived recently, was much heralded upon coming to Gtown (he was the former dean of Stern) and essentially told the university that he needed the b-school to be autonomous from the other school's within Georgetown. This allowed McDonough to have its own endowment fund (and subsequently the new building) and allows the school to be agile in whatever restructuring it feels necessary to compete with elite programs. Now, for better of for worse, the dean will be departing next year to take a 1-year leave of absence and then plans to return to McDonough as a professor. I would hope the the next dean is as successful in advancing the agenda of Georgetown's MBA program.

One aspect of Welcome Weekend that was endearing to me was the apparent strength of the other accepted applicants. Of course I have no idea if these prospective students will enroll to McDonough but it seems as though Gtown is becoming more selective than I previously thought. By no means would I have any misconceptions that I am a premium candidate for most top 25 schools with my rather pedestrian GMAT score but I was very confident in the other aspects of my applications. At first I felt a bit slighted with the absence of a scholarship offer but I hope to discover that it speaks to the higher quality of other applicants.

Got a call (local-DC resident) around 2:40 PM (well, I missed their call =P) Called 'em back and I'm IN!

GPA: 2.9 / GMAT: 740 / WE: 3 yrs on matriculation / Software + Gov't Industries / Top 10 Private Undergrad

I was an active Gmat Club Forum participant last year when I was applying to b-schools, and I'm back this year as a b-school student at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University. I'm going to try to check this forum on a weekly basis to answer questions about life at McDonough, and my experience with the application process, but I'm sure there will be times when that isn't feasible, due to upcoming exams, career treks, etc. Please post your questions on the forum, rather than PMing me.

We just completed the first week of classes, but it is already clear to me that my classmates are a great group of people. Sure, there are a few individuals who think they are hot stuff, but I can honestly count those on one hand. The vast majority are intelligent, down-to-earth, and very friendly. I'm truly very happy being a part of this community, and I hear people say this time and again, and even read it on Facebook status updates.

If you are interested in attending a challenging but collaborative MBA program, I encourage you to check out the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown!

PS: Come visit the school and hang out with the students. You'll get a better sense of what Georgetown is all about!

This is going to be my last post for the night. Apologies in advance if I am too brief at times or come across as being terse. I've been on campus studying for about 10 hours straight and have another 1-2 hours to go. Midterms start tomorrow, and there are econ problem sets, a group case analysis, and a communications deliverable all coming up/due in the next two days. For someone who has always been on the semester system, MSB's accelerated 7-week system has been a bit of an adjustment. And as many second years have told me, in aggregate, professors assign far more homework than we can tackle. What with classes, club events, social events, networking, etc., you really have to be good about prioritizing what you need to work on, and what you will skip. You have to make that decision. Regardless of where you end up going to school, I recommend that the day you receive your syllabi, you should get on Google calendar (or whatever) and jot down each and every deliverable. It is very useful to be able to see the deliverable schedule at a high-level, weekly basis.

I could talk a lot about my experience with the admissions process, and the application, but looking back at the process as an admit, I believe that a lot of aspects are pretty straightforward. MSB admissions isn't trying to be opaque. Through the admissions website, and admissions statistics, MSB gives a very clear picture of what admissions is looking for. You need to discuss your interest in a collaborative environment, and a diverse student body, working in teams, being able to draw on the resources in the Washington DC community, your interest in and/or experience with working internationally, etc. This isn't a secret, it is here:

https://msb.georgetown.edu/mba/

And regardless of which school you are applying to, look at the admitted student statistics and demographics and see what you can glean from them. Harvard, for example, has an admit yield close to 1, so HBS could care less whether you visit school or not. But it is very important to Georgetown (and NYU for that matter--I noticed NYU on your list of target schools). Georgetown is a Jesuit institution, so community service is huge (and in our orientation, one of four days was spent doing community service projects). If your resume does not include a lot of community service, you better start getting more involved. Hopefully, your resume demonstrates a history of service; MSB admissions can spot someone who is padding their resumes.

Regardless of which school you are applying to, do a Google search to see if you can find the school's required resume format. Doesn't hurt to submit your resume formatted to a school's standards. At NYU and Georgetown, when discussing in your essays how much your visit influenced your decision to apply, feel free to mention the names of the admissions ambassadors you met with. Oh, and speaking of visits, MSB dress code is business casual. An applicant visited the other day wearing shorts, which wasn't to his advantage.

Lastly (for now), in your interview, you better be ready for why mba, why now, why Georgetown, what is your career path after MBA, what is your plan b career path. Be sure to identify weaknesses in your application package, and be ready to talk about them.

Hope this helps! I'll be back on the forum in a few days or next weekend.

guys, BEWARE of the rec questions. Apparently it has 3 ESSAY questions for the recommender and not the generic short answer with ratings.... so plan accordingly!

Shaselai,

You are correct that your references have to answer specific questions in essay form, but there were 6 questions last year, not 3. Responses are limited to 750 characters each--that is characters, not words, and the 750 limit includes spaces. And if I am remembering correctly, references also have to rank your performance/qualities against your peers in such issues as leadership, teamwork, communication, etc.

I don't know if MSB admissions is changing the applicant/reference essay questions for the Class of 2013 application cycle. When I applied last year, references had to answer these questions:

* How does the applicant’s performance compare with his/her peers?
* Please evaluate the applicant’s management potential.
* Please describe the applicant’s outstanding talents and abilities. Please cite specific examples.
* Please describe the applicant’s main areas in need of development. Please cite specific examples.
* Please comment on the applicant’s ability to work in teams. Is he/she an effective team member? Does he/she work better individually? What role does the applicant typically assume in a team setting?
* Describe the applicant’s ability to communicate orally and in writing. Also, if the applicant is a non-native English speaker, address specifically his/her ability to understand, speak, and write in English. Likewise, if the applicant is a native English speaker, please comment on his/her ability to understand,
speak, and write in a second language (if applicable).

When writing the essays, I encourage you and your references to subscribe to the "show don't tell" model. Answering a question with, "Shaselai works great on teams," is telling. Answering a question with, "Shaselai led a cross-functional team of 12 through a complex integration...," is showing. Admissions wants the showing, not the telling, as evidenced in admissions' instructions to references to, "Please cite specific examples."

On a different topic, note that MSB is really focused on moving up the school rankings. Among other things, we have a brand new business school building, and MSB just brought in Doreen Amorosa, former VP of Global Recruitment at American Express, to head up our career management team. MSB is a great place to be right now, and you can really feel the energy on campus. However, a key aspect of moving up the rankings is ramping up the admitted student profile. You can see our class profile here: https://msb.georgetown.edu/classprofile/myprofile/. In the admissions cycle for the Class of 2013, you should fully expect MSB admissions to be focused on improving the mean GPA and GMAT. As with any school, try to do as well as you can on the GMAT, and knock out some great essays that clearly explain your interest in the school, and your fit with the culture.

Good luck!

First year here. I absolutely love the Georgetown experience thus far. Amazing classmates, professors, building, curriculum, and city! The 2nd years are equally great. I feel truly blessed (even though our schedules are insane!). PM me if you have any specific questions. Thanks 2012applicant for sharing your insights as well.

Go HOYAS!

Hi Jatt86,

I'm a first-year student at Georgetown MSB. Regarding interview questions, in addition to doing a Google search for that info (there is a ton of info online), a great resource is the GMAT club forum threads from previous years. Go to the first post on this thread to find the link to the thread for the 2010 application round. That said, Georgetown places a lot of emphasis on fit. Know why an MBA, why Georgetown, why now, what do you want to do afterward and how Gtown will help you get there. Have a story that is a logical progression of your life from college to now, as it relates to the pursuit of your career goal. Be prepared to talk in depth about anything on your resume, and to talk about any weaknesses/issues. And in addition to being able to talk about fit from the perspective of why Georgetown, be ready to talk about fit from the perspective of why should Georgetown add you, and why you will add value to the program and to your classmates' experiences. Know that Georgetown is a collaborative environment that values teamwork. Know that the 4 residencies are unique to this program, etc. You can find all of this on the website.

Regarding interviews, no, not everyone is interviewed. Business Week has a breakdown of the stats from my application year, buy you can find my comments about the interview/acceptance percentages here:

calling-all-georgetown-2010-applicants-82484-200.html#p701791

Good luck!

Hi,

I am a first year student at Georgetown who is working to break into investment banking. I'm actually knee-deep in the summer associate recruiting process right now, and have been making weekly trips to NYC for networking.

Georgetown does have great relationships with a number of banks. Our strongest relationships are with Wells Fargo Securities and Citi. Current, 2nd-year MSB students secured investment banking internships last year at Barclays, Wells, Citi, JP Morgan, Lazard, Jefferies....even Goldman Sachs. And most of those students were offered full-time positions starting this June. Some students who pursued consulting or other internships were able to land jobs in ibanking as well. I believe that Wells hired the most students (4). All the firms are bullish on the economy and are increasing their internships and hiring for the coming year.

THAT SAID, if you want to go into investment banking, it is never too early to start preparing. While Georgetown is a core school for Wells and some others, we are still a top 25 school, and we are competing against students in top 5-10 schools. You have to be hungry and put in a lot of effort to demonstrate that you are serious about going into banking, that you know what the job is all about, that you know the technicals (for example, how to do a dcf, how to calculate Ke using CAPM, how to unlever a levered beta, etc., and accounting!), and that there is a clear link between your experience and skill set and the role of an associate banker. Some banks like Georgetown because we are more down to earth and collaborative than other schools, and those qualities are a strong fit with the culture of those banks. But some banks lean towards being, well, a bit elitist and seriously type A, and for these banks, Georgetown students likely enter the recruiting process as underdogs.

Hope this helps!

hii to all ... i had my interview with kelly wilson today
The questions from very different from what are stated above ...... NO why mba, no why georgetown, no Strenghts or weakness and she didnot read my application or essays. It was more about my job. She was really trying to understand in what kind of industry i work in. The first question was about my responsibilities which i messed up .. i was nervous...lol.... Then she asked me kind of work i do... It was basically trying to know about my job and my family business.
But i must tell .She is very nice lady and the way she ask questions helps you to come over your shyness.. I am from punjab (india) came to delhi (india) on a two day leave for interview and meeting my friend.. And she knew where punjab is .. she said is it in north.. and i said yes...and she joked that she is quite good in geography... It felt nice that she knows about india.. and she found my name Guriqbal difficult to pronounce .. and she tried to learn from me how to pronounce it ... that was funny...
I am keeping my fingers crossed for the result and hoping to get admit and $$.. Best of luck to rest of u ..

Had an off-site face-to-face interview this week with Georgetown.

The interview highlights:

-Duration: strictly 30 minutes. The interviewer had next appointment right after me
-Format: blind, the interview had only my resume
-Tone: friendly, warm, and encouraging. The interviewer made me comfortable right away, and I did not feel "interview-nervous" at all
-# of Questions: the number of total questions I received was 3-4, less than during the interviews with other schools. This is partly due to the 30-minutes restriction. With other schools, my interviews lasted up to 60 minutes. So if you are preparing for yours, I'd recommend to focus on the 'big picture questions' such as why MBA now, why Georgetown, and have a 'meaty' responses to each of these questions so that you can distinct yourself around these questions.
-Content of Questions: rather than following a strict set of pre-selected questions, my interviewer seemed to improvise some of the questions she asked. For example, when I said the post-MBA industry I wanted to work in, she asked me for the names of companies I am interested in. This is why I recommended having 'meaty' responses ready for the big-picture questions. You may be asked details that derive from these big questions.

Overall, the interview was a very positive experience, and I am now looking forward to visit the school, before the decision release on January 15th, to learn more about the program.

Hope this helps others who have interviews later.

Had my interview with Yasmin. She was very nice and she asked me quite a few questions... (lasted about 1hr)

1. tell me about your job/background
2. why mba why now?
3. Why did you do MS instead of MBA years ago?
4. How did you come to your goal? when did you figure this you wanted to do?
5. What is a person you most admire in the industry of your goal?
6. conflicts in job and how you resolve?
7. how do you perform under pressure?
8. What was a recent criticism you received?
9. what you found out about yourself while doing apps?
10. what is one extracurricular activity you would participate at georgetown?
11. What was most difficult part in doing the application? <- i think she might have mean application process but she didn't correct me when I replied in regarding to the application itself and my answer was Essays.

all in all it was decent.. she was probing my goals especially with that question to "test" me if i have a person i admire and of course i did

Yah, It works till the admission interview. But your application status will remain INCOMPLETE ... they will update the status when they will get your transcripts...so submit them ASAP.. deadline date is not necessary but advisable. WEBSITE: your packet should have the stamp dated no later than deadline date.

ok i called them up:
acceptance EMAILS (no calls) will be sent out tomorrow at ONE TIME but he isn't sure when but "by end of business" so 5pm. Scholarship info, if any, will also be in the email or separate email.. Welcome packages will be arriving few days later.
So the take away is NOTHING HAPPENING TODAY, TOMORROW 9-5pm we will all receive EMAIL. Cheers!