Early Birds: Fall 2009 Applicants

Count me in!

What schools are on your list right now? MIT, Harvard, Columbia, Wharton, Stanford, LBS and Haas
2) What is the state of your current preparations? Yet to take the GMAT. Aiming for a 700 +
3) What's the scariest part of the process at this point? The only thing that scares me at this point is the GMAT. I refuse to be intimidated by any of the high achievers (Ivy league grads, IBs, McKinsey consultants etc)
4) How serious is your pursuit at this point? Very serious, Serious enough to have started to fully prepare for the GMAT.

Good luck to all.

Lets keep this going!

HAAS HAAS HAAS HAAS HAAS... My goal is to convince each and every one of you to apply to Haas by this fall (like rhyme did for Chicago applicants )

Haha, why so much love for Haas?

Haha, because it's a great school that has been overlooked by a lot of applicants who normally focus on East coast and the two midwest schools. Generally people don't apply to the West Coast schools except for Stanford. Haas' program is up there with a very good brand name for many different fields. It may not be Stanford (or ever be), but it's still a very good choice for many applicants

Plus, the weather is amazing here, haha.

Dont be intimidated by being 28 at matriculation. A lot of us are in the 28-30 year old range on here. I am 28, and when I was at admitted students weekend at Kellogg I met a lot of students my age or older. HBS definitely has the rep of selecting more younger applicants, but there are plenty of top schools that accept 30+ year old folks.

31 year old here

It's not that we're intimidated, per se. I just remember being in undergrad (oh so long ago!) and being told "Work a few years before applying for an MBA...you need the experience." Now we hear about H/S/W who are all on a youth kick, and consider 26 to be old.

I don't know if I buy ALL the hype about all the b-schools going younger...it seems like the average age has stayed constant at ~26-27 for a couple of years now. yes, the top schools are taking more young applicants, but I think the absolute number is still quite small.

H/S definitely getting younger... I think Stanford's average age is 26 and their 80% range is 24-30, which means there are quite a few 24-26 year olds around to counter the 30's... Most schools' 80% range goes up to 32 years old.

Wharton is still ok, but one thing I noticed at UCLA this past weekend is that there are a LOT of people with just 2-4 years of experience admitted... might be the sample I met or just the people UCLA admits for 1st round, but it was definitely noticeable.

What schools are on your list right now? NYU, Columbia, UCLA, Chicago


2) What is the state of your current preparations? Taking GMAT in a few days!

3) What's the scariest part of the process at this point? Stated above...realizing that after all the hard work, studying for GMATS, Essay Applications etc, that you still won't get into a school of your choice and that the process is so subjective.

4) How serious is your pursuit at this point? I am serious

maryland grad?

See, right now I'm 26, and I've been working at my current company for 3 years...upon matriculation in 2009, I'd be 27-going-on-28 with 4.5 years of experience, which seems to put me in the middle ground. It just makes me feel old I guess! That, and a fear of the downward trend continuing. Even though I'm still fairly young, there's almost a sense that I should have started this journey even earlier!

Terp: Good luck on your GMAT! Be sure to let us all know how it went. I'm going to take mine late April/early May.

Omne, if you have a good job now, you might want to work and wait it out 1-2 years when you're 27-29 (matriculating age). As long as you're not applying for H/S, that age and 4.5 years of work experience will help you a lot. Also, the downturn may be finished by then, and it might be easier to apply then.

Just a thought.

I just want to say how this forum and others always seem to motivate me before I start studying evry night for the GMAT. I usually log on here and read about 700+ scores and it really gets me going for the next 2-3 hours to really focus on kicking some GMAt butt! Also, it's good that the 2009 applicants are beginning to poke their heads out of their shells now as I most assuredly believe we are all on this boat together for the next year. As for my post:

1) What schools are on your list right now? Texas, Duke, Rice, UNC, Anderson, Marshall, Emory, NYU, Kellogg, and Darden.

2) What is the state of your current preparations? Just began the OG last week for a mid-May date with the GMAT

3) What's the scariest part of the process at this point? The uncertainty, there are many things I can control, but the biggest part - I can't. When I applied to Undergrad, I applied to one school, got in, and never worried about it again. Now I'm not so lucky.

4) How serious is your pursuit at this point? No turning back now, I have a singular focus outside of work. No friends, no family until mid-May. Then I can come up for a little bit of air until August

Yeah, that's something I've thought about, but it'd only work if I did something during that year or two. Otherwise I'm in the same boat I'm in now, just a bit earlier.

jbpayne: I completely agree! I always visit here before I start studying, because seeing the acceptances and the support makes me want to study hard and get accepted!

1) What schools are on your list right now?
Columbia, Stern, basically any (or all ) good schools in or around Manhattan as I am well settled here and have lived/worked here for almost a decade. I am considering applying to Yale, HBS, Wharton (like everyone else) but am very reluctant to leave my entire life here in NYC for a few years. This makes me very nervous My fallback option for school is Baruch / Fordham - both of which are still very highly competative. Getting in won't be cake walk.

2) What is the state of your current preparations?
Taking the GMAT either in August or December (depending on a couple of things). Starting a mentoring program at a few churches here in NYC.

3) What's the scariest part of the process at this point?
I have held a senior position with a large governmental non-profit agency here in Manhattan since 2000. Although this is stable and can have this job for life, I do not see myself progressing in my career due to unforseen factors (read: corruption / nepotism) . Therefore, I am looking to jump ship and feel that pursuing higher education will help my chances. If I get into Columbia or Stern, I will be pursuing a joint MBA and JD degree. My current job is stable, pay is good and I am well settled, however I feel this internal "need" to change. I feel like I can do much better in my life and can prove my ability by going through higher education.

Another scary thing - my academic record. I have gone through a lot of hardships (parents nearly killed in car accident) during my school years and this along with working fulltime (40-60hr weeks) definitely affected my concentration in school. My GPA is super low, transcript has a fewC's and D's, a couple of F's.... but my professional work experience and career progression has been absolutely stellar. Along with my job, I started a real estate company and we have had sales of about $20M going back a couple of years. I think my entire application is strong ASIDE from my transcripts and academic record. anyway, only time (or adcoms) can tell what is going to happen.

4) How serious is your pursuit at this point? Quite serious. I (like many people) feel under utilized at my job and feel I am capable of much more. I am taking the GMAT this year and currently going through a heavy load of preparation. I am serious about getting into business school but really weighing my choices:

- quit work, go to Columbia or Stern (assuming I get in ) or Baruch for joint MBA + JD
- quit work, move out of NYC for a few years (I can not imagine this!) to attend an out-of-state Ivy

At the same time, everyone is wondering if I'm crazy by wanthing to leave such a stable and "well" paying job to go back to school and *hope* to get something better...

This is more or less a decision I am going to base on my current lifestyle as opposed to finances/etc. I give much respect to people who go to other countries to pursue education. That's dedication.

'06 Maryland alum here...


1) What schools are on your list right now? R1: HBS, Wharton, Chicago, Tuck, UCLA, Berkeley, Michigan; R2: Darden, Kellogg, Columbia, NYU, Duke. I need to narrow this list down a bit, but overall, I plan to apply to a lot of schools.

2) What is the state of your current preparations? I am currently planning to take the GMAT in mid-June.

3) What's the scariest part of the process at this point? I'm scared of the GMAT. I have a solid GPA and great work experience/leadership, but I have never been great at standardized tests. Also, I am just having a difficult time deciding whether to apply for Fall '09 (with 3 years full-time work experience), or Fall '10 (with 4 years full-time work experience). I am considering only applying to the R1 schools for Fall '09 and seeing what happens from there. This will mostly be a decision based on my current career progress and economic timing.

4) How serious is your pursuit at this point? Not very, to be honest. I need to get cracking on the GMAT if I plan to make this happen.