Dear Members,We recently had a chat session with Jon and Lauren in which they chatted on various topics related to MBA application process with GMAT Club members and also answered their questions. For those who missed this event, I am putting here some important questions/answers. You can also download the transcript of this entire session which is attached to this post. Also visit this thread to view schedule of upcoming consultant chat events.
schedule-of-online-chat-sessions-with-admission-consultants-188123.htmlzpbaharu: Hi Jon thanks for being here. My question is related to delivery/tone of essays. In light of the ever-decreasing word limit, would you say adcoms are more receptive to a punchy, straight-to-the-point delivery (at the risk of being boring), as opposed to a "crafted/interesting" delivery (at the risk of being too oblique).
Jon_Admissionado: Why can’t you be punchy and crafted? There’s no excuse for boring essays, be they long or short. And punchy works well. The hard thing is to figure out exactly what is the necessary detail and relevant detail. And I mean this from a narrative perspective as much as factual
Lauren_Admissionado: They are only going to spend 5 mins (yes, FIVE) reading your essays... so they need to be punchy.
goondosamy: In the Sloan app they suggested for us to follow their resume template (which is more in style with a job resume)... would you advise I go in with my b-school resume or the usual job resume I have on hand?
Jon_Admissionado: Don’t use your work Resume... Use ONLY an MBA resume. The reason is simple, because your employers have other needs and are looking for other things as your MBA program. Your employers care about your technical skills, the MBA cares more about your business skills (as one example)
Narenn: You have worked with many MBA applicants. Can you tell us what biggest mistakes usually applicants make in their essays and interviews?
Jon_Admissionado: Well, interviews are harder to say, because I'm not physically there, and I have to rely on reports...
So let's start with apps. Biggest mistake - messing up your goals. Second biggest mistake - not answering the question that is actually asked. Third biggest mistake - answering the question without paying attention to the fact that you have to get something out of the answer (meaning promoting your candidacy) (maybe not in that order) and maybe last - boring writing... Check out this too: From Our Editors: Common (and Avoidable) MBA Essay Mistakes
https://bit.ly/B113MGC jdharris: could you be more specific about "messing up your goals?"
Jon_Admissionado: Sure - the worst goals are the ones that are totally unrealistic. For example, we are always seeing Indian software designers who want to move into finance with no background other than a CFA level one. That's not realistic. OR we just had someone who was in fashion and wanted to move to IT, but without the skills. It just makes it seem like you don’t have a clue of how employers think.
Ergenekon: Hi Jon. Do you agree that Wharton has become gmat focused school or is it a myth?
Jon_Admissionado: I don’t know exactly that it has become GMAT focused. Don’t believe that not everything is important. But at the same time, it is true that GMATs have been going up, and Wharton, along with all other Top 10 schools have been pushed to the limits of GMAT highness. (just cause people are scoring higher and higher and they are seeing more 750s than ever)
Narenn: There has been a lot of debate on forums on applying in Round1 vs Round2 vs Round3. What is your opinion on this? What advantage, if any, is there in applying in a specific round over another?
Jon_Admissionado: R1 is equal to R2, although R1 has the GREAT advantage of leaving you R2 afterwards if things don’t work out. R3 is kinda sucky, unless your profile is very strong. i.e. strong enough to kick people off the waiting list who have already been half selected
Important Links
Download Session Transcript Here.
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