This is crucial time of the application season this year - Many schools have already sent out interview invites to R1 applicants; few are in the process. We thought this is right time to invite our top admission consultants in to our chat room where you can discuss your questions/queries in detail with them in an informal chat and get helpful tips.
- couple of days back. I am posting here excerpts from this discussion. Hope you will find this helpful. The next session in this series is with Critical Square Admission Consulting on Tuesday, 18 Nov. The details of this session can be find at the bottom of this post. Those who can't attend this event can PM their questions to me. I shall try to get answers to those questions from Consultants. Good Luck!!
klklk: Any Tips for Wharton Team Based Discussion?
MBAPrepSchool Chris: Congrats on being invited to the Wharton team interview. Couple of thoughts.
Your individual presentation needs to be prepared but not over rehearsed. This is your first chance to make an impression.
The second thought would be to remember that in the team based discussion, they are looking for examples of your ability to help lead and work within a team. That means not trying to dominate the discussion but also making sure that you're not too passive -- need to find a balance of participation that helps the team achieve its ultimate goal -- of coming up with a strong combined response to the prompt.
Final thought: if there are team members obviously struggling, try to help bring them into the discussion. In a real job environment you wouldn't let someone "drown", so don't do that in the Wharton Team interview either. That's a few thoughts; hope they're helpful and best wishes for success!
Pottsmi1: Do you think schools track visits by applicants? Any idea what impact they may have? Good/bad impression made on campus?
MBAPrepSchool Tyler: I'm a huge advocate of campus visits. You sign-up and these are tracked formally and informally. Our coach Esther who is a former Booth adcom told us these do make a difference. Primarily though because she'd remember someone she met and pull their file or keep an eye out for it.
fede7flores: Hello, I will be interviewing with MIT tomorrow, any tips for a BEI interview? Should I stick to the experiences mentioned on the essays, use only events not mentioned there or balance it?
MBAPrepSchool Chris: Congrats on the MIT interview! The MIT interviewers tend to prefer new examples, since they will have (generally) read you complete application. In any event, even if you were to lead with an example from your application, don't be surprised if the interviewer asks for another example. So I recommend having at least two strong answers ready.
When responding to behavioral interviews, make sure that you focus the answer around what you thought, felt, said, and did. This provides a full dimension of an answer ... Also you might find the STAR framework helpful to organize your response. S = Situation/background, T= task or objective you and your team were trying to address, A = Action (what do thought, felt, said and did), and R = result/outcome ... Also can include what you learned from the experience
Within the STAR framework, you want to focus ~70% of your response time on the "action" piece!
MBAPrepSchool Tyler: Here's a link to our free resources page with interview tips:
https://mbaprepschool.com/category/ace-the-interviews/piku9290dgp: What is admission team view about taking help from consultants? I was asked about it, and I told yes
MBAPrepSchool Chris: AdCom teams have varied views on the use of consultants. Some are OK with it; others less so. The key is to be able to demonstrate in your writing and interview answers that the stories, examples, etc. are authentically yours!
MBAPrepSchool Tyler: They take a dim view of essay ghost writing services of course. But working with a coach who helps you identify and communicate your strengths makes good sense and doesn't violate the integrity of the process.
Narenn: Hello Chris/Tyler, Many applicants have been waitlisted without interview in R1. Could you please advise how can one increase his/her chances of getting an interview?
MBAPrepSchool Tyler: Great question. First off, you MUST follow the instructions given by each school. Some will allow additional info and others won't. Don't ignore their rules. I think the Update Letter can be a powerful tool. Write to summarize things that have made your candidacy stronger since applying. A promotion, new accomplishment outside of work, higher GMAT Score, etc. If a campus visit is allowed and you haven't been then visit campus.
One of the most powerful things you can do is raise your GMAT score, assuming it's at or below median. Applicants with great profiles but weak GMATs often hit the waitlist
In a non-pushy way see if you could spend a few minutes meeting with an adcom. They might say no but if you are friendly they won't blame you for asking. I had a client waitlisted at Booth last year who ran one of the most comprehensive campaigns I've ever seen -- a video, 2 extra rec letters, letters from students, another campus visit. Frankly, I worried we were going overboard. Happy ending though she got in!
Ergen: What is attitude of adcoms to mandatory military service?
MBAPrepSchool Tyler: Regarding military service, I generally think it can be viewed positively -- especially if you gained leadership experience during military service.
MBAPrepSchool Chris: @ergen: Tyler comes from a military family, so he'll likely have more depth in a response but generally military experience provides some amazing experiences and opportunities to demonstrate your leadership in action, under significantly stressful and difficult circumstances. Don't shy away from it -- embrace the opportunity to show your leadership skills
RuchaMegha2083: Can you list some good universities who accept GMAT score range from 580 to 650?
MBAPrepSchool Chris: The question of a "good" university really depends on your career goals and reasons for pursing an MBA. I often recommend that if you're GMAT is in that range that you worry less about the rankings and spend more time understanding the strengths and unique resources offered by the schools you are considering.
Said differently, understand how that school will help you achieve your career goals - and then apply to those that will demonstrably help you!
RuchaMegha2083: I am looking for MBA in Accountancy. I’ve heard that Zicklin school is good in regard of this.
MBAPrepSchool Chris: When you have specialized goals (e.g., Accountancy) then the program focus is even more important. Depending on the type of firm/role you want post-MBA, Baruch College/CUNY could be a fine choice for you
Ergen: I work as a marketing manager in a pharmaceutical company. As an after mba goal I want to show a job in pharmaceutical divison of a consulting company. But I think when I apply to wharton they can ask me why don;t I apply to their healthcare management program. What are your thoughts on it? As you understood I do not want to apply to healthcare management program.
MBAPrepSchoolChris: Regarding Wharton's h'care mgmt program ... as the name suggests, it's more focused on healthcare *management* and your career goals are more oriented around marketing in the pharma industry.
You might find it helpful to "map out" exactly the courses, clubs, research centers, etc that you would participate in if accepted to Wharton. Pretend you've received that offer letter ... How would you spend the two years? Then you can figure out whether the h'care mgmt program is the right focus for your career goals or not. If there are only a few classes within the HC Mgmt discipline that you need to achieve your goals, then you can show that. If, on the other hand, most of your classes would come from their program, then you have to think more about this.
Pottsmi1: How would you rank the portions of an app in order of importance? Gmat, resume, interview, essays, etc.
MBAPrepSchool Chris: All the pieces are important, especially at different stages -- for top schools you can't really have a "weak" section. However to answer your Q directly, Interview, recs, essays, app form, GMAT, GPA
nitz19arg: For an applicant, which current job position is seen as more beneficial: technical role or techno-functional(eg. business analyst) role? I currently work in IT and hold a purely technical role. Will this be a drawback/advantage for me? A techno-functional role sounds better for MBA but—One theory says that a purely technical role would strengthen my skills in that technology and later be beneficial to me when I will play a managerial role in same technology. Your thoughts please.
MBAPrepSchool Tyler: nitz19arg MBA programs want to see how you've done in a role that has aspects of management and business decision making; therefore, purely technical roles are not as competitive, I'm afraid.
dlmm: When will be a good time to let the adcom know that I will be changing jobs? after the interview or before? i have good reasons for this... but my apps are all finished and i am already invited to interview
MBAPrepSchool Chris: Many schools ask you about any significant "updates" during the interview ... You should be prepared to explain the change and show how it fits/demonstrates that you're already making progress towards your stated career goals.
Important Tips from Tyler and Chris- If there are red flags in you academic history the sooner you know about them the better. Once you’ve identified them, you can take steps to counterbalance poor performance with additional coursework or by tackling professional or personal projects that require the skills in question.
- A word on timing for tests in light of that questions. Get GMATs, TOEFLS, etc. out of the way at least 6 months before you apply. That way you can focus on your written application.
- I’m often asked what score is necessary to be competitive for a top tier school. The easiest way to remember the answer is our “Three 80s” Rule. First, you want your score to be well above the low-end of the range of scores made by the middle 80% of the school’s accepted applicants. Next, you want to have percentile scores on the quant and verbal sections above 80%. Third, ideally, you want a cumulative score above 680. In fact, the median scores for top 10 schools has recently climbed above the 700 mark, so the bar is even higher than 680 for a top 10
- Another excerpt from our free video on building and outstanding application: ‘The topic resumes’ - There are important differences between an MBA application resume and an employment resume. Your objective and your audience is different. For example, an employer might be interested in your technical skills whereas an MBA admissions officer will be more interested in significant achievements and the moments in your career that distinguish you.
- Start drafting application forms weeks in advance so you have time to perfect any short answer questions
Chat Transcript
Attachment:
A story teller to the bone, Bhavik marries MBA admissions expertise and cross functional & industry knowledge as a former strategy consultant to help Critical Square’s clients get into the top ranked programs in the world. What does that mean for you? It means they know where you’re coming from and where you’re trying to go. Their track record speaks for itself and his favorite part of the job is getting excited calls from clients turned friends saying they got into their dream programs! He’s also passionate about helping others and when he isn’t working on client applications, you can find him consulting pro bono for a variety of local and global social empowerment not-for-profits.
At Critical Square, we’re proud of what drives us and the impact we have. We have a responsibility to each and every applicant. In fact, we’ve designed our entire firm around giving you the best possible results and experience! Our commitment to you is unparalleled and we don’t compromise when it comes to your best interests. So what does it come down to? Expertise, passion, and integrity in everything we do.
11 Nov 2014, 09:57
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