Events & Promotions
Last visit was: 25 Apr 2024, 16:17 |
It is currently 25 Apr 2024, 16:17 |
Customized
for You
Track
Your Progress
Practice
Pays
02:00 PM EDT
-03:00 PM EDT
03:00 PM PDT
-04:00 PM PDT
10:00 AM EDT
-10:30 AM EDT
10:00 AM IST
-11:00 AM IST
10:00 AM PDT
-11:00 AM PDT
03:00 PM IST
-04:00 PM IST
07:00 PM PDT
-08:00 PM PDT
08:00 AM EDT
-09:00 AM EDT
10:00 AM PDT
-12:00 PM PDT
FROM Pulling That MBA Trigger: Crickets… crickets everywhere! |
So it’s been nearly 20 days since I submitted my Round 2 applications and so far it’s been radio silence. I’m a little antsy but I’m dealing with it… it helps that work has been extremely busy and that my social drive has been on overdrive. It’s my birthday tomorrow so I’m hoping some birthday luck comes my way :D Also, I got my TOEFL score yesterday. 119 with a 29 in the Reading section (the irony). But I was very pleasantly surprised since I didn’t prepare at all. I’ve already reported my scores to all the schools I’ve applied to… but I’m wondering if I should notify them and ask them to match my score to my application? It’s another data point so I’m wondering if that would help at all. Thoughts? I’m hoping to hear some good news in the next week or so. Fingers crossed! |
FROM Pro GMAT: Bad start! reschedule. |
Hello, Its been a month that I have posted something on this page. I was away for some reason. Actually I was fighting with my inner self. Last 20 days were not so good for me in terms of concentration on studies as well as my life. I would name it a bad start to … Continue reading → |
FROM Pro GMAT: Transcripts! |
B-School application process is a very time consuming and tedious task and there is 100% possibility of mistakes and missed points. One of the essential components of MBA application is transcript of the courses that you have taken before going to B-school. Official Transcripts are mandatory component for most of the B-School applications. Transcript is a … Continue reading → |
FROM MBA Data Guru: MBA Summer Internship |
MBA Summer Internship I haven’t posted anything in the past month because I have been busy interviewing for my summer internship. I interviewed with 14 different consulting companies and am happy to say that I have already received 3 offers and am waiting to hear back from a few others. Getting your first offer is the greatest feeling in the world. I can feel my stress melting away. If you think it is stressful waiting to hear back from business school just you wait for internship interviews. At least with business school you have only invested a thousand or so on applications and a bunch of time studying for the GMAT and filling out applications. For career switchers who need an internship in their industry, we gave up our high paying jobs and $200K in tuition and expenses to gamble in getting our dream job. The good news is that business school does a good job of preparing you for interviews. I wish I could go back to undergrad and teach myself how to interview. I will start posting regularly again now that I have more free time. MBA Data Guru - Data and analytics that will help you in the MBA admissions process |
FROM MBA Data Guru: MIT MBA Acceptance Rate |
MIT MBA Acceptance Rate MIT is one of the most selective business schools in the top ten after Stanford and Harvard. The MIT MBA acceptance rate is only 13%, however several factors can influence your chance of admission at Sloan. Now that I have finished my consulting interviews and secured some summer internship offers I have been able to turn my focus back to this website. I built a statistic model to predict the chance of admissions based on a few pieces of data. I plan to build an admissions calculator, but until then I’ll share with you some of the insights I learned about MIT MBA acceptance rate. MIT MBA Acceptance Rate by GMAT As you would expect, a higher GMAT increases your chance of acceptance at MIT. The average GMAT score at MIT is 713, which results in a 13% acceptance rate. Increasing your GMAT by 100 points from 650 to 750 would roughly double your chance of admission. Even with an 800, the acceptance rate is only 20%. MIT MBA Acceptance Rate by GPA GPA is also critical for admission into the Sloan School of Management. The average GPA is very high at 3.6. For each .10 change in GPA, the acceptance rate changes by roughly 1%. Obviously your GPA is likely already written in stone, so you should focus on increasing your GMAT instead. MIT MBA Acceptance Rate: GMAT vs. GPA Most schools prefer a high GMAT score* to a high GPA, however MIT is not one of them. The only other school that prefers a high GPA is Harvard Business School. Although GPA matters slightly more than GMAT, GPA can’t be changed once you graduate. If you have a low GPA then make sure you have a solid GMAT and focus on other factors like leadership and volunteer work. I started a networking group that grew to 900 people, which went over well with the admissions committee. It wasn’t even hard, I just started a meetup group in my area. MIT MBA Acceptance Rate by Round At Sloan, the round you apply in is very important. As you can see in the graph above, acceptance rate at MIT is 50% higher for round 1 applicants compared to round 2. If you have no other choice, you might as well apply round 2, but absolutely try to apply round 1 if possible. GMAT, GPA and application round were the only factors that had a noticeable affect on admissions rate. Surprisingly, industry, major and years or work experience had no impact on acceptance rate. *A high GMAT or high GPA is defined as one standard deviation above average. MBA Data Guru - Data and analytics that will help you in the MBA admissions process |
FROM MBA Data Guru: MBA Admissions Process Advice |
MBA Admissions Process Advice The MBA admissions process is long and difficult. It is no wonder that many people pay a lot of money to hire admissions consultants to help them with the process. This article will help you to understand the critical parts of the application process. MBA Admissions Process Components
|
FROM Pulling That MBA Trigger: Booth – Ding #1 |
So it’s official, my first ding of Round 2 from Booth. Unfortunately, it was what I considered my best application so now I’m a little apprehensive about the fate of my other three applications. I’m not too disappointed because I knew it was a long shot but I had to try. My presentation was good, I have no doubt about that but I think my lack of work experience was what held me back along with an average-ish GMAT score. For any other school, I don’t think this would matter but this is the Top 5 we’re talking about. I’ve also been thinking about my plans if Round 2 doesn’t work this time around… more on that later! Congratulations to everyone invited to interview! I hope to be in that enviable position soon. |
FROM MBA Data Guru: Columbia MBA Acceptance Rate Analysis |
Columbia MBA Acceptance Rate Analysis The Columbia MBA acceptance rate is on the higher side for a top 10 school, at around 18%. Despite the deceptively high acceptance rate, Columbia is still a tough school to gain admission. I built a predictive model which can give you some insight into what the Columbia Business School admissions committee is looking for in applicants. Columbia MBA Acceptance Rate by GMAT As expected, Columbia MBA acceptance rate increases as GMAT rises. The average GMAT score is an impressive 719. Increasing GMAT score by 100 points from 650 to 750 increases odds of acceptance by 140%, which is a bigger benefit than MIT. Columbia MBA Acceptance Rate by GPA Surprisingly GPA has little to no affect on acceptance rate at Columbia. The average GPA of Columbia applicants is 3.49 while the GPA for those admitted is almost unchanged at 3.51. Stanford is the only other school where GPA doesn’t matter. For those of you out there with a low GPA and high GMAT, Columbia is a great school to apply. Columbia MBA Acceptance Rate by Round The round you apply in impacts Columbia MBA acceptance rate. At CBS, if you apply during Early Decision then you are forced to enroll if accepted. Columbia seems to be worried about yield for accepted students if they are forcing applicants to choose them. If you are serious about Columbia then consider applying Early Decision because you have a slight edge otherwise you might as well wait for regular decision. Columbia is actually rolling admissions, so the sooner you submit your app the faster you get your decision. Columbia MBA Acceptance Rate by Age The age at which you apply has a strong impact on your chance of admission. The best time to apply is when you are 27 or 28. The further a candidate is from the average age, the lower their chance of acceptance is. I believe that this is because candidates with around 5 years of work experience have worked long enough to impress potential employers and contribute to classroom discussion while not being over qualified for on campus recruiting positions. Duke, Cornell and Boothall have a similar age effect. Other Admissions Factors Liberal arts majors have roughly twice the acceptance rate as others. I don’t have gender in my data set but my hypothesis is that Columbia is trying to attract women which is why the acceptance rate is so high for liberal arts majors. Acceptance rate is higher for economics majors but lower for finance majors. Consultants also have a major advantage, with an impressive 30% acceptance rate. MBA Data Guru - Data and analytics that will help you in the MBA admissions process |
FROM MBA Data Guru: MBA Interview Acceptance Rate Rankings |
MBA Interview Acceptance Rate Rankings So you have just been invited to interview at the MBA school of your dreams. Obviously this raises your chance of getting in, but by how much? In general, top ten schools have lower MBA interview acceptance rates while schools ranked 11 to 20 have a higher acceptance rate for applicants who were interviewed. MBA Interview Acceptance Rate by Rank Interview acceptance rate for Stanford, Harvard, Wharton, Booth, MIT, Kellogg, Hass, Columbia, Dartmouth, NYU, Ross, Darden, Yale, Duke, McCombs, Anderson, Cornell, Tepper, Kenan-Flagler, Emory The acceptance rate ranges from 34% to 75% for schools in the top 20. The average MBA interview acceptance rate for the top 10 is 50% and it is 62% for schools ranked 11 to 20. MBA Interview Acceptance Rate Rankings from Highest to Lowest NYU jumps out as the highest acceptance rate by a wide margin. If you have been selected to interview at Stern then you can prepare to open a bottle of champagne because you are probably going to business school. No other school in the top 10 has an interview acceptance rate above 60%. On the other end of the spectrum is Kellogg and Tuck with the lowest acceptance rates. These two schools will allow anyone who visits campus to interview, so it is not surprising that they admit significantly fewer applicants who are interviewed. Most of the top 10 schools have an acceptance rate clustered between 46% and 51%. Duke has the lowest acceptance rate for a school not in the top 10 at 52%. The rest of the schools range from 57% to 68%, Good luck and don’t forget to prepare for your MBA interviews! MBA Data Guru - Data and analytics that will help you in the MBA admissions process |
FROM Naija MBA Gal: For Round 2 interviewees |
First, let me say: Congrats on your invite!! I’ve been getting a few emails from round two applicants that recently received interview invitations. So I decided to put this up to help as many as need it. I’ve listed the things I did to prepare for my interview. You can also check my interview debriefs: […] |
FROM My Journey to Business School: Decisions, Decisions |
It’s been a while since I’ve received offers of admission to the 3 schools that I applied to. I’ve had a lot of time to consider which school I want to attend this year, and it was really tough choosing between schools that I was excited about while applying. But it’s a good place to be in and after a lot of thought (and a lot of “What if”s and back-and-forth) I’ve finally made my decision. But I don’t think I’m ready to share it with the world yet. These are some things I considered while making my decision:
While I’m keeping my cards close, it isn’t any less exciting for me to hear what TopDogMBA, NaijaMBAgal, Hugoness and FinanceFurry have decided. I’m looking forward to seeing where we all end up, and I really hope we will all get a chance to meet up before joining business school. For the others who still have their fingers crossed with R2 applications – I genuinely hope y’all hear some good news soon! |
FROM MBA Data Guru: HBS Interview Questions and Preparation |
HBS Interview Questions and Preparation You have just received your HBS interview invitation and now you realize that you need to prepare for one of the most important interviews of your life. After all the Harvard acceptance rate for those interviewed is still only 50%. This guide will tell you what to expect during the interview and what are the most frequently asked questions during a Harvard MBA interview. Be sure to spend ample time preparing, because you know that everyone else invited by Harvard to interview will be also. What to Expect in the HBS Interview The interview will be 30 minutes long and will be conducted by two admissions committee members. It can take place on-campus, off-campus hub, or even sometimes over skype. There are many Harvard MBA interview questions that pop up pretty frequently, but Harvard has a lot more variation in the questions they ask than other schools. Harvard is going to dig deeper and ask follow up questions, similar to a McKinsey behavioral interview. You can expect anywhere from 5 to 18 questions during the interview. On average Harvard will ask you 11 interview questions. Harvard will ask a lot of detailed questions about your resume and essays. Expect the adcoms to have read your full application. They seem to ask a lot of questions about choices and transitions that you have made. They will ask not only why you made that transition but how you made the transition. List of HBS Interview Questions Here is a list of the most common Harvard MBA interview questions. It is compiled from Clear Admit interview reports. I calculated the probability of a person receiving each question in an interview so you know which questions to prepare for most. Sometimes they will ask a slight variation to the questions below.
MBA Data Guru - Data and analytics that will help you in the MBA admissions process |
FROM MBA Data Guru: Wharton MBA Interview Questions and Preparation |
Wharton MBA Interview Questions and Preparation Wharton is tied for the number one business school in the world. If you are fortunate to be invited to interview for a spot in Wharton’s MBA program then you are very lucky. Unfortunately, . Given the lower than 50-50 chance of acceptance, you should prepare as much as possible for your Wharton interview. This guide will walk you what to expect during your team based discussion (TBD), your individual Wharton MBA interview as well as what are the most common questions asked during the interview. What to Expect in Wharton MBA Interview There are two components to a Wharton interview. First you will participate in the TBD, then you will have a one on one interview, typically with a second year MBA student who watched you during the TBD. I recommend showing up to your interview at least 30 minutes early. This will give you a chance to meet as many of the applicants as possible. Hopefully you will meet several of the applicants who will be in your team based discussion, which will make working with them easier. The TBD will last roughly 35 minutes and there will be 4 or 5 other applicants in the interview with you. There will also be 2 second year MBA students observing you. One of the two observers will be your one on one interviewer. Each prospective student will be given 1 minute to introduce them-self and their idea for the prompt. Take notes during the prompt and probably throughout the entire discussion. Make sure you know everyone’s name or you will look like an idiot, so write everyone’s name down. After the introductions are over you have another 30 minutes to solve the problem. If your idea is selected then great, if not then don’t worry, just play along with the group. This isn’t an idea contest, it is an opportunity to see how your interact in a group. You need to show that you can work well in a group. If you act like a jerk and try to force your idea down everyone’s throat then you will not get into Wharton. If possible try to show leadership traits. This can be by proposing an agenda for the discussion. This could be assigning roles such as time keeper and note taker. Be sure to talk but not too much. And do not interrupt other applicants. Wharton MBA Interview Questions The personal interview will last 10 to 15 minutes and will be conducted by one of the two MBA2’s who observed your TBD. You will typically be asked 4 questions, but it can range from 2 to 6. Here is a list of Wharton interview questions as well as the probability that you will be asked it during the one on one interview. The Wharton MBA interview questions were collected from Clear Admit.
MBA Data Guru - Data and analytics that will help you in the MBA admissions process |
FROM MBA Data Guru: Stern Interview Preparation Guide |
Stern Interview Preparation Guide Stern Interviewed me back in December 2013. I am happy to say that I was accepted. I used Clear Admit to prepare, and it was very helpful. I felt ready and don’t remember being caught off guard by any questions. I have created a list of the most common questions you can expect during a Stern interview because I want to help all of my potential future classmates. Most Stern interviews are around 30 minutes and conducted by an admissions staff member who has read your full application. My first question was about a unique activity that I participate in that I mentioned in the application. When you arrive, you will receive a folder with information about clubs/programs you mentioned you would be interested in. You will also be given a Stern shirt so you can show your pride if you are admitted. My Stern interview was right before winter break so I didn’t hear back for almost 3 weeks, but often candidates get their decision in as little as a few days. Don’t forget to bring a copy of your transcripts, your application cannot proceed without them. I forgot mine and had to overnight them when I got back home. The Most Common Stern Interview Questions
If you are invited for a Stern interview, please let me know if this guide was helpful for you. Also, check out my guide on how to prepare for an MBA interview. Other interview preparation articles: MIT / Sloan Interview Preparation Upenn / Wharton Interview Preparation Tuck Interview Preparation HBS Interview Preparation MBA Data Guru - Data and analytics that will help you in the MBA admissions process |
FROM My Journey to Business School: The weirdest thing just happened… |
….I received an interview call from ISB! And why is that weird? I applied in November, and decisions are due in 2 days. I’m not sure what to make of it yet. This definitely is a (welcome?) twist – and just when I thought I’d finally made a decision!! Huh. We’ll just have to wait and see. I’ll be back with another update tomorrow after my interview. |
FROM My MBA Journey: A Goal is a Dream with a Deadline |
At times this MBA journey has challenged me. It hasn’t been an easy path. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve never wanted to give up and I’ve never questioned my decision to apply for grad school. But, if you haven’t started your journey, please realize this is not an easy process. I truly believe there’s no personal growth if your goals are handed to you. Throughout this journey so far I’ve learned a lot and grown from the experience. I’m happy to say the hard work is paying off in other ways. I’ve received an invitation to interview at 4 out of the 5 schools I’ve applied to. I am beyond elated for this opportunity. I also realize there is a lot of work to be done. Several schools have seen an increase in applicants this year. I have been reading MBA books in an effort to prepare for my interviews. In addition to finalizing research on individual schools, I’ve also been regularly reading MBA blogs. Use caution when subscribing. Although most blogs have a lot of great content and user generated discussions, some are a bit misleading. Here are a few independent blogs I have been frequenting: https://blog.clearadmit.com/ https://poetsandquants.com/category/mba-blogs/ Some school programs have their own blogs too. In addition to events and updates, there are tips that have helped throughout the application process. https://blogs.fuqua.duke.edu/duke-mba/ https://michiganross.umich.edu/admissions-blog Both programs and current students claim the interview is usually an “open conversation” instead of a formal interview. I have read some horror stories though about some grad school interviews. Some of the questions seem more difficult than the questions Google asks during interviews. We’ll see what happens. In the meantime I’m going to keep researching! |
FROM My MBA Journey: The Fuqua Experience |
I am spending the weekend in Durham, NC to visit Duke and the Fuqua School of Business to learn more about the MBA program. I woke up at 3AM to catch an early flight. By the time I landed in NC I was able to work from “home” for the day and attend Fuqua activities in the evening. I had the opportunity to attend two MBA classes. The first was a computer science class that prepared students to use Excel performance tools while on the job. The class was similar to “office hours” in the sense that the class was optional to attend. The professor provided additional help and direction. It was really nice to see this side of things. Sometimes prospective students think grad school is a completely cut throat environment where you fend for yourself. From what I’ve seen, this is not the case. Both the students and faculty have been nothing but supportive to the students and want them to succeed. The second class was a marketing research section. It was more of a lecture format with approximately 70 students in attendance. It seemed to be similar to the “typical class.” After the classes, a group of prospective students went to Fuqua Friday. It’s an event held every week for the students and their families to attend. During this event, students and their families get to relax and bond over food and drinks. The event was very well attended this week. There were several current students who were kind enough to spend time with me and some other prospective students during their Friday night off. They were not “buddies” assigned to us. They simply saw us and shared their thoughts and experiences with us. The students were extremely welcoming and answered all of our questions. I’ve found speaking with current students is invaluable during school trips. They help to provide a different level of insight into the school. My experience with Fuqua so far has exceeded my expectations. I agree with the slogan, Fuqua is “rethinking the boundaries of business school.” I am looking forward to my fun filled busy day at Fuqua tomorrow! |
FROM The adventures of a (provisional) MBA student: FIELD 2 – “International Immersion” |
A core part of the Harvard Business School MBA curriculum is FIELD, divided into 3 distinct parts; FIELD 1 – Leadership Intelligence: An introspective classroom based-program focused on self-awareness. FIELD 2 – Global Intelligence: A global immersion program, with a team-based project in an emerging economy. FIELD 3 – Integrative Intelligence: Groups of 6 MBA first years are tasked with launching a microbusiness within the semester. I’m not sure how I feel about the module names (?!), but click here for more information about: HBS FIELD. In each section of FIELD, the emphasis is on ability for practical ‘doing’ skills, rather than knowledge-based learning. I’ll admit I was intrigued by the experience prior to HBS, and while many programs now offer some sort of ‘experiential learning component’ the effort and resources put into it by HBS did make it one of the more unique programs. Most of the top schools offer some form of experiential learning, but I found it quite unusual to a) have it scheduled as part of the formal curriculum and also b) what this enables is to work in a group with your fellow students rather than an individual experience. Instead most other schools focus on student-driven/optional programs which while giving greater flexibility inevitably offers a different type of experience – if it happens at all – due to all the other great things that are competing for your attention. FIELD 2 takes place in the first year, with preparation in Cambridge and a placement in between the two semesters. I’ve been fortunate enough to spend my time in Chengdu in China – not somewhere I was familiar with before my placement. While not a common tourist destination, it’s certainly somewhere interesting to visit from an academic point of view. A Chengdu market street – fully immersed The course places you in a small team of 6 MBA students, assigned a project from a local company in your placement city and given a week to propose a solution. A significant portion of the week is dedicated to understanding the local market, tastes and preferences, ensuring mutual benefit for both team and company. It’s been a fascinating week, and I was really lucky to be working with a social enterprise in startup community, which completely challenged my own preconceptions of business in China. Working with them led to a very different type of learning from just a tourist trip/b-school trek. I also feel pretty pleased to have completed a small project that really seemed to influence our hosts, and changed the way they were thinking about a problem. They were more than happy to stay in touch and promised to share the results, which we will hopefully get to see soon! For this semester, we are now on to the next part of the FIELD program, FIELD 3… |
FROM TopDogMBA - A Reapplicant's Tail: Every little thing – why I chose MIT Sloan over INSEAD |
Those of you who’ve been following me for a while will know that I was honoured to receive MBA admits to both INSEAD and MIT Sloan. And, while it all seemed a lot clearer when I started this process, choosing between these two great institutions has taken me a lot of time. Having thought long […] |
FROM My MBA Journey: Fuqua Weekend Day Two |
The day started with a Career Management Information Session focusing on opportunities in the technology industry. Residing in the Research Triangle Park, Duke is a great place for those interested in tech. Fuqua also offers opportunities for entrepreneurs such as the Start Up Challenge, Center for Advanced Social Entrepreneurship, and the Fuqua Tech Academy. There are great resources available through the Career Center. If a company does not traditionally recruit on campus, the Center tries to connect students with the company by utilizing alumni relations. It was nice to hear the Career Center sometimes even helps spouses of MBA students find jobs in the area if they had to relocate. Here are some quick stats about the 2014 Fuqua alumni. Average salary $114k (not including bonuses) Career field by function as a percent of 2014 grads: Marketing: 21% Finance: 24% Strategy: 34% Management: 16% Next I attended a Curriculum Panel session led by students. The Fuqua Curriculum is a bit different than other MBA programs. Instead of having no classes on Fridays like most MBA programs, Fuqua students do not have classes on Wednesdays. It’s not a day off though. Club meetings and recruiting events fill up students Wednesday schedules. Apparently, more students stick around on the weekend since they don’t have a 3 day weekend “off.” In an effort to prepare students for their internship, Fuqua requires all core classes to be completed very early on in the program. Below is an example of the first part of the program curriculum. Global Institute –Introductory to MBA, 4 weeks Fall I –core classes, 6 weeks Fall II –core classes, 6 weeks Spring I –final core class, rest are electives, 6 weeks Spring II – electives, 6 weeks Fuqua students do not receive exact grades on a 4.0 scale. Instead they receive a level of passing or not passing. For example a student may receive a “high passing” status which is somewhat equivalent to a 3.5 grade. Grades are disclosed, which was a decision the students helped make. After the curriculum session, I attended an information session held by the Partners Club. The club provides opportunities for friendship and camaraderie for the partners of the students. The partners also provided a lot of useful information about places to live in the area. Immediately following this session we were taken on a tour of the school that ended with lunch. Following lunch I attended a Student Panel session during which the current students answered questions about anything and everything. It was helpful to learn more about the student clubs and roles available within them. I participated in several student clubs during my undergrad and thought it was an irreplaceable learning experience. If accepted to Duke I hope to participate in the AWIB, MBAA, Board Fellows, Marketing Club and of course the Beer Club. The last session of the day was the Diversity Panel. I enjoyed hearing about different club opportunities to make an impact on campus. AWIB recently administered a survey and compared the results across male and female participants. Female students appeared to have a different perspective and level of acceptance on campus. After the study was analyzed a town hall meeting was called to further investigate and determine ways to improve the experience for females. I found this to be an especially empowering example of the Fuqua culture. Finally I had my interview at 4PM that day. It was a pretty casual interview with a second year student. There were only two questions that were a bit unexpected. Throughout the interview and the entire weekend, everyone was extremely welcoming and friendly. I must say it was a great weekend which ultimately left a great impression of the Fuqua program. |
|
||
Hi Generic [Bot],
Here are updates for you:
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Watch earlier episodes of DI series below EP1: 6 Hardest Two-Part Analysis Questions EP2: 5 Hardest Graphical Interpretation Questions
Tuck at Dartmouth
|