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17 Feb 2015, 20:01
| FROM My Journey to Business School: Update from Indian School of Business |
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The results are in – and I’M IN. This officially makes it 4/4. I got into all the schools I applied to. It’s a wonderful feeling!  Interview Debrief: I’ve heard a lot of ISB interview horror stories, and I expected an interview that was a complete departure from my US bschool interviews. But it was a surprisingly candid and chilled out interview. I had 2 interviewers – one alum and an adcom and it was a Skype interview. I was asked fairly standard questions most of which centered around what I’d written in my resume. I think the interview would be very stressful indeed for people who exaggerate their achievements as they specifically asked how I arrived at the numbers I listed (in terms of revenue profits) and exactly how I achieved particular things that I’d listed. I had my interview at 11.15AM. I got an admit email at 7PM. I must say, that’s quite the turnaround time! Thoughts: While I know that Kellogg and UCLA are leaps and bounds ahead of ISB in terms of rankings as well as the MBA experience, I can’t help but give it a serious thought. I intend to return to India post-MBA (in a few years) to pursue my long term goal of entrepreneurship, and ISB has a great brand name and network in India. It would also be much easier on me and my partner if I pursue a degree in India (my spouse does not intend to move to the US with me while I study) and since ISB is a 1Y program, it means that I’ll be returning to the workforce sooner. The only thing I’m not excited about when it comes to ISB is the dearth of international opportunities post-MBA and the experience of studying abroad that I’ve always craved. While a lot of people were surprised by my decision to even attend the last-minute interview, I believe I would be remiss to dismiss the many merits of the school and not consider the above factors while making a decision about my future. I’ll make a final decision by tomorrow and share it with y’all. Until then, Ciao!  
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18 Feb 2015, 05:00
| FROM GNPTH: LOVE- NO!!; GMAT- YESSSSS!! |
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When the whole world celebrated Valentine day and enjoyed with their Love. I was hoping that Cupid will shoot his Arrow of desire/love towards me. But instead I had to stick with my GMAT preparation. When many MBA applicants are keen in making a decision about “Which school to attend”. I had to stick with OG and Practice for the GMAT with whatever materials I have. Not that I’m Complaining/ whining as I had already made my decision to apply for Class of 2018. You can ask, then what’s the point in mentioning about this. I mentioning this just shout out “Congratulations” to all my fellow MBA aspirants for getting accepted into their target B-Schools. . And all best for your decision making process, if you haven’t made it yet. Most of them had hell of ride, I was able to witness from their blogs. It certainly helped me to get ready for the application process which i will be starting this fall. Also their blogs taught me, what to expect and what not to expect once you are done with your applications and you know that you have screwed somewhere of the application.All I wanted to say is that– “Thanks” to all bloggers who will be matriculating this year in their dream B-schools and in the process helping me/ fellow aspirants with their blog posts . Hope their MBA/ GMAT blogs will transform into B-school life blogs soon Confession: Before starting my blog I had no idea about the interview process and what questions to expect etc etc. Now I believe, I have full knowledge if not some knowledge about the key elements in a MBA Applications. Obviously, it makes me feel relaxed as I have to concentrate more on my GMAT as of now. Coming back to GMAT, I almost done with my Preparation and getting ready for the Final countdown and assessing my performance with Mocks. Talking about mocks- i scored 680(Q-48 & V-35) recently. I felt really happy that my efforts are going in right direction. I have analyzed the mocks and noted down my key areas of improvements. I will be working towards those improvements coming weeks and make sure I get them right next time around. I haven’t decided on the date yet for my GMAT as I lack some confidence. My thinking now is, if i’m able to pull of 710+ score in 3 mocks(I have planned to give one mock test per week(Saturdays) for next 3 weeks) then that will be my booster. And I will right away select the date for the GMAT. Hoping everything will go according to the plan .Again, All the best to all my fellow blogger/MBA applicants- My Life is Bliss- Awesome going girl!! Finally everything is coming your way with interview calls- You will nail it , Vandana- 4 out of 4? That’s really cool. You are a Star!!!, Importunate MBA, TopDogMBA- Congrats for deciding to attend MIT Sloan, Coffee beans & Tea leaves- All the best for Duke, Naija MBA Gal- Congrats for Booth, Pulling that MBA trigger- All the best for Kellogg, UCLA and Tepper. You will get the interview invite soon . And if i have missed anyone, please pardon me as the list is getting bigger and bigger Until next time, GNPTH  
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18 Feb 2015, 07:57
| FROM GNPTH: LOVE- NO!!; GMAT- YESSSSS!! |
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When the whole world celebrated Valentine day and enjoyed with their Love. I was hoping that Cupid will shoot his Arrow of desire/love towards me. But instead I had to stick with my GMAT preparation. When many MBA applicants are keen in making a decision about “Which school to attend”. I had to stick with OG and Practice for the GMAT with whatever materials I have. Not that I’m Complaining/ whining as I had already made my decision to apply for Class of 2018. You can ask, then what’s the point in mentioning about this. I mentioning this just shout out “Congratulations” to all my fellow MBA aspirants for getting accepted into their target B-Schools. . And all best for your decision making process, if you haven’t made it yet. Most of them had hell of ride, I was able to witness from their blogs. It certainly helped me to get ready for the application process which i will be starting this fall. Also their blogs taught me, what to expect and what not to expect once you are done with your applications and you know that you have screwed somewhere of the application.All I wanted to say is that– “Thanks” to all bloggers who will be matriculating this year in their dream B-schools and in the process helping me/ fellow aspirants with their blog posts . Hope their MBA/ GMAT blogs will transform into B-school life blogs soon Confession: Before starting my blog I had no idea about the interview process and what questions to expect etc etc. Now I believe, I have full knowledge if not some knowledge about the key elements in a MBA Applications. Obviously, it makes me feel relaxed as I have to concentrate more on my GMAT as of now. Coming back to GMAT, I almost done with my Preparation and getting ready for the Final countdown and assessing my performance with Mocks. Talking about mocks- i scored 680(Q-48 & V-35) recently. I felt really happy that my efforts are going in right direction. I have analyzed the mocks and noted down my key areas of improvements. I will be working towards those improvements coming weeks and make sure I get them right next time around. I haven’t decided on the date yet for my GMAT as I lack some confidence. My thinking now is, if i’m able to pull of 710+ score in 3 mocks(I have planned to give one mock test per week(Saturdays) for next 3 weeks) then that will be my booster. And I will right away select the date for the GMAT. Hoping everything will go according to the plan .Again, All the best to all my fellow blogger/MBA applicants- My Life is Bliss- Awesome going girl!! Finally everything is coming your way with interview calls- You will nail it , Vandana- 4 out of 4? That’s really cool. You are a Star!!!, Importunate MBA, TopDogMBA- Congrats for deciding to attend MIT Sloan, Coffee beans & Tea leaves- All the best for Duke, Naija MBA Gal- Congrats for Booth, Pulling that MBA trigger- All the best for Kellogg, UCLA and Tepper. You will get the interview invite soon . And if i have missed anyone, please pardon me as the list is getting bigger and bigger Until next time, GNPTH
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You sir, deserve a plenty of kudos for your V-Day commitment. Love is some serious time business! And, what better way to spend that time than with your current love interest. Now, she may not be the prettiest, nor the most interesting; however, she most certainly will be your meal ticket to a better life, someday! 
18 Feb 2015, 18:00
| FROM MBA Data Guru: Tuck Acceptance Rate Analysis |
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Tuck Acceptance Rate Analysis Tuck School of Business is a top MBA program with a competitive admissions process. The Tuck acceptance rate is low, at 20%. Unlike most other top MBA programs, Tuck is a self initiated interview. Anyone who visits campus can schedule an interview. In this article I will discuss which factors impact Tuck acceptance rate. Tuck Acceptance Rate by GMAT  GMAT score has a large influence on Tuck acceptance rate. The average Tuck GMAT score is fairly high at 716. Adding a hundred points to your GMAT more than doubles your chance of admission. Even with a low GMAT of 650, acceptance rate at Dartmouth is still more than 10%, unlike Harvard where you need a 740 to have a 10% chance of admission. Tuck Acceptance Rate by GPA  The average Tuck GPA is a solid 3.5. It is clear that applicants with a higher GPA have a better chance of being accepted. Once graduated, GPA is set in stone, so you might as well focus on increasing your GMAT which can still be increased. Tuck GMAT vs. GPA  Next we look at whether Tuck prefers a high GMAT or a high GPA. The graph above shows that applicants with a high GMAT have a slightly better chance of being admitted than an applicant with a high GPA. The difference is so small that it is not very important. Tuck Acceptance Rate by Application Round  As you can see in the graph above, the round you apply to Tuck does influence acceptance rate significantly. Round 1 and 2 have a similar admission rates of around 24%. Round 3 acceptance rate starts to drop off noticeably to 18% but not much below the 20% average acceptance rate. The Tuck acceptance rate for round 4 is extremely low, at 8%. Unless you have an incredible application or are desperate to leave your current job for business school, I recommend avoiding round 4 and waiting for the next year. Tuck Acceptance Rate by Years of Work Experience  Tuck values applicants that have a longer work experience. Each year of work experience raises your chance of admission by a little more than 1%. Tuck Acceptance Rate by Age  Similar to other schools such as Columbia, Duke, Cornell and Booth, Tuck prefers applicants who are around 28 years old. I believe that this is because they have enough work experience to draw on during school but are not too old to be placed at companies during recruiting. In the above graphs I look at age and years of work experience separately, however in reality they are closely related.  In the graph above I adjusted the original acceptance rate by age graph and added in the impact of work experience. For simplicity I assume that everyone graduates at 22 and works full time from graduation until they apply for business school. When these two factors are combined, you see that older applicants have a large advantage compared to younger applicants. Other Tuck Admissions Factors There are a few other factors that affect your chance of admission to Tuck. International applicants (excluding India) have a significantly higher chance of admission, at 28% acceptance rate. Applicants that worked in Venture Capital are especially prized at Tuck, with an impressive 47% chance of admission. If you are thinking of applying to Tuck, be sure to check out my Tuck Interview Question Guide so you know what questions to expect. The data for this analysis came from GMAT Club. MBA Data Guru - Data and analytics that will help you in the MBA admissions process |
23 Feb 2015, 00:01
| FROM My Journey to Business School: The Decision is Made… |
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And I have decided that I will be attending Kellogg School of Management. I’ve been accepted to the Kellogg MMM program, and I truly believe this program is a great fit for my future goals. There were a lot of factors that weighed in my decision, some of which I’ve listed out in an earlier post. I will do a longer follow-up post soon. I am finally at peace about my decision and can get excited about preparing for business school. I will be flying out to Chicago this June. Wheeeeeee! :D I can’t wait to hear my fellow bloggers decisions. Out with it! :)  
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23 Feb 2015, 19:00
| FROM Grant Me Admission: Tips for Getting In from a Wharton Grad |
I saw this FANTASTIC blog post from a Wharton Grad… VERY COMPREHENSIVE on how to get into a top business school. (Side note, I should have…
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24 Feb 2015, 00:00
| FROM Pulling That MBA Trigger: Out of sight, out of mind. |
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It’s been a while since I’ve had anything to report and honestly, the release of a new product has had me working 12 hours day, I kid you not. I’ve been so burnt out for the past few weeks and my eyes have begun to water as soon as I look at the screen of my laptop. Ridiculous. With everyone getting invites left and right, I’d pretty much assumed that Round 2 was over for me. An interview waiver I received from Kellogg a week ago just seemed to confirm that… but I woke up to an Anderson invite this morning so perhaps it’s not over yet. Having this whole MBA thing out of my mind has actually helped since I’m no longer anal and panicky about everything. I got the interview invite and I was like “Oh an invite. How nice”. That was the extent of my excitement, which was weird but I guess it just means I’ll be calmer for the interview? UCLA is a great school for me by all intents and purposes so I’m going to schedule my interview and give it my best shot. Until then, I’ll be talking to as many current students as I possibly can and scouring the internet for anything that might help. Hope everyone’s doing well! And to all my friends who have decided where to attend, congratulations! I’m so very excited to see what’s next for you.  
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24 Feb 2015, 16:00
| FROM MBA Data Guru: MBA Acceptance Rate by Application Round |
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MBA Acceptance Rate by Application Round Some business schools have roughly the same acceptance rate during all rounds while others see a significant drop off in later rounds. With applications for round 3 due in the next month or two, this analysis may help you decide which schools to focus on and which to avoid. Here is a list of the top 20 school’s MBA acceptance rate by application round. The data for this analysis came from GMAT Club, which could be a biased sample. People on GMAT Club tend to have higher GMAT scores than the general application pool, so the acceptance rate can be significantly higher for some schools. The acceptance rates are meant to give you an idea of the relationship between rounds, not the absolute acceptance rate. These numbers are raw and not adjusted for other variables such as GMAT and GPA. MBA Acceptance Rate by Round The first table is MBA acceptance rate by round ordered by school ranking. The acceptance rates that have a star next to them means that the sample size is very small and might not be completely accurate. US News RankSchoolRound 1Round 2Round 3Round 4 1Stanford8%5%2%- 1Wharton19%16%0%*- 1Harvard12%6%4%- 4Booth29%25%15%- 5MIT16%11%-- 6Kellogg26%23%20%*- 7Haas17%17%6% 8Columbia23%20%-- 9Tuck28%29%22%9% 10NYU29%27%21% 11Ross41%42%38%*- 11Darden32%33%16%- 13Yale24%27%9%- 14Duke31%33%21%- 15McCombs38%36%28%- 16Anderson26%34%9%- 17Johnson39%36%37%- 18Tepper24%38%43%- 19Kenan-Flagler36%40%60%- 20Emory26%40%37%- Schools with Significantly Lower Round 3 Acceptance Rate Many of the top 20 MBA programs have significantly lower acceptance rates in round 3 to the point that it is better to wait until next year to apply. Harvard, Stanford and Wharton, the number one ranked schools, have a large decrease in acceptance rate for round 3. Only 2% to 3% of applications for these schools are in round 3 because everyone knows that acceptance rates are so low. Haas, Yale, Duke, UVA and UCLA also see a significant drop in round 3 admissions compared to earlier rounds. Dartmouth has a respectable round 3 acceptance rate of 22%, but a very low 9% chance of admission for round 4. Schools with Similar or Higher Round 3 Acceptance Rate While many schools have a lower acceptance rate for round 3, there are several schools that don’t have a drop off in response. Ross, Cornell, and Emory all have similar admission odds for the third round, while Tepper and UNC actually have a higher acceptance rate for round 3. Round 3 MBA Acceptance Rate Ranking This is the the same table as the first one but ranked by round 3 acceptance rate from highest to lowest. Some schools have a round 4 that I did not include, because the sample size was too small. I combined round 4 applications with round 3 except for Tuck because Dartmouth actually had a large number of round 4 applicants. Round 3 RankSchoolRound 1Round 2Round 3Round 4 1Kenan-Flagler36%40%60%- 2Tepper24%38%43%- 3Ross41%42%38%*- 4Johnson39%36%37%- 4Emory26%40%37%- 6McCombs38%36%28%- 7Tuck28%29%22%9% 8NYU29%27%21% 8Duke31%33%21%- 10Kellogg26%23%20%*- 11Darden32%33%16%- 12Booth29%25%15%- 13Yale24%27%9%- 13Anderson26%34%9%- 15Haas17%17%6% 16Harvard12%6%4%- 17Stanford8%5%2%- 18Wharton19%16%0%*- 19MIT16%11%-- 19Columbia23%20%-- The most surprising number is UNC Kenan-Flagler’s round 3 acceptance rate of 60%, which is significantly higher than that of round 1 and 2. I looked at the GMAT and GPA for each round to see if they would explain the high admissions in round 3, however they were both slightly lower than other rounds. I can’t explain why UNC round 3 acceptance rate is so high, but it is a great school to apply in the third round.  * Sample size is 30 or fewer applications. MBA Data Guru - Data and analytics that will help you in the MBA admissions process |
26 Feb 2015, 21:01
| FROM My Journey to Business School: My Kellogg Interview Debrief |
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This is a long overdue post! A lot of Indian applicants, having scheduled interviews in March, reached out to me asking about my interview experience with Kellogg. I had a Skype interview with a member of the admissions committee. Since it was my first business school interview, I was jumpy and nervous. As with most business school interviews, it was friendly and conversational, and within a few minutes of starting the interview, I was in the zone and calmer than I was when the interview started. The questions I was asked were fairly standard and there were no surprises there (thank goodness!). I made a note of all the questions I was asked during the interview immediately after it was done (you guys have no idea how long it took me to locate this piece of hastily-scribbled-on paper from months ago). These are the questions I was asked: Give me a high level overview of your career till date – especially focusing on why you made the career choices that you did. Take your time. Are you an individual contributor or do you work in a team? (If you work in a team, do people report to you?) Do you prefer working in a team or as an individual contributor? Explain your reasons. What would your team say is your greatest strength at work? What would your team say was the one thing they’d change about you at work? (Same questions as above for “What would your manager say…?”) Talk about a challenging professional experience that you had. What was your thought process? How did you handle the situation? What are your short term and long term career goals? How will Kellogg help you achieve these goals? Why did you apply to Kellogg? How will you contribute to Kellogg? What are your interests outside of work? (and a few follow-up questions about this) Is there anything you’d like to add? If there’s anything that you think has not been mentioned in your application or that has not been discussed during the interview – you can talk about it now. (She did mention this was not a question to throw the candidate off-balance, but just an opportunity for us to address anything that we think they might’ve missed. I felt that I had not adequately addressed how smitten I was with Kellogg, so I spent a few minutes talking about MMM and my fit with Kellogg based on all my research. She seemed impressed with all the research I did on Kellogg, and commented on the fact that I was able to get so much information despite living halfway across the world.) Then it was time for questions. I asked just 1-2 questions, and then we signed off. The entire interview lasted about 40 minutes. These are my takeaways from the interview, and some important pointers: – While the interviewer was friendly, it was not what I’d call an informal interview. You have to treat it like any job interview – be courteous, and be friendly, but retain some formality. – Look at the interviewer and the camera. This is especially important in a Skype interview. You have to try and make eye contact to make it feel like a conversation. Don’t keep looking at yourself in the camera and adjusting your position accordingly (they can tell if you’re constantly checking yourself out on screen). – I think it’s very important to showcase your passion for the school and focus on your fit with the school’s culture. In your answers, focus on team work and collaboration. Talk about all the things that (in your opinion) make Kellogg the best place for you to spend the next 2 years of your life. Admissions want to make sure that they take people who really want to join. Make sure they know that if you get in, you will attend Kellogg. – Speak clearly and concisely. This is not really specific to Kellogg and you should do this in any interview, but Kellogg grads have a reputation for being good communicators – reinforce this image in your interview by enunciating clearly, not stammering and being as grammatically correct as you can be. It’s okay to take a few moments to collect your thoughts before answering a question. Don’t just rush into an answer without knowing what you want to talk about, or you’ll end up rambling! Good luck to all the R2 applicants interviewing with Kellogg! Reach out to me if you have any further questions – I’d be happy to chat. Points t  
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26 Feb 2015, 23:28
(all good though)..| FROM My Journey to Business School: The Decision is Made… |
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And I have decided that I will be attending Kellogg School of Management. I’ve been accepted to the Kellogg MMM program, and I truly believe this program is a great fit for my future goals. There were a lot of factors that weighed in my decision, some of which I’ve listed out in an earlier post. I will do a longer follow-up post soon. I am finally at peace about my decision and can get excited about preparing for business school. I will be flying out to Chicago this June. Wheeeeeee! :D I can’t wait to hear my fellow bloggers decisions. Out with it! :)
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28 Feb 2015, 12:00
| FROM Naija MBA Gal: I’m here!!! |
I’ve been away from the blogosphere for a long while and I apologize for that. Some of it is laziness but most of it is being overwhelmed; by work, plans and decisions. It occurred to me that I never posted my decision here so that’s what I’m here to do. Unsurprisingly I accepted Booth’s offer. Surprisingly, […]
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01 Mar 2015, 16:00
| FROM My MBA Journey: My Second Visit to the Burgh |
 One of the reasons why I even considered Tepper is the location. Last summer I stopped in Pittsburgh on the way home from a road trip. We were vacationing in the Outer Banks and unfortunately we were evacuated because of Hurricane Arthur. That gave us some extra time to explore on our journey home. We stopped in Pittsburgh for the day and fell in love with the city. Pittsburgh is comprised of different sections that all have a very different atmosphere. We started the day in the Strip District where we visited a large scale farmers market. We stopped by Penzeys Spices and Pittsburgh Popcorn-both must visit attractions if you are in the area. The weather was beautiful and we walked along the water. There was a Pirates Game going on that day. If you aren’t aware of it, two of Pittsburgh’s stadiums are located right on the waterfront which really adds to the experience. Across the bridge we spent some time in the SouthSide district. There’s a street that is lined with restaurants, bars, and stores. Before we left, we visited the financial district. That section is mostly filled with businesses and sure does create a great skyline. Anyways back to the visit review. I had the opportunity to go back to Pittsburgh last weekend to interview. For this trip I had the pleasure of having some company with me. Pittsburgh is less than a 5 hour drive from Detroit so my mom decided to come with me. We drove in Sunday morning and explored the city for the day. The next day began with the interview. During my visit to Duke I scheduled my interview for the end of the day so I could absorb information about the program throughout the day and ensure I used a few buzz words throughout the interview. There are benefits to either approach. During the visit to Tepper I scheduled the interview first thing in the morning. It was certainly nice to have it over with and just enjoy the rest of the visit. The interview was pretty typical. There were questions about my post MBA plans, why Tepper, and why I decided to pursue business school. The interviewer and admissions team were so welcoming and organized. They had a detailed welcome packet for me to review after the interview which provided information about Tepper and Pittsburgh as well. Some programs provide little information about the city and if you are not from the area, it’s nice to learn more about it. After the interview I attended an informational session held by the admissions team. It was helpful to learn more about the curriculum. Tepper tries to prepare students for the future business world. The industry is always changing and business leaders need to be prepared for anything. Next I attended a student led tour and lunch. This is usually my favorite part of MBA visits. The current students provide a real perspective which allows you to get a better glimpse of the culture of the school. The student leader of my group was so helpful. He had a similar background and had moved to the area with a partner and a dog, both of which I will be doing. Although I have not been admitted yet, it’s still always nice to be able to ask lifestyle questions and he had all the answers. Last, I visited a Financial and Managerial Accounting class. Surprisingly the content didn’t go completely over my head, so that was encouraging. If you’re still reading, thank you. This was a long post! Needless to say, my visit to Tepper inspired me.  
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01 Mar 2015, 18:01
| FROM My MBA Journey: My Final Round 2 Interview |
 Well, I’ve had a busy month! In February I traveled to interview and visit three MBA programs. Earlier in the month I also went to Florida on vacation. This weekend I completed my final round two interview. Unfortunately I visited Goizeuta during a break so there weren’t a lot of activities to partake in. I flew in on Friday morning and worked from the hotel. If you are looking for a place to stay in Atlanta, I highly recommend the Emory Conference hotel. I felt like I was visiting an up north lodge. It was surrounded by trails and had a warm cottage feeling. Just a short walk away was a street with restaurants and shops. Emory was basically located across the street next to the CDC. Emory has one of the most beautiful college campuses. Most of the buildings are detailed with old architecture filled with character. Other buildings on Emory’s campus are extremely modern in design. On Saturday morning I had the pleasure of visiting an old friend who lives in the area. She recently moved to Atlanta and it’s been the perfect place to grow a family. One of the benefits is definitely the weather. It was about 50 degrees, but coming from a Michigan winter it felt like it was 80 degrees in Atlanta. Saturday afternoon I enjoyed a student led tour of Emory. The student was very passionate about her experience with Goizeuta. Her husband graduated from the program a few years ago and both have been pleased with their experience. The student was also quite honest and confirmed the horrible Atlanta traffic stories. She also mentioned during the first semester she sometimes was at the school until 3AM working on projects or studying for an exam. I have heard similar stories at other campuses. Students complete all but one core class during their first semester at Goizeuta. During this time the students are also recruiting so it becomes a very busy time of year. I’m sure it’s all worth it in the end. A 2014 alumni interviewed me. Again this interview was pretty typical for what I have seen so far. For some reason I don’t feel like this was my best interview. Although I think we connected, there were a few answers I wish I had changed. He asked me what else do I want the admissions committee to know and I gave a relatively vague answer instead of bringing up community services experiences. That was an area of my resume we hadn’t gotten to. During another question he asked me about my biggest work accomplishment and what portions of that experience did I actually manage. Although the example I gave was a meaningful one, I don’t know if I explained it very well. Sometimes I find myself getting too much into the details of the experience instead of giving a quick overview and reinforcing the points of the story. During every story I’ve been told you should provide an overview, background knowledge, ensure you clearly define the main points, and then explain the learnings or outcome. I hope my interview was still insightful as to why I am a good candidate for Goizeuta. Although there weren’t a lot of activities taking place this weekend at Emory, I had the opportunity to exchange emails and phone calls with current students. They were all very responsive and willing to answer any questions I had. The students shared useful insights about the program and life in Atlanta. Their passion makes me even more enthused about the possibility of joining Goizeuta. Luckily I’ll hear back this week about the admissions decision. Wish me luck!  
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04 Mar 2015, 02:01
| FROM MBA Data Guru: Darden MBA Acceptance Rate Analysis |
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Darden MBA Acceptance Rate Analysis Darden, UVA’s business school, is the business school ranked 11th in the US. Darden is a prestigious school at which only 25% of applicants are accepted. I built a predictive model to see which factors are most important and least important for Darden admission. The results may surprise you. Darden MBA Acceptance Rate by GMAT  It is no surprise that increasing your GMAT will raise your Darden admission chance. The average GMAT score for accepted students at UVA’s business school is 706. If you were to increase your GMAT by 100 points from 650 to 750 when applying to Darden, you would raise your acceptance rate by an impressive 62%. Even at a GMAT score of 650, chance of acceptance is still over 20%. Darden MBA Acceptance Rate by GPA  Shockingly, GPA has little to no impact on your chance of admission at Darden. The average GPA of accepted students is 3.52. When I ran a regression model on factors that predict the chance of acceptance at Darden, GPA was one of the first variable eliminated. The graph above confirms my conclusion, a person with a 4.0 GPA has only a slightly higher chance of admission than a person with a 3.0. If you have a low GPA and a high GMAT, then Darden is a great school at which to apply. Darden MBA Acceptance Rate by Round  Recently I performed an analysis of MBA acceptance rates by application round. The Darden MBA acceptance rate was noticeably lower during round 3. When building the Darden predictive model I confirmed that the low round 3 acceptance rate was in fact statistically significant. It seams as though the average acceptance rate is pretty high in the graph above, which is true. The acceptance rate by round graph is for GMAT Club applicants who have a significantly higher GMAT than regular applicants. Although round 3 applicants still have a fairly reasonable 19% acceptance rate, it is still significantly lower than the round 1 and 2 Darden admission rate. If you are on the fence about applying round 3 to Darden, you might as well wait for next year. Other Darden MBA Acceptance Rate Factors Similar to Wharton, Darden MBA applicants from India have roughly a 75% lower chance of admission. Computer science majors also have a similarly low chance of admission, which is around 11%. MBA Data Guru - Data and analytics that will help you in the MBA admissions process |
05 Mar 2015, 00:01
| FROM Pulling That MBA Trigger: UCLA Anderson Interview Debrief |
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I just finished my interview with a second year student from UCLA Anderson and it went so much better than I imagined it would! I think I got lucky on several counts. Firstly, my interviewer was a woman. This was actually a perfect match since a lot of my leadership stories are related to the struggles of being a woman in the male-dominated tech industry and it seemed like she could really relate. Secondly, she also comes from a background in technology so I’m certain that all of my stories made sense to her. Finally, she was just a really nice, fun person to talk to! Lots of smiles, lots of jokes and just a real sense of comfort that I have yet to experience in an MBA interview. No awkwardness whatsoever! What also helped was the fact that it was a Skype interview, so I was sitting in the comfort of my bedroom and it felt like I was talking to a friend across the continent. Overall, a great experience. Okay now getting down to the details that might actually help applicants who are yet to interview. She started off by telling me about herself and her background really briefly. Then onto the questions:
 but the rest of it went well so I really can’t complain.After it was over, I sent her a quick thank you note and that was it! The interview was super casual and friendly, much like Anderson students themselves and I have no doubt in my mind that it is a great school. I’m just going to have to keep my fingers crossed till the 2nd of April, which luckily isn’t too far away. Best of luck to everyone else who interviewed/is waiting to interview!  
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12 Mar 2015, 05:01
| FROM Scott Duncan: Stop Trying to Guess Where You Will Get Accepted |
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[b] [/b] [b]UPDATE: I’ve been quiet for a while. I was invited to interview at HBS, and I will be finding out in two weeks if I was accepted.[/b] [b] [/b] “What are my chances” is a pointless question to ask [b] [/b] It doesn’t take much analysis to figure out that one of the most common questions b-school applicants ask is “What are my chances of getting into a top program?” Maximizing these chances is why people strive for a 750 GMAT or volunteer what remains of their free time at a non-profit. People seem to be obsessed with tiny little “hacks” that they think will make the difference in their acceptance. I call these “magic bullets.” What color tie should I wear to my interview? Is there a better word in the thesaurus for “leadership?” All of these are of course useless, and obsessing over whether or not you will get in can cause more harm than good. [b] [/b] Two years ago, I started studying for the GMAT. Every night after work I’d dedicate 90 minutes to studying, and at least 4 hours on the weekends. I took the test, and got a 680, well below what I thought was acceptable. In the middle of the summer, despite KNOWING that I wanted to get my MBA and had good reasons for doing so, I actually decided that I was not going to apply anymore. I was trying to save myself the embarrassment of applying and not getting in by not trying at all. [b] [/b] Clearly, I didn’t think my chances were great. I was trying to preemptively answer “What are my chances?” I then used the answer I came up with myself as an excuse to do NOTHING. [b] [/b] Obviously, I changed my mind and applied anyway. I learned a lot about the process of applying even though I didn’t get accepted the first time around. But, I lost a lot of time that could have been put to better use in my application. I spent more time trying to predict the outcome than actually putting the work into my essays and other elements of my application. Asking yourself “What are my chances of getting into [school]?” Is ultimately a waste of time because it will only lead you to inaction. Why do people ask themselves this question? It all comes down to fear of failure. [b] [/b] The real questions most people are asking when they try to predict the outcome of their applications are: [b] [/b] Will it be worth the time and effort I put into this application if I fail? Will it be worth the embarrassment of telling my friends/family/coworkers if I fail? Will it be worth the $250+ application fee if I fail? [b] [/b] Notice that these all include “if I fail…” I’m assuming that it will all be worth it if you get accepted. Asking these questions is shortsighted because the downside is very limited compared to the upside. [b] [/b] Time and effort? The time and effort put into any application is valuable because it forces you to think about why you’re applying in the first place and makes you practice articulating those reasons. Want to get better at writing your application essays? Write more. I was able to use significant portions of some essays in other essays because there was so much content overlap. Even if you “fail” to get in, all of that writing will be worth it in other essays, or if you apply a second time. [b] [/b] Embarrasment? Who cares? You’re trying to get into some of the most notoriously difficult schools to get into, period. Looking at the acceptance rates, between 80% and 90% of people who apply to an individual school do not get accepted. The odds are not in your favor, so embrace the fact that what you are doing has a high rate of failure. [b] [/b] Application fee? Just one more barrier to entry. I’m guessing that the relatively expensive application fees keep people who aren’t serious from submitting a sub-par application and seeing if it sticks. It keeps the application pool from getting watered down and reduces the amount of filtering work the admissions committee has to do eliminating garbage applications. But you’re serious right? The upside here is getting accepted and graduating with a degree that allows you to earn $120,000+ per year. That $250 application fee is pretty insignificant. [b] [/b] So, the underlying questions most people are asking when they try to predict the outcome of their application are…bullshit. These questions can only lead to excuses to procrastinate, or not apply at all. Don’t let these get in your way. Sign up and never miss a post Subscribe Now!  I value your privacy and would never spam you. Unsubscribe at any time. The post Stop Trying to Guess Where You Will Get Accepted appeared first on Scott Duncan. |
12 Mar 2015, 21:01
| FROM My MBA Journey: March Madness |
 Although most of the country thinks of basketball when they hear March Madness, there’s another type of March Madness taking place right now. For the round two MBA applicants it’s go time. Most programs release admissions decisions during the month of March. The waiting game is mostly over. For me it seems like time is passing by so slowly. I’ve never wanted the time to go by so quickly. Regardless of the decision, I just want to know. Especially since I will have to make a decision pretty quickly. Most programs require students to submit their deposit, which is the official acceptance, in April or May. Most programs do a great job of providing admitted students with additional information in an effort to help them with their decision. Current students and alumni provide admitted students with their perspective of the program through phone calls, coffee chats, and emails. Admitted students receive access to a portal of information. Social media is also a new factor to allow admitted students to communicate. There are admitted students weekends at which students and their partners can attend to explore the area and learn more about the program. It also gives the programs a chance to show off and encourage students to officially accept admission to their program. At this point, students may have a few offers on the table. Well, my fingers will be permanently crossed this month. Wish me luck!  
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14 Mar 2015, 15:01
| FROM Naija MBA Gal: Tasting the fear |
I’ve officially committed to the Booth class of 2017 and I know its a great decision. So why am I afraid? There is definitely no way I will be worse off come 2017 but I’m not all about being rational. I’ve been house hunting, linking up with other Boothies, getting scared out of my mind, […]
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15 Mar 2015, 14:01
| FROM TopDogMBA - A Reapplicant's Tail: Please please me – how I’m handling the Wharton waitlist |
I’ve thought a long time about whether to post this since it puts me way out there, but I tried real hard to think how a Wharton student would deal with it. My conclusion is that the collaborative Wharton spirit would prevail and they’d share their insight with others in the same situation so here goes… As […]
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19 Mar 2015, 05:00
| FROM Scott Duncan: Charlie Munger, Inversion, and Business School Applications |
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Note: You’re going to start seeing links to books I'm reading. In the interest of total transparency, I'll earn a small commision every time you click one of these links and then purchase the item. You don't pay any extra! These small commissions will help offset the cost of running this site. Thanks for your support! Back to our regular scheduled post. “Invert, always invert.” – Charlie Munger If you’re applying to business school, you have a problem…getting accepted. There are so many components of the application to get right – essays, letters of rec, your resume, and this is all before the interview. Is there a better way to approach this problem rather than trying to get everything “right?” Let’s look at the problem of getting accepted to a top business school in a different way. I’m assuming that anyone applying to business school already knows who Charlie Munger is, but I will introduce him anyway. Munger is the Vice-Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, business partner of Warren Buffett, and a billionaire. Munger is also a deep-thinker who relies heavily on mental models. You can learn more about him in this book: Damn Right: Behind the Scenes with Berkshire Hathaway Billionaire Charlie Munger. I will be reading it along with you. According to Wikipedia, mental models are “representations of the surrounding world, the relationships between its various parts and a person’s intuitive perception about his or her own acts and their consequences.” One of the mental models Charlie Munger is known for employing is inversion, or looking at a problem backwards. For example, imagine that you are trying to get more done at work. Let’s start by looking at the problem forwards. You could use a new to-do list manager. You could rearrange your schedule to batch process tasks like emails or phone calls. You could work more hours. Looking at the problem backwards however, is much more interesting. Instead of asking “How do I get more done?” the question becomes “How do I get LESS done?” You are essentially asking what would ensure diminished productivity. Solutions to this now inverted problem could be: get distracted more, have more meetings, waste time around the water cooler etc. Now that these solutions have been identified, you simply DON’T do them, and you are on your way to solving the problem. As Shane Parrish says at his Farnam Street Blog- “Avoiding stupidity is easier than seeking brilliance.” Applying Inversion to business school So, what could make you NOT get into business school? Let’s imagine you wanted to apply, but fail to get in. There are the obvious answers, like “bomb the GMAT”, or “murder someone” (although that might make a good application essay). Let’s take it deeper. More subtle ways to fail include: having a disjointed and confusing story, not sounding interesting, and not building a connection with the reader of your application. Avoiding all of these mistakes help make you memorable. Even an applicant with strong fundamentals (GMAT, GPA, etc.) will not have their best possible application if they fail to do these things. So, when you are putting together your application materials, remember to avoid stupidity rather than seek brilliance. Sign up and never miss a post Subscribe Now! I value your privacy and would never spam you. Unsubscribe at any time. The post Charlie Munger, Inversion, and Business School Applications appeared first on Scott Duncan. |
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