{"id":20541,"date":"2013-09-01T11:06:40","date_gmt":"2013-09-01T18:06:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=20541"},"modified":"2013-09-01T11:06:41","modified_gmt":"2013-09-01T18:06:41","slug":"mba-applicant-blogger-interview-with-mbareapplicant84","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/mba-applicant-blogger-interview-with-mbareapplicant84\/","title":{"rendered":"MBA Applicant Blogger Interview with MBAreapplicant84"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Reapplicant84\"<\/a>We\u2019d like to introduce you to MBAreapplicant84, an anonymous MBA reapplicant who offers us loads of advice and insight into the MBA admissions process here and in his blog,<\/em> MBA Reapplicant<\/a>. Thank you MBAreapplicant84 for sharing your experience with us, and best of luck to you!<\/em><\/p>\n

Accepted: First, can you tell us a little about yourself? Where are you from? Where and what did you study as an undergrad? What is your current job?<\/strong><\/p>\n

MBAreapplicant84: <\/strong>I was born in Japan and lived there for a total of about eight years. My mother is Japanese and my father is from the US. We moved back and forth between Japan and the US quite a bit, but when I was about 10 years old, we settled down in California.<\/p>\n

I went to Brigham Young University as an undergrad and studied Japanese. I hadn't spoken Japanese since I was 10, so I had forgotten most of the language and really had a desire to relearn it.<\/p>\n

Currently I work at Goldman Sachs as a Senior Operations Analyst.<\/p>\n

Accepted: When did you first apply to b-school? <\/strong><\/p>\n

MBAreapplicant84:<\/strong> I applied to b-school for the first time last year. I only applied to a few schools that I really wanted to go to in Round 1. I was interviewed at Tuck<\/a> and Kellogg<\/a>, but ended up getting dinged from all the schools I applied to. I was very disappointed to say the least.<\/p>\n

For awhile, I thought of applying to some safety schools, but the thought of giving up and going to a school I knew I wouldn't be happy at made me a bit depressed. So I decided to wait a year and try again. Looking back, I am very glad I did. I have grown a ton in the last year, and I know I made some serious mistakes on my apps last time around. Also, when I was denied at Tuck, they actually sent me a letter saying that I was in the top 10 percent of the candidates that got rejected, but that they saw a lot of potential and encouraged me to apply again the following year. I was even able to sit down with one of the admission officers and go through the strengths and weaknesses<\/a> of my application. It was pretty cool of Tuck to do that, and it has helped a lot.<\/p>\n

Accepted: What do you think went wrong that time and what are you doing this time to improve your candidacy?<\/strong><\/p>\n

MBAreapplicant84:<\/strong> The first thing is I waited till September to take the GMAT<\/a> (second attempt). Because I was so focused on studying, the rest of my application, especially the essays suffered. Also, when I talked with the adcom at Tuck, she mentioned that she wanted to see a little more growth in my current position at work (at the time I applied last year, I had only been in my current position for about six months). I think there were a few other small things too, like lack of clarity on goals<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This time around, I have spent almost a year prepping for essays, better understanding my career goals, and growing at work. I have been promoted once since last applying and am set for another promotion in January. I also took the GMAT one more time and improved my score a bit. I have also taken on a few leadership<\/a> responsibilities outside of work.<\/p>\n

Accepted: Where do you plan on applying this time?<\/strong><\/p>\n

MBAreapplicant84:<\/strong> This time around, I am planning on applying to Tuck, Haas<\/a>, Kellogg, Sloan<\/a>, and Yale SOM<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Accepted: What stage of the application process are you up to so far? What has been the most challenging step and how did you work to overcome it?<\/strong><\/p>\n

MBAreapplicant84:<\/strong> Currently I am working on my essays<\/a>, which I also consider to be one of the tougher aspects of the application. I know, at least for me, I really needed to do some deep introspection to figure out why I really want\/need an MBA, what I want out of my career, and what stories in my life best illustrate who I am. Aside from that, the hardest thing has just been the actual length of the process. I started studying for the GMAT almost two and a half years ago. It's exhausting. I know my wife is ready to have me back in the evenings.<\/p>\n

Accepted: Do you plan on staying in your current industry post-MBA, or changing to a new field\/career?<\/strong><\/p>\n

MBAreapplicant84:<\/strong> I plan on staying in operations post-MBA, but I want to switch<\/a> from the financial industry to the consumer products or tech industry. I want to be somewhere like Nike or Google where there is a bit more freedom to be innovative. The financial industry has been great to me, but because of the amount of regulation, I feel like there is not as much room for significant innovation.<\/p>\n

Accepted: Why did you decide to blog about your experience? What have you gained from the experience? What do you hope others will learn?<\/strong><\/p>\n

MBAreapplicant84:<\/strong> I decided to blog about my experience mainly to have a periodic outlet. I don't really know if there are people out there that really care what I have to say, but it has been almost therapeutic to be able to get my thoughts about the whole process out there.<\/p>\n

Blogging has helped me to be able to take a step back and better analyze how I am doing in the process this time around. I hope others will understand that applying to b-school<\/a> isn't something that you just do at the last minute, it is a process. If you don't take the time to really dig deep and understand yourself and why you want and need an MBA<\/a>, you might end up wasting a lot of time and money. However, if you do put the time and effort into it, the process of applying to b-school itself can be very rewarding.<\/p>\n

Do you want to be featured in Accepted.com's blog, Accepted Admissions Blog? If you want to share your MBA\/EMBA journey with the world (or at least with our readers), email us at mbabloggers@accepted.com.<\/strong><\/em>
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