Calling all Current Students and Alums

Calling all Current Students and Alums

Hi lucky ones,

I wanted to invite you to share your wisdom and experience and help us know the schools that we are applying to a little better. We know that you all must be really busy but may be some nostalgia about the school (if you have graduated), or the time you applied and had your heart racing on deadline days can entice you to spend some time with the rest of us - anxiously waiting on the same fate.

I know a lot of people appreciate others when they see a detailed solution on the GMAT forums, so why not for the MBA forums as well? We want to ask you everything: how were the classes? what was the hardest part of applications? what did you go to b school for? what are you up to now? was it worth it? what did you do in your free time?

Ok the last one was a joke, I will admit.

So cheers to a great place that you are and here's hoping we join the club soon.

If you don't know what you want to share, here is something I am sure everybody will be interested to know:

• Which school did you go to? Which class?
• What worked for you in applications?
• What is your favourite thing about the school?
• What did you hate about it?
• What are you doing now?
• Future plans?
  

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Nice initiative bud. It will surely help the applicants seeking admission to the elite schools.
However, this post hasn't received any positive response as yet. If we can get the current students and alums to contribute then it will be really very helpful.

Looking forward to some great insights via this post.
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Will be brief for now, but will expand on the details soon.

how were the classes?

The classes have probably been one of the best aspects of my time at Kellogg till date. Its not that I am a nerd or anything or but every single class can provide you a lot of learning if you are willing to be engaged. Case studies for every single class have been a game changer. Class participation is something that will teach you on its own, learning from people with myriad backgrounds and experiences.

what was the hardest part of applications? what did you go to b school for? what are you up to now? was it worth it? what did you do in your free time?

The hardest part of the applications was to apply to 5 schools within a period of 5 weeks (Wharton, Columbia, Ross, Booth, Kellogg), interviewed at 3 (Wharton, Columbia, Kellogg). I got my GMAT score on August 7th and finalized my consultant by 18th August. I still remember going to work at 6 am only to work on my applications from 6-8 am and then again from 5 pm -2 am. Worth the effort, time, energy and resources. You dont really know what you will get out of an MBA until you put in that effort and this thing makes it a lot sweeter when you do get an invite.
My main reason for going to bschool was to build genuine credentials for c-suite role in 10-15 years after graduation.
As for my free time, I played soccer, squash and ice hockey.

[list][b][*]Which school did you go to? Which class?
Kellogg, class of 2018.

[*]What worked for you in applications?
Standing out as a non-typical Indian male engineer, with a Master's in Mech Engg and working in Canada/US before Kellogg and a good GMAT score. All these things provided a good amount of material to distinguish myself from others in the same boat. I made sure to quantify and SHOW people that I did XYZ, than merely mentioning it in my essays.I still remember pushing my consultant to review my optional essay for Wharton as I thought my Wharton app without it was very bland. This was 3 days before Wharton's deadline and it paid off when I was invited for the TBD and PI.

[*]What is your favourite thing about the school?
People. Its very cliched to say this but people are genuinely interested in knowing you, your background and lend you a hand in either recruiting prep or finding new food places in and around Chicago. Love the new building and its location by the lake.

[*]What did you hate about it?
Having a very compressed fall quarter as most of networking and recruiting related activities start mid sept-end sept so need to be ready for that from the first day.
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Thanks for such a detailed note Engr2012 - I am sure the hardwork from early morning hours really paid off. I wanted to know more about your comment on the classes, how meticulous are students in classes? Is it as stressful as college? How is the social scene at Evanston?
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Thanks, Engr2012 for the brief post.
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I am assuming that by "meticulous" you mean doing the work pre-class work required to get the most of the classes; yes, you are supposed to do that work as some profs are particular about cold-calling and there is "participation" grade of 10-20% of the total grade. Another thing is that if you are spending energy in getting up for 8:30 AM classes, why not do more than just showing up? One strategy I have employed is to be one of the first people to answer the questions at the beginning of the class as those questions are usually the easier ones .
MBA classes and academics are more fun than anything else. Although Kellogg does not have a grade nondisclosure policy, recruiters very rarely ask for your grade (unless you are recruiting for Investment Banking). Getting an internship or a FT offer is all about presenting your holistic personality during the interviews. So, go into your MBA with an open mind and ready to absorb/enjoy whatever you can. But do remember FOMO will happen and there is nothing you will be able to do to prevent it as you only have 24 hours in a day!!
Evanston is a university town and hence lots of bars and hang out spots. That being said, downtown Chicago is usually a 30 min ride away and thus within reach if you feel full of Evanston.
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I'll take a shot at this.

Which school did you go to? Which class?

Fuqua, CO2016

What worked for you in applications?
High GMAT and to some extent school visits. Also, just thinking way ahead on your story/pitch/essays really helps. Finally, talk to people. There were people in your shoes who faced similar issues and solved them successfully.

What is your favourite thing about the school?
Spending a ton of time with friends and the stuff you do outside of school is a lot of fun. My favorite part though is the freedom to forge your own path - you can choose your courses (choose professors over content btw), choose companies you want to recruit for, choose what you want to do in free time (I took a semester off to 'focus' on fantasy soccer - somewhat true ), choose your friends etc. It's highly improbable that you will be able to dictate so many variables in your future life.

What did you hate about it?
There are a lot of flaky elements about going to business school, a situation that is sometimes exacerbated by groupism.
Also disliked that some aspects of other schools were far better (bidding points for jobs, low interest rates on loans etc.). However, for every couple of schools that were better in these aspects, there were quite a few that were worse. So, can't really complain too much.

What are you doing now?
Consulting

Future plans?
I enjoy my job and plan to continue for at least one more year before re-evaluating.

Good luck with everything!