Calling all McDonough MBA Applicants: [2020 Intake] Class of 2022!

Welcome all McDonough class of 2022 hopefuls. Let's use this platform to know each-other, exchange ideas, discuss app strategies, and some profile discussions may be? Give a shout out!

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Deadlines, Essay Questions and Essay Analysis

McDonough MBA Deadlines

Round	Application Due	Decisions Released
R1	Sept 30, 2019	--
R2	Jan 6, 2020	--
R3	March 24, 2020	--
R4	April 27, 2020	--

McDonough Essay Topics

• Essay #1: It can be said that life begins outside your comfort zone. Describe a situation when you were asked to lead outside of your comfort zone. What leadership characteristics did you exemplify in this situation that allowed you to succeed?
• Essay #2: “Failure is not something to be ashamed of, it’s something to be POWERED by. Failure is the high-octane fuel your life can run on. You’ve got to learn to make failure your fuel.” – Abby Wambach.
  Describe a situation when failure has been your fuel. What was your failure (or when did you not succeed to your full potential), and how did you use this as motivation to move forward and be successful in a future situation?
• Essay #3: Think of the business leader or role model you admire or aspire to be. What are the defining characteristics of their personal brand that you see in yourself, why would you highlight those qualities, and how will those characteristics enrich the community at McDonough?
• Video Essay: We ask that you introduce yourself to your cohort in one minute or less. The Admissions Committee would like for you to appear in person during part of your video, and we strongly encourage you to speak outside of the experiences we can read on your resume. Use this video as an opportunity to bring life to your application. For more instructions, view our Video Essay Guide.
• Optional Essay: Please provide any information you would like to add to your application that you have not otherwise included. (500 words or fewer).
• Reapplicant Essay: How have you strengthened your candidacy since your last application? We are particularly interested in hearing about how you have grown professionally and personally. (500 words or fewer)

Analysis of McDonough MBA Essays By: Accepted |
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Post reserved for essay advice & tips.
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Essay #1: It can be said that life begins outside your comfort zone. Describe a situation when you were asked to lead outside of your comfort zone. What leadership characteristics did you exemplify in this situation that allowed you to succeed?

Business school is very diverse, and you will be surrounded by people who are dissimilar to you. When we are leading outside our comfort zone, this is often related to differences: different gender, ethnicity, nationality, industry, orientation, personality. Leadership characteristics that allow one to succeed in this situation usually include communication, focusing on strengths, and empathy. Building common ground.

Essay #2: “Failure is not something to be ashamed of, it’s something to be POWERED by. Failure is the high-octane fuel your life can run on. You’ve got to learn to make failure your fuel.” – Abby Wambach. Describe a situation when failure has been your fuel. What was your failure (or when did you not succeed to your full potential), and how did you use this as motivation to move forward and be successful in a future situation?

More and more, business schools are looking for candidates with resilience: an ability to quickly recover from a setback, use failure as information, and continue on. Ideally, applying what you learned from the failure to the next venture or initiative; and because of that, improve outcomes the next time around. Provide an example where your determination and persistence was the reason behind your success.

Essay #3: Think of the business leader or role model you admire or aspire to be. What are the defining characteristics of their personal brand that you see in yourself, why would you highlight those qualities, and how will those characteristics enrich the community at McDonough?
Focus on what resonates with you in that leader – and provide examples on both sides. Strongly recommend you listen to the Touch MBA podcast for clues about what they value (read: Jesuit tradition).https://touchmba.com/21-set-the-world-on-fire-georgetown-mba-admissions-qa-with-ms-shari-hubert/

Video Essay: We ask that you introduce yourself to your cohort in one minute or less. The Admissions Committee would like for you to appear in person during part of your video, and we strongly encourage you to speak outside of the experiences we can read on your resume. Use this video as an opportunity to bring life to your application. For more instructions, view our Video Essay Guide.

This is a strong hint to help them get to know you as a person. Leave all the work shiz to the side: they already have a lot of information about that from your CV, recs, etc. Getting to know you as a person, as your friends know you, will open their heart to you and make you likeable. And get you admitted. Talk about your hobbies, passions, something interesting and unique to set yourself apart.

Optional Essay: Please provide any information you would like to add to your application that you have not otherwise included. (500 words or fewer).

If you need this section for a compelling and non-excusey “bad grades” story, great, but this question is fairly open ended and a good opportunity to separate yourself, show them your specific interest in GT.

Unless you have a lot of challenges you need to explain, allocate at least 200 words here to speak to the “fit” and “contribution” factors with GT. Articulate how GT is special to you and well-equipped to help you achieve your goals.

And, give them a clear vision as how you will contribute at GT. What unique contribution would you make there as a student and then later as an alum?
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Please join me in welcoming Vyshak as the new Moderator for McDonough.
Vyshak joined GMAT Club 4 years ago and has been a PS/DS Forum Moderator. He has over 1,600 posts and 2,200 Kudos - he is also the Forum Moderator for Marshall.


Vyshak - please introduce yourself when you have a chance and share a bit about your interests and also MBA plans.

Thanks!
BB, Founder of GMAT Club
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Thanks bb for providing me the opportunity to connect with the GC user base and moderate both the forums.

Here is my intro -

Name: Vyshak A V

Age: 27 as of Aug 2018

Status: Single

MBA: Currently working on my applications to be a part of 2022 graduating cohort. I will be targeting R2.

Major: B.E. in Electronics and Communication, Class of 2013

Residence: Bangalore, India

GMAT: 660 (Q50, V29). Will be attempting GRE next month. Hopefully I can get a good score and improve my chances.

Background: I have more than 6 years of work experience in Data Analytics. I currently work as a Senior Data Engineer at GE Healthcare with a focus on Data Science to solve various business problems by analyzing data and applying algorithms. Have an active interest in Finance in the area of Investment Management too.

Plans for future: In the short term, I want to manage/own products that can solve the current problems that have been in long existence in FinTech domain. I also feel that's the best way to leverage my current skills. In the long term, I plan to move on to the VC space to identify breakthrough technological and business ideas and fund the same.

Hobbies: Table Tennis, Cricket, Swimming, Volleyball, Football and making the best use of the vast knowledge available on the internet.

Social Work Ex: Had been involved with Rotaract Bangalore South Parade between 2014 and 2017. We worked on various projects to contribute to the better lives of the young children in the community.

That's my brief intro. Let's keep this thread lively and organized, and help out each other

Hi everyone,

I had a brief conversation with one of MSB's current students and GC's long serving moderator Gnpth to understand MSB from a student's perspective. I have posted below the transcript of my conversation with him. If anyone has any specific questions to be answered, please PM me and I will get them answered on your behalf.

1: What is the core strength of the school:

Finance is the core strength when it comes to recruitment. Consulting is rising, and it is above 25%. So as the tech. Currently Big-4 Consulting firm recruits. And YoY increase in interns and full-time candidates in BCG and Bain as well. Tech- We do have few companies- Amazon, Microsoft comes to campus. And this year many interned at Google as well. Curriculum- MSB is strong in its global experience. There is strong sense from leadership classes, case method teaching. They are trying hard to position MSB one of the top-15-20 schools, at least in near term. It will eventually get there.

2: What are the areas for the school to improve:

There are a few classes I felt they could be done better. They took our feedback and improving them. It won't be an overnight change since a lot goes into creating the curriculum. 2nd aspect- Career Center- They are still working on improving the case prep for consulting. I would say the clubs are taking a lot of initiatives along with the career center. It is rapidly evolving but needs to speed up more.

3: Are there any hidden Costs other than the fee:

I don't think there are any hidden costs. Of course, you have to buy the Harvard Case packs, other SW tools for classes, club memberships, and other personal expenses.

4: What is the cost of living in Washington (Per Year):

It depends on how you want to live. If you're going to stay alone, the cost can be between $2000-$3000 per month(food, rent, travel, etc.). If you want to share, it can change considerably. But as far as I know, the minimum expense, if you live with roommates, would range anywhere between $1200-$2000 per month. It ultimately depends on how miser you want to live.

5: What does MSB look for in a candidate:

IMO, MSB looks for candidates who are team-oriented, result-driven. B-school admission cannot be explained a few words since they all look holistically about the candidate profile. You should have made progress in all aspects.

6: Can you talk about the GRE Range or the Median GRE score:

A rule of thumb, try to score above 320+ (164+ Quant & 150+ V) in GRE to have a fair shot at admission. The scores that are above 80 percentile would be a solid bet.

7: How did you finance your fees and expenses:

I used the combination of loans from prodigy, & my personal savings.

8: How does a MSB student typically spend his week:

Already answered in a post. Please refer this link - https://gmatclub.com/forum/a-day-in-lif ... 92145.html

P.S.: I am also trying to connect with few other students of McDonough to know their experience and understand the school in a better manner.

Attended an application workshop scheduled by MSB yesterday. Following details present the summary of the workshop -

Application has two components - Quantitative and Qualitative

Quantitative - contains Academic History, Test Scores and Years of full time paid work experience
Qualitative - contains Letter of Recommendation, Resume, Personal Essays and Interview

Below are the Quantitative stats for the students admitted to the full time MBA last year.
GPA Range: 2.8 - 3.82
23% of the applicants had business background. One can negate the imbalances in his or her profile by taking online courses.
GMAT Range: 650 - 740. This is probably an 80% range as the school mentioned that some students may have scores above or below the range and they look at every applicant holistically.
44% of the applicants applied through GRE. GRE conversion tool can be used to get the relative GMAT scores.
Average experience: 4.93 years. Highlight your career progression, impact and leadership experience.
Range of experience: 3 - 8

Qualitative Requirements -
Letter of Recommendation: From current supervisor is preferred but it can be from your previous supervisor too. LOR from the faculty belonging to undergraduate courses is not recommended. The supervisor must be able to understand your strengths and weaknesses.
Resume: Quantify your accomplishments. Address employment gaps if there are any.
Personal Essays: Select one of the three provided options that allows to best highlight your experience, characteristics and values.
Video Essay: A short 1 min video that lets you to introduce yourself to the cohort. The school suggests to provide a candid video that doesn't contain the components mentioned in the essay or resume.
Interview: The school looks from a recruiter and a student perspective. Prepare for the interview as you would do for a job interview.

Only a few days left for R1. All the best everyone! After how many weeks does McDonough start sending out interview invites?

Guys, need some quick guidance.

In the online appliction, "B. Tech" degree is not available in the list of degrees in Educational Information section. Should I select "B.E" instead or select "Degree not listed" ?

Am targeting R2. IMO, you can choose B.E. as its the equivalent of B. Tech.



Posted from my mobile device

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If you have submitted your application on time then you might get an email from the admissions mentioning that some parts of the app is not filled or missing. In my case I got an email that my app was complete but recommendation is not received. When I contacted my recommender he told me that he submitted successfully. Then I contacted the admissions. They told me that recommendation was not submitted. I told my recommender to submit once again. And things got sorted. You can check by logging in the app. Application status option is there. Click on that to know whether anything is missing or not.
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In my case I got an immediate reply from the admissions although I too got the automated email that says admission office is busy. Hope you get a reply soon.
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Has anyone got interview invite?
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I believe it's slightly early for that. Going by last year's posts, interview invites were posted around last week of October. However, the round 1 deadline last year was 9th October. So considering that timeline, hopefully the invites should start rolling by next week.

Posted from my mobile device

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In my case I got an immediate reply from the admissions although I too got the automated email that says admission office is busy. Hope you get a reply soon.[/quote]

Admissions team replied and told me everything is all good. They will still consider me for R1, and if they need anything from me they will contact. I'm assuming this probably happens too often. Thanks for all your help![/quote]
Great to hear that.
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No activity in the group! Guys anyone got any invite? Any info about it?
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