chet719's Portfolio

Question

This is thread for chet719's portfolio. Chet719 please catch us up on where your portfolio stands now . . .

chet719 · Answer

Hjort thanks for setting this thread up for me. 

Right now I am in the mist of writing essays. It is a daunting task to say the least. My question is about essay length. When a school say most applicants use between 250-500 words, does that mean you shouldn't go over that target? I bought a book, and the sample essays (which are supposedly real essays) are all very long (al least 2000 words). The book claims that these essays are good examples. 

Your input would be much appreciated.

Hjort · Answer

Were these sample essays for the same business school?
Have the instructions changed since the samples were written?

chet719 · Answer

The samples were from the same school I am applying to....Dartmouth. I don't know what the rules where in previous years, but this year, above Dartmouth's essays its says, " Although there is no restriction on the length of your response, most applicants use between 250 and 500 words for each essay." Do you think I should still try to stay in a certain range, or do you think it doesn't matter?

Hjort · Answer

Some commentators say it does not matter, but I think it is useful to keep the "most applicants" advice in mind as a loose guideline. If you are writing an outstanding essay that extends past 500 words I would keep going. Often, however, students tend to lose focus in really long essays and do little to advance their candidacy.

chet719 · Answer

Hjort,

Do you advice applicants to review LOR's before the recommender submits them? If so, should I just be straightforward and ask the recommender to let me review before the letter is submitted? This is a tricky part of the application process to say the least.

Hjort · Answer

In a perfect world, your LOR writer would recognize the importance of the letter and make certain to show it to you beforehand without being asked. In reality, it is probably best to make it clear that you want to see the finished product before it is sent. How to actually go about informing the writer of this depends on your relationship and the writer's personality. Nonetheless, if the writer is reluctant to let you see what she has written I would question whether I would still want that person as an LOR writer (after all- why would you be afraid of letting someone else read something that says glowing things about them).

As always, check with the ethics code of the application to make certain that your actions are in accordance with that school's honor system.

chet719 · Answer

Thanks so much for all your help so far Hjort. 

I am getting close to finishing my essays to Dartmouth and I am wondering if Northwestern is similar to Dartmouth with respect to the "team environment" and "group" concept? I am most interested in schools of that sort, but am also interested in Northwestern's flexability with choosing coarses. Any insight would be helpful.

Hjort · Answer

Northwestern, Dartmouth, and Duke are all major proponents of the team concept. Virtually every school acknowledges the importance of teamwork, but these three are particularly strong champions of it.

chet719 · Answer

Hjort,

Is it as likely for applicants to receive scholarships or some form of financial aid to in Rd. 2?

Also, do you know when to expect a call for a Rd. 2 interview if the deadline for applications is in the first part of December?

Thanks so much.

chet719 · Answer

Hjort, 

I attended a junior college for only one quarter after high school to play football. My grades were lousy at this school. Two years after leaving the junior college I began school at a four year institution and completed my degree there with a 3.82 GPA. I had more than enough credits to graduate from college without the credits from the junior college. The reason for the significant change from one school to another was simply my maturity level. I was focused when I began school at the four year university and my grades show that. With the lousy grades included my GPA is 3.7. My question is however, do I still need to show these grades on my applications, even if I didn't need them to graduate? Do schools expect you to still report those grades? If I have to report them I'll just have to write a disclaimer, but if I don't have to report them then I won't. What do you think. I definetly don't want to be shady, so if I need to report them than that's what I'll do. 

Your advice would be much appreciated.

Hjort · Answer

Schools commonly ask for transcripts from all post-secondary institutions regardless of whether you received a degree from each school. It is best to report it.

Considering the age and circumstances of these grades, I predict that most admissions officers will probably glance at them briefly and ignore them ever after.

chet719 · Answer

Hjort, just wanted to get your opinion on what to do if one of your LOR's asks you to virtually write the whole letter and then give it to him for approval. The problem is, I would rather have a letter from him than anyother person. This is a terrible situation. Should I just get another letter from someone else? The problem is, I don't have any other recommenders as good as him.

Hjort · Answer

It is quite common for letter writers to ask the applicant to help with the drafting of the letter. 

I see three options

1) Ask the your writer to reconsider, stressing that your application would be strongest if he expressed his support for you in his own words

2) Find another writer 

3) Write a draft of the letter, show it to him while emphasizing that it is just a rough idea of what you think he would want to say about you, and make it clear (politely) that he is ultimately responsible for the contents. And, of course, encourage him to make any changes he feels are appropriate. 

Before you decide to go with 3) you should make certain that it is consistent with the ethical guidelines of the application to take part in the writing of your own letter.

chet719 · Answer

Hjort, 

I'm wondering whether you have any insight into whether ave. GMAT scores will see a jump this year. Being a member of this forum makes me feel like everyone is scoring 700+ with many scoring 730+. What gives?

Hjort · Answer

I've been wondering the same thing about the average scores of the major MBA programs. I am not that surprised by the number of high scores reported here since the applicants that use this website are probably unusually motivated to get scores in the 700s. Further, I am curious if there has been an increase in test volume in anticipation of the changeover from ETS.

chet719 · Answer

Hjort, I have time for one more application. I have applied to Dartmouth, Kellogg, and Harvard so far. I am considering Wharton next, but I am concerned that I may be limiting my chances of getting in by applying to such selective schools. I wanted to get your opinion on whether you think it is smart to choose Wharton as my last application, or do you think I should choose a less selective school? Of course I am assuming that my essays are fairly well written, and that my interview goes well. I would appreciate your thoughts.

My profile:
 Age : 29 - Married with 1 child on the way
 Undergrad GPA : 3.82 - B.S. Economics (Weber State University)
 GMAT : 710 (Q: 45 V: 41)
 Areas of Focus : Mgmt. and Finance
 Professional Work Exp .: 
-2 years management for non-profit organization in southwest U.K.
-3 years financial manager 10th Air Base Wing (USAF) - budget >$100 million
 Part-Time Work Experience 
-Teaching Assistant - WSU MBA Quantitative Methods Class
-Research Analyst - U.K. Parliament
 Academic/Professional Accomplishments :
-FBLA national economics competition - 1st place out of more than 100 contestants
-Golden Key, Beta Gamma Sigma National Honor Society
-Hansard Scholar (national award), Wall Street Fellowship Scholar (WSU award)
-Employee of the Quarter - selected from more than 400 other employees
-Summer abroad at London School of Economics (3.78 GPA)

I know this is limited information to base your judgment on, but I am interested in your opinion because your insight so far in my application process has been invaluable. 

Thanks

Hjort · Answer

Thanks for the update on your progress. I see that you applied to Dartmouth, do any other elite cluster schools appeal to you?

chet719 · Answer

I've researched Duke and am very interested in that program. Yale is particularly interesting to me as well. NYU's finance background is intriguing. 

Although not an elite cluster school, I have been doing some research on Stanford and really got the feel that they were much like Dartmouth in the sense that it's all about the close knit community. I really like that aspect of business schools. They are ultra selective though. I liked Stanford's essays the best out of all the schools listed, and I felt like I could write passionately on them.

What do you think?

Hjort · Answer

Stanford is a great all around school, but I felt your porfolio could use another Elite school- Duke seems a logical choice if you like Dartmouth.

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