Chicago GSB Admitted - Can't Join :(

Question

Hi,

I just got a mail from adcom in Chicago GSB PT that they have admitted me to their part-time program for winter 2009 quater (this was the only school that I had applied to). However, somethings have happened due to which I have to abandon my quest for doing an MBA. Anyways, I didn't want to make this post a sob story about me.

I'll sit down one of these days and write about how I got through or what my impression of the key points were, but for now if someone has any question about Chicago GSB (or for that matter any other school), which you want to bounce with me pls shoot a response. Having gone through the process, I feel I'll be able to guide someone else who is still pondering over any of the application points.

All the best in advance to everyone who is still pursuing her/his dream...

Cheers

Dinky · Answer

What are your stats?

gmat_buf · Answer

Dreaded Indian/IT/Male category. I've got around 9 yrs of experience all in IT consulting. GMAT - 700 (Q45, V40), AWA-5.5...

AM23Finance · Answer

Gmat_buf sorry to hear that you cannot go on in Chicago GSB. I am looking to get into there for there part-time program. Can you expand on the essays and provide any tips on it? Also what about EC's I am very lax on those, do they stress those on the essay question or applications? And what is AWA 5.5?

-Thanks.

-Thanks.

gmat_buf · Answer

AM, let me try to provide you some feedback on how the process worked for me. The disclaimer here is that this is based totally on my perception (although having spend a lot of time with the GSB app, I believe some pointers here would help others out).

As I have noted earlier, my profile was not a sure-shot deal by any measure. Infact, when I initially started working on the essays/app, I had posted my profile on some discussion forum where some reputed admission consultants review your profile. The first thing I was told was that my profile was too common and GSB would be a really long shot for me. Hindsight, I think this bad news helped me as I spend a lot of time on my application which showed both in my application as well as my interview.

I feel that in GSB they are NOT just looking for genius whizkids who can be great number crunchers. Of course, there is a sizeable amount of the population that comes in this category but the benchmark for that, your GMAT score, is only one of the hurdles that you need to sail through. If you have percentile of 80% in all the areas of your GMAT then that bit is done (even if that is not the case all is not lost...keep reading). GSB does weigh-in a lot on your essays and even though the essays are very similar to a lot of b-schools they provide the right framework to evaluate a candidate. At the end of the day, I felt that the essays helped me get a clarity of thought and allowed me to do a lot of introspection which helped me sail through other b-school essays as well.

How you approach the essays is very subjective but the one thing that works well is if you consider a theme (and a few sub-themes) that you would like to convey through the essays. Say for example, you come in with a sizeable amount of experience, like I did, you want to make sure that you use that to your advantage. You may want to run the theme on experience and spend time developing anecdotes which re-enforce this aspect of your profile. Stay away from giving anecdotes that are from your school or childhood since that in most cases shows runs counter to your experience theme. This is just an example but your own theme should be tailor-made based on your profile.
I’m not going to deep-dive into the individual GSB essays at this point since you still have someway to go before you hit that mark.

To answer the point that you have made about EC, I see a bit too much focus on ECs in a lot of forums and sometime what that means is exaggerated to the extent that you feel like if you are not a Olympic gold medal winner who has led a billion$ NGO then it is not worth talking about. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. Everyone has a non-work life which provides some insight into his/her personality. ECs could be your sports interest (active playing is better than watching on TV) or it could be a small drive that you ran in your neighborhood or company to collect funds for a good cause. These are only a few examples but I’m sure that there is some aspect of EC that everyone has. The problem is to showcase the same in the right light so that you do no trivialize whatever it is that you have done. At the end of the day, you are trying to enter a business school and not a charity org (even though that might be your aim after graduation). So the important part is to be focused on the relevant questions like your long-term goal, your short-term goal, how an mba, especially from GSB, fits into it and knock that out of the park.

So, here’s the magic formula/mantra that you have been waiting...the key to cracking the GSB essay (or for that matter any b-school essay) is INTROSPECTION!!! The more time you spend on this, the more likely you are to present yourself as a unique candidate and add color to your application.

What is AWA??? Dude, are you serious??? Looks like you have not yet given or started preparing for your GMAT. AWA is a component of GMAT wherein you have to write two essays based on the question that is provided – one of them tests your ability to present a position effectively and the other stresses on critical reasoning(you can get more details from hundreds of sites out there which are devoted to GMAT).

Hope this helps in your prep and you get to the school of your choice. Don’t hesitate to ask me if you any more questions.

Chicago GSB Admitted - Can't Join :(

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards