Hear from recent MBA grads - How to truly navigate the process

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Hear from recent MBA grads - how to truly navigate the process - Live chat with Personal MBA Coach.

Tuesday, June 09, 2020 8 AM PDT | 8:30 PM IST | 11 AM EST

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Sajjad1994 · Answer

Here is the chat log from our recent chat session with Personal MBA Coach held on June 9 | 8 am PDT | 8:30 pm IST

Introduction of our guest from Personal MBA Coach

Hey all, Michael here on behalf of Personal MBA Coach. I worked with Scott for my applications in the summer of 2017, and graduated from a t12 school in 2019. Looking forward to answering your questions about the platform or the admissions process from my perspective!

How many schools did you apply? PersonalMBACoach, and how did you select the schools?

I applied to 7 schools. I had 2 safety, 3 target, and 2 reach that Scott helped me research and agree upon. For me, geographic location and school culture were important. I was looking to transition to investment banking so i wanted schools across the spectrum that placed well across Wall Street.

If you are comfortable sharing with us, how many schools did you got into?

Yes, got into 5/7

Hey there, I have taken the mock test for the first time ever, it has been a while I have touched any of the concepts. I got a 300 and I am determined to put in the efforts to understand the basics and also different strategies and traps from an efficient online course. My question, Is it possible for someone like me to get a score of about 650 to 680? Can I even dream of a 700?

Your first attempt was a 300? Arun - focus on problem solving, thinking outside the box, and leadership experience.

I have a degree of LLB but have no professional experinece in Law should i mention this or not?

Its perfectly fine to have a law degree but no relevant experience imo. Well, education is education. You can always mention in an outside essay why you did not pursue law.

Hi, I am IT professional with around 7.5 years workEx. I want to switch into consulting. what are major areas that I should focus on in my profile and any tips on how to tackle business case study sort off questions?

Dont take another test, get a number of books - manhattan gmat and official gmat are both great. And focus on topics and questions for a while.

PersonalMBACoach At how many of those did you get a scholarship?

I got money at 3/5 of those

Hello, I did engineering in Biotechnology. But since it was hard to find a job. I wanted to come for an MS to UsA. I meanwhile worked in amazon for 2years and became a Team leader there. I did come to US for masters in biomedical and working in here. Will this background effect the admission? Or it is better not to mention amazon? Thanks in advance

I recommend including amazon, of course. It is a wonderful opportunity

Hi I have comfortably compelted problem solving from OG but took e-gmat mock test and scored miserably, way below my expectations. Is the standard of ques in OG way too low when compared to actual GMAT ?

The questions in the OG are fairly standard and similar to the actual...focus on time management and answering 5-10 questions at a time

I have 3 years work ex but I’m from a finance background wanting to get into MS business analytics post giving GMAT. Since I’m not an engineer and don’t have much work history in analytics, but eager to get into that field, what can I do to increase my chances to get in a good school

My controversial answer here would be to apply to schools with a different goal and recruit what you want. Everyone changes what they recruit for! You can always look for Lydia classes or something to that nature

What score did you get for your GMAT?

700

What were few questions you have been asked by the schools??

Do you mean during the interview? They are all standard - "why MBA, goals, why our school, behavioral, impact" Every school I interviewed was basically the same structure

I am expecting an interview call from RSM, any tips for the interview? also they have some video interview as well, have you come across any such thing?

Try and go on clearadmit and see what questions they have asked before...and prep those! Preparedness is the best way to crush it, practice the answers out loud so you’ve heard them

What is the scope of me getting into good Masters in finance program

I’m not sure I understand the question...I don’t know your profile!

PersonalMBACoach Did you apply to those 7 schools in a single round or you split them into multiple rounds? How to strategise applying in multiple rounds?

5 in round 1 and 2 "reach" (CBS and Wharton) R2. I was perfectly happy with my target schools so decided to see if i could "top out" in R2. My targets were better cultural fits for me to be honest

I am expecting an interview call from RSM, any tips for the interview? also they have some video interview as well, have you come across any such thing?

check this https://gmatclub.com/forum/tackling-kir ... 21561.html and https://gmatclub.com/forum/compilation- ... 86246.html

Which are the best schools for majors in Strategy ? What kind of roles do they offer ? Any pre- requisites. I am currently working as Business Analyst in Financial services

Do you mean undergrad? Or MBA? Fuqua is very strong in strategy, as are most t20 schools. Lots of strategy consulting jobs...but also can you be more specific? Strategy is a broad term...

How many months did you take in prepping for GMAT? Did you self study or you got tutors

I spread it out over a year...did 2 hours with a private tutor and did the Manhattan GMAT course. Bought a ton of books and did self study towards the end - just hundreds of questions so i saw everything

Many schools have come up with MBA (quantitative finance). For someone with about 3 years of work ex and interested in this field, is it better to go for MBA directly or do a CQF / CFA first

It depends what you want to do post-education, CFA in my experience doesn’t add much for the MBA and recruiting

What did you feel about Wharton? Can you walk us to the interview? What did you think you could have done better ?

I didn’t get an interview unfortunately! Amazing school though

How should you apply to bschools ? Is it advisable to go for admission consultant? Any recommendations ?

I used Personal MBA Coach, and i cant recommend Scott enough. So yes, I would recommend a consultant, the value-add is immense

5 in round 1 and 2 "reach" (CBS and Wharton) R2. I was perfectly happy with my target schools so decided to see if i could "top out" in R2. My targets were better cultural fits for me to be honest

Got it. I am also planning to apply to around 6 schools in Round 1. Do you think that is too many to apply in 1 round. How was your experience applying to 5 schools? Is that too hectic?

For me, 5 was very manageable, I think 6 should be ok. Anything more may be a bit of overkill

I am already an MBA finance, completed 5 years back. Any advantage or disadvantages on applying to b schools ?

How old are you and where was the MBA done?

What is the primary factor adcom consider for approving a scholarship?

It depends, often its URM or extremely high GMAT. The school has to really value what you bring, whether its academics, intelligence, or unique life experiences and a different perspective.

How did you approach the essays in general. Focusing and drilling down on a couple of stories or taking into account multiple experiences.

Drilling down on a couple of stories...I had 2-3 stories that were a theme throughout

What is the range of extremely high GMAT score?

750+

What is URM?

Underrepresented minority

I understand that to score in the top 97-98% you need a very strategic preparation. Any material recommendations for that and also which tests do you think can help the most for that objective

I didn’t score that high, you have to have an innate ability to be able to achieve something like this in my opinion

How to improve accuracy In RC? I am at 50% accuracy at present.

Just keep doing questions...and read complex literature. Humanities, philosophers, not James patterson books!
https://gmatclub.com/forum/gmat-ninja-r ... 25740.html

Can you tell us about your experience working with PersonalMBACoach ? Do you think you could have secured these admits working on your own? I know the consultants charge a lot but I am contemplating to hire one and hence asking

Great question. Scott was absolutely wonderful to work with. Extremely responsive, challenged me to do my best work. It’s a hard question to ask about other getting into other schools without Scott. He certainly increased my chances of getting in. Yes, it is pricy. But for me, it was worth every penny

Any idea how the health care MBA is? I often see GM and finance in high percentage admissions. I am having hard time figuring out which schools to target.

I’m not sure I understand the question...

If we are able to score around 720 in GMAT, what all should be the target Universities across world? And, to what extent, our work experience matters when applying to US or Europe ?

No, you should target schools that can advance your career and be in a geography you want to get in...Should be a list of 8-10

Is admission process really tought at Ivy League?

The process is the same as others, but the admissions standard are much more stringent! Need a higher GMAT and more impactful work experience

should one retake the GMAT(720, Q51,V35) for M7 schools given V35 is only 75%

If you have time to retake, yes

What % of Average GMAT score do Top B-schools consider for admission. If average GMAT of the class is 740, do they consider 700 / 680

It depends on your profile and status - i.e. female, male, URM, ORM...depends how you stack up compared to similar profiles

For financial engineering or quantitative finance or for similar streams of masters is gmat preferred or gre ?

GMAT

How many candidates in your class apply via GRE and do you think GRE is becoming more common

Maybe 25-33%? Yes becoming much more popular

Shall I include my internship experience in my resume and essays? Or is it too outdated, considering I graduated in 2016.

It depends what it is and if the experience was valuable...if you can show impact and how you can bring the skills to the MBA program...use it!

How comparable are European bschools such as Judge, Said, ESADE with Tier 2 US bschools such as Cornell, Darden, etc.?

Fairly comparable

Based on the trend that you guys are seeing this year, has there been a surge of interest >20% for people applying R1

I’m not Scott, but this fall is going to be extremely competitive yes

will a 3 year old GMAT score be ok to apply for MBA or should 1 take the GMAT again

If the score is good it doesn’t matter when it was taken...

Does MBA only receive the V/Q/IR/AWA breakdown score? But not the ESR GMAT score that we received, if so do they really care if V and Q are not balanced despite of a relative high score of 720-730

They prefer to see a balance, but in the end a 730 is a 730.

How many candidates in your class are having less than 3 years experience and how many are from Software / IT industry?

Very few had less than 3 years, maybe 10-15%? Fair amount from India with this background...vey few American from IT/software

What do you wish someone had told before applying in R1 ?

Great question - i feel like i did my research and was ready to go from the start. Probably to work with a consultant sooner. I engaged Scott after I had started writing my essays, when I should have hired him much sooner. Would have made the process smoother

How much does a GMAT score weigh in terms of application ?

One of the most important parts! If you are in a competitive demographic, you need a good GMAT, simply put. For M7, GMAT matters a TON

Financial engineering from european country or us country which should be preferred ?

For U.S. schools? Not a huge difference there - slight advantage for U.S.

Is it too late to get scholarships at schools if you are accepted tnow?

No, but you need scholarship from another school to leverage

Is GPA a critical factor or a low GPA can be rebalanced with a high GMAT/experience? How much would you weight GPA?

Not as important as GMAT, but a low GPA needs to have an explanation or else it can really weigh on your application. Can be mitigated with a high GMAT in many cases yes

Do schools view entrepreneurial activities favorably, even if the startup didn’t perform too well?

Yes, 100% They love ambition

I have just started my career as a merchant navy officer. How can I stand out without any business background if I ll apply for MBA after 6 to 7 years.

I was also a military candidate...you don’t need business experience, your leadership experience is extremely valuable!

having an experience of more than 7 year in corporate banking will that improve my chances by any margin ?

Neutral, it depends on your Company, the role, and your experiences + promotions. If you did the same thing for 7 years it would not be good

Will a paragraph in the personal essay explaining a very low GPA suffice? Or should it take up a larger portion?

No, one short paragraph should be fine...you don’t want to write a novel about a low GPA! Anything more is too much

What’s the sweet spot in terms of work experience?

I’d say anywhere from 4-6 years...but there’s a lot of variability there so tough question to answer. Ranges are from 2 years to 12+

PersonalMBACoach assigns you with someone with a full-time job to do the consulting, right? But like how could you even make that person accountable given he has a full-time job and might even a family to prioritize

What do you mean assigns me?

Oh, do you know each season on average how many clients does he take?

Unsure, you’d have to ask him! But I will say it felt like i was his only client, very personalized service

GOOD LUCK to you all!

That is all from this chat, for more valuable chat sessions please visit the forum again and also you can follow me.

Regards
Sajjad

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