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What’s in it for you- Live Profile Evaluation Chat Session with Jenifer Turtschnow, CEO ARINGO. Come with your details prepared and ARINGO will share insights! Pre-MBA Role/Industry, YOE, Exam Score, C/GPA, ECs Post-MBA Role/ Industry & School List.
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sasyaharry
Joined: 22 Nov 2016
Last visit: 11 Mar 2023
Posts: 199
Given Kudos: 49
Concentration: Leadership, Strategy
Schools: Wharton Exec '22 (A) Haas EWMBA '23 (A)
Products:
23 Aug 2020, 16:05
Kudos
Bookmarks
Background: Indian, Male, mid 30s, 12 yrs WE, creative/design background, worked and studied in EU for about 3 yrs.
I applied to only two programs - Wharton's Exec MBA and Haas Evening Weekend MBA. I know, these are two different programs but are the best options for someone in the Bay Area. Yes, there is an Executive program at Haas and sure you can throw your hat in the ring there too. The interesting thing about these two programs is that they cater to different interest groups. I'll get to that later.
I am not a quant guy. My GMAT score was a 640 and I cancelled it. After telling my mentor what I did, he asked me to reinstate the score. One simple reason - what if you don't beat it next time? I guess he was talking like a true MBA. You must understand the opportunity cost of losing a decent score. After reinstating my score I tried twice but I couldn't improve. I was told by many here on this forum and some consultants that it would be a long shot if I applied with this score. I agree but its not a 'No'. This was back in 2017. Fast forward 3 years, I applied with the same score and got in.
1. GMAT score is not everything: Try your best, but know that you need a base score. Unless you have some super duper talent that can make up for it (Creative arts has some leeway) you need to be in the range. Ideally in the middle if you want a fair shot. Higher the better but this is obvious. For executive programs, your age carries weight. They expect a certain attitude and mindset from an experienced candidate and hence a moderately low score is OK (I am looking at you crazy 99 percentile folks). They know that folks applying for Exec programs are juggling family, kids and work.
2. Sell "Yourself" to them: Not derogatory. It means you need to make sure they think - "Oh, I really want this person in our class". How? It is all about crafting a story and narrating it well. Both on paper and in person. People are afraid to open up and feel vulnerable. Dont. If there is one thing that admissions wants to see is that you are human and have learnt from mistakes. If you are the shy kind, try Toastmasters - I guarantee that it will help.
3. Write your own essays: I cannot emphasize this point enough. Write your own story! I know folks who have asked their partner to write it and trust me this is not a good idea. Even if you make it through, it is the opposite of integrity - doing the right thing when nobody is watching. Anyway, this is my personal opinion. They are like noses, everybody has one. You can skip to the next point if you don't agree with me. Write, write and write more. You cannot write good essays in a day or a week. It takes several weeks to polish an essay and remember you are writing more than one. Start by writing everything that comes to your mind on that question. If you get stuck, start a new paragraph and write something else. Dont bother about the word count. There is a saying "The best speeches are written by removing lines". So write your essay and come back and remove lines. Remove anything that doesn't add "value" to your story. Keep the core message strong. Open with a question, story or anecdote, write your story, close it with a lesson learnt. Always circle back to what you started with. Also, talk to your friends and family. You will be surprised how many new ideas you can get.
4. Prepare for the interview: Write down most commonly asked questions and write your answers. Memorize the approach but not the answers so you won't forget your message. Record your answers in video during practice and asses your responses. Some universities will have only online interviews. Take 30 seconds to understand and formulate your reply. Make eye contact and add emotion. Find some good quotes that you like and try to include these into your answers.
5. Accept your weaknesses: In my Wharton interview they knew about my low Quant score. 43. I told them that I know how demanding the school is and that I would put my remaining time into learning and getting better. This shows that irrespective of the outcome, you are ready to commit. They gave me access to "Math for business" because I asked.
6. Talk to alumni: This forum is a great way to meet and talk to people in the schools you want to attend. Getting perspective is a click away. I am sure all of us wish you the best and want you to succeed. Just ask for it. Understand what is working and not working for them. You want to do in 2020 for sure! Not all online learning are created equal.
7. Take some prep courses: You are planning to spend a boatload on this MBA, spend the additional $30 to take a course on microeconomics or finance and brush up some concepts. For me everything was new and I took two courses that helped me a lot. On Coursera - Wharton's Microeconomics and Introduction to Finance. This is also a cue to admissions that you are taking this journey seriously (of course you have to tell them somewhere!)
Take the time to understand the unique position that we are in today. COVID won't go away soon and many universities are struggling. Universities who invested first and fast will have an upper hand and eventually you will end up going to class but till then your money should be worth it. I am proud to have chosen Haas because they have invested heavily on remote learning and its the best in class. To be clear, Zoom is not an online learning tool and Haas doesn't use zoom for teaching. Humans also have a way of justifying their choices no matter what. So, take it with a pinch of salt.
Finally, this is not the end of the world. You are more than this MBA and don't fret if you don't get in. Apply even if you think you have a low chance. The worst that can happen is that you won't get in. Your relationships, experiences will only get richer as time goes on!
Good Luck!
Arjun
I applied to only two programs - Wharton's Exec MBA and Haas Evening Weekend MBA. I know, these are two different programs but are the best options for someone in the Bay Area. Yes, there is an Executive program at Haas and sure you can throw your hat in the ring there too. The interesting thing about these two programs is that they cater to different interest groups. I'll get to that later.
I am not a quant guy. My GMAT score was a 640 and I cancelled it. After telling my mentor what I did, he asked me to reinstate the score. One simple reason - what if you don't beat it next time? I guess he was talking like a true MBA. You must understand the opportunity cost of losing a decent score. After reinstating my score I tried twice but I couldn't improve. I was told by many here on this forum and some consultants that it would be a long shot if I applied with this score. I agree but its not a 'No'. This was back in 2017. Fast forward 3 years, I applied with the same score and got in.
1. GMAT score is not everything: Try your best, but know that you need a base score. Unless you have some super duper talent that can make up for it (Creative arts has some leeway) you need to be in the range. Ideally in the middle if you want a fair shot. Higher the better but this is obvious. For executive programs, your age carries weight. They expect a certain attitude and mindset from an experienced candidate and hence a moderately low score is OK (I am looking at you crazy 99 percentile folks). They know that folks applying for Exec programs are juggling family, kids and work.
2. Sell "Yourself" to them: Not derogatory. It means you need to make sure they think - "Oh, I really want this person in our class". How? It is all about crafting a story and narrating it well. Both on paper and in person. People are afraid to open up and feel vulnerable. Dont. If there is one thing that admissions wants to see is that you are human and have learnt from mistakes. If you are the shy kind, try Toastmasters - I guarantee that it will help.
3. Write your own essays: I cannot emphasize this point enough. Write your own story! I know folks who have asked their partner to write it and trust me this is not a good idea. Even if you make it through, it is the opposite of integrity - doing the right thing when nobody is watching. Anyway, this is my personal opinion. They are like noses, everybody has one. You can skip to the next point if you don't agree with me. Write, write and write more. You cannot write good essays in a day or a week. It takes several weeks to polish an essay and remember you are writing more than one. Start by writing everything that comes to your mind on that question. If you get stuck, start a new paragraph and write something else. Dont bother about the word count. There is a saying "The best speeches are written by removing lines". So write your essay and come back and remove lines. Remove anything that doesn't add "value" to your story. Keep the core message strong. Open with a question, story or anecdote, write your story, close it with a lesson learnt. Always circle back to what you started with. Also, talk to your friends and family. You will be surprised how many new ideas you can get.
4. Prepare for the interview: Write down most commonly asked questions and write your answers. Memorize the approach but not the answers so you won't forget your message. Record your answers in video during practice and asses your responses. Some universities will have only online interviews. Take 30 seconds to understand and formulate your reply. Make eye contact and add emotion. Find some good quotes that you like and try to include these into your answers.
5. Accept your weaknesses: In my Wharton interview they knew about my low Quant score. 43. I told them that I know how demanding the school is and that I would put my remaining time into learning and getting better. This shows that irrespective of the outcome, you are ready to commit. They gave me access to "Math for business" because I asked.
6. Talk to alumni: This forum is a great way to meet and talk to people in the schools you want to attend. Getting perspective is a click away. I am sure all of us wish you the best and want you to succeed. Just ask for it. Understand what is working and not working for them. You want to do in 2020 for sure! Not all online learning are created equal.
7. Take some prep courses: You are planning to spend a boatload on this MBA, spend the additional $30 to take a course on microeconomics or finance and brush up some concepts. For me everything was new and I took two courses that helped me a lot. On Coursera - Wharton's Microeconomics and Introduction to Finance. This is also a cue to admissions that you are taking this journey seriously (of course you have to tell them somewhere!)
Take the time to understand the unique position that we are in today. COVID won't go away soon and many universities are struggling. Universities who invested first and fast will have an upper hand and eventually you will end up going to class but till then your money should be worth it. I am proud to have chosen Haas because they have invested heavily on remote learning and its the best in class. To be clear, Zoom is not an online learning tool and Haas doesn't use zoom for teaching. Humans also have a way of justifying their choices no matter what. So, take it with a pinch of salt.
Finally, this is not the end of the world. You are more than this MBA and don't fret if you don't get in. Apply even if you think you have a low chance. The worst that can happen is that you won't get in. Your relationships, experiences will only get richer as time goes on!
Good Luck!
Arjun
