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FROM Mccombs(Texas Austin) Admissions Blog: Acing It: GRE vs GMAT |
Life is all about choices. Lease or buy? Diet versus regular? GRE or the GMAT? But when personal preference for aspartame doesn’t immediately establish you firmly in one camp or another, it’s time to stop and think what the choice says about you. When it comes to choosing between taking the GRE or the GMAT for your MBA application, how do you choose the right test for you? In this post, I won’t address the logistical implications of each exam (such as the GRE is cheaper and offered at more locations and the GMAT is accepted at more business schools so it’s more bang for your buck.) Nope, not going to go there. You can Google yourself silly with all of their basic differences. Instead, I will address choosing the test from an admissions perspective, assuming you’re planning on submitting an application to the Texas MBA Program sometime soon. Basic case in point: the Admission Committee doesn’t care which test you take. Ultimately it’s up to you. We don’t believe intrinsically the opinion that one test is better at demonstrating your preparedness for b-school than the other because we believe that standardized test scores are not the only thing on your application that illustrate your academic abilities. If it were used alone, perhaps the more traditional approach of using the GMAT would suffice, but it’s not. We use many, many other things. But that’s a whole other post. Much like other choices you make on your application, if you choose wrong you can put yourself in a position of unnecessary disadvantage. We realize the tests are different and applicants choose each for varied and valid reasons, therefore we couldn’t have a preference at face value. However, what we DO prefer is that you think hard about which test you need to take within the context of your overall goals. CHOOSING BETWEEN THE GMAT AND THE GRE DEPENDING ON YOUR… CAREER GOALS The GMAT is required for most Consulting and Investment Banking companies because they use your score as a baseline qualifier for the recruiting process. If Consulting or I-Banking are in your sights, this means that the GMAT is the best choice because you could take it once and use your score for both your Admissions application as well as your career recruitment profile. Additionally, some recruiters outside the I-Banking and Consulting space may not have a strong preference either way which test you take, however they may have more experience assessing skill set based on the GMAT. If you choose to take the GRE you should understand that it is less common and therefore makes it more difficult for recruiters to compare these results against the majority of applicants that take the GMAT. DEGREE GOALS Sometimes, the GRE is the best choice for those applicants who are pursuing their MBAs in conjunction with another Masters, like in our Dual Degree programs. Once again, taking only the GRE allows you to apply to both programs separately with one score, a convenience factor that most Dual Degree applicants very much appreciate given how much more paperwork is required to submit applications for two programs. PERCEPTION OF TEST REPUTATION Don’t qualify as an applicant pursuing Consulting/I-Banking/Dual Degree? There are still some key differences in the tests that may have some bearing on your decision for which to take. A little history lesson: MBA programs only started accepting the GRE as an alternative to the GMAT over the last few years. Alumni and hiring companies are more familiar with the GMAT and its score scale. With the GRE new on the scene, they may need clarification regarding what the GRE score actually means and how the quantitative and verbal score sections may translate to the GMAT scores they are used to. MBA Admissions Officers are also new to the GRE setting. However, many of us have worked with the test and have recruited amazing candidates to our programs since we started accepting it a few years ago and are more comfortable assessing verbal and quantitative skill sets based on those scores. So ultimately, which test is best? Our advice is to choose wisely using your academic and career goals and knowledge of each test’s reputation in both the admissions context and the professional world to make the best choice for you. If none of the above circumstances speak to your situation, then truly you are free to pick the exam you prefer. Either way, we say “good luck!” |
FROM Mccombs(Texas Austin) Admissions Blog: Understanding the 2015 Essay Questions |
[email protected]. ESSAY 1 Imagine that you are at the Texas MBA Orientation for the Class of 2017. Please introduce yourself to your new classmates, and include information you feel relevant to both your personal and professional life. Select only one communication method that you would like to use for your response.
Be creative! And please read the prompt. The operative word in the first sentence is “imagine”! We have had so many candidates simply write a paragraph about themselves, no imagination employed in the process. If you do that, we can only assume that you either did not read the prompt, or are simply recycling an intro essay you used for another school. We ask that you imagine you are introducing yourself to your new, fellow students, at your New Student Orientation. You would not introduce yourself by starting out, “Plato once said…,” and therefore any essays that start as such have missed the mark. Also, what makes you interesting and unique are both your personal and professional interests and attributes. Therefore, an intro that only discusses work experience, or only discusses previous life experience, is incomplete. Give us a rounded mix, so that we better understand who you are in a more complete sense, and not only in one facet of your life. Finally, the choice is yours: written essay, https://gmatclub.com/chat page, or video. We have seen significant success in each platform. Therefore, choose your strongest suit, just make sure you use the medium well. If your skill is in writing, focus simply on the essay. If you have a knack for creative flare, color, design and photos, then have fun with the https://gmatclub.com/chat. And if you want to create a video, and rely on your voice and/or any video editing skills you might have, then we’re excited to meet you that way as well. Either way have fun, and do not take this essay for granted—it can go a long way to setting the stage for your application. ESSAY 2 In the Texas MBA program, we promote a diverse and collaborative community by providing opportunities for growth in an academically rigorous environment. Please discuss why McCombs is the right program for you, what you hope to gain from your time in the Texas MBA Program both personally and professionally, and how you will contribute to your classmates’ experiences. (500 words) AO Advice: Here we are getting to the nitty-gritty. This is your chance to really convey to us your passion, excitement, personality, and experience, while also conveying how that experience relates to your MBA and career goals. By the time we read your essays, we have already seen your resume and scores. Here we need you to expand upon the bare facts, and convey to us why you are the perfect student for our program. I have gone in depth in a previous blog post on how to convey your personality in an essay, so I will not go deep on that topic in this post. Instead, I am going to focus more on approach and framework, and less on content. First, this essay is complex, and yet we expect it to be concise and to-the-point; how do you do this in one 500 word essay? Once again, I recommend you start first by reading the prompt carefully. We are not asking you to be flowery and to tiptoe around the cores subjects. We are looking for a few things, and it is in your best interest to let us know specifically what we are looking for. I’ll map it out for you by taking apart our prompt:
That’s it for my advice to you! As always, please email us at [email protected] if you have any other questions. Get started early and edit, edit, edit! Your essays can really send a strong application into orbit, so good luck, and happy applying! |
FROM Mccombs(Texas Austin) Admissions Blog: Letters of Recommendation: How to Leverage the “Third” Person |
Optional Essay, to give us context and reasons for why you didn’t ask your Direct Supervisor. WHEN IT’S NOT EXACTLY CLEAR Other good letter of recommendation options would be a former Supervisor at a previous job, a Project Manager, or a professional colleague. You may also consider a business client, lawyer, accountant, industry mentor or other peer professional if you’re in a family business setting or in a consulting or advertising role. Remember that whoever you choose needs to be able to discuss with us in detail your qualities, skills, and virtues. Also, don’t just pick the CEO or President of the company. Just because they know your name and you have shared an elevator ride with them doesn’t mean they know you well enough to recommend you for b-school. We’ve read enough letters of recommendation to know when somebody knows of you, and when they know you. GET ON THEIR CALENDAR Make sure to let your recommenders know way in advance you are going to request their help. I would even suggest letting them know a good three months ahead of time if possible, so that you are not rushing them if they haven’t completed it a month out, and you start getting concerned they won’t submit the letter on time. It is also a good idea to meet with them, let them know what your short and long-term goals are and why McCombs is the best school for you, and offer them a copy of your updated resume. That way they can talk about their belief in your direction and goals with some background. LAST & MOST OBVIOUS TIP Most importantly, make sure to ask someone who actually likes you. Sounds obvious, but you would be surprised how many candidates have letters of recommendation submitted by people who write just a few words (“She’s really great.”), come up with poor examples (“One time we had a problem with a client, and she handled it well.”, or clearly just don’t think that highly of you (“She performs equally well when compared to her peers at a similar level.” Yikes. You might as well have asked a perfect stranger to write it and it probably would have come out better. Good luck in selecting your recommenders! We look forward to reading these glowing professional love letters soon. |