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Good School this year vs Elite School next year

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crackHSW
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Concentration: Strategy, Technology
Schools: McCombs '15 (D) Jones '15 (D) Foster '15 (M) McDonough '15 (WL) Anderson '15 (D) Mays '15 (D)
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Good School this year vs Elite School next year [#permalink] New post   21 Mar 2013, 04:09
I have a dilemma , I have admit from Univ of Washington - Foster MBA for Fall 2013. I am aware its presence in Seattle makes it a big feeder school to Tech companies in and around Seattle. Would anyone suggest me whether consulting companies in Seattle would be a long shot to consider out of this school. Also what kind of verticals would the consulting companies cater to, my guess is it would be technology or healthcare or biotech. I intend to get into Product Management/Business development in MS/Amazon etc and then eventually try to step into investment advisory firms that advise specifically tech startups. If this is not possible should I try to give a shot to better schools such as UCLA etc on the west coast next year. Presently I am working with a Data Analytics Consulting firm dealing with financial services clients. I also have a WL from Georgetown. Would it be worth to wait for another year and try to get into the top 15 schools next year.
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Re: Good School this year vs Elite School next year [#permalink] New post   21 Mar 2013, 04:18
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I think so. You only get to do this once, and if you're not absolutely in love with Foster, why not take a step back, looks at the parts of your application you can improve, and make another run at it next year? It's a little risky since you've got the Foster admit and it won't be on the table next year, but after going through the application process once, I'm sure you've learned alot about it and will be at an advantage next year.

Good luck on whatever you decide!
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Re: Good School this year vs Elite School next year [#permalink] New post   21 Mar 2013, 04:59
CobraKai wrote:
I think so. You only get to do this once, and if you're not absolutely in love with Foster, why not take a step back, looks at the parts of your application you can improve, and make another run at it next year? It's a little risky since you've got the Foster admit and it won't be on the table next year, but after going through the application process once, I'm sure you've learned alot about it and will be at an advantage next year.

Good luck on whatever you decide!




Good point - the admit wont be there next year. As much as I love to say that admission process is very structured I am also forced to accept that its a blind shot at best. The schools that I was sure about getting into dinged me without interview and the one I was least expecting to accept me has given me an offer. I don't know what aspects of my profile would I be able to improve, do you think a better GMAT and promotion in organization could be good points to target top 15 - top 20 schools next year.
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Re: Good School this year vs Elite School next year [#permalink] New post   21 Mar 2013, 05:51
Depends...if your GMAT is already 720+ (I'm saying 720 because it looks like you're in the Indian pool), then I'd say a higher GMAT doesn't have much use. Promotion is good, but I think more importantly it gives you better leadership content to write about in your essays or talk to in your interviews.

Using myself as an example, if I were to re-apply next year (I'm not because I'm already 30+...need to get moving!), I wouldn't take the GMAT again. My 700 was either at the average, or less than 20 points below it at my target schools, and my quant score was above the 80th%ile. I doubt I would have more significant work experience to talk about. But after four applications, I'm confident I could write much better essays to convey all the cool things I've done to the Adcom. I think that's the biggest X-factor, and I bet you could write better essays next year after having gone through the wringer once already.
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Re: Good School this year vs Elite School next year [#permalink] New post   21 Mar 2013, 11:05
CobraKai wrote:
Depends...if your GMAT is already 720+ (I'm saying 720 because it looks like you're in the Indian pool), then I'd say a higher GMAT doesn't have much use. Promotion is good, but I think more importantly it gives you better leadership content to write about in your essays or talk to in your interviews.

Using myself as an example, if I were to re-apply next year (I'm not because I'm already 30+...need to get moving!), I wouldn't take the GMAT again. My 700 was either at the average, or less than 20 points below it at my target schools, and my quant score was above the 80th%ile. I doubt I would have more significant work experience to talk about. But after four applications, I'm confident I could write much better essays to convey all the cool things I've done to the Adcom. I think that's the biggest X-factor, and I bet you could write better essays next year after having gone through the wringer once already.



I am indeed from India and my score is 680 , a 40 point improvement is not guaranteed and I have been in this process for two years now , I would say that this latest year I have had better results , But I wont be able to generalize. I am also aware that the time consuming and the grilling process of apps is not viewed favorably by many. My recomenders just put up their hands in despair and told me to stop it :(. I fear what it would be like next year :D. I know lot of compromises have to be made if you are stepping out of your home country. Job security becomes essential and tech companies are the least painful companies in that aspect. But at the same time I do feel that I would waste my consulting experience if were to go to a tech company post MBA.
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Re: Good School this year vs Elite School next year [#permalink] New post   21 Mar 2013, 11:07
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crackHSW wrote:
CobraKai wrote:
Depends...if your GMAT is already 720+ (I'm saying 720 because it looks like you're in the Indian pool), then I'd say a higher GMAT doesn't have much use. Promotion is good, but I think more importantly it gives you better leadership content to write about in your essays or talk to in your interviews.

Using myself as an example, if I were to re-apply next year (I'm not because I'm already 30+...need to get moving!), I wouldn't take the GMAT again. My 700 was either at the average, or less than 20 points below it at my target schools, and my quant score was above the 80th%ile. I doubt I would have more significant work experience to talk about. But after four applications, I'm confident I could write much better essays to convey all the cool things I've done to the Adcom. I think that's the biggest X-factor, and I bet you could write better essays next year after having gone through the wringer once already.



I am indeed from India and my score is 680 , a 40 point improvement is not guaranteed and I have been in this process for two years now , I would say that this latest year I have had better results , But I wont be able to generalize. I am also aware that the time consuming and the grilling process of apps is not viewed favorably by many. My recomenders just put up their hands in despair and told me to stop it :(. I fear what it would be like next year :D. I know lot of compromises have to be made if you are stepping out of your home country. Job security becomes essential and tech companies are the least painful companies in that aspect. But at the same time I do feel that I would waste my consulting experience if were to go to a tech company post MBA.



That's tough but my recommenders are so happy I'm matriculating this year even if it just means they don't have to write anything for me again this fall. They've been at it for awhile and at some point you have to accept that where you are is where youre going to end up.
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Re: Good School this year vs Elite School next year [#permalink] New post   21 Mar 2013, 21:13
aerien wrote:
crackHSW wrote:
CobraKai wrote:
Depends...if your GMAT is already 720+ (I'm saying 720 because it looks like you're in the Indian pool), then I'd say a higher GMAT doesn't have much use. Promotion is good, but I think more importantly it gives you better leadership content to write about in your essays or talk to in your interviews.

Using myself as an example, if I were to re-apply next year (I'm not because I'm already 30+...need to get moving!), I wouldn't take the GMAT again. My 700 was either at the average, or less than 20 points below it at my target schools, and my quant score was above the 80th%ile. I doubt I would have more significant work experience to talk about. But after four applications, I'm confident I could write much better essays to convey all the cool things I've done to the Adcom. I think that's the biggest X-factor, and I bet you could write better essays next year after having gone through the wringer once already.



I am indeed from India and my score is 680 , a 40 point improvement is not guaranteed and I have been in this process for two years now , I would say that this latest year I have had better results , But I wont be able to generalize. I am also aware that the time consuming and the grilling process of apps is not viewed favorably by many. My recomenders just put up their hands in despair and told me to stop it :(. I fear what it would be like next year :D. I know lot of compromises have to be made if you are stepping out of your home country. Job security becomes essential and tech companies are the least painful companies in that aspect. But at the same time I do feel that I would waste my consulting experience if were to go to a tech company post MBA.



That's tough but my recommenders are so happy I'm matriculating this year even if it just means they don't have to write anything for me again this fall. They've been at it for awhile and at some point you have to accept that where you are is where youre going to end up.



I did not disclose it to my immediate supervisors about my plans for MBA , because that would have jeopardized my promotion , not that i wanted it , but its better to leave the organization with your head high ( read as at a higher level in hierarchy) than at the same level at which you joined :D. My managers from earlier organizations and project would not have my career aspirations on the top of their to-do list . So I had to play it out very conservatively, but I guess the number of apps played a spoilsport. Next year or this year is still not sure , but I cannot go the same set of recommenders even if I wish to :(
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Re: Good School this year vs Elite School next year [#permalink] New post   21 Mar 2013, 22:34
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crackHSW wrote:
I have a dilemma , I have admit from Univ of Washington - Foster MBA for Fall 2013. I am aware its presence in Seattle makes it a big feeder school to Tech companies in and around Seattle. Would anyone suggest me whether consulting companies in Seattle would be a long shot to consider out of this school. Also what kind of verticals would the consulting companies cater to, my guess is it would be technology or healthcare or biotech. I intend to get into Product Management/Business development in MS/Amazon etc and then eventually try to step into investment advisory firms that advise specifically tech startups. If this is not possible should I try to give a shot to better schools such as UCLA etc on the west coast next year. Presently I am working with a Data Analytics Consulting firm dealing with financial services clients. I also have a WL from Georgetown. Would it be worth to wait for another year and try to get into the top 15 schools next year.



The main feeder markets for the Foster would be
Amazon (hiring like crazy)
Microsoft (some - they like to cherry pick)
Some biotech
Some tech/startups/etc


However, Foster is a heavily regional school (once you leave WA or OR, few people will know about it and it's MBA value).
It is not a heavy consulting school but not terrible - about 16 grads went into consulting; while 29 went into Marketing and Sales. That's out of about 93 reporting.

On the flip side it is a small program (only 107 grads last year) and 96% were employed 3 months out vs. 87% at UCLA

Bottom line - I don't think it is going to be a suicide to go to Foster. However, keep the weather in mind - it is pretty nasty over here.

Edit to add: will PM You.
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Re: Good School this year vs Elite School next year [#permalink] New post   27 Mar 2013, 00:13
Any more inputs would be really helpful :), I am looking for suggestions especially for consulting from Foster. BB has already posted the figures , I would like to know how many of those 16 were internationals and especially would love to hear about how the consulting recruiting happens at Foster.
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Re: Good School this year vs Elite School next year [#permalink]
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