Early Birds: Fall 2009 Applicants

1) What school is on your list right now? NYU

2) What is the state of your current preparations? Regrouping. I got rejected at Stern w/o interview, but that's not going to deter me from reapplying for fall '09. I will be taking a few months off before I start revamping my essays though.

3) What's the scariest part of the process at this point? Knowing that I can possibly get rejected again. I won't be applying anywhere else, not because I'm overly confident and arrogant, but because NYU is the only place I want to get my MBA. Am I a naivete?

4) How serious is your pursuit at this point? Very serious. I wouldn't be here if I weren't.

So I heard back from the adcom at Marshall, and they said the last chance to really visit is April 9th. This is cutting it close. Still waiting to hear back from UCLA, though.

I want to go this year because of the deadlines..I'd most likely miss the R1 dates, because of how close it is

Sure.

MIT Sloan thoughts - really loved it. the admissions student reps were VERY friendly and laid-back. I got a huge MIT information binder as soon as I got there, with a lot of useful info in it. The admissions person said that MIT lives up to its "heavy quant" reputation (duh). I sat in on a Marketing Management class (case method). The professor guided the discussion well, and I'd say about 20% of the class actively participated (I personally think this number is kinda low for a case class). The professor taught some marketing concepts as they came up through the discussions - this was new for me and I liked it very much. After class, they had a lunch spread for us and a couple of current students sat with us and talked about their backgrounds and what they thought about Sloan. They were pretty excited to be at Sloan, and they were pretty accomplished already in their careers. They all had business cards that they were quite willing to give out. Overall, I liked the atmosphere at MIT very much. It was very collegiate - the students were laid-back and hard-working, and while the campus itself is nothing to write home about, I know I love the city of Cambridge.

HBS thoughts - I liked HBS. The campus was like a "country club in the middle of Boston", as one of the students described it (it was indeed beautiful!). The students were VERY bright and VERY articulate - I sat in on a business/government class and I really saw the case method on full display. The professor was excellent - very animated and skilled at directing the debate among students. The students all made great points, and I'd say about 40% of the class participated, which I think is quite phenomenal. They were proud of their "section" and seemed to have had a lot of fun together so far this year.


Overall: These visits confirmed that b-school is the right step for me. I think I'm going to learn a lot, but I also have a lot to contribute (even though I will only have 2 yrs of experience at matriculation). The students at both places seemed fun, and the professors at both schools were great. If I had to rank them, I think I would have to put MIT over HBS in terms of pure fit. I just liked it better. I guess this is why it's important to actually go and visit the schools, because you may surprise yourself.

Thanks for the write-up. I'm visiting the schools on the 9th and 16th, so I'm glad to hear it's an enjoyable experience.

Does the quantitative nature of MIT's program play into your "fit" assessment?

Good question - the quantitative side of MIT didn't explicitly factor into my decision on fit...I was purely talking about "where do I see myself fitting in more?". Quant vs. non-quant hasn't factored into my decision yet, but maybe that is something to consider IF I get accepted to multiple schools

1) What schools are on your list right now? Chicago GSB, Kellogg, Columbia, Stern

2) What is the state of your current preparations?
* Finished GMAT (760)
* Scheduled visits in April.
* Trying to pump up leadership roles in community service experience.

3) What's the scariest part of the process at this point?
* how to give a solid explanation for wanting to switch to investment banking from engineering background. Female at 26 want to pursue an investment banking track kind have its disadvantages.

4) How serious is your pursuit at this point?
100% commitment

Oh God....I took my first practice GMAT at Manhattan GMAT online, and got a 580 (39Q/31V). Ouch!

you'll get a much higher Quant score when you try GMATPrep. Manhattan GMAT Quant scores are generally a lot lower (4-5 pts for me) than the real test. I was shocked when I first took it.

Verbal is pretty close though.

Yeah, I remember hearing that Manhattan GMAT quant is generally lower than an actual test, so I'll take that into account. The verbal was tricky though...seemed every question had two valid answers. Looks like I guessed wrong though. This'll just make it more rewarding when I do get my 700!

1) What schools are on your list right now? Stanford (just applied for R3 yesterday), Haas, MIT, Harvard, INSEAD, LBS (plan on applying this year as well).

2) What is the state of your current preparations? Wrote the GMAT (750), rewriting in a bit to get a higher score. Plan on starting another business to ever more pitch my entrepreneurial side.

3) What's the scariest part of the process at this point? The reference letters. I've been self-employed for a while, and plan to continue to be self employed.


4) How serious is your pursuit at this point? It's my #1 priority at the moment.

I never posted here too often...but my account was canceled or something ...so I had to create a VictoryMBA #2...I really wanted to join you early birds..haha

Right now my school list is Dartmouth, Yale, Duke, UCLA....this may change drastically once I take the GMAT. I'm starting Manhattan Gmat next month...so hopefully I won't have to change my school choices too much

I went to some diversity weekends a few months ago (Duke and UCLA...hoping to go to Yale's this year)) with the full intention of applying this cycle...however I thought another year of work experience combined with some well planned essays and test prep is totally worth it if it means I get to go to one of my top choice schools.

I started researching this whole business school thing about a year ago, and thought I was a bit too young (24)...now I'm 25, but I won't matriculate until I'm 27 (my b-day is in August)...which I'm starting to fear is on the cusp of being too old (thanks guys).

My biggest fear is bombing the GMAT and having to wait around for another year to reapply. That's not going to happen though...I am 100% committed to attending b-school in the fall of 2009.

Here's the word I *finally* received back from UCLA:

"Thank you for your interest in UCLA Anderson.

Unfortunately, we do not have an updated schedule of classes to visit during
our spring quarter at this time.

We are currently awaiting approval from our faculty. We will have an updated
schedule of classes on our website in a few weeks.

Please check our website under visit Anderson at
https://www.anderson.ucla.edu/x2935.xml to register for your class visit.

We apologize for any inconvenience. If you have any questions, please
contact admissions.

Best regards,

KE
MBA Admissions
"

Oh well. Looks like I'll just be visiting USC. How could they NOT have a class schedule for the spring semester yet? It's almost over!

1) What school is on your list right now? Many - Will think about them later

2) What is the state of your current preparations? 6 apps - 4 dings and 2 WLs so far. Will retake the GMAT

3) What's the scariest part of the process at this point? Getting old and haven't really improved my profile much this year after / during all these rejections

4) How serious is your pursuit at this point? More serious than ever.

Omne, PM me and I'll get you some students you can contact for an informal class visit (which is what I did anyway).

kryzak, I'm planning to campus visit Kellogg two weeks from now. Do you have any suggestions on how to maximize the visit? Thank you .

you could pm me or riverripper...

Will do. On a side note, I booked my trip. I'll be in LA from 4/5 to 4/8, with a class visit and all that jazz at USC on 4/7. Woo!