Early Birds: Fall 2009 Applicants

I figure it's never too early to start planning for the next application season. If you'll be applying for the Class of 2011, let's hear from you!

1) What schools are on your list right now? UCLA, NYU, HAAS and Emory

2) What is the state of your current preparations? Currently studying for the GMAT. Planning on doing some visits in October

3) What's the scariest part of the process at this point? realizing how much effort it would take to score my desired 750 on GMAT

4) How serious is your pursuit at this point? extremely seriously, currently working for one of the big 4 accounting firms, working like a dog and getting paid nothing

Back after a brief hiatus and diving straight into application season!

1) What schools are on your list right now? Columbia ED, NYU R1, Cornell R1, Darden R2, Kellogg R2.

2) What is the state of your current preparations? Somewhat advanced: I finished with my GMAT back in January and managed a reasonable score. I've let my two recommenders know of my plans and worked out approximate deadlines with them. I'm trying to line up a few people to guide me through the rest of the application process, now. And am starting thinking seriously about what to showcase in my essays.

3) What's the scariest part of the process at this point? Getting a little more comfortable about "tooting my own horn" so to speak, that's considered extremely undesirable in my culture and I'm concerned about being very conservative in playing up my achievements and experiences. I also anticipate my application to suffer significantly in terms on community involvement, so it will be a challenge to effectively stress on other "extracurricular activities" to make up for that.

4) How serious is your pursuit at this point? Rather serious, although I have no delusions of grandeur and am perfectly willing to try again next year if I do not get in anywhere - and the "zero admits club" thread is testament to that.

1) What schools are on your list right now? NYU, Emory, UTA, TAMU, USC

2) What is the state of your current preparations? Preparing to take the GMAT in August. Going to visit schools and complete essays for Rd 1 in Sept-Oct.

3) What's the scariest part of the process at this point? The GMAT so far. One step at a time.

4) How serious is your pursuit at this point? Extremely. I do not have the luxury of age on my side.

1) What schools are on your list right now?
Wharton/Lauder, MIT Sloan, HBS (maybe), Yale SOM, Chicago, Columbia (maybe), Cornell.

Do you guys think these are out of my reach? Brief stats:
GMAT: Pending
GPA: M.Sc. in Geophysics from top 5 Canadian university (3.6 GPA) B.Sc. in Geological Sciences from top international university (3.3 GPA).
WE: 4 in oil exploration
Nationality: Canadian
Age: 29
Gender: M
Extra-curriculars/community: lots during undergrad. busy at work (traveling 100 days a year)

2) What is the state of your current preparations?
Still working on the GMAT. Mentally thinking of the essays.

3) What's the scariest part of the process at this point?
GMAT. Its almost July 2008 and I still don't feel ready. I am aiming for Sept/Oct. to take it, but I am worried about being tight for time. I think I will have to apply in R2. Should I be weary about R2s?

I am also worried about my age. I just turned 29. So I would be 30 at matriculation! I have 4 years WE and an MSc in Geophysics, but I really am worried about my age - it seems the schools are in competition to recruit a younger crowd.

Also, do you guys feel/think the 2009 pool will be exceptionally large due to the Wall Street job terminations/resignations and general recession? I think there will be an exceptionally large pool of applicants from the financial sector of the economy.

4) How serious is your pursuit at this point?
Extremely. I am excited about taking a break from work and going back to school and exploring new ventures.

That's a damn good issue. I'm surprised nobody else has brought up this point yet. I've been counseling with some of my company's chief executives who obtained mba's 20 years ago, and their consensus has been that there will be more candidates going back to school during a recession. I can't help but think this is one of the reasons I'm applying this year. And the worst part is when everyone is done 2-3 years later, there will be a surplus of mba graduates, fighting for the same jobs.

I'm not sure about that. Maybe more overall MBA grads if you include University of Phoenix and Strayer, but top B-schools (UE, E) are keeping their class sizes the same. You could say the caliber of the students is definitely going to be higher, so the competition will be higher in terms of quality, not quantity.

Hello from the GMAT Club MBAbot!

Thanks to another GMAT Club member, I have just discovered this valuable topic, yet it had no discussion for over a year. I am now bumping it up - doing my job. I think you may find it valuable (esp those replies with Kudos).

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