The evolution of your B-school pursuit

What I start this genius thread and haven't gotten a single kudo for it but Terry gets 20 for his post. I see the stanford bias already

Just kidding...Terry great post. I have a feeling if you are still kicking around here next fall you are going to be one of the most popular people on board.

Kudos to river for being so honest about wanting kudos No .. seriously, river, take this as kudos for all the great rankings / stability analysis of the schools that you've been doing recently.

LOL! I gave you +10 for your story, I believe... either that or it was Before Kudos (BK)...

Then again, I don't see you giving me any Kudos for other "genius threads" hahahah

You have made genius threads???

What's the address for the message board those are on?

LMAO

its nice to see all of you get along so well.

ouch, b***h.

Kudos hos! All of you!

How has your B-school plan evolved? When did you decide to pursue this, what were your goals and have those changed, and of course the rotating decision on what schools and which is your top?

When: About the middle of last year. My friend, who is an engineering like myself, told me he wants to move into finance because he's sick of engineering. I took a look at the MBA degree and saw that it would give me the most flexibility in terms of career paths. So I decided last summer that an MBA degree is perfect for me. Since I'm a career switcher wanting to move into consulting, a PT program won't do.

What: I am an engineer, having also worked in sales and operations. I majored in EE and did poorly in undergrad. Currently in the process of completing my Masters in engineering degree with a high GPA. I also smashed my GMAT so that should help offset the low UGPA.
I enjoy engineering, but I am afraid of being pigeoholed: stuck to a life of narrow, focused design work. An MBA degree will allow me to move from a "grunt" role to a leadership, decision-making position. I want to go into strategy consulting post-MBA and work in other industries that I've been interested in but never had a chance to try: energy, finance, healthcare. I think a consulting role at a top 3 firm will give me that opportunity. In the long run, I want to move into a high-tech management position and improve the decision-making process at that company. Too often, engineers at the bottom of the ladder have good input about projects but are ignored by upper level management that doesn't appreciate the complexities of engineering projects. That's something I hope to help change.

Where: Initially, the list was long...HBS, Stanford, Wharton, Chicago, Kellogg, MIT, Columbia, NYU, UCLA, Haas, Fuqua, Darden, Yale
1st round eliminations: HBS (too competitive, little collaboration in school, I'm too old (30 yrs old at mat)), NYU (too finance focused), Yale (small class size, location)
2nd round eliminations: Darden (location), UCLA (too west-coast oriented, I want to be east coast), thinking of dropping MIT (wasn't impressed at admissions event)

What's left (in order of preference): Stanford (dream), Wharton (2nd dream school), Chicago GSB, Kellogg, Columbia, Haas, Fuqua (safety)

The decision: TBD. I will be applying this coming fall and hope to put in 6-7 quality apps.

This thread might provide a little inspiration and guidance for our future applicants...

TODAY IS MY 1-YEAR ANNIVERSARY AS A GMAT CLUBBER! Don't laugh. GMAT Club has made a big impact on my life, and if it were not for the class-act people in this community I would not be going to Columbia. Everyone on here pushes each other and strives for the best for themselves. There are plenty of my friends (not on GMAT Club) who have accepted less than what they are capable of because they want a quick and easy path to those "three letters." However, I knew there was more to the process than that, and GMAT Club affirmed my belief. Since I have stumbled on to GMAT Club I have been accepted to Columbia, succeeded at the GMAT (in that order!), and now I am 2 months away from moving to NYC to attend business school! If you are a first-time applicant or reapplicant, let my 1-year anniversary illustrate how invaluable GMAT Club is throughout the business school endeavour!

another hearty congrats, dj! You have been a great member and hope to see you help more Gmatclubbers get into CBS next year!

Congrats djhouse! That was inspirational.

Thanks, Kryzak! Two more days until your 1-YEAR!

The question is what will come first, his 1 year anniversary or his 5000th post.

LOL! Has it been one year already???!!! Yikes!

Too bad I've been on travel in a country where anything non-Chinese is censored to the max at internet cafes... so I won't hit 5000 posts before my 1 year (today) anniversary...

Bump...you guys should read this. Some really interesting posts.

this is a great thread. thanks river! +1