These are great..hopefully GMATclub class of 2011 can continue this thread soon.

all you fall 09 admits, please consider contributing to this thread.

Wow jb32!! That's an amazing story! Congrats!

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

I started writing and writing and now it's an extremely long post...lots of random thoughts but I decided against culling it so hope you don't mind!

When: Similar to JB, I knew I wanted to get my MBA pretty much when I first started work. I started my career at a big 4 accounting firm but I knew I didn't want to do accounting for the rest of my life. I wanted to do consulting because it was interesting but those jobs are far, few and beyond in the country that I was in. You pretty much had to be on the Dean's List to land one of the two undergraduate positions at M/B/B etc. Working at a Big 4 firm was a great experience, the people are intelligent and the training was fantastic. Whilst the content was accounting driven, I did develop a solid business knowledge foundation and more importantly, I knew I could develop some soft skills which were transferable to consulting. Thinking of obtaining MBA at this point was to allow me to transition into strategy consulting....

What Goals: I worked at the Big 4 accounting firm for two years before I decided I had enough and I wanted to take on a more hands-on advisory role. For me, the logical move from a big 4 firm was either 1/ Financial Analyst / Business Analyst at a Corporate or 2/ Operations consulting with a consulting firm. I knew I still could not have gotten into any top tier strategy firm with my experience and undergraduate results so it was a matter of taking it step-by-step to get closer to what I want to do...

Fortunately, there was an entry level position at a full-service consulting firm where I was lucky enough to land a position within their so-called 'strategy' team. (I had interviewed with a few other jobs but either I was rejected or it didn't excite me). Even though it was an entry level position, the money was comparable to the Big 4 even after two years work experience so I decided to take a leap. The work was more interesting and I knew this was closer to moving into pure strategy work later on.

I worked for two years and I learnt alot - predominantly about project management, consulting frameworks and further developed my communication and relationship management skills. However, the long-term nature of some of the projects eventually got to me. The truth of the matter is, even if you are in the 'strategy' team of a full-service consulting firm, you are still bound to work on projects that last for 6 - 9 mths, sometimes shorter but generally because the aim of the strategy work is to eventually sell process / IT consulting and keep the consultants utilized, it's hard for a junior consultant to negotiate his way to another project.

2 years later, I decided to move to Asia for work, because that's where I want to be in the future. Whilst I was holidaying in Shanghai, through a friend's friend's friend (who coincidentally was a headhunter), I landed myself an interview with a top-tier strategy firm. I interviewed with 5 different people and found myself working with them since. I feel lucky that I have reached where I want to be in my career (and I didn't even need to goto bschool)! But the work isn't as glamorous as I expected it to be....the work was challenging and intellectually stimulating but I felt lost because I was never involved in the real action. It was alot of research, modeling, presentations and slide writing but I didn't feel like I created alot of impact. The people that I worked with, were extremely intelligent but they don't know much about change management and making things happen at a client. However, it was also at this point where I had the opportunity to work across the world, Europe, Middle East and Africa, something that I will never forget.

So after a year, bschool came up as an option again. Coming from a strategy firm, I could transition into a corporate role relatively easily but I wanted to learn more about consumer behavior, organizational behavior, develop some new perspectives, meet lots of new people and learn from their experiences.

Where: So originally (around early 2008), I wanted to study at a 1Y program, I thought I wanted to come back to consulting so I specifically targeted schools like Insead, Columbia (18mths), and Kellogg 1Y program. The cost would be lower and I thought the experience would be just as great. So around Jun 08, I started studying for my GMAT (now realizing that it is already quite late compared to other applicants). I took my GMAT in Aug 08 (thoroughly stressed out because my practice test results were NOT good at all, I kept making careless mistakes and always landing in the 600s. The highest I ever gotten during my practice test was like 690...and I knew that wouldn't cut it).

However, I guess I do perform better under pressure because I landed a 710 on the first go decided that it's good enough that I did not bother re-taking the exam (I did not want to take it again at all!). It killed my social life and was actually quite stressful...haha

After my GMAT, I did an extremely thorough DD on all the programs out there. I realized that my GMAT wasn't half bad, it was at least avg for most of the top schools but more importantly, I realized that if I was to goto school again, I should try for the top schools. My thinking was pretty much based on the following factors:

1/ Location - I knew I wanted to be in a metropolitan city. I wanted to study but I also wanted to have fun.

2/ Brand / Career Prospects - I wanted to go to a top school, most people in my firm went to top schools so I thought I would also have a good chance. I honestly believed that any of the top 10 schools would open similar doors for me, it's more about how I develop my skills at schools and how well I do in interviews.

3/ Length of Program - I decided to go for a 2Y program. The main reason for going to school is to expand my network, meet friends, learn about the cutting edge thinking and expand my perspectives. It was more of a life experience. A 2Y program will allow me to meet students in my year, the year above and the year below. Internship would be nice too, I just wanted the full bschool experience. 1Y program would be too intense and I was not sure how strong the bonds would be with people at school.

4/ Career Interests - At this point in my career, I was more interesting in marketing, brand management and consumer behavior. I've done projects ranging from pure strategy to supply chain to branding. I wanted to go to a program with a strong marketing bent. That was simple.

5/ Personal Fit - Some people question the reality of 'fit'. I think it's so important. Surely, the way the school markets itself (and through people posting forums etc) has an impact on the type of people who apply to that school. One thing that I've definitely realized is how much I have changed (and my friends) depending on their career paths after college. Bankers are much more direct, Lawyers are more argumentative and Consultants - well they do like to BS...haha. Sure, this is a generalization but overall, it's the feeling that I get meeting people in different careers. I wanted to goto a school where people are down-to-earth, fun and easygoing.

So at this point, I narrowed it down to Columbia (Brand Leadership Centre) , Wharton (Strong retailing focus and great marketing program), London Business School (one of the best in Europe) and Kellogg (need I say anything? haha).

Honestly, I have to admit, I was a bit of a brand whore so I thought, why not throw in HBS and Stanford - I wasnt that excited about their programs (for me, their programs doesn't seem that tailored and kinda vague, so it's a general management program but what are they really good at? Everything? or does the brand / alumni network rule all?) but I really just wanted to see what happens....and decide if I get in...

Schedule: I applied to 3 schools during R1, HBS, Stanford and Wharton. Wharton was my first choice originally (being close to NYC without the expenses was really appealing), I was waitlisted in R1 which means I need to wait til R2 to see what happens. I was rejected at HBS and Stanford, no considerations required. Now I think about it, I don't know why I applied to those three schools in R1...but I think it worked out for the better because I did write better essays for R2 schools.

After being WLed at Wharton, I decided to apply to Columbia and Kellogg. I scrapped LBS because I didnt really want to live in London after working there already. I decided to pick up on UChicago (because of their quant marketing focus) but later decided to scrap that too because I didn't have time to finish the essays and come up with a proper presentation about myself as I was overseas working crazy hours at that time.

I interviewed at Columbia and Kellogg (obviously!). So out of the three schools that I interviewed with, the Wharton alumni gave me the most 'professional' interview. The interview questions (and the interviewer) was sharp, direct and she really drilled me on my career path and goals. I was really challenged. Columbia alumni was very laid back and honest. He was not the most friendly one but he is a finance guy (generalizing here). There's no BS, give me the answer and let's move on. The interview lasted for like 20 mins. The Kellogg alumni impressed me though, he was so friendly and he took time to listen. The questions were similar to the Wharton interview but it was more in depth. The interview lasted for an hour and he took me to the elevators and said a proper goodbye. The other two alumni's kinda just left after the interview. It was interesting to note though, all three alumnis looooved their own schools and met their best friends at school, I thought that was quite interesting.

Result: My first bschool offer came from Kellogg. I was holidaying at that time and I was absolutely ecstatic. After R1, I was seriously thinking that I might not receive any offers and that I overestimated my candidacy. I also didn't apply to other 'safety' schools in R2 since I didn't have much time during those two months. I feel very fortunate to receive an offer. I received my information pack and I went crazy learning about the program, the clubs, the subjects I want to study, the events, GIM, KWEST etc etc. I really liked the fact that Kellogg focuses so much on teamwork. It was at this point that Kellogg became my first choice of school. Bschool for me is a life experience and I want to goto schools with a variety of people who actually do love their school. I decided I didn't want to wait and withdrew apps from the other two schools.

Reflection: So obviously my post seems a bit biased, since I am attending Kellogg this fall but this was just my personal experience. I do wonder whether if I had been admitted to HBS / Stanford, whether I would choose those schools. (After I told my dad (who isn't an university graduate) about being accepted at Kellogg, he immediately asked, oh, how bout Harvard or Stanford? Sigh...). I think everything worked out for the best, Kellogg is a really good fit with my career goals, my personality and my lifestyle (Everyone I know who's visited or lived in Chicago loooooves the place! - apart from the weather maybe). I was probably better off applying to Kellogg in R2 than R1 because I did write better essays. I am really excited about going to Kellogg.

But I guess more importantly, I now believe that everything is possible. Bschool is a long time coming for me but the reason for going to school changed over time. If I applied a couple of years earlier, without the international experience or working for a strategy firm, maybe I wouldn't even have gotten into Kellogg. Things always work out in the end for some reason, but maybe that's because I choose to maintain optimism and am proactive about doing things that I enjoy.

So what is the next step for me after bschool? I'm not sure yet. I know what I like doing but I do get tired of thinking so far ahead sometimes. I am going to keep an open mind at school and have some fun!
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Excellenté, nink!

I am dying while laughing!
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Great motivational post!


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I have made my choice regarding which B-school to attend (I waited isa's coming out so I could claim to be the last). You already know because you glanced to the left, did not you?

I thought about starting a thread explaining my decision process and thanking everyone who gave her/his input, but I realized it was all part of a greater discourse: hence, I am posting here about my b-school pursuit.

As for how much this is a leaning process, consider that if there was a school i'd swear I would never going to apply to, let alone get in or matriculating, it whas Wharton. I will be attending The Wharton School in less than 3 months.

Why do I want an MBA? When did I first think about it? Two processes in play, gross exemplifications follow:

1- Simply put, I don't subscribe to Continental Europe's values. Work-life balance means little to me as I'd dread event 15-minute workdays if I found them boring (that's not to say I don't find IB hours insane). Hence, the European model of low-ceiling, high-security jobs don't appeal to me. I have seen it incentivates not working hard both in others and me. This brings my worst side as I have to find satisfaction in my job as otherwise I am not able to focus on having the seaside, the snow and a wonderful fiancée at hand. I am just not the person 80% of Europeans are. I needed to be able to transition to another environment to realize my potential. Since college, I have become more and more exposed to the Anglosaxon value system and found it better for me, for how much it could be improved as well.

2- Having said that, I am a full-blown European. It would be childish to pretend you could not accomplish great things if in Italy or France. It's actually me who can't, it's my bad. I believe the whole world has a crush on the concept of talent. We all like Will Hunting, we all love effortlessness. It provides us excuses for not being that good, for not doing what we wanted to. But Europe, and Italy first, has really fallen in love with this way of thinking: as a result, Italy is now into Second World, Europe's influence is dwindling by the day. I have been told I was smart since I was 3 (I began reading that age out of bore, being a single child). That put me in a bucket where my role was one of not making efforts and to entertain the crowd with captivating displays of per-se knowledge (like all the capitals in the world or something). The underlying assumption is:"You are smart, you are going to have it easy following a model that less smart people are routinely able to follow". I thrive on others' approval and enjoyed that at first, as I could not see that the byproduct of cultivating my slackness and despise for hard work would be harming me. I went into college as a child, life-wise. I was not asked to show up at classes nor was I going to take exams where I could not score up to my standards: deadly mix which procuced some of the worst moments of my life. I graduated first class almost two years late. I saw hordes of more determined people graduate first class much earlier. It took me six months to get my first job as I was deeply unwilling to ask someone to hire me.

1 plus 2: I realized I had to chase my own dreams (actually make something useful) and that I was not going to find like-minded people around the corner. I wanted to get an MBA in the US.

I managed to join a boutique consultancy and was relieved to see that I could perform well in a working environment. At the same time, I know that was not what I was going to do with my career, and that "the European curse" extended to the workplace as well (why shouldn't it?!). I began devising a plan to get to a top MBA, not knowing how high I could aim. I joined a Big 3 consulting and did well there as well. I also realized that I did not want to work in a big company. It's not that I was not able to do small talk (now I am), it's that I don't want to. I wanted to be able to afford not to do it.

I looked at schools: Harvard was nice because its saying could stun even my badly educated parents. Stanford was what I truly wanted. Also Kellogg and Tuck hit me as good schools. As the usual slacker I went long with GMAT/TOEFL and completed a rushed Harvard and Kellogg application. For Stanford I maxed out my efforts. I did not apply to Tuck for reasons similar to the ones of Riverripper: I understood that if I was to change industry, I needed the wider brand I could.

Results in, I did not get an interview at H/S. Resting on laurels hit me, and rightly so. Those spots went to achievers, not simply smart people. I observed that the Harvard deny did not hurt me, but the Stanford fiasco did. I learnt I should completely disregard what uniformed others expected of me: it was out of tune with myself.

Kellogg accepted me, that felt good. In the meantime, thanks to GmatClub, I learned about many people and many schools, discovering the shallowness of clichés. I put out another batch of three applications round 2: Chicago, for its spirit resonated highly with me; Wharton, for offering everything and then some; LBS, as an hedge against US (visa problems, financing problems, family issues, whatever).

It would have been too easy to get satisfied with Kellogg and move on, so the adcoms conjured and admitted me to all three R2 schools. Kellogg gave me a named scholarship and 20% off total cost of attendance too. So April 1, it was down to: Kellogg, Chicago, LBS and Wharton. I paused a moment to congratulate my luck as I saw (mostly on here) how many deserving people had those names in red.

What poignant and touching posts. Superb stuff +1 Paradosso. Shame you are not coming to London. I guess the grass is always greener on the other side of the ocean.

I am actually positive, statistically speaking, that some GmatClub connection will prove directly useful also in our career endeavors to come, so that's spot on River.

My bad for not having included bsd_lover in the people to thank: though I believe European schools are not a fit for me, I believe they are for a whole lot of people here, and he's doing a wonderful job of promoting those, which are traditionally not so much spoken about here (I have to write something about the US-centric vision of US people, it's all bona fide but it's incredible how even very smart people* just equate US to the world at large). Plus his story is inspiring and comforting for those who struggle.

Last, I encourage other 09 applicants to share their stories: I found that writing mine* is as enjoyable as reading the past ones (and I liked them a lot). This thread is GC at its best.

* I almost never re-read in real time and I realize my writing above is largely obscure and disconnected. I apologize!