Informal Education on Application

Question

Hey all,

I was a political science major in college and currently work in politics. I inadvertently work with data and analysis all the time, but I don't have much formal quantitative education. I passed HBX Core and did well in formal statistics and accounting courses post-college; however, I want to demonstrate that I have been teaching myself applied calculus to better understand the quantitative methods in economic development. It is somewhat out of place my essays, so how do I basically say, "I taught myself applied calculus by watching a whole bunch of Khan Academy, borrowing textbooks, and reading research papers." Anyone can say they are a pro, but I can't demonstrate mastery with a letter grade...do they just take my word for it?

Anyone in a similar boat, feel free to join the thread and post your dilemma on here as well.

Thanks!

EDIT: I know there are sections on some applications for random post-graduate courses like coursera, edx. Bloomberg market concepts, etc. I'm talking about just teaching yourself something where there is no syllabus or demonstrated curriculum.

MBAPrepCoach · Answer

Dear Politico, I don't know what the Khan Academy is but it sounds like might be related to martial arts and so I think maybe avoiding any type of proper noun will be best.

I would just go meta on this and say that you have taught yourself calculus through the use of free resources.

I generally like to be specific, but I think in this situation it might distract the reader away from the main point. Is this something you're writing in your essay is and does this point to a larger thing that you're talking about? Because I don't want you to deck an entire essay against this very issue. I

If it is related to how you take initiative then that's fine but if you're trying to tell them you're good at math, that might be a little bit of a waste.

If you have any concerns about their perceptions of your their perceptions of your Quant skills, I would just do MBA math. It's really a great course to take anyways, even outside of the role it might play in admissions.

That's really the gold standard for all of this, you can send your transcripts to all the schools directly from Mba Math.

Farrell Dyan Hehn, MBA
Admissions Consultant & Verbal Strategist MBAPrepCoach.com

SemperLiberi · Answer

Thank you for the quick reply.

On a separate note, you should check out Khan Academy if you are unfamiliar. It is a very well-known online tutoring platform operated by Sal Khan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sal_Khan, MIT/HBS Grad and former hedge fund manager. Business schools would be familiar with the website. https://www.khanacademy.com

Mo2men · Answer

Hi HamptonCokeley, In you case, I would like to play politics in you application. :-D

You have a big room to show case. If I were you, I would do the following: 1- In challenge essay or optional essay, you can take about moment that you start to recognize that you had problem and then how you taught yourself and do not forget about achievements. I believe you have story but you need to deep dive. Khan Academy was great choice for anyone who want to self-taught students. good choice. 2- I'd agree with Farrell that a course with MBA math or you can register with in near collage for graded math course. This would reinforce your application. I hope it helps

Informal Education on Application

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