Easier Said than Done

I chose to pursue an MBA for one reason: to change my career.  I knew exactly what I wanted to do after business school long before I was even accepted anywhere. I want to create and manage social impact partnerships between private and social sector organizations.  I want to start in the corporate sector in either a foundation, sustainability, or CSR role (social impact in the corporate sector doesn't look the same at every company so there is variability in what department the jobs I'm interested in are staffed). My career goals played a major part in choosing which school to attend.  Deciding to attend Booth ultimately came down to determining that it was the school where I'd receive the best support in terms of recruiting.  I was absolutely correct in that assessment.  The career services team at Booth is phenomenal.  Career coaches helped me plot my target list of companies.  Second year career advisors gave me great feedback on my resume, cover letters, and interview skills.  I had access to every company I came to school knowing I wanted to target and many more that I hadn't even thought of before getting here.  I found job openings that weren't posted.  I interviewed through both on-campus and off campus recruiting methods.  In February I landed an offer from the world's largest retailer for the exact job I came to business school to get.  Three weeks after receiving the offer I declined it in favor of joining Google in a role very similar to what I was doing pre MBA. *Insert loud record scratch sound* What happened?

What's Fit Got to Do With It?

Now that the dust has mostly cleared from Round 1 applications there are some very happy recent admits amongst us.  Congratulations to all of you once again.  For some people December brought multiple admissions offers.  Remember being worried that not even one school would say yes? I definitely do, so it feels amazing when two, or three, or even four or more schools see just how awesome you are.  It's also just nice to feel wanted.  I encourage you to bask in your achievements for a while.  However, all good things must come to an end and when it's all said and done you can only enroll in one school. So which one is gonna be?

Well Done

Greetings from Telluride! The sun is out, the snow is fresh, and a day of skiing awaits.  Alas, I am not posting to regale you with tales from Booth's annual ski trip (at least not yet anyways).  Today's post is dedicated to others.  "Who?" you ask.  None other than some very special Round 1 admits.

Congratulations to three of my favorite GMAT Clubbers/Class of 2015 applicants!

Think First, Ask Never

Last February I wrote a post venting my frustration at some of the posters on MBA forums (check out Etiquette 101).  While some people agreed with my assessment there were others who didn't take to kindly to my words.  Meh, oh well. You can't please everyone.  Alas, I am once again feeling the need to offer some candid advice to this year's crop of applicants (and actually applicants in perpetuity).  However, in the name of personal growth I am going to try my best to avoid name calling and keep the curse words to a minimum.

Great Expectations

I’m not one for writing in series.  Save for a few exceptions each entry in this blog is self-contained.  Last week an email from a friend tipped me off that I may have unintentionally created a “Pedigree” series about business school admissions and MBA programs.  I never intended to do this, but I guess the many facets of this topic have been on my mind.   If you count Money Over Everything as Part1, The Real World as Part 2, and False Alarm as Part 3, then I guess this one is Part 4.

The other day I was chatting with a friend who plans to apply to business school in the next two years.  He wants to wait a little longer so he can get a new job and knock out the GMAT.  I suggested that he could apply to school sooner than he thinks because his work experience, while non traditional, is definitely relevant and he’s had some really good achievements at work.  Will a new job at a more recognized firm help his candidacy? Sure, but he’s still in the ballpark for getting into a top 15 school from his current employer.  When I suggested he apply to Johnson he replied, “I work at a no name employer and have a lower GPA from a no name school.  I have to go to a top school to get the job I want.”  I paused for a second, surprised by what he’d said.  “But Johnson is a top school,” I replied.  In that moment it suddenly dawned on me that we had gotten caught in the MBA matrix.

False Alarm

"Whew. Longtime reader here. I agree with you, but I definitely have a crazy different background than anyone I've met and Kellog, Tuck and Duke all admitted me this year (headed to Kellogg in the fall). I actually think you're generalizing everyone into one of two camps - blue chip and other - instead of the three camps that really exist. Sure "blue chip" is the largest group, but for aspiring applicants, "other" should be divided as "boring" and "exciting". Seriously! I have a little bit of a blue chip background (2 out of 6 years) but the other 4 years have been crazy exciting with startups that no one's heard of and enough stories to write a tell-all about the tech/entertainment industry. If someone's applying without blue chip experience, I say go for it as long as it's exciting/different/scandalous... and to be honest, it's us different ones who make bschool fun for the rest of ya'll squares."

The Real World

"We're going to start things off with a little ice breaker," the section leader said to us.  I sat in a classroom with 69 other newly admitted MBA applicants and prepared myself for the ritual I now knew by heart.  We would state our name, where we went to school, our current line of work, and one fun fact that could hopefully elicit a chuckle from the crowd.  We started on the opposite side of the room and I listened as one by one my potential classmates gave the condensed version of the last 7-10 years of their lives.

The Ones that Got Away

At 5:00 p.m. yesterday I transferred $1,000 from my savings to my checking and paid the second tuition deposit at Chicago Booth.  If it wasn't already settled before, it definitely is now.  I am attending Booth in the fall.  I have already dived into being a Boothie.  I found a great roommate who also has an aversion to community laundry facilities; started three Booth class of 2014 fantasy football leagues; and worn my complimentary Booth t-shirts all over town (an alum even stopped his car to chat with me for a sec when he saw me sporting the maroon).  Best of all I am Random Walking to Fiji in August with The Keychain (mpg2011 from GMAT Club) and a dozen other Boothies.  However, in the midst of all the excitement and anticipation there are times when I find myself wandering over to Wharton's class of 2014 Facebook page or logging onto the Kellogg admitted students' website.  Sometimes in the quiet moments between all of the Booth hoopla I wonder what if I had chosen differently.

Time on My Hands...

I had it all planned out. Before I was even accepted into an MBA program I knew that I would be taking the summer off prior to starting classes in the fall.  After working for nearly a decade and not really having a summer vacation since 1998 (summer before freshman year of college), I felt that I was due for two months of sleeping til noon, lazing around the house, traveling abroad for weeks on end, and living rent free at my parents' house while depleting the contents of their fridge.  I had been saving for over a year so I figured I could afford to blow my annual bonus on trips and the minimal living expenses of a cell phone bill and Netflix account, thus reserving my cash reserves for the school year.  My plan was foolproof.

Regression Models

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I was struggling.  As everyone around me carried on non-stop conversation I fought to keep my eyes open and my head from falling into the plate of eggs and French toast in front of me.  I tried to engage with the woman sitting next to me, asking questions in the hopes of invigorating my mind for a few more minutes.  The effort was painful.  My body physically ached for sleep.  Alas, my love of free food had led me to abandon the rest I desperately needed and now politeness anchored me to my seat for at least another ten minutes.  I doubted I would make it that long.

Money Over Everything?

In the last few weeks at least half a dozen threads have popped up on the MBA forums with different variations of the same theme.  School X vs School Y.  Having been in this predicament myself I find myself drawn to these threads.  They are particularly interesting when School X is ranked higher than School Y, but School Y is offering money while School X is offering less or none. These threads inevitably come down to the "age old" question of rank vs. money.

Are You For Real

In his ubiquitous hit song, "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," Marvin Gaye sang, "Believe maybe half of what you see and some to none of what you hear."  I think this lyric should be modified for MBA applicants who frequent b-school forums.  "Believe maybe half of what you see and some to none of what you read."  I've been an active participant on the GMAT Club forums for almost a year and if the site is representative of the applicant pool then I guess 90% of applicants have 740+ GMAT scores, 3.7 GPAs from top 10 schools, and all have stellar work experience.  It's easy to feel intimidated by the number of outstanding competition.  However, I'm starting to think that maybe some of those scary good competitors are of the boogie man under your bed variety.  They do not really exist.

Etiquette 101

It is no secret that I like to participate in online MBA forums.  GMAT Club is my favorite.  I think that these sites are great resources for finding information on everything from essays to interview questions.  I've even met some very cool people from the site with whom I am excited to potentially attend school.  But lately, GMAT Club has been getting on my last nerve.  Correction, some GMAT Club members have become as grating as nails on a chalk board.  After finding so much useful information from other posters I have done my best to pay it forward, answering questions about Kellogg's admissions process, giving advice on post-interview thank you notes, and sending words of encouragement to nervous posters.  However, in the last month or so my posts have taken a turn toward the bitchy.  Why? Has the pressure of R2 gotten to me, causing me to lash out at poor, unsuspecting posters?  Hmmm...not so much.  See the problem is not me, it's THEM.  Maybe I didn't see it in R1, but R2 has brought forth some of the least self-aware, most obnoxious personalities I've encountered online.

Along the Yellow Brick Road.

When Dorothy got caught in a twister, hit her head, and woke up in Oz, she couldn't have fathomed the characters that she would meet along the way.  There was Glenda, the Good Witch of the North who gave her ruby slippers and gave her the simple instructions to, "follow the yellow brick road."  There were the Munchkins who welcomed her to Munchkin land.  And we must not forget the friends Dorothy made on her way to the Emerald City: Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion.  All of these characters (including the Wicked Witch of the West) are instantly recognizable and I'm sure we could all identify them with either pieces of ourselves or people we know.

So along my personal yellow brick road to b-school, I too have come across a colorful cast of characters.  See if you recognize any of these people.

Forethought

I started to consider getting my MBA late last summer. I knew that I needed to take the GMAT and write a ton of essays in order to apply.  I thought that I could study for my GMAT, take the test, and apply to 6-8 schools between September and January.  Oh, how naive I was! Thank God my promotion last fall kept me from trying to exercise that delusion.
Thanks to a 10% pay increase, better title, and cross country move to the East coast, I got a whole year to prepare for the Fall 2012 admissions cycle. It is quickly becoming apparent that I underestimated how short a year really is. As Round 1 deadlines quickly approach and the weekends on my calendar get reserved I am wishing I had used the extra time to prepare better.

It Ain't My Fault

I spent this past weekend in New York City. Although my all consuming need to live in NYC has subsided in recent years, it's still my happy place. A certain calm envelops me as soon as the crackles of static give way to the clear sound of Hot 97 DJ Funkmaster Flex's voice over my car radio speakers. Even without concrete plans for a Friday night the promise of possibilities always hovers in the air. I get excited knowing not that something exciting will happen but that at any moment it could. Mostly, I just like being in the same place where most of the characters from the collegiate chapter of my life reside.

I ran into one of those characters at brunch last Sunday. She was a class behind me at college and I really didn't know her well while I was in school. Actually, I don't remember even crossing her path once during my four year tenure, which says a lot since all of the black students at school could fit in three long tables at the dining hall. While we didn't socialize in the same circle (within an already tiny bubble), we both had the good sense to pledge the greater than great, grander than grand, best of the best sorority in the land. I did it in Spring 2001 so thus I had the pleasure of getting to know her when she followed in Spring 2003.

Above Average

Last Thursday I received my 9th annual, "Congratulations on getting through another year without getting fired!" e-mail from the company HR bot. This Thursday I turn 31. The average full-time MBA student at top-tier US business schools is between 26-28 and has five years of work experience at matriculation. Am I too late to the party?

While there are many people my age who choose to pursue an MBA a higher majority go the part-time, executive, or 1 year European MBA route. When I mention that I want to get an MBA many people's initial assumption is that I will pick from one of those options. They scratch their heads when I say I'm aiming for the FT programs. Yes, I'm older. However, that doesn't preclude a FT MBA from being a good fit with my goals.

Psyche Out

I wasn't getting it. I'd gone through the entire quantitative section of the Kaplan 2011 GMAT Premier study guide. I'd read through every review topic from fractions to geometry to rate/distance/work. The concepts were pretty familiar. I was getting it. "When two or more people/objects are working together add their rates together to determine how long it takes to finish one job." Simple enough, I got it. Bring on the problem sets. "In the economy mode, a printer prints twice as fast as in the optimal quality mode. If after working for 20 minutes in the optimal quality mode and 40 minutes in the economy mode the printer printed 120 pages, how long would it take the printer to print 120 pages in the optimal quality mode?" (C) 2008 GMAT Club. On second thought, maybe I don't get it.