hsWang

以下是引用LANDER在2004-9-15 12:04:00的发言：

Thanks for your advice.

I think one thing I'm wondering is what sort of extracurricular activities does one do that looks good on an application? I just don't know how people fit them in either. I see tons of i-bankers going off to harvard and wharton b-school each year and they barely have time to sleep, let alone volunteer or pursue any side hobbies. Also, in terms of the essays- if admissions committees are looking for sincerity, what does someone write about who wants to pursue a career in finance, and make a killing on wall street? Do they sincerely write essays saying they wanna make a ton of money and retire at 40 or start their own hedge fund in Greenwich? I guess I'm just confused about how anyone can have a sincere, admirable goal for b-school and express it well in essay form. Finally, if my ultimate goal was the IMF or World Bank, you are saying there aren't that many opportunities available at those organizations for an MBA? What about Int'l Consulting positions?

I am pretty uneducated about typical career paths for an MBA aside from Wall Street, so any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated. Thanks and regards.

You ask some good questions. The fact is we could write a very thick book and still only scratch the surface of the business school admission process. Besides, it still wouldn't be incredibly valuable (even though it would be written by true experts with admissions committee experience who have actually made accept/reject/waitlist decisions) because each applicant needs to develop a unique application story with themes that support that story and best address each of the essay questions and their fit at the different schools. Basically, if you want to maximize your chances, you need more than simply grammatically-correct essays in your application and there are many different strategies, stories, and themes that will work successfully for different applicants. We normally take a full consultation just to provide an in-depth assessment of a candidacy, advise on school selection, and begin coming up with strategies, stories, and themes.

To your final point, there are indeed opportunities out there for MBAs in international organizations such as the IMF and World Bank. They are just not as numerous as those opportunities in the more traditional career paths. Your future career goal may work for you. I simply wanted to point out a few potential issues in case you had not yet considered them. Don't hesitate to contact me directly if you would like to schedule an appointment with one of our expert consultants. Best of luck with your applications! Sincerely,

H.S.Wang

[此贴子已经被作者于2004-9-15 12:48:25编辑过]

mialanhero

以下是引用hsWang在2004-8-25 11:59:00的发言： >

Thanks for your inquiry. As a general rule, it is always more advantageous to apply in the first round than the second. There are more openings for the incoming class and the admissions committees are trying to fill seats. At the most selective schools, round 2 is when the class becomes rounded out and the admissions officers really focus in on getting the right representation from demographic groups such as NY I-bankers and Indian IT applicants. There is no truth to the urban legend that the second round is less competitive than the first round. The admissions officers know what percent of good applicants apply each round and they adjust their targeted number of admissions offers to reflect this. Finally, a good applicant will make a convincing case for why he/she wants to attend XYZ b-school and why he/she has been proactive about wanting an MBA for a long time. Applying in round 1 will certainly help signal this point much more clearly than applying in a later round. In conclusion, if you have a good application put together for a top school, it will behoove you to submit it earlier than later. Best of luck with your applications! Sincerely,

H.S. Wang

Many, many thanks. This is really a great place! You, great too.

hsWang

以下是引用laozi在2004-9-20 10:57:00的发言： Hi, Thanks in advance for taking time to answer my question. I an an IT professional with an undergraduate degree in Finance. I have a GPA of 3.4 and I have done good in almost all finance courses. I have done some good job hopping in last 6-7 years but I am on my presesnt job for last 3-5 years. Most of these compnies are blue chip companies (and I have worked as an independent consultant. I want to pursue a carrier in Finance (Brokerage firm). My first 2 years of college credits reflected a poor GPA(2.0). But once I moved to a four year college, I was only doing better. I an planning to take my GMAT in April and I am committed to get a decent score (at least 650). What are my chances of getting into NYU part time MBA or Columbia MBA. What can I do to get into NYU or Columbia. I don't have any extra curcular activities. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

This trend, where your GPA increased over the course of your undergraduate education, will help you mitigate any concerns about your grades. A strong GMAT score will further help your cause and demonstrate your strong academic qualifications. The term job hopping certainly conjures up negative images. The key here is to demonstrate a clear and favorable career progression and then, hopefully, tie that into your future career goal. Without having the details of your proposed story and themes, it is impossible to accurately gauge your chances, but I'm not sure I see how your recent DBA experience, combined with an MBA, is going to qualify you for a career in a brokerage. Furthermore, you will be grilled on some of the details of your future career goal during your interviews as the interviewer will want to see evidence that this move is very well thought out and researched. Unless you have been working very long hours and were heavily involved in extracurriculars as an undergraduate, your current lack of extracurriculars is going to hurt you. In a word, get involved and get involved soon. Don't just sign up for any activity though. Find something that will help advance your story with the admissions committee. (I'm assuming you want me to be wearing my admissions hat?while writing this.) Depending on all of your particulars, you may need an extra year for positioning and you may not be very competitive until the fall 2006 applications are released. If you would like to discuss your situation in far greater detail with one of our consultants, don't hesitate to contact me directly. Best of luck with your future applications! Sincerely,

H.S.Wang

frankdong

Hi! I think I've got a very informative service here, and appreciate all the information that you've posted regularly. I'm deeply appreciative for the knowledge I've gained in this forum alone! I plan to apply for an MBA programme in the States within the next three to four years, and am keen to work towards a succesful application in a good business school. The plus points/problems that I anticipate, however, are: - My academic grades ( 78 ) are of average standard amongst my peers, but fall exceedingly short of the minimum/average GPA requirements stated by many business schools. - I am graduating from a 3-year degree programme. - I recently took GMAT, and achieved a score of 710. - I have been very actively involved in extra-curricular activities in university, having been elected into the presidential/chairperson positions in almost all of my student union/club activities. (My heavy involvement can be said to be the reason for my less than exciting grades) - I plan to work for the next 2 to 3 years, in a multinational corporation, before applying for an MBA programme. With this in mind, I have been looking through admissions requirements and prerequisites of MBA programmes in top 30 business schools, but have had trouble gauging my potential application standing. Would you think that I stand a chance of being offered a position in schools like McCombs, Olin, Carnegie Mellon and Rotman (Toronto)? Would you suggest that I take additional certificate/diploma courses in private educational institutes to boost my academic credibility before applying to MBA programmes? Thank you in advance for your advice! Many Thanks, Frank

hsWang

以下是引用frankdong在2004-9-24 11:47:00的发言：

Hi! I think I've got a very informative service here, and appreciate all the information that you've posted regularly. I'm deeply appreciative for the knowledge I've gained in this forum alone! I plan to apply for an MBA programme in the States within the next three to four years, and am keen to work towards a succesful application in a good business school. The plus points/problems that I anticipate, however, are: - My academic grades ( 78 ) are of average standard amongst my peers, but fall exceedingly short of the minimum/average GPA requirements stated by many business schools. - I am graduating from a 3-year degree programme. - I recently took GMAT, and achieved a score of 710. - I have been very actively involved in extra-curricular activities in university, having been elected into the presidential/chairperson positions in almost all of my student union/club activities. (My heavy involvement can be said to be the reason for my less than exciting grades) - I plan to work for the next 2 to 3 years, in a multinational corporation, before applying for an MBA programme. With this in mind, I have been looking through admissions requirements and prerequisites of MBA programmes in top 30 business schools, but have had trouble gauging my potential application standing. Would you think that I stand a chance of being offered a position in schools like McCombs, Olin, Carnegie Mellon and Rotman (Toronto)? Would you suggest that I take additional certificate/diploma courses in private educational institutes to boost my academic credibility before applying to MBA programmes? Thank you in advance for your advice! Many Thanks, Frank

Hi, Frank. Thanks! The gratitude is never expected, but always appreciated!

Your GPA can be mitigated in your application. It still may be a good idea to build an alternate transcript with a handful of classes. (If you take too many classes, you may be labeled a professional student/degree collector.) A three-year degree is not necessarily a problem. The top b-schools often quietly make exceptions, particularly for graduates from top programs.

I wouldn't spin it that way in your applications. The schools ideally want students who can succeed academically *and* be involved on the campus.

Gaining some professional experience is certainly a good idea. It does not have to come from working for a large MNC though. If you find an opportunity for career development in a smaller company, you should give that opportunity full consideration. (I'm wearing my admission hat?here. Obviously, if you are not comfortable in small companies, ignore this advice.)

With a good career progression, and application story you would be competitive at any business school.

Best of luck with your applications! Sincerely,

H.S.Wang

frankdong

Thanks, Wang.

I will contact you during the National Holiday!

hsWang

OK, have a nice holiday!

hsWang

以下是引用windyzheng在2004-10-12 11:22:00的发言： Thanks in a advance for considering my questions! In the Summer 2002 I graduated from SHJTU with Bachelors Degree in Management. I have worked full-time 2 years. I am an Internet Marketing Specialist in a company. I have built a team to work on research projects within the company, and now I manage the marketing division. I want to apply to a Business school, and University of Michigan is on the top of my list. I am affraid, 2 years of work experience is not enough, although I feel that I have strong leadership quilities. I wonder if MBA admission officers will question the possibility of studying full-time and working full-time simultaneously? I have also been leading volunteer activities in my community for past three years. Within my volunteer work I organized activities, and managed fund-rising project. How much consideration does admission commitee give to volunteer work? My TOEFL score is 640, GMAT 660, and GPA 3.5. What are my chances to be admitted to one of the top schools? Should I wait, and aqcuire more work experience?

You ask a good question. Yes, work experience is just a stat, similar to your GMAT score. Just about every admissions officer you will encounter will encourage you to apply when you are ready. When the additional work experience is bringing you closer to your post-MBA career goals and you feel you've achieved the necessary career progression to gain the most from your b-school experience, then you should apply. I know this sounds a bit vague but it's really all I can say in email/discussion board format given the amount of information you provided. On a final note, you may be able to pull a low factor out of the fact that you worked full time and went to school full time. Be warned though, that a lot of applicants attempt to do just this and it's not going to be as impressive if, for one thing, your grades were not strong.

Extracurricular involvement may be the most often overlooked and least understood aspect of the b-school candidacy. It is important not just in quantity, but also in terms of what you did (think leadership, initiative, and organizational skills) and the involvements fit with your application story. If it looks like you were only involved to impress an admissions committee and gain admission to business school, it becomes a major red flag/liability.

At certain schools, your GMAT could be an issue given you are an international applicant and depending on the exact breakout between your quant and verbal scores. I assure you that international applicants with 660 GMAT scores do get admitted into top schools every year, but they have to be a little bit stronger in the other aspects of their candidacies.

See my comments above. Don't hesitate to contact me directly. We can more precisely help you determine if you would benefit from additional work experience and develop a customized and detailed action plan to ensure you are optimally positioned for your future b-school applications. Best of luck with your applications! Sincerely,

H.S.Wang

hsWang

以下是引用gladiator在2004-10-17 22:45:00的发言： Hi and thanks for your help in advance. Its nice to hear from people with experience in reviewing applicants. My parents live in the U.S. and I will likely get my greencard in 3 years. Is it significantly harder for a canadian to be admitted than an american? Concerning work experience, I am a financial analyst working for a blue chip food company, which recruits significantly at my favorite schools in the area of marketing. I currently work on a category team consisting of marketing and sales. As part of a team, I help release promotions as well as launch new products. After working with marketing, i've decided that i'd like to take on that role. However, I would like to get my MBA so as to develop the necessary skills in preparation of becoming a product manager. Being a finance guy, does my background stand its ground in front of the bankers and consultants? In addition, I have had an unbelievable amount of responsibility since starting. Finally i have not participated in many extracurriculars since i finished school. But i will be learning a third language part time as well as spending two weeks teaching englishvolunteering) overseas in a very needy country. Should i look to do more in addition to this? Or would that area still be weak?

Thank you! We take a lot of pride in our qualifications and quality of our services.

It's not that much more difficult. If you are a qualified applicant with a good story to tell, you will be competitive with a green card and you will be able to pursue your post-MBA career goals up to 3 years sooner.

Your experience does not have to be directly comparable to that of a consultant or investment banker. If you can demonstrate a good career progression, you will be fine. There will be a lot of other financial analysts also competing for those precious few spots at the top schools, so don't bank completely on your financial analyst position for differentiation.

Assuming you submit well-prepared applications, additional extracurriculars could easily be what separates an acceptance from a top 5 school from a borderline ding. I would certainly look to beef up this area of your candidacy. Don't pick extracurricular activities haphazardly though. Find ones that will complement your story. These should also be activities you are most likely to enjoy. I don't know enough about you to opine on the usefulness of an alternate transcript but this and many other areas can certainly be covered in a 1 hour pre admissions consultation. Feel free to contact me directly for more information on our services. Best of luck with your future applications! Sincerely,

H.S.Wang

[此贴子已经被作者于2004-10-17 23:25:36编辑过]

lakegirl

add my information here: my GMAT 690, TOEFL: 620, GPA:3.4

what's my chance to get into a top b-school?

[此贴子已经被作者于2004-10-19 12:52:30编辑过]