Magic 7 MBA Info Sessions in Beijing
Yes I was an MBA applicant and no I did not have the resources to visit any of the schools that I was considering. Well, MBA info session provides an intimate if not complete picture of a school's style and the type of people that I will likely meet at the school. So I went to as many of them as I could! Here’s a sum-up of my experience.
Wharton: Great attendance. Huge alum turn-out which demonstrated the school’s international alum presence. Unlike other schools, about half of its alum were non-Chinese, once again a nod to the lauder program and the school’s international presence. The host seemed a bit inexperienced, briefly choking during the presentation. Thank you letter and follow-up questions went un-answered. The main message was: “we are sooooo international.”
Stanford: Held at the top of a tower with an amazing view. Attendance was good. The host was knowledgeable and extremely experienced at handling awkward situations and difficult questions. Alums, however, were less than impressive. Three alums showed up, one came in late. I was impressed by one non-GSB alum, who not only arranged the room for the info-session, but also introduced me to a government official friend of his at the very session. That is very Silicon Valley like indeed. Main message was: California
’s great, and entrepreneurship at Stanford even greater.
Columbia: By far the best attendance. People literally had to fight for seats. Possibly the worst alum turn-out considering the school’s size. Four showed up and one guy appeared quite nervous. Host was a beauty, and was extremely professional. LG sponsored the meeting room, but people had to clear out 30 minutes after the main presentation. The main message was the same old “NYC is sooooo great, and we connect theory to reality.” Alum seemed less than enthusiastic about the school. Email and follow-up questions were immediately replied to.
Chicago: Great Attendance. Pretty great alum turn out. Two hosts seemed knowledgeable. One host talked for 20 minutes about the glorious history of UoC and Booth, during which I almost fell asleep. Some alumni were very friendly and helpful. The president of the Booth alumni club Beijing
chapter suggested that people get real about career expectations after school. Does look like the kind of down to earth school it was rumored to be. Emails and follow-up questions were immediately replied to. The main message was: “oh we’ve got a bunch of noble laureate and we are sooooo flexible.”
MIT: Attendance was good. Hosts were okay. Alumni seemed to have some interesting stories to tell. Thank you letter and follow up questions was relied to, but appeared to have gone through layers of bureaucracy. The message was: we got tons of brilliant tech guys and you guys can easily take advantage of that.
Kellogg: Attendance was good but not as great as some other schools. The two hosts were breath taking. An alum/ MBA admission consultant gave a long speech that yielded mixed result because of a malfunctioning microphone. Alum turn out was pretty good. The message was: team-work.
Harvard: Nope, no info session in Beijing. Yes, that is how confident or arrogant they are. I did have the good fortune to meet four HBS first year students and, yes, you guessed it, all are extremely young (2-3 years of pre-MBA work experience) and supremely confident, to a point that I wouldn't hesitate to call two of them slightly arrogant. |
