Ask mbaMission

[admin]

The MBA admissions process is fiercely competitive and yet success can be remarkably simple: differentiate yourself from a sea of applicants and gain that coveted letter of acceptance. Get insight from the experts at mbaMission to all your admissions related questions.

[MBA Mission]

I thank Manhattan GMAT for acknowledging the quality of our advice and for facilitating greater organization for us on these message boards as well! I am open to questions on this thread from now on!

Sincerely,
Jeremy Shinewald
MBA Mission

Sincerely,
Jeremy Shinewald
MBA Mission

646-485-8844

Website: www.mbamission.com
Blog: www.mbamission.com/blog
MBA Mission Insider’s Guides: www.mbamission.com/store.php

The MBA admissions process is fiercely competitive and yet success can be remarkably simple: differentiate yourself from a sea of applicants and gain that coveted letter of acceptance. Get insight from the experts at mbaMission to all your admissions related questions.

[Eli]

Hi.

I am a lawyer in NYC and am pretty sure that I will be laid off in the next few weeks as we lose a lot of our corporate business. Will it be a disadvantage to be unemployed? I don’t imagine that I will quickly find a similar job - will I be at a disadvantage if I have a lower paying job?

Thanks,

Eli

[MBA Mission]

Eli,

Thank you for your inquiry.

I am sorry to hear that you may be laid off. During the summer, we were already being asked this question by prospectives and spoke with several admissions officers about this issue during the AIGAC conference. Without fail and quite logically all admissions officers stated that they could not possibly hold MBA candidates accountable for a global banking meltdown. Yesterday, HBS Admissions Director, Dee Leopold, blogged on this subject (http://www.mbamission.com/blog/2008/09/ ... 80%99s-qa/) in order to allay concerns that seem to be popping up more and more often. In short, don’t worry about the layoff from an admissions perspective - just make good use of your time going forward.

Sincerely,
Jeremy Shinewald
MBA Mission

646-485-8844

Website: www.mbamission.com
Blog: www.mbamission.com/blog
MBA Mission Insider’s Guides: www.mbamission.com/store.php
Free Consultation: www.mbamission.com/consult.php

Hi.

I am a lawyer in NYC and am pretty sure that I will be laid off in the next few weeks as we lose a lot of our corporate business. Will it be a disadvantage to be unemployed? I don’t imagine that I will quickly find a similar job - will I be at a disadvantage if I have a lower paying job?

Thanks,

Eli

[Eli]

Thanks for your response. I am curious if you are seeing an uptick in Legal applicants this year? I think layoffs will lag the banking crisis. Have lawyers been jumping ship early? Also, do you think that there is an extra burden to prove my quant skills because I come from a "softer" field.

Thanks again,

Eli

[Sara]

i've been struggling with whether or not i should be completing the optional essays. my gpa is lower than the school i am applying for, even though i was in the top quartile of my class. will i look defensive if i try to use the optional essay to explain that my college simply has a difficult grading system?

thanks

[MBA Mission]

Eli,

Thank you for your latest inquiry.

Considering the burden placed upon lawyers, seven years of very costly education in most cases, there are actually far fewer lawyers than most would imagine in the MBA -- even though it is a tremendous combination. While there may be a few JD/MBA students, there are few with legal experience. So, while there may be a few more lawyers in the mix this year, they will hardly be over-represented. In fact, you should probably still be able to differentiate along these lines.

As for your quant background, I suppose this really depends on the nature of the work that you have taken on, your GMAT score and your academic record. if you are strong in these areas, then there will be no "extra" credential expected. What can you offer in these areas?

Sincerely,
Jeremy Shinewald
MBA Mission

646-485-8844

Website: www.mbamission.com
Blog: www.mbamission.com/blog
MBA Mission Insider’s Guides: www.mbamission.com/store.php
Free Consultation: www.mbamission.com/consult.php

[
quote="Eli"]Thanks for your response. I am curious if you are seeing an uptick in Legal applicants this year? I think layoffs will lag the banking crisis. Have lawyers been jumping ship early? Also, do you think that there is an extra burden to prove my quant skills because I come from a "softer" field.

Thanks again,

[MBA Mission]

Thank you for your inquiry.

If your GPA is low in absolute terms but is "relativized" by your class rank, then this is definitely something that you should address. Further, if this is complicated by a tough major, then again, raise the issue. Your target school should have some understanding of the fact that a 3.2 in physics is most often an achievement, whereas a 3.2 in history is mediocre at best, but there is no harm in reminding them.

Sincerely,
Jeremy Shinewald
MBA Mission

646-485-8844

Website: www.mbamission.com
Blog: www.mbamission.com/blog
MBA Mission Insider’s Guides: www.mbamission.com/store.php
Free Consultation: www.mbamission.com/consult.php

i've been struggling with whether or not i should be completing the optional essays. my gpa is lower than the school i am applying for, even though i was in the top quartile of my class. will i look defensive if i try to use the optional essay to explain that my college simply has a difficult grading system?

thanks

[MBA Mission]

Early this morning, Manhattan GMAT sent out its weekly newsletter, GMATTERS, featuring an article on managing application deadlines, written by the MBA Mission staff. We always enjoy contributing to GMATTERS and appreciate the opportunity to share advice with applicants around the world.

Sincerely,
Jeremy Shinewald
MBA Mission

646-485-8844

Website: www.mbamission.com
Blog: www.mbamission.com/blog
MBA Mission Insider’s Guides: www.mbamission.com/store.php
Free Consultation: www.mbamission.com/consult.php

Application Deadlines
With admissions boards openly speculating that the financial fallout will trigger record numbers of business school applications, many candidates are no doubt feeling added pressure as the first-round deadlines loom. Well, we have a few simple suggestions that we hope will enable you to minimize your anxiety and possibly even let go of your applications on deadline days.

At mbaMission, our modus operandi is to help candidates hold mirrors up to themselves and see who they are and how to best represent themselves. So, it should come as no surprise that we recommend that once you have completed each application, you show your work to an individual or two you trust (even if this person is not a professional consultant). However, if you do so, we strongly suggest that you limit the number of people you ask. You will discover that because the application process is so subjective, as you add readers, you will also add new and different opinions. Soon, a multitude of alternatives and interesting critiques will appear, and while these ideas will not necessarily be "right" or "wrong""”as a single candidate’s stories can be marketed in countless ways "”they will create unnecessary uncertainty. So, we are not suggesting that you ignore critical feedback, but rather that you not complicate your final days and create doubt where it may not be due. If one or two readers support your ideas and confirm that your application needs minimal work, you are probably best off ending your feedback loop there and clicking "submit."

As candidates race to meet deadlines, many will say that they wish they had completed the small details of the applications in advance, so that they could spend their final moments polishing their essays or maybe even decompressing. Indeed, realizing at the last moment that you need to go through dozens of online forms and fill in addresses, phone numbers, parents’ professional histories, academic information and more can be quite stressful Thus, we suggest that you take some time now to get these details out of the way. By completing these forms early on, you will not only remove a source of deadline anxiety, but you will also ensure that your entire application meets your highest quality standards and has the greatest impact on the MBA Admissions Committee. Further, if you take the time now, you can actually make sure that these short-answer responses strengthen your candidacy. For example, many of the schools ask for thorough work histories, including accomplishments, responsibilities, setbacks and reasons for moving on. These sections are every bit as important as your resume and should be carefully addressed to maximize impact!

Of course, completing your essays and short answer responses is under your control, but recommendations are often stressful, because you must depend on someone else’s goodwill to guarantee that they are completed and submitted on time. In our opinion, the easiest way to ensure that your recommenders get their job done is to present them with your own deadline. If the application to your school of choice is due on October 15th, for example, tell your recommenders that you are submitting on the 10th. (Incidentally, submitting your application early can be good for your sanity as well.) By setting this advanced deadline, you can add some pressure on your recommender on the 10th (if he or she misses the faux deadline) and not be forced to deal with a major problem, if this were to have happened on the actual deadline day.

Finally, we strongly recommend that you not fret about the smallest of details. Candidates do not get rejected for exceeding the word count by one word, choosing to use a Calibri font instead of a Times New Roman font or stating their GPAs to the second decimal place instead of the third. Remember, the Admissions Officers are not mean-spirited people, just searching for reasons to reject you. So, if you have a small lingering question about the application itself, you can connect with the Admissions Office and ask someone there. Most often, they will tell you to use your judgment. As long as your broad story is compelling, the smallest of details should yield to your overarching themes.

[Kapil]

Hello,

I have taken GMAT 4 time now, with 620 690 660 660 sequence.

GPA-3.5
IT experience-6years
Dance Student-5y

Entrepreneurship Exp.-9months (A dance school with more than 100 schools)

I want to know, with a max GMAT score of 690, which colleges should I apply to in US?
Also, should I consider taking the GMAT fifth time. If yes, what could be the pros & cons.

Thanks in advance for your answers.

Regards
Kapil

****************************************************************************************
Kapil,

Please provide some more depth to your profile. I would be glad to respond if I were to know more about your professional and community experiences. What was the nature of this entrepreneurial experience? What was your role? Similarly, were you promoted in the IT world? More depth!

Sincerely,
Jeremy Shinewald
MBA Mission

Sincerely,
Jeremy Shinewald
MBA Mission

646-485-8844
****************************************************************************************
Hello Jeremy,

I founded a Dance company early this year in April. Currently, the company teaches dance on a fixed curicullum. The company has 5 teaches and over 100 students now.
I want to grow it to more than 10000 students, over 100 instructors,branches in more than 25 cities of INDIA. Also, I plan to take it further to retails stores selling dance merchandise. I am managing all the resources rightnow.

Yes, I got 3 promotions in last 6 years of my IT career. Also, I have visited China and Europe for customer support.
I am also the Secretary of Advisory council, public relations of a NGO. This NGO is working towards poverty and unemployment.

Can you please also suggest the schools I should be applying to.

Thanks in advance.

Regards
Kapil

[mnr1976]

Hi Jeremy.

I have a question for you and it may sound strange, perhaps even desperate but here goes:

I realize that on the essays it's best to give specific information about what you want to do with your MBA (i.e. "I want to be a pharmaceutical executive, or "I want to take my current IT business to the next level"), but what if the truth is that you just want a good job? You don't know exactly what you are going to do with your MBA but you know you want it. Is there any way you can present this without coming off as desperate and directionless?

Thanks,

Marc

[MBA Mission]

Kapil,

Thanks for your inquiry.

Generally, schools are attracted to entrepreneurs, but I think that if you were to develop your business a bit more, the schools would feel that they were really catching a rising star. Further, the natural question is begged, "Why are you leaving this business now if it has so much potential? What is your plan for while you are away?"

If you can credibly establish your plan for the future, incorporating your MBA, and can show that you have plans for temporary succession, you can capture the attention of an AdCom which wants to have an entrepreneurial perspective in class. The momentum behind your business should be unequivocal, as the AdCom may be worried about your employability in North America, should the business falter.

All of this written, I think that you could find a spot in the 10-20 range. If you wait and your business grows as you imagine, I think that the top-10 would become far more likely.

Sincerely,
Jeremy Shinewald
MBA Mission

646-485-8844

Website: www.mbamission.com
Blog: www.mbamission.com/blog
MBA Mission Insider’s Guides: www.mbamission.com/store.php
Free Consultation: www.mbamission.com/consult.php

Hello,

I have taken GMAT 4 time now, with 620 690 660 660 sequence.

GPA-3.5
IT experience-6years
Dance Student-5y

Entrepreneurship Exp.-9months (A dance school with more than 100 schools)

I want to know, with a max GMAT score of 690, which colleges should I apply to in US?
Also, should I consider taking the GMAT fifth time. If yes, what could be the pros & cons.

Thanks in advance for your answers.

Regards
Kapil

****************************************************************************************
Kapil,

Please provide some more depth to your profile. I would be glad to respond if I were to know more about your professional and community experiences. What was the nature of this entrepreneurial experience? What was your role? Similarly, were you promoted in the IT world? More depth!

Sincerely,
Jeremy Shinewald
MBA Mission

Sincerely,
Jeremy Shinewald
MBA Mission

646-485-8844
****************************************************************************************
Hello Jeremy,

I founded a Dance company early this year in April. Currently, the company teaches dance on a fixed curicullum. The company has 5 teaches and over 100 students now.
I want to grow it to more than 10000 students, over 100 instructors,branches in more than 25 cities of INDIA. Also, I plan to take it further to retails stores selling dance merchandise. I am managing all the resources rightnow.

Yes, I got 3 promotions in last 6 years of my IT career. Also, I have visited China and Europe for customer support.
I am also the Secretary of Advisory council, public relations of a NGO. This NGO is working towards poverty and unemployment.

Can you please also suggest the schools I should be applying to.

Thanks in advance.

Regards
Kapil

[MBA Mission]

Marc,

Thanks for your inquiry.

I don’t think that such a response would seem desperate, but it likely would seem directionless. You are actually on to something here. It seems that HBS has acknowledged that asking candidates now for their direction upon graduation is somewhat absurd and Chicago and Stanford have both reduced their emphasis on detailing career goals. That written, for schools that have not yet seen the light, it is important that you write your "best guess" with conviction. You don’t need to abide by your goals (and some admissions officers will acknowledge that!) but you should show the AdCom that you have given this considerable thought and that you are an individual who is sufficiently ambitious.

Sincerely,
Jeremy Shinewald
MBA Mission

646-485-8844

Website: www.mbamission.com
Blog: www.mbamission.com/blog
MBA Mission Insider’s Guides: www.mbamission.com/store.php
Free Consultation: www.mbamission.com/consult.php

Hi Jeremy.

I have a question for you and it may sound strange, perhaps even desperate but here goes:

I realize that on the essays it's best to give specific information about what you want to do with your MBA (i.e. "I want to be a pharmaceutical executive, or "I want to take my current IT business to the next level"), but what if the truth is that you just want a good job? You don't know exactly what you are going to do with your MBA but you know you want it. Is there any way you can present this without coming off as desperate and directionless?

Thanks,

Marc

[HopefulHBSGirl]

Hi Jeremy,

I have two questions - First, I am very interested in attending HBS as it is my top choice. I have an average GPA (3.2), average GMAT (650) but I went to a top undergraduate university and I've worked in investment banking since I was 16 (I am now 25). In addition, I am the first in my family to attend college and I have quite a few extra-curriculars related to dance, mentoring and teaching financial literacy to inner city youth. Based on this limited information, do you think I have a reasonable shot at applying to HBS?

Second - I've written essays for my schools and most are within 15 words of the word limit. Do you suggest I aim to be exactly at or below the limit? I am applying to London Business as well, and the online application actually counts the words. What do you suggest in this case?

Thanks in advance for your advice!

[HopefulHBSGirl]

Hi Jeremy,

I have two questions - First, I am very interested in attending HBS as it is my top choice. I have an average GPA (3.2), average GMAT (650) but I went to a top undergraduate university and I've worked in investment banking since I was 16 (I am now 25). In addition, I am the first in my family to attend college and I have quite a few extra-curriculars related to dance, mentoring and teaching financial literacy to inner city youth. Based on this limited information, do you think I have a reasonable shot at applying to HBS?

Second - I've written essays for my schools and most are within 15 words of the word limit. Do you suggest I aim to be exactly at or below the limit? I am applying to London Business as well, and the online application actually counts the words. What do you suggest in this case?

Thanks in advance for your advice!