The MBA Applicationist

Interview invite at Wharton

2012-02-16T10:48:00.000-08:00

After a crappy V-day with my Harvard rejection, I just got an invitation to interview at Wharton!

Text from the invite is below:

Dear Applicationist,

You have been invited to interview for the MBA program at The Wharton School. To schedule your interview, which must be confirmed by 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, February 26, 2012, log into your Wharton account and select "Search" in the Events box to the right on the main page.

I guess they aren't nearly as excited as I am.

I'll let you know how my Booth interview goes this weekend.

More later.

Rejected by HBS

2012-02-14T09:44:00.002-08:00

Well, it looks like I'm one of the 8,000 disappointed applicants today, since I just got rejected by Harvard Business School. I definitely saw it coming when I didn't get into the first wave, but the feeling of rejection still sucks. I got into Harvard undergrad (and chose to go somewhere else), so maybe they remembered that when I applied to b-school and decided to reject me for a change (ha-ha). I'm just kidding, the reality is probably that my application wasn't put together very well and/or I'm not awesome enough.

I don't know if I could have written my essays better. I know that a couple of my "accomplishments" were sort of convoluted and unclear, but who knows? Maybe there were other, more fundamental causes that led to my rejection (low grades, unsubstantive work/leadership experience, etc.).

Oh well, gotta move on. Still crossing my fingers for Stanford and Wharton.

I'll let you know how my Booth interview goes this weekend. Oh, and Happy F*cking Valentine's Day.

More later.

Columbia interview recap

2012-01-29T11:38:00.000-08:00

Earlier in this blog I promised to give a recap of the questions I was asked in my Columbia interview. Overall, I thought it was a very pleasant experience, though it was pretty quick (we scheduled 45 minutes but it only lasted about 25). I guess I must have still left a good impression and/or the interview didn't make a difference, because I got the acceptance call a couple weeks later.

Below are the questions I was asked, along with my own assessment of how I think I did:

Walk me through your resume, starting with when you graduated from college.

My grade: B+
I think I did a good job smoothly transitioning from experience to experience, but I also added in some stuff that wasn't asked, like why I chose my college, and why I went into the industry instead of grad school.

Why do you want an MBA?

My grade: A
At the end of my answering this question, my interviewer said "wow, you have really clear goals"

What were you looking for when you were picking business schools to apply to?

My grade: A
I picked one really good aspect of business school (one that Columbia happens to really care about) and made the connection between my current career, post-MBA goals, and business school.

What about Columbia is different than the other schools you're considering?

My grade: C
I rambled pretty horribly here, basically restating the response from the previous question. I probably should be giving myself a C-.

What kind of research have you done on CBS since you decided to apply to business school?

My grade: A-
Didn't impress anyone here, but I talked about how I visited several times and have spoken to current students and alumni. I told a funny story about how I crashed an information session with a couple of my friends.

Tell me about a time you faced adversity in your personal or professional life.

My grade: A+
I picked a really significant personal experience in my life, conveyed it in a heartfelt way (I'd told this story to close friends in the past, so it came off naturally and genuinely), and discussed how it has influenced me as a person and leader. My interviewer gave me a lot praise for my response.

What is your greatest accomplishment?

My grade: B-
Meh. After talking through the adversity in the previous question, my answer here kinda fell flat. I rambled quite a bit, and I think I used a little too much jargon.

What are you like in teams?

My grade: D- or F
This is what most people would call a "flub". I was really thrown off by this question, and said something incredibly generic, without any examples. It's like I lost the ability to communicate for five minutes. I then ended it abruptly, and then opened my mouth as if I was about to say something. My interviewer nodded in anticipation, but nothing came out - I literally finished my response mid-sentence.

Back-up plan?

My grade: A-
My backup plan was feasible, evolved clearly from my skills and experiences, and mostly aligned to my goals. I made a point of saying that an MBA is the best path for my goals, but that this would serve as a good backup plan. I didn't blow my interviewer out of the water with this, but I checked all the boxes.

Ethical dilemma?

My grade: B
I rambled a bit when I discussed the dilemma. I think I tried too hard to make it sound like a moral/internal conflict, because when I first described the situation, it came off pretty black & white and not really as a "dilemma". I was able to salvage my response in the end, but I didn't talk as smoothly as I wanted.

So there you have it. I hope this is helpful to people still thinking about interviewing. I perhaps graded myself a bit harshly, given that I was ultimately accepted. But I think self-reflection is important here, because I still have more interviewers to come and I want to learn from my mis-steps as much as possible.

My year-end review was delayed (AGAIN). Hopefully I'll come back with some good news on that front.

More later.

In at Columbia!!!

2012-01-27T08:46:00.000-08:00

Just got my first acceptance - holy smokes. I got a phone call from the admissions office congratulating me and giving me an update on next steps. Really amped up right now. I got into AT LEAST one of my business schools.

Lucky that it's Friday - time to celebrate.

More later.

Invited to interview at Chicago

2012-01-26T08:42:00.000-08:00

I was just invited to interview with Chicago - totally stoked about it. I almost felt like it wouldn't come, given that I wasn't part of the first wave of invites yesterday. Right now I'm 2/2 with interview invites, but Harvard, Stanford, and Wharton are yet to come!

Text from the invite is below:

Dear Applicationist,
Congratulations! We have evaluated your application and are extending an invitation for you to interview with us in the next phase of our admissions process.

I'll let you know if Wharton shows me some love.

More later.

Columbia application status: complete

2012-01-19T10:06:00.000-08:00

I just got a notification saying that my application status at Columbia is "complete". This means that they've received my interview report and will probably render a decision in the next week or so. Keeping my fingers crossed for this one.

Hopefully I'll come back next week with some good news on:

Columbia's final decision
Interview invites at Wharton and Chicago
My year-end performance review at that thing that I still go to from 9-9 every day... oh yeah: work.

More later.

My Columbia interview was short, but was it sweet?

2012-01-15T10:33:00.000-08:00

Just had my CBS interview last week. It was supposed to be 45 minutes long but only lasted between 25-30. The interviewer was very nice and enthusiastic, but basically went from question to question with little commentary in between. It didn't feel as personal as I thought it would be, given my interviewer's personality and assurance that the interview would be very informal.

I'll post the questions from my interview after my decision is rendered, which should be in a couple of weeks.

For now, I'll be waiting for potential interview invites at the other schools. My year-end review at my job is also coming up, so I'll get to know my pay raise and promotion potential by then.

Hopefully it all works out!

More later.

And now we wait

2012-01-11T20:23:00.000-08:00

In the last week I submitted Harvard and Stanford. I sent Stanford's app with less than an hour to before the deadline, and have never been that down to the wire for any application before, ever. I think their question on "What matters most to you, and why?" was the most challenging personal statement I've ever written. Hopefully it all pans out!

I'll let you know how my Columbia interview goes.

More later.

Getting down to the wire...

2012-01-09T17:23:00.000-08:00

I'm about 95% done with my HBS applications and about 50% done with my Stanford essays. With only 16 hours until Harvard's deadline and 48 hours until Stanford's, I know I need to finish up.

At times I wonder to myself "what's the point, you're probably not going to get into these schools anyway." But I guess I don't ever want to be asking myself "what if?" after the process is over. Plus, I know that my recommenders put in some damn hard work into my reference letters, so I want to put them to good use.

Only two more days. Then I can rest and revert back to my normal life (and finally have time to sleep, hang with friends, work out, shave, stay afloat at my job...).

I'll be back after my applications are finished to reflect on the entire process as a whole.

More later.

3 down, 2 to go...

2012-01-04T15:34:00.000-08:00

I just submitted my Wharton Round 2 application. Of all the applications I've submitted so far, I feel the most confident in Wharton. Even though the structure of their essay questions didn't allow me to say that much about my unusual life story, maybe they structured their questions that way because they don't care about no life stories.

Harvard and Stanford are definitely interested, so I'll make sure to slip something in there. Time to put the pedal to the medal on these two - applications are due on Jan 10 and 11 and I haven't finished one essay for either school.

More later.

Chicago application submitted

2012-01-03T06:34:00.001-08:00

I finished my Chicago application a few days ago, but I just submitted it now. Now the waiting game begins (Feb 15 is the Chicago mid-decision date). Still need to finish up one more Wharton essay, plus get on to Harvard and Stanford.

More later.

Just invited to interview at Columbia

2011-12-23T16:16:00.000-08:00

Just got an interview invite at CBS! I wouldn't have been surprised with the outcome either way, but it's definitely relieving to get that status change email.

Partial text of the e-mail is below.

Dear Applicationist,

As part of the continuing evaluation of your application, the Admissions Committee is pleased to invite you to interview with a Columbia Business School Ambassador. Ambassadors are alumni of the program who volunteer to conduct interviews and can answer your questions about their experiences at Columbia Business School. We strongly suggest that you arrange your interview within two weeks of this invitation.

Now I need to worry about my other apps. They're due in 2-3 weeks, and I haven't completed a single application package. I also have to start hounding my recommendation writers.

More later.

Columbia application submitted

2011-11-13T11:54:00.000-08:00

I just submitted my application for Columbia Business School, regular decision. I feel like a huge weight has come off my shoulders, but now begins the waiting game. My application won't be reviewed until December at the very earliest, so we'll see how that goes.

Now on to Chicago, Wharton, Stanford, and Harvard...

More later.

Why do today what you can do tomorrow?

2011-10-09T13:12:00.000-07:00

Been in kind of a dry spell lately with my essays. I feel completely "tapped out" of ideas, and even a lot of the unformed concepts/stories I want to write about, I just don't feel the inspiration to do so. With Columbia at rolling admissions, I want to submit a complete application by early November. That's in three weeks, and by that time I'll really need to book it with the essays for the other four b-schools I'm applying to in R2.

I will get to recommendations eventually.

More later.

Essays, essays, essays

2011-09-26T18:08:00.000-07:00

Writing MBA application essays is one of the most grueling tasks I've ever undertaken. From the brainstorming to the drafting to the merciless editing, it's all just one big, daunting exercise. My friends tell me that it doesn't seem that hard, and that I should just "recycle" the same essays for different schools. Wouldn't that be nice? But the huge problem with recycling your essays is (1) the questions bare worded just slightly differently between schools, and (2) the word counts are just different enough so that you have to do some large restructuring. Now don't get me wrong, I definitely think you should have a good 6-7 stories off the top of your head that you can recycle. But in terms of just copy-pasting entire paragraphs, or even entire sentences, it's just not going to happen.

For example, one of Wharton's essays is "Discuss a challenging interpersonal experience (600 words)." I had a great story that I thought I could also use for Harvard's "Tell us about three setbacks you have faced (600 words)." The problem is, for the Wharton app it's phrased as an interpersonal question where I have to emphasize how I dealt with people, while for Harvard it's phrased as a setback where I have to emphasize how I dealt with failure. Not to mention, the word counts between the two are way off (600 words for W vs. ~200 for H). Even though I'm using exactly the same story for both essays, the work effort is still two essays' worth. I didn't even save time in the brainstorming phase, since I still have to realign the essay focus (Wharton --> people, Harvard --> setback).

It's an interesting process, but the amount of introspection, writing, re-writing, and re-re-writing required can be a bit much at times, and I'm hard pressed to find a man who enjoys it.

Next I want to talk a bit about my recommendations.

More later.

Recommendation letters

2011-08-29T20:59:00.000-07:00

The other week, I got the support of the last of six people who will be writing recommendations for my applications. It was unnecessarily nerve wracking for me - I kept on asking myself what would happen if they didn't feel comfortable doing it or didn't have enough time. But all in all, everyone I asked seemed enthusiastic to help out, and it was flattering and humbling to know that so many people are willing to put their word on my application.

I asked six people to write my recommendations, even though the maximum number of letters is 3 (Harvard and Stanford). I did this because I'm applying to 5 schools in one round, and didn't want to overburden any one person with more than 1 or 2 recommendations. That being said, my current manager will be writing a recommendation for all 5, but everyone else is only doing 1 or 2.

All in all, I think a strong recommendation will help you a bit, and a poorly written recommendation won't hurt you necessarily. But it's best to be strategic about it and get your letters emphasizing the best parts of your profile.

I'm starting to think a little about essays, and I'd like to write a little on that as well.

More later.

My thoughts on the GMAT

2011-08-18T19:46:00.000-07:00

I took the GMAT early last year. For the record, I scored a 770 and a 6.0 AWA. I don't think I could give a full-on "debrief" since it's been so long since I took the test, but below are some of the most striking tips I remember from my preparation. These are broken down section by section.

Verbal

Sentence completion: Don't read the first choice. It's completely redundant with what's in the stimulus.
Logical reasoning: Don't just figure out why the choice you picked is right; also look through the other answer choices and figure out why they were all wrong.
Reading comprehension: Read the entire passage before answering any questions. Your patience will be rewarded.

Quantitative

Read each question three times. Twice before you actually begin solving, and once after you select your choice and you're ready to click the "next" button. This last one has saved my ass so many times, it's not even funny.
If you're the kind who solves problems quickly but makes mistakes easily (I'm looking at you, engineering majors), consider doing each problem twice.
This next one isn't anything to take any direct action against, but keep in your head the fact that almost every question has a "trick" answer, one that many people will pick but is actually wrong. As you get to the harder questions, be attuned to the possibility of that trick answer.

AWA

Read this guide from the GMATClub Forums.
There's an unintended correlation between length and score; try to write at least 5 paragraphs for both essays (an introduction, 3+ body paragraphs, and a clear conclusion).
Typo's don't matter as much as you think. I knowingly had several in both of my essays and didn't have enough time to fix them, and I got a 6.0.

Following the above tips definitely helped me get my 770. But to be honest, you can't really internalize these tips unless you devote yourself to effective, focused practice. Practice is the best way to improve your score.

I want to post my thoughts on recommendation letters pretty soon.

More later.

A bit about me

2011-08-17T21:31:00.000-07:00

Let's start with some basics:

Who are you?
I'm a 25 year old guy in the northeastern United States working in management consulting. Originally grew up on the west coast.
So you want an MBA, huh?
Yeah, I want to transition from consulting into the industry, and an MBA will help me hone my management skills/build my network/access recruiters/other.
Why a blog?
It's going to be a fun/excruciating 8 month application process, and I want to make sure I log and share my thought processes through the whole thing. Also, I'm extremely bored. It's mostly that.
Okay, so where are you applying?
Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Chicago, and Columbia
Are you crazy? Do you actually think you'll get into any of those places?
Call me crazy, but I've always been something of a dreamer.
Well, what are your stats at least?
For the curious, I have a 3.4-3.6 GPA in science/engineering from a snobby/pretentious school, along with a 750+ GMAT. I know, I know, most of you are probably saying "get in line, kid."

Well, that's the 6-bullet-point summary, as they say. I'd like to post some of my views on the GMAT at some point.

More later.

First post

2011-08-17T10:42:00.000-07:00

So after a few years in consulting, I've finally made the decision to apply to MBA programs for the Fall of 2012. I'm using this blog to chronicle my MBA application process, as well as my thoughts around management education and my decision to get an MBA. Hopefully it'll be useful to some of you!

More later.