Full-Time Terry MBA Admissions

Financing Your MBA, Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Deirdre Kane) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 21:01:00 +0000

A few weeks ago, we posted information about external funding options for the MBA, but in this post, we’d like to outline more specifically what you should expect to pay for and provide a brief overview of the financial aid process. If you are an international student, this information will be especially helpful to you.

For many students, the Terry College provides generous financial assistance to qualified candidates in the form of graduate assistantships, out-of-state tuition waivers, and scholarships, but even if you receive one of these awards, it will not cover your full Cost of Attendance. For example, an assistantship covers all but $50 of your tuition for the academic year. This is obviously a great deal, but it does not cover your university fees ($2,190 this year) or other expenses that you have to account for: housing, books & supplies, room & board, transportation, health insurance and living expenses. (Note: Terry MBA tuition and fees are higher than those for other UGA graduate students).

Can you work part-time to cover these expenses? The short, honest answer: Not in the first year. As a Full-Time MBA student, with academic and program commitments outside of class, you will not have time. Students are discouraged (strongly) from working during the first year because we know from experience that in order to succeed, you need to focus on your academic and recruiting efforts to get the most out of the experience. Do not expect to cover your expenses with a part-time job.

These estimated expenses are just that, ESTIMATED. If you choose to live off-campus in a $2200 apartment by yourself, then your housing costs will exceed the estimated cost and you will have to pay that additional rent out of your own pocket. Or, as an MBA student, you may also need to pay for a new suit for interviewing, informational interviews with alumni (picking up the tab for coffee or lunch), travel expenses to career fairs, case competitions, or other school-related trips.

Room & board, books, transportation, health insurance and living expenses can run you around $12,000 dollars (or more) for the academic year, depending on your lifestyle. Since the graduate assistantship stipend for the academic year ($8000 for this year) does not cover all these expenses, you will need to secure additional funding before entering the program. If you are a domestic student, your first step is to submit the FAFSA (by March 1, 2012 this year) to determine your eligibility for federal, state and University need-based aid. After you know how much need-based aid you will receive, you can apply for a private educational loan, if needed. Remember though, you will not be allowed to take out loans in excess of the Cost of Attendance. The application process is outlined on the Office of Student Financial Aid website.

If you are an international student, you must certify that you have personal funds (bank accounts, loan money) to cover these expenses (the estimated Cost of Attendance for one year) before UGA will issue you an I-20 to obtain your visa. The Certificate of Financial Support must be submitted after you receive your official acceptance from the Graduate School. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that you will be able to take out a private educational loan from a U.S. bank without a U.S. co-signer, so you will need to secure personal funds.

We hope this post helps you think through some of the financial logistics that go into your decision-making because we do not want to discourage you from pursuing an MBA! Every year, we enroll 50+ students who must overcome these same financial hurdles, so it is not an impossible task with the proper planning and forethought.

Preparing for the new GMAT

noreply@blogger.com (Deirdre Kane) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 20:12:00 +0000

The new Integrated Reasoning section of the GMAT launches on June 5, 2012. If you are planning to take the test after that date, it's best to be prepared! To find out more about the Next Generation GMAT, go to the Next Generation GMAT Information Center to review the FAQs they have posted or watch this video overview:

The Next Generation GMAT

Study hard!

Financing the MBA

noreply@blogger.com (Deirdre Kane) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 17:39:00 +0000

It’s been a while since we posted to our blog because we are busy reviewing Round II applications. We know this is a busy time of year for applicants as well. While you wait for decisions, maybe you are researching how to pay for your MBA. Besides the resources a school or program can offer you, there are other scholarship opportunities available. A great place to start your search is fastweb, a scholarship search engine, and FindMBA’s section on funding. There are also a number of organizations that award scholarships, such as the National Society of Hispanic MBAs, the National Black MBA Association, the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, which offers two scholarships to graduate students – the Staples and ALPFA Scholarships – and there are others, such as those awarded by the North American Interfraternal Foundation.

Each funding organization has specific eligibility requirements and deadlines, but with a little internet digging, you may find some new funding options.

Best Wishes and Happy Holidays!

IN HOT WATER: MBA Leadership Fellows Manage a Business Crisis

noreply@blogger.com (Deirdre Kane) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 12:44:00 +0000

Scenario: The people of Grayling, Michigan are getting sick from drinking nitrate-contaminated tap water. A baby has died. STAR Global Beverage Company subsidiary, AquaStar, the bottled water company pumping water from Grayling’s water supply, is a possible scapegoat, along with the area farmers who have over-applied nitrate-rich fertilizers into the soil.

Taking on the role of a crisis management team working for STAR’s CEO, two teams of Terry MBA Leadership Fellows vied for top honors in the first business crisis simulation of the school year and presented their recommendations to STAR’s “Board of Directors.” Their presentations demonstrated that having the right answer is not necessarily the solution to the case. In this simulation, both teams came up with the right answer for dealing with the crisis, but the real test was knowing how an executive team presents to a corporate board. Besides bragging rights, each member of the winning team received a $500 award.

"The greatest takeaway I had from the crisis challenge was the value I found in constantly being challenged to defend a position. Our group spent almost 2/3 of our time simply debating the opportunities presented to us and taking turns poking holes in each path we could devise. I think in the end, we were better prepared to defend our stance since we had already come up with and at least attempted to address all the possible issues with taking that option. There wasn't going to be a perfect option, but we learned how to most effectively find and defend the route we chose," Emily Nerland, MBA '12.

Terry invited business people from the Athens area and from the University community to serve as STAR’s “Board of Directors” and judges of the competition. They included Matt Kirby, a Terry alumnus, survivor of the Worldcom and Wachovia debacles, and current owner operator of a local Chic-fil-A restaurant; Lauren Loftin, Conservation Education Specialist with the Athens-Clarke County Government; Dr. Nick Berente, successful entrepreneur and member of Terry’s MIS faculty; and Dr. Todd Rasmussen, hydrology and water resources expert from the UGA Forestry department.

“The case was quite realistic. I see problems like this all the time. Land contamination leaching into the local water supply is a serious issue in many communities,” said Dr. Rasmussen, who has served as an expert witness in water-related lawsuits. “Both teams came up with a balanced solution that addressed immediate needs, like providing uncontaminated water to Grayling, and longer term solutions, like enforcement of environmental regulations and community agreements on water and land usage.”

The MBA Leadership Fellows will face another crisis challenge in the spring.

A Student Perspective on the Health Care Business Alliance Conference

noreply@blogger.com (Deirdre Kane) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 15:50:00 +0000

Joel Pettigrew is a 2nd year MBA student who attended the Vanderbilt Healthcare Conference last year. This year's conference takes place on October 28, 2011. Here are some of his thoughts on last year's conference:

Last October, Terry students joined 250 academics and professionals from across the country for the Health Care Business Alliance conference in Nashville, Tennessee. The topic of discussion for the day was the changing face of the Health Care industry; a growing area of interest amongst Terry students.

The Health Care Industry spurred so much interest that the class of 2012 decided it was time to form a Health Care Club. With this participation at the HCBA conference, Terry has added to its presence in the Health Care industry, already represented in part by partnering with Mercy Health Center in Athens, Health Care facility tours across the Southeast, and with current recruiting partners such as Unum and Kaiser.

The HCBA conference was an excellent opportunity to hear from experts in various parts of the Health Care industry. The “Mayor” of DaVita’s employee village, CEO Kent Thiry, or KT, opened the conference with a highly motivational speech about valuing community as a company. His address was punctuated by video clips of DaVita’s awards ceremonies, filled with shots of grateful employees from senior management to their front-line employees. Although KT has been able to transform DaVita from a company on the edge of bankruptcy and facing several lawsuits to one of the top 125 companies in the country to work for, he is frank about his own shortcomings, making his address feel more genuine than a 45 minute commercial for DaVita.

The bulk of the conference took place after KT’s address and involved various panel discussions and opportunities to speak with recruiters from DaVita, Cardinal Health, McKessen, HealthSouth, HCA, Grant Thornton, Teknetex, and other high-profile Health Care companies.

Panel discussions covered the topics of Medicare sustainability, venture capital in the Health Care industry, and Health Care innovation. Medicare sustainability was an interesting discussion. Topics ranged from suggestions for solutions involving educating the public to assertions that this issue will have repercussions that will affect the US for generations to come. Unfortunately, the Q&A session following the discussion was too short to dig deeply into the topic with the panel, but it was nevertheless an excellent opportunity to hear what experts in various fields are thinking, saying, and doing about what is undoubtedly one of the largest issues that Health Care will have to address in the coming years.

Lunch provided a welcome break from the panels and recruiting booths that populated the conference. The second keynote address was from the Chief Medical officer of HCA, Jon Perlin. Although the topic was one of great interest as it addressed the specific legislation under consideration and various stages of approval on the national level, tensions were high as there appeared to be a disconnect between the consensus of the academics and the physicians on how the policies would affect the world of Health Care in the United States.

The HCBA conference was an excellent opportunity to meet with people who are passionate about Health Care and its place in both the private and public sectors as the United States focuses its attention on this increasingly visible and complex problem. Terry’s support and interest in growing Health Care concerns represents a huge step forward for the Business School as these issues will increasingly become mainstream topics of discussion in the business worlds.

From the Marines to the Terry MBA

noreply@blogger.com (Deirdre Kane) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 14:00:00 +0000

Thomas Kidd is a first year MBA student and former Marine concentrating in operations. When we asked him why he chose Terry, here is what he told us:

While weighing B-School offers in the winter of 2010, I sometimes got sidetracked by promises of fame and fortune. These seem to be major selling points for many professionals considering an MBA, especially during a recession, but I had to return to reality and make a decision based on what was and still is most valuable to me, the experience.

What sold me on Terry in the first place, is the same thing that is keeping me passionate and driven to succeed now that I’m here. The fact that the program actually cares about each student and not about its “students” is evidenced on campus every day. Not but 2 weeks into the semester, it became noticeable that our Career Management, Admissions, and Student Affairs staff knew each and every student by name and could sum up most of our backgrounds as well. If these people choose to put that much extra effort into their goal of aiding in my success, then I consider it a privilege to work to the fullest extent of my capabilities to help them reach that goal. We each have our selfish reasons, they need their numbers and I need a career, but the approach and thus the experience is what keeps me motivated.

Having a background as a U.S. Marine and more recently as a legal administrator with the U.S. Department of Justice, experiences were sometimes ordered and not lived. Goals were already defined, we were all just waiting for our promised time to claim them. Sure, I had positive experiences along the way, but if the destination is already set in stone then the journey to get there becomes un-inspired. That’s what Terry is currently doing for me, being as helpful as they can be while still realizing that I need to struggle in order to grow and progress both personally and professionally.

Anything given has no real value, and Terry is helping me earn that value by providing the experience.

First Impressions

noreply@blogger.com (Deirdre Kane) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 18:03:00 +0000

You may have heard the quote, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” As you begin the process of researching MBA programs, two things to consider are how you go about gathering information and how you present yourself to admissions staff. Every personal interaction you have with any MBA program is part of your evaluation process. It’s our job to remember you. It’s your job to thoroughly educate yourself about each program you are interested in BEFORE you call, email or walk in to an office. Why is that? Well, let’s use the analogy of walking in to a hair salon:

Salon owner (with customer): Hello, can I help you?
Walk-in: Yeah, I wanna learn about haircuts.
Salon owner: Do you want a haircut?
Walk-in: I’m not sure. I’m thinking about getting one. Can you tell me about all the types of haircuts you do?

Now, would you do that to a stylist? Not likely. Whether you are getting a haircut or an MBA, it’s important to be an informed consumer. If you take these steps BEFORE calling, emailing or walking into an MBA Admissions Office, you have a much better chance of making a great first impression:

· Review the information about the program and the application process on the website
· Prepare questions about anything you need to know that you CANNOT find online or in their brochures
· Find out if the school offers a visitation program that you can attend. Visiting a school through a formal program is often the best way to learn what you need to know about a school.
· If there is no visitation program, call the main admissions office number to ask your questions or make an appointment to meet in person with a member of the admissions staff.
· If you choose to walk in without an appointment, please be aware that there may be no one available to meet with you. Admissions staff travel often during the recruiting season and when they are in the office, they are often busy with other business.
· Dress and act appropriately. Perceptions matter. If you walk in looking like you just came from the beach, you don’t give the impression that you’re a serious candidate.
· Every person you meet in an MBA program is an opportunity to make a good impression. Introduce yourself. Be respectful of other people’s time. Be clear and concise in explaining what you need/want to know.

Remember, presenting yourself as a serious professional starts during the application process! If you want to be successful, then use the application process as preparation for the recruiting activities – and the recruiters you will meet – that begin during your first semester of school.

Terry Builds Leadership…Really

noreply@blogger.com (Deirdre Kane) — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 17:59:00 +0000

Yesterday and today at Terry, two teams of MBA students competed in the Leadership Crisis Challenge. Valerie Alderson, who participated in last year's challenge, had this to say about her experience:

If I were a betting woman,--and I am-- I would bet that every MBA program claims to be developing the next generation of leaders in some way, shape, or form. Last year over 150,000 MBAs were conferred* and, of course, all those MBAs were prepared to take on the world! The only issue? The real world is not a classroom.

Decisions have implications. You don’t get a grade on a work project. It’s not feasible to learn how to be a leader by simply reading a book. Recognizing these differences between the classroom and the office, Terry decided to build a specific leadership development component into the curriculum.

Terry works real life challenges into the classroom environment in a fun yet challenging way. An example of this was a crisis challenge where 10 of us were separated into 2 teams of 5 to compete against one another to complete the best business plan under strict time constraints. These were the guidelines we were given:

“Congratulations, you are the new project team on a luxury resort project. The project is 3 weeks behind schedule and $2 million dollars over budget. We have to open on time so you need to find out how to make that happen. The Board will give you 5 minutes tomorrow at the end of their meeting to present your plan.”

We received some additional information, though not enough to make the best choices. I won’t bore you with all of the details, except to say that each piece of info we received about cutting costs or speeding up completion time was going to have negative backlash. Each team had until midnight (a 6 hour deadline,) and all we had were whiteboards, Excel and PowerPoint; the tools of masters. At 11:59pm we submitted our 5-slide PowerPoint for the “board meeting” the next day.

The following morning we were met by four men of varying backgrounds that shared one thing in common: they were our ‘board’ and were here to give us a hard time about the difficult choices we had made.

Even though it was a simulation, it was downright scary being attacked by these seemingly powerful execs. We stood our ground and remained united as a team and we did survive…just long enough to receive a message from our imaginary CEO about a scandal that was going to hit the airwaves tomorrow. We had 45 minutes to write a press release and then give a press conference to -- you guessed it -- two actual members of the UGA press who were there to batter us with questions.

While undoubtedly stressful, the entire event was a great learning experience.

After the barrage of questions from the ‘board’ and the ‘press,’ it was only fair that they provide us some feedback. I truly learned some great things about dealing with a BOD that I never would have learned in the classroom. It was a simulation, but it was as real as it gets before it gets real enough that jobs are on the line.

Join Us for Fall Visit Days

noreply@blogger.com (Kerry Terrell) — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 14:33:00 +0000

Every MBA Program has its own personality. Some schools are more competitive, some more collaborative. Your significant other may be welcomed at one school and feel less comfortable at another. Your interest in starting a new student club may be met with encouragement or resistance. Your particular work experience may be highly valued or largely discounted. The faculty may know you by name, or you may be one of a sea of faces. So how do you figure out which MBA personality is the best match with yours?

The closest you’re going to get to actually being in an MBA program is visiting one. When I say visiting I don’t mean chatting with someone from the program at a reception at a hotel; I mean going to the home turf: the campus visit. I encourage anyone considering enrolling in an MBA program to visit the campus sometime before making an enrollment decision. That’s right, you’ve got time- it doesn’t have to be before you apply or even before you’re accepted, just sometime before you choose to commit. You wouldn’t buy a car without a test drive, right? Enrolling in a MBA program is an even bigger economic decision, and a campus visit is your opportunity to test drive.

Every school handles campus visits a different way, so I encourage you to check websites and look for the visit opportunities each school presents. The Full-Time MBA program at the University of Georgia offers opportunities to visit in the form of information sessions (which are open to the general public) and visits scheduled in conjunction with an admissions interview (by invitation only after submission of an application). When you come for an interview at Terry you are also able to visit a class and go out to lunch with a current student. Why do we ask you to wait until after you apply? We have 101 Full-Time Terry MBA students, and we do well over 101 interviews per year! Out of consideration for limited student time (and staff time), we limit the opportunity to candidates who are seriously considering Terry. Due to our small staff size, walk-in visitors can be tough for us to accommodate. I encourage you to email or call ahead if you want to set up an informational appointment with a member of the staff. Be prepared to make positive impression: dress the part, review available information on the program, and come with a list of questions.

We’re offering four special opportunities to visit the UGA campus soon: Fall Visit Days. Join us for a Fall Visit Day to visit a class, attend an information session, and enjoy lunch with current students, faculty, and staff. If you want a comprehensive visit before choosing to apply, this is your chance! Each event takes place on a Monday from 9:00am to 1:00pm, and you can schedule an admissions interview with a member of the staff later that day if you wish. Register online here:

October 3rd
October 24th
November 7th

We hope to see you soon!

How the GMAT is changing

noreply@blogger.com (Deirdre Kane) — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 18:34:00 +0000

The World is coming to an end!

No, but the GMAT is changing. If you are like many prospective MBA students, preparing for and taking the GMAT is a daunting task. We want you to be as prepared as possible, so we want you to understand what the upcoming changes mean to you as a test taker. In June of 2012, the test will include an integrated reasoning section which is designed to provide a better assessment of your ability to evaluate information from multiple sources. Simply put, they are removing one of the analytical essays and replacing it with a new section designed to test integrated reasoning. The test will not be any longer, but it may be more challenging and your preparation for it also needs to change.

The new 30-minute section will present sets of data - charts, graphs and spreadsheets – and ask you to respond to a series of interactive questions about each data set. Within each group of questions in this section, you may wear headphones to listen to instructions or use an online calculator.

Why are these changes being made? Business faculty worldwide felt the test needed to more thoroughly and directly assess students’ ability to evaluate information within a real-world context. In recent years, business schools have adapted their curriculums to meet complex business needs so it only makes sense to change the entrance testing for these programs now, too.

As for scoring, the quantitative and verbal sections will still be scored on the same 200-800 scale and you will still exit the test with those unofficial scores in hand. The integrated reasoning and analytical scores will be scored separately on a different scale.

To stay up-to-date on these changes and any materials from GMAC that will help you prepare for the test, check their website, MBA.com regularly. For more information about these changes, check out these articles or the video overview of the new GMAT:

MBA.com

BusinessWeek

U.S. News & World Report

The Next Generation GMAT

How the GRE has changed…

noreply@blogger.com (Deirdre Kane) — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 19:28:00 +0000

As of August 1, 2011, ETS launched the revised General Test for the GRE. What does this mean for you? The revised test still measures your verbal and quantitative reasoning skills, your critical thinking and analytical writing skills, but ETS has redesigned the test to be more user-friendly and to improve the test-taking experience.

For example, test takers are able to move back and forth between questions in a section, edit or change their answers and even skip and return to questions. This allows you to use some of your own test-taking strategies. The new questions are also more real-world based with less reliance on vocabulary out of context.

If you are thinking about how the new score scale affects you in the Admissions process, don’t start worrying! The new scale, in one-point increments between 130-170, simply allows admissions professionals to evaluate candidates more accurately. Small differences will still look “small” to us, while bigger differences between scores will still look…well, bigger.

But overall, we think the test is better for these changes and so should you. No matter what is new on the test, the focus is still on you, the test taker, and on making that test-taking experience more applicable to what you are doing now and what you will be doing in your future.

For more information, read this and this from ETS.

Wow! Round 3 is here already.

noreply@blogger.com (Kerry Terrell) — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 15:42:00 +0000

Wow! This year at the Full-Time Terry MBA program has gone by so quickly. Our "new" students aren't so new anymore- they have that tough first semester behind them. That also means we are midway through the admissions process for Fall 2011. In fact, the Round 3 application deadline is tomorrow, January 18, 2011. If you're not going to make it don't panic! There's one more deadline: Round 4 is March 1, 2011. You can review the details of the whole process on our website here.

I've had the great pleasure of meeting so many wonderful prospective Full-Time MBA students through the evaluative interview process, and I expect I'll be seeing a lot more of you in February and March. The Class of 2013 is sure to be a good one! Just a tip: if you're coming to campus for an interview be sure to allow extra time for parking and making your way to Brooks Hall. UGA is a big place.

Haven't decided if you're ready to apply? Come to an information session. We've got three upcoming information session opportunities:

Lunch & Learn in Buckhead this Friday, January 21th
Information Session at the UGA Gwinnett campus on Thursday, January 27th
Last Chance Information Session in Athens on Saturday, February 5th

The Last Chance Information Session is actually your last chance; it's the last information session we're hosting before the final deadline (March 1st) for Fall 2011. Don't miss it!

As always, if you've got questions you're welcome to contact the MBA Admissions Office by phone or email: (706) 542-5671 or terrymba@uga.edu. We look forward to hearing from you.

Join us for an Information Session!

noreply@blogger.com (Kerry Terrell) — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 13:21:00 +0000

We're hosting a Full-Time Terry MBA Information Session this Saturday, October 2nd, at 10am in Sanford Hall here at the University of Georgia main campus in Athens. If you're thinking about getting an MBA and/or planning to apply for our Round One application deadline on October 15th, you don't want to miss this opportunity to learn more about how a Terry MBA can help you achieve your career goals. I'll also be sure to cover our application process and offer a few tips. If you've got questions- bring them!

You can view our event schedule for the next few months on our website here.

Fall 2011 Application Available

noreply@blogger.com (Kerry Terrell) — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 15:36:00 +0000

To those of you who have anxiously been awaiting the availability of the Fall 2011 application for the Full-Time MBA program, thank you for your patience. I'm happy to announce that the application is now available. You'll notice a few changes right away.

No more sending transcripts or test scores. You will now be prompted to upload electronic copies of your transcripts and self-report your test scores. No official documents will be required until after acceptance. This way, you know when you submit your application that we have those items. No more waiting to see when your transcripts or test scores reach our office.

We now accept the GRE. You may choose to submit GRE results instead of GMAT results if you wish or in addition to GMAT results if you've taken both.

Essay questions have changed. We now have two required essays (rather than three), and you have up to 750 words to answer each. You may still submit a third, optional essay if you wish. This year's essay questions are:

Essay One: What are your short-term and long-term career goals? What position would you like to obtain immediately after completing your MBA? How has your work experience to date prepared you for that role? What steps will you take during your time in the MBA program to increase the likelihood of successfully achieving your short-term career goal? Why is this career path meaningful to you? (750 words maximum, please double space.)

Essay Two: Write about a time when you had a significant misunderstanding with someone from a different background or culture. (750 words maximum, please double space.)

As always, please contact us if you have questions. We can be reached by phone at (706) 542-5671 or via email at terrymba@uga.edu. We look forwarding to learning more about you!

The 2-Hour Job Search

noreply@blogger.com (Kerry Terrell) — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 13:03:00 +0000

A note from Kerry: Today I'm excited to welcome my colleague, Shannon Caldwell, Director of the Terry MBA Career Management Center, as a guest blogger. Here's are Shannon's thoughts on an exciting workshop we are hosting today.

After seeing Steve Dalton speak this summer in Boston, I’m really excited to be welcoming him to campus today to speak to all of our students.

A Duke MBA and an associate director at the Fuqua Career Management Center, Steve developed this approach especially for the way the millennial generation likes to structure time and work. There is very little truly original in the field of job search advice. Steve’s approach is original. UGA MBAs will be hearing it before the public, since Steve’s book hasn’t yet been released.

Steve’s own words:

“Use your contacts.” “Have a powerful resume.” “Start your own blog.” With so much job search advice online, it is incredibly difficult to decide which advice to actually follow. Distractions and red herrings are everywhere, so it is critical to know how to separate what needs to get done now from what can wait a few days (or be ignored entirely).

The subject of an upcoming book, The Two-Hour Job Search is essentially a “quick start guide” for your job search. Instead of offering laundry lists of tips and leaving it up to you to decide which to try when, The Two-Hour Job Search identifies the most critical steps and provides exact instructions for completing them most efficiently. Spending any less than two hours on this process results in cut corners, but spending any longer is truly unnecessary.

The Two-Hour Job Search was created from scratch using the best practices from MBA disciplines like operations and behavioral economics. It reduces the off-campus search into its three main components – Prioritizing, Contacting, and Convincing – and optimizes each one, maximizing the effectiveness and minimizing the exhaustion of getting from career goal to interview.

Terry MBA Class of 2012 is here!

noreply@blogger.com (Kerry Terrell) — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 19:18:00 +0000

Yesterday was the first day of orientation and pre-term activities for the Full-Time Terry MBA Class of 2012. After spending a whole year selecting the class and preparing the students to begin their MBA it's always exciting to see them all here on campus in one room. To me it feels like a reunion, but they're actually meeting for the first time.

I'm so pleased with the makeup of this year's class- not only are they stellar students, but they come from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. Although the majority of students are from Georgia, we have other U.S. students from Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Utah, and Tennessee. We also welcome international students from Canada, China, India, Nigeria, Paraguay, Sweden, Syria, and Vietnam. These students are going to learn a tremendous amount from each other.

For the next two weeks the students will be completing a Leadership Foundations week and a Career Foundations week. They'll be challenged in ways they could not have imagined. but they'll have a lot of fun in the process. By the time classes start (August 16th) they'll be prepared to jump in with both feet and get to work.

Watch for updates from our returning and new student bloggers to be posted soon, as well as some inside knowledge on the admissions process for this year. If you're not following us on Twitter, what are you waiting for? Get your daily dose of all things @TerryMBA.

Shopping for an MBA

noreply@blogger.com (Kerry Terrell) — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 15:05:00 +0000

In speaking with prospective students on a daily basis, I often find myself educating them on what they should be thinking about when looking at MBA programs. I think people forget that this is a shopping process. Would you buy a $300 item without researching your options? Maybe you would. Would you buy a $50,000 plus item without researching your options? I sure hope not. Yet I often find people making uninformed, impulse purchases when it comes to which MBA program to attend. Yes, my job is to represent the Terry MBA program, but that doesn't mean it's the right program for everyone. We want students who are a good fit for our program; the relationship needs to be mutually beneficial. We want to know what you can add to the Terry MBA community, and you should want to know that you'll benefit the most from attending our program. So what should you be looking at to make that decision?

Academic Strengths Do not assume all MBA programs are the same. Do you want to focus your MBA education and career in the human resources area? Then you should go to a program that has a strong reputation and curricular offerings in that area. Just because a program says they have an accounting concentration doesn't mean they have a good one. Look at the courses they offer, the faculty teaching in that area, and the employers of alumni in that functional discipline.

Program Network You are actually in your program for two years, but you're a graduate of that program for the rest of your life. Many people choose the "best" name or the highest ranked program because they value the way it reflects on their own personal reputation. That reflection is most powerful as you look for your first job, post-MBA. Then its power wanes. While a name can sometimes get you immediate respect, if there's no support for you beyond that name, then you're on your own. Does the school have an active, engaged alumni group? Does that group reach beyond the area where the school is located? Are alumni willing to talk to students? Are alumni involved in the recruitment process? Is there a sense of alumni loyalty and pride? I know plenty of people who went to top schools and felt totally alone. Don't let that happen to you. A program's network is something you should be able to tap into for the rest of your life.

Job Search Assistance You'll notice that I didn't use the word "placement." That's because no program "places" a student into a job. You're not assigned an internship and handed the paperwork for your first post-MBA position at graduation. YOU have to get the job. A program's career services office is there to help. Look for personalized services. Will someone help you with your resume rather than just give you a sample to copy? Will you be able to meet with a career advisor? Are mock interviews available? Will you receive help identifying companies and/or positions to target? On-campus recruiting is great, and so are job postings, but if you're not prepared you're not going to land the job.

Student Experience Do you want a cutthroat community or a collaborative one? Do you want a diverse student community? Do you want to be challenged by your classmates? Do you want to be involved in student clubs? What about social activities? Where will you be living? If you have a spouse/partner, what does that community have to offer him or her? This program is your life for the next two years- you want to enjoy it.

Financing Unless you are lucky enough that finances are not a concern for you, the cost of attending a program has to figure into the equation. Do want to graduate debt free? How much debt are you willing to take on? What kind of financial awards can a school offer you? I find many people rule out full-time programs due to perceived cost without even really looking at the actual figures. Full-time programs are generally far more generous when it comes to merit-based assistance (the kind you don't have to pay back). With an assistantship that covers tuition and a stipend toward living costs, it might cost a lot less to go back to school than you think.

These are certainly not the only things to consider, but it's a start. Here's another piece on this topic worth reviewing: http://bit.ly/c0ztJ3

Bottom line: make sure you get the information you need. Read the school's website and ask questions. You only get to make this choice once. Make it a good one.

GMAT Guidance

noreply@blogger.com (Kerry Terrell) — Mon, 24 May 2010 17:16:00 +0000

When I talk to folks thinking about applying to an MBA program the part of the process that I get the most questions about is the GMAT. People are downright fearful of this standardized exam. Mostly, I find people just don't know much about the GMAT, so here's your two minute primer.

GMAT stands for Graduate Management Admission Test. It's a standardized assessment in a computer-adpative format you take in a test center on a computer. You can schedule an appointment online to take the exam whenever your local test center has an opening. It costs $250 to take the test.

There are three sections on the test: Verbal, Quantitative, and Analytical Writing. You will also receive a "Total" score. This Total score is the number on a 200-800 scale that is most freqently referred to as your "GMAT score." You may not use a calculator while taking the GMAT. The test is timed, and the ability to answer questions both accurately and efficiently is key to your success.

This is a secure test. You will be fingerprinted and photographed (or other security measures). This sometime unsettles people, but it is completely normal. You cannot leave the testing area to go to the bathroom or get a drink other than at designated break times.

You'll find out your unofficial verbal, quantitative, and Total scores the day you take the exam. Your official score report, which includes your Analytical Writing score, will come within 20 days; it takes approximately the same amount of time for a school to receive your report (then it has to be matched to your application).

You can take the test once every 31 days.

You can download free test prep software for the GMAT if you register on mba.com.

If you think you want to apply to business school, you should plan to take the GMAT sooner rather than later, and you should plan to study prior to taking the exam. Ideally, you want to take the exam once and feel your score is a good representation of your abilities. I've seen many last minute GMAT takers over the years- this does not turn out well. I've also had plenty of people tell me that he/she "took the GMAT to familiarize myself with the exam" or "took it cold just to see how I could do without any prep". This also doesn't turn out well. There are plenty of materials available to help you familiarize yourself with test content and format without actually taking the test, and I've seen many people take it cold only to have the experience completely shake their confidence for a future re-test. Don't wing it. Keep in mind that many test prep services will allow you to visit a center to take a practice exam for free before deciding whether to enroll in a prep class; use that option instead. However you choose to prepare, please prepare.

If you're looking at deadlines and your busy, busy life and you're not sure how long you can wait to take the test in order to make a deadline but still allow yourself the maximum amount of prep time call the school and ask. This is not an uncommon question. We want you to do well, so we're happy to help.

Yes, the GMAT can be daunting, but if you take it one step at a time it doesn't have to be. I know you can do it!

I really meant to apply this year...

noreply@blogger.com (Kerry Terrell) — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 13:48:00 +0000

OK, so life is busy. Time gets away from you. That happens to me, too; you'll notice that my last post was in January. I've been busy working with the Admissions Committee to select the Full-Time Terry MBA Class of 2012. In fact, we're still not done.

Did time get away from you, too? Did you intend to apply to MBA programs this year but never got to it? Did life interfere? Job? Family? Finances? All of the above? What do you do now?

It may not be too late. Sometimes programs have passed their final deadline but still have space available in their incoming class for qualified applicants. Give the program you are interested in a call to see if you can still submit an application. Be polite! Realize that what you're asking is for an exception. Some programs welcome these calls, some don't. Many will want to get a sense of what qualifications you present before giving you the go ahead to apply at this late stage; be prepared to answer questions.

Plan to make the first deadline for next year. Right now you have plenty of time to prepare your materials for the first application deadlines of next year's cycle. Take the GMAT. Work on essays (you may want to contact the schools to which you plan to apply to make sure the questions will remain the same). Request transcripts. Talk to your planned recommenders. The early bird gets the worm, right? Be an early bird and maximize your chances for both admission and merit aid!

Whenever you apply, make sure your application represents you at your best. Here's hoping you meet with success!

Good Advice on Essays

noreply@blogger.com (Kerry Terrell) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 16:41:00 +0000

Hi Readers! I know it's been a while since anyone from Full-Time Terry MBA Admissions has updated- please take that as a sign that we've been busy. We just passed our Round 3 deadline- only one more round to go. If you want to apply this year, get your materials in by March 1st!

I saw this article on MBA admissions essays today and just couldn't resist sharing it. If you haven't submitted your application yet it's a must read. Take it from someone who has been reading admissions essays for 10 years- this is sound advice.

http://www.topmba.com/articles/admission-advice/business-school-essays-and-avocado

Round 3 Deadline

noreply@blogger.com (Tiffany Staples, Office Manager) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 19:16:00 +0000

Still want to apply? Why not do it right now! Our Round 3 deadline is coming up on Friday, January 15, 2010.

Don't forget... in order to make sure your application is considered for this round, you must have the following in to our office by Friday, January 15th:

Completed Application, including resume and essays
2 Professional Recommendations from Supervisors, Co-Workers, Team Members, etc.
2 Official Copies of your Undergraduate Transcripts
Official GMAT Test Scores
Official TOEFL/IELTS Test Scores (if applicable)

The address to send transcripts is:
MBA Records Office
350 Brooks Hall
The University of Georgia
Athens, GA 30602

Good Luck!

North Carolina Interviews & Inside the MBA

noreply@blogger.com (Kerry Terrell) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:39:00 +0000

No, this is not me in a business suit.

Next week I will be in North Carolina at the Inside the MBA events in Raleigh (November 2nd) and Charlotte (November 4th). These events are a fantastic way to learn more about MBA programs and the admissions process. If you're in the area come out and meet me- make sure to tell me you read the blog!

I will also be taking a limited number of appointments for interviews in each city. This special opportunity is open to all prospective students. Simply email me at kterrell@terry.uga.edu to set up a time.

BTW: If you didn't get your application in to us in time for Round One don't miss Round Two- it's coming up! The deadline is December 1st. Contact us if you have questions: terrymba@terry.uga.edu or 706-542-5671.

Make the Most of Your Interview

noreply@blogger.com (Kerry Terrell) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:21:00 +0000

Ah, interview season is starting again! Over the next few months members of the Admissions Committee will be interviewing hopeful prospective Terry MBA students. I thought it might be timely for me to repost some of my interviewing tips from last year. Please keep in mind that we interview by invitation only; you must submit a complete application for the Committee's review first.

An evaluative interview is a critical component of the admissions decision at many business schools. That's certainly the case here at Georgia. You have so much to gain from putting your best foot forward at interview time- don't squander the opportunity! Here are a few tips to help you make the most of your interview.

Arrive on time. Remember: college campuses can be big, complicated places. Get there early and leave yourself plenty of time to park and navigate your way to the correct building.

Dress appropriately. Show respect for the opportunity you have been granted and the person/people you will be interviewing with by wearing proper business attire. This usually means a suit. This is not the time to go business casual or casual. We're thinking about how you might arrive for a job interview. Look sharp!

Be prepared. Make sure you know why you're applying to business school, what it is you like about that school in particular, etc. Know how you will answer the standard questions.

Don't get defensive. C'mon now- nobody's perfect. If the interviewer asks you to account for a missing year on your resume or your less than stellar GPA answer the question openly and honestly. Responding in an aggressive or defensive manner is a definite no-no.

Ask questions. Jot down a few questions you'd like answers to. If given the opportunity at the end of your interview- ask away! Questions show your interest in the school. One caveat: make sure they are well thought-out questions and not obvious facts that can be readily discovered on the school's website.

Keep the focus on you. You are the person being interviewed. It is never a good idea to ask the interviewer questions about his/qualifications or personal life. It's great to chat and certainly OK to have a fun conversation, but unless the interview raises something about his/herself personal questions are off limits.

Round One Deadline Approaching!

noreply@blogger.com (Kerry Terrell) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:02:00 +0000

It's October 1st people- that means the Round One admissions deadline is in just two weeks. If you're hoping to get your application in by the October 15th date, now is the time to contact us with any questions you may have. You can reach the Full-Time Terry MBA Admissions Office at 706-542-5671 or terrymba@terry.uga.edu.

We also have an information session coming up here in Athens on October 10th at 10am. Come join us for a couple of hours to learn more about the program. You'll hear from Director of Full-Time MBA Admissions Anne Cooper, chat with current Terry students, and get the alumni perspective on what a Terry MBA can do for you. Log in to your My Terry page to RSVP and view more details.