The MBA Path

Applying to MBA Programs – Step 1: Why MBA?

2011-04-20T12:57:00.001-04:00

I am in process of creating a step by step guide to applying to MBA programs. Today, I posted the first step at my other blog. Check out the post and please comment and let me know your opinions.

Here is the link:
Applying to MBA Programs – Step 1: Why MBA?

New Blog - Moneyinthe20s.com

2011-04-01T09:40:00.005-04:00

I just wanted to let everyone know that I started a second blog. I decided to pay for a domain and hosting for my new blog. My new blog is called Money In The 20s. I will discuss personal finance and investing issues of interest to 20 somethings recently out of college. Additionally, I will talk about MBA programs and the admission process because I can't get enough of that!

I will continue writing for this blog too!

Check out my new blog at http://www.moneyinthe20s.com

Tepper flex time MBA info session and my confusion

2011-02-19T16:05:00.007-05:00

I visited Tepper to get familiar with the full time MBA program just about a year ago. You can find my detailed debrief of that visit here: http://thembapath.blogspot.com/2010/03/tepper-school-of-business-campus-visit.html .

Since that visit, I decided (kind of) that I will apply to part-time programs in Pittsburgh and continue working while I pursue my MBA. Tepper is clearly my number one choice and I want to go back to visit the school and talk to some of the flex-time students. Tepper has information sessions for the flex time program just about every month. I am thinking about attending the upcoming session in March to learn some more about the program. Since Tepper is so close to me, I will probably arrange to sit in on one of the flex time classes too.

Now all of that said, I still am thinking about applying to some full-time programs. I absolutely fell in love with Duke when I visited the school and will in all likelihood apply. Some days I just feel confused about what I should do... This is definitely one of those days. I think in one of my future posts, I will list out all of my pros and cons for full-time and part-time MBAs.

Completed Interview with BTG member accepted to HBS, Booth, and Kellogg

2011-02-17T08:38:00.004-05:00

I dropped the ball on this interview for the last few months, but last night Alex (BeatTheGMAT member eskimoroll) was generous enough to answer all of my questions. Alex was recently accepted to HBS, Kellogg, and Booth. I want to thank Alex for the exceptional answers! I hope that this interview will help b-school applicants learn about the strategy from a VERY successful applicant.

1) Tell me a little bit about your background.

I am a normal kid from Chicago who attended a state school where I studied supply chain management although I consider myself a quasi-poet since I considered going into creative writing as an undergrad until I realized that I like being able to pay my rent. During college I interned for a large CPG company working in a plant environment and I developed an appreciation for supply chain work. Upon graduation, I moved to Wisconsin to work for another large CPG company and learned how to succeed in a corporate environment in various roles that involved working for large customers in a supply chain capacity. After a few years in Wisconsin, I was recruited to work in Logistics at another large CPG company located in Minneapolis where I’ve been for the last 4.5 years. My current company has been wonderful to work for and they gave me the opportunity to grow as a leader who can influence across an organization.

2) What made you decide to get an MBA?

My parents were blue collar workers but being Asian, I grew up in a household that really valued education. Almost immediately after graduation, my parents began asking me when I was going back to school. I always told them that I was working in a field that didn’t necessarily value an MBA and that maybe I would get an MBA part-time at the local college if I had time. As my career progressed, they stopped asking about school and between work and getting married, an MBA was not a priority. Ironically, it was my last promotion that got me thinking about going back to school. I was identified as a manager with high potential and I realized that I was on track to have a very successful career in supply chain. I started asking myself whether I really saw myself as a supply chain professional for the rest of my life.

Working in CPG my entire career, I had developed a deep respect for the power of branding and I started thinking that I’d like the opportunity to build and lead a brand rather than simply supporting a brand. I am fortunate to be surrounded by an exceptional group of friends who all happened to have MBAs (ranging from HBS, Stanford, and Booth to state programs). While they were not all in favor of me going back to school full time (for various valid reasons including financial reasons), I knew that if I wanted to switch careers I needed the experience a full time program offers particularly through the summer internship. At that point, I signed up for a Princeton Review GMAT course offered at my work and told myself that if I got a strong score (700+), I would apply for an MBA.

3) You were extremely successful with your applications this year; can you tell me a little bit about your strategy?

I definitely was nervous about applying to school because I didn’t necessarily fit the profile of a rock star MBA candidate. I was older (30 at matriculation), I had worked in industry my entire career, and my undergrad was not from an elite institution. With that said, I knew that for me personally, I needed to attend a top program in order to work in Marketing for a company like the one I work for. I primarily chose schools based on geography, reputation, and program strengths. Being from Chicago, I applied to Booth and Kellogg and since I had friends in Boston, I applied to HBS and Sloan. I also applied to Stanford because it’s really cold here in Minnesota and the idea of studying in sunny California seemed really appealing to me! I hoped that I would get accepted by one program out of the five but I also was worried that I hadn’t applied to any safety schools.

My strategy was simple. I read everything I could about the schools and the MBA application process and I really took the advice I received to heart. I did a lot of self-reflection and tried to provide a complete picture of who I am through my application. I have always been a strong participant in community activities and service throughout my life and I found that those experiences were really something that I could talk about in my essays along with my work experiences. In particular, I am a kayaking instructor (whitewater, sea kayaking, and Greenland style kayaking) and in that capacity, I’ve led and/or created several different kayaking organizations, have lead events, and have had the opportunity to give back to the community in unique ways.

As a former creative writer, my essays tended to be wordy (word counts are the worst!) but fortunately I had a very good friend edit all of my essays for me. She has a very critical eye and a great track record for helping people get into great MBA programs (she’s a Booth graduate). I also think that being ahead of the game from a timing standpoint helped me out tremendously. I took the GMAT in April and immediately after that exam, I began planning what I needed to get done in order to hit round 1 deadlines for all the schools I was applying to. I wanted to have admission decisions by Christmas so that I could enjoy my holidays with my family. That pre-planning also enabled me to visit schools, prepare my recommenders (I put together a packet with school profiles, my accomplishments, my goals, recommendation questions, etc.), and get a good start on my essays.

I submitted all of my applications well in advance of the deadlines and I felt that I had put together a solid picture of who I am as an individual. Fortunately, Harvard, Kellogg, and Booth agreed and they invited me to interview.

4) What was the interview process like with HBS, Kellogg, and Booth?

For Kellogg and Booth, I chose to interview with alumni locally here in Minneapolis. I had great conversations with both alumni and I tried to connect with them on a personal level and share with them my enthusiasm for my work, their school, my goals, and how I could contribute to their program. Although I get nervous like anyone else, I really enjoy the actual interview process and I knew coming out of those two interviews that I had put my best foot forward.

HBS was a totally different story. I did not have the option to interview locally which I would have preferred since I had already visited the school before. I flew out to Boston and I was a little intimidated by the experience. Unlike my prior interviews which were casual and long (45 minutes or longer), the HBS interview is very structured and exactly 30 minutes long. I feed off of the energy that my interviewer provides so I found it a little unnerving that the HBS adcom did not show a lot of emotion. Most of the questions were pretty standard although I was thrown a couple little curve balls since my interviewer had significant experience in my industry. I remember rambling on a couple times and he had to cut me short at times. I was kicking myself afterwards for losing my focus but I remember telling him at the end that I had fun which I think surprised him because I doubt he hears that very often. I walked out of that interview knowing that I didn’t blow it but also knowing that I hadn’t performed nearly as well as my prior two interviews. I’ve been in regular contact with that admissions director since my admit and he’s been a great help to me as I have been going through my decision process.

5) What was the most difficult step for you in the entire application process?

The most difficult step for me besides the agonizing waiting that occurs for interview invites and eventual decisions to be reached was the GMAT. I had been out of school for 7 years and had to learn how to study all over again. It was a trying time for me and particularly my wife because I became a bit consumed by the process. I spent hours each evening and every weekend studying for the exam and sacrificed my social life for two months. My wife had been used to spending lots of time with me and she definitely felt a bit neglected which translated to her being apprehensive about the idea of me even going back to school. While studying for the GMAT was really important, I know that in hindsight I was being selfish in not thinking about how what I was doing would affect those around me. That is definitely something that is front of mind as we look to both leave our jobs to share in this new adventure.

Oh and as far as the GMAT goes, I have always been a good standardized test taker (I tend to get extra relaxed in those testing rooms even though I’m tense leading up to that moment) and though I was hoping for a 700, I was ecstatic when I received a 750.

6) What do you plan to do post MBA?

Post MBA, I am hoping to go into brand management. While I would be proud to return to my company and lead one of our amazing brands, I am also interested in learning more about product and brand management in other industries besides CPG (tech in particular). I also have entrepreneurial aspirations and while I don’t know if that will be the path I take immediately out of school, I do hope to be able to lead my own company some day.

7) Do you have any advice for the readers?

My advice would be to develop a strong sense of self-awareness or surround yourself with people who can accurately help you understand who you are as a person. My friends, family, and mentors helped ground me as a person and they helped me understand particular areas that I needed to grow in. My GPA, GMAT, etc. didn’t get me into the schools I applied to since they were in the general range. Rather it was insights into my character and a deeper view of who I am that differentiated me. I entered into this process worried that I might be lumped into a generic grouping of “asian guy who’s good at math” but through the self-reflection process, I realized that there is much more to me than that stereotype and it was up to me to share that through my application.

This is a funny process. On one hand, we are asked to share our accomplishments and talk about how amazing we are but on the other hand, we are asked to be humble. We are asked to have an open mind about the many opportunities that await us after business school but the application requires that we state a very defined career goal. It’s tough to balance those things. It was easy to be humble because I knew the caliber of people I would potentially be working with in b-school. I felt inadequate at times about my background, my intelligence, and my experiences but at the same time I knew that my abilities, accomplishments, and experiences were unique and should not be trivialized.

Don’t let this process defeat you. My GMAT class’ mantra was “we are more than our GMAT score” which definitely applies to the entire business school application process. Being admitted or rejected to school X shouldn’t define you and a person’s self-worth should not be tied to this result. I am going to school to better myself as a leader, as a teammate, and as a person but through this process, I’ve learned that I’m pretty darn proud of what I’ve accomplished and no school can take that away from me.

8) Have you decided which b-school you will attend yet? If so, what was the deciding factor?

I have currently narrowed it down to either Booth or HBS. Booth has offered me a very generous fellowship along with the opportunity to be mentored by a marketing executive during my two years at school. As someone who has really benefited from mentorship throughout my career, this is an amazing opportunity. The school is incredible, the students are brilliant yet humble, and the flexibility of the program is really appealing. Harvard on the other hand is an amazing school in its own right. It is the most prestigious and influential of all the MBA programs with a hugely powerful alumni network. The resources at Harvard are without peer and the case method of studying is something that I really enjoy.

The deciding factors for me will be partly financial and partly my impressions of my fellow admits. To be candid, I was concerned that business school would be filled with competitive jerks who think only of themselves. Fortunately, those people seem to be in the minority. I am looking for intellectually curious people who I would enjoy learning from and collaborating with. I have already attended Booth’s admit weekend and am looking forward to HBS’ admit weekend as well. Following that, I will take a couple days to think over the two schools with my wife and then make the best choice for us as a family.

Interview with BTG member accepted to HBS, Booth, and Kellogg

2010-12-15T12:29:00.005-05:00

I am preparing some interview questions to send to BeatTheGMAT member eskimoroll (Alex). Alex was recently accepted to HBS, Booth, and Kellogg in the first round. Congratulations, Alex! That is very impressive and I am EXTREMELY jealous!

Alex agreed to answer some questions from me about the application process. I will be posting this Q&A interview to my blog in the coming days. If any of my readers have questions they would like to see answered by Alex, now is your chance to let me know!

Does Undergrad Institution Matter?

2010-12-12T10:32:00.006-05:00

Below is a video that was posted on Business Week of Jim Dean, the Dean of the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School. In the video he briefly discusses whether undergrad institution matters.

To summarize:
Undergrad intuition matters somewhat but it isn't the only thing that matters. Prospective students that went to a prestigious undergrad institution and excelled could have a leg up. However, Kenan-Flagler is impressed with prospective students with backgrounds that did not allow for them to get into a prestigious school, yet they still excelled in school and had great experiences.

I like this topic because I didn't go to a prestigious school. I am actually the first in my nuclear family to graduate from college and I think that is something that I can bring out in my application. I didn't really have the background to get into an Ivy League school out of high school, yet I still excelled and had great experiences. Instead of seeing this as a weakness, I will do my best to turn this into a strength in my essays.

Weekend in San Francisco

2010-12-11T08:44:00.005-05:00

Now that I am caught up on sleep for the week, I will write more about my time in San Francisco with the BTG team. First, thanks to David, Eric, and Bea for the amazing hospitality!

This is my second time to the San Francisco area. I spent 1 ½ days in Berkeley last year, but didn’t get to see any of San Francisco. Considering that it is cold, snowy, and I haven’t seen the sun in Pittsburgh in quite awhile San Francisco felt like paradise to me!

Saturday morning, I was at a meeting with the BTG team and there are some awesome projects on the horizon! I won’t say more than that, but be on the lookout in the near term future for some awesome features! Saturday afternoon Eric showed me and two others around the Stanford (or as I learned for the first time Leland Stanford Junior University) campus. It was great! I don’t know that I stand a chance of getting into GSB, but I am convinced I should apply after the tour. There were tons of activities going on, the campus was beautiful, they are building a new 360,000 sq ft school of business, oh and did I mention the amazing weather.

After the tour, we went up to a scenic point to get some pictures. The landscape was phenomenal!

Sunday was a very interesting day. We decided that we were going to go on a biking trail and cross over the Golden Gate Bridge and make our way to Sausalito. We did this knowing there was a chance that it was going to rain. The bike ride was great and the views were amazing. I don’t bike that often because it isn’t a very common activity in Pittsburgh. I’m not sure how far of a bike ride it was (maybe 7 or 8 miles) but it was a lot of fun and the views on the Golden Gate Bridge were great!

Overall, the weekend was great and I will definitely be making my way back to San Francisco soon.

San Francisco - Beat The GMAT

2010-12-07T18:34:00.003-05:00

Well, I spent the weekend with the Beat The GMAT team in San Francisco. It was an amazing weekend! It is definitely one of my favorite cities and the team is awesome! I will write a more detailed post and post some pictures when I am less sleep deprived!

Also, everyone should be on the lookout for some great new features to BTG in the future!

Get the GMAT out of the way

2010-10-06T19:54:00.002-04:00

If there is one thing that I recommend more than any other when considering applying to business school, it's get the GMAT out of the way very early! This was best thing that I did. Seriously, the application process is stressful enough and I'm not even applying until next year. I know that this isn't relevant for those of you that are applying for MBA programs this year. However, if you know one or two years in advance that you are going to be applying to MBA programs, get the GMAT beast out of the way!

I finished my GMAT over a year ago now, but I took the GMAT twice. My first attempt was in June 2009 and I was so nervous going into the test center. I didn't know what to expect that day. All I could think about was getting close to my target score of 700, and I did get close with a 690. Unfortunately, I couldn't get that 690 out of my head and had to give the GMAT another shot. I signed up for my 2nd attempt in July 2009 and ended up with a 710. That put me in the 80% range of all of my target schools.

Overall, I put in a lot of effort studying for the GMAT. Actually, I just looked to see when I signed up for BeatTheGMAT because that is when I began studying for the GMAT. It was April 6, 2008 that my GMAT journey began. As you can tell, I took the GMAT pretty serious by studying for over a year. OK, OK, I admit my studying was off and on at first, but atleast I got started. Here I am over two years later and my GMAT is out of the way. Now, all of my time can be spent researching schools, visiting schools, talking with current students, and of course blogging about my adventure.

Private Equity

2010-10-05T18:40:00.006-04:00

Today, I sat in on a meeting that included presentations from some big banks, asset managers, and a private equity firm. I have to say, private equity is by far the most interesting. The person presenting today was actually the chairman of the PE firm and he was phenomenal. This particular PE firm specializes in buyouts and targets companies in the 150-500M range. They have been extremely successful and are looking to start a new fund (that's why they were visiting of course). One of the slides that the PE firm presented had a list of the partners, principals, vice presidents and associates. Two things struck me as I looked at this slide:

1) All but one of the partners were HBS grads.
2) There were no women working with the company.

I guess point 1 isn't that surprising, but I was surprised that there were no women working at the firm. It just seemed like it was the all HBS boys club!

Can anyone that is in or wants to be in PE provide any insight if it is similar with other PE firms?

Inside the MBA Tour

2010-10-04T19:18:00.004-04:00

I attended the Inside the MBA Tour last year when it was in Pittsburgh. I enjoyed the event and was hoping that the tour would be back in Pittsburgh this year. I just found out that it will be in Pittsburgh on October 27th, but I won't be around that day!!

Here are the schools that are going to be in Pittsburgh on the 27th:

Carnegie Mellon University
Georgetown University
Indiana University
Purdue University
University of Maryland
University of Rochester
University of Southern California
Vanderbilt University
Washington University in St. Louis
Case Western Reserve University
Emory University
Pennsylvania State University
Temple University
University of Minnesota
University of Pittsburgh

I am pretty disappointed because I really want to talk with Washington University in St. Louis and learn more about the program.

2010-2011 Full Time B-School Tuition

2010-10-01T10:07:00.008-04:00

I like to look at things visually, so I put a quick graph together on b-school tuition for the Top 25 schools from the U.S. News ranking. I think you will see that the tuition for private schools is pretty consistent. The thing that sticks out the most is the in-state tuition for some of the public schools. For example, a non-resident of North Carolina would pay an additional $22,124 in tuition at Kenan-Flagler for the 2010-2011 school year. What I am getting at from this post is if you have a top public school in your state, I highly recommend looking into it!

One aspect I want to discuss more in my blog is the financial impact of business school. Many of my family and friends ask me why I want to take on the financial burden of business school. Although b-school is expensive, I don't see it as a financial burden, but as an investment in my future.

Last year, I developed a spreadsheet to look at the NPV of attending various b-schools. I plan to update the spreadsheet in the coming weeks and will post it on my blog when it is complete.

Crazy Times

2010-10-01T08:45:00.004-04:00

Well ,it has been quite awhile since I posted anything on my blog. I still haven't got around to the Duke debrief from months ago, but I hope to get around to that sometime soon!

The main reason I have been inactive is because I changed jobs at my company. That has kept me pretty busy. I am now working in Treasury/Finance and I am enjoying the new position. I am still planning to apply to b-school next year. Right now, I am going to keep my options open, but I am strongly considering applying to Tepper's Flex-Time program. It seems to be a logical choice for me if I decide to stay in Pittsburgh (let's see how I feel after winter).

I have some interesting ideas for my blog. I plan to make some changes to the blog and incorporate some new ideas. Be on the lookout for the changes in the future!

Inactivity

2010-05-28T08:10:00.002-04:00

Well it's been awhile since I posted anything on my blog. I intended to post my Duke debrief weeks ago, but I just never had a chance to get around to it. Work has been pretty brutal the last few weeks. It seems like I am traveling for something every week now. But regardless, I have a much needed 4-day weekend ahead of me!

I should definitely have my Duke debrief up by Monday at the latest.

Spectator for Another Year

2010-05-14T22:18:00.002-04:00

Well, I finally made the decision that I will be a spectator during this upcoming application season. I talked with a lot of people about my situation and feel it is in my best interest to hold off another year. I know that I will have some significant achievements and leadership opportunities in the next year. Thus, I will have an increased chance of admission at my target schools next year. Additionally, I think by waiting another year that gives the economy more time to rebound and that job opportunities will increase by the time I graduate b-school.

I have visited most of my target schools, so this coming year I will focus on talking with as many students as possible at my target schools.

So my b-school journey will continue for quite sometime! I look forward to blogging about my continued experience. I will work on the debrief from my Fuqua campus visit this weekend so be on the lookout for it!

Fall Indecision

2010-05-08T10:21:00.002-04:00

Well, I could be writing my debrief of my Fuqua visit right now, but I'm not. All I have been able to think about over the last week is "Should I apply to b-school this coming fall?" I have put a lot of time and effort into researching schools, talking with students, and visiting campuses. That said, I am beginning to think another year could do be beneficial. Let me explain my reasons:

I am still young (24) and have only 2 years full time experience at this point. Adcoms may feel I have less to contribute to the program with limited full time experience.

I am due a promotion in the next year that would be viewed favorably by admissions.

My biggest obstacle is to overcome my lack of leadership and maturity. Another year gives me some more time to address this both at work and in extracurricular activities.

My GF, whom I've been with for 10 years (yes, 10 years and I am only 24) is finishing up her masters degree at Pitt next year.

I'm torn right now. I guess I can see how things playout at work over the next few months. That said, the 4th point is the one that is weighing heavily on me right now.

Durham

2010-05-01T17:34:00.003-04:00

Well today is my last day in Durham. I got here Wednesday night and will be leaving tomorrow morning. I visited Duke on Thursday and the school is phenomenal. I will post a detailed debrief of my visit when I am back in Pittsburgh.

Kenan-Flagler vs. Darden

2010-04-27T13:06:00.003-04:00

I was asked to put together a comparison of Kenan-Flagler and Darden since I visited both schools. I am going to do a summary of location, recruiting, class/teaching method, and students. I will go through each of these topics and state which school I give an edge to.

Note: This is based solely on my research, campus visits, and conversations with students. Please take this entire post with a grain of salt.

Location
Edge - Even
I can’t really give the edge to either of these schools for the location. I really enjoyed both locations. The one thing that I liked about both of these schools is that the business school buildings are not in the middle of the campus. They are somewhat separated from the main campus. That makes for easier access. However, Kenan-Flagler is close to the Research Triangle Park (RTP) area. This could be considered an advantage for recruiting. That said, I think Darden has does well recruiting with companies in RTP. If nightlife is an important aspect of your decision, Kenan-Flagler has the edge there. Franklin Street seems like a great place for nightlife.

Recruiting
Edge – Darden
I have exchanged numerous e-mails with students at both schools regarding recruiting. In general, I think it has been a tough year everywhere for recruiting. However, I think it has been a little more difficult at Kenan-Flagler. Here is some information from the employment reports from both schools to back up my highly scientific (haha) hypothesis.

Employment Reports:

Kenan-Flagler
http://www.kenan-flagler.unc.edu/assets/documents/mba-employment-report.pdf

Darden- http://www.darden.virginia.edu/uploadedFiles/Navigate_Darden/Academics/Career_Development/Employment_Report%202010.pdf

Class of 2009
Kenan-Flagler – 57.31% offer received by graduation.
Darden – 77.2 offer received by graduation

Kenan-Flagler – 71.15% offer received by three months after graduation.
Darden - 81.6% offer received by three months after graduation. (Not 100% sure this number is accurate)

Kenan-Flagler Average Base Salary: $93,012.12
Darden Average Base Salary: $102,903

From the employment reports the one thing that sticks out to me is the percentage of students accepting consulting positions. At Darden, 31% of the students accepted consulting positions. At Kenan-Flagler, only 14.44% accepted consulting positions. This is probably due to Darden’s use of the case method.

Darden’s information for the class of 2010 internships is not nearly as detailed as Kenan-Flagler’s information. Therefore, I won’t state any facts from those reports.

Class/Teaching Method
Edge – Personal choice
It is tough to give an edge to either school for teaching method because it is highly personal. It truly depends on each individual and how he/she best learns. For me personally, I think 70% case and 30% lecture would be ideal. My one concern with 100% case is in classes such as accounting. This was one of my key questions to Darden students. I never received a good answer. I get the feeling that the case method doesn’t work well for accounting classes. In fact, on my Kenan-Flagler visit, one of the students mentioned she had to help a Darden student understand accounting at a competition that both schools participated in. Again, this is a highly personal subject. Thus, I will leave it up to my readers to decide which school has the edge.

Students
Edge – Slight edge to Kenan-Flagler
The students at Darden were great. They were very welcoming and they have a fun way of introducing you to a class. The students at Kenan-Flagler were very welcoming and passionate about the school. I know in the class I sat in on, the students were very interested in talking to me (not the ones from the admission office). I thought that was interesting and didn’t know if it was like that at all schools since Kenan-Flagler was my first visit (it’s not like that at all schools, trust me). This is why I am giving the edge to Kenan-Flagler students. I know it’s not the best reason, but I felt like I was just another class mate while I was at Kenan-Flagler.

Beat The GMAT Scholarships

2010-04-13T20:58:00.005-04:00

I just wanted to let everybody know about the scholarships at Beat The GMAT for 2010!

Here is some more info about the scholarships.

This is the 5th year for these scholarships
There are 6 scholarship packages to distribute
Include GMAT Prep classes from Grockit, Kaplan, Knewton, Manhattan GMAT, The Princeton Review, and Veritas Prep

I encourage everyone to apply for the scholarships! You can find more information about the scholarships at the following website:

http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/scholarship

GMAT Error Logs

2010-04-12T18:57:00.003-04:00

I have been working on a project to create excel based error logs with some other team members from BeatTheGMAT. I just want to announce that the two projects are complete and the files are available to download.

Error tracking is extremely important during your preparation and these two files should make tracking much easier for you!

The Official Guide for GMAT Review, 12th Edition - Error Tracking Tool
Description: Custom error log built for tracking your Official Guide for GMAT Review, 12th Edition practice. Track your performance across five categories of test questions: problem solving, data sufficiency, reading comprehension, critical reasoning, and sentence correction. Includes custom built reports to analyze your performance, as well as a comprehensive answer key.

DOWNLOAD HERE

Error Log for General GMAT Practice
Description: Custom error log built for tracking your Official Guide for GMAT Review, 12th Edition practice. Track your performance across five categories of test questions: problem solving, data sufficiency, reading comprehension, critical reasoning, and sentence correction. Includes custom built reports to analyze your performance, as well as a comprehensive answer key.

DOWNLOAD HERE

You can read more about the error logs here:
http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/gmat-error-log

Darden Visit

2010-04-11T10:10:00.016-04:00

Day before visiting Darden

I left Pittsburgh early Sunday (March 21st) and drove to Charlottesville. I ended up making only one stop on the Pennsylvania turnpike and made it to Charlottesville in about 6 hours. It was a pretty interesting drive. The GPS brought me through the middle of nowhere. At one point, I was on a road for over an hour and didn’t see another car! Once I got to the Residence Inn in Charlottesville, I checked in and relaxed in my room for about 45 minutes. I grabbed a quick bite to eat and had a few hours before it was dark, so I walked to see the school. It was a 10 minute walk from the Residence Inn to Darden. All I can say about the school from the outside is WOW, such phenomenal architecture and a great location. I walked all around the outside of the school snapping pictures for a half hour before making my way back to the hotel for the night.

Arrival in the morning
My class visit was scheduled for 8:00 AM, so I arrived at Darden around 7:30. I wanted to walk since Darden was close to the hotel, but it was raining out. I stopped at the gatehouse when I arrived to get a parking pass for the day. Unfortunately, I walked out of the gatehouse and on my way up to the main building without asking where the admissions office was. So I wondered around the main building for awhile until I found someone to lead me in the right direction. Once I got in the office, I checked in but the lady wasn’t sure what class I was sitting in on. I was the only prospective student in the admissions office at that time (I always seem to be the first one at these visits). Luckily, it wasn’t long before the student came to get me and we made our way to class. If anyone is interested to know how to get to the admissions office, here is a picture below with directions.

So to get to the admissions office, you go up the steps and make a right. You then walk down the pathway and will enter the building on your right. Once you enter the building, immediately go down the stairs and you will be in the admissions office.

Class Visit - Global Financial Markets
The class I sat in on was a first year elective, Global Financial Markets. I was really looking forward to going over a case and seeing the case method in action, but the class didn’t have a case to review. I was a little disappointed about it, but nothing I could do about it. They went over the yield curve in class (should ring a bell If you read my Tepper debrief). Although there was no case to review, the class was fantastic. There was so much interaction during the class. The professor seemed pretty tough on the students, but he was just forcing them to get the most out of the class. I felt that there was far more interaction among the students at Darden than the students at the other two schools I visited (Kenan-Flagler and Tepper).

First Coffee
After the class, the student brought me to first coffee. I got the feeling from him that First Coffee isn’t something you go to that often. This is the time I had to talk with the student most, so I asked him a bunch of questions. I was a little disappointed with his answer about the weaknesses of Darden. It was more tailored around him specifically than the school. We talked about the other schools that he applied to (Duke and Kenan-Flagler). He had to decide between Duke and Darden. He was really torn between the two schools. Ultimately, he chose Darden because he hates Duke basketball. Yes, you read that right, because he hates Duke basketball! I got a good laugh out of that! Also, we talked with a professor that teaches Ethics.

I didn’t have anything scheduled for awhile after first coffee, so the student asked me if I wanted to go with him to his second class. I jumped on the opportunity to sit in on another class! The only stipulation was to not tell the admissions office he let me sit in on a second class J.

Second Class Visit - Leadership in Organizations
The second class I sat in on was a first year core class. I got a very warm welcome from the class. Just a warning to anyone visiting Darden, you may have to go to the front of the class for an interesting introduction. That’s all I am going to say because I don’t want to ruin the surprise for anyone!

The class discussed a case about Wyeth (the pharma giant acquired by Pfizer). The case was about creating the right type of incentives for the Wyeth employees to ensure a strong development pipeline of new drugs. This time I really got to see the case method in action. The class was exceptional! The professor essentially was a facilitator and the class debated different ideas the entire time. It was very interactive and everybody was so willing to share perspectives. I knew for sure after this class that the case method would be a great way to learn!

After Class
After class, I went back to the admissions office and talked with a few other prospective students. Most of the prospective students visiting that day will apply at the same time as me (class of 2013). This is the first visit that happened. Every other visit, I was the only one visiting to apply for the class of 2013. There was one student waiting for his interview. He seemed a bit nervous because he didn’t have much time to prepare. I believe Darden called him for the interview only two days earlier. Definitely not much advance notice.

I was scheduled to go to lunch in the late afternoon, but that was over 2 hours away. Unfortunately, something came up back home and I had to leave Darden early. I was disappointed that I had to leave early, but if I get an interview with Darden, I will definitely be going back!

Darden Visit Debrief Coming Soon

2010-04-02T15:54:00.002-04:00

Well, it's been a few weeks since I visited Darden and I haven't had a lot of time to put together a debrief. I have actually been working a tool with some team members at Beat The GMAT to help GMAT test takers. I hope for it is finalized and released soon. Once I finish this tool, I will have my debrief from Darden up.

Back in Pittsburgh

2010-03-24T18:08:00.001-04:00

So I got back from Charlottesville Monday night. I am a little disappointed because I didn't get to do nearly as many things as I planned to in Charlottesville. I needed an extra day there... But that is OK, if I get an interview with Darden when I apply, that gives me a good reason to spend a few more days in Charlottesville! So as you can see from the last sentence, I am very interested in Darden! I will put together a full debrief of my visit this weekend.

Of the three schools I have visited today, here is my "wish" list in order:

1. Darden
2. Kenan-Flagler
3. Tepper

In Charlottesville

2010-03-22T05:40:00.001-04:00

Well I have been in Charlottesville since 3:30 PM EST. It was a long day of travel, so this will be a short post. I did walk to the School of Business tonight. I took quite a few pictures, but here is just one of them at the entrance.

Charlottesville seems really nice. I love the architecture of the buildings. I can't wait to check out Monticello tomorrow, I am sure it is amazing! Well I am off to relax, tomorrow is going to be a long day.

Darden/Charlottesville Anticipation

2010-03-19T19:02:00.004-04:00

Well the work week is finally over! All week I was thinking about my upcoming trip to Charlottesville. You would think since it's been on my mind constantly I would have my two day trip planned out.... Well, I don't! I know that I am going to walk the grounds on Sunday and try to fit in Monticello on Monday after my class visit/tour/lunch. Other than that, I don't have anything planned.

Everyone I talked to about Charlottesville said it is great. I hope it doesn't disappoint. As of right now, weather.com says it is supposed to rain both Sunday and Monday. I really hope it holds off. Rain gods, if you're reading this, DON'T LET IT RAIN!

I leave Pittsburgh Sunday morning and have a 6-hour drive. I will most likely have a new post up late that night with my initial thoughts on Charlottesville.