I have been reading Dave's blog for quite some time now. He is even good at answering some questions that I had. I wanted some advice regarding matching one's personal/career goals to an MBA program and why choose an MBA. Some very good questions that Dave sent my way that I would like to share here: (Thanks, Dave)
1) What have you done in your life as a habit that show your passions, courage and motivation towards your goals?
2) Why now and not later?
3) Why couldn't another masters, internship or other venture provide the same result?
4) What makes you think that the MBA is all that important to what you know now and what you hope to learn?
5) What is the definition of an MBA in two sentences?
6) Why are you a better candidate than xxx?
Things to ponder ....
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Some good questions to ponder
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Some key points from an podcast the by Admissions Director at Haas business school: (I found it easier to grasp info from the podcast than to read from a website with many pages :-)
Haas's admissions criteria:
Academic Aptitude - undergrad, GMAT score , GPA
-how well did you do?
-why performance degraded?
-quantitative proficiency - if you were not good at this during your undergrad, take a local college courses.
-Have you gone out of your comfort zone to take other classes?
- As an engineer - took some courses in other areas outside the comfort zone GMAT - only one part of the admissions puzzle
- GMAT in conjuction with the GPA - Each of the three subscores are considered. Because the first year has a quantitative curriculum, the quant part is important.
Take a look at the school's median GMAT score. middle 80% range 660 - 750 (10% below and abovE)
Professional accomplishments and leadership -
-Work experience not just in the number of years, but quality of the experience - very diverse fields - traditional and nontraditional
- richness of the experience and the impact of the progression- why you have transitioned within the job and your promotions etc?
-Each job title should be mentioned on the resume -leadership potential in candidates - do not have to directly supervise
- may have managed a process or managed a project
- have an idea and did some thing about it - list on resume
-recommendations
-should be professional in nature
- current supervisor - key client - individuals worked closely and will provide specific examples - consult past performance evaluations - title of the letter writer is not as imp
Personal qualities
- we want to get to know as a individual
- extra curricular acitivities during and after college
- depth and breadth of involvement
- those that are contribute to the life of the school - personality
Essay questions -
For example, we ask dinner with whom?
- do not second guess the person
- act as if you are writing in your journal
- share their personal side as well
- longer essay questions (why MBA question, why MBA from the school)
- what are your goals ? (a very good case should be done)
Each school has its own strengths and weaknesses
- Research the school, speak with an alumnus , visit the school
- why is the school a perfect match for you?
Interview
- very significant role
- level of confidence
- interpersonal skills
