Book Review: MBA Admission for Smarties

We all had the chance to review  MBA Admission for Smarties book. Instead of us all writing a different post we decided to do a joint post. Enjoy!

Ms.HR: Overall this book had some helpful tips. Since I found this book late in my MBA process I didn't have time to read to the book cover to cover so the " bottomline"  at the end of each chapter helped me focus in on chapters of interest. After everything was submitted, I revisited this book while packing up my apartment and I wish I would have had the time to take a close look at the book during the MBA process. There was one chapter "Choosing the right school for you " that just spoke to me. When I started looking programs I was really caught up in the ranking and only looked at certain schools but then came to my senses and picked a program that was right for me. It would have been nice to read that chapter to cut down the time I wasted choosing schools because of their rankings.

Another  section of the book I  really enjoyed was a chapter that gave you ideas of things you could do after you submitted the application.  After I hit submit I did nothing but relax and a little interview prep. There were things I could have done to be more productive with my time like "plan the logistics of life in bschool".

Mads Mom: Although I too found this book later in the application process, there was definitely some helpful information. I mainly used the book to focus on the interview process. Honestly I think I am pretty good at coming up with some information on the spot, so at first I wasn't too nervous about the interviews, but after helping Ms.HR prep for one of her interviews I realized that I was going about this all wrong. After reading the chapter on interviews I definitely had to reevaluate how I was going to go about preparing for my interviews. Since I wasn't the ideal candidate, the interview process was the one way I knew I could win over the admissions people, and after I reviewed and followed the steps noted in the chapter, I blew a couple of interviews out of the water (or park, whatever that saying is)! Overall I would recommend this book for those of you who area just starting your application process, and even for those who have already submitted their applications and are getting ready for interviews.

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Beginning Your School Research? Here's a tip

When I started out researching schools I spent hours and hours on different school websites. Most schools had a great user interface for their website while others...not so much. Earlier this week I took a look at the School Shapshots provided by Clear Admit. This is something I wish I knew about when I was building my school list.

 

The snapshots are a good resource to find the basic information about different schools. The snapshots can also give you ideas of different things to look for ( if you don't already know) when building your school list.  The guides I looked at had sections that provided information about 

• Post MBA stats
• Financial cost 
• Admission and class profile information
• Campus life
• Majors

If you know you want an MBA but not sure which school, use these snapshots to begin the research for building your school list.


-Ms. HR

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My Decision

I will be joining the Class of 2014 at:

There were several factors that were important to me in this decision…I first went back to this post from LONG LONG ago.....But there were a few things that I KNEW I wanted but never fully articulated...so here we go: 

• Urban Environment – I wanted to live in a CITY.  I want to feel like school and my life were separate but not.  Does that make sense?  Well the great thing about Philadelphia is that there are many schools....so I'm surrounded by tons of things that are collegiate.  Also, since a lot of the student body is not from Philly and since most students  live in a particular area in Philly…its like the best of both worlds. The student body REALLY gets to know each other and bond...in an urban environment.  I'm so happy that I get my campus experience on Penns Campus…and I also get to live my urban lifestyle that I’ve been dreaming about  ever since I was little.  Also, I want the opportunity to volunteer in an urban environment...something Philly and Wharton have to offer through Community Consultants and some other orgs.  Not to mention the SHOPPING is EXCELLENT.  Each time I left Wharton (interview and welcome weekend) I left with a whole new outfit lol.

• Makeup of Student Body  - I want to be challenged and pushed by my peers.  One of the things that attracted me to Wharton is the international feel…which is something I didn't realize I wanted until I went to the Wharton Welcome Weekend (WWW). I felt at home when after WWW people I met were emailing/texting/FBing me.  It felt so right! Also, each time someone told me their background/career story I was literally BLOWN AWAY.

• Culture/Fit – Now as I mentioned earlier…I was NOT in touch with my feelings through the process…I was very execution driven.  So in these last 3 weeks I was assessing who I really was.  When I boiled down to it…I felt like I fit right on in.  People understood my dry humor and sarcasm with ease. Not to mention the greatness of the Dean of "Happiness" Kembrel Jones

• Academics – Academics weren’t really a focus for me ::gasp:: I’m much more an extracurricular person and generally let that come first.  One thing I was looking for was the ability to take classes across campus.  I know this is something I wanted to take advantage of.  I know for sure I will be taking a Business French Class and also I learned about this class at UPenn where you basically turnaround a house and sell it....I will DEF be in that class.  Also, I feel like it will be a good way to network with non-Bschool people and get myself out of the bubble.  As for traditional academics -  I like the new curriculum and also the learning teams at Wharton.  I like that they pair us in ways that they know will build us to be leaders.  During this process I had a student say that what lasts with you down the road isn't the random elective courses, its the experiences and the leadership opportunities.  That is a sentiment I totally agree with and Wharton has tons of leadership opptys and also Wharton has grade non-disclosure and no classes on Fridays!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

• Career – Once again, career services wasn’t a huge focus for me.  For most of my internship opportunities in Undergrad I did most of my own off-campus recruiting.  So I’m very comfortable doing that again.  I know that I’m going to probably recruit for Consulting and maybe SOMETHING ELSE (still not decided…Marketing? Tech? General Management? Retail and Luxury Goods?).   Also to be reallllllly transparent,  my fulltime job search MAY be a bit more organic/freeflowing depending on how Summer 2013 goes.

And now I leave you (my favorite) Wharton “Folly”……

Well I know others are deciding…I know its hard…but seriously you can’t go wrong, you will NOT regret your choice and it feels GREAT once you pay that deposit!!!

-Motown

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How I decided.....

CONGRATS MS. HR ON YOUR DECISION!!! I know that you are going to LOVE Vanderbilt and I totally will be visiting there!!!

Well like Ms. HR I had a really hard time deciding between schools.  I somehow narrowed it down to two and really did some deep reflection about how I am as a person.  Where do I thrive? What kind of experience do I want? 

It’s weird because going into this process… I was not insightful..at all.  Maybe through this blog I fooled you into thinking that I was deeply thinking about this whole process and knew myself SO well...but in reality I was not J    I was focused on my GMAT score, focused on writing the best essays and also trying to be a beast at work.  

I wasn’t really “in touch” with my feelings….AT ALL.

So now I had about 3 weeks to deal with this issue.  I was somewhat miffed.  I had around a year to apply but only 3 weeks so decide on this MASSIVE investment.  Anyhow so like the true engineer I am…I narrowed it down to two schools and made a decision matrix.

Then,  I took an AWESOME friends advices.  One day I pretended that I accepted school X..and then the next day I pretended to accept school Y.  I took note of how I felt.  I pretended to plan my summer, my first semester of classes and what my next two years would be like.  

THEN I called SOOOO MANY people on my board of directions.  I spoke to TONS of people.  People at work, people at school X and school Y. My friends, coworkers anyone who would hear me rant about this champagne problem.

And then magically…it came to me.  I spoke to one of the most realest people I met through this process….and it dawned on me who I REALLY was….and I paid my deposit J

To be continued…..

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