Remember how I said I wasn't going to look at West Coast schools? I lied. I admit I've only skimmed, but Stanford and Haas certainly do a thorough job of talking up the social enterprise angle.
I'm going to have to find a more organized way to go about this. Right now, I'm thinking it might be a good idea to devote somewhere between two weeks and a month to fully familiarizing myself with each school (for certain values of "fully"). Obviously, if some other admissions department comes to town on a given week, I can be flexible, but otherwise I save my comparison shopping until I have a better idea what I'm comparing.
The only question is where to start. I know rankings aren't everything, but going down the BusinessWeek list is as good a strategy as any. First stop, the Windy City!
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Friday, December 21, 2007
I do have to admit, it's nice to be wanted.
Approximately 90% of the mail on programs I've gotten so far has come from the same two schools. As someone with direct marketing experience, I admire their tenacity, and give them credit for achieving half the objective: they're on my radar now. However, I also want to know what kind of database they're keeping so I can advise them about "unsubscribe" options, so it hasn't been entirely successful.
Their persistence makes me wonder about the places I haven't been hearing from, though. At what point do you start setting top schools' advertising campaign into motion? A GMAT score at their median? The score plus a certain amount of work experience? Experience and/or interest in a field they need? Exceptional credentials only? Or do the really big names just sit back and wait for you to come to them?
Their persistence makes me wonder about the places I haven't been hearing from, though. At what point do you start setting top schools' advertising campaign into motion? A GMAT score at their median? The score plus a certain amount of work experience? Experience and/or interest in a field they need? Exceptional credentials only? Or do the really big names just sit back and wait for you to come to them?
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Virtual Interview
Tell me about yourself. As the profile says, I'm seeker42: female, 24 years old, and a prospective business school applicant for the 2009 period. I grew up in the D.C. area, and bristle a little every time a politician uses the term "Beltway insider" in a pejorative sense. Since graduating from a reasonably prestigious university two and a half years ago, I've worked in a managerial position at a small nonprofit with wonderful, supportive supervisors and coworkers. I have a left-brain sensibility but strong right-brain interests, including writing, singing, and theater. I also like cats, fantasy football, and watching the Food Network, though I don't think those are going to make it onto my official resume.
That's not very specific. Hey, I'm going into business. I have to know when to share and when to keep details confidential. Besides, I have to save something for my applications.
Fine. Moving on, then. Why MBA? My undergraduate degree might carry prestige, but it didn't come with a lot of practical skills, particularly in areas like market research and analysis. I've been able to puzzle out some aspects on my own, and everyone I've worked with in my job and at the professional association I belong to has been a major help. But the more I learn, the more I realize how much there is I don't know, and the more frustrating the gap between what I want to do and my knowledge of how best to go about it becomes. With more grounding in the formal principles of marketing, development, and business in general, I think I'd be a far stronger candidate for higher-level roles, though I suspect there are plenty of other possibilities out there that I'd need to learn more about before trying to formulate any plans involving them: consulting, for instance, or a position with a socially conscious corporation.
So why 2009? While there's definitely a case to be made for needing the training now, I only get one shot at this, and I want to give myself the best range of alternatives I possibly can. To be truly competitive (and therefore confident) no matter where I look, I need to bring my GMAT quant score more in line with my verbal and compensate for the lack of relevant courses on my undergraduate transcript. It'd also be nice to see one or two of the projects I've helped launch show real staying power. Most importantly, I need to figure out which schools are genuinely well-suited to my needs, and get a better handle on exactly what I want to do once I've got the degree.
Where are you looking? Kellogg is a very strong consideration, as is Ross. I'd originally planned to apply to Boston University this year, and I intend to keep it on the list, though it may slip back a round or two. Beyond that, I'm not sure. As long as I'm visiting BU, I might as well check out Harvard, and while I suspect it's too stats-heavy, Chicago's not that far from Evanston. Wharton would eliminate the need for a long-distance relationship, and while I doubt my little brother will like the idea of running into me on the subway, I've had Columbia mentioned to me a few too many times to ignore it. Unfortunately, nobody's brought up Tuck, which has some course listings that really caught my eye. Yale's nonprofit support and loan forgiveness program are very tempting, though my eyes keep crossing every time I try to decipher the diagrams for their new educational model. And while I'd prefer to stay north of the Mason-Dixon line, Kenan-Flagler and Fuqua have their attractive features.
Okay, okay! I retract the 2009 question! I know, I know. I have a lot of homework ahead of me, and a lot of narrowing down to do if I don't want to bankrupt myself with site visits. (Thank goodness I've already decided to rule out the West Coast.) Keep an eye on my links list as I start making solid decisions.
Good luck. Thanks. I'm going to need it.
That's not very specific. Hey, I'm going into business. I have to know when to share and when to keep details confidential. Besides, I have to save something for my applications.
Fine. Moving on, then. Why MBA? My undergraduate degree might carry prestige, but it didn't come with a lot of practical skills, particularly in areas like market research and analysis. I've been able to puzzle out some aspects on my own, and everyone I've worked with in my job and at the professional association I belong to has been a major help. But the more I learn, the more I realize how much there is I don't know, and the more frustrating the gap between what I want to do and my knowledge of how best to go about it becomes. With more grounding in the formal principles of marketing, development, and business in general, I think I'd be a far stronger candidate for higher-level roles, though I suspect there are plenty of other possibilities out there that I'd need to learn more about before trying to formulate any plans involving them: consulting, for instance, or a position with a socially conscious corporation.
So why 2009? While there's definitely a case to be made for needing the training now, I only get one shot at this, and I want to give myself the best range of alternatives I possibly can. To be truly competitive (and therefore confident) no matter where I look, I need to bring my GMAT quant score more in line with my verbal and compensate for the lack of relevant courses on my undergraduate transcript. It'd also be nice to see one or two of the projects I've helped launch show real staying power. Most importantly, I need to figure out which schools are genuinely well-suited to my needs, and get a better handle on exactly what I want to do once I've got the degree.
Where are you looking? Kellogg is a very strong consideration, as is Ross. I'd originally planned to apply to Boston University this year, and I intend to keep it on the list, though it may slip back a round or two. Beyond that, I'm not sure. As long as I'm visiting BU, I might as well check out Harvard, and while I suspect it's too stats-heavy, Chicago's not that far from Evanston. Wharton would eliminate the need for a long-distance relationship, and while I doubt my little brother will like the idea of running into me on the subway, I've had Columbia mentioned to me a few too many times to ignore it. Unfortunately, nobody's brought up Tuck, which has some course listings that really caught my eye. Yale's nonprofit support and loan forgiveness program are very tempting, though my eyes keep crossing every time I try to decipher the diagrams for their new educational model. And while I'd prefer to stay north of the Mason-Dixon line, Kenan-Flagler and Fuqua have their attractive features.
Okay, okay! I retract the 2009 question! I know, I know. I have a lot of homework ahead of me, and a lot of narrowing down to do if I don't want to bankrupt myself with site visits. (Thank goodness I've already decided to rule out the West Coast.) Keep an eye on my links list as I start making solid decisions.
Good luck. Thanks. I'm going to need it.
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