Ask AdmissionsConsultants

[AdmissionsConsultants]

Originally Posted by guest100

Hi David,

I was wondering if you could offer some insight into which you thought was the best essay to optimize admission. I am a Management Consultant wanting to obtain an MBA to be able to switch into Investment Banking:

A) I need the MBA to advance in Management Consulting
Pro: I will be seen as highly employable
Con: Not necessarily true
B) I need the MBA to switch fields
Pro: It is the desired goal
Con: I will not be seen as employable as in option A due to having to compete against former Ibanking peers
C) I need the MBA to switch fields but if that doesn't work out, the degree is useful for Management Consulting anyway so I won't be wasting my time.
Pro: It is the truth and shows my maturity though about the job markets in MC and IB
Con: It seems like my goals are not set - they are though - I really want to switch into IB but know it will be tough

so basically, A is the cleanest story, B is what I really want but may sound naive, and C is trying to balance the two but may come off as an unfocused goal

Any advice is much appreciated

Thanks,
Anonymous

Hi and thanks for your inquiry.

Any of these can work depending on your particular situation and the set of essay questions you have to work with. C is not necessarily unfocused. The choice that will ultimately maximize your chances will depend on your recommendations, accomplishments in the consulting field, and how genuinely enthusiastic you are about each of these options.

I want all of this thread’s readers, to be fully aware that the admissions committees love sincerity and they’re definitely getting fed up with the naive applicants who try to pull the wool over their eyes. (I believe it was over the summer that I mentioned the “I want to return to the family business” goal was becoming less effective given the growing number of insincere applicants who have been using it.)

Best of luck with your applications!

Sincerely,

David Petersam
DPetersam@admissionsconsultants.com
703.242.5885

[AdmissionsConsultants]

[Deleting double post. Again, my apologies.]

[chameleon911]

Hi David,

That's great news! Thank you very much for the review. I really do appreciate the help.

For all of you reading this forum, as you can see, David REALLY knows his stuff when it comes to applications. If you or anyone else needs that extra edge to get into a hard school, HIRE THIS GUY!!!!

It's really a no brainer if you want it bad enough to do what it takes and is a far more effective investment than paying for a GMAT consultant.

Marc

[exlaw]

I'm a lawyer considering going to business school, looking to transition towards one of two things: (i) private equity/venture capital, focused on early stage and preferably a hands on approach to assisting management; or (ii) entrepreneur, though if going it myself doesn't pan out, possibly approached from consulting with an eye to move to a management role.

My legal experience isn't directly relevant, hence the consideration of b-school to aid the transition and pick up more of the applicable skill set. Without having done full research into appropriate programs yet, I'm targeting Stanford, Berkeley, Harvard, Columbia, Chicago, roughly in that order.

Below are my basic stats, what are my chances, assuming strong recommendations (how are lawyer applicants perceived)?

Projected GMAT: 700+ (you tell me what my target should be, just starting)
LSAT: 169
Undergrad: top 5 liberal arts, GPA 3.5-ish
NYU Law School (top 5): think I missed the top quarter of the class, but could be close.

By the time I would be submitting the application, I would have 4 years post-law school work as an associate at a respected big firm in NY (the top place for some of the fields we/I practice), doing primarily commercial litigation. I was a summer associate at a top ten firm in the Silicon Valley, and turned down perm. employment, and earlier had spent a summer working in the legal dep't of an investment group that did private placements.

Appreciate any advice. Thanks.

[GMAT2008]

Hi David,

Thank you very much for helping us with valuable information.

I am interested to do an MBA and I would like to ask for your advice regarding how to improve my CV in order to get accepted to a very good business school here in US.


This is my current status:
1) I am currently a 2nd year PhD student at Northwestern University
in the neuro-psychology department with a GPA of 3.94 (I have 3 more
classes to take to finish all the class requirements) and I have

impressive work results: I have four papers in progress, for two of them
I am the first author, and the other two I am the second author. I also
have published about twelve poster presentations where I am mostly a second author.
2) I have a bachelor degree in economics with a GPA of 3.08 from one
of the best economics school in my home country (in Eastern Europe).

3) I did not take the GMAT yet, what score should I aim for?
4) I do not have business work experience.


Although I like my Ph.D. work and I think the results are very good,
it will only lead to an academic career in neuroscience/psychology ,
which I am not sure I want to pursue.

I would highly appreciate any feedback on what should be my next steps.


Thank you very much,
Maria

[aspirant1976]

Hi David,

scored a 680(q 48 v35) .
i am aiming at schools ranked 8-15 in US - full time for fall 2008.
i was aiming at ross(umich), kelloggs, duke(fuqua) and sterns.
what are my chances.
i am having 8 years of experience(IT, 2 yrs in US)
undergrad from iit kharagpur,
gpa is low - 7.32/10 ( just below 3).
shall i look for retest.
guys please help.
gmatbong please let me know.

thanks in advance.

[AdmissionsConsultants]

Originally Posted by chameleon911

Hi David,

That's great news! Thank you very much for the review. I really do appreciate the help.

For all of you reading this forum, as you can see, David REALLY knows his stuff when it comes to applications. If you or anyone else needs that extra edge to get into a hard school, HIRE THIS GUY!!!!

It's really a no brainer if you want it bad enough to do what it takes and is a far more effective investment than paying for a GMAT consultant.

Marc

Hi Marc and thanks for your message!

I am glad to hear that my comments were helpful. I welcome your questions and please do not hesitate to call us if we may be of further assistance.

Best of luck with your applications!

Sincerely,

David Petersam
DPetersam@admissionsconsultants.com
703.242.5885

[AdmissionsConsultants]

Originally Posted by exlaw

I'm a lawyer considering going to business school, looking to transition towards one of two things: (i) private equity/venture capital, focused on early stage and preferably a hands on approach to assisting management; or (ii) entrepreneur, though if going it myself doesn't pan out, possibly approached from consulting with an eye to move to a management role.

My legal experience isn't directly relevant, hence the consideration of b-school to aid the transition and pick up more of the applicable skill set. Without having done full research into appropriate programs yet, I'm targeting Stanford, Berkeley, Harvard, Columbia, Chicago, roughly in that order.

Below are my basic stats, what are my chances, assuming strong recommendations (how are lawyer applicants perceived)?

Projected GMAT: 700+ (you tell me what my target should be, just starting)
LSAT: 169
Undergrad: top 5 liberal arts, GPA 3.5-ish
NYU Law School (top 5): think I missed the top quarter of the class, but could be close.

By the time I would be submitting the application, I would have 4 years post-law school work as an associate at a respected big firm in NY (the top place for some of the fields we/I practice), doing primarily commercial litigation. I was a summer associate at a top ten firm in the Silicon Valley, and turned down perm. employment, and earlier had spent a summer working in the legal dep't of an investment group that did private placements.

Appreciate any advice. Thanks.

Hi and thanks for your inquiry.

As you know bschool is quite competitive and this general statement holds up for individuals with a law background. Many admissions committees view law applicants as disenchanted individuals who are looking for a way out of their current jobs. I know this is not quite a fair assessment; however, this is the general norm. This being said, it will be extremely imperative that you phrase and formulate your essays and overall message in such a way that you are not categorized as one of these unhappy lawyers looking for a way out. In addition, you should understand that the PE/VC stated career goals are becoming less effective. Therefore, you should really think through your why MBA reasons with extreme care.

Finally, it is indeed important that you score well on your GMAT. A 720+ would be ideal along with a quant score in the 80% or above. If you are able to incorporate all these elements incorporated into your applications, you could be quite competitive at the aforementioned schools.

Best of luck with your applications!

Sincerely,

David Petersam
DPetersam@admissionsconsultants.com
703.242.5885

[AdmissionsConsultants]

Originally Posted by GMAT2008

Hi David,

Thank you very much for helping us with valuable information.

I am interested to do an MBA and I would like to ask for your advice regarding how to improve my CV in order to get accepted to a very good business school here in US.


This is my current status:
1) I am currently a 2nd year PhD student at Northwestern University
in the neuro-psychology department with a GPA of 3.94 (I have 3 more
classes to take to finish all the class requirements) and I have

impressive work results: I have four papers in progress, for two of them
I am the first author, and the other two I am the second author. I also
have published about twelve poster presentations where I am mostly a second author.
2) I have a bachelor degree in economics with a GPA of 3.08 from one
of the best economics school in my home country (in Eastern Europe).

3) I did not take the GMAT yet, what score should I aim for?
4) I do not have business work experience.


Although I like my Ph.D. work and I think the results are very good,
it will only lead to an academic career in neuroscience/psychology ,
which I am not sure I want to pursue.

I would highly appreciate any feedback on what should be my next steps.


Thank you very much,
Maria

Hi Maria and thanks for your inquiry.

You have a very impressive background and your academic profile most certainly demonstrates your potential. However, you will have to try extra hard to make your profile stand out as being unique and sincere. Given the fact that you are a PhD candidate suggests that you might be more of an academic who is simply interested in being a life long student. Thus, it will be important that you eradicate any doubts that the admissions committee might have in regards to your potential as a MBA candidate. In order to do this, you will need to complete some career mapping to better understand your own career objectives and to thus be able to express those career objectives to the admissions committee. I state this for it appears to me that you are not quite certain as to why you want the MBA. If the admissions committee picks up on this uncertainty, your chances will be hurt drastically.

I also encourage you to strongly consider gaining some work experience before embarking on your MBA. This will help you clarify your career goals and the work experience can help ensure you get the most out of the unique MBA educational opportunity.

Best of luck with your applications!

Sincerely,

David Petersam
DPetersam@admissionsconsultants.com
703.242.5885

[GMAT2008]

Hi David,

I guess there is a mistake, somehow I got the same answer as exlaw.

Thank you,
Maria