Phoren B-school Assistance Desk

[jerinsamuel]

I am looking for MBA in Mktg or IT in Singapore / Aus / UK..

can anyone say how good is it in Singapore?? ...
which college to choose in the countries I said above??
expense??
job scene??

I plan to enroll in 2010.

[thetoastedbread]

My gut feeling - Everything else being equal, CMU Tepper will be a stretch for someone who had poor grades in quant subjects. My perception of CMU Tepper is that they stress quite a bit on quantitative / analytical skills - moreso than other schools I know of. Believe it or not, last year one of the sections in their application form enquired whether the candidate had in the past sat for University-level Calculus Or Statistics courses. If the answer was Yes, then they enquired which subjects specifically in the college transcripts (that you are supposed to courier to the school) consisted of calculus and / or statistics. I do not know whether a similar question is being asked this year but it does demonstrate a point.

In spite of your quant subjects related concern, your final under-grad % seems to be quite healthy (at least by the standards of University I attended). Your college being an REC would be well accepted as well. Your GMAT quant is decent too. All these factors might to some extent make up for poor grades in quant subjects during engineering. If you have taken any supplementary courses after graduation to make up for poor grades in quant subjects, that may also to some extent alleviate the adcom's concern. My recommendation is that do apply to Tepper with your best foot fwd (assuming you feel there is a fit between you and Tepper) but also do not pin all your hopes on getting through. Have few backup plans.

All the best!

- TTB

Originally Posted by urefriendforeve

Hey all,

I wanted to know the importance given to individual components in an applicants GMAT and subject scores in undergraduation.

Basically i havnt done well in quantative subjects (have very poor grades in mathematics courses(just managed to scrape thru) during undergrad engineering and only have a 47 in Quantative in gmat)

My gmat consolidated is 710 (47M, 40V,5.5 AWA)
Undergraduation : 68% From an N.I.T(REC)
Work experience: 5+ years (mixed in R&D and Engineering services)
Extracurricular :Pretty ok, have shown continuation in this part.

I am looking at Michigan Ross and CMU Tepper.

Any expert opinion will be welcome.

[rsb1982]

Hello guys,

My 1st post on PG. I gave my GMAT in June, primarily to get into ISB. But after consulting various peers, I am prompted to enquire about an MBA from US. Firstly, my

CV snapshot:

GMAT: 770/5.5, 1st attempt
Workex: 4+, Top Software services provider, 1 yr international
Acads: X: 89%, 0.1% Maths scholarship. XII: 91%, CGPA: 8.48, Top 10 Engg College
Extra Curr: Pretty good in music, certificates and performances to prove it as well
Leadership: Yes, international
Social Work: None

I would like to major in Finance. Any ideas on which schools I can target with these attributes ? Also, considering the dire situation in finance, is there any disadvantage to switching careers now ? How would you guys approach this ?

Many Thanks

RSB

[aayush_badmash]

This one was boggling me for a long time ,

Does too old GMAT score , like 3 -4 years have any negative impact while applying to the B schools ??

does the Ad Com take both old and recent scores with quality?

Thanks

[Neo2000]

Originally Posted by aayush_badmash

This one was boggling me for a long time ,

Does too old GMAT score , like 3 -4 years have any negative impact while applying to the B schools ??

does the Ad Com take both old and recent scores with quality?

Thanks

If the score is really old, the schools dont really bother about it. They might see if the score went up/went down but as such it has no negative impact on your app. If the score is old, but its gone up, then it tends to have a slightly positive effect.

[theinquizitive]

Guys,

I am gonna apply for R1 for fall 09 Duke MBA, but i am having trouble for a particular information, please help!!

1. I am looking at taking my educational initiative international post MBA.
- Now i want to know if Duke has club in this direction?

- I know Melinda Gates is a past Duke student , but is there any alumnus here who works for a NGO or a Social cause or an alumnus who has since started a organisation or works for one along the lines i am thinking about?

- Does consulting come under such a idea? Meaning if i am a consultant for McKinsey, BAH or Goldman Sachs does any consulting work involve policy making or aid in consulting policy making?

Basically i am having trouble linking Duke with my idea, any feedback towards this is appreciated.

Thanks,
Deepak

[suresh_mba]

Hey guys,

Is there a good "one stop repository/page/site" to get the application related info about the popular B-schools? Deadlines, essays, application fee, et al?

I know us-news but it is a paid service..

Thanks much

[anbamuthan]

Originally Posted by thetoastedbread

Answers below:

1. Military exp will certainly put you in a less competitive pool as compared to say IT engineers. However unlike engineers (whose quant ability is often rightly or wrongly taken for granted), ex-military folks I think need to put in a bit more effort - this may be in the form of scoring well on GMAT as well as elaborating in the interviews how you will be able to master the heavy quant aspect of a b school syllabus. This is also true for most non-traditional b school backgrounds (artists, musicians, etc)

I have heard repeatedly that Harvard, Tuck and Darden are especially military-friendly, although it is best that you do your own research by looking up the pre-MBA profiles of these school's classes for the past few years. Almost all schools publish the pre-MBA profile of the current class and some even publish the pre-MBA profiles of the last few classes - so that it allows you to spot a trend. (Assuming you are planning for full-time MBA, make sure though that you are looking at just the Full-time MBA charts and profiles - most schools offer multiple MBA programmes such as Exec MBA, etc). All the top schools also have their own students clubs - clubs specifically formed by ex-military personnel being one of them. eg: see below -

Darden Military Association
Military - Admissions

The above is just an example - all top schools have similar clubs. It may be useful to reach out to the various office-holders of these clubs and get the inside dough.

3. 3 years degree - This is an important consideration. I would not rely on people's opinions about this. It is best that you lookup on the school websites for all Top schools individually. 99 times out of 100 you will find this info in the FAQ section.

4. International exposure helps because majority of your class (unless you are an American in a US B school) would belong to another nationality. Also your study group will consist of international students. So working in a foreign setup and having that cross-cultural sensitivity helps. But you are not doomed if you have not worked abroad. If you have participated in joint military drills with say armed forces from some other country, etc, then you can make a mention of this in your essays.

5. Many top schools in the US extend you guaranteed loans. Again this is an important consideration and may change from year to year; so it is best not to rely on what others tell you. This info is usually easily available in the 'Financing your MBA' or similar sections of almost all school web-sites. So look these up yourselves. There is an article on BusinessWeek that has compiled a list of few top schools that offer generous scholarships / fellowships. Browse thru some of the below stuff.

Full-Tuition Fellowships from Top B-Schools
How to Go to Business School for Free


6. Your school choices should be driven primarily by your post-MBA aspirations. It is hard to recommend schools unless you mention what these are.

All the best!

- TTB

Dear toastedbread,

Thanks a lot. I will go about it the way you have suggested.

Regards
Anbu

[Schuler]

Hallo Experts,
Need your inputs....
Just gave Gmat 1st attempt.....almost dismal performance
Here is just brief profile
Gmat = 700 (Q49, V35)
Wrk Exp 3.5 (Manufacturing + IT-ERP) Currently as SAP Functional Consultant
BE Production (Govt College) 66%
Half way through APICS CPIM certification

Area of Interest : OPERATIONS / SCM

1) Does this profile sound good enough, to fetch any calls
2) Which schools I should target (I knw, this is sily one, but still expect some tips)

Thanks and Regards

[kshahpuri]

Hi PUYs,

Couple of quick questions. One I plan to apply to Tuck in R1 and the deadline is Nov 12th. I have been looking for dates for an on campus interview and got one only for Nov 19th. Should I submit the app on Nov 12th and interview on 19th......or apply post interview in R2.

Secondly, Im apping for Darden R1....3 short n sweet essay....par anyone has gyaan for da 100 word...Im a person who...... essay

Thanks a ton!!