Simon School - University of Rochester - 2nd year student accepting questions

MBA
1

Aspiring MBA applicants, I am a second year student at the Simon Graduate School of Business, University of Rochester. I understand that choosing to do an MBA is probably one of the biggest decisions that you will ever make in your life. It i…

2

Aspiring MBA applicants,

I am a second year student at the Simon Graduate School of Business, University of Rochester. I understand that choosing to do an MBA is probably one of the biggest decisions that you will ever make in your life. It is important that you look at all your options and make a well-informed decision on your choice of school. I am here to accept any questions or concerns that you have about the school. I will try my best to answer your queries.

Thanks

3

My Profile:
GMAT: 710
TOEFL: 113
Work Ex: None
Acad: B Tech Civil (CGPA 7.7/10)
10+2: 65.2%
10th: 77.8%
Extracurricular: Decent

What are my chances of converting Simon?

4

Hi,

The school goes through each and very application very carefully; it is not an objective selection process. Your GMAT is above average, and because Simon accepts a certain percentage of early leaders (students with 0-3 years of work experience), I will definitely encourage you to apply. That being said, your essays will definitely need to stand out.

Hope that helps! Please feel free to reach out if you have any more questions.

5
Prospective students,

For those who have ever dropped their plans of doing an MBA abroad because of the enormous costs involved, I have GOOD NEWS for you. Simon is one of the few schools that has a tie-up with Access bank which gives no-cosigner loans to international students! For more information, please visit the following link:
Full-Time M.B.A. Program Loans : Simon Graduate School of Business

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

Meliora!
6

Hi Hitesh,

Thanks for the information.
Please let me know how the Simon's MBA is ranked for marketing.

Thanks,
Neerja

7

Hi Neerja,

Simon rankest amongst the best in the world in Finance (was ranked 2nd in FT last year). However, Simon has been growing recently in other areas as well. We have several students w/ marketing backgrounds like yourself as well as career switchers.
The marketing program at Simon is very quantitative. Students pursue careers in brand management, product development, advertising, and market research after they finish their degrees. Most of the firms that recruit for marketing positions on campus are Consumer Product and Goods (CPG) companies and pharmaceutical companies. Examples of a few firms that recruited this year include: Johnson & Johnson, Unilever, Nestle, Bayer, Novartis, and Kraft. There may be more industrial/technical firms that recruit, but you may need to be more independent in your job searching to acquire an internship there. I'd recommend attending job conferences like National Black and NSHMBA, as well as leveraging the alumni network to better increase your chances of getting a position at a company that doesn't necessarily recruit on campus. In addition, a lot of the clubs sponsor corporate tours throughout the school year. If you get involved with clubs like SMA or COTA, you can help target the companies you'd be interested in visiting.
The marketing clubs on campus are very active, and I think it is the second largest club after Finance. They host lecturers, learning sessions, networking events, social events, business case competitions, and corporate tours. Most students participate in several clubs to get involved in a mixture of academic and fun events.

I hope this information helps! Please feel free to get back if you have any more questions. I am not a marketing student, but I have provided the above information in consultation with a friend of mine.

Meliora!

Hitesh

8

Hi Hitesh,

Thanks for the detailed reply. I have a background (9.5yrs) in IT (telecom) and want a career in PdM in a hi-tech sector. So do you suggest that Simon's won't be a good choice for me?

Thanks,
Neerja

9

Hi Neerja,

It is hard to tell whether Simon will be the right school for you with the amount of information that I have about your career aspirations. Can you please elaborate on which firms are you targeting and what roles?

Thanks,

Hitesh

10

Hi Hitesh, my target post-MBA will be IT companies and the role will be Product Manager.

11

Neerja,

There are several Simon alumni who are working in very senior positions in some of the high-tech firms in the industry. In fact, my mentor (every student is assigned a mentor of his choice, if you didn't know already) is an alumni from the batch of 1997 and has been working in Microsoft since many years. He is extremely friendly and down-to-earth, and has helped me tremendously with my job search.

The attached document will give you some of the highlights of the different concentrations taught at Simon. It looks like concentrations like Computers & Information Systems and Electronic Commerce will be of your interest. If you need any more information about these, please do let me know.

Thanks,

Hitesh

12
Prospective students,
For those who have ever dropped their plans of doing an MBA abroad because of the enormous costs involved, I have GOOD NEWS for you. Simon is one of the few schools that has a tie-up with Access bank which gives no-cosigner loans to international students! For more information, please visit the following link:
Full-Time M.B.A. Program Loans : Simon Graduate School of Business
Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.
Meliora!



Hi Hitesh,

Plz tell me whether loan without US cosigner can cover living expenses or not??
13

Hi,

From the last time that I checked, the bank was covering living expenses as well. However, policies here keep changing and I advise that you check with the bank at the time of applying.

Secondly, I would also like to inform you that since last December (December 2009), all my living expenses have very easily been covered by working part-time at school. While part-time on-campus jobs are not very common for first years, almost all second years who want to work on-campus get a job. Hence, for second year at least, you really should not worry about living expenses. That being said, the school understands that studies are your first priority, and will not offer you an on-campus job unless you are able to maintain a good GPA.

Finally, a decent internship pays about $6000-$8000 a month. Multiplied by three, this also helps alleviate financial concerns for a lot of students.

I hope this helps. Please do let me know if you have any more questions.

Thanks

14

I will also like to add that while I looked at getting an MBA as an investment in my future, I also wanted to make sure I made a smart investment. In my research, I found that Simon is among the top schools for return on investment. I also found out that about 85% of Simon students receive merit-based scholarships. You can check out a list of available full-time MBA scholarships at this link: Full-Time M.B.A Scholarships : Simon Graduate School of Business. In the end, Simon provided me with a great scholarship that made tuition a lot more manageable and gave me the confidence of leaving the workforce temporarily to pursue my goals.

The Simon School is extremely generous in giving scholarships, especially to International students because they understand how big of a deal this is for internationals, and diversity and high percentage of internationals is our forte. We are the only top-tier school that has as much as 40-50% of international students.

15

Hi Hitesh,

Below is a brief profile:

GMAT 640
Work Exp: Will be 4 yrs at the time of joining(Working with a Bank in their Technology Services)

Acads: B.E.(Average Percentage)
EC: Basic

GMAT score is beow the average for Simon. Would you still advice if i should apply?

Regards,
Rajat

16

Hi Rajat,

While 640 is below average, it comes within the middle 80% range. My suggestion to you is as follows:
1. Try giving another shot at the GMAT if you think that you would be able to do better the next time.
2. If not, I would still encourage you to apply if you think you would be able to write compelling essays. Please note that all essays are read very carefully irrespective of the GMAT scores. In addition, things like networking, building relationships with alumni, admissions staff, current students etc. all are ways to increase your chances not only with our school, but with any school or employer in US.
3. Finally, applying at Simon has an added advantage because sometimes if the admissions cannot accommodate a student that they like in the Fall batch, they extend the student an admit for the next batch that starts in Winter.

I hope this helps. Please feel free to reach out if you need any further information.

Thanks,

Hitesh

17

Hi Hitesh,

Thanks for your input. Well, I am not sure fi I would be able to wait another year to apply just to increase the GMAT. And other reason is if I am able to improve the score would be by 20 to 30 points as this was my second attempt to GMAT. I know myself and scoring 700+ might be a up hill task. So as u have suggested, I will go ahead witht the application and hope for the best. Also if i could get your email id so would be easier to communicate.

Thanks,
Rajat

18
Hi Hitesh,

Thanks for your input. Well, I am not sure fi I would be able to wait another year to apply just to increase the GMAT. And other reason is if I am able to improve the score would be by 20 to 30 points as this was my second attempt to GMAT. I know myself and scoring 700+ might be a up hill task. So as u have suggested, I will go ahead witht the application and hope for the best. Also if i could get your email id so would be easier to communicate.

Thanks,
Rajat

Hi Rajat,

I will message you my email. Good luck with your application.

Thanks,

Hitesh
19

Hi Hitesh,

I have two specific questions for you:

1] Recently I got a post from Simon being judged as a Priority Candidate post my attendance of MBA fair. What is the significance of these words about my candidature and chances of acceptance?

2] I want to concentrate towards Strategy & Operations aligned curriculum in MBA and am targeting Technology & Consulting firms post MBA. I will like to know if you are aware of few frequent companies which hire Simon students for internship and final placement in this area? Also how easy or difficult the scene is for an international student for the same?

Thanks for all your help for prospective students!

20

For which deadline had you applied? And MBA fair in which city & when?