Orthodox MBA group

This posting was written for the Orthodox MBA group (in Groups, under Education). Please feel free to join us! 12 insider tips for aspiring MBAs Hello all, and welcome to the Orthodox MBA group! I've been in the process of researching business schools ever since the collapse of Lehman brothers pushed me to go into finance (you must be wondering where my sanity lies!) Over the course of a year, I've come to learn a lot about the application and due diligence process. Below are 12 helpful tips for those who are about to embark upon an MBA, or those who are thinking seriously about one. 1. Determine your needs first. My personal desire was to change careers and go into a new field. Some of you might simply be looking to raise your qualifications in your existing field. Things like this will influence your choice of program. Remember, an MBA is an investment, and at a top school such an investment can cost up to six figures for the whole program! 2. Determine where you are on your career and life time-line. You may not want to get an MBA straight out of undergrad, and many programs will not even accept you without work experience. You also might want to take some time to make sure the career path you are on is the one you want to be in. On the other hand, career changers who are sure they want to make a change need to be conscious of their age and what is possible for them and what is not. Those who are older will be facing an uphill battle with younger, more energetic contenders in their newly chosen field (as well as younger applicants – admissions officers tend to think a lot like employers). If you're in your middle 30's and are seriously thinking of using an MBA as a vehicle for a career change, it is important to take the necessary time to make a well informed decision while at the same time being careful not to procrastinate unreasonably. 3. Decide if you need to be a full time or part time/executive student. Employers tend to view a full time MBA program in a stronger light than part time and executive, especially for career changers. However, if you are already working in your field of choice, a part time MBA or Executive MBA (a shortened version of the part-time MBA) is often a more reasonable alternative. Also, full time MBAs are only practical for those who are being supported by their spouse/parents or have saved up enough money to support themselves during their studies. On the flip side, full time MBA programs offer the best networking opportunities since they organize students in small “cohort” groups. They also often get the benefit of job placement priority and greater resource allocation in career services. 4. Know if you need a high ranking school or not for your particular career goals. For instance, top “bulge bracket” investment banks such as Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs like to recruit finance MBAs from the “first tier” of business schools. Such schools are very difficult to get into, the application process itself will eat up considerable time and money (for example, some hire admissions consultants to better their chances), as will preparation for the GMAT exam. While it is nice to get into a prestigious school, it is by far not necessary. For example, an investment banker who graduates from Columbia's business school will get the benefit of a high starting salary that can cover their $120,000 in outstanding loans rather fast. On the other hand, if you want to be an entrepreneur, attending such an expensive school while offering you a good education and connections will not give you the guaranteed benefit of a higher income. It is also important to keep in mind that merely attending a name brand school will not guarantee you employment. Human resources departments only view the diploma as one part of the picture, and yes, there are graduates from first tier schools like Stanford and Wharton who have a hard time finding a job. Some publications that rate schools publish average salaries of graduates to show the “return on investment”. 5. The business school ratings that are considered the industry standard by human resources departments are published by the “US News and World Report”. Many schools will mention that other reputable publications, such as Forbes and the Financial Times, rate their school favorably. Be it fair or unfair, the US News and World Report is the only standard that matters when it comes to “ranking”. That does not mean that this publication is more correct than the others, so do not use that as the sole criteria of judgment. View it more as the industry's likely grade of your diploma's value. 6. Make sure your school is accredited by the AACSB, the most widely recognized business school accreditation agency. There are many business schools out there. Some are “diploma mills” (schools with very low standards, many of whom are online), and others may have reputable graduate departments, but if they are not accredited by the AACSB be careful – human resources departments will question your diploma's value. This is also important to consider in the event that you want to transfer from one business school to another. Your credits may not transfer if they came from a non AACSB accredited school. 7. Online programs may be convenient, but they also require more due diligence and greater self discipline in study. While there are a number of non AACSB accredited online “diploma mills”, some very reputable programs such as Thunderbird School of Management offer online diplomas as well. However, many students find it hard to concentrate when studying exclusively at home, finding themselves at mercy to various distractions. Another major minus relating to online programs is that you are seriously hampered by not having an opportunity to network with fellow students. 8. Even if you are not 100% sure you are going to attend business school, begin immediately preparing for the GMAT exam, or at least familiarize yourself with its structure. The GMAT is an adult version of the SAT you took as a high school senior. It measures “quantitative skills” (math) and verbal reasoning skills, and it also includes two essay sections. Most people tend to be concerned about the quantitative part, and MBA programs that rely heavily on quantitative skills (i.e. finance) may weigh the math score more heavily. While you may have studied much of this math in high school, it is likely that you forgot most of it unless you work in a math intense field such as engineering. Furthermore, the test is timed, takes four hours, and does not permit the use of a calculator. The score on the test not only plays an important role in the admissions process, but also in determining financial aid/scholarship awards. A high score can also help overcome a poor undergraduate record. Be sure that you buy the “Official Guide to GMAT Review”, which is the only GMAT review book that has actual GMAT questions in it. This book is good for practice tests, other books (such as Barrons and Princeton Review) are helpful for learning test taking strategies as well as a review of the material tested on the exam. 9. Start early in lining up your application, especially the image you want to present to the admissions committee through your essays and resume. For example, if you are switching careers you want to show that you are truly interested in the new career you chose, that it wasn't a quick decision because you got bored with what you were doing or because you simply want to make more money in another field (the starving artist to investment banker profile is fairly common). Admissions committees will be looking for management potential, so be sure to underline areas where you took responsibility and were a leader (and if that hasn't happened, start looking for those experiences or create them yourself!) It is also wise to do some research on the school. Admissions officers want to know how you're going to fit into their program, and through this research you will also find out whether this school is a true fit for you or not. Finally, a word of caution – be honest! Many top business schools hire professional background screening agencies who will check the story on your resume. If you were accepted and the screening agency discovers you misrepresented yourself (i.e. hid a prison conviction or fudged the dates of your employment), you may be denied admission without a chance to reapply! 10. Line up your recommenders. Make sure your recommender will not only say good things about you, but that they will submit the recommendation on time. It also helps if they know you well and are not some distant upper management figure who won't have much to say about you. 11. Take a business like approach to business school! Do your due diligence on the schools you want to apply to, find out what their benefits of the program are, what are the drawbacks. Don't allow yourself to get swayed by marketing hype. Look past the glossy brochures, the upbeat, charming admissions and recruitment personnel, cheery student volunteers, spiffy classrooms, and free sandwiches. Look for facts and quantitative evidence that you can use to compare one school to the other. Take a look at the quality of courses, and see how available the courses are (sometimes courses are offered only on occasion). Check the qualifications of faculty. Ask about pre-professional clubs and see how active they are, is there an MBA facebook group, for example? If you are a fulltime student and/or a career changer, pay particular attention to the career services center. Be wary of those who say “its what you make of it”, this is often a way of saying “We really don't have many connections, so you have to work harder on your own”. Attend different open house sessions, and do go to the top schools as well – even if you don't intend to apply. Use them as a basis for comparison. 12. Do a good job at self presentation. Dress properly when you attend admissions events. Business casual is a good idea, although you can always take it up to the next level and wear a suit. Show grace and poise to the admissions officers, be professional and genuine. Introduce yourself by name, offer to shake hands. Avoid laying it on thick or asking repeat questions to the admissions officers just to look smart, they will perceive you as a desperado. All of this is particularly important if the school you are applying to interviews its applicants, the admissions officer who conducts your interview is likely to be at the event. Also, be polite and friendly to other prospective applicants. They may be competing with you today for admission, but tomorrow they may be in your class cohort. You may even find that you will get some productive networking done there. A big part of business school is networking, and that means you are on a constant lookout for future business partners, and possibly even employers/employees. This is why whenever you attend an event at a good business school, you'll notice that everyone is friendly and always ready to “meet n' greet”. I hope this advice has been helpful to you. I'd like to recommend a book that was helpful to me, called “How to get into the top MBA programs” by Richard Montauk – it is possible you will find one at your local library. There are also plenty of resources online. For GMAT registration, see www.mba.com.