The Application Process

palermo10 wrote:It's decision making time...


Arizona State - Accepted with scholarship
University of San Diego - Accepted with scholarship

Congratulations, palermo10! Any idea which school you might choose?

dmateer25 wrote:

palermo10 wrote:It's decision making time...


Arizona State - Accepted with scholarship
University of San Diego - Accepted with scholarship

Congratulations, palermo10! Any idea which school you might choose?

Dont know... its tough! I live in Phoenix, but went to USD for undergrad. ASU is ranked, but USD has the program I like (CSR & Social Enterprise). USD is private, but with this scholarship would cost $12k less.

I dont think I can go wrong either way, but... do you guys see anything that I'm not pointing out?

i think you've answered your question already... USD has the program you like & would cost $12k less... i think that explains it right there

money9111 wrote:i think you've answered your question already... USD has the program you like & would cost $12k less... i think that explains it right there

Agreed, it sounds like you have your mind made up to me!

USD has an amazing location!

Hey guys I got accepted to IESE Business school and i'll be starting this fall at Barcelona!!

Congrats to all those who got admitted and all the best to all those awaiting responses.

hk wrote:Hey guys I got accepted to IESE Business school and i'll be starting this fall at Barcelona!!

Congrats to all those who got admitted and all the best to all those awaiting responses.

Nice job! You survived the grueling assessment day and obviously passed with flying colors. I'm sure you'll have a great time in Barcelona.

palermo10 wrote:
Nice job! You survived the grueling assessment day and obviously passed with flying colors. I'm sure you'll have a great time in Barcelona.

Thanks palermo. Did you hear back from IESE?

hk wrote:
Thanks palermo. Did you hear back from IESE?

Yes, I heard back but did not get accepted. Oh well

palermo10 which schools are you waiting for now?

palermo10 wrote:

hk wrote:
Thanks palermo. Did you hear back from IESE?

Yes, I heard back but did not get accepted. Oh well

Oh sorry to hear that. But anyways i guess you have a decision to make (have you decided? pls update us.)

Wish you all the best.

Not sure where to put updates besides in my original post so I guess I'll put them here. This past Monday I got an invite to interview with UCLA, and last week I went to Austin to interview at McCombs. I wanted to share my experience there because I've been pretty impressed with the people and how they run admissions there.

I attended a morning breakfast and class visit (Strategic Marketing) the day of my interview. Two students met with about six of us prospective students, five of whom had interviews that day. They were extremely nice, forthcoming, and honest about the program, its ups, and its downs. We spent about an hour at a nice breakfast place by the football stadium before splitting up. Three of us went to marketing and the other three went to a finance course.

During the class visit, Professor Mackie was great. They were discussing a case they had worked on, and I was impressed with the level of thought and preparedness everyone had. The professor did a great job of not directing people towards a "right" answer, but facilitating discussions (and sometimes arguments) and really pushing people to think through their recommendations and defend them against other classmates' viewpoints. It was really interesting and the 90 minutes flew by pretty quickly.

After that, our student host took us on a tour of the gym across the street from McCombs and walked us to an area where we could get some lunch. After lunch I made it to the admissions office for my early afternoon interview, and right at the scheduled time, my interviewer, a second year MBA, met me and we went to an interview room. He took the first 5-10 minutes to explain himself, the interview process, and some of his experiences before getting into any questions. It was nice to have that initial information, and I think it helped build a more relaxing atmosphere for the rest of the interview. The next 50 minutes or so I answered his 9-10 questions, and at times he interjected with his own experiences. My interviewer was a former consultant who was looking to get into the same industry I was. They had to have matched up the interviewer with my experiences, otherwise it would be an odd coincidence. It really helped me relax and know that he knew about my industry and that I didn't have to dumb things down much.

We hit our one hour limit as I answered the last question, but my interviewer had no problem taking an extra 30 minutes to answer my questions about the program. He was very honest about the program and career center, having been in the program both before and after the economic collapse. I got a lot out of our conversation and was reassured about job prospects coming out of the progarm if I were to go to McCombs.

I left that evening with a very positive view of the program and especially its people. From students to professors to the admissions staff at the office, everyone was extremely nice and accommodating. Checking my snail mail yesterday, I received a hand-written postcard with a thank you from the student ambassador who had breakfast with us and took us to her strategic marketing class. Nice touch.

Even though it's a bit lower ranked than some of the 'powerhouse' schools, I'd encourage anyone interested in an MBA to at least explore McCombs and see if it's a good fit for you and your goals.

brianm wrote:Not sure where to put updates besides in my original post so I guess I'll put them here. This past Monday I got an invite to interview with UCLA, and last week I went to Austin to interview at McCombs. I wanted to share my experience there because I've been pretty impressed with the people and how they run admissions there.

I attended a morning breakfast and class visit (Strategic Marketing) the day of my interview. Two students met with about six of us prospective students, five of whom had interviews that day. They were extremely nice, forthcoming, and honest about the program, its ups, and its downs. We spent about an hour at a nice breakfast place by the football stadium before splitting up. Three of us went to marketing and the other three went to a finance course.

During the class visit, Professor Mackie was great. They were discussing a case they had worked on, and I was impressed with the level of thought and preparedness everyone had. The professor did a great job of not directing people towards a "right" answer, but facilitating discussions (and sometimes arguments) and really pushing people to think through their recommendations and defend them against other classmates' viewpoints. It was really interesting and the 90 minutes flew by pretty quickly.

After that, our student host took us on a tour of the gym across the street from McCombs and walked us to an area where we could get some lunch. After lunch I made it to the admissions office for my early afternoon interview, and right at the scheduled time, my interviewer, a second year MBA, met me and we went to an interview room. He took the first 5-10 minutes to explain himself, the interview process, and some of his experiences before getting into any questions. It was nice to have that initial information, and I think it helped build a more relaxing atmosphere for the rest of the interview. The next 50 minutes or so I answered his 9-10 questions, and at times he interjected with his own experiences. My interviewer was a former consultant who was looking to get into the same industry I was. They had to have matched up the interviewer with my experiences, otherwise it would be an odd coincidence. It really helped me relax and know that he knew about my industry and that I didn't have to dumb things down much.

We hit our one hour limit as I answered the last question, but my interviewer had no problem taking an extra 30 minutes to answer my questions about the program. He was very honest about the program and career center, having been in the program both before and after the economic collapse. I got a lot out of our conversation and was reassured about job prospects coming out of the progarm if I were to go to McCombs.

I left that evening with a very positive view of the program and especially its people. From students to professors to the admissions staff at the office, everyone was extremely nice and accommodating. Checking my snail mail yesterday, I received a hand-written postcard with a thank you from the student ambassador who had breakfast with us and took us to her strategic marketing class. Nice touch.

Even though it's a bit lower ranked than some of the 'powerhouse' schools, I'd encourage anyone interested in an MBA to at least explore McCombs and see if it's a good fit for you and your goals.

Great debrief on your visit to McCombs. It sounds like it would be a very good fit for you. What did you think about Austin? Could you picture yourself there for the next two years? When will you hear back on a decision?

dmateer25 wrote: Great debrief on your visit to McCombs. It sounds like it would be a very good fit for you. What did you think about Austin? Could you picture yourself there for the next two years? When will you hear back on a decision?

Thanks. I agree, based on what I know so far, I think it would be a pretty good fit for me. If I get in, I'll spend a weekend or so in Austin to make sure. Before last week I had never been there, and I only spent 24 hours there, so I didn't get to see a lot outside of the business school. I went to undergrad at the University of Michigan and to me, Austin had a very similar feel - a big school but very friendly with a small, high quality, tight-knit business program.

My interviewer said I would probably find out about a decision either right before or soon after their Spring Break (which is in mid-March), so I've got a few weeks to go yet before I hear.

Now I'm off to prepare for my UCLA interview this week. Crazy times!

brianm wrote:

dmateer25 wrote: Great debrief on your visit to McCombs. It sounds like it would be a very good fit for you. What did you think about Austin? Could you picture yourself there for the next two years? When will you hear back on a decision?

Thanks. I agree, based on what I know so far, I think it would be a pretty good fit for me. If I get in, I'll spend a weekend or so in Austin to make sure. Before last week I had never been there, and I only spent 24 hours there, so I didn't get to see a lot outside of the business school. I went to undergrad at the University of Michigan and to me, Austin had a very similar feel - a big school but very friendly with a small, high quality, tight-knit business program.

My interviewer said I would probably find out about a decision either right before or soon after their Spring Break (which is in mid-March), so I've got a few weeks to go yet before I hear.

Now I'm off to prepare for my UCLA interview this week. Crazy times!

Good luck with the UCLA interview! Are you heading to L.A. for the interview?