The Application Process

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?

Thanks dmateer. I'd love to head out to LA in the middle of a Chicago winter, but alas, I've been traveling a lot lately (including a business trip to Paris a few weeks ago) and I'm just too exhausted to put myself though another long flight, so I'm doing it here in Chicago. I also have to take care of some work here in Chicago, so unfortunately it's just really bad timing. On the plus side, I figure this way they can get my interview feedback quicker and get a (hopefully good!) decision back to me sooner. We shall see...

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


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

Decided this weekend I would enroll at USD. The WP Carey program at ASU is a very strong one, and they were very proactive in letting me know about all the different facets of the program. I would recommend ASU to anyone - but alas, my heart was in San Diego, and there were just factors outside of the MBA program itself that led me to believe I would be happier there.

Certainly WP Carey at ASU has the recognition and ranking and all the opportunities that come with a large research university, but as I explained to the director of admissions in a call today, I am not looking to work nationally, on the east coast, in Chicago, etc etc - so national prestige is not a factor for me.

Anyways, it was a tough decision and I could not have gone wrong either way. But I'll be at USD for the next two years and would certainly answer any questions to heighten the profile of the MBA program!

Congratulations! big sigh of relief now I bet!

Met my UCLA alum at a Starbucks last night for my interview. She was great - the interview was extremely relaxed and conversational. She told me up front it was more about fit in the program, and throughout the interview she didn't take any notes - just listened and had a regular conversation. Even though it only lasted 30 minutes I would say it was probably my best and most efficient interview because it was so conversational, I didn't feel like I had to follow a strict Q -> A, Q -> A, Q -> A format. The conversation flowed well and I think I represented myself and my abilities well.

Since I don't think I'm getting an interview invite from Haas, that was my last interview. Now the real waiting game begins!

brianm wrote:Met my UCLA alum at a Starbucks last night for my interview. She was great - the interview was extremely relaxed and conversational. She told me up front it was more about fit in the program, and throughout the interview she didn't take any notes - just listened and had a regular conversation. Even though it only lasted 30 minutes I would say it was probably my best and most efficient interview because it was so conversational, I didn't feel like I had to follow a strict Q -> A, Q -> A, Q -> A format. The conversation flowed well and I think I represented myself and my abilities well.

Since I don't think I'm getting an interview invite from Haas, that was my last interview. Now the real waiting game begins!

Don't you wish all of the interviews were conversational and not strict Q/A format... Sounds like you did great! If you were to get in, any thought on if you would choose McCombs or Anderson?

dmateer25 wrote:Don't you wish all of the interviews were conversational and not strict Q/A format... Sounds like you did great! If you were to get in, any thought on if you would choose McCombs or Anderson?

Haha yeah seriously. This was definitely the most relaxed interview I've had. I've been very impressed with the UCLA people I've met, from the admissions director to all the alums I've talked to. They seem to consistently express the community feel and "excellence without attitude" that they preach.

I've interviewed at three schools - Kellogg (in mid-January, seems like forever ago), McCombs, and Anderson. I submitted to Haas as well but am not expecting to hear anything from them. It's really hard to say which I would definitely choose. I think given what I want to pursue (high-tech product management), LA and the California geography have strong advantages over schools further east. But the other schools also have really great academic programs and mitigate their distance from the west coast with different on-campus events and off-campus events/treks.

I chose the schools I applied to for specific reasons relating to my future goals and overall feel and culture of the schools, and didn't pick a school that I wouldn't want to attend if I were to get in. So if I'm fortunate enough to get into multiple schools, that's a good problem that I'm going to have to sort out. I can't say right now which I would choose, but I know it would involve more travel to the campuses and spending some extra time in the towns to make 100% sure not only the program is right for me, but also the city and overall environment is a good fit.

Update on my status - just got waitlisted without an interview at Haas. Better than a ding though!

Edit 3/19 - just got the admit call from McCombs!

brianm wrote:Update on my status - just got waitlisted without an interview at Haas. Better than a ding though!

Edit 3/19 - just got the admit call from McCombs!

The waitlist is better than a ding, but congrats on the admit to McCombs!

Are you going to reach out to Haas and provide some additional info and show your interest?

Yeah, I'm going to do what I can to try to get into Haas. I was pretty happy to get waitlisted given their exclusivity/small class size and the fact that I didn't get an interview. They sent out an email with a bunch of different ways to improve your recommendation (general, not specific to my application - they don't provide specific feedback). So I'm going to head out there to interview, submit a few additional recommendations to try to make up for my low quant GMAT score, and write an update on my progress since I submitted my app in December. Next review date is late April with the round 3 apps, so they'll move a bunch of people off the waitlist in early to mid-May.

Got my ding from Kellogg this afternoon. Sort of had a feeling it was coming, but it's still pretty devastating to actually read the letter after waiting 2 1/2 weeks for a decision. Sigh.