Articles by Chase Cairncross

  • Retaking Your GMAT After You Get In

    It sounds crazy at first, but I came across multiple people who retook their GMATs after they were not only accepted to school but were actually in school.  Why would someone do this you ask?  Because they want one of … Read More

  • Paying for Business School, Part 2

    This is the second article on Paying for Business School (click here to read Part 1). Short of having a rich uncle that has dreamed of you getting your MBA for years and wants to pay for the whole thing, there are a … Read More

  • Paying for Business School, Part 1

    We have already covered the NPV (Net Present Value) of business school, so if you have decided that it is in your interest to attend, how do you pay for it?  Short of having a rich uncle that has dreamed of you getting … Read More

  • Core Class Success, Part 2

    In part 1 of Core Class Success we covered Finance, Econ, Marketing and Accounting, in this section we will cover Operations, Organizational Behavior and Stats. Read More

  • Core Class Success, Part 1

    Every MBA program will hit you with the same sampling of core subjects: Marketing, Finance, Stats, Economics, Accounting, Operations, Strategy and Organizational Behavior.  The names might change slightly but in some … Read More

  • Study Groups

    Study Groups

    by on March 18th, 2010

    Almost every top business school embraces the concept of the study group.  The study group is simultaneously one of the more frustrating and beneficial aspects of business.  This theme runs throughout the entire … Read More

  • MBA for Career Switching Part 4 (Final)

    The summer internship is a big part in switching.  Not only will you be able to decide if this is in fact an industry you would like to be in, it is a long-term job interview.  If you like the job and you do well it … Read More

  • MBA for Career Switching, Part III

    The internship. After a couple months of developing a solid network of industry alums, recruiting season will kick off.  If you are going for the big three banking, consulting or CPG this will be a very structured … Read More

  • My 2 Keys to GMAT Quant Success

    Everyone has their own strategies for these tests, but to me the GMAT quantitative test came down to two main components, i) knowing the underlying math and ii) question identification. Read More

  • The NPV of Business School

    The NPV of Business School

    by on February 21st, 2010

    If you don’t know what NPV stands for you will quickly learn in the first quarter of business school.  For those who cannot wait, it is the Net Present Value (“NPV”) of an investment.  That is to say, it takes … Read More

  • Bringing a Spouse or Significant Other to B-School?

    The spouse or significant other that gets dragged along into the business school experience and is quickly labeled a “Sig-O” will share in a lot of the difficulties of school with limited access to the upside.  … Read More

  • MBA for Career Switching, Part II

    Networking seems a bit fake for most people, but if you approach it from the right angle it can make the difference in your entire career path.  You will be paying a hefty price for two years of education that you could … Read More

  • Test Day Prep

    Test Day Prep

    by on February 8th, 2010

    Test day needs to be given the weight it deserves.  While you can retake the test over and over until you do what you think is the best you can do, if you master it the first time you will save yourself a lot of time … Read More

  • MBA for Career Switching, Part I

    For those of you looking to go to business school to switch careers, even if you were not entirely up front about that fact on your essay, you need to be prepared.  There will not be the down time that you imagined to … Read More