Beat The GMAT - the MBA Social Network

One year ago had someone asked me why do you want to go business school, at best I would have supplied a canned response akin to “expand my network, build skills, and … well that is what you are supposed to do when you have been a consultant for a couple of years.” But I felt that was not a good enough reason to sacrifice two years’ pay, take ... Read More

The end is in sight. The real world beckons. My year as a foreign exchange student is almost over, and knowing I am about to go home and leave this all behind scares me.

Our multicultural group of Brits, Americans, Belgians, French, Germans, Italians, Argentines, Australians and Chinese will probably never be back in the same room as one group again.

The ... Read More

I’ve been under the radar recently – not just posting less here, but in life in general.  No, I’m not a hermit.  No, I’m not studying for the GMAT.  No, […] Read More

You might remember Keith Mushonga from his vivid story about traveling to the U.S. for the first time. Well, he wanted to share a story of another travel adventure – his spring break trip to Washington, D.C. Keith says the trip was organized for international students by his school’s international center, and excitement and anticipation ... Read More

Ilham was part of the Community College Initiative this past year, studying social media at Madison Area Technical College. As part of the program, each student at the school was matched with a mentor family in the community to “help us not only introduce American culture directly but also help ease our transition and have the best experience ... Read More

Yes I'm back. I hit a bit of a roadblock and everything came to a stop. Staying focused on the GMAT is hard. A full time job and a family cuts into your study time a lot. So I had to back to the drawing board and figure out a schedule of how to fit it all in.Eric is right. Exercising consistently is key. The GMAT is a long test and I have yet to discipline ... Read More

Many of us leave the workforce to get an MBA for very similar reasons: to accelerate our careers.  The ambition is in and of itself very compelling, but I believe many of us are driven by the complementary goal of obtaining positions that we want, positions that will make us happy worker bees.  Obviously these goals are inter-related for most ... Read More

I am little more than a month old in IIM Ahmedabad and what a month it was.

New subjects, long studying hours, sleep deprived days, surprise quizzes, individual and group assignments, daily case-study preparations, mid-terms, presentations and much more. It sounds really overwhelming isn't?

 

But the feeling of living inside IIMA and learning ... Read More

This is an interesting week in the webinar world, featuring several events targeted specifically to students in Asia. Of course, there’s also the regular fare of events for prospective undergraduates, MBAs, and law students.

As always, if you attend any of the below events, report back and let us know what you learned! (Use the comments, the Facebook ... Read More

Well its again been some time since i've written a post in my blog. Been quite busy preparing for the CAT entrance exam which is to be held in October 2013. My current preparation is mediocre and i'm looking to spruce things up a bit and devise a methodology of going about preparing for the worst case scenario and aiming for the top tier percentile!That ... Read More

Here we go…my life is about to get crazy.  As of today, Columbia’s 2014 MBA application is now live and my other target schools won’t be far behind.  

Here are the essay questions I will be tackling for this application:

1. Given your individual background, why are you pursuing a Columbia MBA at this time? (500 words)

2. Columbia ... Read More

This past weekend I had the pleasure of visiting the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Geographically, Kellogg is one of the closest MBA programs on my target list. Apart from that I wanted to visit Kellogg first because I have more connections there than any other school. I’m happy to say that I […] Read More

Dr. Tobie Tondi is a theology professor at the University of San Diego, and a Sister of the Holy Child, who has taught international students, and has been an international student herself. Our special correspondent Zuleyma Ramirez interviewed Dr. Tondi to find out what international students should know if they want to succeed in a U.S. classroom.

Writing ... Read More

Some people have been asking me about one conspicuously absent topic on my blog thus far, and no, it isn’t a mistake that I have not written about it.  Yet. […] Read More

Each year around this time, famous comedians, well-known politicians, great writers, and other individuals of note make the rounds at America’s universities, giving seniors the last words of wisdom they will hear before they are officially graduated and thrust into the real world. And each year, the rest of us watch those addresses to decide which ... Read More

I graduated from high school in Russia with all As. At graduation, those of us who had achieved all As were called on the stage to receive a special award. It’s not based on class rank, percentile, or GPA range. Only absolute excellence. That’s how Russian schools define success. You either meet all the standards or you don’t. ... Read More

This week features two online college fairs, among the more standard webinar fare. Plus, EducationUSA’s sessions are turning to the subject of American culture as international students prepare to begin their studies in just a few short months.

As always, if you attend any of the below events, report back and let us know what you learned! (Use ... Read More

After fastidiously following ClearAdmit's Friday's From the Frontline, I was inspired to begin my own blog.  Here I am now, a little over a year later, a nominee for the title of Best of Blogging. Totes cool. Vote for me (and other wonderful bloggers!) HERE!In other news, things are still a delightful imitation of a runaway train, a frightening ... Read More

Project management is not easy. Keeping track of deadlines, status, risks, issues, and competing priorities is not piece of cake. There are hundreds of articles and management gurus out there with tips and advice on effective project management. However, few (that I have seen) provide tools to put the ideas they provide into action.

While a good PM ... Read More

I have been getting very antsy waiting to really kick the application process into high gear so I thought today was a good day to check and see if the application and essay dates were publicized yet at my schools of choice for round 1 and round 2.   I have estimates in my Grad School Action Plan, but need to adjust them to be accurate.

Schools for ... Read More

Short post today.  Just giving everyone a heads up that ClearAdmit’s best of blogging nominees have been announced.  There are some seasoned vets (geezers, really..i kid, i kid) on the […] Read More

It's been a long day.  I just returned home from performing in Booth's annual Follies showcase (with three hours of class and an hour of LPF preceding it).  On such a full day it's just like me to forget my phone at home.  So imagine my surprise when I finally see my Samsung's beautifully cracked screen and it's displaying a message ... Read More

…And to think I once thought that I’d never see the end of the friggin GMAT. Looking Back Almost exacty a year ago, I hit “publish” on my very first blog post for MBAOver30.com. Real talk, no one could have told me that the past 364 days would have unfolded as they have. I am […] Read More

Somewhere between the excitement of making it to b school(s) and planning my transition, I lost sight of writing here. I apologize to those who may have been checking up on the site in my absence, but hope this post will bring everyone up to speed.

- I have quit my job as of 26th April, 2013. A lot of stuff had to be finished and I still dont know ... Read More

Ah, it feels good to be back among the living, if only for a bit. I’ve been going at the GMAT study pretty hard, but today I’ll pick my head up above water for a to pass on some news: I’ve registered for summer courses. I’ve alluded before to the fact that I wasn’t the […] Read More

Continuing on from Part I, this post is dedicated to questions involving financing my MBA.  Part I talked mostly about my  not-so-advanced collection of data points that I put into an excel model, as well […] Read More

Certainly we’ve had many people share their good experiences interacting with Americans and meeting their fellow classmates, but not every experience is a positive one. A commenter calling himself “AGradStudent” wrote in to tell us about a less-than-stellar experience with one of his classmates in Wisconsin. What would you do in his ... Read More

The application for the Indian School of Business (ISB) for the class of 2015 i.e. class entering in April 2014 is live now. Continuing on the trend of alst couple of years, ISB has launched the application ahead of other business schools in US, Europe and Asia. In fact ISB is just behind IE Business school which has rolling admissions.

Some of the ... Read More

Welcome to a new entry in the Glossary of Confusing Words! The person who submitted this one didn’t give us any context, just the single word – tutorial. But it’s a good word, because it can have several different meanings in relation to a university education. So thanks to whoever sent it in!

Tutorial

In general, a tutorial is any ... Read More

I chose to pursue an MBA for one reason: to change my career.  I knew exactly what I wanted to do after business school long before I was even accepted anywhere. I want to create and manage social impact partnerships between private and social sector organizations.  I want to start in the corporate sector in either a foundation, sustainability, ... Read More

Students in America live in all types of arrangements – on campus and off campus, dorm rooms and apartments, alone and with roommates. Earlier this year Annisa discussed how she chose between all the possibilities, but which one would you choose? Here are a look at all the different types of housing our bloggers live in, and what each one is like.

Sunny ... Read More

I have been meaning to write about my trip to Yale for over a week. With my countdown in San Francisco at about 6 weeks, I'm frantically selling all our furniture, planning our European adventure, and closing up shop at the office.  Needless to say, it's interfered with my blogging routine.  Soooo, two weeks ago I was in New Haven, CT, savoring ... Read More

I experienced deja vu today. I was in the middle of reviewing some statistics info when I thought to myself, “really tho”?. Allow me to explain… I’m currently in the throes of prepping for my transition from brain dead, autopilot but employed 9-to-5 life in sunny Los Angeles to rigorous, stimulating but broke student life […] Read More

Events are back this week with one for every stage of your education. Whether you’re applying, starting in the fall or graduating, someone out there has a webinar this week for you.

As always, if you attend any of the below events, report back and let us know what you learned! (Use the comments, the Facebook page or just email me – ... Read More

The chaos of traveling. The mixed emotions of leaving your family. The fear and excitement of that moment when the plane takes off and it all becomes real. We’ve shared several stories of what it’s like to arrive in the U.S. for the first time, but perhaps none as vivid as this, submitted by Keith Mushonga. Keith arrived this past fall to ... Read More

As a international MBA applicant, profile building is one of the key things and possibly the one of the earliest step in the application process. Everyone has a GMAT/GRE Score, GPA, Letter of Recommendation, Essays. But, what sets you apart from the other thousands of applicants ?It is known that the admissions committee just don`t look at GMAT ... Read More

Friends, In case you have not already submitted your applications and you think that you deserve this scholarship, please make sure you submit your application for BTG 2013 Scholarship before May 13th. All the Best !http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2013/05/02/change-your-life-apply-for-the-2013-beat-the-gmat-scholarship Read More

Okies....so I started this fairly recently....But I am. I'm also keeping my spirits high by pinning one of the best quotes on Pinterest. I also get emotional when I read things such as - "When your legs give up, you RUN with your heart". It's the best craving ever - for me, for my soul.Read this one from Stacey -http://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/2013/04/22/exercise-makes-you-smarter Read More

Something I’ve been thinking on (others too) is how much to save up for my hopefully upcoming adventures in business school.  While the cost of MBA programs continues to rise, […] Read More

So, you laid it on the table during this MBA admissions cycle. Your GMAT score and undergrad GPA were in range, you have a solid work history, strong extras, clear goals AND don’t know of any reason that any of your recommendations would have gone sour because you’ve crushed it at work to boot. I […] Read More

In this post, I would like to give you some information about Stanford University`s Venture Lab.This is a MOOC offered by Stanford University Exclusively. Stanford is one of the most respected universities of the world and some of the most brilliant minds have graduated from this university. They offer a free online course in the MOOC format ... Read More

May 1 is “National College Decision Day” in the U.S., the deadline for accepted students to make their choice and commit to a school. A fun tradition at many high schools is for students to wear the t-shirt of the college they’ve picked, announcing their decision to their friends and classmates.

YEAH DECISION DAY YEAH COLLEGE. twitter.com/Gracie_Baird/s…

— ... Read More

Harvard Business School had a big reputation to live up to. On the morning of my visit, as I walked in the cold, grey, drizzly streets from Harvard Square, across the river, to HBS, I expected to be impressed by the famed case method and the HBS facilities.

The saying goes that if one expects to be impressed, one rarely is. But HBS was certainly the ... Read More

http://www.beatthegmat.com/a-story-of-persistence-740-3-years-and-3-attempts-t226834.html#635481 Read More

How prepared are you to take the GMAT? Are you confident that the strategies you have learned and your knowledge will earn you the desired score?If you are not sure yet...you might need a little more preparation. Happy Monday everyone. I am off to study, and work. Read More

The Full time MBA application of IE Business school, one of the premier non-US school is now available. IE has rolling admission process and no specific deadlines ( round pattern) for MBA applications. Therefore it is recommended to apply at least one year before the intake deadline. In other words, for April’14 deadline I should start my application ... Read More

In my last post, I described about Coursera and about the next "Big Thing" in education - MOOC`s. MOOC`s are the acronym for Massive Open Online Course. These are touted as the next big thing in Education and is set to revolutionize the education industry (BTW, Is education a industry ?. Its debatable)In this post, I would like to list out ... Read More

I have not been blogging lately, and to my detriment I also have not been studying. A major project came up at work that took up most of my time. It is done now and I should be able to go back to uninterrupted studying this Monday. I don't know how working people squeeze study time in. I'd appreciate the tips. Read More

One of my two goals is to save up enough money to finance my MBA responsibly.   At the beginning of my journey I went on a budget, my first REAL budget.  So how has it been going?  The short answer is…just okay.  

The long answer:  I am, as of today 17% to goal.  Not bad, but could be a lot better.  My consultant’s price tag was ... Read More

Lists of checklists, networking receptions, admission packet trinkets, congratulatory emails and phone calls. Welcome to the sweet world of post acceptance decisions.

I’ve been on a high since the decisions. It’s not completely sunk in, but I’m much calmer than I’ve been in months. Till last week, I’ve been finalizing ... Read More