Reasons behind my choices...

Figure out where you wish to apply
This topic has expert replies
Legendary Member
Posts: 1018
Joined: Tue Dec 12, 2006 7:19 pm
Thanked: 86 times
Followed by:6 members

Reasons behind my choices...

by mayonnai5e » Thu Mar 05, 2009 1:59 pm
This post is a response to another thread, but I feel the response may be a good read for other applicants who are trying to decide which programs to apply to and why. The post is made by Pickaname and you can find his remarks here:

https://www.beatthegmat.com/lbs-class-of ... 86-15.html
Sorry for you guy, but I don't see the same weaknesses in your application as you pointed it out. No hard feelings, but if I'm right the next comments could help other applicants and maybe you in the future.

First of all, when I read your story in the other thread what caught my eye the most is the choice of b-schools you made. You say you chose those b-schools because they are the most focused on entrepreneurship. Mmm... have you heard about something called Stanford and MIT? LBS adcomm staff surely did.

The people at LBS probably got outraged when they saw LBS compared to Hass and the other three. They are in the top-layer of b-school. That means Wharton, Stanford, Harvard, INSEAD. And it is the first one MBA in Europe. Of course you can choose some 2nd tier b-school. But there must be a point to do so. For example because you're interested at the European model on entrepreneurship and so you've decided LBS but just in case you don't get admitted you have also chosen Oxford and Cambridge (or IE and Vlerick ...). But why the hell the top european MBA with american 2nd tier schools? Are you kidding?

Secondly. What about INSEAD??? If you have that experience that you say about working in France, it is not a logical choice but a compulsory one. Even if you don't apply to it after all, you must tick that you're applying to INSEAD, an
d select it as a GMAT score recipient.

Thirdly. Your recommendations were in french? That sounds really bad and not confidential at all. (However we know they are not confidential, but they have to seem so). It gives a feeling that the office in which you were is definitely not international, and if you don't speak French, it makes a mess in your application.

Fourthly. Do you speak chinese and have been to China? if not, you do not have a diverse background. You're a normal american guy, and you're in the pool of american guys. Btw, american applicants, along with the indian ones, are expected to provide a higher GMAT than those who are not native English speakers. It sounds sad, but it is fair. After all, it is your language and you have a competitive edge on it. And the schools reckon on that fact to lever the lower GMATs from international applicants in order to get a high mean GMAT of the class.

Also, how many times did you take the GMAT? What was your AWA?

About the university name... If you were right what about applicants from european universities apart from Cambridge, Oxford, Imperial College and such? They don't get accepted at all?

Lastly, I do not see that your goals were so clear and related to the b-school.

And a question. what happened with the decissions on the R2?? when the other applicants got them? did anyone got an interview? when?

Ciao!
Pickaname, you make some interesting points and I'll elaborate on my own thinking behind the choices I made. I think that will be a good exercise. But first, I'd like to say that the application process is a very personal thing and what fits for one person may not work for another. My own reasoning may be flawed, but those were my choices.

Yes Stanford and MIT - although I may not be the most worldly person around, I do know of these schools yes. Stanford I did not apply to because quite simply I did not believe I had a chance in the world of getting in. Entrepreneurship is one of my focuses, but international business is another. MIT has a weak focus on international focus so I crossed that off my list.

We can conjecture all we want about how the adcoms viewed the other school choices I made, but in the end I only have my limited information and limited idea of what adcoms really look at. Perhaps they would be offended that I didn't apply to Harvard and Wharton, but that's anybody's guess. By the way, I disagree that Haas and Columbia are 2nd tier, but that's my opinion. I felt my profile, goals and outlook on business matched LBS' and ultimately that's what drove my decision.

INSEAD was not a compulsory choice in my book. Part of my goal is to change careers and for that reason I applied only to two year programs. INSEAD is not one of those; Oxford and Cambridge were cut for those same reasons.

I don't understand your point about the recommendations. I worked in France, my french managers wrote my recs and they were translated from French to English. Those were the instructions given to me by LBS so I simply followed the instructions.

I do speak Chinese, but I've never been to China. In any case, diversity is not just based on geographical origin.
https://www.beatthegmat.com/my-blog-erro ... t4899.html
550 =\ ...560 =\... 650 =) ...570 =( ...540 =*( ...680 =P ... 670 =T ...=T... 650 =T ...700 =) ..690 =) ...710 =D ...GMAT 720 DING!! ;D

Learn more about me

Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts
Posts: 7
Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2009 8:46 am
Thanked: 1 times

by pickaname » Fri Mar 06, 2009 8:52 am
Thanks for your comments.

It's good to see how other people think. That way we can get a general understanding about this issue.

You're right that everybody has unique reasons to make their choices, and the most important point is to make them after researching b-schools not just by picking the highest ones in the rankings.

In fact, I did not know then that you had applied to Columbia also (thought only to LBS, Hass and UCLA). Of course Columbia is not in the 2-nd tier. And probably when I say 2nd tier I probably use not correctly that term. Anyway I think in Europe we pay more attention to the FT's ranking, and my comments were based on that ranking.

Thank you for your response and congratulations for your admission. If only I had an admit in Hass ;) Even, if only the time passed faster and I could get the answer tomorrow.