Wanted to share my GMAT/MBA journey on this site. Hope it will be as beneficial to others
as others' stories have been for me.
[b]Ducking and weaving period (Jun08 - Dec08)[/b]
I started looking at Part-time MBA programs in Southern California in the summer of 2008.
My first step was attending the QS World MBA tour in LA. This helped me get a feel for the
different universities in the area, courses, schedules, requirements, rankings, etc. I had
narrowed my list to 5 schools: UCLA, USC, UCI, UCSD, and Pepperdine. I followed this up by
attending Information sessions for UCLA in Sept. 2008., USC and UCI in Nov/Dec. 2008.
Attending these info. sessions is NOT OPTIONAL. These sessions offered great insights into
the programs and helped me get motivated for the struggle ahead. The schools' websites are
also loaded with valuable information - plan to spend a lot of time on the sites.
Something which I didn't do initially but it is essential during your application process to collect
all the admission requirements for all the schools you plan to apply to in one place while
attending the info. sessions and going through the websites. Create a spreadsheet or doc.
and note down all the application requirements and deadlines. This really helps when
planning for your GMAT, getting recommendation letters, etc. Another thing that I should
have done earlier was to get Richard Montauk's book - Getting into a top MBA program. Try
to get this as soon as you start your research process and start reading.
[b]Getting into the fray (Jan09 - Apr09)[/b]
Got GMAT books and other study material around Nov. 2008, but only seriously started
preparing for it in Feb 2009 and wrote my GMAT on June 27th. 4-5 months of concentrated
prep. is good enough. Don't drag it for too long or you will dilute your preps. and lose
motivation. Also book a date about 3 months out so you will be motivated to study!! Don't
stick to one book/study material. Study from a number of sources. Personally I felt
Princeton Review was good to get started with, but wasn't detailed enough. Look online,
there are number of 'question banks' and study materials. I got to the Official Guides only
during the last month. The flash cards on Beat The GMAT were excellent. It really helped
during the final stages of preps. and while waiting in lines
. I took 2 practice tests (mid 500s) before i started serious preps. to get an idea of where I stood. My wife also
hunted down valuable notes and lessons from p2p sites
. Scavenge anything you can.[b]Blood and guts phase (May09 - Oct09)[/b]
Used Princeton Review for the first 2-3 months then added Kaplan and various question banks
during the 2nd half of the study process and moved between the different study material.
Princeton Review was easy to read and understand but not comprehensive enough and didn't
have enough sample questions. The official guide is good for practicing. Since I was
working full time, I could only spend about 2 hours on GMAT preps. during weekdays. I tried
to fully utilize my weekends putting in on avg. about 10 hours on Sat. and Sun. (including
test taking time). Study time depends on individuals. I'm a little slow so have to put in
more time
. It is important to take as many sample tests as possible and equally
important to mimic test conditions as close as possible including completing the Essay
sections - no distractions, cell phone calls, and no toilet breaks until a section is done.
I found it best to get up early on saturday/sunday morning and start the test around 7:30.
That way I was done well before lunch and had time review my answers. I'm not going to give
test taking strategies here as those can be found easily in study material, but as you
review your practice tests, keep a close eye on which questions you spend more time on.
Identify if you're having a trouble with the concept or just spending too much time with
calculations (for math) and look at shortcuts. I didn't get to the essays until the final
2-3 weeks of my preps. If you feel your essay writing skills need work, plan to spend a
little more time on these.
I split my time 65%-35% between Math and English since Math was
not my strong suit. I took 11 practice tests and scored between 650-680 on most tests. I
only crossed 700 on 1 occasion. I ended up with 690 on test day - 47 for math and 37 for
Verbal, 5.5 for the essays. Though I was aiming for a 720, I was satisfied with my score
and took the next month off. I started working on my univ. essays in early august and took
about 2 months to get them done. Give your recommenders atleast 2 months to complete their
recommendations, so plan accordingly based on when you're going to apply.
Spend a lot of time reviewing your essays. You need to go through atleast 3 iterations of each essay you
write. Montauk's book provides a lot of examples and writing tips. Don't miss out on this.
The deadline for the 1st round of applications for UCI and UCLA were in mid/end of october,
so I started pulling together all my application material at the end of September. I applied for UCI (Spring Intake) around the end of September (very early) and for UCLA end of October. My UCLA application was submitted on the last day since I had to wait for my 2nd recommendation letter.
[b]
Legs on ottoman phase[/b]
Sit back and relax after you apply. Take a little trip etc. Don't think too much about your application. It's DONE!! I was very early in the UCI app. process so I got a call for the UCI interview about a week after submitting my application. Attended the UCI interview on October 15th. The interview is a chance to really put a personal twist on your application. Try to make it a conversation as much as possible rather than a Q and A session. The questions asked are pretty much the same as the Essay questions and lasts about 45-60mins. The school wants to see if you have a clear path laid out. It is also an excellent chance to put a positive spin on the negative aspects of your application. I had a really good experience with UCI. The staff were very helpful throughout the application process including arranging a class visit etc. I got the UCI admit with a 10k scholarship at the beginning of November. This was well before I attended the UCLA interview so it probably helped relieve the stress for UCLA. The UCLA interview was a very different process. Interviewers are either current students or alumni and do not see your application package upfront. I got my UCLA admit on Feb 4th. Even though UCI had a really good program and I was offered a scholarship I decide to take up the UCLA offer as I felt it better matched my aims and ambitions.
[b]Reflections:[/b]
[list]If you are married, get your spouse on board as much as possible during the entire journey. My wife was a big help during the entire application process.
Don't pressure yourself. If you do not get a good GMAT score, you can take it again. MBA schools only take your best score.
Organize. Keep all school/application information in one place (spreadsheet or doc.) as early as possible.
Stay motivated. Keep GMAT study period short and intensive. Dig into GMAT forums like Beat the GMAT to hear other peoples' stories.
Try to find a recent MBA grad and ask them to be your mentor if they are willing to as you go through the application process. They are an immensely valuable resource. I was lucky to find a colleague who had recently graduated from the UCLA FEMBA program. He provided valuable insights and guided me a lot during the process.
Start your preps. as early as possible.
Identify your recommenders and get them involved in the process too. Discuss your objectives and long term goals. Make them feel that they are a key part to your success for both getting into school and after.
Your GMAT score is not the only criteria for getting into a good MBA program. As long as you are within the acceptable GMAT range for that particular school you are OK. It is not important to get 720+. What is more important is your overall application.
Spend a lot of time reviewing your essays.
Apply early in the process.
The satisfaction of getting into the best possible school you can is totally worth the effort!!![/list]
