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Hey Aringo,
I'm about to take the GMAT test soon as I'm currently having the time for all the preparation that is needed. However I'm not going to apply before fall, maybe not even this year.
I'm not sure if I should still send the test results to my preferred schools already as I can pick 5 programs to send the results to for free, while taking the test. How do the admission teams handle the scores if there is no application following, or if the application comes a year later?

suburban wrote:Hey Aringo,
I'm about to take the GMAT test soon as I'm currently having the time for all the preparation that is needed. However I'm not going to apply before fall, maybe not even this year.
I'm not sure if I should still send the test results to my preferred schools already as I can pick 5 programs to send the results to for free, while taking the test. How do the admission teams handle the scores if there is no application following, or if the application comes a year later?

Hi Suburban, thanks for your question.
There is no singular policy for what MBA programs do with these scores. I believe most hold on to them for a couple of years, and pair them with your application when you apply. However, to be safe, call or e-mail the admissions office at the time of your application to make sure they've still got your score. Worst case - have it re-sent.

Good luck,
David
Aringo.com

Got it, thank you so much!

Got it, thank you so much!

Hi,
Which round is better to apply for MBA in general? How will it influence the admission into top MBA programs? is round 1 always preferred?

supermario wrote:Hi,
Which round is better to apply for MBA in general? How will it influence the admission into top MBA programs? is round 1 always preferred?

Hi Supermario,
Based on our experience and conversations with Admissions Directors, the best time to apply is when you are ready and your applications are completed to the very best of your ability. There is very little if any difference in selectivity between the first and second application rounds.
Of course, if you are in a position to apply in round 1, then by all means, earlier is better. The class is a blank slate and the Admissions Committees are fresh and ready to go! Further, you may have some decisions before your round 2 applications are due. Thus, you can tailor your school list accordingly. However, rushing an application to get it in for round 1 is not advisable.

David
Aringo.com

Hi David,
Some serious concerns about recent H1B visa system -

Of late, there has been a game of luck in place through the newly introduced lottery system in approving H1B Visas to Indians/Internationals. So, obviously it'll affect some of the Indians/Internationals to obtain non-immigrant work authorization in US after completion of their MBAs in US (although there is slightly some hire caps for candidates with US Master's degree, I presume it includes MBA).

Though things may (or may not) improve in furture, however, based on this current development I'd like to know your thoughts and advise for Indian applicants.

1. Should we refrain from applying to top 20 US b-schools and concentrate only on top 10 schools provided that one is competitive enough for the top 10 brands?

2. Does this scenario hold good for top 10 US b-schools as well or it'll be dominant in case of candidates graduating from top 15/20 schools ? (I hope, you understand what I try to covey here...)

3. Will it have prominent effect in case of most conventional/sought-after post-MBA industries such as IB,MC, Tech Consulting etc. or it'll have adverse effect mostly in the non-conventional industries other than those mentioned herewith ?

( I think, US is going somewhat UK way with respect to VISA tightening process...)

4. I know there are some important aspects such as value of an US MBA/education, network I'd develop during that two years etc., BUT I believe, you'd agree to the very basic fact i.e. ROI - folks coming out of an US b-school with an average debt of $100K-$150K if don't get the opportunity to work in US even for the loan repayment period of 5-7 years or so then it requires a second thought. Isn't it ?

Pretty grave concern, I think, for Indian/International applicants and hence, I'd much appreciate your thoughts and feedback on the questions I've raised above.

Look forward to hear from you Sir.

RBBmba@2014 wrote:Hi David,
Some serious concerns about recent H1B visa system -

Of late, there has been a game of luck in place through the newly introduced lottery system in approving H1B Visas to Indians/Internationals. So, obviously it'll affect some of the Indians/Internationals to obtain non-immigrant work authorization in US after completion of their MBAs in US (although there is slightly some hire caps for candidates with US Master's degree, I presume it includes MBA).

Though things may (or may not) improve in furture, however, based on this current development I'd like to know your thoughts and advise for Indian applicants.

1. Should we refrain from applying to top 20 US b-schools and concentrate only on top 10 schools provided that one is competitive enough for the top 10 brands?

2. Does this scenario hold good for top 10 US b-schools as well or it'll be dominant in case of candidates graduating from top 15/20 schools ? (I hope, you understand what I try to covey here...)

3. Will it have prominent effect in case of most conventional/sought-after post-MBA industries such as IB,MC, Tech Consulting etc. or it'll have adverse effect mostly in the non-conventional industries other than those mentioned herewith ?

( I think, US is going somewhat UK way with respect to VISA tightening process...)

4. I know there are some important aspects such as value of an US MBA/education, network I'd develop during that two years etc., BUT I believe, you'd agree to the very basic fact i.e. ROI - folks coming out of an US b-school with an average debt of $100K-$150K if don't get the opportunity to work in US even for the loan repayment period of 5-7 years or so then it requires a second thought. Isn't it ?

Pretty grave concern, I think, for Indian/International applicants and hence, I'd much appreciate your thoughts and feedback on the questions I've raised above.

Look forward to hear from you Sir.

Hi RBB, thanks for your question.

The ability to stay in the US after completion of the MBA is indeed a concern for many international applicants, for a variety of reasons. It is a major factor when deciding whether to pursue an American MBA at all.

As you know, there is an opportunity to be "sponsored" by a US-based company and stay in the US for additional time. For specific details of this procedure please see materials available through the US State Department. Unfortunately there are no statistics available for your likelihood of gaining such a visa. Being hired and sponsored by an American company upon graduation from your MBA program depends on a variety of factors, including your pre-MBA background, the current market need for such a background, other personal characteristics, and yes, also the quality of your MBA.

However, when selecting an MBA, I would focus more on their employment resources (connections to local/regional corporations, alumni network, graduate employment center) rather than their specific ranking, i.e. being a top 10 school or ranking "only" in the top 20.

When shopping for an MBA, make sure to seek out and speak about your concern both with the admissions office and with recent Indian graduates about their experiences and those of their classmates. I have found that recent graduates are often happy to advise applicants.

Good luck!
David
Aringo.com

Thanks David! appreciate it.

Hello,
I have a very specific question related to community service. I quit my job 6 months back and since then have been volunteering work in a private hospital (Not a non-profit organization). I decided to volunteer work in a private hospital because i wanted to help people and contribute to my community and at the same time gain some experience in administrative work. I have a 3 years of experience in Information Technology (IT) field and I am interested in perusing MBA in IT or IT related MBA's.
My questions are:
1. will my volunteer work in private hospital considered community service by admission committee?
2. Can I put my volunteer work experience in my resume while applying to MBA programs?
3. As I took a break from work to do volunteer work will that be taken negatively by the admission committee?

classic5 wrote:Hello,
I have a very specific question related to community service. I quit my job 6 months back and since then have been volunteering work in a private hospital (Not a non-profit organization). I decided to volunteer work in a private hospital because i wanted to help people and contribute to my community and at the same time gain some experience in administrative work. I have a 3 years of experience in Information Technology (IT) field and I am interested in perusing MBA in IT or IT related MBA's.
My questions are:
1. will my volunteer work in private hospital considered community service by admission committee?
2. Can I put my volunteer work experience in my resume while applying to MBA programs?
3. As I took a break from work to do volunteer work will that be taken negatively by the admission committee?

Hey Classic-

Yes, I don't think that anyone will be so picky about the specific classification of the hospital. With that said, I don't think you should mention, or feel obliged to mention, that fact in your application or your resume.

Regarding your third question - if you can demonstrate that through this volunteer work you gained valuable skills and experience, then that's great. You should use that to describe why you left your job, but without belittling the experience gained there, either.

Good luck,
David
Senior Consultant
Aringo.com

Hi David,
As far as my research goes, for MBA applicants with RE focus, UCLA has got pretty strong real estate program (I know there are other schools as well in the top 20 with strong or may be stronger RE focused MBA curriculum, but I'm considering it along side those) . However, I've some dilemma in locking it for my apps mostly because of the following -

I don't want to be in Cali post-MBA. Rather I want to be in the South or East Coast, preferably Texas/Georgia(Atlanta)/North Carolina etc.

For a UCLA MBA grad, what are the prospects/chances of getting RE consulting job in East coast or South in the firms such as CBRE,C&W,JLL (and/or in some MC firms,with strong business in RE field, such as Deloitte,PwC,E&Y,McKinsey) ?
If coming out from UCLA, I say that I wanna have a posting in any of the above mentioned states then will that become a hindrance and will they gonna push me into their West coast offices?

So, bottom-line is that considering the above, should I go ahead with UCLA application ?

Would much appreciate your feedback on this!

Looking forward to your thoughts. Thank you.

Hi Aringo,

I took the gmat today and scored 660 (Q40 V41 IR8). My previous attempt last month was 650 (Q39 V41 IR7).

In terms of my background, I'm from the UK, female, I graduated from the London School of Economics with a degree in political science (upper second class honours). I then went to work for Fidelity Investments for two years, launched my own business as a side project while working and then decided to leave the company to pursue my own venture (it's a tech start up). I think I can paint a decent application story. I'm also planning to self-study for an AS Level in maths to prove I'm competent (I stopped after GCSE).

I was planning to apply to the top tier schools but is it worth it given my score? Someone advised me to get a few apps in over the next 6 weeks to Stern, Tuck and Haas, and retake the gmat in order to apply for HBS, Stanford etc.

Is this is a sound strategy? I still wonder if Stern, Tuck and Haas will laugh at my score!

Thanks
S

RBBmba@2014 wrote:Hi David,
As far as my research goes, for MBA applicants with RE focus, UCLA has got pretty strong real estate program (I know there are other schools as well in the top 20 with strong or may be stronger RE focused MBA curriculum, but I'm considering it along side those) . However, I've some dilemma in locking it for my apps mostly because of the following -

I don't want to be in Cali post-MBA. Rather I want to be in the South or East Coast, preferably Texas/Georgia(Atlanta)/North Carolina etc.

For a UCLA MBA grad, what are the prospects/chances of getting RE consulting job in East coast or South in the firms such as CBRE,C&W,JLL (and/or in some MC firms,with strong business in RE field, such as Deloitte,PwC,E&Y,McKinsey) ?
If coming out from UCLA, I say that I wanna have a posting in any of the above mentioned states then will that become a hindrance and will they gonna push me into their West coast offices?

So, bottom-line is that considering the above, should I go ahead with UCLA application ?

Would much appreciate your feedback on this!

Looking forward to your thoughts. Thank you.

Hello RBB,

An MBA from a top tier program is generally quite "transferable" i.e. it will be well-regarded throughout the country. On the other hand, real estate is quite a localized profession, as it relies on familiarity with a specific geographical area/clientele, and on connections.

You're asking about real estate consulting, which is a niche field. With my limited familiarity, it seems that it relies on technical expertise more so than local familiarity. Therefore I'm inclined to say "go for it" re UCLA, if that's your dream. But regardless, I recommend applying to several additional schools.

Best of luck,
David
Aringo.com

RBBmba@2014 wrote:Hi David,
As far as my research goes, for MBA applicants with RE focus, UCLA has got pretty strong real estate program (I know there are other schools as well in the top 20 with strong or may be stronger RE focused MBA curriculum, but I'm considering it along side those) . However, I've some dilemma in locking it for my apps mostly because of the following -

I don't want to be in Cali post-MBA. Rather I want to be in the South or East Coast, preferably Texas/Georgia(Atlanta)/North Carolina etc.

For a UCLA MBA grad, what are the prospects/chances of getting RE consulting job in East coast or South in the firms such as CBRE,C&W,JLL (and/or in some MC firms,with strong business in RE field, such as Deloitte,PwC,E&Y,McKinsey) ?
If coming out from UCLA, I say that I wanna have a posting in any of the above mentioned states then will that become a hindrance and will they gonna push me into their West coast offices?

So, bottom-line is that considering the above, should I go ahead with UCLA application ?

Would much appreciate your feedback on this!

Looking forward to your thoughts. Thank you.

Hello RBB,

An MBA from a top tier program is generally quite "transferable" i.e. it will be well-regarded throughout the country. On the other hand, real estate is quite a localized profession, as it relies on familiarity with a specific geographical area/clientele, and on connections.

You're asking about real estate consulting, which is a niche field. With my limited familiarity, it seems that it relies on technical expertise more so than local familiarity. Therefore I'm inclined to say "go for it" re UCLA, if that's your dream. Then again, it's always easier to apply for jobs locally, rather than across the country. Bottom line- UCLA seems OK if there are other strong factors for you to prefer it. Otherwise I'd recommend going local.

Regardless, I recommend applying to several additional schools.

Best of luck,
David
Aringo.com