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One year MBA in USA

The general perception is that the best U.S business schools offer two year MBA programs. Candidates looking for a good one year MBA consider options from the U.K (Cambridge, Oxford) as well as Europe (INSEAD, IMD) and Asia / India (ISB, IIM) among others.

A one year MBA program may appeal to many as it is a financially viable option due to lower fees, living expense and opportunity cost among others. Also, those who wish to resume work early to avoid a feeling of disconnect from the professional world may opt for a one year MBA program.

In this post, we explore the lesser known one year MBA programs in USA (also known as accelerated MBA in the U.S.)...Read More

MBA education loan forgiveness programs for bschool students

Education loan forgiveness programs aim at reducing or cancelling the financial burden for MBA students. Sounds too good to be true, right?

For Indian MBA applicants, the cost of attending the best MBA programs (MBA fees, cost of living) can be crippling. But there are business schools that offer such incentives (beyond the regular MBA scholarships) to some of their MBA students.

There are however several pre-conditions that you need to keep in mind in terms of whether you are eligible in the first place, when will these decisions be taken, how much of your education loan can be forgiven and what career goals make you prime candidates for such programs...Read on to find out more.

What happens after the entrance exams - Achamba The Super MBA

You remember our friend Achamba - The Super MBA, don't you? Oh c'mon, just because he's been busy with some important MBA work that lesser mortals like you and I can't fathom, doesn't mean we write him off.

We bumped into him on Facebook when he shared this picture that seems to have gone viral.



What is more important to know is what happened to the animals after the entrance exam results were declared.

Some interesting revelations, just for your eyes...Read More

RSM MBA Rotterdam Interview with Admissions Director



RSM MBA RotterdamThe Rotterdam School of Management within Erasmus University enjoys a top 10 MBA ranking in Europe. It offers the RSM MBA in 3 variations - the One-year International Full-time MBA, Executive MBA and Global Executive OneMBA.

Sameer Kamat (founder of MBA Crystal Ball) had a tête-à-tête with Maryke Luijendijk-Steenkamp - Director Admissions and Marketing at the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University.

Maryke relocated from South Africa to Rotterdam and spends a lot of time globe-trotting to find the best talent for the RSM MBA. When she's not going through marathon application review sessions, she's training hard for the Rotterdam Marathon.

If you think you can be 'comfortable with being uncomfortable' (a trait that's valued by the RSM MBA admissions team), then...read on.

MBA after marriage

Most MBA applicants aiming for the regular 2 year MBA programs finish their MBA before marriage. When you are single, life isn't as complex.

But if you are among the few lurking on our website looking for GMAT tips or MBA admissions advice, chances are you have reached the age where your parents / society, your first grey hair and concerns about your diminishing sperm count make you wonder whether an MBA after marriage is a good idea.

Or should you finish your MBA before marriage and then think about 'settling down'...Read More

F1 visa rejection after MBA admission with scholarship

Most assume that it'll be smooth sailing once they get an admit. But the F1 visa process cannot be taken for granted.

Here's Abhijit's (name changed) F1 visa rejection story that tells us - It ain't over till it's over. He had excellent corporate brands on his resume. He applied to a reputed MBA program. He got in with a scholarship.

But something went wrong towards the end...Read more

Helo Experts!
My GMAT1 (taken on 2 Aug'13) score is 720 and my target B-School is ISB. I am thinking of retaking GMAT and hopeful of improvement of about 30 points. But in that case I will miss deadlines for R1, since I will not be left with much time to prepare application. What do you suggest? Should I apply with this score for R1, or retake GMAT and apply in R2

Here are some details
GMAT - 720 (Q50, V37)
Work Ex : 4.5 yrs
Industry : Telecom (Ericsson India)
Profile : Service Engineer
UG : B.Tech
Acads : 12th 92.4, B.Tech 73
Extra Curricular : nothing spectacular- some sports at college level

Many Thanks!!!

Hi MBA Crystal Ball,

I am an Indian female and recently I have given GMAT and got a score of 720( q47, v42) . I have 3 years of work experience in IT department of an Indian manufacturing MNC and a ME degree from an Ivy league. Through my research I have shortlisted some schools such as Kenan-flagler, Mendozza and Smeal. Please evaluate my profile and let me know what are my chance of getting an admit+scholarship at these schools


- Your qualifications: degree, academic performance- ME from an ivy league with GPA 3.04, undergrad in India with 73.9%
- GMAT score: 720 (q 47, v 42) IR 7/8, awa 5/6
- Work-experience: Tech lead, IT department in a manufacturing indutry, 4 years by matriculation
- Major achievements at work and/or outside: green peace india volunteer since 2011, won several prizes in group discussions at state level.
- Career goals : want to work in a management position in IT or consulting company

Hi Sameer ,

It would be very helpful if you could evaluate my profile for the schools i;m targeting
Below is my profile .

I am an Indian male 28years old .
* Xth from CBSE : 72%
* XIIth from Tamil Nadu State board : 75%
* Did my B.com from University of Madras :6.25 cgpa on 10

* Worked as assistant analyst in a Shared service center for a top consulting company for 7months .

* after I left , I had typhoid for 2andhalf months . (have bloodtest reports to prove that). And also had problems related to the back for a few months (have X-ray and doctors prescriptions)
Then joined Dad in his business . Its not a big business but there has been increase in turnover after I joined .
Worked in business for 1year .

* After that did my Msc.Economics from Madras school of economics . cgpa: 8.5 on 10
Was in the top 20% of the college.

* After that worked as Business analyst in a company for 3years .

Extra curricular activities :

* Part time volunteer at an NGO 2years . Our main activity was to teach poor people who couldn't afford proper schooling .
* Published a few papers on topics related to economics in a few college journals .

GMAT score: 680

MBA Goals:
* Why MBA ?
Well I was working as a Business Analyst for quite sometime and I am from economics backgroud . I was fascinated how a business reacts to the economics reforms and the overall economy of a country . And that got me interested in business as a whole and now I want to gain knowledge and refine myself in business aspects .

*Goals?
Short term : get inside business consulting
Long Term: have a company/Business of my own .


Targeting Schools

Well I have read over a 100 profiles in this section and see everyone from India is from IIT and have magnificent and outstanding profiles . I wanted to apply for
Warwick Business school
Indian Business school
Nanyang business school
IMD (lol this is a bit tooo farfetched)
University of cambridge



Requesting ,

Rockstaaa...

ads09 wrote:Hi MBA Crystal Ball,

I am an Indian female and recently I have given GMAT and got a score of 720( q47, v42) . I have 3 years of work experience in IT department of an Indian manufacturing MNC and a ME degree from an Ivy league. Through my research I have shortlisted some schools such as Kenan-flagler, Mendozza and Smeal. Please evaluate my profile and let me know what are my chance of getting an admit+scholarship at these schools


<<snip>>

Dear ads09,
Thanks for posting on our thread. Though a bit late, but here are a few points to ponder:

1. The overall profile looks reasonably good with a decent GMAT and a good ME. The GPA at ME could be a cause of concern given that backdrop and one that you need to defend through essay(s)
2. I think you have a reasonable school list, one worth going for. The only advice there would be to explore applying to more schools just to hedge your risks better
3. Finally, the biggest thing amiss, given the amount of information here, is your goals. Consulting is one of the most common post-MBA goals; and also the easiest to write. But you have to think deep enough to ensure that this is not a fickle choice and you have sufficient reasons to back this up. If you can do that, you should have a good shot.

Hope this helps,

Cheers,

Rockstaaa wrote:Hi Sameer ,

It would be very helpful if you could evaluate my profile for the schools i;m targeting
Below is my profile .

<<snip>>

GMAT score: 680

<< snip>>

Warwick Business school
Indian Business school
Nanyang business school
IMD (lol this is a bit tooo farfetched)
University of cambridge



Requesting ,

Dear Rockstaaa,
A few reflections worth your consideration:

1. There are apparent disconnects and a lack of harmony when one just reads your career journey. This means that you will have to tie all the ends meticulously to explain the rationale for the various career choices you've made. This is important so that the adcom understands that MBA is not just another figment of your recent imagniation
2. Without knowing the nature of your business analyst role and the company you are with, it is difficult to assess whether the profile is suited for the kind of roles you are envisaging. But the school list you have is a mixed one with some strong and some ok ones. The GMAT score could be a dampener when it comes to few of the schools in your list. Incidentally, did you mean Indian School of Business or Indian Business School?
3. Finally, at a very high level, I think there are definitive elements in your profile that could help you differentiate from the rest of the pool. But the first point will be critical to ensure that that comes out as a strength and not a weakness!

Cheers,

mcbMcK wrote:

Rockstaaa wrote:Hi Sameer ,

It would be very helpful if you could evaluate my profile for the schools i;m targeting
Below is my profile .

<<snip>>

GMAT score: 680

<< snip>>

Warwick Business school
Indian Business school
Nanyang business school
IMD (lol this is a bit tooo farfetched)
University of cambridge



Requesting ,

Dear Rockstaaa,
A few reflections worth your consideration:

1. There are apparent disconnects and a lack of harmony when one just reads your career journey. This means that you will have to tie all the ends meticulously to explain the rationale for the various career choices you've made. This is important so that the adcom understands that MBA is not just another figment of your recent imagniation
2. Without knowing the nature of your business analyst role and the company you are with, it is difficult to assess whether the profile is suited for the kind of roles you are envisaging. But the school list you have is a mixed one with some strong and some ok ones. The GMAT score could be a dampener when it comes to few of the schools in your list. Incidentally, did you mean Indian School of Business or Indian Business School?
3. Finally, at a very high level, I think there are definitive elements in your profile that could help you differentiate from the rest of the pool. But the first point will be critical to ensure that that comes out as a strength and not a weakness!

Cheers,

Hi mcbMcK,

Thank you for looking into my profile , Yes , I does looks like i've done many "different" things , but makes perfect sense to me . Below is why I did everything which is above .
I started off working in mck in their oracle implementation project in the testing field and was the point of contact for a team of 9 . but after that i was transferred to a/cing dept. and I was not willing to settle for accounting profession , so I left and joined business . And I got 3 new clients who have done some good business with us in the past . After that I was intrested in economics and learning it hence, I went for doing a msc.economics from MSE (one of the reputed colleges for economics in India) . And another reason to join PG was to hide my poor GPA . And since then I've been a Analyst . In that process I've gained intrest in mangement of business and seeing how a business reacts to various economics reforms , looking into how customers behave etc .... How is this for an explanation ? And the NGO thing was purely something which I had to do for my soul.

And ,my work was for the risk management dept.


Secondly , Yes I meant ISB . I guess I wrote it incorrectly there .

Thirdly , Is there any way I can show it to the adcom and make this my strength ? and may i know my chances for the above ? mainly for IMD , ISB and Warwick (these are my main targets) , like if I have a competitive profile or I have a bad profile .



Thanking and Requesting ,


Rockstaaa...

Rockstaaa wrote: Hi mcbMcK,

Thank you for looking into my profile , Yes , I does looks like i've done many "different" things , but makes perfect sense to me . Below is why I did everything which is above .
I started off working in mck in their oracle implementation project in the testing field and was the point of contact for a team of 9 . but after that i was transferred to a/cing dept. and I was not willing to settle for accounting profession , so I left and joined business . And I got 3 new clients who have done some good business with us in the past . After that I was intrested in economics and

<<snip>>

Thirdly , Is there any way I can show it to the adcom and make this my strength ? and may i know my chances for the above ? mainly for IMD , ISB and Warwick (these are my main targets) , like if I have a competitive profile or I have a bad profile .



Thanking and Requesting ,


Rockstaaa...

Dear Rockstaaa,

Stated thus, the explanations fails to go to the level of details needed. Going for a PG just to 'hide' a low GPA does not read well; think deeper - was that the only reason? or was it something more basic - like you worked with someone and got really interested in Economics. What was that interaction about? How was it motivating enough. You'll have to dig deeper than that to make a compelling, coherent story.
I think given the overall profile and the GMAT score, you will have a better shot at Warwick than the other schools - but again, based on the limited interaction on this forum.

Cheers,

mcbMcK wrote:

Rockstaaa wrote: Hi mcbMcK,

Thank you for looking into my profile , Yes , I does looks like i've done many "different" things , but makes perfect sense to me . Below is why I did everything which is above .
I started off working in mck in their oracle implementation project in the testing field and was the point of contact for a team of 9 . but after that i was transferred to a/cing dept. and I was not willing to settle for accounting profession , so I left and joined business . And I got 3 new clients who have done some good business with us in the past . After that I was intrested in economics and

<<snip>>

Thirdly , Is there any way I can show it to the adcom and make this my strength ? and may i know my chances for the above ? mainly for IMD , ISB and Warwick (these are my main targets) , like if I have a competitive profile or I have a bad profile .



Thanking and Requesting ,


Rockstaaa...

Dear Rockstaaa,

Stated thus, the explanations fails to go to the level of details needed. Going for a PG just to 'hide' a low GPA does not read well; think deeper - was that the only reason? or was it something more basic - like you worked with someone and got really interested in Economics. What was that interaction about? How was it motivating enough. You'll have to dig deeper than that to make a compelling, coherent story.
I think given the overall profile and the GMAT score, you will have a better shot at Warwick than the other schools - but again, based on the limited interaction on this forum.

Cheers,

well doing following are the reasons why i did my economics :
1. cover up low gpa
2. only jobs available with a b.com(a and f) was accounting jobs
3. I was always intrested in economics
4. there was this guy whom i used to look up to while i was in mck . he had done his masters in economics and then did his mba .
5. i could have done a pgdm at that time , but i didnt want to do a pgdm from "just" another university in the city or in india .
6. and i had financial issues at home .

Basically these were the reasons . do u think it would have been better if i could have just gone for a job and not for a masters in economics ? is that the reason which screwed up my profile ? (cause i have a younger sister and even she is planning to do the same ).



Asking and Requesting,

Fudge

Rockstaaa wrote:
well doing following are the reasons why i did my economics :
1. cover up low gpa
2. only jobs available with a b.com(a and f) was accounting jobs
3. I was always intrested in economics
4. there was this guy whom i used to look up to while i was in mck . he had done his masters in economics and then did his mba .
5. i could have done a pgdm at that time , but i didnt want to do a pgdm from "just" another university in the city or in india .
6. and i had financial issues at home .

Basically these were the reasons . do u think it would have been better if i could have just gone for a job and not for a masters in economics ? is that the reason which screwed up my profile ? (cause i have a younger sister and even she is planning to do the same ).

Asking and Requesting,

Fudge

Dear Rockstaaa,
I wouldnt say the profile is screwed up or you did something right/wrong. The point is to present this in the most logical manner so that your decisions are not misconstrued by the adcom. For instance, 2, 3 and 6 above are perfectly valid reasons.
The only thing I am pointing to is, think of how the various dots in your profile connect, to make what you are today - assuming all of those dots were made by you in the first place, consciously and with a certain rational motive.

Helps?