Ask Admissionado

What is up gang. Today I wanna talk about a dirty little secret in the business school world. And this may...shake things up a bit. But I figure its best that you hear it here first. You know, from this guy.

So here goes: the smartest, most talented people DONT go to business school. They just dont. Why? Because they dont need to. : ) Let me explain.

When I went to HBS, I was section-mates with a guy--let's call him Jim. He was a smart dude, we all knew that he made a bunch of money at another company when it went public or something. Then, during our summer internship, Jim founded a new company. Today, that company (which everyone on these boards has heard of btw) bought Jim out for well over $100 million.

And guess what--after that summer internship, where he founded this company, he didnt go back to HBS. Why not? Well...why on earth would he?!

People at business school are there (95% of the time anyway) because they NEED something. These arent the super DUPER stars. Even at HBS, they are just, well, the stars. Smart folks, and successful for sure. But if they HAD hit it big already, they wouldnt need to go. Why spend two years and $150K?

Everyone at bschool NEEDS to go there for some reason. Now this is a good thing in many ways--folks will take you SERIOUSLY--folks will try VERY hard to make moves. But they will do that because they have to.

Dirty little secret. Most of the REAL superstars? They dont go to bschool.

: )

Best of luck gang.

Hello peoples!
We are back with a very good question from our friend "htbreme" who asks:

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Hi,
I'm planning on doing a MBA in two years and I would like to ask you how does a job offer I just recieve would fit in my profile for future application.
A summary of my experience:
Argentinean with a major in Economics from the best school of the country.

2 years - Telecomunication Technology startup, lead implementations of the the product.

1.5 years - Management consulting firm strongly related to technology with a leadership role in strategic sourcing projects.

4 months - Sr consultant in a small argentinean market intelligence and strategic consulting firm where I lead a team of consultant in research and/or strategy projects for Fortune 500 Pharma companies.

Now Ive been offered a Project Manager role in HP Argentina. This role will not be analytical but more operative/controlling and clearly less strategic than the few previous roles but could be a door into a big american tech company where I could be exposed to bigger projects, and different future roles.

I would like to ask you what do you think since I can not make my mind if this is a plus for my future application or if it will send the message of a un planned and rather erratic professional experience.

Thanks for the help in advance

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Re: Profile, Job Offer and fit for future MBA
PostPosted: Sat Aug 06, 2011 11:50 am
Precision Essay Consulting
Kudos (?): 15 (0), given: 0


Well first thing I can tell you is that I appreciate the question, but this is something a wee bit out of the scope of what we do. We help evaluate your profile, improve your application, and advise about MBAs, but what you should do with your life is a bit tougher .

But I can tell you two things. First, to answer your question - yes an operations job internationally in a huge well known company like HP is good for your MBA. Secondly, (and this is a more personal thing) that I don't know that an MBA you plan to do in two years is a good thing to take as your number one priority when making decisions r.e. your jobs. Let's remember that you get an MBA to improve your career more than the other way around! And then there are things like salary, lifestyle, industry, how much you enjoy your job and career, which I couldn't really presume to advise you on.

So, as an application professional I don;t know if I have great advice for you, but as a person I could say that if it feels right to you, go for it! We can always build a good story and career arc for the AdCom when the time comes.

_________________
Jon Frank & Raj Patil
Founders, Precision Essay
https://www.precisionessay.com

Lively Board here!

Here's a repost from an Indian friend of ours who has a good question about retaking the GMAT:

Hi,

Profile:
Undergrad GPA - 85% in Engineering from India. (must be 3.6 GPA)Topped the department in university.
Gmat - 1) 620 (q-50,v -24)
2) 680 (q-47,v-37)
3) 710 (q-49,v-37)
Work Exp: 1) As a marketing head in a chemical agency for 6 months after undergraduation.
2)For past 3 years working in a well-known IT MNC. Currently I am the team lead of 7 members managing a project worth $50 million. I have been promoted once in my tenure and have strong recommendations. I have won few awards at work and have completed few certifications provided by my company. The certifications are related to finance.

Extra curric - Good(Running an ngo along with friends for the past 3 years).

Post mba goals : Consulting in finance/Strategy

I had applied to Ross last year in round 2 after my second gmat attempt of 680. But I was dinged without an interview. Since the bar for the GMAT in my work category(Indian IT) tends to be higher, I retook the Gmat few days back and have got 710. But I am not satisfied as i was expecting ATLEAST 730. I am also confused whether I should retake the Gmat 4tth time!!!Few people in blogs are advising me to retake it fourth time as they are saying that the competition is tough among Indian IT students. If I give a shot again at Gmat I am sure, I will end up getting 730-750.

So please let me know whether 710 is sufficient to get into top 15 b schools in US considering my IT background. Also whether the adcom people would consider taking gmat 4th time as a negative aspect.

Thanks.

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The competition is tough, especially among Indian tech fellas, and especially amongst those who want to move into finance.
As for advice on whether you should take it again, I've posted this before a bit, but it depends on a few things:
a) how old you are (i.e. Would being one year older harm your chances?)
b) your real life situation (i.e. is this the perfect time for you to go because you just got married, or can you reasonably stay on because you will get a promotion anyway)
c) how much under your potential high score you are scoring
d) how close we are to deadlines.

So if you are gonna retake the test for a chance to MAYBE get 20 points more, forget about it. If, however you can hit a 770, go for it!

But I do have to say that it's not those 20 extra points that's gonna impress the AdCom, it's your essays, your stories, your passion, and what you have done. The tough thing with your applicant pool is not the GMAT but the similarity of profiles. You gotta stick out! It's the only way they will remember you and choose you.