All-
In the spirit of not sounding redundant, I am going to OMIT the long version of my profile. I have posted it elsewhere with a lot of response, and I feel I have a pretty good handle on my leadership/work experience (please feel free to check it out for further information!).
GMAT: 700
GPA: 3.21 While working full-time in a leadership role (zero prestige, if not actual negative prestige university)
AGE: 29
White/Male (Hispanic/Latin America influence, wife is mexican but apparently I can't apply as hispanic! Dangit. I can speak to "diversity" though.)
So, here is my situation: I applied to a total of 2 schools in R3 of last year. School #1 (top 20 midwest school) offered me admission and a fellowship/GA worth 40% of tuition. I applied and interviewed maybe 2 weeks later and got my acceptance letter within 4 days. So, needless to say, the process was very quick. School #2 offered me an interview, and I just declined because school #1 was my first choice and I already knew I had received admission there w/scholorship. Even if school #2 (top 25 school) was to give me a full ride, I would have gone with school #1. No point in wasting their time.
So, my dilema is as follows: I'm having a very tough time gaging myself as a canidate. Due to the R3 aspect, I only applied to the two schools because I didn't want to go at my stretch schools in R3. I was going to apply to everything in R2, however my work situation presented an opportunity for a promotion, which I was in the running for (1st runner up! - lame) and I couldn't ask my boss to write me a recommendation for full-time Bschool while I applied for a promotion. Therefore, I had to choose. I chose wrongly apparently.
Now I'm in a situation where I have a decent school, I'm accepted, and I received some $$, however only about 25% of the total sum when including living expenses, and if you factor in lost income, only about 12%. I'm toying with consulting post-mba, however I'm not 100% sure... I'm still working through how it will play out. What I'm curious to know, is whether or not I have a shot at my "top choices" like Northwestern, Tuck, etc. I feel I fit in at those schools with my general management background and my overall personality; more humble, mid-western-ey which I hear Kellogg is like.
So, my question is a complex one. The school I'm accepted to placed two people in MBB last year, as well as 5-10 into Deloitte/etc. Overall, about 20% go into consulting. I'm assuming I would be most likely to get a tier II, more local consulting gig if I stay on my current path. I wouldn't get as much exposure to the MBB as I would at, say, Northwestern (I don't think they recruit on campus) and it would be a lot tougher. I'm guessing for someone with a 700 GMAT and wonky undergrad it would be about impossible to get my "foot in the door." However, at the same time, it may be impossible to do even if I went to HBS.
I know it's all about how you interview, the cases, who you know, etc.. but does anyone have any experience with the top firms (whether it be consulting, finance, rotational leadership programs, etc) heavily scrutinize your undergraduate degree? I find it kind of far-fetched that McKinsey would hire someone who shows up with an undergrad from the U of P... but maybe post-MBA nobody cares much about undergrad anymore (this is what I'm hoping! I'd like to erase that from my history).
Also... what is R3 admission with 40% scholorship worth in terms of top 10 R1 applications? Would one be able to assume (again, I know there are so many factors and impossible to evaluate) that a R3 scholorship indicates a very strong candidate at that particular school, and perhaps indicate the possibility of getting into a "higher ranked" school. I have a follow up question as well. How much does school "help" you? I.e. Deloitte recruits on campus at the school I've been accepted to. Do I have a better chance of getting into Deloitte if I go to Kellogg vs my current school, or as long as you get exposure, i.e. on-campus recruiting, your chances are dead even regardless of the school? Is it better to be in the top 25% at school B as opposed to at or below the 50% mark at school A, where school A is ranked significantly better than school B?
So many questions! It's almost like a massive case study - in fact, I should do that! Haha.
PROS of waiting and applying:
1. Chance of a better school
2. More time to save.
3. Still have a "backup" school - better know my "range."
4. Another year of work experience to concentrate on doing awesome things.
CONS of waiting and applying:
1. Wait another year - lose money (assuming my post-mba salary is higher than my current)
2. I will be 1 year older, applying as a 30 year old (32 at matriculation.. I think 32 was the oldest student Kellogg had last year. Not encouraging)
3. Better schools are in more expensive markets - investment will go way up. Also, I'm assuming I'll be lucky to get accepted and should not expect a scholorship.
4. Currently fairly unsatisfied in my job, have to stomach it another year.
5. Chance that my job gets better, I get promoted, invest another year, and my dreams fall by the wayside as I accept my mediocre life in middle management.
Insights?! Thanks! I know this is a tall order and my posts are ridiculously long, but to some extent it helps me to write them out in order to organize my thoughts in some meaningful way. If someone actually takes the time to respond to this, I will be forever grateful!
Jeff
In the spirit of not sounding redundant, I am going to OMIT the long version of my profile. I have posted it elsewhere with a lot of response, and I feel I have a pretty good handle on my leadership/work experience (please feel free to check it out for further information!).
GMAT: 700
GPA: 3.21 While working full-time in a leadership role (zero prestige, if not actual negative prestige university)
AGE: 29
White/Male (Hispanic/Latin America influence, wife is mexican but apparently I can't apply as hispanic! Dangit. I can speak to "diversity" though.)
So, here is my situation: I applied to a total of 2 schools in R3 of last year. School #1 (top 20 midwest school) offered me admission and a fellowship/GA worth 40% of tuition. I applied and interviewed maybe 2 weeks later and got my acceptance letter within 4 days. So, needless to say, the process was very quick. School #2 offered me an interview, and I just declined because school #1 was my first choice and I already knew I had received admission there w/scholorship. Even if school #2 (top 25 school) was to give me a full ride, I would have gone with school #1. No point in wasting their time.
So, my dilema is as follows: I'm having a very tough time gaging myself as a canidate. Due to the R3 aspect, I only applied to the two schools because I didn't want to go at my stretch schools in R3. I was going to apply to everything in R2, however my work situation presented an opportunity for a promotion, which I was in the running for (1st runner up! - lame) and I couldn't ask my boss to write me a recommendation for full-time Bschool while I applied for a promotion. Therefore, I had to choose. I chose wrongly apparently.
Now I'm in a situation where I have a decent school, I'm accepted, and I received some $$, however only about 25% of the total sum when including living expenses, and if you factor in lost income, only about 12%. I'm toying with consulting post-mba, however I'm not 100% sure... I'm still working through how it will play out. What I'm curious to know, is whether or not I have a shot at my "top choices" like Northwestern, Tuck, etc. I feel I fit in at those schools with my general management background and my overall personality; more humble, mid-western-ey which I hear Kellogg is like.
So, my question is a complex one. The school I'm accepted to placed two people in MBB last year, as well as 5-10 into Deloitte/etc. Overall, about 20% go into consulting. I'm assuming I would be most likely to get a tier II, more local consulting gig if I stay on my current path. I wouldn't get as much exposure to the MBB as I would at, say, Northwestern (I don't think they recruit on campus) and it would be a lot tougher. I'm guessing for someone with a 700 GMAT and wonky undergrad it would be about impossible to get my "foot in the door." However, at the same time, it may be impossible to do even if I went to HBS.
I know it's all about how you interview, the cases, who you know, etc.. but does anyone have any experience with the top firms (whether it be consulting, finance, rotational leadership programs, etc) heavily scrutinize your undergraduate degree? I find it kind of far-fetched that McKinsey would hire someone who shows up with an undergrad from the U of P... but maybe post-MBA nobody cares much about undergrad anymore (this is what I'm hoping! I'd like to erase that from my history).
Also... what is R3 admission with 40% scholorship worth in terms of top 10 R1 applications? Would one be able to assume (again, I know there are so many factors and impossible to evaluate) that a R3 scholorship indicates a very strong candidate at that particular school, and perhaps indicate the possibility of getting into a "higher ranked" school. I have a follow up question as well. How much does school "help" you? I.e. Deloitte recruits on campus at the school I've been accepted to. Do I have a better chance of getting into Deloitte if I go to Kellogg vs my current school, or as long as you get exposure, i.e. on-campus recruiting, your chances are dead even regardless of the school? Is it better to be in the top 25% at school B as opposed to at or below the 50% mark at school A, where school A is ranked significantly better than school B?
So many questions! It's almost like a massive case study - in fact, I should do that! Haha.
PROS of waiting and applying:
1. Chance of a better school
2. More time to save.
3. Still have a "backup" school - better know my "range."
4. Another year of work experience to concentrate on doing awesome things.
CONS of waiting and applying:
1. Wait another year - lose money (assuming my post-mba salary is higher than my current)
2. I will be 1 year older, applying as a 30 year old (32 at matriculation.. I think 32 was the oldest student Kellogg had last year. Not encouraging)
3. Better schools are in more expensive markets - investment will go way up. Also, I'm assuming I'll be lucky to get accepted and should not expect a scholorship.
4. Currently fairly unsatisfied in my job, have to stomach it another year.
5. Chance that my job gets better, I get promoted, invest another year, and my dreams fall by the wayside as I accept my mediocre life in middle management.
Insights?! Thanks! I know this is a tall order and my posts are ridiculously long, but to some extent it helps me to write them out in order to organize my thoughts in some meaningful way. If someone actually takes the time to respond to this, I will be forever grateful!
Jeff
