What would you do?

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scarfstyle: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 7; Joined: Fri Mar 20, 2009 3:49 pm

What would you do?

by scarfstyle » Fri Mar 20, 2009 4:24 pm

I'm not quite sure what to do after I graduate. I want to use my one year wisely so that I can increase my chances of get into top B-schools or strategy consulting firms.

Short term goal: MBA at top-tier or strategy consulting.

Options:

PLAN A: Do an MSc. Postpone MBA applications until 2010

PLAN B: Internships

PLAN C: Travel

PLAN D: Start a business

PLAN E: Normal job

Really not sure what to do. What advice can you give me? What will increase my chances of getting into a top-tier or MBA?

Pretend you're 21: What country would you travel to? What qualification would you pursue? Which language would you learn? etc.

Last edited by scarfstyle on Sat May 16, 2009 3:42 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Source: Beat The GMAT — GMAT Strategy | Fri Mar 20, 2009 4:24 pm

VP_Jim: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 1223; Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 3:29 pm; Location: Los Angeles, CA; Thanked: 185 times; Followed by:15 members

by VP_Jim » Sun Mar 22, 2009 9:16 am

Well, since you asked:

I'd travel to Argentina. I spent three months there a couple years ago and had an amazing time. Bring along your GMAT books, shack up in a little flat in Mendoza.... that'd be the life! Plus, you'll get good at Spanish!

Jim S. | GMAT Instructor | Veritas Prep

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TedCornell: Master | Next Rank: 500 Posts; Posts: 207; Joined: Mon Mar 09, 2009 9:33 pm; Thanked: 115 times; Followed by:24 members; GMAT Score:750

by TedCornell » Sun Mar 22, 2009 10:07 pm

Throw a dart at a world map...that's your destination! Well, you're allowed to tear off a couple of countinents first if you wish

De-stress; enjoy.

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DanaJ: Site Admin; Posts: 2567; Joined: Thu Jan 01, 2009 10:05 am; Thanked: 712 times; Followed by:550 members; GMAT Score:770

by DanaJ » Sun Mar 22, 2009 11:58 pm

I'm going to spend a semester in Portugal starting September. The only countries I'd be interested in visiting for the moment are Brazil/Portugal, since they have the coolest/most partying people around. One friend of mine went tin Brazil for a whole year in high school and she told me that one of the basic principles of a Brazilian guy is: "No woman is too ugly - it's just that you haven't had enough drinks yet....". I though this was hilarious...
Anyway, getting a bit more serious: if you want to travel abroad, make sure you go somewhere where you don't know the language. 2 months is enough to get fluent in any language (except German, Russian and Chinese, IMHO

), especially if you put your muscle into it. I had a choice between GB, Holland, France and Portugal. GB was off the list straight away, since the cost of living is far too expensive and I'm already decent in English, I already speak French and Amsterdam is a bit too crazy for me... I'd also pick a place that's totally different from my home country: for instance, you live in England - go somewhere a bit more "wild", since England is considered to be the "gentleman's retreat".

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scarfstyle: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 7; Joined: Fri Mar 20, 2009 3:49 pm

by scarfstyle » Tue Mar 24, 2009 12:52 pm

Thanks for the comments.

A general question I should have asked is: How can I translate these plans into a GMAT application? Will it look impressive if I gain work experience abroad?

Is there a general consensus amongst admission tutors about the "minimum" period one should work abroad in order to gain "meaningful" experience?

Would it be better to spend a year in 1 country or a shorter time in each country?

VP_Jim wrote:Well, since you asked:

I'd travel to Argentina. I spent three months there a couple years ago and had an amazing time. Bring along your GMAT books, shack up in a little flat in Mendoza.... that'd be the life! Plus, you'll get good at Spanish!

Thansk for the idea. Sounds interesting. What's so good about Argentina specifically? Do you think I can find good GMAT tutors and MBA admission consultants?

Also, is 3 months enough time?

DanaJ wrote:I'm going to spend a semester in Portugal starting September. The only countries I'd be interested in visiting for the moment are Brazil/Portugal, since they have the coolest/most partying people around. One friend of mine went tin Brazil for a whole year in high school and she told me that one of the basic principles of a Brazilian guy is: "No woman is too ugly - it's just that you haven't had enough drinks yet....". I though this was hilarious...
Anyway, getting a bit more serious: if you want to travel abroad, make sure you go somewhere where you don't know the language. 2 months is enough to get fluent in any language (except German, Russian and Chinese, IMHO ), especially if you put your muscle into it. I had a choice between GB, Holland, France and Portugal. GB was off the list straight away, since the cost of living is far too expensive and I'm already decent in English, I already speak French and Amsterdam is a bit too crazy for me... I'd also pick a place that's totally different from my home country: for instance, you live in England - go somewhere a bit more "wild", since England is considered to be the "gentleman's retreat".

Brazil sounds wicked but I don't want to get distracted and just party! It's the kind of country you want to go to friends with, yah know?

Would love to learn Capoeria though.

On a serious note. Is it really possible to get fluent in a language so quickly? I thought it would take years but I've never really tried.

I'm guessing Chinese (M/C), Hindi and Arabic are in hot demand for the corporate world. So it might make sense to go one of those countries?

Europe is one idea although I'm on low budget.

My aim is to:

- Learn a new language
- Study for GMAT
- Save money on GMAT tuition (I figure that it's cheaper to hire good tutors abroad and I save in the long run)
- Gain "international" experience
- Develop myself
- Gain useful work experience (if it's important?)

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VP_Jim: GMAT Instructor; Posts: 1223; Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 3:29 pm; Location: Los Angeles, CA; Thanked: 185 times; Followed by:15 members

by VP_Jim » Tue Mar 24, 2009 3:42 pm

Argentina has great food, amazing wine, beautiful scenery, fantastic weather, and low, low prices.... but I wouldn't count on finding a GMAT tutor there. Maybe in Buenos Aires, but even then, I'd imagine that most of the top students/scorers would leave Argentina due to the financial/economic situation there.

Is three months enough time for what? To improve your GMAT score? You bet! If you studied "full time" (i.e., about 4 hours per day) for three months, you'd likely get close to hitting your potential high score. Is it enough time to learn Spanish? That may be another story. I took four years of Spanish in high school and had forgotten most of it by the time I went to South America, but after a three months I was highly proficient, though certainly not fluent.

I'm not an admissions consultant so I can't comment on how such an experience would help/hurt your cause in getting an MBA, but I *do* know that you'd never regret taking a few months to travel when you're young. It was the best decision I ever made.

Jim S. | GMAT Instructor | Veritas Prep

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