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NEW - Admissions Success Stories

by beatthegmat » Thu Sep 27, 2007 11:39 am
Hello Beat The GMAT Community:

In the spirit of learning from each other's stories, I'm happy to pilot launch this new sub-forum today--Admissions Success Stories!

Please share your admissions journey with this community--you success story literally could help thousands of business school aspirants in the future. Please try to touch on the following when submitting your own story:
  • Your profile (includes work history, undergrad, etc.)
  • The schools you applied to
  • Impressions of interviews and campus visits
  • Tips/Strategies you found useful during the process
I'm very excited about this initiative! A special thanks goes to Sadowski for coming up with this forum idea.

Thanks!
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Re: MBA and GMAT

by ABMK » Mon Dec 03, 2007 7:00 pm
Anonymous wrote:i wanted to share a few sentences about my experience with GMAT and getting into Bschool.
I have started my preparations early 2 years ago and got slammed with low GMAT score.Unfortunately, i did not find this site with such a great and supportive community until late, but once i did i have learned so much and have downloaded so much material from here. Prior to that i have tried Kaplan and Princeton Review. This site really works, all materials are up to date, participants and admins are responsive and ready to share. The good news are that i am starting MBA program at the school i wanted to be part of NYU Stern Langone part time program. I had slightly lower than average GMAT score, but good essays, solid rec letter and very good creative piece and 4+ years of asset management experience and ton of enthusiasm. And my efforts paid off.

I wish everyone good luck!!!

I am sorry for some reason my username did not appear first time.

P.S if anyone is wondering my GMAT score with which i was accepted was 600, previous scores ranged from 350 and 600 was the top. I am not good with tests... so i tried to prove my case as much as i could and it worked. Also do not get discouraged by taking multiples tests.. believe it or NOT i ahve taken it 9 times. yes!! I know!! and i did not get penalized for it as you see..
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Admission success with a GMAT 560!

by taapu » Tue Jan 22, 2008 9:55 am
Hi folks!

I'm writing to all those folks who are in despair after scoring 560 in GMAT. I reassure you guyz, 560 is not a bad score. With this score, I've got admission offer from International Business School, Brandeis University, Massachusetts, USA for MBA fall 2008 entry. What is most exciting is that they've also offered me 50% tuition scholarship (USD 18,336/year). If that was not enough, they also offered me a 10 year 5% fixed rate loan which will contribute another 33% of my tuition. I'll start paying off the principal and interst 6-months after my graduation.

In other words, I'll have to pay only 17% of my tuition and all other living costs from my own pocket in 2 years.

So, no worries, people! Prop up your Essays & Recommendation letters, and you'll also see wonders as I do.

I hope to provide you with some tips on crafting your Essays & Rec letters soon.

Good luck.
Tawhid,
Dhaka, Bangladesh,
GMAT: 560
IELTS: 8
Work Experience: 3 years in Business Process/Systems Auditing
Member: The Institiute of Internal Auditors (IIA)
ISO 9000 Series/Quality Management System Lead Auditor
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Re: MBA and GMAT

by lukacsdepereny » Mon Jul 21, 2008 1:40 pm
ABMK wrote:
Anonymous wrote:i wanted to share a few sentences about my experience with GMAT and getting into Bschool.
I have started my preparations early 2 years ago and got slammed with low GMAT score.Unfortunately, i did not find this site with such a great and supportive community until late, but once i did i have learned so much and have downloaded so much material from here. Prior to that i have tried Kaplan and Princeton Review. This site really works, all materials are up to date, participants and admins are responsive and ready to share. The good news are that i am starting MBA program at the school i wanted to be part of NYU Stern Langone part time program. I had slightly lower than average GMAT score, but good essays, solid rec letter and very good creative piece and 4+ years of asset management experience and ton of enthusiasm. And my efforts paid off.

I wish everyone good luck!!!

I am sorry for some reason my username did not appear first time.

P.S if anyone is wondering my GMAT score with which i was accepted was 600, previous scores ranged from 350 and 600 was the top. I am not good with tests... so i tried to prove my case as much as i could and it worked. Also do not get discouraged by taking multiples tests.. believe it or NOT i ahve taken it 9 times. yes!! I know!! and i did not get penalized for it as you see..
Thx,

Lukacsdepereny
Last edited by lukacsdepereny on Sun Jul 04, 2010 11:23 am, edited 1 time in total.
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by stargazer9 » Wed Jun 30, 2010 5:44 pm
Can somebody please explain to me what does Rounds 1, 2 and 3 applications dates (that each Biz school has) mean?

Does this mean I have to submit an application 3 times or I can submit it on any one round and undergo 3 rounds of getting 'filtered'?

I am preparing to take the GMAT the end of this year and hopefully commence studies next year. So when exactly do I have to start my application process? I am interested in MBA in Health care. I am currently on my second year as a health service researcher.


This is my profile:

Age: 26
Gender: F
Current City: Singapore

GPA: 3.5
Work Experience: 2 years in research
Application year: 2011


Target schools:
Duke Fuqua
Kellogg
Columbia
NUS
Olin
UCLA
Berkeley
Kindly help!!!

Thanks!
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by buddhatree » Sun Aug 01, 2010 7:52 pm
Incorrect, you submit one application and that lasts only during that round. You can usually only apply once per year.
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by bdiwakarteja » Mon Aug 16, 2010 6:54 pm
hi all!
i received a score of 620 in my first attempt of GMAT and 590 in my second attempt. Am i allowed to apply for admissions using my first attempt score(620) now ? is there any restriction? please clarify.
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by ashokkadam » Tue Sep 28, 2010 9:08 am
nice
beatthegmat wrote:Hello Beat The GMAT Community:

In the spirit of learning from each other's stories, I'm happy to pilot launch this new sub-forum today--Admissions Success Stories!

Please share your admissions journey with this community--you success story literally could help thousands of business school aspirants in the future. Please try to touch on the following when submitting your own story:
  • Your profile (includes work history, undergrad, etc.)
  • The schools you applied to
  • Impressions of interviews and campus visits
  • Tips/Strategies you found useful during the process
I'm very excited about this initiative! A special thanks goes to Sadowski for coming up with this forum idea.

Thanks!
Force and mind are opposites; morality ends where a gun begins.
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by MichelleS » Wed Dec 22, 2010 11:02 am
I got into Durham Business School in the UK.

Not many Americans have heard of Durham, but it's on the Financial Times 100 Best Business Schools, along with being a world top 100 university. I'm extremely happy to have gotten in. I also got a small scholarship - which to me means a lot because I'm American and I hear about all of the tuition problems the UK is having.

W/E: straight from high school to full-time computer programmer. Eventually, I was developing/analyzing programs for Department of Defense in Arlington. IT crash, and, after 10 years of programming, I was laid off.

Got job through temp agency at accounting firm, with typical admin stuff. Started University of VA at night. Moved up to Staff Accountant, and earned exactly 3.50 gpa from UVA. Took the GMAT 3 times: 540, 510, and 550. Very disappointing, especially the third time, after I had logged MANY hours of study, and was scoring 630 on MGMAT.

Had an interview at Columbia and Babson (yes, even with those GMAT scores), and a phone interview at Durham.

What really clinched the Durham acceptance (I think) was that I did a one-month consulting session with the CFA Institute for my accounting job. I know programming, and I had been accounting for 2 years when I was called in to help with a small problem. Durham has some sort of connection with CFA, and that was a focus question during my interview.

Some advice I would give myself if I were to go through this again:

Write the essays, leave them for a few days and then come back to them. Do this a few times. Don't just write something quickly to get them done. Really take your time; and be yourself! I talked about backpacking through Europe, not the typical "I want to run GE and blahblahblah..."

Pay for a professional to help with the resume, or spend a lot of time streamlining and listing your best accomplishments. My resume took me days to do. But it looks amazing! The time was worth it.

Really do your research. I had several excel charts diagramming the top schools, tuitions, gmat scores, etc. I also prefer learning through research, not groups. Durham is a research-led university, which fits me perfectly. Don't just pick a school because of its name (though I am guilty of trying for that myself). Just make sure that the total package suits you, and that you're doing it for yourself and not for the elite image.

That's all.
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by Sathyan_911 » Thu Dec 23, 2010 6:34 am
Hi ppl

I was admitted to the MSc in Management Program at EM Lyon... Can i talk about my experience here or is this thread strictly for MBA admissions?

Regards
Sathyan
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by beatthegmat » Thu Dec 23, 2010 4:43 pm
Congrats MichelleS! Wonderful advice you shared, thanks so much!

@Sathyan, if you can start a new discussion thread in the 'Admissions Success Stories' forum, that would be terrific. Congrats to you too!
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by Chand » Sun Jan 02, 2011 12:22 pm
Hi Michelle

Congrats on getting your admit confirmed!

Even am plannig to apply at Durham Business School for 2011 fall. wanted to take some tips from you regarding the whole procedure. can you give me your email id so that I can write to you?

It would be great if you can send me a test mail at [email protected]

Thanks & Regards,
Chand
MichelleS wrote:I got into Durham Business School in the UK.

Not many Americans have heard of Durham, but it's on the Financial Times 100 Best Business Schools, along with being a world top 100 university. I'm extremely happy to have gotten in. I also got a small scholarship - which to me means a lot because I'm American and I hear about all of the tuition problems the UK is having.

W/E: straight from high school to full-time computer programmer. Eventually, I was developing/analyzing programs for Department of Defense in Arlington. IT crash, and, after 10 years of programming, I was laid off.

Got job through temp agency at accounting firm, with typical admin stuff. Started University of VA at night. Moved up to Staff Accountant, and earned exactly 3.50 gpa from UVA. Took the GMAT 3 times: 540, 510, and 550. Very disappointing, especially the third time, after I had logged MANY hours of study, and was scoring 630 on MGMAT.

Had an interview at Columbia and Babson (yes, even with those GMAT scores), and a phone interview at Durham.

What really clinched the Durham acceptance (I think) was that I did a one-month consulting session with the CFA Institute for my accounting job. I know programming, and I had been accounting for 2 years when I was called in to help with a small problem. Durham has some sort of connection with CFA, and that was a focus question during my interview.

Some advice I would give myself if I were to go through this again:

Write the essays, leave them for a few days and then come back to them. Do this a few times. Don't just write something quickly to get them done. Really take your time; and be yourself! I talked about backpacking through Europe, not the typical "I want to run GE and blahblahblah..."

Pay for a professional to help with the resume, or spend a lot of time streamlining and listing your best accomplishments. My resume took me days to do. But it looks amazing! The time was worth it.

Really do your research. I had several excel charts diagramming the top schools, tuitions, gmat scores, etc. I also prefer learning through research, not groups. Durham is a research-led university, which fits me perfectly. Don't just pick a school because of its name (though I am guilty of trying for that myself). Just make sure that the total package suits you, and that you're doing it for yourself and not for the elite image.

That's all.
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by yahoo123 » Fri Jan 14, 2011 5:59 pm
Hi Everyone, I just wanted to share my story.

First off my profile. I'm a 27 year old Asian Female. I have been at the pits with the GMAT for about 2 years and counting. I've always been a fantastic student but when it came to the GMAT I never went passed 600 no matter how hard I studied. I even went to a psychiatrist because I would palpitate so bad.
The first time I took it I got a 540, I studied for about 6 months, and I accepted the fact since it was my first time and I was so nervous. I took it the 2nd time and got a 560, I was angry and I was also suffering from serious anxiety. I went to a psychiatrist to talk about how anxious I was getting over the GMAT. I took it the 3rd time and during the exam I got really sick. I couldn't continue with the exam because I had gotten really high fever.
I felt that I was defeated but I knew the material so well scoring 720 at the practice exams from MGMAT and MBA.com. I didn't understand what was happening to me during exam day. I accepted the fact that I was just not a good standardized test taker. It was no surprise that even for college that was my problem.

I really want to take the Michigan program because I feel that it is the only school that I felt like I fit right away. I also found out that you could take the GRE instead of the GMAT. I took the GRE and did not score great at the English section which then made me doubt my application for Michigan. I got a 750 in my quantitative section and 550 for the English section. Not great at all.

Today I received news that I have been accepted in the Michigan program.

Probably the greatest way to start 2011. I hope its not a fluke cause that would suck.

Today also made me realize that getting into bschool isn't about the GMAT/GRE, its about how you present yourself. I was lucky to be called in an interview, make a good impression, spend time writing your essays, and address your problem with the optional essay. Your resume also counts. Get professional help if you can. They are there for a reason.

I know a guy who got a 720 in the GMAT has awesome work experience but he was not accepted in Cornell and HBS.

It's about how you present yourself and also working hard and never giving up.

To those out there still applying, taking the exam, and getting worried about the results - GOOD LUCK and Don't Give Up. I prayed really hard too.
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by beatthegmat » Fri Jan 14, 2011 7:11 pm
yahoo123--congrats on your tremendous Ross admissions! Thank you so much for sharing your story too--your lessons about providing the total package vs focusing just on test scores is so valuable.

Congrats again and have a great time in Ann Arbor!
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by bln123 » Mon Jan 31, 2011 1:44 am
Hey, just a quick success story and what I personally found helpful:

Profile
I'm 26, German and studied/worked mostly in Germany. After my Business Administration Bachelor I started in transaction consulting at the consulting division of a Big 4 firm. Changed to restructuring consulting at a smaller firm last summer.
I scored a 650 and 117 in the Toelf and was valedictorian with a GPA of approx. 3.7.

Schools
I quickly found out that the typical one-year MBA in Europe suits me well and had to decide which schools to go to. INSEAD, the obvious choice, was taken of my list after I got the GMAT result. LBS and IESE are two year programmes, IMD is too small/to industry focused, so that left IE, ESADE, Oxford and Cambridge.
I actually didn't apply to IE, because I was invited to interviews by the others early, meaning I couldn't be bothered writing more essays ;)

Impressions
I visited Oxford and Cambridge and was in close contact to an admissions officer at ESADE. I felt that Cambridge and ESADE are very professional managing the process and at the same time friendly and helpful. Additionally, both a focus on entrepreneurship, something I am quite interested in.
I later decided on a UK university, since I would rather work there after the MBA than in Spain. I decided on Cambridge, because of the feel of the school, the focus on entrepreneurship, and the proximity to the Silicon Fen

Tips
1) Visit schools, talk to current/former students and gain as much info as possible to make an informed decision. On this level, school are pretty similar when it comes to the hard facts, so you have to base your decision on other, soft facts.
2) Application: I know this is a GMAT forum and people get obsessed with this test however: don't waste time on it. I believe a well targeted application including great essays and well written recommendation can really make a difference. read "how to get into the top mba programmes" for more info
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