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Three Dings in Round 1 - Need Reassesment

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Three Dings in Round 1 - Need Reassesment

by trips123 » Wed Nov 10, 2010 8:39 am
Hi Stacy,

I would really appreciate if you could help me understand where I am going wrong in my application approach. I applied in 5 schools in EA/R1 and have already received 3 dings. Following is a summary of my profile application:

Age: 31
Years of WE: 6
GMAT: 710
Undergrad GPA: 3.71
Grad GPA: 3.91
Major: Undergrad and Grad degrees in Industrial Engineering
Area of Work Experience: Operations Management in Manufacturing Setting
Desired field post MBA: Consulting with focus on Operations/Strategy management
ECs: Medium but focused towards providing education/educational resources to professionals/adults/schoolchildren (for approx. 2 years)

Weakness:
1) Age 3 to 4 years above average
2) Goals do not stand out (could be more compelling)
4) Need more work on how MBA will help achieve goals (tie to specifics strengths/courses/programs of the school)

Strengths:
1) GMAT/Grades above or near average for all schools
2) Multilingual and experience of working in India and USA
4) No direct reports but did well in explaining of professional achievements

I feel that one of the weaknesses in my application is having a very ordinary post MBA goal but I still don't understand what is wrong with that?
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by Lisa Anderson » Wed Nov 10, 2010 12:24 pm
Dear trips123,

Without seeing your entire application, it is really difficult to comment on what might be the problem. Your goal is not the issue, but the presentation of your goals and your plan to achieve them could be. Did you interview with these schools? or are you being dinged without an interview? Based on your profile, I would suspect the problem lies in your essays and maybe interview. If you don't feel you presented your goals or connected the dots between your past experience--MBA--future career goals very well, then that could be part of your problem.

You still have two more schools, so try to stay positive. I would also encourage you to try and submit some R2 applications, if you haven't already, to improve your chances of being in business school next fall.

Good luck,
Lisa
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by trips123 » Wed Nov 10, 2010 12:44 pm
Thanks for the quick response Lisa. All three dings were without interview. I thought I did well in highlighting detailed plan for short term and long term (5/6 years after MBA). As mentioned in my earlier post, the post MBA goal of consulting seems to be related to preMBA work of operations management. Do you think this may be due to the weaknesses that I mentioned earlier (above average age and ordinary goals). The schools that I applied to are: Wharton (dinged), Columbia (dinged), Booth (Dinged), Yale (no update yet), Tuck (no update yet).
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by Lisa Anderson » Fri Nov 12, 2010 5:10 pm
Age is usually not a factor in terms of strength or weakness; it comes into play around whether or not the program you applied to makes the most sense at this point in your career. Since you are wanting to make a career change, attending a full-time MBA program makes the most sense for you. Similarly, it is not about the how common your goals might be, but how realistic they are for you and whether or not an MBA is necessary to move your career in that direction. Once again, it is impossible for me to really say what the problem is without seeing your application. I suspect your essays, resume and perhaps recommendations are not presenting your background and rationale for an MBA effectively. Additionally, it is important to show you are a strong match for a program. So if you are not conveying an understanding of each school's culture and noting its unique attributes that are relevant to your goals, then that might also be a potential problem.

Please note: you applied to 5 of the most selective schools in the country. Competition at these programs is fierce and the volume of applications is very high. I do think it is important to have a good mix of programs on your list. Stay positive on Yale and Tuck--consider applying to a couple other programs that have strong ties to consulting, but are not as selective.

Regards,
Lisa
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Stacy Blackman Consulting

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