So much for a relaxing holiday break. After the sting of 3 dings last week, Tuck, Kellogg and Booth, I am trying to figure out my next steps. Although I have 2 applications still out to UCLA and Haas, I am nervous that by mid-January I will be sitting here without an acceptance AND without having submitted additional applications. As much confidence as I have in receiving a call from at least one, probably UCLA, nothing is certain. It's a weird position. My confidence is low due to three dings, yet I'm optimistic about the remaining two. I'm also not looking forward to pressing myself into researching and creating new applications to several schools (and defining which schools now). I chose the schools that excited me most, to begin again (ok, maybe not completely from scratch) is a bit daunting. Which schools would fit my needs best? And more importantly, which school would let me in? I am not willing to go through this process AGAIN and come back with a handful of dings. I guess, I'll begin with the criteria I began with and start narrowing it down. So the main things:
1. General management curriculum
2. Experiential learning opportunities
3. Community that is highly energized and involved
4. Opportunities to join a brand-name consulting firm post graduation
Ok so that leaves a fairly wide list, I've begun to narrow it down based on first impressions since I can't do them all. I've also pulled the essay questions (I think my material is still pretty good, I did have interviews at Booth and UCLA) to see where they overlap with my previous essays. From here, I still have a pretty long list below. Now the other question is how many schools I have time to apply to and how many I will need to. Given some of the deadlines, I could create the application and wait to hear from UCLA and Haas before hitting submit and spending the extra couple hundred dollars (then again, at this point what's a couple hundred in the grand scheme of this process). So without further ado, my new long list of round 2 possible schools:
1. Michigan
2. Duke
3. NYU - deadline is after UCLA/Haas decision
4. LBS - yup, international...could be an interesting option but I'm not sure I'm ready to move across the world for a few years and develop relationships/network/etc abroad; lots of positives to the program and gaining international experience though
5. USC - not thrilled as I have the impression their career services aren't stellar but TBD; also deadline is after I hear from UCLA/Haas so could be a nice just in case
6. UVA - not sure I'm the case method type, plus I've heard many people say "UVA students are just as good as HBS and we work harder to prove it" - not sure I want to join a program with inferiority complex
To me, the first three are fairly similar on the surface. I need a lot more research to understand which are best for me. Still a lot more work to be done but that's a start.
Hey there! I'm sorry to hear about your dings, but fingers crossed for UCLA! I was waitlisted last year and it is a great school for entrepreneurship.
ReplyDeleteBased on your preference for consulting, I'd definitely put UVA on my list. In my interaction with a student at a coffee chat session last year (when I was applying), I found that the class age is on the lower side and that led to some comments that I found to be a little immature. But on the whole, UVA is a strong consulting school and you will be well served by career services (which is life-long).
LBS is predominantly finance and very difficult to break into, so I'd think again about applying there. UMich and Duke are also good choices and since you received an interview from Booth and UCLA, you should stand a good chance at UMich and Duke ceteris paribus.
I visited NYU Stern with my girlfriend who is applying there and I spoke with students who said that consulting recruitment is not as good as the finance recruiting, They did indicate that it is picking up in recent times, though. Overall, I got the feeling that consulting recruiting at Stern is challenging.
I'd recommend adding Cornell Johnson to your list. My girlfriend interviewed and was accepted to the Johnson program a couple of weeks back. I visited the school with her and spoke with the career office at Johnson. I was very impressed with the consulting placements for the Class of 2010 and the internships for the Class of 2011.
If you have the bandwidth, I'd also recommend MIT Sloan. I have friends from many varied streams at MIT (MBA, Masters) who are entering consulting at top 3 firms from next year. It is a strong all round program and if you are planning to apply to LBS, you might as well apply to a US powerhouse i.e MIT. I live in Boston and I definitely have a lot of good things to say about Sloanies.
Let me know if you need any connections and I can put you in touch with people from UVA, Cornell and MIT to help you with your decision.
Naveen
Babson MBA '12
http://babsonmba2012.com
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ReplyDeleteHey man,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for all of your insights. It was very helpful and thorough in your assessment. At this point, I have the admit to UCLA and waitlisted by Haas so I'm focused on the left coast! If you have any advice regarding Haas' waitlist, I'm ALL ears.
I would agree with a lot of your comments here. To be honest, UVA never really excited me. I heard several reactions along the same as yours, enough to put me off from the word go. LBS and MIT, while great schools, I couldn't bring myself to apply. At this point, I'm a bit disappointed in that decision as I finished on a high note. However, I was starting to feel the recommender fatigue and didn't want to push them too far. Although I felt I could produce strong applications, I wasn't sure if I could press them. Hence, I went with a couple schools with higher admit percentages but still quality, general management curriculums within a team-focused environment that could provide a stepping stone to consulting. I think all the schools I'm current evaluating fit, more or less, into that model. Of course, that's not to say that NYU or Cornell were not worth of consideration, but I found reason to favor Michigan and Duke instead. To be honest, it was mostly the location and quality of life that I prefer.
Thanks again for all of your help. What's your impression of Babson? Congrats to you and your girlfriend. Where has she decided to go?