Today’s Haas student profile comes from our friends at Beat The GMAT and Magoosh.com.
By: Hansoo Lee, co-founder of Magoosh.com
I had the great opportunity to speak with Scott Shapiro. Scott is currently a student in the fulltime MBA program at Haas. Scott is interning at Facebook during the summer of 2010. In this three-part series, Scott will talk about his approach to applying to business school, his experience at business school thus far, and his goals for upon graduation.
I believe that hearing successful applicants’ stories is one of the best ways to get tips on how to go about your own application process. I hope that Scott’s story does just that!
The following are notes from Part One of the interview.
What’s your background?
• Undergraduate degree from UC San Diego, Computer Science major
• Prior to business school, worked at Momentum Venture Management
Why did you decide to pursue an MBA?
• Wanted a formal management education to fill in his skill gaps
• Wanted to immerse himself into the Silicon Valley/Bay Area venture capital and startup ecosystem
o Author’s note: Scott thought long and hard about WHY he wanted to go to business school.
How did you choose the schools to which you applied?
• Wanted to apply to schools that were strong in entrepreneurship and technology
• Applied to Haas, Harvard, Wharton, UCLA, and Stanford
When did you start thinking about an MBA?
• Started thinking about an MBA in college
• Started studying for the GMAT in September 2008 for entry into school in August 2009
o Author’s Note: Both Scott and I recommend starting your GMAT studying and application process earlier than he did!
What was your approach to studying for the GMAT?
• Scott’s initial approach was to do as many as practice problems as possible
• Took the GMAT in October 2008 and didn’t do well
• Learned to take the time to internalize the underlying concepts from each practice question
• Learned that quality of practice problems is more important than quantity
• Overcame a broken finger that prevented him from studying for several weeks
• Took the GMAT in December 2008 and did well
I applaud Scott for overcoming his injury and persevering to find the right GMAT prep approach for him. Scott learned through his early mistakes and eventually ended up at a great business school!
In part two of our interview, Scott will talk about his approach to writing his essays and his experience at Haas thus far.
To get more application and GMAT tips, visit Beat The GMAT. On July 7, Beat The GMAT will be hosting a free online GMAT/MBA conference called Achieve Your Dreams: The GMAT, B-School, and Everything After. Click here to view the conference agenda and be sure to RSVP for Clear Admit’s session!
Taking the GMAT? Download Clear Admit’s free guide to the leading test prep companies, and receive coupons for 10 test prep firms!
Read the full article: Application and GMAT Tips from a Current Haas School of Business Student – Interview with Scott Shapiro (Part 1 of 3)
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