Happened to come across this interesting Q&A article with Linda Meehan, the Admissions Director at Columbia. It is probably old, so not sure how much of it is still true. But still a good read nonetheless.
http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/mbapremium/dec2004/bs20041210_4532_bs036.htm
Columbia is looking for experience, team players, and an entrepreneurial spirit. Check Check and Check! Uh…I hope. The other major takeaway I got was that application volume will either be flat or down this year. I wonder if it’s because of their international loan situation or the fact that the economy is stabilizing. And according to Ms. Meehan, an applicant should treat an interview as though he/she is interviewing for a real job. I’m taking that to mean formal business suits, not business casual. So that means ties people!
After 99 days, the unofficial age poll has come to a conclusion. The results?
How old will you be when you attend Business School?
The babies (23-25) 15 (15%)
The pubecents (26-30) 56 (56%)
The adults (30-40) 20 (20%)
Just old… (40 and beyond) 8 (8%)
The 26-30 age group took more than half the votes. I’m in the majority. Not sure if that’s a good or bad thing. Second place goes to the 30-40 age. That was kind of surprising. I would’ve thought the 23-25 age would come in second. Rounding last are the 40’s and beyond. That just goes to show you that although age in business school is skewed somewhat, there are no barriers when it comes to fulfilling one’s dream of an MBA. I’ll keep the poll up there for a few more days for those who are interested.
Somewhat good news. I went into the Boss’ office today and made my case for a promotion. I pulled the trigger earlier than I expected on the suggestion of one of the directors. Never been the type of person that was good at these sorts of things. So you can imagine I was somewhat nervous, but at the same time determined. And I also practiced what I was going to say in front of the mirror beforehand. That helped a little. My case was simple and to the point. When the time came, I basically said I’ve been working at the company for over two years now and I deserve it. The response? He scribbled on his notepad and said he’ll “look into it.” Not exactly the answer I was hoping for. But I think that is still fair. After all, I’m sure he has to ask the powers that be on how to proceed. Don’t know how long it might take or what kind of bureaucracy it has to go through to make this happen. I just hope it doesn’t take too long. Best case scenario would be if I get an answer by the time I submit my Columbia application.
Read the full article: Columbia Q&A, Age Poll Conclusion, That promotion..continued