I wrote I would report in on the gmatclub.com meetup held last night. I can’t really do that now since I didn’t go. I pulled out last minute because my brother and my niece decided to drop by unexpectedly. And we all went out to dinner instead. Anyway, there’s always a next time. By the way, my niece still walks around like a drunk. Still a cute stumbling one though…hehe.
I thought this was interesting. Veritas Prep has released a white paper examining the results of its first annual survey of admissions officers at the top 30 business schools in the United States.
Veritas Prep Trends in MBA Admissions: Perception of Adcom in Top 30 Bschools
PDF Document of the Research:
http://www.veritasprep.com/AdmissionsOfficerWhitepaper09.pdf
More Info:
http://blog.veritasprep.com/2009/06/inside-mind-of-mba-admissions-officers.html
Some highighted takeaways…
* Almost half of respondents report that the number of admits straight out of college has increased compared to five years ago, partly reflecting a push by many top MBA programs to attract younger applicants.
* Among desired changes that admissions officers would like to see in their applicant pool, diversity ranks number one.
* Among applicant traits and characteristics, analytical skills rank as the most important, far ahead of any other characteristic such as leadership and community service.
Despite the increased demand for graduate business education stemming from the current economic slowdown and other contributing factors, the savvy business school applicant is in a unique position to secure a coveted seat in a leading MBA program through some additional due diligence. Understanding what wows and irritates admissions officers at leading business schools, and tailoring the MBA application accordingly, can propel one’s candidacy from unlikely to competitive.
Read another interesting article titled “Welcome to Your Quarterlife Crisis.” http://www.eyeweekly.com/article/55882
It’s basically about your typical working 25yr old’s state of mind. The initial description in the article sounds like the story of my life. One paragraph really struck a cord with me.
“Attempts to manage the Quarterlife Crisis might be as banal as drinking a lot, doing a bunch of drugs, sleeping with idiots and myriad other kinds of self-flagellation, but broader attempts are made to find some sense of purpose. An obvious choice for panicking twentysomethings with a post-undergraduate sense of displacement and for the ones that aren’t fulfilled by their jobs is grad school. James, a 28-year-old student, says “Quarterlife crises are the reason that so many universities have turned lower-level graduate programs into a cash cow.” Graduate and professional school can provide a direction and delay other choices about career and stability. And, while it’s true that higher education can “help students improve their personal and professional competency,” it can also “leave students feeling insecure about their abilities and their job prospects,” says Marc Scheer, who is a career counsellor and educational consultant, the author of No Sucker Left Behind: Avoiding the Great College Rip-Off and an advocate for considering options beyond formal education. (He also has a Ph.D.) Scheer emphasizes making an informed choice. “Whether graduate school is a wise move depends on each individual student and what they want to study. Law school can be helpful, but mostly if a student can gain acceptance to a top-tier school. Getting a Ph.D. could be dangerous for some students, especially since Ph.D. graduation rates are obscenely low these days, and few tenure-track jobs are available. So it really depends.”
I sort of agree and disagree with the statements in that paragraph. I agree because I do feel like I’m stuck in a rut at this point of my life. I disagree because I know, not think, KNOW that an MBA is the next right step for me. I guess it’s all about your own personal situation.
Read the full article: Verita’s MBA Report, Quarter Life Crisis