Ok I want to prepare myself for getting into a good MBA school. There are several things besides GMAT scores and GPA that most schools now look at. One is the quality of your job and second is extra activities. (I know that we went throught this before in this forum, but i am still confused) When they say extra activities I know they don’t expect us to go out and volunteer just for anything, but something that is related to the field, I believe. I can’t think of where to start. I know in school I joined organizations and in uni i joined student government. But now I don’t go to school…and don’t know where to start from.
Re: Going for an MBA
Don't settle on writing "piano dancing club member #" or "member of liberal party". It means you paid $20 to join a club. Thats it. Join a group and show the school what you did. Just attending meetings is nothing. Join habitat, build a house, and then tell me how it has any relevance whatsoever to the program you're applying for.
Added later: Reading Umar's post, if you have no work experience at this point, it makes more sense to wait a few years and then enroll in the MBA program you want. Extra circ activities are one thing, but work experience is another.
Re: Going for an MBA
Pyaari,
Based on your previous threads and correspondence with you, I certainly feel that you need a few years of work experience at least at the middle management level before you decide to enroll in an MBA program. Trust me when I say this, you will find yourself out of place if you decide to join a program before you're ready. You’ll be in midst of experienced and in many cases very accomplished people and although you may learn through your interactions with them, it’ll merely be a one-way street, and sooner or later, it can get frustrating. I see this every day when I teach MBA students.
In any case, coming to your question Re: volunteer opportunities, your University’s Career Center is the best way to go… positions are typically posted on a regular basis and in many cases, these can lead to gainful employment opportunities as well.
In finding the best possible opportunities, remember that when you apply for an MBA program, you will need to translate your contributions in a tangible way… e.g. how much did you fundraise? How many awards did your organization / team win ? What sort of benchmarks were used and how do your contributions compare to others etc. Try to look for opportunities where it’s possible for you to objectify your involvement and contributions.
Re: Going for an MBA
Ok I want to prepare myself for getting into a good MBA school. There are several things besides GMAT scores and GPA that most schools now look at. One is the quality of your job and second is extra activities. (I know that we went throught this before in this forum, but i am still confused) When they say extra activities I know they don't expect us to go out and volunteer just for anything, but something that is related to the field, I believe. I can't think of where to start. I know in school I joined organizations and in uni i joined student government. But now I don't go to school....and don't know where to start from.
Where do you want to go for your MBA? Top 10, top 20? That would make a lot of difference. Outside top 15, extra activities don't mean much.......a combination of decent GMAT/GPA would do the trick. I think you are interested in Ross which is pretty competitive but again, I don’t think that you have a clear understanding of the “value” of extra activities in the MBA admission process. It is not like that the admission committee wants you to be Mother Teresa. All they want to make sure that this person is not one-dimensional and he/she has a life outside academics too. Anything and I repeat anything that you do with passion would qualify as a valuable extra curricular activity let it be sports, charity work, fishing, hiking etc. If you prefer to keep a healthy balance between your work and outside work life and you strive to achieve this balance by doing variety of things e.g. get 4 or 5 friends together a couple of times over summer and go hiking in the woods, joining other company related activities and committees or simply doing an activity that you enjoy, like playing soccer or running on a trail, then it is perfectly fine. All you need to do is to put this on paper in a convincing way. Now if you are applying to Harvard and Stanford and to some extent Kellogg , then it is a different story and you need to have a solid track record of community services from beginning but outside H/S, don’t worry too much about extra stuff. So first make up your mind about the school.
Re: Going for an MBA
^ but Phoenix... I don't think she's at that stage to start thinking about schools just yet. She needs to spend at least 2 years in the workforce before getting started, and while she's working, she can explore meaningful opportunities that will help her build a strong candidate portfolio for entry into an MBA program of her choice. After two years, it's basically up to her to decide if she wants to go to a tier-2 or tier-3 school - which she can do right away... or if she wants to spend another year or two to strengthen her chances to get into a tier-1 school.
Re: Going for an MBA
Kellogg, stanford and harvard are very unlikely to entertain applications from people unless they have a few years of solid work experience behind them.
Aside from looking for evidence of passion, they are looking for leadership, problem solving etc. were u just a member of a group and attended meeting and events or were you in a leadership role and had some contribution, some tangible impact..increased fundraising, decreased costs, established impactful partnerships etc etc.
Even when ppl are interviewed for my group as we look at some of our entry level folks who put involvement in groups or taking part in activities, we actually ask them specifically, so what did you do, and in many cases its that they were just participants..i.e. went out for some walk for aids awareness, like thousands of other ppl, but the resume made it look like they were involved in planning and execution of teh event.
Pyari83- more than anything I think you need to figure out what you want to do, which direction you want to go in, a couple of years of experience should give you some insight into it, because while admissions ppl dont expect you to know a 100% what u want to do in life..they want to see a good enough focus and wel thought out ideas, and how you feel an MBA will help you in pursuing your goals.
Re: Going for an MBA
Everyone’s situation is different. I don't know what situation Pyaari is in; if she feels that this is the right time for her and she may not get the time or opportunity in the future. The bottom line is, you are the best judge as long as you are making an educated decision and leaving emotions out of the picture. You have to make sure that you are not only going for the MBA for the right reasons but you are also going at the right time. Keep in mind that your choice of time may limit the schools as well. Number of tier 1 and tier 2 schools prefer if not require people with experience. If you think this is the best time and you are not picky about schools, go for it. At the end of the day, YOU are the best judge :)
As for your original question. Your volunteer work does not always need to tied to your work. Universities are looking for well rounded individuals, so your volunteer work at YMCA or local homeless shelter or food pantry and even active participation in Toastmaster are all good examples.
Re: Going for an MBA
I agree with you Umar. I did not realize about Payarri’s lack of experience. Yes, she should definitely work for couple of years before heading to the business school.
However, while we are on this topic, let me also categorically state that MBA schools especially Harvard and Stanford are getting younger (see the link below). While it was almost impossible for a fresh graduate to gain admission to a top MBA program few years ago, HBS now admits close to 40 fresh out of college students every year. These young students possess outstanding academic record (GMAT>760, GPA>3.9 and strong leadership roles while at school). Believe me or not but there is a general consensus among top business school applicants that it is impossible to gain admission @ HBS/Stanford if you are above 30 unless you belong to a non-traditional cluster such as an army guy, a doctor, a lawyer, an actor, or a gay/lesbian. Even those top schools that used to favor mature applicants (Wharton, Chicago and Columbia) now prefer younger applicants. However, a 30+ applicant who can show a solid progression in his career along with a legitimate need to pursue a full time MBA degree to achieve his post-MBA goals, still has a shot at a top business schools outside H/S.
Why are schools going young? There are several theories but there is a is a widespread speculation that by going younger, top business schools are able to attract more high caliber US applicants who have traditionally viewed medicine and law as the primary means for social and economic mobility. Plus two-thirds of any MBA class prefers pursuing a career in financial services and management consulting. Both these sectors have an insane schedule (80 to 110 hours /week) plus MBAs in these industries start at a relatively junior level in the organization. Therefore, recruiters prefer young candidates. What it means that today it is very common for a candidate to gain admission to a top 7 business school with 2 to 3 years of experience whereas in past, top schools used to require at least 4 to 5 years of experience.
Re: Going for an MBA
I should probably clear things up a little. I graduated in 2005 with a bachelors. I don't have much work experience. Currently I have a part-time job, which I am not looking to keep, it was just a foot in the door thing. I am looking for full time job that relates to my degree. So from that I have no job experience. I am looking to get 2-3 years of work experience before I start applying for MBA. I have a long time. But right now with my part time job I have time on my hands and want to prepare for starting MBA. I don't want to rush things at the last minute and think to myself that I never did this when I had the time and I never did that. Right now I am married and I don't have kids, and I just have a part time job. So I do have a lot of time.
My idea of volunteering that I thought of was going to an elementary school and volunteering there. It is a safe job and it is near my home. I have always volunteered with little kids and it is something I feel comfortable doing. I want to know that do u think that is such a good thing for me to get into???? Or should I look for something else? Or I was thinking if I can get a volunteer position in city government....I am sure my dad can help me with that he knows a few ppl who are in government. Those as of right now are my two interests that I would like to get involved in. What do u think????
Re: Going for an MBA
I should probably clear things up a little. I graduated in 2005 with a bachelors. I don't have much work experience. Currently I have a part-time job, which I am not looking to keep, it was just a foot in the door thing. I am looking for full time job that relates to my degree. So from that I have no job experience. I am looking to get 2-3 years of work experience before I start applying for MBA. I have a long time. But right now with my part time job I have time on my hands and want to prepare for starting MBA. I don't want to rush things at the last minute and think to myself that I never did this when I had the time and I never did that. Right now I am married and I don't have kids, and I just have a part time job. So I do have a lot of time. My idea of volunteering that I thought of was going to an elementary school and volunteering there. It is a safe job and it is near my home. I have always volunteered with little kids and it is something I feel comfortable doing. I want to know that do u think that is such a good thing for me to get into???? Or should I look for something else? Or I was thinking if I can get a volunteer position in city government....I am sure my dad can help me with that he knows a few ppl who are in government. Those as of right now are my two interests that I would like to get involved in. What do u think????
Do anything that you want to do with passion and you will be fine…..If you are participating in an extra curricular activity with an aim to get into a business school only, chances are that the admission committee will sense it and it will actually hurt you….so be passionate about a certain thing/things, get involved in it genuinely in a leadership role and you will be just fine. Trust me, if you are doing something with passion, you will have a lot of interesting material to write about it; otherwise it will sound fake. If you are really serious about getting your MBA from a top 10 school, you should probably focus more on getting a full time job experience.
Re: Going for an MBA
thanks for the information Phoenix! good to know…
things are a little different here in Canada where the tier-1 schools like Ivey, Rotman, Queens etc. all still ask for well qualified and experienced students for their programs. Things might be changing here too though since the schools tend to follow the lead from U.S. schools.
Re: Going for an MBA
I should probably clear things up a little. I graduated in 2005 with a bachelors. I don't have much work experience. Currently I have a part-time job, which I am not looking to keep, it was just a foot in the door thing. I am looking for full time job that relates to my degree. So from that I have no job experience. I am looking to get 2-3 years of work experience before I start applying for MBA. I have a long time. But right now with my part time job I have time on my hands and want to prepare for starting MBA. I don't want to rush things at the last minute and think to myself that I never did this when I had the time and I never did that. Right now I am married and I don't have kids, and I just have a part time job. So I do have a lot of time. My idea of volunteering that I thought of was going to an elementary school and volunteering there. It is a safe job and it is near my home. I have always volunteered with little kids and it is something I feel comfortable doing. I want to know that do u think that is such a good thing for me to get into???? Or should I look for something else? Or I was thinking if I can get a volunteer position in city government....I am sure my dad can help me with that he knows a few ppl who are in government. Those as of right now are my two interests that I would like to get involved in. What do u think????
thanks for the clarification Pyaari...
come to think of it - now you have suggestions from someone who has an MBA and works with them day in and day out... someone who's pursuing an MBA... and someone who teaches the MBAs.
can't get better than this can it :)
Re: Going for an MBA
I know honestly....it can't....thank god for gs....I really actually value everyone's opinions here because I know so many people here have way more experience than I do and can help me better than someone that I don't know of....thanks guys.