EssaySnark

($) Career changer: Anything else into finance

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We’ve talked before about some challenges with pitching venture capital as your post-MBA goal.

But what about pitching any post-MBA career goal in finance, if you’ve never worked in finance before?


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Positioning yourself for a competitive post-MBA industry
 
 

 
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It’s totally possible to make this jump happen. What matters is how you identify yourself as a viable candidate, based on demonstrating your knowledge of what’s needed in the role and showing how you’ve got what it takes to apply the advantages you have.
 
 

* That is definitely a grossly oversimplification of what ‘consulting’ is!!

 
 
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Most applicants can’t let go of the rankings. But the rankings really are not designed to help you.

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The other day, the President of Princeton University wrote an op-ed against college rankings .

‘The president of where?”

Princeton. You’ve heard of them, right?

Oh yeah, of course you have. They’re the #1 ranked university for the past 11 years.

We’ve blahgged plenty o’ times about why we don’t like rankings, and agree completely with many of the points offered about by Mr. Eisgruber how the “obsession [with rankings] does harm” to applicants.

The most important though pertains to this:

This competition [between the schools to rank highly] produces damaging incentives. For example, some colleges avoid doing difficult but valuable things — such as admitting talented lower-income students who can thrive at college if given appropriate support — in favor of easier strategies more likely to add points in the U.S. News formula.

Basically what he’s doing is saying out loud what actually happens in the real world, behind the closed doors of those admissions committee meetings. This happens in the college and university admissions and it most certainly happens in the MBA admissions arena too.

This is why a high GMAT score can be such an advantage at certain schools.

It’s an obvious thing when you look at it in the light of day, but it’s easy to forget when you’re in the middle of trying to get in that that’s really what’s going on.

Over a certain level, a GMAT or GRE score does not say anything more about the intellectual capacity of the applicant. Once you’re at like a 710 or a 150/150 or so, then the candidate has proven themself, that they will be able to manage the rigors of your program. Heck, those numbers we just cited are probably even higher than needed to prove competence in the material. A test score that’s too low can give the admissions team pause, since it may mean that the candidate is still rusty on those key verbal and quant skills that are definitely needed for success in graduate school. The schools still obviously admit applicants with lower scores — but why is it that they so significantly favor applicants with higher scores?

If it was really a “holistic review” like they claim, then the high GMAT or GRE would not matter at all. The test score would only be showing competence, it wouldn’t be a competitive factor in the way it’s become.

And why does test score turn into such an edge for some applicants? Because those high average GMATs in the class profile factor in so much to the school’s rankings.

It’s a messed up system with unfair advantages to those who have resources and privilege, which incentivizes behaviors that further promote inequality on a systems basis, that most schools cannot break themselves out of due to fear of the penalty in the marketplace of applicants wanting to go there. It’s a natural outcome of the system of meritocracy that is the infrastructure upon which America is built.

Does it really matter if you go to Wharton or Columbia or Kellogg — or Ross or Darden, or UT-Austin, or McDonough, or Foster?

In the grand scheme of things, is it going to change your capacity for happiness if you’re at one versus the other in that sample list?

Sitting here right now, with your heart set on “the best” schools, yes you’ve got a particular view of the world, and yes, you want this so bad you can taste it. We get it. It feels like everything is riding on which school lets you in.

But we just have to step back and offer the idea that, perhaps you’ve been brainwashed? Perhaps it’s all an illusion? Perhaps you’ve been hoodwinked into thinking that this label of prestige and rubber stamp of success that you’re fixated on is not actually going to do that much for your ability to find lasting satisfaction at the core of your soul.

We’re not saying you’re chasing an unworthy dream. We’re just inviting consideration of the system you’re in, the roller coaster you’re on, and where you believe it is literally going to take you in the end.

There are many, many great schools out there, and even many other great programs besides the MBA. Maybe an MBA from Stanford is in the cards for you — wouldn’t it be awesome if that’s where you land??? But if that’s not how things go… There are so many ways to discover yourself in the end.

Why testing is likely to stay a part of the MBA admissions ecosystem for some time

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We occasionally like to prognosticate (and we’re often wrong) and today we’ll do that again (hopefully the former and less of the latter) on the topic of the requirement for standardized testing within MBA admissions.

This was prompted by our post earlier this fall about requesting a waiver for the GMAT/GRE requirement within your 2020-2021 application. That’s a pure-strategy post. Today’s is more about trends and why these policies exist and how come they never change.

As of this writing in September 2021, most of the highly competitive schools like Wharton and Kellogg — despite their 2020 policies — have reinstated requirements for a GMAT or GRE with the MBA application. While we still hold out hope that perhaps standardized testing will at least diminish in importance if not go away, it’s a change unlikely to happen quickly at those upper echelons. There are a variety of reasons for it, partly because it’s a multidimensional system where the test scores factor into the schools’ rankings, which the applicants rely on and which affect the schools’ reputations, which affects how many candidates apply, which affects their rankings… And the other reason that many schools may be slow to change is ease of use: The GMAT and GRE give them a shorthand view of the candidate.

Even though your application is a pure nightmare to construct, based on all the moving parts and the tremendous amount of effort that goes into it, from the schools’ perspective, they don’t have that much info to evaluate. If they ditched the standardized tests, then how would they know who to accept?

Obviously they can still navigate that ambiguity SOMEHOW since certain schools are saying that, in some cases, for individual applicants, they will grant the waiver and do without the test when they make their assessment. But, systems change slowly, especially entrenched ones that have lots of money involved.

Can you imagine what the financial impact would be on the test prep and admissions consulting industry if Harvard said nah, no test required any longer?

You just KNOW that everyone involved in testing and test administration would fuhhhhREAK out. There are serious dollars at stake.

Nope, not gonna happen, at least not anytime soon.

Or, when it does, it will happen all-of-a-sudden, and then you’ll have pundits saying “Of course this makes sense, testing was never a good idea” or “I cannot believe how fast this change occurred!”

Semi-related to this topic is the question of which schools are innovating within the MBA admissions requirements, which is also one of our industry musings but is simultaneously relevant to you, a potential consumer of the product that the school is offering to its market.

You don’t need to know any of this from a practical perspective. Being able to predict if bschools will ditch GMAT testing or not is never going to impact your ability to get in. However, you’re sitting here now, on the beginning part of a lifelong relationship. You’re presumably going to get in somewhere this year, and go off for an MBA, and then you’ll have that experience as part of your professional identity. Since these issues relate to access to education, which closely relates to access to advancement and opportunities, then these issues do matter, and they are worth paying attention to, at least a little. At least long enough to get to the bottom of a musings from the ‘Snark about policies and such (thank you for making it to the end of this one, we appreciate that you gave us your attention all the way through).

($) “How do I convince my interviewer that I want to go there?”

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We got a question from a Brave Supplicant who was knee-deep in their interview prep process, trying to figure out how to answer the “Why this school?” questions.


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There’s a lot to do to get ready for that all-important MBA interview!
 
 

 
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We’ve got some real advice in our MBA Interviewing Guide which may be useful as well!

Good luck with these opportunities, Brave Supplicant! You’re making great progress — we cannot wait to hear about your big successes!

($) “I’m interviewing! Can I update my resume?”

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We’re getting news right and left these days about interview invites from Brave Supplicants and it’s an exciting time indeed! Some of you intrepid types may even be looking at ways to optimize the process by using a new-and-improved resume for the interview.

What, it didn’t occur to you to update the resume for the purpose of the interview?

Indeed! That might make some sense!


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Continuing on with the recent interviewing theme..
 
 

 
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From a BSer of years past, helping you with Harvard in small ways

by EssaySnark - Discusses Leave a Comment

A very generous former Brave Supplicant forwarded this to us many years ago, after they were through with their entire admissions process, and we figured now was a great time to share it with you! Links go to the Harvard website.

THANK YOU yet again to that generous BSer of the Past!

And of course: GOOD LUCK TO CURRENT DAY APPLICANTS!

We’ve got that there MBA interviewing guide in case you’re looking to the ‘Snark for support also!

($) What if you don’t know this stuff now – will it stop you from getting admitted?

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Business school is for learning about business.

(“Duh, EssaySnark.”)

What if you’re coming from a non-business background?

Or what if your career so far has let you work in a company without really knowing how the company itself functions?

Does that mean you can’t get into business school?


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Let’s look at what you’re trying for and how you’re in position to benefit
 
 

 
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It’s easy to lose sight of the basics sometimes. The MBA is, like, you know, about business, and it’s helpful to remember that, especially when going into an interview. 🙂

The proof versus the promise.

by EssaySnark - Discusses 4 Comments

We’re reblahgging this gem from the snarchives that we just rediscovered at random – from way back in 2011! Dang we’ve been doing this a long time. Some posts are timeless.
 

Amazing video from Pixar University:

Very inspiring, touching on themes of innovation, collaboration, and even improv — though frankly, we weren’t sure if he was talking metaphorically or not when he made those points:

To wit (we’re paraphrasing):
* Take every offer
* Give praise
* Build from what you’re given

And, he threw out this so-powerful bit of guidance around hiring — that companies trying to create something new need to look for evidence of past mastery in *something* rather than depth of skill in the desired area. In other words, if the candidate is a crackerjack skateboarder, and has “mastered” that art, then she knows how the skill of mastery.

But this other part was the most relevant for your bschool apps: The “I’ve done that” aspect.

He says that “it’s one of the great things about the proof of a portfolio, versus the promise of the resume.”

This is what your bschool essays are for, Brave Supplicant. They are essentially your portfolio. Your essays are where you talk about what you have done, what you have accomplished, what you have achieved. It’s how you prove to the adcom that you’ve got it going on.

So many people talk in huffy fluffy terms in their bschool applications, and it’s all vaporware. There’s no “proof.” Your bschool essays are about proving that you’re ready for bschool, that you’ll make a contribution, that you have something to offer — based on what you’ve done and how you’ve offered your somethings before.

Love that video. Makes us want to quit our essaysnarkin’ and go to work for Pixar.


If you’re working on your essays to a school like Kellogg (or NYU or Duke), you may want to spend some time with this video and see if you can grok what this guy is talking about.

($) If you get fired, do you need to tell the adcom?

by EssaySnark

What happens if you get laid off while you’re applying to business school? Or if you just can’t stand your job anymore and you quit? (After all, with those awesome apps you’ve submitted, you’re going to be leaving in a few months anyway, right? Why not just tell your boss to shove it now? A…

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($) Where can you get help prepping for your MBA interview?

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EssaySnark wants to be there for you on all aspects of your MBA admissions journey, though notably, we don’t do much in the interview prep department (actually, these days, almost zilch). We’ll offer thanks to a current BSer who posed a question about this to us as they were starting to think through the strategy and plan of how to get ready for the hopefully-soon-to-be-issued invites for interviewing with their Round 1 schools.


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Picking an interview prep partner – or service – requires some strategy!
 
 

 
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So, while we don’t do the interview prep/mock interview thing anymore, we do have a couple of significant services that may be useful for some.

For those of you who landed the golden ticket last week, we’ve got a Custom Interview Questions — relevant not just for HBS, but also for MIT and NYU and a few other schools where the admissions team (or in the case of LBS, an alum) interviews you after reading through your application.

We also have the Interview Express Essay Decimator like we talked about last week, for the interview-concurrent essays that some schools have (HBS, Booth, MIT, some others).

And of course that MBA interviewing guide, which goes into greater detail on content-development strategies beyond what we post here in these helper articles on the blahg.

We hope all of you are getting invites to interview, or soon will!! This part of the cycle can be grueling indeed, and we’re here on the sidelines cheering you on!!!