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Success Story! A post-MBA retrospective (part 1)

November 16, 2018 by EssaySnark Leave a Comment

We’re of course always thrilled when a Brave Supplicant makes it into a school of their dreams, and even more gratifying is when we get to follow them through the process and back out into the Real World again! It’s always slightly disconcerting to realize how quickly the time passes. Any of you BSers who are currently in the throes of MBA admissions: This will be over soon and before you know it, you too will be starting at your fancy-dancy MBA program — and then in the blink of an eye, you’ll be graduating!! Today we have some words of wisdom shared by a BSer from an admissions season in the past, who has generously written up a few response to questions we posed a few months ago (and apologies to said former BSer; regardless of how much we really do enjoy hearing from these folks, sometimes we’re super lame about responding to them when we do!!!).

Here’s the Q&A format — first question today, more of them coming in the next few weeks!

 

## **EssaySnark:** What priorities did you have or criteria did you use when selecting your bschool program? Did they change as you went through the process of applying?

**former BSer:** Well, this requires a brief flashback and a little background.

I was an engineer for the US Navy for over a decade, and had specialized in modeling underwater sound and submarine sonar. I was also looking for something more, although I wasn’t exactly sure what that was, so I became interested in consulting.

After several months of networking—this was before I was interested in an MBA—I was invited to interview with BCG as an experienced hire. I didn’t get the offer, but I still wanted in, so I decided an MBA would help me address the gap that prevented me from getting an offer from BCG. As a result, I was looking at schools traditionally known for consulting. I was also interested in the case method. And I was interested in schools that would admit someone in their very late 30’s.

Insead was the first school I took an interest in. It was European, exotic, and notorious for consulting, so I started an application. I began studying french to meet the language requirement. Heck, I even bought Jean-Louis Barsoux’s history, “Insead: From Intuition to Institution”. (It’s a really interesting story, by the way!)

But then I scored a 770 on the GMAT, and suddenly the top US schools suddenly seemed within reach. I added Wharton, Tuck, Kellogg, and Darden to my short list.

Actually, my reasoning was sadly generic up to this point. “Engineer wants to become a consultant, looks at top business schools” is a tale as old as time. Rankings, employment data, and my estimated probability of admittance were all that really mattered to be back then.

 


Sound familiar?? Stay tuned to hear more on this former BSer’s experience in moving from that undefined state of uncertainty into the next phase of clarity and the stepping stones taken to success! UPDATE: POSTED HERE!

Filed Under: Success Stories Tagged With: reports from MBA Students

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CLASS OF 2025 MBA APPLICATION STRATEGY GUIDES

From a former BSer:
"love the guide books!"




    The 2022 Stanford MBA Application Guide - for "what matters most" in your MBA application!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Stanford GSB for the Class of 2025
   
    The 2022 Harvard MBA Application Guide - updated for the Class of 2025!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Harvard Business School!
   
  The 2022 Wharton MBA Application Guide - even more advice on how to get to a win with those essays!
SnarkStrategies Guide for The Wharton School - with clear guidance for the 2022 essays!
   
  The 2022-2023 Columbia MBA Application Guide
SnarkStrategies Guide for Columbia Business School for 2022-2023 applications
   
    The 2022 MIT Essay Guide covers the org chart, the cover letter and 'introduce yourself' video, plus the new optional short-answer question on "the world you come from" -- and everything else you need to know!
SnarkStrategies Guide for MIT Sloan MBA - totally revised for the Class of 2025!
   
    The 2022 Kellogg Essay Guide - with a full methodology to identify your 'lasting impact' and your 'values'
SnarkStrategies Guide for Kellogg MBA - revised for 2022!
   
    The 2022 UVA Darden MBA Application Guide gives insights on the essays, Early Action, the possibility of a test waiver, and everything else going on here!
SnarkStrategies Guide for the Darden MBA - updated for the Class of 2025 requirements!
   
   
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    The 2022 Berkeley-Haas MBA Application Guide - updated for the Class of 2025 application!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Berkeley Haas - refreshed and updated, with brainstorming exercises and structured maps to help you focus your stories!
   
    The 2022-2023 NYU Stern MBA Application Guide that covers the essays, the EQ Endorsement and test strategies!
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