Alot of Questions

Graduate School Business School - MBA
1

<p>I've got a fair amount of questions, but I think to appreciate the nature of them, I should explain a bit about myself:</p>

<p>I'm a freshman computer science student at Cal' State Monterey Bay, and after a significant amount of thought and research, I'm incredibly interested in seeing about trying for some of the top MBA schools in search of executive oppertunities in development at tech/soft firms like Microsoft and Cisco and the training/experience of learning the foundations of management (and more importantly, how to lead properly). </p>

<p>With this in mind, I'm pretty geeky and hugely into tech. I'm minoring math, plan on starting some clubs (dual purpose: fun and displays of leadership) related to computer science, and am either doing or pushing 20 credits per semester until the end of college. I'll probably be at a 3.4-3.6 GPA for this first year, but plan to up this to above a 3.6 by my Junior/Senior year.</p>

<p>I think the latter might help me when application time comes around, particularly with Sloan. From what I've heard, the GMAT's quantitative portion deals (at worst) with calculus. By the end of my sophomore year, I'll have cleared the calculus line up to linear algebra. I scored 740 on my SATs, and after taking a look at a practice GMAT, the written/verbal (or whatever it's called) portion looks pretty much like a verbal reasoning test, which I think I'm pretty proficient at. </p>

<p>I also hear that diversity is becoming incredibly important. I'm half-Filipino, half-Irish if that's worth anything. Also, CSUMB requires a fairly substantial amount of study into another language. All students are required to have passed a fourth-level collegiate class in another language. I'll be taking Japanese, and considering I study a martial art that requires interfacing alot in this tongue (Kendo), I'm probably going to retain this language. I also studied Latin for four years, but this isn't particularly useful I imagine.</p>

<p>Unfortunately, I don't have much work experience. I worked full/part time for 6 months as a n Information Technology Specialist within Geek Squad (the weird looking guys in suits that go around fixing computers), but beyond this, I only have volunteer experience as a network administrator in high school. I plan on doing some internships later in undergraduate, but don't know if I can push out more than 2 full years of work -- not to mention these figures don't represent post-collegiate work.</p>

<p>So, with this in mind, it looks like I'll be trying to get into the following schools:
1.) MIT Sloan
2.) Harvard BS
3.) NYU (e-commerce/tech management)
4.) Stanford.
5.) Carnegie Melon</p>

<p>My questions are as follows:</p>

<p>1.) Will the amount of math I'll be taking be a significant advantage on the GMAT? How heavilly is the quantitative portion considered in an applicant?</p>

<p>2.) I understand that when business schools ask for "work experience" they generally mean post-collegiate. However, are internships and during-school work given any credit at all?</p>

<p>3.) I plan on milking my geekiness for all its worth, particularly me finding many parts of economics very interesting mathematically. How effective/positively strategic is this plan? How about my ethnicity, potential multi-linguistic abilities, and anything else. Do these traits help to set me apart from the typical applicant, and if so, are these helpful?</p>

<p>4.) What schools do interviews as part of the admissions process? I do pretty well in such situations, and believe that I could do well (after some training of course) in interviewing for entrance.</p>

<p>5.) Alot of my friends go to Berkeley, and while Haas sounds like it would be an excellent springboard into tech management, it also sounds utterly impossible to get into. Given my circumstances, am I correct in this assumption?</p>

<p>6.) Any other advice?</p>

<p>Thanks alot!</p>

2

<p>I love how people say that they plan to get a 3.4-3.6 GPA, or they plan to get over 700 on the GMAT. Do some people actually plan to get 2.5-2.7 GPAs? Or to get a 550 GMAT? Why not plan to get a 3.8? Anyway, I'm just busting your balls. I'll try to answer some of your questions, and I'm sure sakky and the others will chime in with their advice as well.</p>

<p>First of all, while it's never too early to start thinking about an MBA, you're probably a good 8 years away from applying. So just focus on getting good grades and do some internships that will help you get a good job after college. You'll need work experience. Very few people go straight from undergrad to b-school, even if you have some kind of part-time work during college. GMAT results are only good for a few years, so you shouldn't worry about it until your senior year at the earliest.</p>

<p>As for the GMAT, there are tons of people who score over 700 on the SAT math that are humbled by the quant section of the GMAT, so don't think that getting a great quant score is a foregone conclusion. Your score is curved against the other people who take the test, and the kids from China and India often blow the Americans out of the water when it comes to the quant score. My SAT I math score was higher than yours was and my first attempt at the quant section was dismal (71st %ile). But you won't see calc on the GMAT.</p>

<p>I don't think your ethnicity will really do much for you. It will be neither a plus nor a minus. The language could benefit you if you can use it for something more academic. Maybe if you go abroad to Japan or something. That would be impressive. But keep in mind that everyone who applies to b-school will have taken some language. And the foreign students often speak three languages. One of my classmates at Anderson speaks five (English, German, French, Spanish, Portugese). </p>

<p>To answer your questions...</p>

<ol>
<li><p>I don't think the amount of math you'll be taking is unusual. Most people will have taken as much math as you, and probably more. The quant portion is very important. B-school is very quantitative, and they want to make sure you can handle the load. I think most schools want to see an applicant get a score in the 80th %ile or higher. For some of the schools you're looking at, I'd probably aim even higher than that. Once again, remember that your scores are curved. The population who takes the GMAT is significantly smarter than the population who takes the SAT. </p></li>
<li><p>Internships and work during school are not really counted as "work experience". However, if the internships are meaningful and you got relevant experience out of them, then they will be positives (but not a replacement for work experience). But when they say they want 2-5 years of full-time work experience, they are referring to work after you get your degree.</p></li>
<li><p>Again, remember who you're competing against for these b-school slots. Everyone is geeky, and you won't be the only one fascinated by math and economics. Your ethnicity won't make a difference. To them, you're an American. And like I mentioned earlier, there will be several people more multi-lingual than you. </p></li>
<li><p>Every school interviews as part of its admissions process. Some schools will admit people without interviews, but expect to have to interview to get in. The interview is very important.</p></li>
<li><p>If you think that Haas is utterly impossible to get into then what do you consider Sloan, HBS, and Stanford? They're all tough to get into.</p></li>
<li><p>My advice, as I stated earlier, is to get the best GPA you can, get involved in clubs on campus, get good internships during each summer you're in school, study abroad, become a leader on campus (maybe through student government or clubs), and most important, HAVE FUN. As smart as the people in business school are, they really know how to party. You'll have to be able to keep up with these folks socially, so you might as well learn how to do it in college so by the time b-school rolls around, you know what you're doing.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Not to bag on your school, but you may be facing an uphill battle coming from CSU Monterey Bay. The schools that you're looking at have students from Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, Berkeley, and other top 20 universities trying to get in. If they're going to accept a CSU grad, you have to be something special. Try to get a job with a big-name company (IBM, Dell, Apple, etc.) to overcome the lack of a "name" school. That's just the reality of it. For example, in my class, there are only 3 students out of 330 who are from Cal State schools (2 from Fresno and 1 from SLO), but 35 from Ivy League schools and 82 are from UCs. And not to mention all of the MIT, Northwestern, and Stanford kids here. And the schools that you mentioned are more heavily populated with Ivy Leaguers than Anderson is. So you've got to do something that makes you stick out. </p>

<p>And my last piece of wisdom...</p>

<p>"A lot" is two words, not one.</p>

3

<p>I remember getting all charged up about what I wanted to after I graduated college...I was experiencing new things, and realized the many opportunities available after getting a bachelors degree, and I wanted to do everything I could to ensure I had a great future.</p>

<p>While it's good to plan ahead, I think you have got alot of time left to plan for business school. At this stage of your life and academic career, I'd advise you to stay focused at the task at hand. Do as well as you can right now, and take advantage of all of the opportunities available to you as an undergrad.</p>

<p>While internships don't count as work experience per se, it can lead into a full time job. Given that you are not too far from the Silicon Valley, you'll have more tech opportunities than in other parts of the country. If you want to get involved in the business side of tech, as an intern, you could figure out how to get involved with the consulting side(or other business functions) within these companies. The experience you gain while working is the best way to leverage yourself into a good b-school (given you have a good GPA and GMAT). </p>

<p>Best of luck to you. Part of my education was spent on your campus, but in my time it was called "Fort Ord."</p>

4

<p>I think that Alicantekid provided a good "reality check" along with some more successful avenues you can use if you really want that top MBA. I would like to add one thing that appears to have been neglected -- leadership. ALL the top schools are looking for much more than just intelligence. They're looking for proven leadership/teamwork and potential to continue to achieve. As was mentioned before, there are plenty of Indian IIT grad applicants to the top schools who are obviously brainiacs and have great creds but very little in the way of leadership and extracurriculars.
As you're facing a very difficult uphill battle from virtually a no-name CSU, your best bet is to be a superstar LEADER (not geek) at blue chip companies like IBM and Microsoft or consulting/banking firms like McKinsey, Bain, BCG/Goldman, Merrill Lynch, etc. It may not be right or fair but that's the reality of the game.</p>

5

<p>I would try to transfer undergrad to Haas or another good school. If you look at where top B school students come from, there is a huhe tilt towards top schools. Even good State schools like UCLA and UVA are way underrepresented compared to ivies and top LACs. In addition to good GPA and LSATY, the most important thing is job following undergrad. Getting the really good ones the B schools want is really hard if you don't go to a highly rated undergrad school. So while B school is the most important factor for a top job later on, it really starts with a great undergrad school.</p>

6

<p>
[quote]
would try to transfer undergrad to Haas or another good school. If you look at where top B school students come from, there is a huhe tilt towards top schools. Even good State schools like UCLA and UVA are way underrepresented compared to ivies and top LACs. In addition to good GPA and LSATY, the most important thing is job following undergrad. Getting the really good ones the B schools want is really hard if you don't go to a highly rated undergrad school. So while B school is the most important factor for a top job later on, it really starts with a great undergrad school.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>hmm thats interesting, i never knew b-schools took lsat scores into account. LOL</p>

7

<p>Which schools are in that top tier area and provide a good set up for when applying to grad school? Would Vanderbilt Engineering or Economics degree be sufficient or do I need a more highly regarded school?</p>

8

<p>Vandy is good, not as good as an ivy. I have LSATs on the brain, my brother keeps talking about them!</p>