Monday, November 30, 2009

How to prep. for admissions Interview?

I'm done with 3 interviews now and feel that I'm eligible to pass on some dough to you ;P. Seriously speaking, it's to express my gratitude to all those resources that helped me in my prep that I'm writing my post.
If you have been active on the blogosphere you wud've read a lot of posts like Xlick's NYU interview prep. report or Hari's tips for interview preparations etc. I don't want to repeat their good advice but just to add my 2 cents to this here I go:
I start my preperations going through the school's website for the (n+1)th time and taking notes of the school's specific activities in my field of interest - let's say entrepreneurship. I try to see if the school has any specific research centers or student-managed funds for use in the specific field, ex.the Wolverine fund of the Ross School. I also try to find info about what intership oppurtunities specific to my field of interest are available at the school. Also, I make a note of the companies that might have tie-ups or for-free projects planned with the schools, the geographical proximity of my dream-companies to the school etc. For ex. someone planning a career in entertainment can choose a college near LA or near NYC. Be sure to mention these points in the answer to 'why MBA' question which is 99.9% probable to come-up in any b-school interview.
Next step is to write down a list of the possible questions that you can expect to be asked. There are hundreds of resources that can help you with this preparations. A few are
1) Clearadmit interview wiki
2) GMATclub's resources like this and this
3) Blogs of current applicants who are going through the same process as you
Now that you have a list of questions, frame your answer to each questions. This part is something that no one can help you with. But you take help from your essays. Also write down a list of your life-enriching experiences - work, personal, academic or community related - and try to see if you can fit in these stories in your answers to the interview questions. Remember - It is on you, and only you, to highlight the different aspects that make you the special person that you are. The interviewer will not ask you specifically if you have you lead your high school team to the state championships, you tell him that to highlight your leadership and sportsmanship.
Last but not the least do a mock interview with a friend or your partner and ask them to be honest in their feedback. They might not tell you specifics about the MBA related topics and answers but they can surely help you with body language and eye contact which , don't forget, are equally important.

Monday, November 16, 2009

A lightweight MBA-applicant netwroking site created by a co-applicant

Hey folks!
Check out this site.
This was put together by a co-applicant 'go2bizSkool' who I've come to know thru gmatclub.

The site is very simple to navigate.
Do put in your profile there and help us track the 2009-2010 mba-application season.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

NYU visited and submitted

Last weekend this time I was driving back home from NYC.Earlier that week I visited Stern. And right now am sitting peacefully with a submitted application to the school.
Stern essays are really unique. I think Stern makes sure that you write its essays from the scratch and don't ctrl+c, ctrl+v from some other school essays. Stern directly asks you the three important questitons - Why MBA , Why Stern and Why YOU? That's it, those are the three essays. And as for the legendary essay #3, there have been so many rumored stories about the creativity applicants have shown-right from someone sending a cooked sushi to sending a door with 'Let me in' written on it. As for me I have creatively decided to be uncreative. But have tried not to be bland in my 500 word essay.
My visit to Stern turned out better than I expected. Thr building reminded me of the Kellogg building. The location is totally different from all the schools I've visited so far. It just so happens that you are walking across the streets of NYC and suddenly you are in front of Stern. There are tons of folks walking all over the place. The place itslef is so lively. I liked the location, which is one of the reasons I'm applying to Stern.
Surprisingly for a weekday, there were around 70 vistors(yeah 70) that day. After an interesting class visit, I joined a coffee chat with current students. BTW the coffee was for free (again something that was unique to Stern). We were later led on tours by the graduate ambassadors. Our tour guide was a very friendly 2nd year. She showed us around and even let us through the 'silent study room' where the current students were all smiles looking at the huge prospective students crowd.
A very impressive thing happened during the school visit. The famous Prof.Okun paid us a surprise visit and shared with us his reasons for liking Stern and working there. Now did that ever happen to you at any other school?
Overall my Stern visit contributed a lot in understanding the culture of the school,which was the main purpose of my visit. As an international applicant, I'm glad I had the oppurtunity to visit all the schools I did so far. My next stop is down South...Emory here I come.