Just a quick post as I still have to pack up my stuff! I'm flying out this afternoon, ending my 7 year stay in Boston. To anyone considering an MBA here or just spending a few years in Beantown, I can only highly recommend it. The past years have definitely been the best in my life and I'm incredibly happy and thankful for all the friendships I made here and for the good times spent together.
So my first stop on my travels will be Brazil, after I will go back home to Munich for a few days in June, then head over to Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam before meeting up with my current roommate in India, which will be my last stop before I return home in August. Mid-August it will then be time to move to London and meet my fellow LBS classmates!
Since I will be traveling the next months I will probably not post as often anymore. Maybe if I have time I will check on LBS' R2 stats and post some comments.
To all admits out there, congratulations! We have some exciting times ahead of us. And to all applicants awaiting decisions, GOOD LUCK!
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Monday, February 25, 2008
Traveling before your MBA
I've heard from many admits that they would like to travel before their MBAs but that the cost of an MBA and the lost income are already enough burdens from a financial perspective. Then there's also other issues faced such as health insurance coverage, leases for your apartment, etc. Hopefully this post will change your minds though.
Cost/lost income: Say you decide to travel for 3 months before your MBA. And let's say you earn $4K a month post-tax. So you'll forfeit $12K for the 3 months - that's about the same as the average sign-on bonus after our MBAs! Also, the cost of traveling is probably about the same as the living expenses during that time. The money you save on rent (say $2400 for 3 months) can be used for a round the world ticket. The remaining living expenses (utilities, food, car, nightlife) you save will get you quite far when you back pack! Btw, this is also a great way to use all those frequent flier miles since your travel dates are most likely very flexible.
Update: At LBS, you can also expect to make about $30K through your summer internship and the Second Year Project. Check the stats for 2008 here (expand "Tuition fees and funding").
Health insurance: Yes when you quit your job you'll lose your benefits (in the US at least). But you can either enroll in COBRA, which is quite costly (was $350/month for me). Alternatively, there are travel insurance packages that cover you while on your trip (outside of the US only though!). I paid $260 for a 5 month coverage (no deductibles) with very good coverage (e.g. $1M in medical benefits). The insurance company I used was HTH Travel (picked TravelGap Voyager - plan for those without domestic insurance during travel). There are also a bunch more listed on The US Department of State website. The website also lists non-US providers.
Apartment: Ok if you own your place, then I can't really speak to this. But if you rent, then sublet your place or ask your landlord/landlady if you can terminate the lease 3 months ahead (depending on your terms). If finding someone to sublet is hard for your luxury penthouse then consider subsidizing it with a couple bucks.
Most importantly I believe that the time before your MBA will be your last chance in your life to just take off 3 months (yes I sound so dramatic :-). After your MBA, you most likely have to start that new job soon, then one day you'll have family, and soon you'll rather go to that all-inclusive resort with your kids. So even if you forfeit $20K in total during those three months - it's little cash when considering the amount we'll make over the next 30 years as corporate slaves.
Ok, enough of my crap - but hopefully I could convince some of you :-).
Cost/lost income: Say you decide to travel for 3 months before your MBA. And let's say you earn $4K a month post-tax. So you'll forfeit $12K for the 3 months - that's about the same as the average sign-on bonus after our MBAs! Also, the cost of traveling is probably about the same as the living expenses during that time. The money you save on rent (say $2400 for 3 months) can be used for a round the world ticket. The remaining living expenses (utilities, food, car, nightlife) you save will get you quite far when you back pack! Btw, this is also a great way to use all those frequent flier miles since your travel dates are most likely very flexible.
Update: At LBS, you can also expect to make about $30K through your summer internship and the Second Year Project. Check the stats for 2008 here (expand "Tuition fees and funding").
Health insurance: Yes when you quit your job you'll lose your benefits (in the US at least). But you can either enroll in COBRA, which is quite costly (was $350/month for me). Alternatively, there are travel insurance packages that cover you while on your trip (outside of the US only though!). I paid $260 for a 5 month coverage (no deductibles) with very good coverage (e.g. $1M in medical benefits). The insurance company I used was HTH Travel (picked TravelGap Voyager - plan for those without domestic insurance during travel). There are also a bunch more listed on The US Department of State website. The website also lists non-US providers.
Apartment: Ok if you own your place, then I can't really speak to this. But if you rent, then sublet your place or ask your landlord/landlady if you can terminate the lease 3 months ahead (depending on your terms). If finding someone to sublet is hard for your luxury penthouse then consider subsidizing it with a couple bucks.
Most importantly I believe that the time before your MBA will be your last chance in your life to just take off 3 months (yes I sound so dramatic :-). After your MBA, you most likely have to start that new job soon, then one day you'll have family, and soon you'll rather go to that all-inclusive resort with your kids. So even if you forfeit $20K in total during those three months - it's little cash when considering the amount we'll make over the next 30 years as corporate slaves.
Ok, enough of my crap - but hopefully I could convince some of you :-).
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Last class at my non-profit
As mentioned in my first post, I have been an ESL teacher at BEAM in Boston for the past 2.5 years. Since last year I've also served as a board member. As I'm preparing for my departure from Boston in March, another BEAM teacher (who is also going to b-school this fall) and I held a little farewell class this Sunday. I always love when students bring foods from their countries. Yummy!
Anyways, the reason I'm posting this is to find replacement teachers. If you enjoy teaching ESL classes on a voluntary basis and are still looking for a solid extracurricular activity to boost that resume then let me know! BEAM is only in Boston (Allston). The past 2.5 years at BEAM have been a lot of fun and a great way to meet interesting people and learn more about other cultures.
Anyways, the reason I'm posting this is to find replacement teachers. If you enjoy teaching ESL classes on a voluntary basis and are still looking for a solid extracurricular activity to boost that resume then let me know! BEAM is only in Boston (Allston). The past 2.5 years at BEAM have been a lot of fun and a great way to meet interesting people and learn more about other cultures.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
LBS R1 stats
So as you noticed in my previous post on the LBS yield we can't publish any hard figures obtained from the LBS portal. Some admits from previous years have done so (not knowing that you probably shouldn't do so - we greatly appreciate it though!). Below is a chart with the R1 yield % for this year and the past two years (class of 08 = 75%, class of 09 = 72%). As you can tell, the yield has been going down slightly, which is surprising considering the increase in application volumes over the past years. It can be explained though looking at the number of admits in R1: For the class of 08 it was 140, then the year after 179, and this year it is again higher. Maybe LBS is changing its strategy and accepting more people in R1 (and less in R2) since R1 admits in general are more likely to attend (class of 08 R1 yield: 75% vs. R2 yield of only 59%). Maybe more top students now apply who end up choosing Harvard or Stanford over LBS. Or maybe I just have no fu?king clue :-). Anybody have an idea? Anyways, here is the chart (the yield has gone down only slightly).
Another beautiful chart I made (can you tell I'm getting bored now that the application process is over for me?):
Update: Out of curiosity I checked the yield by the nationalities shown above. All nationalities had higher yields than the average - except for zeee Chermans!!! Hardly anyone left! As a German myself, I can say that this is "Scheisse"! But on the other hand, good news for other Germans on the waitlist...
Another beautiful chart I made (can you tell I'm getting bored now that the application process is over for me?):
Update: Out of curiosity I checked the yield by the nationalities shown above. All nationalities had higher yields than the average - except for zeee Chermans!!! Hardly anyone left! As a German myself, I can say that this is "Scheisse"! But on the other hand, good news for other Germans on the waitlist...
Haas Ding
I guess I'm a bit late with this post since I got the ding two weeks ago :-). Of course I was a bit disappointed when I read the message, even though Haas moved to my #3 choice of schools after LBS where I was already in.
So that is the end of my admissions experience I guess - there are no more schools where I'm awaiting a decision. I should probably consider myself very fortunate to have gotten two offers in a competitive year like this one. It's funny, during the application process I was desperately awaiting the end of this strenuous time. Now there's no excitement left. Instead I am bored at work (sometimes checking the BW forum though :-) and can't wait until my last day. Ok, I should probably stop whining since I only have 3 weeks left! And then I'm off to travel for 5 months before I finally move to London.
To all other applicants waiting on R2 and R3 (or even R4) decisions, I wish you best of luck!
As for me, this blog will slowly turn into an LBS blog I guess. LBS just released its R1 stats yesterday, which I will comment on in my next entry.
So that is the end of my admissions experience I guess - there are no more schools where I'm awaiting a decision. I should probably consider myself very fortunate to have gotten two offers in a competitive year like this one. It's funny, during the application process I was desperately awaiting the end of this strenuous time. Now there's no excitement left. Instead I am bored at work (sometimes checking the BW forum though :-) and can't wait until my last day. Ok, I should probably stop whining since I only have 3 weeks left! And then I'm off to travel for 5 months before I finally move to London.
To all other applicants waiting on R2 and R3 (or even R4) decisions, I wish you best of luck!
As for me, this blog will slowly turn into an LBS blog I guess. LBS just released its R1 stats yesterday, which I will comment on in my next entry.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Application advice in exchange for donation?
Sometime last December I had an idea I actually want to somehow implement before next year's application season begins for the class of 2011. Unlike many applicants, I was fortunate to have a friend who already went through the application process and was willing to give me feedback on my essays. The majority of applicants probably doesn't have such resources - and hence some use admissions consultants. This means spending lots of $$$ (and many consider it to be unethical).
That's how I came up with the idea of providing a list of volunteers who give feedback (like my friend did) in exchange for a donation to a non-profit.
What do you guys think? I already asked a couple of friends I know in b-school and inquired on forums. Everyone thinks it's a fantastic idea - but unfortunately nobody seems to have time. Well I'm done with the application process and will be leaving my job in March. So if anybody needs feedback on their LBS essays in exchange for a donation then let me know :-) !!! Even better, if you belong to the lucky group of admits (or current students, alumni) and would like to volunteer then drop me a line too (regardless which b-school you're affiliated with).
Update: We are three volunteers now and therefore "live"! Horray, spread the word...
Update 2: Now we're 9... check our new website: www.MBAvolunteers.org
On another note, check this cool non-profit:
http://www.mbaswithoutborders.org
They match up post-MBAs with for-profit companies in developing countries as part of a consulting project. I emailed them to see if I could maybe join a project on a voluntary basis even though I don't have my MBA yet. I would like to do something like a pre-MBA internship somewhere in South America before LBS begins in August. As I wrote in an earlier post, I'll be leaving my job in Boston in March. First destination will be Brazil.
Update: Just got an email back, you need to be post-MBA to join a project :-(
That's how I came up with the idea of providing a list of volunteers who give feedback (like my friend did) in exchange for a donation to a non-profit.
What do you guys think? I already asked a couple of friends I know in b-school and inquired on forums. Everyone thinks it's a fantastic idea - but unfortunately nobody seems to have time. Well I'm done with the application process and will be leaving my job in March. So if anybody needs feedback on their LBS essays in exchange for a donation then let me know :-) !!! Even better, if you belong to the lucky group of admits (or current students, alumni) and would like to volunteer then drop me a line too (regardless which b-school you're affiliated with).
Update: We are three volunteers now and therefore "live"! Horray, spread the word...
Update 2: Now we're 9... check our new website: www.MBAvolunteers.org
On another note, check this cool non-profit:
http://www.mbaswithoutborders.org
They match up post-MBAs with for-profit companies in developing countries as part of a consulting project. I emailed them to see if I could maybe join a project on a voluntary basis even though I don't have my MBA yet. I would like to do something like a pre-MBA internship somewhere in South America before LBS begins in August. As I wrote in an earlier post, I'll be leaving my job in Boston in March. First destination will be Brazil.
Update: Just got an email back, you need to be post-MBA to join a project :-(
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Post-MBA location
Last week some of the LBS admits from Boston met up. Was great meeting some of my fellow future class mates. We are planning on meeting up again next week since not all of us could attend last time. There was also an alumni who shared some info on LBS and working in the US afterwards. For those applicants who are considering working in the US after their MBAs, European schools are typically not the best choice. But according to the alumni, LBS does have an excellent brand recognition among recruiters in the US, in case you want to leave the options of your post-MBA location open. He is currently recruiting for his company (BCG) and will be interviewing 3 candidates from LBS for US offices. One interesting fact he also mentioned: Only McKinsey, BCG and Goldman Sachs tend to pay attention to degrees with distinction. So if you don't plan to work for one of these three (they also want your GMAT scores btw) then don't bother working your ass off like a maniac - nobody will care about your class rank.
Then I also heard about a very funny tradition at LBS: The Santa Pub Crawl. 400+ students in Santa costumes hitting the nightlife in London. Check some pix:
http://mbablog.london.edu/mbablog/2007/12/santa-pub-crawl.html
Then I also heard about a very funny tradition at LBS: The Santa Pub Crawl. 400+ students in Santa costumes hitting the nightlife in London. Check some pix:
http://mbablog.london.edu/mbablog/2007/12/santa-pub-crawl.html
Sunday, January 20, 2008
After our MBA, when the $$$ are rolling in...
...lets not forget what some of us might have written in our MBA applications! Yes for the first years some might be busy paying off those loans, maybe then it's time to buy that nice house for the family. But at some point, wouldn't it be cool to do something good with all that money we'll (hopefully) be making? I mean before the MBA we all did our volunteering stuff to make that resume look nice, why not after an MBA as well? I wanted to introduce two guys (not sure if they got an MBA though :-) who did some pretty cool stuff with their money and their time:
John Wood (check his Wikipedia profile): He was a top Microsoft manager in the 90's, earning a shit load of money, when he once decided to go backpacking in Nepal. After seeing the poverty and visiting a remote school which had a few lousy books in its library, he promised to return and help out. The school director said: "Yeah of course you'll come back, like all the other tourists said..." A couple months later, he fulfilled his promise and returned with 3,000 books loaded on 37 donkeys. Soon later, he quit his job at Microsoft in 2000 and founded Room to Read which today supports 155 schools worldwide and has collected $33MM in donations to date.
Mo Ibrahim (check his Wikipedia profile): Mo made a fortune on the sale of his mobile phone company in Africa in 2005. With the money he made from the sale (estimated at $650MM) Mo founded the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, which awards $5MM over 10 years and $200K for life after to any African leader who demonstrated good governance and leadership (such as handing off power after losing a democratic election). Through this "competition" Mo wants to promote democracy in Africa and hopes that African leaders might stop enriching only themselves instead of their countries.
Well maybe these are two extreme examples, but I hope I'll remember what I just wrote in my blog in a few years out.
Update: Thanks for the info mbabound, John Wood got his MBA from Kellogg.
John Wood (check his Wikipedia profile): He was a top Microsoft manager in the 90's, earning a shit load of money, when he once decided to go backpacking in Nepal. After seeing the poverty and visiting a remote school which had a few lousy books in its library, he promised to return and help out. The school director said: "Yeah of course you'll come back, like all the other tourists said..." A couple months later, he fulfilled his promise and returned with 3,000 books loaded on 37 donkeys. Soon later, he quit his job at Microsoft in 2000 and founded Room to Read which today supports 155 schools worldwide and has collected $33MM in donations to date.
Mo Ibrahim (check his Wikipedia profile): Mo made a fortune on the sale of his mobile phone company in Africa in 2005. With the money he made from the sale (estimated at $650MM) Mo founded the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, which awards $5MM over 10 years and $200K for life after to any African leader who demonstrated good governance and leadership (such as handing off power after losing a democratic election). Through this "competition" Mo wants to promote democracy in Africa and hopes that African leaders might stop enriching only themselves instead of their countries.
Well maybe these are two extreme examples, but I hope I'll remember what I just wrote in my blog in a few years out.
Update: Thanks for the info mbabound, John Wood got his MBA from Kellogg.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Just made my deposit...
...of 1500 GBP to LBS! Can't wait to move to London and meet my new class mates. After 7 years in Boston I'm so looking forward to living in a new city....
On another note, my last day of work will be March 7, 2008. A week after, I will be leaving to Brazil with a couple of friends to go backpacking. After they return to Boston, I will travel North along the coast and try to find a nice place where I can learn how to kite surf. If anybody knows of good kite surfing spots in South America please let me know! I also plan on working somewhere in S. America for 1-2 months, maybe in some interesting business/industry or a non-profit, something like a pre-MBA internship.
Anyways, if you have similar plans (no matter which b-school you're attending) and if you want to meet up somewhere for some beers at the beach bar, drop me an email!
anselmino at gmail dot com
On another note, my last day of work will be March 7, 2008. A week after, I will be leaving to Brazil with a couple of friends to go backpacking. After they return to Boston, I will travel North along the coast and try to find a nice place where I can learn how to kite surf. If anybody knows of good kite surfing spots in South America please let me know! I also plan on working somewhere in S. America for 1-2 months, maybe in some interesting business/industry or a non-profit, something like a pre-MBA internship.
Anyways, if you have similar plans (no matter which b-school you're attending) and if you want to meet up somewhere for some beers at the beach bar, drop me an email!
anselmino at gmail dot com
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
How I picked my schools…
So HBS, LBS, Haas and IESE might sound like a weird combination of b-schools, but I sure did my research and ended up with these 4 programs. In order of my preference of schools, here are my pros and cons:
1. HBS
Pros: Harvard was my top choice simply because of the brand. Who wouldn’t go there if they got in? I also liked that HBS was strong in General Management and Entrepreneurship (I want to pick Strategy and Entrepreneurship as my majors). When I visited I was also impressed by the current students and the class atmosphere – most students there are not of the arrogant / full of themselves type but are rather kind and helpful. Of all places, however, I was least passionate about HBS, simply because of the cons below.
Cons: The location – but don’t get me wrong here, I love Boston! It’s my second home. But after having lived here for almost 7 years I have the strong desire to live in a new city and experience something new while I still can. 7 years in the same place is way too long at this age. Plus, did you know that HBS doesn’t have an exchange program? That would have meant another 2 full years in Boston.
2. LBS
Pros: The city – I know the weather there isn’t the best, but I love places with diversity. I mean just take the subway there (excuse me, the "tube") and you will hear hundreds of different languages and see faces from around the globe. Now to the program, the same is reflected in the student body at LBS – almost 90% is international! I love this! Compare this to any top US b-school and you will find that most have merely 35% international students, many of whom have already lived in the US for several years. Another big plus for LBS is its brand – also outside of Europe, which is why a wide range of leading companies recruit there. And LBS has quite an impressive exchange program (plan to go to IESE for a semester if I can).
Cons: It is known that LBS is a top destination for people who want to get into Finance. Since I want to go into the industry (maybe a rotational program or strategic planning) I hope LBS has strong enough recruiting ties in this field. A last con: The city – because it is damn expensive.
3. Haas
Pros: If you had asked me 1 month ago I would have stated Haas as my clear #2 choice. However, that would have been before I went to London to check out LBS. I must say though that my preference shift to LBS has two causes: I have an admit from LBS (while I will most likely get dinged from Haas – no interview invite so far) and my Haas visit was last year in April (while my LBS visit is just a few weeks back). Also, while I was just back home in Europe for 4 weeks, I realized I really wanted to make my move back across the Atlantic – and going out west to California was clearly the wrong direction. Now back to the pros: So during my visit in April 2007 I was really impressed by the current students – the most laid back students of all places I’ve visited. One guy I was sitting with in class really fascinated me, he had tattoos and piercings all over (and made great contributions to the class discussion), which speaks for the diversity of characters at Haas. Another pro you can’t go wrong with is living in San Francisco with warm temperatures all year round. Lastly, Haas is also a powerhouse when it comes to Entrepreneurship.
Cons: Well I think I covered them under the pros. If you go to Haas, you will most likely end up in the Bay Area, which just wasn’t my plan I realized.
4. IESE
Pros: Of all programs it is probably the most similar to HBS (100% case method) which is no surprise because HBS helped found IESE and both schools still have a strong cooperation. This means a strong focus on General Management and Entrepreneurship. Another pro is definitely Barcelona, a great city to live in and like LBS it brings me back home to Europe. If I can, I plan to go on exchange to IESE, also because I always wanted to live in a Spanish speaking country and this would be a great opportunity to polish up my Spanish.
Cons: Opus Dei. Just kidding, the organisation (and your religion) has absolutely no influence on admissions at all (but many professors do belong to this bizarre club!). The reputation. While IESE is well known in Europe (esp. Spain) and South America, it does have a quite limited brand reputation beyond that. Also, I know this makes me sound like a lazy slacker :-), but I’ve heard from so many current students that the 1st year at IESE is just killer, leaving you virtually no time to enjoy other things like club activities, etc. A regular day involves 3 classes, then a mandatory class of Spanish, and then preparing 3 cases for the next day, which takes another 4-6 hours according to the students I spoke with. Sounds like work hard play little to me.
A fifth school that initially made it on my list was Kellogg. However, when I saw how many essays I would have to write for my other 4 schools and then looked at Kellogg's application I decided not to apply. I was initially interested in Kellogg for its strong community (Chicago GSB I felt was more like a commuter school) and I was just slightly more impressed with the current students there than at its local rival. But in the end my passion for Kellogg was not strong enough to keep it on the list. Another school I considered was ESADE in Barcelona, as a backup since I had no idea how my low GMAT would effect the outcome of my applications. Once I got the IESE admit, however, I canceled my informational interview.
1. HBS
Pros: Harvard was my top choice simply because of the brand. Who wouldn’t go there if they got in? I also liked that HBS was strong in General Management and Entrepreneurship (I want to pick Strategy and Entrepreneurship as my majors). When I visited I was also impressed by the current students and the class atmosphere – most students there are not of the arrogant / full of themselves type but are rather kind and helpful. Of all places, however, I was least passionate about HBS, simply because of the cons below.
Cons: The location – but don’t get me wrong here, I love Boston! It’s my second home. But after having lived here for almost 7 years I have the strong desire to live in a new city and experience something new while I still can. 7 years in the same place is way too long at this age. Plus, did you know that HBS doesn’t have an exchange program? That would have meant another 2 full years in Boston.
2. LBS
Pros: The city – I know the weather there isn’t the best, but I love places with diversity. I mean just take the subway there (excuse me, the "tube") and you will hear hundreds of different languages and see faces from around the globe. Now to the program, the same is reflected in the student body at LBS – almost 90% is international! I love this! Compare this to any top US b-school and you will find that most have merely 35% international students, many of whom have already lived in the US for several years. Another big plus for LBS is its brand – also outside of Europe, which is why a wide range of leading companies recruit there. And LBS has quite an impressive exchange program (plan to go to IESE for a semester if I can).
Cons: It is known that LBS is a top destination for people who want to get into Finance. Since I want to go into the industry (maybe a rotational program or strategic planning) I hope LBS has strong enough recruiting ties in this field. A last con: The city – because it is damn expensive.
3. Haas
Pros: If you had asked me 1 month ago I would have stated Haas as my clear #2 choice. However, that would have been before I went to London to check out LBS. I must say though that my preference shift to LBS has two causes: I have an admit from LBS (while I will most likely get dinged from Haas – no interview invite so far) and my Haas visit was last year in April (while my LBS visit is just a few weeks back). Also, while I was just back home in Europe for 4 weeks, I realized I really wanted to make my move back across the Atlantic – and going out west to California was clearly the wrong direction. Now back to the pros: So during my visit in April 2007 I was really impressed by the current students – the most laid back students of all places I’ve visited. One guy I was sitting with in class really fascinated me, he had tattoos and piercings all over (and made great contributions to the class discussion), which speaks for the diversity of characters at Haas. Another pro you can’t go wrong with is living in San Francisco with warm temperatures all year round. Lastly, Haas is also a powerhouse when it comes to Entrepreneurship.
Cons: Well I think I covered them under the pros. If you go to Haas, you will most likely end up in the Bay Area, which just wasn’t my plan I realized.
4. IESE
Pros: Of all programs it is probably the most similar to HBS (100% case method) which is no surprise because HBS helped found IESE and both schools still have a strong cooperation. This means a strong focus on General Management and Entrepreneurship. Another pro is definitely Barcelona, a great city to live in and like LBS it brings me back home to Europe. If I can, I plan to go on exchange to IESE, also because I always wanted to live in a Spanish speaking country and this would be a great opportunity to polish up my Spanish.
Cons: Opus Dei. Just kidding, the organisation (and your religion) has absolutely no influence on admissions at all (but many professors do belong to this bizarre club!). The reputation. While IESE is well known in Europe (esp. Spain) and South America, it does have a quite limited brand reputation beyond that. Also, I know this makes me sound like a lazy slacker :-), but I’ve heard from so many current students that the 1st year at IESE is just killer, leaving you virtually no time to enjoy other things like club activities, etc. A regular day involves 3 classes, then a mandatory class of Spanish, and then preparing 3 cases for the next day, which takes another 4-6 hours according to the students I spoke with. Sounds like work hard play little to me.
A fifth school that initially made it on my list was Kellogg. However, when I saw how many essays I would have to write for my other 4 schools and then looked at Kellogg's application I decided not to apply. I was initially interested in Kellogg for its strong community (Chicago GSB I felt was more like a commuter school) and I was just slightly more impressed with the current students there than at its local rival. But in the end my passion for Kellogg was not strong enough to keep it on the list. Another school I considered was ESADE in Barcelona, as a backup since I had no idea how my low GMAT would effect the outcome of my applications. Once I got the IESE admit, however, I canceled my informational interview.
HBS ding
So today is probably an active day for the MBA blog community, because Harvard released its R1 decisions. I got dinged! Which was of no surprise to me, since I hadn’t received an interview invite (a requirement to be admitted). I must say I was a bit disappointed when I read the message (even though I knew it was coming) but in my next blog entry above I will explain why getting this ding is perfectly fine with me. Before I forget, congrats to all of those who got accepted! Boston is an awesome place to live, you will love it.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
LBS extension on decision date?
Just one more thought, if you're thinking of getting an extension on your LBS decision date, they specifically write in the admit package that there are NO extensions (unlike with IESE, they were so kind to give me an additional 6 weeks to think things over). European b-schools seem to give little time, as I wrote IESE gave me 1 month from my acceptance date, and LBS is in the same time frame (accepted Dec 19, have to decide by Jan 25 by making a 1500 GBP deposit). US b-schools give you more time. Most R1 admits have until April to decide (3 months).
LBS yield
Quick addition to the post on LBS' acceptance rate: So last year for the class of 2009 (accoring to RusGirl's blog) the yield rate in round 1 was 72%. For the class of 2008 (according to Angie's blog) the yield was 75% for round 1. As for round 2, RusGirl didn't have figures but Angie's blog mentiones 59%. Because of the lower yield rate in R2 there are more offers of admissions than in R1 (220 vs. 140 for the class of 2008). Looking at the class of 2010, I can tell you that there are roughly the same number of admits in R1 than for the class of 2009 (which was 179 admits).
Either way, my estimate below of an overall yield of 65% sounds fair to me, maybe it should be slightly higher by a couple % points, lowering the acceptance rate to ~20%.
Links:
Class of 2009 R1 stats
Class of 2009 R2, R3, R4 stats
Class of 2008 overall stats
Either way, my estimate below of an overall yield of 65% sounds fair to me, maybe it should be slightly higher by a couple % points, lowering the acceptance rate to ~20%.
Links:
Class of 2009 R1 stats
Class of 2009 R2, R3, R4 stats
Class of 2008 overall stats
Thursday, January 3, 2008
LBS and IESE acceptance rates
First of all: Happy New Year! Before I grow old and rusty (and start forgetting), I wanted to share some stats on LBS' and IESE's acceptance rates. Both schools don't publish any of these. So during an informational interview, I was told by an IESE admissions officer that the acceptance rate of the class of 2009 was 17%, which is remarkably low and hard to believe. But it could be true, considering the small class size of IESE (210 students) and the competitiveness among Spanish and South American applicants for the bilingual track. As a comparison, both Harvard and Berkeley had acceptance rates of around 14% for the class of 2009. Now for London Business School, they received 2100 applications last year and the class size was 310. Assuming LBS has a yield rate of 65% , we can assume that LBS gave out offers to around 480 applicants which would translate into an acceptance rate of about 22%. That ain't too bad for a top MBA program!
Update: According to Veritasprep LBS has an acceptance rate of 20%. No source is given, they probably did the same simple math as I did...
Update: Check the comments to this post for more info on IESE's acceptance rate... According to BusinessWeek's 2010 Ranking LBS has an acceptance rate of 18% and IESE has an acceptance rate of 21%. No source is given.
Update: Check my post regarding LBS class of 2010 stats... The number of applications increased to roughly 2500, so using the math from above you get an acceptance rate of 19.7% (using a class size of 320).
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Got into LBS!
So it's been a while since I last posted here. I had my LBS interview on Dec 7, the last day we were supposed to complete the interview. The alumni was very nice and tried to help me I felt but still asked lots of questions: Why an MBA now, why LBS, what will you contribute (aside from the standard things such as international experience, etc.). One question you should really prepare for: I was asked which other schools I'm applying to and then I was asked how I'll decide which school to attend if I got accepted to all. Your answer should obviously favor the school you're interviewing for! Remember, the yield rate (% of applicants accepting offer of admission) is a key factor for b-schools, the higher the better the spot in the rankings. While Harvard's yield is somewhere around 90%, other top schools typically hover around 50-70%.
Btw, my impromptu presentation topic for LBS was something like "What are the advantages and disadvantages of a UN passport that allows people around the world to move freely?" LBS is an international place favoring free trade so your answers to any questions like globalization or immigration should probably favor these. They say though that your answer is not important (more so your argumentation and logic) but I'm sure it has some influence on the "fit" evaluation.
Anyways, so I visited IESE on Dec 14 and LBS on Dec 17. At both places, I met very nice admissions people and great current students. Both are amazing schools!
On Dec 19 I was quite excited to learn that I got accepted to LBS as well! So if things stay as they are (no interest from Haas or HBS) then I'll probably go to LBS, since it has a stronger reputation outside of Europe. Most people probably would decide the same way, but IESE definitely has amazing students as well! Some of them didn't even apply to LBS, even though they prob. would have been accepted there as well, just because they love Barcelona and want to learn another language. I definitely want to go on exchange there if I can.
As for Haas and HBS, same as before: No love from them so far.
Update: Other impromptu presentation topics for the LBS interview I've heard of: Are you in favor of breaking patents for medicine in developing countries? And then something on carbon emissions trading, don't remember that one quite correctly, sorry!
Update 2: More topics I heard of: If you could make a documentary, what would it be about? And: Are you in favor of globalization? Quickly also wanted to share a funny story I heard from a fellow admit. While most interviews take place in offices or Starbucks, she had hers at home in her living room!
Update 3: Another interesting topic I came across on the BW forum: An employer sacked its store keeper for posting bad comments about the employer on facebook. Would you agree with the employer, and why?
Update 4: Just launched my own business thanks for the support from LBS! It's an affordable office phone booth targeting small businesses, start-ups and co-working spaces as these things cost > £4K so meant for companies who don't have the deep pockets like large corporations who can afford these soundproof booths today.office phone booth for small businesses and start-ups as these things cost > £4K we wanted a soundproof booth
Btw, my impromptu presentation topic for LBS was something like "What are the advantages and disadvantages of a UN passport that allows people around the world to move freely?" LBS is an international place favoring free trade so your answers to any questions like globalization or immigration should probably favor these. They say though that your answer is not important (more so your argumentation and logic) but I'm sure it has some influence on the "fit" evaluation.
Anyways, so I visited IESE on Dec 14 and LBS on Dec 17. At both places, I met very nice admissions people and great current students. Both are amazing schools!
On Dec 19 I was quite excited to learn that I got accepted to LBS as well! So if things stay as they are (no interest from Haas or HBS) then I'll probably go to LBS, since it has a stronger reputation outside of Europe. Most people probably would decide the same way, but IESE definitely has amazing students as well! Some of them didn't even apply to LBS, even though they prob. would have been accepted there as well, just because they love Barcelona and want to learn another language. I definitely want to go on exchange there if I can.
As for Haas and HBS, same as before: No love from them so far.
Update: Other impromptu presentation topics for the LBS interview I've heard of: Are you in favor of breaking patents for medicine in developing countries? And then something on carbon emissions trading, don't remember that one quite correctly, sorry!
Update 2: More topics I heard of: If you could make a documentary, what would it be about? And: Are you in favor of globalization? Quickly also wanted to share a funny story I heard from a fellow admit. While most interviews take place in offices or Starbucks, she had hers at home in her living room!
Update 3: Another interesting topic I came across on the BW forum: An employer sacked its store keeper for posting bad comments about the employer on facebook. Would you agree with the employer, and why?
Update 4: Just launched my own business thanks for the support from LBS! It's an affordable office phone booth targeting small businesses, start-ups and co-working spaces as these things cost > £4K so meant for companies who don't have the deep pockets like large corporations who can afford these soundproof booths today.office phone booth for small businesses and start-ups as these things cost > £4K we wanted a soundproof booth
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Haas and HBS...
Hmm... still no word from Berkeley and Harvard. I haven't even received the email from Berkeley that my application is ready to be reviewed! As for HBS, I submitted the app on Oct 1! That's almost 2 months ago... don't have a good feeling :-(
In two weeks I'll go check out the campuses of IESE and LBS while I'm back home in Europe. I will be at LBS a week before they send out their decisions. Well, I guess I'll have to take the risk since I'll be in Europe, hopefully I won't get dinged just right after I visit :-).
In two weeks I'll go check out the campuses of IESE and LBS while I'm back home in Europe. I will be at LBS a week before they send out their decisions. Well, I guess I'll have to take the risk since I'll be in Europe, hopefully I won't get dinged just right after I visit :-).
Monday, November 26, 2007
London Business School interview
Just received an email with my LBS interview logistics (luckily it will be in Boston). It seems like everybody has to give a 5min. impromptu presentation? Man, the whole MBA application process is getting a bit too crazy. I wish I had applied in the days when you didn't even have to interview! What's going to be next? Two inteview stages? 15 essays?
Received an extension from IESE...
As I wrote in my first post, I am very happy that I already received an offer from IESE. Definitely takes away some of the pressure and anxiety. A little issue I faced though was the decision deadline I was given by IESE. I got accepted on November 7, had to give IESE word by November 23 if I was accepting, and make a 4500 Euro deposit by December 5! That was quite soon! By December 5 I will not have heard back yet from any other university and also I haven't even visited the IESE campus! So I called admissions (after having sent 2 unanswered emails) and finally today (three days after I should have sent the fax) I received an email that the admissions committee granted me an extension to January 16 (and a deposit extension to January 30). I really appreciate IESE's responsiveness and look forward to checking out their campus and meeting current students in December!
Friday, November 16, 2007
LBS...
...quick update: I got lucky and received an interview invite! Hurray.
Curious to see where I'll have to interview, hopefully here in Boston... back to work now.
Curious to see where I'll have to interview, hopefully here in Boston... back to work now.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Blogging a bit late...
...in the game but still wanted to share my experiences! After weeks of writing essays, attending information sessions, campus visits, etc. I already submitted my applications for the following schools: HBS, IESE, Haas, and LBS (all round 1).
A bit about myself: German/US national (grew up in Munich until I was 20), 3.5 yrs of consulting experience (Boston), low GMAT (640), high GPA (3.72 from Boston College), quite involved outside of work (teaching ESL at a non-profit where I'm also a board member; created a website for prospective MBA students, also working on a screenplay, etc.). It should be interesting to see how my low GMAT comes into play. Aside from that I feel I'm not aiming too high.
As of today:
I interviewed with IESE in NY and wasn't too optimistic after. For those of you still awaiting an interview in the US, expect some tough questions:
- When did you disagree with your supervisor and what did you do?
- When did a team project fail and what did you do?
- When did you not meet a deadline and what did you do?
- When did you face an ethical dilemma and what did you do?
Last week, however, I got accepted! I was super happy and I catch myself constantly day dreaming about how it would be spending 2 awesome years at IESE in Barcelona...
Next week: LBS will kick out the first batch of applicants for round 1 (interview invites will be sent as well as lots of rejection letters). Good luck to all of us!
Update: Check out the accepted.com interview database if you want to know more about your target school's interview process. You can filter by school and feedback rating.
A bit about myself: German/US national (grew up in Munich until I was 20), 3.5 yrs of consulting experience (Boston), low GMAT (640), high GPA (3.72 from Boston College), quite involved outside of work (teaching ESL at a non-profit where I'm also a board member; created a website for prospective MBA students, also working on a screenplay, etc.). It should be interesting to see how my low GMAT comes into play. Aside from that I feel I'm not aiming too high.
As of today:
I interviewed with IESE in NY and wasn't too optimistic after. For those of you still awaiting an interview in the US, expect some tough questions:
- When did you disagree with your supervisor and what did you do?
- When did a team project fail and what did you do?
- When did you not meet a deadline and what did you do?
- When did you face an ethical dilemma and what did you do?
Last week, however, I got accepted! I was super happy and I catch myself constantly day dreaming about how it would be spending 2 awesome years at IESE in Barcelona...
Next week: LBS will kick out the first batch of applicants for round 1 (interview invites will be sent as well as lots of rejection letters). Good luck to all of us!
Update: Check out the accepted.com interview database if you want to know more about your target school's interview process. You can filter by school and feedback rating.
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