GMAT Letdown DOES NOT end your MBA Dream

Recently, I received an email from a reader, asking me what is a satisfactory GMAT score. QS Top MBA published a timely article entitled "The GMAT Letdown" and answered along that same line as I did to my reader. I am sure you too have these question in mind. Read them and perhaps it will give you some comfort in your GMAT preparation.

Look at any business school admission requirements and you will find these components as part of your application package: (1) reasonable or satisfactory GMAT score, (2) undergraduate degree, (3) English language proficiency TOEFL or IELTS, (4) minimum 2 or 3 years working experience and curiculum vitae, (5) admission essays and (6) letters of reference or recommendation. I examine each of them.

Reasonable or satisfactory GMAT score
You will notice that most business schools will start there is no minimum score and yet will not state what is the score they want you to have. While GMAT score is a standardised measure of your quantitative and reasoning abilities (and yes, GMAT can be tough for some of us), many have been able to beat the GMAT. It takes a lot of practices and some right guidance to ace GMAT. While some score above 700 but that does not mean a business school will admit them. This shows that GMAT is one but not the only selection criteria. So then, what GMAT score could be reasonable? The hint is in the current class profile. Take a look at the class profile. It will tell you the average score of the class, and perhaps a range too. You will notice that the business school admits some with lower GMAT score and some with high GMAT score but most of them would fall within the average. This will be a good guide on what GMAT score to aim for. Of course, always safer to aim higher.

Undergraduate degree
The undergraduate degree is usually of little weightage other than to say that you have graduated. Some matured students without undergraduate degree do get admitted. Watch out for this requirement though. Some business schools insist you to have a 3- or 4-year degree depending which country you are from.

English proficiency
Most of not all MBAs are in English. Assignments and discussions are in English. The English proficiency requirement ensures that you are able to articulate your views, both orally and in writing. Those who did their degree in English or from countries where English is the native or first language could be exempted from this requirement. I did my degree in Australia; thus, did not require an English proficiency test.

Working experience
Here, most business schools state 2 or 3 years working experience but again the class profile will tell you the average and range of working experience of their candidates. Some business schools prefer to have students with more working experience especially managerial experience. There is no hard and fast rule. You need to research more about the school and their program. Talk to the admissions officers.

Your CV should cover 3 areas: Education, Experience and Extra-curricular. While the first 2 Es are clear, applicants often undercapitalise the Extra-curricular part. Your activities outside work demonstrate your involvement in other voluntary work as well as leadership and team-work.

Admission essays
Often, applicants do not pay much attention to this area especially when they have scored high on GMAT. I have spoken to some of the admissions officers during the MBA fairs in Kuala Lumpur and all of them told me to focus on admission essays. So, I share with you this advice from them.

Take a look at the admission essay questions. The admission essays is one of the ways the admissions committee get to know you without you being present. How? From your answers and how you answer. The questions focus on YOU, YOU and YOU. It is about you and all about you from different angles. They ask you to evaluate your strengths and weaknesses, your leadership in dealing with a problem or stressful situation, your leadership outside work, etc. All these questions are meant to weed out different aspects of yourself and for you to reflect on them. In fact, this part is the toughest of all. I have advised many people to really take a good look at the questions and do some soul-searching. You can't run away. If you succeed in this part, you have projected yourself and ready to embark on the MBA journey. Oh, one more this. If you are selected for a face-to-face interview either with 1 or 2 alumni or the admission committee, the same questions will be asked.

Letters of reference or recommendation
Generally, 2 referees are required - usually from your supervisor or peer. The referees will be sent a list of questions about you - mainly aiming at gettting a third party perspective about yourself. So, do not choose just anyone. Choose someone whom can talk about your, some schools required that one referee should be your immediate supervisor. Do not choose relatives or someone who could not vouch your work or curricular activities.

Bear in mind, referees also carry weight. If you referee is an alumni of the school you want to attend, then you could stand a good chance of admission as business schools like recommendations from one of their own.

So, you can now see that GMAT is only one part of the admission requirements. The lack of GMAT can be compensated by other areas. Nonetheless, I do wish you to do your very best in GMAT. It takes a lot of effort. We in GMAT Malaysia has for the last 4 years shared various tips and guidance to make your GMAT a less painful one. I hope we have succeeded to some extent. The rest is up to you.

Good luck in your GMAT and MBA dream!


Jimmy Low

Best Time to Take GMAT is .....

ESMT MBA director Nick Barniville believed that the best time to take GMAT is when you are still in the undergraduate. The GMAC statistics showed that Candidates (Men and Women) under 20 represented on average, 0.34% of total candidates of all ages. Of those 0.34%, 66% are Women, thus, Women under 20 effectively represented only 0.22% of all candidates. The largest GMAT candidates in any given year comes from age group 22-25 (38.3%), followed by age group 26-30 (30.3%) and age group above 30 (16.3%). Those who were in their final year of undergraduate studies, typically around age 20-21 represented only 14.5% (Source: GMAC Profile of GMAT Candidates 2006-2011). So is there a right age to take GMAT? Should you start as early as possible, bearing in mind minimum age for candidacy is 18?

I have received many questions in the last 4 years, seeking advice on GMAT. One of the questions I pose back is how many years of work experience does the person have. In this post, I share my view when you should start.

If you research the class profiles of various MBA programs, you will find that on average the candidates are around 29-33 for the European MBAs and 24-25 for the American MBAs. On paper, a general requirement is at least 2-3 years working experience, although some would have at least 4 years experience before doing MBA. In Asia, undergraduates complete their study around age 22-23. Most, if not all, would be eager to earn their first income and own their first car, house, etc. Building work experience, in my opinion, would be the first step. After all, you want to put into practice what you learned in undergraduate. MBAs are typically for those who have years of technical experience and would like to get into management or those with business background, would like to enhance their management knowledge and skills. So, doing MBA too soon defeats the purpose of leveraging on your MBA; it ends up a paper-chase, if that is the intention.

GMAT score is valid for 5 years from date of examination. While this is the case, typical GMAT candidates will apply within 12-24 months from their test and be admitted within 24 months. As the taking of GMAT is usually closely timed with their intention to do MBA, this gap between GMAT test and MBA admission could be close (perhaps GMAC or MBA admissions committees could validate this hypothesis). However, I do not discount the fact that there are "early birds" and have planned long-term what they want in life.

So, when is THE best time to take GMAT? My answer would be ... WHEN YOU ARE READY FOR MBA!


Jimmy Low

Duke MBA: Asian Recruiting Event

Considering an American MBA? Duke will be on its Asia tour this coming August. Don't miss the chance to speak to the admission officers and alumni in each of these cities:

Bangkok - 18 August
Singapore - 20 August
Taipei - 22 August
Seoul - 24 August
Tokyo - 25 August

For more information, click here.


Jimmy Low

MBA Applicant Drinks Club: Your Avenue to Know Others

If your idea of MBA is all about partying and drinking sessions, well, let me tell you. You are RIGHT! What a good way to stay in a semi-sober position. But it is also a good avenue for you to pour out your thoughts and share your concerns. BusinessBecause's MBA Applicant Drinks Club sessions are held regularly around the world. Perhaps this is your opportunity to meet future students and alumni and learn more MBA programs.

Check out http://www.businessbecause.com/mba-applicant-drinks-club.htm for regular updates.


Jimmy Low

To Specialise or Not to Specialise?

I was often asked whether one should specialise in MBA. I had a thought about it; in fact, when I research for my MBA program I want a focus on technology management. I guess for most of us since young, we have been compartmentalise or stream. In high schools, we were either in science or arts stream. Then came university, the major or concentration to go for. As a result, we became specialist or functionlist.

Is that bad? I don't think so. Since the Industrial Revolution and the foundation of management theory by Fredrick Taylor, labour force has been classified into functions with the aim of "the more you do the same thing, the better or efficient you become". That's all right for a start but as you move up the career leader, you become more of a generalist. You manage people, and though them results. You may not know a lot about a particular subject but at least a good understanding. But what you learn is more about inquisitive skills. Asking the right questions and hopefully, these will help you make informed decisions. That's what MBA is about.

Having say that, I see no wrong in specialization for a couple of reasons. Firstly, many of us want to switch from one industry to another. Very often from one technical field e.g. engineering to another e.g. finance or from one for-profit to non-profit, and vice versa. Whatever our choice is we want to have a stronger focus on a specific concentration to give us a more indepth understanding and yet retaining the general management perspective. Thus, you see many business schools are focusing on some concentrations. In fact the other alternative is to masters program (MSc), which has strong, academic focus in a particular field.

Secondly, certain business schools have strong association with certain industries. As a result of the close collaboration and cooperation between the academic and the industry, it formed a natural channel for admission in the industry. For example, if you want to go into finance sector, London School of Business and Wharton should be on top of your list. Naturally, this also means that the faculty members and their research have a high focus in that area which will attract more brains to the schools. Thus, the schools themselves by their own design, are already industry or subject concentrated.

Lastly, specialisation at MBA level is like giving you a higher degree in a different concentration or major from your first. By arming yourself with both a technical degree and work experience, and now with a master degree with a business focus, you could, hopefully, learn new things and apply to your managerial role. After all, if you look at class profiles of any business school, a good 30-40 percent of students from engineering background and wish to pursue a management career.

So, my usual advice is look for an MBA that will bring you to where you want. If there is a concentration that you want, then go for the best school in that area. Of course it would be nice to have the top 10 schools as your choice but if it does not give you what you want or can afford, then using concentration is a good selection criteria. Think about it.


Jimmy Low

Doing MBAs in Malaysia - Spoilt with Choices: Part 2

I stumbled upon this French consulting and rating agency in higher education, EDUNIVERSAL. Annually, it ranks over 1000 business schools around the world and categorised them according to number of PALMS; between 1 and 5 PALMS. You can read more in its Wikipedia.

6 Malaysian universities were grouped into 3 PALM categories. There are as below:

I also suggest that you visit the respective universities' MBA website and talk to the alumni, students or admissions officers for more information.


Jimmy Low

Doing MBAs in Malaysia - Spoilt with Choices: Part 1

I was monitoring this blog's statistics and found that one of the common search words was "MBA in Malaysia". Then I realised that over the last 3 years, I have been talking about GMAT and MBA but can't recall blogging about MBAs in Malaysia. Either I was not asked or I wasn't looking at MBAs in Malaysia. I wanted to do my MBA overseas and I am sure there were many who set their eyes to overseas MBA too. But this does not mean that no one is looking for MBAs domestically.

I am sure some of you did yours or planning to do yours in US, Canada, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, France, Hong Kong, India or Australia. These are the few typical countries that many want to get their MBA from. MBAs from these countries are in the annual Financial Times Top 100. In fact, you see these countries in top 20 or top 50.

Hence, one of the criteria in choosing an MBA program is the brand name of the school. You want to be an alumni of Harvard, LBS, Insead, Manchester, etc. That brand name says who you are and being a part of the school's network open doors to career or business opportunities. Of course, this means paying the entry price and being competitive with everyone around the world. Ask any applicants and you will find the big names in MBA as their choice of schools; getting in is another matter. Already some of these schools won the brand mind share, as they say in marketing or brand management.

If you have plans to work overseas or migrate, often it is also a good choice to do an MBA or masters program from that country. One, the school is known among the big corporation in the country or region. Two, you add diversity to the class and probably the employment pool. Very often certain regions are less represented in an typical class. South East Asian, Latin American and African countries were somewhat the underrepresented countries. So, if you are from these countries, you should stand a good chance for admission and perhaps a scholarship. This adds to a good chance Malaysians look outside for MBA which opens the door to the country or region. Malaysians are now a discerning group of people and do want an overseas MBA if they could afford. Financing is an issue and looking for an affordable MBA makes them think between doing locally or overseas.

Often you will hear this term in Malaysia - doing MBA locally. What does this mean? It could mean - either offered by a local university (public or private) or studying foreign programs locally through educational institutions e.g. colleges, education centers or perhaps local branches of foreign universities.

Over the last 15-20 years, private colleges have proliferated. Starting with undergraduate twinning programs with foreign universities from US, UK and Australia/New Zealand, colleges also offer MBA or post graduate programs for working adults on the same basis. Courses are done locally and with perhaps a semester or two overseas. In fact, with the Malaysian government giving private colleges university or university-college status, many of these "office" universities offer their own MBA program, with or without accreditation from a foreign partner university. In fact, one college in Malaysia offers its own MBA program but confers two degree - its own and those of its foreign partner. Some foreign universities set up a Malaysian campus to offer MBA program. In all cases, these institutions claimed that their programs are moderated by partner universities in spite having majority taught and examined by local lecturers. In the end, the degrees are conferred by the foreign universities and are said to have equal status as those conferred in their country. Most of these MBAs done in Malaysia do not require GMAT score.

The other truly local MBA or post-graduate programs are those offered by local public or private universities. These universities do not partner with any foreign universities and conferred their own degree. As far as I know, these MBAs also do not require GMAT score for admission.

Of these two groups of MBA programs, majority of Malaysian professionals opt for foreign MBAs conducted locally; many of which are Australia and UK-accredited MBAs. In fact, UK and Australia are the biggest exports of secondary (IGCSE) and tertiary educations (bachelors and post-graduates) in the world. For reason of cost and continued income and employment in Malaysia, these programs made it affordable to Malaysians to pursue tertiary education. For post-graduate programs, these could be done part-time without sacrificing career, income and at own pace.

I don't have any statistics on the size of the MBA market in Malaysia but it would interesting topic for me to cover in my next article. In the meantime, I leave you to think about doing MBA in Malaysia. Perhaps you can agree or disagree with my writing above. I would love to hear from you why you choose to do MBA in Malaysia.

I also leave you with this article published by the Malaysian Institute of Management (MIM) in December 2007 - Do Malaysian MBAs Want International Careers? by David M Hunt, Md. Zabid Abdul Rashid, Osman M Zain and June ML Poon.


Jimmy Low

ESMT in Bangkok, Manila, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore

When you think about MBA, the few typical countries that come to mind are USA, UK, France and perhaps Australia. What about Germany? In fact, MBA is gaining a foothold in Germany. The ESMT European School of Management and Technology in Berlin was founded by 25 German corporations in 2002. The ESMT MBA is a one-year, international MBA taught in English, offers a good balance between theories and practice on topics of technology management and sustainable business.

As an ESMT alumnus from Malaysia, I am pleased to share with you why I chose ESMT. Firstly, I wanted a unique MBA, not from your typical countries. In fact, when I told people that I did my MBA in Germany, I got lots of questions about why Germany, what was it like there, etc. The MBA itself becomes an interesting conversation topic. Secondly, I was interested in technology management and there were not many schools that focused on this area. Plus, Germany is known for its high-tech, engineering. Thirdly, 25 German corporations backed the school. And with this, at least 25 post-MBA career opportunities. I got mine from Deutsche Bahn.

Overall, I had no regards coming to ESMT and spending a good year with 39 other classmates from all over the world and with the faculty members. If you like to know more about ESMT, the ESMT marketing director Mr. Rick Doyle will be in South East Asia. Sign up to meet him for a 1-2-1 session at these locations:

Bangkok, 2nd June: http://connect.topmba.com/candidates/application/application-page/?eventID=64

Manila, 4th June: http://connect.topmba.com/candidates/application/application-page/?eventID=63

Kuala Lumpur, 7th June: http://connect.topmba.com/candidates/application/application-page/?eventID=65

Singapore, 9th June: http://connect.topmba.com/candidates/application/application-page/?eventID=66


I will be happy to share more about ESMT MBA. Please email me your questions. Here are some photos of the school and our activities: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.230316737956.136080.750812956&l=dd31a65205


Jimmy Low

The inside tips on top university admissions

Always wonder what it takes to get into the top universities? This article from TopMBA would be helpful. Read on.


Jimmy Low

NUS MBA Information Session 5 March 2011

Insead MBA 2011 Events in Singapore and Hong Kong

Are you looking for a top MBA program and will be in Singapore or Hong Kong in February? Take this opportunity to meet the Insead admission officers or alumni at these Asia Pacific locations.

Click here for more information.


Jimmy

Bristol MBA at Taylor's University Lakeside Campus

Taylor's University Lakeside Campus is launching the Bristol UK MBA in February. Taylor's U is offering RM7,000 inaugural discount for applicants who joined their February 12 intake.

For more information, click Taylor's U Bristol MBA website and University of the West of England Bristol MBA website. You may also contact Mr. Quah Soo Beng at the details provided below.

PDF file: Bristol MBA at Taylor's University



Jimmy Low

GMAT remains dominant over GRE for MBA applications

A survey of 288 admissions officers has found that more MBA programs are giving applicants the choice to submit either the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) or the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT).

Read more about it here.


Jimmy Low

NUS MBA Programme Briefing on 04 Dec (Sat), Kuala Lumpur Mandarin Oriental

Register here.


Jimmy Low

INSEAD MBA Coffee Chat in Kuala Lumpur, 20 Nov 2010

Those interested in INSEAD MBA, come and meet INSEAD alumni on 20 November for coffee chat at the Starbucks Pavillion. Please register here.


Jimmy Low

ESMT Scholarships for Academic Excellence and More

In the past open day sessions and emails from our readers, we are often asked about MBA financing options. One of the common ways to finance your MBA study is to get a scholarship from the schools. Business schools want to attract the right candidates from various regions and those with unique experiences and qualities. As you research about the school, do look into their scholarships and apply from one of them.

I am currently doing my 1-year MBA at the European School of Management and Technology (ESMT) in Berlin, Germany. The school was founded in 2002 by 25 corporations with the purpose of offering the distinct European business experience in a classroom environment. I am in the fifth intake with 38 other students from 21 countries. Most, if not all, of us including myself, were offered a scholarship to finance our MBA.

A total of 11 scholarships are available for the full-time MBA program. In particular, I would like to share two relevant ones; mainly because they relate to GMAT score and Asian focus where majority of our readers are from. For others, please visit ESMT scholarships website.

ESMT Asia Scholarship

ESMT awards one prestigious scholarship to an outstanding male or female candidate applying to either program from an Asian country.

Program: Full-time MBA

Number of scholarships available: two

Value: € 25,000

Eligibility: Candidates with permanent residence in a South or East Asian / Australasian country

Requirements:
Candidates are required to submit a scholarship essay along with their complete application to the ESMT Full-time MBA program. Candidates will be expected to actively promote the school in the respective regions throughout and after their studies, e.g. by participating in the ESMT mentoring program.

ESMT Academic Excellence Scholarship

ESMT offers special-tuition scholarship to male and female candidates applying to the ESMT Full-time MBA program with an exceptionally strong GMAT score and a record of academic excellence at undergraduate level.

Program: Full-time MBA

Number of scholarships available: two

Value: € 25,000

Eligibility: All candidates with a GMAT score of 700+ are eligible to apply

Criteria: Candidates are to provide proof of a valid GMAT score (not older than five years) and a short essay (max. 300 words) stating why they qualify for this scholarship.

For more information on the scholarships, please contact the ESMT Head of Admissions, Ms. Stephanie Kluth at mba@esmt.org.

If you want to learn more about the full-time MBA program and my experience studying and living in Berlin so far, you're free to contact me at my Gmail address.


Jimmy Low

Adding Vitality to Your Resume

I thought this will be an interesting article for potential MBA students as well as job seekers. Here is the article by Debra Wheatman on "Elegant Variation" to your resume.

Excerpt: Your resumé is a marketing document. The product being marketed is you. The death knell of any marketing campaign is boredom. Boring products don’t sell. If your resumé comes across as uninteresting, so do you: you probably won’t get put in the short pile; you probably won’t get interviews, and someone with a more exciting resumé will get the job.

For more, check out dailywritingtips.com .


Jimmy Low

MBA Podcaster - Your Verbal Guide to Business Schools

I received an email from TopMBA.com introducing the MBA Podcaster. I thought this is a refreshing perspective to business schools research and admission application process. For those of us who are better listeners than readers of small fonts, check out the link. The website covers all aspects of business school applications including GMAT, interviews with deans and admissions committees.

Good luck from GMAT Malaysia



Jimmy Low

Business School Essays and the Avocado!

In my book MBA Admissions Strategy I offer the following advice: “Proofread to show your hunger for admission, your real desire to be selected.” Typographic or other careless errors in your text immediately clues admissions officers in as to how (un)careful you were with your text, and this tells them not only how organized and detail-oriented you are — whether you are a ‘finisher’ — but also how much you actually really care about your application to their particular school. (More)

Source: TopMBA.com


Jimmy Low

Normal or Extra? Which MBA to Go For?

High-flying executives, budding young managers, successful entrepreneurs and full-time mums are all studying for an MBA – but what is it? TopMBA.com gives you a simple explanation of the different types of MBA programs.



Jimmy Low