Hi hi! It's been a while since I posted on this blog - mainly because I've been busy at school and I'm running my own personal blog about the experience in China. You can click on it on the side.
In a nutshell, what is China like? Or most specifically, what is Tsinghua like?
Tsinghua is fairly interesting. The workload isn't as intense as it could be - just passing is the main concern, not passing with flying colors. It's hard to get a summer internship/work without being able to speak Chinese fluently. It's cheap to be in China if you want to live with the basics, but the moment you start to party, you run a very good chance of blowing your budget.
Do I regret coming here? A bit, I think other schools like LBS would have given me a better opportunity to break into consulting or a branded name. However, having said that, I really do enjoy China a lot - learning Chinese is probably the main thing you should do here, and while it's hard, it's been a fun experience. Possibly because I have a very good Chinese tutor, and my classmates are pretty fun.
What's the student quality like? Well, the internationals are so-so, the locals seem to be very well connected and experienced and intelligent. Yes, we have our fair share of douche bags, but then again, which school doesn't have any?
So, if you want a good excuse to spend 2 years learning Chinese and getting to know people who are interested and/or have a business in China, Tsinghua is a pretty good place to come to.
P/s. Since I'm accepted, I'm probably reposting all the posts that I took off for censorship.
Showing posts with label cimdaa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cimdaa. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Friday, November 27, 2009
Essays
I've spent the past several months helping others edit their essays for several schools. It's a fairly tedious process that involves you writing some stuff and sending it to me, me reading it and leaving red marks all over before sending it back to you - repeated maybe 15 - 20 times.
To make it easier for you to write an essays, let's go through the basic requirements of a good essay.
1. You need, inspiration - lots and lots of it. There are several ways you can get it, but the best way is to get some whiskey and start drinking. Actually, drink on the night that you're planning to write your essay. While you're sober, start jotting down little stories that would look like the following the next morning
Rescued a village - dug waterholes - ate Mcdonald's
Top of class - biggest geek in class - had no friends
and so on... actually, when you feel guilty the next day, you'll probably rewrite everything. But yes, write down little anecdotes of your life. Compile maybe 20 - 30 stories for various situations, this is your story bank.
2. Look at the essay questions and look at your story bank, mix and match till you feel it's pretty good. Then start to write the story with sufficient detail, the trick is too much detail and it's boring and long, too little details and it'll be boring and superficial - you need just enough detail to get the reader's attention while enough to explain what happened. It's not easy, so you'll probably have to do it for quite a while.
At this point, you can start to stretch your stories a little bit. You work in credit sales? Rewrite it to say that you were the top sales person in personal loans. You get the idea, a little bit of exaggaration is ok.
3. Decide on whether your essay answers the question. Write it to answer the question. If it doesn't answer the question, then it's a lousy essay with an interesting story.
It'll probably take you a while to get used to this, do it a few times for your application. At some point you'll hit the zone and just be able to write flawlessly on why you need an MBA while talking about how you saved your company from going bankrupt...
To make it easier for you to write an essays, let's go through the basic requirements of a good essay.
1. You need, inspiration - lots and lots of it. There are several ways you can get it, but the best way is to get some whiskey and start drinking. Actually, drink on the night that you're planning to write your essay. While you're sober, start jotting down little stories that would look like the following the next morning
Rescued a village - dug waterholes - ate Mcdonald's
Top of class - biggest geek in class - had no friends
and so on... actually, when you feel guilty the next day, you'll probably rewrite everything. But yes, write down little anecdotes of your life. Compile maybe 20 - 30 stories for various situations, this is your story bank.
2. Look at the essay questions and look at your story bank, mix and match till you feel it's pretty good. Then start to write the story with sufficient detail, the trick is too much detail and it's boring and long, too little details and it'll be boring and superficial - you need just enough detail to get the reader's attention while enough to explain what happened. It's not easy, so you'll probably have to do it for quite a while.
At this point, you can start to stretch your stories a little bit. You work in credit sales? Rewrite it to say that you were the top sales person in personal loans. You get the idea, a little bit of exaggaration is ok.
3. Decide on whether your essay answers the question. Write it to answer the question. If it doesn't answer the question, then it's a lousy essay with an interesting story.
It'll probably take you a while to get used to this, do it a few times for your application. At some point you'll hit the zone and just be able to write flawlessly on why you need an MBA while talking about how you saved your company from going bankrupt...
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Getting your application together (Part 1)
I’ve been told that I lost the edge on my latest essay. I guess it’s true, times have been hard – we’re in a horrible recession and business school applications are up…
So, let’s talk about something serious today. The MBA application and how to have an edge to getting accepted – no jokes, Serious Business™!
Now, it’s a well known fact that business schools take a holistic view of your application. Your GMAT, GPA, work experience etc are looked at in together-ness and not as individual parts. Therefore, if you’ve got a weak GMAT (say 450), but you scored a GPA of 4.0 while studying Super Advanced Material Theoretical Physics and worked for McKinsey AND Goldman Sachs (flexi-time – alternate days), you still stand a decent chance of getting in.
Now, we all know that you can lie on your work experience and GPA – and don’t feel ashamed of it, hundreds if not, the majority of applicants, do it, every year, every round – but you can’t lie on your GMAT score. So do what it takes, be a man, and ace the GMAT.
Easier said than done, the trick to the GMAT is eating properly on the day of the test. Don’t eat anything too heavy, a light breakfast of a simple tuna sandwich (hold the mayo) and coffee or half a can of coke (1 hour before the GMAT) will help kick start your brain. Don’t down the red bull because it’ll just jolt your body and wear off soon. Do eat some nuts etc, to help you stay focused. Something clean and light, not too sweet, to drink and nibble on during your break.
But most of all, stay cool, calm and relaxed. I found that the best way to do so was to go drinking the night before. Start early, somewhere about 4pm, and drink as much as you can (without getting a hangover) until 9pm, then head back, get something to eat and pass out. You’ll get a good solid 11 hours of straight sleep – no funny dreams.
When you’re doing the GMAT, just remember, real men persons can do probability and remember their idioms.
Part 2 continues next week.
4/10/09 edit: it's cool to be pc baby, P C!!
So, let’s talk about something serious today. The MBA application and how to have an edge to getting accepted – no jokes, Serious Business™!
Now, it’s a well known fact that business schools take a holistic view of your application. Your GMAT, GPA, work experience etc are looked at in together-ness and not as individual parts. Therefore, if you’ve got a weak GMAT (say 450), but you scored a GPA of 4.0 while studying Super Advanced Material Theoretical Physics and worked for McKinsey AND Goldman Sachs (flexi-time – alternate days), you still stand a decent chance of getting in.
Now, we all know that
Easier said than done, the trick to the GMAT is eating properly on the day of the test. Don’t eat anything too heavy, a light breakfast of a simple tuna sandwich (hold the mayo) and coffee or half a can of coke (1 hour before the GMAT) will help kick start your brain. Don’t down the red bull because it’ll just jolt your body and wear off soon. Do eat some nuts etc, to help you stay focused. Something clean and light, not too sweet, to drink and nibble on during your break.
But most of all, stay cool, calm and relaxed. I found that the best way to do so was to go drinking the night before. Start early, somewhere about 4pm, and drink as much as you can (without getting a hangover) until 9pm, then head back, get something to eat and pass out. You’ll get a good solid 11 hours of straight sleep – no funny dreams.
When you’re doing the GMAT, just remember, real
Part 2 continues next week.
4/10/09 edit: it's cool to be pc baby, P C!!
Saturday, April 4, 2009
HBS Essay #1
I know it's a little easy, but this year, I'm going to start preparing for my HBS application NOW! And guess what, I've decided that I'm going to rope in all you readers to helping me write my essay.
So feedback please on how I could improve my essay, this is Essay 1: What are your three most substantial accomplishments and why do you view them as such? (600-word limit)
-----
My Big Payoff
There comes a time in life when you’re challenged by seemingly insurmountable circumstances – and I faced that moment exactly 9 years, 4 days ago. Striding into the office, I walked up to my investment desk and gave my orders.
“Take no prisoners.” I said as I locked in my buy orders. That day was my personal Normandy. I had spent months, looking at the risks, weighing the ROI and planning for this day. With each passing day, I knew that I had to be patient, I had only one opportunity to make it and my time would come. And so I waited.
Truth be told, the odds were against me, stacked as high as they could go. My friends and family told me not to do it, but on that day, I knew it was time. It was time to make or break, it was time for change: my moment had come. It’s brilliant moments like that, that I know I have what it takes to succeed at Harvard – performance under pressure, tick, risk taking, tick and last but not least? I have balls.
As I waited for the results of my investment, memories came back to me. The first day I learn probability, the first time I profited from an investment and the dreams that I had. But I had to set my thoughts aside as I loaded up the results…. And there it was, my investment had paid off – I had struck the multi-million dollar jackpot on the Super Lottery Pick 6 – my life was about to change.
Pushing the Limit
I have a tradition that I keep with my boys. Once a month, we meet over drinks to catch up with the happenings, sometimes it’s a coffee, other times it’s a whiskey coke. I believe that a person’s network is the single most important factor to success and it will be that network that I will develop further when I’m at Harvard.
But routine gets boring, and to keep things fresh, we’re always willing to try new things. Sometimes we bring in some new faces to our network, at other times we develop a greater network, it usually encourages us when the new member is 5’6, petite, cute with dimples and 34-26-34.
However, once in a while, we decide to push the limits. Whiskey cokes are out. Bottles are in. And that's 1 bottle per person, 75cl minimum baby. Extra points for anybody who can finish the leftovers. That’s called pushing the limit, and that culture is what I will bring to Harvard. Not only will I push myself harder, but I’ll push her hard too, real hard. As for the men, I’ll let them push themselves.
In today’s world, we all need to push ourselves a little harder, to get that new Ferrari, or maybe to hook up with that chick. After a century of excellence, I fear that Harvard has lost its edge, but, with me, I’ll bring it back and kick it up a notch.
Baller
2 girls, 10 grams of coke, some e and a bottle of vodka. Edison Chen has nothing on me.
So feedback please on how I could improve my essay, this is Essay 1: What are your three most substantial accomplishments and why do you view them as such? (600-word limit)
-----
My Big Payoff
There comes a time in life when you’re challenged by seemingly insurmountable circumstances – and I faced that moment exactly 9 years, 4 days ago. Striding into the office, I walked up to my investment desk and gave my orders.
“Take no prisoners.” I said as I locked in my buy orders. That day was my personal Normandy. I had spent months, looking at the risks, weighing the ROI and planning for this day. With each passing day, I knew that I had to be patient, I had only one opportunity to make it and my time would come. And so I waited.
Truth be told, the odds were against me, stacked as high as they could go. My friends and family told me not to do it, but on that day, I knew it was time. It was time to make or break, it was time for change: my moment had come. It’s brilliant moments like that, that I know I have what it takes to succeed at Harvard – performance under pressure, tick, risk taking, tick and last but not least? I have balls.
As I waited for the results of my investment, memories came back to me. The first day I learn probability, the first time I profited from an investment and the dreams that I had. But I had to set my thoughts aside as I loaded up the results…. And there it was, my investment had paid off – I had struck the multi-million dollar jackpot on the Super Lottery Pick 6 – my life was about to change.
Pushing the Limit
I have a tradition that I keep with my boys. Once a month, we meet over drinks to catch up with the happenings, sometimes it’s a coffee, other times it’s a whiskey coke. I believe that a person’s network is the single most important factor to success and it will be that network that I will develop further when I’m at Harvard.
But routine gets boring, and to keep things fresh, we’re always willing to try new things. Sometimes we bring in some new faces to our network, at other times we develop a greater network, it usually encourages us when the new member is 5’6, petite, cute with dimples and 34-26-34.
However, once in a while, we decide to push the limits. Whiskey cokes are out. Bottles are in. And that's 1 bottle per person, 75cl minimum baby. Extra points for anybody who can finish the leftovers. That’s called pushing the limit, and that culture is what I will bring to Harvard. Not only will I push myself harder, but I’ll push her hard too, real hard. As for the men, I’ll let them push themselves.
In today’s world, we all need to push ourselves a little harder, to get that new Ferrari, or maybe to hook up with that chick. After a century of excellence, I fear that Harvard has lost its edge, but, with me, I’ll bring it back and kick it up a notch.
Baller
2 girls, 10 grams of coke, some e and a bottle of vodka. Edison Chen has nothing on me.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Good reasons to do an MBA
1. Because you're a career changer.
You're an aspiring IT engineer who wants to make a billion of two by starting your private equity fund that specializes in investing in companies dealing with used rubber tires. Possible? Hell yeah baby! An MBA turns you from a hero to zero - bonus points if it's in the top ten and people look at you in envy when you say "Haaaarhh - vaaard Ehm Bee Aye baby". Or maybe you'll sell your soul, I don't know, but do an MBA, it adds inches.
Alternatively, you're just another loser commercial banker reckons investment banks would make the exception and hire strong - just for you. With an MBA you're nothing less than Bruce Wayne of finance, the gritty corporate life by day and bottles and models at night... ok, maybe not exactly Batman, but hey, if Wayne wanted bottles and models every night, he would be getting them. Just don't be Bateman...
We all wanna run our own gig, and nothing makes and entrepreneur like an MBA. It doesn't matter whether you're an analyst or you think of new ways to sell placements, empowered with an MBA, you'll be able to soar to new heights when you launch your company. After all, you'll know all about finance, marketing AND strategy and now, you just need a good product - one which you can rip off from your smarter peers at school.
Lastly, for some strange strange reason, you reckon that saving the world is worth while. Let's go do microfinancing and charge low interest rates. Do you need an MBA? Actually you don't, and you'll probably have a greater impact if you went straight into non-profit, but I don't really care, you'll still be sexier with an MBA. Of course, once you graduate from Yale SOM, you be able to hit on girls while sipping your beer of the day (because you're non profit, you can't afford the good stuff).
2. Because you're looking for a partner.
Business schools are the best place to hook-up with somebody who's just as smart as you, or maybe she lied on her application and used an admissions consultant. But that's ok, at least she's got the money to blow.. maybe that's not all though. But... anyway, I heard that the better the school, the better the scene - of course, you've got to make exceptions for MIT (nerds), Chicago (nerds), Harvard (assholes), Stanford (saving the world), Kellogg (drunk sex isn't cool), Wharton (finance assholes), Tuck (all married), uhm... did I miss anybody out? Well, Columbia is pretty cool, of course, I'm not sure whether you would prefer to hook up with somebody at Columbia or actually impress the girls of NYC with the fact that you're at Columbia.
Another way to build your resume is to join the swinging scene. It's well known that if you're swinging in business school, you're swinging with the best and you'll be able to swing with the rest. So draw your lots and swap seats. Who knows, your off-resume skills might just be able to get your that job with Goldman Sachs or a promotion one day... off course, you might have problems looking at yourself in the mirror, but that's ok.
Ever wonder why you've never seen a video titled, Girls of B-school?
3. Because you want a well deserved 2 year holiday.
Go partying with daddy's money if you're rich, or at least do it on somebody elses expense when you take that loan. 2 years of hardcore partying AND you might actually get a good job too! Have you seen the summer break itineraries of some students? Travel to some exotic location for "bonding". School trips too... just don't forget to double bag.
4. Because you want to make money... more of it... a lot more..
Then you're in the right place. Please leave your morals at the door and join me at school.
You're an aspiring IT engineer who wants to make a billion of two by starting your private equity fund that specializes in investing in companies dealing with used rubber tires. Possible? Hell yeah baby! An MBA turns you from a hero to zero - bonus points if it's in the top ten and people look at you in envy when you say "Haaaarhh - vaaard Ehm Bee Aye baby". Or maybe you'll sell your soul, I don't know, but do an MBA, it adds inches.
Alternatively, you're just another loser commercial banker reckons investment banks would make the exception and hire strong - just for you. With an MBA you're nothing less than Bruce Wayne of finance, the gritty corporate life by day and bottles and models at night... ok, maybe not exactly Batman, but hey, if Wayne wanted bottles and models every night, he would be getting them. Just don't be Bateman...
We all wanna run our own gig, and nothing makes and entrepreneur like an MBA. It doesn't matter whether you're an analyst or you think of new ways to sell placements, empowered with an MBA, you'll be able to soar to new heights when you launch your company. After all, you'll know all about finance, marketing AND strategy and now, you just need a good product - one which you can rip off from your smarter peers at school.
Lastly, for some strange strange reason, you reckon that saving the world is worth while. Let's go do microfinancing and charge low interest rates. Do you need an MBA? Actually you don't, and you'll probably have a greater impact if you went straight into non-profit, but I don't really care, you'll still be sexier with an MBA. Of course, once you graduate from Yale SOM, you be able to hit on girls while sipping your beer of the day (because you're non profit, you can't afford the good stuff).
2. Because you're looking for a partner.
Business schools are the best place to hook-up with somebody who's just as smart as you, or maybe she lied on her application and used an admissions consultant. But that's ok, at least she's got the money to blow.. maybe that's not all though. But... anyway, I heard that the better the school, the better the scene - of course, you've got to make exceptions for MIT (nerds), Chicago (nerds), Harvard (assholes), Stanford (saving the world), Kellogg (drunk sex isn't cool), Wharton (finance assholes), Tuck (all married), uhm... did I miss anybody out? Well, Columbia is pretty cool, of course, I'm not sure whether you would prefer to hook up with somebody at Columbia or actually impress the girls of NYC with the fact that you're at Columbia.
Another way to build your resume is to join the swinging scene. It's well known that if you're swinging in business school, you're swinging with the best and you'll be able to swing with the rest. So draw your lots and swap seats. Who knows, your off-resume skills might just be able to get your that job with Goldman Sachs or a promotion one day... off course, you might have problems looking at yourself in the mirror, but that's ok.
Ever wonder why you've never seen a video titled, Girls of B-school?
3. Because you want a well deserved 2 year holiday.
Go partying with daddy's money if you're rich, or at least do it on somebody elses expense when you take that loan. 2 years of hardcore partying AND you might actually get a good job too! Have you seen the summer break itineraries of some students? Travel to some exotic location for "bonding". School trips too... just don't forget to double bag.
4. Because you want to make money... more of it... a lot more..
Then you're in the right place. Please leave your morals at the door and join me at school.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Meet my girlfriend, the MBA application.
1. Choosing
You choose a school based on first looks and fit. You scope out who recruits from there and what the school's specialization is, and of course, rankings are always always sexy! You fell in love when you found out McKinsey hires a gazillion people from HBS. Heads up to the HBS crowd, you make me hot for you.
You choose a girl on how hot she looks in those tight short shorts, and how good you would fit inbetween her and those jeans. Competition is always valued, so the higher the demand for her, the higher her ranking - 10 guys after her? She's got to be hot stuff.. and it's not just looks, chances are that she's got pretty good specializations too... You knew it was true love from day 1 when you saw her bend over to pick up her pen that she dropped....
2. Application
You fill up the 10 pages of background information, write 5 essays on why you're so sexy and how much you love them and you pay the application fee upfront. Especially big on what you bring to the class. You don't hear anything from the school until they feel like telling it to you. Calls don't get any love.
It's good if you're a blue blood, HYP grad, investment grade BSD or swinging with M/B/B. Alternatively you might be the unique minority applicant who built wells in Africa, restored Renaissance art and has a penchant for clearing the minefields in Vietnam... or was that Cambodia?
You take her out for lunch, tea, dinner and drinks. You spend your time telling her (indirectly) what a baller you are, how you think she'll look good next to you and how you're going to rock her world. You pay for lunch, tea, dinner and drinks. She'll call you when she's bored or when she feels like going out, try not to call her too often lest you bore her - or become a stalker.
She'll like you more if you work for a Fortune 100 company, drive a BMW and get bottle service everytime you're thirsty. Some girls like the -i'm-so-in-touch-with-society-do-gooder-save-the-freaking-whales- kind of guy, so if that gets her hot, I guess the WWF had better be on your speed dial.
3. Admitted! Oh wait, just waitlisted.
They keep in suspense for months and when they decide to release their decisions, lucky you gets to wait it out for the big D-day when they tell you whether you're accepted/rejected/waitlisted. Intermittent communications are just meant to tease you. Appeals not entertained.
She'll keep you in suspense as you chase after her... when she decides to accept you, you're still being tested and might be rejected. If you're waitlisted by her, you might get some sexy loving, but hitting a home run is .. unlikely. She'll tease you over and over again until you're on your knees panting like Pavlov's dog. If you're rejected, say good bye, cry your heart out and pay off that credit card bill that you racked up spending on her.
4. Costs
Averaging USD200 a pop + USD250 for the GMAT. Factor in your time spent, misc. such as sending in transcripts, additional information. Do you wanna fly over for a visit? There goes a couple of grand down the drain. Will they accept you? Nope, not guaranteed.
Lunch $80, Tea $40, Dinner $150, Drinks $300! Bring out the dollars and let them fly baby, fly like an eagle. It's her birthday, wanna get that LV bag for her? Valentines is around the corner, get some flowers, flavored prophylactics and a hotel room if you're more than just casual friends.... Don't forget the dinner and gift too... and if you're generous, spring for the cab fare back home. Is her love guaranteed? Nope. ;)
You choose a school based on first looks and fit. You scope out who recruits from there and what the school's specialization is, and of course, rankings are always always sexy! You fell in love when you found out McKinsey hires a gazillion people from HBS. Heads up to the HBS crowd, you make me hot for you.
You choose a girl on how hot she looks in those tight short shorts, and how good you would fit inbetween her and those jeans. Competition is always valued, so the higher the demand for her, the higher her ranking - 10 guys after her? She's got to be hot stuff.. and it's not just looks, chances are that she's got pretty good specializations too... You knew it was true love from day 1 when you saw her bend over to pick up her pen that she dropped....
2. Application
You fill up the 10 pages of background information, write 5 essays on why you're so sexy and how much you love them and you pay the application fee upfront. Especially big on what you bring to the class. You don't hear anything from the school until they feel like telling it to you. Calls don't get any love.
It's good if you're a blue blood, HYP grad, investment grade BSD or swinging with M/B/B. Alternatively you might be the unique minority applicant who built wells in Africa, restored Renaissance art and has a penchant for clearing the minefields in Vietnam... or was that Cambodia?
You take her out for lunch, tea, dinner and drinks. You spend your time telling her (indirectly) what a baller you are, how you think she'll look good next to you and how you're going to rock her world. You pay for lunch, tea, dinner and drinks. She'll call you when she's bored or when she feels like going out, try not to call her too often lest you bore her - or become a stalker.
She'll like you more if you work for a Fortune 100 company, drive a BMW and get bottle service everytime you're thirsty. Some girls like the -i'm-so-in-touch-with-society-do-gooder-save-the-freaking-whales- kind of guy, so if that gets her hot, I guess the WWF had better be on your speed dial.
3. Admitted! Oh wait, just waitlisted.
They keep in suspense for months and when they decide to release their decisions, lucky you gets to wait it out for the big D-day when they tell you whether you're accepted/rejected/waitlisted. Intermittent communications are just meant to tease you. Appeals not entertained.
She'll keep you in suspense as you chase after her... when she decides to accept you, you're still being tested and might be rejected. If you're waitlisted by her, you might get some sexy loving, but hitting a home run is .. unlikely. She'll tease you over and over again until you're on your knees panting like Pavlov's dog. If you're rejected, say good bye, cry your heart out and pay off that credit card bill that you racked up spending on her.
4. Costs
Averaging USD200 a pop + USD250 for the GMAT. Factor in your time spent, misc. such as sending in transcripts, additional information. Do you wanna fly over for a visit? There goes a couple of grand down the drain. Will they accept you? Nope, not guaranteed.
Lunch $80, Tea $40, Dinner $150, Drinks $300! Bring out the dollars and let them fly baby, fly like an eagle. It's her birthday, wanna get that LV bag for her? Valentines is around the corner, get some flowers, flavored prophylactics and a hotel room if you're more than just casual friends.... Don't forget the dinner and gift too... and if you're generous, spring for the cab fare back home. Is her love guaranteed? Nope. ;)
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
After the GMAT, What's Next?
So you've finished the GMAT - scores the 760 that just makes you glow with pride. What next?
Well, assuming that you've planned to do an MBA, now is the time to narrow down the schools that you intend to apply for in Round 1. You could;
a) select by ranking,
b) select by interest,
c) select by fit - hard to do.
Selecting by Ranking is by far the simplest. Just go to Businessweek or USNews or even Financial Times and look at the top schools. In general the schools will be ranked like
Grade A+: Harvard, Stanford, Wharton (maybe - some people say yes, some people say no)
Grade A: Chicago, MIT, Columbia, Kellogg, Tuck (possibly), INSEAD, LBS
Grade A-: Ross, Duke, Darden, IMD
Grade B+: Yale, Hass, Anderson, Judge (Cambridge - maybe), Said (Oxford - maybe)
rest of the grades = rest of the schools = I know you don't really care.
The Grade A+, A (excepting INSEAD and LBS) and some of the A- offer loans up to the cost of attending the program to international students. Very important, because in Malaysia, our education support for an MBA is absolute crap. It is nearly impossible to get an education loan from any bank in Malaysia (local/foreign) without putting up property as collateral. Yes, they suck. The banks here don't support a higher education. So what are you going to do? You had better get into a Grade A+/A school. No other options if you're planning to finance your education by loans.
Selecting by interest is also pretty fun. In general every top school is damn good at what they do. Except, some schools are better known for certain things - like finance or marketing. A very brief list (I haven't sat down to classify everything) goes a bit like this
Finance: Wharton, Columbia, Chicago, MIT (?)
General Management: Tuck, Harvard, Darden, Ross
Marketing: Kellogg
Entrepreneurship: Haas, Stanford
Again, I might be wrong, but the list goes something like that. But take it with a pinch of salt - because Investment Banks do recruit from Harvard for finance, and Consumer Goods do recruit from Chicago/Wharton for marketing. But it's just saying that the schools are _better_ known for their specialty. So don't say "Oh noes! I'll never work for Coca-Cola if I go to Wharton." because not only could you work for Coca-Cola, but you could also be selling prophylatics for Durex.
Selecting by fit is probably the hardest but the most important (if you can do it). What does it mean? Simply it means will you fit well with the school? Will you be able to hang out at Chicago and like that lifestyle vs. going to Tuck and being in the middle of nowhere? Will you be comfortable checking out chicks at Harvard with the Type-A people (apparently, but i think it's just a rumor) or would you prefer getting warm and fuzzy at Kellogg?
How do you check for fit? Talk to students, talk to alumni, visit the school - picture yourself there. But heck, you're Malaysian, what do you care about true fit? Just get into the best ranked school that you can and be a superstar :) Remember, if you can survive in Malaysia, you can survive in ANY business school! Whoa!
Well, assuming that you've planned to do an MBA, now is the time to narrow down the schools that you intend to apply for in Round 1. You could;
a) select by ranking,
b) select by interest,
c) select by fit - hard to do.
Selecting by Ranking is by far the simplest. Just go to Businessweek or USNews or even Financial Times and look at the top schools. In general the schools will be ranked like
Grade A+: Harvard, Stanford, Wharton (maybe - some people say yes, some people say no)
Grade A: Chicago, MIT, Columbia, Kellogg, Tuck (possibly), INSEAD, LBS
Grade A-: Ross, Duke, Darden, IMD
Grade B+: Yale, Hass, Anderson, Judge (Cambridge - maybe), Said (Oxford - maybe)
rest of the grades = rest of the schools = I know you don't really care.
The Grade A+, A (excepting INSEAD and LBS) and some of the A- offer loans up to the cost of attending the program to international students. Very important, because in Malaysia, our education support for an MBA is absolute crap. It is nearly impossible to get an education loan from any bank in Malaysia (local/foreign) without putting up property as collateral. Yes, they suck. The banks here don't support a higher education. So what are you going to do? You had better get into a Grade A+/A school. No other options if you're planning to finance your education by loans.
Selecting by interest is also pretty fun. In general every top school is damn good at what they do. Except, some schools are better known for certain things - like finance or marketing. A very brief list (I haven't sat down to classify everything) goes a bit like this
Finance: Wharton, Columbia, Chicago, MIT (?)
General Management: Tuck, Harvard, Darden, Ross
Marketing: Kellogg
Entrepreneurship: Haas, Stanford
Again, I might be wrong, but the list goes something like that. But take it with a pinch of salt - because Investment Banks do recruit from Harvard for finance, and Consumer Goods do recruit from Chicago/Wharton for marketing. But it's just saying that the schools are _better_ known for their specialty. So don't say "Oh noes! I'll never work for Coca-Cola if I go to Wharton." because not only could you work for Coca-Cola, but you could also be selling prophylatics for Durex.
Selecting by fit is probably the hardest but the most important (if you can do it). What does it mean? Simply it means will you fit well with the school? Will you be able to hang out at Chicago and like that lifestyle vs. going to Tuck and being in the middle of nowhere? Will you be comfortable checking out chicks at Harvard with the Type-A people (apparently, but i think it's just a rumor) or would you prefer getting warm and fuzzy at Kellogg?
How do you check for fit? Talk to students, talk to alumni, visit the school - picture yourself there. But heck, you're Malaysian, what do you care about true fit? Just get into the best ranked school that you can and be a superstar :) Remember, if you can survive in Malaysia, you can survive in ANY business school! Whoa!
Sunday, January 20, 2008
GMATPrep Installation
We all know how important the GMATPrep is. After all, it's the only official question prep from the GMAC. Unfortunately, you can only take the test twice - that is, until you reset the program. And how do you do that? Easily apparently. This information was taken from GMATClub.com.
Original post
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I've actually found a much easier way to get past the GMAT install issue.
All you have to do is go to: C:\Program Files\GMATPrep\exams
make a folder in there called old_exams_set1
Copy in:
practice test1.log
practice test1.xact
practice test2.log
practice test2.xact
These files only exist if you took the exams... put them in old_exams_set1
Then just go back to C:\Program Files\GMATPrep\exams and delete
practice test1.log
practice test1.xact
practice test2.log
practice test2.xact
Now the software is "reset" and doesnt know you've taken the exams.
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Original post
----
I've actually found a much easier way to get past the GMAT install issue.
All you have to do is go to: C:\Program Files\GMATPrep\exams
make a folder in there called old_exams_set1
Copy in:
practice test1.log
practice test1.xact
practice test2.log
practice test2.xact
These files only exist if you took the exams... put them in old_exams_set1
Then just go back to C:\Program Files\GMATPrep\exams and delete
practice test1.log
practice test1.xact
practice test2.log
practice test2.xact
Now the software is "reset" and doesnt know you've taken the exams.
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