MBA Over 30.com

So, you laid it on the table during this MBA admissions cycle. Your GMAT score and undergrad GPA were in range, you have a solid work history, strong extras, clear goals AND don’t know of any reason that any of your recommendations would have gone sour because you’ve crushed it at work to boot. I […]

Post Mortem Just an hour ago, I thought that I’d be writing a  very different post than this. About two weeks ago, I interviewed for a spot in the class of 2015 for The MIT Sloan School of Management. While I left the actual interview feeling pretty good, I began to wonder about whether my […]

Woooo-saaaaahhhh (And Happy Holidays)! So about a year ago, I plunked down $250 and took my first swing at the GMAT. I had made a 650 on a practice test without studying, and felt that I should be able to do about as well without too much trouble, then pump out a few essays to […]

After getting an early morning acceptance call from the Chicago Booth School of Business two days ago, one would think I’d be more calm and zen than I was when I got up this morning. I was actually–its a huge relief that you have somewhere (really good) to go to for b-school after all of […]

The Plague So I’m sitting in my Friday product strategy meeting, and I’m wiping my sore and swollen nose for the 100th time this morning..  It’s flu season, so all the folks with school age kids  have brought their kids’ nasty cooties to work and kindly shared them with the rest of us. Bums. Since […]

During the next 10 days, I’ll know the final decisions for 4 out of the 5 programs that I applied to during R1. HBS graciously gave me my walking papers back in October; and Stanford’s silence has spoken volumes. I expect a ding notice from there this Wednesday.  That completes the list of schools where […]

Ok, so the Thanksgiving Turkey and fixings have all been eaten; and even if that were not the case, I wouldn’t have access to them anyway because all that stuff is back down south with my parents, but I digress. Around 3 weeks from now, the curtain will close on Round 1 of MBA admissions […]

Since I felt the “sting of the ding” from Harvard a week ago (I chose not to blog about it), I’ve done a fairly good job of keeping my sanity while in this wasteland of waiting for interview invites results. Blocking Out the Noise I’ve read half of Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, advanced 9 ranking […]

I’ve never been the type to spend too much time worrying about things that I cannot change. And so, I’m not allowing myself to worry too  much about the 5 MBA applications that I’ve turned in over the past 3.5 weeks for (in order of submission) HBS, Wharton, Booth, Stanford and MIT. I know that […]

I’ve just submitted my last and final app for Round 1: MIT Sloan. After weeks of an on again, off again relationship with this particular app, I was pleased to see how it came together in the end. Ultimately, it became one of my favorite apps to complete. Now let’s just hope that the Sloan […]

So today was boss’ day. Who knew? I sure didn’t–at least not until I arrived at work this morning to the sight of a whole grain and berry mini cake from Whole Foods on my desk decorated “Happy Boss’ Day”. I’d love to be able to tell you that I ate some and brought the […]

I’ve been hard pressed to achieve an insomnia-free night as of late; and to be fair to my fellow pre-MBA applicants, I must concede that I am probably not unique in that respect. At first glance, I’m just another one of thousands of applicants who has recently turned in a set of Round 1 applications […]

I’ve just burned the last few drops of midnight oil between September 30th and October 1st, 2012. The bad news is I need to be up and out of bed in 5 hours for cardio.  The good news is that I’ve just submitted apps for Wharton, Booth and Stanford after an all Sunday marathon of […]

Well, its official. I’ve jumped down the MBA admissions rabbit hole.  Just a few hours ago, I successfully submitted my first app to HBS; and my last of 3 recommenders submitted his recommendation about an hour and a half later without my having to be a pest about it. I also received an invite today […]

Earlier this week, I checked my iPhone to see my 5th and final info session for Round 1, Chicago Booth, on my schedule. Great Timing I remember feeling relieved to see the 9/11 date when I first registered. My relief came from the fact that 9/5 was on my calendar as the date of the […]

One week after attending Harvard and Stanford’s info sessions in downtown Los Angeles, I attended the MIT Sloan info session in Santa Monica. SWITCHING OUT BERKELEY HAAS FOR MIT SLOAN Initially, I had registered for an info session for Berkeley Haas on the same day; however, that was before I decided to apply to my Consortium […]

I basically burned a rubber streak along LA’s streets between my job in the South Bay and downtown during the time that H/S/W came to town and hosted their info sessions literally on the same block over the past 2 weeks or so. While Wharton hosted its event in the Deloitte building (I did a […]

“When man makes plans, God laughs” As a compulsive planner, I’ve always taken issue with that statement; yet, it has proven to be the gospel time and time again. So, I was minding my own business last night while watching the swimming and women’s track and field finals of the London Olympics; I was also […]

**Tiger Woods Fist Pump** So it happened today–THE conversation with the boss. While I will admit that I did not have nearly as much to be fearful of as some bloggers that I’ve read about (for reasons that I will get to in a moment), ANY conversation with your boss about how and/or when you […]

So, after several days of feverish button mashing and tedious edits, I’ve ended up being just one essay away from having all of my R1 non-consortium essays done. Of course, there will still be edits and iterations after what I have; however, each set of essays that I’ve completed thus far is solid enough where […]

In just a few days, it’ll be August.  For many reasons, that is the month that things really begin to heat up in Top 20 MBA land. For starters, August is when the vast majority of people seem to be joining the app race. That is also the month during which every application that has […]

EXCEEDINGLY IMPRESSED!  That is how I felt today after my coffee chat engagement with student ambassadors from Dartmouth’s Tuck school of Business. And after not one, but 2 incredibly underwhelming b-school engagements that led to one then another EDIT of my target list, I’m ecstatic to feel this way about another MBA program. I haven’t felt this buzzed […]

So it’s finally here…my birthday; which means that I am officially a 35-year old MBA applicant. And you know what? I have never been more clear about what I want, where I’m going and how I plan on getting there. Let’s just hope these adcoms concur LOL! Today is also the official 2-month-aversary of mbaover30.com; and […]

So it’s been exactly ten days since I unloaded a huge weight off my back by hitting the 700 GMAT mark–if only by a hair. Though I am about 85% sure to go for a retake, my “700 Club” status has decreased the pressure of this whole process to the point that I’m actually enjoying […]

{{PROLOGUE}} I played classical saxophone for about 8 years between middle school and my first year of college. I also had the privilege of taking private lessons from Mr. Collins, who was hands down the best in my state at the time. His students consistently auditioned well enough to dominate all-county and all-state wind ensembles. […]

One of the first questions that I get from people when either A) I mention my age/years of work experience while talking about my MBA candidacy or B) I mention my candidacy and they already know my age is “Have you considered a Part-Time MBA or EMBA?” The answer to that question is yes, I […]

 When I first began my pre-MBA research, I spent a good deal of time on YouTube. I saw it as the fastest way to get a broad, 10,000 ft. view of the most generally accepted admissions advice and see what recurring advice trends I could find. At the time, I had never heard of an […]

So, now that the 2012-13 MBA application season has been kicked off, I’m taking the next step in finalizing the programs that I will apply to sometime between Rounds 1 and 2. I’ve recently added 3 additional programs to my target list, bringing my total to 9. Will I apply to all of them? It’s […]

It’s here. The 2012-2013 MBA application season has commenced. I must say, it seems to have come a bit soon. I was expecting for the first applications to be opened sometime in July–I was totally prepared for that; but MAY? Not so prepared–emotionally, at least. Apparently, I missed a fairly conspicuous memo because it seems common […]

The signs were always there; like  knowing deep down that I haven’t really been that aroused by you, despite your attractive veneer; a bad first date full of hiccups; and friends (like T.C., Columbia GSB ’08 and M.P., Stanford GSB ’06) telling me that I could do better. For years I’ve been impressed with how […]