MBA Over 30.com

First, I’d just like to congratulate my admissions consulting clients from this season who have accepted offers to their target schools. Thus far, 2 of you are headed to Wharton, 2 to INSEAD, one to Duke, and 4 waiting to hear back from one of Wharton (2 more), MIT (1) or Darden (2). I only […]

My first quarter at Wharton has been an unbelievable experience. When I last posted,  I was just getting my druthers after a fun but exhausting Pre-Term experience. I had also deluded myself into thinking that I’d do a couple posts last month. Negative. Out of nowhere, I was blind-sighted by a flurry of quant problem […]

  The short version of this story is that I’m having the time of my life right about now. Here goes the long version… (I hope you packed a lunch!) The Fresh Prince of Philly I arrived in Philadelphia back on July 23rd, just over 3 weeks ago. While my flight had me landing several […]

I’ve never really been the jealous type. That notwithstanding, it can be quite a challenge to not become a hater when all of your rich banker classmates are gallivanting around the globe after having quit their pre MBA jobs months ago while you report to a cube each day. So naturally, I was more than […]

Every now and again (actually, quite often if I’m honest) I get yet another confirmation of having made the right decision in choosing to attend The Wharton School to get my MBA and focus on building a company. While I’ve never looked back or even so much as wondered about my having chosen the best […]

A year ago today, I was mulling over why a full time MBA vs. an EMBA was the right decision for me being that I was only about 6 weeks away from my 35th birthday. Boy am I glad that I got clear on that distinction and chose the path of full time. The dividends […]

…And to think I once thought that I’d never see the end of the friggin GMAT. Looking Back Almost exacty a year ago, I hit “publish” on my very first blog post for MBAOver30.com. Real talk, no one could have told me that the past 364 days would have unfolded as they have. I am […]

I experienced deja vu today. I was in the middle of reviewing some statistics info when I thought to myself, “really tho”?. Allow me to explain… I’m currently in the throes of prepping for my transition from brain dead, autopilot but employed 9-to-5 life in sunny Los Angeles to rigorous, stimulating but broke student life […]

So…I’m sitting at the computer while taking a break from some freelance writing work. I’m watching this clip on YouTube that always makes me laugh so hard that I fart when my my phone starts beeping and my email notices from Facebook start blowing up. Apparently, just as I was laughing and in tears to […]

So…you’re “in” at Wharton. Congratulations on your achievement. I’ve felt kinda bad for all of you during these past couple of weeks, as the period between mid-November and late December (my waiting period) was the roughest time for me during this whole MBA application ride–definitely the upside-down-to-downward-spiral part of the coaster. While the GMAT had […]

It is incredibly gratifying to finally be busy in a way that is fun and enriching (prepping for school, prepping for Philly, networking, planning etc.) rather than oppressive and numbing (GMAT, essays, interviews, waiting for results, et. al) as it relates to this whole MBA deal. Lately, I’ve been cyber stalking events such as the […]

I’ve chosen to invest my next two years into building a company and earning an MBA in Entrepreneurship and Strategic Management at The Wharton School of Business at UPenn. First World Problems From the moment that I first got “the call” from Director of Admissions Ankur Kumar welcoming me to Wharton’s class of 2015, I […]

Earlier today (Sunday) I flew back into Los Angeles from R1 Welcome Weekend at Chicago Booth. Over the past two weekends, I’ve gotten little sleep, increased my alcohol tolerance by a third and met several hundred of the most interesting and exceptional people that I’ve met all in one place in quite some time. If […]

So last weekend I flew to Philadelphia to rendezvous with over 300 of my fellow R1 admits at Wharton’s Winter Welcome Weekend. To say that I had a blast and was impressed would be an understatement. The Whartonites definitely know how to sell their brand and showcase their culture to a horde of admits. The […]

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 […]

At about 3 weeks into the new year, a few things are certain: 1. I’ll be moving to either the east coast OR Midwest sometime this summer. 2. I’ve just jumped down a rabbit hole of massive spending and relentless saving and budgeting that is likely to not end until at least 2015. 3. While the stress […]

I really envisioned a carefree winter and spring after being admitting into Wharton and Booth a few weeks ago. Pipe dreams. Though, I must say that the kind of intensity that I experience now feels much better than it did when I was waiting to find out whether I “got in” to any of 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 […]

By the time I had woken up this morning, I had read more than enough admit blog posts and BeatTheGMAT/ GMATClub status updates and posts to generally know what to expect on admit announcement day if you’re being offered admission. So when the area code (773) popped up on my iPhone as I was having […]

The Pilgrims Had it Easy Earlier today, my mind wandered as I smelled the sweet aroma of German chocolate cake baking in my mom’s oven. “I wonder what gave the Pilgrims and the indigenous Americans the time to indulge in a feast so elaborate that it started a holiday (before the former murdered 90% of […]

I can finally see some light at the end of this very long tunnel of pre-MBA exam prep, test-taking, app and essay writing, interviewing, waiting, worrying, and just plain ‘ole stress. So here’s the status of my round 1 applications going into the weekend before Thanksgiving (alphabetically): Chicago – invited to interview; interview complete HBS […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Introspection About a week and a half ago I published a blog post about my experiences at both a Wharton info session and the Riordan Diversity MBA Admissions Conference (CA) just 2 days apart here in Los Angeles. Each event was exceptionally well-run and worthy of due praise. Though anyone applying during the 2012-13 season has […]