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Perspectives on MBA Admissions. Ishmeet Singh CEL – BITSAA Forum May 13, 2007. Running Head 12-Point Plain, Title Case. Agenda. Background MBA Application Life after MBA Summary. Background. Management Consultant, A.T. Kearney (2005- present) Location: San Francisco
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Perspectives on MBA Admissions Ishmeet Singh CEL – BITSAA Forum May 13, 2007
Running Head 12-Point Plain, Title Case Agenda • Background • MBA Application • Life after MBA • Summary
Background • Management Consultant, A.T. Kearney (2005- present) • Location: San Francisco • MBA, Kellogg School of Management (2003-2005) • Full-time • Work experience (2000-2003) • Chip Design, IBM Microelectronics Division • Worked on some cool products (Play Station-3, Apple G5) • Location: Bangalore, Austin TX • BITS (1995-2000) • BE, EEE • MSc., Chemistry
MBA Application Application profile Lessons • Think hard- spend a lot of time selecting the right schools • I was all over the place • Be above average, don’t sweat if you don’t get 770! • Take it once and do it right. This is the easiest part of the application. • Start early – A good essay is a result of several iterations • Connect the dots – Leverage your work experience • Have your essays reviewed by alums, friends, lit. majors, anybody else who wants to read them • Don’t sweat over them • Make sure your recommendation letter is not negative. This is a red flag for adcom. • Quality over quantity • 4-5 years with varied experiences • On campus or alumni is a matter of personal preference • Very important – shows genuine interest • Highlight one strong extracurricular, don’t try to be an all-rounder
Life after MBA – Management Consulting • Exposure to clients in diverse industries – hi-tech, manufacturing, retail • Solve different issues – sales and marketing effectiveness, global procurement, product development, etc. • Hypothesis driven problem solving – analytical and quantitative (the stuff engineers are good at) • Travel Mon-Thurs to client locations all over US and some international (yes, lots of airline and hotel points!) • Average work day 8AM-8PM (sometimes longer) • Fast paced, managing expectations is key
Summary • Know why you want to do an MBA • Select the right schools. • There is no backup school – only apply to schools you want to attend • Plan well ahead. The application process is time consuming • You need to balance your work • Primary research is the key • Talk to current students, alums • Visit schools, sit in on a class