essay@leadersmba.com

전체 What is the order of importancefor GMAT, TOEFL, GPA, Resume, Letter of Recommendation, Essay, Interview, etc.? There is no such thing as an order of importance. All are important. It is really how all fit together. That said, as a rule of thumb, you can group GMAT/TOEFL/GPA into one group; LOR and Resume in another group; and Essays and Interview into a third group. You must look for balance of strength for the three groups. Nothing will overrule the other. So, for example, if your TOEFL is a little weak, but your GMAT and GPA are good, you are probably OK. But if all three are weak, you are in trouble. Similarly, a great essay can help smooth over an imperfect interview, but if both are weak, you are in trouble. But if any one factor is bad (i.e. more than a little weak), you are in trouble - especially when it comes to your English language comprehension. (See below) If a student has relatively short experience, can it be supplemented by other requirements such as the GMAT and Personal Essay? No. A good GMAT and Essay, together with the other components, will be necessary, but they can’t supplement the short experience. The only things that can supplement the short experience are: - A deep and worthwhile experience in that short time. One year doing something fantastic can make up for 4-6 years doing something less than exciting. - A joint degree candidate i.e. JD/MBA, MD/MBA, etc. - Sponsorship from a great company where you have worked. It is especially bad if you are currently out of work. That said, too much experience can also be a bad sign. After a while, you begin to look more like an Executive MBA applicant instead of an MBA applicant. If everything looks good on a student’s application can he/she be rejected because of a poor TOEFL score? The whole point of MBA programs taking international students is that international students are meant to offer an outlook and perspective that is uniquely international, that is, not American. On the other hand, these programs tend to prefer studnets who are more Americanized, because they are more confident in their ability to thrive and contribrute when the student knows more English, has experience living or attending school in the US, and “gets” American culture. Many schools have TOEFL score cutoffs for international students, and the English language proficiency of international students is taken quite seriously - in the GMAT (especially the verbal and writing sections), TOEFL (especially the speaking section), your essays and on the interview. When admissions committee members see great English proficieny on some tests, but not in essays or on the interview, they begin to worry that something is amiss. You have probably heard of international students who have applied to US programs with test scores obtained less than honestly. So have have US admissions offices - and they are weary of being duped. Here is a trick: Schools understand your don’t have perfect English, but you need to be willing to engage, get involved and show your opinions, even if your thoughts may not come out idiomatically correct. A boldness in effort of expression can compensate for a lack of flawless fluency. This is especially so during the interview. So if you can get yourself to the interview by convincing them your English is good enough, don’t be shy! Does the admissions office actually read every recommendation letter? How much importance does it hold relatively? Yes, they really do. It is an essential part of the application. Many schools do routine background checks on qualified applicants, including verifying the letter of recommendation. Even schools that don’t will make inquiries if the letter of recommendation looks suspicious. There is a rumor that schools do not prefer the students applying for scholarship. To what extent is this true? It isn’t true. But assurances of post-graduation employment do matter quite a bit. If you are sponsored or have a very compelling post-graduation employment plan, you are a better candidate, because business schools don’t want unemployed alumni. But that also makes you less likely to qualify for a scholarship. If you are applying as a non-profit or government candidate, and are thus more likely qualified for a scholarship, your post-graduation career plans still have to be practical. All thinsg being equal, if your plan is to return to your home country and do work there, it will be an easier sell, because then no visa complications arise. Schools have witnessed to many times where alumni attempt to work in the US after graduation but who cannot successfuly make the transition. Is it possible to get in with a lower GPA if you have a good TOEFL and GMAT score? Yes - a great GMAT score can help you get away with lower GPA. But GPA is more important than people think and is pretty unacceptable at the very top - i.e. HBS and GSB. It reflects your performance over time - your GMAT reflects how well you test on a given day. It will also depend on what your major is. A low GPA in hard sciences or math, etc, is more acceptable than in social sciences or humanities. It also depends on the grading system of the school. Some Korean universities are notoriously very tough graders. A lower GPA in that instance is almost expected. If it doesnt have that reputation, there is always going to be fear that test scores are fake. That said, a GMAT score that is too high - above 750 - can sometimes make an applicant look a little too nerdy and brainy if other components in the application don’t balance him/her out. Is the size of the applicant pool the same for Round 1 & 2? Is there difference with the chance of getting admitted in Round 3? There are usually fewer applicants in Round 1 than in Round 2, but they are treated generally the same. Admissions offices will be careful with Round 1 applicants because they can just hedge their bets and see who applies in Round 2. (Accordingly, being put on the waitlist in Round 1 isn’t necessarily indicative of a genuine interest in the applicant they way the waitlist does later in the process.) They don’t adopt this “wait and see” attitutude as much when it comes to Round 3. As a result, Round 3 is much more difficult. Applying in Round 1, especially as an international student, does carry a slight advantage, insofar as it shows better preparation on your part. But only do so if you are actually prepared! Are there advantages that company-sponsored applicants have over the independent applicants? Yes. There are 2 kinds of advantages. First, they benefit from the support of the company. They get to tap its network, get better LORs, get material and temporal support to properly prepare. So they are better candidates in that respect. Second, especially for lower ranked schools, they do not want applicants who may graduate unemployed. They want their graduates to have jobs. Having a company sponsorship can keep them assured. Any advantages for applicants from well-known companies? If an applicant is sponsored from a small enterprise, how valuable is this compared to the one from big companies? You have a big advantage if you work for a well-known and prestigious company, because chances are the admissions office will know what it is and what it means to work there. MBA programs love “selective” applicants and this helps you prove your selectivity. If you do work for a small company, you have to find ways to stress - to the extent it is possible - how exciting the work of the company is, your leadership role, what they do and why it is important - so that you are just as competitive as the candidates coming from Goldman Sachs and Google. It is especially helpful if the company really is important in Korea and just not on the admissions office radar for whatever reason. But please dont send an entire prospectus about the company. Just find ways to communicate how it makes you a great candidate. What differentiates the student pool when it comes to admissions? Ethnicity? Industry background? Areas of study? First, what stands out most is what is outstanding. There is nothing as impressive and as helpful to your admission as excellence. Second, as a general rule, what stands out is what is less common. So, for instance, international students who are female are at a big relative advantage because far fewer women than men apply. So women are more interesting to admissions committees. Likewise, if your background or interests are different than your peers e.g. if you are not just one more applicant interested in getting a job in consulting, then you will definitely get more attention. Don’t forget to highlight small factors that don’t relate to business school, ones that are fun and unique and which will help make your more memorable and more appealing to the real live humans in the admissions office. What is the most important value generally expected from Korean applicants? A general rule about international applicants: If you can convince them you are a big future player in your country i.e. you have connections and clout, you are a more interesting candidate. Korean students are also thought to be more outgoing and “Western” than Chinese, Japanese and Indian applications. That is a positive thing - make sure you conform to that impression. Some successful Korean applicants have good networks in the US and can successfully reach out to Korean faculty What does the competition look like among Koreans inside similar fields of MBA schools? Does the competition get more significant when competing with Chinese and Japanese students? There are far more Koreans applying for positions in finance and consulting than non-profit, tech, entrepreneurship, or industry. So competition is tougher for the former areas than the latter. As a general rule, MBA admissions offices are broken down into domestic and international applicants. So all international applicants are competiting against one another. Nevertheless, Koreans are actually at an advantage compared to Chinese, Japanese and Indian students, because far more people from those countries apply for MBAs in the US than do Koreans. It is fairly common for MBA classes to have the same number of Koreans as, say, Chinese, even though far more Chinese applied than Koreans. Certainly having some experiences in the US can be advantageous, because it resolves concerns about your ability to thrive while studying here. If you didn’t go to the US for high school, college or graduate school, that is certainly OK, but there are programs throughout the year for potential MBA applicants interested in spending a few weeks or months in the US before applying. You should definitely check them out. If an applicant gets rejected to the school and wants to reapply, does he/she have to apply in the first round or can it be 2nd or 3rd round? Is there disadvantage? What’s the relative chance of gett… It really depends on why the applicant was rejected the first time around. Have you been able to address your previous weaknesses or not? Have you developed new experiences and valuable perspectives in that limited amount of time? If you apply in the first round, that only gives you about 6 months between the rejection and your new application. So it will depend on whether that is enough time to turn yourself around, as itw ere. What are the standards in telling whether the applicant has a good “fit” for the school? Career background or aspirations? You need to know what you are getting yourself into. Do you know geography, nature of school, etc? Have you done your research into school - do you know what it is really about? Can you show how the classes they offer, their research specialities, what makes them proud, is of abiding interest to you? As mentioned above, schools want to know that your career aspirations will be successful. So you need to show them that what you can do is not only believable, given your background and experience, but will likely come to fruition. It needs to be a good plan.