(Oakland, CA) – It was almost exactly 3 years ago that I first began to seriously consider aiming for an MBA at a top program. When I look back on that time as I approach my last semester at Wharton, it blows my mind how close I came to NOT having made the decision to […]
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One Year Down, Second Year Bound
July 6, 2014
Hardly Working So for the past 7 weeks, I’ve been back out on the west coast living and working in the Silicon Valley for Google. It has been an out of this world experience thus far and I hardly want to come to grips with the fact that my internship will be over in a short […]
A Startup, Wharton West, Travel Abroad, Google and other Updates
February 25, 2014
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, Rugby and a WSJ Response
October 6, 2013
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 […]
Entrepreneurship Doubling at Wharton since 2010
June 24, 2013
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 World of Opportunity at Wharton
March 12, 2013
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 […]
Why I’ve Chosen The Wharton School of Business
March 1, 2013
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 […]
A Windy City Welcome Weekend at Chicago Booth
February 11, 2013
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 […]
High Times at Wharton’s Winter Welcome Weekend
February 6, 2013
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 […]
Networking, Reading and My MIT Interview
January 19, 2013
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 […]
NO MORE Business School Applications!
December 24, 2012
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 […]
ACCEPTED at Chicago Booth School of Business!
December 18, 2012
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 […]
Writing MBA Essays During Thanksgiving Week
November 21, 2012
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 […]
On Age Discrimination in MBA Admissions and Rookie Hype
October 7, 2012
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 […]
My MIT Sloan MBA Info Session
September 1, 2012
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 […]
My Stanford GSB and Harvard Business School MBA Info Sessions
August 30, 2012
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 […]
A Change in Plans
August 5, 2012
“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 […]
Getting My Boss’ Recommendation
August 3, 2012
**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 […]
Tuck Coffee Chat Verdict – Dartmouth Delivers!
July 14, 2012
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 […]
10 Reasons Why I Love Working For a Nerdy Company
June 15, 2012
NERDS IN PARIS: Yesterday was the last day of work for one of my marketing interns. She was an exchange student who had just finished her masters degree in corporate finance from Institut National des Telecommunications in France and was completing her exchange studies certificate at one of the more well-regarded UC (University of California) schools. […]
Developing the Next Generation of Entrepreneurs
June 10, 2012
Naturally, I haven’t been in much of a writing mood lately since I have just a little more than 2 weeks left until I take a swing at the GMAT. I’ve reviewed all of the math that I intend to, including: OG (all math) OG quant supplement Manhatttan GMAT Number Properties Manhatttan GMAT Geometry Manhatttan […]
(MBA vs EMBA) Choosing the Hard Climb: Why I Don’t Want an Executive or Part-Time MBA
June 3, 2012
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 […]
Why Top MBA Programs Are Shifting from Suits to Start Ups in the Millennial Era
May 31, 2012
Recently, Poets & Quants published an article highlighting the trend of more and more MBA students in top programs shunning traditional corporate jobs to start their own businesses. In particular, the piece highlighted that Stanford and HBS grads are 3x and 2x more likely to start a business upon graduation, respectively, when compared to their […]
Another Good B-School Walks the Plank
May 22, 2012
In a previous post, I talked about the importance of not ignoring red flags during b-school visits. Well, I’ve decided to take my own advice and drop another B-School from my list–except for I wouldn’t say that this one was necessarily a safety school–at least not completely. Its a solid top 15 program, well regarded […]
A Not-So Winding Road
May 12, 2012
So, about 2 1/2 weeks ago I celebrated the 12th anniversary of my college graduation. Though it would be a shameful lie for me to sit here and say that “it feels just like yesterday”, I am yet amazed at just how fast time has progressed. It’s been an eventful, busy, lesson-filled decade and change; […]
November 11, 2014
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