To My MLT Family

To my frequent blog readers this blog post may seem foreign and out of place, but it's dedicated to my new MLT family that you've read so much about on my blog.  If you remember back a couple of weeks I was nominated to be a part of MLT and after spending five days with these folks at the culmination of the year they've day, I need to write an open letter thanking them.

To My MLT Family,

I honestly don't even know where to start this letter.  I'm sure I should write an introduction and then add some supporting paragraphs and then sum everything up with a conclusion, but in all honesty it probably will not happen that way.  But at the end of this letter to all of you I hope you get a sense for what MLT has meant to me throughout this hectic process as an initial NYC outsider looking in.

When I started this whole business school process I didn't know ANYONE who had an MBA, so I started blindly and had no idea what I was really embarking upon.  It's interesting because I have felt a part of the MLT family this whole time because I've become close with so many of you this year.

The words that were spoken about the program and the newly found friends on Saturday definitely hit home for me!  The support that I have received from MLT tertiarily (yes I made that word up) has been invaluable and I can remember each day that I met all of you and can speak to how much you've helped me throughout this process.  You have all been my support network and I do not think I would have been able to be gearing up to go off to business school without your help.  

Two years ago I was not even thinking about an MBA and did not know how many people who looked like me were actually successful in getting acceptance.  I did not know that I was capable of doing it, but I was constantly reminded that by my MLT friends that yes... you can do it, but more importantly.... YES, YOU ARE WORTHY.  I needed to hear that at every moment that someone told me that because I was beaten down time and time again.

The constant reminder that I could do it and that I was worthy of doing it was not taken lightly.  I cannot stress the help that I've received from everyone in MLT prior to being a nominee.  We all know that the application process is the most grueling thing ever.  GMAT prep what? yeah never again thankfully... 3am essay edits and mock interviews?  Thank god that's over in the context of b-school applications.  I remember talking to Jessica online on January 5th, the day that the Consortium application was due, and when I hit submit I told her that I was crying.  I did not cry a month after when I got the acceptance call, but yes, I did cry when I hit submit sitting at my desk because I, like everyone else, poured my heart an soul into getting to that juncture.

Many of you have been a source of therapeutic relief for me and I definitely would not have been able to feel the sheer joy of getting through the application process without many of you, even if you don't know who you are.  Hearing about amazing things that were being achieved and R1 school acceptances gave me confidence that I too could do it.

This past weekend gave me much needed confidence as I prepare to head off to Johnson. I'm glad that I was able to make new friends and nurture relationships with old ones because  you guys are truly an amazing group of people.  I keep saying that I'm humbled and honored to be a part of MLT now.  After meeting so many of you at various information sessions and diversity weekends I'm amazed at how my life has been affected by all of you.

The friends I've made throughout this process are, without a doubt, lifelong friends.  Even prior to this week I have been welcomed with open arms by everyone I've met in MLT.  The qualities that have been displayed by you guys are a testament to the type of organization that MLT is.  To give yourselves to me without asking for anything in return is incredible.  A couple of days after my acceptance I emailed my contact at Johnson to ask "How do I get nominated for MLT?"  I'm not sure how many other people did that but I knew that I needed to be a part of this great organization.  So I thank you all for being an amazing group of folks.  I know that you've been an inspiration to me and other people with whom you've come in contact with over the year.

I know I'll see a lot of you in a couple of weeks at OP.  So with that I'll say... HERE'S TO BEING SCRAPPY

Why I Didn't Do MLT

So I got either a comment or an email (too lazy to check which one) not too long ago asking why I didn't do MLT.

My reason is simple but let me first start out by saying what MLT is since I've mentioned it numerous times.  Yes I'm going to steal a quote right from the MLT website.  So MLT has a couple of programs but when I refer to it I'm refering to the MBA Prep program.  Yes, this is different from the Consortium.  The easiest way to explain the difference between the two is easy.

MLT = Admissions Consultants + you become an MLT Fellow and get the lifelong network
Consortium = B-school application system.  Literally the system where you enter your information and essays.  Also, you become a Consortium Fellow and get a lifelong network.

MLT = Management Leaders for Tomorrow

Why Participate in MLT MBA Prep?

The road to business school is complex. MBA Prep guides Fellows through the application and interview process and shows them what it takes to be successful in business school and beyond. MBA Prep includes:

Application roadmap: MBA Prep demystifies the application process with cogent goals and been-there advice. Admissions officers and MLT clarify the process and debunk myths.

One-on-one coaching: Our Fellows benefit from a dedicated relationship with an MLT coach, who guides them through our curriculum and helps develop actions plans and solid application strategies.  Our team includes graduates from top business schools who have successfully navigated the MBA application process and gone on to lead both corporate and non-profit organizations.

Unprecedented early exposure: Participants build meaningful relationships with representatives from outstanding business schools and corporations several months prior to matriculation.

Unique skill development curriculum: Our curriculum is delivered in partnership with leading business schools, top corporations and non-profits who seek the best talent. The Fellow experience includes seminars on business school campuses and boot camps that are led by organizations including PepsiCo, Google, Citigroup, McKinsey and Teach For America.

Lifelong alumni network: MBA Prep alumni share immeasurable resources, knowledge and influence with the entire MLT community, furthering our mission to change the leadership landscape.

So... the reason I didn't apply for MLT is simple like I stated above.  I found out about the program too late in the game.  I didn't find out about it until about November of 2009.  The deadline to take the GMAT to add to your MLT application was in January and I was just not ready for that.  Had I been ready I would have definitely applied.  The program is amazing and I've been fortunate enough to meet and befriend about 65% of the NYC cohort.  

So there's not much to that story.  I know it's not exciting haha but hopefully I can still become an MLT fellow by being nominated by Johnson.  They can nominate incoming students if they think it will help them in recruiting.  

I'll tell you what I'll do. I'll ask one of my MLT friends to write about his/her experience.  This will provide some more color around MLT for those of you who don't know.

The Waiting Game Amplified

I'm sitting on my bed waiting for Jersey Shore to come on and figured I would write another blog post.

Coming down from my high of my interview yesterday I realize that I have now entered a new phase of the waiting game and it's worse to an extent.  I'm not sure how that's possible but it definitely is.  So when I made my previous post about the waiting game it was "bad" because I was hearing about other people being accepted and dinged from schools.  Hearing about my friends getting into schools and being dinged from schools was nerve wracking and I would think about how in a few short weeks I would be in the same boat.

NOW it's my turn!  The next round of acceptances and rejections that will occur in the coming weeks will determine my fate and it's an odd feeling.  I'm glad that I had what I thought was a good interview at Cornell yesterday, but all that means is that I've crossed one more bridge.  There are two schools that I applied too who have mandatory interviews in addition to the Consortium interview.  I didn't hear from one of them on the day that I should have heard so I've lost hope for that.  I also haven't received an interview invite for the other school either.  I'm not even sure if they're still sending out invites.  But enough about those schools... I don't want to dwell on potential negatives.

Knowing that I'm one step closer is heart wrenching.  There's absolutely nothing that I can do now besides wait and THIS is the worst part.  My feeling is also compounded by some personal issues but it's tough.

Last night after my interview I went to work and worked on a couple of things until 6.  I hadn't planned on going in but I figured it would make my day easier today.  Then after work I met some friends for drinks.  My friends are all in MLT and had applied this past year.  It was great to see where everyone was in the process and who had received interview invites and acceptances to where.  We are all "doing the damn thing" so to speak.  I would really love to go to scool with these people and it's funny when you can speak about certain schools to different people and you echo the same sentiments about the school.  I realized that through massive amounts of research one can really get a sense for the school community and I think that's the difference between those people whose stats are impeccable and yet they may be rejected.

I've said it once and I'll say it again.  Whether I am accepted to a school or not I firmly believe that all interaction one may have with a school gives he/she a little more insight that he/she can then use as ammunition to get into said school.

Anyway I digress... I'm supposed to be talking about waiting post interview.  But yeah... it's rough!  You don't know what the school is looking for once they've interviewed you especially if they do mandatory interviews.  I've always told my friends that once you get an interview it's about you yourself personally. They've evaluated the rest of your application so now it's just whether or not you fit with the class profile that they're trying to put together.

I think the main reason I'm so nervous now is because I know that I left everything on the table.  It's funny because I was talking to one of my friends about that last night.  He said "I know that I did everything in my power to get into b-school!"  I'm glad that I have surrounded myself with a bunch of people who are like me in that they put their heart and soul into this process.  It's nice to see that it's finally paying off for them and hopefully in the near future we can all be celebrating as new admits and future classmates!

FINGERS CROSSED!

Guest Blogger (Osirus) - His Story!

Hello Hello... by the time you guys read this I will have reached another milestone with my blog = My 10,000th Visitor since February!  10,000th Visitor Post


For my 5,000th visitor I had a guest blogger so I figured I would do the same this time around.  

This guest is my dear friend Brandon aka Osirus!  You guys have heard me mention him on many occasions starting with the BeatTheGMAT contest back in February, when in all honesty, I wasn't too fond of him because he was outposting me!  Needless to say he has become the backbone of my studies.  We joke that he is the SVP of Team Richard... my mother is the President!  

In any event, I wanted to open up the floor for Brandon to comment because he's in what I think an awkward position.    For many of us, we want to beat the gmat (up) so we can forget about it and move on with our lives.  Even though Brandon has conquered the GMAT he's graciously helping those around him attempt to do the same.  So for those Admissions Officers out there, just know that Brandon WILL be one of the people helping his classmates at 1/2am in the morning.  I can speak from experience because I've sent him numerous picture messages with math problems at 1am, only to have him respond with an explanation ending with "...does that make sense?"

I don't want to hog the floor/blogpage but thought I would give people that background info.  I asked Brandon to give us some words of wisdom and he has done just that!  

So as I've used previously - Get a snack...get some soda... and enjoy!  This will be a 2 parter!

Brandon's Story...

My name is Brandon, but for those that have been following the blog since the beginning may know me better as Osirus.   I am honored that Richard asked me to share with the blog my GMAT experience and just my own MBA journey.  I will begin by discussing the history of my battle with the GMAT.  I applied to the Management Leaders for Tomorrow program in October.  If you get accepted into the program, then you have to have an official GMAT score by February 1st.  While I had studied some before, I would say that my serious GMAT prep began at the end of November.  My studying consisted of going through the Manhattan GMAT guides and the Powerscore Critical Reasoning Bible.  My prep consisted of spending the first month learning the material and the second month drilling the material.  

The biggest issue I had was forgetting material after I learned it.  To combat this I developed a system where I would read through a chapter and then do a problem set dealing with that chapter.  The next time I studied, I would go through a new chapter and do a problem set dealing with that chapter, but I would also do two problems from the previous chapter I did.  So for example, if I were going through number properties, I would go through chapter one (divisibility and primes) and do the 15 problems at the end of the chapter.  The next math day, I would go through chapter 2 and do all of those problems, but I would go back and do two problems from chapter one.  I would do the same thing until I finished the book.  This helped to make sure that everything remained fresh.  This is what really helped me to see progress.  I went from my practice scores staying around 550, to shooting up to 610, and then 660.  

This strategy is really time consuming though, so I definitely understand why everyone cannot implement it.  My strategy definitely helped me improve my quant score, but I never quite got a handle on verbal.  My first attempt at the GMAT was Jan 29th of this year.  I scored a 680.  I know most people would be happy with that score, but I was pissed.  I remember going to see a good friend of mine and I was just in a funk that entire day.  She didn’t understand why I was upset.  I think the issue is that when you set a goal for yourself, and you put in the work, you expect to see the result.  

I was pretty disappointed in my score and I was planning my next move.  When I had my first coach call with my MLT coach, she was pretty excited about my score and didn't think that I needed to take the exam again.  I remember thinking what world does she live in...lol.  That brings me to an important point, regardless of what score you get and what others tell you about your score, if you think you can do better and improve your score, take the test again.  

My next step was to take a class to help me improve verbal.  I was really impressed with Brian Galvin on Beat the GMAT, so I took a course with Veritas.  The Veritas class definitely helped me improve my approach to verbal.  What I learned from that class is that you have to approach verbal in a systematic way.  You have to approach every Critical Reasoning Assumption question the same way.  You have to approach every Reading Comprehension Inference question the same way.  This will help you to gain consistentency in verbal.  To improve with quant I used my same approach but I did it with the Veritas materials.  

After studying for 3 months, I took the exam again at the end of June and improved my score by 50 points and scored a 730.  I think the main thing that I learned from my experience is that you can’t take short cuts.  You have to do a ton of problems.  I adopted the philosophy from my high school football team, practice hard so that the game is easy.  I would do 75-80 problems a day, to build stamina and to practice my approach.  Practice is more than just practicing the content, it is also about practicing your approach.  When you practice, don’t just practice to say that you did something.  Don’t just go through a book to say that you completed that book.  Practice how you will play.  Approach every problem how you would on the real exam, and approach each problems consistently.

I will post the rest of this tomorrow... it gets better and more personal!  STAY TUNED!