MBA Applications Made EASY

Prepared and delivered by Iryna Shuvalova

Copyright © 2015 by Iryna ShuvalovaAny further use or distribution without the copyright holder’s explicit permission is strictly prohibited

Admissions CounselorIryna Shuvalova

• Iryna is an admissions counselor, with 6+ years of experience in the industry

• She holds graduate degrees in Philosophy, Translation and Comparative Literature (the latter obtained from Dartmouth College, USA – the smallest Ivy League university). She is an alumna of FLEX and Fulbright programs

• Over 250 clients of hers have been successfully admitted to Bachelor's, Master's, LLM, MBA and EMBA programs worldwide, in such top educational institutions as Berkeley, Cambridge, Chicago Booth, Columbia, Cornell, Duke, Emory, Harvard, HKUST, IE, IMD, INSEAD, LBS, LSE, MIT, Oxford, Ross, Stanford, UCLA, Wharton etc.).

• In addition to admissions counseling, Iryna is a prize-winning poet and translator. She published three collections of poetry, and her works have been translated into nine languages.

TWO KEY QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF

Q1: Do I need an MBA?

Q2: Can I get in?

Things to consider when answering:

THE THIRD QUESTION TO CONSIDER:

WILL I BE ABLE TO AFFORD MBA?

School Total MBA Cost

Two-Year Tuition

Percent Getting Aid

Amount of aid/loans

1. Columbia

$168,307 $106,416 55% $115,716

2. Pennsylvania (Wharton)

$168,000 $108,018 76% NA

3. Stanford

$166,812 $106,236 75% $115,954

4. Chicago (Booth)

$165,190 $101,800 NA NA

7. Harvard

$158,800 $97,200 63% $113,038

Data from 2011:

2015 FT Rank & School

2014 Rank

Weighted Salary Pay Change

  1. Harvard Business School 1 $179,910 96%

  3. Penn (Wharton) 4 $171,543 90%

  4. Stanford GSB 2 $177,089 80%

  6. Columbia Business School 5 $169,252 106%

  8. MIT (Sloan) 8 $158,926 97%

  9. Chicago (Booth) 9 $161,289 97%

10. UC-Berkeley (Haas) 11 $158,518 88%

Data from 2015:

2015 tuition per year: Harvard ($56,175), Stanford ($59,550), MIT ($61,152), Columbia ($60,720)

HOW YOU CAN PAY FOR YOUR MBA:a.Private savingsb.Student loansc.External scholarshipsd.School-provided scholarships-need-based-merit-basede. Engaging your employer

ALWAYS check your specific schools!

Example: Stanford MBA Nonprofit/Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program

Its objective is to encourage MBAs to enter nonprofit and public-service sectors by reducing the financial impact of their educational debt on the relatively low salaries these sectors offer. The program accomplishes this by paying a percentage of graduates’ Stanford GSB loan obligations while they are employed in nonprofit or public service. The income eligibility for full loan forgiveness is updated annually. 

Sources of Funding

                            

A good option to check for loans is https://prodigyfinance.com/

LOOKING FOR CHEAPER OPTIONS

Three things to remember:

1.Consider the difference in prices in various MBA types (executive, full-time, part-time, online) – maybe you will consider a different program format

2.More expensive MBA’s usually do offer a better recognized brand and network – however, difference in education quality might not be so striking

3.Top schools might be more expensive, but they do tend to give out more money in scholarships.

Examples:

1. University of Michigan / Ross School of BusinessStudents receiving aid: 75 percentAverage aid package: $53,469Annual budget: $73,904Costs covered by aid: 72.3 percentEstimated costs remaining: $20,435

2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology / Sloan School of ManagementStudents receiving aid: 69 percentAverage aid package: $68,275Annual budget: $88,949Costs covered by aid: 76.7 percentEstimated costs remaining: $20,674

THE PATH OF THE SAMURAI(9-12 months)

PREPARATION: 1) assess your chances

2) find your advisor3) pass your tests

4) compile your school list5) make your application plan

ACTION:1) meet your schools

2) prepare your application package3) apply on time

4) pass the initial stage of selection5) pass your interview

YOU’RE IN!

Assess your chancesHarvard MBA Class of 2016 Profile Columbia MBA Class of 2016 Profile TOTAL MBA ENROLLMENT

936

APPLICATIONS 9,543

% ADMITTED 12%

YIELD* 89%

INTERNATIONAL** 332 35%

AVERAGE AGE 27  

COUNTRIES REPRESENTED

73  

GMAT SCORE RANGE 510-790  

MEDIAN GMAT

AVERAGE GPA***

730

3.67

 

NORTH AMERICA 635 68%

United States 604 65%

ASIA 131 14%

EUROPE 88 9%

Applications Received: 5799

Admitted: 1056

Enrolled: 743, divided into 11 clusters

GMAT Scores (average): 716

GMAT Scores (middle 80%): 680–760

Undergraduate GPA (average): 3.5

Work Experience (average): 5 years

Work Experience (middle 80%): 3–7 years

Average Age: 28

Age Range (middle 80%): 25–30

International Citizens: 41%

Admissions rates:

 School 2013 Accept Rate 2013 Apps 2013 Admits 2013 

Enrolled

  1. Harvard 11.3% 9,315 1,050 932

  2. Stanford 6.8% 7,108 483 406

  3. Chicago 21.0% 4,430 929 581

  4. Wharton 18.7% 6,498 1,217 837

  5. Kellogg 21.6% 5,453 1,177 646

  6. MIT 13.1% 4,529 593 406

  7. Columbia 18.1% 5,765 1,044 749

  8. Tuck 20.8% 2,680 558 277  9. Duke 26.5% 3,150 834 433

10. Berkeley 14.3% 3,422 488 251

Pick Your SchoolWHAT TO CONSIDER:

a.your goals (network, employment, resources)

b. reputation / rankings (Financial Times, Bloomberg Businessweek, U.S. News & World Report)

c. how tough it is to get in

d. location (urban/rural, West Coast/East Coast etc.)

e. financial support offered (scholarships, loans)

f. feedback (student ambassadors, students, alumni)

g. desired program format (full-time, part-time, executive, online)

g. FIT (Example: the four Berkeley principles (Question the Status Quo; Confidence Without Attitude; Students Always; Beyond Yourself)

Planning Your Application

COLUMBIA MBA:

Application deadlinesJANUARY ENTRY: OCTOBER 8, 2014EARLY DECISION: OCTOBER 8, 2014MERIT FELLOWSHIP CONSIDERATION: JANUARY 7, 2015REGULAR DECISION: APRIL 15, 2015

Stanford MBA

Deadline Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Submit your application by1

01 Oct 2014

07 Jan 2015

01 Apr 2015

We will notify you on2

10 Dec 

2014

25 Mar 2015

06 May 2015

Your reply and deposit are due by

26 Feb 2015

30 Apr 2015

28 May 2015

ROLLING ADMISSIONS:

SET DEADLINES:VS

Your Test Scores

IELTSMax. 9.0Average 7.5

TOEFL Max. 120Average 110

More reasons to take GMAT seriously

School 2013 GMAT

2012 GMAT

2011 GMAT

2010 GMAT

2009 GMAT

5-Year Trend

   1. Harvard Business School

727 724 724 724 719 +8

   2. Stanford GSB 732 729 730 728 726 +6

   3. Chicago (Booth) 723 720 719 715 714 +9

   4. UPenn (Wharton) 725 718 718 718 718 +7

   5. Northwestern (Kellogg)

713 708 712 714 706 +7

   7. Columbia 716 715 716 712 713 +3

   8. Dartmouth (Tuck)

718 717 718 716 712 +6

   9. Duke (Fuqua) 694 690 689 697 687 +7

1. New professional achievements2. Volunteering and community work3. New interests and hobbies4. Extracurricular leadership5. Additional education6. Contests and competitions

How can I make my profile stronger?

The application package consists of the following:

ONLINE APPLICATION FORMTEST SCORESTRANSCRIPTSСURRENT RESUMEESSAYSRECOMMENDATIONS+ INTERVIEW

Prepare Your Application Docs

Some of my favorite MBA essay topics:

Fuqua: “A list of 25 random things about yourself”

Stanford: “What matters most to you, and why?

Sloan: “Write a professional recommendation on behalf of yourself”

Booth: “Chicago Booth values adventurous inquiry, diverse perspectives, and a collaborative exchange of ideas.  This is us.  Who are you?”

Useful resources:

1. http://poetsandquants.com/ excellent information resource on all things MBA-related

2. http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolrankings/global-mba-ranking-2015

arguably the most respected global MBA ranking out there

3. http://gmatclub.com/the best community portal and discussion board on MBA

topics

Thank you for your attention!

Iryna ShuvalovaAdmissions Consultant

Copyright © 2015 by Iryna Shuvalova