Spring has most definitely sprung here in Philadelphia! In this season of new beginnings, this week’s edition of FFF opens with a look at a few reapplicant bloggers who are taking a fresh perspective and different approach to the application process.
For several, this means going back to the drawing board with the GMAT; it’s great to hear that B-School Diva is having a very positive experience with test prep and that ChillPill is staying focused while he finds his stride. Not everyone is planning to retake, though, and it sounds as though MBA Pundit is on the right track with his plan to focus on the extracurricular element of his candidacy for the time being and begin the application process in earnest come June. First time applicants and reapps alike will want to keep an eye out for the great advice being offered by those who’ve already been through the process. LBS-bound Moe offers some high level advice for applicants, Ash shares the approach he took to his ultimately successful Stanford Essay A, Poweryogi relates an effective waitlist strategy that scored him a Chicago admit (and which might be applicable to Anand’s Tepper WL situation), and Hella draws from a season of conducting interviews at Wharton to provide future applicants with some general tips.
While aspiring Class of 2009 bloggers are deciding on their application strategy, many accepted Class of 2008 bloggers are busy determining which school to attend. Alex continues to wrestle with the INSEAD/Haas dilemma and a full ride from UNC has made MBA Spanky’s decision process more interesting, while SgHama emerges from a hiatus of working and admissions agonizing to announce that Tuck won out over Chicago. Others who have made their choice reflect on the reasons, as FM explains the appeal of LBS, AynRand2008 lists her Emory likes, and Chicago student Le Voyageur recounts the factors that led him to choose the GSB (last year). Admitted student events continue to play a role in applicants’ thinking, as Resolute enjoyed interacting with alums at ISB orientation, Axechick emerged from the CBS Open House with increased excitement about her school and classmates, and TheSharkB8 enjoyed his taste of the Wharton community (Melissa is more focused on the cheesesteaks) at the Welcome Weekend. Speaking of community, in addition to considering their feelings about their ultimate destinations (Kellogg and Columbia, respectively), MBAJ and Marina each offer their take on a recent blogger meetup in NYC – sounds like a great time!
On the student blogger front there’s also some fun being had – JB describes the annual Yale SOM talent show, Noelle recaps what sounds like an exciting trip to Romania on break from IESE and IESE MBA 2007 shares some pictures from an adventure in Spain – but for the most part, it’s back to business as usual. Death Spiral comments that recruiters are showing up in force to interview INSEAD students and shares his own progress, and it sounds as though his classmate Olivier has found some promising leads during his time on exchange at Wharton. Also on the internship front, KV takes some time to share interview preparation tips for the benefit of other students.
While bloggers at various schools are in disparate places in their respective semesters (Sam is just beginning a new course at MIT while FutureMBAGirl is down to her very last class at Wharton) academics remain a consistent topic of discussion. Dirty Martini is sadly under the weather but sounds confident that she can conquer finals at CBS, Keven raises an interesting point about reputation and study groups at Wisconsin, Hella talks about take home tests at Wharton, and Nate reflects on the effectiveness of Michigan’s MAP program in simulating that thing called reality. Best of luck to everyone in finishing up with the semester!
That does it for this week’s edition, later today we will be publishing information about the celebrity judges for the upcoming Best of Blogging Awards.
