Tom Kania is the lead MBA admissions expert at Manhattan Review, the only GMAT provider with 10 years of history helping MBA aspirants before, during and after their MBA studies by offering a full spectrum of GMAT and TOEFL preparation, Admissions Consulting and MBA Training Boot Camps. Mr. Kania has had over seven years of experience helping over 500 people from all over the world gain admissions to graduate business school.His admissions experience began when he served on the Admissions Committee for the MBA program for the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. During that time, Tom read over 4000 applications and participated on the admissions decisions for over 7500 candidates. Mr. Kania is an expert in real estate finance and distressed assets portfolio management. He speaks four languages fluently and is a regular key-note speaker at large-scale seminars and presentations. He holds an MBA from Wharton and a BA from Columbia University.
Q: What is the maximum age for an MBA applicant for a top business school?
A: I assume that this for a full time program. In most cases, schools prefer people who are less than 40 years old. After that they assume that an executive program would be a more appropriate course of study.
Q: How differently should the candidate (from technology/IT field) write his/her essays? (Because most of the things they do relates to technical stuff)
A: I think the biggest factor for people in IT and tech fields, because there are a lot of people from this discipline applying to school, is to focus on your future career goals rather than on prior work experiences. The reason for this is that most people have unique future plans that can distinguish you -- and many people; especially younger candidates have jobs and positions that are quite similar. So to distinguish yourself, focus on future career plans.
Q: Can you please tell me more about Mannheim Business School Germany? How good are the employment opportunities? I am software engineer with more than 3 years of work experience. Is this school suitable for me?
A: In general most graduate business programs will provide an outstanding education and give you the tools and resources to advance in your career. Specific schools have specific specializations and before I pass comment on a specific school being appropriate for you, I would like to know more of what you plan to do in the future -- as that is more important in choosing the right school than what you have done in the past.
Q: I want to pursue my MBA from USA. I have completed my Bachelors degree in business (commerce) from India in 2005. I have three years of work experience in one of the top investment banks. I am now doing a one year postgraduate Diploma in business management from a top business school in New Zealand which I will be completing this October. Please suggest the best possible business school, which gives a one-year MBA (or 15 months) keeping the placements after graduation in mind.
A: Most one year business programs are in Europe. The North American model is generally a two-year model. There are, however, a few top programs that offer accelerated one-year business school programs, these include Northwestern (Kellogg) and Cornell (Johnson). Other programs in the USA that you might want to consider include Thunderbird.
Q: I am currently considering a full time 12 month MBA at Bath University. I have three years experience in program management working on the JSF135 program at Rolls Royce and have recently joined a specialist program management consultancy. Although I enjoy elements of my work I do not want to specialise in this field. I feel I need far more exposure to core business functions to really move forward; therefore the MBA is a key enabler.
My question lies around my next move following the MBA. I would really benefit from understanding more about what I can do to reassure myself that taking a year out of work and borrowing a considerable amount of money (not to mention any opportunity cost) will do for me. I've read around MBA ROI, but I have been unable to speak to potential employers to gain a real insight into the likely progression the MBA may bring. Can you help? I think I'm looking for some realism. What I can really expect post graduation?
A: A lot has to do with the economy. However, for most MBA graduates, not only does your salary increase significantly - usually doubles from your pre-MBA employment but also the number and type of interesting career opportunities increases significantly. This is because employers really appreciate and value that you invested in yourself and feel that the time you used during your studies have prepared you for better and more complicated career matters. I believe that for somebody like you, the time and monetary investment would be worthwhile.
Share with friends
