A major component of this site is a weblog that has had several lives, from its start as a featured MBA applicant/student blog on a separate site to its own presence on the Blogger system and now to its own domain as my personal website.
As you read through the entries, you'll see me go through three distinct phases in my life:
- Pre-MBA experience: Experiences that one typically goes through before matriculating at business school
- Life as an MBA student: Highs and lows of my time as a student at the Stanford Graduate School of Business in much more detail than most would expect to see
- Post-MBA life...and serving as a career/education/life coach to the masses: Responses to questions emailed to me by readers, where I use what I have learned through my own missteps and experiences to help others achieve their goals and avoid making the same misstepsÂ
College student with question about handling a post-internship offer
The email below is from a college student that I've known for a couple of years now. This student emailed me at the end of the summer toward the end of his internship with some questions about how to manage a full-time offer (if one were to come). Check out the text...
Soon-to-be Freshman undergrad business student with questions about majors
As I've mentioned a few times on here, I have had a relationship with a subsection of Indiana University's Kelley School of Business for a few years through one of my long-time friends. Through this relationship, I am invited to travel down to Bloomington each Fall to...
Pre-Frosh with questions about how to best position himself for McK/Bain/BCG
The email below is from a reader who sounds like an incredibly driven young man. He's currently 18 years old and is in the midst of a post-high school gap year abroad after having graduated a year early. In his message, he lays out a plan to start off at a local...
A few tips on addressing Impostor Syndrome for a new Stanford MBA admit
The email below came from a reader who received deferred admission to the Stanford MBA program during this year's admissions cycle. He reached out because he's battling with Impostor Syndrome, which is something that my longtime readers will recognize from some of my...
Follow-up: College student asking about deferred enrollment at the GSB and HBS
In my last blog entry, I posted an email from a Brazilian college student who reached out to ask for my thoughts on his chances for get deferred MBA admission at Stanford and Harvard. Having never worked for the Admissions Office of either school, I gave him my read...
Latin American college student with questions about deferred MBA enrollment at Stanford and Harvard
The message below came in a couple of months ago from a college student who is about to graduate with an Engineering degree from a top college in Brazil. Also, because of a unique international program, he'll also soon receive an M.S. in Engineering from a top school...
Some advice on communication style points for a new McKinsey consultant
The email below is from a guy who I first encountered several years ago back when I was still at McKinsey. He'd discovered my blog and, since he was also a Consultant, reached out to make a connection. He and I have stayed in touch over the years and, a few months...
A few thoughts about resume review services/consultants (especially when targeting top MBA programs)
The email below is from a colleague of mine from Aon who joined the company straight out of college and will hit the 2-year mark later this summer. He reached out to me soon after he started and we've corresponded pretty regularly since then. At first, our discussions...
Does it make sense for Management Consultants with undergrad business degrees to pursue an MBA? (reader question)
The message below came to me from a reader who lives in Australia and works for a top-tier management consulting firm. He's trying to decide whether he wants to pursue an MBA and doesn't seem convinced that it makes sense for him , given his professional and...
Advice for a college student trying to integrate his passions into his future career path
The message below was sent by a college student that I met a couple of years ago while giving a keynote speech at his university, which is a top undergrad business school. He sent his message back in February after he'd locked down his summer internship, which is in...