I have a question regarding withdrawing applications to schools I'm not really interested in after receiving acceptances to top choices. Is this common to do, or just bad etiquette?

It's common and it's perfect. Others are on waitlists/hoping for admission, so go for it.

It is not only ok...but you should do it right away. School's will get a sense of their open slots and someone else's dreams will come true :) You never know...it could be mine...hehe

Congrats on the multiple acceptances btw...

Hi all,

I work in the entertainment industry (on the creative side, but trying to round it out with hard business skills) and am trying to decide what the best program would be. Anyone with the same background have any thoughts on

UCLA v. NYU or COLUMBIA (LA v New York)?

NYU v. COLUMBIA? (Best for entertainment between the New York schools)

UCLA//NYU/COLUMBIA (schools based in cities that are hubs in entertainment and have entertainment specializations) v. STANFORD (all-around amazing school without entertainment specialization)?

And finally...
KEEP WORKING v. GO TO BUSINESS SCHOOL?!

Admitted to one thus far and interviews at the rest...

Thanks!!!

Have you looked at USC? I know they have a specified Business of entertainment track which is supplemented by a couple student industry groups, etc. I have a friend attending there now for the same reason and he seems quite impressed with the program. Don't know how its perceived, but might be worth taking a look.

Full disclosure: I'm awaiting decision (not entertainment track)

Why not Kellogg?

Kellogg's program looks great, but I was mainly looking at NYC and LA schools (because of my industry, entertainment). Didn't apply to USC because I thought UCLA was a better fit for me. Applied to Stanford because I love everything about the school, from the culture, to the campus, to the program. Its only con is that the other schools have entertainment specializations....

What are you looking to do?

Are you looking to work on the corporate side? What sector - film/tv production, film distribution, broadcasting, agencies, publicity, advertising, music labels, music publishing, etc?

Alex Chu

I'm in the same position. I work in entertainment and applied to USC and UCLA. My understanding is that UCLA has a better brand name, but USC is good if you're gonna stay in SoCal. I guarantee that Columbia and NYU are nowhere near as media friendly as USC and UCLA if you're on the creative side.

I have no idea what I want to do after business school. I made something up on my application to fulfull the essay requirement, but truth be told, I could end up in anything, media or otherwise.

You forget Miami. I would look into the Univ. of Miami MBA, the top one in the southeast by WSJ rankings.

Hi Folks,
I am a round 1 Wharton Waitlist candidate. I believed that i had fantastic interview but am stuck with Waitlist. Does anyone know if waitlists are getting cleared at Wharton and if anyone has got acceptance? I have few other schools but Wharton is where I want to go like most of you :)

i beleive WL students are re-entered into the R2 applicant pool, which means they dont hear anything - either good, bad or indifferent - until the R2 decision release date.

on admissions411, it didnt seem like there were as many WL candidates as in years past. not sure if thats a) true or b) reflective of admissions411 people who haven't updated their status. if it is true, not sure if thats a) a good thing because they're being more selective with the WL or b) a bad thing because theyre being more selective with the WL.

From a prior thread that I started re: admits that people have declined and through other threads, it seems as though quite a few people have turned down Wharton for other schools...clearing up some space for R1 waitlistees.

That would be great, fingers crossed :)

Im a WLer too...I think there are plenty of WLs around...

In the GMATClub forums there are about 20 WLs registered...

http://gmatclub.com/forum/t75263-wharton-2009-waitlist-thread-share-your-agony-here

Also, if I remember correctly, on the s2s forums at Wharton they were about 40 WLs too...

Yeah, I recall those figures as well....I am just hopeful that people that were on the waitlist and have decided on another school have infact e-mailed Adcom and informed them (opening up spots for those still waiting!)

I'm doing my own research but would appreciate any recommendations for MBA schools that have strong International Marketing programs. I have only visited Thunderbird but I'm looking in the U.S. and abroad, thank you!!!

Florida International University has an excellent International MBA 1-year program and it's situated in Miami, arguably the most international city in the country, gateway to Latin American and Europe.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_International_University_College_of_Business_Administration

The obvious answer is any of the top business schools (H/S/W/INSEAD/LBS/etc.). If you can get into a top school, that's what you should do, as their networks, curriculum and brand will get you further than any specialty school (i.e. Thunderbird). That said, if you don't have the stats to get into a top school, Thunderbird is a good option if you're looking for a globally focused curriculum and decent international network. I know italysoccer is a huge fan of FIU, but I personally would advise against going there unless you want to stay in Miami. Thunderbird has a much more respected brand internationally than FIU (which is completely unknown, even in the US). If you're capable of gaining admission into one of the elite business schools, you should look into the Lauder program at Wharton. Regarding international business schools, it really depends on where you plan on working (Europe?, Asia?, Latin America?).

I'm going to offend some people here -- I graduated from one of the top MBA programs in marketing. In my opinion, you cannot really learn "international marketing" from textbook and business school. You learn from working in an international setting. However, a lot of the underlying marketing principles are applicable. There are quite a bit of "fluff" in so-called international program (regardless if it's international marketing, international finance, etc.) I would focus on getting in a school that have a strong marketing program (e.g. Kellogg).

cheers, GeekMBa360

Check out the speciality rankings of Businessweek. I think it is a good place to start your search:

http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/mbapremium/oct2006/bs20061012_172088.htm#wheremarketing

Best of luck!

Not true, since the specific rankings for International Business set FIU at #7, which means that the school is well known in that ranking.

And like I said, there is no more international setting than Miami. I live in California, and I can tell you that Miami is much more international than any city here.

um, you ever heard of a little city called new york?? which is arguably the hub of all marketing activities, national and international. yes, miami may have latin american operations for us based companies, but big international brands (esp those HQ'ed in other countries) - think chanel, loreal, lvmh, various hotel companies, sports affiliates, and even CPG's - base their international opps out of NY, if not required to run all marketing in their home country.

A couple of weeks ago, I attended a lecture organized by one of the professors in school. I would garner to say this lecture had a profound impact on how I look at life, especially since now that my MBA life is coming to an end and very soon I will be heading back into the real world, one that is in all honesty very scary and with no light at the end of the tunnel, given the current world economic crisis.

The speaker at this particular lecture not only has gone through this moment of uncertainty, he has faced it his entire life.

Nick Vujicic was born without any limbs. For any ordinary human being, that would have been a good enough excuse to end life there and then. Instead, Nick has used the adversities he has faced in life to inspire, not only people facing the same situation he does but also to people from almost all walks of life. Instead of feeling sorry for himself, he has channeled all his energy into proving to everyone that it is rather the mind, and not the physical being that matters most in life. His Attitude is Altitude world tour has taken him to every continent in this world and prior to coming to Beijing, he had spent some time in Sichuan Province inspiring people who had suffered and lost family members in the earthquake.

Nick began his speech with the word 'Change'. Change that would help us look at life from a whole new different perspective. Nick shared with the audience the importance of vision and dreaming big. Using his own experiences in worldwide outreach as examples, he challenged us to examine our perspectives and look beyond our circumstances. He shared his view of ceasing to see obstacles as problems, but instead begin to see them as opportunities to grow and reach out to others. He stressed the importance of our attitude being the most powerful tool we have at our disposal and illustrated how the choices we make can have a profound effect on our lives and the lives of those around us. Nick shows through his own life that the major keys in fulfilling our biggest dreams are persistence and choosing to embrace failure as a learning experience, rather than allowing the guilt and fear of failure to paralyze us.

He said that nothing in life can stop him from smiling. And when people see him smile, they say to themselves, how can a man with no limbs smile like that? What does he have that they don't? He then revealed that it was through his faith and the constant support of his family that has pulled him through life. He emphasized time and time again that it is always love and attitude, not monetary wealth and a person's physical outlook that brings lasting peace and happiness within oneself. He mentioned temporary happiness, things like having lots of money, a healthy sex life and popularity. He said these arbitrary things in life only provided a false consciousness of what happiness really is. To be really happy, one had to accept what one is given and to make full use of one's time on earth. Life is short and that life was a lesson, you only ever finish learning when you are through with it. He is the epitome of the phrase 'I asked God for all things that I may enjoy life, He gave me life that I may enjoy all things'. He is a truly inspirational figure to all of mankind.

This entry was written by Lim Weehun, a second year IMBA student at Tsinghua University. Lim is from Malaysia and has had a sales and marketing focus in the palm oil industry. He will be staying in China upon graduation and is planning to pursue a position in business consulting.

Are you looking for some cheap and cheerful ways to sharpen your skill set? Eager to learn something new and potentially valuable but don't have the money to throw at expensive training courses? Well here are a few things you can do that won't break the bank.

Start learning a foreign language ? the BBC have some great language courses for free, there are also a host of other online and offline resources to get you started.

Use your staff ? if you run an organization, or even if you're an employee, you may be able to organise some in-house training, leveraging the skills of people you already work with.

It may sound obvious but, read a book ? there are plenty of fantastic books available at you local library on all manner of subjects.

The ipa as well as a host of other organizations, run talks on many topics ? they are relatively inexpensive and can be surprisingly good.

Hope that has given you some ideas ? happy learning