Loading ...I was at Caffé Calabria this morning to write up my Marketing case. While working, I overheard a guy and a girl talking about the GMAT, so naturally I butted in. It turns out the girl was two weeks away from her GMAT date, and was pretty nervous about the math section. I told her about some books I had used, and some tricky problems I had come up against while studying. Then I asked her why she wanted to get her MBA, and she said,
I don’t know, I’m going to see how I do on the GMAT first, and then I’ll figure out if I even want to pursue business school.
Refreshing as it is to hear someone be completely honest with me about their thought process, I was a little surprised by this, because I had at least a basic idea of why I wanted to get an MBA before I commenced the world famous Ryan Jacobs two-month lunchtime GMAT study regimen. I pressed her on it a little, but she genuinely had no motivation except for the very general “career advancement” motive.
After she left, I wondered whether what I’ll call the “null mindset” would help or hinder her GMAT performance, and whether there are general trends surrounding this. I also wonder if there’s anyone who took the GMAT, and decided to choose a path besides the MBA application because of their score. To open up this can of worms, the first thing I’d like to find out is whether the null mindset is even common practice at all. So in the spirit of market research (to bring it full circle/I see what you did there), I present to you the first official Ryanjacobs.org poll. Go!
5 Comments
you forgot option 4 – I just wanted to party for 2 years and have my investment bank/consulting firm pay for a drunken sabbatical.
^ Just pick option 3. Poll is MECE, we learn that in b-school. With the colorful diagrams and everything.
I have never taken the GMAT, and therefore cannot participate in your poll, but I will say this: There is no way in hell I would study for and pay for a test unless I had a very specific idea of what that test was going to be used for. The end.
I had lunch with a friend who was doing the same thing over the winter break. He was either going to go into business school, or get a Phd. in Psychology. He had no real idea what he wanted to do with an MBA other than get out of where he was now.
Another alternative (not available in the poll): I took the GMAT years ago because I was working for Kaplan and needed to take it (and score high on it) in order to be able to teach it.
I think my score has expired at this point, but taking it made me think an MBA might be an option. I was interested in it from an entrepreneurial standpoint; maybe it would help me start a startup.
I ended up getting hired to do software at a startup, and then another, and am now thinking about/getting ready to start a startup without the MBA experience, so it seems there are more paths than just the one to get where you want to go.
This is another reinforcer for what you’re saying… if you aren’t sure why you want to spend money and time on this degree, it may be there is a better way to get where you want to go.
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