EMBA Survival

Rice vs. UT (again)

Which EMBA do you prefer? As you already know, I prefer Rice.

Rice EMBA		UT EMBA
Year 1		Year 1
	Organizational Behavior		Managing People and Organizations
	Strategy		Strategic Management
	Financial Accounting		Financial Accounting
	Data Analysis		Managerial Statistics
	Finance		Financial Management
	Negotiations		Executive Seminar I
	Leadership		Executive Seminar II
	Managerial Economics
	Team Dynamics
	Leadership Communications
	Ethics
	Strategic IT
	Marketing
	Management Accounting
	Operations Management
Year 2		Year 2
	Globalization of Business		Global Management
	Economic Environment of Business		Marketing Management
	Business and Governments		Legal and Ethical Environment of Business
	Entrepreneurship/Intrapreneurship		Operations Management
	Advanced Competitive Strategy: Integrating the Enterprise		Art and Science of Negotiation
	International Business Briefing		Executive Seminar III
	International Negotiations and Communications		Executive Seminar IV
	Elective 1
	Elective 2
	Elective 3
	Elective 4
	Elective 5
	Elective 6
	Elective 7
	Elective 8

Another reason why you want to get a high score on the GMAT: money

I wrote previously about one reason for getting a good score on the GMAT: the possibility of a free education.  The other reason is, of course, to increase your income by graduating from a top school.  First, I want to caution you against chasing money merely for money's sake - that won't lead to an increase in happiness.  Doing something you hate for a living will destroy your health and your sense of worth.  On the other hand, doing something you love for a living is priceless.  But let's assume that you, as I, would enjoy working in the post-MBA market.

Shawn Berry, a GMAT coach, makes a lengthy argument that getting into a top ranked school requires making a 700+ on the GMAT.  And his reason for why you want to do that is because graduates from tops schools tend to make a lot more money that graduates from lesser schools.  Keep in mind that Shawn is focusing on the traditional day-time MBA programs, not EMBA programs.  Still, I think the discussion is relevant to the latter type of applicant.

Also keep in mind that Shawn is selling his services.  He charges $10,000 for his personal 1-1 GMAT coaching.  As such, you should validate his case, because he obviously has a personal agenda at stake.  And you'll find supporting evidence if you search through the compensation stats at Financial Times.  I also found that the average placement in 2001 from my chosen school, Rice, was around $122k.  Not too shabby.  As you know, past performance is no guarantee of future results.  Good luck!

picking the school for you

While I don't believe that there is one single best business school, I do believe there exists the best school for you.  I visited campuses, talked to the admissions staff, met with former students, and researched schools on the web.  I even sat in on a couple of classes, and googled professors.  You should too.  My short list had two schools on it.  The Red McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin and the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management at Rice University.
  In the end, I only applied to Rice because I firmly believed that it was the school for me.  Many people have asked me why I didn't go to UT.  After all, it is currently ranked higher, is cheaper, and closer to where I live.  As a former Texas A&M graduate, some would say that I'm biased against UT, or that I don't like the color burnt orange; that I prefer blue and grey.  Frankly, I like to think that I'm more objective than that.  Certainly, McCombs has a much more visible presence in San Antonio than Rice, after all, that's where the school's patron got his start in business.  Red has built an incredible empire and he's a local icon.  I really admire how he is giving back to the community by helping create a world-class business school up in Austin.  While I think that Red is a swell guy and that UT provides an excellent education, it just isn't the perfect school for me.  Sorry Red.  

Talk to your manager about your EMBA goals

Talking to your manager is critical.  The admissions committee is going to make sure your organization is behind you 100%.  The more excited your company is for you, the easier it is for you to get in.  You want to have as many discussions with people you work with as possible, as early as possible.  I cannot stress this enough.  You want everyone you work with to know your plans.  In particular, you want the managers and senior managers above you to know about your goals and you must win their support.  It's rare, but you may have to neutralize some opposition.  It is essential to clear all of that away before you take the GMAT and begin the application process.  This way, should anything come up later, the entire leadership team is already familiar with your situation and you will be able to resolve any issues easily and quickly.  There are other benefits:

• This gives you the excuse to market yourself in your company.
• Relationship building: you will find another manager that went through MBA school who will want to share his/her experience with you.
• This opens up the opportunity for you to get new work assignments that will synergistically help you advance in your career as well as learn the MBA curriculum.

Make sure that you make this a multi-step process.  What I mean is, first, tell everyone that you are planning to go get an EMBA.   Several months later after you get in, circle back and let everyone know that you got in and how excited you are.  This not only confirms that you are a person that executes on your promises, it also allows you to reap all of the above benefits multiple times.

Why you want to get a high score on the GMAT

Bottom line, it opens doors for you.  Business schools are getting very competitive in terms of attracting top students.  100 hours of GMAT prep could turn into a $60k scholarship.  That's right, getting one of those scholarships winds up being equivalent to getting paid $600+/hour just to study for a test that reviews High School Math and English.  Here's a little proof for you skeptics:

   

By the way, SMU is a highly ranked school.

How to get a high score on the GMAT

I scored a 690 on the GMAT.  I'm sure if I took it again, I could score higher.  But I'm no genius.  You too can get a great score, if you are willing to put forth the effort.  Here's what I did:

• I signed up for the Princeton Review, but only because my company pays for it.  If you aren't so lucky, I recommend 800 score.
• I went to the the class and was fully present and participated.
• I studied 20 hours a week for 5 weeks.
• I took 5 practice tests.
• During the exam, at anytime that I started to feel flustered, I softly said to myself "I am fast, focused, calm, and accurate."

If you fully follow that advice, you'll do well, I promise.  After all, it's only High School Math and English.