MBA student perspective series : Pejman, MBA candidate at Haas, shares his first hand experiences about MBA life

Hey all,

Am so excited to post the 1st ever interview with a current MBA student on my blog. To begin with I have with me Mr. Pejman, MBA candidate at Haas school of Business and Co-founder of GMAT prep site "Magoosh".

In this fun chat, Pejman will share his thoughts about MBA, Career, B school, Magoosh and more. Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed doing this interview.

             Madz : Hey Pejman, welcome and a big thanks for coming up to share your perspective with me and my blog readers. Please introduce yourselves to our readers. Tell us briefly about your educational and professional background.

Pejman : Hi everyone, my name is Pejman Pour-Moezzi. I am a second-year full-time MBA at Haas-Berkeley. Prior to Haas, I was a consultant at Deloitte in the technology practice and prior to that I studied and graduated with a BA in Cognitive Science at UC Berkeley. Most recently, I have co-founded the online test prep company Magoosh.

2.     

Madz : Why did you decide to pursue your MBA?

Pejman : While consulting was cool, and I certainly learned a lot, my clients were mostly in the public sector and healthcare space – not exactly known for being at the bleeding edge of technology. My undergrad had equipped me with skills and interest in design and user experience and I felt like I could best leverage this experience in consumer technologies. I’m pursuing an MBA to prepare myself for this transition by building out my skill set, particularly in strategic marketing and opportunity recognition.

      Madz :  Tell us about your MBA experiences thus far.

Pejman :The experience has been awesome. It kicked off lightning quick with classes and club/social activities; so much so that it was a bit overwhelming but once you catch your breath you realize that it allows a tight-knit community to quickly form. With Haas being so small (~240 per class year), I love walking onto campus and knowing everyone I see. At the same time we’re part of a huge, world-class university so there’s really no limit to opportunities.

       Madz : How is active participation in campus organizations contributing to your MBA experience?

Pejman :Getting involved with organizations is key in my opinion. But I think this is an example of where the “less is more” philosophy applies – pick one or two groups and go deep. Having done just that with Berkeley’s Digital Media and Entertainment Club (DMEC) has helped me build strong industry contacts and knowledge. Our big annual event, the >play conference, is just around the corner – I definitely recommend checking it out!

      Madz : In retrospect, what do you know now that you wish you knew before you pursued your business education?

Pejman :One thing that seems consistently true but that people have a hard time coming to terms with is how quickly time passes by. Your MBA experience will be over before you know it and while it is a great place to “find yourself,” the more time you can spend defining priorities in advance of the MBA the better off you’ll be. I share this after observing so many classmates with start-up ambitions that are feeling the pressure of graduation looming around the corner. If you can come in with an idea already well formed and ready to execute you can really take advantage of your two years.

           Madz :  What factors should prospective students consider when choosing an MBA program?

Pejman :The different programs out there vary greatly in terms of strengths and culture – which is great as people are just as varied. Make sure you take the time to get to know the programs to find your best fit. Don’t just go off rankings!

           Madz : How available are internships and other hands-on student experiences? Any tips for landing?

Pejman :Recruiting, in my opinion, is less about resumes and cover letters and more about connecting with people. The most successful applicants have already networked with several people at a prospective employer, learning the intangibles about a company’s culture and as a result appear as more than just another data point on a recruiting roster.

      Madz : Tell us about your entrepreneurial business career. How did you initially get involved in Test Preparation Business “Magoosh”?

      Pejman :My friend, Vikram, and I formed Magoosh after our experiences with taking the GMAT. We saw an opportunity to utilize technology to deliver an educational experience more dynamic than a book and lower in cost than a classroom. We built Magoosh on the idea that “practice makes perfect.” Instead of forcing students through hour-long lectures, we believed the student is most successful when they learn by doing. So our platform is built around practice problems and keeping students active. We give the student hundreds of practice problems just like the ones they’ll encounter on the actual exam. By providing video explanations on every practice problem, the student learns salient lessons at moments of high concentration. The feedback so far has been phenomenal and we’re looking forward to improving the experience even more.

            Madz :How has your business education benefited your entrepreneurial career thus far and vice versa?

      Pejman :Lessons in customer development, rapid prototyping and business model innovation have been huge. In many ways the lessons I’m learning are very counter-culture to what people think of as traditional business education – but I can tell you that Haas has helped me develop these skills, so it’s good to check assumptions!

Madz : Anything else you want to share with our readers.

      Pejman :Take some time out to reflect on things – make it a habit. Success is less about horsepower and more about focus. The more genuine your goals are the more successful you’ll be!

It was a fun and informative experience talking to Pejman. You can visit his Linked In profile here. If you want to know more about Magoosh or enroll to its services visit http://www.magoosh.com

Hope you enjoyed reading this post. Be sure to leave your opinion !!

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Madz

US News & World Report release 2009 Business School Overall and Categorical rankings

Sharing  the US news 2009 B school rankings : overall ranking and rankings by specialty.

Overall Business School 2009 Ranking

Rank 1 Harvard University Boston, MA 1,801 Full-time: $43,800 per year
Rank 2 Stanford University Stanford, CA 740 Full-time: $48,921 per year
Rank 3 Northwestern University (Kellogg) Evanston, IL Full-time:1,254 $46,791
Rank 3 University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) Philadelphia, PA Full-time: 1,611 $44,480
Rank 5 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan) Cambridge, MA Full-time:788 $46,784
Rank 5 University of Chicago (Booth) Chicago, IL Full-time: 1,144 $47,260 per year
Rank 7 University of California--Berkeley (Haas) Berkeley, CA full-time:500 $30,925 per year
Rank 8 Dartmouth College (Tuck) Hanover, NH Full-time: 506 $45,600 per year
Rank 9 Columbia University New York, NY Full-time: 1,234 $46,476 per year
Rank 10 Yale University New Haven, CT Full-time: 382 $43,700 per year
Rank 11 New York University (Stern) New York, NY Full-time: 841 $41,800 per year
Rank 12 Duke University (Fuqua) Durham, NC Full-time: 875 $44,100 per year
Rank 13 University of Michigan--Ann Arbor (Ross) Ann Arbor, MI full-time:843 $40,250
Rank 14 University of California--Los Angeles (Anderson) LA, CA full-time:731 $33,295
Rank 15 Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper) Pittsburgh, PA Full-time:392 $47,800
Rank 15 University of Virginia (Darden) Charlottesville, VA full-time:644 $40,398 per year
Rank 17 Cornell University (Johnson) Ithaca, NY Full-time:593 $44,950
Rank 18 University of Texas--Austin (McCombs) Austin, TX full-time:540 $24,200
Rank 19 Georgetown University (McDonough) Washington, DC Full-time:522 $39,984
Rank 20 University of North Carolina--Chapel Hill (Kenan-Flagler) Chapel Hill, NC full-time: 562 $19,525
Rank 20 University of Southern California (Marshall) LA, CA Full-time:426 $41,248
Rank 22 Emory University (Goizueta) Atlanta, GA Full-time:373 $41,013
Rank 22 Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, GA full-time:154 $7,724
Rank 22 Indiana University--Bloomington (Kelley) Bloomington, IN full-time:474 $18,978
Rank 22 Washington University in St. Louis (Olin) St. Louis, MO full-time: 294 $40,500

Best Business Schools Specialty Rankings: Accounting

1 University of Texas--Austin (McCombs) Austin, TX
2 University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) Philadelphia, PA
3 University of Illinois--Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL
4 University of Chicago (Booth) Chicago, IL
5 University of Michigan--Ann Arbor (Ross) Ann Arbor, MI
6 University of Southern California (Marshall) Los Angeles, CA
7 Stanford University Stanford, CA
8 Brigham Young University (Marriott) Provo, UT
9 New York University (Stern) New York, NY
10 Indiana University--Bloomington (Kelley) Bloomington, IN

Best Business Schools Specialty Rankings: Information Systems

1 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan) Cambridge, MA
2 Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper) Pittsburgh, PA
3 University of Texas--Austin (McCombs) Austin, TX
4 University of Arizona (Eller) Tucson, AZ
4 University of Minnesota--Twin Cities (Carlson) Minneapolis, MN
6 University of Maryland--College Park (Smith) College Park, MD
7 New York University (Stern) New York, NY
8 Stanford University Stanford, CA
9 University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) Philadelphia, PA
10 Georgia State University (Robinson) Atlanta, GA


Best Business Schools Specialty Rankings: Management

1 Harvard University Boston, MA
2 Stanford University Stanford, CA
3 Northwestern University (Kellogg) Evanston, IL
4 University of Michigan--Ann Arbor (Ross) Ann Arbor, MI
5 University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) Philadelphia, PA
6 Dartmouth College (Tuck) Hanover, NH
7 Duke University (Fuqua) Durham, NC
8 University of Virginia (Darden) Charlottesville, VA
9 University of California--Berkeley (Haas) Berkeley, CA
10 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan) Cambridge, MA

Best Business Schools Specialty Rankings: Nonprofit

1 Yale University New Haven, CT
2 Stanford University Stanford, CA
3 University of California--Berkeley (Haas) Berkeley, CA
4 Northwestern University (Kellogg) Evanston, IL
5 University of Michigan--Ann Arbor (Ross) Ann Arbor, MI
6 Duke University (Fuqua) Durham, NC
7 University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) Philadelphia, PA
8 Columbia University New York, NY
9 New York University (Stern) New York, NY

Best Business Schools Specialty Rankings: Production / Operations

1 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan) Cambridge, MA
2 Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper) Pittsburgh, PA
3 Stanford University Stanford, CA
3 University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) Philadelphia, PA
5 University of Michigan--Ann Arbor (Ross) Ann Arbor, MI
6 Purdue University--West Lafayette (Krannert) West Lafayette, IN
7 Northwestern University (Kellogg) Evanston, IL
8 Harvard University Boston, MA
9 Columbia University New York, NY
10 University of California--Los Angeles (Anderson) Los Angeles, CA

Best Business Schools Specialty Rankings: Entrepreneurship

1 Babson College (Olin) Babson Park, MA
2 Stanford University Stanford, CA
3 Harvard University Boston, MA
3 University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) Philadelphia, PA
5 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan) Cambridge, MA
6 University of Southern California (Marshall) Los Angeles, CA
7 University of California--Berkeley (Haas) Berkeley, CA
8 Indiana University--Bloomington (Kelley) Bloomington, IN
8 University of Texas--Austin (McCombs) Austin, TX
10 University of Arizona (Eller) Tucson, AZ

Best Business Schools Specialty Rankings: Finance

1 University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) Philadelphia, PA
2 University of Chicago (Booth) Chicago, IL
3 New York University (Stern) New York, NY
4 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan) Cambridge, MA
5 Stanford University Stanford, CA
6 Columbia University New York, NY
7 University of California--Los Angeles (Anderson) Los Angeles, CA
8 University of California--Berkeley (Haas) Berkeley, CA
9 Harvard University Boston, MA
10 Northwestern University (Kellogg) Evanston, IL

Best Business Schools Specialty Rankings: Executive MBA

1 Northwestern University (Kellogg) Evanston, IL
2 University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) Philadelphia, PA
3 University of Chicago (Booth) Chicago, IL
4 Duke University (Fuqua) Durham, NC
5 Columbia University New York, NY
6 University of California--Berkeley (Haas) Berkeley, CA
7 New York University (Stern) New York, NY
8 University of Michigan--Ann Arbor (Ross) Ann Arbor, MI
9 University of California--Los Angeles (Anderson) Los Angeles, CA
10 University of North Carolina--Chapel Hill (Kenan-Flagler) Chapel Hill, NC

Best Business Schools Specialty Rankings: International

1 Thunderbird School of Global Management Glendale, AZ
2 University of South Carolina (Moore) Columbia, SC
3 University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) Philadelphia, PA
4 University of Michigan--Ann Arbor (Ross) Ann Arbor, MI
5 Columbia University New York, NY
6 Duke University (Fuqua) Durham, NC
6 New York University (Stern) New York, NY
8 Harvard University Boston, MA
9 University of Southern California (Marshall) Los Angeles, CA
10 University of California--Berkeley (Haas) Berkeley, CA

Best Business Schools Specialty Rankings: Marketing

1 Northwestern University (Kellogg) Evanston, IL
2 University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) Philadelphia, PA
3 Duke University (Fuqua) Durham, NC
4 Stanford University Stanford, CA
5 Harvard University Boston, MA
6 University of Michigan--Ann Arbor (Ross) Ann Arbor, MI
7 University of Chicago (Booth) Chicago, IL
8 Columbia University New York, NY
9 University of California--Berkeley (Haas) Berkeley, CA
10 University of Texas--Austin (McCombs) Austin, TX

Best Business Schools Specialty Rankings: Part-time MBA

1 New York University (Stern) New York, NY
2 University of Chicago (Booth) Chicago, IL
3 Northwestern University (Kellogg) Evanston, IL
4 University of California--Los Angeles (Anderson) Los Angeles, CA
5 University of Southern California (Marshall) Los Angeles, CA
6 University of California--Berkeley (Haas) Berkeley, CA
7 Georgia State University (Robinson) Atlanta, GA
8 University of Michigan--Ann Arbor (Ross) Ann Arbor, MI
9 DePaul University (Kellstadt) Chicago, IL
10 Santa Clara University (Leavey) Santa Clara, CA

Best Business Schools Specialty Rankings: Supply Chain / Logistics

1 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan) Cambridge, MA
2 Michigan State University (Broad) East Lansing, MI
3 Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper) Pittsburgh, PA
4 Stanford University Stanford, CA
5 Arizona State University (Carey) Tempe, AZ
6 Pennsylvania State University--University Park (Smeal) University Park, PA
7 Ohio State University (Fisher) Columbus, OH
8 University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) Philadelphia, PA
9 University of Tennessee--Knoxville Knoxville, TN
10 Northwestern University (Kellogg) Evanston, IL
10 Purdue University--West Lafayette (Krannert) West Lafayette, IN

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My 1st school target - Tepper CMU

So time to hit the ground and start the real work. As am having a scarily hectic schedule, I have decided to apply for only 2 schools in Round 1 and around 3 to 4 schools in Round 2. For the 1st round I will be applying to Tepper CMU and Queens Biz School, Canada.

This post is to share my findings about Tepper CMU.

• Interview with Tepper MBA representatives.
  
  http://www.businessschooladmissions.com/tepper/
  
  
• Accepted.com's entry about Tepper MBA application process, essays and more tips
  http://blog.accepted.com/acceptedcom_blog/2009/9/2/cmu-tepper-2010-mba-application-questions-deadlines-tips.html
  
  
• Clear Admits analyzes the essay topics of Tepper 2010 application
  http://blog.clearadmit.com/2009/09/cmu-tepper-essay-topic-analysis-2009-2010/
  

• Tepper Admission interview reports
  http://www.accepted.com/mba/interviews/search_results.asp?SourcePage=search.asp&School=40&AreaOfStudy=-1&LastXDays=9999&Age=-1&Score=122&Submit=Submit
  
  http://clearadmit.com/wiki/index.php?title=TepperInterview

• Know more about Tepper MBA - Watch this video
  

• International festival 2009 at Tepper CMU
  
  

more to be added later


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Duke MBA Application Fee Reduction Program.

I got a mail from Fuqua admissions today informing about their Application fee reduction program. I feel its very useful for Fuqua applicants.Quoting the mail here for my readers.

Clearly, the world is facing many economic challenges today. At The Duke MBA, we recognize that the MBA application process is an investment of time and money, which can both be in short supply in times like these. We feel strongly that visiting with Duke admissions officers, students, and alumni in person is incredibly helpful in understanding the Team Fuqua culture, and we also understand that traveling to our campus can be difficult. To help alleviate some of the financial stress you may be facing, we are pleased to announce the following Duke MBA Application Fee Reduction Program.

Individuals who schedule a campus visit through our online scheduling tool and come to Durham or who register for and attend a Duke MBA information session or coffee chat at one of our worldwide locations will be able to submit an application for the 2009 – 2010 application year for only $50, instead of the usual $200 fee. In this way, we are able to cover our administrative expenses while minimizing the impact on our applicants.

Please visit our Web site for a complete listing of upcoming information sessions and coffee chats, or access our online scheduling tool to craft your own campus visit (with or without interview) and plan to visit us. We will look forward to seeing you!

Important Information:

The reduced fee information for the Daytime program will not be available on the online application until October 7. If you are applying to the Daytime program in Rounds 1, 2, or 3 and want to take advantage of this offer, please do not submit your application until after October 7.

For those who are planning to apply for our Daytime Early Action deadline (October 6), the fee reduction functionality will not be available on the application by this deadline. However, please send an email to application-processing@fuqua.duke.edu at least 72 hours prior to submitting your application and we will provide you with instructions for activating the fee reduction.

For applicants interested in the Cross Continent, Global Executive, or Weekend Executive MBA programs, the fee reduction function will be available at the end of October. If you will be submitting your application prior to November 1, please contact application-processing@fuqua.duke.edu at least 72 hours prior to submitting your application and we will provide you with instructions for activating the fee reduction.

Choosing the fee reduction on the online application prior to submitting your application is the only way to receive the reduction. The Duke MBA will NOT be able to offer refunds after an application has been submitted.

Its a real great move from Fuqua school of Business. Kudos Fuqua !!

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What should we learn from the fall of Lehman

The recent economic depression has been a great churner of ideas about causes and outcomes of the depression. I believe that every failure is the chance to learn some tough lessons of life and we need to make sure that we don't repeat that mistake again and again.

Lehman's demise is one such incident which has given a lot of lessons to be taken by the people in Biz and Management. Primarily it proved again that greed is always harmful. BW recently listed down the 10 important lessons we should learn from Lehman's demise. Quoting the important ones here

• 
  

  Executives who are preoccupied with their company's daily stock price or consumed with quarterly earnings targets don't make very good stewards of the enterprise.
  

  
  
• 
  

  Tying individual compensation to short-term gains only exacerbates the problem.
  

  
  
• 
  

  People don't like it when those who've exhibited the worst cases of managerial myopia get filthy rich in the process.
  

  
  
• 
  

  High profits don't necessarily mean that you're producing anything of genuine value.
  

  
  
• 
  

  Moving money around isn't the same thing as producing actual goods and services.
  

  
  
• 
  

  When you buy and sell lots of assets at prices that are considerably higher than the underlying value of what's being traded, the run-up can't possibly last.  
  

  
  
• 
  

  As long as human beings are in charge of our major institutions, this won't be the last crisis we see.      
  

  
  

So what can we applicants take from these lessons. We can stop and reflect on if we are really ready to do an MBA at this juncture of time. But I think this can be a interesting and rewarding time to do an MBA. We can be a part of the regrowth phase when we enter the business world after an MBA and most importantly we can do things in right way by learning all these lessons.

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