Meet Foster’s Class of 2017 MBAs

Oscar Rivero-UniversityOfWashington-PoetsAndQuants-Classof2017

Oscar Jose Rivero Paparoni

 

University of Washington, Michael G. Foster School of Business               

Hometown: Caracas, Venezuela

Undergraduate School and Major: Universidad Simón Bolívar, Production Engineering

Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation: DIAGEO, Trade Marketing Coordinator. Santa Inés Café, Director and Owner.

Recalling your own experience, what advice do you have for applicants who are preparing for either the GMAT or the GRE? Like many people, I need to set a date as a limit in order to pressure myself and get organized, so the first thing I did when I decided to take the GMAT was to choose the day of the test. In that way, I scheduled my studies and organized my time. If you’re like me and you need a deadline to sit, concentrate, and study, my recommendation is basically set this date first. Regarding the study strategy, simply do what you have done throughout your student career. Do not try new methods, do what makes you feel comfortable. And of course, do as many exercises as you can.

Based on your own selection process, what advice do you have for applicants who are trying to draw up a list of target schools to which to apply? The most important thing when making a list of possible schools is to choose those that if they accept you, you will feel proud and happy to study there. I have friends who, after the long process of selection, were chosen in one of the schools they had applied and decided not to do the MBA because it was not what they really wanted it to begin with. Moreover, I recommend establishing what your priorities are regarding both your lifestyle and your professional career before choosing the MBA program. In my case, I wanted to attend to a great university, which was also located in a major city, since in order to feel good, I need to be in a place that offers me recreational activities for the weekends (including good football and baseball teams). In addition, the universities that I decided to apply to had to be situated in cities where the headquarters of my favorites companies were located.

What advice do you have for applicants in actually applying to a school, writing essays, doing admission interviews, and getting recommenders to write letters on your behalf? In all these processes, the best recommendation I could give you is to be yourself. I know it may sound cliché, but in each of these projects (essays, recommendation letters and interviews) the ultimate purpose is to sell you as the best acquisition that that school is going to gain. And the best way to accomplish that is by highlighting the best and the most unique parts of you. Remember that you are competing with others as successful as you are in different areas. So if you want to be in the top of mind of the admission committee members, you need to show them what makes you distinctive from the rest. 

What led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA? I established a series of filters, which led me to apply to 4 schools. First, I wanted a school ranked in the top 25. Then, I wanted it to have a strong focus on entrepreneurship. In addition I wanted it to be in a relatively large city and finally, that it have connections with some companies of my interest. Foster not only met all these features, but when I visited, I felt that if I was admitted, I would be very proud to be part of it because they share my principles, my values, and also it felt like home.

What would you ultimately like to achieve before you graduate? One of my goals in the MBA, and I stated it in my essays and interviews, is to help the school to keep climbing positions in the ranking of the top US MBAs. I think that the rankings are not always the absolute truth, and I believe that the best MBA is the one that meets your personality and your goals as a person and as a professional. However, the rankings are a valid evaluation of a school’s quality and prestige. Therefore, before graduation, I hope to do my best to make my school more successful and attractive so that more talented people will want to be part of it.

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