Meet Columbia’s MBA Class of 2017

Todd Wisman-Columbia-PoetsAndQuants-Classof2017

Todd Wisman

Columbia Business School

Hometown:  Harrisonburg, VA

Undergraduate School and Major:  United States Military Academy; BS in Nuclear Engineering

Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation:  US Army; Infantry and Special Forces Officer

Recalling your own experience, what advice do you have for applicants who are preparing for either the GMAT or the GRE? Start your preparations early! Like many prospective MBA Candidates, I really stressed over performing well on the GMAT or GRE. I primarily used self-study from one of the major test preparation books for nearly six months leading up to my first GMAT. Heeding advice from a few co-workers, I also signed up for an expensive One-Week Immersion Course to focus my self-study efforts.

Despite my best efforts and multiple practice tests, I was humbled by my performance on my first official exam. I sought counsel from anyone to help improve my score because I was only five weeks away from submitting applications after taking my first official GMAT. Unfortunately, multiple deployments during GMAT preparation (and also while completing applications) forced me to work on a faster timeline than I had envisioned. If I had been more disciplined from the moment I knew I wanted to get an MBA, I would have been better prepared for the application process.

During my search for help, a good friend raved about his past experiences with a grassroots GMAT prep website called EMPOWERGMAT. I buckled down for at least four hours a day for a month and finally scored into my target range. Much to the chagrin of my wife, one of the two months home between deployments was spent almost entirely studying for the GMAT. In hindsight, I wish I would have found EMPOWERGMAT sooner, since it was the most cost-effective, efficient, and functional GMAT study tool I used. Had I known about this program at the start of my efforts, it would have saved me significant heartache and reduced the number of lonely nights studying.

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?  Two of the primary metrics I factored into deciding what schools to apply to were location and my personal connection to a school through a current student or alumni. Location was the most important parameter. My family and I wanted to not only have the immediate gain of increased proximity to extended family, but also find a place that had potential for a future home post-military.  I also relied on personal contacts who were either current students or alumni to help me make a more informed assessment of the environment and culture at each school. Columbia Business School alumni really tipped the scales for me. I used this information, along with my own research, to gauge whether or not each school would be a good fit for me and my family. Lastly, to create reasonable expectations, I enjoyed perusing the “Handicapping Your Odds at Top B-Schools” articles on Poets and Quants. I didn’t let the articles sway my decision to apply to any school, but I felt that they provided me with a more realistic expectation of the outcome.

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? If you are serious enough to apply to a school, look for ways to engage the Admission Committee in person or during virtual information sessions.  I gained a lot of “golden nuggets” during each one of these interactions that better positioned me to gain acceptance to my target schools. I also think the more you reach out to schools, the more serious they start to look at you as a candidate and you typically increase your odds of getting accepted.

The essay prompts for most schools come out early the summer before application season. If possible, look at the prompts as soon as they are released and start to formulate your responses. Your essays allow the schools to look past just the numbers (when it’s easy to feel like your life boils down to just a GMAT and GPA) and start to connect to you as an individual.  n retrospect, I don’t feel that I spent enough time really weaving in everything that I wanted to say in such a succinct format [in my essay].

Several people recommended that when I got to the interview portions, I should visit clearadmit.com and read feedback on each school’s specific interview process. I thought the website was a great resource and accurately depicted the prospective interviews. Once you have the typical interview format solidified, craft your talking points and have a mental rolodex of professional stories you can relate to any tangent in the interview conversation. A great way to exercise this rolodex concept is with practice interviews using the same communication medium.

Look for recommenders who know you well and who can best highlight your strengths, while also portraying instances where they gave you constructive feedback that you internalized. Let them know the prompts early and remind them frequently. The electronic entry systems can be easily forgettable for someone not so focused on the MBA application process.

A final caveat – specifically for veterans – is to reach out to your target school’s Veteran’s Club before you start your application process. In my experience, I can’t overstate how helpful the Veteran Clubs were with navigating the application process, sharing the good and bad sides of schools, and at times serving as your advocate to the Admissions Committee.

What led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA?  Every interaction I had with Columbia Business School was professional and incredibly welcoming. From the Admissions Committee to Students and Alumni, every cross section of the CBS network impressed me and made me feel like I could be part of their great institution. I spoke to veterans, alumni, and current students at a number of top tier business schools and I noticed that the veterans at Columbia, alumni, students were unique.  They were driven and passionate, like most students, but they were thrilled to be at Columbia. The positive energy and sense of camaraderie was palpable. I enjoyed my time visiting other campuses, but I just wasn’t able to form the same connections anywhere else.

What would you ultimately like to achieve before you graduate? I plan to immerse myself in the Columbia Business School culture by participating in clubs focused on making a positive social impact and learning tangible business skills and practices that will foster a more strategic mindset moving forward. I also plan to use my experiences at Columbia Business School to professionalize my military leadership style and to better prepare myself for positions of greater responsibility within the Armed Forces.

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