Hello: Zone Left

Submitted by Zone Left on

 

GMATClub.com is reporting San Diego resident Zone Left received his official offer to the Michigan Ross School of Business about an hour ago and that he committed on the spot.  Left has a solid list of offers for a universal high-level three star, with Notre Dame, Texas, and now Michigan as his main suitors.  Rumors of a Harvard offer turned out to be erroneous. 

Guru Ratings

Businessweek: 3 Star

US News and World Report: 5.7 (#43 military)

GMAT Club: 3 Star (#31 military)

US News has the most extensive write up, saying:

“Zone has a solid skill set to compete at the next level.  That, his solid work ethic, and GMAT score should serve him well at the next level and beyond.  We’re concerned about his somewhat subpar GPA, but that negative is years old and we think he’s overcome it through his solid work experience, essays, and interview.  His age (30) raised flags as well, but he’s allayed that concern as well.  However, both his GPA and age do prevent us from awarding him that coveted fourth star.  We project him as a solid MBA candidate who will contribute right away at any program in the country.  He has a solid pad level.

Offers

Immediately after taking the GMAT, Left received interest from just about every second tier school in the country, but he had to work to make the big boys notice him through informal visits, networking with students, and solid applications.  In the end, Notre Dame, Texas, and Michigan made his top 3.  He had been waiting on a committable offer from Michigan since applying in October, and once he got it he jumped.

Stats

US Military pilot with 8 years of experience and good interpersonal communication skills.  MBA candidates typically don’t have many stats beyond the:

FAKE GMAT Score

All three services are reporting a 700 through standard testing procedures.  Since military folk are pretty honest and the scores are tabulated electronically, we’ll give it one FAKE out of five.

Video

Predication Based on Flimsy Evidence

His “contribution” to MGoBlog will decrease somewhat because he’ll have a job he actually wants to do, decreasing the need for extensive procrastination.  Additionally, I’d guess he’ll teach a class on Michigan sports to incoming foreign students and will be very happy, but frustrated sitting in the MBA section of the stadium listening to his ignorant classmates trying to sing along to Varsity.

Seriously Though

This is a fantastic moment for me.  I’ve spent a huge portion of my life the past two years working towards today.  I didn’t get my undergraduate degree from Michigan, but always wanted to attend and was jealous of my brother for spending four years in Ann Arbor.  It’s great to be a Wolverine…finally.

MGoBoard
Football
100% pure AMERICAN awesome
commitment
peanut butter jelly time

blueheron

January 12th, 2011 at 4:28 PM ^

As everyone else has said, congratulations.  You display an impressive orientation to detail (most likely strengthened by your experience in the military) in that post.  :)

Joined: 03/26/2009

MGoPoints: 30824

UMAmaizinBlue

January 12th, 2011 at 4:36 PM ^

Well deserved,I'm sure Zone Left. I look forward to seeing your awesome face on the cover of Forbes and Business Week like they were on Life and Time. (Wait, you mean his avatar isn't him it's Tom Harmon? Well color me stupid!)

Joined: 09/23/2009

MGoPoints: 36269

MGoShoe

January 12th, 2011 at 4:39 PM ^

...active duty or attending on orders?  Either way, I'd love to provide you with an intro to the NROTCU PNS, CAPT Rick "Hoover" Vanden Heuvel.  Let me know.

Joined: 04/23/2009

MGoPoints: 20734

Zone Left

January 12th, 2011 at 5:06 PM ^

I'm leaving active duty.  The Marine Corps has eliminated almost all of its higher education programs to concentrate on the business at hand.  It's too bad, the Corps needs some outside perspective.

Let me know how you want to do this.  Having Brian trade emails sounds difficult.

Joined: 07/03/2008

MGoPoints: 16428

Mi Sooner

January 12th, 2011 at 4:46 PM ^

Now for the bad news. The toughest thing about an MBA at Ross is getting in. There a few tough courses -- sort of. This comes from an engineer who focused on finance and acct. Good luck

Joined: 02/09/2010

MGoPoints: 10625

Mister X

January 12th, 2011 at 5:01 PM ^

Need to actually log in here and pile on to the congratulations.  Have an Aero undergrad and MBA, both from Michigan, and I can tell you that my two years at UMBS/Ross were two of the best years of my life.  You'll love your colleagues and the collaborative atmosphere at Ross, and you'll learn at least as much outside of the classroom as within.

Added bonus:  Corporate-sponsored football tailgates.  Enjoy!

Joined: 09/15/2009

MGoPoints: 315

Lutha

January 12th, 2011 at 5:08 PM ^

Congratulations, ZL.  You'll have a great time at Ross.  One piece of advice...take out extra loans for travel money (you can pay them back with your post-MBA signing bonus).  MBA is one of the few chances you'll have to travel around the world with a group of your friends.  You won't have 3-4 week breaks when you return to the working world.

Joined: 09/21/2009

MGoPoints: 8234

Zone Left

January 12th, 2011 at 5:14 PM ^

I can't edit the post for some reason, so a comment will have to do.

Thanks so much for the responses.  I'm humbled and grateful for the moral support and the diversion everyone here gives me day to day.  I wasn't sure how this would be received, but I thought it would be a) a nice diversion from the coaching search and b) a way to distract me from focusing so much on my phone.  Up until a month ago when I started going crazy about the MBA admissions wait and joined gmatclub.com, I only contributed here.  This is a great site with a fantastic community.

Joined: 07/03/2008

MGoPoints: 16428

Blueroller

January 12th, 2011 at 5:28 PM ^

Great to see good things happen for a former Marine now Wolverine!

Some years back my brother chose Kellogg at Northwestern over Ross. He got what he deserved when he had a first date at the Michigan-Northwestern game and it rained in buckets. Justin Fargas had his one great day as a Wolverine slogging through the mud. Needless to say, there was no second date!

Joined: 06/08/2010

MGoPoints: 1670

AZBlue

January 12th, 2011 at 5:36 PM ^

I just hope you don't fall victim to the rampant oversigning that has been alleged about the program. Ignore all form letters until you have begun semester two-a-days.

Joined: 09/14/2008

MGoPoints: 16784

Zone Left

January 12th, 2011 at 9:55 PM ^

I've heard Manhattan is the best as well.  I used Veritas, which is probably a little too easy.  I felt like the math wasn't in depth enough once I saw the actual test.

Remember, the cost is worth it when you think about the ROI for a top program.

Joined: 07/03/2008

MGoPoints: 16428

mEEchigan04

January 12th, 2011 at 10:01 PM ^

Manhattan actually teaches you the material.  Not going to lie, it's a lot of work.  But it pays off.  The Mahanttan books will explain the principles and give you a few short questions then send you to the official books to practice what you've learned.  I went from a 580 on my diagnostic to a 750 on the real thing (4 months hard work), so I HIGHLY recommend going with Manhattan books.  Also, I did it all on my own - no classes or self study.

Joined: 10/11/2010

MGoPoints: 87

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

January 13th, 2011 at 1:12 PM ^

Congrats again, ZL, and everyone else who got the call. By now it's plain who made it and who didn't, so all that's left now is to see whether I got waitlisted or rejected outright. By MSU standards I guess I'm about 11 hours away from being a Spartan fan, amirite? Meantime it's time to look into U of D deadlines....at least it won't cost very much.

Joined: 07/02/2008

MGoPoints: 41586

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

January 13th, 2011 at 6:22 PM ^

No. It's Ross or bust. Well, not bust. But my globetrotting days are done. I want to get hired in Michigan, therefore I want to go to school in Michigan. I don't have much interest in stretching my finances to go to a school that isn't U-M. I have zero interest in attending MSU. If I don't get into U-M, I have little doubt I can get accepted at U of D, where GI Bill + the scholarship they promise to 600+ scorers on the GMAT means I'll pay very, very little. I'd rather go to U-M though. Crossing my fingers that the email tonight says I'm waitlisted; I'll call admissions tomorrow if so and see if they've got odds-improving wisdom for me.

Joined: 07/02/2008

MGoPoints: 41586