The GMAT Club Blog

MBA Admissions Chats

Lots of chat news this week. First of all Accepted.com is hosting:

• USC Marshall on Tuesday Oct. 24 at 10:00 AM PT/1:00 PM ET/6:00 PM UK in the Accepted.com chat room .  Adcom members and current students will be available to answer your questions.
• Consortium with Jackie Olden, the Consortium's Director of Recruiting. If you wan to know how the Consortium can help you, please join us on Wednesday Oct. 25 at 6:00 PM Pacific Time (7:00 PM Mountain Time; 8:00 PM Central Time; 9:00 PM ET in the Accepted.com chat room .

We have also posted several great chat transcripts over the last couple of weeks:

• London Business School MBA with David Simpson
• Chicago GSB MBA with Rose Martinelli
• Haas MBA with Peter Johnson and Jett Pihakis

All these  transcripts contain information you need to know if you are applying to these programs. In the Haas transcript Jett Pihakis succinctly defines what Haas means by Leading Through Innovation. In the Chicago transcript, Rose Martinelli reveals that Chicago is " trying to attract students earlier in their careers (0-3)" thus joining the early-career bandwagon. And in the LBS transcript a London Business School student (and former applicant who attended Accepted.com chats) discusses the LBS exchange program at NYU Stern.

Yale SOM Essay Tips

I've been slow posting my comments for Yale's essay questions. It's been busy! Yale's text is in black. My comments are in red.

    

Yale SOM 2007 Deadlines

    

Round 1:    October 25, 2006

    

Round 2:    January 10, 2007

    

Round 3:    March 14, 2007

    

Yale Essay Questions

    

1. why an mba?
Please describe your short- and long-term goals and how your previous experience and an MBA will help you to achieve these goals. 500 words maximum

You've seen this before -- a classic goals question. What do you want to do after your MBA short-term and long-term and how will an MBA help you achieve that goal.

Now this question does not ask specifically about Yale, but it is here that you can really show fit with the program. Yale has just inaugurated a new curriculum that emphasizes the integration of business functions. In your essays discuss how an integrated, general management approach is important to the achievement of your goals. How will a highly structured, but innovative program, with a required international project help you achieve your goals.  That program just happens to be Yale's.

    

2. personal statement
Please develop a question/topic of your choice and answer it in essay form. Please state the question/topic at the beginning of your essay. 500 words maximum
   Some example questions/topics include:
   • Describe a situation in which your leadership and/or teamwork had a significant impact.
   • What personal achievement are you most proud of and why?
   • What activities/interests do you enjoy outside the office and/or classroom and how would you integrate these activities/
   interests into the Yale SOM community?
   • What is the most difficult feedback that you have received and how did you address it?
   • Where is the most exciting place you have ever been and what did you learn from being there?
   • Describe a situation where you questioned your values and/or beliefs.
   • What does accountability mean to you?
   • If you are reapplying: How has your candidacy changed since your last application?

Yale is being really nice and making your life easy. It gives you a wide choice of topics. Choose one that will allow you to write revealingly and easily about yourself and go for it! This essay should complement Essay 1 and should not be duplicated by the Optional Essay.  Choose the topic that will allow you to present yourself at your best.

    

optional essay
   If any aspect of your candidacy needs further explanation, please provide any additional information that you would like the
   Admissions Committee to consider. 200 words maximum

Why isn't your current supervisor writing your rec? Why did your grades dip during the first semester of your senior year? Why is their a six-month gap on your resume? What are you doing now while working for a family business after having left a prestigious  investment bank and why did you make the change? Answering any of those questions (but not all) could  be the topic of your optional essay. And of course an infinite number of similar subjects could be worthwhile discussing in the optional essay.

Chicago, Haas Chat This Week

This week's MBA Admissions chats include:

• Chicago GSB chat with Rose Martinelli and Chicago GSB students TODAY at 10:00 AM PT/1:00 PM ET/6:00 PM UK.
   
• Berkeley Haas chat with Pete Johnson and Jett Pihakis, Co-Directors of MBA Admissions on Wednesday at at 10:00 AM PT/1:00 PM ET/6:00 PM UK

Both chats take place in the Accepted.com chat room.

BW Rankings 2006

      

Businessweek has published its bi-annual b-school rankings. The Top 10 US schools are:

1. Chicago
2. Wharton
3. Kellogg
4. Harvard
5. Michigan
6. Stanford
7. MIT Sloan
8. UC Berkeley (Haas)
9. Duke (Fuqua)
10. Columbia 

Businessweek prides itself on presenting a ranking of customer satisfaction. The "customers" are MBA students and recruiters, who are surveyed for this report.  To use Businessweek's data, please first review BW's methodology.

If you would like to learn more about BW's #1 program, Chicago, please join us for a chat with Chicago's Associate Dean of Student Recruitment and Admissions, Rose Martinelli, and other members of the Chicago family on Monday October 16 for an online chat focused on this Chicago's MBA program.

The Top 10 Programs from Canada and Europe

1. Queen's
2. Western Ontario
3. Toronto
4. IMD
5. London Business School
6. INSEAD
7. ESADE
8. IESE
9. York
10. HEC Montreal

          

MBA Podcasts

Over the last month several excellent podcasts have been produced on MBA admissions:

1. From MBA Podcaster: Your Application Essays: Strategic Recommendations for Writing Your Essays. I admit that I am interviewed extensively for this podcast, along with Thomas Caleel, Director of Admissions at Wharton, and Graham Richmond of Clear Admit. With little objectivity and less humility, I must say that we provide excellent advice on approaching your application essays.  I am only embarrassed that it took me this long to recommend it.
      
2. "Dean Joss & Prof. Saloner, Stanford Graduate School of Business, are interviewed in this podcast from the iinovate blog. While it is kind of cool to hear what Drs. Joss and Saloner say is most important to them and why, the true value in this podcast lies in the discussion of Stanford's new curriculum and of the qualities and ideas Stanford values. Critical information for Stanford applicants.
3. "Leading Through Innovation" by Dr. Richard K. Lyons, Executive Associate Dean at the Haas School of Business. Probably the most over used term in MBA admissions literature is "leadership." Among the top 5 is "innovation." These are classic "umbrella words", as Maxx Duffy calls them (See MBA BlastOff: 45 Terrific Tips to Launch Your MBA Application to Acceptance for more details) in MBA admissions circles. Broad terms, abused and tired, that have many meanings to different people. Dean Lyons breaks them down into their component parts at Berkeley.

The first podcast serves as an excellent introduction or review of MBA essay writing principles. The second and third podcasts clarify values and concepts that are important to Stanford and Berkeley respectively. If you are applying to those two schools you really must  listen to these podcasts. They will show you the qualities and values these schools hold dear and allow you to demonstrate those attributes through your essays.

Please note that I didn't write "mimic the words spoken in the podcasts"; I wrote "demonstrate the qualities."  That's the key to showing fit at the schools of your choice.

London Business School

Accepted.com is hosting its second London Business School chat tomorrow October 10 at 10:00 AM PT/1:00 PM ET/6:00 PM UK time. Representatives from London Business School's admissions and career placement offices will participate as well as three current second-year students. Please join us in Accepted.com's chat room . If you want last minute tips because you are preparing your application for the the Oct. 20 deadline or simply information about student life and employment opportunities for LBS MBAs, please join us tomorrow.