The GMAT Club Blog

Ross, Haas Tips

Michigan Ross' The Monroe St. Journal  and both have articles worth reading for MBA applicants:

In "Ross MBA Class of 2009 Taking Shape" Ross Director of Admissions Soojin Kwon Koh lays out the Ross admissions process.  Recruiting, evaluating, and interviewing prospects, and then convincing admitted students to come to Ross is the function of the admissions office. It's busier than ever too. Ms. Koh writes "This year, our Round 1 application volume increased more than 50% over last year. Peer business schools across the country appear to be experiencing growth as well, though in varying degrees."

In "How to Ace the Admissions Interview" Jett Pihakis and Peter Johnson, Co-Directors of Admissions, Full-time MBA Program, provide tips to help you ace your MBA admissions interview. It doesn't surprise me that the first tip is "Think through the kinds of questions you are likely to be asked, and think about your responses. Practice interviews can be very helpful, but be sure not to over-rehearse your answers." The article is also available as a podcast.

Accepted.com's MBA Admissions Interview Feedback Database exists so that you can anticipate the questions you will be asked at Haas and dozens of other MBA programs. Take advantage of it before you interview and please share your MBA interview experience afterwards. If you would like to have a practice interview with an MBA admissions professional, please consider Accepted.com MBA Mock Interview

Attention 2008 Applicants!

I would like to invite all 2008 MBA applicants to sign up for the 2008 MBA Admissions Telethon on February 15 between 10:30 AM and 12:30 PM PT (1:30 PM ET - 3:30 PM ET; 6:30 PM GMT - 8:30 PM GMT). What is the MBA Admissions Telethon?

Two hours when 3 MBA admissions experts will be available to answer your individual questions via telephone. Prior to calling in, you will receive a brief, 6-question questionnaire and submit it along with your resume to a designated email address. (No essays, please.) When you call in, your consultant will review the information you provide, and you will have 15 minutes to discuss with him or her your most pressing MBA admissions questions.

Oh, by the way, the 2008 MBA Admission Telethon is free.

You can learn more details and sign up at 2008 MBA Admissions Telethon.

MBA Potpourri

Oh there's a lot going on!

• The Jan. 18 Insead MBA Admissions Chat Transcript has been posted. An excerpt:

  jerry (Jan 18, 2007 11:06:58 AM)
Caroline: Also, how often do you get recruiters coming to INSEAD recruiting for jobs in the middle east?

  CarolineDiarteEdwardsINSEAD (Jan 18, 2007 11:08:36 AM)
Jerry: many of our recruiters are looking to hire graduates for offices around the world, including the Middle East. We have just had a record number of recruiters coming to campus to recruit the Dec graduates - about 130 companies. [Emphasis added]

• Paul Bodine, Accepted.com editor and author of Great Application Essays for Business School, is the featured guest on the most recent segment from MBA Podcaster: "Advice to the Younger Applicants: How to Get Into a Top MBA Program and Prepare for a Successful Career. While giving excellent advice to younger applicants, Paul also dispels some of the froth and hype surrounding business schools' pursuit of "early career candidates."
• The MBA Admissions Feedback DataBase has received thorough and comprehensive entries recently. I urge you to explore this enhanced resource to prepare for your interviews. As one MBA Interviewee wrote in his or her feedback, "Failing to prepare is preparing to fail." Don't memorize answers or prepared speeches, but do learn what to expect from your interview in the MBAIFDB. And after you interview, please share your MBA interview experience.
• We've got... Honorable Mentions in the Beautful B-school Photo Contest. The winners are enjoying their soft, comfy winners t-shirts.  All Honorable Mentions receive one and are automatically eligible to one one of the following prizes:

First Prize              $200 Amazon Gift Certificate
Second Prize        $100 Amazon Gift Certificate
Third Prize             $  50 Amazon Gift Certificate

 

The good and bad news in this situation is that those of you entering your photos in the contest no longer have a 100% chance of winning one of the three prizes listed above. The odds are declining -- slightly . But your chance of winning is still excellent. Plus all Honorable Mention photos appear in our B-School zones pages . Check out Anderson, CMU, Ross, and Wharton to see the photos submitted so far.

• MBA's in Education. The Monroe St. Journal, the Ross student newspaper, has an excellent article on MBA's pursuing careers in education. Although the focus is clearly on what Michigan with its joint education MA/MBA program offers, "Want some real work experience? Try Public Education"  is valuable for anyone interested in using an MBA in education.
• Yale's new  Admissions Director, Bruce DelMonico, was interviewed recently on Businessweek. He discusses Yale's new curriculum, shrinking class size, increase in application volume ("up between a third and half" for round 1), international component, increasingly practical focus, and the Silver Scholars Program. You will need a subscription to see the entire interview, but it is worthwhile if you are interested in Yale.

LBS Chat

      

London Business School's third and next-to-last deadline for this year is February 23, almost exactly one month after Monday's chat. The chat's timing is perfect for those of you with a few questions about the LBS application process. You can hear the inside scoop on what makes this outstanding business school tick.

Alternatively, you may be someone who hasn't received the news you wanted from earlier applications or just concluded recently that you want an MBA. In either case, if you are interested in a top-notch program with a strong international emphasis in one of the world's great cultural and financial centers, London fits the bill. This chat will give you opportunities to ask questions, hear others' questions, and learn about the London Business School's program, career opportunities, and admissions policies.

   

Our guests will be:

   

• Diane Morgan, Career Service
• Tamsin Shillitoe, MBA Marketing and Admissions
• David Simpson, MBA Marketing and Admissions
• Payton Dobbs, MBA2007
• Grace Maa, MBA 2008
• Rajat Maaker, MBA2008

Please join us in the Accepted.com chat room this Monday, January 22, 2007 at 10:00 AM PT/1:00 PM ET/6:00 PM GMT.           

Attention 2008 Applicants!

2007 applicants, don’t worry. I have not finished my posts for you yet. But this post is dedicated to 2008 MBA applicants, those hoping to join the MBA class of 2010. (Wow, that number!)

If you are aiming for a 2008 matriculation, presumably you are in the early stages of your research to determine which schools to apply to. The primary criteria should be:

1. Your Post-MBA Goals. Since the MBA is a professional degree, first look at career opportunities. Which schools attract the most recruiters in your area of interest? What percentage of graduates entered the field that you want to go into? How strong are the schools’ ties to the region you would like to live in, if you have a geographic preference? Do the companies you would like to work for recruit at these schools? The schools’ web sites provide this information. Is the student body happy with the Career Services Center? What do recruiters think of your school? Contact students – and more than one – to get the answers to the latter questions.
2. Your qualifications: You need to evaluate your qualifications to determine where you will be competitive. You may still benefit from perusing the rankings PROVIDED that you don’t end your research there. When using the rankings, make sure you know what they are surveying and comparing. They have different criteria and are worthless if you don’t understand the ranking methods. In using rankings remember that they – especially the specialty rankings, are good places to start your research and terrible places to end it.
3. The curriculum. Is it relatively structured or flexible? If your business background is weak, you may prefer a structured program that will give you a solid foundation in business fundamentals. If you have a strong business background, you may prefer a program that allows you to pass or test out of basic courses. If your goal is more general, flexibility may not be that important to you. If you have a specific and perhaps somewhat non-traditional goal, you may value the ability to tailor your MBA studies to your specific needs.
4. The program’s focus and methodology. Is it a program that relies on you to connect the dots between business functions or is it a program that provides a general management perspective that forces you to examine and re-examine business situations from multiple perspectives, like Tuck? Do you want a case-method program like Darden or Harvard? Do you prefer schools that are project oriented like Michigan? Are there professors at the school researching the latest and greatest in something that grabs you?

We are planning new programs to serve 2008 MBA applicants. Please check back for the latest because I will announce these initiatives here starting in about a week and then periodically through the spring. In the meantime, here are some resources to help you get started or keep you going:

• Best Practices for MBA Admissions, an ebook with tips for applicants six months to a year before hitting SUBMIT.
• MBA BlastOff: 45 Terrific Tips to Launch Your MBA Application to Acceptance, an ebook with general tips on applying and a section devoted to Harvard, Stanford, and Wharton.
• Clear Admit Guides. Clear Admit has done a thorough job in comparing the schools and highlighting their differences, something the schools themselves and the various media guides don’t do nearly as well, if at all. If you want to learn how to apply effectively and present yourself well; read Accepted.com’s ebooks; if you want to research specific schools, check out these guides.

          

Insead Chat

Insead's third deadline for its September 2007 intake is coming up: January 31, 2007. The first deadline for its January 2008 intake also is not too far off: March 28, 2007. So whether you are dealing with the nitty gritty of a 2007 Insead application that you hope to submit this month or beginning your 2008 application effort, you can obtain answers to your Insead questions at Accepted's Insead chat this Thursday January 18 at 9:00 AM Pacific Time/12:00 PM ET/5:00 PM GMT. Johanna Hellborg and Caroline Diarte Edwards, Admissions Directors at Insead, will be our guests. Please join us and bring your questions.

The chat will take place in Accepted.com's chat room. If you're not sure about the time in your locale, please check it on www.timeanddate.com .

MBA Waitlist Chat on Thursday

I will host a chat devoted to wait-listed MBA applicants on Thursday January 11, 2007 at 10:00 AM PT/1:00 PM ET/6:00 PM GMT. If you would love to attend the school(s) that waitlisted you, then you can't miss this chat. You need to know how to change your status from "Wait-listed" to Accepted, and that's exactly what we will discuss . The chat is free.

 

Additionally, please feel free to bring your questions to the chat. There will be lots of time for questions and answers. I look forward to sharing successful wait-list tactics with you.

 

The chat will take place in the Accepted.com's chat room.

But don't wait for the chat to start your MBA waitlst effort. You can begin immediately by avoiding the errors revealed in The Nine Mistakes You Don't Want to Make on an MBA Waitlist, Accepted.com's featured ebook this month and 20% off through January 31, 2007 . If you would like individual, custom advising for your waitlist effort, please consider Accepted.com's MBA waitlist consulting and editing.

Multiple Acceptances.

      

Congratulations! You have two or more acceptances. You have options. You have choice. You have a decision to make.

A major – and wonderful -- decision: Where to spend two years and roughly $100,000 while earning your MBA, accelerating your career progression, and hooking into a professional network that will last a lifetime. How should you choose? What criteria should guide you?

Since the MBA is a professional degree, first look at career opportunities and recruiting. How is recruiting in your area of interest at the accepting schools? What percentage of graduates entered the field that you want to go into? How strong are the schools’ ties to the region you would like to live in, if you have a geographic preference? Do the companies you would like to work for recruit at these schools? Is the student body happy with the Career Services Center? What do recruiters think of your school? Study the schools’ web sites, attend admit weekends, and contact students and recent alumni to obtain answers to these questions.

Secondly look at the curriculum. Is it relatively structured or flexible? If your business background is weak, you may prefer a structured program that will give you a good foundation in business fundamentals. If you have a strong business background, you may prefer a program that allows you to pass out of basic courses. If you goal is more general, flexibility may not be that important to you. If you have a specific, somewhat non-traditional goal, you may value the ability to tailor your MBA studies to your particular needs.

What is the focus and methodology of the program? Is it a program that relies on you to connect the dots between business functions or is it a program that provides a general management perspective that forces you to examine and re-examine business situations from multiple perspectives. Do you want a case-method program like Darden or Harvard? Do you prefer schools that are project oriented like Michigan? Are professors at the school researching the latest and greatest in something that grabs you?

Last but not least, consider personal preferences. For some, personal factors will play a major role; for others, they will take a back seat, but they are something all should consider: Where do you want to live? Do you want to live in a big city or small college town? What region do you want to live in? Do you prefer a big university or a small college? Urban or rural? Warm climate or cold? Liberal or conservative?

Savor your acceptances and use the above criteria to make your choice.