Friday, December 19, 2003

D-Day at Wharton

Wharton has released their ‘Round 1′ admissions decisions. Congratulations to those of you who have been accepted to the class of 2006! Be sure to take a look at Wharton’s admit portal and discussion boards. These have proven quite popular in recent years (especially for learning more about the program, making friends with future classmates, etc).

Of course, not everyone will recieve good news today (or even definitive news - thanks to the waitlist), but the beauty of Wharton’s early notification date is that it allows those who didn’t make the cut to alter their strategy and look at some of the second round deadlines in January. Looking on the bright side, any candidate who made the interview cut (but was not admitted) should come away from this with the fact that they are certainly a competitive applicant at any number of top schools.

Once again, congratulations to the first round admits for Wharton’s Class of 2006.

Thursday, December 18, 2003

Admissions Tip: Multiple GMAT Scores

Here’s a great question we received in the BW Online Forums:

“What is the purpose of asking second gmat score and how many times one has taken the gmat ? Do we need to fill these out as they only take highest score?”

Many schools ask for multiple scores in their application forms. Although the highest score will be the ’score of record’, the admissions officers are still curious to understand your history with the exam. Also, keep in mind that the ETS score reports show your last three tests (within a 5 year period), so if you only list your top score in the application, the school will see the other scores when they verify with ETS.

Why does all this matter? Let’s look at a few examples:

1) If you took the test twice and scored a 650 the first time and a 750 the second time, this may give the adcom a different impression than someone who took the test once and scored a 750.

2) Or, take the candidate who takes the test 3 times, scoring 640, 680 and 710. Does this person’s 710 feel the same as that of the candidate who applies with a straight 710?

3) Finally, imagine two candidates, one with two scores (a 640 and a 660) and one with one score (a 640). Will the committee appreciate the former’s efforts to push their score up by resitting the test? Will the committee believe the latter’s claim that they just aren’t good at standardized tests (if that person has only taken the exam once)?

Of course, this discussion hasn’t tackled the individual sections of the test - or how a GMAT score can color the perception of a GPA - but I imagine you are getting the idea. At the end of the day, all of this information matters - albeit more so for some schools than others, and more so in some situations than others.

Wednesday, December 17, 2003

Admissions Tip: Academics

As most MBA applicants know, schools always look at academics when examining an application. This category broadly consists of university studies and standardized test scores (GMAT/TOEFL), with subcategories like course selection, class rank, quality of school attended, number of times the GMAT was taken, breakdown of GMAT, supplemental coursework/certifications, etc.

Although I could write an entire book on the various nuances in the ‘academic profile’, let’s focus on a single question for the purpose of today’s blog entry: How does one mitigate a low undergraduate GPA?

Generally speaking there are 4 ways to address a poor undergraduate GPA:

1. Perform exceptionally well on the GMAT (e.g. well above the average at the schools on your list)

2. Counter your undergraduate GPA with a graduate school GPA that is stronger (this only works for those who have a second degree). Argue that your second degree is a better indication of your academic ability (and a more recent data point).

3. Build an alternative transcript. Take a handful of courses at your local university to demonstrate that you are presently a strong student (”that was then, this is now”). In most cases, courses should be “business-foundations” oriented (calculus, statistics, accounting 101, micro/macro economics). They can be at the college level, since the idea is to prepare for business school - not take master’s level courses in subjects you’ll repeat once you arrive at the MBA program of your choice.

4. If there are unusual circumstances, explain your ugrad GPA. Show the committee that you worked your way through college or dealt with a difficult time period. Point to a higher GPA in your major (if that major happens to be related in some way to your MBA studies). Highlight an upward trend in your performance over the four years. [These arguments are best backed up with an alternative transcript and a strong GMAT.]

In most cases, a low GPA will require some combination of the solutions listed above. This all depends on how low your GPA is, where you went to school, how long ago your graduated, etc. Please feel free to contact Clear Admit directly (info@clearadmit.com) with any questions on this subject.

Tuesday, December 16, 2003

Wharton Bumps Up Release Date

As many of you have heard, Wharton will be releasing their “Round 1″ admissions decisions this Friday morning (Dec. 19th) instead of next Tuesday (Dec. 23rd). The school has done this sort of thing in the past, which is why their admissions process is widely regarded as the most efficient amongst the top schools. (Click here for the BW discussion: Wharton Round 1 ‘waiting room’)

Admitted students will have instant access to the ‘admit portal’ and discussion boards that have made the program so popular amongst applicants in recent years. If you are admitted, please take advantage of these resources to learn more about the program and chat with your potential classmates.

Although those who are denied will have an unpleasant finish to their week, it is important to stay positive and recognize the benefit of Wharton’s relatively early notification. For example, You might use the decision on Dec. 19th as a point of initial feedback and think about whether or not it makes sense to look at additional programs in “Round 2″. Obviously, Wharton is just one data-point in this process, but waiting until January for “Round 1″ results from HBS, Stanford, Kellogg or Chicago may put you in a situation that eliminates the chance of action in round two.

Friday, December 12, 2003

Decisions, Decisions

This has been a rather busy couple of weeks in admissions land! Darden/UVA, Fuqua/Duke, and Tuck/Dartmouth have all released round 1 decisions to applicants. In addition, Columbia ED results have been trickling out as well (which puts some of you in a bit of a pinch if you are waiting on other schools).

If you are looking for school-specific chat, check out the following threads at BW Online:

1) Duke/Fuqua ‘04 Admits Thread

2) Tuck Thread

3) Darden Admits

4) Columbia ED discussion

Wharton round 1 decisions are on the horizon as well. Stay tuned to this site and to the Wharton Student-2-Student discussion board for details.

Congratulations to those of you who have been accepted at Darden, Fuqua, Columbia and Tuck!

Thursday, December 11, 2003

Non-traditional Blog

Since I am a firm believer that ‘bloggers’ need to stick together, I wanted to point our readers to a rather informative blog from an MBA applicant. The blogger in question is a female, with a non-traditional background (non-profit). Check out http://futurembagirl.blogspot.com/ for details. Essentially, ‘Future MBA Girl’ has been keeping an excellent diary of the admissions process and her research and interaction with the various programs. This should be good reading for anyone in the application process - particularly those from non-traditional backgrounds.

Wednesday, December 10, 2003

How Important Are Essay Word Limits?

This is a very popular topic in the discussion boards we moderate, so here’s the official Clear Admit stance on MBA essay lengths:

As a rule, candidates should try to stay within +/- 10% of the suggested word limits for their essays. It is important to keep in mind that the admissions person reading your file may also have 10-15 other files to get through in a sitting, so if you consistently extend your answers beyond the suggested limits you are asking them to give you more time than they are devoting to the other applicants.

In other words, if you were to ignore the word limits and overshoot by 20% throughout, you are essentially saying that you are 20% more interesting than everyone else who applied. Although there are certainly times where this may be true, it is rarely the case.