A number of interesting news items have been published over the last few days:
We start with the Economist, which has just released a special report on higher education, focusing on the internationalization of university offerings and the future of what has become a rapidly growing, increasingly competitive education market. In addition to this extensive report, there is an opinion piece about the Larry Summers situation at Harvard University.
(a subscription is required to access these two articles)
http://www.economist.com/business/displayStory.cfm?story_id=3690585
http://www.economist.com/opinion/displayStory.cfm?story_id=3695933
Speaking of the competitive and increasingly innovative market for higher education, there is an interesting article in Forbes about a new type of action-based MBA program on offer. The program puts students in real situations – forcing them to run a company, launch a business plan, manufacture a product, etc. The degree is offered in association with Hardin Simmons University and takes 1 year to complete (cost: $32,000).
http://www.forbes.com/personalfinance/strategies/forbes/2005/0228/090.html
In other news, we’ve got a great reason for MBA applicants to read the various blogs and diaries that are published by current MBA students. For example, yesterday’s posting by Hella (a Wharton student) helped debunk one of the greatest myths surrounding the Wharton MBA program. For those of you who haven’t heard the myth, it goes something like this:
Myth:
The worst thing about the Wharton School is its location. Philadelphia is a second-rate, highly dangerous and boring city.
Reality: (check out Hella’s post about walking the streets of Philadelphia)
http://hella.opencoder.org/archives/2005/02/27/pedestrian-philadelphia/
Finally, for those of you early birds who are thinking about preparing for the GMAT, we’d like to call your attention to a new free learning forum that has been put together by Manhattan GMAT. The forum features sample test questions, relevant articles (from the firm’s strategy series) and information about free GMAT seminars. Definitely a great resource for applicants to investigate. See the press release and site link below.
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/2/prweb212043.htm
http://www.manhattangmat.com/
