Posted by Clear Admit on April 29, 2005, at 10:56 am
Posted in:  General To complement the posting earlier this week about the very first MBA blog, we’d like to take a moment to acknowledge the latest additions to this growing trend. It’s only the end of April, and we’ve already identified more than twenty Class of 2008 aspirants who are committed to recording their journey on the world wide web. While we expect many more to join their ranks in the coming months, we’re really pleased to see so many already taking the plunge, as these individuals will serve as a great source of information and moral support for each other throughout the application season.
And now, without further ado, here are the Class of 2008 Bloggers (along with a brief summary regarding location and professional industry – when available):
Anand Rao – http://www.anandologue.blogspot.com/ (works in hi-tech, lives in India) AxeChick – http://www.axechick.blogspot.com/ (a consultant in Atlanta) azaka dessalines – http://mbayisyen.blogspot.com/ (engineer from Canada) Call Geek – http://callgeek.blogspot.com/ (lives in Texas) Cubicle Lady – http://cubiclelady.blogspot.com/ (financial services, lives in upstate NY) Dave – http://daveformba.blogspot.com/ (works in hi-tech, lives in California) DestinationMBA07 – http://www.destinationmba07.blogspot.com/ (finance, Texas) Eric – http://www.beatthegmat.com/ (works in software, blog focused on GMAT) Forrest Gump – http://run-forrest.blogspot.com/ franky A – http://franky4mba.blogspot.com/ (engineer, lives in India) grik – http://www.grikboy.blogspot.com/ (works in hi-tech, lives in Southeast Asia) John Galt – http://e-atlantis.blogspot.com/ (works in hi-tech, lives in NYC) Mave – http://maverick-nerd.blogspot.com/ (works in hi-tech, lives in Germany) mbafarbe – http://colours.typepad.com/mbafarbe/ (works in software, in Germany) Meri Jung – http://merijung.blogspot.com/ (located in Asia) Muninerd – http://muninerd.blogspot.com/ (works in finance, lives in Philadelphia) murs4mba – http://murs4mba.blogspot.com/ (engineer, lives in India) OnTrack2008 – http://ontrack2008.blogspot.com/ (works in hi-tech, lives in Illinois) Redwolf056 – http://redwolf056.blogspot.com/ (works in finance, lives in NYC) Sghama – http://sghama.blogspot.com/ (consultant, lives in Singapore) sorebrek – http://holymba.blogspot.com/ (works in hi-tech, lives in California) TheFamilyGuy – http://thefamilyguymba.blogspot.com/ (engineer, in Massachussets) Vinod – http://infokozmik.blogspot.com/ (lives in the USA) Yukta – http://yukta.blogspot.com/ (works in hi-tech, lives in the USA)
Newcomers to this group might look to the archives of veteran reapplicants Dave, DestinationMBA07 and Redwolf056 for pointers as they gear up for this undertaking. Given the time of year, it’s no surprise that many of these blogs are presently focused on GMAT prep – but as time passes we look forward to seeing a good deal of insight into the entire application process. Good luck!
Posted by Clear Admit on April 28, 2005, at 10:35 am
Posted in: School: Yale Yale University has announced the hiring of a new Dean for the School of Management (SOM). The new Dean is Joel Podolny (of HBS and Stanford fame).
One of our correspondents at Yale has forwarded us the original message that went out to the SOM community from Yale’s president, Richard Levin (see the details below).
—–Original Message—– From: Richard C. Levin Sent: Tue 4/26/2005 9:00 AM To: School of Management Community Subject: Announcement
Dear Friends and Colleagues:
It gives me great pleasure to announce that Joel M. Podolny, Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management and Director of Research at the Harvard Business School, and Professor of Sociology in the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences, has been appointed Dean of the School of Management for a term of five years, commencing July 1. Professor Podolny brings scholarly distinction, administrative experience, and an infectious enthusiasm that will serve us well.
Professor Podolny, an Ohio native, earned A.B., A.M., and Ph.D. degrees in sociology at Harvard. On completing his Ph.D. in 1991 he joined the faculty of the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he spent the next eleven years. He was promoted to a tenured position at age thirty and a chaired professorship four years later, in 2000. Later that year he was appointed Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. In 2002 he returned to Harvard to assume his current positions.
As a scholar, Professor Podolny is best known for applying the sociological concept of status to the study of market competition. Over the years, he has examined status dynamics in a wide variety of industries, including investment banking, semiconductors, and venture capital. His research on market status has appeared in the leading sociology and organization journals, and he has just completed a book entitled “Status Signals: A Sociological Study of Market Competition,” which will be published by Princeton University Press this fall. Professor Podolny is also known for work in which he brings a social network perspective to the study of technological evolution and to the study of individual mobility within organizations. Along with economists Garth Saloner and Andrea Shepard, he co-authored the textbook “Strategic Management.” He has authored or co-authored more than a dozen business cases.
In 2004, Professor Podolny was invited to deliver the Clarendon Lectures in Management at Oxford University’s Said School of Business; in those lectures, he explored how leaders infuse meaning into organizational activity. He is currently transforming those lectures into a book on meaning and leadership in organizations, to be published by Oxford University Press.
Professor Podolny has served on the editorial boards of the “American Journal of Sociology, American Sociological Review, Administrative Science Quarterly,” and “Industrial and Corporate Change.” In addition to being Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the Stanford GSB, he was also head of that school’s organizational behavior group. He has been the director of the doctoral programs in organizational behavior at both Stanford and Harvard as well as faculty director or chair of numerous executive education . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on April 27, 2005, at 12:58 pm
Posted in: School: Columbia A few days back, a discussion thread entitled “Waitlist use by schools” was created in the Business Week b-school forums. The original poster was looking for information with regards to the schools’ use of waitlists this season vs. prior years. Many of the forum users chimed in with their thoughts on different schools, and the policies at Columbia Business School were explored in depth. This discussion about CBS ultimately prompted a response from Keith Katz in the Columbia admissions office.
Here’s the link to the thread:
http://forums.businessweek.com/bw-bschools/messages?msg=63355.1
And here is Columbia’s posting in reply: Hi everyone,
I rarely post outside of my cozy little “Ask Columbia Admissions” space, but this thread caught my attention and I thought I should comment on some things that are inaccurate. Full disclosure for those who don’t know: I’m a Columbia MBA from 2003 and have been filling in as an admissions officer for a while. One of my jobs is to answer all the questions from you fine folks here on the BW forums.
First, I’d like to explain why we have our Early Decision round. As many of you know, we are unique in that we admit two classes every year: one for September, one for January. We actually used to read our January applications prior to reading any of our fall applications. This worked okay for a while, but as the number of applications to our program increased we found that this system delayed our fall decisions by as much as a month or two. As you can imagine, this created huge headaches for our applicants, so we needed to create a way to read some fall applications ahead of time. Our response was the creation of the ED round, which allows us to read a group of fall applications during the time we read the January applications. This prevents us from being late with the remaining fall applications, which we think is a good thing! (By the way, in response to all of you guys, we’ll begin reading January applications even earlier this year. The application will be up within a week.)
The ED decision is binding because this has the effect of limiting how many people will apply in this round. That is all. Having too many applications in this round could delay our January decisions, and we obviously don’t want that. If applicants know that Columbia is their top choice, we feel that it’s perfectly reasonable to give them the first crack at the available spots in the class. If applicants aren’t sure, they should wait until the regular decision round. That’s fine and quite understandable.
Another thing I want to bring up is our interview process, specifically the questions that our alumni ask. I’ve addressed this before in my forum, but I want to make some things clear. First, we don’t give alumni questions to ask. We give them some guidelines, but they are free to ask whatever they like. If you check around on these forums, you’ll . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on April 26, 2005, at 12:31 pm
Posted in: Admissions Tips Since many of our readers are just beginning the business school application process, we wanted to offer some basic tips with regards to a critical variable in the MBA admissions equation: recommender selection.
Choosing Your Recommenders When choosing your recommenders, remember that this can be seen as a test of judgment: if you choose a recommender whose letter is ineffective or who appears dubious about your abilities, the adcom may question how well you can judge your interactions with others, as well as their skills and weaknesses.
You should look for several qualities in a recommender. In order for your letters to be as effective as possible, all of your recommenders should have greater seniority than you, unless the school specifically asks for a peer recommendation: the adcom gives greater weight to things said by your superiors than to letters written by a peer because of the assumption that a peer is essentially a friend, and therefore predisposed to write a very positive recommendation.
As we discuss in greater depth with our clients, the most persuasive recommendation letters are those which contain specific examples and anecdotes. Because of this, you should select recommenders who are very familiar with your work and with whom you interact(ed) on a regular basis – usually current or former direct supervisors, rather than picking someone at your company whom you think will impress the adcom, such as your CEO. Choosing someone based on their reputation or title could also imply that you put an undue emphasis on such qualities, rather than thinking about who would be the best person for the job. In addition to picking people who know you well, you should pick recommenders with whom you have had a positive relationship: if they like and respect you, their letters will be much more positive and persuasive.
When deciding amongst your current and former supervisors or mentors, there are many factors to consider. First, the people you choose should be able to provide the adcom with a fairly comprehensive and recent view of your experiences. Often, it works well to ask your current supervisor and a supervisor from the job you held directly before your current one. If you have been at your current job for more than a few years, you might want to consider asking someone from an extracurricular activity in which you have taken an active role. If you find that it works best to choose two recommenders from the same employer, you should make sure that they can talk about different aspects of your experiences there so as to provide letters that are complementary, rather than indistinguishable. In such a case, you should talk to each recommender about the anecdotes and traits each of them would like to cover. If you do decide to choose a recommender with whom you worked some time ago, that should be a person with whom you have maintained regular contact, so that your relationship is still strong.
Ideally, you would also want to choose . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on April 25, 2005, at 10:00 am
Posted in: General For those of you who are currently applying to b-school, MBA applicant blogs likely seem ubiquitous. In fact, once can hardly imagine going through the MBA admissions process in 2005 without the help of the b-school blogging community.
What’s interesting about all of this is the fact that MBA applicant blogs are still a relatively new phenomenon. In fact, the first known MBA admissions blog can be traced back to the summer of 2002, when an applicant using the pseudonym “Tad Holbie” began keeping a log of his journey through the process. That blog, which can be found here, is still a wonderful resource for new applicants.
In addition, now that Tad Holbie will be graduating as a member of the Michigan class of 2005, he’s created an epilogue in which he talks about his life as a student, his future plans, and his overall take on the admissions experience. Given Tad’s status as the first real MBA blogger, this epilogue is a must read:
http://mbawire-epilogue.blogspot.com/2005_03_01_mbawire-epilogue_archive.html#110294402029221819
In other MBA-blog related news, the League of MBA Bloggers has revamped its site for better organization and more up-to-date information on active blogs, etc. It also looks like the Hella blog content aggregator has unveiled a new look! See the links below:
http://www.mbaleague.blogspot.com/ http://hella.opencoder.org/applicantblogs/
Posted by Clear Admit on April 22, 2005, at 11:11 am
Posted in: MBA News Business Week put out an interesting article earlier this week commenting on business schools and grade inflation. The discussion looks at the issue from both ends of the business school experience – how the perception of undergraduate grades and performance determine who gets admitted into business school, as well as the way that recruiters’ understanding of an MBA program’s grading system influences who gets hired afterwards. The article is certainly worth a read for those looking to better understand the ways that different schools approach evaluation of students and the implications of each. You can find the full text here: http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/content/apr2005/bs20050419_8678_bs001.htm
On an unrelated note, just when you thought it was safe to apply to business school again, another MBA program has reported a security breach of its online system. Carnegie Mellon announced earlier this week that hackers might have gained access to the social security numbers of students, graduates and employees of the Tepper School of Business. More details can be found at: http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D89JRAQ00.htm?campaign_id=apn_tech_up
Posted by Clear Admit on April 21, 2005, at 10:30 am
Posted in: Deadlines , General In recent weeks, we’ve seen a number of top MBA programs contacting applicants who had expressed interest in the school to notify them that applications would be reviewed even after the last admissions deadline passed. Here’s one example of such an invitation from UCLA Anderson:
—– Original Message —– From: UCLA Anderson MBA Program Sent : Wednesday, April 20, 2005 2:38 PM Subject: Final Round Applications
Dear xxx,
Although the 4th round application deadline has passed, we are continuing to review appplications submitted, in the order they are received.
If you have only recently begun your online application, or started one some time ago but have yet to submit, we encourage you to complete and submit it as soon as possible.
We look forward to receiving and reviewing your application!
warmest regards, UCLA Anderson MBA Program
We’ve seen this same strategy being adopted by Darden (as reported last month in this blog) and Duke over the past month or so. In light of falling application volume – our sources report that with the exception of Wharton, whose rate has remained flat, many of the top-tier schools are down anywhere from 5-15% this year – accepting applications after the deadline must seem like an attractive way to increase selectivity statistics and catch any exceptional last minute candidates.
Posted by Clear Admit on April 19, 2005, at 7:38 pm
Posted in: Admissions Tips , MBA News While the news of a ding from one’s target school can lead to a period of disappointment and reflection, the time of year is approaching for reapplicants to get up, brush themselves off, and get ready to give it another go. If you’re in this position, then you’ve undoubtedly learned a lot about the application process over the past admissions season. While you do have this working to your advantage, you’ll obviously want to do everything in your power to put together the most effective application possible the second time around. One of the most important things a reapplicant can do is to seek feedback on his or her application from an informed source – ideally the school itself.
Wharton and Kellogg allow all rejected applicants to request a feedback session on their previous year’s application. Meanwhile, other programs are more selective in offering tips and encouragement to especially promising candidates. A number of applicants who were denied admission to Tuck recently received an email with the following offer: “Tuck pro-actively offers feedback to a small number of applicants, so our encouragement is sincere. Of the applications we reviewed this round, the admissions committee felt that your candidacy showed significant potential and merited encouragement. If you plan to re-apply next year and would like to receive feedback on ways in which you could strengthen a future application to Tuck, a member of the admissions committee would be happy to provide you with coaching. Given the admissions cycle, we will be able to offer feedback the week of May 23, 2005.”
You can make the most of such a meeting with an adcom member by having a number of pointed questions about specific elements of your application. However, you should keep in mind that the schools can only be so forthcoming about certain topics and are only able to spend a limited amount of time with each applicant. Feel free to drop an email to info@clearadmit.com for more information about our Feedback Report, a service that offers candid and comprehensive feedback about your entire application.
In other news: Alex Brown, whose efforts were instrumental in shaping Wharton’s transparent admissions process and facilitating interaction among past, present and prospective students, is on the move. The Clear Admit team would like to acknowledge all that he’s done for the space, and wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors.
Posted by Clear Admit on April 14, 2005, at 4:09 pm
Posted in: General Following up on last week’s post about the MBA information sessions currently being conducted on college campuses, we’d like to pass on some information about the schools’ pitches to undergraduates that we’ve received from our sources who attended the recent panel conducted at Haverford College. The invitation was extended to current students and recent graduates of the University of Pennsylvania and a number of smaller selective colleges in the Philadelphia area. As we mentioned in this blog when we first commented on this panel, the point of sessions such as this one is to get students thinking about the MBA as a viable possibility and encourage them to pursue their professional interests after graduation. Because the crowd was largely comprised of students pursuing liberal arts curricula, the panelists also tailored their approach and aimed to dispell a number of misconceptions they believed such a group might hold about business education.
1) First and foremost, the panelists stressed the relevance and applicability of the degree. Insisting that “this isn’t your parents’ MBA,” they conveyed a message that business school is for curious people who want to learn about the world and not only for those who are interested in a niche field. Not only will the theory learned in coursework illuminate the factors behind a student’s experiences to date, but it will also provide him or her with a toolbox that could be used in any industry or function. Stating that there are “no doors that are closed to you with an MBA,” the panelists emphasized the utlity of the degree and the possibilities that lay ahead.
2) Another message, not surprising given the audience, was that there is no prescribed course that aspiring MBAs need to follow to prepare for business school. The importance of making a demonstrable impact in the workplace was stressed, and those attending the session were encouraged to follow their passion and pursue whatever professional course they found most interesting, since this is the environment in which they would be most likely to flourish and excel. Speaking of the various backgrounds of students at each school and the importance of diversity among members of a class, students were told that applicants with non-profit and other nontraditional experience were just as, if not more, appealing to the admissions committee as the many bankers and consultants who apply each year.
3) The panelists took differing stances on the work experience issue. While Beth Flye of Kellogg cited the school’s belief in the importance of full-time exposure to the professional world and Wharton’s Judith Silverman commented that candidates applying directly from college are only occasionally admitted, representatives from Stanford and MIT were more welcoming of such applications. Angel Navedo of Sloan commented that it’s not common that students be admitted directly from college – this group comprised less than 10 of the school’s 350 students – Stanford’s Allison Davis reported that 3-5% of each incoming class had no full time work experience and indicated that these numbers were . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on April 13, 2005, at 9:37 am
Posted in: General , MBA News We’d like to remind our readers about a free online workshop which will outline the role of the GMAT in the MBA admissions process and offer key strategies for the exam. The workshop will take place this Sunday, April 17th from 3 PM – 4 PM (EST) and will be led by Zeke Vanderhoek (founder of Manhattan GMAT). Graham Richmond, co-founder of Clear Admit and a former Wharton admissions counselor, will also be on hand to answer your questions.
Sign up for this online event now: http://www.manhattangmat.com/EventShow.cfm?EID=3&eventID=357 (Advance sign-up is required – and these events usually fill up quickly – so don’t delay…)
In other news, Business Week has published more information about the Kellogg hacking incident as well as an update on a new scoring method for the GMAT and the details surrounding new Deans at Vanderbilt (Owen) and American Universities (Kogod).
For the full text of the b-schools update: http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/content/apr2005/bs20050412_1226_bs001.htm
Posted by Clear Admit on April 12, 2005, at 11:21 am
Posted in: General Ron Alsop at the Wall Street Journal has just written an article entitled B-Schools Still Seeking Ways to Stress Ethics. With the wave of fresh corporate scandals (AIG, Boeing, etc), Alsop decided to go back to leading schools like Columbia, LBS, CMU and Harvard to get an update on their ethics courses (many of which were launched in the Enron, Worldcom, Tyco aftermath).
Alsop finds that ethics coursework is still a work in progress for many MBA programs, but there are examples of dedicated modules/core classes that seem to be tackling the right issues and satisfying MBA students.
For the full text of the article: http://www.collegejournal.com/mbacenter/mbatrack/20050412-alsop.html
In other news, the Graduate Management Admissions Council has published a list of potential discussion panels for their annual conference in June. Because this conference brings together admissions officers from hundreds of MBA programs around the world, we’re always interested to see what’s on their minds. Potential topics include:
- Creating the Ultimate MBA Student Experience – Education’s Future: New Models, New Challenges – E-mail Marketing: The Power and Perils – Fight Critics with Data – A Wake-Up Call: Moving MBA Programs toward the Future – Inspiring Your Web Site Visitors to Take Action – After Michigan: The Black, White, and Gray of Race/Ethnicity-Conscious Practices – Building a Pipeline for Minority Recruiting in the US – The Challenge of Transparent Communications – What Women Want: Strategies to Help MBA Women Succeed After Graduation
Judging from the topics above, it would seem that issues surrounding declining admissions volume, attracting under-represented populations (women and minority applicants) and the use of technology in the admissions process continue as dominant themes. We’re particularly pleased to see that GMAC is thinking of having a panel that is dedicated to transparency in communications – since our clients repeatedly express a preference for the schools that take this approach.
Posted by Clear Admit on April 11, 2005, at 6:06 pm
Posted in: Admissions Tips In our continuing series of blog entries aimed at early-bird MBA applicants, we’ve focused today’s posting on an overview of the pre-MBA resume:
The Role of the Resume The resume serves as an excellent starting point for MBA applicants because it will play several roles in your business school application process. You will likely be asked to send your resume to your MBA interviewer before you meet him or her so that it can serve as the basis for the conversation you will have. You can also use your resume as a foundation for your responses to questions on application forms about your work experience, education, and activities. Finally, your resume can serve as a handy summary of your experiences to which you and your recommenders can refer when crafting essays or letters.
Given these purposes, your resume should give the reader a clear overview of what you’ve done and would ideally impress the reader with the impact you have had on organizations for which you have worked or volunteered. This is especially important when taken in the context of an interview, where you will have a limited amount of time within which to make a positive and lasting impression on your interviewer.
Your resume should also be consistent with the other documents you will be submitting to business school admissions committees. You should present the same accomplishments as being significant in your essays, resume, and application forms, and hopefully in your recommendation letters as well. This will not only underline the importance of those accomplishments, but help you to stay on message and not convey a confusing, jumbled story. As with everything you submit to the admissions committee, your resume should emphasize your management skills and leadership and teamwork experience, as well as the influence you have had on your company.
Because your resume will play so many different roles and be presented to so many different people, you should start to work on it early in your application process, but also update it as you go along. That way, your resume can serve as a reference for you from the beginning, but will also evolve to reflect the strategy you develop. You should make sure to revise your resume shortly before sending it to your interviewer, as well as after completing your essays for the final time.
Stay tuned to this blog for information about the things to avoid in your resume as well as the vital tips for excelling when you draft this document!
Posted by Clear Admit on April 8, 2005, at 5:38 pm
Posted in: General Many of our younger readers enjoyed the article that Business Week published last month entitled The MBA Youth Movement. This article highlighted the desire of leading MBA programs to expand their applicant pool by looking at younger applicants.
Beyond the traditional submatriculation programs or summer opportunities that were mentioned in the BW article, many schools have decided to hit the road and visit leading colleges and universities to spread the MBA gospel to undergraduate students.
Here’s an example of how this sort of effort is taking place on the campuses of Haverford and Bryn Mawr colleges:
———- Forwarded message ———- Date: Apr 4, 2005 12:07 PM Subject: Haverford College: MBA Admissions Panel
MBA Admissions Panel Tuesday, 4/12/05, 6:30 pm Bryn Mawr Room, Dining Center
-Meet with admissions representatives from leading U.S. business schools to learn about the value of an MBA in your career. -Hear about the competitive advantages of an MBA and glean insight into the admissions process — whether you are applying this year or in the future.
The panel includes representatives from: Stanford Graduate School of Business Northwestern Kellogg School of Management MIT Sloan School of Management UPenn, Wharton MBA Admissions
If you have questions, contact: Career Development Bryn Mawr and Haverford Colleges 370 Lancaster Avenue Haverford, PA 19041 www.haverford.edu/cdo
Before our college-senior readers get too excited, we should stress that these leading b-schools are not necessarily looking to admit undergraduates directly into their MBA programs. The truth is that they are trying to introduce the MBA as a viable option for the future – before these highly talented students rush off to law, medical or public policy schools. In essence, the goal of these campus visits is to let students know that it’s ok to work for a couple of years and then pursue a business degree.
All of these marketing efforts in the younger end of the applicant pool should lead to an increasingly competitive field – especially if traditional applicant volume begins to creep upwards due to the improved MBA job market…
Posted by Clear Admit on April 7, 2005, at 2:36 pm
Posted in: General Jennifer Merritt at Business Week has just written a piece entitled MBA Applicants Are MIA. The article paints a very gloomy picture for the US business school community, citing declining application volume, less enthusiastic recruiters and increased competition from less expensive (and often shorter) MBA programs abroad.
For the full text of the article: http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/apr2005/nf2005047_8428_db016.htm
In contrast to the ‘Missing In Action’ article, is the now available 2005 Recruiters Survey, published by GMAC. This report suggests that times are good (and getting even better) for MBA graduates, citing increasing salaries, extensive on-campus recruiting and expanded hiring estimates from leading firms.
For access to the report: http://www.gmac.org/gmac/ResearchandTrends/SurveyResearch/CorporateRecruitersSurvey.htm
As previously reported in this blog, our research suggests that application volume to the top programs has actually started to stabilize this year. Furthermore, GMAT test-taker volume and the positive recruiting scene on MBA campuses also suggest that application numbers may be heading north, not south….
In order to keep our readers posted, we’ll continue to gather data from our contacts in the admissions world as well as former Clear Admit clients (many of whom are currently fielding multiple job offers as members of the class of 2005). Stay tuned.
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