Posted by Clear Admit on October 12, 2005, at 9:57 am
Posted in:  General All this talk about submitting applications inevitably gets one thinking about results…
Last week’s edition of the New Yorker had an article by Malcom Gladwell about the history of the admissions process at the leading Ivy League schools in America. The article, which is essentially a book review of “The Chosen” by Jerome Karabel, primarily focuses on the efforts that Harvard, Yale and Princeton have put forth over the years to protect their status as luxury brands in the world of higher education. Classic debates over race, religion, raw intelligence, charisma and athleticism are all brought out into the open in this stunning piece. While the article hones in on the undergraduate admissions process, much of it is relevant to the rules of MBA admissions. The article is also somewhat related to the current debate in the BW Forums about the pros and cons of being smart.
For those of you who fear that the Ivy League programs may not open their doors for your candidacy, Ronald Alsop has just penned a piece for the Wall Street Journal’s ‘Career Journal’ site in which he highlights the efforts of the top European MBA programs to attract American students. While schools like INSEAD and IMD aren’t simply looking for Americans “with wanderlust,” they are still spending serious dollars on recruiting in the US market.
Finally, as follow up to yesterday’s Wharton news, it looks as though the admissions committee is hoping to have the recommendations module back up and running as soon as today. Stay tuned to their admissions blog for details.
Posted by Clear Admit on October 11, 2005, at 7:53 pm
Posted in: School: Penn / Wharton Wharton continues to have issues with their online application. In particular, there seems to be trouble with the online recommendation letters. Here is a copy of an email that the Wharton admissions committee has just sent off to recommenders:
Dear [recommender],
Wharton’s online application has experienced technical difficulties and as result the online recommendation module has been taken offline until Thursday, October 13th. Here is the link to the PDF of the recommendation form: http://mba.wharton.upenn.edu/mba/action/pdf/mbarecommend2006.pdf
If you have planned to submit a recommendation for [student name] before the 13th here are alternative ways to submit the recommendation.
1) Email a letter of support which encompasses all of the questions on the attached recommendation form to Betty Ann Delaney at delaneyb@wharton.upenn.edu.
2) Fax the recommendation form to (215) 898-0120
3) Mail the form to the Admissions Office at:
Wharton MBA Admissions and Financial Aid
420 Jon M Huntsman Hall
3730 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
(215) 898-3430
If you have any questions please feel free to contact me directly at the # below. I apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience while we work through these technical problems.
Bonny Wilson
Manager of Operations
Wharton MBA Admissions
P: 215.898.XXXX
Stay tuned for more information on this developing issue….
Posted by Clear Admit on October 11, 2005, at 10:26 am
Posted in: School: Penn / Wharton As many of you know, Wharton seems to be having troubles with their online application. Given that we are still a couple of days away from their deadline, this is troubling (as site traffic will no doubt increase over the next 48 hours). It is also highly unusual, since Wharton has traditionally led the way when it comes to using technology in the admissions process.
Here is the official word from the Mae Jennifer Shores (Senior Associate Director of Admissions at Wharton):
As many of you are aware, we (admissions) are experiencing some technical problems with our online application. We are working to resolve these issues as quickly as possible.
In the meantime:
1) The print feature of the online application is currently disabled and will be functional once our technical problems are resolved. You may still submit your application and print a copy later (through late next spring); and
2) If your recommenders experience problems in submitting their letters, they may send them in the form of a word or text document to Betty Ann Delaney (delaneyb@wharton.upenn.edu).
At this point, we do not plan to extend the Round 1 application deadline. In the event that technical problems persist, we will make any necessary adjustments to the deadline.
We apologize for any inconvenience or stress you have experienced. Thank you for your patience! Mae Jennifer Shores (adcom)
We encourage our clients and readers to stay tuned to the Wharton student2student message boards for the latest update. Our anticipation is that Wharton will extend the deadline if these problems persist. The school does has a track record of being transparent and flexible in these kinds of situations.
Stay tuned.
Posted by Clear Admit on October 10, 2005, at 10:34 am
Posted in: Admissions Tips , School: Harvard As many of you will be submitting your first round HBS applications in the next 24 hours, we thought we’d offer a few final words of advice.
1) Do not go overboard with your descriptions. This first tip comes directly from a recent email that the HBS admissions board sent out to applicants. The email was filled with information about which browsers to use, exact deadline times, etc. While these tips are important, we’d like to focus on one small bit of instruction they offered towards the end of the email:
“–Please be brief in describing your employment, extracurricular, and community activities and abide by the word limits provided.”
As HBS is the school that receives the most applications every year, the HBS admissions board routinely has its hands full. As such, the adcom is not looking for applicants to provide endless descriptions of employment and activities. As you prepare to submit, be sure to read over your listings and ensure that they are as concise and focused as possible.
2) Check for balance across your essay topics. Have six out of the seven essays you drafted discussed your work experience? Have you failed to ensure that all of your unique attributes were showcased across the essays? Have you told the same leadership story in three different essays, suggesting that you don’t have too many achievements to draw upon?
3) Remind your recommenders to watch the word limits. As you may have noted, most of the recommendation questions have fairly restrictive word limits. While we’re certain that every applicant has numerous attributes, we’d encourage recommenders to follow the guidelines put forth by HBS.
4) Do not submit your application within the last few hours leading up to the deadline. There have been instances in recent years where the servers at Harvard (or ApplyYourself) have been a bit overwhelmed around the deadline time. While the systems haven’t typically gone off-line, the trouble usually manifests itself in incredibly slow load times. Submitting a bit earlier in the day will ensure that you avoid this sort of issue.
Best of luck to everyone applying to HBS!
Posted by Clear Admit on October 7, 2005, at 12:08 pm
Posted in: Fridays from the Frontline With the fall season upon us, the buzz in the world of MBA admissions has increased to a dull roar. Discussion forums are a flurry of postings, bloggers are blogging and applicants are applying (or at least talking about applying while procrastinating). Meanwhile, the MBA campuses have settled into one of the more intense parts of the semester, sending first year MBA students off to the library and second year’s to EISs (Employer Information Sessions).
Focusing in the applicant pool, we find Ty Coon discussing the forthcoming HBS deadline as well as his Yale and Kellogg applications. Meanwhile Axechick, who describes the feeling of endless essay writing, has shuffled the deck and opted for Columbia‘s ED round – pushing off her HBS application until R2. While some applicants are busy finalizing applications others are navigating obstacles. Mave describes what happens to GMAT test takers in Germany when ETS’ systems go down and GunnerMBA has a scary moment while contemplating the virtual non-existence of Premier League football (soccer) in the United States (if you end up at Wharton, try this, Gunner…). Among the remaining applicant-bloggers, PupStar78 has just fired up the essay writing process as a reapplicant and Resolute offers a review of the Mumbai MBA Tour event and shares his approach to the Wharton deadline.
Hitting the books with MBA student-bloggers, MargaritaLuvr seems to be up to her ears in homework at Columbia, while MBAwana elaborates on the blistering pace at Stanford. Majalo expresses similar sentiments at Kellogg, while George freaks out about the pace at IESE. Despite having Wednesdays off at Stanford, TIY points out that Tuesday is not the new Friday (thanks to a stunning amount of homework).
That’s the news from the MBA blogosphere this week. Have a great (or shall we say productive) weekend!
Posted by Clear Admit on October 6, 2005, at 10:25 am
Posted in: School: Penn / Wharton Yesterday’s Daily Pennsylvanian (the UPENN student daily) featured an article entitled Where’s Wharton?, describing the school’s absence from the Economist’s 2005 rankings and offering quotes from Harvard and Wharton faculty and staff. While this debate seems to be never-ending, we’re certainly curious as to how it might all end. For example, will the release of an official GMAC classification (with extensive data) give the press access to needed facts and figures for their rankings, making it a moot point that Wharton and HBS do not provide the data directly? Stay tuned.
Speaking of rankings, the Princeton Review has just released their annual MBA guide. While they do not provide a strict ‘best overall’ ranking, they do featuring several categories in which they rank over 200 programs:
Toughest to Get Into: 1. Harvard, 2. Stanford, 3. Wharton…
Best Overall Academic Experience: 1. MIT/Sloan, 2. Tuck, 3. Stern…
Best Career Prospects: 1. Stanford, 2. Harvard, 3. Berkeley…
Other categories include Best Professors, Best Campus Facilities, Greatest Opportunity for Women, Best Administered, etc. Details are available on the Princeton Review’s web site.
Posted by Clear Admit on October 5, 2005, at 10:30 am
Posted in: Admissions Tips Most MBA applicants know that one of the keys to a solid application is school-specific detail. This means going beyond the slogans, rankings and stereotypes that surround an MBA program and convincing the admissions committee that you’ve really done your homework and are passionate about their school.
While there are many ways to gather detailed information about a given school, an often over-looked practice is to read the student newspapers that are published on campus (and are typically available online). While student newspapers range in their level of seriousness, they can offer an insider perspective on life in the MBA program.
To help get you started, here are links to the student newspapers at a handful of top MBA programs:
The Wharton Journal (The Wharton School)
The Harbus (Harvard Business School)
The Reporter (Stanford GSB)
The Merger (Kellogg)
Chibus (Chicago GSB)
News at MIT Sloan (MIT/Sloan)
The Bottom Line (Columbia Business School)
Monroe Street Journal (University of Michigan)
HaasWeek (Berkeley/Haas)
CornellBusiness (Cornell/Johnson)
Stern Opportunity (NYU Stern)
As you will see from these links, some student newspapers are still getting things together for this year, whereas others are very active…
Posted by Clear Admit on October 4, 2005, at 9:57 am
Posted in: Admissions Tips , Deadlines Over the next week and change, there are deadlines for INSEAD, Harvard Business School, Columbia (Early Decision) and Wharton. The following week features Tuck (Early Action), Stanford, Darden, Kellogg and LBS. Needless to say, successful submission of so many applications requires careful planning on the part of the MBA applicant. Here are our quick tips on how to survive the crunch:
1) Check in with your recommendation writers and make sure that they are on track for submitting their letters. While some schools are rather forgiving if a letter arrives a day late, others will have no qualms about bumping you right into the next round.
2) Do not leave the online application forms for last. Take some time to carefully complete these forms and follow instructions. As former admissions officers, we’ve seen all sorts of incredible mistakes with application forms. While these mistakes can certainly be a source of amusement for the adcom, sloppiness of this nature reflects poorly on one’s candidacy.
3) Consider taking some time off from work. While we realize that many of you work 70 hours/week and haven’t had a day off in months, you may seriously benefit from taking a day or two out of the office to really focus on tying up loose ends with your applications. Applying to business is a serious undertaking and you will not regret taking the needed time to get it right.
4) Do not submit/upload your applications within a few hours of a school’s posted deadline. This can not only cause undue stress, but is often incredibly frustrating due to the fact that the web sites are burdened by the activity of hundreds of applicants.
5) Do a last minute check to make sure your Harvard essays don’t mistakenly refer to Wharton and vice versa. Review your essays for other typos as well.
6) Don’t get too much advice at the last minute. Stick to the folks that have helped you out thus far and avoid bringing in numerous advisors for final reviews. Too many cooks can spoil the recipe.
Best of luck to everyone!
Posted by Clear Admit on October 3, 2005, at 9:47 am
Posted in: General As reported last week, the Economist’s 2005 MBA rankings do not include Wharton and Harvard this year. As a matter of policy (introduced in April of 2004), both schools refused to provide the Economist with the needed data for the survey. Friday’s Boston Globe had an interesting article about this situation, covering the standard reasons for withdrawal given by both programs and raising the age-old questions about the value of rankings in the first place.
While much of this was debated when HBS and Wharton originally announced their refusal to participate in rankings, the Globe article revives the idea of official rankings furnished by the Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC). In fact, for those of you who do not remember this concept being mentioned, here is how Wharton described potential GMAC rankings at the time:
“Wharton, Harvard and many other business schools are actively working with the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) to develop a service that will provide objective, comparative and audited data to prospective students, recruiters and the media. The project’s primary goal is to enable individuals to examine and analyze information of interest to them personally, from which they can draw their own conclusions.”
(from an official statement made in April ’04)
According to Friday’s Boston Globe article, these rankings are due out soon:
“Working with other schools under the umbrella of the Graduate Management Admissions Council, a Washington nonprofit group that creates business school admission tests, Harvard and Wharton are compiling their own list of more than 200 data points schools can submit about their programs as an alternative to the media rankings. The audited list is set to be rolled out next spring, though most schools are expected to continue cooperating with the independent rankings. ”
Adding another set of rankings to the mix would certainly keep things interesting – especially if they are GMAC-sanctioned. Of course, since it’s been nearly a year and a half since the idea of official rankings was put forth, we’re not holding our breath.
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