Posted by Clear Admit on November 29, 2006, at 8:47 am
Posted in:  Admissions Tips , Interview Tips We’ve been offering a good deal of advice lately on how to conduct oneself and prepare responses to MBA interview questions; today, we’d like to highlight the importance of thinking about what you might ask. Virtually all business school interviewers conclude their discussion by offering the applicant a chance to ask some questions about the program. While it might be tempting to claim that you’ve already learned all you need to know about the school, this is actually a great opportunity to gain additional insight, show your enthusiasm about a specific element of the curriculum or community, and demonstrate that you appreciate the opportunity to learn from your interviewer’s experiences.
Here are a few simple guidelines to keep in mind while thinking about what you might ask:
1. Focus on the positive. Now is not the time to conduct due diligence or express skepticism about a school’s academic program or career resources. You’re still marketing yourself to the adcom at this stage of the process, so you’ll want to project enthusiasm and demonstrate a desire to become more familiar with a program’s merits and your potential fit.
2. Avoid the obvious and the obscure. Because this is an opportunity to tap the interviewer’s unique knowledge and point of view (and he or she will assume that you did your basic research before applying), it’s best to avoid asking questions that could be answered by perusing the school’s website or speaking with anyone you might happen to encounter on campus. On the other hand, you don’t want to ask something so obscure or specific that your interviewer might not have an answer. Seeking the interviewer’s opinion on or impression of some element of the program often makes for a discussion that both parties will find interesting and enjoyable.
3. Mind your audience. Remember that students, alumni and admissions staff will all have a different perspective on and level of familiarity with the program, and that it’s wise to pose inquiries tailored to his or her experience with the school. For instance, alumni interviewers generally feel strongly about their schools but might not have the most current information on the academic programs and campus culture, so a good question might focus on the classes they have found most useful in their post-graduation career.
We hope that these guidelines are helpful in thinking about how you might approach the end of your discussion, and wish everyone interviewing at business schools in the coming weeks the best of luck!
Welcome to Wiki Wednesdays, a column in which we highlight new and noteworthy content in the Clear Admit Wiki, an applicant-driven resource on the MBA admissions process. Just a week after launching our new interface and issuing a call for content, we’ve received a number of great interview accounts!
The theme of this week’s installment is the importance – and perils – of preparation. Starting us off, an applicant to Duke’s MBA program posted an account that helps illustrate how knowledge of a school’s priorities and culture might help a candidate predict the focus of interview questions. Given the focus on team culture at Fuqua, it’s not surprising that this applicant was asked the following:
5 Characteristics of a good team. What role would you play on this team. A time when I had a difficult person on my team and what did i do. A difficult choice I had to make and what did I learn from it.
In addition to being prepared to simply field the questions asked, it’s also a good strategy to have a clear idea of the information that you feel is most essential to your candidacy and actively incorporate these points into your responses. A recent contribution to the Chicago interview page shares a list of the questions asked and ends with this commentary:
Even though the questions were not too many, I did my best to weave the above mentioned points into my answers making sure I got all my points across. This is important – do not rely on your interviewer to ask you all the questions you want to be asked. Make sure you know ahead of time what you want to communicate and weave them into your answers for other questions. I also sent my interviewer a thank you email reiterating all the above mentioned points.
Of course, it’s important to be flexible as well. Our final excerpt, taken from a very detailed account of a Wharton interview, shares a humorous example of the potential downside of pointed preparation:
One question that caught me off guard was “What would you do if all of a sudden you had a free week”. Ironically, I had prepared for the 1 free day and 1 free month questions, but not this one. After taking more than a few seconds (10 sec maybe), I think I came up with a solid answer.
That wraps up our summary of new additions to the MBA Admissions Wiki. Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this resource thus far. We look forward to seeing more great content from all of you in the coming weeks!
Welcome back to Trivia Tuesday, our weekly exploration of the details, distinctions and developments of the leading MBA programs.
Over the last decade most business schools have sought ways to provide relevant, hands-on international business exposure within the confines of a two-year degree. The solution that many schools have arrived at is “study trips,” which allow students to spend 1-2 weeks exploring the business environment of another country over the summer or during a mid-semester break. Depending on the school, these trips may be organized through an elective course, by an administrative office, or through a campus student group.
For instance, the Chazen Institute at Columbia works with individual students and clubs to organize study trips to countries or regions of interest, while Chicago’s International Programs Office coordinates short-term summer exchanges to Austria, Brazil, France and Germany. Several other business schools offer students academic credit for their travel abroad. At HBS students are able to earn 1.5 credits for their work abroad over the summer between the first and second year, provided they keep a weekly journal and submit a final paper. At Wharton and Tuck, however, study trips are often closely integrated into full-semester elective courses, with students participating in hands-on consulting projects with firms, and sometimes other teams of MBA students, from outside the U.S.
As knowledge of other cultures and business practices becomes more important to the daily life of business it will become ever more important for students to gain exposure to international business during the MBA program. Since study trips range from informal and self-directed to formal consulting engagements for academic credit, applicants may want to consider the type of study trip that would best complement their prior international experience and keep this in mind as they research MBA programs. For more information on the details of schools’ study trip offerings be sure to check out the schools’ websites or consult the Clear Admit School Guides!
Posted by Clear Admit on November 27, 2006, at 11:22 am
Posted in: MBA News , School: Dartmouth / Tuck , School: Harvard Welcome back from the weekend! This week we’re getting started with a round-up of MBA and business education news from the U.S. and around the world.
First up, Harvard Business School has announced a new dual degree program in conjunction with the University’s Kennedy School of Government. The degree will prepare students with skills in public policy and management, with the goal of training leaders for the public and “quasi-public” sectors. The program, still in its planning stages, would likely take students three years to complete and is tentatively slated to begin in Fall of 2008. The new program is part of HBS Dean Light’s goal of creating more “intellectual bridges” between HBS and the rest of Harvard University, and follows in the footsteps of dual degree programs with Harvard Medical School and Harvard Law. Dean Light imagines students in the program working on projects such as using business to revitalize urban neighborhoods and sees great potential to make a positive impact on public management. For more on the new degree program, check out this week’s Financial Times article.
For those students who are considering pursuing an MBA in Canada, a recent article in Canadian Business Online offers a thoughtful comparison of Canadian and American MBA programs, highlighting the changing shape of the MBA landscape in Canada and the benefits and drawbacks of both Canadian and American programs. In other news, Dartmouth-Tuck’s Dean Paul Danos offered a strong defense of MBA education at this year’s Association of MBAs’ Student of the Year award ceremony. The awards honor MBA graduates who demonstrate academic excellence, a commitment to their institution and to furthering internationalism, as well as the promise of enhancing the value of the MBA degree in the marketplace. Dean Danos took the opportunity to highlight the value of the MBA to students, pointing out that at Tuck, the MBA is changing people’s lives, tripling the average student’s salary and creating a five-fold increase in international students’ salaries. For more on the AMBA Student of the Year Awards and Dean Danos’s remarks, read the full article in today’s The Independent.
Posted by Clear Admit on November 24, 2006, at 9:08 am
Posted in: Fridays from the Frontline Welcome to this week’s installment of FFF, bringing you the latest happenings in the MBA blogging world. Let’s take a look at what’s going on with those in various stages of the b-school experience:
It’s been a quiet week for applicant bloggers but some, primarily those having something for which to be thankful, have posted updates with their latest news. Though a bit discouraged by an ISB waitlisting, righty had a positive Notre Dame interview – with the Director of Admissions, no less – and it sounds like inblue‘s Chicago interview with an alumnus in Mumbai was a comfortable experience, while TJ is grateful that the Chicago interview went more smoothly than Kellogg. Iday‘s interviewer is playing hard to get (a hold of) and Suser McLoser is playing some music to celebrate after finishing her second interview. In other good news, rungee582 was invited to interview at LBS, Harvard finally came through for MBAbabe, and an admit from Cornell means that ScareCrow is definitely going to school next year. Congratulations!
Though busy with their studies and recruiting concerns, many student bloggers also have a fitting amount of gratitude in their attitudes. With the release of term one grades at IESE, for instance, Ashwyn is glad to simply have survived. Also in the getting by category, Russian student Genie is having some trouble adapting to life in London, but finds some bright patches in acting class and birthday festivities. Even meeting facilities can also be cause for thanks, as Allen shares some shots of his favorite study spots in Barcelona. Also in the grateful category, several students are celebrating job search success this week; though returning to risk management was not the Dirty Canuck‘s original plan, she’s excited about having a more balanced lifestyle in Chicago now that recruiting is over. Meanwhile, classmate Wakechick has been traveling to NYC for interviews and is enjoying her New York explorations, and Auris is set to start at Bain once he finishes with INSEAD. Though he hasn’t gotten his career plans quite as settled, Chicago student Le Voyageur is happy to be thinking more clearly about the future, which includes a term on exchange in Tel Aviv.
Of course, a fair number are thankful just to have a brief break coming up! Jacek describes his very busy semester at ESADE, Al Martine is putting a great deal into a marketing paper at LBS, FromCali has plans for a productive but class-free week at Michigan, and LL is looking forward to her trip home in the midst of Q2 madness at Wharton. Finally, LBS student the Divine Miss N is really making the most of her exchange in New York by getting an up close look at Thanksgiving in the U.S. as a Macy’s . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on November 23, 2006, at 10:34 am
Posted in: General We would like to wish our readers a very happy Thanksgiving holiday!
While it will be important to spend time with family and friends today, the long weekend is a great time to make progress on MBA applications for the upcoming December deadlines (or the looming January rush). Here’s a short list of some of the key deadlines in the next week or two…..
November 30th: Dartmouth/Tuck December 1st: NYU/Stern, UNC/Kenan-Flagler December 5th: Virginia/Darden December 6th: INSEAD December 11th: Berkeley/Haas
Posted by Clear Admit on November 22, 2006, at 8:00 am
Posted in: School: Columbia , Wiki Wednesdays Today, we’re pleased to announce the launch of the new and improved Clear Admit Wiki! You’ll find the same great content as before, but with a sleeker interface (with which Wikipedia users will be familiar) and improved ease of editing. The account creation process is now automated, so users can sign up and post (anonymously, if desired) in a more immediate way.
For the uninitiated, our wiki is designed to be an admissions resource for applicants, by applicants – a place for you to share your experiences visiting campus, interviewing with alumni or admissions staff and completing the applications for your target programs, all for the benefit of present and future candidates. Here’s an excerpt from a Columbia Early Decision interview report that demonstrates the sort of information that can help others prepare by expanding their expectations and bracing themselves for unusual inquiries:
I had no trouble contacting one of the three alumni about an interview. The alum asked me to email my resume beforehand. The day of the interview, I met with him in his offices. He was friendly yet professional.
There was no “take me through your resume” question…
Right off the bat, he asked why business school – but then limited my answer by saying “but i don’t want to hear its because you need to learn about finance and accounting to start your own business, because you can always hire someone else to do that ” (I plan to be an entrepreneur)
We hope that our readers will continue to add interview and visit reports, along with links to blogs and helpful resources to help keep the Wiki as robust and relevant as ever! Stay tuned for future Wiki Wednesdays, in which we’ll highlight some of the most interesting and insightful comments added each week.
Posted by Clear Admit on November 21, 2006, at 10:35 am
Posted in: School Guides , School: Chicago , School: Harvard , School: Penn / Wharton , Trivia Tuesday It’s Tuesday, and that means it’s time once again for tantalizing trivia on the trends, tendencies and traditions of the nation’s leading MBA programs. Our goal is to highlight the differences between some of the leading business schools in order to help applicants develop a more nuanced view of the opportunites, resources, and student experiences at each school.
Today we turn our attention to cross-registration, an oft-overlooked indicator of academic opportunities. In an age of increasingly interdependent business operations, cross-disciplinary and interdisciplinary study is becoming an ever-more important aspect of students’ academic preparation. In addition, the growing popularity of joint and dual degree programs in law, medicine, languages and other fields shows students’ widespread interest in studying beyond the traditional boundaries of the MBA. Given that many of the leading business schools make their homes at the U.S.’s top research universities, cross-registration with other schools or departments on campus can provide MBA students with extraordinary access to the leading minds in academia.
Wharton and the University of Chicago GSB have each embraced cross-registration, allowing MBA students to take up to 4 and 6 courses, respectively, outside the MBA program. Wharton students often use these courses to pursue intensive language study, perhaps in preparation for a career in international business, or to pursue more in-depth knowledge of a niche field, such as taking a biotechnical engineering course to prepare for a career in the biotech industry. At Chicago, MBA students are permitted to take more than half of their electives outside of the GSB. One popular option for cross-registration is the University’s certificate in Health Administration Studies, a program composed entirely of cross-registered students pulled from the University’s graduate schools.
Harvard is on the other end of the spectrum from Chicago, allowing students to take just two courses outside of the business school, likely due to the administration’s strong belief in the value of the case method of instruction. However, Harvard students who do chose to cross-register have unique access to course options, including classes offered by any of Harvard University’s graduate schools, plus graduate level courses at MIT Sloan and at Tufts’ Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.
Given the differences in school’s cross-registration policies, applicants with interdisciplinary or in-depth interests may want to consider the opportunities for cross-registration available at their top choice schools. For more information on cross-registration and other academic offerings, be sure to check out the schools’ websites or the Academics section of the Clear Admit School Guides. Happy researching!
Posted by Clear Admit on November 20, 2006, at 10:17 am
Posted in: MBA News , School: MIT / Sloan , School: Penn / Wharton The research conducted by business school professors helps identify or create corporate best practices and helps business leaders stay on top of rapidly changing environments. Today we are highlighting one example of the innovative research conducted by b-schools – a proejct unprecedented – even among the top business schools – for its size and scope.
Wharton and MIT Sloan announced last week that they will be the lead collaboraters on a groundbreaking new book on the contributions of Web 2.0 technologies to business practices. The book, tentatively title “We Are Smarter Than Me,” is due to be published in Fall 2007 and will be one of the the first major book projects to be collectively written and edited. Business school students, professors and alumni, as well as working professionals and others are invited to contribute material to the book.
The book will focus on technologies such as blogs, online social networks, and wikis that allow for large-scale collaboration. Contributers are asked to provide real examples of companies tapping in to online communities, after which collaborators will analyze the success or failure of these various approaches and seek to identify best practices for making use of collaborative techonology to grow and enhance businesses. The book will also examine how new collaborative technologies are changing the way once separate companies, industries or experts do business. Based on the idea presented in James Surowiecki’s 2005 book The Wisdom of the Crowd, that large groups of people can sometimes be better at innovating, solving problems, or even predicting the future, the “We Are Smarter” project is an experiment in decentralized decision making, community building, and creation of knowledge through collective wisdom – as well as a foray into a new kind of writing and publishing process.
Like Wikipedia, registered collaborators will have the ability to add, edit, and delete content from the online draft of the book. Wharton and MIT Sloan report that more than 1,000 collaborators have already registered on the book’s site, getting the project off to an early start. An initial draft of the book is scheduled to be presented in March 2007 at the Community 2.0 Conference in Las Vegas. For more information on the “We Are Smarter Than Me” project or to register as a collaborator, visited www.wearesmarter.org. To learn more about the MIT Sloan and Wharton research centers sponsoring the project, visit the MIT Center for Collective Intelligence and the SEI Center for Advanced Studies in Management.
Posted by Clear Admit on November 17, 2006, at 2:18 pm
Posted in: Admissions Tips , School: Penn / Wharton As many applicants know all too well, Wharton released the last of its interview invitations yesterday. We want to offer our congratulations to those who are moving on to the next stage of the admissions process, and extend our sympathy to those who received less favorable news.
Though a ding is a difficult blow to be dealt this early in the year, there are actually a number of benefits to Wharton’s timing. The first is simply the peace of mind that comes with a definitive answer, as many candidates say that waiting for word from their target schools is the most trying part of the application process. Beyond this, having a mid-November decision provides a data point in determining the strength of one’s application at a top program. This might prompt applicants who were denied without an interview to seek out feedback on their Wharton applications from friends or other knowledgeable sources to identify areas for improvement, or to expand his or her list of target schools to include a few less selective programs – all with plenty of time to regroup and address weaknesses before the round two deadlines.
Best of luck to everyone moving forward on their b-school journeys; have a happy and productive weekend!
Posted by Clear Admit on November 17, 2006, at 2:26 am
Posted in: Fridays from the Frontline The passing of another week marks the arrival of yet another edition of FFF, your regular review of the latest in the MBA blogging world.
Let’s begin by taking a look at what’s happening on the student side; bloggers’ experiences have really run the gamut of MBA life this week! In terms of general overviews, MJ‘s detailed account of a packed week involving a case competition at Duke is a prime example of the juggling act that the MBA can be, and Chicago second-year The Dirty Canuck checks in with a broad comment about conference and recruiting season at the GSB. Feeling the job pressure on a more individual level, Sean writes about his efforts to balance school with his internship search at LBS, and Zanat0s seems a bit overwhelmed by his ever-expanding to do list at INSEAD. Other students are more focused on academics, presenting both the positive and negative elements of their experiences. Though Hallonman was cold-called yet again (is that two weeks in a row??) and John Galt is finding that his Wharton expectations aren’t quite being met, most bloggers sound quite enthusiastic about their classroom experiences. Yale student brownoski has some favorable things to say about the new SOM curriculum and the Divine Miss N, in New York on exchange from LBS, shares a very detailed description of “Advertising Management,” her favorite class at Stern. We were also glad to hear that FromCali has been pleasantly surprised by the current team-focused term at Michigan, and that the lessons learned at Owen are falling into place for Sharran.
While recruiting and classwork are undeniably core components of the business school experience, there’s been a good deal going on the social side as well! With midterms finished at IESE, Ashwyn and classmates partied quite heartily last weekend while Karlitos took a break from b-school to spend time with family in London, Auris traveled to Bali with INSEAD classmates and Angel Angie took a trip to Cambridge to visit a friend and scope out Judge Business School. In other on-campus events, Jacek is looking forward to the Student Association-sponsored Holiday party at ESADE (and shares the poster he designed for the event), Noelle recaps the inaugural meeting of IESE’s Cigar and Whiskey Club, and classmate IESE MBA 2007 provides an illustrated summary of the past few weeks in Barcelona. He also shares the details of his planned impact as part of the Responsible Business Club’s Environmental group and, also looking toward the future, LL shares some interesting but secretive comments about the Wharton Follies writing team retreat. Also extracurricularly, Tim takes a time out from his work at McCombs and looks back to his application experience, offering some great advice for applicants.
Applicant concerns, meanwhile, have again focused primarily . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on November 16, 2006, at 2:15 am
Posted in: Admissions Tips Essay content you’ve polished for one school often serves as a great starting point for the next application, but as we’ve often said, customizing this text for the school in question is key. One particular challenge we see applicants struggle with each year is effectively expanding a short essay they’ve written for one program (such as Harvard’s 400 word “career vision” document or Kellogg’s two-page, double-spaced essay about one’s career to date, goals and interest in their MBA) in responding to a question on the same topic but with a longer limit (like Stanford’s topics and Chicago’s 1500 word goals/why MBA essay). With this in mind, we’d like to offer some pointers on converting condensed comments to more extensive remarks.
1) Expand in proportion. When taking an existing response as a starting point for crafting a longer document, one good rule of thumb is to build upon each subject to more or less the same extent. While elaborating on your work to date might involve less time and work than the more research-intensive ‘why School X’ discussion, it’s generally prudent to maintain balance among subjects and provide all of the major pieces information a school requests in equal measure.
2) Maintain focus. One frequent issue with long essays is that they sometimes lack a clear sense of direction. To ensure that the reader is able to understand the relevance of your remarks and follow the connections among the various ideas, it’s a good idea to include transition sentences at the beginning of each paragraph that tie the subsequent remarks and examples to the topic of the essay and clearly state how certain statements relate to the question. This exercise also serves as a check for the applicant in making sure that all of the details in the essay are related to the subject.
3) Finish when you’re finished. While it’s important to take advantage of the opportunity that each essay presents to share information about your candidacy, you shouldn’t feel obligated to reach the upper end of a suggested page limit if you feel that you’ve already addresed the question and presented a full picture of your interests and background.
Good luck to everyone composing essays with an eye to R2 submission! For more tailored guidance on essays in particular or the application process in general, feel free to contact us at info@clearadmit.com.
Posted by Clear Admit on November 15, 2006, at 4:21 am
Posted in: Campus Chronicles , School: Michigan / Ross , School: NYU Stern , School: Stanford It’s time once again for Campus Chronicles, where we round up the latest student news stories from some of the leading MBA programs. Campus newspapers are a great way to get a feel for student culture and on-campus events, so whether you’re deciding where to apply, prepping your Round 2 applications or preparing for an interview, it’s worth taking the time to read the news.
This week we’re happy to welcome Stanford’s Reporter to Campus Chronicles. The Reporter just published its first issue of the year and there was a lot to catch up on. The lead story is an update on the architect selection process for the planned Knight Management Center, a 340,000 square foot expansion of Stanford’s facilities, made possible by Philip Knight’s historic $105 million gift to the school. Other news stories include an interview with second-year student Juan Pardo, whose conversation with Infosys founder Narayana Murthy on last year’s India Study Trip turned into an opportunity to show Mr. Murthy around Pardo’s home country of Colombia. The interview is a great example of how one student took advantage of the opportunities available at business school. Turning to recruiting, the Director of Stanford’s Career Management Center writes on five big career myths and how to avoid letting them sidetrack your job search (a useful article for both applicants and students). Applicants looking for a close-up view of Stanford’s social scene may want to check out the “Dear Savage” advice column – rife with inside jokes and campus references, it’s an interesting window into the non-academic side of Stanford’s community.
The Monroe Street Journal at University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business is another new addition to the Campus Chronicles ranks. This week’s articles are packed with answers to all of business schools students’ burning questions. Wondering what exactly consultants do? Dreaming of a career in fashion? If so, be sure to check out the brief consultation on consulting, the secrets on breaking into the fashion industry, and of course, the recruiting update from the Office of Career Development. For those readers who simply can’t get enough of gossip – even when they don’t know any of the people involved – the Ross Goss gossip column should be sure to entertain.
Turning to New York, The Stern Opportunity offers news on some of the campus’s club activities, plus “advice” on intrablock dating, and a rundown on the city’s live music scene. In club news, the Luxury and Retail Club (LuxRet) has had a busy few weeks, introducing the start of the LuxRet Consulting Corps, in which teams of students will partner with fashion house Salvatore Ferragamo to conduct extensive marketing research, and announcing their first LuxRet alumni mixer, which will be the first ever gathering of Stern alumni working in the luxury and retail industries. It was also a busy week for community service . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on November 14, 2006, at 3:37 am
Posted in: School Guides , School: Dartmouth / Tuck , Trivia Tuesday It’s Tuesday again and that means it’s time for some trivia! As our regular readers know, each Tuesday we take the opportunity to highlight some of the programs, policies or predilections of the leading business schools. Our goal is to help applicants learn more about the most popular schools while also discovering some of the important differences between them.
Today we’re turning our attention to Tuck, where the fall leaves are in full glory, to discuss a Tuck tradition, the First Year Project.
Part of Tuck’s required core curriculum, the First Year Project is one of three core courses students take in the spring quarter of their first year. In keeping with Tuck’s emphasis on teamwork and interest in experiential learning, the First Year Project is designed as a team consulting exercise. Students choose their own teams and are encouraged to develop and propose their own projects, although they are also welcome to work on a project suggested by a partner business or nonprofit. The project’s focus should either be developing a new business or developing a new product, service or market for an existing business. Since the goal is to have students apply the business theory studied throughout the first year, the projects should ideally require a nuanced analysis of strategic and competitive issues.
First-year teams are supported throughout the project by a professor and a second-year advisor and also have access to additional professors for support on specialized areas such as marketing and communication.
Although Tuck’s First Year Project is similar in design to experiential learning courses offered at other institutions, the difference at Tuck is that all students participate in the course, with the project serving as a capstone to the first year experience. In this sense, while all of the leading programs offer students opportunities to apply their classroom theory to real world experiences, Tuck shows one of the strongest commitments to integrating these opportunities into every student’s MBA experience.
To learn more about Tuck’s First Year Project or the experiential learning opportunities at other MBA programs, visit the schools’ websites or check out the Electives and Special Programs sections of the Clear Admit School Guides.
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