The signs of spring are about here in Philadelphia, a time of year for exciting things like mild weather, baseball season and, of course, our annual Best of Blogging Awards! For the uninitiated, each year we make an effort to identify exceptional blogs maintained by MBA applicants and students for two important purposes: to recognize the effort and output of the best applicant and student bloggers, and to identify valuable sources of information for the next round of applicants.
Here’s the timeline for this year’s awards, focusing on the 2006-07 admissions/academic cycle:
Nominees Announced – Friday, April 6th
We’ll begin by considering all blogs listed in the Clear Admit Wiki and featured in Fridays from the Frontline (bloggers are encouraged to email wiki@clearadmit.com about adding a link if their sites are not currently included). Using the criteria of relevance and frequency of posts, as well as overall quality of posting and contribution to the space, we’ll pare the list of nominees down to 25 applicants and 25 current students. Once we’ve determined the blogs for consideration, we’ll be sending out BoB ballots to each of the nominated bloggers.
Ballots Due – Friday, April 20th
Using the nominees’ input and that of a handful of celebrity judges, we’ll compile the list of this year’s very best applicant and student blogs, giving 50% weighting to bloggers’ votes, 25% to Clear Admit staff and 25% to our guest judges. In addition to an overall ranking, we’ll ask voters to share their thoughts on the funniest blog and best single post, and to point us to the blogs that they feel feature the best advice in categories such as GMAT preparation, school selection, application essays, admissions and recruiting interviews, as well as the best representation of academics and student life in business school.
Rankings Revealed – Tuesday, April 24th
Once the votes have been tallied, we’ll publish the category winners as well as the top ten listings in the applicant and student categories. As was the case last year, we’ll be handing out six prizes to reward the best of the best for their effort and contribution to the community. The second and third place bloggers in the student-blogger top 10 and applicant-blogger top 10 rankings will receive a one year subscription to Business Week or The Economist (their choice), and the two top-ranked bloggers (one student, one applicant) will be given the option of a 30GB Video iPod or a $250 Amazon.com gift certificate.
That’s all for now – check back on Friday, April 6th for an announcement about this year’s BoB nominees! In the meantime, happy blogging…
