APPLICANT RESOURCES

Clear Admit Interview Guides
Be as prepared as possible for your MBA interviews this season with the Clear Admit Interview Guides! School-specific sample questions and in-depth strategy, campus visit details and places to stay.

Clear Admit School Guides
Seventeen titles available! Understand how the leading programs compare and learn more about the MBA experience in and beyond the classroom through Clear Admit School Guides. As featured in the Economist.

Essay Topic Analysis
Below are links to our comments on some of the top programs' essay topics for the 2007-2008 admissions season.
The Career Goals Essay
Berkeley / Haas
Chicago GSB
CMU / Tepper *
Columbia
Cornell / Johnson
Dartmouth / Tuck
Duke / Fuqua
Harvard
IESE *
INSEAD
London Business School
MIT / Sloan
Michigan / Ross
Northwestern / Kellogg
NYU / Stern
Oxford / Said *
Penn / Wharton
Stanford GSB
UCLA / Anderson
UNC / Kenan-Flagler
UT Austin / McCombs *
UVA / Darden
Yale SOM
* denotes last year's commentary

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Rankings are a good way to start your research on various MBA Programs. Keep in mind each uses a different methodology.
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ARCHIVE FOR APRIL 2007

Monday, April 30, 2007

Yale SOM Community Blog Unveiled

Following the lead established by the LBS MBA Blog and Wharton Student Diaries, the Yale MBA Admissions Office recently announced the launch of the SOM Community Blog. The blog currently features thirteen first- and second-year students (one of whom you might already know as MBA Gladiator) who report on a range of topics, including their academics, extracurricular activities and professional plans.

It’s great to see another school embracing blogging technology and lending a unified platform for students who are interested in sharing their experiences. Though the school only called attention to the site recently, the contributing students have been writing for nearly three months, meaning that the blog is already a rich resource for those interested in an inside perspective on the SOM.

For prospective students targeting schools that don’t have a centralized source of student-generated information, the League of MBA Bloggers and the list of MBA blogs at opencoder.org are a great starting point in a search for in-depth information. Happy reading!

MBA News: Nine Fuqua Student Face Expulsion, Wharton Business Plan Competition Winners Announced

The Herald Sun of Durham, North Carolina, is reporting that nine first-year students at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business face possible expulsion after the largest cheating scandal in the school’s history. Thirty-eight students were brought before Fuqua’s judicial board on charges of improper collaboration on a take-home test given in a third quarter class. Of the 38 accused students, four were cleared of wrongdoing, nine were found guilty of “extremely severe offenses,” and the remainder were found guilty of “severe” or “minor” offenses related to the incident. Those students found guilty of the most severe offenses face expulsion from the school, while most of the other students face a one-year suspension from the program, pending the results of a likely appeal by the students. The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that the charges arose after a professor noticed unusual similarities between student responses on an open-book take home test. Fuqua’s honor code prohibits students from lying, cheating, and stealing, among other offenses, and also requires students to report violations of the code. Fuqua administrators, along with several students, are framing the incident as an example of how seriously the school takes ethics and integrity, and one student said that Fuqua’s willingness to welcome some of the students back to campus after the one-year suspension is a measure of the school’s compassion. With so many high profile corporate scandals in recent years, business schools are under more pressure than ever to produce graduates who will make responsible, ethical business decisions. Given this pressure, it is almost certain that Fuqua and the accused students will be subject to serious public scrutiny as the case continues to develop.

In lighter news, the Wharton Business Plan Competition (BPC) came to a close last week. A Wharton second-year student teamed up with several pharmacology students and a neurosurgery resident to create the winning team’s product and pitch. Their team, NP Solutions, developed a polymer based injectable hydrogel treatment for back pain related to degenerative disc disease, taking home the grand prize of $20,000 in capital plus in-kind legal and accounting services. Runner-ups include a low cost, high performance flash memory company in China, a higher output, lower cost biogas processing method, and a make-your-own candy cafe. At least one of the companies honored in the final round was also recognized at the semi-finalist level of MIT’s business plan competition, while others grew out of Wharton’s respected Venture Initiation Program. For more on the winning teams and the competition, be sure to check out the Business Plan Competition website.

Friday, April 27, 2007

MBA News: Wharton announces dual degree program with Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government

On April 24th the Wharton faculty approved a new dual degree program in conjunction with the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. The new degree program will allow Wharton MBA students to take advantage of both the business expertise of the Wharton School and the public policy and government expertise of the Kennedy School’s faculty.

Although there are not yet any admissions or curriculum details available, Wharton’s adcom blog reports that the program is “effective immediately.” The new dual degree joins Wharton’s other combined degree programs and comes on the heels of Harvard Business School’s announcement of its own dual degree program with the Kennedy School.

Fridays from the Frontline

Welcome back to Fridays from the Frontline, our weekly voyage through the MBA blogosphere. It was a vibrant week in the MBA blogging world, with emotions, not to mention applicants and students, traveling many directions. Let’s see if we can map their explorations…

In Charlottesville, Anand enjoyed an action-packed admitted students weekend at Darden, finagling some great photos of this picturesque campus to share with us, even if he was too busy taking in the atmosphere to take them himself. While ostensibly just a few hours away in Washington, D.C., Hair Twirler found herself having a truly international experience at Georgetown’s admitted students affair. Perhaps soon to be joining her, MBA Salsera waltzed out of the GMAT with a score in the mid-700s, issuing a sigh of relief heard around the (blogging) world. Now her only source of anxiety: Whether to accept Georgetown’s probable rescue from their waiting list, or aim even higher next admissions season?!

Across the world in Chennai, Juggler’s anxiety was alleviated as she aced her visa interview, ensuring smooth sailing to Philadelphia and Wharton. Further east, Asiangal also made headway on her visa, although she was a bit more animated about her recent swim with whale sharks than figuring out her Wharton matriculation, at least for the time being. Recognizing she too has bigger fish to fry right now, Bschool Diva took the bad news from McCombs in stride, refocusing her efforts away from Texas and toward the home front.

Iday does a service to fellow bloggers everywhere, offering the highlights of and a link to the BoB Awards; he is joined in humility by humorous Suser, thankful Katrina and graceful reigning champion Rungee, among others. Enjoying another kind of success, after overcoming her nerves, Inblue found her boss surprisingly accomodating regarding her imminent departure for Chicago. On the other hand, a decided pessimist on the job front, Necromonger presents a multimedia exploration of the potentially treacherous path toward U.S. employment as an INSEAD student.

The first-years were perhaps a more free-spirited bunch this past week, what with pantless La Lauderia tossing back shots at Lauder’s Joey Awards while UCLADawg rewarded himself for being a dedicated volunteer with a healthy dose of free beer at C4C weekend at Stanford. In New Haven and on the high seas, MBA Gladiator recollects an action-packed April at the Yale SOM in words and pictures, filled with end of the year partying and summer internship preparations. And at the pinnacle of all things less than serious, Marina shares with us the latest installment of CBS Follies revelry. In Barcelona, Noellie Bellie also enjoyed an electrifying performance, taking this opportunity to rank the other top ten (or so) concert’s she’s attended.

Not everyone was celebrating the end of their first year just yet, however: While Ashwyn may be out of the woods in terms of a bout of unfortunate illnesses, there’s still the challenging IESE Term 3 to contend with. Similarly, Angel Angie may have initially been slightly roiled by her hectic summer schedule at LBS, but has more than risen to the academic challenge. While starting by launching a defense of his less academically oriented blog, Hallonman went on to offer an informative synopsis of his P4 classes at INSEAD, all the same. And in Hanover, Benny was green with Tuck pride, advertising Tuck professor and brand expert Kevin Keller’s talk in Brazil, in addition to briefing his readers on the upcoming Tuck India Forum. Thinking more strategically, Tim K. debunks the myth of a “strategy” summer internship at a large corporation.

There was more activity amongst the second-years than usual this week. With just about 24 hours until graduation, Nate was aflutter with final thoughts on his tenure at Michigan. Meanwhile, Jerry Blank capitalized on his impending departure from Yale SOM by drumming up some class rivalry. Mbwana, as usual, was still in the mix of things, enthralled in the X Box case and the Stanford Professor/CEO who brought it to life. Over in the Midwest, The Dirty Canuck took a moment to reflect on her time off from the GSB, exploring the Pacific Northwest with none other than “the gf”, as she would say, while DomoDomo revealed the hidden motivations of b-school students at INSEAD (including him?). Perhaps most revealing was Divine Miss N, however, who finally mustered the courage to bare her identity to her LBS classmates just in time.

And that about covers it for this past week. Have a great weekend, see you next time for the latest installation of Fridays From the Frontline!

Thursday, April 26, 2007

Admissions Tip: Feedback Sessions

As many of our readers know, several of the leading MBA programs offer admissions feedback sessions to applicants who did not make the admissions cut in a given season. Though we’ve touched upon this subject before, we’d like to use today’s blog entry to underline the importance of these feedback sessions for those of you who are considering reapplication.

While not all schools offer feedback, a handful issue an open invitation to all unsuccessful applicants (e.g. Wharton, Kellogg). Additionally, some programs occasionally offer feedback ‘by invitation’ to top candidates for whom they just didn’t have room that year (e.g. Tuck, MIT/Sloan, and, marking a policy change this year, Chicago). In all cases, if you are given the opportunity to get feedback, you should absolutely take advantage of it. There are several reasons for this:

1) Signal commitment to improvement. Signing up for a feedback session demonstrates that you are motivated to learn more about your application’s weaknesses and are seeking to improve going forward (with the intention of reapplication). Most schools make note of these sessions and keep these notes in your file in the event that you do reapply.

2) Get the inside line. A feedback session gives you a chance to learn something about your candidacy - from the source. Feedback sessions can draw your attention to a perceived weakness you were unaware of or confirm your own thoughts with regards to areas for improvement.

3) Telegraph your interest. In addition to demonstrating your passion to improve and your intent to learn more about your candidacy, signing up for a session suggests a dedication to the MBA program in question. Since not all reapplicants bother to get feedback, the fact that you take this aspect of the process seriously can work in your favor.

4) Make a connection. In many cases, a feedback session can be the beginning of a relationship that is forged with a member of the adcom. If the person gives you feedback, you should email them a ‘thank you’ letter and take advantage of the opportunity to develop an advocate for your candidacy on the committee.

Stay tuned to this blog for some tips on proper feedback session etiquette in the near future. In the meantime, be sure to sign up for feedback sessions if your target school offers them. Here are the details on a few:

Wharton Feedback
Wharton has not yet posted instructions for this year, but last year’s feedback session entry in the Adcom Blog and a recent thread on the s2s Discussion Board indicate that interested applicants will receive details about signing up for a session in the near future.

Kellogg Feedback
Instructions: Email the admissions committee using the title “Request for Feedback.” You will then be contacted to schedule an appointment.

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Which School Wednesdays: The Significant Other Issue

Welcome back to Which School Wednesdays, where we take a closer look at some of the issues facing admitted students at this point in the spring. This week, we’d like to focus on perhaps one of the most difficult but least talked about elements of the decision process: making a final decision that suits the needs of both the applicant and a spouse or partner.

While nobody except the two people in a relationship can really know how their priorities line up, it can be very helpful to pace through the debate with a neutral party. One recent discussion on the Business Week Forums highlights some helpful ways to consider the different options. One poster explains how a Harvard admit threw a wrench into his plans to attend Wharton, as his wife had been admitted into a PhD program at Penn:

“It looked like our decision was made after I received my Wharton acceptance… However, now that I have been accepted by Harvard, I am finding this decision frustratingly painful.… I know that I’m probably crazy for even entertaining the idea of living apart from my wife for two years to go to school…particularly when we have the chance to attend an Ivy League school together.”

Another poster responded with some great advice based on his own situation:

“I clearly communicated to my wife that only if she agreed would I go for my MBA elsewhere. She did agree after she realized how excited I am about Darden… From a practical perspective the difference may be small between W and HBS, however if it has always been your desire to be part of HBS then do not simply disregard it… If you go to W just because of your wife and not because you wanted it, whenever you encounter any difficulty or failure you will resent your decision, and this will put stress on your relationship.”

The applicant’s final decision was to accept Wharton’s offer, thereby doing his part to dispel the belief that MBA stands for “me before anyone (else)”!

Offering further reassurance that the idea of living apart isn’t crazy, a second year student at Chicago GSB declares that it is possible to maintain a positive long-term relationship while earning an MBA. Posting on the Student Admissions Committee blog, he writes about using Skype to touch base once or twice a day with his girlfriend living in Stockholm:

“In general, your schedule as an MBA student will offer sufficient flexibility and breaks so that you can adapt to his/her working schedule – but it does take a bit of planning and effort.”

He also emphasizes that the prospect of long distance extends beyond the duration of the MBA program. He urges students to brainstorm with their partners about jobs and internships in mutually agreeable locations, and then to pursue them early in the year:

“My girlfriend sent me a list of 60 companies based in Stockholm. Then I cross checked with the list in our career services office – we had data for ALL of them. I ended up at Bain Stockholm for the summer, and when I got an offer, both Anna and I were thrilled to accept!”

This sounds like an excellent approach, since the writer benefits from both his schools’ resources as well as his partner’s input. Prospective students still making their school selection decisions might want to follow this lead by, for instance researching the school’s network and placement record in the target post-MBA region.

For those admitted students with spouses or partners who will be joining them at business school, it’s a great idea to bring him or her along to welcome events for admitted students in the spring. Many weekend events feature special activities for partners, allowing them to get a sense of how they might participate in the community once the school year begins.

Best of luck to all the couples who are debating this issue at present; we’ll see you next week for another installment of Which Schools Wednesdays!

Tuesday, April 24, 2007

Best of Blogging 2006-2007 Results!

After weeks of waiting and blogosphere buzz, we’re pleased to end the suspense and announce the results of our third annual Best of Blogging Awards! For the uninitiated, the aim of this event is to recognize those bloggers who have made an appreciable contribution to the online community, and to identify valuable sources of information and advice for incoming students and the next round of applicants.

We arrived at the ranking for both the applicant and student categories after careful evaluation of the eligible blogs by Clear Admit staff and consideration of input from the nominated bloggers and celebrity judges Graeme Harper of LBS and Brad Garrison (a.k.a. Hella). Below are the hotly anticipated listings of the top ten applicant and top ten student blogs overall, as well as the winners in a handful of more specific categories.

Please hold your applause until all the winners are announced …

Top 10 Applicant Blogs
1. Rungee582 - http://rungee582.blogspot.com
2. Iday - http://i4iday.blogspot.com
3. Juggler - http://thembasaga.blogspot.com
4. Asiangal - http://asiangalmba.blogspot.com
5. Forrest Gump - http://run-forrest.blogspot.com
6. RusGirl - http://rusgirl.blogspot.com
7. Hair Twirler - http://mbajamey.blogspot.com
8. JatWarrior - http://jatwarrior.blogspot.com
9. MBA Babe - http://mbababe.blogspot.com
10. Anand - http://anandologue.blogspot.com

Funniest Applicant Blog
Suser - http://susulicious.blogspot.com

Best GMAT Preparation Advice
Asiangal

Best School Selection Advice
Rungee582

Best Essay Advice
Juggler

Best Interview Advice
Iday

Best Single Post by an Applicant (tie)
MBA Babe, “Worst of Apps ‘07: my top 10”
Suser, “Transcript Woes”

Top 10 MBA Student Blogs:
1. Angel Angie (LBS) - http://angelangie2008.blogspot.com
2. Divine Miss N (LBS) - http://divinemissn.typepad.com
3. From Cali (Ross) - http://fromcali.blogspot.com
4. Tim K. (McCombs) - http://southpawtiger.blogspot.com
5. Noelle (IESE) - http://spanishnoelle.blogspot.com
6. Jerry Blank (Yale SOM) - http://flatpointmba.blogspot.com
7. Benny (Tuck) - http://mba-benny.blogspot.com
8. La Laudiaria (Wharton) - http://heiressmba.blogspot.com
9. Karlitos (LBS) - http://karlitosgoesmba.blogspot.com
10. MBA Gladiator (Yale SOM) - http://mbagladiator.blogspot.com

Funniest Student Blog
The Dirty Canuck (Chicago) - http://the-dirty-canuck.blogspot.com

Best Resource for Applicants
Angel Angie

Best Job/Internship Advice
Angel Angie

Best Representation of Academics
J-term Johnny (CBS) - http://j-term-johnny.blogspot.com

Best Representation of Student Life
La Laudiaria

Best Single Post by a Student
Jerry Blank, “Fanfare”

Our congratulations go out to everyone whose blog has been recognized! We’ll be getting in touch with the top-ranked bloggers at some point today or tomorrow to iron out prize selection and distribution. Top-ranked bloggers Rungee and Angel Angie will have their pick of a 30GB Video iPod or a $250 Amazon.com gift certificate, and Iday, Juggler, the Divine Miss N and FromCali can opt for a subscription to either Business Week or The Economist: a token of our gratitude for the time and effort they’ve put into creating interesting and informative accounts of their MBA-related experiences.

Finally, we’d like to thank the celebrity judges and voting bloggers who made the BoB awards possible, as well as the blogging community at large who make this exercise worthwhile. We’re constantly impressed with the depth and breadth of material that MBA applicants and students share with each other, and with the supportive atmosphere this fosters. We’re looking forward to another great year of content detailing the application process and MBA experience - happy reading and writing!

Monday, April 23, 2007

Campus Chronicles: Harvard, Cornell

The school year is starting to wind down, but the student newspapers are still holding strong, bringing current students and other readers all the news from campus. Today let’s check in on the happenings at Harvard and Cornell, as featured in the Harbus and the Cornell Business, respectively.

At Harvard, students had a plethora of exciting speakers to choose from over the last few weeks. First, consultant and motivational speaker Anthony Robbins spoke to a packed auditorium on the topic of decisions and destiny as part of the Public Speaking Club’s Outstanding Speaker Series. One student reported that the audience was “fired up” by the end of the talk, perhaps in part due to Robbins’s gift of a free coaching session to all HBS students. Also on Harvard’s campus recently, groundbreaking social psychologist Phillip Zimbardo spoke on his book The Lucifer Effect, which brings together decades of research on how situational effects can bring good people to do evil things. On a very different note, HBS also hosted the 3rd Annual Retail and Luxury Goods Conference recently, an event that brought almost 300 students and industry leaders together for a day of intense conversation on the managerial issues in the industry. In social news, it appears that one HBS student enjoyed her birthday outing to the Boston Celtics so much that she wanted to share it with her entire class - really. After attending a great game in early April, this second year student arranged a 50% discount for any HBS student who wanted to buy tickets for the last home game of the season. It appears that even when having fun, the networks you build at business school really do come in handy!

At Cornell, the theme of the Cornell Business seems to be traveling - a staff member from the Career Management Center recounts her experiences sailing around the world as part of the Semester at Sea program, while students in several groups made the trip to New York City for some exciting career opportunities. To begin, first-year students in this semester’s Brand Immersion program took the first of their two trips to New York. While there, the group met with numerous companies, including Amex, Bayer, Y&R, and Lippincott Mercer, picking up plenty of insights into brand management - as well as some free stuff! The Fashion, Luxury and Lifestyle Club also had a successful New York outing, hosting the club’s first-ever Round Table Luncheon. The event allowed students to meet with executives from companies such as Revlon, Chanel, Lucky Brand Jeans, and Kenneth Cole and to ask them questions in a relaxed setting. Other Cornell MBA students traveled a bit farther afield, with groups going to Boston and the San Francisco Bay Area as part of the Career Management Center’s “Just About Jobs” interview program. These Just About Jobs events are designed to help students connect with companies outside of Cornell’s immediate region, and have been quite successful at generating full-time and internship offers for participants since their inception five years ago.

That’s the news for this week! Check back next week for more on the speakers, stresses, and social events generating buzz on MBA campuses.

Friday, April 20, 2007

BoB Celebrity Judges

With many members of the blogosphere eagerly awaiting next’s weeks announcement of this year’s Best of Blogging results, we wanted to take a moment to introduce the 2007 Celebrity Judges!

Graeme Harper: Marketing Manager for the London Business School MBA program, Graeme Harper participated in a panel on the role of blogs in a business school’s marketing message at last summer’s GMAC conference.  Joining Clear Admit’s Alex Brown and CBS blogger Marina, he offered insight to admissions officers on how they might manage and engage the changing online environment.  With LBS being among the first business schools to host blogs on its own website and integrate student and admissions office generated content, we thought it only fitting to invite Graeme to weigh in on the best student and applicant blogs of this season.

Brad Garrison (a.k.a. Hella): We’re thrilled to have Brad aboard for his third consecutive year of BoB voting.  Now an alumnus of the Wharton School, Brad not only blogged his way through his own MBA, but also hosts aggregated lists of the latest posts by MBA applicant, student and alum bloggers on his site.  Having just graduated last spring and worked as a Graduate Assistant in Wharton’s admissions office, Brad remains in touch with the student and applicant experience, but also benefits from the perspective that a bit of distance can provide.

We’re looking forward to reviewing the input from these insiders, as well as from the nominated bloggers (ahem, as a reminder, ballots are due by the end of today).  Check back on Tuesday, April 24th for the results!

Fridays From the Frontline

Welcome to this week’s edition of Fridays From the Frontline, where we offer you a synopsis of the latest developments in the MBA blogging community. While in past weeks applicant bloggers have often seemed to rally around a specific topic or idea, candidates are entertaining a variety of themes this week, perhaps indicative of the different directions in which they are preparing for their MBA paths to take them. On the other hand, first- and second-year student bloggers seem for the most part united by the denouement of the 2006-07 school year and the impending “What’s next??”

That said, one thing that came up in a number of applicant bloggers’ posts this week was the upcoming BoB awards. In the true spirit of management training, Ipoel delegated the grunt work of sifting through the plethora of nominated blogs to her readers, asking them to report their favorites to her via her message board, easing her decision making. On the other hand, Iday’s BoB votes are already in, reminding the rest of the community to cast them by the deadline this Friday. Juggler also made her tough decisions, settling on her favorites after what she called a “whirlwind tour” of the offerings. This still left her with some time to write up a comprehensive list of solid resume tips that any prospective student might utilize.

Returning to tough decisions, however, Katrina finally made hers between NYU and UCLA, after having considered everything from industry relationships to attitudes at the two schools. Also in the vein of school selection, Necromonger offers an amusing and insightful guide to applying to a reasonable set of schools, enhanced with fun graphics. HairTwirler was similarly in the mood to provide some guidance to future applicants, kindly taking the time to recount the earliest stages of her MBA journey before being hit with a surprise first homework assignment from Georgetown, causing her more than a little trepidation. On an emotional rollercoaster of sorts himself, Forrest navigated the tumult of feelings that accompanied his resignation and the b-school challenge ahead, among other things. Meanwhile, JatWarrior simply had a blast at Tuck’s Admitted Students Weekend.

On the first-year student front, Angel Angie discusses the job market for investment banking hopefuls, anticipating favorable conditions for 2008 and 2009 graduates, alike. Less enthused, Jacek ponders the meaning of his lack of internship bites (so far) and considers contingency plans, while on a lighter note, Tim K. muses about the perfect weather, the halfway point of his MBA career at UT Austin and his summer plans in sunny Florida. In faraway Oxford, Nagendra was also enamored with the beauty of approaching summer as it festooned the SBS campus; far from warm weather, Fromcali notes that the Go Blue Rendezvous at Michigan turned out some impressive admitted students, despite the recent snow. La Lauderia reports an eventful Welcome Weekend, as well, recounting the Wharton Economic Summit and an inspiring breakfast with The Honorable Barbara Thomas, the current chair of the UK Atomic Energy Authority.

In New York, J-Term Johnny prepares to ring in the end of the semester at Columbia with comedy and drinks, while Stern’s Rubeo Boy was in a decidedly less celebratory mood following his unpleasant experience with the city’s club scene. Speaking of scenes, Hallonman links us to a couple of INSEAD students with a panoramic view of the French countryside and the area’s impressive chateaus – from their roadside tents! Back in the states, Benny provides a window into the expansion taking place on Tuck’s campus as they build their new living and learning complex. Making the most of her time abroad before graduation, NoellieBellie captures some great shots on her pre-graduation roadtrip to Cordoba.

On the second-year horizon, Nate fills us in on what’s in store for “Disorientation Week” at Michigan, while winding down in a different way, Mbwana conveys his pleasure at the array of lunchtime networking events he has time to attend now that recruiting is over at Stanford, citing an especially interesting presentation by Google. The Dirty Canuck, on the other hand, has pretty much had her hands full with evaluating the ramifications of the new TV situation in her Chicago apartment building.

Finally, something on a lot of bloggers minds this week, which both applicants and current students took into thoughtful and moving consideration, was the tragedy at Virginia Tech. We at Clear Admit would like to join these bloggers in extending our condolences to all those affected by Monday’s events.

Thursday, April 19, 2007

Admissions Tip: Extra-Curricular Activities

Because it’s a time of year when applicants aiming for Fall 2008 intake are just beginning to think about the admissions process, we wanted to focus today on one element of the application that candidates often underestimate: extra-curricular activities.

In order to understand why this category is important, candidates should keep in mind that the adcom is responsible for crafting a dynamic class each year. The aim is to admit individuals who will support a vibrant campus community and step into leadership positions. In other words, as admissions officers consider each applicant, they ask themselves “what’s in it for our school?” An applicant who has previously demonstrated a talent for writing, for example, by contributing to a non-profit’s newsletter, will really catch the adcom’s attention if she also expresses her intent to contribute to a specific publication on campus.

Volunteering is of course a great way to expand one’s extra-curricular involvement. However, many applicants participate in the occasional fundraising walk or an annual corporate outreach day; those who demonstrate ongoing involvement in one cause or organization will be of special interest to the admissions committee, especially if it is related to their current or future career. A candidate who has contributed over a longer period is likely to have developed his or her responsibilities beyond ladling soup or stuffing envelopes. What’s more, this can be a particularly important opportunity for applicants who are currently living and working outside of their home countries; for example, an Indian applicant who works and volunteers in Africa will stand out as being particularly engaged and well-adapted to his or her foreign environment.

Candidates who are older or younger than the average applicant should recognize that their extra-curricular involvement is particularly important. A younger applicant who lacks leadership responsibilities at work might demonstrate his talent for motivating others outside of the office. Meanwhile, older applicants can use their extra-curricular involvement to reassure the adcom that, despite family responsibilities or distance in age from one’s classmates, the broader life of the community remains important to them.

Lastly, applicants will have a much easier time writing their application essays if they have a variety of experiences from which to draw. While applicants can certainly respond to most essay prompts by reflecting on their professional experiences, relying exclusively on one’s work is a mistake. With each essay, the applicant should aim to share a different side of his or herself - submitting five essays about electrical engineering or investment banking is not the most effective way to do this.

We hope that this sheds some light on the opportunities and value that activities outside of work provide with respect to one’s b-school candidacy and applications. Should you find that area of your application lacking upon reflection, the good news is that there’s still plenty of time to address this before the deadlines. Whether that means volunteering your professional services to a local non-profit, joining a community mentoring organization or brushing up on your competitive square dancing, Class of 2010 aspirants should aim to make this an especially active and productive summer!

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Which School Wednesdays

Welcome to this week’s edition of Which School Wednesdays!  At this point in the season, most applicants have received their long-awaited decision notifications, and those who have been accepted at more than one program will likely spend the next few weeks drafting (and redrafting) their lists of pros and cons before ultimately deciding on one school over another.

This week, the Clear Admit Wiki received a very insightful post from applicant blogger Katrina.  Her decision-making process was impressive in several ways, and it may be of value to others who are currently deliberating over similar questions.  Let’s take a look at how Katrina approached the debate between NYU (Stern) and UCLA (Anderson):

The first thing to note is that Katrina asked a wide range of questions and was thorough in her search for answers.  On one hand, she asked questions about her potential school experience in the short-term; and on the other considered her career opportunities beyond the next two years.  As one deliberates over programs, it’s important to make sure that the next two years don’t eclipse the long-term, and vice versa.

In regards to the long-term, Katrina considered the industries with which each schools’ alumni are predominantly associated.  Looking at geography and recruiting patterns, she concluded that Stern was the place to go for Investment Banking, while Anderson would be better for Private Equity and Venture Capital.  Of course, the differences extend beyond finance:

“I saw somebody asked about entertainment programs on another blog, and the answer was that NYU’s program focuses more on TV networks, while UCLA’s program focuses more on film companies.”

Katrina also considered quality of life issues that will influence her next two years, thinking about climate, housing prices, transportation options, and the differences between cultural ‘fit’ in New York and Los Angeles.  She was also quite right to consider how the differing academic calendars would affect the already-stressful internship search:

“The problem with UCLA recruitment is school starts at Oct 1 here, which is one month after most other schools. But the companies don’t treat Anderson differently than other schools, so students at Anderson need to really work hard to catch up on the schedule, especially for those wanting a summer internship at financial service/consulting…”

Perhaps Katrina’s most influential short-term consideration of all was the substantial financial offer she received from Anderson.  Sometimes these offers come as a surprise, as in this case, but financial aid and scholarship opportunities are also an important factor to consider at the beginning of the application process.  Sometimes applicants don’t fully realize how significant an investment their MBA educations will be until the spring, at which point offers like this one can essentially flip their priorities!  Applicants who thoroughly research this aspect of the MBA experience in the fall won’t find themselves in unfamiliar territory when financial issues become more urgent in the spring.

It takes quite a bit of effort to make highly-nuanced distinctions like Katrina’s.  For this reason, it’s a great idea to take advantage of every resource available when making this difficult decision.  Talking to alumni in your target industry and attending events for admitted students, whether a full weekend at the school itself or a dinner hosted in your own city, are great starting points for collecting valuable information.

We wish this BoB-nominated blogger the best of luck at Anderson, and invite other readers to post their own school choice debates on the School Choices section of the Clear Admit Wiki.  In the meantime, here’s to due diligence and calm consideration!

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Trivia Tuesday: Kellogg’s Global Initiatives in Management Program

Welcome to another edition of Trivia Tuesday! This week let’s take a look at Kellogg’s popular Global Initiatives in Management, or GIM, program.

Kellogg’s international programs are coordinated by the International Business & Markets Program, which runs the Global Initiatives in Management course, one of Kellogg’s most popular electives. Over two-thirds of Kellogg students enroll in the course each year, usually during the winter or summer quarters. Each class section chooses a country of focus and individual students choose target industries or economic sectors to study. Recent courses have focused on countries on six continents, with students studying industries ranging from e-commerce and pharmaceuticals to ecotourism and microenterprise. The class then works with a faculty advisor to plan the 10-week curriculum, invite relevant guest speakers from the country and from campus, and organize an intensive 2-week study trip to the country at the end of the quarter. During the study trip, students meet with business and government leaders, conduct research on their target industry in preparation for a final presentation, meet Kellogg alumni in the region, and are immersed the local language and culture. Kellogg views the program as a cornerstone in its efforts to build students’ awareness of the global business environment.

In the summer of 2007, Kellogg will run several GIM trips.  Among them, the GIM-South America class will visit Argentina, Brazil and Chile to explore the forces driving South America’s economic and political development. The trip’s tagline: “Business by day, Samba & Tango by night.” Another 2007 GIM class will travel to Turkey and Dubai, enabling students to gain an invaluable understanding of two countries that will be critical to the expansion of European business in the years to come.

For more information on Kellogg’s international opportunities and special elective options, be sure to check out the school’s website or the Academics & International Focus sections of the Clear Admit School Guide to Kellogg!

Monday, April 16, 2007

Campus Chronicles: Columbia, Stern

Welcome to the start of another week! For today’s Campus Chronicles column, let’s turn our focus to those two great New York City business schools - Columbia and NYU Stern - and check in on the campus happenings, as reported in The Bottom Line and The Stern Opportunity.

On the academic front, Stern’s Association of Investment Management held its sixth annual conference recently. The conference focused on “changes impacting equity and fixed-income research, differing investment strategies, and the challenges of investing globally.” Over 120 Stern participants came out for the event, which featured keynote addresses by Margaret Cannella, JP Morgan Managing Director and Director of Americas Corporate Research, and Shane Finemore, Head of Proprietary Trading at UBS. Other speakers and panelists were drawn from a number of top Wall Street firms. Meanwhile, Columbia students took quite a field trip recently, as Class of ‘51 graduate and world-famous investor Warren Buffett played host to almost 150 students from Professor Greenwald’s Value Investing course. On their trip, the students toured the famous Nebraska Furniture Mart and afterwards spent a two-hour Q&A session with “Oracle of Omaha” - for full coverage of the exchange, be sure to read the three-page cover story!

Although conferences and field trips are two great opportunities of business school, the recruiting process still looms large for many students. For those first- and second-years still seeking to secure an internship or full time offer, the recent papers have some advice and support. First, the Stern Opportunity offers a reminder that current students can sign up for CAP, the online career mentoring program. Through CAP, students can search for and connect with up to three alumni mentors each month, getting valuable advice on industries, companies, or the career development process. At Columbia, an article on page 5 exclaims “Still No Job? You’re Not Alone…” The article goes on to introduce a new addition the career center’s support resources - online films, called Career Chronicles, that profile individual Columbia students’ job searches.

In social news, the 2007 Stern Follies show went off with a bang, with several of the school’s deans and professors joining in the fun on stage. However, if listening to students and professors sing isn’t your style, The Perfect Beat offers up some great recommendations for local music, from the unknown to the well-known. A Columbia student also offers some recommendations on New York cultural attractions, in a page 13 article entitled “My Little Piece of New York.”

Finally, although the Columbia Business School is slated to move to the University’s new Manhattanville campus in several years, the school is still making improvements to the current facilities. An article on page 11 discusses the planned summer construction on Columbia’s Uris Hall, which among other benefits, should add 34 group study rooms - much more than the zero the building currently has!

That’s the news for this week. Tune in next week for more of the news and views from campus!

Friday, April 13, 2007

The Language of Business

We’d like to point our readers to a couple of interesting articles in Wednesday’s New York Times.  Both pieces center on management education across the globe and the growing number of international programs that are using English as the language of instruction.

The first article, entitled ‘English as Language of Global Education’ highlights the fact that noted institutions in countries like France, South Korea and Spain are offering courses (and even full degrees) in English.  The article features an interesting quote from the Dean of Essec (a top business school in France): 

We are shifting to English. Why?” said Laurent Bibard, the dean of M.B.A. programs at Essec, a top French business school in a suburb of Paris that is a fertile breeding ground for chief executives.  “It’s the language for international teaching,” he said. “English allows students to be able to come from anyplace in the world and for our students — the French ones — to go everywhere.”

But the article also points to another compelling reason for non-English speaking countries to shift their university offerings into the English language: increased revenue.  Schools in France and Spain that offer MBAs in English are able to attract international students from around the world, typically at a higher tuition rate. 

The second article of note, ‘Some Stilted Conversations, but Signs of a Cultural Shift’, is more of an on-the-ground view of the use of the English language on the French campus of Essec and how it impacts social life and recruiting (potentially putting French students at a disadvantage when competing with English-speaking classmates for jobs where English is required).  The author also highlights the fact that for the first time ever, an American has been accepted into the equivalent of a fraternity/eating club at Essec, introducing the clubs members to some of the hallmarks of US fraternity life…

While these articles are clearly of interest to students looking at international programs offering MBAs in the English language, we also find the larger implications of this shift to be of note.  For example, it’s interesting to consider how the use of English outside of major MBA markets (like the US, Canada and UK) might impact the volume of candidates coming to North America or the United Kingdom for their studies.

Fridays from the Frontline

Welcome back to another installment of Fridays from the Frontline.  There’s been plenty of action in the MBA blogosphere this week – even aside from all the “BoB buzz” that that the nominations have generated!  Let’s see what’s new:

After so many tense months or hard work and waiting, we’re seeing a degree of healthy forward-looking perspective is returning to applicants’ blogs.  Now that Anand is in at Darden, he posted an inspiring ‘to do’ list for the next few months, including everything from sleeping to brushing up on his meringue.  AsianGal plans to study for her CFA exam and swim with whale sharks, among other things, now that she has committed to Wharton.  JatWarrior, meanwhile, gave notice at his current job this week and is looking forward to spending time with his family before joining Tuck’s class of 2009.

Other admitted students were busy reflecting on the process they’ve recently completed.  Iday posted advice on obtaining letters of recommendation and interviews, while Juggler offered her wisdom on funding one’s MBA.  Suser considered the best approach to the GMAT, and MBA Babe posted a list of her admissions season low points as a warning to future applicants.  Lastly, Peter wrote an insightful post about the difficulty of representing oneself honestly on one hand, while simultaneously trying to avoid hot button issues like religion and politics.

With the end of the school year near, this week inspired reflection among certain student bloggers as well.  Angel Angie took a look at her experience at LBS so far and considered what’s to come.  FromCali took time this week to describe her MAP experience at Ross, and despite the intensity of the project it sounds like she’s grateful for the experience.  In job search news, both DomoDomo and Hallonman described their recruiting experiences at INSEAD in the last few weeks.

This week wasn’t all relaxed reflection, however.  La Laudiaria reported on her Wharton leadership venture visit to a US Marine Corps bootcamp, while Karlitos wrote about his busy time in Tokyo (we especially liked his Lost in Translation photo!).  Meanwhile, Nagendra is gearing up for an exciting summer of consulting projects at Oxford.

Other student bloggers focused their attention on the smaller pleasures this week.  Imaginary Engineer declared his love of the