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

• Admissions Tips
• Campus Chronicles
• Deadlines
• Essay Topic Analysis
• Essay Topics
• Events
• Fridays from the Frontline
• General
• GMAT News
• GMAT Tips
• Interview Guides
• Interview Tips
• MBA News
• Part-Time MBA
• Part-Time/Executive MBA
• Pre-Matriculation Tips
• Rankings
• School Guides
• School: Berkeley / Haas
• School: Cambridge
• School: Chicago
• School: CMU / Tepper
• School: Columbia
• School: Cornell / Johnson
• School: Dartmouth / Tuck
• School: Duke / Fuqua
• School: Emory / Goizueta
• School: ESADE
• School: Georgetown
• School: Harvard
• School: IE
• School: IESE
• School: IMD
• School: INSEAD
• School: ISB
• School: London Business School
• School: Michigan / Ross
• School: MIT / Sloan
• School: Northwestern / Kellogg
• School: NYU Stern
• School: Oxford
• School: Penn / Wharton
• School: Stanford
• School: UCLA / Anderson
• School: UNC / Kenan Flagler
• School: UT Austin / McCombs
• School: Virginia / Darden
• School: Yale
• Trivia Tuesday
• Uncategorized
• Waitlist Advice
• Which School Wednesdays
• Wiki Wednesdays
• Workbook Wednesdays

School Rankings
Rankings are a good way to start your research on various MBA Programs. Keep in mind each uses a different methodology.
Business Week
Economist
Financial Times
Forbes
USNews
Wall Street Journal

• knowledge@wharton
• INSEAD Knowledge
• Harvard Working Knowledge
• Knowledge @ Emory
• Columbia Ideas @ Work
• knowledge@ W. P. Carey

Blog Archive

• May 2008
• April 2008
• March 2008
• February 2008
• January 2008
• December 2007
• November 2007
• October 2007
• September 2007
• August 2007
• July 2007
• June 2007
• May 2007
• April 2007
• March 2007
• February 2007
• January 2007
• December 2006
• November 2006
• October 2006
• September 2006
• August 2006
• July 2006
• June 2006
• May 2006
• April 2006
• March 2006
• February 2006
• January 2006
• December 2005
• November 2005
• October 2005
• September 2005
• August 2005
• July 2005
• June 2005
• May 2005
• April 2005
• March 2005
• February 2005
• January 2005
• December 2004
• November 2004
• October 2004
• September 2004
• August 2004
• July 2004
• June 2004
• May 2004
• April 2004
• March 2004
• February 2004
• January 2004
• December 2003
• November 2003
• October 2003
• September 2003
• August 2003
• July 2003
• June 2003

Submit a report to the Clear Admit Wiki, win $10 to iTunes!

ARCHIVE FOR MAY 2007

Thursday, May 31, 2007

Admissions Tip: Round 3 Results

With the release of most Round 3 notifications in the past three weeks, the 2006-2007 admissions season is coming to a close for the vast majority of MBA aspirants. We’d like to offer our congratulations to all those who have gained admission to one of more of their target schools, and wish good luck to waitlisted applicants whose fate is presently a bit less certain. For all those who submitted their applications in the final round and received an unfavorable decision, we’d like to share a few tips that we hope will make the process of facing rejection as productive as possible:

1) Understand the odds and consider reapplying in the early rounds next year. If you failed to gain admission to a school in its final application round, you should not give up hope or instantly assume that your profile contains some glaring weakness that will forever bar you from acceptance. Because relatively few spots in the incoming class are available by the time of the Round 3 deadlines, it is always most difficult to get into a school at this point in the year. In many cases, an earlier application is all that you need to find success in the process.

2) Get feedback from the admissions committee. As we commented in a recent post, many of the top programs allow unsuccessful applicants to sign up for a feedback session with an admissions officer (sessions typically take place over the summer). This is a unique chance for you to learn how the committee perceived your application. Keep in mind that your audience with the adcom will be brief - try to approach the meeting with pointed questions about your candidacy in order to ensure that the feedback session is as productive and informative as possible.

3) Get feedback from other sources. Although a number of schools do not offer feedback, there are other ways to learn about where you may have fallen short. For starters, you should read over your file with a critical eye and try to identify and understand your weaknesses. Take a step back from the process and be objective about your shortcomings. You might also share your file with colleagues who have been to business school. While this can be enlightening, you should also be careful about the feedback you collect on these fronts, since not all of it will be accurate (or consistent). Finally, you might seek feedback from an MBA admissions consulting firm. Clear Admit offers complete feedback sessions, including detailed written reports that construct an individualized road-map for reapplication.

4) Plan for a productive summer. Although it’s tempting to simply take a break from the admissions process after receiving a rejection letter, it is imperative that reapplicants use the summer months to address the weaknesses in their profiles. In many cases, reapplicants need to pursue outside coursework, retake a standardized test (GMAT/TOEFL), increase involvement with outside activities or take on new responsibilities at work. All of these tasks take time and cannot be addressed in the fall when application forms and essays should be the priority. By being proactive about improving your candidacy now, you will put yourself in a much better position to apply next year.

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

New Venture Challenge Results from Chicago GSB

The 2007 New Venture Challenge competition culminated last week at the University of Chicago GSB, with nine teams of finalists presenting their business plans to a panel of 18 judges.  The first place award went to Braintree Financial, founded by one recent graduate of Chicago’s Executive MBA program and three members of the Class of ’07.  The firm has been in operation since 2006 and offers payment processing services, as well as services related to financing and security compliance.  The company took home $25,000 in prize money.

The second place award was split between two teams, each winning $15,000.  One team presented a plan for a company offering prepared foods, while the other uses an extensive clinical network in India to provide data to medical device customers in the U.S.

Since the contest began in 1997, competing teams have spent the fall developing their plans, submitting their first summary proposals in January.  Throughout the second semester they further refine the plans with the aid of a seminar entitled Special Topics in Entrepreneurship.

Business plan and new venture contests like this one at the GSB provide a fantastic hands-on lesson in entrepreneurship, and are certainly worth investigating when researching MBA programs; the New Venture Challenge alone has launched over 40 new companies in the last ten years.  Good luck to the winning teams, and congratulations to all nine finalists in this year’s competition!

Clear Admit at 2007 GMAC Conference

GMAC, or the Graduate Management Admissions Council, will hold its Annual Industry Conference in Philadelphia next month, and we’re pleased to announce that Clear Admit has been tapped to offer insight to attending MBA admissions officers for a second consecutive year!

Clear Admit co-founder Graham Richmond will be moderating and participating in a panel titled “Social Networking: Meeting Students Where They Live.”  Along with educational researcher Stephanie Geyer and Angela Dimit, who works in Development and Alumni Relations for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, he’ll lend insight into where MBA applicants, students and alumni gather online, and will lead an exploration of available technologies and the ways schools can harness them to build community among past, present and prospective students.

Beyond this particular panel, a glimpse at this year’s Concurrent Session Schedule provides an interesting perspective on the subjects that are of most interest to MBA admissions officers at the moment.  Topics range from applicant-focused subjects, like strategies for reaching Hispanic and African American applicants and managing student expectations with regard to rising costs tuitions, to internal issues such as promoting harmony and collaboration between a school’s admissions and financial aid offices, and handling the implications of admitting students with little to no work experience.

Stay tuned for a recap of the panel, and any other news from the mid-June event.

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

BW Chat Insights: Changes in Store at HBS

As we mentioned earlier today in our MBA news coverage, HBS Executive Director of MBA Admissions & Financial Aid Deirdre Leopold appeared on a Business Week chat this afternoon to field questions from potential applicants to the MBA program. The transcript will be publicly available within a week, but we wanted to take a moment now to comment on a few interesting items from the chat.

Leopold revealed that last year was a good one for HBS, which enjoyed an 11% increase in application volume over the 2005-2006 season. With the increased competition, chat participants were understandably interested in what the school most desires in its students. In response, Leopold stressed the school’s focus on leadership ability, demonstrated quantitative and analytical proficiency, and potential to succeed and contribute in the school’s case-based learning environment.

Some of the most interesting news, though, relates to Harvard’s changing its approach with respect to some issues of application flexibility and information availability. For years, HBS has required prospective students to answer each of six or even seven essays, making Harvard’s one of the more rigid and labor-intensive MBA applications. Leopold reported today that this year, the school will ask only two mandatory questions, and allow applicants to select three more to answer from six options. This model is similar to the one that schools like Wharton and Kellogg have employed for years, and is one that allows an applicant to play to his or her strengths.

Also of note is the school’s planned push toward admissions transparency. Toward the end of today’s chat, Leopold announced her plan to maintain a blog about events in the admissions office and the broader campus, and promised staff and faculty podcasts as early as July. It also sounds as though the school intends to keeps applicants better informed on where they stand in the admissions process at various points in each round. For instance, Leopold mentioned that the school will let applicants know when the majority of its interview invitations have gone out, a subject that has traditionally been a subject of rabid speculation among anxious applicants.

When Wharton moved toward a transparent admissions process several years ago, applicants embraced this as a “more humane” approach given the average MBA applicant’s investment (financial, emotional and professional) in their b-school efforts and eagerness for news about their results. While Harvard’s reputation ensures a high level of interest in its MBA regardless of how the admissions process is run, it’s great to see the school taking this step away from the black box model and planning to keep its many applicants in the loop.

Again, those who missed the chat itself can tuned for the full transcript on the Business Week site within the next week!

Clear Admit featured in Business Week

Clear Admit was featured last Friday in a Business Week article about MBA admissions consultants and the schools’ evolving perceptions of the field. While most schools understand that the majority of admissions consultants play a valuable and legitimate role when providing applicants with strategic and editorial feedback, they also know that assistance to applicants come in a variety of forms and remain aware that certain firms cross an ethical line.

“‘The type of help varies widely, ’says Mae Jennifer Shores, an admissions officer at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. ‘Our concern is when consultants are used to write essays.’”

Clear Admit strongly believes that an admissions consultant can be extremely valuable by coaching applicants on their application, and takes a firm stance against the practice of writing essays for applicants. To support our stand on these issues, we have co-founded AIGAC, an association of admissions consultants who adhere to the proper business practices. As mentioned in the article,

“Graham Richmond is quick to defend consulting firms like Clear Admit, which he founded with a fellow Wharton grad six years ago. His goal, he says, is to ‘perfect the admissions process, not pervert it.’ He helped launch the Association of International Graduate Admissions Consultants this month to help legitimize the field.”

Though schools remain wary, the article suggests that MBA admissions offices are increasingly conceding that most consultants are offering advice and guidance rather than assisting applicants in actively misrepresenting themselves. We are pleased that schools are acknowledging the valuable role that admissions consultants can play and are confident that this association will help schools realize that most admissions counselors do adhere to industry best practices.

MBA News: HBS Chat, GMAT Courses, Chicago Feedback Sessions, Fuqua Scandal

Welcome back from the holiday weekend!  Here’s a rundown of a few recent news items from the b-school universe:

Live Chat with Harvard Business School’s Deirdre Leopold Today at 1 PM (EDT)
The executive director of MBA Admissions and Financial Aid at Harvard Business School will be joining BusinessWeek’s Francesca Di Meglio for a live chat about life at HBS, the admissions process and more.  Click here to join the chat.  Also, for those of you who have an interest in prior HBS chats at BusinessWeek, you can find the transcript from the last one here.

GMAT Courses
A recent BusinessWeek article offered a broad summary of GMAT test prep options from the leading firms in the field.  While the brief capsule reviews are no substitute for doing your own research, the article serves as a solid starting point.  Based on our experience here at Clear Admit, we were particularly pleased to see a very favorable review of Manhattan GMAT.  Given Manhattan GMAT’s exclusive focus on the GMAT and strong emphasis on quality instructors with former teaching experience, it’s no surprise to us that they’ve been highlighted as leaders in the field!

Chicago Feedback Sessions
Following up on our post about Wharton’s feedback sessions filling up in a matter of hours, we turn our attention to a similar story over at the Chicago GSB.  As many of our readers know, the GSB implemented a different policy this year with regards to feedback sessions, involving the completion of a required survey for feedback eligibility (see the letter below for details).  Within less than three hours of the survey being made available, a post was made to the Chicago GSB forums indicating that all feedback sessions had been filled.  In both the cases of Chicago and Wharton, we’re fairly certain that feedback sessions aren’t ’selling out’ faster than Bruce Springsteen tickets simply due to applicant demand.  The truth is that there are simply fewer slots being offered, as Chicago and Wharton look to lighten some of the workload that is associated with the feedback process.  We’ve also been told that some programs are more agressively offering feedback to those candidates they want to encourage to reapply.  Without further ado, here’s the formal letter that Chicago had sent out about a week ago to explain the new policy:     

Hi X,

The Office of Full-Time MBA Admissions has recently re-evaluated its deny feedback policy for those who applied for the 2007-2008 school year.  Due to resource constraints and the number of requests typically received, we cannot accommodate all requests and therefore have chosen to provide feedback to a limited number of applicants, specifically those who completed an admissions interview but were denied admission to the GSB.

To be considered for a deny feedback session, you must first complete an online survey.  We will send you an e-mail with the web link to this survey on Wednesday, May 23rd at 9:00am CST; it must be completed within two days.  Of those who complete the survey in its entirety by May 25th at 5:00pm CST, we will offer deny feedback appointments on a first-come, first-serve basis up to the point our staff can accommodate these requests.  If selected for deny feedback, you will receive an email the week of May 28th with instructions on how to set up an appointment.

We appreciate your eagerness to learn more about our admissions decision, and thank you for your continued interest in Chicago GSB.

Sincerely,

The Office of Full-Time MBA Admissions, Chicago GSB 

Fuqua Cheating Scandal Continues…
As this blog reported back on April 30th, Duke’s Fuqua MBA program continues to battle with a major cheating incident that has rocked the campus.  The latest wrinkle to the story is that the press is reporting that the majority of the students who were accused were Asian International students who had been in the US for only a short period of time.  With that in mind, 16 students have sought legal counsel to and are appealing the schools’ sanctions on the grounds that they did not fully understand the honor code - and that they may have been unfairly pressured to offer confessions.  Here are a few key articles on this still-developing case:
US News: Many Charged in Duke Cheating Scandal Were International Students
The Duke Chronicle: Questions Raised in Fuqua Case
China Post - Taiwan: Asian Students Punished Most Severely for Cheating: Lawyer 

Monday, May 28, 2007

NYU Stern and Tisch School of Arts Launch Joint Degree in Film Production

For those of our readers who are looking for a way to combine their passion for film with a solid grounding in finance, NYU has unveiled a new joint degree that is being offered by the Stern School and the Kanbar Institute of Film and Television at the Tisch School of the Arts.

Over the years, we’ve seen many applicants with an interest in areas like film finance and film production. Many of these applicants were forced to target schools were they could create their own sort of specialized degree by pursuing outside coursework in film alongside the MBA. It seems that NYU has recognized the growing need for a mix of business and creative training, which is great news for applicants!

Here’s the official press release from NYU:

New York University Orchestrates a Wall Street/Hollywood Merger

NYU’s Stern School of Business and Kanbar Institute of Film and Television at the Tisch School of the Arts To Offer New Joint MBA/MFA Degree for Producers

Bridging the gap between the “creatives” and the “suits,” New York University has announced a new dual-degree graduate program that will give aspiring film producers the knowledge to navigate the fast-changing landscape of financing and filmmaking today. The joint MBA/MFA degree is a partnership between NYU’s Stern School of Business and Kanbar Institute of Film and Television at the Tisch School of the Arts, both highly regarded in their fields.

The new MBA/MFA degree is a three-year program that will enable students to pursue both degrees simultaneously. It is expected to attract the very best producing candidates by focusing on both the creative and business sides of film. Designed to be the most comprehensive of its kind, using the top faculty and resources of each School, the dual-degree program will produce highly employable individuals sought by the major film studios, independent production companies, and the major television studios and networks.

As the cost of filmmaking skyrockets, with pools of capital increasingly coming from industry outsiders such as hedge funds and investment banks, and as media convergence accelerates, the need for producers to have a broad understanding of finance, marketing, management, and new technology, as well as a fundamental grounding in the creative side of filmmaking, is increasingly apparent. Graduates of the new program will be uniquely competent creative producers for all forms of film, video, and digital entertainment.

“We’re excited by the conjoining of these two Masters degree programs-film and business-that will result in the creation of the most comprehensive joint graduate degree in producing a student can pursue today,” said Mary Schmidt Campbell, dean of the Tisch School of the Arts and associate provost of the arts at NYU. “The way films are being made, financed, and distributed is changing, and we think it is incumbent upon us to anticipate the future and develop the educational tools necessary for the next generation of producers to meet the new demands of the entertainment industry.”

“New York City’s film industry is the second largest after Hollywood, and contributes $5 billion annually to the city’s economy, according to the Mayor’s office,” said Thomas F. Cooley, dean of the Stern School of Business. “Media and finance converge here in New York City, so NYU is in a unique position to be able to offer future filmmakers a world-class business and world-class film education that reflects current market realities.”

About the MBA/MFA Program
Students who enroll in the MBA/MFA will take core and elective courses taught by Stern and Tisch Kanbar faculty, earning a total of 111 credits over the course of three years, including two summer semesters. The first year will be at Stern, the second will be at Kanbar, and the third will be split between the two schools. This dual-degree option enables students to receive both degrees in one to two years less than if they completed the MBA and MFA programs separately. Interested candidates must submit applications to Stern and Kanbar and be accepted by both schools, and the program will commence in Fall 2008. Since the first year of the dual-degree program starts at Stern, interested Stern students who enroll in Fall 2007 to the MBA program will also be eligible to apply.

Scholarships Available
An anonymous donor, who is in the midst of an unusual career spanning both traditional asset management, and film financing and production, has endowed a scholarship fund of nearly $1 million for this new MBA/MFA dual-degree program.

Stern and Kanbar Build on a History of Collaboration
NYU’s Stern and Kanbar joint MBA/MFA builds on a history of pedagogical and co-curricular partnership. Recognizing the untapped potential of bringing together the “suits and creatives,” two Stern MBA alumni conceptualized the NYU Stern Promotion Pictures Film Competition in 2004, in which Stern and Kanbar graduate students produce corporate-funded branded entertainment films for major companies, many of which are subsequently used as part of the company’s marketing campaign. Johnny Walker is the latest client in a corporate portfolio that has included Volvo, Verizon, Heineken, and Unilever’s Axe brand, for which award-winning filmmaker, and Kanbar alumnus and professor Spike Lee, provided early script comments to guide the competition’s filmmakers.

The Promotion Pictures Film competition grew out of Stern’s Entertainment, Media and Technology (EMT) program, a multidisciplinary initiative introduced in 1997. The EMT program blends theory with practical applications, enabling students to gain a broad understanding of the strategy and operating principles that drive the individual sectors of the entertainment industry in preparation for pursuing careers in the field.

Friday, May 25, 2007

Fridays From the Frontline

Welcome back to another episode of Fridays From the Frontline, our weekly sampling of the savoriest stories in the MBA blogosphere.  With a holiday weekend just around the bend, MBA students and applicants alike can count on a bevy of reasons to celebrate.  Let’s see what all the commotion’s about…

Just as she predicted, Angel Angie was a proud part of LBS’ sweeping victory at MBAT 2007, and has pictures, not to mention a cold and a fever from cheering on her classmates in the rain, to prove it.  Around the world in Los Angeles, UCLADawg also caught the school pride fever, reveling in UCLA’s 100th NCAA win - and the fact that the Bruins were the first to do it.  On the other hand, MBA Gladiator is proud just to be alive after a hair-raising trek through Angel’s Landing in Zion National Park.  Perhaps his intrepid success would make him just the type of partygoer Hallonman was anticipating when he planned INSEAD’s Viking Week, replete with Absolut Vodka and Swedish bikini teams.

Doubtlessly celebrating a little differently this week was Nagendra, who was delighted to find himself on the Dean’s List at Oxford; while he may not have been an obvious choice as a superstar student, he noted that dedicated involvement as chairman of the Oxfordshire Business Network must have helped garner him the coveted award.  Recounting somewhat of a Cinderella story herself, Rupin was elated to contribute to winning the Kellogg-GSB Real Estate Challenge: the GSB team managed the victory despite no formal sponsorship and little real estate background.  Speaking of a valiant battle, up in Hanover, New Hampshire, Benny and fellow Tuckies prepared for the Dartmouth Relay for Life, rallying to fight cancer in honor of a classmate afflicted with Leukemia.

On the second-year front, students were fighting the good fight as well.  Returning to balmy Palo Alto, Mbwana realized that life’s biggest challenges are all about attitude, and one of the most lasting ways his Stanford MBA has impacted him is through equipping him with an “anything is possible” mindset.  Jerry Blank didn’t glean quite such an uplifting takeaway from his two years at Yale, but he does offer some insightful and incisive advice sure to enlighten future SOMers.  It seems DomoDomo’s also ready to point out a painful INSEAD lesson – literally – learning in a recent lecture that an effective networker should have a ‘no pain, no gain’ approach to expanding their web of contacts.

Getting back to celebrating, though, let’s not forget this year’s soon to be matriculating applicants.  Clear Admit’s warm congratulations go out to Asiangal, who just found out she’s garnered an impressive $20,000 in merit-based aid from Wharton!  Necromonger’s certainly come a long way himself, at least according to the life story he shares with us through Google Maps.  In a sharing mood herself, Rungee offers a good sense guide to getting winning recommendations, from choosing recommenders to thanking them properly.  Forrest is also eager to assist future applicants, tackling the crucial topic of differentiating yourself from your segment of the applicant pool, while counterintuitively noting that the first-step in this regard is actually to recognizing your similarities to it.  Finally, Ipoel waxed eloquent on the topic of differentiation herself, drawing upon a variety of sources in advising fellow females on getting ahead in a male-dominated workplace.

Well, that’s all for now, folks.  Enjoy the holiday weekend and don’t forget to check back next week for the latest installment of Fridays From the Frontline…

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Pre-Matriculation Tip: Understanding Accounting & Accounting Fraud

Now that you’ve been accepted to b-school you’re probably thinking about things like getting a decent apartment and which exotic locale to visit before school starts, but you might also want to put some thought into your academic preparation. Will you have pre-term classes? Without them you might be jumping right into the deep end of the pool. Even with pre-term, you may often learn the mechanics without the context, especially when it comes to quantitative classes.

For example, when you take introductory accounting in business school you’ll learn how to do accounting, but it’s unlikely that you’ll get the bigger picture. Here’s a topic that gives you good insight into how accounting is applied: accounting fraud. There have been an unprecedented number of cases of accounting fraud in the last decade, with surprisingly few people actually understanding what went wrong. Understanding how fraud works will help you avoid committing it, avoid falling for it, and perhaps most importantly, will provide an even better understanding of how what you learn in class applies to the real world.

Here’s a little insight into a few recent cases of accounting fraud:

The top pursuit of almost any company is profit. We generally think of profit as what’s left over when we subtract costs from revenue. In accounting, though, profit is generally measured with more nuance than that (and rightly so, by the way). For example, a credit sale, in which a sale is agreed upon and a product (or service) may be delivered but payment has not yet been received, counts as revenue even though the company’s cash has not increased. So we might see a “profit” even though we actually have less cash than we did before. This may seem strange, but in the long run, doing things this way provides the best way to track a company’s performance, though it is important to pay attention to cash flow as well as profit.

So as you might expect, manipulating profit is a common theme in accounting fraud. Some very creative people have come up with a myriad of ways to falsely report revenue, thereby increasing profit, without the possibility of ever generating cash. Let’s start with something simple that Informix tried in the mid-nineties. In order to continue to show healthy revenue and profitability in the wake of competition from Oracle, they decided to offer extremely liberal return policies to their customers. So liberal, in fact, that it would be silly for anyone to say no, given that they would never have to pay if they were unsatisfied for the slightest reason. However, Informix counted virtually every dollar of those sales as revenue.

Another creative method for creating revenue where none actually exists is the bandwidth swap, used by companies such as Global Crossing, Qwest, and 360Networks in the late nineties and early 2000s, in which two companies set up sales of electronic bandwidth contracts to each other. Each company immediately booked the revenue from their sale, but considers their bandwidth purchase to be a cost that they can pay for over the life of the contract, which could be as long as 20 or 30 years. Lots of revenue now, a little cost on into the future, and no actual cash changing hands!

Lastly, there’s Enron. Among the many ways that Enron found to hide debt and costs and otherwise defraud investors was the way they handled futures contracts, which are basically rights to future energy at a predetermined price. Under the guise of “mark-to-market accounting,” they were able to “value” those rights based on Enron’s own estimate of their future value and book the difference between what Enron paid for those futures and Enron’s own estimates of their value as current revenue.

If you’d like to know more about good and evil in the application of accounting, and at the same prepare yourself for some of b-school’s most rigorous courses, you might be interested in checking out Telestrat’s Pre-MBA Prep Course in early June. The first of these four 2-hour online courses explains financial statements, and the second discusses accounting fraud and tools that you can use to quickly and easily evaluate a company’s performance. (SPECIAL NOTE: The company is running a special introductory offer and has reduced the cost of the courses for a limited time only.)

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Admissions Tip: Selecting Your Recommenders

Since many of our readers are just beginning the business school application process, we wanted to offer some basic tips on a critical variable in the MBA admissions equation: recommender selection.

Selecting Your Recommenders
When choosing your recommenders, remember that it can be seen as a test of judgment - selecting a recommender whose letter is ineffective or who appears dubious about your qualifications may raise doubts about your ability to judge your interactions with others or to select the right person for a job.

In order for your letters to be as effective as possible, you should look for several qualities in a recommender. First, all of your recommenders should have greater seniority than you, unless the school specifically asks for a peer recommendation. The adcom gives greater weight to statements made by your superiors than by a peer because a peer is assumed to be essentially a friend, and therefore predisposed to write a positive recommendation.

As we discuss in greater depth with our clients, the most persuasive recommendation letters are those which contain specific examples and anecdotes. Because of this, you should select recommenders who are very familiar with your work and with whom you interact(ed) on a regular basis. This usually means that you should choose current or former direct supervisors, rather than someone whose title you think will impress the adcom. Choosing a recommender based on their name or title can imply that you put an undue emphasis on such qualities instead of thinking about who would be the best person for the job. In addition to picking people who know you well, you should also pick recommenders with whom you have a positive relationship, since if they like and respect you, their letters are likely to be much more positive and persuasive.

When deciding amongst your current and former supervisors or mentors, there are several factors to consider. First, the people you select should be able to provide the adcom with a fairly comprehensive and up to date perspective on your professional experiences. Often, it makes sense to ask your current supervisor and a supervisor from the job you held immediately prior to your current position. If you find that it works best to choose two recommenders from the same employer, you should make sure that they can talk about different aspects of your experiences so as to provide letters that are complementary, rather than repetitive. In such a case, you should talk to each recommender about the anecdotes and traits each of them would like to cover. Alternatively, if you decide to choose a recommender with whom you worked some time ago, you should choose a person with whom you have maintained a strong relationship so that they can speak positively to your continued professional development as well as to your past accomplishments.

Ideally, you would also choose recommenders who can write well and who are receptive to input. Strong writing skills are obviously important because an articulate letter is more effective than an inarticulate one. In addition, an openess to input is important so that your recommenders can build upon and reinforce the general message of your candidacy.

We hope these tips offer a good starting point for readers who are beginning to think about recommendations. As the next admissions cycle gets underway, we plan to offer further tips on recommendation issues such as the lack of a letter from a current employer, what to do if you are self-employed (or work for your family’s business), and the age-old debate over the importance of having MBA graduates write your letters, so be sure to stay tuned to this blog!

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Trivia Tuesday: On-Campus Housing at Tuck and Kellogg

Welcome to another edition of Trivia Tuesday, our weekly exploration of the special programs, interesting opportunities and unusual policies that impact the MBA experience at the leading business schools! Today we turn our attention to residential life, an often-overlooked aspect of student life and campus culture. Although most of the leading business schools offer some on-campus housing options for full-time MBA students, space tends to be limited and the rooms or apartments tend to be in residence halls shared by other graduate programs at the university.

However, two of the leading MBA programs best known for their strong sense of community are also two of the schools that have actively expanded the number on-campus housing opportunities for MBA students. At Tuck, nearly half of each first-year class lives in the school’s on-campus housing facilities, while at Kellogg approximately 30% of students live in that school’s residence halls. Let’s take a closer look at housing options offered by Tuck and Kellogg.

Whittemore Hall, considered the center of Tuck’s on-campus residential life, offers private living accommodations, social areas, group study rooms, a business resource center and an exercise facility with locker rooms. Nearby Buchanan Hall provides additional housing for first-year students, as well as group study rooms and a lounge area. Although Whittemore and Buchanan are very attractive options for single students seeking on-campus housing, those students entering Tuck with partners or children often choose to live in Sachem Village, a duplex and townhome community for Dartmouth’s graduate students.

Tuck is continuing to expand its residential options, with a additional residences for first-year students scheduled to open in December 2008 upon the completion of Tuck’s new living and learning center. The new center is located just west of Whittemore Hall and will provide living spaces for nearly 100 students, as well as additional study rooms, lounge areas, and classroom facilities.

At Kellogg, of the 30% of MBA students who choose to live on campus, most settle into the seven story McManus Living/Learning Center. Both single and married students may choose from single or double studios, and one- or two-bedroom apartments. With study rooms, a computer lab, lounges, a workout room and a game room, McManus is designed to facilitate socializing and out-of-classroom learning. The McManus Living/Learning Center is located just a three block walk from the Jacobs Center, making it one of the most convenient area housing options for Kellogg students.

Students at both Tuck and Kellogg report that the opportunity to live with classmates extends students’ social circles and enhances the sense of a shared campus community. For more information on the housing options at Tuck, Kellogg, or other leading business schools, be sure to check out the schools’ websites or the Life On Campus sections of the Clear Admit School Guides!

Monday, May 21, 2007

Campus Chronicles: Chicago, Harvard, Stanford

The school year is coming to a close and the student newspapers are winding down - let’s check in on the final issues of the papers from Chicago, Harvard and Stanford.

The mood at Chicago’s Chibus is lighthearted, as coverage of academics and events gives way to a year-end social wrap-up. The staff of the Chibus makes the biggest news, as they carry on the tradition of compiling the annual Chicago GSB hotlist, which names the 10 hottest men and women on campus (though this year’s panel added an 11th man). The staff notes that the students on the hotlist are notable not just for their looks, but for their “overall intelligence, wit, and business acumen” - a nice compliment to receive from classmates. One columnist uses the publication of the list as the start of a meditation on looks, charm, abilities, and the incredible array of students he came across in just one weekend at the GSB. Elsewhere in the issue, the organizers of a Tax Assistance Program for families in the Hyde Park area thank the student volunteers that helped return $80,000 to area residents this tax season, and one student reviews two gadgets - one necessary, the other “completely ridiculous…and so necessary.” On a final, more serious note, the Gays & Lesbians in Business Club adds its voice to the controversy surrounding General Peter Pace’s invitation to give the keynote address at the 55th Annual Management Conference.

Turning to Harvard, the big news in the latest Harbus is the 10 year anniversary of the Harbus Foundation, which has awarded over $800,000 in grants to Boston-area organizations since its founding in 1997. The Foundation was started with a $700,000 donation from the Harbus Corporation and is a completely student-run organization, from the management of its investment strategy to the selection of grantees. In somewhat related news, several of the participants in the Harvard Business School Board Fellows program share their experiences working with governing boards of local non-profits during the last school year. In the coming year, another 26 students will have the opportunity to work with a total of 17 non-profits in the Boston area. Turning to the school’s social life, one regular Harbus columnist offers a list of 25 reasons he’ll miss being an RC (first-year student) and another 25 reasons he’s looking forward to being an EC (second-year student) - it’s a humorous but illuminating look at the academic and social structure of Harvard’s program.

Across the country, the Stanford Business Reporter covers several months of events on campus in its last issue of the school year. Events include the Cool Product Expo, jointly sponsored by the Product Design & Manufacturing Club and the Alliance for Innovative Manufacturing, and featuring proof-of-concept vehicles, a new line of eco-friendly urban clothing, and several technology accessories that dramatically improve upon the performance of currently available products. In addition, Stanford students attended the 2007 GameDevelopers Conference in San Francisco and took to the road as part of the GSB Travel and Hospitality Club’s 2007 Vegas Trek. For students still in job search mode as the school year reaches a close, the Stanford Career Management Center offers words of reassurance and advice on how to get a job in the spring quarter - though the article is tailored to Stanford students, the advice is applicable to anyone involved in a job search. Finally, for anyone still in the market for advice, the Dear Savage column offers up a large helping of pointers on everything from start-up ideas to end-of-year socializing, with its characteristic tongue-in-cheek style.

Friday, May 18, 2007

Fridays From the Frontline

Welcome back to this week’s Fridays From the Frontline report. It seems the words “lazy summer days” do not exist in the vocabularies of our MBA applicant and student bloggers: While not everyone is still hitting the books, they remain an active bunch, carefully plotting their next moves and gainfully reflecting on past experiences, not to mention squeezing in some serious celebrating and adventuring. Let’s take a closer look and hope some of their industriousness rubs off.

From partying until 4am with fellow admits and current students at Ross’ Go Blue Rendezvous to enjoying Harvard’s similar bash to receiving that coveted invitation to the Wharton class of 2009, AGirl’sMBA has enjoyed a whirlwind few weeks of success. Yet, for all her shopping around, she still reports remaining 99% committed to HBS, unless someone can convince her otherwise… Perhaps this is where Reveur comes in, linking to the 125th anniversary alumni magazine publication of Wharton’s 125 most influential graduates, featuring bios from the likes of Vernon Stouffer, who transformed his mother’s apple pie stand into a multinational frozen foods giant, to Nabeel A. Shaath, Palestinian peace activist and management training entrepreneur for the Arab world. Who will be the next 125? While time, of course, remains the ultimate arbiter, Asiangal surmises that if the college admissions scene is any indication, the journey to the top MBA programs will become increasingly arduous.

Yet despite already having cleared the admissions hurdle, some unexpected I-20 issues have popped up between Wharton and Katrina. Similarly eager to get her immigration squared away with UCLA, Ipoel has also encountered some mysterious I-20 hangups. While Forrest may be worry free in this regard as he prepares for Chicago, he’s aware of the maze of frustrating MBA immigration issues, directing our attention to an edifying article on the topic. That said, it is Hairtwirler who actually takes it upon herself to sort out the different types of visas, immigration departments and the myths that surround them, not that a career in U.S. immigration law qualifies her to do so or anything, she is sure to state! Meanwhile, Necromonger offers a different kind of guidance to fellow class of ‘09ers – when he gets to INSEAD, he’ll have the perfect array of gadgets and software to support his studies - will you?

Applicants take heed: Despite what you may have heard, according to Karlitos, an MBA’s work load anything but diminishes after the first semester (at least at LBS)! Then again, as Angel Angie proves, a healthy work-life balance is possible at London Business School, it just takes self-discipline and a positive attitude, no matter the weather. Nagendra certainly didn’t let the outwardly gloomy weather in nearby Oxford bother him, celebrating a rainy cricket victory and the increasingly sunny skies of his internship potential; La Lauderia’s been in a pleasant mood too, compiling a quirky list of reasons that her internship at Google is just the summer break she needed from Wharton.

Speaking of summer internships, a lot of bloggers have been grappling with some tough considerations in this department. In Barcelona, Jacek is caught between staying near ESADE for the summer to begin a promising new venture and opting for the “instant gains” of a corporate internship in Zurich, which he thinks might look better on his resume. Back in the states, while Tim K. is looking forward to his summer internship in a Florida financial services firm, he isn’t so eager to embark upon the ten-week separation from his wife back in Austin that it will entail. He follows this with some thoughtful commentary on the support and patience of MBA-spouses and significant others. If this is all getting too serious, however, Zanat0s comes to the rescue with a humorous INSEAD glossary of MBA job search terms, sure to lighten the mood in even the most disastrous of internship circumstances.

In fact, INSEAD seems to be in quite a good mood in general, according to Hallonman. Giving us a video taste of the revelry that made INSEAD’s British Irish week a success, he explains that just about every week at the school seems to occasion another nationality-based celebration – next up, Semana Latina. Also enjoying the Guinness and oysters in Fountainbleu last week? Why Tony Blair, of course – at least that’s what Domo Domo would have us think, offering an amusing article that links Tony Blair’s post-Prime Ministerial plans to running INSEAD’s British Irish week.

In other second year news, DivinemissN seems poised to graduate from LBS on a high note, noting that her Creativity and Personal Mastery class has been one of the best of her MBA and she can’t get enough of her second year project – nor can it get enough of her time – although she’s still managing to squeeze in working for the LBS Class of 2008 Yearbook, the Class Gift, and the Student Ambassadors! Similarly maintaining focus despite last minute mayhem, NoellieBellie handles varied crises with grace as she prepares to represent IESE at the MBA Olympics in Paris.

That’s the news from the MBA blogosphere for this week. Be sure to check back next week for the latest adventures from our applicant and student bloggers!

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Debating the MBA

BusinessWeek’s Debate Room has sparked a lively conversation over the value of the MBA degree. A reporter for BusinessWeek suggests that the MBA is overrated and that prospective students either already have the knowledge and skills they need to succeed - or won’t develop them in business school. Cathy Dove, an Associate Dean at the Johnson School, takes up the opposing view and argues that the MBA has a dramatic impact on graduates’ career paths and that despite criticism, students continue to flock to the MBA and recruiters continue to increase their hiring of MBA grads.

The debate continues in reader comments - consider checking out the debate so far and adding your own voice to the mix!

Admissions Tip: Resume Advice

A few weeks ago, we published an entry to inform Class of 2010 applicants about the merits of beginning work on one’s resume early in the season. To follow up on those comments, we wanted to offer some general tips on getting the most mileage out of this document in the admissions process.

1) First things first. Because you’re applying to graduate school, it makes sense to lead this document with a section detailing your academic history. This is also the format that many business schools’ career offices instruct students to use when applying for internships or full-time jobs post-graduation.

2) Keep it simple. While you’ll certainly want to describe your professional responsibilities and achievements in some detail, remember that this document needs to fit on a single page (with rare exceptions). Rather than overwhelming the reader with information, try to identify three or four discrete projects or accomplishments to complement a few concise statements about your day to day responsibilities in each position. Remember that it’s also important to be as specific as possible about the impact you’ve had on your organization by quantifying the results of your efforts.

3) Round it out. Don’t discount the importance of your interests and outside activities. Schools like applicants who are well-rounded and demonstrate a track record of involvement outside of work and the classroom, so formal extracurricular activities are a logical category to include. At the same time, information about your less structured information and hobbies is also relevant, as these details can lend some more color to your candidacy and help the adcom get to know you better. Remember to be as specific as possible; many business school applicants are interested in “travel” or “film,” so specifying a region you especially enjoy visiting or your favorite movie genre will be the key to setting yourself apart.

We hope that these general guidelines serve as a good starting point for Class of 2010 applicants in translating their experiences and achievements into this brief but important document. For more tailored guidance, contact us to learn about the Clear Admit Resume Guide and our free initial assessments.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Pre-Matriculation Tip: Accounting 101

If you are like most business school students, you will get your first taste of accounting in pre-term or during your first semester. Maybe you think of accounting as a ‘necessary evil’ that some CPA does so that a business knows how much tax it owes. As a result, you may end up spending hours in classes making sure you absorb enough to pass the course - without actually taking away anything useful. Unfortunately, while introductory accounting courses usually focus on important aspects of how to do accounting - such as T-accounts, credits, debits, transactions, contra accounts, etc. – they are less likely to teach why you might care enough to learn and use the material.

Accounting is actually about much more than determining a company’s tax burden. Would you like to track how much money a company makes during a period of time, broken down by category of sales? How much it spends on operations in order to bring in those sales, organized into a variety of useful categories? This is all found on the Income Statement, which also includes the net income (also known as earnings or profit), which is what’s left over after you subtract expenses from sales.

Would you like to know what assets a business (or a division) has, conveniently organized into such categories as cash, accounts receivable, inventory, and property, plant & equipment? How about its liabilities, including what it owes to vendors, lenders, and other creditors? This information can all be found on the Balance Sheet, which also shows how much equity shareholders have in the business (just like when you subtract the remaining principle of your mortgage from the value of your house to determine your equity). If you want an overview of where the company’s cash comes from and goes to during that same period of time, you can find all the details on the Cash Flow Statement, which is organized into three sections – cash flows from operations, cash flows from investment (i.e. investment in the business’s infrastructure), and cash flow from financing activities.

There are also a host of very simple tools that you can use to easily determine such issues as how long inventory typically sits on the shelf, how likely a business will be to pay its bills in the near future, and (if it’s a public company) what the stock market believes about whether the business’s income is likely to stay flat, rise, or fall in the future, and compare all of these results to the company’s competitors.

If you’d like to get more of the big picture on accounting so that you actually understand the relevance of those T-account credits and debits you’ll encounter in b-school, you might be interested in checking out Telestrat’s Pre-MBA Prep Course in early June. The first of these four 2-hour online courses provides more detail about financial statements, and the second is about the various tools that you can use to quickly and easily evaluate what’s going on, plus some insight into some of the various ways that companies manipulate their financials to defraud investors.

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Trivia Tuesday: Chicago’s Random Walks

It’s time once again for Trivia Tuesday, our weekly foray into the unusual, uncommon, or just plain interesting programs at the leading business schools. This week we’ll follow up on our earlier posts about pre-term at Kellogg, Tuck, and Wharton with an examination of Chicago’s Random Walk program.

Prior to the school’s mandatory pre-term program, Chicago second-year students organize an optional program called Random Walk. Similar to Kellogg’s KWEST program, Chicago’s Random Walks offer incoming students a choice of over a dozen group trips to domestic and international destinations. The purpose of the trips is to “party, play and bond with” a group of first-year students prior to the start of the school year. The trips typically include 8-12 first-year students and 2-4 second-year group leaders. In Fall 2006, 14 Random Walk trips went to destinations as diverse as the glaciers of Alaska, the beaches of Costa Rica, the plains of Africa and the mountains of Peru.

Random Walk participants report that the trips were remarkable experiences, and several say that the friends they made through Random Walk remained their closest friends throughout business school. In fact, although Random Walk is a student club and not an official Chicago GSB program, Dean Ted Synder said in a recent online chat that going on a Random Walk trip is one of the three things he recommends all incoming students do to prepare for success at the GSB.

Beginning in fall 2007, the Random Walk trips will expand to include a greater number of partners. In the past, a limited number of partners were permitted to sign up for a Random Walk after all admitted students had the opportunity to choose a trip, leaving very few available spaces. Recognizing that partners are also making a major transition in the move to Chicago, the Random Walk organizers are working to expand available spaces and to organize special “significant other” Random Walks that are targeted to students traveling with their partners. The first of these partner-inclusive trips will be led by two second-year students and their partners; participants will travel to Costa Rica for horseback riding, canopy tours, and whitewater rafting.

For more information on Chicago’s Random Walk program, be sure to check out the