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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 AUGUST 2007

Friday, August 31, 2007

Fridays from the Frontline

Welcome to our weekly summary of the new and noteworthy posts from the MBA blogosphere. As to be expected at this time of year, applicant bloggers have been ramping up their application efforts in the past week, while new and returning student bloggers are finishing up their summers and settling in at school. Let’s take a closer look….

On the MBA applicant front, congratulations go out to Achilles, who rocked the GMAT on Tuesday, and to BlueTulip for earning herself an INSEAD interview! Agent-C was confident and optimistic, having straightened out a glitch in his GMAT scores just before deploying to the Middle East for six months. Meanwhile, mbabound08 shared some candid thoughts about an HBS information session she attended, while Bschool Diva revisited her list of target schools.

As for first year student bloggers, there were plenty of exciting new beginnings this week. RusGirl has been maxing out on her blogger connections, having moved into Angel Angie’s old flat and joining a study group of no less than three other LBS bloggers. Taking a brief respite after a busy week at Georgetown, Hairtwirler spent Sunday gearing up for the week of classes ahead, a little disappointed to find herself the only woman in her study group. Writing from Singapore, Necromonger sounded pleased with his new digs and impressed by his new flatmates, and he was also appreciative of INSEAD’s efficiency with the process.

Sounding slightly dazed and confused, m@ finished up the Ross Leadership Initiative, and in Fontainebleau Dee was nervous about networking at INSEAD. Meanwhile, ipoel was still at home in Indonesia, but was emotionally preparing herself to take off for Anderson soon. MaybeMBA took some time away from her baby and her packing boxes to consider Chicago’s curriculum options.

Second year student bloggers sounded much more relaxed than their first year counterparts last week. Rubeo Boy partied hard in Spain before returning to New York for another year at Stern. There was good news for MJ, who finished his consulting internship and accepted a job offer before returning to Fuqua. Patxi sounded very happy as he returned to LBS after a great vacation in Europe, while Benny had warm feelings for Hanover when he returned for another year at Tuck. On a similarly affectionate note, jacek shared a fond memory of his introduction to the Economist and Zanat0s let his readers know about MBA Insider, a valuable resource from Business Week.

That just about wraps it up for this week’s Fridays from the Frontline. Thanks for checking in, keep up the great posts, and best wishes for a happy Labor Day weekend!

Thursday, August 30, 2007

INSEAD Essay Topic Analysis 2007-2008

INSEAD’s essay questions cover a good deal of ground, giving candidates ample opportunity to discuss a range of topics related to their candidacies and highlight various elements of their interests and experiences. The first two “job essays” ask for a factual account of one’s current position and overall professional progression, while the rest of the set invite short reflections and exposition of the type MBA applicants are accustomed.

INSEAD’s total of seven essays puts the school at the high end of the MBA application spectrum in terms of questions posed. As always, careful forethought and planning before beginning to write will be important in ensuring that one is using each essay to one’s best advantage and presenting a balanced picture of a well-rounded individual. Let’s take a closer look at the questions:

Job Essays

1. Please give a detailed description of your job, including nature of work, major responsibilities; and, where relevant, employees under your supervision, size of budget, number of clients/products and results achieved. (250 words)

While the essays for most programs begin by addressing the overall progression of the applicant’s career up to this point, INSEAD’s first question requests a snapshot of the applicant’s career at this moment. Even if you have held a number of positions within the same organization, it’s best to maintain focus on your current position and responsibilities. Keeping in mind that this will be the adcom’s introduction to your materials, you might also provide the context necessary for the reader to understand your place within the organizational structure and the work that occupies your days. While there is some room to talk about “results achieved,” there’s no need to get bogged down in the specifics of certain projects or engagements – a good essay will be composed of fairly general comments that are focused on the present. It is fine to incorporate some more specific information about your career’s “greatest hits” later in response to other questions.

2. Please give us a full description of your career since graduating from university. If you were to remain with your present employer, what would be your next step in terms of position? (250 words)

This is a tall order for a 250 word essay, so brevity and efficient use of language will be key here. The adcom is looking for an applicant who can present her career as a coherent whole, and demonstrate that she has been on an upward trajectory since the outset. While it would be ideal for you to include some comments on lessons learned and skills gained over the course of your career, the primary focus should be touching upon each full-time post you’ve held, explaining the reasons behind each move you’ve made and commenting on increases and changes in responsibility.

Personal Essays

1. Give a candid description of yourself, stressing the personal characteristics you feel to be your strengths and weaknesses and the main factors which have influenced your personal development, giving examples when necessary. (400 words approx.)

It’s important to address the question in full when responding to this sort of essay, but it’s also in one’s best interest to focus as much as possible on the positive. With this in mind, you might lead off with two or three positive qualities and then comment on one or two weaknesses - ideally ones that you’ve already taken steps to address. Whether discussing a strength or a weakness, though, it’s ideal to back up every statement about your character with a brief example as “proof” of the statement. INSEAD’s framework gives applicants free reign to select personal, professional or extracurricular subjects, so try to select your examples with an eye to presenting a balanced picture of your interests and experiences.

2. Describe what you believe to be your two most substantial accomplishments to date, explaining why you view them as such. (400 words approx.)

This is another fairly straightforward question. Though it’s important to reflect and respond candidly with those achievements that have truly been the most meaningful to you, keep in mind that, given the interests and priorities of the adcom in evaluating one’s business school candidacy, it would be beneficial to feature at least one accomplishment from the professional realm. As always, it will be important to ground your comments in specific details and fully explain why these achievements were significant, both in terms of the results you produced and the lessons you learned.

3. Describe a situation taken from school, business, civil or military life, where you did not meet your personal objectives, and discuss briefly the effect. (250 words approx.)

To fully address this question, you’ll need to describe the situation and detail, in very concrete terms, what went wrong and why. This essay has a particularly restrictive word limit, making it all the more important for applicants to summarize and explain the failure as concisely as possible. Keep in mind that the reason a school asks this question is to discern whether a student is able to learn from experience and avoid repeating past mistakes. Toward that end, it would be wise to interpret INSEAD’s request for a discussion of the “effect” of the mistake as a chance to talk about personal growth (as discussing the negative consequences of one’s actions would be a less flattering approach). Ending the essay on a more positive note is always a good idea, especially for those who can point to subsequent successes in the same realm.

4. Discuss your career goals. What skills do you expect to gain from studying at INSEAD and how will they contribute to your professional career. (500 words approx.)

This is the standard career goals essay, with an interesting focus on skills as they relate to INSEAD classes and future goals. The phrasing of this question might indicate that the school is looking for applicants who have really thought through the limitations they face given their current skill sets, and have a clear sense of what they need to learn (and how they will do so through an MBA) in order to be successful in a very specific career path. This underscores the fact that well-defined goals and school-specific detail are essential to a successful application.

5. Please choose one of the following two essay topics:
a) Have you ever experienced culture shock? What did it mean to you? (250 words approx.)
b) What would you say to a foreigner moving to your home country? (250 words approx.)

This sort of question is designed to gauge an applicant’s cultural sensitivity and ability to conduct business in an international setting, and it probably comes as no surprise to applicants who are familiar with INSEAD’s reputation as a highly international program. The first option asks applicants to recount a trying experience in another country or environment, and to explain the resulting personal growth and process of adjustment. Meanwhile, the second asks candidates to reflect on the unique characteristics of his or her own culture and anticipate the issues that a visitor might encounter. In both responses, one has an opportunity to demonstrate cultural flexibility, offering evidence for his or her ability to operate as a global citizen and work in diverse teams. Of course, many of the best essays will manage to incorporate a healthy dose of lessons learned, indicating that cultural adjustment can be fraught with trial and error rather than sugar-coating a response and failing to outline the struggles or periods of adjustment.

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Duke / Fuqua Essay Topic Analysis 2007-2008

Though the order of the questions and distribution of subjects has changed slightly from last year, the wording and themes of Duke’s application essays remain largely the same. The topics range from failure to ethical dilemma to what makes each applicant unique - all common inquiries for leading MBA programs. Be sure to read carefully though - many of Fuqua’s essay topics contain multiple questions and prompts, and it’s important to answer each completely.

Short Essay 1: Why are you interested in The Duke MBA program and how will it help you achieve your goals? In answering, please also discuss your career path and state your short and long-term goals. If you are interested in the Health Sector Management concentration or a joint degree program, please address in this essay. (1.5 line spacing, Single-page)
This is your standard career goals essay, with a stringent length limitation. Formerly the subjects of two separate essays, Duke has combined its questions about the applicant’s career path, goals and interest in its MBA program into a single prompt, requesting that candidates cover a good deal of ground in a single page. Brevity will be of the utmost importance as you sketch out the ways your work experience to date has informed and prepared you for your clear career goals, and detail the ways a Duke MBA will prepare you for success.

Short Essay 2: How will your background, values, and non-work related activities enhance the experience of other Duke MBA students and add value to the diverse culture we strive for at Fuqua? (1.5 line spacing, Single-page)
The subject of contribution to the diversity of the Fuqua community stands alone as the topic of an entire essay this year (it was previously bundled into the long “background” essay), suggesting an increased interest in exactly what each candidate has to offer the school. The prompt is fairly broad, covering just about every dimension of one’s candidacy, experience and perspective, and inviting the applicant to imagine how his or her unique characteristics might map onto involvement in Team Fuqua. This response is a great place to showcase specific knowledge of the culture at Duke, as well as introduce information that will help you stand out from the applicant pool.

Long Essay 1: Please respond fully and concisely to one of the following essay topics. Clearly identify which question you have selected. **Though there is no word limit on the long essays, applicants typically use between 500 and 750 words.
a. To be a good team player, one needs to be an effective individual leader and vice-versa. Describe an example of where you were challenged to become a leader in a team-oriented context. What was the challenge you faced, how did you address it, and what did you take away from the experience for your future development as a leader?
This essay presents a great opportunity to showcase a leadership success that includes the angle of personal or professional growth as a result of a challenge. In addition to a detailed description of the situation, an account of your thoughts and actions throughout and a discussion of the lessons you learned, it would also be great to comment on the outcome of the situation and the impact you were able to have on the team and whatever larger context the story might involve. To distinguish this response from an answer to the classic “impact” essay posed by many schools, though, applicants might consider building this desired outcome into their introduction rather than the conclusion as an explanation of the importance of their ability to rise to the challenge.

b. Describe a situation in which your ability to perform ethically was challenged. What was the issue, how did you handle it, and what did you learn from it?
Questions of this sort are designed to gauge an applicant’s ability to see two sides of a situation and appreciate the merits of both - and ultimately choose the best possible solution. The “challenged” detail in the question indicates that it’s not enough to simply discuss a situation where you chose to do the right thing; you need to be able to show that there was a compelling reason for you to have acted otherwise. The question lends itself to personal experiences as easily as professional ones, but it’s nice to give an example of how you view and handle ethical complexity in the workplace. For instance, there are often instances of conflicts between people and profit that work well in this context.

After setting the scene in your essay, you should explore the dilemma in depth, analyzing each of your options and explaining the potential positive and negative consequences of each. Once you’ve acknowledged the difficulty of the situation, you should lead the reader through your decision-making process, explaining the reasons behind your ultimate decision. Ideally, your strong grasp of leadership and of problem-solving will be displayed by this analysis. Finally, you should present the results of your decision and the lessons you learned as a result.

c. Describe a significant leadership failure in your life. What did you learn from this failure? How has it impacted who you are today and the kind of leader you would like to be?
When responding to a question about a time when you performed less than optimally, it’s best to select a story from which you have some distance; a college extracurricular could be a viable topic, as could an early professional experience. This question is a challenge in that it does not only ask the applicant to discuss a failure, but a “significant” one. To lend some weight to the question, you’ll need to explain what your objectives were or what was riding on the situation before commenting on what ultimately went awry. Fortunately, Duke sets you up for a recovery by explicitly asking what kind of leader you are today - providing an opening for you to talk about a subsequent success and really illustrate that you’ve internalized and applied the lessons you discuss. That is, the key will be to summarize the situation as briefly as possible in order to allot a good number of words to a discussion of the lessons you learned from this experience, how they have served you since that time, and how they will continue to influence your leadership style.

Long Essay 2: How has your personal history and family background influenced your intellectual and personal development? What unique personal qualities or life experiences distinguish you from other applicants? Note: The goal of this essay is to get a sense of who you are, rather than what you have achieved professionally.
Though somewhat simplified now that the question about what the applicant would add to the Duke community has been pulled out as a separate question, there’s still a good deal of ground one could cover here. The key will therefore be spending a fair amount of time reflecting on the question and identifying the most important and interesting aspects of one’s personality to cover in this response. One approach might be to identify two or three characteristics that have influenced your activities and interactions and to trace their development from your early days. Another might be to share an anecdote about a significant experience and reflect retroactively on the priorities and qualities at play, commenting later on how you derived these from your development over the years. Whatever the focus, be sure that the person you are presenting is engaging and dynamic: someone the adcom would want as part of their community.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

London Business School Deadlines 2007-2008

While this year’s LBS essays were released a few weeks ago, the school has just published its deadlines for the 2007-2008 season. The school expects to have the full application online in September.  All materials must be submitted by 5pm London time, on the date of the deadline.
Round 1
Deadline: October 19th, 2007
Interview Decision Released on: November 16th, 2007
Admissions Decision Sent on: December 19th, 2007

Round 2
Deadline: January 4th, 2008
Interview Decision Released on: February 12th, 2008
Admissions Decision Sent on: March 28th, 2008

Round 3
Deadline: February 29th, 2008
Interview Decision Released on: April 11th, 2008
Admissions Decision Sent on: May 21st, 2008

Round 4
Deadline: May 2nd, 2008
Interview Decision Released on: June 4th, 2008
Admissions Decision Sent on: July 4th, 2008

MBA News: New Dean for MIT Sloan, Haas Dean to Step Down in July

The leadership at two top MBA programs is in transition this week. First, MIT announced this morning that David C. Schmittlein, a deputy dean at Wharton, has been named the next John C Head III Dean of the MIT Sloan School of Management, taking over for Richard Schmalensee. Schmittlein has been a professor and administrator at Wharton since 1980, serving as chair of the marketing department, co-director of Wharton’s Center for Marketing Strategy Research and vice dean and director of doctoral programs. In addition, Schmittlein is an active international marketing consultant who currently serves on the advisory boards of HEC business school in France as well as the China Europe International Business School in Shanghai. MIT Provost L. Rafael Reif believes that Schmittlein’s experience overseeing international initiatives while at Wharton will allow him to “hit the ground running” on October 15 when he begins at MIT Sloan. The full press release announcing the appointment, including more information on Schmittlein’s background and the expectations for his tenure, can be found on the MIT news page.

In other deanship news, Tom Campbell of the Haas School at the University of California Berkeley announced yesterday that he will not continue in his position when his 5-year appointment ends next July. During his tenure, Campbell has steadily increased fund raising at Haas, while also greatly strengthening the school’s national and international reputation. In the coming year, Campbell plans to focus on expanding the permanent, full-time faculty, thereby decreasing the student to teacher ratio and increasing the number of courses that can be offered. For more on Campbell’s accomplishments during his tenure and his decision to step down, be sure to read the full press release from Haas.

Trivia Tuesday: Ross M-Treks

Welcome to another edition of Trivia Tuesday, our weekly look at the distinguishing resources and opportunities offered by the leading business schools. With August coming to a close, first-year students at most MBA programs are on campus, getting to know each other, and getting ready for the start of classes. However, a few schools give students an opportunity to jump-start their friendships with classmates through participation in outdoor experiential learning trips. In past Trivia Tuesday columns we’ve discussed Chicago’s Random Walks, Kellogg’s KWEST trips, and Tuck’s Outward Bound program. To complement these discussions, we turn our attention this week to the Ross M-Trek program at the University of Michigan.

Prior to the start of Michigan’s pre-term and orientation programs, incoming students are invited to participate in M-Trek, an outdoor leadership program designed to foster leadership and teamwork skills while introducing students to their classmates. The trips were started in 1999 by a group of first-year students who wanted to strengthen the bonds between incoming classmates through experiential learning. The program has grown significantly since its inaugural year. Currently around 35-40% of incoming students participate in a Trek, with approximately 17% of second-year students choosing to lead a Trek. In summer 2007, the Class of 2009 chose from almost two dozen M-Trek trips.

The one-week trips are entirely student-run and each is led by a group of three to four second-year students. Destinations range from the U.S. and Europe to Africa and Latin America, with trips designed for a variety of skill levels and interests, and with prices ranging from $700-$1,600, plus airfare. By tradition, the M-Trek trip names tend to incorporate a pun on the destination and the 2007 Trek names are no exception. Some sample trip names include Getting the Banff Back Together, Where My Tahoe’s At?, You Gotta Belize! and All Thai-ed Up; students on these trips traveled to Banff, Canada; Tahoe, New Mexico; Belize and Thailand, respectively.

Since one of the goals of M-Trek is to be as inclusive as possible, partners of incoming students are also invited to take part in the M-Trek program through a specially designed three-day trip for partners that seeks to create the same bonds within this group as the other trips create among students. Students who have participated in an M-Trek rave about the experience, with 94% rating their experience as excellent or very good and many commenting that it was the best decision they made at Ross.

For more information on Ross’s M-Treks or the outdoor learning programs offered by other business schools, be sure to check out the Pre-Term & Orientation section of the Clear Admit School Guides!

Monday, August 27, 2007

Kellogg Essay Topic Analysis 2007-2008

Kellogg’s made a handful of significant changes to their essays this year. In a move that has no doubt made many an applicant rejoice, the adcom has done away with the somewhat tricky self-assessment essay (which asked an applicant to critique their own candidacy as though he or she were an adcom member) that has been a hallmark of their application for years running. In a way, though, it makes sense for the school to have eliminated this question, as it prevented applicants from adding any new information to their files and limited them to commentary on information already shared in their essays and data forms.

This year, Kellogg has replaced the self-assessment with a required leadership essay, suggesting a heightened focus on this aspect of a candidate’s experience. In another change from last year’s application, candidates are now required to choose among four topics and complete two short essays, as opposed to the six options and three essays of seasons past.

Let’s take a closer look at those questions that do remain:

Essay 1: Briefly assess your career progress to date. Elaborate on your future career plans and your motivation for pursuing a graduate degree at the Kellogg School (1-2 double-spaced pages).
This is another fairly standard career goals/why MBA essay. As usual, it’s important to remember that specificity of goals is key, and keep in mind that the school prides itself on its collegial culture when addressing the ‘why Kellogg’ issue. One more thing to note is that the request that applicants “assess” their progress to date is unique to Kellogg’s version of this question. This would suggest that it might be appropriate to incorporate a few reflective or even evaluative comments into your discussion of your professional path in order to tailor your perspective to Kellogg’s question.

Essay 2: Each of our applicants is unique. Describe how your background, values, academics, activities and/or leadership skills will enhance the experience of other Kellogg students (1-2 double-spaced pages).
You’re being given the opportunity to do two very important things in this essay. The first is to share a good deal of interesting information about your interests and experiences in order to distinguish yourself from other applicants and help the adcom get to know you. Second, this essay is the perfect forum for you to demonstrate your research on and fit with the program by explaining the ways your involvements and experiences to date translate to a number of specific contributions to the Kellogg community. Whether it’s a class to which your insight would prove especially relevant or a function you could organize as a member of a certain club, the more detail you can provide about the impact you would make, the more reason you’ll give the adcom to admit you.

Essay 3: How have your past and current leadership experiences prepared you for Kellogg? What leadership areas are you hoping to develop through your MBA experience? (One to two pages double spaced.)
While leadership has been the subject of one of Kellogg’s short essay options for several years running, the school has bumped the topic to a place of increased prominence this year. This is a great opportunity to showcase your various leadership roles in college and afterwards in an expanded two-page format. Given the number of subjects that need to be covered in this response, it would be wise to focus your discussion on two or three leadership examples rather than a laundry list of positions held. Of course, it’s also important to take note of the Kellogg-specific slant of this inquiry. In addition to touching on situations in which you’ve taken the lead and the skills gained and lessons learned from these experiences, you’ll want to think through the ways that you could apply these to the benefit of the Kellogg community, as well as how you could enhance your leadership approach during your time in business school.

Essay 4: Applicants must answer two of the below essays, two to three double spaced paragraphs for each question.
4A - Outside of work I…
4B - I wish the Admissions Committee had asked me…
4C - Describe the most challenging professional relationship you have faced and how you handled it.
4D - (Required essay for re-applicants only)—Since your previous application, what are the steps you’ve taken to strengthen your candidacy?
Essay 4C is a new one for Kellogg, and is in keeping with an interesting trend we’ve seen across the leading MBA programs. With a few years’ distance from corporate scandals like Enron, many schools are shifting their focus away from ethical and value-based dilemmas and toward interpersonal dynamics. Tuck, MIT and Stanford pose similar questions, though a key difference is that these schools focus more on a single interaction or situation rather than an ongoing relationship. Given Kellogg’s very strong team orientation, it makes sense that the school would be curious about the applicant’s skill and experience navigating a clash in personality or work styles on a long-term level.

The other three questions, meanwhile, are tried and true elements of the Kellogg application, with options A and B giving applicants ample opportunity to share information about their involvements and interests outside of the professional realm or comment on subjects not mentioned elsewhere in the application. The reapplicant essay has also been a standard question for years running, giving returning candidates a chance to highlight the improvements and progress they’ve made since Kellogg heard from them last.

Cornell / Johnson Deadlines 2007-2008

Cornell University’s Johnson School has released its MBA application deadlines for the upcoming admissions season. Relative to last year, Cornell has slightly extended their Round 2 and Round 4 deadlines. According to the school’s website, the application will not be available until the fall, so stayed tuned for their essay topics!

Round 1
Deadline: October 10th, 2007
Notification: December 7th, 2007

Round 2
Deadline: November 14th, 2007
Notification: January 11th, 2008

Round 3
Deadline:January 9th, 2008
Notification: March 5th, 2008

Round 4
Deadline: March 19th, 2008
Notification: April 30th, 2008

International applicants are encourage to apply by the Round 3 deadline of January 9th. Application materials are due by 11:59pm EST on the day of the deadline.

Friday, August 24, 2007

Virginia / Darden Essays 2007-2008

With the Darden School’s 2007-2008 application now available online, candidates can get started on the essay questions for the coming admissions cycle. The questions represent a major shift from last year’s topics in both length and style; the second and third essays are now just 300 words each and ask applicants to choose a phrase that best describes them and support this choice in the essay.

Essays

Please respond to each question below. Word count limits have been provided for each question. The essay question fields are large enough for you to answer each question thoroughly. Essay questions can be answered by cutting and pasting text into essay fields.

All required fields are indicated by an asterisk (*).

1. What matters to you most, both personally and professionally, and how does an MBA relate to these priorities? (500 word maximum) *

2. Please select one word that describes you from the set below and support your statement using concrete examples. Professionally I am: (a) an innovator. (b) a leader. (c) an entrepreneur. (300 word maximum) *

3. Please choose one phrase that describes you from the set below and support your statement using concrete examples. Professionally I am: (a) involved globally. (b) committed to diversity. (c) socially responsible. (300 word maximum) *

Additional Question (optional): If there is further information that you believe would be helpful to the Admissions Committee, please provide it below. (150 word maximum)

MBAPodcaster Interview with Clear Admit’s Graham Richmond

Earlier this week we discussed the bschooltalk.net video series and its value as a resource for MBA applicants. Today we’d like to highlight MBAPodcaster.com, a biweekly audio broadcast designed for applicants to top business programs.

The latest installment of the MBAPodcaster uses interviews with four admissions consultants - including Clear Admit’s Graham Richmond - to consider questions candidates should ask before signing on with an MBA admissions consultant.

In the interview, Graham discusses issues such as the benefits of working with Clear Admit, how to get the most of the relationship with your admissions counselor, and what distinguishes Clear Admit from other admissions consulting companies.

The free 40-minute podcast is available for download at http://www.mbapodcaster.com/podcasts.asp#Ep46; the conversation with Clear Admit begins approximately 20 minutes into the episode. Happy listening!

Fridays From the Frontline

Welcome back to Fridays From the Frontline, this (and every!) week’s recap of notable, not to mention quotable, updates from the blogosphere. With orientations and pre-terms picking up on campuses everywhere, first-years had an array of firsts to report, while applicants continued putting their best feet forward full speed ahead, and second-years got ready for the second time around. Let’s take a more in-depth look…

On the applicant front, Glamour Girl had a rousing time at the 3rd annual MBA Diversity Symposium in Philadelphia, enjoying an array of informative student panels and inspirational speakers, inciting her to get back into GMAT studying. Achilles, on the other hand, seemingly never departs from the GMAT way of life, upping his efforts this week despite scores many would be envious to call their own. Coming from a different angle, Vidviciveni offers up some offbeat GMAT advice: what not to do. Ever abreast of the admissions sphere, Geetu shares some admissions gems gleaned from attending a wealth of information sessions, most recently one hosted by the NC Penn Club, while Wannabe gives some great tips on so-called “recommender management.”

Bokaa, too, had recommenders on the brain this week, spending all day compiling a comprehensive recommender prep packet sure to garner him two stellar segues into the class of 2010. On the other end of the spectrum, Charu took a step back this week, giving serious (and itemized) consideration to the possible benefits of postponing the b-school journey till next year. In the thick of it, Mbabound08 chronicled, with fervor, the vicissitudes of… applying to business school, of course!

Eager to be on campus, Anand’s been enjoying Darden’s action packed Orientation, while noting with foreboding that his schedule is about to get even more packed as the school’s infamous workload sets in. The Chicago GSB lived up to Iday’s expectations as well, both inside and out, although the interior of his new apartment could use some work, starting with a bed… Meanwhile, tucked away in Hanover, JatWarrior might be hard pressed to find a place for his, noting that Tuck’s dorms are certainly “not for the claustrophobic”!

In between sprinting, swimming, and stacking chairs, HairTwirler finds that a Georgetown MBA is perhaps even more strenuous than she imagined. In Philadelphia, Asiangal’s also been running around, as part of the Wharton Leadership Ventures Navigation Challenge – just your basic scavenger hunt where each team is given a map, clues, two hours and three GPS tracking systems to gather maximal clues! Justinas’ entrée into business school, however, hasn’t been so state-of-the-art; he offers a hilarious inventory of the crises that have characterized his week one at Columbia. Also recapping a tough first week, CS is glad to be surviving HBS’ demanding Analytics Program, while still managing to find some time to explore Boston’s North End, home to such treats as all-you-can-eat cannoli. For her part, AGirl’sMBA takes some time out to offer cardinal application advice to next year’s crop of applicants, reminding them to focus on supplying genuine personal examples and not get caught up in positions and titles. Of course, even armed with this knowledge, for some students acceptance into top schools may be a gamble; perhaps they would feel at home at Darden, where Christoff informs us that Darden’s Dean Bruner attributes some key lessons he’s learned to playing the slots.

Speaking of questionable admissions, second-year Jacek has been enjoying his summer in Barcelona, reporting that he had “more fun than a bushel full of midgets doing the can can all dressed up in animal outfits on a dew filled morning in the Adirondacks” at a festival just last week. More informatively, Ed Starr posts some beautiful pics celebrating his memorable summer in London, which has gone by in a flash. In bustling New York, as the new first-years file onto campus, Axechick recalls the start of her MBA journey and prepares for her second go-around at CBS.

Our congratulations go out to Angel Angie this week, on her 100th post, not to mention a full-time offer, replete with generous bonus, at the London bank where she’s just completed her internship. With less reason to celebrate, at least for now, Karlitos prepares for the stress of moving into his LBS flat, an activity with a stress quotient topped only by losing one’s job, he cites recent statistics as indicating, even placing ahead of getting a divorce. Finally, PerpetualMotion philosophizes about “the grid” that connects and underlies daily life, and contemplates life without it.

And that just about wraps up this week’s weekly wrap-up! Please join us next time for the breaking news from FFF…

Workbook Wednesdays: Answer

Question

Kate and Danny each have $10. Together, they flip a fair coin 5 times. Every time the coin lands on heads, Kate gives Danny $1. Every time the coin lands on tails, Danny gives Kate $1. After the five coin flips, what is the probability that Kate has more than $10 but less than $15?

Answer

Let’s consider the different scenarios:If Kate wins all five flips, she ends up with $15.
If Kate wins four flips, and Danny wins one flip, Kate is left with $13.
If Kate wins three flips, and Danny wins two flips, Kate is left with $11.
If Kate wins two flips, and Danny wins three flips, Kate is left with $9.
If Kate wins one flip, and Danny wins four flips, Kate is left with $7.
If Kate loses all five flips, she ends up with $5.

The question asks for the probability that Kate will end up with more than $10 but less than $15. In other words, we need to determine the probability that Kate is left with $11 or $13 (since there is no way Kate can end up with $12 or $14).

The probability that Kate ends up with $11 after the five flips:

Since there are 2 possible outcomes on each flip, and there are 5 flips, the total number of possible outcomes is . Thus, the five flips of the coin yield 32 different outcomes.

To determine the probability that Kate will end up with $11, we need to determine how many of these 32 outcomes include a combination of exactly three winning flips for Kate.

We can create a systematic list of combinations that include three wins for Kate and two wins for Danny: DKKKD, DKKDK, DKDKK, DDKKK, KDKKD, KDKDK, KDDKK, KKDKD, KKDDK, KKKDD = 10 ways.

Alternatively, we can consider each of the five flips as five spots. There are 5 potential spots for Kate’s first win. There are 4 potential spots for Kate’s second win (because one spot has already been taken by Kate’s first win). There are 3 potential spots for Kate’s third win. Thus, there are ways for Kate’s three victories to be ordered.

However, since we are interested only in unique winning combinations, this number must be reduced due to overcounting. Consider the winning combination KKKDD: This one winning combination has actually been counted 6 times (this is 3! or three factorial) because there are 6 different orderings of this one combination:

This overcounting by 6 is true for all of Kate’s three-victory combinations. Therefore, there are only ways for Kate to have three wins and end up with $11 (as we had discovered earlier from our systematic list).

The probability that Kate ends up with $13 after the five flips:

To determine the probability that Kate will end up with $13, we need to determine how many of the 32 total possible outcomes include a combination of exactly four winning flips for Kate.

Again, we can create a systematic list of combinations that include four wins for Kate and one win for Danny: KKKKD, KKKDK, KKDKK, KDKKK, DKKKK = 5 ways.

Alternatively, using the same reasoning as above, we can determine that there are ways for Kate’s four victories to be ordered. Then, reduce this by 4! (four factorial) or 24 due to overcounting. Thus, there are ways for Kate to have four wins and end up with $13 (the same answer we found using the systematic list).

The total probability that Kate ends up with either $11 or $13 after the five flips:

There are 10 ways that Kate is left with $11. There are 5 ways that Kate is left with $13.

Therefore, there are 15 ways that Kate is left with more than $10 but less than $15.

Since there are 32 possible outcomes, the correct answer is , answer choice D.

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Stanford Essay Topic Analysis 2007-2008

As followers of the MBA admissions space know, Stanford’s application has been undergoing some changes of late. Whereas applicants to the GSB were once given up to 10 pages to write on the subjects of their career goals and what matters most to them, the school reduced the length of these essays last season and introduced two more required responses detailing the applicant’s behavior in specific situations. This year, Stanford continues to fine-tune its new format, further narrowing the recommended page allocation across for its Essays A and B (from 3-4 pages to 3, and 2-3 pages to 2, respectively) and slightly adjusting the wording and focus of the four Essay C options.

In spite of these recent changes, however, the first two essays still constitute the heart of one’s application. Ideally, an applicant’s responses to Essays A and B would work together to provide the adcom a picture of the guiding force or principle behind his or her experiences to date (which can be covered in the first question) and objectives for the future (discussed in the second). While it’s possible that the thing that matters most to an applicant might be something completely removed from his or her professional objectives, it almost seems natural that the career goal discussion would be a slightly narrower continuation of the theme developed in Essay A.

Essay A: What matters most to you, and why? (3 double-spaced pages)
The open-ended and somewhat philosophical nature of this question makes it a daunting (and potentially paralyzing) starting point. If a topic doesn’t immediately spring to mind, a constructive approach might be to think about your work experience, outside activities and general interests and look for some unifying theme among some or all of them. Because it’s always a good idea to introduce specific details and anecdotes to really tie the general ideas expressed in your essays to the key elements of your candidacy, it would be wise to select a topic that not only gives the adcom a sense of your values and priorities, but also allows to you discuss some of the ways you have translated these into action.

Essay B: What are your aspirations? How will your education at Stanford help you achieve these? (2 double-spaced pages)
All told, this is a fairly standard career goals essay. Though Stanford leaves the question rather open ended, it will still be to the applicant’s benefit to sketch out a specific short and long-term goal, explaining the motivation and reasoning behind each, and to provide a detailed discussion of the ways a Stanford MBA would be conducive to achieving these aims as well as the potential contribution he or she could make to the program.

There’s one notable addition to this question is the following prompt that was added this year:

As a Stanford MBA student, you will be assigned a team of advisors who will guide both your academic experience and your personal development. Your team will include a faculty advisor, a career counselor, and a leadership coach. Use Essay B to help you prepare for your first conversations with these mentors.

With this hint in mind, it would certainly make sense to demonstrate awareness of Stanford’s new curriculum and comment on they ways you might proactively take advantage of the new offerings in pursuit of your educational and professional goals.

Essay C: Answer 2 of the questions listed below.

Option 1: Tell us about a time when you empowered others.
Option 2: Tell us about a time when you had a significant impact on a person, group or organization.
Option 3: Tell us about a time when you tried to reach a goal or complete a task that was challenging, difficult, or frustrating.
Option 4: Tell us about a time when you went beyond what was defined, established, or expected.

The question about empowering others is new for Stanford this year, replacing an essay about a time the applicant felt effective or successful, an interesting shift away from interest in personal achievement and toward leadership potential and interpersonal skills. The rest of the inquiries are essentially unchanged from last season.

While these action-oriented essays serve as a contrast to the preceding broad questions about the candidate’s motivations and objectives, truly effective applications will find a way to make these responses work in conjunction with Essays A and B, reinforcing themes and complementing the ideas already presented, and completing the picture of who you are.

In addressing any of these questions, it will be important to provide a clear description of the initial situation at the outset of the essay, as this will help the reader to understand the reasons for your thoughts, feelings, words and actions. Providing a detailed “before picture” will also allow the adcom to fully appreciate the difference you made. To decide which two of the four options to select, it would be wise to consider all of the situations you could discuss in response to each question, and select those that will provide a balanced picture of your activities and interests (one story from work and another from a key extracurricular might be a nice balance) while supporting the message set forth in response to Essays A and B.

UNC / Kenan-Flagler Event in London

Europe-based MBA applicants targeting programs in the U.S. may want to take note of an upcoming event in London with admissions representatives from UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School.  In addition to generally promoting the school’s academic program, Kenan-Flagler’s dean and director of MBA Admissions will be traveling to the UK to meet with applicants who wish to be considered for the Falls Prize, which annually awards a tuition scholarship and an additional $25,000 stipend for school related expenses to six exceptional students who enroll at the school full-time.

Here are some more details from the school about this opportunity:

Date:  Thursday, September 6th, 2007
Time:  6:30-8:30 pm
Location: Chandos House, Duke of Chandos Rm, 2 Queen Anne Street, London W1G 9LQ
RSVP: Please reply by August 31 to Alison Jesse, Senior Associate Dean of MBA Admissions, at  ajesse@unc.edu or +1  919-843-9830.

At the reception, Dean Jones will communicate his vision for the school, initiatives under way, profile the most recently enrolled MBA class, and discuss the recruitment success enjoyed by the 2007 MBA graduates.  Dean Jones will also entertain questions from the attendees.

There is an opportunity for a small group of prospective applicants to meet privately with Dean Jones immediately prior to the reception.  To be considered for this limited opportunity, please send your resume to ajesse@unc.edu.

Admissions Interviews:
Kenan-Flagler requires an interview as part of the application process.  Interview appointments will be available with Sherry Wallace, Director of MBA Admissions, on Friday, September 7th during business hours.  To request an interview, please send your resume to ajesse@unc.edu.

Admissions Tip: Common Recommendation Dilemmas

As many of our readers are aware, letters of recommendation are a central part of the application process. Following our discussion on how to identify the ideal recommender, today we would like to take a look at how to handle the snags that often arise for applicants in unique employment situations.

The applicant who is most likely to have trouble finding a suitable recommender is either self-employed or works in his or her family’s business. First, self-employed entrepreneurs by their very nature do not have a direct supervisor. Similarly, an applicant who works for the family business may have trouble finding a non-related supervisor, or someone who can offer a truly objective opinion.

Applicants who find themselves in this dilemma should not despair. Some applicants might be in a position to solicit a letter from a client or customer with whom they have worked extensively. In an ongoing relationship like this one, the applicant is accountable to the client and in this sense the client may act as a supervisor. A letter from a client or customer works best, of course, when the relationship has been intensive and ongoing; the writer should be familiar with the applicant’s responsibilities and the way he fulfills them, as well as his career trajectory.

Another option is to look to former supervisors for a letter of recommendation. This is a great option for an applicant who has maintained a close relationship with a previous employer. In this scenario, it is important that the applicant has kept the recommender informed about any developments in his career goals. This way, the letter will be oriented towards the future, even if it draws on anecdotes from the past.

For applicants who have pursued extensive community involvement outside of work, yet another recommendation option may exist within a volunteer organization. Someone who has contributed to a nonprofit for several years, and has taken on responsibilities at the organizational level would be in a great position to explore this option. Again, an applicant in this position should look for a recommender who ranks above him in the organization’s hierarchy and has first-hand knowledge of his contributions.

Following this criteria, in conjunction with some of the more general guidelines mentioned earlier, applicants can wind up with insightful, enthusiastic recommendations that bolster their entire applications!

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Tuck Essay Topic Analysis 2007-2008

Tuck’s set of application essays for this season is identical to last year’s, suggesting a consistent focus on an applicant’s unique characteristics, leadership potential and interpersonal behaviors. The program’s instructions with respect to length are also the same, stating that there are no formal length limits, but that most applicants use 500 words per essay “on average.” This provides a bit more leeway than schools whose essays have explicit word counts, but it would still be wise to avoid exceeding or coming short of this mark by very many words.

Let’s take a closer look at each of the school’s essays:

Essay 1: Why is an MBA a critical next step toward your short- and long-term career goals? Why is Tuck the best MBA program for you?
This is a rather straightforward career goal essay. The one way that it differs from those of most other schools is that rather than simply inquiring about the basis of an applicant’s interest in the program, Tuck wants to hear the reasons it might be the best of the candidate’s options. Navigating this issue will require a fair amount of research, as it will be important to identify some features that are truly unique to Tuck and very relevant to one’s goals, background and/or interests.

Essay 2: Tuck defines leadership as “inspiring others to strive and enabling them to accomplish great things.” Describe a time when you exercised such leadership. Discuss the challenges you faced and the results you achieved. What characteristics helped you to be effective, and what areas do you feel you need to develop in order to be a better leader?
This is a tall order for an (approximately) 500 word essay. One great goal to keep in mind is to maintain a balance between the individual and the external. In other words, an applicant might set the scene by offering detailed information about the setting in which he or she led by inspiring others: the financial importance of the project, or perhaps the challenging makeup of a team of coworkers. Of course, ultimately applicants would offer concrete information about how their efforts affected others, and eventually the organization’s bottom line. These descriptions could then be balanced with more reflective observations about the applicant’s own thought process and, in the end, personal development.

Essay 3: Discuss the most difficult constructive criticism or feedback you have received. How did you address it? What have you learned from it?
Though this question will elicit a different sort of story from other schools’ prompts about a failure or setback, the major themes of growth and learning are similar. In addition to recounting the steps you took to address the issue that had been raised (and briefly explaining why it was an issue to begin with), commenting on the way you reacted to this difficult feedback could be a great way to demonstrate maturity and a sincere interest in improvement. That is, the element of communication implicit in “constructive criticism or feedback” provides applicants with an excellent opportunity to show themselves interacting with others, perhaps even under trying circumstances.

Essay 4: Tuck seeks candidates of various backgrounds who can bring new perspectives to our community. How will your unique personal history, values, and/or life experiences contribute to the culture at Tuck?
Tuck is trying to understand the potential value of applicants’ knowledge and interests, and also the way they think about the world. Rather than making the common claim that they can bring a unique perspective to the classroom, candidates are encouraged to offer insightful details about what differentiates them from others in the applicant pool. Discussing the way your individual perspectives would affect this close-knit community (in a modest manner, of course) can really bolster your response here, since the adcom is sincerely looking for applicants who will change the program for the better. For that reason, applicants who outline the specific contributions they could make to the Tuck culture, the ways in which they intend to make them, and the reasons they are uniquely equipped to do so, will make a positive and lasting impression on the adcom.

Workbook Wednesdays: Flipping for Dollars