APPLICANT RESOURCES

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

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

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

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• School: Berkeley / Haas
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• School: Columbia
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• School: Georgetown
• School: Harvard
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• School: INSEAD
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• School: London Business School
• School: Michigan / Ross
• School: MIT / Sloan
• School: Northwestern / Kellogg
• School: NYU Stern
• School: Oxford
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• School: Stanford
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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
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ARCHIVE FOR OCTOBER 2007

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Workbook Wednesdays: Join the Club

Welcome back to another edition of Workbook Wednesdays, brought to you by our friends at Manhattan GMAT. This question is of the caliber one is likely to see if scoring above 700 on the quantitative section of the GMAT. Check back tomorrow for an in-depth look at the answer!

Question

A certain club has exactly 5 new members at the end of its first week. Every subsequent week, each of the previous week’s new members (and only these members) brings exactly x new members into the club. If y is the number of new members brought into the club during the twelfth week, which of the following could be y?

(A)

(B)

(C)

(D)

(E)

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Trivia Tuesday: Innovation and Independent Activities at MIT Sloan

Welcome to another edition of Trivia Tuesday, where we examine differences in the programs, resources, and opportunities offered by the leading business schools. Today we’re turning our attention to two unique aspects of the academic year at MIT Sloan: the mid-semester Sloan Innovation Periods and the mid-year Independent Activities Period.

The Sloan Innovation Period, or SIP, takes place for a week at the midpoint of each semester. The SIP was introduced to the curriculum to provide an opportunity for all Sloan students and faculty members to explore interests in ways not possible within the standard framework of courses. All classes and activities stop for the week while faculty members organize seminars and other activities designed to provide students with opportunities for hands-on leadership experiences and exposure to the latest research of Sloan professors. Past areas of study include explorations of individual learning styles, social network analysis for managers, value chain roadmapping, and globalization, development & standards. Participation in SIP is required of both first and second-year students as part of the MBA graduation requirements and most Sloan students report that they appreciate the opportunity to step back and reflect on their learning while exploring topics outside the curriculum.

In addition, while other MBA students are home in January, resting up for the second half of the school year, students at MIT Sloan use the winter break to explore new topics and make new connections on campus.

Every winter break at MIT, students, faculty, staff and alumni across the Institute are able to use the special four-week January term to organize or participate in a wide range of activities. Included as part of tuition, the Independent Activities Period, or IAP, offerings typically include how-to sessions, lectures, tours, recitals, athletic events, forums and films. Since members of the MIT community are responsible for proposing and organizing IAP events, the available activities change depending on the interests of the MIT campus at large.

Because the IAP is open to all members of the MIT community, the month-long session gives Sloan students an opportunity to form connections with students and faculty outside of the business school. This kind of extended opportunity for campus-wide interaction is unique to MIT Sloan among the leading business schools. These connections may help create many of the business/science partnerships that underlie MIT Sloan’s reputation as a center for the commercialization of new technologies.

For more information on unusual academic opportunities available to MBA students, be sure to visit the schools’ websites or check out the special programs featured in the Clear Admit School Guides!

Monday, October 29, 2007

Clear Admit School Guides Featured by MBAPodcaster as a Key Resource for Candidates

A recent episode of MBAPodcaster features information on selected resources for MBA candidates as they navigate the admissions process at leading programs.  In order to select a group of resources to highlight, the team at MBAPodcaster looked at many offerings in the space, ranging from MBA fairs and foundations to discussion forums and publications.  We are pleased to report that the Clear Admit School Guides were featured in the podcast as a key source of information that applicants can tap into throughout the application process!

Clear Admit co-founder Graham Richmond was interviewed by MBAPodcaster’s Janet Nakano for the episode.  Nakano and Richmond discuss the four stages of the application process in which candidates find the Clear Admit School Guides helpful:

1) When thinking about business school and trying to assemble a list of target programs.

2) When looking for school-specific details to bring essays to life.

3) When seeking an executive summary/refresher on a school while preparing for an interview.

4) When deciding which program to attend.

We’re thrilled that the team at MBAPodcaster have recognized Clear Admit for our work on the School Guides project.  The entire podcast, which also features resources such as the MBA Tour, the Princeton Review and the Forte Foundation, can be downloaded for free at MBAPodcaster.com.  It is also available via iTunes.  The podcast is approximately half an hour long, with the Clear Admit School Guides feature beginning at the 18:53 mark.  Happy listening!

CMU / Tepper School of Business Essays 2007-2008

We continue our series of 2007-08 essay topic posts with Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School of Business.  While Tepper has maintained their interest in an applicant’s goals, growth and diversity, they’ve offered slightly fewer essays to explore those topics this year, as applicants are only required to answer two options for Essay C as opposed to three. Keep in mind that Tepper suggests using only two double-spaced pages for each essay.  The school’s deadlines are posted here.

CMU Tepper Essays
Essay A (required): What are your short term and long term goals? How will a Tepper MBA help you achieve these goals? (Please include any information regarding steps you have taken to learn more about Tepper.)

Essay B (required): Describe an instance in which you made an impact either as part of a team or as an individual. How did this experience help shape you as a team member or leader and how will it enable you to contribute to the diverse Tepper community?

Essay C (required): Please answer two of the following three questions or statements. Please clearly specify which questions you are answering. Your two answers should equal a total of two pages or less.

C1. Describe an obstacle you have faced in your professional or academic life. How did you overcome this obstacle and how did it foster your development?

C2.Describe a time in which your ethics were challenged. How did you deal with the situation and what did you learn from it?

C3. One thing people would be surprised to know about me is…

Additional Essay (Optional): Is there anything else you think we should know as we evaluate your application? Note: If you believe your credentials and essays represent you fairly, you should not feel obligated to answer this question. This essay is intended to provide a place for you to add information that you think is important but is not covered elsewhere in the application. Note: You must complete this essay if you answered ‘yes’ to either of the ‘additional information’ questions above. (The “additional information” questions are in regards to the applicant’s academic and/or criminal record.)

Friday, October 26, 2007

Fridays from the Frontline

Welcome back to another Fridays from the Frontline, Clear Admit’s weekly round up of MBA blogs. It was a relatively quiet week out there in the blogosphere as applicants waded through essays, first year students studied for midterm exams, and second year students were busy with - well - a little bit of everything.

Applicant bloggers pushed themselves through another week of essay writing. mbabound08 had a few impassioned things to say about Fuqua’s essays. Before he saw the light, B-school Bound was similarly stymied by Stanford’s Essay A. He also wisely advised applicant readers to leave enough time for their data forms, advice that Achilles would probably echo in regards to securing recommendation letters. Bluey was already checking out the profiles of her future INSEAD classmates, and at the opposite end of the application process, Glamour Girl took the plunge and made her final decision to apply this year.

Along with many other first year students, MBAstarter looked forward to fall break, and looked backwards no less enthusiastically at his past six weeks at Fuqua. AsianGal sounded a little more stressed out as Wharton’s first quarter drew to a close. Juggler attempted to deal with the same stress at Wharton by reflecting on her own personal philosophy on the importance of schoolwork and top grades. Similarly, MaybeMBA reconsidered her post-Chicago plans, setting her longer-term sights on VC and/or energy technologies. Experimenting with a “pure MBA style” of presentation, Iday posted a bulleted list of his many activities at Chicago, while RusGirl adopted perhaps a less conventional style by drawing on the logic of Kevin Bacon to win her Ethics debate at LBS.

Applicants to Columbia’s January Term should not miss John’s post, in which he shared future admissions plans from the program’s president. Aside from that, second year students posted this week on just about everything except school. On his ESADE exchange semester in Capetown, Jacek was celebrating South Africa’s World Cup victory like a local; in New York, Rubeo Boy seemed to be partying at Stern just as hard. La Laudiaria aced an interview, spent the weekend in New York, and found an invitation for a second round interview upon her return to Wharton. Best of luck to her!

That does it for this week’s Fridays from the Frontline. Have a great Halloween and we’ll see you back here next week!

Thursday, October 25, 2007

UT Austin / McCombs Essay Topic Analysis 2007-2008

McCombs is one of the few high ranking MBA programs with a rolling admissions process, and as such applicants may be tempted to put these essays off until more pressing deadlines have passed. It’s nice to have some leeway, but applicants who are very interested in the program should keep in mind that McCombs’s adcom calls November 1 the “suggested” date for early submissions. To help get the writing process started, today we’ll take a closer look at the McCombs Essay Questions.

As was the case with UT Austin’s essays last season, there are three required responses totaling roughly 2000 words, but the questions themselves are rather different in tone and focus.

Essay 1: Please define your short- and long-term goals and objectives, your career progression to date, and how an MBA fits in at this time. What makes the Texas MBA the perfect fit for you? (900 word limit)
This is a fairly straightforward career goals essay. One thing to note is that this particular question explicitly brings up the question of timing, so essay writers would be wise to consider how their profiles are stronger now than they would have been last year, or will be in the future. Given the second component of the prompt, it will also be important for candidates to demonstrate that they have done a thorough job of researching McCombs program; in particular, the use of the word “perfect” is a strong hint that the adcom is looking for a well-reasoned and tailored discussion of the ways that the Texas MBA will position the applicant for success in his or her stated goals.

Essay 2: The Texas MBA is built around four key pillars of leadership. Describe an experience that you have had that clearly demonstrates your leadership as it relates to one of our four pillars: 1) Responsibility/Integrity; 2) Knowledge/Understanding; 3) Collaborative/Communication; or 4) Worldview of Business and Society. (650 word limit)
This question has a specific focus, requesting a single experience in which an applicant demonstrates a certain sort of leadership, but at the same time offers a fair amount of leeway. This experience could come from the professional or personal realm, and the various pillars offer opportunities to talk about anything from employing interpersonal and organizational skills in guiding a group to achieve goal to exhibiting intellectual innovation in changing the direction or focus of a process or organization. Take note that the adcom mentions caring about all four of these qualities but asks the applicant to select just one, so think carefully about which of these constitutes your competitive advantage over other applicants, so to speak. Of course, a truly great response to this question will emphasize one of these pillars while hinting that the applicant also possesses the other three leadership capabilities.

Essay 3: At the McCombs School of Business, you will be part of an active and diverse community. Referencing your personal strengths and unique experience, how will you enrich the McCombs community during your two years in the program? (500 word limit)
While all schools are interested in how an applicant might make a unique contribution to its campus life, McCombs joins Tuck and Kellogg on the list of schools that explicitly ask prospective students to argue their case on this subject. This is a great opportunity for applicants to show that they have reflected on and are aware of what they could bring to the community and how their experiences and strengths might complement those of their classmates. In addition, this question provides applicants with a valuable opportunity to show that they are familiar with specific initiatives, clubs and opportunities in McCombs’s MBA program, and that they are enthusiastic about contributing to them in new and valuable ways.

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

UT Austin / McCombs Deadlines and Essays 2007-2008

Below are this year’s deadlines and essay questions for UT Austin’s McCombs School of Business. The school employs a rolling admissions process, meaning that applications are reviewed as they are received and decisions are made chronologically.

McCombs Deadlines

Suggested Early Submission Date: November 1, 2007
Final Deadline for International Applicants: February 1, 2008
Second Recommended Date for Domestic Applicants: February 1, 2008
Final Deadline for Domestic Applicants: April 1, 2008

McCombs Essays

1. Please define your short- and long-term goals and objectives, your career progression to date, and how an MBA fits in at this time. What makes the Texas MBA the perfect fit for you? (Limit: 900 words)

2. The Texas MBA is built around four key pillars of leadership. Describe an experience that you have had that clearly demonstrates your leadership as it relates to one of our four pillars: 1) Responsibility/Integrity; 2) Knowledge/Understanding; 3) Collaborative/Communication; or 4) Worldview of Business and Society. (Limit: 650 words)

3. At the McCombs School of Business, you will be part of an active and diverse community. Referencing your personal strengths and unique experience, how will you enrich the McCombs community during your two years in the program? (Limit: 500 words)

Optional: Please provide any additional information to the Admissions Committee that will highlight your unique personality and character and/or address any areas of concern that will ultimately be beneficial to the committee in considering your application. (Limit: 350 words)

Interview Season and the Clear Admit Wiki

With Wharton and Harvard interview invitations now rolling out to R1 applicants, the anxiety and excitement of this phase of the admissions process are no doubt kicking in for many of our readers. Applicants to Wharton will have some piece of mind within the month, as all round one applicants to that program will receive an interview invitation or a notification of denial by November 15th. Meanwhile, Harvard applicants might need to wait a bit longer for news from that school, as HBS traditionally releases interview invitations up to and including its final notification date - January 16th this year.

Those who make it to this next step will have very different experiences interviewing at these two programs; Wharton interviews are generally conversational and conducted by an interviewer who has access only to the applicant’s resume, whereas Harvard interviewers will have carefully reviewed the applicant’s entire profile in advance of the meeting and might ask pointed questions or request elaboration on certain elements of his or her background. There are of course general best practices that apply to any interview experience, but as you might imagine based on these two examples, familiarity with a school’s process and the ability to anticipate questions can make a significant impact on one’s effectiveness in this element of the MBA admissions process.

We therefore wanted to take a moment today to point readers to the Clear Admit Wiki as a source of breaking interview invitation news and extensive information on the interview process at each program. For those who aren’t familiar, the Wiki is a collaborative resource for the MBA applicant community where applicants can (anonymously or otherwise) post reports about their interviews, campus visits and application experiences at the top business schools, and read about those of others. Our hope is that the sum of these individual first hand accounts is a representative picture of the culture and processes at each program.

For those of you gearing up for Wharton or HBS interviews, we recommend that you read the following pages:

• Wharton Interview Reports
• Harvard Business School Interview Reports

As always, we wish the best of luck to round one applicants who have submitted their materials and are now eagerly awaiting good news from their target schools! Stay tuned to this blog for an array of interview tips in the coming weeks, and keep an eye out for upcoming editions of Wiki Wednesdays, a column highlighting especially insightful and informative contributions to the Clear Admit Wiki.

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Trivia Tuesday: Pre-Term Programs at Duke’s Fuqua School

It’s time for another look at the programs, resources and opportunities that help differentiate the leading business schools. Following up on past columns about pre-term programs and international orientations, let’s examine the options available to help incoming Fuqua students start the school year on the right foot.

All Fuqua first-year students participate in the recently-introduced, three-week Global Institute pre-term program. The Institute, held in August before the start of classes, consists of two core courses designed to help students gain a more nuanced understanding of the global business environment and enhance their collaborative leadership skills.

In addition to the mandatory Global Institute, Fuqua offers a Summer Math Review Course and a Language Institute in the weeks before New Student Orientation to help students build targeted skills before the start of classes. Although all students are generally invited to participate in these courses, the Admissions Office recommends or requires enrollment for particular students with weaker math or English skills. Because the programs meet during the same two weeks, it is impossible to complete both, but the administration reports that few, if any, entering students need extra preparation in both subjects.

The Language Institute, or LI, begins in late July or early August and is designed to help international students build English speaking, writing and listening skills, orient to the academic environment at Fuqua, and begin creating friendships with other students. The LI, which cost $3,370 in the 2007-2008 academic year, is divided into four phases of teaching and support. In the optional first phase, students who would like to complete individual preparatory work with a tutor are encouraged to arrive in mid-July for tutorial sessions. The intensive 8-day Language Institute makes up phase two of the program, and during this time students complete English diagnostic assessments, language tutorials, experiential learning projects and case study analyses. Classes during phase two meet from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. each day, including weekends, with mandatory social events and team meetings often scheduled for the evenings. Phase three begins once LI participants start the three-week Global Institute course. The LI faculty use the “live” academic setting of the Global Institute to give LI participants detailed feedback and suggestions for improvement before the first term of classes begins. Finally, entering students who participate in the LI are eligible to receive continued language support through individual counseling or small group work throughout their time at Fuqua.

For more information on pre-term and international orientation programs at Fuqua or other leading business schools, be sure to talk with current students or check out the Academics section of the Clear Admit School Guides!

Monday, October 22, 2007

MBA News: Clear Admit, Ross, Chicago and Haas Speak on Finding the Right Fit, MIT Sloan Launches Elevator Pitch Contest

During the third annual BusinessWeek online MBA expo, one of the major topics of discussion was how applicants can find the right fit with an MBA program. BusinessWeek posed this question to a range of experts, including Clear Admit co-founder Graham Richmond, Ross Admissions Director Soojin Kwon Koh, Chicago Admissions Director Rose Martinelli, and Berkeley Haas Admissions Director Pete Johnson. The result is a great resource for applicants in any stage of the admissions process: the panel’s suggestions on what to ask when considering a school will help those still making a list of target schools, while the advice on how the schools evaluate fit is crucial to those candidates currently working on their applications. Some take away points from the conversations:

- Candidates should move beyond the rankings to consider how a particular program fits their interests, goals and learning style.
- Students, especially those applying from abroad, should take advantage of local information sessions and should reach out to current students and alumni via email or phone calls.
- Admissions officers are looking to the application and interview for signs that candidates have done their homework and can back up claims of fit with relevant program details.

In the school’s latest podcast, MIT Sloan Admissions Director Rod Garcia also chimed in on the issue of fit in the MBA admissions process. In the interview, Garcia reflects on his 19 years at Sloan and shares his advice on how to prepare for business school, what makes MIT Sloan stand out from its peers, and the most critical parts of the application process. The entire interview can be downloaded free or listened to online.

In other news from MIT Sloan, the school recently announced the winners of its first annual Elevator Pitch Contest, a new part of the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition. Given the importance of the “elevator pitch” to generating interest and funding for many new enterprises, the new competition is designed to help contestants build this critical skill. Participants had to create a 60-second pitch and were encouraged by the organizers to “communicate a sense of value, empathy and urgency.” Winners split $10,000 in prize money, including a $2,500 grand prize, five $1,000 category prizes, and a $1,000 “crowd favorite” award. In addition to practicing their pitches and competing for prize money, participants also had the opportunity to network with other entrepreneurs and to begin generating ideas for the next stages of the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition that will take place this winter.

Friday, October 19, 2007

Fridays From the Frontline

Welcome back to Fridays From the Frontline, our weekly ride through the MBA blogosphere. With Round 1 deadlines thinning out, applicants are starting to regain some sanity, while current students are just getting onto the roller coaster of exam period. Let’s check in with our bloggers for some firsthand accounts.

Reaching out to fellow Round 1 applicants similarly twiddling their thumbs, B-School Diva offers tips on how to win the waiting game. Not quite there yet, Mbadreamer fills us in on the recent recommendation marathon she went through with her boss – almost literally! Somewhat traumatized himself, Bokaa vows never to make his future ‘recommendees’ endure the anxiety his recommenders just put him through.

Wannabe, on the other hand, is more interested in begging than vowing; he sends a heartfelt plea out to Tuck to count him among their class of 2010; Columbia has him in pretty bad spirits. Tuning into his disgruntled vibe, B-School Bound offers a clever, accessible and b-school relevant pick-me up for the downtrodden applicant, not to mention finishing off Kellogg’s set, just in time!

Switching over to our first-years, Necromonger finds that mixing a bad cold with INSEAD Island Iced Tea the week before exams puts pressure on more than just the sinuses, while Dee feels the sudden need to succeed on her INSEAD exams as well, despite explaining just how counterintuitive this urge is.

Meanwhile, Matt mixes in multimedia to make his point about finals at Ross - so effectively that it wouldn’t be surprising if application rates suffer this November! Christof’s been stretched unusually thin as well, preparing for Darden’s “five, consecutive, five-hour timed exams” – one can only hope he’s speaking somewhat figuratively! Up in Cambridge, CS is busy publicizing HBS’ Cyberposium 13, featuring CEOs, entrepreneurs and greats such as the “Rightful Heir to Thomas Edison.”

Turning the page, Ash decides his second year at Stanford will be about quality, not quantity. La Lauderia’s also living well, taking a break from the workload at Wharton to enjoy a night out at Philly’s famous rock venue The Electric Factory, seeing even more famous Bad Religion. Karlitos gets our focus back on track, assuring readers that LBS’ tagline as “the preeminent global business school” is in fact true, in an impressive array of ways. Finally, Fran takes blogging to a new level, posting a write-up from her job application on her page to seek input.

Well, that about wraps up our weekly wrap up! Enjoy your weekend – perhaps for the first time in a while for many of you! And don’t forget to check back next week for another installation of FFF…

Thursday, October 18, 2007

UNC / Kenan-Flagler Essay Topic Analysis 2007-2008

With many applicants turning their attention to Kenan-Flagler’s application at this point in the month, we wanted to offer our thoughts on each of the program’s inquiries for this year.

UNC’s application essays for this season are identical to last year’s. Rather than the typical approach of offering applicants a number of essay options and requiring that they select and respond to several of these, UNC includes two optional essays that might only be applicable to a portion of the applicant pool. Though the 2000 total words across the two required essays don’t put the school’s topics too far below the average in terms of total application length, most applicants will have to cover their entire candidacies in response to just two fairly narrow questions - a task that will require some considerable reflection and strategic thinking.
Essay 1: Describe your career progression to date, highlighting leadership and management positions and reasons for changing jobs or career paths, if applicable. Tell us how your experience, coupled with an MBA degree from UNC, will lead you to your short-term and long-term career goals (1200 words maximum).
While this question contains all of the components of the classic career goals/why MBA essay, there are some additional elements to consider here, namely that applicants are explicitly asked to explain changes in jobs and “highlight” leadership and management positions, perhaps sharing some very brief anecdotes about their work in such roles over the course of they essay. Because the second required question focuses on overcoming certain obstacles and reflecting on their lasting effects, this essay could be an applicant’s only chance to share a straightforward success story from the professional realm. Fortunately, the fairly high word limit should allow for this sort of elaboration.

Essay 2: Describe the major obstacles or challenges you have faced in pursuit of your goals. Tell us how you addressed these challenges and how they have shaped you (800 words maximum).
This is an interesting question, as it could be read as referring to one’s career goals as outlined in response to the previous question, or to a broader set of objectives that one has set for oneself over time. The latter interpretation might be the more advantageous, as this would allow an applicant to draw from a much broader range of examples and introduce his or her aspirations and priorities beyond the office. Either way, this essay is a good place to highlight instances of resourcefulness and persistence, and provide a comprehensive picture of personal development over the course of a narrative about achieving one’s objectives.

Essay 3 (Optional): Tell us about any international experience you have, either living or working abroad. Tell us how it has impacted your global perspective (400 words maximum).
This is a great opportunity to highlight an important element of one’s business school candidacy. Though not all applicants will have worked abroad, it’s important to remember that anything that has happened since beginning college is fair game for this essay, and that study abroad experiences and even extended trips for personal reasons could be applicable here (use your discretion when deciding how to define “living”). The adcom is looking for both an informative account of your time away from home as well as a thoughtful reflection on the way this experience expanded your horizons and influenced your subsequent pursuits and perceptions.

Essay Four (Optional): UNC Kenan-Flagler seeks to enroll students from a variety of undergraduate majors. Regardless of your major, we strongly recommend that all students enter the program with some background in calculus, microeconomics, statistics and financial accounting. If you have not studied one or more of these subjects in college or university, please tell us how you have developed proficiency in these areas. If you have not been exposed to one or more of these subjects, please tell us how you will prepare yourself prior to entering UNC Kenan-Flagler (400 words maximum).
As with any essay addressing what might be a perceived weakness in one’s academic record, the key to this kind of essay is to avoid making excuses or being defensive. It will simply be important to provide a straightforward account of your quantitative preparation and, if there is no coursework in these disciplines of which to speak, point to some examples from the professional realm that you feel demonstrate your proficiency. Of course, if you find yourself without any formal academic work to write about here, we would strongly recommend that you plan to enroll in at least one of the courses in question during the fall or spring semesters before matriculation, and share this intention with the adcom.

Workbook Wednesdays: Answer

As promised, below is the answer to our weekly Challenge Problem. Enjoy!

Question

A gambler began playing blackjack with $110 in chips. After exactly 12 hands, he left the table with $320 in chips, having won some hands and lost others. Each win earned $100 and each loss cost $10. How many possible outcomes were there for the first 5 hands he played? (For example, won the first hand, lost the second, etc.)

(A) 10
(B) 18
(C) 26
(D) 32
(E) 64

Answer

Let W be the number of wins and L be the number of losses. Since the total number of hands equals 12 and the net winnings equal $210, we can construct and solve the following simultaneous equations:

So we know that the gambler won 3 hands and lost 9. We do not know where in the sequence of 12 hands the 3 wins appear. So when counting the possible outcomes for the first 5 hands, we must consider these possible scenarios:

1) Three wins and two losses
2) Two wins and three losses
3) One win and four losses
4) No wins and five losses

In the first scenario, we have WWWLL. We need to know in how many different ways we can arrange these five letters:

So there are 10 possible arrangements of 3 wins and 2 losses.

The second scenario — WWLLL — will yield the same result: 10.

The third scenario — WLLLL — will yield 5 possible arrangements, since the one win has only 5 possible positions in the sequence.

The fourth scenario — LLLLL — will yield only 1 possible arrangement, since rearranging these letters always yields the same sequence.

Altogether, then, there are 10 + 10 + 5 + 1 = 26 possible outcomes for the gambler’s first five hands.

The correct answer is C.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Workbook Wednesdays: Win Some, Lose Some

Here is this week’s Challenge Problem, brought to us by Manhattan GMAT. This is the caliber of problem one would see on the exam if scoring in the 700 range or higher. Take a shot at this one and check back tomorrow for an in depth look at the answer!

Question

A gambler began playing blackjack with $110 in chips. After exactly 12 hands, he left the table with $320 in chips, having won some hands and lost others. Each win earned $100 and each loss cost $10. How many possible outcomes were there for the first 5 hands he played? (For example, won the first hand, lost the second, etc.)

(A) 10
(B) 18
(C) 26
(D) 32
(E) 64

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Trivia Tuesday: International Management Certificates at Haas and Anderson

It’s Tuesday again and that means it’s time for some trivia! As our regular readers know, each Tuesday we take the opportunity to highlight some of the programs, policies or predilections of the leading business schools. Our goal is to help applicants learn more about individual schools while also discovering some of the important differences between them. Today let’s turn our attention to the varying opportunities for international management study at two of California’s top programs: UC Berkeley’s Haas School and UCLA’s Anderson School.

The Certificate in Global Management at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business is designed to expose students to the theory and practice of global business management. To be eligible for the certificate, students must complete at least 8 credits of coursework with international content, participate in an overseas experience, and fulfill the program’s language requirement. Students may fulfill the overseas experience requirement through study abroad, participation in the International Business Development course, or through significant prior professional experience abroad.

The language requirement, meanwhile, expects proficiency at a level equivalent to four semesters of college language study at UC-Berkeley. This means that students hoping to earn a global management certificate should already have some prior language proficiency before beginning the MBA, since it is very difficult to complete four full semesters of language courses during the MBA program. Alternatively, students may demonstrate proficiency through a language exam, non-English degree, or through a college transcript showing equivalent university-level language study.

Meanwhile, the UCLA Anderson School of Business offers the Advanced International Management Program (AIM), serving students aspiring to international leadership positions. Like in the Haas program, Anderson AIM students craft an international business specialization through coursework, international exposure, and foreign language study. To graduate with the AIM Certificate, students must take one of two foundations courses, complete three international electives, and pursue an internationally-focused Applied Management Research Project. Finally, they should undertake either intensive foreign language study, an international experience, or an international independent study.

Participation in the Anderson AIM program requires a brief application, but all students who complete the application and fulfill the program requirements are awarded a Certificate in Advanced International Management upon graduation. Students may apply to the Certificate program anytime from the beginning of the Spring quarter of the first year to the end of the Fall quarter in the second year. Further, at the end of Winter quarter, the AIM office audits the academic records of second-year Anderson students who have completed an international AMR project or participated in an international exchange, contacting them if they are near completion of the Certificate requirements but have not applied.

For more information on international opportunities at Haas, Anderson, or other leading MBA programs, be sure to check out the schools’ websites or the Academics and Special Programs sections of the Clear Admit School Guides!

Monday, October 15, 2007

Campus Chronicles: Columbia, Fuqua, Ross

The big news in the Columbia Bottom Line this week was the creation of a student-run microfinance investment fund, which will be referred to as Microlumbia, short for “microfinance at Columbia.” The fund is sponsored by the International Development Club and is currently seeking applications for vice-president and assistant vice-president positions. The paper’s other top story was Morgan Stanley CEO John Mack’s speech at the Silfin Leadership Series, where he told the packed room that he got to where he is at Morgan Stanley by giving his opinion, and urged others to do the same. This year’s applicants to Columbia might also be interested in the article on page 6, which discussed Dean Hubbard’s address at the school’s first Town Hall Meeting of the academic year. In his talk, Dean Hubbard discussed Columbia’s strengths, including what the school is doing to stay competitive in a rapidly changing world (does that wording sound familiar?). The Dean isn’t the only one interested in continued improvement - page 7 has a list of the Graduate Business Association’s primary objectives for the 2007-2008 school year, which include projects from online course reviews to creating more events to integrate partners and children into the school’s social life.

At Duke, the Fuqua Times offers several articles this week reflecting on the year so far. The MBAA, Fuqua’s student government, writes to say they’ve been coordinating club kick-off meetings, organizing first-year elections and starting up Fuqua Fridays, while still finding time to debate two key issues: club governance structures and student professionalism. Elsewhere in the issue, a second-year student reflects on the similarities between a corporate retreat and ILE2, Fuqua’s second-year pre-term course, and another discusses making four new friends at the first Fuqua Courage/Culture Tables event. According to the Fuqua Connections column, more new friendships were formed during memorable moments of last week’s school-wide Campout.

Finally, students at Michigan’s Ross School of Business were buzzing about the start of the recruiting season. The most recent issue of the Monroe Street Journal examined general recruiting etiquette and career prospects for MBAs while also looking at the specific recruiting practices of Proctor & Gamble and Harley-Davidson. For those Ross students and applicants looking to make creativity more than just a buzzword, the Arts Enterprise at has a rapidly growing list of events to help Ross business students think like artists, and artists like business people. The club was founded by two MBA students last year and has now grown to include members from across the University of Michigan. Its events help members to develop entrepreneurial skills and to use the arts to encourage creative strategic thinking. Rounding out this week’s issue are a trio of restaurant reviews that anyone planning a trip to Ann Arbor should be sure to check out: Oasis Mediterranean Grill, No THAI!, and Silvio’s Pizza, which serve Mediterranean food, Thai food and organic pizza, respectively.

That’s the news from campus this week! Check back as the semester continues for more news and reviews from the MBA student papers.

Friday, October 12, 2007

Fridays From the Frontline

Welcome back to this week’s edition of Fridays From the Frontline, our weekly recap of breaking news in the MBA blogosphere.  Broadcasting live from the midst of Round 1 deadlines, let’s go right over to our applicant correspondents…

Facing down the question that many applicants have been battling over the past few days, RunningTurtle decides to throw in the towel for Round 1 in order to put his best foot forward in Round 2.  This was nearly the outcome for B-School Bound, as well, who met with a sudden onset of near cardiac arrest after a disheartening recommender request just hours before Wharton’s deadline.  Keeping to a more measured course, Vector Space takes a short break from essay writing to manipulate acceptance and yield rates, coming to some interesting conclusions about admissions in the top tier.  Speaking of which, BlueTulip paved the way for applicants everywhere, garnering an unexpectedly early admit for INSEAD this January.

Still in the thick of the process, Obelix 2010 waded through the throngs at the Mumbai MBA Fair, soaking in the atmosphere and pouring out scathing remarks about some of his ghastly prospective peers.  Tamasin recently emerged from a her own chamber of horrors, mollified but charged with a clear set of directives that ensure her essays will be far from frightening.

Miles from the anxiety of applications, first-year student Juggler was busy cavorting around Philadelphia in her underwear as part of Wharton’s Walnut Walk – “bedroom casuals below the waist and business formals above the waist,” as she describes it.  And for those hardworking INSEAD hopefuls, if Dee’s typical week is anything like most of her classmates’ (and to be fair Margarita guzzling is rarely a solo sport), relief is nearby as well!  Iday’s finding life at the Chicago GSB pretty lively himself, having stayed up for the past 36 hours, he simply can’t get enough of the clubs and activities campus has to offer.  Meanwhile, down in D.C., HairTwirler takes a moment to appreciate the crunch of fallen leaves, while lamenting the Georgetown area’s fallen fashion standards.  CS, on the other hand, has only beautiful images to share from his HBS trip to Vegas.

Also pictorially inclined, Jacek admits his beach-y photo may not tell the whole story of his ESADE exchange experience; life in South Africa is anything but a beach for many of the people there, he reports.  On a lighter note, Ashwyn thanks his lucky stars, grateful for one of the best parts of being a second-year at IESE – no mid-terms!  John’s also found some time outside of studying, taking a leisurely lunch with a like-minded CBS alum, which sparked his thoughts on the viability of creating alumni connections in general.  A few subway stops away at NYU, Rubeo Boy ushered in his third decade with what seem to be equal measures of eagerness and anxiety; count on his Stern buddies, however, to remind him that 30 is the new 20.  That standing, Patxi rejoins with statistical evidence that 30 is more like the new teens…

And that about wraps ups this week’s newsflash.  As always, thanks to the blogging community for reporting in from the frontlines!  Have a great weekend and don’t forget to tune in for next Friday’s report!

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Admissions Tip: The Social Side of Campus

Round Two applicants may still have time for a campus visit or two before they have to settle down to write their essays in the coming weeks. With this in mind, we’d like to revisit a few of the social opportunities available to prospective applicants during their campus visits. These opportunities are inherently less formal than information sessions and class visits, and thus they can be more of a challenge to identify and incorporate into your plans ahead of time. Applicants should not be deterred, however. After all, one’s “fit” with a school can’t be determined solely on the basis of admissions brochures - sometimes joining students for coffee or a drink can be much more enlightening.

Since we last looked at this topic, it has come up on a few MBA blogs. Current CBS student John had positive things to say about his experience hosting prospective students at a Columbia Happy Hour. Meanwhile, Asian Gal encouraged visitors to join in on Wharton’s Thursday night pub tradition by offering details on her blog.

Many campuses host weekly social events similar to these. Every Friday evening there’s a Liquidity Preference Function at Chicago GSB. Despite free refreshments and a dubious name (actually a reference to the Keynesian relationship), this is actually a family affair. The Chicago admissions office makes a special point of welcoming applicants to this event on designated “Chicago GSB Live” days throughout the fall.
Also taking a note from Keynes, MIT Sloan hosts C-Functions (a.k.a. Consumption Functions or Cultural Functions) on Thursday evenings. These are sometimes culture-specific events organized by student clubs, or are more generalized parties held in the Walker Memorial building.

Likewise, for the past 50 years Darden’s First Coffee has been an important part of the campus community. This informal meet up happens daily in the PepsiCo Forum after the first class lets out, and sometimes features performances, presentations or announcements.

Clearly, social hours are an integral part of many campus communities, and as such they can provide visitors with a great sense of student life. Readers who are planning school visits in the coming weeks may want to make a special effort to stick around for these events, not only to learn about the school, but also for a chance to unwind themselves!

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Feedback on Clear Admit School Guides

As many of our readers are drafting essays and beginning to think about admissions interviews, we wanted to share some relevant feedback that we’ve received on the Clear Admit School Guides.  This quote just came to us via email from an applicant who recently purchased the Clear Admit School Guide to Tuck in advance of an on-campus interview:

“Please convey my thanks to the person who authored the Tuck Clear Admit Guide. It helped me ace my interview. My interviewer was very impressed with my detailed knowledge of Tuck. It clearly made a world of difference to my interview effort.”

This comment is very much in keeping with the feedback we’ve received since the launch of the School Guides project.  Clear Admit School Guide readers have consistently found that the publications are an excellent resource at all stages of the admissions process. As another reader puts it:

“The Clear Admit guides were a great help throughout the application process. I first referred to them when selecting the schools to which I wanted to apply and kept referring back to them when writing my essays and preparing for interviews. They helped make a sometimes overwhelming process easier with their clear and concise summaries and analysis on the top MBA programs.”

Thanks to our readers for the positive feedback.  Our publications team truly appreciates it!