Posted by Clear Admit on May 22, 2009, at 3:00 am
Posted in:  Fridays from the Frontline Hello! Welcome to Fridays From The Frontline, Clear Admit’s ongoing series of posts focused on exploring the b-school blogosphere. As exams wrap up and graduations take place, students have begun their summer internships or re-entered the workforce after two years of academia. While we may be saying goodbye to some familiar bloggers in the next few months, new applicant voices will soon emerge to fill the gap.
One new voice, 2012 MBA Guy noted that many schools have commenced with posting their application deadlines and essay questions, and outlined his application checklist for the next few weeks. Another newbie to FFF, Hari, shared how he studies for the GMAT on a budget. While aspirants start thinking about their essay topics and application strategy, members of the class of 2011 continue to prepare themselves for their transition to b-school. Kellogg ’11 The.Grey.One struggled to choose the destination for his KWEST trip and crossed his fingers about getting on-campus housing. Fellow Kellogg classmate Samantha also found the KWEST sign up process challenging. Kellogg ’11 D.G. wanted to go to South America for his KWEST trip and hadn’t figured out where he was going to live once in Evanston.
For some, the b-school path continued to be uncertain. Bizwiz, waitlisted at Chicago Booth, struggled to define what was appropriate communication with the adcom and what was overkill. Ahembeea‘s visa was approved on the same day that he learned that Kellogg was not going to take him off their waitlist. IIMC ’10 MyNameisNeo posted a lengthy entry about the different stages of MBA life. Stanford ’11 PaloAltoForAwhile provided her tips and perspective on Stanford’s ‘Essay A’. Kellogg ’11 Orlando summarized his first and second interviews for a BCG scholarship. Fuqua ’11 ChocHeaven found herself with more time on her hands and looked back fondly to the era before cell phones and Google. Lauren implored readers to vote on her next dessert masterpiece.
First year MBA students were taking big breaths as their school year came to a close. Harvard ’10 Gabrielle reflected on her first year and shared some of the highlights while her fellow classmate Rob discussed some of the things he missed out on over the course of the year. Darden ’10 JulyDream was already in Atlanta and three days into her internship. McCombs ’10 Paragon2Pieces was glad the semester was over and that she was three quarters done with her combined MBA/JD studies. Melbourne ’10 RonJon considered the differences between the public and private sectors. Kellogg ’10 La Coguette got schooled.
Second years or, in many cases, recent graduates, were a generally quiet bunch. Darden ’09 Mandy and Anand did, however, post graduation photographs on their respective blogs.
More caps and gowns will be donned before this month comes to a close and we wish all class of 2009 graduates the best of luck as they rejoin the workforce and go off to fulfill their career goals. For those of you just beginning the process, make sure to check out the many resources located within the Clear Admit blog, and let us know if you’re blogging. As always, thanks for reading and tune in next week for another edition of Fridays From The Frontline.
Posted by Clear Admit on May 21, 2009, at 1:00 pm
Posted in: General , MBA News Though employers report plans to hire fewer MBAs this year than last due to the global recession, they will pay a premium for those they do hire, according to new research from the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC).
The recently released 2009 GMAC Corporate Recruiters Survey revealed that recruiters expect to hire an average of six new MBAs in 2009, down from 12 last year, and that the number of firms planning to hire MBAs this year declined 9 percent compared with 2008. But when they do hire MBAs, recruiters reported they plan to pay them nearly twice as much as college grads and higher average starting salaries than people with other graduate management degrees, such as a master’s in finance.
“The fundamentals have not changed. Corporations continue to value the MBA, and they continue to pursue people with the unique mix of skills and talents that characterize business school graduates,” Dave Wilson, president and CEO of GMAC, said in a statement. “But just as employers across the economic spectrum have had to take a wait-and-see approach to their hiring plans this year, firms that hire business school graduates have been compelled to retrench in response to the downturn.”
The survey, which drew responses from 2,825 hiring managers from 2,092 companies in 63 countries, revealed uneven hiring activity across sectors of the economy. In some industries, such as consulting, healthcare and energy, demand for MBAs remains strong. In other industries, such as the nonprofit and high-technology sectors, it is weaker. But recruiters across the board value business school graduates, with 98 percent of survey respondents saying they are satisfied with their current employees who have MBAs.
To learn more, click here.
Posted by Clear Admit on May 21, 2009, at 4:23 am
Posted in: Deadlines , Essay Topics , School: Harvard As promised in an earlier post, the HBS deadlines and essay questions have just been released for the 2009-2010 admissions cycle. Though much remains the same, there are several notable differences over last year’s deadlines and essay topics, which we’ve summarized below:
Round 1 Deadline Set for October 1st
The Round 1 deadline is almost two weeks earlier this year, taking place on October 1st instead of October 15th. This should give HBS a bit of distance from some of their peer schools that traditionally place their deadlines towards the middle of the month – good news for applicants targeting multiple schools.
Round 1 Decisions Delivered in December
For the first time ever, HBS will be delivering Round 1 decisions in December as opposed to late January (similar to Wharton and Chicago Booth’s approach). Clear Admit applauds this decision, as it not only gives HBS applicants a faster response, but it will also allow rejected or waitlisted candidates to quickly shift to a plan B by targeting R2 deadlines in early Janaury at other schools. In previous years, the HBS R1 decisions were not available until the bulk of R2 deadlines had passed.
Round 2 Deadline Pushed Back
This season’s R2 HBS deadline is slated for January 19th – a full two weeks later than last year’s R2 date. The benefit of a later deadline in this case is that it should put less pressure on candidates to be writting their essays around the holidays. It will also mean that most candidates who have applied elsewhere in R1 will have results in hand from those schools prior to the HBS deadline for R2.
New Essay Questions
The 2009-2010 application will still require just four essays, and the required responses (essays 1 and 2) remain the same. The major change comes with essays 3 and 4, where candidates now have five topics to choose from instead of four – two of which are new for this season. One of the two new topic choices (drafting a cover letter to introduce yourself to the Admissions Board) should be familiar to those candidates who have studied MIT Sloan’s application requirements, as that program has required a cover letter for nearly15 years now. The other new question (about a difficult decision the candidate has made) is also long-time theme in the MBA admissions process (as both an essay topic and admissions interview question).
Without further ado, here are the details:
Application Deadlines
Round 1: October 1, 2009
Round 2: January 19, 2010
Round 3: April 8, 2010
Note: All deadlines are 5 p.m. EST.
Notification Dates
Round 1: December 15, 2009
Round 2: April 6, 2010
Round 3: May 13, 2009
Essay Questions
1. What are your three most substantial accomplishments and why do you view them as such? (600-word limit)
2. What have you learned from a mistake? (400-word limit)
Please respond to two of the following (400-word limit each):
1. What would you like the MBA Admissions Board to know about your undergraduate academic experience?
2. Discuss how you have engaged with a community or organization.
3. Tell us about a time when you made a difficult decision.
4. Write a cover letter to your application introducing yourself to the Admissions Board.
5. What is your career vision and why is this choice meaningful to you?
As always, we’ll be back with a post in the coming days that offers our in-depth analysis of the HBS essay questions along with tips as to how candidates might think through their approach. Stay tuned.
Posted by Clear Admit on May 21, 2009, at 3:00 am
Posted in: Campus Chronicles , General This week, Campus Chronicles takes a look at one of the last publications of the 2008-2009 school year. MIT’s Fifteen provides a recap of the exciting end-of-the-year programs and activities at Sloan.
Along with MBA students from Kellogg, Chicago Booth, and Columbia, twenty-eight MIT Sloan students trekked to Omaha to visit Warren Buffet at the end of April. The students first visited Nebraska Furniture Mart, a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway that was founded by Rose Blumkin, a Russian immigrant, in 1937. Rose Blumkin built her business on the philosophy “Sell Cheap and Tell the Truth.” The next stop on the trek was the Field Club of Omaha where the students had a two-hour Q&A session with Warren Buffet. During the session, Mr. Buffet discussed everything from politics, economics, and investing to family and succession planning at Berkshire. After Mr. Buffet treated the group to lunch, the MBA students were off to Borsheim’s jewelry, another Berkshire subsidiary, where the students gained a greater understanding of Mr. Buffet’s investment style. Students recognized the great independence that Mr. Buffet gives to his managers, as Mr. Buffet works to “find good businesses with good managers… and stay out of their way.” Students came away from the trek with valuable lessons about investing and building a strong business reputation.
At the beginning of May, a group of MBA students from the leading business schools in China descended upon MIT Sloan’s campus for a one week visit. Part of the annual Sloan China Lab program, this visit reciprocated the visit that MIT Sloan students paid to the Chinese MBA programs earlier in the year. Jonathan Lehrich and Professor Yasheng Huang designed the program, which allows MIT Sloan MBA students and Chinese international MBA students (IMBAs) to collaborate on consulting engagements for Chinese companies over several months. At first students worked together via phone and the internet, but then they had the opportunity to visit their group members’ countries. During the Sloan Innovation Period and spring break, Sloanies spent two weeks in China, experiencing the culture first-hand and gaining insight into Chinese business interactions. The Chinese students followed this visit with their own to MIT, and Sloanies showed the IMBAs around MIT and Boston, taught the students how to say “chowda,” and brought them to their MBA courses. Fondly looking back on the experience, Ali Ahmad, a writer for Fifteen, called the program an “experience of a lifetime.”
Stay tuned next week for the final edition of Campus Chronicles!
Posted by Clear Admit on May 20, 2009, at 1:00 pm
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Posted by Clear Admit on May 20, 2009, at 9:37 am
Posted in: General , MBA News , School: INSEAD , School: Northwestern / Kellogg According to recent research from INSEAD and Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, the experience of living outside your home country and adapting to a new culture may enhance creative thinking.
From El Greco to Ernest Hemingway, many artists have sought out experience in a foreign culture as a means of stimulating their imaginations and enhancing their work. But does living abroad really stimulate creativity? “It’s a longstanding question that we feel we’ve been able to begin answering through this research,” said the study’s lead author, INSEAD assistant professor of organizational behavior William Maddux, in a statement.
Together, Maddux and Kellogg’s Adam Galinsky conducted five studies to test the links between the two. Their findings were published in the May issue of the American Psychological Association’s Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
Using MBA students as test subjects, two of the studies presented problems of logic and negotiation designed to test creative insight. The results of both studies showed that the longer students had spent living abroad, the more likely they were to come up with the most creative solution. In both instances, time spent traveling abroad didn’t impact creativity the way living abroad did.
After conducting the five test studies, Maddux and Galinsky then ran a follow-up study to better understand the link. With a group of MBA students at INSEAD, they determined that those students who had adapted themselves to the foreign cultures when they lived abroad were those most likely to solve the classic creative insight challenge.
But while the studies did show a strong link between living abroad and greater creativity, they don’t prove that adapting to a new culture actually causes increased creativity. “We just couldn’t randomly assign people to live abroad while others stay in their own country,” Maddux said in a statement.
So instead, they tried a technique called “priming” to try to understand what causes someone to be creative. In two experiments, they primed students at the Sorbonne to mentally recreate their past experiences living abroad and then measured whether doing so caused them to be more creative, at least temporarily. Another group of students were asked instead to recall experiences that didn’t involve adapting to another culture, such as going to the supermarket.
The results revealed that students primed to recreate past experiences of living abroad then drew space aliens and solved word games more creatively than those primed to recreate domestic experiences.
According to Maddux, the research findings could have something to show about the increasing impact of globalization on the world. “Knowing that experiences abroad are critical for creative output makes study abroad programs and job assignments in other countries that much more important, especially for people and companies that put a premium on creativity and innovation to stay competitive,” he said.
To read the full article, click here.
Posted by Clear Admit on May 19, 2009, at 11:00 am
Posted in: GMAT News , MBA News , School: Harvard In a recent post to her blog, Harvard Business School (HBS) Director of Admissions and Financial Aid Dee Leopold announced that HBS will begin accepting either GMAT or GRE results as an application requirement. “We think that both tests will provide adequate metrics of what a standardized test can tell us about a candidate,” she wrote.
The move is part of a growing trend among business schools that, among other things, allows the schools to woo candidates who might not otherwise have considered applying for an MBA program. “Once they realize that they don’t have to take another test to apply to business school, they are going to hedge their bets and explore both opportunities,” David Payne, who heads the GRE program for Educational Testing Service (ETS), told BusinessWeek in an interview last year.
HBS joins other schools, including Stanford Graduate School of Business and MIT’s Sloan School of Management, which have quietly begun accepting GRE scores in addition to GMAT scores over the past few years. Stanford began loosening its admissions testing policy in the fall of 2007, and that year roughly 3 percent of applicants chose to submit GRE scores instead of GMAT scores.
“We were talking with faculty about whether we were attracting the most intellectually curious students, about whether MBA programs were attracting students with a genuine intellectual curiosity with the subject matter,” Stanford Admissions Director Derrick Bolton told the Chronicle of Higher Education about the decision in early 2008. GRE test takers, he said, are more likely to be women and younger applicants – undergrads or students just a year or two out of college. “If we are able to fish in both of those pools, how can that hurt us?” he asked.
In addition to appealing to a wider pool of applicants, the GRE exam is also cheaper — $140 compared to the GMAT’s $250 fee – and ETS has a wider network of testing centers both nationally and globally.
According to HBS’s Leopold, the change will take effect for the class of 2012, but it may take the school a while to update every reference to accepted tests on its website. “In the meantime, please accept this as official notification of this change,” she wrote.
For more on the GMAT vs. GRE debate, click here.
Welcome back to Trivia Tuesday, our regular examination of the offerings and opportunities at the leading business schools.
Today we turn our attention to options for studying health care in business school, with a particular emphasis on Wharton’s Health Care Management Major and Duke’s Health Sector Management Program, the two oldest and best known health care programs among U.S. business schools.
Wharton’s major draws its faculty from the business, medical and nursing schools, as well as from practicing health care professionals, ensuring an interdisciplinary approach to the issues in the field. The Health Care Management major differs from other majors at Wharton in that students must choose the major in their initial application to the school instead of in their second year. Health Care Management further differs in that it aggressively integrates professional development and field work into the major.
For instance, all Health Care majors are required to complete a Field Application Project (FAP). In the FAP, teams of students spend a semester working with an industry partner to solve real world problems in the health care field. Given the amount of time these projects can take, students must work carefully to balance classes around the demands of their projects.
At Fuqua, students enter the HSM program from a variety of backgrounds; though the program does not require prior health sector experience, it does look for a strong commitment to the healthcare field among all participants. As with Wharton’s Health Care Management major, application to Fuqua’s HSM program is through the MBA admissions process, with HSM applicants asked to indicate their interest in pursuing the HSM Certificate in a special section of the application.
Once enrolled, Duke HSM students spend the first year completing the standard core curriculum before beginning the coursework that leads to the HSM Certificate. To earn the Certificate, HSM students take three HSM core courses and three healthcare electives. All six HSM courses count as elective credits towards the MBA degree requirements. This is a slightly heavier courseload than required by Wharton’s healthcare program, which asks students to complete two foundations courses and three healthcare electives.
Despite the prominence of the Wharton and Duke programs, they are far from the only option for MBA applicants seeking a career in health care. For instance, Columbia now offers the Health Care and Pharmaceutical Management major, Kellogg offers a major in Health Industry Management, and HBS hosts the Healthcare Initiative. Those business schools that do not offer formal health care concentrations tend to have a student club and/or a student-organized conference dedicated to supporting interest in the field, so regardless of the program, health care minded applicants should find plenty of resources.
For more on health care options, majors, student clubs or conferences, be sure to check out business schools’ websites and the Clear Admit School Guides!
Posted by Clear Admit on May 18, 2009, at 10:30 am
Posted in: Financial Aid , School: Berkeley / Haas , School: Chicago , School: Columbia , School: Cornell / Johnson , School: Dartmouth / Tuck , School: Duke / Fuqua , School: Harvard , School: Michigan / Ross , School: MIT / Sloan , School: Northwestern / Kellogg , School: NYU Stern , School: Penn / Wharton , School: Stanford , School: UCLA / Anderson , School: Virginia / Darden , School: Yale , Uncategorized Last fall, due to shrinking credit markets resulting from the global economic crisis, banks were forced to cancel a range of existing loan programs with many top business schools. Domestic students pursuing an MBA were not impacted, but the cancellations brought to an abrupt end most loan programs for international students that didn’t require a U.S. cosigner.
The schools have been working hard ever since to find solutions for their international students, and in the course of the past month, several top MBA programs have announced new no-cosigner loan options.
Here at Clear Admit, we have worked to compile the following international student loan scorecard, intended to give prospective applicants a quick view of available no-cosigner loan options on a school-by-school basis. Where available, we also have listed specific loan terms and rates. For additional details about any of the loan programs listed, please follow the corresponding links. We will update this resource regularly as new loan programs are added and/or program terms are announced.
Schools with No-Cosigner Loan Programs in Place
• Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia at Charlottesville: On April 14th, Darden Director of Admissions Sara Neher announced that her office has successfully negotiated a new no-cosigner loan program for international students. Details of the program, which have not been shared publicly, have been sent directly to admitted international students, Neher reported.
• Fuqua School of Business at Duke University: On May 11th, Fuqua announced on its website that international students will be able to secure loans for their studies at Fuqua without the need for a U.S. cosigner. “We have a solution in hand that will meet students’ needs, with terms similar to those offered for the current academic year,” according to the website. To date, details and terms of that program have not been shared publicly.
• Harvard Business School: On April 15th, Harvard University announced a new partnership with the Harvard University Credit Union to provide private educational loans that don’t require a U.S. cosigner to its international students, including MBA students at HBS. Specific terms and details of the loan program have yet to be announced.
• Stern School of Business at New York University: According to the NYU Stern Financial Aid website, there are currently two loan programs for international students that do NOT require a U.S. cosigner. NYU currently has a program for eligible borrowers through JPMC and a program with Global Student Loan Corporation.
• Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor: The Ross School of Business has partnered with the University of Michigan Credit Union to create the RSB-UMCU International Student Loan Program, which provides no-cosigner loans up to the cost of attendance to all international students enrolled in or admitted to any graduate programs at Ross for 2009-10 and 2010-11. The variable-interest loans feature no origination fee, a rate of prime plus 1.75 percent, a floor of 4.5 percent and a rate cap of 18 percent adjusted quarterly. (Borrowers with a qualified U.S. cosigner can receive an additional 0.5 percent discount.) The loans feature a 20-year repayment period with a six-month post-graduation grace period. The RSC-UMCU loan application will be available in early July 2009.
• Sloan School of Business at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Through a partnership with the MIT Federal Credit Union, Sloan offers its international students a custom credit-based alternative loan that does not require a U.S. cosigner. The loan features an aggregate limit of up to $170,000 and carries a variable interest rate of prime plus 2.75 percent. (International students with a U.S. cosigner will receive a 0.5 percent rate reduction.) The loan’s interest rate varies quarterly and has a rate floor of 5.50 percent and a rate cap of 18 percent. Students have up to 25 years to repay depending on the loan balance, and repayment begins six months after graduation.
• Stanford Graduate School of Business: According to the Stanford GSB website, the school has partnered with the Stanford Federal Credit Union (SFCU) and Citibank to provide private educational loans to international business school students that do not require a U.S. cosigner. As of this writing, no additional details about the loan program are available.
• Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College: In early May, Tuck sent an email to international applicants for the Class of 2011 announcing a new self-funded loan program for international students that doesn’t require a cosigner. According to a Tuck spokesperson, the school is still in the process of working out some of the details of the program with Dartmouth, including the interest rate.
• University of Chicago Booth School of Business: On April 14th, Chicago Booth announced a new loan program through JPMorgan Chase that will provide financing for qualified international students who aren’t eligible for federal loans and who cannot qualify for standard private loans because they don’t have a U.S. co-signer. The loans will cover amounts up to the total cost of attendance less any scholarship aid received and will feature set terms due to the continuing volatility of the market. The terms of the loans will be communicated later this spring, and the new loan program will officially launch in late May.
• Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania: On April 9th, Wharton announced the creation of a custom loan program with Digital Federal Credit Union to cover tuition and living expenses for international students without a U.S. cosigner requirement. The new loans will carry an interest rate of prime plus 3 percent, and borrowers can reduce the rate 25 basis points farther by arranging for automatic repayments. To provide these rates, Wharton has agreed to share some of the potential default risk with the lender.
• Yale School of Management: On March 12th, Yale SOM announced a new self-funded loan program for international students with no U.S. cosigner requirement. The maximum annual amount of the new loan program is $49,945 for the Class of 2011 – equivalent to tuition and fees for the academic year – minus any scholarship awarded. The loans carry a fixed interest rate of 7.75 percent. Students have 10 years to repay the loans but make no payments while enrolled and have a six-month grace period after enrollment ends to begin repayment.
Schools With Loan Programs Requiring Co-Signers
• Columbia Business School: According to the CBS website, loans for international students without a U.S. co-signer are currently not available. “Most international students rely on family funds, personal savings, government or company sponsorships and/pr loans secured in their home countries,” the website reads. CBS spokesperson Sona Rai confirmed on May 8th that the above information is accurate and up to date.
• Johnson School of Business at Cornell University: According to the school’s website, the only U.S. loan option available to international students is with a credit-worthy U.S. citizen cosigner or U.S. permanent resident cosigner. “The Johnson School is currently investigating loan options for international students without a U.S. cosigner and will provide information as it evolves,” the website reads. Queries to the school spokesperson regarding any new information received no reply.
• Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University: International students at Kellogg are eligible for the NU International Loan Program, which offers two cosigner options. Option A, which requires a credit-worthy U.S. citizen or permanent resident cosigner (spouse cannot act as cosigner), features no origination fee and a current interest rate for the 2008-9 academic year of 7.50 percent. Option B has no citizenship/residency requirement for the student or cosigner, but international students are required to have a family member included as a cosigner (parent, guardian, or relative; spouse cannot act as co-signer). Interest for both options is variable annually and set by the university, September 1st through August 31st. Kellogg spokesperson Meg Washburn confirmed on May 8th that the above information is current and accurate.
Posted by Clear Admit on May 18, 2009, at 3:00 am
Posted in: Admissions Tips , General In keeping with the recent Admissions Tips we have posted for the new crop of applicants to the Class of 2012, today we want to offer some tips on engaging the community of one’s target programs. Communicating with b-school insiders can be beneficial for a number of reasons; in addition to learning about a given school and your potential fit, you’ll also generate material for your essays, demonstrate your interest in the program, and perhaps even make an ally or two. In your efforts to go beyond the schools’ websites and promotional materials, we recommend reaching out to individuals in a few key groups:
Current Students – People who are currently enrolled in a given program can obviously provide the clearest picture of the present state of the school community. They are often more capable of evoking their school’s overall culture than brochures put out by the admissions offices and can describe to prospective students the ins and outs of academic and extracurricular options. In addition to reaching out to friends and acquaintances who are studying at a given school, it’s also wise to get in touch with the leaders of clubs and programs in which you are interested (their contact information is generally available through the website). This will help you to understand the impact you could make while on campus and provide a sounding board for the ideas you plan to share with a certain student group or organization.
Alumni – While students offer a great view of the program itself, a school’s alumni can often provide the best perspective on just how far an MBA from a given program can get you in a certain field. Meeting with alumni working in your target post-MBA industry (tracking them down either through your own network or school-sponsored events) may help you anticipate the program’s strengths and weaknesses in setting you on the right professional course. You might also gain some valuable insight that will help you to refine your career goals and better understand what short-term position would best prepare you for your long-term plan.
Faculty – The professors at business school tend to be a bit less accessible than students and alumni, but if you’ve identified someone whose research interests match yours or sat in on a class that you found particularly intriguing, there’s no harm in sending a note to let the faculty member know that you find his or her work appealing and would like to speak if possible. The individuals responsible for designing and teaching the curriculum can offer great insight into the specific skills and lessons you would learn from one class to the next and help you to refine your understanding of the ways that an MBA would bridge the gap between your current skills and those you will need to achieve your goals.
Aspirants to the Class of 2012 should consider each of these options in the months ahead. Not only are many individuals quite pleased to discuss their experiences with prospective students, admissions committees also like thoroughly informed applicants (of course in all cases, patience and manners are of great importance). For more tailored guidance on what sort of programs you might consider, feel free to contact us for a free initial consultation or consider reading the Clear Admit School Guides.
Posted by Clear Admit on May 15, 2009, at 11:30 am
Posted in: General , School: Yale Facing the toughest labor market since they were born, this spring’s college graduates – even those who can find jobs – will likely earn lower wages for a decade or more compared to those who graduate in a better economy, according to recent research out of the Yale School of Management.
Lisa Kahn, a Yale SOM economist, tracked the wages of white male graduates before, during and after the deep 1980s recession using National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, a government database. Her findings were reported in a recent Wall Street Journal article.
According to Kahn’s research, the consequences of graduating in a downturn include lower earnings, a slower climb up the corporate ladder and a greater gap between the least- and most-successful graduates, the Journal reported.
For each percentage-point increase in the unemployment rate, those unlucky enough to graduate during the recession earned 7 to 8 percent less in their first year out than workers who graduated in better times, Kahn’s studies showed. And it only got worse from there. “The effect persisted over many years, with recession-era grads earning 4 to 5 percent less by their 12th year out of college, and 2 percent less by their 18th year out,” the Journal reported.
The Journal report included several tales of recent college graduates settling for lower-wage, lower-skilled jobs than they ever anticipated, with many returning home to live with parents or working multiple odd jobs to cover expenses.
Still, college graduates remain better off than those with only high-school diplomas, the Journal reported: The unemployment rate in April among four-year college graduates between 20 and 24 years old was 6.1 percent; among those the same age with only high-school diplomas, it was 19.6 percent.
Staying in school beyond college can help counteract the long-lasting lower-wage impact of graduating in a recession even further, according to Kahn. College grads who went to graduate school instead of into the job market during the early ’80s recession didn’t suffer the same wage losses, she told the Journal.
According to recent numbers from the Council of Graduate Schools, many college students are taking that approach, the Journal reported. Graduate applications for 2007-2008 were up 8 percent nationwide compared to the year before, with schools like Northwestern and Harvard already tracking double-digit increases this year.
Isn’t it time you started working on your business school application?
To read Professor Kahn’s paper, click here.
Posted by Clear Admit on May 15, 2009, at 3:00 am
Posted in: Fridays from the Frontline Hello! Welcome to Fridays From The Frontline, Clear Admit’s coverage of business school bloggers’ sometimes brutal and sometimes beautiful experiences while striving towards an MBA. This week many bloggers were tying up loose ends before the summer shifts into high gear.
Carey ’11 Maverick was relieved that his visa interview went smoothly. Kellogg ’11 D.G. was looking forward to seven weeks worth of work-to-school transition time, and planned on improving his typing and weight lifting skills. Raghunthrao described the different personality types of MBA applicants. Columbia ’11 TienyChesney shared his travel plans for the summer and found roommates for the upcoming school year. In preparation for the changes in his life, Kellogg ’11 Mike started a new blog. Wake Forest ’11 Omne made some changes to the look of his blog and reminded his readers of the plight of individuals on the waitlist. Chandara participated in a breast cancer walk with women from UC Davis, networked with non-profit gurus and saw Wicked. Stanford ’11 PaloAltoForAwhile shared a humorous list of alternative admissions essay questions. Lauren received an interview invitation from Haas and felt prepared. Fuqua ’11 ChocHeaven found a place to live and a roommate, making her imminent arrival on Duke’s campus all the more real.
First and second year MBA students were relaxing a bit and making plans for their future. LBS ’10 OutOnALimb and a collection of his classmates went to Scotland and laid claim to Ben Nevis. Anderson ’10 Andrew couldn’t believe a year had passed since his own Admit Weekend, and decided to share a few things he wished he had known before he started his MBA. McCombs ’10 Paragon2Pieces summed up her thoughts on her Analytical Methods course. Darden ’10 JulyDream said goodbye to her Charlottesville digs and hello to her temporary Atlanta home. McCombs ’10 Metal was looking to form a team for the school’s next MOOT Corp. competition. Kellogg ’10 La Coguette contemplates staying at home after an MBA. Harvard ’09 CS uploaded her last exam and was done … or was she? INSEAD ’09 MBAMRS found herself drinking the INSEAD kool-aid. INSEAD ’09 The Forest of Fontainebleau is searching for jobs and scuba diving in Malaysia.
Well, that sums up this week’s news from the MBA blogosphere. With spring wrapping up, and summer beginning to heat up, MBA bloggers are experiencing numerous changes. We can’t wait to hear more about upcoming adventures, big moves and new experiences.
Posted by Clear Admit on May 14, 2009, at 3:00 pm
Posted in: MBA News , School: Harvard Beginning this Friday, Harvard Business School (HBS) Admissions will host a weekly 2+2 Lunch Program every Friday at noon. As part of the new lunch program, members of the admissions team and current students will meet with prospective applicants over a casual lunch to answer questions and talk about the 2+2 experience.
The 2+2 Program at HBS is a unique early-admission program designed for highly qualified undergraduates who are interested in applying to the HBS MBA program while still in college. Admitted applicants will have a spot reserved for them in the HBS class, which they can assume after completing two years of approved work experience.
The 2+2 Lunch Program will take place each Friday from May 15th through June 26th. Advance registration is not required. For room locations, refer to the Lunch Program Schedule on the HBS Visit Us page.
For applicants to the regular MBA program at HBS, first-year MBA students are also happy to meet with prospective students over a casual lunch during the academic year. This Lunch Program is held daily at noon when classes are in session. Registration is not required for the lunch program, and interested prospective applicants are encouraged to contact or visit the Admissions Office to find the location of the lunch.
To learn more about the HBS 2+2 Program, click here.
Posted by Clear Admit on May 14, 2009, at 11:14 am
Posted in: Deadlines , School: Harvard In a post to her blog yesterday, Harvard Business School (HBS) Director of Admissions and Financial Aid Dee Leopold announced that the HBS essay questions and deadlines dates for the 2009-2010 application season will be released sometime next week. Make sure to check back here starting May 18th for further updates and analysis of the essay topics!
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