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The deadlines for UCLA / Anderson’s 2010-2011 admissions season have been released: Round 1 Deadline: October 20, 2010 Notification: January 12, 2011 Round 2 Deadline: January 5, 2011 Notification: March 30, 2011 Round 3 Deadline: April 13, 2011 Notification: June 1, 2011 The school expects the application to go live in early July, but you can check out our Essay Topic Analysis of UCLA / Anderson’s application essays in the meantime!  Posted by Clear Admit on June 30, 2010, at 2:44 pm Posted in:  Essay Topics , School: Michigan / Ross Michigan / Ross essay topics for the 2010-2011 admissions season have been released; the program’s deadlines were released early May. This year, there are three required essays, a fourth essay with a choice of two topics, and an optional essay. The essay topics are as follows: Essay 1 Introduce yourself in 100 words or less. Essay 2 Describe your career goals. How will the Ross MBA help you to achieve your goals? (500 word maximum) Essay 3 Describe a time in your career when you were frustrated or disappointed. What did you learn from that experience? (500 word maximum) Essay 4 Select one of the following questions: • What are you most passionate about and why? (300 word maximum) • We expect that Ross MBAs will not only be effective leaders, but also effective teachers. How will you contribute to the learning experience of your peers at Ross? (300 word maximum) Optional Essay Is there anything else you think the Admissions Committee should know about you to evaluate your candidacy? (500 word maximum) For more information on Ross’s essay topics or application, be sure to visit the school website. For applicants to the 2+2 Program at Harvard Business School (HBS), Admissions Director Dee Leopold provided updates about upcoming steps in the current admissions cycle in a recent post to her Director’s Blog. Interview invitations will go out on July 19th, she wrote. Her team expects to invite roughly 200 applicants to interview at that time, and detailed instructions will be communicated then. Interviews are scheduled to take place on the HBS campus from August 18th to 24th. Candidates should plan to be available to travel to Cambridge during this week, Leopold advised. “There are no options for other dates or places,” she wrote. Candidates who will not receive an invitation to interview will also learn of their fate on July 19th, Leopold added. Good luck all! For more information about HBS’s 2+2 Deferred Admission Program for college students, click here. Yesterday we posted an article about the recent surge in entrepreneurial activity at Yale. Now we wonder, how entrepreneurial are you? Do You Plan to Strike Out on Your Own? I would rather not have to worry about all the pitfalls of starting a business; I’m far more attracted to a regular paycheck and stability. I toy with the idea of starting my own venture after school, but it’s not my dream. An MBA is most definitely the next step in my aspiration to become an entrepreneur. Loading … Through a range of new initiatives, the Entrepreneurship Club at Yale School of Management (SOM) is focused on involving the entire SOM community in making it easier for students to start new enterprises. “The level of support here is amazing,” said Brian Murray ’10. Murray spearheaded the creation of a new website to provide a focal point for entrepreneurship at the school. Called Entrepreneurship@SOM, the site is intended to help keep the SOM community abreast of all the entrepreneurial projects its members are working on. “You think you know everyone who is doing something, but then it seems like just about every day you hear about something else a student is doing,” Murray said. He himself is working to launch a real estate venture to help develop more environmentally friendly multifamily housing for low income people. The Entrepreneurship Club also has supported the development of a new group in the past year called Those Interested in Entrepreneurship, or TIE. Several faculty, meanwhile, have helped students form an informal entrepreneurship network. And at the alumni level, an online portal has become home to a range of Virtual Interest Groups (VIGs), hubs formed around specific topics where alumni and students can exchange ideas, network and start new ventures. Current VIGs focus on consulting, CSR, healthcare, and media and entertainment, and Murray is working now to create the Venture Capital & Entrepreneurship VIG. Jeanne Hayes, director of the Office of Alumni Relations, praises the alumni portal for helping strengthen the connection between alumni and current students. “When you join a VIG, you know that your affinity with other members is reinforced by the shared experience of belonging to the Yale SOM community,” she said. Murray, for his part, is excited by the surge of entrepreneurship that is taking place at Yale SOM right now. “There’s a feeling that a lot of things are coming together at once,” he said. “It’s really important for those of us who came to school looking to become entrepreneurs. We want it to be one of the pillars SOM stands on.” For more on entrepreneurship at Yale SOM, click here. Posted by Clear Admit on June 29, 2010, at 3:00 am Posted in: School Guides , School: Northwestern / Kellogg , Trivia Tuesday It’s time again for Trivia Tuesday, our weekly look at the options and opportunities at some of the leading MBA programs. Today we take a peek at one of Kellogg’s unique student activities. KWEST, which stands for Kellogg Worldwide Experiences and Service Trips, is a student-organized addition to the school’s traditional pre-term program. The trips are organized by second-year students and have become an incredibly popular way to begin the Kellogg experience, with over 80% of most incoming classes taking part. While all of the trips include a community service component, they are first and foremost a way to get to know a group of Kellogg students, to learn about the school from the second-year trip leaders and to begin experiencing the teamwork that is at the heart of Kellogg’s educational philosophy. KWEST participants report that the trips are generally very social, with a focus on having fun while learning about fellow participants. Recent trips have partnered with organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, the U.N. and the World Wildlife Fund to work on projects in Maine, Montana and Yosemite National Park in the U.S., and international destinations such as Bolivia, Iceland, Peru, and Trinidad and Tobago. To learn more about Kellogg’s pre-term program, international opportunities or teamwork philosophy, be sure to check out the Clear Admit School Guide to Kellogg! Last week, we blogged about the new section that will be added to the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) beginning in 2012. In its article covering the entrance exam overhaul, the Wall Street Journal interviewed Clear Admit CEO Graham Richmond, who commented on the possibility that a greater number of applicants from non-business backgrounds would favor the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) over the GMAT. Mr. Richmond asserted that he does not expect a major change in preference of entrance exams to occur as a result of the new section, and that “as long as they’re bright and can put things together” candidates in the arts should be able to answer the new questions effectively. To read the Wall Street Journal article, click here. Posted by Clear Admit on June 28, 2010, at 2:00 pm Posted in: Essay Topic Analysis , School: Northwestern / Kellogg We’d like to take some time today to offer some guidance on Kellogg’s essay prompts for the 2010-2011 admissions season. With most questions remaining identical to last year’s application, Kellogg continues to show an interest in an applicant’s potential contributions to the community, encouraging candidates to discuss what makes them unique and how they would be a valued and active member in the program. Essay #1 a) MBA Program applicants – Briefly assess your career progress to date. Elaborate on your future career plans and your motivation for pursuing an MBA. (600 word limit) This is a 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. As is the case with most schools, demonstrating an understanding of the unique merits of Kellogg’s program is crucial to an effective response to this question (as well as the second essay about one’s potential contribution). Taking the time to learn about the school’s curriculum, special programs and extracurricular activities – whether through a visit to campus, conversation with alumni or reading the Clear Admit School Guide to Kellogg – will pay dividends here. Essay #2 Describe your key leadership experiences and evaluate what leadership areas you hope to develop through your MBA experiences. (600 word limit) This essay is a great opportunity to showcase your various leadership roles in college and afterwards. 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 #3 Assume you are evaluating your application from the perspective of a student member of the Kellogg Admissions Committee. Why would you and your peers select you for admission, and what impact would you make as a member of the Kellogg community? (600 word limit) This is one of the trickier questions out there in the MBA admissions world, as the request that applicants take . . . → Continue Reading In a recent post to her Director’s Blog, Harvard Business School (HBS) Director or Admissions Dee Leopold shared a few important updates for prospective international applicants who are beginning to think about applying for Round 1. If English was not your primary language of instruction as an undergraduate, you will need to take an English test as part of your application process, Leopold wrote. HBS accepts scores from the TOEFL, IELTS or PTE (Pearson Test of English) for this purpose. To be considered for entry in September 2011, your scores must be dated January 1, 2009, or more recently, Leopold added. “The Admissions Board will not accept or review applications without scores from one of these tests,” she wrote. “There are no exceptions to this policy,” she added. “None. Absolutely none.” For students who have already submitted official test scores to HBS, those scores are on file with the admissions office. “All you need to do is self-report these on your application and you’re all set,” Leopold wrote. Given the emphasis that schools place on a candidate’s work experience, it is important to be proactive in addressing gaps in employment. When applying to business school, many candidates worry about how the adcom might perceive gaps in employment. We would like to take some time to discuss strategies for addressing this issue. It’s not unheard of for an MBA candidate to have a gap in employment, and this will not necessarily impact someone’s candidacy in a negative way. Gaps might be due to anything from lay-offs to periods of travel. As a rule-of-thumb, applicants should explain gaps in employment that are three months or longer in an optional essay or, if instructed, on their data forms. The adcom will not want to play detective with vague dates on an applicant’s resume or large chunks of unaccounted for time. As the adcom will simply want to know what an applicant was doing during a period of unemployment, applicants should show that they made productive use of this time. It is important for applicants to be open and clear about extended gaps to show that they were not simply spending the time to look for full-time employment. Addressing current unemployment in applications, however, requires a different strategy than simply discussing past gaps in employment history. Candidates applying to business school who are not currently employed are in a trickier situation, as business schools view themselves as career accelerators rather than career jump-starters. The task is not impossible, though, and given the current state of the economy, more candidates are applying to business school during a period of unemployment. As with addressing gaps in employment, these applicants should not evade discussions centering on this issue. On the other hand, they should not present unemployment as the reason for applying to business school nor should they suggest that they aren’t presently looking for work due to the need to devote time to their MBA applications (a major ‘red flag’). In addressing unemployment, applicants should show that they are doing their best to find something temporary or engaging in volunteer work. Ideally, applicants would show that they are doing something in line with their stated professional goals, like attending conferences or working to secure an internship in a field they want to explore. Whatever the case, applicants should be honest and appear proactive. As every applicant is unique, we encourage our readers to contact Clear Admit directly if they need guidance on tackling a gap in employment or current unemployment situation. Send us your resume and sign up for a free one-on-one session with one of our counselors. Today’s GMAT tip comes from the folks at Kaplan. In this article, Kaplan GMAT instructor Brian Fruchey offers some words of advice on how to move through data sufficiency questions: I like to associate important GMAT concepts with common situations. Well, with regards to pacing on data sufficiency questions, the best way to approach them is to know the material and content through and through. However, while on the actual GMAT and as you practice with CAT tests, keep in mind the words of Kenny Rogers, The Gambler: You Got to Know When to Hold Them… As you are working through some of the most difficult Data Sufficiency problems, we always stress not to do any more calculations then you need to. However, some questions require a hefty amount of manual calculations. If you know you will be able to get the right answer but it might take you a bit longer than you like – that is ok! But, realize you’ll have to go faster on another question. While some questions require more work than others, with enough practice, you will know on which questions you should spend your time. …You Got to Know When to Walk Away… We’ve all been there. We work through a question and we get stuck at some point. If you find that you’re stuck on a data sufficiency question, realize that you can stare at the question for another 30 seconds or quickly evaluate the parts of the question you do know – i.e. if you know for sure Statement 1 or 2 is sufficient or insufficient. From what you know, a quick guess is far superior to spending another couple minutes hoping an epiphany will come. …And Know When to Run… On the extremely rare occasion (hopefully!), there may be a question that you’re just not sure how to approach. If you don’t understand the question (or if you understand the question but are not sure where to go with it), you should guess and move on, quickly. It is better to guess at 1 minute instead of 2 minutes – and, even better to guess at 30 seconds instead of 1 minute. ..You Never Count Your Money Sitting At The Table… This may be the most important statement – don’t look behind you as you are working through the test. Perhaps you guessed on a question or two. Perhaps you just remembered how to answer a previous question. Perhaps you thought the last question was entirely too easy and that might mean you aren’t doing as well as you typically do. Perhaps you won’t do well enough on this test and be relegated to complete and utter obscurity?!?! Stop! You must always focus on the hand (or question) in front of you. Nothing good happens when you think about previous questions. Stay focused on the task at hand. …There’ll Be Time Enough for Counting, When the Dealing (or the test) is Done. Once the test is . . . → Continue Reading A new section designed to measure prospective business school applicants’ ability to evaluate information from multiple sources will be introduced as part of the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) beginning in June 2012, the Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC) announced yesterday. The new integrated reasoning section will call on test takers to analyze information from a range of sources – including graphs, charts and spreadsheets – and draw conclusions based on the relationships between the different data points. “The new integrated reasoning section of the GMAT will be a microcosm of today’s b-school classroom,” Dave Wilson, president and CEO of GMAC, said in a statement. “These questions will provide critical intelligence to schools about the ability of prospective students to make sound decisions by evaluating, assimilating or extrapolating data.” The new section will replace one of two essays that now comprise the GMAT’s analytical writing section. GMAT research supports feedback from admissions officers suggesting that student performance on the two essays is closely aligned, making a single essay effective at predicting performance. The new integrated section, meanwhile, will help provide valuable insight to admissions officials as to how students will respond to the kind of complex challenges they are likely to encounter as managers in today’s information-rich workplace. GMAC, which owns the GMAT exam, revealed its plans to add the new integrated reasoning section at its Annual Industry Conference yesterday. The enhancements come in response to surveys the Council has conducted over the past four years of business school faculty as part of its commitment to continuously improve the exam. Innovations in testing technology will support the introduction of the new questions, which require examinees to draw on information from multiple sources. The overall length of the GMAT exam will not change from the current three and a half hours. The new section will be 30 minutes long, the same as the essay section it will replace. The verbal and quantitative sections of the exam will remain unchanged, and the exam will continue to be scored on the existing 200 to 800 scale, with examinees receiving separate distinct scores for each the essay section (as they do now) and the new integrated reasoning section. To learn more, click here. Welcome to this week’s edition of Fridays from the Frontline, our weekly roundup of the trials and tribulations of MBA hopefuls and students. During the past week, hopeful MBA applicants have been busy putting together plans of attack, while current students pursued a variety of activities and recent graduates both reminisced about the past and looked ahead at the future. Sh00nya read a helpful article that got her thinking about the traits admissions committees look for in MBA applicants. Ellipses had a conversation with a coworker that got him thinking about the benefits of an MBA degree. MBAYogi laid out a study plan to help him achieve his desired score on the GMAT. A. weighed the pros and cons of both one-year and two-year MBA programs, and also expressed enthusiasm for the advice offered by Clear Admit counselors during an online chat. Miles to MBA celebrated a recent victory in a Clear Admit Twitter competition. KT celebrated the fact that he has received a TOEFL waiver from all of his R1 target schools. INSEAD Journeyer explained the events that take place the day before Open Day Weekend. Howie submitted essays that could help him obtain a scholarship, and was pleased to see that they had made it through Round One. A Beautiful Mind explained that his recent absence was due to busyness, including winding up his job and receiving his student VISA. Tepper ’12 Madalogue celebrated the fact that she has finally received her U.S. VISA. Kellogg ’12 Jeremy connected with a few career bloggers in Chicago. Kellogg ’11 Orlando broke down the costs associated with his first year of business school. Darden ’11 Julie celebrated Father’s Day thanked her father for his support. Kellogg ’11 Shobit posted a video detailing the benefits of joining the school’s Startup Leadership Program. McDonough ’11 Part-Timer lamented the demanding nature of his summer term courses. Rocky recently announced his plans to join the Babson Class of 2012 and was excited to select a fellowship assignment. Fuqua ’10 Randy recapped the experience he has had while visiting Shanghai. McCombs ’10 Metal discussed the fact that, despite having lived in the U.S. for two years, he is still prone to culture shock. Darden ’10 July Dream discussed the challenges associated with moving to a new city. Darden ’10 Mechanigal looked ahead at her rapidly approaching move away from C’ville. And that concludes this week’s Fridays from the Frontline. We wish all recent graduates the best as they move ahead into the future! And if you’re just starting your b-school journey, we wish you luck with your plans of attack. Until next week, have a great weekend. Posted by Clear Admit on June 24, 2010, at 1:29 pm Posted in: MBA News , School: UNC / Kenan Flagler Globalization will get a shot in the arm at the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School thanks to a $1.51 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to the school’s Center for International Business Education and Research (UNC-CIBER). The funds will aid UNC-CIBER is its mission of increasing U.S. global competitiveness by training students, faculty and businesses to operate in international markets. UNC-CIBER, which is housed at Kenan-Flagler’s Frank Hawkins Institute for Private Enterprise, is one of 33 federally designated CIBERs. In collaboration with Kenan-Flagler, UNC-CIBER will establish programs related to China, India, Brazil, South Africa and Kenya over the next four years as part of 29 new initiatives focused on international business. “We have made significant strides in globalization, and now we have a chance to move faster and further in this direction,” James Dean Jr., Kenan-Flagler’s dean, said in a statement announcing the grant. Jayashankar Swaminathan, senior associate dean for academic affairs at UNC Kenan-Flagler and an internationally recognized expert in global business operations and strategy, will be the new UNC-CIBER faculty director. Together with managing director Julia Kruse, he will lead initiatives related to entrepreneurship, innovation, supply chain management and sustainability in global contexts, with specific focus on how they impact North Carolina and the United States. Faculty development programs – including a new program to bring junior faculty from Thailand, China and India to Kenan-Flagler to teach and research entrepreneurship and supply chain management – as well as a range of mini-grants for graduate students to intern or conduct research overseas are among the planned new initiatives to be funded by the government grant. Additional planned initiatives include language training in conjunction with business courses and a new innovation lab designed to solve international business problems, among others. For more information, click here or contact UNC-CIBER at ciber@unc.edu or (919) 962-7843. |
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