Another application cycle is rapidly drawing to a close, and summer is ahead of us. A good deal of clarity and news has been delivered to the MBA applicant crowd: interview invitations, admissions decisions, and, of course, the announcement of our annual Best of Blogging Awards (also known as “the BoBs”)! For those unfamiliar with the awards, each year we make an effort to identify exceptional blogs maintained by MBA applicants and students. We do this for two reasons: to recognize the commitment and quality of the best applicant and student bloggers’ writing, and to identify valuable sources of information for the next round of applicants.
Here’s the timeline for this year’s awards, which will cover the 2010-2011 admissions/academic cycle:
Nominees Announced – Friday, April 15th
We’ll begin by considering all blogs listed in the Clear Admit Wiki and featured in Fridays From The Frontline (bloggers are encouraged to email bob@clearadmit.com about adding a link if their sites are not currently included). Keeping in mind the relevance and frequency of posts, as well as the overall quality of their contributions to the MBA blogosphere, we’ll pare the list of nominees down to approximately 20 applicants and 20 current students. Once we’ve determined the blogs to be considered, we’ll be sending BoB ballots out to each of the nominated bloggers.
Ballots Due – Friday, April 29th
Votes from the nominated bloggers, Clear Admit staff and our Fridays From the Frontlines readership will be due on Friday, April 29th. In addition to an overall ranking, we’ll ask voters to share their thoughts on the funniest blog and best single post, and to point us to the blogs that they feel feature the best advice in categories such as GMAT preparation, school selection, application essays, admissions and recruiting interviews, as well as the best representation of academics and student life in business school.
Rankings Revealed – Friday, May 6th
Once the votes are in, we’ll publish the category winners as well as the top ten listings in the applicant and student categories. Clear Admit will be presenting prizes to the select few for their efforts and contribution to the community. Second and third place bloggers in the student- and applicant-blogger top 10 rankings will each receive a six-month subscription to the Economist or Business Week magazine (their choice), and the top-ranked student and applicant blogger will each be given the option of a 32 GB iPod Touch or a $300 Amazon.com gift certificate.
That’s all for now – check back on Friday, April 15th for an announcement about this year’s BoB nominees! In the mean time, happy blogging…
