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CATEGORY - GENERAL

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Admissions Tip: The Comparison Trap

We wanted to take some time today to discuss a frequently-made mistake in the application process. In their desire to make their case to their target MBA programs, many applicants devote sentences and even paragraphs to explaining why the school in question is their “first choice” and arguing its superiority over other schools.

Though certainly understandable, this is actually not a very productive exercise. Let’s consider a few reasons why, from the schools’ point of view:

Tell me something I don’t know. A popular strategy - and not always bad one - for applicants seeking to demonstrate their fit with one school above any other is to study its website to understand the program’s self-determined selling points, and then profess an interest in those. The thing that essay writers don’t always consider is that while a school’s distinguishing characteristics might be the factors that set it apart from others, this is not necessarily what the admissions committee wants to read about in an applicant’s essays. The very admissions officer reading your file spends months every year pushing this marketing message out to prospective students. Members of Harvard’s and Darden’s admissions staff know all about the merits of the case method, Kellogg and Duke’s admissions committees are already up to their ears in team-orientation, and Stanford and Yale could not be more aware of the benefits of a small class size. This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t touch briefly on these key points (the schools highlight these for a reason), only to suggest that to put together a really compelling application, it’s important to push beyond high-level differentiators and immediate association and demonstrate that you’ve learned about the program on a deeper level. In making room for this level of detail within a restrictive word limit, cutting other schools out of the picture is a great starting point.

Enough about us, let’s talk about you. It’s not uncommon for applicants to become so engrossed in explaining how their target program differs from other business schools that they neglect to really articulate how their own interests, personality and preferences fit into the picture. Very nearly every school requires that prospective students compose an essay explaining how the MBA program will help them accomplish their goals, but there’s not a single one that adds “better than any other MBA program.” Though several schools do explicitly inquire about other target programs if an applicant advances to an interview, at this early point the adcom is much more interested in hearing about the candidate and his or her fit with the school. It’s a bit premature to assure a school that it’s your #1 when the adcom hasn’t even decided whether they’re interested. Better to use all the space at your disposal in the essays to cover your experiences and accomplishments, share your aspirations and showcase your research on the MBA program.

I bet you say that to all the girls. Seriously, though, if an applicant goes out of his way to profess that Chicago is the best school for him, is his first choice, etc., the GSB really has no assurance that this applicant hasn’t written an equally passionate love letter to regional rival Kellogg. If a strategy seems likely to work in one place, might as well use it everyplace, right? Yes, it’s generally true that schools prefer to admit students who are excited about their program and seem likely to attend, but actions speak louder than words. The details of campus visits and conversations with students and alumni are far better topics to cover in your essays. To invoke a classic essay-writing maxim, “show, don’t tell” the adcom that you care. Further, the best way to convince the adcom that you “only have eyes for their school” is to not mention any other school at all.

We hope that this offers a number of helpful “do”s to offset this big essay “don’t.” It is very important to get an in-depth understanding of your target MBA programs and engage members of the community. Taking the time to learn about the school’s curriculum, special programs and extracurricular activities - whether through a visit to campus, conversations with members of the community or reading the Clear Admit School Guides - will pay dividends here.  Happy writing and researching!

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Campus Chronicles: NYU Stern’s Opportunity

This week in Campus Chronicles, let’s take a look at what is happening on NYU Stern’s campus through its publication, Opportunity.

The latest edition of Opportunity alerts students to the recent activities of the Community Service @ Stern program and encourages all to get involved.  Aiming to provide numerous opportunities to positively contribute to the community, the program organized a group of students to participate in the Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walk on October 26th and is in the midst of planning the Food Fight this month, which will benefit America’s Second Harvest Food Bank Network.  The annual Charity Poker event is in the works for February, and the organizing committee hopes to hold two to three additional major events as well as offer regular opportunities for students to become engaged with the community.  Not only do these events offer a chance for students to give back, but they also present the opportunity to get to know fellow full-time and part-time students as well as alumni, partners, and friends – a great bonding and networking experience.

Women at Stern found time for both networking and fashion at the annual Stern-J.Crew Cocktails Mixer event, designed to help first-year students navigate the recruiting season in style.  Organized by Stern Women in Business (SWIB), the event took place at the J.Crew store on 5th Avenue, and over one hundred women took part in the festivities, which included hors d’oeuvres, wine, and of course some shopping.  The J.Crew CEO, Millard Drexler, hosted the event and mingled with students as they enjoyed private access to the store, which was closed to the public for this occasion.  Representatives from J. Crew presented their new fall suit line to students while also offering tips for how to make one’s suits more versatile.  Students also had the opportunity to participate in a similar event hosted by Moi-même, a suiting company specializing in custom suits for women.  The founder and CEO of Moi-même, Dawn Verbrigghe, gave SWIB members valuable advice for preparing for corporate presentations and interviews.  NYU women will certainly be stepping out in style during recruitment events!

That wraps up this week’s edition of Campus Chronicles!  Stay tuned for next week’s edition as we turn our eyes to the happenings on yet another leading MBA program campus…

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Former Yale SOM Dean Spearheads Employee Education at Apple

As reported here last month, Joel Podolny has left his post as dean of the Yale School of Management (SOM) to head up Apple’s own university program. According to a report in Apple Insider, the new program, which will kick off early next year, may serve as an internal MBA program of sorts. Tapping a business school dean to head it would seem to make perfect sense.

Quoting an unnamed source claiming to be familiar with the matter, Apple Insider reports that Apple University is “intended broadly as an HR type function for developing leadership and other required skills and knowledge within the organization” and will fold in Apple’s existing learning and development organization.

Apple is not the first large company to establish an internal MBA program, the report continues. Pixar, a company founded by Apple Chariman and CEO Steve Jobs and later sold to Disney, developed a similar program for employee education and training.

“Obviously Steve Jobs knows about this concept,” a former Pixar intern told Apple Insider. “I wonder if he finally decided to tie together and probably expand a lot of separate parts of employee enrichment at Apple much like they have at Pixar under the University banner with a dean,” the intern continued.

Creating a connection between the new school and Apple’s existing iTunes University, which peddles educational content to the public, could “be a case study for selling the concept if it is used extensively internally,” Apple Insider speculates.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Silicon Valley Blog Features Clear Admit in Discussion of Entrepreneurship and the MBA

Silicon Valley blogger Marylene Delbourg-Delphis cited Clear Admit’s own Eliot Ingram in a recent post to her blog, Grade A Entrepreneurs. Delbourg-Delphis is a three-time start-up CEO – ACI/ACI US (now 4D), Exemplary and Brixlogic – and her blog, which launched in October, is capturing the attention of Silicon Valley.

In an entry last week, Delbourg-Delphis set out to answer a question she’s hearing a lot these days. “Probably because of the downturn, I have never been asked as often as this year if it is useful for entrepreneurs to have an MBA!” she writes.

She goes on to list several scenarios in which she thinks entrepreneurs might do well to consider earning an MBA. One such scenario, she writes, is if you are a foreigner.

“Going for an MBA at some point or another in the United States may accelerate your understanding of the American business culture,” she says, something the French native didn’t realize herself when she started her first company in 1987. “Had I thought of it, I think I would have considered an Executive MBA, which might have saved me some adjustment time,” she continued.

And then she cited Clear Admit co-founder Ingram, who reminded her of a Duke study that shows that more than half of Silicon Valley startups have one or more immigrants as a key founder. “Entrepreneurs from all over the world bring their creativity to this country,” Delbourg-Delphis writes. “MBA courses may ultimately help all of us speak a common language and belong to the same world of success. Why not?”

To check out Delbourg-Delphis’s new blog, click here.

Admissions Tip: Interviewing the Interviewer

We’ve been offering a good deal of advice lately on how to conduct oneself and prepare responses to MBA interview questions; today, we’d like to highlight the importance of thinking about what you might ask. Virtually all business school interviewers conclude their discussion by offering the applicant a chance to ask some questions about the program. While it might be tempting to claim that you’ve already learned all you need to know about the school, this is actually a great opportunity to gain additional insight, show your enthusiasm about a specific element of the curriculum or community, and demonstrate that you appreciate the opportunity to learn from your interviewer’s experiences.

Here are a few simple guidelines to keep in mind while thinking about what you might ask:

1. Focus on the positive. Now is not the time to conduct due diligence or express skepticism about a school’s academic program or career resources. You’re still marketing yourself to the adcom at this stage of the process, so you’ll want to project enthusiasm and demonstrate a desire to become more familiar with a program’s merits and your potential fit.

2. Avoid the obvious and the obscure. Because this is an opportunity to tap the interviewer’s unique knowledge and point of view (and he or she will assume that you did your basic research before applying), it’s best to avoid asking questions that could be answered by perusing the school’s website or speaking with anyone you might happen to encounter on campus. On the other hand, you don’t want to ask something so obscure or specific that your interviewer might not have an answer. Seeking the interviewer’s opinion on or impression of some element of the program often makes for a discussion that both parties will find interesting and enjoyable.

3. Mind your audience. Remember that students, alumni and admissions staff will all have a different perspective on and level of familiarity with the program, and that it’s wise to pose inquiries tailored to his or her experience with the school. For instance, alumni interviewers generally feel strongly about their schools but might not have the most current information on the academic programs and campus culture, so a good question might focus on the classes they have found most useful in their post-graduation career.

We hope that these guidelines are helpful in thinking about how you might approach the end of your discussion, and wish everyone interviewing at business schools in the coming weeks the best of luck!  For personalized interview coaching, mock interviews and school-specific advice, feel free to contact Clear Admit at info@clearadmit.com or investigate the downloadable Clear Admit Interview Guides in our online shop.

Friday, November 07, 2008

Chicago GSB Renamed Chicago Booth School of Business in Recognition of $300 Million Alumni Gift

The University of Chicago Graduate School of Business announced yesterday that alumnus David G. Booth (MBA ’71) recently donated $300 million to the school, the largest donation in the university’s history and the largest gift ever to a business school. In recognition of his generosity, the school will be renamed the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Booth, the founder and chief executive of investment firm Dimensional Fund Advisors, built his firm and his fortune on the finance principles he learned at Chicago. His first course there, taught by Professor Eugene Fama, was life-changing, he said. Fama is the founder of the efficient market hypothesis, which states that investors do best by buying and holding widely diversified portfolios, the basic thinking behind index funds.

“I remember Professor Fama standing up the first day of class and saying ‘This is the most practical course you will ever take,’ and it turned out to be true,” Booth said in a statement announcing the historic gift. “We built Dimensional Fund Advisors around his set of ideas. I am hoping that others will join me in giving back to this amazing business school,” he continued.

The gift, which includes an upfront payment, an income stream from shares in Dimensional Fund Advisors’ parent company and equity interest, will help fund several new initiatives, including an aggressive push to attract and retain star faculty.

The school also will consider adding new faculty groups in academic areas not normally associated with business schools, expanding existing research centers and exploring ways to more ambitiously leverage the school’s intellectual capital. The school’s international presence, too, could grow beyond its existing campuses in London and Singapore.

School officials expressed tremendous gratitude to Booth and lauded the decision to rename the school in his honor. “Given the profile of our school and its role in the world, it is imperative that the person who names the school embodies its values and, moreover, is a person who is of great integrity and who commands respect,” Edward Snyder, dean of the business school, said in a statement. “In David Booth, we have a person who exceeds all the relevant criteria.”

Booth’s gift is almost triple the amount given to Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business in 2006. That $105 million gift, made by Nike founder and chairman Philip H. Knight, had been the largest ever to a business school. Other notable gifts to business schools include $100 million to the University of Michigan in 2004 from Stephen M. Ross, $85 million to the University of Wisconsin at Madison in 2007 from a combined partnership of 13 alumni and $60 million to the Darden School at the University of Virginia from Frank Batten Sr., retired chairman and chief executive of Landmark Communications.

To read more about Booth’s $300 million donation to the University Chicago, click here.

Thursday, November 06, 2008

New Stanford GSB Scholarship for Bangladeshi Students; HBS Loans for International Students Without Co-Signer

Today we are pleased to report a variety of good news for international MBA applicants.

First, the Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) has announced a new, one-time scholarship program that will cover all expenses for promising Bangladeshi students who demonstrate financial need. 

The Grameen Fellows program, made possible by a generous gift, is designed to help develop a new generation of leaders in Bangladesh who are committed to human and socio-economic progress in their native country.

As part of scholarship eligibility, recipients must commit to returning to Bangladesh within two years of graduation from the Stanford GSB program for at least two years of employment in the public or private sector.

Stanford will award up to two Grameen Fellowships, which will cover tuition, living expenses, and application and examination fees. In this way, the program allows Stanford to extend its outreach within Bangladesh to include the strongest MBA candidates, regardless of financial situation.

To learn more about Grameen Fellowship requirements and application details, as well as other fellowship opportunities at Stanford GSB, click here.

Reassurance for International Students Regarding Loans at HBS

Second, Harvard Business School (HBS) last week announced that international students there will continue to have access to need-based loans without having to find a U.S. co-signer. No other details about the specific loan program were shared, just the reassurance that students will have continued accessibility.

In her post about international loans, HBS Admissions Director Dee Leopold also reminded prospective applicants – both international and U.S. citizens – that HBS also will award $22 million in need-based fellowships – that is, money you don’t have to pay back – at an average of $25,000 per recipient per year. To learn more about HBS fellowships, click here.

Campus Chronicles: Columbia’s Bottom Line

Thursday has come upon us again, which means that it is time to check up on the latest happenings on the leading MBA campuses - courtesy of their student newspapers.  This week in our edition of Campus Chronicles, we turn our attention to Columbia’s Bottom Line.

The Bottom Line announces that the Healthcare Industry Association Club (HCIA) will be hosting a conference on November 21st titled “Embracing Change in a Challenged Healthcare Industry.”  Addressing how slow economic growth and the effort to make health care products more affordable present great challenges to the industry, the conference will give students insight into how they may take an active role in leading the industry through these obstacles and subsequently make a difference.  Two keynote addresses, made by Edward Ludwig (’76), the Chairman and CEO of Becton Dickinson, a leading global medical technology company, and Robert Essner, the former Chairman and CEO of Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and an Executive-in-Residence at CBS, are included in the schedule of events along with six panels, comprised of over thirty-five speakers hailing from various healthcare backgrounds.  The conference will also include a career fair, a career strategies panel, and great networking opportunities for students interested in careers in global health care organizations, start-up enterprises, healthcare consulting, investment banking, investment management, equity research, private equity, venture capital, and the non-profit sector.  Over 400 participants, including students, alumni, and industry professionals, are expected.

Highlighting the many paths to leadership that CBS students take, the Bottom Line emphasizes the resources that the MBA program offers in preparing students for their particular industries of choice.  Students interested in software companies may participate in the Silicon Valley Study Trip in January while students interested in media may participate in the L.A. Study Trip to gain insights into the process and timing of finding positions in this industry.   Students interested in achieving a social impact through business had the opportunity to participate in the Social Enterprise Club’s recent conference and may also attend the Net Impact Conference in Philadelphia, which will offer CBS students the opportunity to explore organizations focused on having a social impact.  Meanwhile, those inclined towards international development opportunities may join the IDC on its trip to Washington, D.C. in November.  These are only a few of the resources and opportunities available to students at CBS, meaning that whatever industry a student is interested in, he or she will be able to take advantage of an array of events and programs.

Join us next Thursday for a new edition of Campus Chronicles!

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

International Admissions Specialist Joins Clear Admit Team

Clear Admit is proud to welcome Kevin Chen to its admissions consulting team. Chen, who is fluent in Mandarin and Taiwanese, brings with him years of experience helping international applicants gain admission to the world’s leading MBA programs.

An expert in personal branding, Chen channels strategy and marketing experience developed through years of work with clients across a range of industries into creating tailored admissions strategies for MBA applicants of all backgrounds.

Most recently, Chen was responsible for the development of international marketing partnerships for the National Basketball Association (NBA). He also has worked as a marketing specialist in the real estate development and investment field and as a marketing researcher and strategy consultant for McKinsey & Company and the Blueframe Group.

In addition to his strong marketing background, Chen also brings well-honed writing skills to his work with Clear Admit. He served for several years as a senior correspondent for world news agency Reuters, covering stories in greater China.

Chen holds master’s degrees from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government as well as a bachelor’s degree in political science from Princeton University. To read his full bio, please click here.

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Ross School of Business Professors Provide Election Balance Sheet

It’s Election Day in the United States, and the country is poised to choose its next president in one of the most notable races in the nation’s history. For the still undecided out there – and apparently such people do really exist – you won’t want to miss this panel discussion held earlier in the month at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business.

Ross professors convened on October 14th to chart Barack Obama and John McCain’s respective positions on taxes, healthcare, trade and housing – and to provide their views of the potential impact each candidate’s plan could have on the country as a whole.

Against the backdrop of an unprecedented economic crisis, the candidates’ positions on money matters have taken center stage this election season. “Economic issues have been absolutely paramount in this campaign,” said Joel Slemrod, Ross professor of business economics and public policy.

Slemrod, who also serves as director of the Office of Tax Policy Research at the University of Michigan, led the discussion of tax policy, comparing and contrasting the plans put forth by Obama and McCain.

Thomas Buchmueller, Ross professor of risk management and insurance, led a discussion of the candidates’ approaches to healthcare, noting fundamental philosophical differences. Each plan has its strengths, said Buchmueller, but also areas of concern.

International trade has been less an area of focus in the run-up to today’s election, in part because the United States’ membership in the World Trade Organization limits the power the next president will have in this arena. Still, each candidate has provided important indicators of the direction in which trade policy will likely move under his leadership. These were outlined as part of the panel by James Levinsohn, a professor of public policy at the University of Michigan.

Finally, to discuss the housing crisis and how the next president should address the issue of regulation, the panel turned to Robert Van Order, a Ross adjunct professor and former chief international economist at Freddie Mac. Backing the federal bailout plan, as each candidate did, was the right move, Van Orden said.

To view a video of the entire panel, click here.

And don’t forget to vote!

Monday, November 03, 2008

MIT Sloan Partners with Schools in China, Korea, France to Launch One-Year Management Masters

According to a report last week in the Financial Times, the MIT Sloan School of Management is joining forces with four international business schools to launch a new one-year masters degree program in management studies.

Students working toward an MBA at any of the four participating schools – HEC Paris, Tsinghua in Beijing, Fudan in Shanghai and the SKK Graduate School of Business at Korea’s Sungkyunkwan University – now will be able to acquire the MIT Sloan degree in addition.

“The world needs more, not fewer, smart people who are trained to be leadership in management, especially now,” MIT Sloan Dean David Schmittlein told the FT.

The new program, which will being in the 2009-10 academic year, is expected to benefit American faculty and students at MIT Sloan as well, says MIT Sloan Deputy Dean Steven Eppinger.

“With business more global than ever, we need to do all we can to encourage connections between our faculty and students and those of some of the best management schools in the world,” Eppinger told the FT.

The inaugural class will include approximately 15 students, but the program is expected to grow to as many as 50 students per class over time. 

Since his appointment last fall, Schmittlein has pushed for a series of changes designed to make MIT Sloan’s offerings more like those of its European business school counterparts. Earlier this fall, MIT Sloan announced the launch of a one-year masters program in finance.

Admissions Tip: MBA Interview Prep

With interview invitations from a number of programs already on their way out to Round One applicants, we wanted to offer some more advice on this element of the admissions process. Last week we posted some very basic etiquette information that will help candidates ensure that everything is in order on the big day. Today, we turn our attention to some steps one can take to prepare for the interview itself.

1) Know what to expect. This might go without saying, but interview types and duration vary across programs. For instance, nearly all invited Stanford applicants interview with alumni, while on-campus Wharton interviews are conducted by second-year students (and in rare cases admissions staff). Candidates for Columbia admission participate in an informative resume-based chat, while HBS and MIT interviewers have in-depth knowledge of the applicant’s entire file. Thinking carefully about the format of the interview and the person conducting it will influence the sort of questions you might come prepared to ask and help you arrive at a mindset conducive to success.

2) Review your materials. Because it’s important that you reinforce your positioning during the interview, reading over your essays and reflecting on the themes presented in your application is a great first step in preparing to speak about your ideas and objectives.

3) Tell them something they don’t know. In addition to reinforcing your existing message (a critical component of most interviews), the interview is also a great time to expand or add new information to your file via the interviewer’s notes. Have there been any major developments in your candidacy that you should share? Have you visited the campus or spoken with students since submitting your written materials? Have you made any strides toward your goals? Even if just an example from work or an activity that relates to the interview question but didn’t fit into your essays, it’s a great idea to approach the interview with the goal of enhancing the admissions committee’s knowledge of your candidacy.

4) Anticipate and practice. Though it’s impossible to predict the exact questions you will be asked, the type of interview and historical data will provide some great clues as to the sort of information the interviewer will be seeking. The Clear Admit Wiki could serve as a great starting point, as it features detailed firsthand interview accounts from applicants to the top MBA programs. After arriving at a list of possible inquiries, it’s a good idea to not only reflect on what you might say in response, but to actually practice articulating your responses, explaining your goals and recounting some significant professional and extracurricular experiences.

Best of luck to all those who are eagerly awaiting invitations and preparing for interviews! For more information about Clear Admit’s school-specific Interview Guides and mock interview service, feel free to send an email to info@clearadmit.com.

Friday, October 31, 2008

Fed Chair Bernanke to Speak at Haas School of Business Symposium Today

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will speak today as part of a two-day symposium at the Haas School of Business focused on the economy, the mortgage crisis and the government’s rescue plan.

The event, entitled “The Mortgage Meltdown, the Economy, and Public Policy,” is being co-hosted by UC Berkeley and UCLA. Bernanke, who will appear via satellite, will be joined by Janet Yellen, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco; California State Senator Darrell Steinberg; and best-selling economist Robert Shiller, author of the Subprime Solution and Irrational Exuberance.

The symposium also will feature several panel discussions moderated by faculty from Haas, UCLA and Stanford. Panel discussion topics include the crisis in finance markets, the demography and geography of foreclosures and the future of the housing finance system.

Haas is investigating options for making the program available via the Internet. For details, click here.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Campus Chronicles: Michigan’s Monroe Street Journal

This week in our edition of Campus Chronicles we turn our attention to The Monroe Street Journal at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business.

The Monroe Street Journal reports the creation of two new electives within Ross’s MBA curriculum.  Designed to give students exposure to global business, these courses offer students another lens through which to consider current issues related to globalization.  The first course, Bridging in the Globalized World – Turkey and the European Union, allows students to consider a country separate from East Asia and India – regions normally considered in the context of globalization.  An array of issues will be considered, ranging from “cross-cultural management, global leadership, brand management in emerging economies, the effect of potential radical shifts in monetary and regulatory policy on local markets and foreign investments, and the diffusion of green technologies.”

The second elective course, Legal Strategies for Intellectual Property Rights Protection in China, considers the intellectual property rights challenges that firms confront in foreign areas.  Teaching students how to “plan their firms’ business activities so as to maximize the protection of their firms’ intellectual property (IP) assets in China,” the course will enable students to examine strategy surrounding a country with an increasing global business presence and legal systems significantly different from those found in Western countries.

On the Admissions side of things, Ross is prepping for the “Discover Ross” Prospective Student Weekend, which will run from October 30th to November 1st.  This recruitment event is the “first event of its kind for students interested in improving the representation of women in business school” and is open to any applicant committed to the advancement of women in management.  Over 60 prospective students will participate in the events, which include panels, workshops, and social events designed to provide information regarding the paths that Ross women have taken in the business world.  The Office of Admissions looks to make this an annual event, and students Ginny Lee and Sarah Klainer state, “We are thrilled to have this opportunity to provide a more intimate window into the programs, collaborative culture and community that make Ross such a special place to be.”

Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman Kicks Off Kellogg Lecture Series

On Monday, Princeton economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman addressed a full house at the Kellogg School of Management, discussing the current economic crisis and the factors that contributed to it. The event, which launched the Kellogg Distinguished Lecture Series, also marked Krugman’s first public appearance since winning the Nobel Prize on October 13th.

Krugman, an international trade expert, offered a gloomy economic forecast to the more than 1,000 people who gathered to listen to him, noting the spread of the U.S. currency crisis to the rest of the world. The $700 billion rescue plan recently passed by Congress, Krugman said, “still looks weak, and it looks small.”

Calling the current situation “one hell of a mess,” Krugman rattled off a lengthy list of what he considers to have been the chief contributing factors.

The first was the unraveling of a theory espoused by many economists, himself included, that developing countries were “decoupled” from economies like the U.S. and Europe and therefore immune to implosions there. That “turns out to be entirely wrong,” Krugman said, noting the rapid-fire worldwide spread of the crisis.

He also blamed former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan’s decision to reduce interest rates and keep them low following the dotcom crash earlier this decade for setting the stage for the market bubble in the housing sector.

Calling the housing market bubble “pretty predictable,” he cited its rupture as a key part of the present crisis and predicted that house values, which have already plummeted 25 percent, likely still face an additional 15 percent drop.

Krugman participated in a question-and-answer period with Kellogg students after his address, during which time he offered up his view on how the United States might begin to get itself out of the current mess.

Public work projects, including infrastructure repairs on bridges, roads and railways, could be beneficial, he said. Calling himself a “big New Deal romantic,” he said he also sees a role for commissioned artists.

An agenda like the one he describes would be more probable under a Democratic president, he said, pointing out that the financial crisis has made it more likely that voters will choose Barack Obama over John McCain. But no matter who wins next week, he said, “This is no time for a lame-duck administration and a lack of authority.”

Krugman has written more than 20 books, including a recent examination of the rise and fall of the middle class entitled The Conscience of a Liberal. Through his work, he helped establish “new trade theory,” which provides rationale for why only a few countries, similar to one another, dominate international trade. He won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences earlier this month for his research in this field.

Krugman’s appearance, which was open to the entire Kellogg community and telecast to alternate locations to meet high demand, was the first in the newly launched Kellogg Distinguished Lecture Series, an initiative by the school to bring real-world insights into academic discourse. Future speakers in this series will include preeminent thinkers from the worlds of academia, journalism and business.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Advisers to McCain, Obama Square off at Stanford GSB

The winner of next week’s presidential election stands to inherit responsibility for one of the greatest economic crises the United States has faced. Is it any wonder, then, that both candidates have turned to experts at the nation’s top business schools to serve as their advisers?

Late last month, two such advisers came together in a debate hosted by the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research. Peter Henry, a Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) professor and Obama adviser, faced off against Kevin Hassett, an American Enterprise Institute director who is advising McCain.

But for all the hard-hitting jabs exchanged by the candidates themselves as election day draws near, the advisers keep things fairly friendly.

“Those of you coming to see red meat will be disappointed,” Henry warned the audience at the outset of the discussion. Indeed, both advisers repeatedly stressed that a bipartisan approach will be critical to fixing the current crisis.

That said, each adviser did take the opportunity to draw distinctions between the candidates – and their proposed economic policies.

McCain’s economic proposals, argued Henry, are an extension of the Bush administration’s policies that ran up deficits by cutting takes for big business and the wealthy. “After eight years, it’s not been a great success,” he said, adding that Obama’s plan would cut taxes for 95 percent of Americans while also reducing the federal deficit. 

Hassett was quick to strike back, arguing that McCain’s proposal would deliver a balanced budget by 2013 and that, by cutting the corporate tax rate, it promised to stimulate job growth. He also defended his candidate against assertions that he had been against regulation that might have circumvented the financial crisis.

“The key regulatory moment in the last eight years was that Fannie and Freddie bill that was opposed by the Democrats and never got to the floor because of it,” Hassett said. “And one of the sponsors was John McCain. So don’t you tell me that he doesn’t regulate.”

To read more about the Stanford debate between Henry and Hassett, click here. We’ll have continuing coverage of election politics as they play out on business school campuses in upcoming posts, so check back!

Monday, October 27, 2008

Yale SOM Unveils New Pre-MBA Leadership to Promote Diversity in Business

Beginning next summer, the Yale School of Management (SOM) will welcome promising college students of color, other undergraduates who actively support diversity and inclusion in business and recent college graduates to a two-week summer leadership development program. Applications for the first session will open on November 3rd.

Interested applicants must submit two essays, two letters of recommendation, college transcripts and test scores. Yale SOM will accept up to 50 applicants and cover the cost of their tuition, room and board, program materials and application fees. A nominal enrollment fee will be charged but refunded upon successful completion of the program. Ultimately, participants will be responsible only for their travel to and from the Yale SOM New Haven, Connecticut, campus. 

The first session of the Pre-MBA Leadership Program will take place from June 14-19, 2009. The program will follow Yale SOM’s distinct leadership model, which emphasizes developing individual leadership skills that can be applied toward solving challenging problems in both business and society. Students with liberal arts backgrounds as well as those from a more traditional MBA track are strongly encouraged to apply.

“Our goal is for students to walk away from the program feeling confident in their leadership abilities and inspired about how they can make a positive difference in the world,” said Shelley Clifford, Yale SOM’s deputy director of admissions and coordinator of the Pre-MBA Leadership Program, in a statement.

In addition to developing valuable leadership skills, participants also will learn business fundamentals through sessions devoted to data analysis, economics, accounting, finance, marketing and strategy. Field trips to corporations and business institutions such as the New York Stock Exchange will further round out the program’s offerings, as will meetings with prominent Yale SOM alumni, networking receptions and career services counseling. For students who decide to pursue an MBA, the program also will include advice on applying to business school and GMAT test preparation.

To learn more about the new Pre-MBA Leadership Program, visit http://som.yale.edu/premba. An application to the program will be available there beginning November 3rd.

Admissions Tip: Interview Etiquette

With interview invites beginning to trickle out to Round One applicants, we wanted to turn our attention to this important step in the admissions process and share a few very basic pointers on interview etiquette. Though the content of your application materials and comments during the interview are of paramount importance, it’s also crucial to put one’s best foot forward and make a positive initial impression. Here are a few guidelines for interviewing applicants to keep in mind:

1) Dress the part. Unless meeting with an alum who explicitly specifies a more casual dress code, assume that business attire is appropriate. We recommend that applicants dress conservatively, opting for a dark suit (pants or skirt are both fine for women) and a blue or white shirt. Steer clear of flashy brand gear and loud ties, and go easy on makeup and fragrances; you want to be remembered for what you say and who you are, not what you wore.

2) Be pleasant. This likely goes without saying, but we wanted to state for the record that in addition to fostering a friendly discussion with your interviewer, it’s also important to be polite to administrative staff and anyone else you might encounter while on campus or in your alumni interviewer’s office. Flippant comments to the administrative assistant at the front desk often find their way up the chain of command.

3) Be aware of body language. In addition to your comments about your experiences, interests and reasons for seeking an MBA, your interviewer will also be taking note of the way you present yourself. You’ll also want to avoid taking notes or reading from your resume; it can be fine to have the latter in front of you as a reference, but remember that you should be familiar enough with its content to focus on maintaining eye contact and establishing a rapport.

4) Follow up. Make sure that you get your interviewer’s card and take his or her contact information in order to send a “thank you” email within 24 hours of the interview. This is not only common courtesy, but could also serve as the first step in forging a lasting correspondence.

While these steps should help readers in one element of their interview presentation, we’ll offer some more content and strategy focused advice next week. Meanwhile, applicants who are curious about what to expect might want to check out the Clear Admit Wiki, which features first-hand accounts of interviews at all of the top programs.

Good luck to everyone hoping for an interview invite! For personalized interview coaching and school-specific advice, feel free to contact Clear Admit at info@clearadmit.com.

Friday, October 24, 2008

UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School Creates New Leadership Center

Cementing its commitment to instilling leadership skills in its graduates, the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill this month announced that it will create a new center to support leadership education.

Named in honor of the late North Carolina governor, the Luther H. Hodges Leadership Center will support and expand on the activities and programming associated with the Kenan-Flagler Leadership Initiative, an experience-based program launched in 2005 to foster leadership skills development among business school students.

“Luther Hodges is widely recognized as a North Carolina statesman and ethical leader whose life had global impact,” said James W. Dean Jr., UNC Kenan-Flagler dean, in a statement announcing the new center’s creation.

Hodges, a UNC alumnus, served as governor of North Carolina from 1952 to 1960 and as U.S. Secretary of Commerce in the Kennedy Administration. He also helped create Research Triangle Park, which has become a model of economic development and scientific advancement worldwide. The Hodges family has supported leadership education at Kenan-Flagler since the mid-1970s.

As part of the new Hodges Leadership Center, the Leadership Initiative will continue to pursue the mission set for it when it was established, namely, “developing MBA students as exceptional leaders who positively impact the organizations they lead and the communities they serve.”

The program introduces students to leadership principles both inside and outside the classroom and then gives them the opportunity to practice the principles in real-world situations and simulations – with feedback, reflection and replay.

According to Mindy Storrie, Kenan-Flagler director of leadership, the new center and the Hodges’ continuing support will bring enhanced leadership education to the entire UNC community.

“We will expand our leadership activities in the undergraduate BSBA, Master of Accounting and MBA for Executives Programs so that we can further develop the leadership capabilities of all UNC Kenan-Flagler graduates,” she said.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Campus Chronicles: Chicago’s Chibus and MIT’s Fifteen

Welcome back to Campus Chronicles, our regular review of student newspapers from the leading MBA programs.  This week we turn our attention to Chicago’s Chibus and MIT’s Fifteen to check what is happening on campus as reported in the schools’ newspapers.

Chibus reports the creation of a student investment fund by two GSB students, Jody Goehring and Wyatt Cavalier (’09).  The investment fund, managed under Lakeshore East Partners LLP (LSE), has exceeded initial expectations through seeking “absolute returns via a relative value strategy through a top-down approach that recognizes and exploits systematic trends, inefficiencies, and market conditions,” and initial investments are “identified via a bottom-up, fundamental approach which will identify issues that are trading at a discount of 30 percent or more of their market value.”  Goehring declared that his team wishes to take advantage of the latest market turmoil as well as of some certain secular trends, and so far the fund has met with a great degree of success.  First years will have the opportunity to participate in the fund as well: LSE intends to create one or two internship positions for first-year students.

Chicago GSB’s