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CATEGORY - SCHOOL: COLUMBIA

Monday, November 17, 2008

BusinessWeek 2008 Business School Rankings: A Closer Look

Today we’ll take a closer look at how the various top programs fared in BusinessWeek’s most recent business school rankings, released last week.

Chicago Booth held firmly to the number one spot it secured in the 2006 rankings, boasting high scores in both the corporate recruiter and graduate surveys. Harvard Business School (HBS) and Wharton traded places this year, with HBS climbing to number two and Wharton slipping to number four. BW’s Louis Lavelle attributed Wharton’s slide to a poorer showing in the intellectual capital category this year than in 2006. 

Columbia, meanwhile, advanced from the number 10 spot to number seven, but MIT Sloan and Berkeley’s Haas School of Business each slipped slightly. Also noteworthy was the fact that Southern Methodist University (18) and Brigham Young University (22) each cracked the top 25 this year for the first time ever. SMU, for its part, has been among the participating schools for years, but lacked sufficient response rates in the recruiter and student portions of the ranking to secure a top spot before now, according to BW’s Geoff Gloeckler.

There were also two newcomers to the Global MBA rankings, IE Business School (2) and Oxford’s Saïd Business School (10). Like SMU, IE has long been a participant but until this year had insufficient recruiter and student response rates, Gloeckler said.

Yale School of Management, meanwhile, seems to have fallen back slightly. It came in at 24 this year, down from 19 in 2006. Lavelle attributed its fall to low student survey scores.

In an article accompanying the rankings, BW takes a look at the current business school landscape, which it says is marked by surging application rates amid “wretched” recruiting prospects.

As has historically been the case in times of economic downturn, application rates to business schools are rising steadily. According to the BW report, schools are reporting double-digit increases in application volume. Chicago Booth, for example, has seen a 20 percent surge in attendance at information sessions around the globe.

But even as more students clamor to get in, job prospects upon graduation are uncertain, with some schools bracing for the toughest MBA job market since the dotcom bust. “I think next fall is going to be very, very difficult,” George Daly, dean of Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, told BW.

The article went on to cite a survey by umbrella group MBA Career Services Council, in which 70 percent of 77 participating schools reported a downturn in full-time recruiting opportunities in financial services in October.

As a result, some students are shifting their focus from investment banking to consulting and other fields. Attendance at recruiting presentations by consulting firms is standing room only, New York University’s Stern School of Business Dean Gary Fraser told BW.

A shift is also taking place in the classroom, as professors are introducing new case studies and re-writing syllabi as part of an effort to make sense of the financial crisis and market upheaval.

Risk management, meanwhile, is expected to play a much more important role in business school curriculums over the next three to five years, according to the BW report, a trend that Robert Meyer, co-director of Wharton’s Risk Management & Decision Processes Center, calls “potentially transformational.”

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Wiki Wednesdays: Northwestern Kellogg, Michigan Ross and Columbia Business School Interview Reports

Welcome to this admissions season’s first edition of Wiki Wednesdays, where we highlight new and informative reports in the Clear Admit Wiki, an online repository of information learned by applicants throughout the admissions process. With several schools now conducting Round 1 interviews and HBS having just distributed a large number of Round 1 interview invitations, the roller coaster ride of questions and answers has begun. Several applicants have recently shared their interview experiences in the Wiki for such schools as Northwestern / Kellogg, Michigan / Ross and Columbia Business School. Let’s take a look at some of the queries these applicants faced!

One Kellogg applicant shared a “conversational” interview with a local alumnus:

1. [Describe your] leadership experiences.
2. [Explain] conflicts at the work place.
3. [Describe] tough decisions at work place.
4. [Explain a] situation during work when, you could see a solution that others could not.
5. What clubs will you get involved at Kellogg and why?
6. What unique traits will you bring to Kellogg?

Another Round 1 Kellogg candidate noted the following questions from his/her interview:

1. How do you find it beneficial working in a team?
2. [What do you] like about working in a team?
3. [What do you] dislike about working in a team?
4. [Identify] one situation where you made a difference as a leader.
5. [Explain] one decision that you are proud of.

Moving on to Michigan, a recent Ross applicant faced the following queries from an alumnus:

1. Tell me about your most significant leadership experience.
2. Tell me about a time you worked in a tough group setting.
3. What will you add to the Ross student body?
4. What extra-curricular activities would you join at Ross?

An admitted Early Decision candidate at Columbia summarized the alumna’s series of inquiries, “The questions were broadly why this [undergrad] school, why this company, why this switch, why MBA, why Columbia and a lot of discussion of my goals…I was also asked the standard ‘ethical dilemma’ question which I was prepared for.”

That just about wraps up this week’s edition of Wiki Wednesdays! Be sure to tune in next week for a glimpse at the latest posts to the Clear Admit Wiki. In the meantime, check out our Clear Admit Interview Guides, which provide school-specific insight and strategic advice to help applicants with their admissions interviews. Also, if you would like to add your interview experience to the Clear Admit Wiki, simply create an account or send your reports to wiki@clearadmit.com.

Thanks to all the applicants who have submitted their interview reports! Best of luck to those in the midst of interview season!

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Trivia Tuesday: International Study Trips at Chicago, Columbia, Harvard, NYU Stern and Wharton

Welcome back to Trivia Tuesday, our weekly exploration of the details, distinctions and developments of the leading MBA programs.

Over the last decade, most business schools have sought ways to provide relevant, hands-on international business exposure within the confines of a two-year degree. The solution that many schools have arrived at is “study trips,” which allow students to spend 1-2 weeks exploring the business environment of another country over the summer or during a mid-semester break. Depending on the school, these trips may be organized through an elective course, by an administrative office, or through a campus student group.

For instance, the Chazen Institute at Columbia works with individual students and clubs to organize study trips to countries or regions of interest, while Chicago’s International Programs Office coordinates short-term summer exchanges to Austria, Brazil, France and Germany. Several other business schools offer students academic credit for their travel abroad. At HBS students are able to earn 1.5 credits for their work abroad over the summer between the first and second year, provided they keep a weekly journal and submit a final paper. At Wharton, however, study trips are often closely integrated into full-semester elective courses, with students participating in hands-on consulting projects with firms from outside the U.S.

At NYU Stern, the school’s two-week long Doing Business In… (DBI) programs offer an appealing short-term alternative to spending an entire semester abroad. The program is usually offered in three selected locations each year and takes place outside of the normal academic calendar, usually between semester breaks or during Spring Break, making it easy for students to fit the program in at some point during their MBA. Each DBI includes one pre-trip class session and 8-10 full days of scheduled activities in the host country. Admission is by lottery, and classes are taught by the faculty of the host university; these faculty members also award the final pass/fail project or paper grades for the course.

In addition to the two-week DBI programs, Stern also offers students the unusual opportunity to study abroad for 1-6 weeks with one of four partner universities in Argentina, Denmark, Germany, or South Korea. These courses usually take place in early- to mid-May, making it possible to arrange a summer internship start date around completion of the course. The one-, three- and six-week programs may earn students 1.5 to 6 credits toward graduation. Although many MBA programs allow students to study abroad for a full semester or to travel abroad as part of a course, few provide summer exchanges through which students can earn credit toward graduation.

As knowledge of other cultures and business practices becomes more important to the daily life of business, it will become ever more important for students to gain exposure to international business during the MBA program. Since study trips range from informal and self-directed to formal consulting engagements for academic credit, applicants may want to consider the type of study trip that would best complement their prior international experience and keep this in mind as they apply to MBA programs. For more information on the details of schools’ study trip offerings, be sure to check out the schools’ websites or consult the Clear Admit School Guides!

Friday, September 26, 2008

Yale SOM Cosponsors Roundtable Discussion on Financial Crisis in New York

Partnering with the Wall Street Journal and CNBC, Yale School of Management (SOM) held a roundtable discussion Tuesday in New York on the current financial crisis, drawing together business leaders and scholars from Yale, Wharton, NYU, Columbia and Harvard to examine the state of the economy and the proposed Treasury Department bail-out plan.

“We were inspired by the outpouring of interest and the quick response to this event,” said its organizer, Yale SOM Senior Associate Dean Jeffrey Sonnenfeld. Planning began on Sunday night, and by Tuesday afternoon a staggering roster of economic thought leaders had assembled around the table to share their insights.

Among those in attendance were a former chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the former executive chairman of the Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, the president and CEO of Marsh & McLennan Companies, the president and CEO of Credit Suisse Investment Banking and managing directors and partners at several prominent boutique investment and private equity firms. A full list of roundtable participants is available here.

“That we could get everyone together so quickly is a signal of both their leadership and their concern in this growing crisis,” said Sonnenfeld. “Peer-driven learning is what is required, as there is no clear map to follow for navigating this worst financial crisis in 80 years,” he continued.

Yale SOM will post video of the full roundtable discussion as soon as it is available. In the meantime, you can view video from various roundtable participants:

• The Blackstone Group’s Stephen Schwarzman and W.L. Ross & Co. CEO Wilbur Ross
• Yale Economist Robert Shiller
• Yale SOM Senior Associate Dean Jeffrey Sonnenfeld
• Yale SOM Associate Professor Jonathan Koppell

Check back tomorrow when our continuing coverage of top business school’s responses to the current economic crisis will include outreach efforts by the Wharton School, MIT Sloan and Chicago GSB to recent alums, as well as Harvard Business School’s advice to prospect applicants on how the situation could impact future application cycles.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Scoretop Saga Conclusion: With 84 Students’ Scores Cancelled, Some Fates Still Uncertain

As reported last week in BusinessWeek and the Wall Street Journal, the Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC) has cancelled the scores of several students shown to be involved in the Scoretop.com scandal that came to light earlier this year.

According to various reports, the ultimate fate of these students will depend on the level of participation they had with the Scoretop website, the schools to which they applied and their current student status. (Some students involved, in fact, have already graduated from business school.)

According to GMAC spokesperson Judy Phair, the admissions council has decided to cancel the scores of only those students “against whom we felt we have airtight cases.” In total, 84 students’ scores were cancelled.

Of those, 12 students were shown to have actually posted questions themselves on the Scoretop site. Those students will be barred from retaking the GMAT exam for at least three years. The other 72 students posted messages on Scoretop indicating that they had seen certain questions on their GMAT exam. Their scores cancelled, these students will be permitted to retake the exam again immediately.

In all 84 cases, the admissions council notified schools that students had improperly prepared for the exam, although what individual schools will do with that information remains to be seen.

According to the Journal, two of the students who acknowledged that they had seen certain test questions on the Scoretop site – but who had not posted actual questions themselves – are current students at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. Chicago is considering action against the students, but “we haven’t decided anything,” Rose Martinelli, director of admissions, told the Journal.

Meanwhile at Stanford, 11 students’ scores were cancelled, according to the Journal report. Of those, 10 were denied admission, but one had already graduated, Admissions Director Derrick Bolton said in a statement.

Stanford plans to meet with the student who has graduated “to discuss this situation,” Bolton said. For students whose scores were cancelled and who plan to reapply, they will need – “at minimum” – to supply an explanation, Bolton continued, encouraging that they “might learn from the experience by reflecting on their actions and taking ownership for their errors, then sharing those explanations and insights with us.”

Other top business schools – including Columbia, Dartmouth, Harvard, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Yale – report that they had no students with tainted scores actually enroll. And a spokesman for the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania said in an email to the Journal that officials still “analyzing the situation are not yet prepared to discuss next steps.”

Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business, for its part, will hold an “ethics fireside chat” this month on campus to discuss the Scoretop cheating scandal.

GMAC, meanwhile, has posted an extensive FAQ on the subject of score cancellations. It also announced that it plans to implement palm-vein scanning technology going forward to help reduce other types of fraud among test-takers, including “proxy” test taking, in which applicants hire high-scoring imposters to take the exam for them.

We’d love to hear what you think of the conclusion to the Scoretop scandal. For anyone who missed it last week, click here to participate in Clear Admit’s online poll about whether the punishment fits the crime.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Wharton School, Law School at University of Pennsylvania Launch Joint Three-Year JD/MBA Program

The Wharton School and Law School at the University of Pennsylvania yesterday announced the launch of an accelerated three-year joint JD/MBA degree program. The program, which will begin in September 2009, will target potential applicants with around two years of experience in either law or business-related fields.

“Business today operates in a complex legal and regulatory environment,” Thomas Robertson, dean of the Wharton School, said in a statement announcing the new program. “Success requires the ability to navigate through this landscape,” he continued.

Among elite schools, the University of Pennsylvania joins several others offering a combined JD/MBA program, including Harvard, Stanford, Columbia and Yale. But far fewer schools allow students to complete both degrees in a mere three years, as the new U. Penn program does. Northwestern transitioned from a four-year to a three-year JD/MBA degree program several years ago, and the Kelley School of Business and the Indiana University School of Law—Bloomington together offer a three-year joint program as well. 

The structure of the new Penn program will be as follows: Students will spend their first year taking classes in the Law School, followed by a summer of four Law and Wharton courses designed specifically for the JD/MBA program. The second and third years will include both Law and Wharton courses, and in the summer between the two students will be expected to gain work experience in law, business, finance or the public sector.

To enroll in the three-year combined program, applicants must be admitted by both schools. Students in the joint program also must perform 70 hours of supervised pro-bono legal work as a requirement for graduation. The program is expected to enroll approximately 20 students each year.

To learn more about Penn’s new three-year JD/MBA program, click here. For a discussion of the pros and cons of an accelerated joint JD/MBA, click here.

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Trivia Tuesday: School-Wide Socializing

Welcome to another edition of Trivia Tuesday, our ongoing series exploring the programs, resources and opportunities available at the leading business schools.

Although most of our columns have focused on the academic options schools offer, this week we turn our attention to students’ opportunities for socializing with classmates. Since creating a strong network of friends and future colleagues is one of the lasting benefits of business school, prospective students may want to examine the ways in which schools help classmates get to know each other and build relationships. One popular method schools use to bring students together is program-wide happy hours. These events are usually held at the end of the academic week and tend to be organized by the MBA student government.

For instance, a staple of Wharton’s social life is Pub, held Thursday evenings throughout the academic year. MBA students pay a membership fee at the beginning of the year for access to all club events as well as all the rotating wines and beer, pizza and non-alcoholic drinks they desire. Other Wharton clubs take turns sponsoring the weekly pubs; previous themes included Japan Night, Pink Pub: Wharton Women in Business, and Europa Oktoberfest. With over 85% of Wharton students typically joining the Pub, it is one of the best ways to meet Wharton classmates.

MIT Sloan’s Consumption Function happy hours (C-Functions) are also a popular part of student social life. Held most Thursday evenings during the academic year, the C-Functions are a great way to get together with classmates and other members of the Sloan community in a relaxed, non-academic setting. The events are organized by the Sloan Activities Board, but are usually sponsored by other clubs on campus and have weekly themes. Past themes include the 1970s, Brazil, Meet the Faculty, Oktoberfest and the Canadian C-Function.

In a similar vein, the Chicago GSB hosts weekly Liquidity Preference Functions each Friday afternoon, Columbia Business School hosts Thursday Happy Hours in the Uris Hall deli (with rotating post-Happy Hour destinations), and Kellogg students gather each Friday in the Atrium for the Kellogg TG (reputedly short for “Thank God it’s Friday”).

Most schools invite prospective students visiting campus to drop by the happy hour, and attending one of these events can be a great way to talk with current students and learn about the campus culture.

For more information on the social side of the leading MBA programs, be sure to talk with current students or to check out the Clear Admit School Guides!

Friday, August 22, 2008

Columbia Business School Class of 2010 Puts Redesigned Core to the Test

First-years students at Columbia Business School (CBS) this fall will take part in a new corporate governance module during orientation, the first of several changes to the school’s core curriculum that will be unveiled over the course of the year. As part of the curriculum redesign, CBS also has streamlined the required components of the core in an effort to give students more flexibility to enroll in electives in their first year.

The introduction of the corporate governance module, a non-credit component that will begin during first-year orientation and conclude with a capstone session in the final term of the MBA program, is designed to shine a spotlight on a topic too often overlooked as a core competency in management education.

“Today, every business leader must understand the potential economic benefit of good governance, as well as the interaction among directors, management, regulatory bodies, investors and other stakeholders,” CBS Dean R. Glenn Hubbard said in a statement about the new core.

Through pre-term readings and class sessions, students will examine the duties and responsibilities they personally will be expected to assume as managers and directors of firms while also considering the larger role corporate governance plays in their careers, the economy and society at laas a whole.

Also part of the curriculum redesign, the CBS core will now be organized into “required” and “flexible” components. Requirements have been pared down to 6.5 core classes deemed to cover essential material that every MBA graduate should study. These core classes include accounting, corporate finance, leadership, marketing, operations, statistics and strategy.

The flexible core, meanwhile, is designed to expand on the required components while complementing their content. As part of the flexible core, students will select one course from each of three broad categories – Organizations, Performance and Markets. These courses will address topics ranging from organizational change and the importance of social networks to risk management to macro- and micro-economics and game theory.

The organization of the new core also allows students to incorporate more electives into their first year, better shaping their study to their personal career objectives. “The innovative transformation of the core curriculum provides students with foundational expertise in preparation for electives, internships and Master Classes.” Dean Hubbard said.

The revised core curriculum is the result of a systematic evaluation of the earlier core by the Foundations Curriculum Committee, a group of tenured faculty from each of the school’s five academic divisions convened by Hubbard in 2006.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Columbia Business School Names New Executives in Residence from Wyeth, Dow Jones

Columbia Business School has announced its newest executives in residence, tapping renowned industry leaders from the healthcare and media sectors to advise and mentor CBS students beginning this fall.

The newest executives to join CBS’s Executives in Residence program are Robert Essner, former chairman and CEO of Wyeth, one of the largest healthcare and pharmaceutical companies in the world, and Richard Zannino, former CEO of Dow Jones & Company.

As executives in residence, both will serve one-year renewable terms, during which time they will be give guest lectures, work with campus clubs, host brown-bag luncheons for students, and work one on one as mentors to students looking to enter their respective fields.

Essner, who was a proponent of research and development at Wyeth and dedicated high levels of funding to biotechnology and Alzheimer’s research, with work closely with CBS’s healthcare program. Completing a 19-year tenure at Wyeth, he retired from his position as chairman and CEO earlier this summer.

Zannino, meanwhile, brings expertise in both the media and retail sectors. He is an active member of the Columbia Business School Media Forum and brings deep media expertise from his time at Dow Jones. He also served as executive vice president of Liz Claiborne, responsible for finance and administration, as well as the company’s retail, fragrance and licensing divisions, and held executive positions at General Signal Corp., Saks Holdings, Pieter Kiewit and Sons, Emery Worldwide and Continental Group.

As part of his residency, Zannino will be available for one-on-one counseling sessions to advise students on career planning and strategy.  

CBS’s Executives in Residence Program has been going strong since its founding in 1971, providing students with direct access to retired or semiretired experts in fields ranging from media to investment banking to management.

Past executives in residence have included Wolfgang Bernhard ‘88, former CEO of Volkswagen, AG; Leo Hindery, Jr., former CEO of AT&T Broadband and former president of Tele-Communications, Inc.; and Philip Condit, former CEO of The Boeing Company, among others.

“They use a great deal of honesty,” said Donald C. Waite III ’66, director of the Executive in Residence Program, in a statement about the recent appointments. “Their support benefits students who are exploring potential professions and industries,” he continued. In the past five years, the number of participating executives has doubled.

To learn more about the Executives in Residence Program at Columbia Business School, click here.

Monday, August 11, 2008

MIT Sloan to Launch New MBA Ethics Program

The Sloan School of Management will present a new MBA ethics program to all incoming students as part of orientation this fall, according to a recent report in the Financial Times. The launch of the new program is designed to shift the focus away from the case study approach to teaching ethics toward one that voices values.

The Sloan program is based on Giving Voice to Values, a program developed by former Harvard Business School academic Mary Gentile with support from the Aspen Institute Business and Society Program and the Yale University School of Management. The program begins by helping participants identify ways they can voice their values in the workplace and goes on to give them opportunities to build the arguments, communications skills and commitment to do so.

“This is a big deal, because a leading business school is committing to using this programme during the initial, framing foundational discussion of ethics in the MBA programme,” Gentile told the FT. “They want to do it early on because it is a ‘positive’ frame, empowering, asking what you can do rather than focusing on ‘thou shalt not.’”

Gentile developed Giving Voice to Values as an alternative to the case study approach to teaching business ethics, which she believes falls short because it leaves students without the tools to tackle issues that conflict with their values in the “real world.”

According to the FT report, Gentile’s program is currently being adopted or adapted at 36 schools, including Columbia Business School and the Kellogg School of Management.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Columbia Essay Topic Analysis 2008-2009

Following up on Monday’s announcement of Columbia’s essay questions for the 2008-2009 admissions season, we wanted to offer our thoughts on each of this year’s topics.

Columbia has made some significant changes from last year’s set of questions. While they’ve retained the classic 750-word question about career goals/why Columbia MBA, the two remaining required essays ask applicants to draw on themes decidedly different from those in the past. The school has eliminated the long-standing 250-word essay about an applicant’s passions or interests that rounded out the set in previous seasons, leaving only 3 required essays totaling 1750 words. Gone too is the question about an entrepreneurial mindset that has long been a hallmark of the CBS application, with a new question about a failure taking its place. Finally, last year’s prompt asking students to read a Dean Glenn Hubbard speech and comment on the changing business environment has been replaced by a slightly different research project.

Essay 1: What are your short-term and long-term post-MBA goals? How will Columbia Business School help you achieve these goals? (Recommended 750 word limit)
The general advice we’ve offered in the past on how to tackle this sort of question applies here. Because Columbia is very sensitive to the fact that it is often treated as a backup for Wharton and other leading programs, it’s especially important to convince the adcom of your interest in the program by packing your essay full of school-specific details about classes and clubs. 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 Guide to Columbia - will pay dividends here.

Essay 2: Master Classes are the epitome of bridging the gap between theory and practice at Columbia Business School. View the link below. Please provide an example from your own life in which practical experience taught you more than theory alone. (Recommended 500 word limit)
In this new essay, Columbia asks applicants to share a story about a time reality subverted expectations. “Theory” here refers to one’s thoughts and preparation going into an experience, while the “practice” translates to how an event or project actually played out. This essay calls for a focused discussion of a single situation; professional experiences are certainly relevant, though volunteer or other extracurricular stories could be equally fitting. Given the school’s focus on experiential learning, it will be important that applicants demonstrate an appreciation for the sorts of lessons learned and insights gained from hands-on involvement, so it is important to select an example in which one is an active participant rather than an observer. Finally, while it seems quite possible to fulfill the question’s requirements without watching the associated video, it’s probably prudent to make reference to Columbia’s Master Classes and one or two of the selling points mentioned in the clip, perhaps in the essay’s concluding comments.

Essay 3: Please provide an example of a team failure of which you’ve been a part. If given a second chance, what would you do differently? (Recommended 500 word limit)
Like any failure or mistake themed essay, the key here will be to summarize the failure and its context as briefly as possible, spending the bulk of the essay on reflection and describing the lessons learned from the experience. It’s generally good practice to close with a summary of a second, more recent experience in which the applicant has applied these lessons. In this case, however, Columbia asks candidates to think about the initial experience, and explain how you would act in retrospect, calling for the writer to double back and revisit the same situation in light of what was learned after the fact. To avoid an excessively abstract discussion, be specific in your details and explanations of exactly what you would change in your behavior and/or actions, and explore the full range of potential adjustments and improvements in your handling of the situation.

For more information about Clear Admit’s one-on-one counseling for Columbia applicants, simply email your resume to info@clearadmit.com to set up a free session with one of our admissions counselors.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Trivia Tuesday: Health Care Majors at Wharton, Duke/Fuqua, Columbia, Harvard and Kellogg

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 Systems 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 Systems 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 Systems 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 Systems 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 (see Figure “Health Sector Management Courses”). 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!

Monday, July 21, 2008

Columbia Business School Essay Topics 2008-2009

Columbia’s essay topics for the 2008-2009 season are quite similar to this year’s J-term application essays, with one notable exception: the removal of the fourth essay about applicant’s passions. Though the information isn’t yet available on the school’s website, an admissions representative discussed this on the Business Week forum, and we have confirmed it with the Columbia Admissions Office.

Essay 1 (Required): What are your short-term and long-term post-MBA goals? How will Columbia Business School help you achieve these goals? (Recommended 750 word limit)

Essay 2 (Required): Master Classes are the epitome of bridging the gap between theory and practice at Columbia Business School. View link below. Please provide an example from your own life in which practical experience taught you more than theory alone. (Recommended 500 word limit)

1. View with Real Player: http://merlin.gsb.columbia.edu:8080/ramgen/video1/faculty/MasterClass-promo.rm
2. View via Google: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4698876883776961370&hl=en

Essay 3 (Required): Please provide an example of a team failure of which you’ve been a part. If given a second chance, what would you do differently? (Recommended 500 word limit)

Essay 4 (Optional): Is there any further information that you wish to provide to the Admissions Committee? (Please use this space to provide an explanation of any areas of concern in your academic record or your personal history.)

Tuesday, July 08, 2008

Columbia Deadlines 2008-2009

Two more deadlines have been added to the Columbia deadlines released earlier this summer. The new deadlines are for applicants who are interested in the September 2009 intake, but do not wish to apply early decision. The updated list of deadlines is as follows:

January 2009 Accelerated Program
Application Review Period Began: April 30th, 2008
Decision Period: Within 8 weeks
Application Deadline: October 8th, 2008

September 2009 Early Decision
Application Review Period Begins: August 13th, 2008
Decision Period: Within 10 weeks
Application Deadline: October 8th, 2008

September 2009 International Applicants
Application Review Period Begins: January 7, 2009
Decision Period: Within 12 weeks
Application Deadline: March 4, 2009

September 2009 U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents
Application Review Period Begins: January 7, 2009
Decision Period: Within 12 weeks
Application Deadline: April 15, 2009

Thursday, July 03, 2008

Real Estate Expert Named Columbia Business School’s Next Senior Vice Dean

Columbia Business School (CBS) announced this week that is has named Christopher Mayer, the Paul Milstein Professor of Real Estate and director of the school’s Paul Milstein Center for Real Estate since 2003, to serve as its next senior vice dean. Among his other responsibilities, the senior vice dean is heavily involved in the recruitment of new faculty members.

“Chris has built a stellar reputation as a scholar and practitioner through his extensive teaching and research in real estate,” Dean Glenn Hubbard said in a statement. “As both a faculty member who consistently earns high teaching ratings and director of the Paul Milstein Center for Real Estate, he possesses a deep understanding of student interests and needs.”

An expert on real estate cycles, capital markets, housing, mortgages and debt securitization, Mayer has served as a visiting scholar at the Federal Reserve Board from 2007 to 2008.

In assuming the position of senior vice dean, Mayer succeeds Paul Glasserman, the Jack R. Anderson Professor of Business, who has served in the position since 2004. Mayer will continue his involvement with the Milstein Center as both research director and vice chair of its advisory board.

Replacing Mayer as director of the Milstein Center will be Lynne Sagalyn, the Earle W. Kazis and Benjamin Schore Professor of Real Estate. Sagalyn, an expert in real estate equity securities and public-private development finance, is the author of more than 70 real estate cases and served as the center’s inaugural director, so she is already quite familiar to many in the CBS community.

Tuesday, July 01, 2008

London Business School and Columbia Business School Launch New Global Asia EMBA

Building on their existing partnership, London Business School (LBS) and Columbia Business School (CBS) have announced a new addition to their top-ranked EMBA-Global program. With the launch of EMBA-Global Asia, the two schools will partner with the University of Hong Kong to create the first program offering business education and networking opportunities that link the global financial hubs of Hong Kong, London and New York.

As a portal to mainland China, Hong Kong seemed a natural place for expansion of the EMBA-Global program. And the University of Hong Kong, too, seemed the perfect partner, given its respected international reputation, strong academic programs and state-of-the-art facilities.

The ideal candidates for this new EMBA-Global Asia program are high-potential, globally-focused executives and managers, primarily based in Asia, who are passionate about the opportunities offered by Asia’s rapid economic development.

The 20-month course will include intensive MBA classes taught in New York, London, Hong Kong and Shanghai, as well as additional study in other international regions. Teaching will be divided equally among faculty from each of the three partner schools.

Students who complete the program will receive a joint MBA degree awarded by Columbia University, London Business School, and the University of Hong Kong – complete with access to the alumni networks of all three schools.

The inaugural class, made up of approximately 50 students, will begin in May 2009.

For more information, visit www.emba-global.com.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Clear Admit School Guides 2008-2009: Columbia, Harvard, Kellogg, NYU Stern, Stanford and Wharton

We’re pleased to announce the release of the 2008-2009 versions of six of our 17 Clear Admit School Guides, our line of informative reports about the top business schools. For those who might be unfamiliar, the School Guides offer in-depth information on all elements of the student experience at a leading MBA program, and compare the schools side-by-side in areas such as student demographics, curricular structure and employment statistics. In the Guides, we distill the MBA programs’ marketing messages and delve into the facts to deliver an objective and comprehensive overview of what each school offers and what makes each unique.

We’ve received a great deal of positive feedback from applicants about the usefulness of the School Guides. Here’s one bit of praise that illustrates the mileage one can get out of the information the School Guides provid