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 a few 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, . . . → Continue Reading]]> 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 a few 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 such countries as 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 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 one- to 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 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 either 4-5 or 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 project or paper grades for the course.

In addition to the 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-, two- 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 consult the Clear Admit School Guides!

The video, entitled Navigating the Business School Trilogy, aired on August 9th as part of MBA Pod TV, MBA Podcaster’s YouTube video channel. In this most recent episode, Richmond offers a comparison of what many consider to be the top three MBA programs in the country: Harvard Business School (HBS), Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He examines what sets the schools apart and provides insight to prospective applicants on how to . . . → Continue Reading]]> Do you have your sights set on the upper echelon of MBA programs? Clear Admit co-founder Graham Richmond shares valuable tips on how to target top schools Harvard, Stanford and Wharton as part of a recent video by MBA Podcaster.

The video, entitled Navigating the Business School Trilogy, aired on August 9th as part of MBA Pod TV, MBA Podcaster’s YouTube video channel. In this most recent episode, Richmond offers a comparison of what many consider to be the top three MBA programs in the country: Harvard Business School (HBS), Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He examines what sets the schools apart and provides insight to prospective applicants on how to approach the application process at each school.

Through his work at Clear Admit, Richmond has worked with candidates who have applied to and been accepted at all three of these top programs, and he provides valuable advice to prospective applicants who likewise are considering targeting the trilogy. For starters, don’t think you can get away with cutting and pasting from one application to the next, he warns. Each of these top schools is going to require individual attention and work.

Richmond also brings school-specific expertise, having himself spent several years working in the admissions office at Wharton. Though they share top rankings, the MBA programs at HBS, Stanford and Wharton are actually quite distinct from one another, and many applicants may find that it doesn’t actually make sense to apply to all three, Richmond says.

Whether you are considering applying to one or all of the “trilogy,” you won’t want to miss this valuable free video.

In his review, MBADreamz explains the structure of the guide, providing brief summaries of the chapters featured in the guide and sharing his reactions to them. Before diving into this concise breakdown of the sections, MBADreamz begins by declaring the . . . → Continue Reading]]> MBA applicant blogger “MBADreamz” recently shared with us a blog post he wrote detailing his thoughts on the Clear Admit Harvard Business School Guide. MBADreamz acquired the Harvard Business School Guide as a prize for winning Twitter Trivia, our weekly contest in which we ask our Twitter followers a question based off of our latest Trivia Tuesday blog post.

In his review, MBADreamz explains the structure of the guide, providing brief summaries of the chapters featured in the guide and sharing his reactions to them. Before diving into this concise breakdown of the sections, MBADreamz begins by declaring the School Guide “an amazing resource, no doubt.” He also speaks to the comprehensive nature of the guide when he states that the Harvard Business School Guide is “almost like an encyclopedia in one pocketbook.”

MBADreamz speaks favorably of the Harvard Business School Guide chapters, lauding the Introduction for its “excellent timeline comparison” and its “very detailed description of the demographic distribution of students in HBS.” He goes on to point to the Academic Programs chapter, explaining that it provides “a very detailed analysis” of Harvard Business School’s curriculum. MBADreamz was especially impressed by the Life at Harvard section, saying it was “one of the most interesting reads as I felt to be literally being in HBS organizing events and living a fruitful life in Boston.” MBADreamz also noted that he gleaned useful information from the Admissions section, explaining that “the earlier chapters add so much value to this chapter that one gets a feel of why such essay questions are asked at HBS.”

According to MBADreamz, the Clear Admit Harvard Business School Guide “saves a lot of your time,” as it provides relevant business school information in a concise, centralized location. MBADreamz wraps up his assessment by proclaiming the guide “one of the best resource guides for any applicant,” and thanks Clear Admit for “such a wonderful guide.”

Our publications team would like to thank MBADreamz for sharing such honest feedback! For more information, please visit the Clear Admit publications page. Our full range of publications is available for immediate purchase and download at the Clear Admit shop.

The group information sessions are designed to provide prospective applicants with an overview of the HBS MBA program. They are conducted by members of the MBA Admissions team, who also can answer any questions applicants may have about the admissions process. Registration for these sessions is not required.

During the academic year, HBS also offers prospective applicants an opportunity to sit in on . . . → Continue Reading]]> Harvard Business School (HBS) announced on its admissions blog yesterday that it will not hold admissions information sessions on August 20th or August 23rd. The sessions, which generally take place at 1 p.m. every Monday and Friday during the summer months, will resume on Friday, August 27th. Applicants who are planning campus visits are encouraged to take this under advisement.

The group information sessions are designed to provide prospective applicants with an overview of the HBS MBA program. They are conducted by members of the MBA Admissions team, who also can answer any questions applicants may have about the admissions process. Registration for these sessions is not required.

During the academic year, HBS also offers prospective applicants an opportunity to sit in on classes to observe the HBS case method. Class visits are offered on most days that classes are in session, but due to the high volume of requests, prospective applicants are asked to schedule no more than one visit. Class visits must be arranged in advance through the MBA Admissions Office.

Also during the academic year, first-year MBA students volunteer to meet with prospective applicants as part of a casual lunch program. The lunch program is held daily at noon when classes are in session, during which time current students meet with applicants to answer questions about student life, the MBA program and other aspects of the HBS experience. Registration is not required for the lunch program.

While HBS stresses that campus visits are not required and do not influence admissions decisions, they do provide applicants with an invaluable opportunity to get a real feel for the MBA program. In the event that the timing of your visist doesn’t allow you to participate in an information session, class visits or the lunch program, be sure to take advantage of the campus audio walking tour, available at the reception desk in the MBA Admissions Office.

For more information on visiting HBS, click here.

Hidden within these encouraging statistics are some interesting new trends, the Forbes report continued. Specifically, more and more Fortune 500 companies are now hiring international MBA students from top Western schools to run operations not in the United . . . → Continue Reading]]> After last year’s dismal predictions of a job market meltdown, the landscape for new MBA graduates is experiencing an encouraging recovery, according to a recent Forbes report. According to the MBA Career Services Council, 60 percent of career departments at U.S. and European schools recently surveyed report more job postings this year than last. And some schools, such as New York University’s Stern School of Business, say that job postings in some sectors are up by as much as 70 percent, according to Forbes.

Hidden within these encouraging statistics are some interesting new trends, the Forbes report continued. Specifically, more and more Fortune 500 companies are now hiring international MBA students from top Western schools to run operations not in the United States or Europe but rather back in their home countries.

“With the rapid pace of globalization, corporate America has got the message that global growth requires talent with in-depth knowledge of the languages, customs and geography of other parts of the world,” Becky Joffrey of Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business told Forbes. Recent Tuck students have been hired to run operations for Cargill and Samsung in Singapore, Israel and India, she says.

This shifting market was reflected in a recent hiring survey by international management recruitment firm Antal, according to the Forbes report. Antal’s Global Snapshot, which tracks employment trends in 55 countries, found hiring up more than 50 percent around the world since January, but up 65 percent in Brazil, 72 percent in China and 73 percent in India, Forbes reports.

“One of the key drivers behind this growth in emerging markets is a move away from the conventional expatriate model,” Graeme Read, Antal’s CEO, told Forbes. Whereas these countries used to import management expertise from the West, they are now taking control themselves and seeking locally born professionals who have trained at top business schools, Read says. “In countries like China and India, the ‘returner’ is becoming one of the most sought-after commodities in an increasingly competitive marketplace,” he told Forbes.

In response, top MBA programs are adjusting their career services budgets to reflect this new trend, according to Forbes. Harvard Business School (HSB) has upped it career services budget by 50 percent, placing particular emphasis on reaching potential new employers through international conferences. The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, meanwhile, has tripled its career development staff so that they can spend more time traveling internationally to develop new relationships with potential employers in person.

For the complete Forbes story on new MBA hiring trends, click here.

A native of India, Nitin Nohria became the first non-North American born dean of HBS when he assumed the role last month. He is known for championing the idea of a global 21st century, and one of his first actions as HBS dean was to embark upon a trip around the world, including several stops in Asia. But according to his interview with WSJ’s Duncan Mavin, HBS’s strategy for the future does not include opening an Asian campus.

“I don’t think that is necessary and . . . → Continue Reading]]> Despite huge demand for business education from students in Asia, Harvard Business School (HBS) does not plan to open fully fledged campuses in the region, the school’s new dean told the Wall Street Journal in an interview Monday.

A native of India, Nitin Nohria became the first non-North American born dean of HBS when he assumed the role last month. He is known for championing the idea of a global 21^st century, and one of his first actions as HBS dean was to embark upon a trip around the world, including several stops in Asia. But according to his interview with WSJ’s Duncan Mavin, HBS’s strategy for the future does not include opening an Asian campus.

“I don’t think that is necessary and nor do we have the ambition to do that,” he told the WSJ. “We’re in the business of chasing knowledge and not chasing demand.” Instead, research centers and executive-education programs throughout Asia will let the U.S. school maintain a “small physical footprint” while enjoying the benefits of a “very large intellectual footprint,” Nohria said.

Amid staggering growth in demand for business education from students in Asia, some other business schools are considering opening overseas campuses. Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, for example, has expressing interest in opening a school in India, according to the WSJ report.

But according to Nohria, HBS has already taken significant steps to remain aligned with the global economy. For example, the school now incorporates more than 100 Chinese case studies and 70 Indian case studies into its curriculum, up from just a couple two decades ago. He also noted that 40 percent of all of HBS’s students now come from outside of the United States, though there are no deliberate plans to increase that figure.

“Should that mix be 50% or 60%? We should always remain fundamentally a meritocracy,” he told the WSJ. “That’s been a great strength of American educational institutions. I’m proof of that. If the student body becomes more international that’s because that’s what the best students in the world look like. It’s not like we have targets.”

For the full WSJ article, click here.

Harvard Business School, Columbia Business School and the Carroll School of Management at Boston College each will offer one or more social networking courses this fall, according to the report. And in Europe, INSEAD, London Business School and the École des Hautes Études Commerciales (HEC Paris) also have added or soon will add related course offerings of their own.

The BW Bloomberg report credits Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont, as one of the earliest . . . → Continue Reading]]> At least six top business schools have added courses focused on internet marketing and social media to their MBA curricula in the past year as part of an effort to help students stand out to employers in a tight job market, a recent Bloomberg BusinessWeek article reports.

Harvard Business School, Columbia Business School and the Carroll School of Management at Boston College each will offer one or more social networking courses this fall, according to the report. And in Europe, INSEAD, London Business School and the École des Hautes Études Commerciales (HEC Paris) also have added or soon will add related course offerings of their own.

The BW Bloomberg report credits Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont, as one of the earliest pioneers of Internet marketing courses, reporting that social media has been a part of the MBA curriculum there since 2000. According to Elaine Young, an associate professor of marketing at Champlain, students who have mastered digital tools add to a company’s bottom line, which improves their chances of getting a job. 

“Companies want students to know this stuff,” Young told BW Bloomberg. “But it’s not just about having a Facebook page. Students have to ask themselves: ‘Do I know how to set up an official Facebook page and run it and engage people on it?’ ”

MBA students are clamoring to take the new social media courses as fast as the schools themselves can offer them. At HBS, 172 students enrolled last fall when professor Mikolaj Jan Piskorski introduced a second-year elective course, “Competing with Social Networks” – three times the number of seats available. “Students know these tools are too hard to ignore,” Piskorski told BW Bloomberg.

Meanwhile, at INSEAD, professor Andrew Stephen created a new two-month course called “Advertising and Social Media Strategy” after joining the faculty in June 2009. “My feeling was that all the B-schools were lagging behind in preparing MBA students for dealing with the new media landscape,” he told BW Bloomberg. In less than six months, according to Stephen, attendance in the course more than tripled, from 27 students in January to 45 in March and 93 in May.

For more on these and other social media courses being added to top MBA programs, click here.