HBS came in at number two, followed by Wharton at number three. London Business School, meanwhile, fell from joint first to fourth, mirroring a general trend in which U.S. schools fared marginally better than their European counterparts. Falling salaries among alumni from European schools – an impact of the recent economic turmoil in Europe – account in part for this trend, the FT reports.

The FT ranking is calculated using data gathered from participating schools and alumni from the class that graduates three years before the survey. Stanford 2008 graduates had the highest sector-weighted average salary in this year’s rankings – $192,179 per year – a designation the California school has snagged eight times in the ranking’s 14-year history. Stanford also shot up this year in the ranking’s measurement of alumni career progress and “aims achieved,” helping it take the number one spot for the first time.

The top ten schools in this year’s ranking are as follow:

Stanford GSB (1) Harvard Business School (2) Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania (3) London Business School(4) Columbia Business School (5) INSEAD (6) MIT Sloan School of Management (7) IE Business School (8) IESE Business School (9) Hong Kong UST Business School (10)

For the full FT 2012 Global MBA rankings, click here.

While The Harbus features letters from several students spending time abroad as part of their FIELD programs, one student admits that he was a “Field 2 Skeptic.” Jehan deFonseka ’12 confesses that he was unconvinced that he would gain an in-depth understanding of the businesses or culture of a country in a week, among other concerns.  However, deFonseka’s week spent in Mumbai made him realize that these issues didn’t “[come] to matter much” and that the experience of being on the ground in Mumbai, not simply learning about it, made the opportunities of the market exciting and palpable.  Despite having spent six years at Goldman Sachs before HBS and hearing much about growth markets, deFonseka wrote that his time abroad “sure [felt] like it was a life-changing experience” and thanked those HBS administrators and faculty who had created this opportunity.

Meanwhile, a first-year MBA student at London Business School details the experience of describing the diverse elements of his first LBS term to his family.  Hamdi ’13 writes on the London Business School student views blog that his family at first “[suspected he] had joined the circus” after he mentioned a teamwork training event from his LBS Away Day.  The lesson on teamwork learned that day entailed both wire balancing and leaping off 15-meter pole with an ex-navy pilot.  Soon though, the coursework, leadership workshops, and club involvements he described were enough to convince his audience that LBS did offer a very solid education as well.  Hamdi concluded with his excitement for the next term (and some sleep), given that he “already [feels like he’s] learned a whole program’s worth of information” in just his first term.

Finally, an interviewer from The Wharton Journal offers readers a picture of classmate Jason Lin ’12’s journey to the Wharton MBA.  A Taiwan native growing up in California, Lin worked with Arthur Anderson and Walt Disney before entering the film industry.  Lin was part of the first film that brought both Jackie Chan and Jet Li together on screen, and the Wharton student was the facilitator of the production deal that gave each star an equal stake in the process.  He also helped Li found the nonprofit ONE Foundation in China among other entrepreneurial ventures.  All of these experiences contributed to his vision to enable Chinese media companies to access the global market after obtaining his Wharton MBA.

In a special report accompanying the rankings, the FT’s Della Bradshaw pointed out that European schools, which until now attracted non-European applicants with their diverse student bodies and globally focused curriculums, face several new threats that could undermine these advantages. Chief among them are the continuing euro crisis and the reluctance of European governments to award post-degree work visas to non-Europeans as well as the rapid rise of Chinese and Indian business schools.

Dipak Jain, who took the helm as dean of INSEAD this year after retiring as dean of Northwestern’ Kellogg School of Management, does not believe that European schools will feel an immediate impact from the rising number of quality Asian schools.  “There is still a very large part of the Asian world that wants a western program,” he told the FT. “That is not going to go away in the next 20 years or so.”

According to Jain, the real problem European schools face is money. He points out that European schools lack the robust endowments that many U.S. business schools boast, which limits the European institutions’ ability to fund top-level research. “The question is, how do you create shock absorbers or cushions?” he told the FT. “In Europe you can’t rely on alumni giving.”

But according to Peter Tufano, who like Jain this year traded a U.S. school for a European one (Tufano left Harvard Business School to become dean of the Saïd Business School at Oxford), there is no real difference between schools on either side of the Atlantic. “I see a lot more similarities than differences,” Tufano told the FT, noting that the issues being talked about in business and in business school are the same on both sides of the pond. Views are even converging on issues like the supremacy of shareholder value, which used to divide the teaching between U.S. and European schools. “I think everyone has adopted a more nuanced view than when I did an MBA … There are times I can close my eyes and I don’t really feel I am in a different place,” Tufano said.

For the complete 2011 Financial Times’ ranking of European Business Schools, click here.

My LBS interview date was set one week after I received the interview invitation. I firstly wrote an email to the Alumnus who is also in Taipei and we quickly set our date. We met in an Café in a department store on Saturday morning. We firstly had chitchats using Chinese and then after ordering our drink, we switched to English mode and the interview started promptly.

The questions were as follows:

Apparently, the interviewer has studied my application materials carefully and didn’t waste time on repeating them. Afterwards, he asked me whether I have thing to mention. I then talked about my hobbies and my leadership styles.

My presentation topic was something about the recent strike by Qantas Airline. If I am the CEO, what measures will I take and what are the things that I should concern. I have read this news in the Economist two weeks ago but my presentation was just okay I guess… not very impressive.

Then is the question to the interviewer. I asked him about a dozen of prepared questions.

Overall, the interview was 2.5 hours long. Except for the impromptu presentation, the whole process was quite easygoing and filled with many interactions between us. I think my performance was not perfect but has done my best to express myself. Hope there will be good news soon!!”

To see more MBA admissions interview reports, check out the Clear Admit Wiki – a free resource with hundreds of real, documented interview experiences from b-school applicants. Also, if you’d like to help your fellow applicants by adding your experiences, please send . . . → Continue Reading]]> Take a peek at the latest addition to the Clear Admit Wiki, a free online resource for MBA applicants to share their experiences with the admissions process!  This Round 1 candidate for London Business School shared the following interview with an alum:

My LBS interview date was set one week after I received the interview invitation. I firstly wrote an email to the Alumnus who is also in Taipei and we quickly set our date. We met in an Café in a department store on Saturday morning. We firstly had chitchats using Chinese and then after ordering our drink, we switched to English mode and the interview started promptly.

The questions were as follows:

1. Tell me about yourself.
2. Tell me about your travels (other than the one I wrote in my essays). What memorable things about them? What do you learned? (I talked about my previous travels to UK, Spain, and Japan) He kept on asking me about the meanings behind those experiences.
3. Your ultimate career goal is to be a CFO, why you haven’t got a CFA license? (then we talked about this qualification question for about 20 mins)
4. Have you considered pursuing a career in equity research which will be more relevant to your previous BG? (my current job is Assistant Manager in Deloitte, I want to be an mgt. consultant right after graduation).
5. What are your strengths and weakness? Are you good at delegation?
6. Have you started to prepare for case interviews? Have you applied to consulting firms like Mckinsey? Why not?
7. Have you tried to switch functions within Deloitte?
8. Elaborate on an experience mentioned by your recommenders. (this one is like a reality check I guess…)
9. Why other schools? Why LBS (he interrupted me when I started to talk about things in the essay)

Apparently, the interviewer has studied my application materials carefully and didn’t waste time on repeating them. Afterwards, he asked me whether I have thing to mention. I then talked about my hobbies and my leadership styles.

My presentation topic was something about the recent strike by Qantas Airline. If I am the CEO, what measures will I take and what are the things that I should concern. I have read this news in the Economist two weeks ago but my presentation was just okay I guess… not very impressive.

Then is the question to the interviewer. I asked him about a dozen of prepared questions.

Overall, the interview was 2.5 hours long. Except for the impromptu presentation, the whole process was quite easygoing and filled with many interactions between us. I think my performance was not perfect but has done my best to express myself. Hope there will be good news soon!!”

To see more MBA admissions interview reports, check out the Clear Admit Wiki – a free resource with hundreds of real, documented interview experiences from b-school applicants. Also, if you’d like to help your fellow applicants by adding your experiences, please send us your interview field report and we’ll post it to the wiki. Finally, if you’d like even more helpful hints and detailed analysis on how to ace your interview, check out our line of Interview Guides, which demystify the most common questions asked by the leading programs and offer step-by-step guidance for a successful interview.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the Clear Admit Wiki and best of luck to those undergoing admissions interviews!

“Uniquely among the leading MBA programs, London Business School offers its students the chance to participate in a Shadowing Project, through which they gain a firsthand perspective on the daily duties of a high-ranking manager by “shadowing” that person for up to a week on the job. Students report that they benefit immensely from this exposure, which illuminates the skills they themselves will need to develop to succeed as managers.

“Before entering the workplace of their “shadowees,” students examine key studies and concepts in managerial behavior through their other courses, building a theoretical framework to help them assess the management situations they will witness during the project. After the shadowing period, students synthesize their observations in a graded report that objectively profiles the leadership style of their shadowee.

“To set up the Shadowing Project, students are expected to initiate contact with a manager of their choosing and arrange mutually acceptable dates for the shadowing to take place. While the task of contacting a high-level manager and pitching the shadowing idea may seem daunting, LBS explains that gaining experience in harnessing the LBS network and one’s preexisting professional contacts is one of the project’s key takeaways for students. The Shadowing Project can be completed between January and May in either the first or second year. The actual shadowing need not occur over five consecutive days, so students and their shadowees may decide to schedule the shadowing dates around critical meetings or events that it would be most helpful to witness.

“Of the managers LBS students have shadowed, about 15 percent have been CEOs, 25 percent have been Managing Directors, General Managers or Vice Presidents, and 10 percent have held the highest-ranking finance post in their organizations. In addition to the more traditional shadowees at investment banks and pharmaceutical companies, students have also shadowed prominent figures in politics, symphony orchestra managers and, most unusually, the founder of an extreme sporting group, who was in Chile’s Atacama Desert at the time supervising a 250-kilometer footrace. More than one-third of students travel outside the U.K. to complete the Shadowing Project.”

To read more about LBS’s experiential learning offerings, as well as to obtain in-depth information about the MBA program and curriculum, be sure to check out the Clear Admit School Guide to LBS.  All Clear Admit School Guides are available for immediate purchase and download on the Clear Admit shop.

You could win a Clear Admit Guide!   Based on today’s post, we’ll be running a trivia contest on Twitter.  Be sure to follow us and play for your chance to win!

Question 1 (500 words) Please discuss your career progress to date and explain why now is the right time to undertake an MBA at London Business School?

Question 2 (300 words) Where do you see your career progressing five years after graduation and what is your longer term career vision? LBS has reverted back to the approach that it used during  the 2009-2010 admissions season and has broken down the typical career goals essay into two discrete inquiries. This format clearly underlines the importance of having both a short- and long-term career plan in the MBA admissions process. Though the compartmentalization of an applicant’s work experience to date and long term discussion might make it a bit more difficult to adapt content written for applications to other schools, it does signal the extent to which the adcom wants to hear about each of the topics raised. Developing one’s long-term vision discussion over 300 words could be a great opportunity for applicants who often cover this topic in a single sentence to meet the word limit in their essays for other schools. The first question also incorporates a “why now?” query, prompting candidates to explicitly justify the timing of their applications given the current stage of their careers.

Question 3 (250 words) Give a specific example of when you have had to test your leadership and team working skills. Given this experience what role will you play in a first year study group? Based on this recycled prompt from last year, applicants should discuss an experience in which they faced challenges to their leadership and teamwork skills, such as a time when a team member refused to get on board with a group plan.  After clearly outlining the situation, it’s crucial that applicants explain how they persevered through the challenge, as doing so shows one’s maturity and ability to overcome obstacles.  It would therefore make sense to end this essay by explaining the strategies you’ve subsequently developed to navigate difficult situations, and explain how you can apply these processes to future work at LBS.  Note that the question about LBS study groups offers applicants a great chance to showcase their familiarity with the program and prove that they’ve done their homework, as . . . → Continue Reading]]> Although three of London Business School’s essay topics are unchanged from the prompts on last year’s application, the school has reintroduced two new essay topics regarding an applicant’s career to date and career vision that are variations of the 2009-2010 essay questions.  These revised career-focused essay questions  indicate the school’s emphasis an applicant’s broader long-term vision and the timing of the MBA.  In addition, more than most programs, LBS asks applicants to share specific details of their future involvement on campus and contribution to the community.  From this, one can extrapolate and assume that LBS is interested in candidates who’ve spoken to students and learned a good deal about the program to better understand how and where they might fit.

Question 1 (500 words)
Please discuss your career progress to date and explain why now is the right time to undertake an MBA at London Business School?

Question 2 (300 words)
Where do you see your career progressing five years after graduation and what is your longer term career vision?
LBS has reverted back to the approach that it used during  the 2009-2010 admissions season and has broken down the typical career goals essay into two discrete inquiries. This format clearly underlines the importance of having both a short- and long-term career plan in the MBA admissions process. Though the compartmentalization of an applicant’s work experience to date and long term discussion might make it a bit more difficult to adapt content written for applications to other schools, it does signal the extent to which the adcom wants to hear about each of the topics raised. Developing one’s long-term vision discussion over 300 words could be a great opportunity for applicants who often cover this topic in a single sentence to meet the word limit in their essays for other schools. The first question also incorporates a “why now?” query, prompting candidates to explicitly justify the timing of their applications given the current stage of their careers.

Question 3 (250 words)
Give a specific example of when you have had to test your leadership and team working skills. Given this experience what role will you play in a first year study group?
Based on this recycled prompt from last year, applicants should discuss an experience in which they faced challenges to their leadership and teamwork skills, such as a time when a team member refused to get on board with a group plan.  After clearly outlining the situation, it’s crucial that applicants explain how they persevered through the challenge, as doing so shows one’s maturity and ability to overcome obstacles.  It would therefore make sense to end this essay by explaining the strategies you’ve subsequently developed to navigate difficult situations, and explain how you can apply these processes to future work at LBS.  Note that the question about LBS study groups offers applicants a great chance to showcase their familiarity with the program and prove that they’ve done their homework, as well as demonstrate that they’ve thought through the contribution they would make and the strengths they could bring to the program.  With only 250 words allotted for this essay, applicants will need to be highly efficient with their writing to ensure that they can respond to each component of the prompt.

Question 4 (300 words)
Student involvement is an extremely important part of the London Business School MBA experience and this is reflected in the character of students on campus. Please describe how you will contribute to student clubs and the community and why?
This question, which appeared as the third essay topic on the 2010-2011 application, asks candidates to broadly discuss the clubs and events in which they would like to participate. This framing gives candidates a wide berth to discuss how their interests and experiences to date would translate to contributions on several fronts. As with any essay of this sort, it would be ideal to link the clubs and events you cite to established interests or elements of your career goals, as these will help the admissions committee readily see how you are poised to make a contribution. Taking the time to learn about the school’s special programs and extracurricular activities – whether through a visit to campus, conversation with alumni or reading the Clear Admit School Guide to London Business School – will pay dividends here.

Question 5 (250 words)
London Business School offers a truly global and diverse experience. Describe any significant experiences outside of your home country or culture. What did you gain and how will your experience contribute to London Business School?
Previously the fourth prompt on last year’s application, this question allows applicants the opportunity to showcase their international experience, both professionally and personally, and is designed to gauge the applicant’s ability to navigate unfamiliar terrain and resolve cross-cultural issues.  In order to answer both components of this question, we suggest that applications quickly outline important experience abroad, and then focus on providing detail about the lessons and skills gained from these situations, as well as how the experiences would help the applicant benefit from and contribute to LBS.  Based on the first sentence of this prompt, it will be important for applicants to show that not only can they contribute to the diversity at LBS, but also that they will thrive as a member of the diverse student body.

Question 6 (250 words)
Considering what you have already included in the application, what else would you like to tell us about yourself?  You can approach this question however you like.
This question leaves the door open for a wide range of examples.  One’s choice of topic here will likely depend on what has been covered elsewhere in the application up to this point.  No matter what topic one chooses to write about, applicants should keep the discussion focused on their actions and impact in the situation.  This is an ideal opportunity to add color and personality to an  application.

In the interview that follows, David Simpson, LBS associate director of marketing and admissions, highlights recent changes to the organization of the school’s curriculum, as well as the remarkable diversity of the LBS class. He also walks us through the admissions process step by step and provides some concrete pointers on how to write strong application essays, as well as how to prepare for the admissions interview.

So whether your already busy preparing your application for the upcoming Round 1 deadline or you’re considering adding the school to your target list for a later round, you won’t want to miss what Simpson has to say.

Clear Admit: What’s the single most exciting development, change or event happening at LBS this coming year?

David Simpson: There has been a lot going on at the school, so I guess this year I have a lot to talk about. We are very progressive in terms of looking at where we want to go and how we can have an impact on the way the world does business. We have spent the past year as an institution exploring our own values and what we think makes us special and unique. Together we have all examined what we like about this place and what makes it tick and what we really stand for.

The greatest development this year at LBS more reflects how we communicate with the world than it involves necessarily making any changes. We have had a program review of the MBA. Basically once every five years we look closely at the MBA program, taking time to appreciate what works really well and the kinds of things that have given us our Financial Times number one ranking. Obviously we want to keep those things, but like anything else, the MBA program has to adapt and change according to its environment. So this year the program director and faculty had the major job of looking at the MBA and making some changes to it.

What we tried to do was organize and structure our learning into themes, creating an overarching structure that would flow through in a sequence to help our students in the best possible way. Right from the start we have reordered some things and added a few new areas.

One is a Leadership Launch right at the beginning of the program. This is really about everyone taking a look at themselves and reflecting on what they have done and what they’d like to be. For this purpose, we have combined some of those leadership activities that existed before early on in the program into a more formal launch initiative that includes two core courses, one on understanding general management and another on global . . . → Continue Reading]]> With just a few weeks to go before the October 5th Round 1 application deadline for London Business School (LBS), now is a great time to hear directly from the school’s admissions director himself about what sets its MBA program apart.

In the interview that follows, David Simpson, LBS associate director of marketing and admissions, highlights recent changes to the organization of the school’s curriculum, as well as the remarkable diversity of the LBS class. He also walks us through the admissions process step by step and provides some concrete pointers on how to write strong application essays, as well as how to prepare for the admissions interview.

So whether your already busy preparing your application for the upcoming Round 1 deadline or you’re considering adding the school to your target list for a later round, you won’t want to miss what Simpson has to say.

Clear Admit: What’s the single most exciting development, change or event happening at LBS this coming year?

David Simpson: There has been a lot going on at the school, so I guess this year I have a lot to talk about. We are very progressive in terms of looking at where we want to go and how we can have an impact on the way the world does business. We have spent the past year as an institution exploring our own values and what we think makes us special and unique. Together we have all examined what we like about this place and what makes it tick and what we really stand for.

The greatest development this year at LBS more reflects how we communicate with the world than it involves necessarily making any changes. We have had a program review of the MBA. Basically once every five years we look closely at the MBA program, taking time to appreciate what works really well and the kinds of things that have given us our Financial Times number one ranking. Obviously we want to keep those things, but like anything else, the MBA program has to adapt and change according to its environment. So this year the program director and faculty had the major job of looking at the MBA and making some changes to it.

What we tried to do was organize and structure our learning into themes, creating an overarching structure that would flow through in a sequence to help our students in the best possible way. Right from the start we have reordered some things and added a few new areas.

One is a Leadership Launch right at the beginning of the program. This is really about everyone taking a look at themselves and reflecting on what they have done and what they’d like to be. For this purpose, we have combined some of those leadership activities that existed before early on in the program into a more formal launch initiative that includes two core courses, one on understanding general management and another on global leadership assessment for managers.

As part of our reorganization, in the first year of the program the themes are based around analytical frameworks designed to let students build their skills, knowledge and insight. In the first term we are focusing on tools and techniques – accounting, finance, economics, etc. The second term is focused more on managing the organization with courses like marketing, operations and strategy. The third term we have entitled “Engaging with the World.” It involves looking at organizations in a global context and includes more practical application courses. Finally, we have also added a new course to the first year – a business, government and society course that looks at ethics, corporate social responsibility and regulation in government. In this course we have gathered together some preexisting areas and built on top of them. Having that within the first year shows our commitment to business and society and the fact that we want our students to make a real difference and have a profound, positive impact on the way they are doing business.

In the second year, the focus changes to become a lot more personal. It’s about developing the leadership skills and organizational skills to become a true leader. Students in their second year can choose from lots of electives. We are also adding a new area focused on global business. This will take the form of a compulsory, week-long international assignment that will entail spending time in a different country. Students will go out in groups on a week-long assignment, at the end of which they will produce a substantial piece of written work. Of course, students can also still choose to go on international exchange just as they always could. And LBS students also have to take a second language.

Under this new organization, the flexible exit points remain. So students can opt for a 15-, 18- or 21-month program. We have also added an LBS case competition. We found that students were entering lots of case competitions around the world and doing very well, so we decided to add our own case competition to the internal program. It will involve reviewing a case study and highlighting strategic challenges faced by real global companies. The case competition will take place toward the end of the second year, and that brings us into Capstone, which is the finale of the program.

So much of the new developments this year are really about restructuring, but there are also many new elements to the program designed to enhance that sense of a global education and make sure students have every opportunity to make the most of London. We will be having London talks and London business experiences, where we get high-profile business people to come in and talk about what they are doing. These and the London field work experiences are about doing more with being in this fantastic global center. We are building in opportunities to really leverage London, which I personally think is fantastic. We want to make sure our profile is extremely high in London, as it is in many other cities.

So much has been changing in these last few months with the program review. It has been an absolutely fantastic period to work at the school.

CA: What is the one area of your program that you wish applicants knew more about?

DS: I think this is a great opportunity for me to talk about what I really consider to be a differentiating factor at LBS, which is that we have this amazingly eclectic community of engaged students. All of our students are ambitious and courageous in what they are doing, and one thing I really want applicants to be aware of before they apply is the community of the school and that diverse nature.

We strive to highlight exactly how much the international and professional diversity of our MBA class adds to our participants’ learning experience. It is easy for any business school to talk about ‘being global,’ but making diversity work and maximizing value for students is less straightforward. At LBS, an MBA class can represent more than 60 nationalities with students bringing diverse professional backgrounds. We create a collaborative learning environment that includes study groups, classroom discussion and practical projects and provides a unique and challenging experience. The first-year study groups, for example, offer a challenging and yet supportive learning environment due to the outstanding caliber of each participant and the depth of personal and professional experience each brings (an average of 5.5 years work experience).

I will point out that often our many incoming students from corporate business backgrounds will underestimate how much they will learn from their more ‘non-traditional’ peers…and then the MBA starts and they find out exactly why each individual was recruited. We work hard to ensure that every single student will have something special to offer to his or her classmates – which is why our MBA class is as likely to include concert pianists and plastic surgeons as it is to include bankers and traders. Our thorough and competitive admissions process helps us to recruit such talented individuals.

But this year, in addition to the remarkable diversity of the LBS class, I also want prospective applicants to know about those curriculum changes I spoke about earlier so they can really see the extra areas we are putting into the program. This year I want prospective applicants to pay attention to the revised curriculum and also that flow within the school, the direction we are taking and our ambitions to truly embrace and showcase global business.

CA: Walk us through the life of an application in your office from an operational standpoint. What happens between the time an applicant clicks ‘submit’ and the time the committee offers a final decision (e.g. how many “reads” does it get, how long is each “read,” who reads it, does the committee convene to discuss it as a group, etc.). 

DS: Like many schools we have a staged admissions process, but we run ours over a fairly long season. Our first deadline is in October, with offers made in December. Our final deadline is at the end of April, with offers made in July. Although we expect applicants to carry out a lot of research, which takes time and effort (often including a campus visit at some point in the process), we are aware that candidates’ personal and professional circumstances can change rapidly, affecting their application submission.

Online applications are downloaded after the admission deadline, printed out and additional documentation added. Admissions team members will then read the application and decide if the candidate is to be granted an interview or not. Nobody joins the LBS MBA class without having been through a face-to-face alumni interview. We find that alumni interviews offer us a consistently high standard of detailed feedback from the perspective of someone who has gone through the program themselves. Interviews offer candidates we considered to be “borderline” for some reason a chance to shine. After all, when it comes to gaining post-MBA employment, it is the all-round package of knowledge, experience, intellect, personality and charisma that will get you a job. Because interviews are carried out in locations all around the world, usually wherever candidates are based, they add the benefit of local market/cultural knowledge.

Senior admissions staff may follow up with a secondary interview in certain cases where we require further information in order to make a final decision.

Once the alumni interview results are added to an application, our Admissions Committee makes its final decision. The committee makes decisions on applications from each of our four admissions stages, managing a waitlist throughout. This enables us to select the highest caliber individuals to create the best possible culturally and professionally diverse class. It is a very long and involved process and we utilize all stages of the admissions schedule to add individuals from different backgrounds and craft the best all-round “perfect class.”

In terms of any shifts in the application process in the past year, I will say that we spend increasing amounts of time having to pick between some fantastic applicants. We received roughly the same number of applications last year as the previous year, which reflects a leveling off from an upward trend that had characterized the past several years. But even as volume has leveled off, the quality of the applicants has continued to increase, so it is getting harder to pick between people.

We have continued to set in place systems and measures so we can select the very best for our program, and we continue to focus a lot on the alumni interview and have carefully honed the guidance we give alumni in terms of what we are looking for.  We have also changed the essays we ask people to complete slightly to make sure they really reflect the values we want in the school. There could be some fantastic candidate who would be great for another top MBA program but might not be quite right for us or vice versa, and so by trying to insert more of our values into the essays we are looking for an even better fit. We are also trying to gather a bit more information about individual applicants as well, giving them more opportunities to tell us more about what they stand for.

CA: How does your team approach the essay portion of the application specifically? What are you looking for as you read the essays? Are there common mistakes that applicants should try to avoid? One key thing they should keep in mind as they sit down to write them?

DS: We read everything we ask for very carefully. Essays are an applicant’s chance to tell their story, describing why they wish to study for an MBA at this stage of their career. Essays add color and depth to the basic core facts and timelines given in a resume and application. Candidates should make sure they research each school they apply to in detail, using all the resources offered by schools and organizations like Clear Admit before sitting down to write their essays. Each school has its own identity and personality, and candidates need to exhibit an understanding of that. Remember that the full application, including the essays, is passed on to the alumni interviewer, who will focus in on certain areas. So be prepared to talk in depth on any topic you wrote about. When submitting any business school application – be honest, be thorough, be self-aware and be excited about your chosen school.

That’s all the detail I am prepared to give you on how to answer our essays…it is for you to interpret what you think London Business School Admissions Committee wants to read in your essays. Good luck!

In his session, Richmond will focus on how prospective applicants should develop an appropriate list of target MBA programs as they begin their application process. The session will help participants sort through the avalanche of information they receive about the “best” business schools – from rankings and books to forums and Facebook – to determine which programs are really best suited to them.

Richmond’s presentation will take place on Monday, September 19th, from 4 to 5 p.m. EST. As with the entire GMATCH Virtual MBA Fair, Richmond’s presentation is free to student participants who complete a simple online registration form. To register, click here.

Other scheduled events in the GMATCH line-up include a range of panel discussions featuring admissions staff, alumni and current students addressing topics such as the value of an MBA, top mistakes applicants make and business schools in Asia.

There also will be a special session devoted to the GMAT exam, in which Eric Chambers of the Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC), which owns the GMAT exam, will help explain to prospective applicants what the test does and doesn’t measure and what it tells schools about you. Chambers will unpack some common GMAT myths and offer advice on how students can prepare to do their best on test day.

In addition to these events, more than 60 business schools will have virtual booths as part of the online fair, providing prospective applicants with an opportunity to interact face to face with admissions representatives via webcam. Participating schools include the Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley, London Business School, UCLA Anderson School of Management, UVA’s Darden School of Business, Indian School of Business, Nanyang Business School and many more.

Some of the top schools are already on the road, so we recommend looking into the travel schedules for programs of interest and planning accordingly. Keeping in mind that these schedules are updated and amended throughout the fall, here are some of the top programs’ itineraries for the months ahead:

Berkeley / Haas: https://ssl.haas.berkeley.edu/Admissions/Events/index.cfm

Chicago Booth: http://www.chicagobooth.edu/fulltime/admissions/events/

Columbia: http://www0.gsb.columbia.edu/events

Duke / Fuqua: https://www.fuquaworld.duke.edu/www/public/infosess_all_view.jsp

HBS: http://www.hbs.edu/mba/admissions/events.html

Northwestern / Kellogg: http://bit.ly/Zrg7b

Michigan / Ross: http://www.bus.umich.edu/Admissions/Mba/forumsreceptions/RossReceptions.htm

MIT / Sloan: http://mitsloan.mit.edu/academic/events.php

Stanford GSB: http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/mba/outreach/info_sessions.html

NYU / Stern: http://w4.stern.nyu.edu/admissions/cgibin/sched_events.cgi

Dartmouth / Tuck: http://www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/admissions/events.html

UCLA / Anderson: http://www.anderson.ucla.edu/x27229.xml

UNC / Kenan Flagler: http://www.kenan-flagler.unc.edu/Programs/MBA/infoSessions/index.cfm

UVA / Darden: https://apply.darden.virginia.edu/admissions/events/EventsSchedule.tap?sp=103

U Penn / Wharton: http://www.wharton.upenn.edu/mba/admissions/admission-events.cfm

Yale SOM: http://mba.yale.edu/MBA/admissions/events.shtml

IESE: http://www.iese.edu/aplicaciones/emba/events/events_emba.asp?lang=en

IMD: http://www.imd.ch/programs/mba/infosessions/index.cfm

INSEAD: http://www.insead.edu/mba/offevents/index.cfm?fuseaction=offcampus

LBS: http://www.london.edu/programmes/infoevents/do?progSelect=MBA&locationSelect=

Stage 1 Application Deadline – October 5, 2011 Interview Invitation Sent – November 4, 2011 Admissions Decision Sent – December 15, 2011

Stage 2 Application Deadline – January 5, 2012 Interview Invitation Sent – February 10, 2012 Admissions Decision Sent – March 29, 2012

Stage 3 Application Deadline – March 1, 2012 Interview Invitation Sent – April 5, 2012 Admissions Decision Sent – May 15, 2012

Stage 4 Application Deadline – April 18, 2012 Interview Invitation Sent – May 25, 2012 Admissions Decision Sent – June 28, 2012

The 2011-2012 application essay questions are as follows:

Question 1 (500 words) Please discuss your career progress to date and explain why now is the right time to undertake an MBA at London Business School?

Question 2 (300 words) Where do you see your career progressing five years after graduation and what is your longer term career vision?

Question 3 (250 words) Give a specific example of when you have had to test your leadership and team working skills. Given this experience what role will you play in a first year study group?

Question 4 (300 words) Student involvement is an extremely important part of the London Business School MBA experience and this is reflected in the character of students on campus. Please describe how you will contribute to student clubs and the community and why?

Question 5 (250 words) London Business School offers a truly global and diverse experience. Describe any significant experiences outside of your home country or culture. What did you gain and how will your experience contribute to London Business School?

Question 6 (250 words) Considering what you have already included in the application, what else would you like to tell us about yourself?  You can approach this question however you like.

Question 7 (300 words) (This question is for re-applicants only) How has your candidacy for the London Business School MBA improved since your last application? Have your views of London Business School or the MBA programme changed since you last applied?

Applicants should note that any extra words  written beyond the stated word limits may be disregarded. For more information, visit the LBS admissions website.