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CATEGORY - SCHOOL: MIT / SLOAN

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.”

Monday, November 03, 2008

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Trivia Tuesday: Innovation and Independent Activities at MIT Sloan

Welcome to another edition of Trivia Tuesday, where we examine differences in the programs, resources, and opportunities offered by the leading business schools. Today we’re turning our attention to two unique aspects of the academic year at MIT Sloan: the mid-semester Sloan Innovation Periods and the mid-year Independent Activities Period.

The Sloan Innovation Period, or SIP, takes place for a week at the midpoint of each semester. The SIP was introduced to the curriculum to provide an opportunity for all Sloan students and faculty members to explore interests in ways not possible within the standard framework of courses. All classes and activities stop for the week while faculty members organize seminars and other activities designed to provide students with opportunities for hands-on leadership experiences and exposure to the latest research of Sloan professors. Past areas of study include explorations of individual learning styles, social network analysis for managers, value chain roadmapping, and globalization, development & standards. Participation in SIP is required of both first- and second-year students as part of the MBA graduation requirements and most Sloan students report that they appreciate the opportunity to step back and reflect on their learning while exploring topics outside the curriculum.

In addition, while other MBA students are home in January, resting up for the second half of the school year, students at MIT Sloan use the winter break to explore new topics and make new connections on campus. Every winter break at MIT, students, faculty, staff and alumni across the Institute are able to use the special four-week January term to organize or participate in a wide range of activities. Included as part of tuition, the Independent Activities Period, or IAP, offerings typically include how-to sessions, lectures, tours, recitals, athletic events, forums and films. Since members of the MIT community are responsible for proposing and organizing IAP events, the available activities change depending on the interests of the MIT campus at large.

Because the IAP is open to all members of the MIT community, the month-long session gives Sloan students an opportunity to form connections with students and faculty outside of the business school. This kind of extended opportunity for campus-wide interaction is unique to MIT Sloan among the leading business schools. These connections may help create many of the business/science partnerships that underlie MIT Sloan’s reputation as a center for the commercialization of new technologies.

For more information on unusual academic opportunities available to MBA students, be sure to visit the schools’ websites or check out the special programs featured in the Clear Admit School Guides!

Friday, October 10, 2008

Citibank Cancels CitiAssist Student Loan Program at Several Business Schools

A piece in the Economix column of the New York Times earlier this week called attention to troubling news regarding the impact of the current credit crisis on the availablility of student loans to MBA students, particularly private loans administered through the CitiAssist program for international students.

The piece, entitled “Credit Crisis Is Bad News for M.B.A. Students” excerpted an email message sent to students Monday at MIT Sloan School of Management. According to that message, Citibank has exercised its 30-day option to cancel the CitiAssist custom student loan program with MIT Sloan, effective November 2, 2008.

The Economix column went on to explain that students who have already had their loans processed and approved by Citibank appear to be safe, but that those who still need to secure financing face greater problems. “The school is now helping students scramble to find alternate financing,” the Times reported.

The problem is not limited to MIT Sloan. The CitiAssist program is also ending at the Ross School at the University of Michigan, according to the school’s own website.

Information listed on the Ross site about the CitiAssist program indicates that of the 3,500 University of Michigan students who took out private loans in 2007, 68 percent did so through the CitiAssist program. But a bulleted point highlighted in red in the program description reads, “This loan program will end on 11/02/08. Priority date for applications is 10/15/08. Applications received after this date may not be processed.”

In a phone interview this morning, Randall Sawyer, dean of admissions for the Johnson School of Business at Cornell University, said that as he understands it, Citibank has removed its CitiAssist program from all of its schools for international students without a domestic cosigner. Harvard Business School and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania have also historically been part of the CitiAssist program.

“It’s affecting us, though not on a huge scale,” Sawyer said, indicating that schools with greater numbers of international students could be facing a larger-scale problem. “It’s certainly something that we are talking about though,” he continued.

According to Sawyer, even students who have secured funding for this year may still be unsure about whether they will find funding for next year. “At this point we don’t have any official release about the situation,” he said, but he indicated that Johnson would do its best to help students find alternate sources of funding.

Clear Admit plans to stay on top of this unfolding situation as it impacts prospective MBA applicants. Watch this space for more details as they become available.

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Business Schools Continue to Focus on Financial Crisis

With the nation squarely focused on the state of the economy and Congressional negotiations toward a bailout plan waging on, business schools, too, have kept the financial crisis at the forefront of their communications.

Harvard Business School’s Admission Director Dee Leopold yesterday posted an entry on her blog directed toward prospective applicants wondering how the current economic situation will impact upcoming admissions volumes and cycles.

According to Leopold, the Admissions Office at HBS has been receiving a new array of questions given the climate of uncertainty in the financial markets. Questions have ranged from whether or not HBS intends to increase the size of next year’s class and/or the number of admits from financial services in light of higher application volume to whether prospective candidates who are unemployed will be at a disadvantage.

The class size next year will not increase, remaining at roughly 900 students, Leopold says. As to increasing the number of admits from financial services, Leopold’s answer was less precise. “Not necessarily,” she said. “Our goal is to compose a class which represents many different kinds of diversity, of which professional experience is only one element.” But there are not strict quotas that govern industry or geographical targets, so the overall class profile could shift some in the coming year.

Applicants who find themselves unemployed will not be at a disadvantage, Leeopold assures. “We realize that these are unusual times and that many strong contributors may find themselves in this situation,” she says.

To view the full list of questions and Leopold’s answers, click here.

Schools Offer Support to Alumni
MIT Sloan and Wharton, meanwhile, have each reached out to their alumni bases via email to remind them that school career services, networks and support are available to those within the alumni community who may need them.

“Whether you are employed by a fledging new venture, a not-for-profit service or one of the firms in the headlines, these services are there for you,” wrote MIT Sloan Dean David Schmittlein in an email address to alumni earlier this week. Schmittlein also encouraged alumni who are in a position to provide support to other alums in need to get in touch with the school.

Dean Tom Robertson of the Wharton School at the University of Pennyslvania issued a similar statement to that school’s alumni on Monday, listing a range of resources available to alumni in need of support and encouraging others who might be in a hiring position to post job opportunities at no cost on the Wharton Job Board.

Roberston also noted that Wharton faculty led a teach-in on campus on September 16th about the unfolding financial situation attended by more than 1,000 students. Videos of that day’s panelists are available for viewing at this link.

The University of Chicago Graduate School of Business also reached out to its alumni, including convening a dinner in New York in the immediate aftermath of the Lehman bankruptcy announcement for members of the 2008 class who had accepted offers with the firm.

“As soon as we heard the news, we reached out to the ‘08s who had just graduated in June,” explained Julie Morton, associate dean of career services at Chicago GSB. According to Morton, 26 members of the 2008 Chicago class had accepted offers with Lehman, some in Chicago and New York and others in London and Asia.

Morton and Stacey Kole, dean of Chicago’s full-time MBA program, flew to New York to have dinner with the Lehman students there on September 19th. “At that point the whole Barclays deal had been announced and they were waiting to see,” Morton explained, most having just completed training a week earlier and not yet started their rotational programs.

“They were in a state of limbo, and we were really just reminding them that we were here from them,” Morton said.

“At this point quite honestly I’m not sure they are going to need a lot of new job support,” Morton said in a phone interview earlier this week. “I think for the most part they will land on their feet with the acquisition,” she said, “but I think it meant a lot to them to know that we are there.”

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 04, 2008

Economic Uncertainty, Increased International Student Interest Keeps MBA Application Volume Soaring

Business schools are experiencing the second-largest surge in application volume since 2002, according to the most recent research out of the Granduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC), which administers the GMAT exam.

GMAC’s 2008 Application Trends Survey reveals that 77 percent of business schools surveyed reported an increase in application volume this year, up from 64 percent in 2007. The jump represents the largest increase in five years.

The current economy only serves to make the value proposition of an MBA even stronger, according to GMAC President and CEO Dave Wilson. “Going to business school is one of the best ways to improve your marketability and expand your options anytime – but especially in this challenging economic climate,” he told the Financial Times.

According to a report in BusinessWeek citing the GMAC survey, the greatest surge has been among mid-tier business schools, such as Penn State’s Smeal College of Business and Babson College’s F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business, which have seen an increase of between 35 and 40 percent in applications received this year over last.

But the admissions offices at top-tier schools, too, have been flooded. MIT’s Sloan School of Management saw a 28 percent increase in application volume in 2008, and NYU’s Stern School of Business was up 20 percent, receiving its second-highest number of applications on record, according to BusinessWeek. 

Strong interest from international students – for whom a U.S. business school education presents even greater value thanks to the faltering dollar – also has helped fuel the application surge, GMAC reports. Last year, 54 percent of students applying to full-time MBA programs were students from outside the school’s home country.

Citing further projected economic changes and GMAT test-taking patterns, the survey results indicate that the coming year may hold even greater application volume before a slowdown begins.

So far, application volume to full-time MBA programs has been rising at the fastest clip, but GMAC’s Wilson predicts that part-time and executive MBA programs will be the next to see a significant jump. “As the slowdown in the economy continues, we’re going to see a shift to the part-time prrams because people aren’t going to want to leave work if they have a good job,” he told BusinessWeek.

GMAC has not yet released the full 2008 Application Trend Survey results to the public. To view the 2007 results, which help provide some context and a holistic view of major survey results, click here.

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

MIT Sloan Launches New Masters Degree Program in Finance

Responding to student and industry demand for a more specialized approach to business education, the MIT Sloan School of Management this week revealed details about a new masters in finance degree program it plans to add beginning next September.

According to an article in the Financial Times, the new 12-month program, which targets aspiring traders, investment bankers and money managers, is part of a trend in U.S. business education toward a more practically oriented curriculum.

“The fundamental way this program changes [management education] is that it suggests one-size-fits-all is no longer good enough,” MIT Sloan Dean David Schmittlein told the FT. Schmittlein, who joined MIT last year, has been championing changes in management education – including a reduced focus on the MBA as the gold standard – since he arrived.

“We have been slow to appreciate that different people want different things and we need to get serious about customizing education to the individual’s experience, background and where they want their career to go,” Schmittlein continued.

According to the FT article, students and Wall Street alike, especially amid the recent credit crunch and stock market downturn, have been seeking programs and graduates with advanced training in finance.

Jackie Rosner, a Sloan alumnus who as a director at BNP Paribas now recruits graduating MBAs, views it as a trend that will only accelerate in the future. “Doctors have to get a medical degree, lawyers need a law degree. Why shouldn’t finance practitioners be required to have a degree in finance?” he asked the FT.

“The generic MBA will still have a function, but I could see a future where the masters of science degree in finance becomes the preferred path,” Rosner continued.

The new Sloan program anticipates a modest initial class of 25 students next year, eventually growing to 60 participants. The program will help Sloan, with its relatively small MBA program of roughly 350 students, to further distinguish itself in the b-school world, according to the FT.

Building on Sloan’s established reputation in finance, the new program will feature a “focused hands-on” approach, according to Professor Jiang Wang, who will serve as its faculty advisor. Students will complete research projects for financial firms that will help them learn practical industry skills, such as how to design a risk management system for a structured product.

The rollout of the new finance masters program is just the latest in a series of changes Schmittlein has implemented since his appointment as dean last fall. Earlier this year, he announced a restructuring of the Sloan MBA core, reducing the required courses from a full year to a single semester.

Both are part of Schmittlein’s push to make MIT’s offerings more akin to those of European business schools, many of which feature a one-year MBA program and a greater emphasis on specialization than general management education. Case in point, Cambridge’s Judge School of Business launched its own masters of finance degree program last November.

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 29, 2008

MIT Sloan, Bank of America Partner to Drive Innovation in Financial Services

Bank of America announced this week that it will partner with the MIT Sloan School of Management’s Laboratory for Financial Engineering (LFE) to use cutting-edge financial analysis to drive innovation in financial services.

Funding from Bank of America will support multiple quantitative research efforts at the LFE involving computational finance, quantitative analytics and risk-reward tradeoffs. The collaboration promises Bank of America an early look at game-changing research important to both banking activities and customer experience.

“Bank of America is investing in the future of banking,” Susan Faulkner, Deposits & Student Lending executive at Bank of America, said in a statement announcing the collaboration. “We believe that the results of our collaboration with MIT Sloan will have long-range significance for changing the face of banking as our customers know it.”

MIT Sloan Professor Andrew Lo, a leading figure in financial theory and practice, will direct the new research agenda. With information provided by the Bank, the LFE will be able to develop and analyze theoretical models of the current market environment, including the recent turmoil in credit markets and the hedge-fund industry, Lo said.

“We seek to engage in research that is both rigorous and relevant,” Lo continued. “The best way to do that is by working directly with industry to take on research challenges that have significant implications for both theory and practice.”

The new collaboration between Bank of America and MIT Sloan’s LFE is part of the Center for Future Banking, which was established at the MIT Media Lab in March.

To learn more about the Laboratory for Financial Engineering at MIT Sloan, 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.

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

MBA Application Volume Continues to Rise

Reports from a range of sources indicate that MBA application volume continues to climb, outpacing previous seasons both in the United States and around the globe.

According to Wharton’s MBA Admissions Blog, the Philadelphia school received more than 7,000 applications this year. Because of the unusually high volume, “we were forced to deny many fine applicants who would do well at Wharton and who would contribute to the community,” the Admissions Committee wrote.

In fact, because so many candidates were turned away this year, Wharton hosted a series of online chats this summer about the reapplication process, the last of which took place earlier this week. The chats were part of an effort to provide tips to applicants hoping to try again, since Wharton is unable to provide individualized feedback to the applicants it doesn’t accept.

Boston-area schools, too, report a significant uptick in applications this year. According to an article in the Boston Herald, Harvard Business School (HBS) is reporting that applications for this fall’s incoming class surged by almost 16 percent, to 8,600.

Deidre Leopold, director of MBA admissions at HBS, attributes the increase to the current economic downturn. Two years ago, when the economy was not as bad, HBS saw an applicant volume increase of 10 percent, she told the Herald. And at a recruitment conference in New York in the spring, she reports that more than half those in the “full to capacity” audience cited uncertainties in their economic lives as part of what was making them consider an MBA.

According to the Herald report, other Boston-area schools are also reporting double-digit increases over last year, with MIT’s Sloan School of Management showing the largest jump: 28 percent.

Test-taking volume stats from the Graduate Management Admissions Council, which administers the GMAT exam, tell much the same story. Year-to-date figures through July 31, 2008, reveal a steady increase both in the number of people registering for and taking the exam.

Worldwide, test registration volume rose to 167,692, an 11.69 percent increase over the number of registrations recorded during the same period in 2007 and the largest volume on record for any years studied. Testing volume, meanwhile, rose to 140,638 worldwide, an 11.98 percent increase over last year and also the largest recorded volume for any years previously studied.

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

Trivia Tuesday: Scheduling the Academic Year at Chicago, Kellogg, MIT Sloan, Stanford, Tuck, and Wharton

It’s time again for Trivia Tuesday, our weekly examination of the policies and programs that influence the student experience at the leading business schools. This week we turn our attention to an important yet often overlooked feature of MBA programs: the academic calendar. Though not a factor most applicants take into account, a school’s academic calendar can impact the number of classes students take, the timing of the recruiting season, and when students need to begin and end their summer internships – not to mention how much down-time students have during the school year.

Most schools use a version of either the semester or quarter system to organize the academic year. For instance, Wharton’s academic calendar is based on the traditional semester system, with fall semester classes running from early September to mid-December and spring semester classes taking place from mid- January through mid-May. In addition to the extended break between the fall and spring semesters, students also have off for several days in October and in March.

MIT Sloan’s academic calendar is also organized around a semester system, but the school makes several distinctive adjustments. For instance, MIT Sloan breaks up each thirteen-week semester in the following manner: six weeks of classes, a one week “innovation period” and then the remaining six weeks of classes. Moreover, an optional four-week January term between the fall and spring semesters provides an opportunity for students to participate in a variety of credit and non-credit activities.

Although the semester system is the norm at the majority of colleges and universities in the United States, many leading business schools have opted to use the quarter system instead. The quarter system is said to have been invented by William Rainey Harper, the first President of the University of Chicago, as a means of exposing students to more material than the traditional semester system allows. The quarter-based calendar is used by all schools at the University of Chicago, as well as business schools such as Kellogg, Stanford and Tuck.

Under a quarter system, the standard academic year takes place across the autumn, winter and spring terms; since most MBA students participate in an internship between their first and second years, enrollment in summer quarter courses is not typical.

As a result of the quarter system, the academic calendar at Chicago, Kellogg, Stanford, and Tuck differs from those of other leading business schools. Students in the quarter system tend to start classes later, often in mid-September, have more short breaks, and finish the academic year later than their peers in semester systems. Spring quarter exams typically conclude in early- or late-June under the quarter system, which is 2-4 weeks after the end of classes at schools such as Wharton or Harvard. The late end of the spring quarter can impact summer planning for first-year students, since many internships begin in mid-June.

Overall, the semester system allows for a slightly longer winter break and an earlier start to summer, while maximizing the length of time students spend in each course. On the other hand, the quarter system generally allows for a later start to the school year and, by increasing the number of terms in the year, increases the number of courses a student can take. Although most students will be successful under either calendar system, some applicants may find one of the designs a better fit for their personality, goals or work habits. For more information on the organization of the academic year and its impact on students, be sure to check out the Clear Admit School Guides!

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Trivia Tuesday: International Orientation Programs at HBS, MIT Sloan and Tuck

Welcome to another edition of Trivia Tuesday! Each week in this column we examine the programs, policies, resources and opportunities of the leading business schools with the goal of highlighting distinctive aspects of the student experience. Following up on our recent articles on pre-term and orientation programs, this week we turn our attention to programs for international students beginning their MBA studies in the United States, with a focus on the resources offered by Harvard, MIT Sloan and Tuck.

Most international orientation programs are held on campus in the week or two before all first-year students are required to arrive. In general, these programs offer an introduction to U.S. culture, an overview of the academic expectations of the MBA program, and workshops in written and oral English language skills.

For instance, in addition to the standard orientation for all students, Tuck offers a five-day International Orientation Program that is highly recommended for international students who have not previously lived or worked in the United States. Held the week before the school-wide Orientation, students in the program engage with Tuck faculty, staff and teaching assistants to become familiar with the case-study method, the standards expected in verbal and written communications, and how to work on teams with people from other backgrounds and cultures. The Career Development Office also leads workshops on resume writing, interviewing and networking. Likewise, for international students with little prior experience in the U.S., MIT Sloan’s two week Communication and Culture workshop in mid-August provides an introduction to Sloan’s classroom environment and to U.S. business and social norms.

Meanwhile, Harvard Business School offers one of the longest international orientations among its peers. The school’s Pre-MBA International Program is a five-week course during which students from abroad are introduced not only to life in Boston and at HBS, but also to the basics of the case method. Outside experts are brought to the campus to speak to international students about writing, business English, and publication skills, after which attendees participate in several mock-case discussions to prepare them for the pace and tenor of class sessions.

For international students concerned about making the transition to business school and to the U.S., these specialized orientations are a great resource. Participants at all schools report that in addition to learning about the academic environment and brushing up on language skills, the international orientations are also a wonderful way to meet fellow international students and to start building a network of business school friendships. For more information on orientations, pre-term programs, and resources for international students, be sure to talk with current students or to check out the Clear Admit School Guides!

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

MIT / Sloan Essay Topic Analysis 2008-2009

While MIT’s MBA essays and essay format have been among the most consistent of the top MBA programs’ over the past few years, with its cover letter and four pointed situational questions, the school has introduced a few interesting changes this year. The school now requests that applicants include an account of a time they had an impact on a group or organization in the cover letter, which previously focused solely on candidates’s general career path and reasons for applying to MIT. Meanwhile, the school has introduced an open ended question encouraging applicants to share anything else they would like the admissions committee to know - or at least as much as they can convey in 250 words.

The majority of the questions, though, have remained the same since last year. The essays’ main focus continues to be on negative or challenging circumstances, the sorts of situations asked about are consistent - impact, negotiation, persuasion, and execution. The first three questions are entirely open in terms of the origin of the examples the applicant can use - work, current activities and even appropriate personal stories are fair game here. The key will be to show the adcom how you behave given different pressures and objectives by touching upon all of the points about thoughts, feelings, words and actions. It’s important to note that the philosophy behind Sloan’s approach is that past behavior is a reliable predictor of future behavior, so it will be wise to select examples that show you at your best.

Cover Letter: Prepare a cover letter (up to 500 words) seeking a place in the MIT Sloan MBA Program. Describe your accomplishments and include an example of how you had an impact on a group or organization. Your letter should conform to standard business correspondence and be addressed to Mr. Rod Garcia, Director of MBA Admissions.
Rod Garcia has long likened the MBA application process to the recruiting process; MBA aspirants, just like job applicants, need to demonstrate that they know how to market themselves. This is why the school requires a cover letter as part of their application.

As you approach this assignment, keep in mind that many of the standard cover letter themes need to be discussed - your attributes and skills, why you are interested in joining the ‘company’ (MIT/Sloan), and what you feel you could contribute. These certainly intersect with the ideas covered by other schools’ “career goals” essays, so much so that it may be tempting to simply tack a greeting onto the beginning of a career goals essay you’ve prepared for another program. MIT’s request for these ideas in cover letter format, however, actually makes it very easy to spot recycled material, so it’s important that you tailor your response to the school’s unique process. A potential outline for this essay might open with a ‘greeting’ to the committee followed by a statement of your interest in MIT and what you would bring to the school, then a short statement of your career goals with a summary of the ways in which your experience to date has prepared you, then a “why MIT” section explaining why it is the best place for you in terms of what you need from an MBA and your fit with the school, concluding with a thank you.

With the addition of the “impact” angle this year, there’s a good deal of ground to cover in this essay. The best way to satisfy this requirement might be to build a brief professional accomplishment into the overall career background narrative. It will also be important to conduct a fair amount of research on the program in order to efficiently reference the most relevant programs and offerings. Taking the time to learn about MIT’s curriculum, special programs and extracurricular activities - whether through a visit to campus, conversation with alumni or reading the Clear Admit School Guide to Sloan - will pay dividends here.

Essay 1: Please tell us about a challenging interaction you had with a person or group. (500 words or less, limited to one page)
A repeat from previous years, this question is designed to extract not only information about how the applicant acts when faced with a challenge, but also about what sorts of interactions, situations and perhaps even personalities the candidate finds challenging. It’s therefore a good idea to think about what a potential example might say about you and your interpersonal style and preferences before drafting this essay.

Essay 2: Please tell us about a time when you defended your idea. (500 words or less, limited to one page)
This question was also part of last year’s essay topics. The adcom is clearly interested in how potential students handle opposition, as well as how effectively they are able to take an unpopular stance and hold their ground. Some background about the situation and the reason you believed in your idea will naturally be necessary here, but the bulk of your response should focus on your thoughts, feelings and actions during the defense.

Essay 3: Please tell us about a time when you executed a plan. (500 words or less, limited to one page)
Though it would be ideal to select a story in which the execution of the p