Several impressions and take-aways for applicants from the different events and sessions:

MIT Sloan Panels:

From the MIT panels it is clear that MIT is looking for demonstrated success academically and professionally.  The latter translates into success or professional progression that is better than the norm for your peers. In terms of those fuzzy attributes and personal characteristics that schools talk about, Sloan wants to see drive; an ability to build relationships and influence others;  and the establishment, pursuit and achievement of goals.  A few details about the individual programs:

1. 100% of the MFin grads have jobs this year, this program’s inaugural graduating class.
2. The EMBA is a program for those in mid-management with a demonstrated record of success who either want to advance in their career or make a slight career change without leaving their job.  Neither sponsorship nor the GMAT is required. (the latter may be requested if MIT has questions about the applicant’s quant skills.)
3. The LGO program focuses on managing the global production and distribution of goods and services. It is a joint, quant-heavy 24-month program between MIT Sloan and MIT’s School of Engineering. Participants earn both an MBA and an MS in Engineering.

We also heard two presentations by MIT Sloan professors. If you have any doubt that MIT Sloan is serious about innovation and global reach, abandon them. The creativity and global impact evident in just these two hours would force you to reshape your views.

Impressions from Conference Day 2 (Multiple presentations by various schools reps)

• Schools and admissions committee members look at different elements when they evaluate an application.  Pay attention to the nuances.
• Your informal and personally identifiable interactions with school admissions personnel are highly revealing. They COUNT! Arrogance at any point in time is a death knell for your application (and most relationships too.) Rudeness to a receptionist is a ding. What qualities impress positively? In your essays and interviews, reveal dignity, generosity of spirit, self-awareness, authenticity, and consideration of others. These qualities cannot be faked or “spun.”
• Regarding financial aid, merit aid tends to go to the top X% based on academic stats. Generally, when evaluating fellowship essays, the readers do not refer to your application essays. Poor credit can prevent you from obtaining the loans necessary for you to attend the school of your dreams if merit aid and your resources don’t cover the tab; get your credit in order before you apply.
• Regarding career development, the MBA employment picture improved throughout 2009-10. Read the employment reports for schools before you decide to apply and certainly before you decide to attend; you need to know school strengths as revealed in these reports. Understand the role of the career services staff (educating students about effective career planning and job search) and the limitations of that role. (They don’t create or find jobs for you.) Networking, which is about building relationships not the size of your contact list, is more important than ever. In order to build relationships, you must move beyond email.

Harvard Business School

At Harvard, we enjoyed an interactive two-hour presentation that was stimulating and engaging. To the extent it reflected the dynamism of the Harvard educational experience, I was extremely impressed.

This visit clarified for me that Harvard’s unparalleled brand is not just a matter of US News Rankings or smoke-and-mirrors branding.  At the same time, HBS is not for everyone, but like any top graduate program, it can be a fantastic experience for the right individuals.

Before the conference started my husband and I met with an acquaintance who is a professor at HBS. The professor was curious about my work, and I was curious about his. He asked me what I believe distinguishes Harvard students from the rest of the applicant pool. I thought for a moment and replied, “Leadership and impact.” He smiled, and the conversation moved on. Just before leaving, I asked him, “From your perspective as an HBS professor, what is a common quality shared by HBS students?” He replied, “I smiled when you answered my question because the students come from incredibly diverse backgrounds. However, if I have to identify a common thread, it would be leadership and impact.” If you are serious about attending Harvard Business School, make sure you demonstrate leadership and impact.

Reflections and Thank yous

It is our job as admissions consultants to help you choose the best target programs and show that you  belong at your chosen schools. The candor and graciousness shown by the hosting schools as well as by the presenting admissions directors will help Accepted’s staff do exactly that.

I am proud to report that Accepted’s staff was well represented at  the conference. In addition to myself, Jennifer Bloom, Paul Bodine, Judy Gruen, Tanis Kmetyk, Cindy Tokumitsu, and Robbie Walker attended.

Profound thanks to the hosts and presenters as well as to AIGAC, led by Graham Richmond of Clear Admit, and specifically to Maxx Duffy of Maxx Associates and Anna Ivey of Ivey Consulting who co-chaired the event. Thanks also to the sponsors: Veritas Prep, Clear Admit, Hult International Business School, Manhattan GMAT, MBA Podcaster, and Zoom Interviews

Learn More: Best MBA Programs: A Guide to Choosing the One for You.

By Linda Abraham, President and Founder of Accepted.com.

Looking at the 2011 MIT Sloan EMBA essay questions holistically, it’s clear that they seek to draw out a person who, assuming basic qualifications, is focused and self-aware, and also confident and mature enough to change and adapt when warranted.  The questions convey a balance of broad and specific.  The statement of purpose and essay 1 present a more conceptual challenge, and essays 2 and 3 probe your ability to take action and then identify and communicate your motivations and rationale for it.  Another way these essays summon a holistic perspective is in asking you to discuss your purpose for pursuing the EMBA, which presumably relates to your future goals, followed in the last question by a request to identify a time that you have pursued, and met a goal (albeit organizational).  Given how these essays interrelate, I suggest sketching out your topics for each and ensuring that they resonate as a whole before writing.  For example, for the objective you portray in the statement of purpose, you might select stories for essays 2 and/or 3 that amplify some experience, knowledge, skill, or quality that would support that objective.  Finally, note that the essays enable you to discuss either all professional topics or a mix of work and non-work.

• A statement of purpose, indicating your qualifications and why you are pursuing the MIT Sloan MBA for Executives. (500 words or less, limited to one page)

I suggest starting by conceptualizing the second part of this question (why you are pursuing the MBA) first.  Presumably the reason relates to your professional goals and objectives.  However, do not focus only what you want to do, i.e., become the CIO, but rather on what you want to accomplish for the organization and/or its customers/market – the former will be competent and acceptable, the latter will be exciting and will have a better chance of  turning your readers into your cheerleaders.  This goals/objectives portion should be succinct.  The details come in the next portion: how the goals/objectives require the learning that the Sloan MBA for Executives will provide.

In selecting the qualifications to discuss, remember that the adcom will have your resume.  Hence, you don’t have to present all your qualifications.  Select those that (a) are really distinctive and relevant to the MBA and/or (b) support your goals directly or indirectly. Have a short point to make about each, such as the insight it lends or its influence on you.

Three essays (all three are required of all candidates):

• The educational mission of the MIT Sloan School of Management is to “develop principled, innovative leaders who improve the world.” Please discuss how you will contribute toward advancing this mission. (500 words or less, limited to one page)

This is a relatively open question.  Early in the essay, briefly convey what “improving the world” means to you, creating context. For the “how,” you can discuss factors outside of work as well as work-related.  There is a danger lurking: “… how you will contribute” – the use of the word “will” might lead you to cast the whole essay in the future tense.  You do have to address how you will contribute, but your answer will have more credibility if you cite a previous time or two when you already have contributed toward the stated mission.  The bulk of the essay will focus on how you will do so in the future – don’t give a list of 10 ways, but identify 1 to 3 and provide some succinct but meaningful discussion of them.  Your future contributions may be related to your goals, or you may cite other initaitives.  Bear in mind that the stated mission is not just “improving the world,” but “to develop principled, innovative leaders” who do so.

• Please describe a time when you changed your opinion, and why. (500 words or less, limited to one page)

Since you will write about work in the statement of purpose, and probably essay 1 and 3, you can choose a work or non-work topic here – whichever best illuminates and ehnances your profile.  While the essay doesn’t require it, I believe the essay will have more substance and heft if you can find a topic that involves your taking some action based on your change of opinion.  Also, choose something not too far in the past, ideally within the last few years.  First, tell the story (no  need for an introduction in this short essay – just jump into the story).  If you use the story approach, the “why” will appear naturally as you progress in the narrative.  But still provide a short summary paragraph reflecting on the “why,” and ideally showing the action you took as a result.

• Please discuss an occasion when your resources and time were limited and you needed to achieve a significant organizational goal. What did you do, and how did you do it? (500 words or less, limited to one page)

This essay will offer evidence in the application that you meet goals and that you make things happen when faced with real-world constraints (as all executives are)—you literally move the organization forward.  Hence, choose a story that is substantive, and one that occurred within the last few years – the bigger the impact, the better.  If you have some good stories to choose from, think about other factors you might like to highlight in your essay for strategic purposes: international dimension (in a given region or generally), leadership in a given context such as healthcare or IT, integrating organizations due to a merger or acquisition, etc.  Here too keep the structure simple: present the story straight off, skipping an explanatory intro paragraph.  As you describe what you did, integrate how you did it, going right through the narrative.  No fancy ending needed; just a concise summary sentence or two.

The MIT EMBA application deadline is August 15.

If you want to start now on your MIT EMBA application, please keep in mind that Accepted.com is running an Early Bird Special: 10% off all MBA essay consulting and editing.  Consider also our MIT EMBA Consulting and Editing Packages.They too are 10% off thru July 31.

By Cindy Tokumitsu, co-author of The Finance Professional’s Guide to MBA Success, The Consultants’ Guide to MBA Admission, The EMBA Edge, and author of several articles and the free, email mini-course, “Ace the EMBA.” Also author of the  NEW online mini-course, Best MBA Programs: A Guide to Choosing the One for You.

Learn More:

• Ace the EMBA, a free email course.
• The EMBA Edge: A Guide to EMBA Admissions, an ebook

In this exciting new special report (which can also be downloaded as a free, 5-day ecourse), you’ll learn how to transform your boring or bland application essays or personal statements into intriguing and exemplary works of prose by studying other successful essays.

Here are some tips from the first section of From Example to Exemplary:

1. Open with a colorful anecdote or a question to engage the reader’s interest right from the beginning.
2. Hold the reader’s interest by building on your story, sentence by sentence, adding new information and avoiding repetition.
3. Refer back to your opening when you conclude your essay, bringing your story full circle.

However, in the special report the tips all reference the sample essays on Accepted.com. You can see exactly how applicants just like you applied these techniques and created compelling personal statements and application essays. When you download the free From Example to Exemplary special report or subscribe to the Exemplary email course, you’ll receive more insightful tips and rich advice about how to transform your essays into masterful writing.

From Example to Exemplary author, Judy Gruen, is an Accepted editor and co-author of the ebook, MBA Letters of Recommendation That Rock. She has helped hundreds of students through the application process and knows what works and what doesn’t. Profit from her knowledge, experience, and skill.

Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best

It is a point that your application must make clear.  Here are some ways to do so:

• In your resume bullet points, when you summarize accomplishments/experiences, order them consecutively and put dates in parentheses before or after the point.  This way, if you have four years with a particular title, you can show progress within that time.  Also use details to highlight growth.  If the dollar scope of your projects increases over time, quantify those points.  Similarly, if you led three-member teams initially and now lead ten-member cross-functional teams, specify that growth.  If you started doing something new, describe it in a bullet point with the date, e.g., “In 2008, became responsible for managing relationships with clients up to $500K.”  The key is to look at your experiences and accomplishments and ask, “How can I portray them to reveal my professional growth?”
• There will be even more opportunities in your essays to show your growth within a flat organization.  The most obvious is when you are asked (typically in a goals essay) to summarize your career progress.  Whether or not you have this particular question, look for a place early on in the set of essays to add a sentence explicitly describing the situation, along the lines of, “My employer, ABC Corp., is a flat organization, with no management ladder between associate and senior management.  Nevertheless, in my three years as TITLE, I have gone from ABC to XYZ.”  Provide examples, ideally one that demonstrates your progress relative to accomplished colleagues, e.g.,   “I am the only one among my 10 peers to work directly on-site with our overseas clients and to accompany senior managers on sales visits to China.”
• Ask your recommenders to address this issue directly, and explain why to them (don’t just assume they’ll understand why it matters).
• In the application form you will have to fill in information about your roles and positions.  Apply the same principles noted above to these sections, to the extent possible.

I have one final suggestion.  Don’t assume a subtle read.  Make the point more than once, but in different ways, to make sure it gets across.

Additional Resources

• Navigating the MBA Maze, an ecourse
• Admissions Resume: What to Include
• Admissions Wants Leadership not Labels
• Best MBA Programs: A Guide to Choosing the One for You, an ecourse.
  

By Cindy Tokumitsu, co-author of The Finance Professional’s Guide to MBA Success, The Consultants’ Guide to MBA Admission, The EMBA Edge, and author of several articles and the free, email mini-course, “Ace the EMBA.” Also author of the  NEW online mini-course, Best MBA Programs: A Guide to Choosing the One for You.

The program is designed to “expand their management capabilities and increase their impact on their organization and the world at large.” This personal, business, and global advancement will be made possible by the group’s participation in four eight-day learning modules and 26 weekend sessions that will focus on collaboration, interdisciplinary learning, building peer bonds, and leadership. Students will also participate in Global Organizations Lab (GO-Lab) a week-long action learning course that will further work on team building.

Furthermore, says MIT Sloan Dean David Schmittlein, “[s]tudents in the MBA for Executives Program will gain a competitive edge though MIT Sloan’s deep expertise in global leadership, innovation, and the science of management, while building a diverse business network that facilitates cross-industry learning.”

Applicants to the MBA for Executives Program must have at least ten years of work experience and must exhibit a combination of functional expertise, innovation, global perspective, and leadership performance. The deadline for the first cohort is August 15, 2010. For more information about admissions requirements, please see the MIT Sloan EMBA Application Process and Timeline.

The first class is planned to begin in October 2010 with about 60 current or rising executives.

If you are considering MIT Sloan’s new EMBA program and would like guidance in strategizing and composing a winning application, contact Accepted today at 310-815-9553, or drop us a note here.

Related Accepted.com Resources:

• The EMBA Edge: A Guide to EMBA Admissions, an instantly downloadable ebook.
• Ace the EMBA: Admissions Advice for EMBA Applicants, a free, 6-day email course.
• “Executive MBA: Applying to EMBA Programs,” a free article.

Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best

We thought that a presentation in such demand should be posted for your easy availability…anytime you need it.

So whether you attended the webinar and just want to review, or if you’re curious to see what all the hype is about, you can now view or download the Essays that Stick webinar straight from our website.

The 45-minute presentation is free, easily downloadable, and extremely helpful for grad school applicants aiming to compose memorable prose that will get them accepted to their top-choice programs.

View or download Essays that Stick now!

Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best

Top western business schools are also working to extend their reach to diverse and non-traditional b-school zones. Esade, for example, will be starting a manager training program in Cuba in an effort to expand its global footprint and to help build-up a developing business school education.

One thing schools are doing to strengthen their relationships with clients and other global programs is to take advantage of modern technology by distributing course materials online. IMD, Harvard Business School, and Wharton are leaders in this area. These programs are able to expand their executive education programs (at home and abroad) because of the simple technology of videoconferencing.

Such short programs in these far corners of the world have trouble attracting course participants, faculty/scholars, and corporate clients, but, according to Kim Taylor-Thompson, chief executive of Duke Corporate Education, optimism is on the rise. “There is an uptick. We’ve hit the bottom and we’re on the way up.”

Related Accepted.com Resources:

• Executive MBA: Applying to EMBA Programs
• Ace the EMBA: Admissions Advice for EMBA Applicants, a free, 6-day email course.
• The EMBA Edge: A Guide to EMBA Admissions, an instantly downloadable ebook.

Want our news sent directly to your inbox? Subscribe to the Accepted Admissions Almanac by clicking here!



Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best

Buy any of Accepted’s ebooks between now and Thursday, May 13 and receive 50% off. Just enter coupon code SAVE50 at checkout to save big!

Here are some of our most popular ebooks:

For all applicants:
•    Submit a Stellar Application: 42 Terrific Tips to Help You Get Accepted
For college applicants:
•    Don’t Let Writing the College Application Essay Drive You and Your Family Crazy

For law school applicants:
•     The Nine Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make on a Law School Waitlist

For MBA Applicants
•    Best Practices for MBA Admissions
•    The Consultant’s Guide to MBA Admission
•    Create a Better Sequel: How to Reapply Right to Business School
•    The Finance Professional’s Guide to MBA Admissions Success
•    MBA BlastOff: 45 Terrific Tips to Help Launch Your Application to Acceptance
•    The Nine Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make on an MBA Waitlist

For medical school, residency, and fellowship applicants:
•    The Nine Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make on a Med School Waitlist
•    Write Your Way to a Fellowship Match
•    Write Your Way to a Residency Match

Explore our bookstore and save 50% off the regular price of every ebook through May 13.

~LindaAccepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best

On Wednesday, May 5, 2010 at 10:00 AM PST, I will present “Essays that Stick“, and teach you how to compose a memorable application essay or personal statement using the principles and techniques revealed in Chip and Dan Heath’s bestselling book, Made to Stick.

One attendee at yesterday’s webinar, @nikjangi, tweeted me today, “@Accepted Amazing presentation Linda, opened a completely new vista to look at essays, enjoyed it thoroughly, thanks ”

I would love to open new vistas for you too. Please feel free to join me next Wednesday for “Essays that Stick.”

By Linda Abraham, President and Founder of Accepted.com.