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.

Robert Dammon, CMU Tepper associate dean and professor, explains the price-wage connection: “The kinds of students that the best schools attract are going to get the highest-paying jobs.”

Paul R. Dorf, managing director of the consulting firm, Compensation Resources, adds, “The cream-of-the-crop companies hire the cream-of-the-crop grads.”

Top-ranked b-schools generally offer the most expensive programs and generally churn out the highest paid graduates. Harvard Business School, for example, has the most expensive MBA program, and the best paid alumni.

PayScale, a salary-comparison company, recently evaluated salary data of 23,000 MBA graduates from Bloomberg Businessweek’s top 45 American business schools.

Their data shows that on average, MBAs from top programs make $2.5 million (base-pay plus bonuses) over the course of 20 years in a single industry. HBS alumni make closer to $4 million, while alumni from lower ranked programs (but still in the top 45) like Iowa Tippie, make less than half of that.

Another interesting comparison between the higher ranked and lower ranked programs was the growth of salary over the two-decade period. Graduates from Yale SOM, for example, were awarded with extremely high starting salaries, but then experienced only small increases over the following 20 years. Grads from University of Connecticut’s business school, on the other hand, received lower starting salaries that more than doubled over that same 20-year period.

Below are the top median salaries earned after less than 2 years out of b-school and then the estimated career total for a 20-year long career:

Related Accepted.com Resources:

• B-School Zones
• The Rankings: An Accepted.com Special Report
• Forbes ROI MBA Rankings for 2010
• BusinessWeek’s Top 10 Undergraduate Business Schools with the Best Returns on Investment

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The option to take the GRE instead of the GMAT exam is a somewhat recent development. What began as a trend (started by Stanford GSB) among a few schools has exploded into an almost-standard option available at 27% of the U.S. News‘ 433 b-schools on the Best Business School rankings report. More than 300 b-schools total accept the GRE as a GMAT alternative (including those not included in the U.S. News rankings).

This expanded option allows b-schools to widen their applicant pool, attracting potential MBAs from other GRE-required graduate paths.

US News ranked b-schools that now accept the GRE include:

1. (tie) Harvard Business School and Stanford Graduate School of Business
3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan)
7. Dartmouth College (Tuck)
9. New York University (Stern)
11. Yale University
13. University of Virginia (Darden)
14. Duke University (Fuqua)
16. University of Texas—Austin (McCombs)
19. Washington University in St. Louis (Olin)

According to David Payne, VP and COO at ETS, accepting the GRE is a smart move, specifically from a business perspective. “At no cost to the schools,” he says, “it allows them to increase the size and diversity of their applicant pool.” More than 600,000 people take the GRE every year, while only 270,000 take the GMAT.

Both tests have experienced an increase in the number of test takers every year for the last six years.

Advantages to test-takers of the move of b-schools to accept the GRE include:

• The GRE costs about $110 less than the GMAT.
• Students who wish to apply to both b-school and another graduate or PhD program can do so easily (and affordably) by taking only one test.
• Those with weaker quant skills will have an easier time navigating the GRE’s math section than that of the GMAT.

Related Accepted.com Blog Posts:

• More B-Schools Accepting GRE in Lieu of GMAT
• GMAT or GRE: Which is Best for You?
• Record GMAT Registration Volume in 2009
• GMAT Advice

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While graduates from top business schools like Wharton or Northwestern Kellogg are seeing a positive pick up in the job market, other graduates, like those from NYU Stern and University of Texas-Austin’s McCombs School of Business, are faced with a job market that has not yet recovered from the 2009 recession.

At NYU, only 76% of students had a job offer by graduation in 2009; at McCombs, only a lucky 70% had that privilege. In normal, pre-recession years, more than 90% of students receive job offers by graduation.

Abby Scott, executive director of MBA career services at UC Berkeley Haas has dubbed this post-recession era as “the year of the networked job search.” Haas students explain that they can’t rely as much on “robust school-led recruiting effort[s]” as they can on individual efforts.

In terms of the sorts of jobs that are available, there are certain sectors that are seeing a rise in MBA hiring and some that are not. For example, jobs in retail or at luxury firms are few and far between, while jobs in consulting and financial services are on the hiring rebound, relates the WSJ article.

Rotational programs are also on the rise, receiving a 36% increase in hiring this year. Students are also opting to head abroad and search for jobs in other markets. Blair Sheppard, Duke Fuqua dean, explains that MBA grads used to rarely consider going overseas—salaries weren’t high enough to entice a loan-heavy graduate—but now, overseas salaries have increased, offering grads a wider, global job search.

The article continues to state that there’s hope for next year’s grads as evidenced by the increase in internships this past year. At Wharton, for example, on-campus summer internships increased 30%, a number close to pre-recession rates.

Job-Related Accepted.com Blog Posts:

• More Students Head to Mom and Pop For Jobs
• B-School Students See Light at the End of the Job Market Tunnel
• Good News for MBAs: Job Opportunities Abound!
• GMAC: MBA Employers Express Job Market Optimism
• The Make-Your-Own-Job Solution

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Here are some excerpts from an interview with a current NYU Stern part-time MBA student from a marketing background.

What’s the best way to plan for the part-time Langone MBA program so you get the most out of it?
Get your employer on board because you need a lot of flexibility. A major part of the MBA is not just class, it’s about events. For example, Stern might have a venture capitalist talking about how to start a business at lunch time, or 4 pm. And you might want to attend clubs that meet during work hours.

How did you get your boss on board?
When the semester started I put all the upcoming events I was interested in on my calendar. If i knew there was a conflict with work, I’d ask my boss if I could stay an hour extra a different day, or even go in on a Saturday.  Sometimes he would say, ‘Don’t worry about it. Just go.’

What about managing your time to get the most out of the experience?
I think it’s very important to get involved early if you want to make a good network  It’s better to hang out with people early on because that’s when people start forming their groups, otherwise it’s harder to break in. I went for two semesters in Westchester, so if you really want to be inovlved you have to go to the city. There you’re better off because you can meet more people. I got involved in the social enterprise club which is great and aligns with my post-MBA goals.

How close did you stick to your originally stated goals from the application?
In my application, I mentioned that I want to stay in my current job and industry. That’s truly what my thought process was.  But when I joined school I met people doing different things, and started thinking about going in a new direction. I’m in the process of figuring out where I want to be.  I wouldn’t say I’ve made a drastic shift, but I’ve made a shift.  I can still use a lot of things that i’m doing now in my next career. I think that I’ll be going towards consulting or product management.

What classes and professors have been the most interesting?
The strategy and marketing courses.  Strategy with Marciano and Marketing with Jeffery Carr.

What about the New York location?  How did that affect your experience?
The NYU website says you’ll have access to a lot of leaders and that’s really true. You have a lot of good speakers pass through campus.

What about part-time vs. full-time?  Do you think you’re making any compromises in your experience there?
Most of the professors are the same, so the quality of the curriculum is the same. Career services I would say is for full-time students, as they are more focused on the full-time people who are going out looking for jobs. The general perception is that part-time is for people who want to keep working in their industry. It’s not geared toward people who want to make a career transition.  But if you want to make one, they will help you.

Were you able to apply what you learned in real time?
I would say so far the courses taken have been very broad. I wouldn’t say I’ve applied everything, more like 30 to 40 percent of what I’ve learned.  But there have been some “aha!” moments where I’ve been able to contribute at work.

What kind of leadership training or mentoring have you received?
I think the best training I’ve received is from my peers. There are people who are second or third year in the program who can tell you how to approach looking for a job, or these are the great classes to take. I know NYU has a lot of programs where you can engage the faculty, take them out to lunch–especially for entrepreneurs–the faculty is very receptive.

How much time would you say you dedicated to school each week?
About 6 hours in class and then I dedicate 12 hours a week to studying and events.

What do you know now that you couldn’t glean from the website or admissions events?
The part-time program is very finance heavy. A lot of students are from the banking industry. It can be a little difficult for someone not in finance trying to make a transition meeting people who are non-finance.

Best day? I attended a global business conference arranged by one of the clubs and that was really good for me because I met a lot of people from across the world. My interest does lie in emerging markets and I met people from India, like heads of banks.

Worst day? A class on Saturday from 9 am to 4 pm.

By Michelle Stockman, who worked in the Columbia Business School admissions office, has a Masters in Journalism from Columbia, and has assisted Accepted.com clients applying to top business schools since 2007. When not advising Accepted’s clients, she is a multimedia producer with works published by Agence France Presse, Economist.com, WSJ.com, The Times of India, and Hindustan Times. She is happy to help you with your application.

But what does it mean for you, if anything?

In an earlier post, I talked about the departure of Kellogg’s previous dean, Dipak Jain. Here, I’ll think out loud about what Sally Blount’s arrival might mean for Kellogg applicants.

1. In the big picture it will be business as usual. Yes, Dean Blount will be busy doing what deans do—rallying faculty, raising money, enhancing curricula, meeting with other deans, meeting students, meeting employers, raising money (yes, it deserves two mentions, given its priority right now)—but for current students and applicants it won’t change much. They’ll still have to focus on their usual priorities. For students that means finding jobs, and for applicants that means putting their best foot forward.

2. So how can you put your best foot forward, in light of the new dean? Let’s think of some of the implications of Dean Blount’s arrival. These apply, to some degree, to most b-schools, but they may be more critical given the situation Blunt stepped into.

• Placement stats are crucial. Kellogg, like its peers, needs to show better internship/job placement. By some accounts, even the lower numbers they’ve put up recently don’t reflect how bad the market really is. So Kellogg, Northwestern, other programs, and the media will be watching how these figures change with Blount in charge. For you, that means making an even stronger case for your employability—are you presenting logical goals that connect to your past/current experience? do you have sponsorship? a strong network you’ve already started using? All of this helps.
• Money is critical. Blount will mostly be looking to outside donors for the big bucks, but tuition is no small part of Kellogg’s funds. Being in a position to fund your MBA might be even more important than in the past, especially if you’re an international applicant.
• She has a PhD in Management and Organization—from Kellogg. Okay, so Kellogg already has a strong emphasis on collaboration and people skills. So it’s no surprise that they picked Blount, given her background. Emphasizing your teamwork and other people skills in your application remains a huge imperative with this program. You can’t do too much in this regard (well, okay, maybe you can, but I doubt you will).
• She is a former consultant. Blount worked for Boston Consulting Group. I know, it’s not like top b-schools aren’t already putting out the welcome mat for applicants from big-name consulting firms, but think more broadly: try to show the skills a consultant has in your application. Are your essays structured well? Do you show strong problem-solving skills in multiple settings (e.g., professional and non-profit), including in the people domain? It never hurts, and almost always helps.

Dean Blount is just settling into her new home at Kellogg, so it’s hard to say exactly what changes she’ll bring, and what those mean for you. I’ll try to report back on this issue as the situation unfolds. For now, keep thinking of what will make your application stand out in the best way.

And let us know if we can help.

By Dr. Sachin Waikar, former McKinsey consultant, published author, and advisor to applicants to business and grad schools Dr. Waikar can help you tell your story through your MBA application.

• Advanced Placement examinations are becoming more and more popular among high school students. According to a recent Inside Higher Ed article, 25% of high school grads take at least one AP test. Top private universities now expect their applicants to have a few APs on their transcripts. A new study soon to be released by Harvard Education Press, however, reveals that the AP examinations may not be as valuable as most students and adcoms believe. A major criticism is that low-income high schools are scraping the bottom of the barrel in order to offer AP programs, rather than spending that money on improving already existing (and more important) programs. On the other hand, the tests do offer students with a chance to get ahead on their college courses, ultimately saving money.

• A BusinessWeek article, “Three Top B-Schools Look for New Deans,” provides an overview of the great search for new deans at Chicago Booth, Northwestern Kellogg, and Harvard Business School. Kellogg has already filled the position of dean by hiring Sally Blount from NYU Stern. HBS has not yet chosen a new dean, but most believe that the position will not be filled by an outsider.

• The GRE seems to be hitting all sorts of records recently. A recent ETS press release reports record-breaking GRE growth rates in Europe. European test volume increased 15% in the last year, marking the highest yearly increase ever for Europe. Another record-breaker: More test scores were sent to European institutions this year than in any other year. One reason for such an increase in GRE tests is the simultaneous increase in the number of business schools accepting the GRE in addition to the traditional GMAT exam. According to David Payne, VP and COO at ETS, “In this economy especially, the flexibility to use one test for admission to both graduate and business programmes is great for students who want to ensure that they have options. It’s a huge benefit to them.”

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This new program, reports an article in UVA Today, will take place in the innovation laboratory, or i.Lab, a creative space that will be part classroom and part studio, set up to provide an area for students to “build models and prototypes of their ideas…[that] features tall workbenches flanked by a full complement of tools,” including hammers, saws, carving tools, oscilloscopes, metal rods, foam boards, clay, wood, and others. The space has tall, floor-to-ceiling windows, an exhibition space, and implements state-of-the-art facilities.

The philosophy behind Darden’s focus on design-thinking and on the new i.Lab, explains Jeanne Liedtka, a professor in the program, is that “design-thinking skills are best developed through the hands-on design experience.”

Students learn, create, and then exhibit their business prototypes, subjecting their work to peer review and critique.

According to a BusinessWeek article on the same subject, Darden is not the only school putting a strong emphasis on design and innovation. NYU Stern has had the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Lab since the fall of 2008, and UC Davis Graduate School of Management currently has plans to open something similar as well.

Click here for more information on Darden’s i.Lab.

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In short, Dean Henry is attempting to remove Stern’s reputation as a “finance school” and instead transform the school (and its reputation) into a more diverse program that doesn’t just churn out students for careers in finance, but for a wide range of other career fields as well.

In 2007, 44% of Stern graduates entered investment banking. In 2008 that number was down to 37%. In 2009, only 32% entered that same field.

In 2008 only 8% of Stern graduates did not receive a job offer three months after graduating. In 2009 that number jumped up to 18%.

Relying on investment banking is just not as wise as it once was.

The challenge of transforming the Stern class profile is a twofold challenge: First, restructuring the career services department—this will require the addition of many new resources as new recruiting relationships need to be forged in new industries. The second challenge is more difficult—the restructuring of the academic program itself. These changes will require getting new faculty members and shifting around management duties, in addition to the actual changes that need to be made in the curriculum.

Students for the most part are welcoming these changes with open arms. Stern graduates are somewhat notorious for taking jobs in North America alone and perhaps look forward to the program’s forthcoming global footprint expansion.

The new dean makes it clear that despite his ambitious plans to expand Stern’s program and diversity, one should not conclude that he plans on severing relationships with Wall Street. In fact, Henry says “he will continue to strengthen relationships with Wall Street and the finance sector in general.”

Thomas Cooley, Professor of Economics and former Stern dean reflects on Stern’s past and present situation. He explains that this is not the first time that Stern was faced with such a challenge. In the last decade, he explains, when everyone was turning towards the dot-coms, Goldman Sachs actually had trouble recruiting.

Cooley ends by making two final points: First, he says, “[w]hatever you think the world is right now, hold on because it can change very quickly. And second, “Stern will always tilt slightly toward Wall Street, but then again most business schools do.

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The goal, according to William M. Sullivan and Anne Colby, senior scholars at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, is not only to introduce a stronger liberal arts foundation, but to ensure that business students understand that their liberal arts courses are not irrelevant to their business education and to their future career plans.

There is already a move towards liberalizing the MBA education, and a similar move appears imminent in the undergraduate business sphere as well.

NYU Stern’s program provides a model for the integration of liberal arts and business with its course in professional responsibility and leadership. The course provides an integrated syllabus combining business case studies with the study of classic liberal arts texts, including Confucius, Plato, Cicero, Machiavelli, Walt Whitman, and Chekhov.

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