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12 Nov 2014, 15:00
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: Businessweek Rankings 2014 |
Let’s see how full-time MBA programs in the U.S. fared this year on the BW rankings… There were some huge changes this year! Let’s take a look at some of the highlights: • Newcomers to the top 20 this year are Yale SOM, which made a huge jump from 21st place to 10th place; Maryland Smith which went from 24th to 17th place; and Emory Goizueta which jumped from 22nd place to 18th place this year. • There are three new schools in the top 10 this year – Yale SOM, as mentioned above; Columbia Business School (13th in 2012 and 5th this year); and CMU Tepper (which moved just one place from 11th place to 10th place). • Beyond that, there was some major shifting in the rankings. The top 3 schools were all different this year (Wharton and Booth still there, but rearranged), with Harvard Business School falling from 2nd place to 8th place. • UVA Darden also fell significantly this year, from 10th place to 20th. • Big jumpers further down the rankings include Rice University Jones (from 34th to 25th); UC Irvine Merage (43rd to 31st); and Rochester Simon (50th to 38th). • The schools that fell the most in the rankings include Texas A&M Mays (26th to 42nd); University of Wisconsin-Madison (33rd to 44th); Boston University (39th to 57th); Babson Olin (from 42nd to 58th); Thunderbird (45th to 62nd); and Arizona Carey (49th to 67th). And here’s the scoop on the best U.S. undergraduate business schoolsin 2014…  Some highlights include: • Newcomers to the top 20 are Northeastern (from 25th last year to 19th this year) and CMU Tepper (from 24th last year to 17th this year). • The only new school in the top 10 this year is Indiana Kelley, which jumped from 13th place last year to 8th place this year. • Michigan Ross fell from the top 10, from 8th place to 12th place. • Big jumpers include Southern Methodist Cox, which jumped from 30th to 21st place; Babson, which jumped from 36th place to 26th place; UM Amherst Isenberg, which jumped from 45th to 36th; Bryant, which jumped from 63rd to 49th; and Case Western Reserve Weatherhead which jumped from 69th to 50th. • Big falls include Villanova, which fell from 15th place to 24th; U of Illinois Urbana-Champaign which fell from 21st to 34th; and James Madison University which fell from 29th to 40th place. For details on how ranking methodology see: • Best Business Schools 2014: How They Were Ranked • Best Undergraduate Business Schools 2014: How We Ranked Them Analysis of the 2014 Businessweek Rankings Businessweek made changes to its methodology (presented here and analyzed here by John Byrne, the founder of the BW rankings) this year. The Basics of BW’s Rankings Remain Unchanged This year, as in the past, BW surveyed recruiters and students. The recruiter satisfaction results comprise 45% of the ranking. The student satisfaction survey results comprise another 45% and the remaining 10% is determined by “expertise of each school’s faculty” as evidenced by faculty research published in prominent academic journals AKA intellectual capital. What’s New in BW’s Rankings Methodology? • The employer ranking reflects this year’s data only. Previous rankings used data from the last three surveys or six years of biannual rankings data while weighting the most recent year most heavily. [b]• BW surveyed fifteen times the recruiters this year than it did in previous years. [/b]Previously, BW surveyed major recruiters who tended to recruit at multiple business schools. This year, BW attempted to survey as many MBA recruiters as possible, including “recruiters” who recruit primarily if not exclusively at their alma mater. The increased survey size is a major methodology change. The alumni recruiters may have a certain bias towards the school they attended. BW attempted statistically to reduce the impact of that bias, but it probably helped smaller schools like Duke, Tepper, and Yale, and hurt the traditional leaders, like Harvard, Wharton, and Chicago. Impact of the Methodology Changes [b]• Surprise! [/b]The results will shock many applicants. Seven programs, including Duke and Yale, rank above HBS and MIT. Indiana Kelley and Maryland Smith rank above Haas, NYU Stern, and Darden. These are unexpected results. • Reemphasizes the importance of understanding methodology. The changes highlight the need for anyone using the rankings as indications of “quality” or even reputation and brand value (a bad idea in my book) to look at the underlying data. Smith is ranked overall at 17. It was ranked #1 for student satisfaction and #51 in the employer survey ranking. Applicants to Smith should inquire about what is changing in its career management center. Clearly there is a satisfaction gap that has to be addressed. • Increased volatility. Since BW has removed older rankings data from the ranking and has dramatically widened the survey pool while incorporating alumni recruiters, you are guaranteed to see more changes and more radical changes than with the previous methodology. • Cognitive Dissonance. Either BW rankings will lose credibility because they don’t conform to expectations and will be more volatile, or people’s perception of the programs will change because of the BW rankings. My money is on the former: loss of credibility. If BW’s results become less stable and predictable (like The Economist’s), they are more likely to lose credibility than to contribute to changes in school reputation. As always my best advice to applicants reviewing the rankings is to: • Use specialty rankings to get a sense of what schools excel in your areas of interest. • Use the data that the ranking databases provide. • If you have any thought of actually using the overall rankings, understand what they measure, and ask yourself if those qualities are of paramount importance to you. BW has been wonderfully transparent and even shared the questions actually asked in the survey. • Layer in reputation and brand, i.e. ranking, after determining what schools best support your goals and are most likely to accept you.   By Linda Abraham, president and founder of Accepted.com and co-author of the new, definitive book on MBA admissions, MBA Admission for Smarties: The No-Nonsense Guide to Acceptance at Top Business Schools2014 Economist MBA Rankings • MBA Rankings: Why Should I Care? • U.S. News 2015 Best Colleges Tags: Chicago Booth, CMU Tepper, College Admissions, Cornell Johnson, Dartmouth Tuck, Duke Fuqua, Emory Goizueta, Georgetown McDonough, Harvard Business School, Indiana Kelley, MBA Admissions, Michigan Ross, MIT Sloan, Northwestern Kellogg, Notre Dame Mendoza, NYU Stern, Rankings, Stanford GSB, UC Berkeley Haas, UCLA Anderson, UNC Kenan Flagler, UT McCombs, UVA Darden, Washington Olin, Wharton, Yale SOM 
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13 Nov 2014, 13:00
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: An NYU Stern Grad and Strat Consultant Helping Vets Get Into School |
 West Point grad. Iraq war vet. NYU Stern MBA. Engagement Manager and Senior Associate at Strategy&. Co-founder of Service to School. Gus Giacoman, our guest this week, is a fascinating individual, dedicated to helping vets get into school of all kinds – everything from community colleges to law school, business school and diverse graduate programs. Tune in to our conversation with the highly accomplished and tireless Gus for the low-down on how he helps vets get into school, advice for vets and other MBA applicants, as well as tips for future management consultants. Oh, and he tells some great stories. 00:02:38 – Service to School: Networking and guidance for veterans headed to college and grad school. 00:05:55 – The revenue model (you can’t charge family, right?). 00:06:55 – A breakdown of where Service to School applicants are applying. 00:10:28 – What success looks like (How about 3 Wharton/HBS admits!). 00:12:29 – Business school as the path returning vets to civilian life. 00:17:33 – The advantages and challenges of being a veteran in b-school and consulting. 00:21:41 – Why NYU Stern? And why consulting? 00:25:49 – The best skills for a future consultant to cultivate. 00:27:30 – 3 things Gus looks for in choosing a consultant for his team. 00:28:57 – What a college grad should do pre-MBA to prepare for a career in consulting. 00:33:01 – A great piece of advice for b-school applicants.  *Theme music is courtesy of podcastthemes.com. Related Links: • Service to School • Service to School on Twitter • Service To School: Helping Veterans Get Into Top Schools Related Shows: • Breaking Some HBS Stereotypes: An Interview with Ben Faw • How to Become a Management Consultant • Case Interview Secrets and More with Victor Cheng Leave a Review for Admissions Straight Talk:    Tags: Admissions Consulting, Admissions Straight Talk, College Admissions, Grad School Admissions, Law School Admissions, Management Consulting, MBA Admissions, military applicants, NYU Stern, podcast 
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13 Nov 2014, 13:00
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: Analyzing Your GMAT Score: 4 Questions to Ask Yourself |
 Will your GMAT score destroy your admissions chances? Do you need a perfect score on your GMAT to gain acceptance to a top-tier business school? No. But you definitely need your score to be high enough so that your application is seriously considered, so that the rest of your application isn’t fighting an uphill battle to overcome a sub-par GMAT score. So, is your GMAT score good enough? To figure this out, you’ll need to ask yourself the following questions: [b]1. Who am I?[/b] Who you are matters because admissions decisions don’t follow a strict formula or algorithm based entirely on numbers. You need to evaluate your score in the context of your demographic profile. For example, if you’re a guy from India in the IT field who just spent the last five years sitting at a desk coding and crunching numbers, then you’re going to need a more competitive GMAT score than if you’re a gal from Chile who spent the last five years working for a energy-related non-profit that shuttled back and forth between Tierra del Fuego and Antarctica. Again, even our Chilean social enterprising world explorer will need a score high enough to get her application looked at, but once she makes it past that point, she’ll have no trouble keeping their attention. [b]2. What does the rest of my application look like?[/b] It is possible to recover from a not-so-ideal GMAT score, but that is if and only if the rest of your application is flawless (or nearly so). If you have an almost perfect GPA, stunning application essays, amazing letters of recommendation, and a resume that shows that you’ve worked hard and succeeded, then you’ll be in a position to prove to the adcom that you’re a fantastic candidate and that the GMAT is just not your thing (again, it still needs to be good enough to get your app looked at). [b]3. Which b-schools am I applying to?[/b] It goes without saying that some GMAT scores will be highly competitive at some programs and not even close to competitive at others. To see if your score is “good enough,” you need to visit your target schools’ websites and see what their GMAT range is. Don’t just look at the average; the range will give you a better idea of how low they’ll go before weeding out an application based on GMAT score alone. [b]4. What is my score?[/b] If you scored above the 80th percentile on both the verbal and quant sections of the GMAT then you should consider yourself in the clear and good to go to apply to highly ranked MBA programs (assuming that the rest of your application is top-notch as well). If you received lower than that, that doesn’t mean that you need to retake the GMAT (necessarily), but does mean that you need to look at your GMAT in the larger scheme of things and consider retaking the GMAT if you feel your profile needs it and you are aiming for those top programs. Once you’ve asked yourself these questions and done some serious soul-searching, you’ll have a much better idea of what your next steps should be – going ahead and applying to your target b-schools this year, waiting and applying to your top choices next year (or even the following year) while you work on improving your profile, applying this year, but to lower ranked programs, etc. Last but not least, please be in touch if you need help analyzing your stats and determining where and when you should apply to b-school. We’re here to help!   Related Resources: • That GMAT Score: Implications for Your MBA Application • Low GMAT Score? Don’t Panic…Yet. • GRE vs. GMAT: Trends Tags: GMAT, MBA Admissions 
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14 Nov 2014, 12:00
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: Interview with MBA On My Mind: An Applicant Aiming for Kellogg |
 This interview is the latest in an Accepted.com blog series featuring interviews with MBA applicant bloggers, offering readers a behind-the-scenes look at the MBA application process. And now…introducing our anonymous blogger, “MBA On My Mind”… Accepted: We’d like to get to know you! Where are you from? Where and what did you study as an undergrad? Do you hold any other degrees? What is your current job? MBA On My Mind: I am a 24 year old female from India. I was born in a quaint little town in Kerala and moved around a lot for most of my childhood (Delhi, Goa, Bangalore, some nondescript town in Karnataka, etc.). I’ve had an unconventional childhood but an immensely fun one. I went to a reputed, 100 year old school in Chennai and graduated with a B.A in Economics. I also have a Post Graduate diploma in Marketing Management, that I pursued part time to feed my burgeoning passion for marketing. After school, I had a two year stint as Marketing Manager at a start-up that marketed teas (it was at this point that my fascination with tea blossomed and I enrolled to become a professional tea taster). Tea tasting to this day remains an elixir guaranteed to bust stress! In 2013, I co-founded a social enterprise business, in the Skill Development arena and have been absorbed in it ever since! Accepted: What stage of the application process are you? MBA On My Mind: I am wedged somewhere in between insanity and a frenzied need to get stuff done… It’s been a harried 6 months, but I am loving every moment. At this point, I am prepping for my GMAT exam, while working on second drafts of essays for round 2. My days are full! Accepted: Where are you applying to b-school? Do you have a top choice? Safety school? MBA On My Mind: I plan to apply to 6-7 schools in round 2. (Yes, I am crazy.) My school list looks something like this 1. Kellogg 2. Ross 3. Stanford 4. Yale 5. Haas. (I will be adding 2 or 3 schools to this mix provided they fit into my tally board.) Kellogg is my top school! I really really want to go there. The school just sings to me. I don’t have any safe schools so to speak, I understand that ‘safety schools’ are categorized based on higher acceptance levels (ergo, these schools are more open to candidates whose GMAT scores that aren’t particularly in the 99th percentile, <4.0 GPAs and folks who aren’t ridiculous overachievers), so although it makes sense to cover all your bases, for me the paramount deciding factor is fit and whether the school can offer what I want. There is not a single school on my tally board that I would not love to go to. I love all of them equally….okay, I lie. I love Kellogg a smidgen more than the rest.  Accepted: Can you tell us about your Business School Tally Board? MBA On My Mind: I am someone who likes to do things in a systematic and cogent fashion. So, when the application season rolled around and the time came for me to stop being vague about the schools I wanted to go to. I sat down and listed out my short term and long term goals. A word of advice for anyone who is on the brink of plunging into the MBA applicant pool, you will be doing yourself a HUGE favor if you introspect and freeze in on your long term and short term goals. Your school selection will be so much easier, you just have to figure out which school will provide the best and most enriching route to achieving your goals. The Business School Tally Board is more of a qualitative take on the entire school selection process, and it is inspired by this blog post I read and fell in love with, on the Kellogg MBA Students Blog. It still isn’t complete, though. I am still researching schools, there are 2 more schools I want to add to the tally! Accepted: What has been the most challenging aspect of the admissions process so far? What steps have you taken to overcome that challenge? How would you advise others in a similar situation? MBA On My Mind: Start early! Stay positive! Get the GMAT out of the way! THE biggest challenge is time, initially I wanted to get two apps in by round 1, but I was unable to because I was not satisfied with my GMAT score. So I will be working overtime to get 6-7 applications ready for round 2. Luckily for me, I produce my best work under pressure. Accepted: Do you plan on staying in your current industry post-MBA, or changing to a new field/career? MBA On My Mind: My immediate post MBA goal is to work with a for-profit social enterprise, particularly in marketing, while my mid-long term goal is to come back to India and expand my social enterprise’s operations. Expansion requires aggressive/out of the box marketing, market research, liaising with government officials and seamless dissemination of our vision to the end customer. I hope to pick up these skills up at my immediate post-MBA job. So, to answer your question, yes I intend to stay in my current industry. Accepted: Why did you decide to blog about your experience? What have you gained from the experience? What do you hope others will learn? MBA On My Mind: I remember stumbling upon a few MBA applicant bloggers in 2013, and reading their posts, more importantly the comment sections, there seemed to be a genuine camaraderie between fellow MBA applicant bloggers and the support that went around was amazing. I knew I had to start a blog of my own to be a part of that world, besides I do love to write. Today, I can say with absolute certainty that I’ve forged close friendships with some wonderful people, through my blogging. (You know who you are!) I can only hope that my readers find my posts helpful. For one-on-one guidance on your b-school application, please see our MBA Application Packages. You can read more about MBA On My Mind’s b-school journey by checking out her blog, MBA On My Mind. Thank you for sharing your story with us – we wish you loads of luck!  Related Resources: • MBA Applicant Blogger Interviews • Best MBA Programs: A Guide to Selecting the Right One • School Specific MBA Application Essay Tips Tags: MBA Admissions, MBA applicant bloggers 
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14 Nov 2014, 12:00
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: What is a Good GRE Score? [Infographic] |
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Heading to grad school in the near future? Then you’ll need to take the GRE! But that leads to the million dollar question: What is a good GRE score? The short answer: it depends. Check out this wonderful infographic from our friends at Magoosh to find out what the answer to that question is for YOU!  Tags: Grad School Admissions, GRE, Magoosh, MBA Admissions 
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16 Nov 2014, 14:00
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: Team-Based Discussion Interviews |
 Make your goal the team’s success, not its adoption of your idea. Wharton and Ross initiated a new MBA interview format, the team-based discussion (TBD). This type of interview brings a group of applicants together in person to work through a problem together as an organizational team does. This team activity is followed by a short one-to-one talk with an adcom representative (either a second-year student or an adcom member). It is now part of Wharton’s regular mode for interviews. At Ross, it’s not required, and they use traditional methods for their evaluative interviews. Why adcoms use this method: • Some adcoms have found traditional interview modes increasingly ineffective as they feel that candidates over-prepare and over-strategize for interviews, thus undercutting authenticity. • The adcoms want to see the candidates in team action, since students’ success in the program (and in their future career) will rest in part on their teamwork and interpersonal skills. • This approach gives the adcom insight into the applicants that no other application component provides – how they actually respond to people and situations in real time. • The post-activity discussion shows your ability to self-reflect and analyze your own role and performance – qualities the adcom values. Process: Wharton – When you receive an invitation to interview, you’ll go online and select a time and date to attend a 5- or 6-member, approximately 45-minute TBD. Wharton will send you a prompt, which is the topic for the team activity; Wharton advises spending about an hour preparing with this prompt. In the TBD, each person will have a minute to articulate his own idea on the topic, and then the team will work together toward a group decision. After the TBD, you will meet individually with one of the two evaluators for 10-15 minutes to discuss your thoughts on how it went. You and the evaluator may discuss other topics as well. Ross – Ross sends no prompt. Rather, it’s more like a team-building activity. You’ll receive the invitation to participate when you receive your regular interview invite, and can accept or decline. If you accept, you’ll meet in a group of 4-6. The team is given 2 words, and they first prepare individual presentations connecting these words (10 minutes for this portion). Then the group receives additional random words, and they have 20 minutes to prepare a team presentation that uses the words to address a problem and articulate a solution. The individuals in the team, not the team as a whole, are evaluated either by second-year students or adcom members, who also interview them separately afterward. Benefits and pitfalls for applicants: • Benefit: You can showcase your interpersonal, team, and leadership skills more vividly than any essay or individual interview could portray. • Benefit: You can get a real flavor of the programs’ teamwork dynamic. • Benefit: You can enjoy meeting peers and potential classmates. • Drawback: You have less control, as you have to assess and respond to the group dynamics instantly; there is no margin for error. • Drawback: Logistically it’s complex – always harder to get a group together. • Drawback: While the adcoms think it gives them a lens on you as a team player, in “real life” you usually have some time to adapt to a new team, and your true teamwork abilities will come out over time as you respond, whereas here there’s no time to grow and adapt with the team, so it’s a somewhat artificial setup. How to make this type of interview work for you (this is in addition to all the common sense advice for good MBA interviews): • Review Accepted.com’s tips for this interview format. • For Wharton, prepare and practice your one-minute presentation. • For Ross, do the word activity with yourself or a friend, to get used to it. • Think about your inclinations, behaviors, feelings, and approaches when working in a team or group setting, and also ask a colleague or two for some objective feedback. You shouldn’t change your natural approach, but you can certainly play to your strengths and minimize negative tendencies. • Read online about other applicants’ experiences with the group interview. •Make your goal the team’s success and ability to complete the assigned task, not its adoption of your idea. [NOTE: This post is part of a series about MBA interview formats, click here to check out the rest of the posts]   By Cindy Tokumitsu, author and co-author of numerous ebooks, articles, and special reports, including Why MBA and Best MBA Programs: A Guide to Selecting the Right One. Cindy has advised hundreds of successful applicants in her fifteen years with Accepted.com. Related Resources: • MBA Interview Formats Series • Seven Tips for MBA Interview Prep • How to Prep for Your MBA Interviews Tags: MBA Admissions, MBA Interview, Michigan Ross, Team Interview, Wharton 
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16 Nov 2014, 14:00
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: Can You Get Into B-School with Low Stats? |
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Yes! Not everyone who goes to Harvard scores a perfect 800 and has a GPA of 4.0 (in fact, very few actually hit those perfect scores). If you’re stats are less than ideal, that doesn’t (always) mean that you need to cross your top schools off your list!  Now’s your chance to catch up on valuable information you may have missed during our webinar, How to Get Accepted to B-School with Low Stats. B-school applicants with low GPA and/or GMAT scores – you don’t want to miss this! View How to Get Accepted to B-School with Low Stats for free now!  Tags: GMAT, MBA Admissions, weakness, webinar 
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17 Nov 2014, 15:00
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: What Are My Chances? Energy Sector Veteran With an Entrepreneurial Spark |
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This blog post is part of a series of MBA profile evaluations called “What are My Chances?” by Michelle Stockman. Michelle, who started consulting for Accepted in 2007 and worked previously in the Columbia Business School admissions office, will provide selected applicants with school recommendations as well as an assessment of their strengths and weaknesses. If you would like Michelle to evaluate your profile at no charge and as part of this series, please provide the information requested at https://reports.accepted.com/what_are_my_chances. PROFILE #8: Sachin, energy sector veteran with an entrepreneurial spark  Stop right there. Retake your GMAT! Note: This profile request arrived with very little information. Give me more details folks! -BACKGROUND: 30+ Indian male who graduated in 2001 from Nagpur University in India. Chemical engineer with 12 years managerial experience in the natural gas industry. Sachin, why now? That would be my question for you. You’re on the older end of the scale when it comes to MBA candidates. You’ve got to explain why you’re ready to interrupt your career for two years, lose income, and perhaps give up your current management position to pursue an MBA. It’s not enough to be in a mid-career funk. At first glance, if you want to advance your career within the industry, you might fit better into an EMBA program. Have you considered that? -GOALS: Progress career within the energy industry, pursue entrepreneurship allied to the energy sector, and contribute towards India’s social development. These goals definitely make sense with what you’ve shared about your background. When writing your essays, you should share specific, personal examples from your work experience that show past leadership successes. Then state what skills you are missing that an MBA will address. As an older candidate, you also need to show you have the industry network and connections to move into your next position. Don’t think you can rely only on career services to make this transition. -GMAT: 580 Verbal-37 Quant-77 Halt. Hit the breaks. Stop right there. This is not a competitive GMAT score. Other aspects of your profile are really going to have to stand out for you to be accepted to any school. Right now they do not. Retake your GMAT. -GPA: 73.5% Very good GPA from a strong, though relatively lesser known Indian university in terms of international renown. It’s not so important though, as you graduated more than a decade ago. Your GMAT is a better indicator, at this point, of your ability to keep up in an MBA classroom. -EXTRACURRICULAR: Teamwork in social activities. This is very vague. What kinds of activities? What did you accomplish? -SCHOOLS: Sorry. I’m not going to recommend any schools for you. Believe it or not, I’ve read applications with about this level of information from the candidate. They don’t get past a first read. Sachin, you’ve got to go on some long walks and think about why you really want an MBA. What do you hope to achieve? What stories from your past indicate your leadership potential? Don’t approach your MBA from a mental space of feeling stuck or wanting out of your current situation. Research, have conversations throughout the energy sector, then connect the dots from your past to your future. Make your ability to do something extraordinary within your industry sound plausible.   Michelle Stockman is a professional journalist, former Columbia Business School admissions insider, and experienced MBA admissions consultant. Related Resources: • What are My Chances?: Rahul, the Indian Male IT Guy • Best MBA Programs: A Guide to Selecting the Right One • Leadership in Admissions Tags: MBA Admissions, weakness, What Are My Chances 
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18 Nov 2014, 14:00
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: MBA Interview Must-Know #4: The Interview Type |
 Be prepared to address your weaknesses. “MBA Interview Must-Know #4: The Interview Type” is excerpted from the Accepted.com special report, How to Ace Your MBA Interviews To download the entire free special report, click here. The Interview Type. Is it blind (where the interviewer knows only what’s on your resume and what you tell him or her)? Or is it informed with an interviewer who has gone thoroughly through your file. Is it a case presentation? If blind, then you can use material from your application because that material presents your most impressive experiences, and it will be new to your interviewer, but don’t limit yourself to that material. If you are interviewed by someone who has gone through your file, prepare to address weaknesses and gaps and also be ready to bring something new to the interviewer’s understanding of you. Know how to go deeper into the stories you have told and prepare to tell additional anecdotes. Whether blind or informed, make sure to tell your interviewer of important developments that have occurred since you submitted your application – a better GMAT score, an A in a business-related course, a promotion, leadership of a community service initiative… This last step is particularly important if you are interviewing at schools like Harvard and Wharton, which in the past have discouraged or not accepted new information from applicants after the application submission date — even if the information is highly relevant and/or the applicant has sat on the waitlist for months. MBA Interview Tip #4: Know the type of interview you will have and prepare accordingly. Related Resources: • Tips for Your In-Person Interview with an MBA Student or Alumnus • Tips for Your In-Person Interview with an Adcom Member • Seven Tips for MBA Interview Prep Tags: Ace Your MBA Interviews Series, MBA Admissions, MBA Interview, special report 
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18 Nov 2014, 14:00
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: MIT Sloan 2015 Executive MBA Essay Tips & Deadlines |
 This set of essay questions shows that MIT seeks applicants who have a vision for the career they are building, who understand the impacts of their actions, and who have the judgment and practical skills to effectively handle the challenges that will come at them like fastballs in a World Series. The essays are your main means to show that you possess, as MIT’s website states, “strong leadership performance, global perspective, functional expertise, and innovation.” While the statement of purpose challenges you to succinctly create your portrait as an applicant, the three essay questions, each in its own way, probe how you create value while responding to various types of challenges. In an overall plan for the essays, the statement of purpose works as a context, a positioner, an opening pitch, a frame. You will describe specific experiences in each of the three essays, so strategically try to select experiences that are different, to give a comprehensive view. Also, usually it’s advisable to discuss recent experiences, to allow the adcom to see you working at a high level and showing what you’ll bring to the table. Statement of purpose: Please provide a statement indicating your qualifications, why you are pursuing the MIT Executive MBA Program, and what you will contribute to the program. (500 words or less, limited to one page) This is your portrait – your candidacy at a glance. It should convey a vivid, immediate sense of you as a person and as a candidate. It should go beyond just facts to present a point of view and a message. Decide your message first, before drafting the essay, and let it guide you in selecting and elaborating the content details. Beware of a potential pitfall: in discussing qualifications, do not repeat your resume in prose format. Also, don’t present all your qualifications. Select carefully, focusing on those that (a) are really distinctive and relevant to the MBA and/or (b) support your goals directly or indirectly and also (c) reflect your message. Make a short, meaningful point about each qualification, such as the insight it lends or its influence on you, supported by a fact or example. For why you are pursuing the MBA, of course you’ll discuss your professional goals and objectives. Focus not only on what you want to do, but also on what you want to accomplish for the organization and/or its customers/market. The contributions you mention should reference your own experience from work or outside work; think of what about you would be most meaningful and interesting to prospective classmates. This element of your response is an opportunity to show that you understand the program. Essays: 1. 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 based on examples of past work and activities. (500 words or less, limited to one page) In answering this question, clarify what “principled, innovative leader” and “improving the world” mean to you. These points represent your point of view, your “vision” – they should be short, but without them this essay lacks focus. The bulk of the essay will focus on action – your examples of past work and activities that make the case for how you have been and will continue to be a principled, innovative leader who improves the world. They key to making this a gripping, memorable essay is strong experiences and examples combined with your reflection on them pertaining to the essay’s theme. End by briefly discussing how you will build on these experiences to be such a leader in the future. 2. During your career, what is the hardest challenge that you have had to solve? Consider examples when more than one viable solution was present. (500 words or less, limited to one page) There are really two points this question asks about: how you define and respond to a major challenge, and your decision-making process in selecting the solution. Choose your topic accordingly. With just 500 words, structure the essay simply: narrate the challenge as a brief story, portraying your thought process as you encounter it. As you approach the solution part of the story, describe the solution options and your determination of which to take. In writing the essay, clarify why you consider it the “hardest challenge” – is it one that was extraordinarily complex, one that had no desirable solution, one that had huge stakes, etc.? 3. Tell us about a time within the past three years when you had to give difficult feedback to a peer. (500 words or less, limited to one page) This question is a straightforward inquiry into your interpersonal skills, judgment, leadership, and (again) decision making. It’s one thing to give difficult feedback to a subordinate – something you probably do as part of your supervisory role. It’s another thing altogether to give such feedback to a peer – someone you don’t manage and whose performance you aren’t accountable for. If possible, make the essay do “double duty” by selecting a story that also portrays you performing at a high level in a significant role. Think about the topic and how your actions align with and complement the other essays. Optional Essay. As part of the MIT Executive MBA curriculum, you will participate in Organizations Lab (O-Lab). This Action Learning course focuses on making a substantive improvement in the performance of your organization, usually by fixing one of its processes. Identify something, within your organization, upon which to improve. (This does not have to be a large change initiative, small improvements to a process can have a big impact). Please describe the change and why you might choose it? This can be something you have tried to improve in the past and has yet to be realized (whether based on lack of expertise or tools). Should you do this optional essay? I believe yes. It’s an opportunity to further demonstrate your organizational awareness, possibly highlight important elements of your role, and show your perceptiveness. A key element here will be your perspective on change and its potential impact(s). Select an issue that has an interesting, challenging dimension. Consider the experiences you describe in the other essays and make sure this one isn’t redundant – it should reflect a new facet of your experience. Keep it short – certainly under 500 words. And keep it simple: describe the issue you’d like to improve (and why), and then very briefly reflect on why it’s challenging. You may suggest a possible solution or approaches to solutions, but you don’t have to “solve” it. MIT is interested in your thought process here. Deadlines: Application Opens: November 14, 2014 Round 1 Deadline: February 17, 2015 (11:59pm EST) Round 2 Deadline: June 1, 2015 (11:59pm EDT) If you would like help with MIT Sloan’s executive MBA essays, please consider Accepted.com’s Executive MBA packages or our hourly consulting/editing services.  By Cindy Tokumitsu, co-author of The EMBA Edge, and author of the free special report, Ace the EMBA. Cindy has helped MBA applicants get accepted to top EMBA programs around the world. She is delighted to help you too! Related Resources: • School-Specific Executive MBA Essay Tips • Tips for Executive MBA Reapplicants • The GMAT and EMBA Programs Tags: 2015 EMBA Application, EMBA, MBA Admissions, MIT Sloan, MIT Sloan EMBA 
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19 Nov 2014, 12:01
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: Meet Ashley: A Wharton MBA Student Making an Impact |
 Wharton student Ashley Wells This interview is the latest in an Accepted.com blog series featuring interviews with current MBA students, offering readers a behind-the-scenes look at top MBA programs. And now for a chat with Ashley Wells, a first-year student at Wharton. Accepted: We’d like to get to know you! Where are you from? Where and what did you study as an undergrad? What was your most recent pre-MBA job? Ashley: I have spent the last eight years living in Washington, DC, first to pursue my undergraduate degree in Political Science at The George Washington University and staying after undergrad to work in Deloitte Consulting’s Federal Practice. Although I grew up in Tampa, Florida and live for sunshine and the beach, I had an inherent love of government and politics which brought me to DC. Ultimately, this passion has transitioned into a broader realization that I love making an impact on people and communities around me, and I find that business can present profound solutions to social problems in addition to government. In my career, I had some really interesting experiences learning about and trying to solve some of our country’s challenges alongside my clients. Working on issues such as reducing military suicides, tracking and protecting Department of Homeland Security personnel in the Middle East, and providing nutritious food to the one in five children who suffer from hunger in the United States were just a few of the challenges that brought me to work every day. I also had the opportunity to work in Deloitte’s Hong Kong practice, which is a very new joint venture between Deloitte US and Hong Kong. This “start-up” environment within the framework of a massive company enabled me to see the excitements and challenges that are innate to forming a company’s market presence from the ground-up. Accepted: Can you tell us about Forte’s MBALaunch program? How did you decide to join the program and what did you gain for the experience? Ashley: I was lucky to be an inaugural member of Forte’s MBALaunch program in Washington, DC in 2013! Forte has an incredible reputation within the business and MBA communities as a solid support network for women. Until this point, Forte focused on women currently pursuing MBAs and post-MBA women. I was really thrilled to see them offer a program for pre-MBA women to bring their programming full loop. Like anything, the Forte MBALaunch program is what you make of it. I had an excellent relationship with my assigned Forte advisor who reviewed my essays, met with me monthly, and offered me encouragement throughout the process. I met with my assigned Forte small group over brunches and essay review sessions to offer one another feedback and support. At the end of our journey, many of us had gotten into top schools and we were beside one another (over mimosas!) to celebrate what we’d been through together. I took advantage of the Forte sessions on topics such as resume and interview preparation, which I believe gave me valuable insights that are not available from open-source information. Finally, I got a great network of friends from this and my investment in the program has already paid for itself in leaps and bounds. Two friends from the program actually connected the nonprofit I was on the board of to their companies, who then sponsored multiple major events for the nonprofit. All of the above benefits from the program far surpassed what I anticipated, and I look forward to my network continuing to grow from it moving forward. Accepted: What are some of your most rewarding extracurricular activities (both before entering Wharton and current activities)? How have those activities helped shape your career? Ashley: Two activities were core to my development and truly my identity prior to coming to Wharton. First was joining the board as a Vice President of United Women in Business (UWIB), a start-up nonprofit that provides professional development, networking, and community service opportunities to young female professionals. As a nonprofit entrepreneur, I teamed with fellow 20-something women to build UWIB, drive its overall programming strategy in three cities, and planned and executed all professional development events for DC women. This experience was aligned to my passion of impacting my community and taught me how much I enjoy building an organization, giving me an interest in start-ups that I am exploring in Business School. Furthermore, this experience positioned me well for my Wharton extracurricular activity leadership roles in Wharton Women in Business, and in Ashoka’s Catapult program where I advise six high school entrepreneurs starting a business. Second, I actively challenged myself to broaden my horizons through travel. I traveled to 37 countries over six years, including studying in Madrid, Spain, backpacking Latin America for two months, working in Hong Kong this past summer, and religiously taking off work for 2-3 weeks each May to travel to a new region. These experiences reinforced my desire to live and work abroad throughout my career, and gave me a deeper sense of empathy, wonder, cultural differences, and appreciation for kindness that I believe will forever shape my career and my life. Accepted: What is your favorite thing about Wharton so far? Is there anything you’d change about the program? Ashley: My favorite thing about Wharton thus far is the energy. Walking into Huntsman Hall each day is just a beautiful commotion of ideas, priorities, learning, and conversations. People are eager to connect and support one another, hungry to learn and push their expectations of themselves, and excited to carve their niche in the world. The people here inspire me each day to be better and think bigger, and the environment is molding me to see the world more analytically and creatively. You just can’t get this experience taking business classes on Coursera. One thing I would change is just making some of the “summer prep” content available earlier. Many schools have “math camp” style tutorials, accounting prep sessions, etc. during the summer, but it’s honestly never too early to start learning some of that content! Had I had a bit more time to prepare in advance, I think I might have felt a bit better about the extremely quant heavy curriculum. So, for those of you out there without calculus experience like me, I highly recommend learning from my mistakes and prepping for that now! Accepted: How is Wharton helping you to secure your future internship? Ashley: Wharton is extremely hands-on with the recruiting process. I usually don’t like having my hand held as a highly independent person, but with Career Services, you are paying for these services and you should absolutely take advantage of them. Career Services preps you for everything from going from “good to great” on behavioral interviews, to how to nail a case, to industry-specific career overviews, to in-depth resume reviews, to individual sessions one-on-one to help you plot your path to getting your dream job. What I really like about Wharton Career Services and Wharton overall is that there is an enhanced focus on evaluating your interests holistically. Important parts of your personality and life are analyzed in addition to your career goals. There is an emphasis on thinking critically about careers where you can thrive in multiple dimensions of your life. They are also just an awesome reassuring presence to ascertain that every first year’s worst nightmare – not getting an internship or job! – is unrealistic because, as they always say, “Everyone gets a job. Everyone!” Accepted: Can you share your top 3 MBA admissions tips with our readers? Ashley: • Submit your applications when you’re ready. I submitted my applications saying to myself “They may not like me, but I gave 100%. There isn’t a single word I would change.” You should feel like you did absolutely everything you could on your application, and then you can mentally move on from it to more important things like interview prep and evaluating school choices. • But if possible, apply round one. Everyone has a different strategy for this, but from my perspective, it was so much easier to find out in December, make a decision by January, and then start planning an exciting and fulfilling summer pre-MBA. I don’t think I could have handled the prolonged anxiety of applying from August-March, but if you do go through multiple rounds of applications, just give yourself iterative breaks and rewards to sustain your energy. • Only apply to schools you really want to go to. I look back on one school specifically that I applied to, and it was truly a waste of my time. Had I been honest with myself, I would have realized that I would have been miserable there. No matter what school ratings say or how good the school’s reputation is, if you don’t get an inspiring vibe when you’re visiting and engaging with students there, it’s just not worth it. Instead, focus more attention on the schools you can envision being elated by when you hear the news that you got in. For one-on-one guidance on your b-school application, please see our MBA Application Packages. Thank you Ashley for sharing your story with us – we wish you loads of luck!  Related Resources: • Wharton Executive MBA 2014 Essay Tips • Get into the Wharton School, a free webinar • Four Tips for the Wharton Interview Tags: Forte, MBA Admissions, MBA Student Interviews, Wharton 
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19 Nov 2014, 16:01
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: Oxford Said 2015 MBA Essay Tips & Deadlines |
 This program packs a lot into its one year, including a lot of team and group work. Therefore, it needs students who can quickly connect and form working relationships (and hopefully personal relationships). Also, its short duration means there is not time for creative soul searching and for exploring this and that industry or function – to get the most out of it and to gain desirable employment upon completion, you need to have self-awareness and focused goals. These essays will elicit those qualities. Essays: 1. What should Oxford expect from you? (500 words) Interesting question. Can they expect you to get involved in specific activities? Which ones? How would you like to contribute to the school? Any activities you would like to initiate? Do you have a business idea you want to develop as part of Oxford’s entrepreneurship project? Are you also thinking of participating in the strategic consulting project? Any places you would like to go on an optional student trek? Oxford is giving you 500 words here. You have the room to show how you have contributed in the past and how you intend to contribute at Oxford. If you are getting the idea that you need to know something about the program before you respond to the question, you’re getting the right idea. If you have specific ideas (along with relevant past experience), you can also mention how you will represent the school after you graduate. 2. How do you hope to see your career developing over the next five years? How will the MBA and Oxford assist you in the development of these ambitions? (500 words) This essay focuses on shorter-term goals – the one MBA year and the four years following. Describe your target post-MBA position, give an example or two of preferred organizations, and describe what you expect to do in that role. Also, explain briefly why you are choosing this path, what motivates you. Then sketch how you will likely advance over the four years – this time frame may include one company move or new position, but probably not more than that. Finally, identify aspects of the program most important to you – those that will yield skills and knowledge relevant to your goals, and/or are meaningful to you for personal reasons. 3. Plus your preferred essay from the options below: Sport is pure competition. What does it teach us about companies, individuals, and markets? (500 words) OR The business of business is business. Is this true? (500 words) Both of these options challenge you to express your thoughts about concepts related to business. Therefore, they both present the danger of luring you to expound for 500 words in abstract terms about competition, the nature of business, etc. Please do the opposite. Whichever question you choose to answer, and whatever point you posit, ground your essay and your argument in specific examples, details, and/or experience. That will make it both interesting and credible. As for which to answer, which one elicits your interest and ideas? Don’t hold back and be bland and mild in your opinions. The adcom is looking for people who have something to say and can make a case for their ideas. Reapplicant Essay What improvements have you made in your candidacy since you last applied to the Oxford MBA programme? (Maximum 250 words) This is they key question for all MBA reapplicants. What has changed that will make you a more compelling applicant this year than you were last time you applied? If you would like professional guidance with your Oxford Said MBA application, please consider Accepted’s MBA essay editing and MBA admissions consulting or our MBA Application Packages, which include advising, editing, interview coaching, and a resume edit for the Oxford application. Deadlines: Application Deadline Decision Notification Round 3 January 9, 2015 February 27, 2015 Round 4 March 13, 2015 April 24, 2015 Round 5 April 24, 2015 May 29, 2015 Round 6 May 29, 2015 June 26, 2015 By Cindy Tokumitsu, author and co-author of numerous ebooks, articles, and special reports, including Why MBA and Best MBA Programs: A Guide to Selecting the Right One. Cindy has advised hundreds of successful applicants in her fifteen years with Accepted.com. Related Resources: • School-Specific MBA Application Essay Tips • Leadership in Admissions • 7 Signs an Experience Belongs in Your Application Essays Tags: 2015 MBA Application, MBA Admissions, Oxford Said 
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20 Nov 2014, 12:00
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: Everything You Wanted to Know About MD/MBA Programs |
 Intrigued by business and medicine? Not sure whether you want to be the next Steve Jobs or Jonas Salk? AST’s guest this week is the person who can show you how to combine these two complementary, but in some ways disparate interests, with an MD/MBA. Meet Dr. Maria Chandler, founder of the Association of MD MBA Programs and the UC Irvine MD/MBA program, MD/MBA Faculty advisor at UC Irvine, Assoc Clinical Professor of Pediatrics, Assoc Professor at the Paul Merage School of Business, and practicing pediatrician. Tune in to our conversation for fascinating insight about the place where medicine meets management. 00:01:11 – Featured Applicant Question: Should I apply in Round 2 with my good essays, or apply Round 3 with excellent essays? 00:04:10 – Why Dr. Chandler decided to pursue an MBA. 00:06:30 – The story behind the founding of the UC Irvine MD/MBA Program. 00:08:08 – Inviting the east-coasters to Irvine in February: The founding of the Association of MD MBA Programs. 00:10:42 – Curriculum at the typical MD/MBA Program. 00:13:04 – Culture gap alert! What it’s like to go to b-school after med school. 00:17:51 – MD/MBA career paths. 00:20:15 – Do most MD/MBAs leave clinical medicine eventually? 00:22:14 – How and why this new degree became so popular so fast. 00:27:01 – The dual-degree application requirements. 00:31:35 – Maria’s dream for the future of medicine. 00:36:35 – Advice for applicants considering an MD/MBA. *Theme music is courtesy of podcastthemes.com. Related Links: • The Rise of the M.D./M.B.A. Degree • MD/MBAs: Fixing Hearts & Healthcare • UC Irvine M.D./M.B.A. Program • Contact Maria: mchandle@uci.edu Related Shows: • Getting Into Medical School: Advice from a Pro • MCAT Mania: How to Prepare • Healthcare Management at Wharton and at Large • Med School Application Process: From AMCAS to Decisions Leave a Review for Admissions Straight Talk:  Tags: Admissions Straight Talk, MBA Admissions, MBA healthcare, MD/MBA, Medical School Admissions, podcast 
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20 Nov 2014, 16:00
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: International GMAT Test Takers Score Higher than Americans |
 U.S. GMAT-takers performing poorly compared to test-takers from Asia-Pacific U.S. GMAT test-takers are performing poorly compared to test-takers from Asia-Pacific reports a recent Wall Street Journal article. In response to this growing performance gap, adcom at U.S. schools are seeking to implement new evaluation metrics to make domestic students appear better. Here’s an example of how things have changed: For the quant section, in 2004, a raw score of 48 would put the student in the 86th percentile; today, that same score would yield a ranking in the 74th percentile. More students (outside the U.S.) are scoring higher – especially in the quant section – making it a lot harder for U.S. test takers (whose raw scores have remained relatively flat) to hit those higher percentages. That is, their test scores haven’t changed, but their percentile rankings are falling. Here are some additional stats from the WSJ article: • Currently, Asia-Pacific citizens make up 44% of GMAT test- takers, compared to 22% a decade ago. U.S. students comprise only 36% of all test-takers. • Asians averaged a mean raw score of 45 on the quant section, compared to a raw mean for U.S. students of 33. The global mean was 38. • 10 years ago, the Asian students’ raw score was at 42; for U.S. students it was still 33. To address concerns about the shifting global rankings of the test, this past September GMAC introduced a bench-marking tool that “allows admissions officers to compare applicants against their own cohort, filtering scores and percentile rankings by world region, country, gender and college grade-point average.” Adcom explain that they need a way to measure applicants against other test takers in an applicant’s region. They explain that they don’t just want to “become factories for high-scoring test-takers from abroad.” Others respond by suggesting that American students need to receive a more intense math education, similar to the emphasis put on mathematics in Asia. But is lack of math education the problem or is it the amount of time Americans invest in test prep? GMAC reports that U.S. students only spend an average 64 hours prepping for the GMAT, compared to the 151 hours put in by Asian students. Students concerned about their GMAT percentile may want to consider taking the GRE which is now accepted at 85% of b-schools. Related Resources: • MBA Admissions Tip: Dealing with a Low GPA • Low GMAT Score? Don’t Panic…Yet. • Admissions Offers to International Grad Students Increase 9% Since 2013 Tags: GMAT, MBA Admissions, Wall St. Journal 
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21 Nov 2014, 13:01
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: Prioritizing at an All You Can Eat Buffet: UNC Kenan-Flagler Student Interview |
 This interview is the latest in an Accepted.com blog series featuring interviews with current MBA students, offering readers a behind-the-scenes look at top MBA programs. And now for a chat with Alex Dea, second-year student at UNC Kenan-Flagler. Accepted: First, can you tell us a little about yourself? Where are you from? Where and what did you study as an undergrad? What was your most recent pre-MBA job? Alex: I was born and raised in Rochester, New York, and went to Boston College in Chestnut Hill, to study business and theology. Upon graduation from BC, I joined Deloitte Consulting and spent three years in the Boston office. At Deloitte, I advised clients on how to use digital technology to transform their business strategy and operations. After three years at Deloitte, I moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina in August 2013 to attend the University of North Carolina (Kenan-Flagler). Accepted: Why did you choose UNC Kenan-Flagler? How would you say it was the best fit program for you? Which other schools had you considered? Alex: First and foremost, it was the people and the culture. I visited UNC and spoke to a handful of students, faculty and administrators and walked away feeling like these were the people I would want to work with and support. Furthermore, they seemed like people who wanted and were willing to support me. People at UNC Kenan-Flagler understand that a “rising tide lifts all boats,” and when someone achieves success it can be good for everyone. Secondly, it was the leadership opportunities. I came to business school because I wanted to accelerate my development in becoming the leader I thought I was capable of becoming and was very impressed on the leadership development opportunities at UNC Kenan-Flagler. Lastly, it was the curriculum. UNC has a robust core curriculum that I knew would allow me to hone some development areas in my business toolkit while allowing me to get depth in some of my areas of interest, such as Entrepreneurship and Marketing. One of the things that was most important to me was finding a school where students both own and invest in the community. Everywhere I’ve gone, I’ve always taken pride in the communities and organizations I’ve associated myself with and have invested time and energy into those communities and I wanted to go somewhere that empowered people to do just that. As such, I really looked at schools that seemed to have strong student-driven and community-like feel. This attracted me to UNC Kenan-Flagler, UC Berkeley (Haas) and Duke University (Fuqua). All of the programs I applied to are top-notch programs with great people. While I’m very happy at UNC, I have nothing but respect and admiration with all of these schools to the point where I still stay in touch with many of the individuals I met at those respective schools. This has come in handy, especially for some of my recruiting efforts and business school activities and pursuits. You never know when a connection you make can come in handy! Accepted: If you could change one thing about the program, what would it be? Alex: I think very highly of my fellow classmates, administrators, faculty and staff at UNC Kenan-Flagler. I think we can do a better job of sharing the talents, skills and gifts that we collectively possess with the outside world. One of the nice things about being at Kenan-Flagler is it’s a very feedback-driven environment. I’ve shared some of these insights with some administrators within the program and they’ve been very receptive to my ideas and even shared some of the things they were doing to improve upon this. Sure enough, there were initiatives underway to work on this and even found opportunities for me assist in the process. Accepted: Can you share some advice to incoming first year students, to help make their adjustment to b-school easier? What do you wish you would’ve known early on in your first year? Alex: I think two critical concepts to business school are developing priorities and understanding opportunity cost. Business school can feel like an endless “all you can eat buffet.” There are so many great opportunities and experiences at top MBA programs – it really is overwhelming! Developing your priorities will help you figure out which opportunities to pursue and which to ignore. You can’t do everything, but you can do a lot. Secondly, understanding opportunity cost will help you make those tough decisions. Inevitably, you’ll be given the choice to do either X or Y, both being really great options. Understanding what you give up in return for what you get is critical to evaluating opportunities that come your way, and can help you make those tough decisions. (Note: this is an ongoing process throughout your two years!) Accepted: Where did you intern this past summer? What role did UNC play in helping you secure that position? Alex: This past summer I interned at Salesforce.com out in San Francisco, CA. I worked on a Product Marketing team for the Salesforce1 Platform and enjoyed learning the ins and outs of life as a Product Marketer and experiencing first-hand what it’s like to work at the world’s most innovative company (as deemed by Forbes). While I went off-campus to recruit for this position, I got some help from a UNC Kenan-Flagler Alum who worked at Salesforce and was able to give me great insight into the people, culture and business of Salesforce. Furthermore, I relied on the Alumni network at UNC Kenan-Flagler for almost every company I applied to during the recruiting process. Whether it was getting insight into the company culture, understanding what interviewers were looking for or getting honest insights about career decisions the Kenan-Flagler Alumni network played a huge role in the process. Furthermore, the UNC Kenan-Flagler Career Management Center (CMC) was instrumental in my recruiting process. Since I did not go through the traditional on-campus recruiting channels the CMC was very helpful in connecting me to Alums but also providing me coaching and feedback as to how to handle particular situations that occurred in the recruiting process. For instance, I had the fortunate problem of getting multiple offers with quickly expiring deadlines while I was still interviewing for a role that I wanted. The CMC staff was provided great guidance in how I needed to handle that situation while maintaining professional and positive relationships with all the companies and recruiters that were involved. Accepted: Looking back, what was the most challenging aspect of the MBA admissions process? How did you approach that challenge and overcome it? Alex: My biggest challenge was that I was initially waitlisted at every school that I applied to. This was a tough pill to swallow, but after recognizing that I didn’t have time to sit idle I needed to take action and I needed help doing so. I was very fortunate in that I have a great network of current and former MBA students who were very familiar with the admissions process. I’m someone who is comfortable networking and building relationships with others so I reached out to a handful of people who I thought could provide thoughtful guidance. These people were really helpful in being supportive about my situation while providing me with actionable insight on what I could do to move from the waitlist pile to the accept pile. In certain cases, they were able to directly connect me to admissions officers who gave me honest and direct guidance on what I could do to improve my odds of admission. In the end things ended up working out, and while it was stressful it was a reminder that it’s not always but what happens, but rather, how you respond to what happens. Despite facing an uphill and daunting battle, I managed to get off the waitlist and attend a Top MBA Program of my choice. Accepted: Can you tell us about your blog? What have you gained from the experience? What do you hope others will learn? Alex: Over the years, people have given me feedback that I give great guidance and advice and communicate effectively. Additionally, I’ve always wanted to write but thought I wasn’t a real “writer” so I shied away from doing anything. Business school is about taking risks and stretching yourself, as such, I decided to take this feedback and run with it by creating a blog to share my thoughts and experiences on my MBA experience. I’ve met some incredible people and built great relationships through this experience. These people, have not only helped me learn, but have made a difference in my career. I wanted to combine all of this and share all of the knowledge, stories, experiences and thoughts so that others could learn and benefit from what I’ve gained. So far, it’s been a very positive experience and something that I’ve enjoyed. Not only have I met great people, but I’ve also been able to reconnect with old colleagues/friends who have seen some of my work. Overall, it’s been a great learning experience and something I’ve truly enjoyed. For one-on-one guidance on your b-school application, please see our MBA Application Packages. You can read more about Alex’s journey by checking out his blog, A Digital Mentor. Thank you Alex for sharing your story with us – we wish you loads of luck!  Related Resources: • UNC Kenan-Flagler B-School Zone • Leadership in Admissions • Waitlisted! Now What? Tags: MBA Admissions, MBA Student Interviews, UNC Kenan Flagler 
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21 Nov 2014, 13:01
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: CEIBS 2015 MBA Essay Tips & Deadlines |
 Demonstrate that your goals fit the range of outcomes for the CEIBS program. CEIBS (China Europe International Business School, pronounced “Seebs”), located in Shanghai, is the longest-running MBA program in China, boasting the largest MBA alumni pool in China and over 10,000 alumni around the world. Ranked by the Financial Times 2nd in China (behind HKUST) and 17th in the world, the program focuses on endowing students with a global business perspective plus a local Chinese cultural understanding. The curriculum places a great emphasis on understanding international business and how to apply these skills in China, in particular on endowing students with soft skills like interpersonal communication, strategy development, and an integrated management perspective that allows graduates to solve challenging business problems across functional business lines. Program graduates seem to do quite well: the average salary for graduates in the past 3 years is over $127,000. CEIBS’s essay questions can cause some anxiety because of the choices applicants have for questions 2 and 3. My comments and advice are in blue below: 1. Discuss your post-MBA career aspirations and explain how you plan to achieve them. (300 words) * This is a straightforward career goal question. You need to demonstrate that your goals fit the range of outcomes for the CEIBS program: if your expectations are not aligned, the admissions committee cannot accept you since you will graduate unhappy – and possibly unemployed! The second part of the question about how you plan to achieve these goals is also critical: you must demonstrate your insight into the skills and knowledge you will gain from the CEIBS program and also your understanding of the network, pavement pounding, and ladder climbing that you will need to do to reach your goals. 2. For question 2(a) and 2(b), you only need to answer one of the two questions. 2(a). CEIBS is situated in Shanghai – a truly global city, and the economic center of the world’s fastest growing economy. Given its unique location, how do you anticipate that Shanghai will differentiate your MBA experience and contribute to your goals? (400 words) * Applicants excited to learn in Shanghai will do well to answer this question since their passion will be reflected in their response. CEIBS’s location in Shanghai allows it to offer experiential learning programs with many companies that have corporate offices in the city. CEIBS also hosts many local companies for on-campus presentations and recruiting; professors are experts in the Chinese economy, finance, and politics; and important personages are able to speak on campus because of its location. Demonstrate not only your knowledge of these rich offerings but also how they will help you reach your learning and career goals. 2(b). Discuss a situation where you have demonstrated significant leadership ability. (400 words) * This is a nice straightforward leadership question. Applicants who choose to answer this question should discuss a situation in which they summoned exceptional contributions from others to overcome challenging obstacles and produce extraordinary results. Given CEIBS’s focus on international business and China context, if you have a choice of a situation that took place in Asia – or required an understanding of cultural differences with team members from/in Asia, that might be the ideal anecdote to share. 3. For question 3(a) and 3(b), you only need to answer one of the two questions. 3(a). Many would argue that entrepreneurship is not necessarily a state of being, but a state of mind. Describe an entrepreneurial experience where you went against the grain or conventional way of thinking, to discover and create new value. (400 words). * The premise of this essay is that entrepreneurship is a state of mind: it isn’t necessarily just starting a business but may also describe a situation in which you introduce something that didn’t exist before. People with entrepreneurial mindsets start new business streams in their current companies, they see opportunities and they seize them. Applicants who have an experience in which they thought outside of the box to generate value will do well to share those anecdotes here. 3(b). Identify up to 3 trends, big or small, that you see unfolding in the next decade. Discuss how the(se) trend(s) will affect you and how you plan to deal with them both on campus and in the future. (400 words) * Look into your crystal ball – and/or read what global pundits are predicting – and choose three trends that will affect you professionally and/or personally. A strong answer to this question will not only discuss the trend but will try to determine the ways in which it will affect how consumers use products, how those products are distributed, and how the CEIBS curriculum and extracurricular programming will help prepare the applicant to thrive in these changing environments. This essay may also draw on past experiences in which you recognized and capitalized on an emerging trend. 4. (Optional) Is there any other information that you believe would be helpful to the MBA Admission Committee in evaluating your application?(200 words). Re-applicants are suggested to describe the progress you have made since your previous application. If you feel that the above essays provide a full picture of your experiences, then there is no need to write anything here. However, I never like to leave space unfilled. Assess the answers you provide in the required essays and identify an area of your background that you weren’t able to include elsewhere: your intercultural ability, your success in an extracurricular activity – particularly since the application form only allows you to list the names of the activities you have taken part in with no description of your roles in them – or an explanation of decisions you have made in your career path are just some of the many interesting facets of your background you can share here. I encourage you to use this space fully. Application Form: Keep in mind that CEIBS does not request a copy of your current CV/resume in the application. The only area of the application where an applicant may describe his work experience is in the Work Experience section, which requests data about dates of employment and salary and allows 40 words each for 4 responsibilities to describe each position (that’s approximately 160 words to describe each role). This is actually a fine amount of space; just be sure to use it to describe your work and impact. Don’t make the mistake of simply filling in some general responsibilities and losing the opportunity to share details about your initiatives and impacts. If you would like professional guidance with your CEIBS MBA application, please consider Accepted’s MBA essay editing and MBA admissions consulting or our MBA Application Packages, which include advising, editing, and interview coaching for the CEIBS application. Application for entry into the MBA2017 is round based. The MBA Admissions Office will process applications according to the below dates. The final application deadline for admission is Mar. 23, 2015. Round Application Deadline Decision by 1 Nov. 5, 2014 Dec. 10, 2014 2 Jan. 14, 2015 Mar. 11, 2015 3 Mar. 23, 2015 Apr. 29, 2015   By Jennifer Bloom who has been helping applicants to the top MBA programs draft their resumes, application forms, letters of recommendation, and essays for 15 years. She is happy to serve as your personal coach and hand-holder throughout the entire process. There’s no time like the present to begin! Related Resources: • School-Specific MBA Application Essay Tips • Why MBA? • 7 Signs an Experience Belongs in Your Application Essays Tags: 2015 MBA Application, CEIBS, MBA Admissions 
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23 Nov 2014, 10:00
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: HEC Paris 2015 MBA Essay Tips & Deadlines |
 These essays give the adcom a well-rounded view of you – not just what you’ve done but how you think and respond. Moreover, they require you to communicate some complex thoughts and experiences in few words. For the four short essays especially, don’t waste words on conventional introductory and concluding paragraphs. Jump right into your point or story, and use straightforward sentences that avoid wordy constructions (“had the opportunity to,” “was able to”); don’t feel shy using straightforward declarative sentences. Added benefit: you come across as more confident. Once you’ve sketched your ideas for all the essays, step back and look at how all these facets add up as a whole, to see if you should adjust any content to avoid redundancy. Essays: 1. Why are you applying to the HEC MBA Program now? What is the professional objective that will guide your career choice after your MBA, and how will the HEC MBA contribute to the achievement of this objective? (500 Words Maximum) This is a traditional goals question with a couple of twists. First, the “why now” part should be explicitly addressed, even if it seems obvious. Second, the “professional objective” is essentially your long-term career vision, and the question assumes that this vision or goal will drive your preceding steps, so present your short-term goal in that context, i.e., how it will be a prelude to your ultimate professional objective. Otherwise, as always with this type of goals question, connect the dots. Let the reader see that your goals grow organically from your experience and are achievable given your past experience and an MBA from HEC. 2. What do you consider your most significant life achievement? (250 Words Maximum) Most significant life achievement – few work accomplishments rise to this level. Not that you can’t use a work story, but if, for example, you state that boosting your organization’s bottom-line is your greatest life achievement, the adcom might wonder about your values. If you can say that the accomplishment, while boosting the bottom line, also saved jobs or lessened negative environmental impacts, however, that’s different. For some people, this story will be personal – I think of clients who have persevered through challenging medical diagnoses for example; for others, it will involve impact at work or outside of work. Structure: simply narrate the story, and at the end, clarify why you deem it most significant. 3. Leadership and ethics are inevitably intertwined in the business world. Describe a situation in which you have dealt with these issues and how they have influenced you (250 Words max) Again, keep the structure simple: tell the story, and end with a brief discussion of how the experience has influenced you. It may seem like a challenge to identify an experience that encompasses both leadership and ethics. However, addressing an ethics challenge will almost inherently require leadership (often informal), whether on your part or someone else’s. When you explain how it influenced you, don’t just state generalities; give a specific example. 4. Imagine a life entirely different from the one you now lead, what would it be? (250 Words Maximum) This essay is an opportunity to show a different side of yourself. Describe an imagined life that reflects something meaningful to you. Make it vivid, show your passion. Note that the question does NOT ask what you would do if not your current life/role; it just asks you to “imagine a life.” Use that openness to express your imagination, passion, and interest vividly. In doing so, however, do not make it abstract. Weave in and employ your knowledge and experience, e.g., if you love ballet and are an avid ballet-goer; you could build your imagined life in a way that uses your knowledge of and passion for dance. The reader would learn something interesting about you – and your prospective contribution to the social context of the program. 5. Please choose from one of the following essays: (250 Words max) a) What monument or site would you advise a first-time visitor to your country or city to discover, and why? b) Certain books, movies or plays have had an international success that you believe to be undeserved. Choose an example and analyse it. c) What figure do you most admire and why? You may choose from any field (arts, literature, politics, business, etc). All of these options are equally good – choose the one that resonates the most with you; the one that you want to answer. It’s another opportunity to showcase your interests and passions. The “why” part is key: avoid platitudes, be specific and present focused, fresh insights. 6. Is there any additional information you would like to share with us? (900 words max) This question invites you to explain anything that needs explaining (e.g., gap in employment, choice of recommender if not direct supervisor, a bad grade, etc.) as well as to present new material that will enhance your application. If you choose to do the latter, make sure it’s a point that is essential for a clear and full picture of your candidacy. They give you a lot of words to work with; don’t think that you have to use all 900! HEC Paris 2015 Application Deadlines: Application Deadline Decision Date 15th August 2014 19th September 2014 15th September 2014 17th October 2014 15th October 2014 14th November 2014 15th November 2014 19th December 2014 15th December 2014 9th January 2015 1st January 2015 5th February 2015 1st February 2015 6th March 2015 1st March 2015 3rd April 2015 1st April 2015 11th May 2015 1st May 2015 5th June 2015 1st June 2015 3rd July 2015 1st July 2015 24th July 2015  By Cindy Tokumitsu, author and co-author of numerous ebooks, articles, and special reports, including Why MBA and Best MBA Programs: A Guide to Selecting the Right One. Cindy has advised hundreds of successful applicants in her fifteen years with Accepted.com. Related Resources: • HEC Paris: Why to Go and How to Get In (podcast) • Leadership in Admissions • 5 Fatal Flaws to Avoid in Your MBA Application Essays Tags: 2015 MBA Application, HEC, MBA Admissions 
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23 Nov 2014, 14:00
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: Your 4 Step Guide to Beating Those MBA Round 2 Deadlines |
 Create a detailed schedule. January may seem like worlds away, but if you don’t get crackin’ now, then these next 6-8 weeks will come and go before you can say “MBA 2015.” Hopefully by this point you’ve already taken your GMAT and decided on the MBA programs you’d like to attend. Now it’s time to turn your attention to the actual applications, with a heavy emphasis on those MBA essays. Yes, now. Assuming you apply to 4-6 programs, that’ll give you about 3 weeks for the first application (which is always the hardest), and then about 1-1.5 weeks for each remaining application, and a couple of weeks for the unexpected things that you can expect will happen between now and January. It’s you versus the buzzer. Here are four things you can do now to make sure you submit your MBA Round 2 applications on time: 1. Create a detailed schedule. Make a fairly rigid schedule that allows time for drafting, writing, and editing each essay. Each one of these steps requires time, lots of time, so the key is to start early and commit to your schedule. Let your forward momentum propel you to the finish line. (P.S. Your schedule should be rigid, but you should also accept that there are always hiccups along the way; leave room for error, and as I said above, the expected unexpected.) 2. Complete one application before moving to the next. Approaching each application separately will help ensure that each is completed as a cohesive package. Writing all your goals essays and then all your achievement essays and then all your team work essays will simply confuse things and result in you losing focus. Write HBS’ essay first, conveying your unique story as it relates to Harvard. Then do Stanford‘s essays, while focusing on how your story relates to Stanford. Then move on to Wharton, Columbia, MIT, and Kellogg respectively. 3. Determine which experiences best answers each question for each school. Your essays should complement each other and the rest of your application. You won’t want to use the same experience in two of your Haas essays, but you may be able to use an experience highlighted in a short answer from Harvard’s app in one of your Kellogg essays. 4. Do NOT submit your applications right away. This applies to all your MBA applications, but particularly to the first one you complete. Here’s why: As you proceed through subsequent applications, you may discover that certain ideas that you developed in Application #4 help sharpen a point in Application #1. A week before the deadline is a good time to review your first application and clarify any points that have been further developed in later applications. If your original points seem fuzzy, then you’ll have enough time to refine them.   Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best Related Resources: • School-Specific Tips for Top MBA Programs • Resourceful Essay Recycling • From Example to Exemplary: How to Use Sample Essays to Create Exemplary Essays Tags: deadlines, MBA Admissions 
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24 Nov 2014, 11:00
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: MBA Interview Questions: Walk Me Through Your Resume |
 Your interviewer already knows what you’ve done. Now she wants to know why. Reason for asking the question: 1. This question (or some version of it) is very often the first question asked in an MBA interview, since it should be a fairly easy question to answer and provides a foundation for the rest of the interview. Can the candidate remain focused on answering the question? Is he or she especially nervous? Can the candidate summarize his or her work accomplishments succinctly while at the same time providing a narrative about career progression? All of this information is helpful to manage the interview. 2. The interviewer has already had the chance to look at your resume, but wants to understand the “why” of it. The responsibility of the candidate is to highlight some career accomplishments, but primarily to explain the reasoning and motivation for the most significant career moves made. How to prepare: The answer to this question should be 2-3 minutes long, so once you have chosen the things you would like to highlight, practice your answer several times to make sure you can fit it into that timeframe. The point is not to summarize everything you have done at every job, but to briefly discuss accomplishments and the circumstances surrounding moves from one role to another. The logical starting point is your graduation from college. Summarize the degree you received and how it made sense to pursue the career you did based on your education. From there, look closely at your jobs. In one-two sentences, how would you discuss your time in that role? What was the motivating factor to move from that role to the next one? For your current job, lay out your current responsibilities. While it may be tempting to continue on and also answer “why an MBA” when you get there, just wait until that question is asked. How to highlight particular circumstances: Situation 1: Worked two years at a consulting firm, then switched to work in marketing at a pharmaceutical company. “While at XX Consulting I had an extended engagement with a major pharma company. Working there made me realize the growth and potential of the industry, and I no longer wanted to be an outsider looking in. I wanted to XYZ.” Situation 2: Worked in operations at a manufacturer, then switched to finance. “During my time in operations I worked closely with the finance group in preparing our supply chain forecast. Through that experience I came to realize that I really loved numbers, and finance more closely fit with where I saw my career going. I made the case to senior management, and after recognizing my capabilities in the area they found a spot for me.” Situation 3: Moved up in the organization from analyst to senior analyst to associate. “I was fortunate to be involved in projects that gave me a lot of responsibility early on and had supportive mentors along the way. This allowed me to be recognized for my contributions and move up in the organization.” [In this type of situation, mentioning a few details of the projects would be appropriate.] Important things to remember: 1. Do not rehash everything on your resume. Remember, the interviewer will have already read through it, and seen several details. They want to understand WHY you have done what you have in your career thus far. 2. Stay focused. Don’t get bogged down in details that the interviewer doesn’t need or want to know. HIGHLIGHT and move on. Additional things to consider: It’s possible the interviewer might ask “Tell me about yourself” instead. In this case, it is still appropriate to give the details about your work experience, but also to give some background on you. Possible things to share: Where you grew up, interesting information about your childhood/schooling, why you chose to go to the university you did, and why you chose to study what you did. Essentially, by wording the question this way, the interviewer is encouraging you to include more personal details about your life, both current and from the past.   Jen Weld worked as an admissions consultant and Former Asst. Dir. of Admissions at Cornell’s EMBA program (4 years) prior to joining Accepted.com. She has an additional 10 years of experience in higher ed and corporate marketing. Related Resources: • MBA Interview Formats Series • The 10 Commandments of MBA Interviews • MBA Interview Must-Know #2: You Tags: MBA Admissions, MBA Interview, MBA Interview Questions Series 
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24 Nov 2014, 13:00
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: More BW Rankings: Best International B-Schools 2014 |
I hope you didn’t think we were done with this year’s Businessweek rankings! Next up…the top 20 international MBA programs. Here are some highlights: • There are 2 new schools to the top 10 this year, both of which were unranked in 2012: ESMT (3rd place) and Cambridge Judge (6th place). • ESADE fell dramatically from 6th place in 2012 to 19th place this year. The other school to fall from the top 10 this year was McGill Desautels, which dropped from 10th place to 15th • Other schools taking a hit this year include Imperial College London (fell from 13th to 23rd); York Schulich (14th to 24th), Erasmus Rotterdam (17th to 25th), and Manchester (19th to 26th). • New to the rankings this year are ESMT and Cambridge Judge (as mentioned above), as well as Cranfield (ranked at 13 this year), CEIBS (17th place), Concordia Molson (20th), Hult (21st), National University of Singapore (22nd), and Melbourne (27th). BW provides a comprehensive chart where you can look at the specific ways these schools were ranked, including Intellectual Capital Rank, Employer Survey Rank, and Student Survey Rank. These are all explained in the ranking methodology section. For Linda’s analysis of the BW rankings and their increased volatility, please see “Businessweek Rankings 2014.” Related Resources: • Businessweek Rankings 2014 • MBA Rankings: Why Should I Care? • Top 10 B-Schools with the Most Satisfied Graduates Tags: Cambridge Judge, CEIBS, ESMT, HEC, HKUST, IE, IESE, IMD, INSEAD, London Business School, MBA Admissions, Oxford Said, Rankings, Toronto Rotman 
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