A new essay question and a Mad Men case study.
From a new mandatory MBA admissions essay question to Mad Men being taught in business school—let’s dig into the latest headlines in business education and MBA news. Leave your comments below.
Harvard Business School requires introductions
Harvard Business School just announced that it’s eliminating the open-ended, optional essay question for MBA admissions. Instead, applicants will have to answer a new mandatory essay question:
It’s the first day of class at HBS. You are in Aldrich Hall meeting your “section.” This is the group of 90 classmates who will become your close companions in the first-year MBA classroom. Our signature case method participant-based learning model ensures that you will get to know each other very well. The bonds you collectively create throughout this shared experience will be lasting.
Introduce yourself.
The new essay question still sounds a bit open-ended, but it least offers some direction. HBS’s dean noted that even when the previous essay was optional, every applicant submitted one anyway. Is this a question you think you can handle on paper? (Poets & Quants)
Smart cities on the subcontinent
The Indian School of Business (ISB) will now tell states and cities throughout the subcontinent how much farther they have to travel in order to become a smart city. A smart city, as defined by Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi, is one that leverages technology to integrate and optimise its resources to reach the outcomes of a better standard of living, sustainability, and citizen empowerment. The prime minister has pledged to qualify 100 smart cities over the next seven years to accommodate an increasingly urbanized population, which is expected to surpass 814 million people by 2050. This is an example of how business schools are sharing their MBA know-how with governments to reach people-friendly goals. (Business Insider)
Mad Men gets the case study treatment
It’s been a rough week for fans of Mad Men, with the series finale airing just a few days ago. Though there will be no more new episodes, analyzing the complex personality of lead character Don Draper may continue for a long time. In fact, one Harvard Business School professor has framed Mad Men as a case study—the exclusive teaching method at HBS—by mining the show for potential business lessons. (Slate)
The MBA admissions big picture
There’s no doubt that a high GMAT score will go a long way in helping you get into your business school of choice, but MBA admissions officers and leading admissions consultants say that leadership, ethics, and cultural awareness are becoming increasingly important admissions factors as well. Although there’s some disagreement among experts about the particulars, they all agree that being a strong, well-rounded applicants is the best route to go. (BusinessBecause)
UCLA Anderson receives major gift
UCLA’s Anderson School of Management just announced that it’s receiving a $100M gift from the widow of the school’s namesake, businessman and philanthropist John Anderson. The top-ranked MBA program may be particularly in need of that money, considering it recently became self-sufficient and cut ties with the state funding of its parent university. Without government money for its master’s degree programs, Anderson will rely on donors like Mrs. Anderson… and other, less smaller donations, of course. The $100M will be spent in a variety of ways, including financial aid, faculty stipends research, and new infrastructure. (The Los Angeles Times)
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The post MBA News: Mad Men Analysis, MBA Admissions Introductions appeared first on Business School Insider.
