{"id":33573,"date":"2016-06-30T00:48:02","date_gmt":"2016-06-30T07:48:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=33573"},"modified":"2023-11-01T03:38:23","modified_gmt":"2023-11-01T10:38:23","slug":"aigac-2016-take-aways","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/aigac-2016-take-aways\/","title":{"rendered":"AIGAC 2016 Take Aways"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>
\nI\u2019d like to share some conference \u201ctakeaways\u201d from the Association of International Graduate Admissions Consultants (AIGAC) meeting in Cambridge, Massachusetts earlier this month. Held at MIT Sloan with visits to HBS<\/a>, Tuck, and Babson and with presentations by representatives of Wharton, INSEAD, Georgetown, Carnegie Mellon, Haas, Vanderbilt, Darden, Rotman, Yale, UCLA, Columbia, McCombs, IESE, LBS, and Stanford, there were many information highlights.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 An MIT<\/a> professor has coined the current student population as Generation \u201cS.\u201d One-third of MIT students take three or more electives in sustainability.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Another MIT professor describes true entrepreneurs as innovation drivers \u2013 their companies interact with global markets, they produce products for export, and they have a sustainable competitive advantage. It is these companies that can transform an economy.<\/p>\n

\u2022 MIT experienced a 35% increase in applications last year.<\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0MIT\u2019s Master of Finance Program<\/a> currently has 120 students, 40% women, 80% International, and 80% directly from undergrad. In contrast, the MBA program has 400 students of which 40% are women, 40% international, and students have an average of five years full-time experience.<\/p>\n

It was discussed that there are four levels of listening during an MBA interview<\/a>:<\/p>\n

1. Cosmetic listening<\/b>: This is when you're not really listening. The mind is focused elsewhere. This sometimes occurs when interviewees are nervous or focused on giving a memorized response.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Conversational listening<\/b>: This listening occurs when you're engaged in conversation, listening, talking, thinking. An interviewee might actually miss the real point that the interviewer is trying to make because they are too focused on planning and giving their reply.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Active listening: <\/b>During active listening, you are very focused on what the other person is saying and attuned to what is happening. During an interview, an interviewee will use paraphrasing and rephrasing to ensure understanding. <\/span><\/p>\n

4. Deep listening:<\/b> This listening is more focused on other, rather than self, where the listener is aware of both content and the overall situation. As an interviewee, it allows you to think more strategically about the interaction.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here are a few tidbits from the AIGAC Survey results of 1,114 applicants for 2017 enrollment:<\/span><\/p>\n

Expectations of applicants:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 Nearly half of the applicants expect a 50% increase in income<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 56.2% seeking to advance career<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 55.6% seeking better job prospects<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 51.1% seeking to broaden their professional network<\/span><\/p>\n

The influence of admissions consultants:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 32% said consultants advised to earn a higher GMAT prior to applying<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 29% applied to schools not previously considered<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 27% applied to more schools than originally planned<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 16% applied to higher ranked schools<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 15% applied to lower ranked schools<\/span><\/p>\n

How applicants selected schools:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 74% reputation<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 46% location<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 48% impact on career<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 38% culture of school<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 36% career placement statistics<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 35% alumni network<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 32% global programming<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 30% scholarship<\/span><\/p>\n

The most challenging application components:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 61% standardized tests<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 46% essays<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 20% interview<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 18% letters of recommendation<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 16% video submission<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 3% group exercise<\/span><\/p>\n

There was consensus that most MBA schools accept either the GRE or the GMAT.<\/a> However, some employers post-graduation prefer the GMAT (investment banking, consulting). Taking the GMAT is encouraged if the first-time practice score is fair and the applicants feel confident they can move \"fair\" to \u201cgood\u201d or \u201ccompetitive\u201d for their target schools.<\/p>\n

More schools are using application software that informs them whether the applicants wrote their own letter of recommendation (often at the request of the recommender). It is important to find recommenders that are willing to write a recommendation on your behalf.<\/span><\/p>\n

Applicants ranked the following in order of how well a school got to know the applicant through the admissions process:<\/p>\n

1. Tuck<\/a>
\n<\/span>2. IE<\/a>
\n<\/span>3. Kellogg<\/a>
\n<\/span>4. Duke<\/a>
\n<\/span>5. Cornell<\/a>
\n<\/span>6. Booth<\/a>
\n<\/span>7. IESE
\n<\/span>8. Tepper<\/a>
\n<\/span>9. U of Toronto<\/a>
\n<\/span>10. Insead<\/a>
\n<\/span>11. Oxford
\n<\/span>12. U of Texas<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Attending AIGAC was an opportunity to learn more about some of the schools our clients are interested in. It also provided time to network with other consultants from many areas of the world to share insights on the factors resulting in successful admissions applications. I\u2019d be delighted to share<\/a> with you one-on one not only what I gleaned from the conference, but the lessons learned over thirty years in university and MBA career services and administration.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Best<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Check<\/a><\/p>\n

With 30 years of career\/admissions experience at four universities, including Cornell\u2019s Johnson School, Karin<\/a> facilitated students\u2019 entry into the world\u2019s best companies. As a member of the adcom, she also evaluated applications. She knows what schools and employers seek.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Related Resources:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 Navigate the MBA: 9 Tips to Acceptance<\/a>, free guide
\n\u2022 6 Secrets to a Successful MBA Interview<\/a>
\n\u2022 Top Business School Zone Page<\/a><\/p>\n

This article<\/a> originally appeared on\u00a0<\/em>blog.accepted.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Applying to a top b-school? The talented folks at Accepted have helped hundreds of applicants get accepted to their dream programs. Whether you are figuring out where apply, writing your application essays, or prepping for your interviews, we are just a call (or click) away.<\/p>\n

Contact us, and get matched up with the consultant who will help\u00a0you\u00a0<\/em>get accepted<\/a>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019d like to share some conference \u201ctakeaways\u201d from the Association of International Graduate Admissions Consultants (AIGAC) meeting in Cambridge, Massachusetts earlier this month. Held at MIT Sloan with visits to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,939,775,243],"tags":[195],"class_list":["post-33573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mba","category-accepted","category-admission-consultants","category-blog","tag-aigac","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33573"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33573\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":59819,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33573\/revisions\/59819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}