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29 Jan 2024, 07:00
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: MBA Application Timeline: How to Get Accepted in 2024 |
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[img]https://blog.accepted.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/MBA-Application-Timeline-How-to-Get-Accepted-in-2024.png[/img] [url=https://www.accepted.com/mba/free-admissions-consultation][img]https://blog.accepted.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/MBA-Application-Timeline-How-to-Get-Accepted-in-2024.png[/img][/url] Warning: You are about to be nagged. If you are planning to apply to business school in Round 1 in the fall but are not yet able to define in specific terms [url=https://reports.accepted.com/mba/guide/why-mba]why you want an MBA[/url] and have not taken the GMAT/GRE (if you need to do so), researched schools, or evaluated your qualifications, please, please, please keep reading. And then get started! Starting now will boost your chances of getting accepted to your target business school. I would like to help you avoid the stress, harried hassle, and diminished quality that accompany rushed applications. To be clear, rushed applications are ones that candidates start working on just a few weeks before the deadlines, because they cogitated, procrastinated, or suddenly decided to apply late in the cycle. These applicants think (or hope) that magic might happen if they throw an application together at the last minute. We encourage you to instead follow the example of the many well-prepared applicants who start working on their applications months before their deadlines and work steadily to complete them on time. These wise people are getting started now, 9-12 months before they actually need to submit their applications. [list] [*]They tend to get into more and [url=https://blog.accepted.com/m7-mba-programs-everything-you-need-to-know/]“better” schools[/url].[/*] [*]They are more likely to get scholarships.[/*] [*]They are better prepared for b-school when they arrive on campus.[/*] [*]They are better equipped for the job/internship search, which frequently begins before students even set foot on campus.[/*] [/list] These candidates simply do better in the entire MBA application process than those who wait until the 11th hour (or even the 10th). These well-prepared applicants are your real competition! And the best way to compete is to start the race now – not tomorrow, not next week, not next month, or in the summer. What if you are not sure whether you are ready to apply to b-school this season? Take our [url=https://www.accepted.com/mba-quiz]MBA Admissions Calculator Quiz[/url] for a free assessment of your MBA admission chances. MBA Application Timeline for 2024 Applicants [[url=https://www.accepted.com/hubfs/MBA%20Application%20Timeline%20Round%201.pdf]Click here for your copy of the MBA Application Timeline[/url].] [b]January-February[/b] The most important thing you can do during this time frame is get organized for the journey ahead. At this early planning stage, you should take care of the following: [list] [*]Schedule informational interviews to help you clarify your goals. Talk to people in the roles you would like to have post-MBA or who are hiring for the roles you would like to have post-MBA. [/*] [*]Sign up and begin studying for the GRE or GMAT, if necessary and you haven’t already done so. [[url=https://blog.accepted.com/should-you-take-the-gre-or-gmat-for-test-optional-mba-programs/]More on that here[/url].][/*] [*]If warranted, based on your undergrad academic record, sign up for and take courses that fill in any gaps and/or address weaknesses (online is fine, and some programs are rolling). This process can continue through succeeding months, but it’s ideal to start now if it’s needed.[/*] [*]Start paying attention to specialty rankings for your field of interest. [/*] [*]If you happen to live or travel near schools of potential interest, pay them informal, “look around” visits – this can be very motivating for the work ahead! And you might glean insights that you can discuss down the road in essays and/or interviews.[/*] [*]If you haven’t been active in the extracurricular realm, start engaging now in a meaningful activity or two. Adcoms like to see this dimension in your application, but they do not appreciate it as much when you don’t start engaging until a month before you apply – in which case, it looks like cynical application padding rather than sincere involvement.[/*] [/list] March-April Now is the time to take all the information you gathered over the previous few months and begin working. Here’s what you should focus on: [list] [*]Schedule informational interviews, if you still need to do so.[/*] [*]Draft your succinct post-MBA goal in terms of function and industry. An ideal approach is to write out a 300-word statement for your own use that you can later adapt for your application essays and interview prep. Of course, this can and should be revised as you learn more and refine your goals.[/*] [*]Take the GMAT/GRE/Executive Assessment, if necessary. If you’re satisfied with your score, you’re done. If not, prepare again and retake.[/*] [*]If the test reveals soft spots that your transcript doesn’t adequately cover, sign up for classes (again, online is fine) that enable you to address the issue. Also, you could work with test prep specialists at this point to target your specific issues.[/*] [*]Scour MBA program websites and focus on the programs’ curricula, cocurricular activities, and career services.[/*] [*]Attend online events and/or visit schools you are most interested in, ideally while class is in session. Read [url=https://blog.accepted.com/cant-visit-b-schools-person/]What Should You Do If You Can’t Visit B-Schools in Person?[/url][/*] [*]Jot down what you like and dislike about programs, ideas for essays, accomplishments and challenges you have overcome in your work and nonprofessional commitments, refinements of your goals, and so on.[/*] [*]Update your resume.[/*] [/list] May-August [list] [*]Attend MBA fairs and school receptions, either in person or virtually.[/*] [*]Get started on your applications! Thoughtfully fill out those boxes, making sure that they add to the admissions reader’s knowledge of you. Focus on achievements and contributions, not just responsibilities, when describing your work and activities. (Some applications are fairly complex and substantive, and in those cases, you’ll be really glad you started this part early!)[/*] [*]Draft, write, revise, edit, and proof your essays, [url=https://blog.accepted.com/resources/mba-admissions/mba-essay-tip-posts/]one school at a time[/url].[/*] [*][url=https://blog.accepted.com/mba-recommendation-letters-10-tips-for-writing-them-right/]Obtain your letters of recommendation[/url]. Choose and approach your recommenders (June); give them any necessary info and alert them to your deadlines (July); and then remind them regularly about these deadlines, as needed.[/*] [/list] All Year Long Here are some things you should always be thinking about and working toward during the pre-application and application process: [list] [*]Network and research.[/*] [*]At work and outside of work, try to take on more leadership roles.[/*] [*]Strive for professional and nonprofessional international experience.[/*] [*]If necessary, take additional classes to make up for low grades or to beef up your quant skills.[/*] [*]Make time for community service and extracurricular activities! MBA programs don’t want nerds or people who are consumed by their work.[/*] [/list] Your MBA Application Timeline The key to success here is keeping track of all of your to-do items to make sure you complete them on time. The best way to accomplish this is by creating an organized timeline that will help you stay focused. If you are aiming to submit your applications in Round 1, you can download [url=https://www.accepted.com/hubfs/MBA%20Application%20Timeline%20Round%201.pdf]this PDF[/url], print it, and tape it to your mirror, wall, or fridge – wherever you’ll regularly see it. Then, using the timeline as a guide, add the tasks we just outlined to your calendar. And do them. If you follow this [url=https://www.accepted.com/hubfs/MBA%20Application%20Timeline%20Round%201.pdf]MBA timeline[/url], the pursuit of your MBA dreams will not be a mad, breathless sprint to the finish line but a long, steady jog that allows you to successfully complete the MBA application marathon. [b]Now for a deep dive into the steps you can take right now[/b] Start your GMAT or GRE prep. Once you determine that your career goal requires you to get an MBA, start preparing to take the GMAT or GRE exam. Unless you want to limit yourself to – and believe you qualify for – a waiver, don’t wait until the summer or “later.” Your test score is a critical element of your application. Choosing schools without knowing your score leads to all kinds of aggravation, stress, and unpleasant surprises. Every year I get calls, emails, and comments from applicants who bombed the GRE or the GMAT and don’t have time to retake it. They are torn between applying to the programs they really want to attend but where their test score (and perhaps other elements of their candidacy) is less than competitive, and applying to programs where it is competitive but where they aren’t dying to go. You can avoid this dilemma by allowing yourself the necessary time to take and – if needed – retake the test. Lower-than-expected scores can throw a major monkey wrench in your plans when you take the test within two months of your target deadlines. However, if you bomb the exam in the spring, you will still have months to prepare again and retake it before the deadlines – even the Round 1 deadlines. I fully realize that applying to [url=https://blog.accepted.com/test-optional-mba-programs-everything-you-need-to-know/]programs that do not require an exam[/url] can be very appealing. Think of all the time and money on prep you will save – not to mention the exam fees! For some applicants, those waivers are fantastic. However, if your profile lacks evidence of your quantitative ability, or if your undergraduate performance will not give an application reader confidence that you can perform in a demanding graduate program, [url=https://reports.accepted.com/mba/gmatscorewebinar]acing the GMAT or GRE[/url] can really enhance your chances of acceptance. Furthermore, even if you have evidence of quantitative and academic excellence, a high test score could increase the likelihood of your receiving a scholarship. So think very carefully about foregoing the exam and limiting yourself to programs where the exam is optional. Decide where to apply: dartboard versus intent. Some applicants don’t understand the importance of “fit” in the application process. They might or might not have a specific goal or reason for pursuing an MBA, and they really could just as easily be throwing darts at a list of schools to determine where to invest their time and money. Or maybe they just started doing the necessary research and reflection too late. In any case, this superficial approach could lead to rejection, a very expensive mistake, or a less-than-optimal MBA experience. [url=https://blog.accepted.com/which-mba-program-is-right-for-me-the-ultimate-guide-to-choosing-an-mba-program/]Apply purposefully to specific programs that support your goals and at which you are competitive.[/url] Don’t apply to a school because of where it stands in the rankings. You won’t be attending rankings. You’ll be attending a graduate business school. Stay on top of deadlines with our [url=https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/0/r?cid=egrmelgr3e6ms51c308f40lb88@group.calendar.google.com]MBA Admissions Calendar[/url]! [[url=https://calendar.google.com/calendar/b/2?cid=ZWdybWVsZ3IzZTZtczUxYzMwOGY0MGxiODhAZ3JvdXAuY2FsZW5kYXIuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbQ]Click here[/url] to add the calendar to your Google calendar.] Writing requires rewriting, and both require plenty of time. Some of you know why you want to earn your MBA and have good reasons for selecting the schools you will apply to. You will either achieve the GMAT or GRE score that you want the first time you take the exam or waive out of the test altogether. You might be feeling a little smug. Okay, so you got the first part of the application process done. Fantastic! However, if you slack off and wait till the last minute to complete your applications, you will end up rushing [url=https://reports.accepted.com/guide/from-example-to-exemplary-guide]the writing process for your essays[/url], short answer questions, and resume, or the practice/filming process for video options on your application. Either way, you will find yourself scrambling. Bad idea. And bad ideas lead to bad results. Writing – whether long essays, short essays, scripts, activity descriptions, or resumes – benefits from time. Temporal distance between revisions improves critical analysis and editing. In contrast, rushing to slap something together leads to sloppy thinking and writing. Getting the GMAT or GRE out of the way, thinking profoundly about fit, and starting your essays early are all important steps, but you can’t just assume that ticking items off your checklist will get you into b-school. You need something more comprehensive than that. You need… A holistic, purposeful approach to the MBA application process How is this for a New Year’s resolution? Proceed purposefully, methodically, and thoughtfully so that you submit a superior MBA application to the most appropriate schools at the most desirable deadline for you. We’ve all made resolutions this year and in years past, but do yourself a favor, and make this resolution the 2024 resolution that you stick to. I want to help you keep this resolution by [url=https://www.accepted.com/hubfs/MBA/Smart_Timeline_MBA_Applicants.pdf]laying out the process holistically from January through September[/url] so that you can present a superior application. It’s not just your test score or GPA or years of work experience or solid extracurriculars. It’s all of these. Not sure if Round 1 is right for you? [url=https://youtu.be/9dtjQsaIeEg]Here is the two-minute answer[/url] to the big question, “When should I apply to b-school?” Apply with an admissions expert on your side What better way to reach your MBA goal than by working with a personal coach? At Accepted, you’ll get matched with an expert admissions advisor who will guide you through the business school application process step by step, checking off each to-do item along the way. Learn more when you explore our [url=https://www.accepted.com/mba/services?utm_campaign=Blog&utm_medium=get_accepted_in_2022&utm_source=blog]Business School Admissions Consulting and Advising Services[/url]. [img]https://blog.accepted.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/cindy.jpg[/img] After a successful career in business publishing, Cindy Tokumitsu has worked for more than 20 years with Accepted. Every year, Cindy’s clients have been accepted to top MBA, law, and med programs. She is a pioneer in the niche of EMBA application consulting. Want an admissions expert to help you get accepted? Click here to get in touch! [b]Related Resources:[/b] [list] [*][url=https://www.accepted.com/mba/selectivity-index]Business School Selectivity Index [/url][/*] [*][url=https://blog.accepted.com/listen-mba/]Admissions Straight Talk Podcast for MBA Applicants[/url][/*] [*][url=https://reports.accepted.com/guide/how-to-fit-in-stand-out-during-the-admissions-process]Fitting in & Standing Out: The Paradox at the Heart of Admissions[/url], a free guide[/*] [/list] The post [url=https://blog.accepted.com/mba_application_timeline_how_to_get_accepted/]MBA Application Timeline: How to Get Accepted in 2024[/url] appeared first on [url=https://blog.accepted.com]Accepted Admissions Blog[/url]. |
31 Jan 2024, 06:00
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: Strategy for Writing an Accomplishment Essay (with examples) |
 Maybe you’re familiar with macros – the nutrients your body needs to function. Achieving the proper balance of macros leads to optimal health. When it comes to writing your MBA personal statements and application essays, it might be helpful to think of your accomplishments as the carbohydrates, protein, and fat – in other words, the macros – you need to make your submissions the best they can be. A fascinating brainstorming session among Accepted’s admissions consultants revealed that applicants don’t always understand how MBA adcoms define an accomplishment, so we wrote this post to explain what goes into the recipe for an enticing “accomplishments sandwich” and remove the guesswork on your part. Here are the simple macros: Carbohydrates = Impact and Initiative Protein = Overcoming Obstacles Fats = Demonstrating Leadership Carbohydrates = Impact and Initiative Carbohydrates are known as the “staff of life,” something nearly everyone considers a staple of their diet. Similarly, for your accomplishment essay, your “carbs” are what will . For example, maybe you took the initiative to boost membership in a group or led a team to victory. Perhaps you built a coalition in student government. Or you increased sales, cut costs, or found a solution to a problem that paved the way for a critical deal to go forward.  When you assess whether your achievements belong in a greatest accomplishment essay, think impact and initiative. Do awards count? It depends. If you won an award for a published story, an athletic competition, or some other “personal best,” then yes, those would be excellent choices for an essay about a personal achievement. More often, however, you will be asked to write about a significant achievement with impact beyond your own personal growth. In these situations, an award you’d like to write about would have had to result from an effort – either academic or professional – that involved a team or people other than yourself. This is the kind of achievement that transcends a “personal best.” By now, you can probably see the difference between a primarily personal achievement and a career-related one. You might even already recognize which of your accomplishments are notable enough to write about. But let’s say you don’t have much that feels important enough. How you can identify potential experiences for your accomplishments essay? A good place to start is by reviewing your resume. Ideally, it will be loaded with as many quantifiable achievements as possible, from both professional and extracurricular roles. If you work in marketing and clinched four new accounts in a single year, leading to a promotion, that’s an achievement. If you work in a social service agency and developed a new intake system for clients that the agency adopted, leading to a more organized and streamlined process, that’s an achievement. In college, you might have been involved in a student organization that promotes career development and leadership among minority students, and even became president of that organization. That’s an achievement. Which experiences on your resume stand out to you now? No doubt you’ll start to see things popping out at you. Seemingly small achievements can also be big. The following sample essay offers a great example where the impact seems limited to one person but radiates outward: From the first day I was tasked to mentor a new hire, Thomas, it was a challenge. He had strong work experience in product development at his previous job, but he was soft-spoken and reserved, and had a strong stutter. I felt pain for him as he struggled to complete a word or a sentence, but it was also awkward for both of us as I waited for him to finish his point. During a department meeting, someone actually rolled her eyes as Thomas was answering a question. I just glared at her for being so cold. At our weekly department lunches, which were meant to be a relaxed social time for everyone, Thomas hung back quietly, seeming like he was a million miles away. I still didn’t understand why Thomas seemed a little slow to catch on to the ways of our department. He was clearly very intelligent. It was taking me longer to complete my own work because of the extra time I was spending with him on his assignments. One afternoon on a whim, I invited him to join me for dinner at a popular burger place. He looked surprised but agreed. That night broke the ice. Thomas relaxed and enjoyed his dinner, and I noticed his speech was more fluid as well. We discovered a mutual love of soccer and political thriller novels. I really enjoyed his company and told him so. We went out again the following week to an Italian place that he chose. On our third “date,” Thomas opened up about a broken engagement that happened just before he started this new job. He knew that his grief was distracting him, clouding his thinking, and making his stutter worse. “I know I’ve not been easy to train,” he told me, “but I’m starting to come out of it now.” After that night, Thomas’s work improved rapidly. He risked speaking up more at the weekly lunches and at meetings, and everyone was patient when he struggled to say something, though those occasions were less frequent. I consider this mentoring experience one of my greatest accomplishments, because in trying to befriend a coworker, I not only gained a true friend for myself but also helped him gain confidence and perform to his capacity at work. It was the first time in my life I felt I had such a strong and positive impact on another person. It showed me the power of small gestures of friendship and understanding. This writer’s decision to offer a listening ear to a coworker who was clearly in some sort of distress became an inspiring achievement that was both personal and professional. His actions had impact that flowed outward beyond just Thomas to the entire department and organization. Protein= Overcoming Obstacles Overcoming obstacles such as a lack of resources – time, money, talent, or people – magnifies your accomplishments. Our best-laid plans rarely go smoothly, so make sure you discuss any difficulties you faced. By the way, the obstacle can work “double-duty,” representing a failure that you experienced and chose to learn from, while also showing that you emerged wiser and more capable at the end. When discussing either obstacles or failures, make sure not to blame other people or circumstances, or to complain about the unfairness of it all. Pointing fingers makes you look small and as though you want to avoid accountability. State the facts simply, and the situation will speak for itself. Here’s an example of how one applicant dealt with a significant obstacle: My book launch had been planned for nearly one year. This was my first book, a biography about my great-grandmother, a trailblazing homeopathic physician who lived at a time when even regular women MDs were a rarity. I wanted to self-publish but knew there was a huge amount of work involved that I didn’t feel suited for. There was editing, design, layout, marketing, getting the book accepted into the book distribution system, logistics, and more. Most published books are quickly forgotten and sell few copies. I didn’t want that to happen to mine. My solution was to sign an agreement with my friend Haley to publish my book. She was a talented graphic artist who had set up her own publishing company to publish her husband’s book. Our agreement spelled out our individual financial obligations and responsibilities, but I had a nagging worry. Her marriage was tumultuous, and she could make impulsive decisions. Six weeks before the publishing date, a popular book blogger promised a 5-star review on her blog. I also sold an excerpt to a women’s magazine with more than 4 million readers. I was still doing my “happy dance” when Haley called to tell me that our deal was off. She was leaving her husband and driving to stay with her mother, who lived in another state. She said she’d be in touch to work something out. She didn’t say when. I was furious and anguished. My biggest problem was that the book’s ISBN (identification) numbers for print and digital downloads were assigned to Haley’s company and could not be reassigned to anyone else. Haley also had the distribution and payment agreements in her name. I could have kicked myself for not listening to my intuition, which warned me against working with someone whose life was so upside-down. I researched my options. The ISBNs could not be transferred to me, but if I bought her publishing company, I would also own her ISBNs. I had no idea if Haley would agree to this or how we would work out terms, but the only way to save my book was to do the very thing I had tried to avoid: become a publisher myself. The following week, Haley agreed to sell me her publishing company for a token amount. It had no assets, and I had already paid for all book-related costs, except for Haley’s time. She also promised to help me with the transition of all the accounts. I decided not to look too far ahead and just focus on giving my book the best send-off into the world that I could. I named the publishing company after my great-grandmother. This story about a close call with a publishing disaster revealed the writer’s achievement of stretching beyond what she thought she could do and moving forward because she had to. Making lemonade out of lemons this way was certainly an achievement worth sharing. Let’s review where we are so far with our “macros” Carbohydrates = Impact and Initiative Protein = Overcoming Obstacles Now, let’s incorporate our “fats.” Fats = Demonstrating Leadership Leadership accomplishments that work well in application essays usually involve one’s ability to influence, motivate, persuade, direct, and work effectively with others. This adds much needed energy to your essay. Think about how you have worked with other people – how you led a team, what you learned, and so on. What specifically did you do to demonstrate leadership skills? What did you learn about leadership, and how have you grown as a leader through the experience? In this next example, the writer’s accomplishment through leadership seemed almost accidental: My job teaching in a private school began uneventfully. I had a class of bright 4th graders, with only a handful expected to be “challenging.” I loved my supervisor, Monica, who was a gifted teacher but new to her role as a team lead overseeing the 3rd and 4th grades. In addition to having one class of her own, Monica was supposed to create interventions for struggling students, incentivize specific behavior or achievements, plan events and trips, and offer guidance to teachers. Monica quickly showed that her skill set was strong in the classroom but not in administration. She let requests from teachers for interventions or advice pile up, and she got testy when I reminded her that I was waiting for her feedback. I wanted to work with her and not against her, so I offered to help. I suggested we meet twice a week after school to review her in-box, which was when I discovered that just by having me sit and listen to her discuss the situations, she focused much better. Although I only had two years’ experience as a teacher, Monica still seemed to value my opinion on handling awkward situations, such as when a wealthy parent who was on the school’s board of directors refused to face the reality of her daughter’s chronically aggressive behavior in class. This case was bigger than the both of us. We agreed that Monica needed to bring it to the headmistress of the school for her intervention. About halfway through the year, Monica and I were still meeting regularly. It was an unexpected partnership, and it was clear to both of us that she wanted to return to full-time teaching. I realized that the administrative tasks and decision-making came more naturally to me than to her, and that after a few more years of teaching experience and a master’s degree in education, I might enjoy having a job like hers. Another person in her situation might have simply become angry or resentful at my trying to play a role in her job. She could have shut me out completely. But Monica and I became friends, and I learned a lot from watching her dynamism in the classroom. Additionally, she courageously told the headmistress about our arrangement and asked if the school could pay me for my extra hours – which it did. This was a totally unexpected situation that helped me realize that I wanted to take a fork in the road of my career in education. Finding the experiences in your life where you have shown initiative and impact, overcome obstacles, and demonstrated leadership will help you write an essay deserving of a chef’s kiss! Are you thinking about what you could include in a winning accomplishments essay? Team up with Accepted’s consultants for help identifying your best material. As your partner and guide in this process, we will ensure that your selections make you stand out for all the right reasons!  By Judy Gruen, former Accepted admissions consultant. Judy holds a master’s in journalism from Northwestern University. She is also the co-author of Accepted’s first full-length book, MBA Admission for Smarties: The No-Nonsense Guide to Acceptance at Top Business Schools. Want an admissions expert help you get accepted? Click here to get in touch! Related Resources:
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13 Feb 2024, 06:00
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: MIT Sloan: For Rising Executives Considering an MBA [Episode 563] |
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[img]https://blog.accepted.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Episode-563-Blog-Banner-1-1.png[/img] [url=https://www.accepted.com/hubfs/Podcast_audio_files/Podcast/563_Johanna-Hising-DiFabio_2024.mp3][img]https://blog.accepted.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Episode-563-Blog-Banner-1-1.png[/img][/url] Show Summary Are you a mid-career manager hoping to elevate your career to senior management? Do you feel your business skills could use a boost? Are you interested in a top, top program? In this episode of Admissions Straight Talk, Linda Abraham interviews Johanna Hising DiFabio, Assistant Dean of MIT Sloan’s Part-time and Full-time MBA Programs for Executives. They discuss the MIT Sloan Executive MBA program and the Sloan Fellows program, focusing on the application process and the unique aspects of each program. They also touch on the importance of innovation and the MIT ecosystem in these programs. Johanna provides tips for preparing a successful application. She also highlights the strong sense of community within both programs and the impact they have on developing principled, innovative leaders. Show Notes Welcome to the 563rd episode of Admissions Straight Talk. Thanks for joining me today. Before I dive into today’s interview, I want to invite you to download [url=https://accepted.com/aceemba]Ace the EMBA: Expert Advice for the Rising Executive[/url]. This free guide will complement today’s podcast and give you suggestions on how to choose the right EMBA program for you, how to differentiate yourself from your competition in a positive way, and present yourself effectively as a future business leader who will bring credit to any program that accepts you. [url=https://www.accepted.com/mba/free-admissions-consultation][img]https://blog.accepted.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/general-free-consultation-button.png[/img][/url] Now we’re going to examine two fantastic options for mid-career, rising executives at MIT Sloan. MIT Sloan’s Executive MBA program has a more typical part-time MBA structure and the MIT Sloan Fellows program, which is a full-time immersive executive MBA program. We’re going to focus more on the more traditional one with our guest, Johanna Hising DiFabio, Assistant Dean of MIT’s Executive MBA and Sloan’s Fellows Programs. Johanna worked in business after earning her undergraduate degree from Ithaca College in 2000. She came to MIT Sloan as associate director of student life and learning in 2010, became director of MIT’s EMBA program in 2014, and added the Sloan Fellows program to her responsibilities in 2017, becoming assistant dean in 2018. Johanna, welcome back to Admissions Straight Talk. [2:15] Linda, thank you for having me. I’m so excited to talk about my programs. Can you start by providing an overview of both the MIT EMBA and the MIT Sloan Fellows program? [2:22] Absolutely. The Sloan Fellows MBA program is an over 90-year-old program. Often we talk about this as the first executive degree program that came to the US in the world. It’s a very exciting program to lead. It is over 70-ish percent international, so people move their lives. If they have families, they move their families and spend an entire year immersed, earning an MBA or an SM degree either in management or in management of technology. They’re a very tight-knit community. On the EMBA side, it’s 14 years old. I was part of the founding team of the EMBA. That’s why I came to Sloan. As you shared, it’s a little longer. It’s 20 months, and we call it an executive schedule. Meaning that they come to campus every two to three Fridays and Saturdays. We have some executive modules to give them a little bit more immersion here at MIT every six months and they’re working full time. They’re learning and working. The expectation is that they all have some form of general management experience to both be able to tack on the learnings to their previous experience as well as when they go back to the workforce or on Monday go back to work are able to have the responsibility to actually use what they’re learning in their workplace. You mentioned the MS and the MBA as an option. I think that was for the Sloan Fellows program, right? [3:51] Right. What is the difference? [3:58] On the Sloan Fellows side, we sometimes have people who already have MBA degrees, so they’re looking for a different degree for that reason. But I would say most people get the MS degrees if they’re interested in doing a thesis and doing a deep dive into a particular topic. They have to do a thesis in order to get the MS. The obvious difference between the two programs is that the EMBA is a part-time program and it takes longer, as you said. The Sloan Fellows program is full-time, immersive and in-residence. What are some of the additional elements that distinguish them? [4:20] The Sloan Fellows program has much more of an international community. Although a lot of our EMBAs are born outside of the US or have international experience that they can draw from. I think the biggest difference is that our Sloan Fellows program has the core in the summer. Then they have one core class in the fall and one core class in the spring, but are otherwise really able to create the curriculum and the learning experience that they’re hoping to get while they’re in this program. On the EMBA side, it’s what we call a lockstep curriculum. We’re basically telling them what core classes they will be taking. The benefit of the EMBA is that they’re working while they’re doing the degree. The curriculum is very much designed with that in mind. It’s action learning. They’re applying what they’re learning in the classroom to their organization. That creates very quick feedback loops. Research also talks a little bit about what’s the time between learning something and then being able to apply it and that making the content more sticky. From that perspective, the EMBA has that benefit. Often people will ask me, “Jo, which one should I pick?” It really depends on their personal situation. Can they take a year off? Do they want to continue working? Do they want a general management degree? Or, on the Sloan Fellow side, do they want a general management degree but be able to go deeper in one particular area? There are still some electives on the EMBA side too. But not as many as on the Sloan Fellow side. I assume they’re later in the program also? [6:09] Actually, we just finished four days of January executive electives. It’s when we invite not just our students but our alumni back to campus, and they get the opportunity to do electives. For our first-year EMBAs, that’s just three months after they started the program. MIT is famous for its innovative culture and product results. How does this strong emphasis on innovation play out in each of the two programs? [6:32] We sometimes kid around that you shouldn’t drink the water in Cambridge because you’ll get bitten by the entrepreneurship bug or have some innovative idea. It’s really in everything that we do. It’s very much also if you think about who is attracted to MIT and who comes here, challenging the status quo. Wanting to make this world a better place is very much who the people are that come to my programs. But it’s, of course, also embedded in the content that they receive and the tools that they learn while they’re here. We teach them about entrepreneurship. The reason we think it’s so important is because in today’s world, where things are changing so quickly, we need to be agile. We need to learn from our customers quickly and adapt products and new businesses accordingly. Whether you’re an entrepreneur going out to do your own thing or within a large organization and are doing intrapreneurship, we think this is a really important skill and mindset that our students have as they go through the program. Well, and as they leave, of course. Is it something that MIT consciously tries to nurture, develop, bring out, and increase in its students? Or is it something that you think students are going to bring to campus using their own innate talents to add to the curriculum? [7:53] I would say a little of both to be honest. What I always find so interesting about the students that come here, they’ve all been successful already in their own rights. In some cases, they’re coming here, yes, to learn general management, science, tools and frameworks. The reason to learn those sometimes is to make sure that their gut instincts so far have been on track. It’s as much confirming that what they’ve been doing in the past is the right way of doing it as it is learning new ways of doing whatever work it is that they’re doing. I would say it’s as much our students are coming in with an innovative mindset as it is us teaching new ways in the classroom. Is sponsorship important? Is it recommended? Is it required? Or is it just a nice-to-have but strictly optional? [9:00] I think, Linda, you said it. From an admissions perspective, we don’t use whether someone is sponsored or not as part of our admissions criteria by any stretch of the imagination. We do think about sponsorship in two forms. There’s the financial aspect, and then there’s the time aspect. The financial aspect, actually, it’s completely… We don’t look at that as part of the admissions process. Though, of course, it alleviates a huge financial burden for the student. On the time component, it is a requirement. If you’re a Sloan fellow, you have to be here for a year. We want your companies to release you of your day-to-day duties so that you can be fully immersed in your courses and the MIT ecosystem. On the EMBA side, we don’t want you to pretend to be sick or whatever it may be every second or third Friday. We want them to be engaged. Actually, because it’s such an action-learning curriculum, we want the companies to be excited about the opportunity for their employee to come to campus and experiment within their organization with what they’re learning. You really need that kind of support. Also, from family. [10:29] Absolutely. Family is an important stakeholder. We want you to think about all the stakeholders you have in your world that we’ll need to pick up more things at home. You may need to step out of some of the volunteering work you’re doing while you’re in these programs. Yes, while they learn about stakeholder mapping and so forth in the program, we would like them to do some of that before they start. You talked a minute ago about the MIT ecosystem and the MIT community, which is fantastic. Also, there’s the surrounding Cambridge community. How much mixing, if any, takes place among MIT Sloan MBA and MIT EMBA and the Sloan Fellow students or just regular MIT MBA students? [11:02] Yeah. We think of this place as one Sloan. We have a portfolio of programs, whether it’s pre-experience, the two-year MBA or my executive degree programs. We put effort into ensuring that they have some form of interaction, whether that’s the student life office putting on events that at times could make it possible for all of our students to go. That’s more on the social side. Of course, all the clubs are available to all of our students. That’s a way that they interact. Then we have a student senate, which is our student governing board, where all of our programs have representation, including my programs. Then, of course, it’s also in the classroom. Now, that’s perhaps a little bit less accessible to my EMBAs given that they’re working. But that doesn’t stop some of them from still going to class and taking electives with our full-time students, including some MIT students who may take some of our classes. Let’s say I’m seriously considering applying to the Sloan Fellows program for the next cycle, which will start in summer 2025. What should I be doing now and next fall to prepare myself for a successful application? [12:37] Yeah. Great question. I think you want to really be thinking about why you’re doing this and what do you want to do with it, and plan accordingly. Start doing some research about what’s available at MIT. Start having conversations with maybe people in your community that have been through the program or been to MIT to better understand what it is that this program can do for you. Of course, having conversations with our admissions team or attending some of our recruiting events is something I highly recommend. Then you’re thinking about how do I get my life in order to move to Cambridge for a year, and how do I prepare myself for the academics of MIT? English is not my first language, but for a lot of our students as well as our faculty, actually, English is not the first language. It’s important to be able to follow along with anyone who’s speaking, even someone with an accent. Because I think that’s actually the hardest part is when we have students in the classroom whose English is not their first language, and then the faculty members also don’t have English as their first language. That’s when the challenge actually comes in. Practicing English as much as possible and ensuring that you have a math background. Now, let’s go through the different elements of the EMBA application. There are seven short essays, the employment history and a resume, three letters of recommendation, a transcript, and an organizational chart. What’s the purpose behind those things? [14:24] Sure. I will say that we’re constantly looking to improve our process, and so we actually increased the number of essays this year. But if you really dissect what we did is we took the statement of purpose, which is what we used to have, it was a 500 word essay, and actually moved it to four essays only asking for 100 words each. Why are we doing this? It’s because we want to be more transparent with our applicants as to what it is we’re trying to learn from them, as well as make it easier for our application readers and our interviewers to find the specific information that we’re looking for. The questions around general management experience, principled leadership, what goals do you have to come into this program? Why is now the right time for you to do the program? All of those are typically questions you would’ve answered in the statement of purpose. Now we’re just asking you to provide us with those in a very succinct way. That’s a little bit of the challenge. We want our students to really be honing that skill of being succinct. Then the three other essays that we have leading in diversity, diversity, equity, and inclusion, and innovation and impact. Those are essays we’ve had in the past. We find that we get some really interesting… It aligns with our mission and aligns with what we’re trying to do in this program and what we’re hoping that students walk away with. That’s why we ask those essay questions. It’s all really about trying to understand what has your work trajectory been so far? What have you done in terms of leading others and leading innovation and challenging the status quo? We do that through understanding your employment history, having a resume, seeing an organizational chart, and having other people who know you professionally be able to recommendations providing us with insight into who you are as an individual and as a leader. I think Mark Twain once said that he would’ve written a shorter letter but he didn’t have enough time. There is a challenge in being succinct. I’ve many times likened applications to jigsaw puzzles where you don’t want to duplicate information. You want it all to fit together and really present the picture of the applicants. [17:03] Absolutely. The one thing that doesn’t quite fit for me is the organizational chart. MIT is one of the few, if not the only, program that asks for an organizational chart. What is the purpose of the organizational chart? What about people in very flat organizations? [17:42] Linda, I’m so glad you asked this. I was actually thinking about this recently because when I first came here, I came from the private sector. It was one of the things I asked to have included in applications after the first round. It’s since trickled into a lot of the other applications that we do. The reason we do it is because it gives us a sense of where they’re at in their organization. How far are they from the CEO? What titles do their peers have? Who reports to them? We would never make a decision on an individual solely based off an organizational chart. But like you said earlier, this is all about creating a little bit more understanding of a piece of their puzzle. There’s also a place, I believe, for the organizational chart where they can explain a little bit what their organization is like. We have everything from entrepreneurs of very small organizations all the way to more than 100,000 people in an organization. We are very adept at understanding how to read an org chart. It’s another data point and a way for us to understand their scope of work. What makes an application to the MIT Sloan EMBA program jump off the page in a positive way? [19:18] I reviewed a couple of applications a couple of weeks ago. The ones that really jump off the page are extremely passionate about the work that they do, the difference that they want to make in the world, how they think this degree is going to help them get there and are willing to show us who they are authentically and have some great stories. It’s clear that they’ve put a lot of work into this. There’s not one thing. Well, generic answers is not what we’re looking for. Are you at all concerned about people using ChatGPT or its role in the application process? [20:13] The short answer is no. On the one hand, I would say admissions advisors have been around for a very long time. While I still in my heart believe that admissions advisors and the human is going to provide way better support for an individual. I think ChatGPT is a resource. Even as a school, we need to embrace it. Our EMBAs and our Sloan Fellows are very busy people who need to learn how to be more efficient at the work that they do. More is being unexpected of them, and so ChatGPT is a reality of the world that we live in today. Pretending like it’s not there or that people aren’t using it, I think, is not the wisest. We’re aware that it’s there, and actually we encourage students or applicants to be working with people who know them well to review their essays. It’s just another tool. It’s pretty obvious if someone’s just using ChatGPT and has not thought about it themselves. We’ve run all of the questions through ChatGPT to educate ourselves as to what it would say. Other than abusing ChatGPT, what are some common mistakes that applicants make in their applications to MIT Sloan EMBA, and in this case, it could also be the Sloan Fellows program? [22:00] I think if an individual wants to do themselves a service and us a service, it is showing their true self and talking about their own experience. Don’t share what you think we want to hear. Share about experiences in your past and dreams that you have that are true to you. The biggest mistake that I’ve seen is this: trying to put on an air or trying to be something that they’re not. That comes through in an interview. Definitely, that would be one of the biggest faux pas that I’ve seen. I’ll also say, it still surprises me, but we get people who are not actually answering the question. I would go back to what I was saying a little bit earlier. I highly recommend that people use the opportunity of these applications as a way to reflect on who they are, how have they come to where they are today, how have the experiences that they’ve had formed who they are today, and where do they want to go. Use this as a self-reflection and a self-awareness exercise. I always get really excited when I hear from someone who has said, “I really enjoyed the process. Whatever happens, I feel good about what happened. I put my best self forward.” But the exercise in doing the application felt very rewarding to the individual. I would encourage people to talk to people who know them well, whether it’s a significant other or a mentor. I recently was reviewing an essay, and the applicant used one third of the essay to talk about his father. I thought, that’s not the right focus. It was nice. It was certainly lovely that he paid tribute to his father, but it wasn’t… The other essay was I think one third of general stuff about challenges in healthcare. Again, it wasn’t that it was wrong, but it wasn’t reflective of him other than the fact that he was interested in healthcare. It wasn’t personally revealing. It was the wrong focus. [23:47] Right. Linda, I think those are two great examples of ways to self-sabotage, to be honest. We want to get to know the individual. It’s less about what you know. That’s actually not what we’re trying to assess in the application process. It is who you are and whether our degree programs can help you get to where you want to go next. What advice do you have for EMBA applicants preparing an application or starting to think about it? [25:27] In the year of 2024, I am committed to doing more journaling. Even in just these 18 days, I would say that my biggest recommendation is to download the essay questions and start journaling on them. Don’t try to create perfection off the bat, but let it percolate. The questions are not meant to be easy to answer. That’s not because we’re trying to make it hard, but it’s because we’re really trying to get to know you as an individual. I would really recommend that. Then I know I already said this and maybe I’m repeating myself too much, but having conversations with trusted advisors and close friends, I think is a really great way of ensuring that what is showing up on the paper is a true reflection of who you are. My recommendation would be to write it, send it to people and see what they… Or how would they answer this about you is another way to get feedback. As I said, a lot of people have found a lot of value and learned more about themselves in the process. A lot of times people will write down, “I did this, this, and this,” but they don’t write why it’s important. If you’re going to be journaling, write what you learned from the experience, why you think it was important to journal about it. What was significant about it? Because again, sometimes people use examples and they don’t say why you should care about it. [26:53] Right. It’s such a great point. I co-facilitated a reflection session for the Sloan Fellows last week. One of the things that we talked about, as I shared I’m trying to do more journaling, they asked me am I doing the sharing what happened that day? Or is it different kind of journaling? Actually, it never crossed my mind to share what happened that day. That’s not actually even what I’m writing about. It’s more what are some of the thoughts that are running through my head. Like you said, why are those thoughts? How can I help process those, and who can I talk to? What do you see coming down the pike for these two programs? Innovation is the middle name of MIT. I’m joking. But what’s coming that you can talk about? [27:53] I think that one thing to know about both of these programs and I think MIT in general, is that we’re always tinkering. We get a lot of feedback from faculty, students and staff to see what we need to adjust, what we can do better. Someone said, “But Jo, they’re already so great.” I said, “That’s right. I am very proud of both of these programs, and there’s always room to try something new.” I think one of the biggest interests that we’re trying to do more of is connecting more to MIT and ensure that our students are learning more about the new technology and the new science that’s coming out of this amazing institution. That’s one thing. We are continuously looking at how we can bring the Sloan fellows and the EMBAs together. We currently run an elective on Thursday evenings before Friday and Saturday classes. That is for both EMBAs and Sloan fellows, discovering your leadership signature, which has been really popular. We’re doing another one on macro now in the spring. There’s a huge interest of these two populations to be spending more time together, and so we’re looking at that. I’ll also say that we’re trying to create more opportunities for Sloan and MIT students in general to interact. Then I just had a meeting with the Leadership Center yesterday, so maybe it’s top of mind. But how do we take more advantage of the team settings that the students are in? Why I find these so interesting, it’s the action learning of emotional intelligence and relationship building. How do we create a feedback loop for students to give each other better feedback? We already have mechanisms to do this in some ways. We have executive coaches who facilitate some of the team meetings to deepen the learning. But I think that’s also my background, but still very much something that I’m hoping and see a lot of value for our students to get more out of, so more on that. What would you have liked me to ask you? What would you like to talk about that we haven’t discussed? [30:15] I think the one thing we haven’t really talked about for either program is how special the community is. It’s perhaps understandable for the Sloan Fellows when you move your lives here for a year you’re going through this experience together. It’s just such an amazing community. Whether it’s celebrating the highs or supporting each other through the lows, or just spending time together, getting to know the different cultures and seeing the kids become friends over the year. It’s just absolutely amazing. On the EMBA side, it is just as tight of a community. The students go through these courses together, and so they really get to know each other very deeply over the 20 months. Like I said, we just had four days worth of executive electives here last week, and the alums came back feeling like they were coming home. That has, of course, a very nice feeling associated with it. But a lot of that comes from the learning community that they have and the community that they have with each other. I think that’s pretty special. Then of course, the other piece that I always want to talk about is how proud I am of my students and alums who are living our mission. Developing principled, innovative leaders who improve the world had many opportunities over the last week to talk to students who’ve come back and shared what they’re doing out there. Whether it’s something small or something big, always so gratifying to hear how these programs are making them better leaders, better general managers, and feeling a responsibility to make this world a better place. [url=https://www.accepted.com/hubfs/Podcast_audio_files/Podcast/563_Johanna-Hising-DiFabio_2024.mp3][img]https://blog.accepted.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/AST-Listen-Now-Button-1024x256.png[/img][/url] [b]Relevant Links:[/b] [list] [*][url=http://mitsloan.mit.edu/fellows/]MIT Sloan Fellows[/url][/*] [*][url=https://emba.mit.edu/]MIT Executive MBA[/url][/*] [*][url=https://reports.accepted.com/mba/guide/ace-the-emba]Ace the EMBA (accepted.com)[/url][/*] [/list] [b]Related Shows:[/b] [list] [*][url=https://blog.accepted.com/stanfords-mcim-combines-technology-healthcare-and-business-episode-548/]Stanford’s MCiM Combines Technology, Healthcare, and Business[/url], podcast Episode 548[/*] [*][url=https://blog.accepted.com/ace-the-executive-assessment-episode-483/]Ace the Executive Assessment[/url], podcast Episode 483[/*] [*][url=https://blog.accepted.com/the-only-online-ivy-league-executive-mba-program-episode-490/]The Only Online Ivy League Executive MBA Program[/url], podcast Episode 490[/*] [*][url=https://blog.accepted.com/why-is-this-successful-leader-investing-in-an-oxford-said-executive-mba-episode-454/]Why Is This Successful Leader Investing In an Oxford Said Executive MBA?, podcast Episode 454[/url][/*] [*][url=https://blog.accepted.com/cornell-johnson-emba-program-four-options-for-the-largest-emba-program-in-the-united-states-episode-506/]Encore: Cornell Johnson EMBA Program: Four Options for the Largest EMBA Program in the United States[/url], podcast Episode 543[/*] [*][url=https://blog.accepted.com/mit-sloan-fellow-user-experience-expert-and-busy-mom-episode-259/]MIT Sloan Fellow, User Experience Expert, and Busy Mom[/url], podcast Episode 259[/*] [/list] [b]Subscribe:[/b] [url=https://www.accepted.com/stitcher][img]https://blog.accepted.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/admissions-straight-talk-stitcher.png[/img][/url] [url=http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=34489&refid=stpr][img]https://assets.blubrry.com/soa/BadgeLarge.png[/img][/url] [url=https://blog.accepted.com/feed/podcast/]Podcast Feed[/url] The post [url=https://blog.accepted.com/mit-sloan-for-rising-executives-considering-an-mba-episode-563/]MIT Sloan: For Rising Executives Considering an MBA [Episode 563][/url] appeared first on [url=https://blog.accepted.com]Accepted Admissions Blog[/url]. |
14 Feb 2024, 06:00
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: The Resilience Factor: How Flaws and Failures Can Strengthen Your Application |
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[img]https://blog.accepted.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/The-Resilience-Factor-How-Flaws-and-Failures-Can-Strengthen-Your-Application-1.png[/img] [img]https://blog.accepted.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/The-Resilience-Factor-How-Flaws-and-Failures-Can-Strengthen-Your-Application-1.png[/img] The Resilience Factor: How Flaws and Failures Can Strengthen Your Application A speaker recently told a story about traveling in Asia, where he saw a stunning emerald. Enchanted by the stone’s beauty, he decided to buy it on the spot. He returned home and took the emerald to a jeweler for appraisal. The jeweler began examining the stone through his magnifier, and as he did so, his face went pale. “What’s the matter?” asked the proud owner of the emerald. “I can’t find a flaw,” said the jeweler. “Wonderful!” said the stone’s owner. “No, it’s not. If it’s flawless, it’s a fake. A phony. Nothing in the natural world is flawless,” replied the jeweler. “Then find a flaw!” After a few more tense moments, the jeweler discovered a small flaw, and the owner of the stone stopped worrying that he had been taken in by a piece of plastic masquerading as a gem. What does this have to do with admissions? Just this: When the adcoms ask you to write about a flaw or weakness in your essays, and you either fail to offer any or the ones you come up with sound like you are just checking a box – mentioning something vague and generic and not of much significance – you will seem like a fake in their eyes. Everything in nature has an imperfection or two (or three), including human beings. Don’t misunderstand: we’re not suggesting that you cop to every weakness you know that you have and say, “This is me. Take it or leave it.” But if you have learned and grown from your weaknesses or succeeded in [url=https://blog.accepted.com/writing-about-overcoming-obstacles-in-your-application-essays/]overcoming obstacles[/url], you are well positioned to flip those shortcomings into strengths in your essays. It takes honest self-reflection, a desire to improve, and hard work to break an unhealthy habit, pattern, or way of thinking. The ability to demonstrate self-awareness by working to minimize your flaws and develop new skills or talents to compensate for weaknesses will prove your maturity while also building your resilience. These are qualities that adcoms especially want to see these days. How can failures and flaws really build resilience? Recently, we worked with a client who was [url=https://www.accepted.com/mba]applying to MBA programs[/url] and had once made the type of mistake that could have not only gotten him fired but also destroyed a lucrative business relationship between his employer and a major customer. Here’s the story: “Sami” was working in an analytics department and played a role in the incorrect interpretation of some key data. This incorrect reading led his employer to recommend a business strategy to the firm’s customer that was the exact opposite of what it should have been. What a disaster! Sami didn’t discover this catastrophic error until after the new strategy had been implemented. He could have watched from afar as the strategy failed and things fell apart. Instead, he came clean and waited for the blowback. Sami expected the worst and nearly began clearing out his desk. Instead, he was rewarded for his integrity, despite the risk to his reputation. Not only did he keep his job, but the relationship between his employer and the firm’s customer actually flourished. This experience clearly positioned Sami to write about a “failure” and the lessons he learned about owning up to one’s mistakes and accepting responsibility. He didn’t look smaller because of his mistake – his stature grew because of his honesty. “Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be.” Essay questions that ask you to discuss failure, risk, mistakes, conflict, difficult interactions, or overcoming obstacles often make applicants cringe. After all, you’re on a mission to show the admissions committee that you are on top of your game and ready to conquer the world. The last thing you want to do is wave a flag that calls attention to the gory details of when and where you’ve fallen short. As Sami’s experience proves, however, questions about failure provide a window into your character. How resilient are you in the face of a setback? How did you respond to the situation? Did you shrink from the impact of your actions, or did you muster the courage to try to set things right, as best as you could, under the circumstances? What did you learn about yourself, about the world of business, about relationships, and/or about communication? What wisdom did you gain that you have applied in your life since then? Can you show convincingly that you view your stumble as an inevitable, vital, even transformative step on the road to achievement? Legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden once said, “Failure is not fatal, but failure to change might be.” So take heart: writing about your flaws and setbacks is an opportunity for you to shine by [url=https://blog.accepted.com/proving-character-traits-in-your-application-essays/]showing your humility, commitment to growth, and determination[/url] to apply lessons learned. Reading about your setbacks allows the admissions committee to understand what you’re really made of. Follow these four steps to transform your setbacks into achievements. 1. Demonstrate how your failure led to success. The mistake you made might have led you to discover a new idea, strategy, or invention that you otherwise would not have discovered. Or, it might have given you the determination to strengthen your skills or knowledge base. Be specific when you present your examples. A mistake you made in the lab might have cost you weeks of work. However, as a result, you learned something important about lab techniques, and now you’ve adopted more fastidious research practices. (Note: this needs to go way beyond the normal trial-and-error nature of research.) If you are discussing a personal failure, maybe you neglected an important relationship to the point where the relationship died. Feeling this loss keenly, you now make a point of treating people with greater respect. When writing about professional or personal failures and lessons learned, you cannot simply claim that you’ve changed without citing evidence. Clearly spell out what you learned and how you have changed. Offer true, believable examples of times when you behaved differently, more purposefully and sensitively, as a way of investing more deeply and wisely in your relationships. 2. Show that you truly understand why something went wrong. Explaining what went wrong is only half the game in these essays. You must also explain why it went wrong. Doing so will show the adcom that you have taken time to really think about and reflect on your role in the situation and your understanding of the dynamics that led to the problem. Don’t play the blame game. Explain the process you went through to get real answers and solutions. Relate some of the steps you have taken to avoid making similar mistakes since. Perhaps you caught yourself about to repeat the mistake, but realized that impulse was not the “new you” and saved yourself from making the error again. Let’s look at an example. You pushed your colleagues hard to complete a work project, but your hard-driving nature made them resent you, and with no benefit to the project. Having realized your mistake – even though your sole intention was to get the job done on time – perhaps you could write about the focused attention you now pay to your colleagues’ suggestions, efforts, and capabilities. In other words, from that error you have learned to turn lemons into lemonade. Offer at least one specific example of how your efforts have paid off. 3. Focus on what you’ve learned on a personal level. Mature applicants view and consider situations and people differently – and make decisions more deliberately – after making mistakes. Prove that you are this kind of applicant. Show how you grew by, for example, taking a course in time management to help better juggle all your responsibilities without dropping the ball, starting therapy to help with your anxiety when work pressure feels overwhelming, or another tangible step forward. Add power to your explanations by describing “before and after” situations: the “before” stressed-out, not-well-organized person staying up till 3 a.m. to get everything done and delivering haphazard work, and the “after” person practicing time-management and mindfulness skills, and coping with responsibilities more calmly, deliberately, and competently. Demonstrating these changes through real-life examples presents you as more grown-up and emotionally intelligent. And you can bet the admissions committee wants to see these valuable traits. 4. Show the adcom how you’ve become more resilient. “Resilience” has become a cliche, but it’s critical to appreciate the concept: it is the building of inner strength and fortitude in the face of conflict, pain, or disappointment. Successful adults must be resilient to cope with life’s rocky patches. Naturally, colleges and universities want to see evidence that you have this important quality. Earlier in this article, we said that a weakness or failure could be flipped into a strength, given the right attitude and effort. Similarly, a weakness can also be the flip side of a strength. For example, perhaps your tendency to be “too detail oriented” resulted in your discovering a critical error before it triggered a larger problem. Identifying your weakness and giving it careful thought might have prompted you to take steps to correct or minimize it. Be thoughtful in your responses to questions about weakness or failure, and don’t shy away from them. [url=https://reports.accepted.com/guide/leadership-in-admissions-2]Successful leaders[/url] must have honesty and integrity as part of their DNA and be able to identify and admit to failures and weaknesses. As motivational speaker Zig Ziglar pointed out, “It’s not how far you fall, but how high you bounce that counts.” Nobody’s perfect, but a “perfect” answer to questions about flaws and failures just might get you admitted! To make sure your essays reflect you at your best, [url=https://www.accepted.com/services?utm_campaign=Blog&utm_medium=resilience&utm_source=blog]work with us[/url]. Every consultant at Accepted has years of experience in admissions and guiding applicants to gain coveted acceptances at top schools worldwide. Let them do the same for you! [img]https://blog.accepted.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Judy-Gruen.jpg[/img] By Judy Gruen, a former Accepted admissions consultant. Judy holds a master’s in journalism from Northwestern University and is the co-author of Accepted’s first full-length book, MBA Admission for Smarties: The No-Nonsense Guide to Acceptance at Top Business Schools. [url=https://www.accepted.com/services?utm_campaign=Blog&utm_medium=blog_bio_Judy&utm_source=blog]Want an admissions expert to help you get accepted? Click here to get in touch![/url] [b]Related Resources:[/b] [list] [*][url=https://reports.accepted.com/from-example-to-exemplary-guide]From Example to Exemplary: How to Use Sample Essays to Make Your Essay Outstanding![/url], a free guide[/*] [*][url=https://blog.accepted.com/writing-about-overcoming-obstacles-in-your-application-essays/]Three Ways Writing About Obstacles Strengthens Your Application Essays[/url], a short video[/*] [*][url=https://blog.accepted.com/recipe-for-writing-an-accomplishment-essay/]Strategy for Writing an Accomplishment Essay (with examples)[/url][/*] [/list] The post [url=https://blog.accepted.com/resilience-how-flaws-and-failures-can-strengthen-your-application/]The Resilience Factor: How Flaws and Failures Can Strengthen Your Application[/url] appeared first on [url=https://blog.accepted.com]Accepted Admissions Blog[/url]. |
15 Feb 2024, 08:00
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: Rejected by Harvard Business School – Now What? |
 February 1st was either an exciting day or a tearful one for Harvard Business School (HBS) Round 2 (R2) applicants: the school’s MBA Admissions Board notified candidates whether they were invited to interview or had merited “early release.” Euphemistic though it sounds, early release should really be viewed by R2 applicants as the blessing that it is: you now know that you are out of the running for the HBS program and are free to consider your other options. So dab your eyes with a tissue, patch up the wall you punched, and take a look at what some of those other options are. U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents If you are a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, you can still consider Round 3 (R3) at your top-choice programs, especially if you have a unique background or profile that these programs might still want to round out their classes. Did you steer growth in Africa, lead a new product in Eastern Europe, or pioneer a revolutionary health program in Mongolia? These are examples of unique experiences and insights that many top MBA programs would love to include among their student bodies. While visa challenges tend to stymie R3 applicants who need an F-1 Visa to study in the United States, if you have U.S. residency, you might be a prime R3 candidate. Moreover, if you are living in the United States, you might find one of the many top MBA programs with part-time options to be the perfect alternative if there are weak points in your profile. Students in Berkeley Haas’s full-time program have an average GMAT of 733, but those in its part-time program have a median GMAT of only 700 (with 80% of students falling within the 620-740 range). The average GMAT score for students in Northwestern Kellogg’s full-time MBA program is 731, but (even though its part-time MBA does not release data about student test scores) Kellogg waives test requirements for applicants with an undergrad GPA of 3.4 or higher in a business, economics, or STEM field. Chicago Booth’s full-time students have a 728 average GMAT, but its average for the part-time program is only 691. If your GMAT score was a significant factor holding you back, then part-time programs offer the opportunity to graduate with the same degree without making another attempt – or several! – to improve your GMAT scores. Non-U.S. Citizens If you are an international student and therefore not a good R3 candidate for the U.S. fall-entry MBA programs, you do have alternatives that will put you in a business school classroom in the coming year. First, if your heart is set on building your career in the United States, then there are other program options to consider here. For example, if your goals are in finance, you might consider a Master of Financial Engineering degree at Berkeley Haas (R2 deadline is March 28th, R3 is May 16th) or Baruch College (R3 deadline is February 15th). Columbia also offers a Master of Applied Analytics (priority deadline is February 15th, final deadline is June 1st) . For those interested in business analytics or careers in management science and engineering or financial engineering, you might consider Columbia’s Master of Science in Industrial Engineering, which offers concentrations focused on these areas (regular deadline is February 15th). Aspiring product managers and tech entrepreneurs might consider Cornell Tech’s MBA (rolling admissions through March 6th). Outside the United States MBA aspirants who are seeking international careers can consider the top MBA programs in Europe and Canada as well. Oxford Saïd has one remaining deadline for this year (March 20th), as does London Business School (March 25th), as does the MBA program at Cambridge Judge has two (March 11th and May 7th). In addition, IMD practically just began its admissions process, with upcoming deadlines of February 15th, April 15th, June 15th, August 15th, September 15th, and October 15th remaining to enter its program (pre-program work starts in October). Similarly, INSEAD’s Round 4 deadline for its August intake is March 5th, and for its January-intake program – whose students complete an internship in the middle of the program – has an R1 deadline of March 12th. For applicants who were particularly interested in HBS’s case study approach, the Ivey MBA program in Canada – whose students analyze more than 300 cases over the course of its one-year MBA – might be the perfect alternative (the R1 deadline was Jan 29th, but international students can apply up through R4, for which the deadline is September 23rd). IESE in Spain also bases its program on the case method and accepts applications through May 31st. Other programs in Canada include Toronto Rotman, Sauder, and HEC Montreal, all of which accept international applicants with early March deadlines. Address Your Weaknesses Finally, if your heart is still set on HBS and its full-time U.S. program peers, early release offers you time to assess your application profile and address any weaknesses over the next seven months. Many applicants find Accepted’s rejection review the perfect starting point in identifying the parts of their application and profile that would benefit from improvement. Have you made a noticeable impact beyond the norm in your professional role? Have you demonstrated deep community engagement? Is your GMAT/GRE score meeting (or ideally, exceeding) your target program’s average score? If not, this is a great time to take action and patch those holes. If you would like a free profile review to identify weaknesses in your profile or shortcomings in your previous applications, register for a free consultation.  Vanessa Febo has ten years of experience teaching academic and professional writing at UCLA, with a special certification in teaching writing techniques. She has drawn on this expertise to guide clients to placements at top institutions, including Harvard, Stanford, and USC. Before joining Accepted, Vanessa coached UCLA students through the application process for graduate programs, major grants, fellowships, and scholarships, including the Fulbright, Stanford Knight-Hennessey, and the Ford Foundation Fellowship. Additionally, Vanessa has extensive experience successfully guiding clients through applications for a diverse range of programs, including those in business, humanities, social sciences, and STEM fields. Want Vanessa to help you get accepted? Click here to get in touch! Related Resources:
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22 Feb 2024, 10:00
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: Starting Your Application Essay: Three Tips |
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[img]https://blog.accepted.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Starting-Your-Application-Essay-Three-Tips-1.png[/img] [url=https://www.accepted.com/free-admissions-consultation-all][img]https://blog.accepted.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Starting-Your-Application-Essay-Three-Tips-1.png[/img][/url] If you haven’t yet read the other blog posts in this series, go ahead and check them out: [list] [*][url=https://blog.accepted.com/identifying-the-ingredients-of-a-winning-essay/]Identifying the Ingredients of a Winning Essay[/url][/*] [*][url=https://blog.accepted.com/from-example-to-exemplary-2-a-theme-for-your-statement-of-purpose/]Finding a Theme for Your Statement of Purpose[/url][/*] [*][url=https://blog.accepted.com/writing-career-goals-essay/]Writing Your Career Goals Essay[/url][/*] [*][url=https://blog.accepted.com/how-to-create-the-first-draft-of-your-application-essay/]How to Start Your First Draft of an Application Essay[/url][/*] [*][url=https://blog.accepted.com/from-example-to-exemplary-5-revise-and-polish-your-essays/]Revise and Polish Your Application Essays[/url][/*] [/list] Once you have [url=https://blog.accepted.com/from-example-to-exemplary-2-a-theme-for-your-statement-of-purpose/]reflected on the questions that helped you identify and develop your essay theme[/url], you should have a clear path to writing an effective essay. Here are three essential steps to help you achieve that goal. [url=https://www.accepted.com/free-admissions-consultation-all][img]https://blog.accepted.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Schedule-Free-Consultation-Banner-Button.png[/img][/url] 1. Make an outline. An outline can be formal or informal, but start with one as a foundation. A formal outline will have clearly delineated categories and subcategories, while an informal outline can simply be a list of the main points you want to cover. After answering the questions in [url=https://blog.accepted.com/from-example-to-exemplary-2-a-theme-for-your-statement-of-purpose/]the second blog post in this series[/url], you should have a robust list of experiences, anecdotes, and ideas for possible inclusion in your essay. Do you have more examples and ideas than you can use in a single essay? If so, that’s a good problem to have! You can “spread the wealth” of these anecdotes among different essay questions and schools. Having a variety of experiences and stories in your inventory will also make your writing fresher and easier to do for each school. 2. Structure your essay with an introduction, main content, and conclusion. Now let’s break the job down further to keep the task of writing manageable. First, how long can or should your essay be? Grad school application essays can range from as short as 250 words to more than 1,500. Ironically, writing a very good short essay is much harder than writing a very good long one. Writing a super-short essay is like being six feet tall and stuck in a coach airline seat – you’re going to feel cramped, despite writing as succinctly as possible. You have very little room to add colorful context or details. At the same time, you must pare your story down to its essence, and there is strength in that. Assuming you have more legroom, so to speak, and can write up to 700 words, you still have to divide that real estate among your essay’s introduction, main body, and conclusion. Breaking your essay down like this will help you gauge how much you can afford to write in each section, with the main content comprising most of the space. However, while keeping that in mind, don’t worry too much about overwriting at first. In your initial drafts, you need to be able to write everything you want and need to say. In the editing process, you’ll find ways to trim and pare your essay down to just the most crucial material, including the most salient, compelling experiences and insights. It is difficult to edit yourself, however. Even professional writers need editors on important projects. [url=https://www.accepted.com/grad/services?utm_campaign=Blog&utm_medium=ex2ex_lets_get_drafted&utm_source=article]Having an expert editor to help you trim down your essays can be a huge asset[/url], saving you time while helping you make content decisions that will work to your advantage. 3. If you feel stuck, start from the middle, or even the end, of your essay. In [url=https://blog.accepted.com/identifying-the-ingredients-of-a-winning-essay/]post #1[/url] and [url=https://blog.accepted.com/writing-career-goals-essay/]post #3[/url] of this series, we looked at some strong introductions and analyzed what made them work. But don’t get hung up on crafting the perfect introduction before moving on to the rest of your essay. If you freeze up because you’re not sure how to begin your essay, days might go by with no progress. So here’s a writing secret: you don’t have to start at the beginning. Start with any section of the essay about which you feel confident. It could be in the middle, with a story you want to tell. It could even be the conclusion you have in mind. Often, the perfect introduction will come to you when you are well into writing the rest of the essay. Primarily, don’t lose sight of the image you want to create of yourself for the admissions committee. One way to think about this is to ask yourself [url=https://blog.accepted.com/proving-character-traits-in-your-application-essays/]what three adjectives you want them to associate with you after reading your application.[/url] Determined, focused, and empathetic? Ambitious, team-oriented, and creative? Visionary, responsible, and community-minded? As you read your draft, try to see whether your three intended adjectives are standing out to you. Keep your eye on the prize. Stay focused on presenting the most meaningful, lively examples that will best showcase the talented, purpose-driven individual you want the adcom to see you as. And even though we’ve written this before and you’ve heard it before, it bears repeating: never simply claim to be something without backing it up with evidence. Summary Tips [list] [*]Make an outline, even if it’s informal. [/*] [*][url=https://blog.accepted.com/first-drafts-of-personal-statements-let-yourself-go/]Feel free to overwrite your first drafts[/url] – within reason. Capture on paper all the important experiences, ideas, and insights you want to share. As you edit, you will trim the excess and get to the core of your message. Engaging a skilled editor to support you can be a wise investment. [/*] [*]Don’t worry if you are stuck on the opening of your essay. Skip it for now, and start wherever you feel confident about what you want to write. As you build your essay from the middle or even the conclusion, the introduction will come to you. We promise! [/*] [*]Keep in mind the impression you want the adcom to have of you when they have finished reading your essay. Does your narrative suggest that image to you?[/*] [/list] [url=https://blog.accepted.com/from-example-to-exemplary-5-revise-and-polish-your-essays/]In the next and final post in this series[/url], you’ll learn how to revise and polish your exemplary essays. Our incredible experts at Accepted will walk you through the process of creating a slam-dunk application. They have read literally thousands of essays and know the exact ingredients of an outstanding essay. Need help figuring out which service is best for you? [url=https://www.accepted.com/free-admissions-consultation-all]Click here for more guidance.[/url] [img]https://blog.accepted.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Judy-Gruen.jpg[/img] By Judy Gruen, former Accepted admissions consultant. Judy holds a master’s in journalism from Northwestern University. She is also the co-author of Accepted’s first full-length book, MBA Admission for Smarties: The No-Nonsense Guide to Acceptance at Top Business Schools. [url=https://www.accepted.com/services?utm_campaign=Blog&utm_medium=blog_bio_Judy&utm_source=blog]Want an admissions expert help you get accepted? Click here to get in touch[/url]! [b]Related resources:[/b] [list] [*][url=https://reports.accepted.com/guide/how-to-fit-in-stand-out-during-the-admissions-process]Fitting In & Standing Out: The Paradox at the Heart of Admissions[/url], a free guide[/*] [*][url=https://blog.accepted.com/recipe-for-writing-an-accomplishment-essay/]Strategy for Writing an Accomplishment Essay (with examples)[/url][/*] [*][url=https://www.accepted.com/admissions-podcast]Admissions Straight Talk [/url]Podcast[/*] [/list] The post [url=https://blog.accepted.com/how-to-create-the-first-draft-of-your-application-essay/]Starting Your Application Essay: Three Tips[/url] appeared first on [url=https://blog.accepted.com]Accepted Admissions Blog[/url]. |
05 Mar 2024, 08:00
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: How to Get into HEC Paris MBA? [Episode 565] |
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[img]https://blog.accepted.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/HEC-Paris-MBA-Essay-Tips-and-Deadlines-2022-–-2023.png[/img] [img]https://blog.accepted.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/HEC-Paris-MBA-Essay-Tips-and-Deadlines-2022-–-2023.png[/img] Don’t miss our Admissions Straight Talk podcast interview with Sara Vanos, the Executive Director of Marketing and Admissions for HEC Paris MBA Programs. Sara highlights the unique aspects of the full-time MBA program, such as the 16-month duration, on-campus housing, and flexibility in specialization and electives. She also mentions the New Horizons program, which focuses on anticipating trends and thinking creatively. Listen below or click the image to read the full transcript.  The HEC Paris MBA application essays – and there are many compared to most MBA applications these days –give the adcom a well-rounded view of you. They go beyond what you’ve done to capture how you think and respond, even how you imagine. Moreover, they require you to communicate complex thoughts and experiences succinctly. For the four shorter 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 (e.g. “had the opportunity to”); don’t hesitate to use direct, declarative sentences. This writing approach has an added benefit: it conveys confidence. Since there are several essays, I suggest first sketching out ideas for them all, then stepping back to assess how all these facets add up as a whole, and adjusting topics if/as necessary to avoid redundancy and ensure a well-rounded presentation that will make the adcom feel that they must invite you for an interview. HEC Paris MBA application essays HEC MBA essay #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.
Finally, connect the dots. This essay, well done, will convey how your goals grow organically from your experience and are achievable given your previous experience and an MBA from HEC.  HEC MBA essay #2 What do you consider your most significant life achievement? (250 words maximum) Most significant life achievement – Wow. It probably didn’t happen yesterday. And for many people it didn’t happen at work… Few work accomplishments rise to the level of MOST SIGNIFICANT LIFE ACHIEVEMENT. Imagine if, for example, you state that boosting your organization’s bottom-line (by whatever amount) is your greatest life achievement – the adcom might wonder about your values or whether you really have a life. Although, if you can say that at work you saved jobs or lessened negative environmental impacts or were instrumental in developing a new medical advancement, that would be more substantial and could possibly fit the bill. For many people, this story will be personal – I think of clients who have persevered through, managed, and overcome major family crises. For others, it will involve impact with community, religious, and/or social organizations or groups; for yet others it could involve a major milestone such as a national sports ranking or photo exhibit or music performance. Whatever topic you select, with only 250 words, simply narrate the story and include the results or impact. It would be fine to have a sentence or two of reflection on why it’s so meaningful to you, but don’t make a long explanation. The reason should be clear from the content. HEC MBA essay #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 maximum) Again, keep the structure simple: tell the story, and end with a brief discussion of how the experience has influenced you. Don’t feel the need to present a very dramatic story – many such situations are gray, not black and white. 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 (even if 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. HEC MBA essay #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 in your current life/role; it asks you to imagine a life. Use that openness to express your creativity. In doing so, however, avoid being abstract. Weave in and employ your actual 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 portrays your knowledge of and passion for dance. The reader would learn something interesting about you – and your prospective contribution to the social milieu of the program. HEC MBA essay #5 Please choose from one of the following essays: (250 words maximum) 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 analyze it. c) What figure do you most admire and why? You may choose from any field (arts, literature, politics, business, etc.). All these options are equally good – choose the one that resonates 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. HEC MBA essay #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, 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 contributes to a clear and full picture of your candidacy. They give you a lot of words to work with; don’t think that you must use all 900! HEC Paris at a glance HEC MBA average GMAT score: 690 Class size (Class of 2021): 281 HEC MBA acceptance rate: 18.9% You’ve worked so hard to get to this point in your journey. Now that you’re ready for your next achievement, make sure you know how to present yourself to maximum advantage in your SCHOOL NAME application. In a hotly competitive season, you’ll want a member of Team Accepted in your corner, guiding you with expertise tailored specifically for you. Check out our flexible consulting packages today! HEC Paris remaining MBA application deadlines for Jan 2023 intake Application dueDecision received1 June 20229 July 202215 August 202217 September 202215 September 202222 October 202215 October 2022**19 November 202215 November 2022**17 December 2022 *Application deadlines may be subject to change ** For non EU nationals, we encourage you to apply sooner due to housing and student visas Source: HEC Paris website ***Disclaimer: Information is subject to change. Please check with individual programs to verify the essay questions, instructions and deadlines.*** For expert guidance with your HEC Paris MBA application, check out Accepted’s MBA Application Packages, which include comprehensive guidance from an experienced admissions consultant. We’ve helped hundreds of applicants get accepted to top MBA programs and look forward to helping you too! How to Get into HEC Paris MBA? [Episode 565]  Show Summary Are you interested in an MBA program located in Europe, with a strong global and entrepreneurial flavor, a program that prides itself on flexibility and personalization? And would you love to complete your full-time MBA in just 16 months? Then HEC Paris may be just the ticket for you. In this episode of Admissions Straight Talk, Linda Abraham interviews Sara Vanos, the Executive Director of Marketing and Admissions for HEC Paris MBA Programs. They discuss the MBA programs offered at HEC Paris. Sara highlights the unique aspects of the full-time MBA program, such as the 16-month duration, on-campus housing, and flexibility in specialization and electives. She also mentions the New Horizons program, which focuses on anticipating trends and thinking creatively. Sara emphasizes the importance of work experience, extracurricular activities, and language proficiency in the admissions process. She also addresses the use of AI tools like ChatGPT in essay writing and the relevance of an MBA degree in today’s world. Show Notes Welcome to the 565th episode of Admissions Straight Talk. Thanks for tuning in. Are you ready to apply to your dream MBA programs? Are you competitive in those programs? Accepted’s MBA admissions quiz can give you a quick reality check. Just go to accepted.com/mbaquiz, complete the quiz, and you’ll not only get an assessment, but tips on how to improve your qualifications. Plus, it’s all free. It gives me great pleasure to have, for the first time on Admissions Straight Talk, Sara Vanos, Executive Director of Marketing Admissions HEC Paris, MBA Programs. Sara started her career in higher education at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, and in 2014 she moved to HEC Paris, starting out in their careers office. Since 2016, she has worked in marketing and recruitment. Sara became the Executive Director of Marketing and Admissions for HEC’s three MBA programs in April 2023, and she also earned her MBA at HEC in the executive MBA program. Sara, welcome to Admissions Straight Talk. [1:54] Thank you so much, Linda. It’s a pleasure to be here today. Can you start by just giving us a very high-level overview of HEC’s three MBA programs? [2:01] Sure, I’d be happy to. So we have our full-time MBA program, which is a 16-month program that can be residential. We have on-campus housing, or you can live off-campus. So that’s in our Jouy-en-Josas campus, which is quite close to Paris. You can do specialization, you can do electives, plus your core plus all kinds of other sorts of surprises and leadership activities. So that would be our full-time MBA. Then we have our executive MBA. That can take anywhere from 15 to 21 months because it’s part-time. It’s either modular block, so you come on campus every two months, or you can do every other weekend in Paris. It’s typically for more senior professionals. So the average age is 40, usually with some management experience. And then we have anything from directors to CEOs to CFOs in that program. So very senior crowd. And then we have TRIUM, which is one of our flagship partnership programs. So it’s in partnership with LSE and also NYU. Even slightly more senior profiles that join that program. And it’s really exciting because it takes place in modules all over the world. How long is that program? [3:17] That one is almost 20 months. Let’s zoom in on the full-time MBA program’s more notable and distinctive elements. Can you describe them? You’ve hinted at them a little bit. By the way, I once visited HEC Paris and it’s absolutely beautiful. [3:26] I commute from Paris every day to go on campus, so it’s actually really easy to reach. And like you said, it’s beautiful. So it’s a wooded, private, acres of a forest, tennis courts, a chateau of its own, and of course, our other programs. But the one that we’ll zoom in on now is the MBA. So a beautiful campus with the possibility to live on campus, which is kind of interesting and different because a lot of MBA programs, you’re spread out everywhere. So we feel that having this on-campus housing really builds the community from day one because you’re with about 80% of the students living in our residential housing, you can easily attend club activities, and different community events, so you really foster that connection from day one. If we start with the curriculum or notable things there, I think the 16 months is really unique. So typically, you’re looking at an MBA, “Where do I do it, how long, my ROI.” Et cetera. So we’ve kind of found the sweet spot. So you can either do 12 or 16 months, depending on your intake. So it can be a little shorter than the longer programs, but you get all the benefits of the longer programs. So electives, specialization, participation in our MBA Olympics, New Horizons, which is broadening your horizons and figuring out how to anticipate trends. So that’s unique. We have a pretty smaller than I would say, some of the larger class sizes. So usually, an average of about 300 students come in two intakes. And you can start in September or January. So that’s also unique. I think if we say maybe one takeaway from these things I’ve kind of thrown out, there would be flexibility and customization. So I know that’s what a lot of people look for in their program. So whether it’s program length, how to sort of specialize what you take, so we have the specializations, which electives, where you live, if you live on campus, all of that really offers the flexibility to have a great experience. You mentioned the New Horizons program. Could you tell us what that is? [5:38] So it’s a type of capstone, but it’s really tailored specifically to HEC Paris. So it’s relatively new in our curriculum. We always had a type of MBA project or capstone, but we’ve really refined this one. So when students come in, they’re challenged to come up with a strategic question, but then they have followings or courses or workshops through their MBA. There’s always a surprise visit. And the goal of New Horizons is to prepare you professionally, possibly have your question address something that will have your career sort of at heart, but it teaches you to anticipate trends and think about the what-ifs. So it does that in different ways. For example, we have different improvisation workshops, so really hands-on how to react. We have workshops taught by consulting firms, so how to think like a consultant. And then we also have this kind of surprise visit. So every year the visit is changing. This year the students were surprised at 3:00 AM to visit a place called Rungis, which is where all of the fresh food produce comes in just outside Paris. So operationally, there are so many things to look at, especially because we’re receiving from countries all over the world and just how to scale, how to anticipate, how to think about it could be AI trends, it could be many different trends. So just addressing those in a real life place and then speaking about them in the following workshops. And it culminates with a project or a paper where you have to take your strategic ideas, challenge it, take all these workshops, put them into place, and then your final project, which can be used towards your professional career or starting your own company. The interesting thing about the fruit and vegetable market is that it’s also so old. [7:17] It started in Paris a long time ago, and now it’s scaled quite a bit and moved out, but it’s just the most interesting place at such a scale to think about that and managing that and anticipating trends, and what if there’s a pandemic? How do you receive what happens next? HEC’s program is a 16-month program with two possible intakes. What about the internship? Most MBA programs feel that the internship is very important, especially for career changers. What does HEC say about that? [7:45] So HEC and myself are very, very happy behind the internship. It can be very important step in someone’s career. Not necessarily, but we do offer that choice. So if someone joins in September, they do the MBA internship in the traditional timing, so it would be a summer internship. So there are different ways through the curriculum to prepare. That would be sort of similar to a two-year program where you have that gap in the summer, then you come back for your specialization and graduate early. For January, it’s kind of interesting and cool because they can do a smaller summer internship, so a two-month internship in the summer, and then for their fourth term, they can choose to do a longer internship. In Paris, sometimes internships can be up to six months. So this allows them to do that kind of traditional French internship and/or they could go straight into full-time. So it’s quite flexible there as well. Shorter, longer internship and/or short internship. So many combinations. I think the hardest part is deciding and wrapping your head around which one is best for your career. Some of our students will choose to do other things in the summer instead of internships. Some will choose to learn French intensively. Some will choose to travel, some will choose to work on a startup or MBA project. But I would say about 80% of students will follow some kind of internship before they graduate. What are the language requirements for entrance to HEC and for graduation? [9:20] To enter, you just have to be able to pass your TOEFL,or be a native English speaker, and have done a degree prior to that in English. So the entry requirements are quite easy. I think graduating becomes a little bit trickier because we expect you to learn at least one new language before you leave the program and at a level designed for your goals. So we have in-person French classes, which our students can take. They can, however, choose the level based on how far they want to go. So let’s say they know they want to work in France, they’ll choose something a bit more intensive. So they’ll evaluate their level before, and their classes will be very intense and directed at giving a certification at a level where they can work with a proficiency, versus other students might say, “Okay, I want to have a level of French to communicate, to get around Paris to enjoy, but I don’t necessarily need it to work.” So they could choose that level. On top of that, we sometimes have students who will choose to follow an additional language. There are up to 14 available, some in person, and some through our language center. But for example, when I worked in careers, I had quite a few students who would learn German instead of French because they were targeting to work in Germany afterward. So you have a lot of choices there, and it’s all included in the tuition, and it’s kind of at the desire of the student based on where they want to go. And then, we complement that with what we think can help to their professional goals or personal goals. Do you ever have students who, let’s say, are very good at a particular language and say they want that to be their second language so they really don’t have to learn a second language or third language would be the case? [10:48] Yes. Those ones have to learn a third language. The basic requirement is that everyone needs to come out with a minimal, I think it’s a B1 level in an additional language. So we do have some students who come in speaking two languages. Most of our students, I think we looked and I think almost 90% of our students already come in with two. So they need a third. There are students with three already who need to learn a fourth. So we just want at least one new language at proficiency as part of the overall experience. A very high percentage of students at HEC do not come from France. How does career placement work if they want to go back to their home country or they want to a country other than France? [11:27] I just looked at this stat this morning, and I think 74% of our students work outside of their home country, but in over 50 different countries. So we do have students coming who want to work in France or Europe or UK. So that’s happening. I think generally, about 50% of our class has placement in Europe or the UK. We do have a lot of students though, however, who want to experience a new geography or who want to return to their company. So we have sponsored students who return to their home company or we sometimes have students who want to go back to their home country. We also have double-degree students who do one year here and one year at a university in another country, so they have those double networks. What I think is important is that we have alumni and even alumni chapters, but also sometimes alumni offices across different countries in the world. Our careers team works with companies that are global. Often they’ll work with a global office that will look at regional placements. So we do have connections, I would say, worldwide. There are places where we place more students. So I would say in Asia we have more. Also, the US. Last year we had a lot of placement across Latin America, specifically Mexico in consulting. So our careers team works globally, but sometimes they’ll chase opportunities based on the makeup or desire of the class because that seems to be ever-changing. Years ago, everyone wanted to work in France. The last two years I think our students have been a bit more open based on opportunity. We’ve had a lot of placement for consulting firms in the Middle East as well. So sometimes MBB students are more geographically open. So again, we have the connections and we kind of have our plan, but then every year we make some tweaks to it with the careers team based on what our students are looking for. What don’t people know about HEC Paris that you would like them to know? Are there any misconceptions you’d like to dispel, myths you’d like to bust, or just things that you think are unknown? [13:25] So I think one of the myths, perhaps is that you need French, that the classes are in French or that you need French to survive and thrive. We have lots of students every year who say, “It’s not important to me.” And they have a fantastic time, and you can get by and especially where our campus is and the surroundings and in Paris, it’s nice to have French, but it’s not important. So I think first off, to live in France, to even work in France, is a nice to have. It depends on what you want to do and where you want to go, but you don’t need it. And our courses outside of language classes are all in English. So I would say that’s a common myth. What would I like people to know? Maybe that you have kind of all of the things that you’d expect from an MBA, but then there are some very special things about HEC that are memorable and stand out that I would say, yeah, don’t exist everywhere. So first the specializations, that’s a four-month intensive themed kind of journey where you decide a specialization. So we can take entrepreneurship or we could take consulting or we could take finance. So you really do a deep dive there outside of the electives. So that’s really great. We have our MBA Olympics, which I think is a standout feature as well. So we host MBAs from around the world on our campus. I think it’s just a really special place, and you almost don’t know it until you talk to somebody who’s working there or studied there. It’s something that’s not very easy to communicate in words, but I think through fit, vibe, and community, you’ll feel at the moment, hopefully, that you talk to somebody who’s linked to HEC. HEC requires a GMAT or the GRE. Any plans to accept the executive assessment or other tests? Are you considering introducing test waivers? [15:10] I love that you asked this. It’s a really timely question because I think in the last month or two months we’ve decided to accept the executive assessment. So we could take the GRE, the GMAT, or the executive assessment. I would say, as always, it’s a great idea to talk to our marketing and recruitment managers before you decide which test because they might be able to help you find the one that is the best fit for you. We have had a very low percentage recently as well of GMAT or GRE test waivers. That would be someone with a CFA level three, for example, someone with a really strong finance background paired with a strong English test or English university, et cetera. So it’s possible, but again, it’s a conversation where we look at holistically all of the elements that we would normally find in those tests. So it can happen. We have quite a bit of flexibility there. But I think it’s good to speak to a marketing and recruitment manager because it’s really specific to the person. Sometimes it’s about the time and preparation you put into the test that helps you to prepare for this big step, be ready in courses, but also sort of mentally prepare, mentally prepare for studying again. I think there are a lot of benefits to the tests outside of just the score to get into a program. The website says that HEC students have an average of six years of full-time work experience. Qualitatively, what makes for impressive work experience in your eyes? [16:47] Six years is the average. That’s just taking everyone. It’s really much wider because sometimes we have someone with, I would say usually two years would be the minimum. However, we have had once or twice someone with a little less than that. So we like to look at everyone individually. We examine, I’m in every jury, I hear about every single applicant from what they wrote in their essays to all of the things that we look at. So we do look at everything. Strong work experience is typically someone who has done something impressive or has shown a promotion or has a good motivation that matches what’s happening in their careers. So we’ll look at the CV, we’ll look at the roles that the person has had. We’ll also look at their motivations alongside that, then we’ll look at their essays to understand a little bit more deeply, possibly their projects. A clear CV is always nice because sometimes, when there are many points and there’s a mumble jumble or a really crazy format, it’s harder for us to really assess the CV. But I would say usually career progression, interesting projects, and promotions. Sometimes brands can be interesting as well, but they’re not necessary. A really cool startup project can jump out. We’re looking for a diversity of professional backgrounds as well. So sometimes we might have a pile of amazing investment banking CVs, but then we’ll have a designer or an architect, and that will really stand out to us. So we’re looking at everything. So not just what you think would be a perfect CV, we’re looking to add that professional diversity to the classroom and things that will really be interesting or that are interesting to employers. So if we talk about designers, it’s so interesting because in the last couple intakes, we’ve had some really cool or atypical profiles, and they’re the profiles that the companies that were recruiting we’re really looking at. So I would just say people don’t count themselves out because you have sometimes no idea what will jump out in the MBA world or what will be a success. You mentioned a minute ago the MBA Tournament, which is one of HEC’s better known programs. It’s a three-day multi-sport competition. There have been 1,500 participants from 15 leading international business schools participating. I’m sure it’s an organizational challenge for the students. But that and HEC’s essay questions lead me to ask about the importance of non-professional, avocational interests or activities in your admissions process. Is that something that you are looking for? [18:56] We definitely assess extracurriculars. There’s a section where you can put any additional information. It’s important to us that people learn both in kind of traditional ways and non-traditional ways. So when you’re taking an MBA, we’re looking for you to learn in the classroom, but outside the classroom, that can be through clubs, social activities, and conversations. Sometimes we even look also at it can be travel or things that show that you’ve opened your mind. Not everyone would’ve had the chance to study or work abroad, but it could be something as simple as an extracurricular that’s global, or it could be working with business colleagues across countries. So we do look at that. We have a section where you’re able to share. Again, you can be creative in some ways there. We don’t need you just to have volunteered at a food bank. That can be fantastic. But if you’ve volunteered in other ways, if you’ve made a committee at your work, if you have, again, started a company, if you have some kind of social purpose, or you’re involved in something within your community, I think any of those are good to share. Probably the more the merrier because some people, I think undervalue what they do, and then we see the line on their CV that says they’re like, I don’t know, a martial arts champion, but they didn’t add that into their actual application or a dance champion or somebody who’s a guitarist on YouTube. I don’t know. We see all kinds of interesting things, and sometimes we find that in the line in the CV, not in the application. What do you look for besides stats? [21:13] We’ll start by looking at their CV. So that’s one of the criteria. We’ll look at the GMAT, GRE test. These are things that kind of all follow and complement each other. We look at previous academic backgrounds. So which school did you go to? What did you study? And again, we try to tie all of this back to motivation. So there’s a motivational paragraph where you get to explain what’s next, why an MBA. So we’re kind of trying to look holistically. As discussed, we look at extracurriculars. We also look at languages. So we think it can be interesting, even if you’ve just started to learn a language, if your goal is to work in France, it can be helpful if you’ve already started learning. It’s not necessary, but we do look at that in terms of, again, motivation, career desires and outcomes. We look at the essays, so we read all of the essays, and then discuss them. So sometimes, things can jump out. Some of them are kind of creative. So I would say in there, depending on the essay topic, we’re looking for different things. The additional essay is something that maybe only 10 to 20% of students use, but it’s extremely interesting because it’s where you can add anything that we might not have known about you. And it’s often where we learn something extremely interesting. So I would say that’s something to look at. Where we also evaluate, but it’s at a later stage, would be the interviews. So how did it go with your alumni interviewer? How did the alumni interviewer rate your presentation? Because you have to make a presentation. Communication skills and motivation, et cetera. I think those are all of the main buckets if I’m thinking through them. There’s none that’s weighted super heavily. They’re all kind of pairing together and matching together. And even if someone doesn’t have the perfect application, because we discuss each and every profile in a jury of several members, there are other things that can come into play. So for example, our marketing and recruitment managers try to have a call or meet everyone that comes in the program. So it can be very interesting because often they’ll add complementary information that can boost almost if somebody forgot something and the marketing recruitment manager knows, they can also talk about their conversation, talk about things like that. So I think that’s also somewhere that can add value. Is there a conversation in addition to the interview, or are they one and the same? [23:30] The process is basically we evaluate the whole application. The marketing recruitment manager presents the file, we speak, and we all go there. Then we decide who moves to interviews. So from there, that stage, then they have two alumni interviews, and that’s where we leave the decision to our alumni. So that’s a bit almost scary because in my teams, we could say, “This is the perfect CV, this is the perfect profile.” Unfortunately, if they don’t make it with the two favorable comments from the interviewers, they can’t be admitted. So if both say no, we are like, “Oh no.” That has happened. It’s always unfortunate because if we move someone to interviews, we really believe in them, but we believe more in our graduates’ opinions of who will fit best at HEC and who will make HEC shine the most. So we send them off and let them have that final decision. What if the interviewers don’t agree? [24:27] So if there’s two that don’t agree, which it’s more rare than you would think, if they don’t agree however, then it comes back. So we have a final, final jury, which involves people from our academic and delivery team, the dean, the careers team, and myself. It’s quite a large team. So that’s where we vet them all. If they all had a great application, they made it to interviews, it’s good, so we still check in case there are any flags that the larger community would like to discuss. That’s where we debate as a group. We read the comments, we look at the assessments of both interviewers, and we try to understand what the interviewer said, what that means, and how that ties back. So it’s kind of a final check and balance, and then the members of the final jury get to vote. That’s quite a process. What do you want to learn from these essays? [25:30] What we’re looking for there depends on the question. So sometimes we’re looking at maybe an ethical dilemma or something that someone’s facing in their work, we’re looking for a genuine example. It’s not necessarily like, “Are you writing a poem? Are you a great writer?” It’s more about the content of the essay and what’s there, and is it genuine. Is there something interesting? Do they assess themselves? Do they have emotional intelligence? It’s hard to read all of this from an essay, but actually, you can get a lot more, I think, in these paragraphs than you would imagine based on the differences of the questions. I don’t know, sometimes you can see that someone is a little bit creative when they describe where they might take you in their home city. You can see how they kind of struggled with the decision or how they turned it around. So we’re just trying to get to know the person because, until that point, we may or may not have met them. We want to get to know them over paper. So it’s not something that you can just say like, “Yes, no”, it’s a lot deeper than that, I think. So the more someone would share, I think the more we would be able to assess and get to know them and hopefully move them to the next round. I also found it very interesting that the longest essay question, or the one with the highest word limit is optional. The required questions are around 200-250 words, right? [26:46] Yeah. They’re quite short. We’re looking for, usually, a couple of paragraphs, sometimes a little longer, depending on the person. Definitely, a word limit can be important because I think our longest CV was 24 pages. It was a researcher citing a lot of research. For us that was just a little bit too long so we want to make sure that we find that sweet spot. Additional can go a lot longer because sometimes people use that to articulate various things for scholarships. So they might want to put additional information if they’re looking for a scholarship that we couldn’t have measured. Some people are telling us more about their life situation. So for the additional, we let it go. We haven’t had anything too, too long yet. And, like I said, not that many people use it, but it’s always quite valuable when they do. Some people will use it to explain a GMAT score if it’s maybe lower than they would’ve hoped, other people will use it, for example, we have our Laidlaw scholarship, so that’s 100% funded tuition. So some of our female students will use that as a place to kind of indicate that they’re interested, and there they would have to express financial need and a little bit more information. So we kind of use that for everything for now. We’re changing to a new CRM relatively soon, wherein we’ll be able to break that down a bit more based on yes or no. So it’ll become more sophisticated shortly. What’s the most common mistake that you see applicants making in the application process? [28:28] Yeah, it’s a funny one. Usually, we kind of let it go because it’s so common, but a lot of people will cut and paste essays and keep the other schools that they’re applying to. It’s okay because we know that they’re applying to multiple schools, but sometimes people will say, “I’m applying to HEC only.” And then they will cut and paste an essay in a CV where they cite another school. It’s the most common one. I think for the admissions team, we are rather used to it. We know that it can happen. We know, “Okay, it’s an oversight. Maybe the person is not super detail-oriented.” But where it can have a larger impact is our alumni will have access to the application of the person who’s applied and moved into an interview round. So for I would say our alumni, it’s a more big mistake because they want people who are like diehard HEC, they want them to love HEC, to only be thinking about HEC. So common. Easy though, I think, for applicants to take a quick double-check, put a PDF of your application file, look the whole thing through, and just look for these very small but easy-to-fix things, I would say. Yeah, this is one of the things that comes up repeatedly from admission directors. My suggestion for applicants is if you are adapting essays from another school, don’t cut and paste, number one. But if you are adapting essays from another school, when you start that process, not at the end, when you start, do a find and replace. That way, you will not miss it. You mentioned ChatGPT a few minutes ago. Are you concerned at all about it? [30:17] What’s quite interesting is recently we had a professor who gave an exam, and he allowed half the class to use ChatGPT, and he allowed half the class not to use it, and it turned out no one knew who did, who didn’t. And the professor, when they were marking the test, they didn’t know who had used it or who didn’t. The grading was much, much higher for those who did not use it. So A, I think that says something for now I think that you may lose creativity, and sometimes we know people did ChatGPT because of the format of the paragraphs or how they use emojis or kind of how they do things, it’s quite easy to know. In the end, we are not going to ding anyone for it, but I think you might be doing yourself a disservice because A, you miss the thought that you put into the essays, which is just as important as what you write. I think the process of taking the time, finding your achievement, wording it, having that deep impact to how it comes across and how we’ll read it might or might not be more generic. I don’t know yet, and I’m sure chat GPT will get better. But for the moment, I don’t think it helps candidates that much. Maybe to formulate their ideas. But then I would still go back, and if you want the best essay, I think probably for now you’re still better than the robots. But we’re not too worried for the moment. We’ll kind of see what happens in the future. But again, we’re not looking at somebody who writes perfectly. We’re looking to understand the person, their ideas, their flow, et cetera. So if they have someone or a robot that helps them, it’s not the end of the world today. What about applicants applying for your January 2025 intake or planning ahead for the September 2025 intake? What advice do you have for these two groups? [31:57] I think they kind of have a pleasure and a joy of planning because we see both the people who plan really early, especially when we go to fairs, for example, in Germany, they’re planning two years out, and then we see last minute applicants who are coming in one month. We like all of them, but I do think that there’s a joy in planning early because it allows you to kind of check the boxes, make a financial plan, figure out the funding, how you’re going to be able to pay for this, make a really good Excel. Because I think funding and understanding that is quite important, and sometimes it can be maybe overlooked or rushed. So I think it’s great because you can actually make, “I want to save X.” And how much your loan is for. I think the other thing is that you have more time to perhaps visit schools, explore, maybe do that thing where you go on multiple campus visits across schools to assess fit, more time to get in touch with current students or alumni or the schools themselves. What I would probably look at for those candidates, too, schools are changing their curriculums, not rapidly, but I hope that they’re adapting every couple of years. So I guess it will be important to know how do schools adapt their curriculum? How might that impact you? How can you kind of anticipate what might be different in a couple of years? So those are some questions that could be interesting to ask. But otherwise, I would say just enjoy the ride, the joy, and all of the time you have to study, to plan. But don’t under or overestimate the amount of time and kind of ignore little things. Just use that time wisely so that you have, I guess, a pleasant journey where you can plan everything and you’re not rushed at the last moment. What would you have liked me to ask you? [33:57] Maybe why or how is an MBA still relevant? Is it still relevant? Why is this the degree to follow maybe in today’s day and age? I think that’s something that people are kind of questioning. Since the moment that I worked at Rotman, I have, and even before, real admiration for the MBA degree because I think it’s so versatile, and having had the pleasure of working careers, I have seen miraculous career jumps, changes, and not just career, but also personal. So if I look at a student who would come for coaching in year one versus two, the way that they’re challenged, the way that they’re trained to feel comfortable in the uncomfortable, the way that MBA programs teach a core but also teach you to anticipate trends, the way that you can holistically see marketing or finance or all of these buckets and how they work together, I think it’s incredible. For me, it’s still the most transformational, versatile degree. It opens doors that would most likely be closed or take you a lot longer to achieve. So I think that that’s probably the thing that you should know first. Why are you passionate about an MBA? And then for me, I truly believe in this degree before I did it, but since I did it, and with everything I’ve seen from careers to admissions and more. I got my MBA a long time ago, and I did not pursue a traditional MBA path, and I don’t think I fully realized the benefit of the degree until maybe 15 years after I got it. But it still benefited me when I started Accepted. It has long-term value. [35:35] Yeah, that’s extremely important. You’re not just investing in something that’s for a couple of years, you’re investing in something for life. And I’m sure that there will be moments at two years, five years, 10 years, 20 beyond where you’ll be like, “Oh yeah, I remember that.” Or, “Oh, I can read that balance sheet.” Even though you haven’t used it. Where can listeners and potential applicants learn more about HEC Paris’ MBA programs? [36:42] The first stop is probably the most obvious. So go on the HEC Paris MBA website. From there, there are two of buttons that you can click that might be a good place to start outside of the curriculum, et cetera. One would be to connect with us. So I mentioned our marketing recruitment managers, they’re the loveliest people. They want to get to know you, and they’re really genuinely there to help you, get to know you. When I visit their offices, they know where someone they met two years ago is in the class or in which job, so it’s genuine. Or we have a button that talks about our news stories or blogs, and it inspires me all the time. I also really like Instagram, but I won’t go too crazy because I like to dream about what’s next beyond just kind of the technical things in the brochure, and our stories allow you to dream about, I don’t know, a family that moved here together or at Christmas, there was all the Christmas lights of Paris and what you can enjoy, or a student story about where they did their internships. So I would say start by dreaming and connecting with us and then go deeper into the details.  Relevant Links: Relevant shows:
Subscribe:   Podcast Feed The post HEC Paris MBA Essay Tips and Deadlines [2022 – 2023] & Podcast Episode 565 with Sara Vanos appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog. |
07 Mar 2024, 08:00
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: Writing an Essay Lead That Pops |
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[img]https://blog.accepted.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Writing-a-Lead-That-Pops.png[/img] [img]https://blog.accepted.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Writing-a-Lead-That-Pops.png[/img] How many times have you sampled the first few lines of a book and decided, “Nah, this isn’t for me”? Whether you picked the book up in a store or library, or downloaded free sample online, you probably made a pretty speedy decision about whether it would hold your interest. The human tendency to rush to judgment Our extremely fast-paced world has trained us to make snap decisions throughout the day, and if, for example, we’re not hooked instantly by an article, book, movie trailer, or song, we’re just a click away from another, more appealing choice. We might move quickly away from someone at a party who begins to bore us and whom we lack the patience to listen to, for even another minute. [url=https://www.accepted.com/free-admissions-consultation-all][img]https://blog.accepted.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/general-free-consultation-button.png[/img][/url] Because we have endless choices, we get choosier and choosier about what we’re willing to stick with. These rapid judgments might not be fair, but the “burden of overchoice” in our lives feeds our short attention spans. Admissions committee members are human. And the pressure of their job forces them to make very quick decisions about whose applications they will invest more time in and whose will merit only an obligatory but cursory review before being set aside as unworthy of serious consideration. Their reality is truly “so many applications, so little time,” which means that when you are applying to [url=https://www.accepted.com/mba]b-school[/url], [url=https://www.accepted.com/medical]med school[/url], [url=https://www.accepted.com/grad]grad school[/url], or [url=https://www.accepted.com/college]college[/url], you have to capture your reader’s attention with the very first lines of your essay – before they are tempted to just give it that cursory read and move on to the next application. Your very first sentence cannot fall flat. It must reel them into your narrative. Every word counts. How to hook your essay readers from the beginning This sounds like a lot of pressure, right? But this is a challenge you can meet successfully. Think of your lead as the beginning of a good fiction story: something is at stake here, something compelling and colorful, something with a punch. Let’s look at a few examples, and you’ll quickly get the point: “Horns blare as tiny auto rickshaws and bicycle-powered school buses interweave at impossibly close range in the narrow streets of Old Delhi.” “After a near disaster during my first week as a case manager at a community center for women and children, I discovered that to succeed in my job, I’d have to restrain my anger at how badly things were run in this place.” “My aunt’s cancer had already metastasized throughout her body by the time she was finally diagnosed correctly – too late for any effective treatment. At that moment, my interest in a career as a science researcher became much more personal.” “From the age of seven, when I was struggling with simple math problems but acing my spelling tests and already writing simple stories, I knew I was meant to become a writer.” Notice that three of these four sample leads are personal anecdotes. They offer no details about the writer’s GPA or technical facts about what they researched in the lab. The first lead is so colorful and dramatic that we instantly want to know more about the person who observed the scene. In every case, the lead begins [url=https://blog.accepted.com/5-elements-telling-attention-grabbing-story/]a story that makes the reader sit up[/url] and say, “Ah! This is a dynamic person with a compelling voice!” Your goal is to write an essay that introduces you to the admissions committee and makes them want to get to know you better. You’re way ahead of the game when your essay introduction really shines. Three components of a strong lead A strong essay opener will include three key elements: [list] [*]The theme or agenda of your essay, offering the first few facts about who you are, [url=https://blog.accepted.com/how-to-write-a-goal-statement-for-graduate-school/]what you are interested in doing[/url] with your life/career/studies, and/or important influences[/*] [*]Creative details or descriptions[/*] [*]Energetic writing that will keep the reader engaged through the rest of the essay[/*] [/list] Good leads connect where you’ve been to where you’re going Let’s look at a few more engaging first lines: [list] [*]“It was absolutely pitch black outside when we had to silently leave our home and climb into the back of a truck, beginning our journey to freedom.”[/*] [*]“Only six months after I launched my start-up, money was flowing… out the window.”[/*] [*]“Finding a green, scratched 1960s Cadillac in a dump last summer was the moment I realized that mechanical engineering was for me.”[/*] [/list] Wouldn’t you want to keep reading to learn the rest of these stories? I would! Many clients worry that these kinds of anecdotal introductions are too “soft,” [url=https://blog.accepted.com/how-personal-is-too-personal-2/]too “personal,”[/url] or too “creative.” But the right vibrant anecdote can absolutely do the job of being creative, personal, and strong. A compelling lead draws your reader into your story and make them feel involved in your journey. Descriptive language can go a long way to spice up a straightforward story and help the reader follow you from where you began to where you are headed. How to write a lead that pops Now that you have read several great examples of attention-grabbing leads, your mind might already be busy generating ideas for your own essay introduction. Write them down. If you don’t have ideas just yet, though, that’s okay – give yourself some time to think. Make a list of turning-point moments in your life that relate to your educational or professional goals. As we have seen, these experiences can be drawn from anywhere: recent or older work experiences, your cultural or family background, or “aha!” moments. An electrical engineering applicant could describe the first time their rural home suddenly went dark and they realized they had found their professional calling. An MBA applicant might have had a very profound and meaningful experience offering basic financial guidance to a struggling working-class individual, prompting their goal of pursuing a career in the nonprofit sector. A law school applicant might have witnessed a courtroom scene during an internship that inspired them to pursue a certain type of law. The possibilities go on and on. As you make your list of anecdotes, jot down as many [url=https://blog.accepted.com/essay-tip-the-importance-of-details/]small, precise details[/url] as you can about each memory or experience. Why was this moment important on your journey toward your dream career or school? How did you feel at that moment? How did it help shape you? What did it teach you? Were there any sensory details (sights, smells, tastes, touch) that were particularly relevant to those moments? Then, try starting your essay with the anecdote itself, inviting the reader to share your experience, and add color, personality, and voice. At the beginning of this post, we pointed out how easy it is to make snap judgments (perhaps unfairly) about a book, article, film, or acquaintance you just met at a party, and to turn your attention away because you weren’t captivated instantly. We end this post asking you to think about all the times you began sampling a book or story and after the first few lines, you simply had to know what was going to happen next. You bought the book or read the story straight through. You want your essay to be one of those proverbial “page-turners” (even if it’s less than one page) that the admissions committee starts reading and can’t put down. You will have earned their full attention, straight through to the end. [url=https://reports.accepted.com/from-example-to-exemplary-guide]Once they’re hooked,[/url] you can take them anywhere you please. Still need help finding that “hook” to open your essay? Our admissions pros will guide you to finding that perfect moment. They can help you plan and craft an application that will draw your readers in with a substantive narrative that will inspire them to place your application in the “admit” pile. [img]https://blog.accepted.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Judy-Gruen.jpg[/img] By Judy Gruen, former Accepted admissions consultant. Judy holds a master’s in journalism from Northwestern University. She is also the co-author of Accepted’s first full-length book, MBA Admission for Smarties: The No-Nonsense Guide to Acceptance at Top Business Schools. [url=https://www.accepted.com/services?utm_campaign=Blog&utm_medium=blog_bio_Judy&utm_source=blog]Want an admissions expert help you get accepted? Click here to get in touch![/url] [b]Related Resources:[/b] [list] [*][url=https://reports.accepted.com/five-fatal-flaws-grad-school-statement-of-purpose]Five Fatal Flaws to Avoid in Your Grad School Statement of Purpose[/url], a free guide[/*] [*][url=https://blog.accepted.com/essential-components-of-mba-personal-statement/]Three Must-Have Elements of a Good Statement of Purpose[/url][/*] [*][url=https://blog.accepted.com/proving-character-traits-in-your-application-essays/]Proving Character Traits in Your Essays [/url][/*] [/list] The post [url=https://blog.accepted.com/writing-an-opening-lead-that-pops/]Writing an Essay Lead That Pops[/url] appeared first on [url=https://blog.accepted.com]Accepted Admissions Blog[/url]. |
11 Mar 2024, 07:00
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: Four Ways to Highlight Your Strengths in Your Application Essays |
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[img]https://blog.accepted.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Four-Ways-to-Highlight-Your-Strengths-in-Your-Application-Essays.png[/img] [img]https://blog.accepted.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Four-Ways-to-Highlight-Your-Strengths-in-Your-Application-Essays.png[/img] One of the most important pieces of advice you will ever learn regarding your personal statements and application essays is this: Show, don’t tell. It’s a classic writing lesson, and you’ve probably heard it before, perhaps many times. But how do you actually “show, not tell,” in your essays? [url=https://www.accepted.com/free-admissions-consultation-all][img]https://blog.accepted.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/general-free-consultation-button.png[/img][/url] Simply “telling” is ineffective, because it usually involves boastful claims such as “I am a wonderful team leader” or “I have excellent communication skills.” These are not convincing if they’re not backed up with evidence. Empty claims are perilously bland and unpersuasive. Instead, show your strengths through vibrant, compelling details. Here are four tips to help you do just that: 1. Lay out the steps you’ve taken. If you are writing about a goal you achieved or a project you completed, spell out the process you followed. This will add depth and validity to your claims. The statement “Within six months, I was promoted to Junior Account Manager” is generic and “blah.” Consider this rewrite: “After completing my training in record time and then doubling sales in my territory, I was promoted to Junior Account Manager after only six months on the job.” There, isn’t that better? Explaining the specific measures you took to obtain that promotion shows how you did it. Similarly, if you are asked to discuss a weakness, [url=https://blog.accepted.com/16-grad-school-application-mistakes-you-dont-want-to-make-episode-237/]don’t just tell the adcom[/url] what your weakness is and state that you have overcome it. Instead, show concrete examples of specific steps you’ve taken to improve. For example, let’s say the weakness you are highlighting is a tendency to procrastinate, and you have worked hard to become more efficient. Do you now plan your projects when you get them and stick to the schedule you set for yourself? Do you check your calendar at least twice daily to ensure that you don’t miss a task, call, or appointment? Show both your system for success and the results you’ve achieved, such as the fact that you haven’t pulled an all-nighter since you implemented these changes. 2. Provide examples of strengths and skills. You say that you are creative, mature, and [url=https://reports.accepted.com/leadership-in-admissions-2]an excellent leader[/url]. But what have you done specifically that proves it? What impact have you made on your teammates, coworkers, company, or community? Remember, simply claiming that you’re creative isn’t convincing. Sharing a story or painting a picture (with words) that truly depicts the creative workings of your mind is. Leadership is a quality that is highly valued by most graduate schools, so make sure to provide an example of your leadership and impact for these programs. 3. Offer relevant, compelling details. Supporting details make your success story more believable and memorable. These supporting details show your achievements at a much higher level than just telling about them would, and they help fill out the picture of who you are and what you’ve done. Details can include the number of people on your team, the amount of money you raised, the butterflies you felt in your stomach when launching your new product, the fear you experienced when you botched a project, followed by extreme remorse and then the resolve to do better. These specifics make your story come alive. 4. Tell a story that reveals your strengths. Admissions committee readers are just like you and me: they love a good story. And at its core, a good story needs a problem – one with some emotion or tension. It needs a main character who confronts the problem, struggles with it, and finds a resolution. In application essays, you – as the applicant – are the main character coping with a challenge or problem. You reveal your strengths by showing how you figured out a solution – or a path to a solution – to your challenge or problem. In doing so, you might have benefited others and set yourself on a path to further personal and professional growth. When you tell a story that spells out your initial challenge or dilemma, includes the steps you took to resolve it, reveals your strengths, and keeps the reader engaged with colorful details, your essay will greatly enhance your admissions chances. If you’d like additional help showing the adcom what you’re all about, our experienced consultants can show you the way! Discover how to create an application that will get you accepted! Schedule a[url=https://www.accepted.com/free-admissions-consultation-all] free consultation[/url] with an Accepted admissions expert. [img]https://blog.accepted.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Judy-Gruen.jpg[/img] By Judy Gruen, former Accepted admissions consultant. Judy holds a master’s in journalism from Northwestern University. She is also the co-author of Accepted’s first full-length book, MBA Admission for Smarties: The No-Nonsense Guide to Acceptance at Top Business Schools. [url=https://www.accepted.com/services?utm_campaign=Blog&utm_medium=blog_bio_Judy&utm_source=blog]Want an admissions expert help you get accepted? Click here to get in touch![/url] [b]Related Resources:[/b] [list] [*][url=https://reports.accepted.com/five-fatal-flaws-grad-school-statement-of-purpose]Five Fatal Flaws to Avoid in Your Grad School Statement of Purpose[/url], a free guide[/*] [*][url=https://blog.accepted.com/essential-components-of-mba-personal-statement/]Three Must-Have Elements of a Good Statement of Purpose[/url][/*] [*][url=https://www.accepted.com/admissions-podcast]Admissions Straight Talk Podcast[/url][/*] [/list] The post [url=https://blog.accepted.com/showing-strengths-in-application-essays/]Four Ways to Highlight Your Strengths in Your Application Essays[/url] appeared first on [url=https://blog.accepted.com]Accepted Admissions Blog[/url]. |
20 Mar 2024, 06:00
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: Four Tips for Displaying Teamwork in Your Application Essays |
 Teamwork – and its close cousin leadership – are highly prized by graduate programs and universities. But if you haven’t worked in a team on any regular basis, don’t worry! You’ve probably got a number of examples of teamwork in your back pocket that you didn’t even realize were there. Consider the following four ideas when you are writing an essay about teamwork.  1. Teams come in many flavors and sizes. Unless you’ve been living like a hermit for the past several years, you have undoubtedly participated in various groups. Maybe you were a member of a sports team; a dance, music, or theater troupe; or a youth group through your church, synagogue, or community center. You might have been a member of a committee, either as a volunteer or at work. Perhaps you helped organize an event, tutored, been part of a Scout group, or volunteered to be a Big Brother or Big Sister. In any of these cases, you likely worked with other people. Even if your interaction was with only one other person, you have material you can discuss in a teamwork personal statement. Yes, working with just one other person, as a mentor or guide, counts! 2. Show that you were an active listener. Teamwork and collaboration require effective listening. Discuss a time when you stopped to listen – really listen – to others, patiently and skillfully. Unfortunately, and perhaps unfairly, many young people today have gained a reputation for not being willing to listen to others and for quickly becoming agitated by differing views. Demonstrate to the adcom that this isn’t who you are. Show that your ability to listen to others, to take in other points of view, and to express your understanding of those views helped eased tensions and increased collaboration. This can be an impressive example of your teamwork skills. 3. Discuss morale boosting and conflict resolution. Have you ever been involved in a project when enthusiasm was flagging, but you found a way to inject renewed excitement into it? Have you brainstormed an idea to strengthen a group, club, or assignment? These are also examples of teamwork. Perhaps you found a way to make peace between two warring members of a group who couldn’t agree on the direction your project or plan should go. If you mediated this conflict and got the two individuals to start working together, that was surely teamwork (and worthy of a peace prize!). Any time you proactively got involved with other people (especially when they were being difficult), discovered a better way to get things done, found a middle ground, or thought of a creative new idea, that was teamwork. 4. Consider experiences in your personal life for material. A client once wrote about her efforts to heal a serious rift in her family after her father passed away. Siblings were fighting for control of the successful family business, and an ugly succession fight ensued. The client patiently coaxed cooperation, even in this personal and emotionally charged environment. She used both shuttle diplomacy and active listening among battling family members, leading to everyone’s agreement to use a mediator to reach a final resolution. Another client wrote about having organized a trip with a few friends and how he dealt with a dispute between two of them. Their bickering had threatened to ruin the long-planned trip. His effective listening and creativity in figuring out an activity that neither of the “combatants” would be able to resist helped defuse the situation and saved the trip from becoming an outright disaster for everyone. In both these situations, the “teams” were small, but the stakes for those involved were high. We hope you now see that you’ve been working in teams more often than you thought! No doubt you’ll have strong options to choose from when writing a teamwork personal essay. Watch: Linda Abraham discusses two main ways you can show the adcom that you are a leader. Our expert admissions advisors can help you identify your teamwork experiences and guide you as you write about them, or assist you with any other component of your application. Schedule a free consultation today! By Judy Gruen, former Accepted admissions consultant. Judy holds a master’s in journalism from Northwestern University. She is also the co-author of Accepted’s first full-length book, MBA Admission for Smarties: The No-Nonsense Guide to Acceptance at Top Business Schools. Want an admissions expert to help you get accepted? Click here to get in touch! Related Resources:
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27 Mar 2024, 09:00
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: Which MBA Option Is Best for You: Full-Time, Part-Time, EMBA, or Online? |
 At its core, the MBA is a business administration graduate program for professionals seeking knowledge, skills, a credential, and a network to help them advance in business and maximize their career performance. Although the term “MBA” makes many people automatically think of a two-year, full-time program, in recent years, the variations on the MBA theme have multiplied in response to students’ and organizations’ changing and diversifying needs and interests. Natalie’s story When I was applying to b-school, I contemplated part-time versus full-time programs, and one of my best friends, Colleen, had to make the same decision. Ultimately, I decided to attend the Ross School of Business’s full-time program at the University of Michigan. Colleen chose to study in the part-time program at Michigan Ross instead. We shared 60% of the same classes and 40% of the same professors, and we even had a class together. At the time, Michigan offered evening courses, reserving half the spots for full-time students and half for part-time. Sadly, the school recently discontinued its part-time program. I graduated two years before Colleen, with a unique internship, the opportunity to begin a new career, and a lot of debt. Colleen advanced quickly with the company that hired her upon graduation from college and graduated without debt, because the company had sponsored her education. We both have the same degree. Now, as an Accepted consultant and former admissions director/dean of full-time, part-time, executive (EMBA), and online programs, I lend you my insight and guidance from the other side of the table in this brief analysis of program types. Getting to know the MBA players Are you ready to explore the various players in MBA admissions? Here’s a roundup of available MBA program options and their benefits and drawbacks. Full-time MBA programs In the United States, full-time MBA programs are two-year programs with an internship in the summer between the first and second year. They target business (and sometimes other) professionals who have roughly three to eight years of work experience. These programs are perfect for 25- to 30-year-old career changers who can afford the opportunity cost of leaving work to immerse themselves in education and experience. Obtaining a new position post-MBA is often a primary focus for students, and recruiting by potential employers is a significant benefit of attending a full-time MBA. A business school’s reputation often relies on the brand value of its full-time MBA program. Those programs consume the most significant portion of the school’s budget and rarely generate revenue. MBA programs dedicate more than 90% of all scholarships, fellowships, and resources, such as career services, to full-time students. Pros
Cons
An alternative to the traditional two-year program would be a one-year or one-year plus accelerated program in the United States, such as those offered by Kellogg, Emory, and Columbia (J-Term), or a European MBA program. Part-time MBA programs Part-time programs are ideal for people who don’t want to leave their company or industry for a significant period of time or who can’t afford to stop working. Such programs target individuals who are employed full-time. These students’ continuous professional efforts shape classroom discussions and projects. Part-time MBA students tend to be a little older than full-time MBA students. While these programs traditionally serve local students, they increasingly offer varied structures and online components to attract distance students. They do not generally provide as much access to recruiters. Often, admission is less competitive than for the same school’s full-time program, which allows part-time students to obtain a “brand” they might not qualify for otherwise. These programs take very few resources but often share the same faculty as the full-time program. Generally, the part-time applicant pool is less competitive or diverse because schools typically receive fewer applications and are limited to their immediate region and to the industries that dominate that region. Furthermore, part-time programs can serve at least as many – and often more – students than their full-time counterparts. As much as schools say that the quality of their full-time and part-time students is the same, that quality truly depends on the school’s location and how that location generates applications. Schools in larger cities have an easier time attracting great applicants to their part-time programs. They can maintain higher quality standards, but full-time programs evaluate applications from around the globe, so choosing candidates for admission is easier. Pros
Cons
Executive MBA programs Executive MBA programs (EMBAs) are part-time programs targeting seasoned managers and entrepreneurs – typically, people in their mid-30s to late 40s (depending on the program) whose rise to senior level is imminent or who are already in senior management. This category has a range in terms of desired/required length of experience. Although the coursework covers the same topics as traditional MBA programs, it’s developed and presented with a higher-level perspective. A great benefit of EMBA programs is the chance to network and form relationships with peers from various industries. Students are at a career phase when a fresh perspective is valuable but sometimes hard to obtain. These programs don’t target career changers but are increasingly used by and open to them, even though most EMBA programs don’t offer formal recruiting. EMBA programs are also lucrative for schools – schools charge a premium for their EMBA program – but they are typically smaller than full-time programs. These programs are commonly held every other weekend and tend to be less generous with financial aid than their full-time counterparts. Three full-time programs that target the same audience as EMBA programs are , MIT Sloan’s Sloan Fellows, and LBS’s Sloan Fellows. Pros
Cons
For EMBA admissions advice, check out EMBA: The Ultimate Guide for Applicants. Online MBA Programs Online and hybrid MBA programs have surged in popularity in an ever-evolving education landscape, particularly for individuals aged 32-37 (too old for traditional programs, too young for EMBA), offering flexibility and accessibility that traditional MBA programs cannot match. While there are many ways to deliver the MBA experience online, I focus here on the two major categories, synchronous and asynchronous. Synchronous online MBA programs closely mimic the traditional classroom setting, in which students and instructors interact in real time. Classes are scheduled at specific times, requiring attendees to log in simultaneously for live lectures, discussions, and group work. Pros
Cons
Asynchronous online MBA programs allow students to access course materials, lectures, and assignments on their own schedule – and sometimes at their own pace – without the need for live participation. Pros
Cons
Specialized graduate management programs These programs offer an MBA course focusing on a specific industry or function. They vary in their format and approach. Boston University’s Full-Time Social Impact MBA is an example of a two-year specialized MBA, and the Executive MBA in Healthcare at the University of California, Irvine, is an example of a specialized EMBA. The Cornell Tech MBA is an example of a one-year specialized MBA. Pros
Cons
Although you usually can’t apply to two different types of MBA programs at the same school in the same admissions cycle, you can do so in other cycles. And you can apply to different types of programs at various schools simultaneously. For example, someone who is between a regular and an EMBA in terms of age or length of experience could apply to regular MBA programs that trend older, EMBA programs that trend younger, and/or online programs. Or someone might apply to full-time MBA programs and a part-time program nearby as a good backup.  By Natalie Grinblatt, a former admissions dean/director at three top business schools. Natalie has reviewed more than 70,000 applications, interviewed more than 2,500 candidates, and trained nearly 700 admissions directors and alumni volunteers to select outstanding candidates for admission. Her clients gain admission to top programs, including those at Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, MIT, Cornell, Columbia, Berkeley, Chicago, Northwestern, and NYU. Natalie holds an MBA from Michigan Ross. Want Natalie to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch! Related Resources:
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29 Mar 2024, 05:00
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: Ten Tips for Short-Listing and Visiting B-Schools |
 You’re about to make one of the biggest decisions of your life. It will determine your future in so many ways: where you might work, where you could live, and the people who will become a part of your life. Choosing a business school is serious business! But it’s also a huge opportunity to turn the future you envision into reality. Here are ten tips on how to short-list your program choices through research and school visits to find a good match. 1. Map out your b-school plan. Consider where you want your b-school journey to end. Perhaps you’d like to pivot into finance or consulting. Or maybe you want to jump right into entrepreneurship. Or you might want to become a product manager for a tech company. B-schools such as Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, and nearly all others publish annual reports about their students’ recruitment and student-led start-ups. Consult your network and start asking some key questions. What skills are these companies looking for when they hire? What skills do I lack that I need to scale up my business idea? Who would be the ideal kind of mentor to seek guidance from as I take over my family business? Then, look through the various schools’ curricula to find matching academics, leadership development resources, career assistance, networking, and recruiting opportunities. You’ll likely be overwhelmed. At this point, that’s okay. You want to start by familiarizing yourself with what’s out there. 2. Be real about where you thrive. Do you want to compete against the best of the best within a large, cosmopolitan mix of peers in – or near – a big city? If so, check out Harvard, Columbia, Wharton, Booth, , , LBS, , and IESE. Do you want to be in the heart of the tech scene in Silicon Valley, where you can go deep and figure out how to change the world? If so, check out theStanford GSB and Berkeley Haas. Do you perform best in a supportive, tight-knit campus environment? If so, check out Duke Fuqua, Tuck, Cornell Johnson, Darden, the Yale SOM, and HEC. Think about where you already have friends or family. They can be a big help in getting settled and having a support system. If you’re international, consider a school that’s close to an airport hub with good connections to your home city, should you need to visit family. Two years is a big investment of your time. Make sure you feel comfortable where you will be planted. 3. Compare your stats. To be competitive, your test scores and GPA should be at or above the average for students enrolled at your target school. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t apply to your top choice if your GMAT, GRE, or EA score is below the average, however. Other aspects of your application could really stand out and make you an attractive applicant. 4. Ask yourself whether you need an internship. A one-year or accelerated MBA might be the best option for you if you do not require a summer internship to pivot career paths. Often, that’s the case for applicants from family businesses, entrepreneurs, candidates with company sponsorship, or older individuals who are further along in their careers and can convincingly argue that they can network on their own. Check out these top U.S. and international one-year programs or MBAs oriented toward older applicants (not EMBAs!): IBEAR, LBS, MIT Sloan Fellows, Stanford MSx. 5. Consider a STEM program if you’re international. STEM MBAs give you the option to stay and work longer in the United States – up to three years after graduation. 6. Network with the community. Once you’ve done your research and come up with a list of roughly eight to ten schools, it’s time to start networking. You will have a better chance of gaining admission if you can show the school that you know its community. Ask people connected with the school whether you can meet them for coffee or have a virtual chat with them to get their thoughts about the school. Sign up for and attend online events and webinars. Many schools track digital touch points, which indicates true interest. Also, attend in-person events. Go to the MBA tour in your city so you can meet admissions officers. Making a campus visit, if possible, is another good way to show your interest. Do your research ahead of time so you can make the most of your visit. Sign up for a tour, schedule meetings with student ambassadors, and attend any events you can fit in. You want to come away from this networking with names of contacts and their insights on how you can make the most of your time in the program. 7. Come prepared with questions for admissions officers. Expect to ask at least one. Before you go on a campus tour or attend a virtual event, think of questions you can ask the person leading the tour or event. Remember, though (especially on a campus visit), that admissions officers are busy, likely fielding questions from more than 100 people who want to speak with them. Raise your hand early so you can get your question in. That said, don’t monopolize the Q&A time. That can be annoying! If the session leader offers, go up to them afterward to thank them for their time and take a business card. 8. Polish your image, and your elevator pitch. This might sound obvious, but dress for success during your campus visit. Wear business casual. And practice your elevator pitch – that’s your one-minute self-introduction that covers where you’re from, what you do, and what you want to achieve career-wise by going to business school. Believe me, you need to practice this! You’ll impress people if you come off as concise and polished. No one you meet will be interested in a long, self-absorbed introduction. Get to the point, and ask questions – you’re on a research mission! 9. Don’t be annoying. Again, admissions officers are busy people. As are students and alumni. Don’t drop by the admissions office unannounced and demand to speak to someone. Don’t offer to hang out and wait, either, even if it will take hours. Arrange your visit within the parameters already offered. Don’t frequently message students or alumni, asking for advice on your application if they are a new acquaintance, rather than a long-term friend. You want to leave the contacts you meet with a good impression, not a memory of irritation. 10. Follow up with a thank you. Make sure to send a short thank-you email or handwritten note expressing your interest in the MBA program. This will go into your file and show the adcom again that your interest in the school is genuine. Now it’s decision time! Now. narrow your list down to four to six schools that offer you a range. Your test scores and GPA will help dictate this list:
Now consider your recruitment research, event attendance, networking efforts, and campus visit. Really focus on where you were able to make positive contacts. Where did you feel a good vibe? These touch points, along with your stats, should determine where you have the best chance of acceptance and where you will thrive.  Michelle Stockman is a professional journalist, former Columbia Business School admissions insider, and experienced MBA admissions consultant. Want Michelle to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch! Related Resources:
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09 Apr 2024, 05:00
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: Former Wharton Admissions Director Joins Accepted: Welcome Kara Keenan Sweeney [Episode 570] |
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[img]https://blog.accepted.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Episode-570-Blog-Banner-1-1-1.png[/img] [url=https://www.accepted.com/mba/free-admissions-consultation][img]https://blog.accepted.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Episode-570-Blog-Banner-1-1-1.png[/img][/url] Show Summary MBA admissions veteran Kara Keenan Sweeney has joined Accepted. Formerly part of the admissions team at Wharton Lauder, INSEAD and Columbia Business School, she’s not only an Accepted consultant but she’s our guest on the podcast. Kara discusses various aspects of the MBA application process, including choosing the right schools, handling common challenges faced by international applicants, and approaching the essays and resume. She also touches on the qualities that management consulting firms look for in MBA recruits and provides advice for MBA re-applicants. Finally, she discusses the use of AI and ChatGPT in the admissions process and the importance of authenticity in application materials. Show Notes Our guest today is no stranger to Admissions Straight Talk. She’s been on several times but wore a different hat. It gives me great pleasure to introduce Kara Keenan Sweeney, Accepted consultant. Kara previously served as the Director of Admissions, Marketing and Financial Aid at Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and Penn Law School. [url=https://www.accepted.com/mba/free-admissions-consultation][img]https://blog.accepted.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/general-free-consultation-button.png[/img][/url] Kara has an extensive background in graduate admissions, starting with her master’s in higher education administration from Columbia and including admissions positions at INSEAD, Penn State, and as I mentioned, Wharton’s Lauder Institute. Most recently, she was a senior recruiter for McKinsey & Company. Kara, welcome to Admissions Straight Talk. [1:24] Thanks, Linda. It’s great to be with you on this side of the table. Glad to have you back, and this time as a colleague. Let’s start with something really easy. How did you get into admissions? [1:32] Yeah, it was a little bit by happenstance, which I think is true for a lot of admissions professionals or higher education folks. I started working at Columbia University at the beginning of my career, and one of my first jobs was in student affairs at the business school, and I was working specifically with Executive MBA students as their… Directing a cohort through the two-year program, so working closely with admissions, actually. And I started to get a little bit of exposure to admissions and help out with interviewing and things like that. And then, a few years into that role, an admissions job opened up on my team, and I was lucky enough to get it. And the rest is history. That was, I think, 17 years ago, which is crazy to think about it. It’s been that long. But yeah, I started in student affairs and navigated my way to admissions, and it’s been a great experience. You have a wealth of experience in MBA admissions and a lot of it has been focused in the international business space. What do you think is critical for MBAs interested in international business, and specifically those programs that you’ve worked for? [2:31] It’s funny as I’m thinking through the question again. So much of business education now is international. The cohorts and the classes are so international. I think Wharton’s 30, 40%; Lauder, of course, is probably 50, 60%. So it’s just such a global pool of students. Back maybe 30, 40 years ago, it was mostly Americans at Wharton or whatever. So it’s changed a lot. Very global by nature. But for students who are looking at international business, it’s looking at it in that global context. It’s looking at it from a big vantage point. For Americans who are maybe looking to gain some more hands-on experience, maybe going to INSEAD or London Business School, having a “study abroad” experience can be a great way to really get that on-the-ground cultural immersion, language immersion in some cases. For some international students coming from outside of the US, coming to Wharton Lauder or Columbia Business School or any of the US schools is a great way to get that US or North America focus. Getting that on-the-ground experience is really invaluable. Working at Lauder and at INSEAD, it’s funny, the students are so similar in terms of their profile; of course, the languages and their objectives. They all look at business very much through a global lens. For example, in approaching applications and things of that nature, of course you want to keep that global outlook. Why do you want to apply to an international program? Why are those things important to you? And really, really dive deep into that and expand on why that is, and not just take it for granted that it’s something that the admissions committee or the admissions officer looking at your application would understand. Yeah. So many great international opportunities. And, of course, Wharton and other schools have so many great exchanges. Even for students who don’t have a language like you need to have at INSEAD or Lauder, there are so many ways you can have an international experience through, really, so many of the business schools. It’s interesting that you were talking about having a global lens. And what was going through my head as well was, “How do you manifest that global lens?” It would probably be through the motivation to apply to the particular programs that you’re going to as well as your post-MBA goals. Is that correct? [4:49] Exactly. Yeah, for sure. That’s if not the most pointed question people get on their MBA essays, it will definitely be asked in some form. What are your short-term goals? What are your long-term goals? And really that’s a way… If the international component of a program like Lauder or INSEAD or any of them are important to you, you can weave that in. “I really want to work in China, and this is important to me for X reason,” or whatever the case may be. Having that global outlook and baking that into your application is definitely important. What if you want to work in China, for example, but you’ve never been to China? [5:36] That’s okay too. When I would look at an application from someone, let’s say, who’d been very US-based, maybe somebody who studied a language in college but didn’t have a ton of hands-on experience, this is an opportunity to get that hands-on experience that you’re looking for. And these programs provide that. Some of the top schools in China, for example. Somebody could spend a year or two there studying. So, it is a great way to get that experience, and you can position your application to say, “Hey, this is how I plan to do it, and it’s through this MBA program and hopefully an internship and maybe cultivating my network in China,” or wherever the case may be. And hope to do that by harnessing the program. What are some of the best ways to handle the more common challenges faced by international applications? In other words, I’m American by citizenship and I want to study at INSEAD. Or I’m Indian and I want to study in the United States. I’m European, I want to study in the United States. What are the most common challenges that applicants face and how do you deal with them? [6:20] For some of the programs, there are such specific requirements like for INSEAD or for Lauder you have to pass those language tests, for example. So that’s something… If you’re an applicant and you’re thinking about an international program that has some sort of language component, go on the website. I remember at Lauder, we had language audio clips that you could listen to get an idea if your language is up to snuff. If it isn’t, get a tutor, and work on it. That sort of thing. In some cases, the work that you have to do is very practical to make sure your application meets the bar. In other cases… And I think maybe as Americans, sometimes we’re guilty of looking at things through a very American/US lens. So if you’re applying to INSEAD or London Business School or whatever the case may be as an American, make sure you’re looking through that global lens, answering their questions at a global vantage point. What’s great about INSEAD for example, and I’m sure that it’s still the case, is they have no more than 10% from a given country. Knowing that a lot of these programs will be really intentional about global diversity, and so of course, as someone from North America, you can bring a certain outlook, skills, whatever the case may be. And then of course students from another part of the world bring something else, culturally speaking. It doesn’t mean it’s a disadvantage, but essentially you want to make sure you meet the requirements and that you understand that you’ll be a part of a really international global cohort if you go to one of the schools outside of the US. I would say on the flip side, and maybe not so much as true for Indian applicants, but something I would come across maybe from students from Asia or Latin America… Really, anywhere in the world where someone’s first language is in English. It goes to some extent without saying, but making sure your TOEFL score is strong and that your essays are well written and that they’re grammatically correct. It sounds so basic, but it’s really important, obviously, to the admissions committee. You can have a 750 GMAT, great scores as an undergraduate student, a great job, but we need to make sure that you can communicate clearly in a well-written way in English. Believe it or not, there are papers in MBA programs. You will have to write papers. If you do a program like Lauder, you’ll have to do a research paper so those things can be important and admissions committee members will pick up on that. So make sure your language, whether it’s English or any other language you need for a program, is really up to snuff. Brush up on it. You mentioned the importance of the essays a minute ago, and obviously they’re not just important to international applicants, they’re important to all MBA applicants. How do you advise applicants to just approach the MBA application, the essays in particular? [9:09] It’s like you have a bunch of puzzle pieces that you need to pull together into a beautiful mosaic of what makes you you. And I think you can just say, “Okay, I wrote good essays, I have a good GMAT or GRE score.” You’re checking the boxes, but you really need to pull it all together into a story that tells the story about your professional, academic, personal. You want to have that all woven in so that when someone’s reviewing your application, they’re thinking of you as a whole applicant. They’re getting that overall composition of who you are as a person, what your goals are, what your objectives are, and who makes you you. That’s what we’re looking to bring in: unique people that will make up a diverse class across professions, personalities, interests, clubs, passions, and whatever the case may be. So really thinking about it from a broad stroke and then maybe narrowing in. When you’re looking at your essays, that’s when you can drill down a little more on your goals or something that makes you unique. Or, for the Wharton essay, what you might add to the community. That’s when you can start to get really specific. But you still want to make sure that the person reviewing your application has a full picture of who you are overall as opposed to just writing down a list and checking off a box. The checkbox approach to applications isn’t a terribly effective one. [10:53] Right. In your many years of experience at different programs, what were the most common mistakes that you saw in applications? [11:09] Going back to my earlier point about something as simple as having your essays be grammatically correct, making sure your application tells a story, making sure that… For example, as you’re building your resume and other parts of your application that tell the story about what you do professionally, that it’s clear to someone who doesn’t have an area of expertise in tech or consulting or whatever the case is. So making sure that it’s something that’s clear and transparent. And I think sometimes people could get a little too in the weeds. I like the idea of resumes really telling the story about your accomplishments as opposed to just spitting out what you do. These are your duties. Some of the things are pretty obvious. And making sure that things are really right. I remember years ago we had an applicant who, whether it was accidental or intentional, I don’t know, they had a couple of extra zeros on the end of that salary. And it just was such a large salary it didn’t totally make sense. And, of course, those things are checked when someone is admitted to a program. They go through a background check to make sure everything’s correct. We ended up denying the person because of other aspects of their application, but I thought, “I’m sure that was an error,” but it was something that really stuck out. And it made us all raise our eyebrows, and it just didn’t add in his favor. And I think it was just one of those little mistakes that you don’t want to make. So, make sure that you’re obviously telling the truth, being factual. But catching any little errors. Make sure you have folks, whether it’s an admissions consultant or a friend, whatever, take a look at it and make sure that you’re good to go before hitting submit. Great advice. We’ve focused on your very rich experience in terms of MBA admissions, but you’ve also worked with applicants interested in management consulting, obviously students interested in management consulting, and you were a recruiter for McKinsey. In general terms, what are the management consulting firms looking for in their MBA recruits? And as an admissions application reader and evaluator, if you saw an applicant coming in saying, “I’m interested in going into management consulting,” and you wanted to test whether that is a realistic goal, what did you expect them to bring to the table? [12:52] Yeah. Right. Maybe to answer the last one first, I think to some extent it also answers the first question. It’s really aptitude. It doesn’t necessarily mean you came from consulting or you were at another kind of consulting firm and now you want to go to one of the three top consulting firms. What was great about my experience in recruiting for consulting was that I was really impressed by the array and diversity of the profiles of people who were interviewed and hired to work as consultants. Some of them had been literally research scientists in a lab, I know there was someone hired who had a PhD in nursing. There’s a whole amazing skill set of folks who… Just like an MBA program, I would often tell candidates, in particular candidates at Wharton, so much of what we’ll be looking at is exactly what Wharton looked in your application: who are you as a person? What makes you unique? Where can you add value? Because of course, with consulting, the client work crosses the gamut. Finance, healthcare. There are so many different ways you can contribute, so don’t feel you need to fit some sort of prototype just as you don’t as an MBA applicant. But the great thing about consulting is you can come in and really have such a variety of backgrounds, variety of expertise. But, of course, having strong aptitude. There are certain skills that they look for; leadership, and empathy. Again, very similar to what an MBA program might look for. There are some consistencies across there. So, if you made a great Wharton or Harvard or Stanford or whatever school applicant and you were admitted, there’s a pretty good chance you’re in a good spot to be a strong consulting applicant. And that goes again, regardless of what you were doing before your MBA. Because there are so many different ways those profiles can add value to the client work. Essentially, at the end of the day they’re going to say, “How can this person help solve the client’s needs?” With such a variety of client work, such a wide variety of MBAs or graduate students can help solve those problems. You mentioned aptitude. What is aptitude for becoming a management consultant? You mentioned leadership. Is it communications? Problem-solving skills? [15:30] For sure. Absolutely. For example, we might have quite a few folks considering consulting who had come from a military background. They hadn’t had a lot of formal business experience, but they had incredible leadership experience. And for example, empathy; they might have a story that they tell. And on my prior role, one of the components of the interview process was having a story that you could tell about an experience where you could really dive deeply into where you could add a specific skill set like empathy. And what’s great about the hiring process at McKinsey was they would actually pretty much lay it out, I think, just like an MBA program. What are they looking for? You go to their website, go to their careers page and really make sure you review all of that because there’s a lot of helpful information. They’ll tell you, “This is exactly what we’re looking for. This is what the interview process is like.” They’ll say, for example, we are going to ask you to talk for 15 minutes back and forth with a consultant about an opportunity you had to flex your leadership skills. You can think about that and prepare stories and reflect on your background. And then in the other case, of course, it’s having aptitude as far as problem-solving with cases and having quantitative ability. I think brushing up on your quant skills and making sure those are good to go is really just a practical essential through the process as well. I never thought of empathy. I’m not opposed to empathy, but I never thought of it as being a requirement. Is that part of good listening? [17:03] Yeah. It’s not a requirement, but definitely a good thing to have as you work on teams. Of course, so much of the work is team-based work with clients. Yeah. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I pivoted to campus recruiting, but I was pleasantly surprised that it was such a holistic process. Again, very similar to the MBA review process. Let’s say MBA applicants have their grades and scores if they’re required, they know where they want to apply. How should they go about choosing schools and completing the application? What would be your recommendation? [17:31] Yeah. This is a great question, and sometimes people just say, “I want to go to one of the top five schools. It doesn’t matter which one.” I think you want to really do your research and find out, “Do I want a small program? Do I want to be part of a large class?” like at Wharton where the world is your oyster. A million different majors and things that you can choose from and a big community to be a part of. Or do you want to be part of a smaller program where you really get to know everybody and you form that relationship or that network that, for some people, is really important? Where do you want to be geographically? Some just really obvious things. Do you want an international experience? Do you want a one-year program like INSEAD where you’re done in 10 months, you’ve got your MBA and you can hit the ground running in your next job? Or do you want a two-year, full-time experience? You have a nice break in the summer, can do an interesting internship. Really think about the experience. And at the end, which we talked so much about when I was at Wharton Lauder and just in general, is fit. You know that when you’re applying for jobs, “Is this the cultural fit for me? Is this a place where I can see myself?” So be sure to participate in all of those online info sessions. If you can go to campus, that’s great. If you can tap into your network, talk with students and alumni, do all of that. It’s really worth it to choose your schools wisely, choose your experience and take all the time you need early on in the process versus just say, “Okay, any of these top schools I’ll be thrilled to get into.” Of course, I’m sure you would be thrilled to get into those, but at the end of the day you want to be at a place where you know you’ll really fit in and be happy. Do you have a recommended order for approaching the different elements of the application, like the boxes first or the essay first or the resume first? [19:22] Yeah. I think the first thing is to sign up for those info sessions, attend those introductory reviews, get a sense as to what the schools are looking for, and understand the application process. Sometimes the essays are updated in the summer, but generally you can assume they’ll be somewhat consistent with prior years. Thinking about your short and long-term goals. Part of the… The essays are really things where you can reveal who you really are. Some of the things might be a little bit easier to knock out, like the GMAT or the GRE. So if there’s some things that you feel, “Hey, I can get this done,” or, “I have two recommenders I have an amazing relationship with, I’m going to get those taken care of.” Different things that you feel will be less time-consuming. Other folks might say, “Hey, I really need six months to prepare for the GMAT,” and that’s where they’re going to put their energy. It really depends on the person. But doing your research ahead of time, giving yourself plenty of time, and focusing on the areas that you think you need to put in the most work I think makes the most practical sense. What’s critical in a resume? [20:44] In a perfect world, at least I’d like to see a one-page resume. But everybody’s different. If you can’t get it into one page, of course an admissions committee or officer will review two pages. But one page is ideal. Having a nice, clean format; having something that’s, as I mentioned earlier, easily understood or digestible by someone who doesn’t have expertise in what you might be an expert in. So making sure that if you show it to a friend who’s a second grade teacher, they can understand even though you’re an investment banker or whatever. They can easily understand, “Okay, this is what you do. This is what you’ve done over the last couple of years.” If you’ve had interesting clients or projects. And don’t forget to include what makes you, you to the extent that you can on a resume. Obviously not a ton of space, but achievements, and community interests. Were you in a leadership role as an undergraduate student? Do you have a passion for working with children? Whatever the case is. Do you love to run or hike? Because that is such a great way for someone who’s reviewing a lot of things to say, “Oh, that really stood out to me. This person hosts a cooking class every week,” or does whatever that they love. So, to the extent that you can… Obviously, you have your academics, your professional accomplishments. Be sure to include some aspect of what makes you you. I really love to see that and those are the things I tend to remember. What advice do you have for MBA re-applicants? [22:04] Don’t despair is the first tip. I remember every year we would have people reapply and be successful, so definitely reapply but you want to do so intentionally. Make sure that you’ve had some change in your profile, hopefully a positive change, over the last year. Maybe the quant was a weaker area of your application so you’ve retaken the GMAT or GRE. Maybe you’ve taken some quant courses online or that sort of thing to strengthen your quantitative profile. Maybe on the other hand, you were starting out. Maybe two years out of college and you’ve gained another third year. Maybe you’ve been promoted ahead of your peers. Maybe you’re working on interesting projects or you’ve become a manager. Anything interesting that has evolved in your profile over the last year, you want to call out to the admissions committee, and that will really be the re-applicant essay in most cases. What’s changed in your profile? So, don’t just submit the same old application. Get new recommenders, new essays. Make sure that it’s fresh and that you can show where your profile has grown over the last year and where you’ve learned, “Okay, this is where I was intentional about working on these one or two or three things that I felt I needed to submit a stronger application.” And guarantee every year there’s a really strong number of successful re-applicants. I remember quite a few when I was at Wharton Lauder, so it’s definitely something you should consider. And I think it’s great to do it because you can reflect back, “Okay, where did I need to correct?” Work on it, do it, and then hopefully you’re successful. Sometimes people have the qualifications, they have the skills, they have the aptitude, but they don’t portray it well. [23:43] Right. I think sometimes that’s very hard for them to see themselves. We tend to be in love with our own writing and our own words. [23:50] Yeah, definitely. The way you tell your story is so important. What do you think about applicant use of AI and ChatGPT? [24:07] Yeah, this is a whole new world. In the last couple of years since I stepped away briefly from admissions, it’s really evolved. It was much less of a thing just a few years back. So a couple of things; it’s out there, people are going to use it, and I think admissions committee members and officers and folks reading your applications will be aware of that. It’s no secret. And I think people are pretty smart. I think those tools can be a great resource as maybe giving an idea or giving you some template to some extent. But at the end of the day, it’s a computer voice. It’s not an authentic human voice and it’s not you, and that’s what makes an applicant stand out and makes you special. You want it absolutely to be your voice in the essays and no AI sim can punch that out for you and really cater to you. It’s out there, it’s not going away, and admissions committees and readers will be very mindful of it. Yeah. I don’t know, Linda, if you’ve had a different experience with it or what your thoughts are, but it’s a whole new experience for me and I’m interested to see how things play out now that I’m back into the admissions world. I think it is a tool and like any tool, it can be abused or it can be used. If you just give ChatGPT a specific question and your resume, it will write a very poor essay in response. Don’t do it. I was talking to an MBA admissions consultant and former admissions director yesterday, and he told me that he had a client and he could tell it was a ChatGPT-generated essay. And he asked his client, “Did you write this, or is this ChatGPT?” And the guy hemmed and hawed and finally said it was ChatGPT. He says, “Well, I could tell. This looks like a computer-generated essay and there’s not much substance to it.” Using it in that way is abuse and not going to serve an applicant very well. [25:58] Right. Yeah, absolutely. It’s called artificial for a reason. It doesn’t feel authentic. I think admissions committees are going to be very wise in the use of it. Tread carefully. When we first started hearing about artificial intelligence, Judy Gruen, who used to work for Accepted, I was talking with her one day and she said, “Why are we talking about all this artificial intelligence? We need some real intelligence down here.” [27:55] Right. I think that’s what the application is for and that’s what the admissions committee wants to see. [28:07] Exactly. What do you wish I would’ve asked you? We’ve covered a lot of ground here. [28:20] I would say, what do I love about admissions or what do I love about this kind of work? And I absolutely love working with the applicants and learning their stories. I talked with somebody earlier today; amazing profile, very interesting life story, great goals. And I was so energized just chatting with him and learning about his objectives and how we could perhaps help him. That’s the best thing, is seeing the candidate experience. Seeing them go from just the investigative stage, research phase of considering an MBA program. Working with them, hopefully getting admission, deciding where they’re a best fit. It’s just great to be part of someone’s journey. And that is life changing in so many ways. My former colleague at Lauder had a board in her room with all the couples that met each other in the program. And marriages are made, babies are born, all kinds of things. And if not a relationship, obviously you have your degree, which is an accomplishment in and of itself. Hopefully, you will reach your professional and academic goals. But you will also have an amazing experience for the year or two that you’re in the program; new friends, many of whom are from around the world, just a great experience. Playing even just a small part in that is definitely the best part, for sure. You joined Accepted fairly recently, but wait until you start hearing from clients that they’re admitted. It’s the biggest reward when you’re on this side of the desk. [29:41] Yeah. [url=https://www.accepted.com/hubfs/Podcast_audio_files/Podcast/570_Kara-Keenan-Sweeney_2024.mp3][img]https://blog.accepted.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/AST-Listen-Now-Button-1024x256.png[/img][/url] [b]Relevant Links:[/b] [list] [*][url=https://www.accepted.com/experts/kara-keenan-sweeney]Kara Keenan Sweeney[/url], Consultant Profile and Contact Information[/*] [*][url=https://www.accepted.com/map-your-mba-quiz]Mapping Your MBA Application Quiz[/url][/*] [*][url=https://www.accepted.com/mba/services/rejection-review]MBA Application Rejection Review and Strategy[/url][/*] [/list] [b]Relevant shows:[/b] [list] [*][url=https://blog.accepted.com/hec-paris-mba-essay-tips-deadlines/#transcript]How to Get Into HEC Paris[/url], podcast Episode 565[/*] [*][url=https://blog.accepted.com/stern-at-nyu-abu-dhabi-a-full-time-mba-in-the-middle-east-episode-549/]NYU Abu Dhabi: Top Ranked MBA Program in the Middle East[/url], podcast Episode 549[/*] [*][url=https://blog.accepted.com/how-to-get-an-mba-at-columbia-business-school-episode-528/]How to Get an MBA at Columbia Business School[/url], podcast Episode 528[/*] [*][url=https://blog.accepted.com/get-into-insead-the-business-school-for-the-world-episode-520/]Get Into INSEAD, the Business School for the World, [/url]podcast Episode 520[/*] [*][url=https://blog.accepted.com/applying-to-wharton-lauder-do-your-research-episode-465/]Applying to Wharton Lauder? Do Your Research![/url], podcast Episode 465 [/*] [/list] [b]Subscribe[/b]: [url=https://www.accepted.com/stitcher][img]https://blog.accepted.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/admissions-straight-talk-stitcher.png[/img][/url] [url=http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=34489&refid=stpr][img]https://assets.blubrry.com/soa/BadgeLarge.png[/img][/url] [url=https://blog.accepted.com/feed/podcast/]Podcast Feed[/url] The post [url=https://blog.accepted.com/former-wharton-admissions-director-joins-accepted-welcome-kara-keenan-sweeney-episode-570/]Former Wharton Admissions Director Joins Accepted: Welcome Kara Keenan Sweeney [Episode 570][/url] appeared first on [url=https://blog.accepted.com]Accepted Admissions Blog[/url]. |
18 Apr 2024, 07:00
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: Former Wharton/Lauder Admissions Director Joins Accepted: Welcome Kara Keenan Sweeney [Episode 570] |
 Show Summary MBA admissions veteran Kara Keenan Sweeney has joined Accepted. Formerly part of the admissions team at Wharton Lauder, INSEAD and Columbia Business School, she’s not only an Accepted consultant but she’s our guest on the podcast. Kara discusses various aspects of the MBA application process, including choosing the right schools, handling common challenges faced by international applicants, and approaching the essays and resume. She also touches on the qualities that management consulting firms look for in MBA recruits and provides advice for MBA re-applicants. Finally, she discusses the use of AI and ChatGPT in the admissions process and the importance of authenticity in application materials. Show Notes Our guest today is no stranger to Admissions Straight Talk. She’s been on several times but wore a different hat. It gives me great pleasure to introduce Kara Keenan Sweeney, Accepted consultant. Kara previously served as the Director of Admissions, Marketing and Financial Aid at Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and Penn Law School. Kara has an extensive background in graduate admissions, starting with her master’s in higher education administration from Columbia and including admissions positions at INSEAD, Penn State, and as I mentioned, Wharton’s Lauder Institute. Most recently, she was a senior recruiter for McKinsey & Company. Kara, welcome to Admissions Straight Talk. [1:24] Thanks, Linda. It’s great to be with you on this side of the table. Glad to have you back, and this time as a colleague. Let’s start with something really easy. How did you get into admissions? [1:32] Yeah, it was a little bit by happenstance, which I think is true for a lot of admissions professionals or higher education folks. I started working at Columbia University at the beginning of my career, and one of my first jobs was in student affairs at the business school, and I was working specifically with Executive MBA students as their… Directing a cohort through the two-year program, so working closely with admissions, actually. And I started to get a little bit of exposure to admissions and help out with interviewing and things like that. And then, a few years into that role, an admissions job opened up on my team, and I was lucky enough to get it. And the rest is history. That was, I think, 17 years ago, which is crazy to think about it. It’s been that long. But yeah, I started in student affairs and navigated my way to admissions, and it’s been a great experience. You have a wealth of experience in MBA admissions and a lot of it has been focused in the international business space. What do you think is critical for MBAs interested in international business, and specifically those programs that you’ve worked for? [2:31] It’s funny as I’m thinking through the question again. So much of business education now is international. The cohorts and the classes are so international. I think Wharton’s 30, 40%; Lauder, of course, is probably 50, 60%. So it’s just such a global pool of students. Back maybe 30, 40 years ago, it was mostly Americans at Wharton or whatever. So it’s changed a lot. Very global by nature. But for students who are looking at international business, it’s looking at it in that global context. It’s looking at it from a big vantage point. For Americans who are maybe looking to gain some more hands-on experience, maybe going to INSEAD or London Business School, having a “study abroad” experience can be a great way to really get that on-the-ground cultural immersion, language immersion in some cases. For some international students coming from outside of the US, coming to Wharton Lauder or Columbia Business School or any of the US schools is a great way to get that US or North America focus. Getting that on-the-ground experience is really invaluable. Working at Lauder and at INSEAD, it’s funny, the students are so similar in terms of their profile; of course, the languages and their objectives. They all look at business very much through a global lens. For example, in approaching applications and things of that nature, of course you want to keep that global outlook. Why do you want to apply to an international program? Why are those things important to you? And really, really dive deep into that and expand on why that is, and not just take it for granted that it’s something that the admissions committee or the admissions officer looking at your application would understand. Yeah. So many great international opportunities. And, of course, Wharton and other schools have so many great exchanges. Even for students who don’t have a language like you need to have at INSEAD or Lauder, there are so many ways you can have an international experience through, really, so many of the business schools. It’s interesting that you were talking about having a global lens. And what was going through my head as well was, “How do you manifest that global lens?” It would probably be through the motivation to apply to the particular programs that you’re going to as well as your post-MBA goals. Is that correct? [4:49] Exactly. Yeah, for sure. That’s if not the most pointed question people get on their MBA essays, it will definitely be asked in some form. What are your short-term goals? What are your long-term goals? And really that’s a way… If the international component of a program like Lauder or INSEAD or any of them are important to you, you can weave that in. “I really want to work in China, and this is important to me for X reason,” or whatever the case may be. Having that global outlook and baking that into your application is definitely important. What if you want to work in China, for example, but you’ve never been to China? [5:36] That’s okay too. When I would look at an application from someone, let’s say, who’d been very US-based, maybe somebody who studied a language in college but didn’t have a ton of hands-on experience, this is an opportunity to get that hands-on experience that you’re looking for. And these programs provide that. Some of the top schools in China, for example. Somebody could spend a year or two there studying. So, it is a great way to get that experience, and you can position your application to say, “Hey, this is how I plan to do it, and it’s through this MBA program and hopefully an internship and maybe cultivating my network in China,” or wherever the case may be. And hope to do that by harnessing the program. What are some of the best ways to handle the more common challenges faced by international applications? In other words, I’m American by citizenship and I want to study at INSEAD. Or I’m Indian and I want to study in the United States. I’m European, I want to study in the United States. What are the most common challenges that applicants face and how do you deal with them? [6:20] For some of the programs, there are such specific requirements like for INSEAD or for Lauder you have to pass those language tests, for example. So that’s something… If you’re an applicant and you’re thinking about an international program that has some sort of language component, go on the website. I remember at Lauder, we had language audio clips that you could listen to get an idea if your language is up to snuff. If it isn’t, get a tutor, and work on it. That sort of thing. In some cases, the work that you have to do is very practical to make sure your application meets the bar. In other cases… And I think maybe as Americans, sometimes we’re guilty of looking at things through a very American/US lens. So if you’re applying to INSEAD or London Business School or whatever the case may be as an American, make sure you’re looking through that global lens, answering their questions at a global vantage point. What’s great about INSEAD for example, and I’m sure that it’s still the case, is they have no more than 10% from a given country. Knowing that a lot of these programs will be really intentional about global diversity, and so of course, as someone from North America, you can bring a certain outlook, skills, whatever the case may be. And then of course students from another part of the world bring something else, culturally speaking. It doesn’t mean it’s a disadvantage, but essentially you want to make sure you meet the requirements and that you understand that you’ll be a part of a really international global cohort if you go to one of the schools outside of the US. I would say on the flip side, and maybe not so much as true for Indian applicants, but something I would come across maybe from students from Asia or Latin America… Really, anywhere in the world where someone’s first language is in English. It goes to some extent without saying, but making sure your TOEFL score is strong and that your essays are well written and that they’re grammatically correct. It sounds so basic, but it’s really important, obviously, to the admissions committee. You can have a 750 GMAT, great scores as an undergraduate student, a great job, but we need to make sure that you can communicate clearly in a well-written way in English. Believe it or not, there are papers in MBA programs. You will have to write papers. If you do a program like Lauder, you’ll have to do a research paper so those things can be important and admissions committee members will pick up on that. So make sure your language, whether it’s English or any other language you need for a program, is really up to snuff. Brush up on it. You mentioned the importance of the essays a minute ago, and obviously they’re not just important to international applicants, they’re important to all MBA applicants. How do you advise applicants to just approach the MBA application, the essays in particular? [9:09] It’s like you have a bunch of puzzle pieces that you need to pull together into a beautiful mosaic of what makes you you. And I think you can just say, “Okay, I wrote good essays, I have a good GMAT or GRE score.” You’re checking the boxes, but you really need to pull it all together into a story that tells the story about your professional, academic, personal. You want to have that all woven in so that when someone’s reviewing your application, they’re thinking of you as a whole applicant. They’re getting that overall composition of who you are as a person, what your goals are, what your objectives are, and who makes you you. That’s what we’re looking to bring in: unique people that will make up a diverse class across professions, personalities, interests, clubs, passions, and whatever the case may be. So really thinking about it from a broad stroke and then maybe narrowing in. When you’re looking at your essays, that’s when you can drill down a little more on your goals or something that makes you unique. Or, for the Wharton essay, what you might add to the community. That’s when you can start to get really specific. But you still want to make sure that the person reviewing your application has a full picture of who you are overall as opposed to just writing down a list and checking off a box. The checkbox approach to applications isn’t a terribly effective one. [10:53] Right. In your many years of experience at different programs, what were the most common mistakes that you saw in applications? [11:09] Going back to my earlier point about something as simple as having your essays be grammatically correct, making sure your application tells a story, making sure that… For example, as you’re building your resume and other parts of your application that tell the story about what you do professionally, that it’s clear to someone who doesn’t have an area of expertise in tech or consulting or whatever the case is. So making sure that it’s something that’s clear and transparent. And I think sometimes people could get a little too in the weeds. I like the idea of resumes really telling the story about your accomplishments as opposed to just spitting out what you do. These are your duties. Some of the things are pretty obvious. And making sure that things are really right. I remember years ago we had an applicant who, whether it was accidental or intentional, I don’t know, they had a couple of extra zeros on the end of that salary. And it just was such a large salary it didn’t totally make sense. And, of course, those things are checked when someone is admitted to a program. They go through a background check to make sure everything’s correct. We ended up denying the person because of other aspects of their application, but I thought, “I’m sure that was an error,” but it was something that really stuck out. And it made us all raise our eyebrows, and it just didn’t add in his favor. And I think it was just one of those little mistakes that you don’t want to make. So, make sure that you’re obviously telling the truth, being factual. But catching any little errors. Make sure you have folks, whether it’s an admissions consultant or a friend, whatever, take a look at it and make sure that you’re good to go before hitting submit. Great advice. We’ve focused on your very rich experience in terms of MBA admissions, but you’ve also worked with applicants interested in management consulting, obviously students interested in management consulting, and you were a recruiter for McKinsey. In general terms, what are the management consulting firms looking for in their MBA recruits? And as an admissions application reader and evaluator, if you saw an applicant coming in saying, “I’m interested in going into management consulting,” and you wanted to test whether that is a realistic goal, what did you expect them to bring to the table? [12:52] Yeah. Right. Maybe to answer the last one first, I think to some extent it also answers the first question. It’s really aptitude. It doesn’t necessarily mean you came from consulting or you were at another kind of consulting firm and now you want to go to one of the three top consulting firms. What was great about my experience in recruiting for consulting was that I was really impressed by the array and diversity of the profiles of people who were interviewed and hired to work as consultants. Some of them had been literally research scientists in a lab, I know there was someone hired who had a PhD in nursing. There’s a whole amazing skill set of folks who… Just like an MBA program, I would often tell candidates, in particular candidates at Wharton, so much of what we’ll be looking at is exactly what Wharton looked in your application: who are you as a person? What makes you unique? Where can you add value? Because of course, with consulting, the client work crosses the gamut. Finance, healthcare. There are so many different ways you can contribute, so don’t feel you need to fit some sort of prototype just as you don’t as an MBA applicant. But the great thing about consulting is you can come in and really have such a variety of backgrounds, variety of expertise. But, of course, having strong aptitude. There are certain skills that they look for; leadership, and empathy. Again, very similar to what an MBA program might look for. There are some consistencies across there. So, if you made a great Wharton or Harvard or Stanford or whatever school applicant and you were admitted, there’s a pretty good chance you’re in a good spot to be a strong consulting applicant. And that goes again, regardless of what you were doing before your MBA. Because there are so many different ways those profiles can add value to the client work. Essentially, at the end of the day they’re going to say, “How can this person help solve the client’s needs?” With such a variety of client work, such a wide variety of MBAs or graduate students can help solve those problems. You mentioned aptitude. What is aptitude for becoming a management consultant? You mentioned leadership. Is it communications? Problem-solving skills? [15:30] For sure. Absolutely. For example, we might have quite a few folks considering consulting who had come from a military background. They hadn’t had a lot of formal business experience, but they had incredible leadership experience. And for example, empathy; they might have a story that they tell. And on my prior role, one of the components of the interview process was having a story that you could tell about an experience where you could really dive deeply into where you could add a specific skill set like empathy. And what’s great about the hiring process at McKinsey was they would actually pretty much lay it out, I think, just like an MBA program. What are they looking for? You go to their website, go to their careers page and really make sure you review all of that because there’s a lot of helpful information. They’ll tell you, “This is exactly what we’re looking for. This is what the interview process is like.” They’ll say, for example, we are going to ask you to talk for 15 minutes back and forth with a consultant about an opportunity you had to flex your leadership skills. You can think about that and prepare stories and reflect on your background. And then in the other case, of course, it’s having aptitude as far as problem-solving with cases and having quantitative ability. I think brushing up on your quant skills and making sure those are good to go is really just a practical essential through the process as well. I never thought of empathy. I’m not opposed to empathy, but I never thought of it as being a requirement. Is that part of good listening? [17:03] Yeah. It’s not a requirement, but definitely a good thing to have as you work on teams. Of course, so much of the work is team-based work with clients. Yeah. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I pivoted to campus recruiting, but I was pleasantly surprised that it was such a holistic process. Again, very similar to the MBA review process. Let’s say MBA applicants have their grades and scores if they’re required, they know where they want to apply. How should they go about choosing schools and completing the application? What would be your recommendation? [17:31] Yeah. This is a great question, and sometimes people just say, “I want to go to one of the top five schools. It doesn’t matter which one.” I think you want to really do your research and find out, “Do I want a small program? Do I want to be part of a large class?” like at Wharton where the world is your oyster. A million different majors and things that you can choose from and a big community to be a part of. Or do you want to be part of a smaller program where you really get to know everybody and you form that relationship or that network that, for some people, is really important? Where do you want to be geographically? Some just really obvious things. Do you want an international experience? Do you want a one-year program like INSEAD where you’re done in 10 months, you’ve got your MBA and you can hit the ground running in your next job? Or do you want a two-year, full-time experience? You have a nice break in the summer, can do an interesting internship. Really think about the experience. And at the end, which we talked so much about when I was at Wharton Lauder and just in general, is fit. You know that when you’re applying for jobs, “Is this the cultural fit for me? Is this a place where I can see myself?” So be sure to participate in all of those online info sessions. If you can go to campus, that’s great. If you can tap into your network, talk with students and alumni, do all of that. It’s really worth it to choose your schools wisely, choose your experience and take all the time you need early on in the process versus just say, “Okay, any of these top schools I’ll be thrilled to get into.” Of course, I’m sure you would be thrilled to get into those, but at the end of the day you want to be at a place where you know you’ll really fit in and be happy. Do you have a recommended order for approaching the different elements of the application, like the boxes first or the essay first or the resume first? [19:22] Yeah. I think the first thing is to sign up for those info sessions, attend those introductory reviews, get a sense as to what the schools are looking for, and understand the application process. Sometimes the essays are updated in the summer, but generally you can assume they’ll be somewhat consistent with prior years. Thinking about your short and long-term goals. Part of the… The essays are really things where you can reveal who you really are. Some of the things might be a little bit easier to knock out, like the GMAT or the GRE. So if there’s some things that you feel, “Hey, I can get this done,” or, “I have two recommenders I have an amazing relationship with, I’m going to get those taken care of.” Different things that you feel will be less time-consuming. Other folks might say, “Hey, I really need six months to prepare for the GMAT,” and that’s where they’re going to put their energy. It really depends on the person. But doing your research ahead of time, giving yourself plenty of time, and focusing on the areas that you think you need to put in the most work I think makes the most practical sense. What’s critical in a resume? [20:44] In a perfect world, at least I’d like to see a one-page resume. But everybody’s different. If you can’t get it into one page, of course an admissions committee or officer will review two pages. But one page is ideal. Having a nice, clean format; having something that’s, as I mentioned earlier, easily understood or digestible by someone who doesn’t have expertise in what you might be an expert in. So making sure that if you show it to a friend who’s a second grade teacher, they can understand even though you’re an investment banker or whatever. They can easily understand, “Okay, this is what you do. This is what you’ve done over the last couple of years.” If you’ve had interesting clients or projects. And don’t forget to include what makes you, you to the extent that you can on a resume. Obviously not a ton of space, but achievements, and community interests. Were you in a leadership role as an undergraduate student? Do you have a passion for working with children? Whatever the case is. Do you love to run or hike? Because that is such a great way for someone who’s reviewing a lot of things to say, “Oh, that really stood out to me. This person hosts a cooking class every week,” or does whatever that they love. So, to the extent that you can… Obviously, you have your academics, your professional accomplishments. Be sure to include some aspect of what makes you you. I really love to see that and those are the things I tend to remember. What advice do you have for MBA re-applicants? [22:04] Don’t despair is the first tip. I remember every year we would have people reapply and be successful, so definitely reapply but you want to do so intentionally. Make sure that you’ve had some change in your profile, hopefully a positive change, over the last year. Maybe the quant was a weaker area of your application so you’ve retaken the GMAT or GRE. Maybe you’ve taken some quant courses online or that sort of thing to strengthen your quantitative profile. Maybe on the other hand, you were starting out. Maybe two years out of college and you’ve gained another third year. Maybe you’ve been promoted ahead of your peers. Maybe you’re working on interesting projects or you’ve become a manager. Anything interesting that has evolved in your profile over the last year, you want to call out to the admissions committee, and that will really be the re-applicant essay in most cases. What’s changed in your profile? So, don’t just submit the same old application. Get new recommenders, new essays. Make sure that it’s fresh and that you can show where your profile has grown over the last year and where you’ve learned, “Okay, this is where I was intentional about working on these one or two or three things that I felt I needed to submit a stronger application.” And guarantee every year there’s a really strong number of successful re-applicants. I remember quite a few when I was at Wharton Lauder, so it’s definitely something you should consider. And I think it’s great to do it because you can reflect back, “Okay, where did I need to correct?” Work on it, do it, and then hopefully you’re successful. Sometimes people have the qualifications, they have the skills, they have the aptitude, but they don’t portray it well. [23:43] Right. I think sometimes that’s very hard for them to see themselves. We tend to be in love with our own writing and our own words. [23:50] Yeah, definitely. The way you tell your story is so important. What do you think about applicant use of AI and ChatGPT? [24:07] Yeah, this is a whole new world. In the last couple of years since I stepped away briefly from admissions, it’s really evolved. It was much less of a thing just a few years back. So a couple of things; it’s out there, people are going to use it, and I think admissions committee members and officers and folks reading your applications will be aware of that. It’s no secret. And I think people are pretty smart. I think those tools can be a great resource as maybe giving an idea or giving you some template to some extent. But at the end of the day, it’s a computer voice. It’s not an authentic human voice and it’s not you, and that’s what makes an applicant stand out and makes you special. You want it absolutely to be your voice in the essays and no AI sim can punch that out for you and really cater to you. It’s out there, it’s not going away, and admissions committees and readers will be very mindful of it. Yeah. I don’t know, Linda, if you’ve had a different experience with it or what your thoughts are, but it’s a whole new experience for me and I’m interested to see how things play out now that I’m back into the admissions world. I think it is a tool and like any tool, it can be abused or it can be used. If you just give ChatGPT a specific question and your resume, it will write a very poor essay in response. Don’t do it. I was talking to an MBA admissions consultant and former admissions director yesterday, and he told me that he had a client and he could tell it was a ChatGPT-generated essay. And he asked his client, “Did you write this, or is this ChatGPT?” And the guy hemmed and hawed and finally said it was ChatGPT. He says, “Well, I could tell. This looks like a computer-generated essay and there’s not much substance to it.” Using it in that way is abuse and not going to serve an applicant very well. [25:58] Right. Yeah, absolutely. It’s called artificial for a reason. It doesn’t feel authentic. I think admissions committees are going to be very wise in the use of it. Tread carefully. When we first started hearing about artificial intelligence, Judy Gruen, who used to work for Accepted, I was talking with her one day and she said, “Why are we talking about all this artificial intelligence? We need some real intelligence down here.” [27:55] Right. I think that’s what the application is for and that’s what the admissions committee wants to see. [28:07] Exactly. What do you wish I would’ve asked you? We’ve covered a lot of ground here. [28:20] I would say, what do I love about admissions or what do I love about this kind of work? And I absolutely love working with the applicants and learning their stories. I talked with somebody earlier today; amazing profile, very interesting life story, great goals. And I was so energized just chatting with him and learning about his objectives and how we could perhaps help him. That’s the best thing, is seeing the candidate experience. Seeing them go from just the investigative stage, research phase of considering an MBA program. Working with them, hopefully getting admission, deciding where they’re a best fit. It’s just great to be part of someone’s journey. And that is life changing in so many ways. My former colleague at Lauder had a board in her room with all the couples that met each other in the program. And marriages are made, babies are born, all kinds of things. And if not a relationship, obviously you have your degree, which is an accomplishment in and of itself. Hopefully, you will reach your professional and academic goals. But you will also have an amazing experience for the year or two that you’re in the program; new friends, many of whom are from around the world, just a great experience. Playing even just a small part in that is definitely the best part, for sure. You joined Accepted fairly recently, but wait until you start hearing from clients that they’re admitted. It’s the biggest reward when you’re on this side of the desk. [29:41] Yeah. Relevant Links:
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Subscribe: Podcast Feed The post Former Wharton/Lauder Admissions Director Joins Accepted: Welcome Kara Keenan Sweeney [Episode 570] appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog. |
23 Apr 2024, 05:00
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: So You Want to Do an MBA Outside the U.S. [Episode 572] |
 Show Summary In this episode of Admissions Straight Talk, Linda Abraham interviews admissions directors from MBA programs outside the United States to find out if there are any common threads among them. The guests on the show include representatives from Oxford Saïd Business School, INSEAD, NYU Abu Dhabi, and HEC Paris. The interviews cover various topics such as program overviews, admissions processes, and common applicant mistakes. The interviews also touch on language requirements, the role of the video interview in the evaluation process, and the importance of holistic review in admissions decisions. Overall, this interview provides valuable insights into the unique aspects of these MBA programs and shed light on the similarities and differences among them. Show Notes Welcome to the 572nd episode of Admissions Straight Talk. Thanks for tuning in. Before I turn to today’s show, I have a question for you. Are you ready to apply to your Dream MBA programs? Are you competitive at your target schools? Accepted’s MBA admissions quiz can give you a quick reality check. Just go to accepted.com/mbaquiz, complete the quiz, and you’ll not only get an assessment, but tips on how to improve your qualifications. Plus, it’s all free. . If you are a regular listener, you know that during most episodes of Admissions Straight Talk, I interview a guest, frequently, an admissions director or dean. Usually, our guests are leaders at a US graduate program. However, within the last couple of years, I have had the privilege of interviewing several deans or directors from programs outside the United States. Today we’re going to take specific excerpts from four of those episodes and let you determine if there are some common threads and of course, how they differ. Today’s episode is a collection of their answers to admissions questions as well as insight into their programs. The guests on this program are:
I’ve asked some questions of almost every admissions director I’ve spoken to, so the responses that you’re going to see, again, represent a sample. In any case. Let’s start with Hannah Griffith of Oxford Saïd Business School. Oxford Saïd Business School While Saïd is a fairly new and very innovative MBA program, Oxford is the oldest university in the English-speaking world, and Hannah provides the following: An overview of the Oxford Saïd MBA program, focusing on its more distinctive elements; insights into the program’s admissions process, and a review of common misconceptions about Oxford Saïd. Can you give us an overview of the Oxford Saïd MBA program for those listeners who aren’t that familiar with it, focusing on its more distinctive elements? [2:32] [HG] Yes, absolutely. So the Saïd Business School is a business school that is embedded within Oxford University. Our MBA program is a one-year MBA program, and given that the business school is embedded within a world-class university, that does impact the MBA experience in a number of different ways. One of those ways being that the students can expect, in the one-year program, a lot of academic rigor. Our program is an intensive one-year MBA, it aims to include everything that a candidate would maybe anticipate finding on a two-year program, but packed into a 12-month period. The main aim of the business school and of the MBA program is to prepare our students to be responsible business leaders and individuals who, as they move through their career in the future, are prepared to tackle world scale problems, challenges, and to really see business as a vehicle to drive change. And be that within the organizations that they work in, the sectors that they choose to work in, in their communities, and sometimes on a larger scale in the countries that they choose to be based in. In addition to academic rigor, there are some other things to highlight that students could anticipate finding on the Oxford MBA, an incredibly diverse cohort. So our student body is largely international, our current class is 94% international, with 71 different nationalities represented across the class. And diversity of thought is something that’s very important to us on the Oxford MBA, as well. So we have a very broad range of different sector backgrounds represented in our cohort, that also means that students can expect a diverse range of career outcomes, and also a global alumni network that will be very far-reaching in terms of its depth and breadth, as well. And obviously access to the greater Oxford community network, correct? [4:58] [HG] Yes, absolutely. Which largely comes via their college membership while they’re with us in Oxford, but in terms of that alumni network, absolutely. They gain the benefit of having a network that they will have via the business school, and then obviously, another network that comes via the university as well. What don’t people know about Oxford Saïd that you would like them to know, or what’s a common misconception about Oxford Saïd that you’d like to correct? [5:19] [HG] That’s a really great question. So I would say that the school is probably best known for its focus on social impact, and its focus on entrepreneurship. So students who research the business school, and research the MBA, those are the two main areas that will stand out to them, in terms of what the school focuses on. So I would say probably a misconception, as a result of that, is that the MBA at Oxford isn’t for you if you are a finance professional, or a consulting professional, or somebody who’s maybe looking to move into one of those two sectors after the program. And actually, the reality in terms of the makeup of our cohort and in terms of the sectors that our students go on to work in after the MBA, those two sectors are actually quite well represented. So about 45% of our class will come from those sectors, in advance of doing the MBA, and about 50% of our class will go on to work in those spaces after the program. There is large numbers of, or large aspects of the program, in terms of the curriculum itself, but also in terms of the co-curriculars that are designed to support students who are looking to move into those spaces. So obviously, in terms of the core courses themselves, there’s a large number of those that are finance-focused. So for students who are maybe looking to pivot into that space, there is the opportunity to really study those subjects in depth on the MBA. One of our most popular co-curriculars on the Oxford MBA is our Finance Lab, which students, again who are interested in either accelerating their career in finance, or moving into the space, really, really benefit from. Similarly, with students who are looking to maybe pivot into consulting, I mentioned the strategic consulting project already that they can do in the summer semester. Our career development center also run a consulting development program throughout the academic year, to support students who are looking to move into that space. And certainly, in terms again of the finance focus, we have some world renowned finance faculty at the business school as well. So I would say that’s probably the more common misconception, is that maybe if you are somebody who isn’t interested or doesn’t have experience of social impact or entrepreneurship, that maybe Saïd is not for you, and the case is actually quite the opposite. We do have a focus on both of those areas, but we equally have a focus on finance consulting, and a number of other industries as well. Let’s move to admissions. Saïd asks for a transcript, test score, a one-page resume, two references, a supporting statement, and then an online assessment before it starts evaluating the application, and deciding whom to interview. What happens after the applicant hits submit, and takes the online assessment? [7:58] [HG] I’m sure there are lots of people who actually wonder this. It’s a really good question. So once the applications come through to us, they are processed by members of our team, that usually can take kind of the two to three week period, depending on what stage of the application process we are at. And once they have been processed, their application will then be reviewed by the admissions committee. It will be reviewed twice, by two individual members of that committee, and it will then be reviewed a final time by the more senior members of that admissions committee, before a decision is made on whether or not that candidate will move through to interview. The applications at Oxford are really, really viewed holistically, so there’s not a particular component of the application that holds more weight than others when we are reviewing the applications. But all of the different components are taken into account, and we’re really trying to get a sense from someone’s application of who they are as an individual, and what they could add to the cohort if they were to be admitted. So yeah, essentially that’s it. That process, in terms of review, usually again takes between two to four weeks, depending on the stage deadline that we are at. Students will then be informed if they have been selected to move through to interview and then that process will run usually, again, for about three to four weeks before students will learn if they have been successful, and have been admitted to the program. What else are you looking for? [9:53] [HG] Yeah, really good question, and definitely I would say to anybody who has that concern, particularly in relation to GPA, which people will reference often. Do not let that be a barrier to applying for an MBA, and also try not to spend too much energy worrying about it, because the GPA is the one component of the application that candidates can’t influence. It’s the score that they have. They’ve completed their degree, and so essentially, if they have a concern around that area, I would say the best mindset to have is, how you can focus on the other components that you can still control, and make sure that they’re really strong so that they essentially outweigh any concerns that you might have about your GPA. I would take a similar approach with the GMAT, to be honest. So, it is an important aspect of the application, but essentially what we’re looking to see via your GMAT score, is that you are somebody that would be able to cope with the academic rigor of the program, particularly with the quantitative element of the program. But there is a broader range of scores represented across our class than candidates would often anticipate, and students who come through with a lower GMAT score are people who demonstrate strength in other areas of the application. So that’s sometimes via the work experience that they’ve had across their career to date, they’re individuals who are able to show us that they’ve enjoyed good career progression, and that they’ve maybe had good international exposure across their career to date, that they’ve had leadership opportunities that they’ve been able to embrace. The personal statement that they can write really allows them to give us a sense of their individual story. So again, we’re really looking for authenticity, to try to get a sense of who somebody is via the application. And then similarly, through the online assessment, which I think is a really key component of the application in terms of showing the committee a little bit more of your personality. It gives us a sense of your communication style, of the experience you have that you might be able to draw on, and share with your classmates if you were part of the program. And all of those things are of equal importance to us when we are deciding whether or not it’s somebody who we would want to put through to interview, and ultimately admit to the class. Why do you need both the online assessment and the interview? [12:05] [HG] Yeah, really good question. And sometimes candidates do assume, I think because we have the online assessment, that it has replaced the interview, so it’s good to clarify that it definitely hasn’t. The online assessment is brief, in terms of the amount of information students can provide. So it involves them video recording answers to three questions, but those answers are 90 seconds or 60 seconds in length. So it gives us a taste, maybe, of what that individual might be like, but probably doesn’t give us enough of a sense of their personality, and how they might be within the cohort. The interview also allows us the opportunity to just explore some of the other components of the application in a little bit more detail, so particularly, the career plan is something that we will talk to candidates a lot about at the interview. And also, as I said, really just trying to get a sense of who they are and of what they might add to the cohort. And similarly for candidates, I think the interview is a really important part of the process, because it’s their opportunity to maybe learn a little bit more about whether they think the business school is the right place for them. We’re very aware that a lot of candidates who apply to the Oxford MBA are applying to a number of other business schools as well, and so the interview processes and opportunity for them to try to get a sense of, “Okay, is this a business school where I would fit? Is this a program where I can really benefit, in terms of my future aims, and the career outcomes that I’m looking to achieve?” And so the interview, I would say, is maybe more conversational sometimes than candidates would expect, and it does really give them that opportunity to make sure that the business school might be the right place for them, as well. INSEAD MBA Program For a different perspective. Let’s hear from INSEAD’s Teresa Peiro. Here are the topics she addresses: an overview of INSEAD’s MBA program, INSEAD’s language requirements, and what INSEAD is looking for in MBA applicants. To start, can you give us an overview of INSEAD’s MBA program for those listeners who aren’t that familiar with it? [14:03] [TP] Yes, of course. Our MBA program is a 10-month program that brings together around a hundred nationalities per cohort. You can either start in January, or in the August intake. It’s a very intense program. It’s shorter, but our participants make the most out of it, and we commonly hear all of our alumni saying that it was the best years of their lives. INSEAD has three full campuses, and several partnerships with both US programs, in CEIBS, in China. How do most students take advantage of that geographic diversity? I mean, it’s already intense, right? If it was 10 months in Fontainebleau the whole time, that would already be intense. But if you have all this, other options, how do they do it? [14:37] [TP] Indeed. So our applicants have to make a decision of which will be their home campus. So what is their core courses, they will have to stay in their home campus. After that, when the electives start, they can either change campuses, so if someone starts in Singapore, they can go to Fontainebleau, and vice versa. And then we offer different partnerships, as you mentioned, with different schools in the US and China. So what happens is that they can go to that school, while they’re in that school, they’re like full students from the welcoming school, and they spend their period there, and then they come back to INSEAD. Where are the three campuses, again? [15:36] [TP] So we have three campuses: Fontainebleau, Singapore, and Abu Dhabi. And we opened, pre-COVID, a San Francisco hub. Where are the partnerships? [15:54] [TP] The partnerships are with Kellogg and Wharton, in the US, and with CEIBS in China. When you talk about your home campus, how much time are you required to spend there? What do most students do? [16:02] [TP] It depends more, per class, so there’s not statistically, something consistent. They have to stay for the core courses for the first period, they have to stay where they decided to apply to. Because we consider that that part is the most intense of the program, because they have all of these classes and all the exams, and it’s like the core, and they have to stay focused where they are. And then, switch campuses. So it’s super interesting because now for example, for instance, we welcomed those who started in Singapore, and they arrived to Fontainebleau, and it’s like they discover a new school, it’s like a new campus. And they get to see other participants that started here in the program, and they have moved, or those who came with them. So I find it very vibrant, the campus exchange moment, because the campus is full of suitcases, and they’re coming in and out. And they see new faces, and you see how, “Oh, I connected with you when we were applicants, and now I see you here.” It’s a good sense of community. In terms of the partnership schools, is the 10 months divided into semesters? Or, you mentioned periods, how does that work? [17:10] [TP] There are periods of two months. Five plus P0. P0 starts before they arrive to campus. So we’ve got P0, and five periods. Could you review the language requirements, both at entry and graduation, for INSEAD participants? That’s a very distinctive aspect of the program. [17:35] [TP] Yes. And you know what? It’s one very near to my heart. So as you know, or maybe you don’t. INSEAD was founded by Georges Doriot, who was a French Harvard professor. At the beginning, all courses were taught in those three languages. So German, English and French, which were the languages in Europe. We’ve been adapting to the different times. English has to be validated, either by your native language, or by other means of assessment. We need to ensure that every MBA or every student in is going to be able to follow the class, and make the most out of the program. So English has to be validated. If it’s your native language, we will not question it, but then you will have to validate the second language for INSEAD reasons. How do you validate? [18:38] [TP] So if English is not your native language, you have to validate it. So there are different criteria. Most common are, you need to have, your whole degree has to be taught in English, and it has to be specified in your transcripts. Or, through TOEFL, PTE, or IELTS. And if English is your native language, and your second language is French, for example, or Spanish. [18:58] [TP] There are other tests, they are local. So there are national tests that we accept – many of them, but there are many different experiences. For example, a TOEFL is only two years, and each test has a different experience and date. So we will look at that very closely for your second language, if English is your native language. And for instance, if you for example, hold your bachelor’s in Spanish, it would be validated, too. The second language is like a C1, so it’s fluent that we require, and it’s an admissions requirement. Now for the third language, it’s an exit language, so you need it to graduate. And we do not give the diploma if you have not validated your third language. Knowing that, the level that we require is much lower. It’s an A1. When I’m talking to candidates or prospects, I always, always encourage them to get that language policy cleared before they start, because the program is very intense. And they prefer to invest their time with other things than learning the language. But for us, it’s like in our DNA, and this open mindedness and being able to make the most of this super international exposure, we want you to have these three languages with you upon graduation. Would your entry-level requirement be that the person has speaking comprehension and speaking ability, and some writing ability, or fluent writing ability? And the exit requirement, what would that be? I realize there are stricter requirements, I’m just trying to make it a little bit easier to grasp. [20:43] [TP] The second language is quite strict. You have to go through the three levels to be a C1, which is fluent. You have to be able to write. The exit language, which is A2, is more of a little bit of everything. So not very complicated sentences. You don’t have to be able to write a proper essay, but you would be able to write an email. Now, INSEAD clearly lists its admissions criteria, and your website says their ability to contribute, academic capacity, international motivation, leadership potential. I’m sure you know this, you don’t need me to tell them to you. Where are you most likely to see those qualities in the different elements of the INSEAD application? [21:32] [TP] It’s interesting, because when I’m running, I run application workshops very often. And I always, my first slide is with this, four pictures of these four admissions criteria. And I always tell them, “Whatever information you share with us, be sure that it falls in one of these buckets.” And a follow-up, of course is, “But what’s more important?” “No. I said it’s holistic,” and I’m always saying the same. I’m always sharing with people, “At INSEAD, we’re human beings behind admissions process. There are people reading applications.” And people are like, they begin this conspiracy theories like, “Oh, so you put our CVs in a scan, and they give you like…” “No. It’s nothing like that. It’s all about holistic, and we try to see everything.” So we have a lot of essays, which we are aware, we know that we ask for many essays compared to other schools. But we really want to know. And it’s not only about us deciding if you are a good candidate for INSEAD or not, but if this is what you want, this is what you need to get wherever you want to go. So these four criteria, and that’s why we are so clear about it, they need to be covered in your application. It’s interesting because, as I think we’ll talk to the Kira video, but the pre-selection decision is purely based on what we’ve received in the application form. And we need to be sure that those four criteria are met. Do you typically find, I would assume that academic capacity, you typically find in the transcript and the test score? [23:22] [TP] Yes. International motivation would probably show up in your resume and your activities, as well as the essays. [23:29] [TP] International motivation is my favorite because it’s who we are. So international motivation is about us being sure that you’re not only going to be comfortable with such diversity in the class, but they’re going to embrace it. And that you’re going to be, and you know how much you’re going to learn from this diversity, and you’re going to make the most out of it. So we need to be sure of this, and how do we see it? So the most common, and where most of our candidates really check those boxes is because they’ve gone through international experiences before, themselves. Either studying, either working abroad, and we do believe that this aspect in your life, it’s a big experience that makes you who you are, in a way. You’ve gone abroad, you’ve gone to a different culture, you had to adapt, you had to make some compromises, you learned so many things about it. So we get that from previous experiences. Also, in other cases, we have candidates that didn’t have the opportunity of living abroad, or having this experience. So we ask them to tell us how they’ve been in an international environment, and how they felt about it. So either you’re working in a country where there are many people from different nationalities, either you work in a very international company, and you have to… I was going to say deal, but you have to collaborate, and you have to interact with other nationalities from other countries. So that’s what we are looking for. So we do ask, in the essays, “What has been your experience?” And we also ask a detailed list of the international experiences you’ve had in the past. In advising clients, we sometimes talk about multicultural exposure. So as you say, some applicants might live in a diverse country, in many different cultures, within their own country. It’s not homogenous, it’s a heterogeneous culture. [25:21] [TP] And nowadays, most of the countries are like that. That’s why companies are always looking for people who are thriving in these kinds of societies. And the ability to contribute, I would assume, also will come really throughout the application. [25:47] [TP] The ability to contribute and leadership potential come a lot, also, through the essays. The question is, “What is it that you bring to the class?” You want to be sure that when you raise your hand, you’re going to share experiences, share what you know, ask the correct questions. And those questions and those contributions are going to come from your past experience. You mentioned the video a second ago. What is the role of the video interview in the evaluation process? [26:18] [TP] We are very happy with the video. We love the video. And our message to candidates is always, “Be yourself.” So when I’m presenting these application workshops, I put a picture of Salvador Dali, who is one of our most well-known artists in Spain, because he was genuine. He was himself, and he wasn’t shy to show who he was. And it’s about that. I’m always telling, “We are not expecting you to be a BBC reporter, unless you were a BBC reporter.” So don’t try to use those fancy words, or things that you think that are… But be yourself. So what we’re looking for here, the role is to see who you are, in a way, and communication skills. The video will reassure us a lot also on the English level, and the fluidity when people speak. I understand it’s stressful, so we always recommend candidates, there’s a practice part in the platform. I always say, “Practice, practice, practice.” There are four questions, and you’ve got 45 seconds to prepare, and 60 to respond. I strongly recommend candidates that they use those 45 seconds to work on their structure. What is it that they want to say? And then, be yourself. I always tell the story that we had a candidate who was a professional break-dancer, and he just went to the floor, and he danced. Amazing. We loved it. It’s a great story. And this is because sometimes, and I understand the, “Oh, instead, I’m going to try to use fancy words.” No, because you’re going to lose the point of the video, which is, we want to hear you. And that’s why we’ve got four questions. And I always say that we read applications to try to look into it and accept you, not to reject you. That’s why it’s important that you are yourself, because for the writing, we already have your essays. Stern at NYU Abu Dhabi Dr. Robert Salomon, as I mentioned, is the inaugural Dean of Stern at NYU Abu Dhabi, the newest program among the four. He answers questions about the program’s 12-month structure, NYU AD’s admissions process, and why Abu Dhabi, and why now? Let’s start with an overview of NYU’s Abu Dhabi MBA program. Can you please provide us with one? [28:41] [RS] We are opening here a full-time MBA program. It’s going to be a 12-month accelerated MBA program that will run from January through December. And the first class will start in January of 2025. You’re really just getting going. You’re not going to have a class this year, you’re just getting going for the following year, really. [29:22] [RS] Right. We’ll start a year from January. Although the website is now live, the application is available, it can be downloaded, people can start it, and we are accepting applications now. The first deadline comes up January 15th, but people can start applying now. It takes a while to put together a good application, so that makes a lot of sense. Is this program aimed for people in the Middle East, who want a US MBA? Or is it aimed for people anywhere in the world, who want to focus on business in the Middle East? What’s the goal of the program? [29:47] [RS] The program is for anybody in the world, and what we would like, however, is that people who are interested in the region, people who are interested in the potential of building a career in Abu Dhabi, in the UAE, places like Dubai or the broader region. So we’re happy to consider applications from anybody, anywhere, but we are hopefully going to be preparing people for careers in the region. Now, that said, what people get in the classroom here isn’t going to be very different from what they get in the classroom in New York or in MBA programs elsewhere. They’re going to be prepared to be business leaders, and business managers, so they’re going to get the same kinds of core courses that they get in New York. We are bringing the same robust MBA program that we offer in New York, here to Abu Dhabi. And we hope that this program will be appealing to people the world over, not just in the region, but also beyond. Will the professors be traveling from New York City to Abu Dhabi, or will there be online courses? Part of the robustness of the NYU program is the faculty. [31:00] [RS] Yeah. And this will be an in-person program. At the moment, we don’t have any plans for online content. And just as we have a top-notch faculty, world-class faculty in New York, we will be building a faculty here in Abu Dhabi as well. So we will be hiring to the standards that we have in New York, the kind of faculty that we have in New York. Now, saying that there is from time to time, every once in a while, faculty might come over here and there to teach a specific course if they have a specific expertise, and they will offer that course here in Abu Dhabi. In addition to that, we also have a module of the entire program. One module, or about two and a half months of the program, will take place in New York City. So students will be in New York during the summer months, I think it’s from the end of May to mid-August. They’ll be taking classes in New York and they will be taught by our faculty, our renowned faculty in New York City. Will the program focus at all on the business of energy, since it’s going to be located in the Middle East, and specifically in the Persian Gulf? [32:15] [RS] That won’t be a specific focus of this program. We will have several specializations in this program. So the specializations we intend to offer at the beginning include finance, leadership and strategy, technology innovation, and entrepreneurship/ marketing. And potentially, we’re also considering sustainability. So if anything, yeah, I mean there might be sort of a slight energy focus. But on the next wave of energy, sort of how do we transition into the next energy regime, away from fossil fuels, away from petroleum-based energy. They’re preparing for a future without oil, without fossil fuels, and they are diversifying their economy now in order, so that once that day arrives when the last barrel of oil rolls off the assembly line, or however we want to describe that analogy, that they have other industries that are here, and vibrant, that can sustain the economy. You mentioned that there are going to be roughly three months or two modules of the program in New York City. Can I ask why? [33:40] [RS] Well we are a NYU program. We are NYU Stern, as well, and one of the reasons that we want to bring students to New York City is so that they get to know and make connections to the home university. So that’s part of it. So they get to know New York, they get to know NYU, they get to know NYU Stern. The other piece of this is that this is a global degree program. This is a program that is preparing students to participate in the global economy. And what better way than to have them learn about the global economy, than to be not just in one singular place, but to also have a global experience. And for those in this program, that means not just being in Abu Dhabi, but also going somewhere else. And we have a campus in New York, with an outstanding faculty, a world-class faculty there. So why not bring the students there? And that’s part of, if you look at many of our other programs at NYU Stern, they also have global components. And those global components are meant to prepare people for the realities, the business realities, of the world that they live in. Also, New York City is one of the capitals of business in the world. [34:59] Yeah, absolutely. Are there any language requirements for NYU AD? Is Arabic something that’s encouraged, or required? [35:09] [RS] No. All languages are encouraged. I think if you have the opportunity to learn another language, the answer should always be yes. I mean, that’s an amazing gift, and an amazing thing to be able to speak multiple languages. But there is no requirement at Stern at NYU Abu Dhabi, for people to speak anything other than English. And English, spoken widely, here in the UAE. Just about everybody speaks English, all the signs are in English, and the classes will be in English as well. Okay, great. I noticed that NYU AD, like NYU Stern in New York City, NYU Stern in Abu Dhabi accepts many tests, and also offers a test waiver option. Who should seek a test waiver, and who shouldn’t seek a test waiver, in your opinion? [35:46] [RS] I want to preface this by saying when it comes to admissions, I’m not an expert. I come from the program side. So I’ve been a scholar, I’m a professor, I’m a researcher. That’s my background. And I’ve come from running programs. I’ve been running different kinds of MBA programs for Stern, and master’s programs, and executive programs for Stern for quite a while. So I’m really familiar with the programmatic side. I’m less knowledgeable when it comes to admissions kinds of things, but let me just try and answer the question as best I can, with the caveat that I may not… I mean, generally I think the answer I’m going to give you is accurate, but I want to just caveat it with, that I might be making some mistakes on the margins. So when it comes to test waivers, the kinds of folks who should be seeking test waivers, I would say, are those who feel like they are well-equipped in the areas that are associated with an MBA degree. And what areas are those? I would say, if you have a STEM degree, if you already have a degree in engineering, where you can demonstrate… And you did very, very well in school, in your engineering program, and you can demonstrate that you performed very well, especially in your math classes. That would be the kind of individual who might want to request a test waiver. If you went to an undergraduate business program, and you’ve already demonstrated through your completion of that program that you can handle the rigors of an MBA program, because you already have the qualifications, and you did very, very well in your undergraduate business program. Those are the kinds of folks that should or could potentially be requesting a test waiver or might be granted a test waiver. So basically, if you have sort of a STEM-y background, and your degree is from a widely respected, accredited university, and you’ve performed very, very well in the classroom, especially in your math-based classes. Those are the kinds of folks who typically qualify for test waivers. What would you have liked me to ask you? [38:19] [RS] I think one of the questions that I was thinking about in preparation for this is, why here and why now? I mean, I think part of it is that if you think about Abu Dhabi, and again, going back to something that I mentioned before. Abu Dhabi is increasingly becoming a world capital that’s connected to other world capitals, and it’s connected to other world capitals more each and every day. It’s becoming more, as you mentioned, it’s becoming more of a finance capital. It’s becoming more of a sustainability capital. It’s becoming more of a business capital. It’s becoming more of a consumer products capital. It’s becoming a technology capital, it’s becoming a FinTech capital. All of these things that the UAE, and Abu Dhabi in particular is investing in, because they see the need to diversify away their economy away from fossil fuels and towards a more knowledge-based, services-based economy. For us, when we were researching and thinking about this as a location, when you speak to companies and you talk to them and you say, “What is it that you need in order to accomplish these goals that you have?” We hear the same answers over and over and over again, which is, “We need people who have managerial skills.” You talk to even private or public employers here in the region, they say, “There is a need for people with managerial skills to help us with that transition, to be a part of that, to help propel it.” Ultimately, these are the folks who are going to become the leaders in this region, and they are going to be a part of that transition away from an energy fossil fuels based economy, towards this new knowledge-based, services-based economy. So when we were thinking about it, what better location than to do that, right here? We already have a campus here. We’ve already built a stellar faculty here. We’ve been operating here for more than a decade, we know the market, and so we feel like now is the right time to be the first ones, the first top US business school to offer a full-time MBA in the region. There’s tremendous talent here, too. There’s a lot of young people who have an incredible desire to upskill, too. So that was also part of it. So the employers are asking for it, on the demand side for our graduates, and on the supply side, the prospective applicants, the students really want it, because they see the need to upskill as well. HEC Paris MBA Finally, we have the most recent guest on Admissions Straight Talk, HEC’s Sara Vanos, and she shares:
I’d like to start with some general questions about HEC Paris, and then get more specific and focused on admissions for the full-time MBA program. Can you start by just giving us a very high level overview of HEC’s three MBA programs? [40:57] [SV] Sure, I’d be happy to. So we have our full-time MBA program, which is a 16-month program, which can be residential. So we have on-campus housing, or you can live off campus. So that’s in our Jouy-en-Josas campus, which is quite close to Paris. You can do specialization, you can do electives, plus your core, plus all kinds of other sort of surprises and leadership activities. So that would be our full-time MBA. Then we have our executive MBA, that can take anywhere from 15 to 21 months, because it’s part-time. It’s either modular or block, so you come on campus every two months, or you can do every other weekend in Paris. It’s typically for more senior professionals, so the average age is 40, usually some management experience. And then we have anything from directors to CEOs to CFOs in that program. So, a very senior crowd. And then we have TRIUM, which is one of our flagship partnership programs. So it’s in partnership with LSC and also NYU, even slightly more senior profiles that join that program. And it’s really exciting, because it takes place in modules all over the world. How long is that program? [42:27] [SV] So usually that one is just almost 20 months. Let’s zoom in on the full-time MBA program’s more notable and distinctive elements. Can you describe them? You’ve hinted at them a little bit. By the way, I once visited HEC Paris. It is gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous. [42:34] [SV] Yes, one, I agree. So I commute from Paris every day to go on campus, so it’s actually really easy to reach. And like you said, it’s beautiful. So it’s a wooded, private acres of a forest, tennis courts, a chateau of its own, and of course our other programs. But the one that we’ll zoom in on now is the MBA. So, a beautiful campus with a possibility to live on campus, which is kind of interesting and different because a lot of MBA programs, you’re kind of spread out everywhere. So we feel that having this on-campus housing really builds the community from day one, because you’re with about 80% of the students living in our residential housing, you can easily attend club activities, different community events. So you really foster that connection from day one. If we start with kind of the curriculum or notable things there, I think the 16 months is really unique. So typically, you’re looking at an MBA, where do I do it? How long, my ROI, et cetera. So we’ve kind of found the sweet spot. So you can either do 12 or 16 months, depending on your intake. So it can be a little shorter than the longer programs, but you get all of the benefits of the longer programs. So electives, specialization, participation in our MBA Olympics, New Horizons, which is broadening your horizons and figuring out kind of how to anticipate trends. So that’s unique. We have a pretty smaller class than, I would say, some of the larger class sizes. So usually, an average of about 300 students coming in two intakes, and you can start in September or January. So that’s also unique. I think if we say, maybe one takeaway from these things I’ve kind of thrown out there, would be flexibility and customization. So I know that’s what a lot of people look for in their program. So whether it’s program length, how to specialize what you take, so we have these specializations, which electives. Where you live, if you live on campus, all of that really offers the flexibility to have a great experience. What do you look for besides stats? You’ve mentioned a little bit, maybe you can just give a little more on that. [44:46] [SV] So typically, we will assess everyone. So we’ll start by looking at their CV. So that’s one of the criteria. We’ll look at the GMAT, GRA test. These are things that kind of all follow and compliment each other. We look at previous academic backgrounds. So, which school did you go to? What did you study? And again, we try to tie all of this back to the motivation, so there’s a motivational paragraph where you get to explain what’s next, why an MBA? So we’re kind of trying to look holistically, as discussed. We looked at extracurriculars. We also look at languages. So we think it can be interesting, even if you’ve just started to learn a language, if your goal is to work in France, it can be helpful if you’ve already started learning. It’s not necessary, but we do look at that in terms of, again, motivation, career desires, and outcomes. We look at the essays, so we read all of the essays, and then discuss them. So sometimes things can jump out. Some of them are kind of creative. So I would say in there, depending on the essay topic, we’re looking for different things. The additional essay is something that maybe only 10 to 20% of students use, but it’s extremely interesting, because it’s where you can add anything that we might not have known about you. And it’s often where we learn something extremely interesting. So I would say that’s something to look at. Where we also evaluate, but it’s at a later state, would be the interviews. So, how did it go with your alumni interviewer? How did the alumni interviewer rate your presentation? Because you have to make a presentation, the communication skills and motivation, et cetera. I think those are all of the main buckets, if I’m thinking through them. There’s none that’s weighted super heavily. They’re all kind of pairing together, and matching together. And even if someone didn’t have the perfect application, because we discuss each and every profile in a jury of several members, there are other things that can come into play. So for example, our marketing or recruitment managers try to have a call or meet everyone that comes in the program. So it can be very interesting, because often they’ll add complimentary information that can boost, almost, if somebody forgot something and the marketing and recruitment manager knows they can also talk about their conversation, talk about things like that. So I think that’s also somewhere that can add value. What’s the most common mistake that you see applicants making in the application process? [47:02] [SV] Yeah, it’s a funny one. Usually we let it go, because it’s so common, but a lot of people will cut and paste essays, and keep the other schools that they’re applying to. It’s okay, because we know that they’re applying to multiple schools. But sometimes people will say, “I’m applying to HEC only,” and then they will cut and paste an essay and a CV where they cite another school. It’s the most common one. I think, for the admissions team, we are rather used to it. We know that it can happen. We know, “Okay, it’s an oversight. Maybe the person is not super detail-oriented,” but where it can have a larger impact is our alumni will have access to the application of the person who’s applied and moved into an interview round. So for, I would say our alumni, it’s a more big mistake because they want people who are diehard HEC, they want them to love HEC, to only be thinking about HEC. So, common. Easy though, I think, for applicants to take a quick double check. Put a PDF of your application file, look the whole thing through, and just look for these very small but easy to fix things, I would say. Yeah, and this is one of the things that comes up repeatedly from admission directors. My suggestion for applicants is, if you are adapting essays from another school, don’t cut and paste, number one. But if you are adapting essays from another school, when you start that process… Not at the end, when you start, do a find and replace. That way you will not miss it. Just do it at the beginning. Okay? Do it then, and it’s taken care of, you won’t be making the mistake that Sara just mentioned. After listening to this episode, did you detect some common themes? What are the differences with US programs, like language requirements for some? Now it’s your chance, your opportunity to apply to programs that fit your goals, your needs, your finances, and your wants. And that is likely to want you. If you’d like help in presenting the best of the authentic you to any of these, or other top MBA programs in the United States or in Europe, or the EU, I should say. Please contact Accepted for guidance in presenting your best self, and polishing that gem of an application. 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Subscribe: Podcast Feed The post So You Want to Do an MBA Outside the U.S. [Episode 572] appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog. |
24 Apr 2024, 07:00
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: U.S. News & World Report 2024 MBA Rankings [Full-Time & Part-Time] |
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[img]https://blog.accepted.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/U.S.-News-World-Report-2024-MBA-Rankings-Full-Time-Part-Time-1.png[/img] [url=https://www.accepted.com/mba/free-admissions-consultation][img]https://blog.accepted.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/U.S.-News-World-Report-2024-MBA-Rankings-Full-Time-Part-Time-1.png[/img][/url] As we have come to expect with the U.S. News & World Report ranking, movement is the name of the game. This year, the Stanford GSB has found its way back to the top of the list, tying with Wharton for the #1 spot, while Harvard takes its place at #6, and Michigan Ross exits the Top 10. Interestingly, nine schools on this prestigious list share spots, thanks to ties for the #1, #3, #7, and #10 positions in the survey. U.S. News’ metrics continue to encompass career placement success (50%), quality assessment (25%), and selectivity (25%). One notable adjustment to the career placement success category this year is the introduction of the salary by profession (10%) subcategory, which compares salaries by industry. This change acknowledges that varying pay scales exist for different occupations. The weight was adjusted for each employment subcategory rate to allow for this addition within the category. The weight of the employment rate at graduation is 7% this year (down from 10%), and the weight of the employment rate three months after graduation is 13% (down from 20%). The contribution to the ranking calculation of the mean starting salary and bonus subcategory is unchanged at 20%. U.S. News also changed the calculation approach for the employment subcategories to include two years of data instead of one to compute the averages. Regardless of the outcomes or the changes in methodology, applicants, students, and alumni continue to study the rankings insatiably. Interestingly, U.S. News encourages prospective students to consider factors beyond the rankings, including “location, campus culture, strength of specific programs, and cost after tuition and financial aid.” We encourage you to do the same and have created a free resource to help you do so: [url=https://www.accepted.com/mba/guide/best-mba-programs]Best MBA Programs: A Guide to Selecting the Right One[/url]. U.S. News reached out to 506 U.S. universities accredited by AACSB International for its survey, receiving 339 responses. The publication then ranked the 124 full-time, in-person, and hybrid programs that had submitted sufficient data. It’s worth noting that U.S. News largely adheres to the data reporting standards set by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) and the MBA Career Services and Employer Alliance (MBA CSEA). GMAC’s [url=https://www.gmac.com/why-gmac/advocating-for-gme/gme-admissions-reporting-standards]GME Admissions Reporting Standards[/url] and the MBA CSEA’s are publicly available. [url=https://www.accepted.com/mba/selectivity-index][img]https://blog.accepted.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/MBA-School-Selectivity-Index-Button-1024x256.png[/img][/url] Notable changes this year [list] [*]The [b]Stanford GSB [/b]returns to the #1 spot, tying with[b] Wharton. [/b]The salary outcomes, with the adjustment of comparison of salaries by profession, favored Stanford, helping it leap five spots to claim the #1 seat. Stanford boasted an overall average starting salary and bonus of $209,680 (compared to $198,032 last year), the highest among the programs in the Top 10. Wharton’s average starting salary and bonus amount increased significantly to $201,296, and the school saw a higher placement rate than Stanford, with 94.2% versus 82.8%. Although both schools reported the same GMAT median score of 740, Stanford’s median GPA was 3.8, compared with Wharton’s 3.7. Harvard is the only other school in the Top 10 with a GPA median as high as Stanford’s. [/*] [*][b]Chicago Booth[/b] slipped from #1 to share #3 with [b]Northwestern[/b] [b]Kellogg[/b], which held the #2 spot last year. Booth inches ahead of Kellogg in salary ($204,197 versus $199,888), three-month placement rate (95.0% versus 94.8%), and admit rate (32.6% versus 33.3%). However, it comes in slightly behind Kellogg with a median GMAT of 730, versus 740, and a median GPA of 3.6, versus 3.7.[/*] [*]While [b]MIT Sloan[/b] #5 and [b]Harvard Business School[/b] #6 each slipped one spot, they are the only schools to stand on their own at their positions in the Top 10. Each of the other nine schools in the upper tier tie with at least one other program. As we’ve noted, [b]Stanford GSB[/b] and [b]Wharton[/b] are tied at #1, [b]Chicago Booth[/b] and [b]Kellogg[/b] are tied at #3, [b]UC-Berkeley[/b] [b]Haas[/b] reentered the Top 10 to tie with both [b]NYU Stern[/b] and the [b]Yale SOM[/b] at #7, while [b]Dartmouth[/b] [b]Tuck[/b] and [b]UVA Darden[/b] are tied at #10. After falling out of the Top 10, [b]Michigan Ross[/b] now stands at #12, tied with[b] Columbia[/b] and [b]Duke Fuqua[/b].[/*] [*]Looking at the top 25,[b] Vanderbilt Owen [/b]jumped seven spots to #20, where it is tied with three other schools: [b]UNC Kenan-Flagler[/b], [b]UCLA Anderson[/b], and [b]Indiana Kelley[/b]. [b]UT Austin McCombs[/b] moved up four places to #16, tied with [b]Carnegie Mellon Tepper. [/b]Other programs shifted just one or two spots up or down, while [b]Cornell Johnson[/b] held at #15, and [b]Georgetown McDonough[/b] stayed at #24.[/*] [/list] The ranking of part-time MBA programs remained relatively static this year. The [b]Chicago Booth[/b] and [b]Berkeley Haas[/b] programs swapped spots at the top of the ranking, now standing at #1 and #2, respectively. The [b]Michigan Ross [/b](now[b] [/b]#6) and [b]Texas McCombs[/b] (now #7) programs similarly swapped places. A notable change is the exit of [b]CMU Tepper[/b] from the ranking. The Tepper School combined its traditional part-time MBA program with its online hybrid MBA program and will therefore participate only in the online MBA ranking now. Additionally, U.S. News took specific action to align hybrid and in-person programs with those most comparable. This alignment resulted in 30 fewer programs participating in the rankings. With the departure of [b]Tepper[/b], three schools entered the Top 10, tying for the #10 spot:[b] OSU Fisher[/b], [b]UMD Smith[/b], and [b]UW Foster[/b]. The part-time rankings were based on survey responses from 269 institutions. These schools qualified for the 2024 part-time MBA ranking with master’s level business programs in the United States accredited by AACSB International. According to U.S. News, “The weights of the ranking indicators used in the 2024 part-time MBA methodology were unchanged from last year’s ranking.” Ranking factors included peer assessment (50%), part-time student ratio (12.5%), part-time students total (12.5%), GMAT/GRE scores (10%), undergraduate grade point average (10%), and work experience (5%). U.S. News 2024 Top 10 Full-Time MBA Programs 2024 Rank2023 RankSchoolLocation 1 (tie)6 (tie)Stanford UniversityStanford, CA 1 (tie)3University of Pennsylvania (Wharton)Philadelphia, PA 3 (tie)2Northwestern (Kellogg)Evanston, IL 3 (tie)1University of Chicago (Booth)Chicago, IL 54Massachusetts Institution of Technology (Sloan)Cambridge, MA 65Harvard UniversityAllston, MA 7 (tie)10New York University (Stern)New York, NY 7 (tie)11 (tie)University of California, Berkeley (Haas)Berkely, CA 7 (tie)8 (tie)Yale UniversityNew Haven, CT 10 (tie)6 (tie)Dartmouth College (Tuck)Hanover, NH 10 (tie)14University of Virginia (Darden)Charlottesville, VA U.S. News 2024 Top 10 Part-Time MBA Programs 2024 Rank2023 RankSchoolLocation 12University of Chicago (Booth)Chicago, IL 21University of California, Berkeley (Haas)Berkeley, CA 33Northwestern University (Kellogg)Evanston, IL 44New York University (Stern)New York, NY 55University of California, Los Angeles (Anderson)Los Angeles, CA 67University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (Ross)Ann Arbor, MI 76University of Texas, Austin (McCombs)Austin, TX 88University of Southern California (Marshall)Los Angeles, CA 99 (tie)Georgetown University (McDonough)Washington, DC 10 (tie)15 (tie)Ohio State University (Fisher)Columbus, OH 10 (tie)21 (tie)University of Maryland, College Park (Smith)College Park, MD 10 (tie)11(tie)University of Washington (Foster)Seattle, WA [b]Hoping to start business school in 2025 at one of these top-ranked programs? [/b][url=https://www.accepted.com/mba/free-admissions-consultation][b]Sign up for a free consultation[/b][/url][b], and be sure to check out our [/b][url=https://www.accepted.com/mba/services?utm_campaign=Blog&utm_medium=US_News_2023_rankings&utm_source=blog][b]MBA Admissions Consulting Services[/b][/url][b] and work one-on-one with an expert consultant to create an application that will get you [/b][b]accepted[/b][b]![/b] [img]https://blog.accepted.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Kelly_Wilson_admissions_expert_headshot.png[/img] As the former executive director of admissions at Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School and assistant dean of admissions at Georgetown’s McDonough School and the University of Pittsburgh’s Katz School, Kelly Wilson has 23 years’ experience overseeing admissions committees and has reviewed more than 38,000 applications for the MBA and master’s programs in management of information systems, computational finance, business analytics, and product management. [url=https://www.accepted.com/experts/kelly-wilson]Want Kelly to help you get accepted? Click here to get in touch![/url] [b]Related Resources:[/b] [list] [*][url=https://www.accepted.com/mba/selectivity-index]Accepted’s MBA Selectivity Index[/url], a free tool[/*] [*][url=https://www.accepted.com/mba/guide/best-mba-programs]Best MBA Programs: A Guide to Selecting the Right One[/url], a free guide[/*] [*][url=https://www.accepted.com/mba-admissions-podcast]Admissions Straight Talk Podcast for MBA Applicants[/url][/*] [/list] The post [url=https://blog.accepted.com/u-s-news-world-report-2024-mba-rankings-full-time-part-time/]U.S. News & World Report 2024 MBA Rankings [Full-Time & Part-Time][/url] appeared first on [url=https://blog.accepted.com]Accepted Admissions Blog[/url]. |
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