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Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog

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B-Schools Teach American-Style Networking Skills [#permalink] Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog   13 Mar 2015, 12:00
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FROM Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog: B-Schools Teach American-Style Networking Skills
We’ve recently covered the topic of travel and study abroad on this blog as a key toward gaining cross-cultural competence for American students and professionals. But attaining a level of comfort in unfamiliar settings applies equally to international students studying business in the United States.

Recently, the Wall Street Journal explored how some MBA programs are teaching American-style networking to students from other countries who feel uncomfortable with what can be perceived as an overly casual, artificial, or outgoing approach to making professional connections.

To smooth the road for international students who may find their employment prospects limited by these cultural differences, the WSJ says schools have recently increased their efforts to train foreign students in the soft skills American employers expect, from appropriate email greetings to making small talk at networking events.

The majority of international students at U.S. MBA programs come from Asia, where the cultural differences related to networking are stark. However, even European students often find it awkward to send introductory emails or chat up strangers at networking events, the article notes, even though both practices are commonplace in the job-search process in this country.

International students see Americans as “all hellishly extroverted,” Dan Beaudry, author of “Power Ties: The International Student’s Guide to Finding a Job in the United States,” tells the WSJ. “They think, ‘isn’t it rude for me to call up somebody I don’t know to ask for their time and their advice?’” he says.

Career centers worry these cultural differences put international students at a disadvantage during their internship and job searches. But, through forums discussing communication differences, coaching workshops designed to help students develop elevator pitches for potential employers, and mock-interviews to troubleshoot areas of weakness, today’s MBA programs are making the networking customs of the U.S. less daunting for international students.

Cultural acclimation can challenge even the most well-traveled individuals, but international MBA students have much to offer their American peers, and learning how to network “American-style” will put them on equal footing with their classmates when competing for those prime employment opportunities.
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3 Bad Reasons to Get an MBA [#permalink] Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog   16 Mar 2015, 11:00
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FROM Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog: 3 Bad Reasons to Get an MBA
This post originally appeared on Stacy’s “Strictly Business” MBA Blog on U.S.News.com
There are many reasons why an MBA degree is a great way to turbocharge your career, and this blog has covered several of them. But there are also bad reasons for going to business school. These three should not be your motives for contemplating getting an MBA.

1. You’re unsure what else to do. Perhaps you are feeling pressured to go for the degree by well-meaning family or friends. Or, maybe you’re just a little too excited about the partying and social events that abound at business schools.

At the dawn of the financial crisis, many young professionals turned their thoughts toward business school as the job market grew increasingly unstable. This is an understandable rationale, but taking a two-year break as a placeholder activity doesn’t make a lot of sense professionally or financially. A better bet would be to take time to travel the world and find yourself.

It’s true that business school is a great time to hang out and let new ideas come and crystallize, but applicants to a top-ranked business school should have a clear idea of the field they plan to move into and how the degree will help.

As part of the admissions process, business school hopefuls should have a solid answer why they want to earn an MBA. The answer should show focus, direction and sufficient self-reflection. If you aren’t 100 percent sure that an MBA is what you need to succeed, the admissions committee isn’t going to take a chance on you either.

2. You’re planning to go into a career that doesn’t require an MBA. The MBA is a super flexible degree, so some people who are transitioning careers think that it can help with just about anything. But there are career paths that it will not benefit, such as arts management or certain careers in sports and entertainment management. Make sure you’re committed to a career in business, not just earning the degree as a way to supplement other interests.

MBA programs emphasize practical application and will train candidates in the various functional skills related to running a business. It’s possible to add a concentration to your MBA studies, but that is still just a few courses compared with a deep dive into a subject.

For folks who want to immerse themselves in one specific area, such as business analytics, accounting or supply chain management, and who plan to stay in the same industry and function long term, a specialized master’s degree in an area like finance or technology would be a better choice.

3. You think the MBA credential will look good on your resume. The decision to pursue an MBA should be based on how it would develop your core strengths. Merely to gain bragging rights or make your resume stand out are not good enough reasons.

Unlike a law or medical degree, an MBA is not an absolute requirement for any career path. But be aware that many companies treat the MBA degree as a pseudo-requirement for the applicant pool, and not having one could effectively lock you out of the leading companies in your industry.

The decision to go for an MBA is not a simple one, and many factors should be carefully weighed to make sure it’s the right course for you. Consider all of the alternatives, and ask yourself where you want to be in five to 10 years.

If going to business school will fast-track you to that midterm goal, wonderful. If not, invest your time and energy into whatever will.
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Hot MBA Jobs of the Future [#permalink] Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog   17 Mar 2015, 11:00
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FROM Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog: Hot MBA Jobs of the Future
Are you wondering what the hot MBA jobs of the future will be? Take a look at these six up-and-coming jobs that US News & World Report highlights as well-suited for business school graduates. Not surprising, they all command solid salaries, and the US Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts hiring growth in these industries.

Here are US News’s top picks:
Operations research analyst: Higher-level operations research analysts usually have an MBA with a specialization in production and operations management. Consider top schools, such as University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and the Michigan Ross School of Business.

IT Manager: These professionals supervise employees, communicate with internal executives and outside vendors as well as plan various tech upgrades for their employer. Check out the excellent program for information systems at MIT Sloan School of Management.

Management Analyst: These professionals provide feedback on improving an organization’s efficiency and profitability. Competitive candidates have a few years of experience in operations, and have earned an MBA with a focus on management. Stanford Graduate School of Business and Harvard Business School have top programs.?

 Financial analyst: These professionals help companies determine when to buy and sell investments.  The Chicago Booth School of Business and the NYU Stern School of Business offer top finance programs.

HR specialist: These professionals work with a company’s employees, by doing anything from recruiting them to training them to explaining their benefits. HR specialists don’t need an MBA, but the degree will help them stand out from the competition.

Information security analyst: These analysts monitor and protect an organization’s computer network and systems. Companies prefer to hire those with an MBA. The UT McCombs School of Business and Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business are top-notch programs for studying information systems.

As you can see, employers are looking for skilled managers to lead the way in today’s global economy. Business and management degrees can be a powerful driver of confidence and opportunity to achieve those ambitious goals.

You may also be interested in:
Strong Job Market Predicted for 2015 B-School Graduates

 
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Challenges and Opportunities for Female MBA Applicants [#permalink] Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog   18 Mar 2015, 11:01
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FROM Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog: Challenges and Opportunities for Female MBA Applicants
As a female MBA and entrepreneur and businessperson, I know that women can more than handle business school and the application process just as well or better than anyone.  Stereotypes do persist, however, and the reality is that women pursuing graduate management education are still an underrepresented demographic on campus.

Thankfully, the outlook has improved over the past decade. Women now make up 41% of Harvard Business School’s Class of 2016; they represent 40% of the incoming class at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School; and Stanford Graduate School of Business reported a record female enrollment of 42% for the Class of 2016.

Business schools have really ramped up their efforts to recruit and groom future women leaders, so if you’re a woman planning on pursuing an MBA, make sure to take advantage of every available opportunity. During the school research phase, a great place to start is at a workshop event for women hosted by the program you’re considering.

While you’ll also want to attend general information sessions, these diversity events allow you to meet and network with other prospective students, current students, alumni, and faculty, as well as provide a chance to listen and ask questions about the specific opportunities for woman in the MBA program.

When putting their application together, female candidates have to make sure that they exude confidence. The admissions committee shouldn’t have any doubt about whether the applicant will raise her hand and contribute to the classroom discussions that form a crucial part of the MBA learning experience. Essays, interviews and recommendation letters should indicate a high comfort level with speaking out, defending points of view, and collaborating with all types of people.

Another area of potential weakness, particularly for women who majored in the liberal arts for undergrad, is demonstrating strong quantitative skills. The admissions committee wants to make sure you can handle the MBA course load, so a solid GMAT score, supplemented by additional finance, calculus, or statistics classes taken at the local community college, will go a long way toward proving you have the bona fides to succeed.

Try not to become intimidated by all of the amazing things your fellow applicants have accomplished and second-guess the value of your own strengths and experiences. Focus instead on what makes you unique, and how you plan on contributing to the MBA community once admitted.

During the MBA interview, female candidates frequently begin their answers with a disclaimer that reveals their insecurities and detracts from any positive information that follows. Don’t downplay achievements for fear of coming across as bragging. There’s a difference between boasting and conveying your skills and accomplishments with pride. Confidence without attitude is what you’re aiming for.

Finally, women shouldn’t let the financial expense of business school be a barrier to pursuing an MBA degree. Look into all of the resources—loans, scholarships, employee sponsorships, fellowships, work-study options—that can offset the high cost of an MBA, and take a long view of the return on investment your target schools provide.Many candidates find they can pay off their student debt within five years of graduating, so with the right financial aid package, it’s possible to attend almost any business school.

Despite some barriers, real or perceived, women considering business school should know the MBA degree truly is the one of the best ways to transform their career by giving them the skills and knowledge necessary to be successful.
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Advice from an Early Career MBA [#permalink] Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog   19 Mar 2015, 10:00
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FROM Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog: Advice from an Early Career MBA
Whether or not Chicago Booth School of Business is on your short list, the recently revamped Booth Experience blog, written and managed by students, regularly offers guidance on subjects that are universally interesting for all MBA applicants.

This week, second-year student and frequent blog contributor Alex Simon concludes a three-part series with a post on three things for early-career MBA candidates to keep in mind as they research business schools.

Simon was 24 when he started at Booth, and with just two years of work experience, he worried he would be at a serious disadvantage with classmates five to 10 years older than he. That’s why he says younger applicants should give serious thought to answering the question of why an MBA and why now; figure out how to demonstrate their competency among more experienced classmates without giving attitude; and gird themselves for dealing with the inevitable setbacks that will occur.

If you’re an early career candidate who is motivated and can show strong leadership and managerial potential, make sure you invest plenty of time into researching which MBA program is the right one for you. Follow the link above for Simon’s take on these issues, and be sure to check out his previous articles in the series as well.

You may also be interested in:
How to Determine When the Time Is Right for an MBA

Timing Your MBA: Work 5 First or Dive Right In?
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Cornell’s Johnson School Bolsters Admissions Team [#permalink] Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog   20 Mar 2015, 11:00
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FROM Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog: Cornell’s Johnson School Bolsters Admissions Team
Cornell University’s Johnson School has further strengthened its admissions team as part of the school’s recent revamp of the two-year MBA curriculum.  This week, Johnson announced it has brought Judi Byers on board as the new executive director of MBA admissions and financial aid.

Byers comes with over 10 years of admissions experience, and received the 2013 American University Alumni Eagle Award for her significant contributions as director of admissions at the Kogod School of Business in Washington, D.C.

These curriculum changes, already in effect for the Class of 2016, place a strong emphasis on collaboration, leadership, and analytical skills that will prepare students for a technology-driven global business environment.

“It’s clear the revamp of the Two-Year MBA program includes impressive enhancements and will make these offerings even more attractive to prospective students domestically and internationally,” said Byers in a statement.

Johnson is a consistent leader in adopting the latest innovative advancements in programs, and Byers noted that the new LinkedIn feature, which allows prospective students to populate portions of their applications directly from LinkedIn, has received positive feedback from applicants over the past six months.

Byers succeeds interim executive director of admissions Ann Richards, who took over last July when former admissions director Christine Sneva become senior director of enrollment and students services at Cornell Tech in New York City.

Rounding out the Admissions team are newcomers Admissions Director Gail Wolfmeyer from NYU Stern School of Business and Admissions Manager Chris Lind from American University.
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The Do’s and Don’ts of Reapplying to Business School [#permalink] Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog   23 Mar 2015, 10:00
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FROM Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog: The Do’s and Don’ts of Reapplying to Business School
This post originally appeared on Stacy’s “Strictly Business” MBA Blog on U.S.News.com
Many business schools, even the most elite and well-ranked ones, welcome re-applicants. Reapplying to school shows you are very serious about your interest in the business school program.

The best way to approach the reapplication process when you’re targeting the same schools is to highlight how you have improved your candidacy. Take a closer look at the following aspects of the MBA application package to determine where you should focus your energies to improve your odds next time around.

Decide How Many and Which Programs to Target

If you received multiple dings in your first application attempt, add new schools next time in case the problem was that you applied to schools that didn’t match your profile. Make sure your focus is on fit over brand strength, and match your preferred learning style to the school’s letters of recommendation came across as weak endorsements at best.

Do: Make sure whomever you ask is willing to write a very compelling recommendation for you. Since it’s not a given that you’ll see the letter once it’s written, it’s perfectly OK to come right out and explicitly ask for what you need.

Don’t: Choose a recommender for superficial reasons. I’ve seen too many applicants dinged for committing this mistake. Asking the president of a company, an alum of your dream school or any other bigwig won’t do you any good if they cannot speak intimately and enthusiastically about your many virtues

Do: Remind your recommenders to address specific examples of your accomplishments and leadership abilities, and to discuss your work ethic or team-building skills. Writing a strong endorsement requires some effort, so make it easy for your recommender by providing a list of the accomplishments you want to highlight.

Pump Up Your GMAT

Business schools always stress that test scores are just one metric of admissions decisions, but they are important because the admissions committee has to make sure the people they accept can handle the quantitative work. If your initial scores don’t come close to those of an average student’s at the schools you’re applying to, you need to make significant gains on your GMAT score in subsequent sittings or have other, extremely impressive qualifications.

Do: Allow time to take the exam again. Nerves or lack of preparation might have torpedoed your first effort, and the familiarity of taking it a second or even third time will often lead to a higher score.

Don’t: Wait until the last minute to take your GMAT. Take care of it early in the year, before you have to juggle the other aspects of the application.

Do: Consider alternative preparation methods to see if they yield better results. If you studied on your own last year, see if a formal class or working with a GMAT tutor helps you improve your weak areas more efficiently.

Don’t: Cancel a score when the option appears upon completing the test, even if you’re pretty sure you’ve blown it. Schools will evaluate your highest score, so don’t worry about a low score reflecting negatively on you.

That initial score provides valuable feedback about your testing strengths and weaknesses. You may also find out that your performance was not as bad as you imagined.

Rock Those Essays

Sometimes applicants get hung up on writing the perfect essay, when in reality they should focus on writing a compelling essay instead. MBA blogger Scott Duncan applied to five schools last year and was rejected by all of them. This year, he wrote, he let go of perfectionism and changed his strategy to deliver a simple, clear message and add color to his application where possible.

The new tactic worked, and he’s been accepted at Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management, wait-listed at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, and awaits news from Harvard Business School, where he recently interviewed.

Do:  Use the additional essay question to explain what’s changed in your situation to make you a stronger candidate this time around. Make sure to address both professional and personal advancements, but show that you are realistic and self-aware. Revealing your humanity in the form of quirks, weaknesses and flaws can often help the admissions committee to like you.

Don’t: Recycle essays from the first time around, and don’t use the same essay for multiple schools. At best, the byproduct of being all-inclusive is that you will sound generic. At worst, you might accidentally leave the wrong school name in the essay and be rejected out of hand for your lack of attention to detail.

Finally, take comfort in knowing many people in business school right now were dinged the first time they applied. The MBA admissions process requires resilience, so take some time to recover, reassess and dive back in.
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Pay Less for Your MBA [#permalink] Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog   24 Mar 2015, 08:00
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FROM Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog: Pay Less for Your MBA
Whether you’re a new admit (congrats!), current MBA or alum, your degree has probably come with a price tag of roughly $200,000. Oy. Figuring out how to pay for such a large sum can be intimidating and challenging.

The good news is that CommonBond is here to help. They’re a student-lending platform founded by Wharton MBAs who knew there had to be a better way to finance their degree than through the costly, confusing student loan system. They’ve funded over $100 million in student loans, helping students and graduates like you navigate the complex student loan industry. Here are some tips on how you can get the best deal on your education:

If you’re headed to school or a first-year MBA…
Your financing options are, broadly, scholarships, savings/personal accounts, and student loans. If you’re considering financing through student loans, CommonBond’s MBA Student Loan can be a great option for you, with rates as low 6.24% (6.40% APR) for U.S. citizens and permanent residents attending one of the eligible MBA programs.

The MBA Student Loan, combined with the federal government’s lower rate Direct Stafford Loan program, is a great way to keep costs down on your degree. You can also take advantage of options like interest-only repayment—paying just the accruing interest on your loans while still a student—in order to leave school with less debt.

If you’re a recent or soon-to-be graduate…
Refinancing your student debt offers you a chance to pick the rate, term, and type of loan that’s right for you. You can refinance your federal and private student loans into one new loan with rates starting at 1.92% APR for variable options. CommonBond has variable and fixed rates across various loan repayment options. Their average borrower saves over $10,000 through refinancing!

They’re more than just a low rate, though. They have an incredible customer care team that can answer any questions you have about the student loan process in general or specific questions you may have about your situation. Just email them at care@commonbond.co or give them a call at (800) 975-7812, and they’ll be happy to help.

And don’t forget these wise words as you approach your student loan financing:
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Getting Ready for Round 2 Admits [#permalink] Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog   25 Mar 2015, 06:00
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FROM Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog: Getting Ready for Round 2 Admits
It’s Round 2 admit time for the MBA Class of 2017! The Wharton School released R2 decisions on Tuesday, March 24th, and Harvard Business School, UV Darden School of Business, and Stanford Graduate School of Business are just a few of the top schools notifying successful candidates today. Future Chicago Boothies, meanwhile, will have to wait until Thursday to hear the news they have been waiting for from the admissions team.

We want to say good luck and send our best wishes to all the applicants out there waiting anxiously for good news this week; we hope your journey thus far has been both enlightening and exhilarating—and not too exhausting! For those who are waitlisted, or unsuccessful in this round, it’s time to turn your focus to the three P’s: stay positive, be proactive, and above all, persevere. As the saying goes, few things worthwhile come easy. And also…



You may also be interested in:
What to Do When Waitlisted By Your Dream School

Pay Less for Your MBA
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Take Control of Your GMAT Performance [#permalink] Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog   26 Mar 2015, 07:00
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FROM Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog: Take Control of Your GMAT Performance
We won’t bury the good stuff: from now until April 9, you can win a free copy of the new GMAT® Enhanced Score Report and the GMATPrep® Exam Pack 1, valued at $74.94.

If you’re planning to take (or retake) the GMAT before the 2015-16 application season kicks into high gear, you’re going to find these resources indispensable. With diagnostics in GMAC’s prep materials, the score preview on test day, and now the Enhanced Score Report, you truly do have the control to get the score you want.

Here’s a little more information about exactly how these tools will help you:

  • The enhanced diagnostics in GMATPrep Exam Pack 1 give you detailed information about your performance on your practice exams—from format and timing to section content and study tips—before you take the real exam.
  • Score Preview gives you more control reporting your score to schools. You can take a look at your unofficial GMAT score at the test center and then decide whether you want to report it to your target programs or cancel it.
  • The new GMAT® Enhanced Score Report provides detailed analysis of your test performance, and makes it easy to see what question types you spent the most time on, pinpointing your strengths and weaknesses by subject and section. Every test taker can use the report differently. If you’re considering retaking the exam, your GMAT Enhanced Score Report can give you the information you need to reach your personal goals.
Enter to win your free set today, because the MBA application process is stressful enough. If there’s an opportunity to make any part of it easier—while also making your candidacy more competitive in the process—it’s kind of a no-brainer.

Think of it this way:



 

***
Do you want to stay on top of the application process with timely tips like these? Please subscribe to our weekly newsletter and you’ll receive our expert advice straight in your mailbox before it appears on the blog, plus special offers, promotions, discounts, invitations to events, and more.
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Stacy Blackman’s B-School Buzz [#permalink] Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog   27 Mar 2015, 10:00
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FROM Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog: Stacy Blackman’s B-School Buzz

Welcome back to Stacy Blackman’s B-School Buzz, our periodic check-in with some of the MBA blogosphere’s applicant and student contributors. The burning topic on just about everyone’s mind: round 2 notifications. Some people have had their dreams come true, while others are still on hold or were denied admission to their school of choice. The feelings this week are definitely bittersweet. For those who have been waitlisted: Don’t lose hope! You’re still in the running, and there are definitely things you can do to manage the waitlist experience.

On getting back on the horse—After an extended period of radio silence following media coverage of his failed attempts in Fortune, GrantMeAdmission returns with news of an amazing career change, a renewed perspective, and fresh determination to apply to business school again this fall. Resilience is a key characteristic of success, and we’re so glad to see Grant plans to rededicate himself to his MBA dreams.

The wait s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-s on and on—We love how positive Top Dog is staying upon hearing that his waitlist status at Wharton has not changed with round 2 notifications. From his prior post it sounds like he has a sound waitlist strategy, and we hope his patience is soon rewarded with an offer of admission. Meanwhile, keep “enjoying the ride”!

On what not to do—Although applicants know that recycling essays from other schools is a no-no, PTMT confesses that that’s exactly what she did for her Tepper application, and was therefore not surprised by the ding she received this week. “They can see right through a last minute application, so even if your stats look good on paper, you will have a tough time of it,” she says. Fingers crossed things go better with UCLA Anderson.

Full or part-time?—EF Essays shares some thoughts on the pros and cons of a full-time versus part-time MBA program experience. “At the end of the day, no matter the method, you’ll have the same degree. And while that’s true, you won’t have the same experience,” he writes. While there’s no right answer, once you figure out whether you’re a career switcher or a career enhancer, the choice, he believes, should become more clear.

and finally….

On not giving up on the dream—“After two years, three attempts at the GMAT, and five rejection letters, I have been admitted at HBS,” writes Scott Duncan. Bravo!

Do you have an MBA-centric blog? Want it featured in an upcoming B-School Buzz post? If so, email me at buzz@StacyBlackman.com.
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Checklist for Admitted MBA Students [#permalink] Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog   30 Mar 2015, 06:00
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FROM Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog: Checklist for Admitted MBA Students
Reactions to an offer of admission seems to universally include calls to loved ones, social media updates, a spendy dinner or two to celebrate, and some form of happy dance in the privacy of your home or office. Once the euphoria over your acceptance to the b-school of your dreams has subsided slightly, it’s time to refocus your energies to all of the big and little details that make up your admitted MBA student “To Do List.”  Here are some of the specific tasks you’ll need to take care of promptly:

Give notice gracefully.  If your supervisor already knew of and supported your plans to attend business school, sharing the great news of your admission won’t be awkward at all. However, if you had to keep the news quiet so as not to jeopardize your employment, now is the time to let your employer know that you’re leaving. You should explain your reasons, give plenty of notice, and offer to help train your replacement if applicable. Make every possible effort to leave on good terms in order to keep this part of your professional network intact.

Obtain financial aid/loans if needed. Schools are committed to working with both domestic and international students to find a solution to financing school through a combination of loans and scholarships. (At CommonBond, for example, MBA Student Loans start at 6.40% APR.) Contact your school’s financial aid office as soon as possible once accepted. These seasoned professionals have seen it all, and they will work hard to ensure admitted candidates can pay for the degree.

Set up a budget. Get your finances in order, avoid credit card debt, and save, save, save as much as you can in the months before school starts. Now is the time to forgo unnecessary purchases and live slightly below your means, if possible. Remember, your projected budget should factor in expenses beyond tuition and living costs, such as travel, student clubs, and those study abroad trips that greatly enrich the b-school experience.

Make housing arrangements. This aspect varies depending on the school. For example, at Harvard Business School, 80% of MBA students live on campus, and housing in residence halls is assigned by lottery. Other schools offer limited on-campus housing and refer new students to rental houses or apartment complexes nearby. You can visit apartments and houses throughout your new city during Welcome Weekend, and start the process early. Schools have strict deadlines for campus housing, so make sure to find out those important dates early on if you prefer to live on campus.

Brush up on quant skills. Business schools regularly report that a fair number of soon-to-be first-year students lack some basic quantitative skills. Review the course syllabus online and purchase textbooks in advance if you can. Many top MBA programs offer so-called “math camps” for accepted students during the summer as a refresher of critical concepts. If you have any weak spots in this area, sign up so that you’re ready to hit the ground running once school starts.

Consider a pre-MBA program. A growing number of admits are doing pre-MBA internships to explore a new field of interest, gain training insights, and begin networking with recruiters months before the formal recruiting process begins. Others participate in short, company-sponsored programs, such as the J.P. Morgan MBA Early Advantage Program or Google Student Veterans Summit. Still other admits take advantage of pre-term, non-academic travel programs, such as Kellogg Worldwide Experiences & Service Trips (KWEST), which unite more than 80% of incoming students through social, site-seeing and community service activities.

Reach out to fellow classmates. Schools often host receptions for admits where they can mingle and network with alumni and their fellow admits. Welcome Weekend is another prime opportunity to begin the process of connecting with your future cohort, and if you’ve followed the MBA forums, and blogs of MBA applicants, then you may already have a head start on building relationships with other admits.

Find out if your program hosts a Facebook group for your class, and if not, offer to help set one up. Business schools make it easy for classmates to get to know each other pre-term, so take advantage of these social opportunities, and you’ll arrive on campus feeling already at home.

Finally, enjoy some quiet time before things get crazy. Cross a few items off your bucket list, connect with family and friends you won’t see much of during the next two years, and dive into those hobbies and extracurriculars that made you a desirable, well-rounded candidate in the first place. The months leading up to the start of business school is an exciting time, a time that flies by in a flash. Knowing what to expect and laying the foundation for a smooth transition to student life will make your first year less stressful and even more rewarding.
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Advice for Incoming MBA Students [#permalink] Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog   31 Mar 2015, 06:01
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FROM Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog: Advice for Incoming MBA Students

If you’re headed to business school in the fall, your brain is probably near melting with an information overload right about now. We’re going to add just one thing more to your overflowing plate, though you’ll probably find this next bit quite useful.

The admissions blog at Kellogg School of Management has a regular columnist this year in first-year student Rohan Rajiv, who blogs once a week about important lessons he is learning at Kellogg. His most recent entry, written as a letter to an incoming MBA student, covers all the basics of what to expect at business school, but then he takes a deep dive into how to “frame” the MBA experience.

The post covers three principles:

  • the MBA is a two-year course in decision making and tradeoffs;
  • the experience is entirely what you make of it;
  • foolishness is believing your value multiplied by 10 just because you spent two years running around a university campus.
“The MBA journey is the first step to the next phase of your life journey,” Rajiv writes. “The lessons from this post aren’t just about doing well in graduate school. I think the principles apply for life after school.”

Fair warning, his post is long. But it does provide ample food for thought and may serve as an important reality check for the newest members of the MBA Class of 2017.

You may also be interested in:
Checklist for Admitted MBA Students
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Why Your Friend Got In and You Didn’t [#permalink] Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog   01 Apr 2015, 06:01
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FROM Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog: Why Your Friend Got In and You Didn’t
Round 2 results from your dream school are in, and you didn’t get the news you were hoping for. After months of hard work on your application and then a few more months of anxiety-ridden waiting, finding out that you weren’t accepted can be a tough blow.

When you’re already feeling confused, down or angry, learning that a friend or co-worker did get in is like having salt poured in your proverbial wound. If you believe you’re actually more qualified than the person you know who was accepted, it’s even worse.

Why do scenarios like this come to pass? How can it be that two people who work at the same place or seem similar on paper meet such different MBA fates? How can someone who’s a stellar candidate receive a ding when a so-so applicant is accepted?

There are three main answers to those questions:

  • The MBA application process is subjective. Admissions committees consider thousands and thousands of qualified applicants each year and have developed a strong sense for who will fit best with their program. While you may think you’d be more of an asset to a certain school than an acquaintance who got in, the admissions committee felt differently.
  • You don’t know absolutely everything about your friend or co-worker’s candidacy. If you did your homework on the MBA process, you know that AdComs are looking for what makes applicants tick. They want to understand your personality. They are interested in more than just your career experience. Even if you read your friend’s essays, you probably don’t know every single detail that was included in their applications and recommendation letters, nor do you know everything that was discussed in their interview. Chances are your demographics, backgrounds and motivations are not as similar as you might have thought, and the AdCom saw something in your friend that they were looking for.
  • You may not have even been “competing” with your friend for a spot in the first place. As alluded to above, we know that each program strives to put together a diverse class of impressive people. No one knows the magic formula that any given AdCom uses to fill open spots. But what we do know is that it’s not as straightforward as most applicants assume—meaning that everything from your gender to your industry to your nationality to your career aspirations and your community service comes into play when an AdCom attempts to build a graduating class.
We know how tempting it is to play the comparison game. But unfortunately, doing so won’t change anything or make you feel any better. The best thing you can do is try to be objective about how you could improve your candidacy if you reapply next year—or consider additional programs that might improve your odds.

Think of it this way:



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

***
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Survey Says Wharton Beats HBS For Most Satisfied MBAs [#permalink] Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog   02 Apr 2015, 06:00
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FROM Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog: Survey Says Wharton Beats HBS For Most Satisfied MBAs
Spurred to action by Harvard Business School‘s MBA satisfaction survey published in February, the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School came out with its own poll earlier this week and claims to beat out HBS by nearly 25%. The question asked of respondents in the original survey was: how likely they would be to recommend an HBS MBA to an interested and qualified friend or colleague. The results garnered HBS a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 41, on a par with Walgreens or Tracfone. The NPS at Wharton, meanwhile, is 51, right up there with Discover Card.

This scoring system, created by management consultants to measure customer loyalty, subtracts the share of students who were less enthusiastic about the program from those who would strongly recommend it to a friend. People who rate the MBA program 0-6 on a 10-point scale are the “detractors,” while those who give it a 9 or a 10 are considered promoters. Those in the middle are considered passives and therefore aren’t included in the score.



image credit: The Wharton Journal

At the time of the Harbus’s anonymous survey publication, 105 students had responded. Over 249 Wharton students filled out an anonymous survey link sent via email blast and Facebook two weeks ago.

According to an article in The Wharton Journal, Wharton’s NPS of 51 was comprised of 61.85% promoters and 10.84% detractors. In the Harbus survey, the MBA program’s NPS of 41 was comprised of 62% promoters and 22% detractors. In other words, the same percentage would recommend the program, but a greater number at HBS had serious gripes about it.

The Wharton article praises the increased satisfaction score with second-years, going from 49 to 53. There’s a conundrum though, in the fact that ‘the people at Wharton’ is simultaneously the top answer for what people like about Wharton, and for what people don’t like about Wharton.

Over at the Harbus, their survey results also indicate people seem to either love or dislike the same things: classmates, classroom learning, career opportunities, and program structure. The Harbus closes its article on a hopeful note, calling the survey “the beginning of an ongoing discussion about the strengths and weaknesses of the MBA program.”

Meanwhile, The Wharton Journal says in their survey wrap-up that the administration is interested in reading the feedback, noting that Deputy Vice Dean Maryellen Lamb responded, “Given the data-driven culture of Wharton, I’m delighted to see our students express their school spirit and pride through a system like NPS.”
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Building an MBA Program Short List [#permalink] Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog   06 Apr 2015, 10:01
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FROM Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog: Building an MBA Program Short List
This post originally appeared on Stacy’s “Strictly Business” MBA Blog on U.S.News.com
When the idea of pursuing an MBA degree first germinates, many prospective applicants begin picturing themselves roaming the hallowed halls of Harvard Business School or Stanford Graduate School of Business.

But getting hung up on one or two dream schools isn’t a smart strategy. Most applicants need to submit four to six applications in order to maximize chances of success.

In the early stages of research, stay open-minded about business school options. Applicants may discover an interesting program that previously wasn’t even on their radar. Putting together a school list is a very personal process, but these are some of the question prospective students can ask to start thinking about to guide their selection strategy.

1. Where are you in the window for applying? The overwhelming majority of MBA applicants range in age from their mid-20s to early 30s. Younger applicants often decide to apply to one or two choices the first time, figuring that they can always reapply a few years down the line with more work and life experiences under their belt.

This is a fine strategy for that younger age group. However, older candidates should apply to a wide array of schools to make sure they have the option of going to business school next fall.

No matter which end of the age spectrum you fall, it’s important to still present yourself as a “work in progress,” and demonstrate how the program you’re applying to will transform you.

2. What industry do you want to work in? Many applicants have very specific career goals, and may even know which companies they aspire to work for post-MBA. If that’s the case, call up that company and ask what they think about business schools you may be targeting.

I once had a client with her heart set on attending Columbia Business School, and she also had a short list of companies she wanted to target for a summer internship. When she called one of her top companies, she learned they recruited at five schools, but Columbia was not one of them.

They also told her it was virtually impossible to secure an internship if she didn’t come from one of those schools. This five-minute phone call had a huge impact on her school list.

3. What kind of community feeling do you prefer? These characteristics are highly subjective, and figuring out what environment they would flourish in will help applicants determine whether a particular program is a good overall fit.

Big cities provide unparalleled access to business and recreation, but rural programs offer more of an immersive environment and are typically more close knit and family friendly?.

Cost savings can also be a huge factor for many applicants in this situation. The cost of living for a family at Duke Fuqua School of Business in North Carolina, will be lower than for an MBA candidate and family at a school like New York University Stern School of Business or the Anderson School of Management at the University of California—Los Angeles.

Geographic location also matters a great deal for certain industries, such as New York for finance, the Bay Area for entrepreneurship, Los Angeles for entertainment and Texas for energy.

The location of your school will also likely determine where your post-MBA job is. Even if you intend to target companies with offices around the globe, you’ll have the highest exposure to jobs in your immediate geographic area.

4. How do you learn best? Unfortunately, this question typically doesn’t receive as much consideration as it should. Not everyone excels in the same learning environment, and it’s important for students to find out where they’d be most comfortable.

Students may prefer the case method approach to learning, a highly experiential environment; a traditional, lecture-based style; or some mixture of these. Business schools are very specific about their teaching methods, and this information is easily gleaned on their websites.

Teaching method affects not only students’ enjoyment of the program, it also affects the quality of the knowledge they walk away with, so students should only consider MBA programs where they can thrive, not merely survive. Learn as well how rigorous the workload is, which varies by school. After all, the MBA is about much more than academics.

Even students who have a pretty good idea of the MBA programs they plan to target should= know that the most well-thought-out school list is still a work in progress, with new programs added in and others dropping off as they further clarify your goals. Students only have one chance to study an MBA, and weighing all of these different elements at the outset will help them find the right fit.
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USC Marshall School to Offer Online MBA Program [#permalink] Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog   06 Apr 2015, 13:01
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FROM Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog: USC Marshall School to Offer Online MBA Program

Starting in Fall 2015, the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business will offer an online MBA program with a curriculum designed specifically for the online learning environment, the school announced last week. The program focuses on emerging online business topics such as internet analytics, social media, virtual teams, and entrepreneurial thinking.

The 21-month program will provide students with a foundation in all core areas of business, and is grounded in analytics and communications from beginning to end. Led by members of the USC Marshall faculty, online coursework will be conducted primarily in an asynchronous format, with weekly synchronous seminars conducted by faculty via webcam and a one-time, one-week on-campus event. This format offers students a flexible learning experience that features real-time interaction with faculty as well as educational content that can be viewed at any time.

The program will incorporate live action cases, interactive exercises and virtual teams. Students will have the ability to take classes in online programs at other USC schools and enroll in additional online courses from Marshall MS programs in entrepreneurship, marketing and global supply chain management. The curriculum was created specifically for the program, rather than just taking traditional in-classroom content and putting it online.

“The new online MBA will allow students from around the world, regardless of time zone and location, the opportunity to join the Marshall Trojan Family and benefit from a world-class MBA degree,” says James G. Ellis, Marshall dean.

USC Marshall has a strong record of developing successful online programs, including a Master of Business Taxation and a Master of Global Supply Chain Management. The school has invested in considerable infrastructure to develop online learning programs, recently training and supporting faculty and developing a dedicated instructional team and studio to build out the online MBA program curriculum.

John Matsusaka, USC Marshall Online MBA academic director and the Charles F. Sexton Chair in American Enterprise, notes that “Online technologies continue to rapidly reshape our world. As an innovator in higher education, our new program pushes the USC Marshall MBA into the online world, allowing us to deploy new learning technologies and to reach students across the globe.”
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Columbia’s Dean Hubbard on MBA Rankings [#permalink] Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog   07 Apr 2015, 12:01
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FROM Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog: Columbia’s Dean Hubbard on MBA Rankings
Business school rankings are forever a hot topic, and we really liked the assessment strategies put forth by Dean Glenn Hubbard of Columbia Business School in a recent essay for Fortune on whether MBA rankings really matter.


It’s human nature to want to experience the best of anything, Hubbard points out, which explains why so many applicants flock to the business school programs that continuously top the rankings. But the dean suggests that applicants take a closer look at the students of the programs they are targeting as they come up with their shortlist of schools.

“It’s in the student network that you will find the metrics that matter for assessing any business school: inputs and outputs,” he explains. The economist that he is, Hubbard speaks of inputs as in applications—the volume of applications a school receives and whether that figure is trending up or down over time.

“It stands to reason that the marketplace of prospective students will send the most applications to the best schools, which will, in turn, have more selective admission rates,” says the dean.

The other side of the coin, the outputs, refers to what happens to MBA grads once they enter the job market. Employers want the best employees money can buy, and, says Hubbard, students will receive good job offers if the job market believes they have received a valuable education. “Schools that routinely graduate classes at full or near-full employment, with good job satisfaction, have reason to believe they’re receiving a vote of confidence from the market,” he says.

Aside from inputs and outputs, Hubbard urges future applicants to consider other, no less important, points of comparison, which we have always advocated for as well. Candidates should determine how the location of the school will affect recruiting prospects, whether it has a strong reputation for the particular career path they plan on pursuing, and what kind of alumni network will they be able to tap into.

Ultimately, it’s about finding the best business school for you, and with a fair amount of introspection, plus exhaustive research, the options will become crystal clear.
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What to Do if You’re Waitlisted [#permalink] Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog   08 Apr 2015, 10:00
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FROM Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog: What to Do if You’re Waitlisted
All MBA applicants wait anxiously to hear final decisions from the programs they’ve applied to. For some b-school prospectives, however, that date comes and goes—and they’re still waiting. They’ve been waitlisted.

If you’ve been rolled over from a Round 1 waitlist, have recently been informed that you were neither accepted nor denied at one of your Round 2 schools, or get this same news in the coming weeks from a program that hasn’t notified applicants yet, your first question might be, “Well, now what?”

Before you pick up the phone to call the admissions team, take a moment to reread the email they sent. Usually it will contain pretty explicit information and instructions about timelines and next steps. It should also be clear as to whether the program has a dedicated waitlist contact, if they’ll be following up with more information for you in the weeks ahead, and if there’s a drop-dead date by which you’ll have a final answer.

Most importantly, there should be guidance on additional actions you can (or must) take or materials they’d be willing to consider. Some schools make it very, very clear that they will not look at any more letters of recommendations or candidate updates before they make their decision, whereas other programs encourage applicants to send in additional essays, videos and words of support from colleagues and alumni.

Some people are tempted to bombard the AdCom with more information after they’ve been waitlisted, but the reality is that that probably won’t help your case. If the school has stated that they don’t want anything else from you, now might not be the best time to ignore their instructions. As frustrating as it is to feel like you’re not doing anything proactive, you need to remind yourself that you already did do everything you could to put your best foot forward in your original application.

If a school welcomes more insight into your candidacy, then give it to them. Let them know what you’ve been up to in the months since your round’s deadline. What else have you done at work? What more have you learned about their program? Have you taken any trips, had any interesting experiences or done something cool in your community?

Make your communication with them count, because even if a school does accept new information on waitlisted candidates, they’re not going to want to be contacted every single day. One solid update will likely come off better than several emails or uploads that don’t have much meat.

At some point (and that point might already be here), there’s nothing you can do but wait. Try to keep your mind off of it and hope for the best. A number of waitlisted candidates are ultimately accepted into top programs each year, so there’s reason to remain positive!

Remember:



 

 

 

 

 

***
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HBS Launches Recruitment Program Targeting Women [#permalink] Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog   09 Apr 2015, 06:00
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FROM Stacy Blackman Consulting Blog: HBS Launches Recruitment Program Targeting Women
Harvard Business School has launched a new initiative to spark interest in graduate management education among college women and recent graduates who may not have previously considered a career in business.


According to an article in The Harvard Crimson, the program—called PEEK—is aimed at women-only colleges such as Wellesely and Barnard as a way to address the under-representation of women at the business school, whose enrollment currently stands at 41 percent.

PEEK will cost $500 per participant, and the program plans to host 70 to 80 rising juniors, seniors, and recent graduates during a weekend in June to familiarize them with the MBA program, the Crimson reports.

Participants will have accommodations on campus, take part in assigned case studies, and meet with faculty, current students, and alumni, explains Director of MBA Admissions and Financial Aid Dee Leopold, who calls the program a way for prospective students “to literally take a peek at what happens in an MBA program.”

The PEEK program is the latest in HBS’ series of efforts to tackle gender equity issues head-on. The school came under intense scrutiny in 2013 as it celebrated 50 years of women at HBS while still grappling with gender inequity and sexism.

In January 2014, Dean Nitin Nohria addressed the subject at an alumnae event, where he apologized to female students and professors past and present for any sexist or offensive behavior they experienced at the business school. In that speech, he said the school owed them better, and promised to make swift changes to address the inequalities that still exist.

There may still be a ways to go, but the PEEK program sounds like a great step in the right direction.

 You may also be interested in:
Challenges and Opportunities for Female MBA Applicants
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