Accepted MBA Updates : Ask Admissions Consultants

Accepted.com · 2014-02-14T13:50:02-08:00

Welcome to the Accepted.com blog! New posts will be added periodically, so check back or follow this thread for informative MBA-related articles.Welcome to the Accepted.com blog! New posts will be added periodically, so check back or follow this thread for informative MBA-related articles.

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Wharton 2016 MBA Essay Tips & Deadlines [#permalink]

08 Jul 2015, 10:01

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FROM Accepted.com Blog: Wharton 2016 MBA Essay Tips & Deadlines

After several years of change and shrinkage, Wharton is keeping its essays unchanged this year.

My tips for completing the Wharton application essays are in blue below.

The Admissions Committee wants to get to know you on both a professional and personal level. We encourage you to be introspective, candid, and succinct. Most importantly, we suggest you be yourself.

First-time applicants and reapplicants are required to complete the same set of essay questions.

Essays:

1. What do you hope to gain both personally and professionally from the Wharton MBA? (500 words)

What do you want to do personally and professionally that you can’t do now and that a Wharton MBA will help you do? What do you hope to learn? Note the question is not just asking what you want to do after you graduate, and it’s not asking for exclusively professional aspirations. It is giving you the option to dream a bit and tell Wharton those dreams.

As with most MBA goals questions, Wharton still wants to see how you connect your Wharton education to your future. Keep in mind that Wharton has an incredibly rich curriculum. How will you take advantage of its premier offerings to prepare yourself to achieve your vision for the future?

2. Optional Essay: Please use the space below to highlight any additional information that you would like the Admissions Committee to know about your candidacy. (400 words)

You can use the optional essay to explain or provide context for decision you have made or events in your life. For example:

• Why isn’t your current boss writing your recommendation?

• Why is there an eight-month gap between your first and second job?

• Why did your grades dip during the last semester of your junior year?

• What are your responsibilities while working for a family business after having left a prestigious consulting firm, and why did you decide to go into the family business?

Your optional essay can respond to any of those questions (but not all).

Or you can use your optional essay to highlight something in your experiences, background, personal or professional life that didn’t fit into the required essay and that you want the admissions committee to know about. You can discuss a diversity element, a unique area of interest or an accomplishment that you don’t feel is adequately described elsewhere.

Don’t use it as a grand summary of you application or reasons for wanting Wharton. Make sure it adds value.

Reapplicant Essay:

All reapplicants to Wharton are required to complete this essay. Explain how you have reflected on the previous decision about your application, and discuss any updates to your candidacy (e.g., changes in your professional life, additional coursework, extracurricular/volunteer engagements). (250 words)

All applicants, including reapplicants can also use this section to address any extenuating circumstances. (250 words)

The key part of this question is the update part. Don’t ignore reflection on your previous decision, but focus on the new and improved you. For more suggestions for your reapplication, please see MBA Reapplication 101.

If you would like professional guidance with your Wharton MBA application, please consider Accepted’s MBA essay editing and MBA admissions consulting or our MBA Application Packages, which include advising, editing, interview coaching, and a resume edit for the Wharton MBA application.

Wharton 2016 Application Deadlines:

Application Deadline .
Invitation to Interview Release
Decisions Released

Round 1
Sept 29, 2015
November 3, 2015
Dec 17, 2015

Round 2
Jan 5, 2016
February 9, 2016
Mar 29, 2016

Round 3
Mar 30, 2016
April 13, 2016
May 3, 2016

*To be considered for a round, you must submit a complete application by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST) on the day of the deadline.

By Linda Abraham, president and founder of Accepted.com and co-author of the new, definitive book on MBA admissions, MBA Admission for Smarties: The No-Nonsense Guide to Acceptance at Top Business Schools Wharton Zone Page

• School-Specific MBA Application Essay Tips

• Meet Ashley: A Wharton MBA Student Making an Impact

Tags: 2016 MBA Application, MBA Admissions, Wharton

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Emory Goizueta 2016 MBA Essay Tips & Deadlines [#permalink]

09 Jul 2015, 10:01

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FROM Accepted.com Blog: Emory Goizueta 2016 MBA Essay Tips & Deadlines

Emory Goizueta

Taken together, these essay questions cover a lot of ground: your professional path and plans, your alignment with the program’s core values, and who you are as a person. Moreover, this vast ground is covered in few words – these essays are short, requiring tough decisions about what key points and anecdotes to include and what to leave out. Write simply and directly to squeeze as much meaning and impact as possible out of each word. Most important: the three key questions require thoughtful reflection.

Essays:

1. Define your short-term post-MBA career goals. How are your professional strengths, past experience and personal attributes aligned with these goals? (300 word limit)

This question invites you to define your short-term goals in a 3D context: your past experience, your skills, and your unique character. Yet, with only 300 words, you can’t give a comprehensive, detailed delineation of those elements. I suggest discussing one point from each category that is relevant to your goals. The key to making this part of the essay work is specificity, detail, anecdote – e.g. don’t just explain how you have a charismatic personality that brings people together; present a brief anecdote showing how it lets you be the “glue” in a rough-and-tumble team. Then discuss directly the relevance of this quality to your short-term goal. The question’s emphasis on short-term goals indicates practical and concrete: what (type of) position and in what industry, to achieve what, and why (and, sometimes, where).

2. The business school is named for Roberto C. Goizueta, former Chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company, who led the organization for 16 years, extending its global reach, quadrupling consumption, building brand responsibility, and creating unprecedented shareholder wealth. Mr. Goizueta’s core values guide us in educating Principled Leaders for Global Enterprise. Provide an example of your leadership – professional or personal – and explain what you learned about yourself through the experience. (300 word limit)

I suggest addressing this question as a story (a very succinct story): describe a time you led in a situation of some significance. Walk through it straightforwardly, focusing on your actions. In a final, brief paragraph reflect on what this leadership experience taught you about yourself; don’t list ten things, but rather focus on the 1-2 most meaningful.

To select the best topic or experience to portray, look for something that is fairly recent and that has a clear impact. While most people will want to grab this opportunity to showcase their impact at work, it may make sense to select a non-work story if, for example, it reflects a situation or experience that truly distinguishes you in a relevant way and illustrates substantial leadership as well. Think strategically in selecting the topic and choose one that enhances your overall application and adds to the information found elsewhere.

3. Complete one of the following statements. (250 word limit)

• I am passionate about…

• The best piece of advice I’ve received is…

• The best day of my life was…

• A personal goal I want to accomplish is…

First, which question should you respond to? The one you will find easiest to answer in an engaging, enthusiastic, and authentic way. The one that will best complement the rest of your application by illuminating something fresh about you. It wouldn’t hurt to select something that might surprise the reader a bit; e.g., you’re a total tech nerd and your great-aunt urges you to take up knitting. It would be nice if your answer to this question leaves the reader with a little smile on her face.

4. Share with the committee and your future classmates a fun or noteworthy fact about you. (25 word limit)

Align this short essay with essay 4 above – it’s another opportunity to round out your profile. This one can be work or non-work related.

Be natural in your tone – don’t strain to sound “fun” if it doesn’t come naturally to you in writing, and don’t hold back if it does.

Optional Essay:

If you have additional information or feel there are extenuating circumstances which you would like to share with the MBA Admissions Committee (i.e. unexplained gaps in work experience, choice of recommenders, academic performance issues or areas of weakness in application). Please limit your response to 250 words.

You can of course use this essay solely to address an extenuating circumstance. If you don’t need it for that purpose, if there is something you believe would add to your case for admissions that is not covered in the rest of the application, write about it here. Focus on one facet of your life or an experience that is important to you, reveals the human being you are, and isn’t described in other parts of the application.

Re-Applicant Essays

Applicants who have applied to Goizueta Business School in the past are required to answer the following questions:

1. Define your short-term post-MBA career goals. How are your professional strengths, past experience and personal attributes aligned with these goals? (300 word limit)

See tip for essay 1 above.

2. Explain how you have improved your candidacy for Goizueta Business School’s MBA Program since your last application. (250 word limit)

This is THE key question for all MBA reapplicants. Goizueta just asks it explicitly. Please see MBA Reapplicant 101 for more advice.

If you would like professional guidance with your Emory Goizueta MBA application, please consider Accepted’s MBA essay editing and MBA admissions consulting or our MBA Application Packages, which include advising, editing, interview coaching, and a resume edit for the Emory Goizueta application.

Emory Goizueta 2016 MBA Application Deadlines:

Application Deadline
Decision Notification

Round 1
October 09, 2015
December 3, 2015

Round 2*
November 13, 2015
January 28, 2016

Round 3**
January 8, 2016
March 3, 2016 (Domestic)

March 11 (International)

Round 4
March 11, 2016
May 13, 2016

* Preferred deadline for One-year MBA applicants, international applicants, and applicants interested in consideration for top named scholarships

** Final deadline for general merit-based scholarships

By Cindy Tokumitsu, author and co-author of numerous ebooks, articles, and special reports, including Why MBA and Best MBA Programs: A Guide to Selecting the Right One. Cindy has advised hundreds of successful applicants in her fifteen years with Accepted.com.

Related Resources:

• Why MBA? [A Guide to Clarifying and Writing About Your Goals]

• 2016 MBA Application Essay Tips

• Emory Goizueta B-School Zone

Tags: 2016 MBA Application, Emory Goizueta, MBA Admissions

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Understanding Stanford GSB’s Core Value Of Intellectual Vitality [#permalink]

09 Jul 2015, 10:01

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FROM Accepted.com Blog: Understanding Stanford GSB’s Core Value Of Intellectual Vitality

Do you have the smarts SGSB is looking for?

What are the qualities that Stanford GSB is looking for as they build their class? How do successful applicants stand out from the crowd? At a school as competitive as Stanford, it’s a fact that many smart, accomplished applicants won’t get in—so how can you demonstrate that you have that “it” factor? Let us walk you through Stanford’s evaluation criteria and give you some advice.

Criteria #1: Intellectual Vitality

You’re smart. But this isn’t about smart. Most of the people Stanford GSB rejects are smart (often very smart). A person of average IQ may have enormous intellectual vitality, while a person with a stratospheric IQ may have scant intellectual vitality. Pretty much everyone uses their raw intellect, whatever its degree, in practical application – to get things done. People with intellectual vitality do that and more – they nurture and refine their raw intellect to make it a force in itself, one that draws them into new and challenging territory. No wonder Stanford wants it.

So what does intellectual vitality consist of? Here are 5 key components (separated for discussion purposes only, as they’re interconnected).

1. Zest for ideas. When you encounter a new or challenging idea, you’re tantalized. You have to find out more. What does it mean? Where did it come from? And how, and why? You relish ideas for their inherent meaning; they’re alive to you. You value them as a new lens to see through.

2. Dynamic, engaged mind. You’re always mentally comparing and contrasting, probing limits and boundaries, seeing overlaps between disparate points and differences between similar ones. To you, an event is not static, but rather part of a continuum, with a history to explore and future ramifications to consider. And you never take things at face value!

3. But why…? When you were a child, you probably were told you’re too curious. But curiosity underpins intellectual vitality. It drives you to learn more and more and more about something, to set off on thrilling learning journeys. (And you sometimes snag other people along for the ride!)

4. There’s a reason for what you believe and for what you do. Back to ideas – they animate you. Whether you’re politically conservative, moderate, or liberal, you’re not that way because your family or friends are, but because you’re interested in and think about the issues – from multiple angles. Your thought process informs your decisions, beliefs, actions.

5. Open, as in unafraid. So, you have your beliefs, your ideas. But you don’t hide behind them. You welcome them being challenged – it’s actually … fun. Intellectual fun. And you challenge back thoughtfully. You’re a skillful devil’s advocate, able to argue from multiple perspectives, even ones you personally disagree with. You relish learning what drives and underlies opposing ideas and beliefs (there’s that curiosity again…).

Hopefully the above points make clear that intellectual vitality is not something ponderous – it’s a thrill! Yes, it engages matters of seriousness and gravity. But it’s fundamentally invigorating. It fuels you. And it scintillates others.

Now, how do you let Stanford know you have it? The application essays are the perfect venue for showcasing this quality – integrate it into anecdotes, details, and reflections. If you are invited to interview, that’s an ideal place to demonstrate intellectual vitality.

By Cindy Tokumitsu, author and co-author of numerous ebooks, articles, and special reports, including Why MBA and Best MBA Programs: A Guide to Selecting the Right One. Cindy has advised hundreds of successful applicants in her fifteen years with Accepted.com.

Related Resources:

• Stanford School of Business Zone Page

• Stanford GSB 2016 MBA Essay Tips & Deadlines

• Valentine’s Day, Economics, and Stanford GSB

Tags: MBA Admissions, Stanford GSB, What Stanford GSB is Looking For

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NYU Stern 2016 MBA Essay Tips & Deadlines [#permalink]

10 Jul 2015, 10:01

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FROM Accepted.com Blog: NYU Stern 2016 MBA Essay Tips & Deadlines

Last year Stern gave you a choice for its second question. This year all three questions are required and what I call Stern’s “signature question” (#2) is once again required.

Your essays will need to highlight your qualities as a successful, leadership-driven, creative thinker and businessperson. For NYU Stern, you’ll want to reveal that you are a perfect fit with the program, the Stern community, and the global business world at large. Keep in mind that Stern is a place that values EQ as much as IQ.

At Accepted, we have advised clients successfully through the NYU Stern application process for approximately twenty years. We would be happy to help you you too. Please explore our services to see how we can guide you.

My tips are in blue below.

Our Stern essay questions give you the opportunity to more fully present yourself to the Admissions Committee and to provide insight into your experiences, goals and thought processes.

Please note the following details when completing your essays.

• All written essays must be typed and submitted using the standard U.S. 8 1/2” x 11” format, double-spaced, in 12-point font.

• Word limits apply to the total question. For example, your response to Essay 1 should answer all parts of the question with a total maximum of 750 words.

• Label the top of each essay with the following: Name, Date of Birth (month, day, year), Essay Number and Page Number (e.g.: Joe Applicant, January 1, 1988, Essay 1, Page 1).

• Your essays should be written entirely by you. An offer of admission will be revoked if you did not write your essays.

Essays:

1. Professional Aspirations (750 word maximum, double-spaced, 12-point font)

• Why pursue an MBA (or dual degree) at this point in your life?

• What actions have you taken to determine that Stern is the best fit for your MBA experience?

• What do you see yourself doing professionally upon graduation?

Stern states explicitly that it seeks students with a “well-articulated plan to achieve their career aspirations.”

Stern’s #1 is an MBA goals question with a couple of small twists. A and C are fairly typical of this genre, only C doesn’t ask about long-term goals. At the heart of this question: What do you want to do after you graduate that requires an MBA and A asks why is now the right time to get it? You should be able to answer Stern’s #1, or you shouldn’t be applying.

Another small twist occurs in B: Have you done your homework about Stern? What have you done to research the program, its curriculum, career opportunities, and student life? What aspects of the program will help you achieve the goals you provide in C?

The part of the question asking about your career goal “upon graduation” is critical. Are you realistic about where your past experience plus a Stern MBA can take you? Stern doesn’t want people in la-la-land who will be impossible to place.

Finally make sure you answer all elements of the question while staying within the word limits (not guidelines). No adcom member sits there and counts words, but the readers can tell when you are significantly over. “Significantly” in my book is more than 10%. Write succinctly.

2.  Personal Expression

Please describe yourself to your MBA classmates. You may use almost any method to convey your message (e.g. words, illustrations). Feel free to be creative.

If you submit a non-written piece for this essay (i.e., artwork or multimedia) or if you submit this essay via mail, please upload a brief description of your submission with your online application.

Please note the following guidelines and restrictions:

• Your submission becomes the property of NYU Stern and cannot be returned for any reason.

• If you submit a written essay, it should be 500 words maximum, double-spaced, 12-point font.

• If you submit a video or audio file, it should be five minutes maximum. NYU Stern accepts most common video formats.

• The Admissions Committee reserves the right to request an alternate essay if we are unable to view your submission.

• Do not submit anything perishable (e.g. food), or any item that has been worn (e.g. clothing).

• Mailed materials must be postmarked by the application deadline date. Please follow our mail and labeling instructions.

Please note that mailed packages are subject to size restrictions. Submissions that exceed the stated size restrictions will not be accepted for review by the Admissions Committee. Please see the table below for the maximum package size guidelines:

Packaging Type
Dimensions: Metric
Dimensions: Non-metric

Box
36cm x 31cm x 8cm
14” x 12” x 3”

Cylindrical tube
8cm x 91cm
3” x 36”

Triangular tube
97cm x 16cm x 16 cm x 16 cm
38” x 6” x 6” x 6”

Candidates can get very creative with this essay and use different media (other than edibles and worn attire), but many of you will convey your ideas in words. Think of how you describe yourself in a social setting when meeting people for the first time.

If it’s the first day of class or a mixer early in the pre-term, how would you break the ice? Would you try to set up a tennis game or golf match? Would you find someone to explore NYC’s museums? Or do you hate museums and prefer hiking through the woods? What would you say if you were in the campus coffee shop and sat down with some new classmates? Could you create a dialog? A short skit?

NYU Stern also permits the use of multimedia in response to this question. While the media may vary, the point again is to introduce yourself to friends. Given the other questions, this can be a great venue for hobbies, extra-curricular interests, and community service.

When I visited NYU Stern a few years ago, the admissions officer I met with proudly showed me several “personal expressions.” Her faves. They were incredibly creative, but much less slick than you might imagine. A year ago, Stern hosted AIGAC for a day and again presented two of the videos filmed in response to this question. They were thoughtful introductions to the applicants who created them. But neither one was super-slick or professional. Just revealing, creative, and clever.

If you want to submit something three-dimensional or multi-media, don’t worry if you aren’t ready for the Louvre or the Academy Awards as long as your creation is authentically yours, introduces you, and sticks to the above requirements. It will be taken seriously and appreciated.

If you are considering video, download Audio/Video in Admissions: Get Ready for Prime Time, a free special report.

3. Additional Information (optional)

Please provide any additional information that you would like to bring to the attention of the Admissions Committee. This may include current or past gaps in employment, further explanation of your undergraduate record or self-reported academic transcript(s), plans to retake the GMAT, GRE and/or TOEFL or any other relevant information.

If you are unable to submit a recommendation from your current supervisor, you must explain your reason, even if you are a re-applicant.

If you are a re-applicant from last year, please explain how your candidacy has improved since your last application.

Obviously if you fit into one of the categories described in the three points above, you need to write this essay. If you don’t fit into the above categories and have something you want the admissions committee to know that isn’t part of the required essays, then you still should write this optional essay.

If you are an MBA reapplicant, please realize that the question posed here by NYU Stern is THE key question you need to answer as a reapplicant. What have you done to improve your candidacy that should change the outcome?

NYU Stern 2016 Application Deadlines:

Deadline
Initial Notification

1st Deadline
October 15, 2015
December 15, 2015

2nd Deadline
November 15, 2015
February 15, 2016

3rd Deadline
January 15, 2016
April 1, 2016

4th Deadline
March 15, 2016
June 1, 2016

If you would like professional guidance with your NYU Stern MBA application, please consider Accepted’s MBA essay editing and MBA admissions consulting or our MBA Application Packages, which include advising, editing, interview coaching, and a resume edit for the NUY Stern MBA application.

By Linda Abraham, president and founder of Accepted.com and co-author of the new, definitive book on MBA admissions, MBA Admission for Smarties: The No-Nonsense Guide to Acceptance at Top Business Schools More School Specific Essay Tips

• Tips For Video MBA Essay Questions

• Exploring the Part-Time MBA Options at NYU Stern

Tags: 2016 MBA Application, MBA Admissions, NYU Stern

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Understanding Stanford GSB’s Take On Demonstrated Leadership Potential [#permalink]

12 Jul 2015, 10:01

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FROM Accepted.com Blog: Understanding Stanford GSB’s Take On Demonstrated Leadership Potential

Naturally you’ve got leadership, or you wouldn’t be applying to Stanford.

What are the qualities that Stanford GSB is looking for as they build their class? How do successful applicants stand out from the crowd? At a school as competitive as Stanford, it’s a fact that many smart, accomplished applicants won’t get in—so how can you demonstrate that you have that “it” factor? Let us walk you through Stanford’s evaluation criteria and give you some advice.

Criteria #2: Demonstrated Leadership Potential

Of course Stanford GSB seeks demonstrated leadership potential – don’t all b-schools? And naturally you’ve got leadership, or you wouldn’t be applying to Stanford.

Wait. There are some unique nuances to Stanford’s conception of leadership that are essential to understand in order to portray it effectively in your application. Let’s break the phrase down word by word, starting with the core principle.

Leadership. Principle? Yes, not just a quality or an activity in Stanford’s eyes, but an actual principle. Whatever change you’re guiding the client to achieve, or whatever vision you’re advocating, or whatever project you’re driving the team through Hades to complete on time – it should be constructive and beneficial according to your own values and ideals. In GSB’s view, leadership isn’t just rallying the troops to achieve a given end – it’s having an end worth achieving (and, conversely, declining to pursue an inappropriate end). Therefore, if you are to provide such leadership, you must have core values or ideals and be guided by them as you lead, both how you lead and where you lead. GSB’s preferred leadership is essentially value- and ideal-driven, what it calls “directed idealism.”

Potential. Even if you are already a leader per the above definition, you’re not satisfied. You know that improving will only enable you to achieve more of what you value – therefore you actively seek growth as a leader. You are open to critique and feedback, you are resourceful, you are humble, and you are hungry to learn.

Demonstrated. Concrete evidence that allows the adcom to conclude that you will grow as a leader and provide leadership in the future. You must demonstrate both leadership and potential to grow as a leader. For the former, provide this evidence by portraying experiences in your application boxes, essays, resume, and recommendations that reflect your leadership to date. For the latter, in these same application components frankly reflect on where you are in your leadership development – you understand what parts are innate to you, and where you need to improve.

So “demonstrated leadership potential” is actually rather complex, at least per GSB’s perspective of leadership. Plan to spend some time and effort on a strategy to integrate these points into your entire application.

Check out the first post in this series, Understanding Stanford GSB’s Core Value Of Intellectual Vitality.

By Cindy Tokumitsu, author of numerous ebooks, articles, and special reports. Cindy has advised hundreds of successful applicants in her fifteen years with Accepted. She can help you assess your strengths and weaknesses and develop a winning MBA admissions strategy. She is a member of the Association of International Graduate Application ConsultantsStanford School of Business Zone

• Stanford GSB 2016 MBA Essay Tips & Deadlines

• What Stanford is Looking for: Personal Qualities and Contributions

Tags: MBA Admissions, Stanford GSB, What Stanford GSB is Looking For

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Summer Savings Continue – 5 More Days To Save 10% [#permalink]

12 Jul 2015, 12:00

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FROM Accepted.com Blog: Summer Savings Continue – 5 More Days To Save 10%

Our super summer 10% off sale continues through Wednesday, July 15, 2015.

Ready to get the help you need to whip those applications into tip-top shape? Then NOW is the time to purchase services. 10% off can save you hundreds of dollars!*

Our expert admissions consultants and editors are at your service. Please review our catalog of MBA services and contact us with any questions you may have.

* Use coupon code SUMMER at checkout to save. Offer valid only on non-rush services. Discount may not be combined with other offers.

Tags: MBA Admissions

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4 Tips For Team Interviews [#permalink]

13 Jul 2015, 10:01

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FROM Accepted.com Blog: 4 Tips For Team Interviews

Learn the first steps that lead the way to your acceptance!

Since so much of b-school life and learning includes team discussions, the adcom needed a tool for assessing how applicants will fit in the team-based discussion culture of their programs. Thus, the Team-Based Discussion (TBD) was born.

In team-based interviews, applicants need to use a different set of skills than they use during traditional, individual interviews. Personal interviews require one-on-one presentation, interpersonal skills, and self-awareness, while team interviews require critical thinking, listening, persuasion, and leadership.

Here are four to-do’s to help you win an Academy Award for your performance in an interview:

1. Review school material. This includes the specific materials that the school provides prior to the interview, as well as all other material about the program. As with an individual interview, you need to know the school well – its mission, curriculum, teaching style, etc. Review the school’s website and speak with current students and recent grads so you get a clear picture of what it’s like to be a student at B-School X.

2. Read Case in Point. This is an excellent book by Marc Consentino that will teach you how to state your position during team-based interviews, and then clearly and succinctly support your position.

3. Role-play. Use family, friends, colleagues, and consultants at Accepted.com to role-play with you. The more in-the-know your mock interviewer and peers are, the better idea you’ll get of how the interview will run on the big day.

4. Take notes. You are allowed to bring notes to the interview, and while you don’t want to read off a piece of paper or even refer to it frequently, it may help you feel more confident knowing that some of your key points are written down in case you need them. You never know how performance anxiety may set in, and if your brain freezes and you completely forget your plan, you’ll be glad you jotted some ideas down beforehand.

TIP: Don’t bring a 400-page stack of papers! You don’t want to spend the whole time shuffling through your notes, making noise and ignoring your co-interviewees while they speak. Paperless notes on a tablet may reduce the shuffle, but they won’t reduce the distraction – keep paperless notes to a minimum as well.

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Don’t Miss Out On Stanford Advice! [#permalink]

14 Jul 2015, 14:01

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FROM Accepted.com Blog: Don’t Miss Out On Stanford Advice!

A quick reminder that our webinar, Get Accepted to Stanford GSB, is happening next Tuesday, July 21 at 10am PT/1pm ET.

There’s still time to sign up. If you’re applying to Stanford, you won’t want to miss this!

The webinar is free, but registration is required. Sign up today and Get Accepted to Stanford GSB!

Tags: MBA Admissions, Stanford GSB, webinar

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How To Earn A Spot On Team Fuqua [#permalink]

15 Jul 2015, 12:01

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FROM Accepted.com Blog: How To Earn A Spot On Team Fuqua

For an extra-strong dose of concrete MBA admissions advice, tune in to our conversation with Liz Riley Hargrove, Associate Dean for Admissions at The Fuqua School of Business. She is the woman responsible for all elements of the applicant evaluation process at one of the world’s top b-schools. In fact, Bloomberg Business ranked Fuqua #1 in its 2014 ranking.

We couldn’t be more excited to have Liz Riley Hargrove as the star of this episode of Admissions Straight Talk.

00:02:02 – A customized b-school experience: The Duke 2-year MBA program.

00:03:30 – No conflict here: the fusion of team culture and consequential leadership.

00:08:49 – Profile of a recent grad who is doing something super exciting.

00:11:33 – Fuqua’s position on GMAT vs GRE.

00:14:47 – One thing not enough people realize about Fuqua.

00:16:35 – A look at the Energy Finance and Energy and Environment concentrations.

00:18:36 – About Fuqua’s 25 random facts application question (and why its optional).

00:20:41 – Understanding how the open interview season works and what the adcom wants from you.

00:23:13 – What makes Liz excited about an application.

00:24:14 – The Golden Rule for applicants: Tell the story that only you can tell.

*Theme music is courtesy of podcastthemes.com

Related links:

• Duke Fuqua Application Instructions

• Why Fuqua and the Leadership

• The MBA Gatekeeper At Duke’s Fuqua School

Related shows:

• The Admissions Team at the Very Center of Business

• It’s MBA Season: Do You Know Where Your Applications Are?

• Bruce DelMonico on The Yale School of Management https://blog.accepted.com/2014/10/23/bruce-delmonico-on-the-yale-school-of-management/• Interview with Sheryl Dirks, Associate Dean for Career Management at Duke Fuqua

Leave a Review for Admissions Straight Talk:

Tags: Admissions Straight Talk, Duke Fuqua, MBA Admissions, podcast

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Understanding Stanford GSB’s Interest In Personal Qualities And Contri [#permalink]

15 Jul 2015, 15:01

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FROM Accepted.com Blog: Understanding Stanford GSB’s Interest In Personal Qualities And Contributions

Stanford

What are the qualities that Stanford GSB is looking for as they build their class? How do successful applicants stand out from the crowd? At a school as competitive as Stanford, it’s a fact that many smart, accomplished applicants won’t get in—so how can you demonstrate that you have that “it” factor? Let us walk you through Stanford’s evaluation criteria and give you some advice.

Criteria #3: Personal Qualities and Contributions

In an MBA essay on a meaningful personal experience:

• Applicant A describes his ascent of Machu Picchu; we learn that it was awe-inspiring, challenging, required excellent teamwork, and that he was moved on a deep level.

• Applicant B takes us on a walk around her block. We learn about the struggles of her neighbors in the face of gentrification and how she feels as one of the gentrifiers; how she informally refereed an argument among residents about the stop-and-frisk policy; the diversity of canine life on the block and the particular friendship between her pug and a neighbor’s Rottweiler.

We conclude from these essays that Applicant A spends a lot of money on personal fulfillment, lacks imagination, relies on banalities, and relishes physical challenges; and that Applicant B is alive to the richness of daily life, has humor, is compassionate, is attentive and alert, and cares about meaningful issues. Point: our personal qualities flow from and mirror our character. And when it comes to personal qualities, be assured, Stanford will prefer those of Applicant B – even though Applicant A’s topic is superficially more dramatic – because of the quality of character they reflect. There’s not anything different or mind-blowing about Applicant B’s personal qualities – they simply represent an engaged, thoughtful person. And there’s nothing wrong with climbing Machu Picchu – but it’s not the fact of doing it that will impress; rather, what you have to say about it, arising from your personal qualities and reflecting your unique perspective that will catch the thoughtful admissions reader’s eye. Lesson:

• Don’t struggle and strain for “unique” things to say.

• Rather, for Stanford, share your life. Open it up, let it dance or swagger or sashay or skip or march or cartwheel, whatever your style is.

Now the contribution part. Because Applicant B is attentive to and cares about her surroundings, she can respond and contribute to the daily life of her neighborhood. Again, nothing particularly dramatic or unique; mainly interactions with neighbors. But they’re quality interactions. She cares. She has specific questions and concerns and feelings and insights – which become her offering. She can bring this abundance, this world, this humanity “to the table.” You just know this person will be a big contributor wherever she is. She doesn’t have to explain that fact – it’s obvious! Follow her example. Let your personal qualities come alive by sharing what’s meaningful to you in your essays (and elsewhere if/as possible in the application). Don’t explain that you will contribute; show that you do contribute, as a result of these qualities. It’s simply who you are.

Check out the rest of the What Stanford GSB is Looking For series!

By Cindy Tokumitsu, author of numerous ebooks, articles, and special reports. Cindy has advised hundreds of successful applicants in her fifteen years with Accepted. She can help you assess your strengths and weaknesses and develop a winning MBA admissions strategy. She is a member of the Association of International Graduate Application Consultants.

Related Resources:

• Stanford School of Business Zone

• Stanford GSB 2016 MBA Essay Tips & Deadlines

• 4 Ways to Show How You’ll Contribute in the Future

Tags: MBA Admissions, Stanford GSB, What Stanford GSB is Looking For

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7 Tips For MBA Applicants From Family Businesses [#permalink]

16 Jul 2015, 11:01

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FROM Accepted.com Blog: 7 Tips For MBA Applicants From Family Businesses

Show the adcom how you got your voice heard in your family business!

You work for the family business and are applying for an MBA. Will this background be a net plus for you, or a minus? How can you make the most of this experience?

I have worked with several clients who worked in a family business, including tiny start-ups whose headquarters was the family basement to multimillion dollar enterprises with hundreds of employees. No matter the size of the business, I found that my clients had many strengths to offer in their essays based on their experiences. Here are a few of them.

1. You see the forest and the trees. If you’ve grown up in the business, no matter its size, you probably have gained some valuable knowledge about many aspects of it: sales, production, marketing, product innovation, customer service, perhaps even basic finance. Over the years (some applicants will have started working in the business on weekends as teenagers), and especially if the business is small, you will have the same advantage as other applicants who have worked in start-ups or other small businesses, which is the experience of filling different roles and gaining a more holistic view of how the business operates. This allows you to show knowledge of and appreciation for the importance of various business functions working together for a common goal.

2. You have an owner’s mindset, not an employee’s mindset. You can also demonstrate a built-in investment in the success of the business, whether you plan to return to work there post-MBA or not. This added incentive to see the business thrive and grow may have prompted you to work after-hours on projects that you initiated. Additionally, with some level of built-in trust from management, you may also have been given more leeway to innovate, making the potential impact of your contributions that much greater and the lessons learned that much more valuable.

3. You’ve developed communications skills that allow you to influence those senior to you. You are most likely much younger than your relatives who own and manage the company. Therefore, you may have helped to introduce more tech-savvy innovations or a social media presence, which come more naturally to you. Getting “buy-in” from an “old school” mentality is another opportunity to show your communications skills and savvy.

4. You have a job when you graduate, if you want it.. The school won’t need to worry about your employment prospects, if you want to return to the family business. Having said all that, you still need to prove that you’ve enjoyed the level of responsibility that you claim.

The adcom members may be skeptical that your dad/mom/uncle/aunt really held your feet to the fire in meeting deadlines or proving yourself on the job. The dynamics among relatives who work together can also be tricky, and getting letters of recommendation will be a challenge. Here’s how you can deal with these issues:

1. Quantify your achievements and offer as much anecdotal evidence as possible. Yes, this is strategically important even if you are not from a family business background, but it’s especially true here. If you successfully negotiated a new lease agreement for the business saving it $X per month, found a better way to screen job applicants, brought in new customers through the Facebook business page you created that reduced cost per lead by Y%, write about it. The classic rule of “show, don’t tell,” is critical here.

2. Demonstrate your ability to successfully navigate the built-in pitfalls of working with family members. I once had a client where family members fought hard over the succession plans of the business after the business owner and patriarch passed away. Things were getting ugly. My client convinced everyone to work with a skilled mediator whom he had chosen to help reach an understanding. The mediation succeeded, which arguably saved the business from being eaten up by lawsuits. It also managed to preserve family relationships. Another client had ideas to expand sales territory for her family business, but the management resisted change. Through her research, my client was able to prove her idea was a good and calculated risk. She succeeded in selling her fresh thinking to her parents, and the business benefitted from her ideas.

3. Don’t ask relatives, especially those who share your last name, for your letters of recommendation, even if that relative is your direct supervisor and knows your work and capabilities better than anyone. There is simply no way that a letter from a parent, cousin, grandparent or other family member will seem objective enough to be credible. You may need to approach a supervisor from a previous job who can attest to your maturity, quantitative skills and initiative, and other achievements, or someone who supervised you in another organization – perhaps if you were an active volunteer in a community organization or church group. However, you need to have recommenders who can speak about your abilities in the recent past – within the last two years. If you don’t have these options available to you and you’ve only worked in the family business, perhaps someone affiliated with the business might be suitable: an accountant or attorney, or an important customer or supplier. Remember, your interactions with these individuals must be frequent enough and substantial enough for them to comment intelligently and with some specificity on your work and personal character traits.

All in all, working for a family business has probably provided you with extremely valuable experience. It may also have made you nimble in your abilities to work across different departments, and given you a front-row seat in watching your relatives deal with the ongoing challenges of running a business in rapidly changing times. Not a bad set of experiences with which to apply to b-school!

By Judy Gruen, MBA admissions consultant since 1996 and author (with Linda Abraham) of MBA Admission for Smarties: The No-Nonsense Guide to Acceptance at Top Business Schools MBA Admissions: Letters of Recommendation

• Jon Medved & OurCrowd: The Remarkable Story of an Entrepreneur

• How To Write About Overcoming Challenges Without Sounding Like A Whiner

Tags: MBA Admissions

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Do Stanford GSB Grads REALLY “Change Lives. Change Organizations. Cha [#permalink]

17 Jul 2015, 10:01

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FROM Accepted.com Blog: Do Stanford GSB Grads REALLY “Change Lives. Change Organizations. Change the World.”?

Episode 3 in our Big Brand Theory Series for MBA applicants: Stanford GSB’s motto.

Who wouldn’t want to change lives, change organizations, and change the world? Right? For Episode 3 in our Big Brand Theory series, I set out to prove that Stanford GSB admits, transforms and graduates students who accomplish great feats. I wanted to demonstrate that Stanford GSB students, faculty and graduates lived GSB’s brand.

I’ve always been a big proponent of Stanford GSB (even when they had classrooms and desks that reminded me of my high school). Regardless of their old environs, the Knight Center makes their facility live up to their students and their program.

I love the vibe when I walk onto Stanford’s campus. I love the fact that their students have infinite access to Silicon Valley. I love that the faculty turns their electives over so frequently that the course catalogue reads like a fresh new book each year. I love the questions Derrick Bolton asks on his application. In fact, I love Derrick (don’t tell my husband). I do believe Derrick has done a great job in selecting some of the smartest people I know. My clients who have gained admission to Stanford surprise me with their intelligence, talent, accomplishments and ideas. They are futurists who can see beyond the horizon, but they still need me to plant the seed for their ideas to grow into great essays and interviews. Regardless, I love my clients too (my husband already knows that fact).

Stanford GSB Alumni: Famous and Infamous

However, when I looked at Stanford GSB’s list of “notable” alumni, I only saw a handful of game changers. The list is similar to those I see at other schools with notable founders, CEOs and investors like GM’s first female CEO, Mary Barra, Acumen Founder Jacqueline Novogratz, Charles Schwab of Charles Schwab, Nike’s Phil Knight, Ultra-investor Vinod Kosla, Atari’s Nolan Bushnell, KPCB’s Brook Byers; notable authors like Tom Peters and Jim Collins; and “famous celebrities” like Alex Michel (Alex Michel, really? Do “reality” TV participants count as celebrities? More importantly, does anyone really watch The Bachelor?).

Stanford has also has its share of CEOs and a handful of leaders who have been heavily criticized like former BP CEO, Lord John Browne who was forced to resign, not because BP’s Texas City, Texas plant exploded under his watch or because he commissioned Deepwater Horizon that also forced his successor’s resignation, but because a newspaper “outed” him when he lied under oath about his boyfriend/male escort. Lord Brown cut costs for financial gains and as a result, he changed BP and also the Gulf of Mexico.

Go Deep and Authentic for What Matters to You Most

So how can you present the fact that you will change the world for the better? Stanford asks two questions that I know Derrick and his team really take to heart. My clients typically struggle with “What matters most to you and why?” The latter part of this question being equally, if not more important that the former. This question requires a tremendous amount of introspection and if done well should show that you have the heart to change the world.

It requires you to know yourself at a very personal level and share that self-awareness with an admissions committee. It’s not easy, and the best essays I’ve seen on this topic have knocked the wind out of me. Several have made me cry. It is a dig deep into your soul question. Derrick is a very smart and authentic individual, and he wants to get to know what drives you.

I begin brainstorming this question with clients by asking them for what they would give their life. At that point, you already know it will be an intense brainstorm. Often I hear, “family” or “helping others,” which can fall into the trap of discussing work. I ask my clients to frame this into a one- word value, and then I begin to peel away the layers until we find something deep and raw and revealing. After this digging, my clients also understand why they feel this value is most important to them.

Most of those clients have gained admission to Stanford GSB. Some have not. The application is a complete picture and while you have revealed something raw to the committee, you may have other flaws in your application.

Why Stanford: Reveal the Capacity to Effect Change

Or you may not demonstrate in your “Why Stanford?” essay that you have already or have the capacity to change lives, change organizations, and yes, change the world. If the first question is about heart, the second question is about intent and ability. Do you intend to initiate change and have the talent to make it happen?

You really do need to think beyond the horizon for Stanford and make certain that you know why you need the Stanford MBA for you to create change: Jacqueline Novogratz did it; Vinod Kosla did it; and of course, Phil Knight did it. You just need to “just do it” like them. Swoosh.

By Natalie Grinblatt Epstein, an accomplished Accepted.com consultant/editor (since 2008) and entrepreneur. Natalie is a former MBA Admissions Dean and Director at Ross, Johnson, and Carey.

Related Resources:

• Best MBA Programs: A Guide to Selecting the Right One

• Understanding Stanford GSB’s Take On Demonstrated Leadership Potential

• Stanford GSB 2016 MBA Essay Tips & Deadlines

Tags: B-School Big Brand Theory Series, MBA Admissions, Stanford GSB

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Big Boost For Michigan Ross Entrepreneurship Institute [#permalink]

17 Jul 2015, 12:00

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FROM Accepted.com Blog: Big Boost For Michigan Ross Entrepreneurship Institute

The University of Michigan has announced a $60 million gift from the Zell Family Foundation, to support the Samuel Zell and Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business.

The funds will support entrepreneurship programs for students, including a $10 million fund for student business ventures.

Since its creation in 1999, the Zell Lurie Institute has fostered entrepreneurship at UM Ross and supported the creation of hundreds of start-up businesses, including more than 100 companies in the 2014-2015 academic year alone. The Zell Lurie Institute has been ranked in the top three programs for entrepreneurship for three years running.

Helen and Sam Zell are both UM alumni, and have supported their alma mater to the tune of over $150 million (including founding a program in entrepreneurship and law at the UM law school and helping to support the university’s creative writing program).

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Chicago Booth 2016 MBA Essay Tips & Deadlines [#permalink]

19 Jul 2015, 11:01

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FROM Accepted.com Blog: Chicago Booth 2016 MBA Essay Tips & Deadlines

Chicago Booth has always prided itself on valuing applicants who can handle ambiguity and lack of structure. And it’s application reflects that principle. In spades. This year’s Booth application also mirrors Chicago’s pride in its distinctive culture. This essay/presentation question, which is new for this year, is about as open-ended and original as it gets.

My tips are in blue below.

Presentation/Essay:

Chicago Booth values individuality because of what we can learn from the diverse experiences and perspectives of others. This mutual respect creates an open-minded community that supports curiosity, inspires us to think more broadly, take risks, and challenge assumptions. At Booth, community is about collaborative thinking and tapping into each other’s different viewpoints to cultivate new ideas and realize breakthrough moments every day.

Using one of the photos provided, tell us how it resonates with your own viewpoint on why the Booth community is the right fit for you.

This is a really difficult question.

What do you want to tell Booth that reflects your adventurous and curious nature, your distinctive perspective and experience –which will contribute to the class’ diversity–and your ability to contribute to a vigorous but still collaborative exchange of ideas? And yes it should be genuinely you.

To start make a list of the experiences and achievements that you are most proud of and that best reflect who you are. Then review the Booth admissions criteria. Next to each item on your list, add the qualities from Booth’s criteria that this experience or achievement reveals.

Next review Booth’s website for insights into its community. If possible, talk to current students and recent alumni. Here is Booth’s succinct description of its community:

“Our community is intensely collaborative. At Booth, ideas compete and people collaborate. We have a culture where we value people who are curious. Whether presented by a classmate or a professor, every idea is examined with a belief in data over dogma. We prefer to let arguments stand and fall on their own merit. Ideas are authentically and rigorously tested and refined through honest and thoughtful discussion and discourse. There are no wrong questions, except the ones that go unasked.

“This experience will take you deeper into an issue, broaden your perspective, and compel you to challenge assumptions. You will uncover new realities and INSIGHTS, crack open seemingly intractable challenges, and develop more valid and useful solutions.”

Now that you have done your research, look at the pictures. Which one resonates with you? Which one will allow you to show fit with Booth’s community, especially the admissions criteria related to community?

Presentation/Essay Guidelines

• Choose the format that works for you. Feel free to submit a traditional essay, slide presentation, or any format that you feel best captures your response. Please use the format you are most comfortable with, the Admissions Committee has no preference.

• Determine your own length. There is no prescribed minimum or maximum length. We trust that you will use your best judgment in determining how long your submission should be, but we recommend that you think strategically about how to best allocate the space.

Technical Guidelines

• File Size: Maximum file size is 16 MB.

• Accepted Upload Formats: Acceptable formats are PDF, Word, and PowerPoint. We strongly recommend converting your piece to a PDF file prior to submitting.

• Multimedia Restrictions: We will be viewing your submission electronically and in full color, but all submissions will be converted to PDF files, so animation, video, music, etc. will not translate over.

A few thoughts:

Should you write an essay or use a visual presentation? That depends on you. If you are talented visually and love graphics and powerpoint, use a visual medium as long as it will translate to PDF. If you are a “words person” who prefers expressing your thoughts in writing, write the response. Do what will make it easiest for you to express your essence.

Don’t take the lack of a word limit as a license to write the great American novel or your culture’s equivalent of War and Peace. Don’t use more words or take more of their time than necessary. Don’t mistake quantity for quality. This is a great place for you to show judgment — good or bad.

Reapplicant Essay: Upon reflection, how has your perspective regarding your future, Chicago Booth, and/or getting an MBA changed since the time of your last application? (300 words maximum)

This answer to this question is critical for MBA reapplicants. Remember, Chicago (and any school you are reapplying to) wants to see growth. Same ol’, same ‘ol got you a ding last time and probably will again this time.

Let this brief essay show a maturation and evolution of your goals and reasons for wanting to attend Chicago Booth. Let it also reveal that you meet Chicago’s criteria better this year than last.

If you would like professional guidance with your Chicago Booth MBA application, please consider Accepted’s MBA essay editing and MBA admissions consulting or our MBA Application Packages, which include advising, editing, interview coaching, and a resume edit for the Booth application.

Chicago Booth 2016 MBA Application Deadlines:

Submission Deadline
Final Decision Notification

Round 1
September 17, 2015
December 10, 2015

Round 2
January 5, 2016
March 24, 2016

Round 3
April 5, 2016
May 19, 2015

By Linda Abraham, president and founder of Accepted.com and co-author of the new, definitive book on MBA admissions, MBA Admission for Smarties: The No-Nonsense Guide to Acceptance at Top Business Schools School-Specific MBA Application Essay Tips

• Chicago Booth B-School Zone

• Audio & Video in Admissions, a free guide

Tags: 2016 MBA Application, Chicago Booth, MBA Admissions

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Applying To Stanford GSB? Read This! [#permalink]

19 Jul 2015, 14:01

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FROM Accepted.com Blog: Applying To Stanford GSB? Read This!

Are you applying to Stanford GSB? Our webinar on Tuesday will give you the tools to create a strong application. You don’t want to miss this!

Sign up now for Get Accepted to Stanford GSB, airing live on Tuesday, July 21, at 10am PT/1pm ET.

Tags: MBA Admissions, Stanford GSB, webinar

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Waitlisted – What Now? [#permalink]

20 Jul 2015, 11:00

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FROM Accepted.com Blog: Waitlisted – What Now?

Being put on the waitlist could mean that your goal is almost within reach!

“Waitlisted – What Now?” is the latest post in our series Navigate the MBA Maze.

First, a word of introduction: Realize that receiving a wait-list letter means you qualify for admission. You pass. You are probably on the wait-list (and not admitted) because they have already admitted applicants with your profile and want diversity in the class. Or they find your qualifications impressive, but find someone else’s even more so.

I encourage you to seize the initiative and launch a campaign. Unless the school discourages additional contact, take a proactive approach. You have already shown that you qualify for the school; otherwise you wouldn’t find yourself on the wait-list. They like you. Now give the adcom additional reasons to admit you by writing a succinct wait-list letter.

Your waitlist updates and letters of support from others should focus on three areas:

1. Your qualifications: specifically recent professional achievements, academics, research, increases in responsibilities, initiatives, and community service.

2. Steps you have taken to ameliorate weaknesses.

3. How you fit with the school.

The first two areas demonstrate that you are an even better applicant today than you were when you applied. The third reveals that you belong at that school like a hand fits in a snug glove on a cold winter day, and that you will attend if, or should I say when, accepted.

Suggestions for a Waitlist Update:

1. Briefly thank the school for continuing to consider your application and mention how the school’s philosophy and approach fit your educational preferences and goals. Don’t dwell on your disappointment at not being accepted.

2. Agree to take any additional courses or follow any additional instructions provided.

3. Discuss recent achievements. Did you have a 4.0 during the last quarter? Have you led a project or organization? Volunteered? Have you taken your department, business, or club in a new direction? Have you had an article published? Earned a patent? Launched a business? Received a promotion or assumed additional responsibilities? Succeeded in a particularly demanding class or project? You should bring out any recent accomplishments not discussed in your application and ideally tie them back to some of the themes or experiences you raised in your essays.

4. Discuss how you have addressed shortcomings—without highlighting them. For example, if you enrolled in Toastmasters to improve your communications skills, inform the adcom that you did so two months ago, tell them of any awards you have won, and enlighten them as to how much you are enjoying the experience. BUT don’t say that you are doing all this because you are concerned about your low verbal score or sub-standard grades in social science courses.

5. If you are certain you would attend this school, make it clear that this is your first choice and that you will attend if accepted.

Keep the letter short and sweet — two pages max. Don’t succumb to the temptation to rewrite or even summarize your life history or essays. Stay focused on what you have accomplished since applying.

Accepted.com’s editors are available to help you evaluate your application, advise you on your wait-list strategy, and edit wait-list letters. For more information, please visit our wait-list services for more details.

Related Resources:

• The Nine Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make on an MBA Waitlist [ebook]

• Waitlisted! What Now?

• 3 Topics to Discuss in Waitlist Correspondence [Short Video]

From:Progress Bar from 365psd.com

Tags: MBA Admissions, Navigate The MBA Maze, waitlist

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Catching Up With Recent Stanford GSB Graduate Tim Eisenman [#permalink]

21 Jul 2015, 14:01

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FROM Accepted.com Blog: Catching Up With Recent Stanford GSB Graduate Tim Eisenman

This interview is the latest in an Accepted.com blog series featuring interviews with current MBA students, offering readers a behind-the-scenes look at top MBA programs. And now for a follow up interview with Tim Eisenman, who just completed the MBA program at Stanford GSB. We first met Tim last year – you can read our first interview with him here.)

Accepted: Last we spoke you were in the middle of your first year at Stanford GSB, and now you’ve just received your MBA — congrats! Can you bring us up to speed? How was your last year and a half?

Tim: Sure, it is so scary to think that the last time we talked is already 1.5 years ago. As you said, I graduated about a month ago and was fortunate enough to have my parents and my sister from Germany with me.

Right now I am in New York looking for an apartment and getting to know the city before I start my job at McKinsey in fall. I am also volunteering at a kids soccer camp in Manhattan three days a week and am thinking about writing a book. As you can see – I can’t just do nothing.

Highlights from last year are moving off-campus into a house with classmates from Austria, Japan, Turkey, Brasil and Argentina and having amazing BBQ parties as well as developing really close friendships to some GSBers through 1:1s or runs along the Bay. On the academic side, developing the first ever GSB “Travel and Hospitality Industry” elective with a former co-worker of mine was amazing. We will teach the class again this fall.

Accepted: Which clubs or activities were you involved with on campus? How central to student life is club involvement?

Tim: Club involvement was crucial to my GSB experience – both from a professional perspective, but also as a way to get to know likeminded classmates. I was heavily involved in the “Travel & Hospitality Club” and the “Stanford Africa Business Forum.” The Travel Club gave me the opportunity to network with high-profile execs in the airline industry, who also come and speak at our travel class.

At the GSB, it is not only what the school can give to you, but also what you can give back through your background. Aviation was a great example for that and I believe that we really strengthened the industry exposure of the school for years to come. Working on the “Africa Business Forum” was amazing, because I was the only non-African on the team and therefore learnt a lot about different cultural working styles. That team really came together strong at the end and we created an amazing conference.

Accepted: Looking back, what would you say was the most challenging aspect of business school? How would you advise others who may be facing that challenge?

Tim: Figuring out what you want to get out of school was most challenging. I remember double- or even triple-booking my lunch breaks for the first couple of weeks. Everything sounds interesting and you do not want to miss out. What I came to realize though is that I can’t be fully present for several things at the same time and that I needed to prioritize. At the end I was fine taking a 2 hour walk with a classmate and missing Mitt Romney speak – that classmate is going to turn into a lifelong friend and I am totally fine not having a picture with Mitt on my Facebook wall.

If you have time before going off to school make a list with things that are important to you – don’t forget to include sleep, healthy food, exercise and so on. If business school helps you get into the habit of exercising daily then this is a great achievement. Not everything has to be career related.

Accepted: What did you end up doing for your summer internship last year? Can you talk about the process by which you obtained your internship? How does it work at Stanford?

Tim: I worked for McKinsey in London and went through very straightforward on-campus recruiting. A lot of classmates got their internship less formally through networking and knocking on doors of interesting companies. Stanford helps with that process through events (such as the “Fewer than 300 Employees Event”) targeting smaller companies that might not want to set up a booth right next to GE and BCG.

I also did a one-month GMIX, a social impact immersion, working for a mushroom company in Kigali that was founded by a GSBer and that I had worked for before school already. The founder and I have become close friends and this January he offered me to join his board. He graduated twenty years ago and stayed at my house for his reunion this spring. It’s amazing how tight so many of the Stanford connections can get.

Accepted: What’s next for you? Where will your MBA bring you?

Tim: As I said, I will join McKinsey in their New York office this fall working mostly on airline and transportation topics. Eventually I will go back into the industry and hope to take on a leadership role someday. Aviation is not a traditional post-MBA industry, but given that there are no real low-cost airlines in Africa, that there are very few ultra-low-cost long haul carriers and that there is huge room for consolidation, I believe that industry dynamics will continue to shift. I want to be a part of that and feel that the out-of-the-box thinking at Stanford is a great asset for me to have when the time comes.

On the side I will continue to engage in the for-profit social impact sphere in Africa and who knows? Maybe I will get bored in the developed world and take a big leap to work in an underdeveloped African country. I like to have options as I see that traditional picture of a ladder of success being antiquated. It is much rather a climbing wall of success. Instead of going up, going sideways might actually make more sense sometimes.

Accepted: Are you still blogging?

Tim: I am still blogging, but I have slowed down and it is on my to-do list to get back into it again. Everyone talks about the power of journaling at Stanford. It is nice to sometimes just reflect about a topic through writing about it.

To read more about Tim’s journey, please check out his blog, From PA to the World. Thank you Tim for sharing your story with us and we wish you lots of luck!

For one-on-one guidance on your b-school applications, please see our MBA Application Packages.

This Blog post was imported into the forum automatically. We hope you found it helpful. Please use the Kudos button if you did, or please PM/DM me if you found it disruptive and I will take care of it. -BB

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Catching Up With Recent Stanford GSB Graduate Tim Eisenman [#permalink]

21 Jul 2015, 14:01

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