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20 Jan 2020, 14:00
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Are You Employable in the Eyes of the Admissions Committee? |
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We believe that asking MBA candidates about their goals is plainly absurd, because so many students change their goals while they are in business school. Further, the pursuit of an MBA is supposed to be about career development and exploration, right? Regardless of how we feel regarding the subject, though, you must ensure that if a school asks about your goals in its essay questions or an interview, you have a compelling story about where you believe your MBA will take you. Several years ago, getting a banking job may have sounded compelling to you—are you really capable of making that transition today? Certainly, fewer jobs are available now in the real estate world—is this a likely next step for you during a prolonged real estate drought? Venture capital and private equity jobs are challenging to land even during the best of times—are you able to compete with the elite during a downturn? These are just a few examples of questions you should honestly ask yourself. Keep in mind that not only are the admissions committees examining your story to determine what attributes you might bring to the next class, but if you are a borderline case, they may also send your profile to the career services office to help confirm whether your stated goals are realistic and if you will be difficult to place by or after graduation (i.e., whether you will hinder the school’s employment stats and thereby negatively affect its standing in the rankings). So, pay special attention to your goal statements and make sure that you can credibly stand behind them—and, as we have written in the past, even consider being prepared to discuss some alternate goals. |
22 Jan 2020, 09:00
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Fixing Common Interviewing Mistakes, Part 1: Follow the “Answer First” Model |
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In this blog series, our mbaMission [url=https://www.mbamission.com/about/?display=team]Career Coaches[/url] offer invaluable advice and industry-related news to help you actively manage your career. Topics include building your network, learning from mistakes and setbacks, perfecting your written communication, and mastering even the toughest interviews. To schedule a free half-hour consultation with one of our mbaMission Career Coaches, [url=https://www.mbamission.com/consult/?display=career-coaching]click here[/url]. As many MBA students are preparing for their internship interviews, we at mbaMission are hearing several common (and easy to correct) mistakes in our clients’ answers to sample questions. Today’s post tackles the issue of taking too long to get to the main point of the story. Doing so is problematic for three reasons: (1) the interviewer does not know why the candidate is telling the story; (2) the answer does not relate to the competencies sought after for the role; and/or (3) it is boring for the interviewer. To help improve your answers, we have provided the following “before” and “after” examples. Please note that these examples are for illustrative purposes only and should not be copied verbatim in upcoming interviews. [b]Q. Tell me about yourself.[/b] Before: I am a first-year MBA at School X, majoring in strategic management. I grew up in the Bay Area and went to college at School X. I joined Company X’s leadership rotational program and served across the marketing, operations, and finance functions of the company. After two-and-a-half years and a promotion, I decided to leave Company X to join a start-up and get more hands-on experience and more project ownership. There, I helped scale the company from ten to 200 employees and increase revenue to more than $3M… Revision Tips: Start with a headline or roadmap for your answer. Before launching into your experiences, try summarizing them into themes such as relevant attributes for the job, specific examples of accomplishments, the rationale for each step in your career, and evidence of a connection to your target role. After: I am really excited to be here today interviewing for a consulting position with Firm X, as I believe my previous experiences will enable me to drive impact for your clients. Throughout my personal and professional life, I have chosen opportunities that developed my analytical problem-solving foundation and pushed me to build strong leadership and client engagement capabilities. After attending college at School X, I decided to join Company X’s leadership rotational program in order to apply the business acumen I developed as an undergraduate economics major. Throughout my two-and-a-half years at the company and rotations across four different functions, I frequently collected and analyzed large data sets to form hypotheses and propose potential solutions to senior leadership… [b]Q. Tell me about a time when you had to convince somebody of your way of thinking.[/b] Before: I would like to tell you about a time when I disagreed with senior management of Company X about the company’s marketing strategy. The challenges I faced were… Revision Tips: Hook in the interviewer. Use language from the question prompt. Add context (i.e., numbers) to help the interviewer see that persuading senior management was a true challenge and that your actions were really impressive and impactful to the organization. After: I would like to tell you about a time when I convinced the senior director of innovation at my company to shift from a traditional to a social media–focused marketing strategy. This change led to an 8x increase in visibility for the firm’s innovation initiatives and three new client contracts worth more than $2M in revenue. To do this, the challenges I faced were… To learn other strategies for improving your interview performance, connect with mbaMission for a complimentary consultation call with one of our MBA Career Coaches. We also recommend that you review case coach and interview expert David Ohrvall’s book, [b][url=https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0996779264/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1]Interview Logic[/url][/b]. Have you been admitted to business school? If so, do you want to get a head start on defining your career goals? Do you need help preparing for job interviews or learning how to effectively network with your target employers? Or maybe you want to be a top performer in your current role but are unsure how to maximize your potential. Let an mbaMission Career Coach help via a [url=https://www.mbamission.com/consult/?display=career-coaching]free 30-minute consultation[/url]! |
24 Jan 2020, 09:00
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Acclimating to the Cold at Tuck and Hitting the Slopes at Kellogg |
 The thought of spending the winters in Hanover, New Hampshire—home to Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business—may send shivers down your spine. But those who tough it out and embrace the cold can discover some rewarding winter experiences, such as ice hockey and downhill skiing. Both beginners and seasoned veterans participate each year in ice hockey games organized by Tuck hockey leagues. Never played? Not to worry—teams are organized by skill level, so you can find a team of hockey players who will not care if you trip over the blueline (that is ice hockey lingo—you will learn). And those who are not quite ready to play hockey can always get in the game by cheering on their classmates! Meanwhile, the Skiing and Boarding Club takes advantage of the Dartmouth Skiway in Lyme, New Hampshire, and organizes trips beyond campus as well. The club’s major event is the Tuck Winter Carnival, now in its 34th year, which draws more than 650 people from approximately 15 business schools. The 2019 event welcomed aspiring MBAs and sent teams of students to participate in the weekend events, which included downhill ski races, a 1980s fashion show, and a party featuring a DJ. All events at the Winter Carnival are geared toward socializing while also raising money for a selected nonprofit organization. At Tuck, you just might be too busy working up a sweat to fret about the cold. A bit west of New Hampshire, Evanston, Illinois, is home to Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and might not seem like a popular destination for skiers. But although Kellogg students may not do their skiing in Evanston proper, nearly 1,000 first and second years and their significant others participate in the school’s annual ski trip, which, according to students we interviewed, “remains the biggest of its kind. Like everything else at Kellogg, the trip is student run … from logistics to marketing to sponsorship. … First- and second-year students work together to make it an unforgettable weeklong adventure.” Participating students have traveled to such locations as Steamboat Resort and Telluride, in Colorado, where they stayed in mountainside condos. Those who wish to ski can avail themselves of three-, four-, or even five-day passes, while nonskiers can enjoy such activities as cooking classes, snowshoe lessons, and spa treatments (at reduced prices). The evenings feature theme parties, such as an annual 1980s party. The 2018 event took place in December in Aspen, Colorado. In a January 2018 Poets&Quants article, a second year described his experience on a past ski trip: “While we spent our days bungee jumping, dog-sledding, and snowboarding, we also deepened our relationships with other members of the Kellogg community.” A first year with whom we spoke expressed how impressed she was with Kellogg’s ski club for “planning the best week of business school for [close to 1,000] people!” She added that the ski trip is simply not to be missed: “It’s all of your closest friends, taking over a ski town for one full week with amazing parties and social activities—many of which are sponsored!” For a thorough exploration of what Dartmouth Tuck, Northwestern Kellogg, and 15 other top business schools have to offer, check out our free mbaMission Insider’s Guides. |
25 Jan 2020, 10:00
| FROM mbaMission Blog: How to Solve Any Sentence Correction Problem on the GMAT, Part 1 |
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With regard to the GMAT, raw intellectual horsepower helps, but it is not everything. Manhattan Prep’s Stacey Koprince teaches you how to perform at your best on test day by using some common sense. Manhattan GMAT has developed a special process for Sentence Correction (SC). Some students and classes have seen it, but here we are sharing it publicly! Read on and let us know what you think. The Five Steps for Sentence Correction The full article on the MGMAT blog goes into more detail on each step.
In this post, I briefly introduce each step, but the full article goes into more detail, so make sure to follow up by reading that. 1. Take a First Glance The idea here is to take a “holistic” glance at the entire screen: let your eyes go slightly out of focus (do NOT read!), look at about the middle of whatever text is on the screen, and take in three things: – the problem type (in this case, SC) – the length of the whole sentence – the length of the underline (or the length of the answers) This first glance will help you formulate a plan of attack. 2. Read the Sentence Next, read the sentence as a complete sentence, not just a collection of potential grammar issues. Pay attention to the overall meaning that the sentence is trying to convey. 3.Find a Starting Point 4. Eliminate Answers When you spot something you know is wrong, immediately cross off answer (A) on your scrap paper. Check that same issue (and only that issue!) in the remaining answer choices; eliminate any answers that repeat the error. 5. Repeat Steps 3 and 4 SC is a bit annoying in that your initial starting point often will not allow you to cross off all four wrong answers. You usually have to find multiple starting points. Once you have dealt with one issue, return either to the original sentence or to a comparison of the answer choices, wherever you left off. What to Do When You Are Stuck In general, once you get stuck, give yourself one shot to “unstick” yourself. Try comparing different answers to see whether anything new pops out at you. If not, guess and move on. Half the battle on the GMAT is knowing when to stop trying. Set explicit “cutoffs” for yourself—rules for when to let go—and stick to them! Next Steps Got all of that? Good! In the second and third parts of this series, I will give you some drills that you can use to build the different skills needed to get through an SC problem. Until then, go ahead and practice the overall process until you internalize the different steps. Good luck! |
26 Jan 2020, 10:00
| FROM mbaMission Blog: MBA Admissions Myths Destroyed: I Must Have Done Something Wrong |
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You have a 720 GMAT score and a 3.75 GPA. You have made solid career progress and procured glowing recommendations. You have been actively volunteering in your community for years. You worked hard on your application and landed an interview at your target school, where you felt you did well. But you still did not get in. You must have done something terribly wrong in your interview or unwittingly made a mess of your essays, right? Not necessarily. We once spoke with the admissions director at a top MBA program who explained that his school does not give feedback to rejected candidates because doing so is simply a waste of the candidate’s and admissions staff’s time. The admissions director told us that the school would need to nitpick to give candidates something to work on and to fill the time during these hypothetical feedback sessions. He explained that nine times out of ten, the feedback offered to weaker candidates would be patently obvious and that countless strong applicants had done nothing wrong at all. In fact, most candidates create their best applications, but space in the class is simply limited. Although this may not be comforting if you were rejected, you may just have been the victim of a competitive process during a competitive year. We suggest that you honestly assess your candidacy and simply stay the course as you continue applying. Spending significant time revamping your applications may be a waste of time and a losing strategy. Patience may prove beneficial in the long term. |
27 Jan 2020, 09:00
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Look Beyond Business School Rankings |
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We at mbaMission have tried repeatedly to persuade business school candidates who are evaluating MBA programs to downplay the various schools’ rankings, which can fluctuate wildly, and instead focus on fit, which is enduring. Now, in the midst of admissions season and “rankings season”—such publications as Bloomberg Businessweek, The Economist, and Poets&Quants typically release their rankings in the fall—we recommend that you accelerate and broaden your evaluation process. One way to look beyond rankings is to speak with MBA students. Even if you do not have direct access to students, reaching out to them in a targeted way—via email, club websites, and social media—can be quite easy. Do not feel as though you are being “pushy” when contacting students this way, because most take pride in their school and are open to speaking with candidates. They are a de facto part of the school’s marketing arm. For example, if you are interested in a certain program for its entrepreneurship offerings, you can get in touch with the individual(s) leading the entrepreneurship club to learn more about the program (and the club!). Of course, you should be respectful of each individual’s time and be well prepared for your conversation. If you are conscientious, you will be able to gain some great insight into the school’s academic environment and then have time to learn more about the atmosphere on campus. Networking now should enable you to begin narrowing your search and more effectively focus your limited “free” time throughout the rest of the admissions season. |
28 Jan 2020, 10:01
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Professor Profiles: Jeremy Siegel, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania |
 Many MBA applicants feel that they are purchasing a brand when they choose a business school. However, the educational experience you will have is what is crucial to your future, and no one will affect your education more than your professors. Today, we profile Jeremy Siegel from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Jeremy Siegel is arguably one of the most recognizable and renowned professors at Wharton, and not just because he regularly appears on CNN, CNBC, and NPR to weigh in on the financial markets. One first-year student we interviewed referred to Siegel as “THE professor at Wharton.” Siegel, who has taught at the school since 1976 and is the Russell E. Palmer Professor of Finance, combines his expertise with a passion for teaching. On the long list of teaching awards he has received is Bloomberg Businessweek’s Best Business School Professor (worldwide) accolade in 1994. In addition, Siegel’s expertise gives him almost unparalleled street cred in the eyes of Wharton students—not an easy lot to win over on the topic of the stock market. At the beginning of each class session for his macroeconomics course, Siegel pulls up live market data and quickly interprets what is going on in the markets that day. Interestingly, even students who are not enrolled in this course commonly stand at the back of the room to watch this summary. Siegel has been recognized often for his writings, having won numerous best article awards, and is a bestselling author. The Washington Post named his book Stocks for the Long Run: The Definitive Guide to Financial Market Returns and Long-Term Investment Strategies “one of the ten-best investment books of all time.” And in 2005, Bloomberg Businessweek named another of Siegel’s works, The Future for Investors: Why the Tried and the True Triumph Over the Bold and the New, one of the best business books of the year. Also in 2005, Siegel received the prestigious Nicholas Molodovsky Award from CFA Institute, awarded to “those individuals who have made outstanding contributions of such significance as to change the direction of the profession and to raise it to higher standards of accomplishment.” For information on other defining characteristics of the MBA program at Wharton or any of 16 other top business schools, please check out our free mbaMission Insider’s Guides. |
29 Jan 2020, 15:00
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Harvard Business School Tops the 2020 Financial Times Global MBA Ranking |
 Harvard Business School Financial Times (FT) released its 2020 global MBA ranking this week featuring a new number-one program: Harvard Business School. The school is no stranger to the FT ranking’s top spot, however, as it placed first most recently in 2015. Last year’s top program, Stanford Business School, was ranked third this year, and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania placed second after finishing in fourth position in 2019. Although schools based in the United States dominated the top three, the rest of the top ten was notably international: INSEAD, which has campuses in France and Singapore, was ranked fourth, down one spot from 2019. The China Europe International Business School, perhaps better known as CEIBS, stood unchanged in the fifth position, while London Business School was not far behind in seventh place after finishing sixth the previous year. HEC Paris was one of the most notable risers of the year—the school climbed ten spots from 19th position in 2019 and came in ninth. The full list featured many international names that were not ranked in 2019: the Renmin University of China Business School, the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics College of Business, EDHEC Business School (based in France), and the City University of Hong Kong were all included this year, some of them for the first time in FT history. Another international school, IE Business School, saw one of the most notable drops of the year, moving from last year’s 31st place to this year’s 52nd spot—a far cry from its eighth position in 2017 (the program was not ranked in 2018 after FT reported that it had found “inconsistencies” in the school’s alumni surveys). |
30 Jan 2020, 16:01
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Two Boston-Based MBAs: Experience Public and Nonprofit Management at BU and “Core Values” at BC |
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Since 1973, the Boston University (BU) Questrom School of Business (formerly the School of Management) has offered a Social Impact MBA (formerly the Public & Nonprofit Management MBA), specifically designed to cultivate business management skills that can make a real difference in the world. Standing at 44th among U.S. MBA programs in the The Economist’s 2018 rankings and seventh among the best MBA programs for nonprofit in the Princeton Review 2018 ranking, Questrom exposes Social Impact students to a robust general management core curriculum mirroring that of the full-time MBA program, with one additional core course titled “Social Impact: Business, Society, and the Natural Environment.” Students in the Social Impact MBA program take ten elective courses, just like students in the full-time MBA program, but four of the ten must be focused on social impact. Electives that fulfill the requirement include such courses as “Social Entrepreneurship,” “Health Sector Issues and Opportunities,” “Clean Technologies and Supply Chains,” and “Starting New Ventures.” Nearby, at Boston College’s (BC’s) Carroll School of Management, students enjoy a close-knit classroom environment in which they gain exposure to broad management skills, with a particular emphasis on business ethics. Both the curriculum and the student community at the school engender a set of core values: “honesty,” “integrity,” “mutual respect,” “the relentless pursuit of excellence,” and “accountability to self and others.” In addition to, for example, taking three courses on data analytics, full-time MBA students at the Carroll School must complete a 20-hour community service requirement, which the school believes will help instill an appreciation for and a spirit of giving back to the community in its MBAs. These values are also reflected in the school’s core “Management Practice Experience” simulation, in which students learn to think critically about the challenges involved in business leadership. As one graduate commented in a past Bloomberg Businessweek profile of the Carroll School, “In the background of your core classes, and many electives, is a strong consideration on the moral and ethical dilemmas that often arise in the business world. I never felt that ‘morality’ was being pushed on us, but the consequences of each decision we make were always placed in front of us and we were left to make up our own mind.” |
31 Jan 2020, 10:01
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Should I Work with an MBA Admissions Consultant? |
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Each year, thousands of people apply to the top business schools. Although many of them opt to work with an MBA admissions consultant, many do not. We at mbaMission find that this decision greatly depends on each candidate’s personal, professional, and financial circumstances. In this post, we address several common questions from MBA applicants related to hiring a consultant. [b]What kinds of applicants typically work with MBA admissions consultants?[/b] Applicants seek the guidance of an MBA admissions consultant for different reasons. Here at mbaMission, we commonly interact with applicants who fit at least one of the following descriptions: [list] [*] Struggle to identify and tell their strongest story[/*] [*] Want any edge they can get[/*] [*] Would benefit from some help bringing efficiency and organization to this complex and time-consuming process[/*] [*] Need assistance in overcoming cultural or language barriers that can complicate the application process[/*] [/list] If you find yourself relating to one (or more) of the above-mentioned scenarios, you may benefit from the informed guidance of a professional MBA admissions consultant. [b]I am confident in my MBA application, but getting the opinion of an elite professional would not hurt. Is that possible?[/b] Although not every business school applicant will find themselves in one of these situations, we at mbaMission believe that everyone can benefit from objective feedback and informed guidance in the competitive world of MBA admissions. Quite frankly, no one should submit a business school application that has not first been reviewed by a second set of eyes. Are you an applicant who requires support in the following areas? [list] [*] Compatibility and assessment advisory[/*] [*] Brainstorming for essay ideas[/*] [*] Individual essay editing[/*] [*] Resume or short answer preparation[/*] [*] Letter of recommendation advisory[/*] [*] Interview preparation[/*] [*] Waitlist guidance[/*] [*] Post-acceptance counseling[/*] [/list] For all of these topics, a professional MBA admissions consultant may be able to give you the insight to tie together your most compelling MBA application. [b]I would like to work with an MBA admissions consultant, but it is expensive. Are there more affordable options?[/b] At mbaMission, we are big believers in the expression “you get what you pay for.” That is precisely why we provide our clients with elite and dependable service throughout the entire admissions process and never discount our core admissions services. Opting to work with an MBA admissions consultant is undoubtedly an investment of your time and hard-earned money, but with the right firm on your side, it is truly a good investment. We invest significantly in our consultants—as well as in our research and other offerings—so that we can provide our clients with the highest quality support possible. We encourage you to familiarize yourself with our selection of services, which range from comprehensive [b][url=https://shop.mbamission.com/collections/services/products/complete-start-to-finish-package]“Start-to-Finish” packages[/url][/b] (starting at $4,900 for one school), to [b][url=https://shop.mbamission.com/collections/services/products/hourly-services]“a la carte” hours[/url][/b] ($350 per hour), and flat-fee options such as [url=https://shop.mbamission.com/collections/services/products/mock-interview-sessions][b]Mock Interview sessions[/b][/url] and [b][url=https://shop.mbamission.com/collections/services/products/ding-review-reapplicant-strategy]Ding Reviews[/url][/b] (both from $650). We designed our offerings to fit the needs of today’s MBA applicant, and we take pride in their proven results. [b]I am ready to work with an mbaMission consultant, but I am not sure which service is best for me. Can you help?[/b] Not to worry! We are here to help you determine which service is most beneficial to your specific application needs. Read our article [b][url=https://www.mbamission.com/blog/2019/05/17/which-mbamission-service-is-right-for-me-3/]“Which mbaMission Service Is Right for Me?”[/url][/b] to get started. [b]I am not certain that I need an MBA admissions consultant at all. Is there a way to “test out” the experience? [/b] Some candidates need a consultant for more than one of these reasons, and others, as we noted earlier, do not need one at all. If you are unsure whether working with an MBA admissions consultant would be beneficial for you, sign up for a [b][url=https://www.mbamission.com/consult/]free 30-minute consultation[/url][/b]. We will honestly assess your candidacy and recommend what we truly feel is best for you. We look forward to learning more about you and your business school candidacy! |
31 Jan 2020, 10:05
01 Feb 2020, 09:01
| FROM mbaMission Blog: How to Solve Any Sentence Correction Problem on the GMAT, Part 2 |
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With regard to the GMAT, raw intellectual horsepower helps, but it is not everything. Manhattan Prep’s Stacey Koprince teaches you how to perform at your best on test day by using some common sense. In Part 1 of this article, we talked about the five-step process to answer Sentence Correction (SC) problems:
Drills to Build Skills How do you learn to do all this stuff? You are going to build some skills that will help at each stage of the way. The drills are summarized in this post; if you want the full description of each, check out the original article on the Manhattan GMAT blog. Drill Number 1: Take a First Glance Open up your Official Guide (OG) and find some lower-numbered SC questions that you have already tried in the past. Give yourself a few seconds (no more than five!) to glance at a problem, then look away and say out loud what you noticed in those few seconds. As you develop your First Glance skills, start to read a couple of words: the one right before the underline and the first word of the underline. Do those give you any clues about what might be tested in the problem? For instance, consider this sentence: Xxx xxxxxx xxxx xx and she xxx xxxxx xxxx xxxx xxx xxx xxxxx. I have a strong suspicion that this problem might test parallelism, because the word and falls immediately before the underline. When I read the sentence, I will be looking for an X and Y parallelism structure. Drill Number 2: Read the Sentence Take a look at some OG problems you have tried before. Read only the original sentence. Then, look away from the book and articulate aloud, in your own words, what you think the sentence is trying to convey. You do not need to limit yourself to one sentence. You can also glance back at the problem to confirm details. I want to stress the “out loud” part; you will be able to hear whether the explanation is sufficient. If so, try another problem. If you are struggling or unsure, then one of two things is happening. Either you just do not understand, or the sentence actually does not have a clear meaning, and this is precisely why the choice is wrong! Decide which you think it is, and then check the explanation. Next Steps Spend the next week drilling these skills for steps 1 and 2. Then come back here to join us for the third part in this series, in which you will learn two more drills for the later steps of the SC process. |
02 Feb 2020, 10:01
| FROM mbaMission Blog: MBA Admissions Myths Destroyed: Your MBA Program Is the Sole Determinant of Your Future |
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Human nature dictates that amid a competitive application process—exaggerated by the pervasiveness of rankings and the chatter surrounding them—some MBA students will perceive that they are ahead of others because they were accepted at a top school, while others will perceive that they are behind their peers because they gained acceptance from a lower-ranked school. What is often lost amid all of this worrying is that you, not your business school, are the independent variable. You, not your school, will determine your success. Many regard such prestigious institutions as Harvard Business School and the Stanford Graduate School of Business as a holy grail of sorts. Their reasoning is along the lines of, “All you have to do is get in and you are set for life!” This is undoubtedly wrong. Although tremendous opportunities exist for those who graduate from Harvard or Stanford, no graduate is simply given a free pass. When MBAs find summer or full-time positions at prestigious firms, they are still competing with others from many schools once they enter their workplaces, where (surprise!) their individual performance—not their pedigree—then determines their success. An mbaMission consultant recalls her MBA summer internship at J.P. Morgan, wherein the firm recruited students from 17 top MBA programs. At the end of the summer, students from Wharton, Michigan Ross, UVA Darden, Texas McCombs, and NYU Stern were offered full-time positions, while students from many other schools were left out. This simple anecdote features a very small sampling from one firm and one summer, but it can be an eye-opener for an MBA applicant who assumes that a top ten school is the “ticket.” Further, a myriad of studies suggest that lower-ranked schools offer a greater return on investment than top-ranked schools. In one study sponsored by GMAC (the collective of MBA programs that administers the GMAT), data suggests that lower-ranked schools offer lower costs and higher returns over a ten-year period (185% vs. 118%). We are not suggesting that you start applying exclusively to lower-ranked schools or that you shun Stanford or Harvard—both have excellent programs. Our point is simply that some applicants can too closely identify with their target schools and neglect to recognize that their internal motors have gotten them to a place where they can compete for acceptances. These internal motors will not be shut off during or after business school—they will continue to drive the applicants in the future. |
03 Feb 2020, 09:00
| FROM mbaMission Blog: How to Use Parallel Construction in Your MBA Application Essays—and More on Being Appropriately Personal |
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Longer and more complex sentences often require parallel construction. Simply put, parallel construction ensures that any given longer sentence has a standard rhythm or construction. With parallel construction, each pronoun corresponds with another pronoun, each verb corresponds with another verb, each adjective matches with a corresponding adjective, and so on. Parallel construction can certainly be found in shorter sentences as well, and to great effect. Consider the example of Hamlet’s words “To be or not to be”—some of the most famous in the English language. Shakespeare wrote this short sentence in perfect parallel form; “to be” is matched perfectly with its corresponding negative “not to be” and is separated only by the necessary word “or.” Another short example of parallel construction from history is “I came, I saw, I conquered.” With these words, Julius Caesar spoke in perfect parallel construction—the grammatical form is a pronoun (the word “I”) followed by a verb in the past tense (“came,” “saw,” “conquered”). If we were to change that second famous phrase just a touch, the amazing quality it now has would be lost, and the phrase would become unremarkable. For example, if Caesar had said, “I came, I saw, and I became the conqueror,” he would likely not be quoted today because the rhythm would have been destroyed. Keep this rule in mind for everything that you write, especially for longer sentences. Here are a few more examples: Bad: We are successful for three key reasons: understanding our client, trying harder than our competition, and teamwork. Good: We are successful for three key reasons: understanding our client, trying harder than our competition, and working as a team. (In this example, gerunds [the words ending in “ing”] parallel each other, unlike in the previous, “bad” example.) Bad: We are in the forestry business. We sell wood to hardware stores and paper to stationery stores. Good: We are in the forestry business. We sell wood and paper. On another note, we have previously discussed the importance of thoroughly exploring and accessing your personal stories when writing your application essays. Of course, having too much of a good thing is always a risk as well—admissions committees can be put off by candidates who go too far and become too personal. Some stories are particularly challenging for admissions committees. For example, we strongly discourage candidates from writing about divorce as a moment of failure. If an individual were to take responsibility in an essay for a failed marriage, they would likely end up revealing intensely personal issues, rather than portraying themselves as having learned from a constructive professional or personal challenge. Always keep in mind that in many ways, the admissions committee is meeting you for the first time via your application. So, a simple way to judge whether you are being too personal in your materials is to ask yourself, “Would I be uncomfortable if, immediately upon meeting someone, they were to share this sort of information with me?” If your answer is “yes,” you should most likely consider changing your topic. |
04 Feb 2020, 10:00
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Harvard Business School Interview Invites Are Out! Here Are Some Helpful Resources |
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Harvard Business School (HBS) will send out Round 2 interview invitations today, February 4, at noon eastern standard time. HBS will send only one batch of interview invites, along with notifications of “release.” HBS’s managing director of MBA admissions and financial aid, Chad Losee, addressed the impending invitations in a January 15 blog post. If you are among the candidates who receive an interview invitation today, congratulations! You will be able to sign up for interview slots tomorrow, Wednesday, February 5, at 10:00 a.m. eastern standard time. Now is the time to get ready for this crucial step in your application process. Check out these important resources created by mbaMission specifically for HBS interview candidates: INTENSIVE SIMULATION Devi Vallabhaneni, a veteran admissions interviewer with years of experience interviewing hundreds of HBS candidates and mbaMission’s HBS Interviewer in Residence, is offering online via webcam to help applicants prepare for the real thing. The live interview simulation includes the following components:
MOCK INTERVIEW AND POST-INTERVIEW REFLECTION SUPPORT Another resource to help you prepare is our HBS Mock Interview and Post-Interview Reflection Support service. Through it, you work with an experienced mbaMission Senior Consultant who will have read your entire HBS application and prepared customized questions based on your candidacy. Via Q&A, feedback, and thorough response planning, we will help you improve the content of your answers, your time management skills, and your overall presentation. HBS asks all interviewed applicants to write a post-interview essay and submit it within 24 hours of their interview. This essay has no word limit, and HBS suggests that candidates think of it as an email they would write to a friend or colleague, rather than as a formal essay. As part of our targeted HBS interview package, an mbaMission Senior Consultant will help you strategize your approach to this special essay. Your consultant will also review a draft of the essay and provide feedback intended to assist you in making it stronger and more effective. Please note that because the HBS Admissions Office explicitly states that applicants are not to write anything in advance or receive outside help with this essay, your mbaMission Senior Consultant will not edit your writing but will instead offer detailed strategic direction via comments only. To purchase your HBS mock interview preparation session, click here! HBS INTERVIEW GUIDE Download your complimentary copy of mbaMission’s Harvard Business School Interview Primer today. In creating our primers, we have drawn on countless communications with MBA students, alumni, admissions officers, and applicants, in addition to our vast library of interview reports submitted by current and past clients. Our HBS Interview Primer provides the following information:
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06 Feb 2020, 09:00
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Common Worries About the HBS Admissions Interview |
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[url=https://www.mbamission.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/devi-vallabhaneni.jpg][img]https://www.mbamission.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/devi-vallabhaneni-225x300.jpg[/img][/url] Devi Vallabhaneni, mbaMission’s HBS Interviewer in Residence Devi Vallabhaneni, an HBS graduate and former HBS MBA interviewer, is mbaMission’s HBS Interviewer in Residence, conducting [b][url=https://shop.mbamission.com/collections/services/products/hbs-in-person-intensive-interview-simulation]HBS Intensive Interview Simulations[/url][/b]. Being invited to interview with Harvard Business School (HBS) is unquestionably exciting and a positive step in your admissions journey, but it can also trigger a lot of concerns and questions. Here, I draw on my six years as an HBS interviewer to address some of the most common worries applicants have about the school’s interview, in hopes of easing any apprehension you may be feeling about your upcoming meeting. [b]“I don’t know what to expect.”[/b] The HBS interview is unlike any other business school interview or even a job interview. It is designed to meet the interviewee where they are, meaning that it conforms to the applicant’s style rather than following a preconceived format set by the school. It is dynamic, extremely personal, and tailored to the specific individual. The interviewer will read your entire application before your interview and will base their questions on that information. As a result, no two interviews are the same because no two applicants are the same. Do not let what you read online or have heard about someone else’s interview worry you. Those stories most likely do not apply to you. [b]“I have limited presentation or public-speaking experience.”[/b] The HBS interview is not a speech or a typical work presentation but more like a conversation between two business professionals. You do not need to prepare anything formal in advance, and having extensive presentation experience is certainly not required to have a successful interview. What is imperative is knowing yourself and your story extremely well. The interviewer will be focused on you as an individual, your potential contributions as an MBA student, and your career goals. Your personal communication style is less important. [b]“I work in a very technical and complex field.”[/b] HBS has interviewed candidates from all backgrounds, including science, technology, engineering, and medicine. Your interviewer’s goal is not to understand the technical details of your job but rather how you work and communicate, who you are as a person, how you think about your career, and what your values are. Think of your HBS interview as similar to a discussion you might have about your job with your company’s CEO, which would be a higher-level conversation, beyond the nuts and bolts. [b]“I have a nontraditional background.”[/b] This does not put you at a disadvantage. Whether you work at a start-up of just three people or with your parents and siblings in a family business, your HBS interview will unfold the same way it would for someone who works at IBM, Goldman Sachs, Google, or McKinsey & Company. You should feel confident in communicating your unique professional challenges and accomplishments. Your preparation for your HBS interview should be no different from that of someone who works at a larger or more conventional company. [b]“I’m an international applicant.”[/b] HBS is a global community and understands that some candidates might feel less comfortable with their ability to speak English. If you feel your English could use some polishing, that is a personal decision, and you should do what will make you most comfortable for your interview. You will not be penalized for verbal errors or accents because of the high-stress nature of the interview. Practice and prepare the same way you would for an important business meeting in English. [b]“I work in consulting [or banking] and don’t know how to stand out.”[/b] Your HBS interview is not about standing out per se. It is about viewing your background in the context of what you could contribute to the HBS community. This could include a particular high-impact project, a leadership position outside of work, or a post-MBA career goal that builds on your past professional experience. If you look at yourself as strictly “a consultant applicant” or “a banking applicant,” you will likely be limiting yourself in your self-perception. Instead, take your entire life story and career path into consideration when determining how to communicate who you are. The bottom line is that everyone feels as though they have some kind of disadvantage in the interview process. This is the human condition. Preparation, self-reflection, and, most importantly, the ability to communicate clearly and succinctly are all key in mastering your HBS interview. The admissions interview is an art, not a science—one with no hard and fast rules. I wish such rules did exist so that applicants would not worry so much. Imagine the application process as a relay race: your interviewer will pick up where your application left off and will strive to continue learning about you as a candidate. The interview is the next step after your written application and builds on what you have already shared with the HBS Admissions Board. Practicing speaking about yourself and your accomplishments is important. Find a friend or family member to ask you questions so that you become more comfortable responding to personal queries and get better at delivering your most compelling information easily. Just as you did not write your final, polished application in a single sitting and draft, you will likely need to complete multiple “verbal drafts” before you feel ready for your HBS interview, and this—like the other issues I have covered here—is nothing to worry about. I can assure you that your HBS interview is intended to help the school get to know you as a person, not just an applicant. You are more than the contents of your file, your work experience, and your primary accomplishments. HBS strives to admit each person as the individual they are, so let your genuine personality shine through in the most authentic way possible. To learn more about mbaMission’s interview prep options for Harvard Business School applicants, [url=https://www.mbamission.com/blog/2020/02/04/harvard-business-school-interview-invites-are-out-here-are-some-helpful-resources-4/][b]click here[/b][/url]. If you believe you can benefit from one of our interview planning services—or simply would like some more information on the process—feel free to [b][url=https://www.mbamission.com/about/?display=contact]contact us[/url][/b] anytime! |
09 Feb 2020, 11:00
| FROM mbaMission Blog: International Opportunities at Wharton and Dartmouth Tuck |
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To think that the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania excels only in churning out investment bankers and management consultants would be a mistake. In fact, Wharton boasts a truly international program that was ranked number three in this area (in a tie with NYU Stern) in the 2020 U.S. News & World ReportMBA specialty rankings. International students constitute 30% of the school’s Class of 2021 and represent 64 countries, and 11.7% of the school’s 2018 graduates took jobs outside the United States. Students who wish to study international business at Wharton have no shortage of options for doing so, including the following:
Students gain hands-on international experience through the “OnSite Global Consulting” (formerly “Tuck Global Consultancy”) course, which gives second years the chance to put their education into practice worldwide. Since 1997, students have consulted with 168 global organizations on more than 237 projects in 60 countries, according to the Tuck website. On-site consulting projects are led by small teams of students working under the supervision of Tuck professors with extensive consulting backgrounds. A large percentage of the second-year class participates in this elective, defining projects in the first phase of the program over a period of four to six weeks, then traveling to their assigned countries for three weeks to perform on-site research and analysis. In the final three- to four-week phase of the program, students present their findings to their clients. Past clients include such major corporations as Alcoa, British Telecom, DuPont, Hewlett-Packard, Home Depot, John Deere, Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft, Nike, and Walmart. For more information on other defining characteristics of the MBA program at Wharton, Dartmouth Tuck, or one of 16 other top business schools, please check out our free mbaMission Insider’s Guides. |
09 Feb 2020, 11:00
| FROM mbaMission Blog: MBA Admissions Myths Destroyed: Well, I Had My Chance on the GMAT |
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You finally took the GMAT, and though your score was not bad, it was not what you had hoped—not your best score, but certainly not so low that you need to take the test again. With a score just below where you think you should be, should you risk it all and take the test again? The truth is that there is actually no risk in taking the GMAT a second—or even a third—time in pursuit of a better outcome. If you feel like you do your best on the GMAT on your first try, you can rest easy and move on. However, if you do poorly or simply do not live up to your potential, go ahead and take the test again. Simply put, do not worry that if you do worse on your second try, your target school will average your score down or consider only your lower score. In fact, whether your score improves or gets worse, your target school will consider only your highest score, thereby eliminating any risk to you or your candidacy. So, if you score a 700 on your first test and a 670 on your second, you are better off than if you had scored a 690 on both. It is worth noting that Dartmouth Tuck tacitly encourages multiple attempts at the GMAT by allowing applicants to report all valid scores from the last five years. Tuck will consider an applicant’s best performance on each section of the GMAT (verbal and quantitative), even if the individual scores are from different tests, but will not combine scores to consider a new total score. So, relax and take the test again if you have time and—more importantly—can do better. However, unless you feel that you can improve, taking the test over and over again is pointless. You would be surprised how many people take the GMAT repeatedly without considering improvement at all. |
10 Feb 2020, 12:00
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Set the Tone Early, and Employ Active Verbs in Your MBA Application Essays |
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Any good journalist will tell you that the key to writing a good news story or opinion piece is to grab the reader’s attention with the very first line. Many book authors employ this same tactic. Perhaps few of us have actually read Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, but many know that the novel begins with three famous words: “Call me Ishmael.” A powerful first line can stick with readers long after they have finished reading—and sometimes even when they have not even read something firsthand. For example, we all likely recognize the statement “It was a dark and stormy night,” but few may know that it is the opening line of a book by an obscure writer (Paul Clifford by Edward George Bulwer-Lytton). Although beginning an essay with a very short introduction is the norm, sometimes a punchy opening line can capture a reader’s attention in a useful way. Consider the differences between the following pairs of openers. Which line in each example better captures your attention? Example 1: A “Why MBA?” essay A: “After I graduate with my MBA, I want to work in the wine industry.” B: “Blood runs in the veins of all humans, but wine also runs in mine.” Example 2: A “What are you most passionate about in life?” essay A: “I enjoy nothing more than playing ice hockey.” B: “As soon as the nearby river freezes, I wake at 6 a.m. each day and join my teammates for a prework hockey scrimmage.” No set formula exists for opening lines—the possibilities are endless, and each opener depends on the context of the story being told. Nonetheless, our point is that you must carefully consider your opening line, because it will set the tone for your essay and determine whether your reader will want to read more. Now let us examine the role of active verbs in your essays. Anyone who has ever written an email that has been misunderstood—let alone an MBA application essay—is no doubt aware of the subtleties of language and the nuances that can change a message’s meaning. Indeed, you can enliven a basic sentence simply by choosing more active verbs. For example, consider the verb “earn.” By using “earn” rather than a more passive verb in the following examples, we can alter the meaning and impact of each sentence. Suddenly, you are in control. Suddenly, you worked hard and, as a result, accomplished great things. Passive/poor example: “I was promoted from junior to senior analyst.” Active/good example: “I earned a promotion from junior to senior analyst.” Passive/poor example: “After being awarded my MBA, I will be able to…” Active/good example: “After earning my MBA, I will be able to…” Once you have finished your application essays, review them to see how often you can replace certain words with “earn” or a similar verb—such as “achieve,” “gain,” and “attain”—that denotes action on your part. |
11 Feb 2020, 09:00
| FROM mbaMission Blog: The Importance of Gender Equity: You Can Help! |
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In this blog series, our mbaMission [url=https://www.mbamission.com/about/?display=team]Career Coaches[/url] offer invaluable advice and industry-related news to help you actively manage your career. Topics include building your network, learning from mistakes and setbacks, perfecting your written communication, and mastering even the toughest interviews. To schedule a free half-hour consultation with one of our mbaMission Career Coaches, [url=https://www.mbamission.com/consult/?display=career-coaching]click here[/url]. The business case for gender diversity is clear: greater profitability, creativity, and innovation as well as less risk for companies. So, why do we not see gender equality in most MBA programs or within leadership roles at Fortune 500 companies? On MBA campuses, we are seeing (some) changes: [list] [*]The Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California achieved gender parity in its enrolled Class of 2020. [/*] [*]The 2018 Women In Leadership Conference at the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business focused on advancing the conversation around gender equality and social justice. [/*] [*]The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania offers a male ally program known as the “22s,” whose name references the $0.22 wage gap between men and women. [/*] [/list] But according to McKinsey’s Women in the Workplace study, not everything is changing (or changing fast enough): [list] [*]Roughly 20% of women say they are often the only woman or one of the only women in the room at work. [/*] [*]Only 8% of men believe their gender has played a role in missing out on a raise, promotion, or chance to get ahead, whereas 37% of women believe this to be true. [/*] [*]Changing the name of a candidate from female to male on their resume increased the odds of an interview invitation. [/*] [*]64% of women stated that micro-aggressions are a workplace reality. For example, research showed that women are twice as likely as men to be mistaken for someone in a more junior role.[/*] [/list] To see real change, gender equity needs to be on everybody’s mind. As many of you enter MBA programs or re-enter the corporate world after earning your MBA, we encourage you to advocate for gender equity. The resources developed by Forté Foundation’s [url=https://www.fortefoundation.org/site/PageServer?pagename=allies]Men as Allies Initiative[/url], including an MBA Toolkit, a Male Ally Toolkit, and a corporate program, are a great starting point. In addition, Forté Foundation makes the following recommendations: [list] [*][b]Learn about the business case behind gender equity[/b] and the need for male involvement. [/*] [*][b]Understand gender-supportive behaviors[/b] in the classroom, on the job, and elsewhere. Amplify women’s voices; notice team dynamics and ensure credit for work is attributed correctly. [/*] [*][b]Get involved.[/b] Share your perspective and participate in the conversation. Consider starting a male ally group at your business school. Understand what it means to be a male ally at work. Sign up for unconscious bias training sessions. Encourage diversity on interview slates. [/*] [/list] You can learn more by exploring the Forté Men as Allies Initiative’s research and blog as well as the following articles and books: [list] [*][url=https://hbr.org/2018/10/how-men-can-become-better-allies-to-women]“How Men Can Become Better Allies to Women”[/url] ([url=https://hbr.org/2018/10/how-men-can-become-better-allies-to-women]Harvard Business Review[/url])[/*] [*][url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/07/opinion/sunday/adam-grant-and-sheryl-sandberg-on-discrimination-at-work.html]“When Talking About Bias Backfires”[/url] (The New York Times Opinion)[/*] [*][url=https://www.amazon.com/Athena-Rising-Should-Mentor-Women-ebook/dp/B01M7PT1HQ/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1567534675&sr=1-2&linkCode=sl1&tag=fortefound-20&linkId=8455552b8d94bea0a0cadbad2e42e986]Athena Rising: How and Why Men Should Mentor Women[/url] [/*] [*][url=https://executiveeducation.wharton.upenn.edu/thought-leadership/wharton-at-work/2019/12/women-leaders-need-sponsors-to-advance/]“To Advance, Women Leaders Need Sponsors, Not More Mentors[/url]” (Wharton@Work)[/*] [*]McKinsey’s Women in the Workplace [url=https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/gender-equality/women-in-the-workplace-2019]2019[/url] | [url=https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/gender-equality/women-in-the-workplace-2018]2018[/url] | [url=https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/gender-equality/women-in-the-workplace-2017]2017[/url][/*] [/list] In this blog series, our mbaMission [url=https://www.mbamission.com/about/?display=team]Career Coaches[/url] offer invaluable advice and industry-related news to help you actively manage your career. Topics include building your network, learning from mistakes and setbacks, perfecting your written communication, and mastering even the toughest interviews. To schedule a free half-hour consultation with one of our mbaMission Career Coaches, [url=https://www.mbamission.com/consult/?display=career-coaching]click here[/url]. |
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Hi Generic [Bot],
Here are updates for you:
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Tuck at Dartmouth
AGSM at UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE
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