Last visit was: 26 Apr 2024, 04:25 It is currently 26 Apr 2024, 04:25

Close
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.

Customized
for You

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel
SORT BY:
Date
MBA Admissions Consultant
Joined: 20 Apr 2003
Posts: 6448
Own Kudos [?]: 844 [0]
Given Kudos: 92
Location: Los Angeles CA
Send PM
MBA Admissions Consultant
Joined: 20 Apr 2003
Posts: 6448
Own Kudos [?]: 844 [0]
Given Kudos: 92
Location: Los Angeles CA
Send PM
MBA Admissions Consultant
Joined: 20 Apr 2003
Posts: 6448
Own Kudos [?]: 844 [0]
Given Kudos: 92
Location: Los Angeles CA
Send PM
MBA Admissions Consultant
Joined: 20 Apr 2003
Posts: 6448
Own Kudos [?]: 844 [0]
Given Kudos: 92
Location: Los Angeles CA
Send PM
Why MBA? The Winning Ingredients of a Dynamic MBA Goals Essay [#permalink]
Expert Reply
FROM Accepted.com Blog: Why MBA? The Winning Ingredients of a Dynamic MBA Goals Essay



MBA goals need to be practical, not just theoretical

In the good old days when Wharton still offered feedback to rejected applicants, I talked with a potential client who was reapplying to Wharton. He had received feedback on his application and had, in fact, really liked his application. “They said I was well qualified, and I would be a good fit for the school.” Pause. “The problem was my goals. Venture capital. They said it wasn’t a feasible goal for me.”

Like many people, this person dreamed of going into VC – he surely could do it, given the chance, and it would be wonderful for him – just that his chances of getting a VC job post-MBA were about zero. The adcom knew that, and he should have known it too.

Inappropriate goals, ineffectively presented goals, and impractical goals can get otherwise well-qualified applicants dinged from top MBA programs. This story is not an isolated case. I have heard similar ones every year for the 20+ years that I’ve been involved in the admissions world.

How do you avoid this scenario? 

With effort, thought, and research, you can show how you’ll make your goals a reality

Many people start their MBA application process with their goals sort of sketched out in their head. But merely “sketched out” won’t cut it. 

It’s not enough to focus only on what you’d like theoretically. You’ve got to figure out how you’re going to make it happen. Do you recognize the obstacles that might get in your way, and are you prepared to work to overcome them? The person in the above story belatedly discovered this reality at the cost of his admission to his dream school. It’s not that you should never present complex or difficult goals in an MBA essay, but rather that if you do you should acknowledge that fact and present a concrete path to their achievement. 

Let’s say that our Wharton applicant had said in his original essay that he knew how hard it would be for him to land a VC job, and mapped out a plan to go about it. If it still didn’t work out, he was ready with Plan B (or Plan C) that could also take him to his long-term goals. In this case, he might have been admitted, depending on how positively the adcom viewed the rest of his application.

Goals need to be specific, credible, well-articulated, engaging – and ideally – exciting. But how do you craft them in the goals essay? The next four sections in this article will walk you through that process step by step.

Compelling, believable goals need to focus on what you want to do

“I want to move from the buy side to the sell side.”

“I want to shift from technology consulting to investment banking.”

Sorry, these are not goals.

A goal isn’t something you want. A goal is something you plan to do. It’s something you want to achieve, an impact you want to have, and the process you plan on implementing to get there. Therefore, a goal needs to be specific and include a plan. As the author of The Little Prince said, “A goal without a plan is just a wish.” 

The two key components of an MBA goal are industry and function. For many people, geography may be a third key component, if it is integral to the goal (e.g., developing solar energy in northern Africa).

What will the work actually consist of? What do you hope to accomplish? These details flesh out the goals.

Here are some examples that incorporate the above elements:

  • “I plan to return to operations but work at a higher, decision-making level, such as Senior Operations Manager, in an East Asian semiconductor firm or a related industry. In this role, I would, for example, oversee $XXX operations, a global high-tech supply chain, and manage a diverse range of technical and business professionals.”

  • “Currently I’m a BPR consultant; I plan to shift to strategy consulting at a top global firm such as Bain or McKinsey, ideally focusing on clients in the pharma/biomedical space, and help them set up operations in Eastern Europe.”

How you can write an MBA goals essay that goes beyond static to dynamic! 

It’s one thing to write goals that are clear, credible, and convincing. But can you make them exciting? How can you make the adcom reader think as she reads, “Wow, it would be great if she could do that!” Capturing the reader’s engagement and enthusiasm is really what your goals essay should aim for. As all my clients have probably heard me say, you want to make your reader your cheerleader.

To get your readers excited by your essay–and your candidacy–you need to deliver “goals plus.” This explains how your goals developed from your experience, and describes your motivation and vision to achieve them. Let’s define those terms.

  • Experience means when, where, and how your goals developed. This element adds to your story’s credibility.

  • Motivation is that spark point, that “Aha!” moment when something gained traction with you. When did you become engaged and captivated in some way so that you wanted to pursue a given path?

  • Vision is the broader impact of achieving the goal, beyond your own immediate efforts.

These three elements will likely be intertwined. Here is a brief example taken from a sample goals essay:

“Last year, when I was in Taiwan advising a global financial services company on consolidating its Asia strategy, I found myself thinking what a shame it was that my relationship with the client proved responsive rather than proactive. With my knowledge of the region’s changing demographic and logistical realities, I could have recommended strategic opportunities a year ago to prevent the client from getting bogged down in redundant acquisitions and incompatible markets. Following that experience, I envisioned a new consulting paradigm resembling primary care medicine, based on a long-term, prevention-focused relationship between the consultant and client.”

Adding experience, motivation, and vision turns the goals from static to dynamic. Three other advantages of “goals plus” include:

  • Enhanced credibility based on your personal experience.
  • Differentiating you and your goals because it’s your story, and naturally unique. 
  • Creating a more engaging and memorable story than what you would have in pure exposition.

Unpacking short- and long-term goals for your essay 

“Goals” usually need to be broken down into short-term, intermediate, and long-term. It helps to have this whole picture in your mind regardless of where you’ll focus in a particular essay. Short-term refers to the time frame immediately post-MBA to about two years later; intermediate covers the time about two to five years post-MBA; and long-term applies to the time following that. Usually essays ask for short- and long-term goals, but you’ll need to know your intermediate goals as well to bridge the short and long term.

Short-term goals should be the most specific, for obvious reasons and because they also link directly to the MBA program. As you describe successive steps in your career that reach further into the future, the less certain you can be about how things will play out. Don’t write beyond what seems reasonable and practical; obviously avoid writing in detail about what you’ll be doing in twenty years. So many industries are in great flux, so that point should be acknowledged in your goals.

It’s true that your short-term goals operate as a stepping stone toward achieving your long-term goals, but if room allows, focus not only on what you will learn but the experience you will gain, and the people you will meet. Short-term goals should also include the elements noted above – what you want to do and accomplish/contribute.

Responding to specific goals questions

Different sets of essay questions will emphasize different aspects of the goals; they’ll require different lengths and have different tones. Some are open, while others are focused and directed. The key is to “read” not just the words but the tone of the question. The trend toward short, focused goals essay questions continues, and fewer essays ask for your “vision.” Most want the facts, straight.

Read for context in each question: What is the question really emphasizing? Is there an equal focus on short-term and long-term, or do they just mention post-MBA goals in general? Be guided by the question as it is asked specifically. Any elements you introduce should support your main points.

When a question asks why you want an MBA or want to attend the particular program, link these points directly to your goals. Ensure that your goals really require an MBA education; the adcoms want to see that you really need the resources they offer, which they view as precious and not to be squandered. (And they’re right!)

If you can weave in your school visit and/or interactions with students and alumni, great!

Do you have a backup plan? Show it. 

Think you’re done with MBA goals? Think again. With a seemingly permanent state of global economic volatility, having a backup plan for your immediate post-MBA goal is not only smart planning for you but also enhances your goal essay’s credibility. It’s particularly important if you’re targeting a difficult-to-enter industry (remember that VC-dreamer?) or changing careers. In fact, adcoms have specifically said that they welcome this recognition of reality; it gives them more confidence that you will land a job. 

However, space is limited, yet you also can’t afford to sound undirected, either. In the goals essay, focus mostly on your main short-term goal. Then add one to three sentences about a reasonable alternative that you’d also consider, explaining how it also would be a good step toward your further goals. Example: An applicant is targeting an IT manager role post-MBA with the long-term goal of CIO; a backup plan could be a tech strategy consulting post-MBA job.

Show your research! 

I’m frequently surprised at how few people do real-life research into their goals before writing essays. Digging around on the web for a couple of hours and talking to people in careers related to your goals can yield rich detail for your essays. Moreover, mentioning this research enhances the sense of commitment to your chosen path. Read up on the industry and its current and future challenges, and conduct informational interviews (See “MBA Discusses Coffee Chats”) regarding the industry or business function.

Investing in this due diligence will enable you to write intelligently and engagingly about your goals. It makes the essay more interesting, and will prevent big mistakes, such as that of the Wharton reapplicant mentioned in the beginning of this article. By presenting selected tidbits of your research in your essay you’ll show you’re resourceful and committed, someone who is likely to have something meaningful to contribute in class. 

Don’t spin your wheels trying to identify, define, and write about your goals. Team up with an insightful, expert admissions advisor who will help you get the job done and get ACCEPTED. Learn more about MBA Admissions Services here. GET ACCEPTED!





Cindy Tokumitsu has advised hundreds of successful applicants, helping them gain acceptance to top MBA and EMBA programs in her 20 years with Accepted. She would love to help you too. Want Cindy to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch!

“I couldn’t wait to tell you—I was accepted to Wharton!” (Or HBS, or MIT EMBA, or med school, or law school, or MA/MS/PhD programs…) This type of message is unequivocally why working as a grad admissions consultant at Accepted since 1998 remains fresh, exciting, and deeply rewarding. In an admissions climate of ongoing flux and through several business cycles, I have seen countless changes and surprises – but, most important, what hasn’t changed: the need for applicants to understand their goals and learning needs; to demonstrate their unique fit with their target programs; and to execute thoughtful, compelling applications. I have the experience and skills to help you do exactly that, as I have helped hundreds over the last 20+ years.

Related resources:


The post Why MBA? The Winning Ingredients of a Dynamic MBA Goals Essay appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog.
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
MBA Admissions Consultant
Joined: 20 Apr 2003
Posts: 6448
Own Kudos [?]: 844 [0]
Given Kudos: 92
Location: Los Angeles CA
Send PM
Pitch Your Profile Contest Offers MBA Hopefuls Free Consulting  [#permalink]
Expert Reply
FROM Accepted.com Blog: “Pitch Your Profile” Contest Offers MBA Hopefuls Free Consulting 



For more than 27 years, Accepted has been on the leading edge of grad school admissions consulting. Our MBA consultants are all former admissions officers or have related experience at the nation’s top-ranked programs, and their expert guidance has helped thousands of applicants navigate the complex, multi-layered admissions process with great success. Our clients have earned seats at some of the most competitive programs around the world. 

Now, we are hosting our first-ever “Pitch Your Profile” contest, inviting MBA hopefuls to tell us why they belong in b-school, and how our consulting services will benefit them. The first-place winner will receive 10 hours of MBA consulting (valued at $3190.00), and two runners-up will each receive 1 hour of consulting (a $360 value). All entrants who advance to the second round of selection will receive a free profile evaluation. 

The contest launches on May 9 and all submissions must be received by May 23. Winners will be announced on June 16 during a live Q&A and finalist profile evaluation. Contestants can submit their profile entries here. Video submissions are optional but strongly encouraged, and selfie-style videos are more than adequate. 

Accepted Founder and CEO Linda Abraham says of the contest, “We want to invest in your success! We encourage you to enter the contest and tell us about your MBA dreams.”





For 25 years, Accepted has helped business school applicants gain acceptance to top programs. Our outstanding team of MBA admissions consultants features former business school admissions directors and professional writers who have guided our clients to admission at top MBA, EMBA, and other graduate business programs worldwide including Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Booth, INSEAD, London Business School, and many more. Want an MBA admissions expert to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch!

The post “Pitch Your Profile” Contest Offers MBA Hopefuls Free Consulting  appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog.
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
MBA Admissions Consultant
Joined: 20 Apr 2003
Posts: 6448
Own Kudos [?]: 844 [0]
Given Kudos: 92
Location: Los Angeles CA
Send PM
HEC Paris MBA Essay Tips & Deadlines [2022 2023] [#permalink]
Expert Reply
FROM Accepted.com Blog: HEC Paris MBA Essay Tips & Deadlines [2022 – 2023]



The HEC Paris MBA application essays – and there are many compared to most MBA applications these days –give the adcom a well-rounded view of you. They go beyond what you’ve done to capture how you think and respond, even how you imagine. Moreover, they require you to communicate complex thoughts and experiences succinctly. For the four shorter essays especially, don’t waste words on conventional introductory and concluding paragraphs. Jump right into your point or story and use straightforward sentences that avoid wordy constructions (e.g. “had the opportunity to”); don’t hesitate to use direct, declarative sentences. This writing approach has an added benefit: it conveys confidence.

Since there are several essays, I suggest first sketching out ideas for them all, then stepping back to assess how all these facets add up as a whole, and adjusting topics if/as necessary to avoid redundancy and ensure a well-rounded presentation that will make the adcom feel that they must invite you for an interview.

HEC Paris MBA application essays

HEC MBA essay #1

Why are you applying to the HEC MBA Program now? What is the professional objective that will guide your career choice after your MBA, and how will the HEC MBA contribute to the achievement of this objective? (500 words maximum)

This is a traditional goals question with a couple of twists.

  • First, the “why now” part should be explicitly addressed, even if it seems obvious. Briefly is fine – the essay overall should make this case ultimately.

  • Second, the “professional objective” is essentially your long-term career vision. The question implies that this vision or goal will drive your preceding steps, so present your shorter-term goal(s) in that context: show how they pave the way for you to pursue and achieve your ultimate professional objective.

  • Be brief but specific when discussing the HEC MBA – tie its program directly to achievement of your goals, and detail the 2-3 points about the program that are most meaningful to you.

Finally, connect the dots. This essay, well done, will convey how your goals grow organically from your experience and are achievable given your previous experience and an MBA from HEC.



HEC MBA essay #2

What do you consider your most significant life achievement? (250 words maximum)

Most significant life achievement – Wow. It probably didn’t happen yesterday. And for many people it didn’t happen at work… Few work accomplishments rise to the level of MOST SIGNIFICANT LIFE ACHIEVEMENT. Imagine if, for example, you state that boosting your organization’s bottom-line (by whatever amount) is your greatest life achievement – the adcom might wonder about your values or whether you really have a life. Although, if you can say that at work you saved jobs or lessened negative environmental impacts or were instrumental in developing a new medical advancement, that would be more substantial and could possibly fit the bill.

For many people, this story will be personal – I think of clients who have persevered through, managed, and overcome major family crises. For others, it will involve impact with community, religious, and/or social organizations or groups; for yet others it could involve a major milestone such as a national sports ranking or photo exhibit or music performance.

Whatever topic you select, with only 250 words, simply narrate the story and include the results or impact. It would be fine to have a sentence or two of reflection on why it’s so meaningful to you, but don’t make a long explanation. The reason should be clear from the content.

HEC MBA essay #3

Leadership and ethics are inevitably intertwined in the business world. Describe a situation in which you have dealt with these issues and how they have influenced you. (250 words maximum)

Again, keep the structure simple: tell the story, and end with a brief discussion of how the experience has influenced you. Don’t feel the need to present a very dramatic story – many such situations are gray, not black and white. It may seem like a challenge to identify an experience that encompasses both leadership and ethics. However, addressing an ethics challenge will almost inherently require leadership (even if informal), whether on your part or someone else’s. When you explain how it influenced you, don’t just state generalities; give a specific example.

HEC MBA essay #4

Imagine a life entirely different from the one you now lead, what would it be? (250 words maximum)

This essay is an opportunity to show a different side of yourself. Describe an imagined life that reflects something meaningful to you. Make it vivid, show your passion. Note that the question does NOT ask what you would do if not in your current life/role; it asks you to imagine a life. Use that openness to express your creativity. In doing so, however, avoid being abstract. Weave in and employ your actual knowledge and experience, e.g., if you love ballet and are an avid ballet-goer, you could build your imagined life in a way that portrays your knowledge of and passion for dance. The reader would learn something interesting about you – and your prospective contribution to the social milieu of the program.

HEC MBA essay #5

Please choose from one of the following essays: (250 words maximum)

a) What monument or site would you advise a first-time visitor to your country or city to discover, and why?

b) Certain books, movies or plays have had an international success that you believe to be undeserved. Choose an example and analyze it.

c) What figure do you most admire and why? You may choose from any field (arts, literature, politics, business, etc.).

All these options are equally good – choose the one that resonates most with you; the one that you want to answer. It’s another opportunity to showcase your interests and passions. The “why” part is key: avoid platitudes, be specific and present focused, fresh insights.

HEC MBA essay #6

Is there any additional information you would like to share with us?(900 words max)

This question invites you to explain anything that needs explaining (e.g., gap in employment, choice of recommender, a bad grade, etc.) as well as to present new material that will enhance your application. If you choose to do the latter, make sure it’s a point that contributes to a clear and full picture of your candidacy. They give you a lot of words to work with; don’t think that you must use all 900!

HEC Paris at a glance

HEC MBA average GMAT score: 690

Class size (Class of 2021): 281

HEC MBA acceptance rate: 18.9%

You’ve worked so hard to get to this point in your journey. Now that you’re ready for your next achievement, make sure you know how to present yourself to maximum advantage in your SCHOOL NAME application. In a hotly competitive season, you’ll want a member of Team Accepted in your corner, guiding you with expertise tailored specifically for you. Check out our flexible consulting packages today!

HEC Paris remaining MBA application deadlines for Jan 2023 intake

Application dueDecision received1 June 20229 July 202215 August 202217 September 202215 September 202222 October 202215 October 2022**19 November 202215 November 2022**17 December 2022

*Application deadlines may be subject to change 

** For non EU nationals, we encourage you to apply sooner due to housing and student visas

Source: HEC Paris website

***Disclaimer: Information is subject to change. Please check with individual programs to verify the essay questions, instructions and deadlines.***

For expert guidance with your HEC Paris MBA application, check out Accepted’s MBA Application Packages, which include comprehensive guidance from an experienced admissions consultant. We’ve helped hundreds of applicants get accepted to top MBA programs and look forward to helping you too!



Cindy Tokumitsu has advised hundreds of successful applicants, helping them gain acceptance to top MBA and EMBA programs in her 20 years with Accepted. She would love to help you too. Want Cindy to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch!



Related Resources:

The post HEC Paris MBA Essay Tips & Deadlines [2022 – 2023] appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog.
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
MBA Admissions Consultant
Joined: 20 Apr 2003
Posts: 6448
Own Kudos [?]: 844 [0]
Given Kudos: 92
Location: Los Angeles CA
Send PM
A Chicago Booth MBA Shares His Journey to B-School and Important Tips [#permalink]
Expert Reply
FROM Accepted.com Blog: A Chicago Booth MBA Shares His Journey to B-School and Important Tips for Applicants



Learn how real students and recent grads have navigated their way through the business school admissions process and b-school itself with our What is Business School Really Like? series.

Meet Michael, a Booth MBA drawn to his career as a result of what he hopes to ultimately accomplish in life. His goal? To make the world a more efficient place. “I want every company, business, and organization I touch to become better and faster at what they do.”

Michael, thank you for sharing your story with us!

Let’s start at the beginning… Where did you go to undergrad and what did you major in?

Michael: I attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (I-L-L!) and majored in Global Studies with a focus on East Asia and Conflict Resolution.

What was your inspiration or epiphany for deciding to pursue an MBA?

Michael: Although there were many reasons why I wanted to dive into business school, one of the main motivations was that I knew I needed to build a new skillset, in order to reach my long-term goal of becoming a leadership consultant. At that point in my career (we’ll call it early 2018), I had found success in tech-data analysis, CRM implementation, sales strategy. However, I couldn’t tell you even the raw basics of accounting, finance, or economics. If I wanted to be able to positively impact business leaders around the world, I needed to first be able to speak the language of business!

During the application process, were you also working full-time? What did that look like and how were you able to balance it all?

Michael: I was working a full-time consulting job at the same time that I was going through the application process. One of the biggest factors in balancing the workload was communication with my managers at the firm. I was fortunate that I had a set of outstanding leaders who supported me in the journey, so I never felt that I needed to hide the fact that I was planning on moving on from the company. A second factor was having a consistent regiment for studying for the GMAT and finishing applications. I set targets for when I would take the test, planned out when I would apply to schools, and set up contingencies to fall back on if things went well or didn’t go well – I’m a planner, so it made me feel more comfortable to map it out!

Which “tools” – such as an app, technique, lifehack, website, guide, mantra, or advice – got you through the application process and into Booth?

Michael: Not sure if it counts as a lifehack, but I simply talked with people. I talked with current students, alumni, faculty, the leadership development staff, the admissions team, and even people who turned down Booth to really understand the program to the point where not only could I visualize myself there, but I also could readily exactly how I wanted to contribute. It allowed me to put my true self onto paper – I didn’t know if I would be accepted or not, but I felt honest with and confident in my story.

There are so many factors that go into accepting an offer at an MBA program! Which metrics did you use and what was most important to you?

Michael: Oh gosh, you don’t want to see the scoring model that I created. It was wild, and I don’t recommend it. (Side note: The first indication that I was going to choose Booth should have been when I did something as nerdy as creating a scoring model to decide a major life event.) I started off with metrics, such as 10-year average salary, job placement rates, company representation, and location. But – as fluffy as this sounds, it’s true – it all came down to the people. Even after my scoring model created a tie between schools (go figure), when I visited Booth’s admitted students weekend, First Day, I immediately knew that was where I would be. The rest is history!

Let’s revisit the day you got your acceptance letter, we’re anxious to know you celebrated.

Michael: Jumping up and down, banging my knee on my desk, proceeding to call my parents, and having a happy cry together.

What advice would you give the incoming MBA class?

Michael: First, talk to everybody. You’re going to be surrounded by some of the brightest, most driven, absolutely impressive people in the world, and you don’t even realize it. They – and you – have done amazing things to reach where you are, and you are in a unique position to truly learn from them. So, branch out and strike up a conversation with that stranger, since you never know what you may take away from and contribute to the experience.

And finally, what advice would you give your younger self?

Michael: You’re more resilient than you know. Take a deep breath, then keep pushing forward.

Do you want to be featured in our next ‘What is Business School Really Like?’ post? Know someone else who you’d love to see featured? Are there questions you’d like us to ask our students in this series? LET US KNOW!

Are you setting out on your own b-school journey? We can help you reach the finish line! Check out our MBA Admissions Consulting Services to team up with an admissions expert who will help you join the ranks of thousands of Accepted clients who get accepted to their dream schools.





For 25 years, Accepted has helped business school applicants gain acceptance to top programs. Our outstanding team of MBA admissions consultants features former business school admissions directors and professional writers who have guided our clients to admission at top MBA, EMBA, and other graduate business programs worldwide including Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Booth, INSEAD, London Business School, and many more. Want an MBA admissions expert to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch!

Related resources:

The post A Chicago Booth MBA Shares His Journey to B-School and Important Tips for Applicants appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog.
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
MBA Admissions Consultant
Joined: 20 Apr 2003
Posts: 6448
Own Kudos [?]: 844 [0]
Given Kudos: 92
Location: Los Angeles CA
Send PM
How to Get Into HEC Paris MBA Program [#permalink]
Expert Reply
FROM Accepted.com Blog: How to Get Into HEC Paris MBA Program



Discover HEC Paris’ top-ranked MBA Program [Show Summary]

HEC Paris’ top-ranked MBA Program is known for its entrepreneurial spirit, the strong representation of many cultures, and the rich alumni network that feels like family. Benoit Banchereau, MBA Admissions Director, explores what sets this program apart and how potential students can secure a spot.

Benoit Banchereau, Executive Director, Marketing and Admissions at HEC Paris MBA programs shares what the program is looking for in applicants [Show Notes]

It gives me great pleasure to have for the first time on Admissions Straight Talk, Benoit Banchereau. Benoit is the Executive Director of Marketing and Admissions at HEC Paris MBA programs. He earned two masters degrees from the Sorbonne in Paris, one in Bilingual Journalism and the other in Media and Communication. He also participated in INSEAD’s International Marketing Program. He has worked in communications and marketing for companies like A.T. Kearney, Standard & Poor’s, and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer before joining HEC Paris in 2015 as Director of Marketing and Admissions. In 2019, he became the Executive Director of Marketing and Admissions for all of HEC Paris’ MBA programs.

Can you start by giving us an overview of HEC’s three MBA programs? [2:17]

We have a full-time MBA that takes place on the campus of Jouy-en-Josas. It’s a 16-month program that students complete on-site. The Executive MBA program is between 15 and 18 months. It includes people who are generally above 35, and it’s a part-time MBA. We have five flexible options. We have some modular intakes, weekend intakes, a bilingual intake in French and English, and an intake in Qatar where we have an office.

Our program is very highly ranked in the Financial Times, it has the number one place. For the moment so far so good, but you can never stay too long in first place. Our TRIUM Executive MBA is a partnership with NYU and LSE, London School of Economics. It’s a very special international offer that gives students the opportunity to belong to the three alumni communities from HEC, NYU, and LSE.

Is the TRIUM Executive MBA a full-time program or a part-time program? [4:32]

It’s a part-time program with exactly the same target. In terms of population, it’s more expensive than our Executive MBA at HEC. It really gives a special offer. It’s usually between 50 and 60 participants so it’s a very small cohort with people trying to get an international perspective. The alliance between HEC, NYU, and LSE is so valuable, especially at this time when we see that international relations are so important. It gives a very interesting approach, especially with our friends from LSE who can actually bring this to students.

Can you zoom in on the full-time MBA program’s more notable and distinctive elements? [6:05]

What you’re going to get from the full-time MBA is the quality of the courses that we provide with top professors. The way that it’s structured is we have a fundamental phase that lasts eight months. Then it’s followed by a customized phase that lasts another eight months. It could be an international exchange, it could be a specialization, it could be actually many things. It’s really a la carte, which is very appreciated by participants because they can really design their own way of doing the MBA.

The fundamental phase is compulsory for everyone. You can’t actually choose corporate finance or not, marketing or not, operations or not. What we are trying to introduce during the MBA is learning by doing. We are really careful about that because you can attend a lot of conferences and speeches about leadership and you will probably enjoy it very much. But at the same time, it doesn’t mean that you will be able to do it. I mean, you have been inspired, but are you able really to demonstrate on the ground that you can apply it? What have you learned? This is really what it’s about.

There are many elements during the full-time MBA, where you have the possibility of showing that you can learn by doing. You have also some real-time problem-solving workshops and initiatives so that you can actually discover who you truly are as a leader and on which parts you have to work to improve your leadership. You discover yourself, which is something that is looked after by the participants. 

Of course, the most important thing about this full-time MBA is where are you going to get a job. People are coming to do a career transformation. I’m not saying that the courses are not important; your courses are important. But really what really matters is where you’re going to land after your MBA. What kind of job you’re going to find? Are you going to achieve this transformation that you are looking after? And this is what we make sure happens, it’s this transformation.

Usually, we gauge this by three levels: change of sector, change of function, and change of country. 80% of our students are managing to do two of those three changes, and 40% do what we call a triple jump. I’m always amazed to see this because it really means that you have left the job that you had and the country where you were living to have a better future. You’re getting this future because 93% of our cohort is finding a job three months after graduating which is reassuring. Where our students land is just amazing, especially knowing where they started. This is a very, very big transformation that they can accomplish.

TELL OUR MBA EXPERTS WHY THEY SHOULD INVEST IN YOU, AND YOU COULD WIN A FREE 10-HOUR ADMISSIONS CONSULTING PACKAGE!

PITCH YOUR PROFILE >>

In the United States, the common wisdom is that if you’re going to make a career change, an internship really facilitates that career change. In a 16-month program do you do an internship? If so, then when? [10:43]

This is very interesting because your question is coming from someone who lives in the U.S. who thinks that 16 months is short. But when actually livingin Europe, you have the main competitor, which is INSEAD, and they are doing everything in 10 months. We have chosen to do this full-time MBA in 16 months because that’s the right time to make this transformation. If you want a true transformation, it’s very hard to do it in 10 months. You need at least those 16 months because you’re going to do an internship like you said. It could be actually a summer internship or it could be right after the phases that I was mentioning before. You can actually find some room before the graduation to do an internship as well.

While you are doing the fundamental phase and while you are doing the specialization phase, of course you are following a career curriculum from day one. You are in contact with our staff in the career center and they’re trying to help you find what you’re going to do and what you want to achieve. It really means that you need to know exactly where you want to go and you also need to know yourself. Then you need to match the two, match yourself with your expectation and the market to see exactly what you can do. When you do this, then you can actually see if you need an internship to achieve this, it’s not actually compulsory.

We have about 60% of our participants doing an internship, but it means that 40% of them are not doing it and they still get great jobs. It’s not actually an obligation to do an internship to get the right job. It helps in many aspects for some jobs like consulting but for many jobs, you don’t need an internship. You can actually go straight to where you want to go.

Other than a knowledge of English, are there any language requirements at HEC Paris? [14:03]

Yes, that’s a big requirement. You need to do three languages during your MBA. If you’re American, obviously you speak English but then you will have to do two other languages. We recommend doing French because you will be living in the country for 16 months. It’s great to know how to speak and to interact with the locals in Paris – when you’re going to ask for a coffee, when you’re going to try to find your way. We don’t expect you, in the end, to be a black belt in French because it’s a difficult language but at least you will pass the test that shows that you know how to express yourself in French.

Then you can choose another language. Most of our participants have a mother tongue language, then they know how to speak English and then they learn French. This is the third language that they have to learn. It may seem like a big constraint, but it’s a great feature of our program. People are enjoying this on campus because they’re learning about new cultures. Since the diversity of our class is so great, it helps a lot. 

I insist on that language aspect. Our full-time MBA is so diverse that we have only 6% French students in the program. This is a big difference compared to the U.S. My friends, who completed MBA programs in the U.S. at prominent schools like Harvard, Wharton, and Stanford, all told me that it was huge to have 20% of international people in the class but most of the cohorts were actually coming from the States.

Sometimes it’s difficult because you have a leading population over only some representatives of some countries. But I’d actually say, and I think it’s the same with our main competitor INSEAD, it’s quite well balanced in terms of region. We have 24% coming from North America and Latin America, we have only 19% coming from Europe which is surprising. We have 11% coming from Africa and the Middle East. We have 46% coming from Asia and Oceania. I would say that the most prominent and largest population is coming from India. There are probably 21% of Indian participants and the rest are people coming from all different countries. China is important, but not so large in terms of number.

The good thing is that you are truly mixed. There isn’t a leading population overrepresented in the class. You need to find your way and you need to understand the specificity of other countries. You can find this in language because you discover the specificities of people and their countries within the language. When you learn a new language, it’s a way to understand why people are behaving certain ways.

The other day someone asked me, “But why is it so diverse at HEC?” and I was saying that it’s actually a chance for participants but it’s also a challenge for participants. Think about when you are doing a strategy exercise on a team with someone coming from France, from Russia, from the States, from India, from China, from South Africa, and someone from Germany. When you have to make a decision, when you have to make sure that everyone is contributing, doing a share of their part, this is a real challenge because the notion of time is very different for everyone. The notion of rigor is very different. It doesn’t mean that they are not reaching the same conclusion in the end. But there are actually different paths that lead to the conclusion and this is a real challenge. If in the end, you are working in another environment because everybody is working abroad from their own countries. If you are working in an international company, you will be facing these kinds of challenges and it’s hard. You need to be patient, you need to understand and you need to move on. That’s actually something that is really in the DNA of this full-time MBA, because of the diversity that we find here.

There’s also the diversity of doing this in a non-native setting. [21:13]

Exactly. I’m always amazed. I just try to remember myself when I was 25 or 30 years old. It’s a big thing to quit your job and to travel all over the world to Paris and then you’re going to do something completely new. You’re hoping for a better future and you’re going to be mixed with some people who you have no idea of. But the beauty of it is that they’re going to unleash some strength and some opportunities. Everyone is a door to another universe and something that you were not aware of. You were living your life and suddenly you discovered that there are so many jobs that you didn’t have in mind. You are inspired by the people who are around you in your cohort and that’s a richness, truly.

HEC requires the GMAT or the GRE. Are there any plans to accept the Executive Assessment or other tests? Are you considering introducing test waivers? [23:27]

There are two different situations for the Executive MBA. The GMAT and the GRE are not compulsory, you can do an Executive Assessment. If you don’t do it, we have our own test that we do during the interviews, but this is specific to the Executive MBA. When we’re talking about the full-time MBA, we rely on those tests to follow the requirements that are necessary to make sure that we are recognized internationally and that we are recruiting with the same tools that other business schools in the same range are using. After that, we do our own selection. This is very specific from one business school to another, but at least we’re starting from the same basis from the same elements to make our judgment and to reach a conclusion.

Here at HEC, we don’t do waivers. If you really want to join us and do your full-time MBA, you need to sit for the GMAT or you need to sit for the GRE. We don’t discriminate, neither test is better than the other. If you feel more comfortable or you have already passed a test, that is okay with us. We know how to gauge the GRE, we know how to gauge the quality of people. Because the test centers were closed during COVID, there was a period of time when we were blind and we didn’t have any test scores. We are quite confident in our recruitment so for the time we decided to say, “We can give you an answer of whether you will be admitted or not without the test and we will not go back on this, but before you arrive on campus, we expect that you take and pass the test.”

You don’t only do it for us. It’s also for you because, during your career journey, the recruiters are going to ask, What was your GMAT or what was your GRE score?” You need to have this ready anyway. So this is what happened during the COVID. But now we are back to a normal situation, I would say, for the moment. 

What are you looking for in applicants besides stats? [27:05]

Honestly, we are lucky because we have bright people who are knocking on our door. In the end they have a great GMAT or a great GRE and we are lucky with this. But we know that there is a different situation where you’re going to have some people who have a lower GMAT with a great CV. You could explain this by differences across the region, the country, the facility to take the test, etc. The thing is we still are recruiting some people with, probably a 590 or 600 GMAT just to give you an idea. Sometimes it’s something that is cultural that could explained. Sometimes it’s also people who are overwhelmed by their job while they’re trying to prepare. 

Sometimes we ask some people to retake the GMAT because we think that they could have done actually much better. But sometimes we are already blown away by the CV and the quality of the essaysthat we have seen. We can actually be very tolerant on that side. It’s not like you have to have a 690 GMAT to get in, it’s an average. It means that we have 780 GMAT scores but we have also sometimes the 600 GMAT scores and it’s fine with us. It’s not sacred because we also need to take into account what you were doing. For instance, you were a professional pianist or a doctor or you were working in a very specific industry. We had someone recently who was working in a circus in Canada. That was her passion. She had done great studies before turning to the circus area but she was not ready to take those tests again and have a great result.

For us, it’s not something that is determinative to reject someone just because the GMAT or the GRE was a little bit low. We take into consideration the quality of your studies, your bachelors or your masters as well as where you did it and how you performed at that time. For us this is actually, I would say the very important side in our decision to select you or not. It’s the addition of all these elements that makes the difference and not so much the results of the test, honestly.

What makes for a great CV? [31:02]

A great CV is where you see the potential because you’re betting, you’re betting on someone. The participants are investing in themselves because they want to have a better future and a better job. This is actually the true acceleration. Most of the time it’s people following a normal path which is good studies and a good job for five years. And then they suspect that there’s not enough action. It’s been five years, and it’s been already too long. We really see those candidates who say, “Okay, well, I need to do something now just to accelerate, to stand out from the crowd.” And this is the reason why they want to do something else or to have a better position after the full-time MBA. 

But I would say that for us, a great CV is when you can feel that there’s a strong ambition and strong motivation. The reason behind it is not only, “I want to make a lot of money.” This is not enough. We can understand that it’s great to make money, but the candidates need to show us that there’s a real ambition behind it and we can read it in the CV already. It’s not only in the essay that you express this, your CV talks also for yourself.

[youtube2]figure>

[/youtube2]

What’s the most common mistake you see applicants making in the application process? [41:30]

Sometimes you have someone who actually thought that they had sent this application form to the INSEAD and actually sent it to HEC. It doesn’t mean that we reject this because we can take into consideration the fact that we know how it works. Of course, it doesn’t show a good sign when you see this. This is something that we can reconsider but I’m telling you this because it’s very important to tell your audience and the future participants to an MBA that every detail counts. We can understand sometimes that there’s a mistake in your CV, like a spelling mistake. But normally, we shouldn’t see these kinds of mistakes. What we expect from the future participants is a capacity to be focused and to be rigorous. 95% of the time, it’s actually a perfect application, with no mistakes like this. And even when we spot a mistake, I’m telling you, it really depends on the day that it happened, if we are actually in a good day or in a bad day. But we can be nice.

There are no right or wrong answers in the essays. We had that very recently. One essay was asking, “Who inspires you?” Someone who had an excellent GMAT, someone who had an excellent career path said, “I think that Hitler was actually a great leader. And I’m going to explain to you why he was a great leader.” Even though you see that the person chose to make a point through provocation, it doesn’t show very good judgment. It says something about your personality as well. Try to be smart when actually it doesn’t work. But you see I would say that’s the kind of mistake, even though it’s well written that you should avoid. Even though we have a lot of humor, there are some aspects where we don’t laugh at all

What advice do you have for applicants polishing their applications and aiming for the June 1st deadline? Are seats still available? Or should people just aim for the January intake? [45:34]

Yes, we still have actually some seats but we are reaching the end of the recruitment. We could have closed, but we decided to go until the last deadline which is in June. If it’s still open, it means that you have a chance to get in. Especially if you’re coming from Europe or close countries to France where you won’t have any difficulties with your visa, this is actually still possible.

If you are coming from a very remote country and you know that it will take some time to get the visa, et cetera, it might be a challenge. Sometimes we say, “Okay, don’t take the risk.” You are willing to take the risk, but don’t take the risk. You can target January 2023 instead of September 2022. It’s only four months away from September, it’s not a big deal. But if you have a better chance to arrive safely with all the documents that are required and can get your visa, it’s probably a better option.

Is there anything you would’ve liked me to ask you? Anything you’d like to address? [47:11]

I would say that when you’re talking about HEC Paris, you think that it’s in Paris, but our campus is not in Paris. It’s outside of Paris, 15 kilometers away. It’s very easy to commute and to get to Paris. It is an amazing opportunity to have a campus like this one. I have visited many business schools and this one is a truly residential campus. You’re going to make the most by living with your cohort, all the time together, make strong ties with each other. I know that MBA participants are looking for this because they are looking for the courses but what will remain are the people who are going to be your friends until the end of your life, truly. When you were doing a bachelor’s, you were not aware that the network was so important and you probably had a couple of friends, but that was it. This time you’re coming back to school and coming back on campus. Now you know that the network is key and people are coming from all over the world and you want to have ties with these people. The only way to do that is to spend some time with each other. To live on campus together for 16 months is very unique so that is one aspect that I wanted to mention.

The second aspect is actually linked to this. We did some stats and we found that 20% of our participants are finding a job thanks to their friends in their cohort. That’s a huge number. It means that even though the career center is providing great opportunities, in the end, you might find a job because of a friend. I have so many examples of this. 

Recently a guy was coming to HEC from Google and he wanted to do consulting. He arrived thinking that he was going to do that. He met someone who was working at Amazon and became a great friend and they realized that each had the dream job of the other and they actually helped each other to switch companies. Those are the kinds of stories that we’re hearing all the time on campus. People are helping each other and the fact that it’s a small cohort of 300 people, helps that because it’s the right size to have those interactions and to make those genuine connections with each other.

Where can listeners and potential applicants learn more about HEC Paris’s full-time MBA program or any of its programs? [51:37]

You can learn more on our website. Our brochure is available there as well. We make it very easy for you to find information and you can connect with the amazing team that I was talking about.



Related links:


Related shows:


Subscribe:

   
  



Podcast Feed

The post How to Get Into HEC Paris MBA Program [Episode 470] appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog.
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
MBA Admissions Consultant
Joined: 20 Apr 2003
Posts: 6448
Own Kudos [?]: 844 [0]
Given Kudos: 92
Location: Los Angeles CA
Send PM
The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans Application Essay [#permalink]
Expert Reply
FROM Accepted.com Blog: The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans Application Essay Tips



Paul Soros was often overshadowed by his younger brother, financial wizard George Soros, but he was a millionaire in his own right. In contrast to George Soros’s success in the financial industry, Paul Soros made his mark on the world by innovating in the shipping industry, filing patents, winning several engineering awards, and innovating in everything from loading methods to shipping routes. Complementing Paul’s background, his wife Daisy Soros studied interior design and has been a lifelong supporter of the arts. Paul and Daisy Soros both immigrated from Hungary in the wake of World War II, so it is only fitting that the fellowship for graduate education that they founded supports young, first-generation Americans. The Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowships provide half of the annual tuition (up to $10,000 per semester) plus a stipend of up to $25,000 to each of 30 Fellows each year.

In addition to age and immigration status requirements, the criteria for the Soros Fellowship are threefold:

  • Creativity, originality and initiative

  • Proven drive and sustained effort

  • A demonstrated commitment to the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights.

Some examples of how past Fellows exemplified these values include developing a product to keep musical instruments clean, founding a science education outreach program for underserved populations, publishing 10 mathematics research papers, and analyzing the human genome for genetic factors in cardiovascular disease. The Fellowship aims to support students whose graduate study will propel them to even greater contributions to society.

The PD Soros Fellowship application allows uploading of a resume, 2 essays, and optional exhibits – copies of your artwork or articles written about your work, for example. In addition, the application requires 3 letters of recommendation, with the option to submit up to 5 recommendations. The Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans is open now and due by Oct 27, 2022. Applicants may apply for the Fellowship as they work on their graduate school applications; there is no need to wait until you are accepted for graduate study.

PD Soros Fellowship application essay tips

PD Soros Fellowship essay #1

Tell us about your experiences as a New American. Whether as an immigrant yourself, or as a child of immigrants, how have your experiences as a New American informed and shaped who you are and your accomplishments?

Feel free to discuss how individual people (such as family or teachers), institutions, aspects of law, culture, society or American governance made an impact on your life as an immigrant or child of immigrants. The program is interested in understanding the context of your personal, professional, and academic accomplishments. (Maximum length: 1000 words)

In guidance from the Fellowship committee, applicants are advised to use this space to share stories that provide a window into their world as a new American, and many Fellows find that talking with their parents about their childhood challenges and triumphs helped them illuminate the most salient lessons and experiences for this essay.

As immigrants and the children of immigrants, what opportunities and rights did you gain in the U.S. that you would not have enjoyed in your parents’ native country? How did that insight influence you? Alternatively, were you challenged by those differences and how did that challenge influence your direction, perspective, and actions? Essays that share the depth of your feelings and not just your actions will resonate most intensely with the Fellowship committee.

PD Soros Fellowship essay #2

Tell us about your current and near-term career-related activities and goals, as well as why you decided to pursue the specific graduate program(s) and school(s) that you have. How do you see your current work and study informing your early career goals? If you have not been accepted into a program yet, please tell us about why you selected the programs to which you are applying. (Maximum length: 1000 words)

This essay will be much less personal and possibly unrelated to your new American experience as you discuss your academic interests and ambitions. The thinking that you do for this essay will be helpful in writing your statement of purpose or goals essay for the master’s programs and vice versa. Often, it helps for applicants to write about the questions for which they are seeking answers, the tasks they would like to do well, and the missions they would like to contribute to. This discussion then provides an easy segue into how graduate study will prepare them for those roles. With 1000 words, you will also have plenty of room to add details about how you have pursued those answers thus far, providing an additional opportunity to demonstrate that you are a good fit with the PD Soros Fellowship’s search for creative, driven, persistent, and committed new Americans.

The PD Soros Fellowship also offers an Optional Exhibits section, allowing you to upload additional material for further insight into your background or potential – for example, links to videos or performances, pieces from your portfolio, or published or submitted written works. While there is space to upload up to 5 optional Exhibits, these are considered supplementary to the application, and the admissions committee is not required to review all of them. Therefore, place the most compelling evidence of your talent and fit with the Fellowship first to capture their interest and, hopefully, encourage them to continue perusing that opus.

For expert guidance on your Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans application, check out Accepted’s Application Packages, which include advising, editing, interview coaching, and a resume edit for the PD Soros Fellowship application. Accepted’s clients received over $3.5 million dollars in scholarship offers in the last application cycle and would be glad to help you make your grad school dreams come true too.

***Disclaimer: Information is subject to change. Please check with individual programs to verify the essay questions, instructions and deadlines.***





By Jennifer Bloom, admissions consultant at Accepted for 20 years and Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW). She is an expert at guiding you to produce application materials that truly differentiate you from the rest of the driven applicant pool. If you would like help with your application, Jennifer can suggest a number of options that work with any budget. Want Jennifer to help you get accepted? Click here to get in touch!

Related Resources:

The post The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans Application Essay Tips appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog.
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
MBA Admissions Consultant
Joined: 20 Apr 2003
Posts: 6448
Own Kudos [?]: 844 [0]
Given Kudos: 92
Location: Los Angeles CA
Send PM
Did You Forget? Accepteds Pitch Your Profile Contest Closes in Five Da [#permalink]
Expert Reply
FROM Accepted.com Blog: Did You Forget? Accepted’s “Pitch Your Profile” Contest Closes in Five Days!
[img]https://blog.accepted.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Pitch_Blog_Enter_Now.jpg[/img]
[url=https://reports.accepted.com/mba/pitchyourprofile?utm_campaign=Blog&utm_source=contest&utm_medium=pitch_your_profile_May2022_p2][img]https://blog.accepted.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Pitch_Blog_Enter_Now.jpg[/img][/url]

If you’re an MBA hopeful and have not yet entered [b]our first-ever contest to win an incredible package of 10 hours of expert consulting (a $3,190.00 value!), [/b]you have five days left to submit your profile. Make sure to enter ASAP! 

Two runners-up will each receive 1 hour of consulting (a $360 value), and every entrant who advances to the second round of selection will receive a free[b] [/b]profile evaluation. 

With so much to gain, you don’t want to miss this opportunity. The contest closes May 23 and winners will be announced on June 16 during a live Q&A and finalist profile evaluation.

[b][url=https://reports.accepted.com/mba/pitchyourprofile?utm_campaign=Blog&utm_source=contest&utm_medium=pitch_your_profile_May2022_p2]Submit your profile entries here >>[/url][/b]

We strongly encourage video submissions, though they are optional. No need for professional set-ups; selfie-style videos will do the job! 

Accepted Founder and CEO Linda Abraham says of the contest, “We want to invest in your success! We encourage you to enter the contest and tell us about your MBA dreams.”

[url=https://reports.accepted.com/mba/pitchyourprofile?utm_campaign=Blog&utm_source=contest&utm_medium=pitch_your_profile_May2022_p2][img]https://blog.accepted.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Pitch_Enter_Now_Button_copy.jpeg[/img][/url]

[url=https://www.accepted.com/mba/services?utm_campaign=Blog&utm_medium=blog_bio_mba&utm_source=blog][img]https://blog.accepted.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/accepted_admissions_consulting.jpg[/img][/url]

For 25 years, Accepted has helped business school applicants gain acceptance to top programs. Our outstanding team of MBA admissions consultants features former business school admissions directors and professional writers who have guided our clients to admission at top MBA, EMBA, and other graduate business programs worldwide including Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Booth, INSEAD, London Business School, and many more. [url=https://www.accepted.com/mba/services?utm_campaign=Blog&utm_medium=blog_bio_mba&utm_source=blog][b]Want an MBA admissions expert [/b][b]to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch![/b][/url]

The post [url=https://blog.accepted.com/did-you-forget-accepteds-pitch-your-profile-contest-closes-in-five-days/]Did You Forget? Accepted’s “Pitch Your Profile” Contest Closes in Five Days![/url] appeared first on [url=https://blog.accepted.com]Accepted Admissions Blog[/url].
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
MBA Admissions Consultant
Joined: 20 Apr 2003
Posts: 6448
Own Kudos [?]: 844 [0]
Given Kudos: 92
Location: Los Angeles CA
Send PM
Transitioning from the Military to an MBA at Stanford GSB [#permalink]
Expert Reply
FROM Accepted.com Blog: Transitioning from the Military to an MBA at Stanford GSB



Football, Air Force Academy, and business; hear how they come together in this Stanford MBA’s journey [Show Summary]

Captain David Harris has been a leader since childhood. Growing up and in college, he played football. After graduating from the U.S. Air Force Academy, he served as an officer in the U.S. Space Force, and now he’s preparing for an MBA at Stanford GSB. In this episode, he shares his story

Interview with David Harris, US Air Force veteran, Stanford GSB MBA candidate [Show Notes]

Thanks for joining me for the 471st episode of Admissions Straight Talk. You’ve seen the stats that most people have a great return on their MBA investment, but what about you? Are you going to see that return? We’ve created a tool that will help you assess whether the MBA is likely to be a good investment for you individually. Go to accepted.com/mbaroicalc, complete the quiz, and you’ll not only get an assessment, but also the opportunity to calculate different scenarios. And it’s all free.



I’d like to welcome to Admissions Straight Talk, Captain David Harris of the U.S. Space Force. I first met David when he won a free consultation after attending an Accepted webinar. I was very impressed with him and here’s why: In addition to being a delightful person to speak with, David graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 2017. While there, he was a football team captain for the Academy’s Division I team. Upon graduating, he worked first as a Nuclear Cruise Missile Manufacturing and Production Program Manager for the U.S. Air Force and is currently serving in the United States Space Force’s National Reconnaissance Office. Parallel to his service in the military, David has pursued internships in private equity and venture capital, participated in Management Leadership for Tomorrow’s Professional Development Fellows’ program, and co-founded his own investment management company, Ikon Capital Group. 

Can you tell us a little bit about your background? [2:38]

No problem. I’m David Harris. Originally from Dallas, Texas so a Cowboys fan by law. I was actually born during a Cowboys game and that kind of laid the framework for my early pursuits. I played football growing up and that ultimately opened the door for football scholarships at the Air Force Academy, which I chose for the leadership and academic challenge. I majored in management and played football, as you mentioned, and then graduated. That’s where I caught the bug for finance. I was really interested once I got into my major, specifically the finance course to dive a little deeper into private equity. So I got an internship at Pharos Capital down in Dallas before I went into active duty at the Nuclear Cruise Missile Program Office, where I was working for three years. It was a great opportunity to lead with decent size team of up to 30. I got the real challenge when I went to the National Reconnaissance Office leading a team of about 125 and managing $250 million worth of software development satellites. It was definitely an amazing experience. I tell people all the time I had the luckiest military career of all time. Then from there, I was able to do a venture capital internship before I head to GSB where I’ll be looking to go into private equity post-MBA. And a quick update, I’m headed to Blackstone at the beginning of June for a pre-MBA internship.

So you have three parallel paths: football, Air Force Academy, and business. What do you like to do for fun? [4:19]

I’ll give you two things. One, I really love volunteering with the Riordan Programs from UCLA. I’ve really enjoyed helping out the youth in southern California. That’s been a big passion of mine for the past four years. I’m actually flying out next week to go to the Riordan Gala where we’ll be presenting a few awards.

Outside of that, really, I really enjoy cooking. When I was tall enough to reach a stove, I was cooking scrambled eggs under my grandmother’s supervision, of course. I’ve been cooking ever since. She’s been that stewardess for our family, and we’ve grown up cooking the entire time.

What do you like to cook? What’s your favorite cuisine? [5:09]

Ooh. That’s tough. I’m going to be a little basic and say I love steak. Steak is absolutely an all-time favorite. I’ll put my steak against any steakhouse. I’m definitely experimenting now. My entire family loves to cook and during Christmas, we actually have like an Iron Chef cook-off. My mother and grandmother will pick the ingredients and we have to create a dish so I like to try definitely different recipes. I know my sister and my brother do too – to practice different recipes throughout the year. Right now, I’m firming up my cacio e pepe recipe. I really love that. And I will say I’m the reigning champ in the family just in case anyone from the family hears this. It definitely brings us together as a family.

How did you decide to start your professional career in the military? [6:19]

It’s really a long story and it’s kind of how I got interested in business as well. It all started when I was younger. It’s one of those core memories. I was five and I was at a family event and all the kids were together and the adults started asking, “Hey, what do you want to be when you grow up?” My cousins went before me and when it was my turn, I proudly stood up in front of everyone and said, “I want to be a manager when I grow up.” The music stopped. Everybody was like, “What do you mean by that?” And I said, “I want to be a manager at McDonald’s.” My mother is a teacher, so everyone is expecting a more studious answer from me. I’ll never forget it. My uncle started dying laughing. My mom was like, “Explain it to me.” 

Even though I was five, I did kind of get what was happening around me. I remember family members getting laid off. There was some discrimination in the workplace. I heard about bad things going on. So if I was a manager, I could be in control of all of that. I could provide a safe atmosphere and workplace for my family and the community around me. That was my whole purpose. I just kind of explained that in five-year-old terms to my mother and she was like, “That’s perfect.” She kind of hit my uncle and told him to stop laughing.

It has been that common theme throughout. I think that sense of being in a community and serving the community definitely pushed me towards the military and team sports early on. That’s initially how it started. Then I went to the Air Force Academy. It’s kind of a meld of both playing football, of course, getting the academic rigor, but also then, after graduating, serving and continuing that sense of serving the community. That’s initially how I got started in the armed forces.

How did your interest in business develop? [8:21]

I always kept that sense that I want to serve. That kind of grew upon me through volunteering. Having more free time after graduating from the academy, I was able to do a little bit more. Once I got that edge for business and I went to Pharos Capital before I went on active duty and there I actually saw the transformation that could happen through access to the capital and impactful investments. We were specifically working on a roll-up of oncology companies in the Midwest. We were able to combine and create access with over 30 physicians and that opened up access to thousands of people in the Midwest. When I took a step back, I realized that the money that we invested didn’t cost people jobs, it actually helped people find access in a very rural community in the Midwest. 

After seeing that, the wheels start turning. That’s something I definitely want to get back to. This has been the common thread that’s leading me here. I was selling candy in the eighth grade. I was very industrious. At my football banquet, I got a student athlete of the year award, but with an asterisk for the high candy seller in the district as well. So business has always been there. 

But building on the Pharos story, that’s only something you can do with access to capital. Looking back at communities I’m involved with I realized the abysmal funding numbers that we have in the Black community, for example. It’s just something that really ignited me to make the pivot to finance.

[youtube2]figure>

[/youtube2]

What would you have liked me to ask you? [26:47]

That’s a great question. One thing I do wish you would’ve asked is who my inspiration was throughout this whole process?

I think there’s no better time than to shout out to my mother, with Mother’s Day coming soon. I attribute a lot of who I am to her, especially her work ethic. She was an elementary school teacher since I was born and actually taught me in the third grade. Definitely don’t recommend that. It’s amazing to see how hard she worked and how passionate she was and still is to help the next generation. I just was visiting with her a few weeks ago and she was just telling me about some of the issues she has going on with a lot of her students teaching in the virtual world. It just amazes me that she keeps that level of dedication and passion, over 30 years and counting. I can’t say it enough. My mother was definitely the biggest inspiration in my whole journey so far. I definitely want to give a shout-out to her and all the mothers listening to the podcast and of course you too, Linda.

You previously shared that people can catch up with you on LinkedIn. Is that correct?

That’s the best place. Click here to get in touch with David on LinkedIn



Related links:


Related shows:


Subscribe:

   
  



Podcast Feed

The post Transitioning from the Military to an MBA at Stanford GSB [Episode 471] appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog.
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
MBA Admissions Consultant
Joined: 20 Apr 2003
Posts: 6448
Own Kudos [?]: 844 [0]
Given Kudos: 92
Location: Los Angeles CA
Send PM
When Should I Plan to Apply to Grad School? NOW!!! [#permalink]
Expert Reply
FROM Accepted.com Blog: When Should I Plan to Apply to Grad School? NOW!!!



Where we’re at:

Right now, if I walk down the street almost anywhere in the United States, I will see “Help Wanted” signs in the windows, on Amazon trucks, and almost everywhere. The United States is experiencing a labour shortage and one of the tightest labour markets since records were kept.

As a result of the labour shortage, current grads are getting jobs and great salaries. The Wall Street Journal wrote “The Class of 2022 represents the most in-demand college graduates to enter the job market in years.”

At the same time and probably as a result of the tight job market, application volume declined this past cycle at many graduate programs. In several podcast interviews that I conducted, whether with medical school, law school, or business school, admissions deans and directors, the school representatives indicated that application volume was down from the stratospheric levels of 2020-21, but not below pre-COVID levels. At May’s AIGAC conference, several top MBA admissions directors also expressed concern about summer melt – the number of admitted applicants who have indicated they will attend and then decide either not to go for an MBA or to attend another program – as well as the employer incentives NOT to go for an MBA.

The drop in application volume stemming from the tight job market, however, is good news for applicants. It means it’s easier to get into better programs than it was at the height of the COVID recession. Fewer applicants also almost always lead to more and larger scholarships for highly qualified students.

The question for applicants thinking about applying during the 2022-23 application cycle is: Will the applicant party continue? Will grad admissions, especially MBA admissions, see further declines in application volume? Will it remain a buyer’s market?

I really doubt it. And here’s why.

Drumbeat of warning about a coming recession

In late 2021 and early 2022 the economic predictions were optimistic. By May, that confidence had dissipated. Inflation surged, the stock market slumped, supply chain snafus multiplied, Russia invaded Ukraine, and interest rates climbed.

Headlines increasingly relayed recession and layoff warnings.

  • Lloyd Blankfein, senior chairman of Goldman Sachs, warned on Face the Nation on May 15 of a high risk of recession.

  • Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf said there was “no question” that we are headed towards a recession.

  • The Wall Street Journalreported; “Companies which saw substantial growth during the Covid-19 pandemic are starting to take a more cautious approach toward hiring and spending.”

  • BusinessInsider blared: “A wave of layoffs is sweeping the US. Here are firms that have announced cuts so far, from Carvana to Wells Fargo.”

Impact of previous recessions on graduate school application volume

I have been an admissions consultant since 1994. During every recession since then, whether the dot-com bust, the Great Recession of 2008, or the COVID recession of 2020, potential grad students, especially MBA applicants, seek shelter from the economic storm: They enroll in grad school and improve their skills while opportunities for advancement are more limited and the risk of unwanted unemployment is higher.

As a result, the graduate education market becomes a seller’s market. Application volume soars. Competition increases, and it’s harder to be accepted. Programs can be choosier about whom they admit and stingier when it comes to scholarships.



You do not have to look far for an example of this counter-cyclicality. The COVID recession saw an unprecedented spike in applications to business, law, and medical school, with MBA admissions in particular being counter-cyclical. Other grad segments seem a little less sensitive to economic cyclicality, but both law and med saw huge increases in application volume when the COVID recession hit:

  • Law school applicant volume increased by roughly 19% per LSAC for the class that matriculated in 2021 but declined somewhat this cycle.

  • AAMC reported a 17.8% increase in applications for the class that matriculated in 2021. However, most med school admissions directors say that application volume declined somewhat this year but is still above 2020 levels.

  • Business schools also reported a banner year during the recession per Poets and Quants. Application volume soared 17.6% at top-25-ranked MBA programs in the 2020-21 application cycle versus the pre-recession, pre-COVID 2018-19 application cycle.

What does all this mean for you if you want to apply to graduate school?

Get moving.

Apply before a recession hits and application volume soars. If you are applying to MBA programs and either have a test score, assuming you need one, or feel you can prepare well in 4-8 weeks, do so ASAP. Aim to submit most or all of your applications Round 1.

If you are applying to law school or other grad schools and need to take the GRE or LSAT and think you can prepare well in 4-8 weeks, then start now. Today. So that you can get the test finished and finished well. Then focus on effectively presenting yourself and your qualifications so that you apply early in the application cycle – before unemployment and application volume rise. For those schools with rolling admission, “early” could mean you submit your application and have it evaluated before schools are inundated.

To apply effectively and early, ensure you also have these foundational elements of a successful graduate school application:


If you meet those basic criteria, then you should plan to apply R1 for most business schools and early in this application cycle for other graduate programs.

I’m NOT recommending that you submit a rushed, sloppy, mediocre application. I am urging you to get cracking now and start working on your graduate applications ASAP so that you can submit when classes are wide open and schools are uncertain what application volume will be.



If you don’t have the foundational elements outlined above, then you may have to first work on them and may not be able to submit early. However, if you already have them, you can do it. If you are just lacking the test score and can prepare in 1-2 months, then you will have the score in enough time to submit early.

It’s also quite possible that if you apply now and the recession hits in late 2022 or early 2023, you will ride out most of it in graduate school, and depending on the length of your graduate education and the recession, you could graduate into an expanding economy with new skills and a shiny new degree.

If the recession doesn’t materialize, the economy continues to roar on, and you have great professional opportunities, you can withdraw your applications, attempt to defer, or choose not to attend grad school. Or you can choose to attend because you were accepted to your dream schools and don’t want to pass up the fantastic educational and professional opportunity.

Bottom line: Applying as early as possible, provided you have the foundational elements outlined above has little downside and lots of upside.

Start working on your grad school application NOW.

Do you need help evaluating your unique situation and determining if now is the right time for you to apply? Convinced that the time is right, and need help with your application? Our expert admissions consultants can help you at any and every stage of the admission process. Check out our admissions services for more information.





By Linda Abraham, president and founder of Accepted. Linda earned her bachelors and MBA at UCLA, and has been advising applicants since 1994 when she founded Accepted. Linda is the co-founder and first president of AIGAC. She has written or co-authored 13 e-books on the admissions process, and has been quoted by The Wall Street Journal, U.S. News, Poets & Quants, Bloomberg Businessweek, CBS News, and others. Linda is the host of Admissions Straight Talk, a podcast for graduate school applicants. Want an admissions expert to help you get accepted? Click here to get in touch!

Related resources:

The post When Should I Plan to Apply to Grad School? NOW!!! appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog.
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
MBA Admissions Consultant
Joined: 20 Apr 2003
Posts: 6448
Own Kudos [?]: 844 [0]
Given Kudos: 92
Location: Los Angeles CA
Send PM
10 Tips for Better Essay Writing [#permalink]
Expert Reply
FROM Accepted.com Blog: 10 Tips for Better Essay Writing



Let’s take your writing up a notch–or two! 

Ready to up your game in the writing department? Since you’re probably eager to show the adcom that you’ve got the “write” stuff and can relate your significant experiences and insightful ideas eloquently, these 10 tips are for you: 

  • Think about writing as a conversation on paper.

    It’s very common for people to tense up at the thought of writing their application essays. Unfortunately, writing when tense is likely to result in stiff and stilted prose. You’re likely to miss the flavor and colorful details that you need to make your essays pop in a compelling and memorable way. These details are in your head and would come naturally if you were telling your story to a colleague over lunch.

    Your essays are very important, of course, but your writing needs to sound natural and have some personality. That’s why we advise thinking of your essay as a “conversation on paper,” letting it flow in your own voice, not some foreign, formal tone you are borrowing as an Applicant to a Big-Name School. Don’t worry about overwriting at first – you will and that’s fine. Get everything down on paper that you want to say. The editing process comes later.

    A final suggestion: Before you begin, take a walk, stretch, and take some slow, deep cleansing breaths. These will help clear your head, relax, and jump start your writing.

  • Vary your sentence structure and styles.

    Add interest to your writing by mixing simple, complex, and compound sentences. Don’t make all your sentences around the same length, either. Occasionally, write a very short sentence: “And that was the end of that job.” Or, “Suddenly, I knew what to do.” Occasionally, ask a question. Instead of, “I wasn’t sure what to do,” try, “What was I supposed to do?”

  • Include useful transitions.

    Transitions offer logical links between paragraphs and between sections of your essay that introduce new ideas, adding to the reader’s enjoyment and ease of following your narrative. They tie one paragraph to the next through phrases such as “After this incident. . . ” or “To my surprise, six months later I learned that. . . ” Single words can also serve as transitions, such as “later,” “furthermore,” “additionally,” or “moreover.”

    When you are transitioning to a new topic, helpful transitions might include, “Unlike the formal atmosphere of my first office job, the atmosphere in the start-up I joined next was casual and loose.”



  • Write in clear, direct, straightforward language.

    Similar to our advice in Tip 1, avoid using “fancy” or overly sophisticated words in your essays. You’re not writing to impress the admissions staff with your hifalutin’ vocabulary, but to reveal yourself through your most notable achievements, formative experiences, and your vision for the future. If you’re using a word that is new to you, look it up and make sure you understand it and that it’s the right word for your purpose. While you don’t want to write in a style that is overly casual, a style that is natural and simply stated will be most effective and work to your advantage.

  • If you are using the same word repeatedly, look for synonyms in a thesaurus.

    Here’s an example: Depending on the context, the word “training” might be switched to “coaching,” “sharpening,” “tutoring,” or “grounding.” Seeking alternatives to an otherwise overused word is another way to add variety to your prose (Tip 2). It is also good exercise for your brain, which will make you a better writer.

  • Avoid the passive voice to tighten your writing.

    Compare the following sentences:

    • “During my sophomore and junior years, there was significant development of my maturity and markedly improved self-discipline towards school work.”

    • “During my sophomore and junior years, I matured and my self-discipline improved tremendously.”

    The first example uses twenty words; the revision, only thirteen. The shorter sentence not only reads better but gives you more room to offer the evidence that you really did mature and grow in self-discipline! As an aside, we do not recommend a wholesale excommunication of all passive voice. Sometimes it is necessary and sometimes, it works well stylistically. Use your best judgment for each situation.

  • Think about your essay as a building where you are the architect.

    Your opening paragraph lays the foundation and introduces your storyline. That foundational opening should be attention-getting, setting a scene for your readers and placing them smack dab in the middle of an important moment in your life. With each additional paragraph you build on that foundation, adding new information and context so that readers appreciate the experiences you are sharing and how they shaped you. And within each paragraph, make every sentence and every word count.

  • Avoid weak filler words.

    They are so easy to use, yet so utterly useless. They include words such as “rather,” “quite,” “somewhat,” “probably,” and “possibly,” as well as phrases such as “to make a long story short,” “needless to say,” and “to be honest.”

    Go on a search-and-delete mission for any of these words and phrases that flatten your prose. We predict that you’ll be delighted to see how cutting them strengthens your writing 1,000%.

  • Beware of grammar check programs

    Grammarly is widely considered the best of the bunch in these programs and it does many things well. It will flag problems in spelling, punctuation, and grammar and alert you to awkward sentence construction. But as corporate communications trainer Elizabeth Danziger wrote on her Writamins blog, “Grammar checkers’ suggestions might tighten your document yet steal the flavor of your message.” She observes, “If Abraham Lincoln had run the Gettysburg Address through Grammarly, it would have offered suggestions like:

    • Rewrite the sentence
    • Choose a different word
    • Rephrase sentence
    • Choose a synonym

    “A grammar checker cannot intuit the flow and style of your whole document and determine if the stylistic problems it sees are essential to the message you are trying to convey,” Danziger cautions. Grammar checkers also lack “cultural awareness,” offering identical advice to everyone. So, use with caution. Benefit from the way these programs can catch outright errors, but protect your unique writing voice.

  • Read and reread Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White.

    Failing to follow basic writing rules may make you appear sloppy, casting doubts about your communication skills – two things you want to avoid at all costs when trying to make a good first impression.

    This gem of a book can help you avoid these errors. It remains a classic because it succinctly offers basic rules of grammar, punctuation, composition, and style. Available in paperback, this indispensable writer’s tool is only 85 pages long.

Ensure that your essays display your communication skills at their best–without you going cross-eyed reviewing them over and over and over. Check out our admissions consulting and application services to see how Accepted can critique and polish your essays till they shine.

But don’t take our word for it, read what our clients have said about Accepted.





For 25 years, Accepted has helped applicants gain acceptance to top undergraduate and graduate programs. Our expert team of admissions consultants features former admissions directors, PhDs, and professional writers who have advised clients to acceptance at top programs worldwide including Harvard, Stanford, Yale, Princeton, Penn, Columbia, Oxford, Cambridge, INSEAD, MIT, Caltech, UC Berkeley, and Northwestern. Want an admissions expert to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch!

Related Resources:


The post 10 Tips for Better Essay Writing appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog.
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
MBA Admissions Consultant
Joined: 20 Apr 2003
Posts: 6448
Own Kudos [?]: 844 [0]
Given Kudos: 92
Location: Los Angeles CA
Send PM
How to Write a Great Statement of Purpose [#permalink]
Expert Reply
FROM Accepted.com Blog: How to Write a Great Statement of Purpose
[img]https://blog.accepted.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Vanessa_Febo_May_2022.jpg[/img]
[url=https://media.blubrry.com/admissions_straight_talk/p/www.accepted.com/hubfs/Podcast_audio_files/Podcast/473_Vanessa-Febo_2022.mp3][img]https://blog.accepted.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Vanessa_Febo_May_2022.jpg[/img][/url]

How to Write a Statement of Purpose That Gets You Accepted [Show Summary]

Vanessa Febo is a PhD candidate in English Literature at UCLA and a writing instructor who has guided students to acceptance at top programs at Harvard, Stanford, and USC. [url=https://media.blubrry.com/admissions_straight_talk/p/www.accepted.com/hubfs/Podcast_audio_files/Podcast/473_Vanessa-Febo_2022.mp3]In this episode, she shares her expert tips on mastering the writing required for a successful statement of purpose.[/url]

Interview with Vanessa Febo, a PhD candidate in English Literature at UCLA and Accepted Admissions Consultant [Show Notes]

Welcome to the 473rd episode of Admissions Straight Talk. Thanks for tuning in. The challenge at the heart of admissions is showing that you both fit in at your target schools and stand out in the applicant pool. Accepted’s free download, Fitting In & Standing Out: The Paradox at the Heart of Admissions will show you how to do both. Master this paradox, and you are well on your way to acceptance. You can download this free guide at [url=https://reports.accepted.com/guide/how-to-fit-in-stand-out-during-the-admissions-process]accepted.com/fiso[/url].

Our guest today, [url=https://www.accepted.com/experts/vanessa-febo]Vanessa Febo[/url], is a PhD candidate in English Literature at UCLA. She graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor’s in English, and then worked in business for several years. While pursuing her PhD at UCLA, she has taught writing to undergraduate students and assisted graduate students in getting major grants and scholarships, including the Fulbright, Stanford Knight-Hennessy, and the Ford Foundation Fellowship. She has also guided students to acceptance at top programs at Harvard, Stanford, USC, and others, while an Accepted consultant.

How did you get involved in coaching applicants in the writing required for admissions as well as grant and scholarship applications? [2:08]

I was an English major, and I knew that I wanted to pursue a PhD. I wasn’t sure what that entailed at the time. I don’t think anyone necessarily does when they’re going into a PhD program, but I discovered a lot of it was teaching. I really loved teaching and a big part of teaching and the English curriculum is obviously working with students on their writing, which we’re not necessarily fully trained in. So I got additional certification in writing pedagogy as well. Then I managed to get a job at the Scholarship Resource Center at UCLA, which is a very unique center because it’s one of the only of its kind in the country. It’s really surprising to me that more universities, especially private ones that have so much money, don’t have centers like this. We’re one of the very few that actually help students work on [url=https://www.accepted.com/grad/services/scholarship-consulting-editing?utm_campaign=Blog&utm_medium=podcast_episode_473_vanessa_febo&utm_source=article]applications for scholarships[/url]. Through that, I have the opportunity to work with students on what we might call national merit or nationally recognized international scholarships as well because that is operated through that office. I got to work with Dr. Rebecca Blustein, who spearheads this at UCLA. I’ve been involved on selection committees for scholarships through this office for in-house scholarships and for things like Phi Beta Kappa, the National Honor Society. I was recently on their selection committee for that, but it just finished. I’ve also worked with students with both interviewing and essay writing for all sorts of scholarships, large and small. So that’s what got me started. Then I branched out more into statements of purpose.

What’s the first step applicants should take when they’re thinking about writing a statement of purpose essay? [4:39]

I’m going to give an answer that’s going to sound really simplistic, but I’ll explain why it’s actually really important. My answer is to always read the prompt. It’s not always obvious that there is a prompt and usually there’s additional information on application webpages or on a school’s page that feeds into the prompt. They might state what type of applicant they’re looking for in a different section of the webpage from the actual prompt itself. I always consider this additional information as part of the prompt. Part of it is gathering all of that information together and seeing what they’re actually asking for in an application and what information they want to know about you. 

The second part really directs everything about the way your essay goes. It can really shape the entire structure of your essay because some prompts are much more forward-looking and are more interested in what you plan on doing while in the program, what you plan on doing afterward career-wise, and short-term and long-term goals. But some prompts are a little bit more backward-looking than others. Some care a little bit more about you spending a lot of time on your accomplishments. It really determines the outline for your entire essay. You really can’t get started until you have an understanding of what they’re looking for and that means understanding the prompt.

Whenever I’m doing the [url=https://www.accepted.com/grad/services/application-final-check?utm_campaign=Blog&utm_medium=podcast_episode_473_vanessa_febo&utm_source=article]final checks on a statement of purpose or a personal statement[/url] for a client, my steps are checking spelling and grammar and then rereading the prompt and essay to make sure the essay answered all of the questions in the prompt. You’ll be surprised. At that stage, it usually does answer the question because we’ve run over it so many times. But certainly the first draft, most of the time is missing many of the questions. That’s not a product of bad writing. That’s just a product of the writing process.

Also sometimes a question is answered, but only very briefly. They might ask a very detailed question about your future career and they want to know X, Y, and Z about it, but you only just briefly mention that you want to be a neurologist. You probably didn’t dedicate enough time to that aspect of the question. It’s a proportion thing as well.

How should someone who is applying to a program that has more than one essay divvy up their material? [8:03]

That’s a really good question because I think that’s a very common frustration with people [url=https://blog.accepted.com/resources/mba-admissions/mba-essay-tip-posts/]applying to MBA programs[/url]. One thing is looking at the prompts side by side and seeing how they differ. Really do a comparison. The second tip is to keep in mind that all elements of an application are complimentary. You want to think about the application as a whole. If you’ve already completed one essay and it answers the question, check to see what isn’t being talked about in your first essay, resume, cover letter, or other materials. Sometimes it’s a really great opportunity, of course after answering the prompt, to get in additional experiences that you just didn’t have a chance to talk about.

How can applicants deal with writer’s block? [9:32] 

So the first step of writer’s block is understanding that everyone including professional writers, including myself when I’m working on my own projects, experiences writer’s block. The second is really a strategy of breaking it down into much smaller, more manageable chunks. Sometimes when I work with a client and they’re not really comfortable writing, I’ll typically give them an outline to help them. If you’re working on your own and you construct an outline, make the outline a series of questions that are based on the prompt. Really, you can just then answer your questions. That’s a really simple way to get started. 

The other thing to keep in mind is, especially in the initial stages, you’re really just trying to get that information down on the page. If you’re thinking, “I don’t think this should go here,” don’t worry about that. We’re not there yet. It’s really much more crucial to have that information in the essay, especially in early stages, which is typically when people experience the most writer’s block because they don’t have anything on a page yet. It’s the first draft, it’s okay to be a crappy draft as well. Just get the information on the page. If you can tell yourself that, I think it takes a lot of the pressure off. [url=https://blog.accepted.com/first-drafts-of-personal-statements-let-yourself-go/]Just get the information on the page.[/url] If you can tell yourself that, I think it takes a lot of the pressure off.

[youtube2]figure>

[/youtube2]

What do you wish I would’ve asked you? What would you like listeners to know about writing essays for a scholarship or application? [29:54]

One underrated thing that I think we don’t talk about is the difference between a personal statement and a statement of purpose which is a little bit of a subtle distinction. 

The difference is a personal statement is much more backward-looking. It’s how your experiences shaped you into the person who was pursuing this type of project, wanting to go to this type of school, complete this program, and have this career. It’s how you became the person you are at present. You will also talk about the future, but it’s much more focused on that formative process of how you came to be who you are as someone who is ready to engage in that program and hit the ground running.

A statement of purpose, as we talked about primarily in this podcast today, is much more forward-thinking. It will touch on those formative experiences usually in terms of projects you’ve done that are leading up to what you want to currently work on. But the majority of the essay will be focused on what work you are planning on doing while you’re in the program, both in terms of the project that you want to work on, experiences that you want to have professionally, professors you want to study with, or organizations you might want to join. [url=https://blog.accepted.com/why-mba-the-winning-ingredients-of-a-dynamic-mba-goals-essay/]MBA programs really want participation[/url] so that’s a tip for MBA people. Then looking to your future career, how do you want to start out your career and where do you see yourself in the height of your career? What is your end goal at the apex of your career? All of that might not be in a personal statement.

You can tell the difference, again, in terms of the prompt. Are they asking you about your past or are they asking you about your future? That’s something to watch out for because a lot of people conflate the two essays and they are very different.

[url=https://media.blubrry.com/admissions_straight_talk/p/www.accepted.com/hubfs/Podcast_audio_files/Podcast/473_Vanessa-Febo_2022.mp3][img]https://blog.accepted.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/ListenToTheShow.png[/img][/url]

[b]Related links:[/b]

[list][*][url=https://www.accepted.com/experts/vanessa-febo?utm_campaign=Blog&utm_medium=podcast_episode_473_vanessa_febo&utm_source=blog]Contact Vanessa[/url][/*][*][url=https://reports.accepted.com/guide/how-to-fit-in-stand-out-during-the-admissions-process]Fitting in and Standing Out[/url], a free guide[/*][*][url=https://reports.accepted.com/guide/five-fatal-flaws-grad-school-statement-of-purpose]5 Fatal Flaws to avoid in your Statement of Purpose[/url], a free guide[/*][*][url=https://www.accepted.com/grad/services?utm_campaign=Blog&utm_medium=podcast_episode_473_vanessa_febo&utm_source=blog]Accepted Admissions Consulting Services[/url][/*][/list]

[b]Related shows:[/b]

[list][*][url=https://blog.accepted.com/how-to-get-into-medical-school-when-you-have-high-stats-episode-472/]How to Get into Medical School When You have High Stats[/url][/*][*][url=https://blog.accepted.com/applying-to-wharton-lauder-do-your-research-episode-465/]Applying to Wharton Lauder? Do Your Research![/url][/*][*][url=https://blog.accepted.com/awards-grants-scholarships-oh-my-episode-286/]Awards! Grants! Scholarships! Oh My![/url][/*][*][url=https://blog.accepted.com/how-to-apply-successfully-to-grad-school-despite-a-low-gpa-episode-458/]How to Apply Successfully to Grad School Despite a Low GPA[/url][/*][*][url=https://blog.accepted.com/what-to-know-about-applying-for-a-phd-in-stem-episode-410/]What to Know About Applying for a PhD in STEM[/url][/*][/list]

[b]Subscribe:[/b]

   [url=https://www.accepted.com/stitcher][img]https://blog.accepted.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/admissions-straight-talk-stitcher.png[/img][/url]
  [url=https://subscribeonandroid.com/blog.accepted.com/feed/podcast/][img]https://assets.blubrry.com/soa/BadgeLarge.png[/img][/url]

[url=https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/58291/4751002f-5aa9-40d8-bb71-6d43a4318bd2][img]https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/58291/4751002f-5aa9-40d8-bb71-6d43a4318bd2.png[/img][/url]

[url=https://blog.accepted.com/feed/podcast/][b]Podcast Feed[/b][/url]

The post [url=https://blog.accepted.com/how-to-write-a-great-statement-of-purpose-episode-473/]How to Write a Great Statement of Purpose [Episode 473][/url] appeared first on [url=https://blog.accepted.com]Accepted Admissions Blog[/url].
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
MBA Admissions Consultant
Joined: 20 Apr 2003
Posts: 6448
Own Kudos [?]: 844 [0]
Given Kudos: 92
Location: Los Angeles CA
Send PM
Dartmouth Tuck MBA Essay Tips and Deadlines [2022 2023], Class Profile [#permalink]
Expert Reply
FROM Accepted.com Blog: Dartmouth Tuck MBA Essay Tips and Deadlines [2022 – 2023], Class Profile




Tuck has developed a very purposeful process focused on admitting people who meet its four criteria, summed up as: smart, accomplished, aware and encouraging. The criteria match my understanding of the Tuck community, and also are relatively easy to grasp. Once Tuck established and defined these criteria, it designed its application process to unearth the qualities it’s seeking in candidates.

Ready to get to work on your CBS application? Read on.


For more information on the Tuck criteria and the application process, please review:


Dartmouth Tuck MBA application

Tuck MBA application essay #1

Tuck students can articulate how the distinctive Tuck MBA will advance their aspirations. Why are you pursuing an MBA and why Tuck? (300 words)

What distinctive aspects of the Tuck MBA experience will help you realize your post-MBA goals? What motivates you to apply to Tuck and would compel you to accept an offer of admission? That’s really what they want to know. And those elements of the program need to be associated with your aspirations.

In terms of structuring a response, you can start with your aspirations, which should lead directly to your reasons for pursuing an MBA. Then show how Tuck is perfectly suited to propel you towards your vision of your future. Focus on the distinctive aspects of Tuck’s program.

Tuck MBA application essay #2

Tuck students recognize how their individuality adds to the fabric of Tuck. Tell us who you are. (300 words)

This is a big question with a small allotment of words to answer it in.

Think about aspects of you and your life that reflect your individuality and aren’t reflected in other parts of the application or in other essays. Choose the most important elements and spotlight them in this essay.

There are so many different ways to approach the response that I’m not going to suggest a structure. I do urge you to think deeply about what makes you You. Also, deliberate carefully and select those experiences and attributes that you want to highlight for Tuck.

If your transcript and test score show you’re smart and your resume shows you’re accomplished, Essays #1 and #2 will show how aware you are.

Tuck MBA application essay #3

Tuck students are encouraging, collaborative and empathetic, even when it is not convenient or easy. Describe a meaningful experience in which you exemplified one or more of these attributes. (300 words)

This question asks you to provide one experience that shows you contributing and supporting someone else’s success. Your assistance could be on or off the job.

While Tuck hasn’t given a timeframe, I would recommend that you go back not more than two years and certainly not more than four years.

A CAR approach will work well here:

  •  Challenge both for you and the beneficiary

  •  Action

  •  Result

Keep it specific and concrete or you will blend in with others writing in generalities. You’re empathetic, helpful response to the other party’s situation is key. Set the scene by describing the situation. How did you help the other party succeed? What were the challenges you both faced? What were the results?

Tuck MBA application essay #4 (Optional)

Please provide any additional insight or information that you have not addressed elsewhere (e.g., atypical choice of evaluators, factors affecting academic performance, unexplained job gaps or changes). Complete this question only if you feel your candidacy is not fully represented by this application. (300 words)

If you have any of the elements mentioned in Tuck’s question, by all means, address them here. You do NOT want the admissions committee guessing or assuming wrongly when they come across something anomalous.

If you feel your application represents your candidacy well, don’t feel compelled to respond to the optional essay. If you believe, however, that your application is missing key elements of your story, then briefly include them here. Whether it’s a challenge that you’ve faced or a hardship overcome or other context for what you’ve achieved that will help the admissions committee appreciate your candidacy, include it.

But don’t waste their time with drivel or material that’s elsewhere in your application. Doing so would reveal a definite lack of judgment, and in Tuck terms, awareness.

Tuck MBA application essay #5 (To be completed by all reapplicants)

How have you strengthened your candidacy since you last applied? Please reflect on how you have grown personally and professionally. (300 words)

This is THE question for reapplicants. Why should they admit you this time around? How are you better than you were when they rejected you last time?

For expert guidance with your Dartmouth Tuck MBA application, check out Accepted’s MBA Application Packages, which include comprehensive guidance from an experienced admissions consultant. We’ve helped hundreds of applicants get accepted to Dartmouth Tuck’s MBA program and look forward to helping you too!

Dartmouth Tuck 2022-23 application timeline

RoundApplication DeadlineDecisions Released1September 26, 2022December 8, 20222January 4, 2023March 16, 20233March 27, 2023May 4, 2023Round 1 ConsortiumOctober 15, 2022December 8, 2022Round 2 ConsortiumJanuary 5, 2023March 16, 2023

Applications are due by 5:00pm ET

Source: Tuck website

Stay on top of MBA deadlines with the MBA Admissions Calendar!

[Click here to add the calendar to your Google calendar; or here to add the calendar to another app.]

***Disclaimer: Information is subject to change. Please check with individual programs to verify the essay questions, instructions, and deadlines.***



Dartmouth Tuck MBA Class Profile: Class of 2022

Here is a look at Dartmouth Tuck’s class of 2022 profile, taken from the Tuck website.

Personal profile

  • Class of 2022 enrollment: 294

  • Average months of pre-MBA employment: 65

  • Students with partners: 25%

  • Students with children: 4%

  • Women: 46%

  • U.S. minorities (among all students): 21%

  • U.S. minorities (among U.S. students): 29%

  • International students: 41%

Students’ citizenship (dual citizens are counted in both countries)

  • U.S. and Canada: 70%

  • Asia: 20%

  • Europe: 8%

  • Latin America: 7%

  • Middle East and Africa: 4%

  • Oceania: <1%

Academic profile

Students currently holding an advanced degree: 11%

GPA

  • Average: 3.54

  • Range: 2.6 – 4.0

GMAT

  • Average: 724

  • Verbal average: 42

  • Quant average: 48

  • IR average: 7.0

  • Range: 600 – 780

  • Verbal range: 34 – 51

  • Quant range: 39 – 51

GRE

  • Verbal average: 162

  • Quant average: 162

  • Verbal range: 149 – 170

  • Quant range: 152 – 170

  • Percentage of students submitting GRE scores: 37%

Professional background

Consulting25%Financial services20%Technology14%Nonprofit, government9%Consumer goods, retail8%Other7%Healthcare, pharma, biotech6%Energy5%Media, entertainment3%Manufacturing2%

Is Tuck the right school for you? Read these resources to help you decide and apply successfully:


Can you see yourself at Dartmouth Tuck? Learn how you can secure your spot when you work one-on-one with an expert Accepted advisor. Explore our MBA Admissions Services for more information on how we can help you get ACCEPTED!





By Linda Abraham, president and founder of Accepted. Linda earned her bachelors and MBA at UCLA, and has been advising applicants since 1994 when she founded Accepted. Linda is the co-founder and first president of AIGAC. She has written or co-authored 13 e-books on the admissions process, and has been quoted by The Wall Street Journal, U.S. News, Poets & Quants, Bloomberg Businessweek, CBS News, and others. Linda is the host of Admissions Straight Talk, a podcast for graduate school applicants. Want an admissions expert to help you get accepted? Click here to get in touch!

The post Dartmouth Tuck MBA Essay Tips and Deadlines [2022 – 2023], Class Profile appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog.
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
MBA Admissions Consultant
Joined: 20 Apr 2003
Posts: 6448
Own Kudos [?]: 844 [0]
Given Kudos: 92
Location: Los Angeles CA
Send PM
Short and Sweet: Tips for Writing Mini MBA Essays [#permalink]
Expert Reply
FROM Accepted.com Blog: Short and Sweet: Tips for Writing “Mini” MBA Essays



What is an admissions committee’s message or intent in limiting an “essay” answer to 100, 200, or 300 characters? Just the facts, please. Actually, just the key facts.

No adornment, no backstory, no extended rationale.

In working with clients on such questions, for example the CBS short answer goals question, I’ve been struck by how hard providing “just the facts” really is – it’s counterintuitive, it’s letting go. It can make the writer feel a little naked. The explanations and motivations and reasons – those comfortable “clothes” are discarded, in a heap on the floor. 

Such questions can also make the applicant feel put on the spot. Justifiably – you are put on the spot. How you handle it gives the adcom insight into you.

So how do you give the admissions readers what they want – while simultaneously serving your goal of creating a compelling application that differentiates and distinguishes you?

Here are 7 unadorned tips to answer that question:

  • [b]Read the question carefully and weigh each word, to make sure you’re answering the exact question. [/b](Seems obvious? I’ve witnessed many very smart people misread the question or simply disregard the question.)

  • Short doesn’t mean easy. The opposite is often true. Allocate and devote some up-front thinking time to what you’ll say. The fewer words you have, the greater weight each word carries.

  • While brainstorming, decide which 1-2 key points you must convey. Don’t even consider anything else.

  • Also while brainstorming, consider the application overall. These mini-essays must work within a larger whole. For example, if you only have 200 characters to write about your goals, and you’re planning to shift careers, look for other places in the application to indicate that you have relevant skill sets, understand the industry/function, etc.

  • In drafting your mini-essay, write a little over the limit and then pare down. It’s easier to cut your ideas down than to draw out new words once you’ve completed your thoughts.

  • Make sure each word is meaningful. Stick to nouns and verbs. Use short, direct sentences, which allow you to “squeeze” the most out of the limited characters.

  • Avoid repeating the question. If it’s about post-MBA goals, the reader will know what you’re referring to, you don’t have to say, “Post-MBA I plan to…

You know the expression “short and sweet.” Turn brevity to your advantage. A short statement can have great power, propulsion. The key is to do it right.

How are your MBA mini-essays coming along? Do you need help ensuring that they work in building a strong case for admission? We can help! Work one-on-one with an expert Accepted advisor from mini-essay strategy-building all the way through to final review – or any single step along the way. Explore our MBA Admissions Consulting & Editing Services for more information on how we can help you GET ACCEPTED. 





Cindy Tokumitsu has advised hundreds of successful applicants, helping them gain acceptance to top MBA and EMBA programs in her 20 years with Accepted. She would love to help you too. Want Cindy to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch!

Related Resources:

The post Short and Sweet: Tips for Writing “Mini” MBA Essays appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog.
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
MBA Admissions Consultant
Joined: 20 Apr 2003
Posts: 6448
Own Kudos [?]: 844 [0]
Given Kudos: 92
Location: Los Angeles CA
Send PM
What Does It Take to Get Into Harvard, Stanford, and Wharton? [#permalink]
Expert Reply
FROM Accepted.com Blog: What Does It Take to Get Into Harvard, Stanford, and Wharton?



These are the dream MBA programs for thousands of applicants each year. Do you have what it takes to get in? What’s the secret to convincing the adcom that they absolutely want you in the class? 

Find out the answers on June 23, 4 pm PT / 7 pm EST during an exciting, live Q&A with MBA admissions veteran Linda Abraham, founder and president of Accepted. She will devote a full hour to answering the questions smart applicants ask about how to maximize your chances of acceptance at these elite programs.  

Linda will explain:

  • Is there such a thing as a Harvard type? A Stanford type? A Wharton type?

  • When is it worth applying if your stats are below their averages?

  • How do these three schools differ in their admission decisions?

  • How can one determine ‘fit’ with the cultures of these schools?

  • How do the interview processes differ in each school?

  • What are the schools looking for in their essays?

  • What’s the real scoop about applying in different rounds? 

And more!

This Q&A will provide an incredible crash course in helping determine if you’re a viable candidate for these schools, and if you are, how to submit an application that presents you to your best advantage.

Register now:

About the Presenter:



Since founding Accepted 25 years ago, Linda has been a sought-after admissions expert for media outlets including Bloomberg Businessweek, CBS News, U.S. News, and The Wall Street Journal. She is the host of the Admissions Straight Talk podcast, co-author of MBA Admissions for Smarties, and has been a frequent contributor to Poets & Quants. Every year Linda looks forward to hearing from Accepted’s many clients who have been accepted to Harvard, Stanford, and Wharton, among other top MBA programs.



For 25 years, Accepted has helped business school applicants gain acceptance to top programs. Our outstanding team of MBA admissions consultants features former business school admissions directors and professional writers who have guided our clients to admission at top MBA, EMBA, and other graduate business programs worldwide including Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Booth, INSEAD, London Business School, and many more. Want an MBA admissions expert to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch!

The post What Does It Take to Get Into Harvard, Stanford, and Wharton? appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog.
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
MBA Admissions Consultant
Joined: 20 Apr 2003
Posts: 6448
Own Kudos [?]: 844 [0]
Given Kudos: 92
Location: Los Angeles CA
Send PM
London Business School MBA Essay Tips and Deadlines [2022 2023] [#permalink]
Expert Reply
FROM Accepted.com Blog: London Business School MBA Essay Tips and Deadlines [2022 – 2023]




If you are looking for a globally focused MBA program in a city bursting with culture, finance, and industry, then LBS is certainly a program to consider. 

Strong applications to London Business School demonstrate applicants’ global interest (even without global experience per se), curiosity to learn with people from diverse backgrounds and experiences, and a passion for impact.

London Business School 2022-2023 MBA application essay questions

London Business School required essay question

What are your post-MBA goals and how will your prior experience and the London Business School programme contribute towards these? (500 words)

This is a mainstay in the LBS application, a straightforward career goals question. You need to demonstrate in the first paragraph that you know what you would like to be doing after the MBA, and it had better excite LBS. They are looking for applicants with a global outlook, committed to challenging the status quo and making an impact on business.

In general, I find that this essay needs to apply one-third of the word limit to defining your goal, one-third to summarizing what you have gained from your career and how it has prepared you for your goals, and one-third to how the London Business School education will complement that experience to propel you to your goals. Please note: 1/3, 1/3, 1/3 are guidelines, not rigid rules.



London Business School optional essay question

Is there any other information you believe the Admissions Committee should know about you and your application to London Business School? (500 words)

LBS has allotted a decent amount of space for this essay, which is a subtle hint that they are open to hearing more from applicants here. I always advocate writing the optional essay, but in this case I am highly recommending it since the one required essay will leave you little space to share details about your past experiences.

In particular, examples of your leadership, changing the status quo, making an impact, or navigating cultural differences would make great use of this space if you didn’t have room for them in the required essay.

For expert guidance with your London Business School MBA application, check out Accepted’s MBA Application Packages, which include comprehensive guidance from an experienced admissions consultant. We’ve helped hundreds of applicants get accepted to b-school and look forward to helping you too!

London Business School 2022 – 2023 MBA application deadlines

We have four application deadlines each year – see application calendar – you can expect similar deadline dates for the 2022 intake.

Source: London Business School website

Stay on top of MBA deadlines with the MBA Admissions Calendar!

[Click here to add the calendar to your Google calendar; or here to add the calendar to another app.]

***Disclaimer: Information is subject to change. Please check with individual programs to verify the essay questions, instructions and deadlines.***





By Jennifer Bloom, admissions consultant at Accepted for 20 years and Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW). She is an expert at guiding you to produce application materials that truly differentiate you from the rest of the driven applicant pool. If you would like help with your application, Jennifer can suggest a number of options that work with any budget. Want Jennifer to help you get accepted? Click here to get in touch!

Related Resources:

The post London Business School MBA Essay Tips and Deadlines [2022 – 2023] appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog.
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
MBA Admissions Consultant
Joined: 20 Apr 2003
Posts: 6448
Own Kudos [?]: 844 [0]
Given Kudos: 92
Location: Los Angeles CA
Send PM
Empowering International Students with the Financing for Grad Ed [#permalink]
Expert Reply
FROM Accepted.com Blog: Empowering International Students with the Financing for Grad Ed
[img]https://blog.accepted.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Sasha_Ramani_May_2022.jpg[/img]
[url=https://media.blubrry.com/admissions_straight_talk/p/www.accepted.com/hubfs/Podcast_audio_files/Podcast/475_Sasha-Ramani_2022.mp3][img]https://blog.accepted.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Sasha_Ramani_May_2022.jpg[/img][/url]

How can an international student pay for grad school in the U.S. or Canadian graduate education? [Show Summary]

MPOWER Financing has changed the graduate education financing industry by offering international students loans with no collateral or co-signer requirement. [url=https://media.blubrry.com/admissions_straight_talk/p/www.accepted.com/hubfs/Podcast_audio_files/Podcast/475_Sasha-Ramani_2022.mp3]Sasha Ramani, the Associate Director of Corporate Strategy explains how they do this responsibly and shares his own journey through graduate school[/url], which led him to this role. 

Interview with Sasha Ramani, Associate Director of Corporate Strategy, MPOWER Financing [Show Notes]

Welcome to the 476th episode of Admissions Straight Talk. Thanks for tuning in. Are any of you, whether in the United States or outside of the United States, aiming for the MBA Trinity of Harvard, Stanford, and Wharton? Well, you’re in luck. Next week I’m going to present [url=https://reports.accepted.com/mba/webinar/hsw-qa]What It Takes to Get Accepted to Harvard, Stanford and Wharton[/url] on Thursday, June 23rd. The webinar is free, but you do need to register to reserve your spot at [url=https://reports.accepted.com/mba/webinar/hsw-qa]accepted.com/hsw[/url].

I’d like to welcome to Admissions Straight Talk Sasha Ramani. Sasha grew up in Canada and graduated with distinction from the University of Waterloo where he quadruple majored in Actuarial Science, Statistics, Operations Research, and Business Administration, while also being active on campus. After graduating, he worked for Mars & Co and Deloitte as a Strategy Consultant before moving on to the Harvard Kennedy School, where he completed his MPP in Business and Government. Since 2017, he has worked with [url=https://www.mpowerfinancing.com/]MPOWER Financing[/url], a fast-growing FinTech company, providing millions to promising international and DACA students without collateral or co-signers. 

Can you tell us a little bit about your background? [2:05]

Sure, absolutely. I’m from a city called Mississauga. It’s a suburb of Toronto in Canada. That’s where I was born and raised. I spent my entire childhood there until the end of college. Then I moved to New York City and worked as a management consultant for two different consultancies, Mars & Co and Deloitte Consulting. I specialized in investment management. That’s the traditional consulting work of helping firms grow and expand, advising on mergers and acquisitions, cost-cutting, or other ways they can expand their product or geographic services.

After that, I moved on to [url=https://blog.accepted.com/harvard-kennedy-school-mpp-mpa2-application-essay-tips/]the Harvard Kennedy School[/url] where I got a Master’s in Public Policy. That’s when I came across MPOWER almost by accident. I came across the firm at a startup career fair, not even looking for jobs, but just looking for interesting startups and getting a flavor for what people were doing.

It just sort of crossed my mind that if for me, as a Canadian in the U.S., which makes me the least international of all students, to get a bank account, a credit card, or other bread and butter financial product was kind of like pulling teeth – imagine what it’s like for a student from India, China, Mexico, Brazil, or any of the other 200 plus countries thatMPOWER serves. So I did my graduate school internship with MPOWER in 2017. I loved the experience. When I completed my master’s in 2018, I joined full-time and I’ve had the pleasure of being the Head of Corporate Strategy ever since then.

How did you go from the very focused to the big picture? [4:07]

My undergraduate was a double undergrad between a Bachelor’s in Mathematics from the University of Waterloo, and a BBA, Bachelor’s of Business Administration, from next-door Wilfrid Laurier University. It’s a short walk between these schools, about 15 minutes. They’ve collaborated to have this cross-disciplinary double undergraduate program together. It’s actually considered one of Canada’s leading undergraduate programs for students interested in those fields. It’s also a co-op program, which means students take work terms that are interplaced between study terms. 

I realized that what I liked most about my experience doing co-op jobs as an actuary was the part that made me feel like a management consultant. That’s when you go into an organization, you solve a problem, which may or may not be clearly defined, for four months at a time. Then you leave. You go back to school and if your company likes you, they’ll hire you back again for the next co-op term for your next internship, so to speak. That’s what made me really get interested in management consulting. I sort of realized at some point that I was personally not a huge fan of actuarial work. I chose it because if you look at all the rankings of jobs with good salaries for not much stress, actuaries tend to top the charts. But ultimately when I was in my early twenties I felt, “You know what? I’m not afraid of a little stress. I’m not afraid of a little challenge.”

Ultimately, I got a good job in management consulting in New York City. What young twenty-something year old would not jump at the opportunity to move to New York City? Especially me being a sheltered Canadian child. Ultimately looking back, I don’t want to say it was a risky decision, but it was definitely a little bit riskier than the cushier actuarial job that was waiting for me in Toronto after I completed my undergraduate. But I have never looked back since.

Why did you decide to pursue the MPP? [6:59]

I seriously looked into both an MPP and MBA. They are definitely not mutually exclusive. Students can, depending on the schools, absolutely do both. Each degree is typically two years in length, but a lot of schools offer the option to do both. For myself personally, I felt that if you look at what a lot of career outcomes are like for MBA students, they tend to be consulting. That tends to be the biggest employer. At that point, I’d already had five years of consulting experience, which my colleagues described to me as a “real life MBA,” which a lot of it was. I also did have an undergraduate business experience from one of Canada’s leading schools in that field. I felt that personally, I would gain a little bit less from an MBA experience than other folks who do an MBA. The last thing I’m going to do is denigrate the MBA experience but I felt for me it would not have been a great fit, especially at a school like the [url=https://blog.accepted.com/harvard-business-school-mba-essay-tips-deadlines/]Harvard Business School[/url], which has a very regimented first-year core curriculum with zero flexibility in that first year. Personally, I felt that I already had a strong academic and practical experience compared to what that core would’ve trained me with.

I had a strong interest in policy, particularly foreign policy. The reason I ultimately wanted to do that is that a lot of my management consulting experience was consulting for large beverage companies. I realized at some point, if I’m doing my job well and helping sell more sugary beverages, I’m ultimately making the world a less well-off place. I wanted to achieve some social good or impact but I’m a very private sector-oriented person. I’m not one who’s inherently going to work for nonprofits or join the government. For me, that’s less of a good fit. In terms of seeking social benefit through the private sector or through business, [url=https://blog.accepted.com/harvard-kennedy-school-an-interview-with-admissions-director-matt-clemons-episode-320/]the MPP at the Harvard Kennedy School[/url] was a great fit for me and my interests, while also allowing me to pick and choose the specific courses that I wanted to take at Harvard Business School, MIT’s Business School, and Harvard Law School.

While I did graduate with an MPP from the Harvard Kennedy School, I had a very cross-disciplinary education, not only at Harvard, but at next-door MIT as well. I had to do the required curriculum at the Harvard Kennedy School. So in one sense, I couldn’t move away from the core curriculum entirely, but the Kennedy School does offer more flexibility. Their core curriculum, which is math and economics, are things, which thanks to my background, I was able to really get top grades in without having to worry too much. I was able to go above the course load, which again was not possible at the Business School. 

[youtube2]figure>

[/youtube2]

Are there any countries that you will not lend to? [14:45]

There are, but those tend to be very much edge cases. For example, I don’t think there are many North Korean students studying in the U.S., as an example. That’s almost the extreme one, but also we don’t work with students from Cuba and Iran not because we don’t want to, we’re actually co-founded by an Iranian refugee, but the U.S. Government doesn’t make working with them particularly easy.

Where does the tech come in at MPOWER? [15:21]

So the joke in FinTech is that it’s easy to give money away, but you have to actually get it back afterward too. We laugh, but there is a large list of lending technology startups that have not quite figured that part out. MPOWER is absolutely a tech firm at our heart in that we’re driven by our stellar engineering and our loan platform. We’ve integrated technologically with leading financial services firms around the world, whether they be U.S. banks or global loan payment and loan servicing firms. We play nicely with leading FinTech darlings like Flywire and Nova Credit, which is a San Francisco-based international credit bureau startup. I think we were actually Nova’s first institutional client. We’re really making sure that we offer a tech-driven, tech-first platform for students from around the world.

At MPOWER the core tech goes into the underwriting. How do you lend to students who have no social security number, no U.S. credit score, and without co-signers or collateral? Ultimately, that goes down to our big data infrastructure of understanding student outcomes after graduation.

We look at what they’ve done before their MBA or whatever degree they happen to be studying. We look at immigration outcomes and we look at the career and financial outcomes after graduation, whether that student stays in the U.S., goes back home to India or whatever their home country is, or moves to a third country because the world is not so black and white. Part of the tech infrastructure is making sure that students are able to service and pay their loans easily, no matter where they end up after graduation.

Where are most of your borrowers coming from? [18:10]

We offer funding to students from 200 plus countries around the world. Our biggest country of origin is India. We have a large team in Bangalore, India as well. India is our largest country with about 20 to 25% of our students. Although it’s the largest, there’s also a very long tail after that. Other large countries include China, a lot of Sub-Saharan African countries, Mexico, Brazil, South Korea, and several others. We work with Canadian students as well. 

Can you tell us about the scholarships MPOWER offers? [19:13]

It’s funny you mention that because in some countries that we work in, they use the term scholarship to mean loan as well. If anything, working at MPOWER has shown me how people around the world speak English. They speak it fluently, but they’ll speak it differently than you and I will. 

Essentially a loan has to be repaid. A scholarship does not. It’s free money. We offer a wider variety of different scholarships. Our most popular one is a Global Citizen Scholarship which is open to anyone who is an international student, defined as a non-citizen and not permanent resident. 

Some are a little bit focused. We have an MBA Scholarship worth up to $10,000. We also have one for women in STEM. We also offer monthly scholarship series. The eligibility criteria is going to be a little bit different every month but we invite students to go to our website, see what scholarships they might apply for, and hopefully, they’ll win one or more scholarships in the future.

Do you offer loans to people who are applying to other programs outside of MBA? [20:52]

That’s absolutely correct. When we say we work at 400 universities, we mean every degree program at those universities.

Does MPOWER work with current graduate students or graduates to refinance loans? [22:09]

We do. Absolutely. We actually offer, I believe, the only international student loan refinancing product for graduates now working in the U.S. For international students who have taken a loan from their home country, often perhaps with collateral or a co-signer, they’ll be able to refinance that loan with an MPOWER loan, which can help them to reduce their rate and release co-signer and collateral obligations. And with rising interest rates worldwide, we at MPOWER exclusively issue fixed-rate loans, which means a student’s rate will never rise over time.

Do you serve students outside of the U.S. and Canada? [23:16]

We only offer funding for students in the U.S. and Canada. Perhaps one day we’ll be in other countries, but for now we’re exclusively in the U.S. and Canada.

Do you consider the challenges students face repaying U.S. tuition loans if they return to their home countries? [23:37]

It’s absolutely something that we consider, but it’s not as black and white as a lot of people might think. Especially if a student has worked for a couple of years in the U.S. before they go to their home country, which nearly all of our students do. At that point, they’re often able to make a pretty good impact on that loan and pay off a good chunk of the principal. The remaining principal is easily sustainable when they go back home. Core to how we underwrite is making sure that the loan is responsibly repayable whether the student stays in the U.S., goes back to their home country, or goes to a third country as well. That’s one of the reasons why it’s important to us as a public benefit corporation, to ensure that we’re setting up students for success and that we’re only lending to students who are able to responsibly carry the burden of the debt that we’re issuing them. Hopefully it will increase their standard of living through a high-quality education, therefore making the loan absolutely worthwhile for the student once they graduate.

What are typical interest rates and the term of a loan? [25:07]

All of our loans are 10 years in length. Our rates for graduate students vary from about 6.5 to 11.99% on the higher end. This compares to some foreign country lenders, which will easily charge rates from the mid-teens to 20 to 30% plus collateral. This is why students from around the world are flocking to our offerings, especially these days when we see international travel resuming. It feels like a dam broke, and our platform is seeing record amounts of traffic. It’s been really exciting to see, now that COVID restrictions are slowly ending, how much we’re able to help students from around the world fulfill all of their highest academic aspirations.

What is MPOWER’s Path2Success? [26:20]

Path2Success is a free program that we at MPOWER offer to all of our students. It basically helps to ensure that our students are successful both in school and after graduation. Some of the services that we offer are free letters to help students with their visa and immigration process. We also offer free services like interview preparation, resume review, and networking support. It’s actually really funny that in a lot of foreign countries, it’s typical on a resume for students to include a picture of themselves and their marital status, things, which are kind of non-starters from an American or Canadian context. Oftentimes, it’s just a little bit of cultural orientation like that. Sometimes it’s a little bit more, and we’ve helped them with mock interviews with some software as well to sort of help them judge their poise and their tone of voice. Sometimes we’ve opened our own personal networks to them as well, like, “Hey, if you want to be a lawyer, I used to work at this law firm. Let me speak to an old partner who I know is looking for interns right now.” It’s one of the many programs that we have to ensure that our students are as successful as possible after graduation.

What would you have liked me to ask you? [27:48]

I think ultimately there’s a lot of misinformation about the industry which really has to do with challenges that a lot of students face. The most exciting thing I find about the industry of international education is that everybody ultimately benefits from high caliber, high talent international students in society. We can talk not only about bringing over or training doctors and engineers and everybody else, but I think it’s so interesting how international students, by often paying the highest tuition rates charged by universities, significantly subsidize the cost of education for American citizens and permanent residents.

There have been some really interesting studies, and I’m going to misquote probably the numbers slightly, that every ten international students at a university essentially means seven more domestic students are able to enroll than otherwise would be able to do so, thanks to the massive subsidy that international students provide for them. We’re not only able to fulfill the academic dreams and aspirations of international students, but indirectly those of American citizens and permanent residents as well, which is of course tremendously important as well.

Where can listeners learn more about MPOWER Financing? [29:35]

Sure. They can check out our website at [url=https://www.mpowerfinancing.com/]https://www.mpowerfinancing.com/[/url].

[url=https://media.blubrry.com/admissions_straight_talk/p/www.accepted.com/hubfs/Podcast_audio_files/Podcast/475_Sasha-Ramani_2022.mp3][img]https://blog.accepted.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/ListenToTheShow.png[/img][/url]

[b]Related links:[/b]

[list][*][url=https://www.mpowerfinancing.com/]MPower Financing[/url][/*][*][url=https://www.mpowerfinancing.com/resources/path-2-success/]Path2Success: Achieve Your Professional Goals – MPOWER Financing[/url][/*][*][url=https://reports.accepted.com/mba/webinar/hsw-qa]What it Takes to Get Accepted to Harvard, Stanford and Wharton[/url], an upcoming webinar[/*][*][url=https://www.accepted.com/grad/how-to-pay-for-grad-school]How to Pay for Grad School[/url][/*][*][url=https://blog.accepted.com/harvard-kennedy-school-mpp-mpa2-application-essay-tips/]Harvard Kennedy School MPP and MPA2 Application Essay Tips [2021 – 2022][/url][/*][*][url=https://www.accepted.com/grad/services?utm_campaign=Blog&utm_medium=podcast_episode_475_sasha_ramani&utm_source=blog]Accepted Admissions Consulting Services[/url][/*][/list]

[b]Related shows:[/b]

[list][*][url=https://blog.accepted.com/harvard-kennedy-school-an-interview-with-admissions-director-matt-clemons-episode-320/]Harvard Kennedy School: An Interview with Admissions Director Matt Clemons[/url][/*][*][url=https://blog.accepted.com/applying-to-u-s-business-schools-from-europe-asia-the-middle-east-episode-467/]Applying to U.S. Business Schools from Europe, Asia, the Middle East[/url][/*][*][url=https://blog.accepted.com/how-this-student-got-accepted-to-mits-engineering-program-and-landed-a-job-at-apple-episode-460/]How This Student Got Accepted to MIT’s Engineering Program and Landed a Job at Apple[/url][/*][*][url=https://blog.accepted.com/would-you-like-to-improve-your-language-skills-episode-446/]Would You Like to Improve Your Language Skills?[/url][/*][*][url=https://blog.accepted.com/an-international-students-experience-at-harvard-medical-school-episode-388/]An International Student’s Experience at Harvard Medical School[/url][/*][/list]

[b]Subscribe:[/b]

   [url=https://www.accepted.com/stitcher][img]https://blog.accepted.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/admissions-straight-talk-stitcher.png[/img][/url]
  [url=https://subscribeonandroid.com/blog.accepted.com/feed/podcast/][img]https://assets.blubrry.com/soa/BadgeLarge.png[/img][/url]

[url=https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/58291/b05eff8e-b421-4254-bb1f-30902a42b918][img]https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/58291/b05eff8e-b421-4254-bb1f-30902a42b918.png[/img][/url]

[url=https://blog.accepted.com/feed/podcast/][b]Podcast Feed[/b][/url]

The post [url=https://blog.accepted.com/empowering-international-students-with-the-financing-for-grad-ed-episode-475/]Empowering International Students with the Financing for Grad Ed [Episode 475][/url] appeared first on [url=https://blog.accepted.com]Accepted Admissions Blog[/url].
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
MBA Admissions Consultant
Joined: 20 Apr 2003
Posts: 6448
Own Kudos [?]: 844 [0]
Given Kudos: 92
Location: Los Angeles CA
Send PM
Save BIG This MBA Application Season!  [#permalink]
Expert Reply
FROM Accepted.com Blog: Save BIG This MBA Application Season! 




The process of applying to b-school is lengthy and complex, and you may feel unsure about the smartest way to work toward that goal.  

Our advice? Carve out the time to focus intently on creating an application that will help you stand out from the thousands of other highly qualified applicants you’ll compete against. 

We want to help you on your path, and for one week only, starting June 23, we’re offering our biggest discount of the year on MBA admissions services. By using the code STARTNOW at checkout, you can save $500 on a 1-school package, $700 on a 2-school package, or $800 on a 3-school package. 

If you are more interested in a la carte services, use the code TAKE10 to get 10% off any of our non-rush hourly admissions services. But hurry! This promotion ends on June 30th. 

Don’t let the pressures of applying to b-school throw you off your game. This class of MBA applicants is being called on to be uniquely flexible and resilient, and we know you’re up to the task! Working together, we can help you breeze through the rest of the application process and take your spot among the business leaders of tomorrow.



Note: The coupon can’t be combined with another offer, is for non-rush orders only, and can be used one time only.



For 25 years, Accepted has helped business school applicants gain acceptance to top programs. Our outstanding team of MBA admissions consultants features former business school admissions directors and professional writers who have guided our clients to admission at top MBA, EMBA, and other graduate business programs worldwide including Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Booth, INSEAD, London Business School, and many more. Want an MBA admissions expert to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch!

The post Save BIG This MBA Application Season!  appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog.
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
GMAT Club Bot
Save BIG This MBA Application Season!  [#permalink]
   1  ...  110   111   112   113   114  ...  122   

Powered by phpBB © phpBB Group | Emoji artwork provided by EmojiOne