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The Entrepreneurship Initiative at Harvard Business School

Now we turn our attention to Harvard and examine that school’s Entrepreneurship Initiative.

Harvard offers students an array of opportunities to study entrepreneurship. In addition to analyzing cases on start-up enterprises across the RC (first year) curriculum, all RC students take an Entrepreneurial Management course. In their second year, students may choose any of the 20 full-semester and 2 half-semester classroom-based courses offered on the topic, as well as either of two field study opportunities.

Harvard launched the California Research Center in Menlo Park in 1997 to serve as a resource for faculty members investigating business issues in Silicon Valley. Research conducted from this base has resulted in the composition of over 150 cases on technology and the management of and investment in start-ups.

To read more, click here: https://blog.clearadmit.com/2009/05/triv ... -school-2/

The Clear Admit Team
https://blog.clearadmit.com
www.clearadmit.com
info@clearadmit.com

Tuck School of Business Launches New Climate Change MBA Elective

According to a recent report in the Economist, Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business is launching what it believes is the world’s first MBA elective focusing on climate change. Entitled “Business and Climate Change,” the course will be taught by Tuck Professor Anant Sundaram, who has created a model that gauges firms’ vulnerability to fossil-fuel prices.

As Sundaram sees it, a warming planet presents a huge business opportunity to companies, and not just a constraint. “The implications are enormous,” he told the Economist. “Massive wealth will be created by companies that get in front of this issue and lost by those that do not,” he continued.

To read more about Tuck's new elective, click here: https://blog.clearadmit.com/2009/05/tuck ... -elective/

The Clear Admit Team
https://blog.clearadmit.com
www.clearadmit.com
info@clearadmit.com

Admissions Tip: Approaching the Career Goals Essay

With essay questions for the coming year already starting to be released by some schools, there are applicants who are eager to get started on their written applications. Though essay questions tend to vary year to year, the two things that nearly every prospective student can count on being asked are “What are your short-term and long-term post-MBA goals?” and “How will Business School X help you achieve these goals?”

These are the fundamental questions of the entire application process; identifying clear answers will help in everything from creating a list of target schools to communicating effectively with recommenders and interviewers down the line. As such, it’s a great idea to begin drafting answers to the Career Goals essay early and often! To help you get started, here are some general pointers:

Whether the essay is 1,000 or 500 words long, the adcom looks for applicants who offer fully defined long- and short-term career goals, sound reasons for pursuing an MBA at this point in their careers, well-informed interest in School X and specific plans to contribute to the campus community if they are admitted.

To read more about approaching the career goals essay click here: https://blog.clearadmit.com/2009/05/admi ... s-essay-3/

The Clear Admit Team
https://blog.clearadmit.com
www.clearadmit.com
info@clearadmit.com

(Send your resume to info@clearadmit.com for a free assessment of your profile.)

Participate in Clear Admit’s Free MBA Admissions Strategy Webinar!

On Tuesday, May 19, join Clear Admit as we host a free webinar on business school application strategy. Attendees can join us online as we discuss key topics in businesss school admissions including what MBA programs look for in candidates, the relative importance of the application components and compensating for weaknesses in your application. Participants will also have the opportunity to have questions answered by Clear Admit’s knowledgeable admissions counselors.

The webinar has a limited number of spaces, so make sure to reserve your spot early!

To learn how to sign up for Clear Admit's webinar, click here: https://blog.clearadmit.com/2009/05/part ... y-webinar/

The Clear Admit Team
https://blog.clearadmit.com
www.clearadmit.com
info@clearadmit.com

Harvard Business School (HBS) 2009-2010 Essay Topics and Deadlines to be Released Week of May 18

In a post to her blog yesterday, Harvard Business School (HBS) Director of Admissions and Financial Aid Dee Leopold announced that the HBS essay questions and deadlines dates for the 2009-2010 application season will be released sometime next week. Make sure to check the Clear Admit blog starting May 18th for further updates and analysis of the essay topics!

The Clear Admit Team
https://blog.clearadmit.com
www.clearadmit.com
info@clearadmit.com

Send your resume to info@clearadmit.com for a free assessment of your profile.

School-by-School International Student Loan Scorecard

Last fall, due to shrinking credit markets resulting from the global economic crisis, banks were forced to cancel a range of existing loan programs with many top business schools. Domestic students pursuing an MBA were not impacted, but the cancellations brought to an abrupt end most loan programs for international students that didn’t require a U.S. cosigner.

The schools have been working hard ever since to find solutions for their international students, and in the course of the past month, several top MBA programs have announced new no-cosigner loan options.

Here at Clear Admit, we have worked to compile the following international student loan scorecard, intended to give prospective applicants a quick view of available no-cosigner loan options on a school-by-school basis. Where available, we also have listed specific loan terms and rates. For additional details about any of the loan programs listed, please follow the corresponding links. We will update this resource regularly as new loan programs are added and/or program terms are announced.

Schools with No-Cosigner Loan Programs in Place

• Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia at Charlottesville: On April 14th, Darden Director of Admissions Sara Neher announced that her office has successfully negotiated a new no-cosigner loan program for international students. Details of the program, which have not been shared publicly, have been sent directly to admitted international students, Neher reported.

• Fuqua School of Business at Duke University: On May 11th, Fuqua announced on its website that international students will be able to secure loans for their studies at Fuqua without the need for a U.S. cosigner. “We have a solution in hand that will meet students’ needs, with terms similar to those offered for the current academic year,” according to the website. To date, details and terms of that program have not been shared publicly.

To see more schools' summaries, click here: https://blog.clearadmit.com/2009/05/scho ... scorecard/

The Clear Admit Team
https://blog.clearadmit.com
www.clearadmit.com
info@clearadmit.com

Send your resume to info@clearadmit.com for a free assessment of your profile.

Harvard Business School (HBS) Deadlines and Essays Topics 2009-2010

The HBS deadlines and essay questions have just been released for the 2009-2010 admissions cycle. Though much remains the same, there are several notable differences over last year’s deadlines and essay topics, which we’ve summarized below:

Round 1 Deadline Set for October 1st
The Round 1 deadline is almost two weeks earlier this year, taking place on October 1st instead of October 15th. This should give HBS a bit of distance from some of their peer schools that traditionally place their deadlines towards the middle of the month - good news for applicants targeting multiple schools.

Round 1 Decisions Delivered in December
For the first time ever, HBS will be delivering Round 1 decisions in December as opposed to late January (similar to Wharton and Chicago Booth’s approach). Clear Admit applauds this decision, as it not only gives HBS applicants a faster response, but it will also allow rejected or waitlisted candidates to quickly shift to a plan B by targeting R2 deadlines in early Janaury at other schools. In previous years, the HBS R1 decisions were not available until the bulk of R2 deadlines had passed.

To read more about Harvard's decision timeline, as well as it essay topics, click here: https://blog.clearadmit.com/2009/05/harv ... 2009-2010/

The Clear Admit Team
https://blog.clearadmit.com
www.clearadmit.com
info@clearadmit.com

Send your resume to info@clearadmit.com for a free assessment of your profile.

Stanford GSB Deadlines and Essay Topics 2009-2010

Following Harvard Business School’s announcement last week, the Stanford Graduate School of Business has followed suit by publishing their deadlines and essay topics for the coming application cycle. The main areas to note with this year’s application are some changes to the options for essay 3 and a new R1 notification date (before Christmas instead of in January - a change that mirrors Harvard’s decision to notify applicants earlier this year as well).

Without further ado, let’s look at the details:

Application Deadlines
Round 1: October 7, 2009
Round 2: January 6, 2010
Round 3: April 7, 2010

Note: All deadlines are 5 p.m. (Pacific)

Notification Dates
Round 1: December 16, 2009
Round 2: March 31, 2010
Round 3: May 19, 2009

To see the 2009-2010 Stanford essay topics, click here: https://blog.clearadmit.com/2009/05/stan ... 2009-2010/

The Clear Admit Team
https://blog.clearadmit.com
www.clearadmit.com
info@clearadmit.com

Send your resume to info@clearadmit.com for a free assessment of your profile.

New Building, New Faculty at Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business

In the year ahead, Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business will welcome 13 new full-time faculty members and open a much-anticipated new building for business school classes. The new professors will begin teaching at the school in August, and the new building will open officially later this summer.

“I am pleased we can add so many outstanding faculty to our roster,” Dean George Daly said in a statement on May 15th. “This is the largest influx of such scholars during my time at the school. These appointments also coincide with the opening of our new building this fall, which will enhance learning and interaction between our students and faculty,” he continued.

Two of the new hires come to McDonough from the private sector: Bill Novelli, former CEO of AARP and co-founder of the global public relations firm Porter Novelli, and Mary “Meg” VanDeWeghe, former senior vice president for finance at Lockheed Martin. Also among the new faculty hires are two current adjunct professors, Michael Fitzgerald and Charles Skuba.

To read more, click here: https://blog.clearadmit.com/2009/05/new- ... -business/


The Clear Admit Team
https://blog.clearadmit.com
www.clearadmit.com
kevin@clearadmit.com

Send your resume to info@clearadmit.com for a free assessment of your profile.

Garth Saloner Named Dean of Stanford Graduate School of Business

Earlier this week, Stanford GSB announced the hiring of Garth Saloner as their new dean. He will replace Robert Joss, who has served as dean for the past decade and was responsible for both the development of a new curriculum as well as the launch of construction of new state of the art facilities.

Saloner has been teaching at Stanford since 1990 is presently the Jeffrey S. Skoll Professor of Electronic Commerce, Strategic Management and Economics. He has also served as the director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at the Graduate School of Business and has been integral in the launch of the new curriculum. Saloner holds a PhD in Economics, Business and Public Policy from Stanford University and is one of only two faculty members to have been awarded the Distinguished Teaching Award at the GSB twice (1993 and 2008).

To read more, click here: https://blog.clearadmit.com/2009/05/gart ... -business/

The Clear Admit Team
https://blog.clearadmit.com
www.clearadmit.com
info@clearadmit.com

Send your resume to info@clearadmit.com for a free assessment of your profile.

Wharton / University of Pennsylvania Deadlines 2009-2010

The Wharton MBA admissions deadlines for the 2009-2010 application season are now online! The essay questions and official application are set to be released later in the summer. The deadlines are as follows:

Round 1
Application Deadline: October 1, 2009
Notification Date: December 18, 2009

Round 2
Application Deadline: January 5, 2010
Notification Date: March 26, 2010

Round 3
Application Deadline: March 9, 2010
Notification Date: May 14, 2010

Check the Clear Admit blog later in the summer for posts on the 2009-2010 Wharton essay topics!

The Clear Admit Team
https://blog.clearadmit.com
www.clearadmit.com
info@clearadmit.com

Thank you in advance for your help. I wanted to get your take on a salesman applying to business school, I don't know if I've heard of a salesman being accepted to a top school.

Are you familiar with that happening?

In my case I scored 710 on the GMAT, my GPA is a hindrance at 2.95 from BYU. I'm hoping to transition into consulting (am I fantasizing too much?). I will have 4 years experience at Oracle in software sales when I matriculate. I have hit my number every year including winning rookie of the year my first year.

I speak fluent Italian and volunteered for two years in Italy as a mormon missionary.

Hi Pre777, thanks for your post. Please see my comments below.

Thank you in advance for your help. I wanted to get your take on a salesman applying to business school, I don't know if I've heard of a salesman being accepted to a top school.

Are you familiar with that happening?

In my case I scored 710 on the GMAT, my GPA is a hindrance at 2.95 from BYU. I'm hoping to transition into consulting (am I fantasizing too much?). I will have 4 years experience at Oracle in software sales when I matriculate. I have hit my number every year including winning rookie of the year my first year.

I speak fluent Italian and volunteered for two years in Italy as a mormon missionary.


Yes you can certainly get into b-schools as a salesman - there's nothing about the profession that, in and of itself, would preclude you from getting into b-schools. However, not all salespeople are made equal - were you responsible only for individual sales, or did you work in teams or even manage sales teams? What type of software sales did you do? How much client interaction did you have in the sales process? The key is to position your work such that it maximizes the analytical, team and leadership elements of your job.

You're right that your 2.95 GPA is a bit of concern, but here again, not all 2.95s are made equal. Did you do better in the initial or later years? How were your grades in the quantitative classes? The better you did in the later years and the better you performed in the quant classes, the more the adcom is likely to tolerate a relatively low overall GPA.

Your background as a mormon missionary is a tricky element. In general, you should avoid direct discussions about religion in your applications, as you never know what kind of religious background your reader will have. However, you certainly can focus on the community service aspect of your stint as a missionary, and that should make for a very powerful discussion as long as you can substantiate the positive, non-religious impact you generated for the community.

Hope this helps. Good luck! Feel free to contact us at info@clearadmit.com for a more detailed analysis of your profile.

Best,
Kevin


Kevin Chen
https://blog.clearadmit.com
https://www.clearadmit.com
info@clearadmit.com

_________________
Clear Admit
MBA Admissions Blog: https://blog.clearadmit.com
MBA Admissions Wiki: https://www.clearadmit.com/wiki
Clear Admit School Guides: https://www.clearadmit.com/guides

Thank you Kevin, however my grades in my quant classes weren't all that great and my grade trend was pretty consistent. However I was working about 25 hours a week to pay tuition and leave with no debt (I was successful in that).

What kind of schools are in my range? top 25? top 50?

Thanks again for your advice.

Hi Pre777,

You're very welcome. Make sure you do explain in each application's optional essay section that you were working part-time in school; the adcom does take that into account.

Based on the limited information I have from you, I suggest that you try a mixture of top 15-25 schools and top 25-35. I would not go below top 35.

Best,
Kevin

Kevin Chen
https://blog.clearadmit.com
https://www.clearadmit.com
info@clearadmit.com

_________________
Clear Admit
MBA Admissions Blog: https://blog.clearadmit.com
MBA Admissions Wiki: https://www.clearadmit.com/wiki
Clear Admit School Guides: https://www.clearadmit.com/guides

MIT / Sloan Deadlines and Essay Topics 2009-2010

The MIT/Sloan admissions deadlines and essay topics for the 2009-2010 application season are now online! The official application is set to be released in July. The deadlines are as follows:

Round One
Application Deadline: Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Decisions Released: Monday, February 1, 2010

Rounds Two
Application Deadline: Tuesday, January 13, 2010
Decisions Released: Monday, April 5, 2010

All application are due by 12 p.m. PST. Reapplicants are required to apply in Round One.

The essay topics for the 2009-2010 season are as follows:

Cover Letter
Prepare a cover letter (up to 500 words) seeking a place in the MIT Sloan MBA Program. Describe your accomplishments and include an example of how you had an impact on a group or organization. Your letter should conform to standard business correspondence and be addressed to Mr. Rod Garcia, Director of MBA Admissions.

Essays
We are interested in learning more about you and how you work, think, and act. For each essay, please provide a brief overview of the situation followed by a detailed description of your response. Please limit the experiences you discuss to those which have occurred in the past three years.

In each of the essays please describe in detail what you thought, felt, said, and did.

To read all of the 2009-2010 MIT essay topics, click here: https://blog.clearadmit.com/2009/06/mit- ... 2009-2010/

Kevin Chen
https://blog.clearadmit.com
https://www.clearadmit.com
info@clearadmit.com

Hey Clear Admit,

I posted my profile for review a while ago and got little response. What do you think?

GMAT: 740, Q50, V40 AWA: 5.5
GPA: 3.45 (Good Progression... 3.8 in 3rd and 4th year), Mechanical Engineering (University of Toronto - Top Eng Program in Canada)
Work experience(WE): 2.5 FT (at matriculation) - Financial Services Consulting at Boutique Firm... I spent 3 months as an intern at the firm (not counted in WE), joined on as an Analyst after graduation, and just recently got a promotion to Associate at my 15 month review..
Nationality: Canadian
Age: 24.5 at Matriculation
Gender: Male
Extra-curriculars/community: U Toronto Engineering Hockey Team (2 years), Mech Eng Mentorship Program (1 year), Tutoring in Math and Science (5 years), Semi-Professional Snooker/Billiards Player on Canadian Circuit
Area of interest in MBA: Investment Banking/Sales & Trading

TOP CHOICE: I really want to go to Columbia (I'll apply ED)
2nd TIER CHOICES: Chicago Booth, Harvard, LBS, Darden
CANADIAN SAFTEY NET: Toronto (Rotman)