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15 Jul 2016, 08:00
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Friday Factoid: Wharton for Consulting |
 Perennially ranked among the top business schools in the world, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania—as its original name, the Wharton School of Finance and Commerce, indicates—is best known for its reputation in finance, which is still the school’s largest department. However, if you are interested in a career in consulting but believe that Wharton is the program of choice for future investment bankers only… well, think again! Check out these five facts about consulting at Wharton:
The post Friday Factoid: Wharton for Consulting appeared first on mbaMission - MBA Admissions Consulting. |
15 Jul 2016, 11:01
| FROM mbaMission Blog: B-School Chart of the Week: June 2016 Social Currency Rankings |
Rankings come in all shapes and sizes, but can any ranking truly capture social cachet? For a different perspective on the value of an MBA, we turn to the New York Times society pages, where the editors select and profile promising couples. Each month, we dedicate one B-School Chart of the Week to tallying how alumni from top-ranked business schools are advancing their social currency ranking. It is no surprise that June proved to be an exceptionally busy month for MBA weddings, with the New York Times profiling 45 such nuptials. Graduates of Harvard Business School (HBS) were especially busy last month, with a total of 11 weddings involving the school’s alumni taking place in June. In fact, three members of HBS’s Class of 2016 tied the knot, and two of the school’s newly married couples had both received MBAs from HBS. In addition, seven weddings of New York University (NYU) Stern School of Business MBAs were profiled, while six nuptials took place involving Columbia Business School graduates. The post B-School Chart of the Week: June 2016 Social Currency Rankings appeared first on mbaMission - MBA Admissions Consulting. |
16 Jul 2016, 06:00
| FROM mbaMission Blog: mbaMission Is Proud to Partner with Poets & Quants to Bring You Our New FREE Insider’s Guides! |
We are proud to announce our new partnership with Poets & Quants to present our new and improved FREE mbaMission Insider’s Guides. That’s right, our business school–specific Insider’s Guides are now available for download at no cost! After more than a decade helping MBA applicants get into top business schools, we have learned what can compel an admissions committee to send that coveted letter of acceptance. Selecting the right MBA program for your needs and developing a true understanding of and familiarity with that program are crucial in crafting a successful application. We have therefore invested hundreds of hours into researching and examining the leading business schools—including speaking with students, alumni, admissions officers, and other representatives—to construct these guides, with the express goal of helping applicants like you make informed decisions about this important step in your education and career. Informed by firsthand insight from students, alumni, program representatives, and admissions officers, each guide offers detailed descriptions of the following:
The post mbaMission Is Proud to Partner with Poets & Quants to Bring You Our New FREE Insider’s Guides! appeared first on mbaMission - MBA Admissions Consulting. |
16 Jul 2016, 08:00
| FROM mbaMission Blog: MBA Admissions Myths Destroyed: The Admissions Committee’s Glass Is 99% Empty |
 “I was the first in my class to be promoted at McKinsey. I have a 710 GMAT score and completed Level 1 of the CFA exam, but I had a B- in calculus during my freshman year. Will that grade ruin my chances for admission?” “My company has been under a hiring and promotion freeze for the past three years, but during that time, I have earned pay increases and survived successive rounds of layoffs. Will the admissions committee accept someone who has not been promoted?” “I have been promoted, but my company changed names. Will the admissions committee think I am going somewhere at a sketchy company?” Although these questions may seem somewhat silly—the individuals’ strengths are obvious and their “weaknesses” comparatively innocuous—we get asked about scenarios like these every day. In short, we can assure you that your candidacy, even at vaunted schools like Harvard and Stanford, is not rendered tenuous by such trivial “shortcomings.” The admissions officers do not consider you guilty until proven innocent, and they are not looking for little reasons to exclude you from contention. Many candidates have mythologized the “perfect” applicant and fear that any small area of concern means that they do not measure up to this myth—and thus that their candidacy is insufficient. Rather than fixating on small details that in truth are inconsequential, you should think about the big picture with respect to your overall competitiveness. You can take us at our word on this. Or, if you prefer, heed the words of J.J. Cutler, former deputy vice dean of MBA admissions, financial aid, and career management at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, who explained to mbaMission that “everyone has something, or more than one thing, in their application that they need to overcome.” But he added, “We read with an eye toward wanting to find all the good things about an applicant. We look for their strengths. We look for things that make them stand out, that make them unique. We look for their accomplishments. We look for positive parts of the application.” The post MBA Admissions Myths Destroyed: The Admissions Committee’s Glass Is 99% Empty appeared first on mbaMission - MBA Admissions Consulting. |
16 Jul 2016, 12:00
| FROM mbaMission Blog: MBA Career News: Founding a Start-Up After Founding a Career |
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In this new addition to our blog, “MBA Career News,” our Career Coaches will offer invaluable advice and industry-related news to help you actively manage your career. Topics include building your network, learning from mistakes and setbacks, perfecting your written communication, and mastering even the toughest interviews. To sign up for a free consultation with one of our mbaMission Career Coaches, click here. When thinking about start-ups, one might assume that their founders are mostly men and women in their 20s. This is a common stereotype concerning start-ups—but more often than not, it is inaccurate. A survey conducted by Startup Muster in 2015 and discussed in a recent Mashable articlereveals that the majority of start-up founders (23.8%) in Australia were between 30 and 35 years of age. Those between ages 35 and 40 made up 18.0% of the respondents, while only 16.1% were 25 to 30 years old. Interestingly, 50% of those who were surveyed had no previous start-up experience at all. “I certainly don’t think that innovation is limited to people in their 20s,” Casey Mulder, founder of education company Today We Learned, said to Mashable. “But good teams are a combination [of age groups].” So, if you are tempted by entrepreneurship but think your ship may have sailed, think again. The jump into the unknown could be the best decision of your life. The post MBA Career News: Founding a Start-Up After Founding a Career appeared first on mbaMission - MBA Admissions Consulting. |
17 Jul 2016, 07:01
| FROM mbaMission Blog: GMAT Impact: Just Getting Started with the GMAT? Here Is What to Do |
With regard to the GMAT, raw intellectual horsepower helps, but it is not everything. In this blog series, Manhattan Prep’s Stacey Koprince teaches you how to perform at your best on test day by using some common sense. If you are just getting started with the GMAT and are trying to figure out what to do, we have got several big categories of things to discuss: mind-set, devising a study plan, and learning how to study. Mind-Set If you do what most people do and try to prepare for this test in the same way that you prepared for tests in school, you are not going to get the best score that you could get. If you are not sure what is tested on the GMAT or what the different question types look like, take some time to wander around this section of the official GMAT Web site. Next, read this short article: “In It to Win It.” This will help you to start to adjust your mind-set so you can maximize your GMAT score. One important detail: you are only going to get about 60% of the questions right. How can that be? Glad you asked. Read the “Scoring” section of Manhattan Prep’s free e-book The GMAT Uncovered. This section explains just how the scoring on the GMAT works—which will help you better understand why trying to get everything right is a really bad strategy on the GMAT. Okay, we are essentially done with the mind-set category, but I have to say one more thing. I put mind-set first for a reason: if you have the wrong mind-set, it will not matter how much you learn or practice. You still will not get the best score that you are capable of getting. Devising a Study Plan Get started with this article: “Developing a GMAT Study Plan.” Note: make sure to follow the instructions about taking and analyzing a practice test. Next, read this article about time management. As you will have already learned from our discussions of mind-set and scoring, effective time management is crucial to your success on this test. How to Study One key GMAT skill is learning to recognize problems. “Recognize” means that we actually have a little light bulb go off in our brain—“Hey, I’ve seen something like this before, and on that other one, the best solution method was XYZ, so I’m going to try that this time, too!” When you recognize something, you have given yourself two big advantages: you save yourself time, because recognizing is faster than figuring something out from scratch, and you are more likely to get it right because you know what worked—and what did not—the previous time. You will not be able to recognize every problem, but the more you can, the better. Read the “How Do I Learn?” section in the second half of the “Developing a GMAT Study Plan” article. Make sure to follow the links given in that section—those links lead to the tools that will help you learn how to learn from GMAT questions. If you want to take advantage of online forums to chat with teachers and other students (and I strongly recommend that!), learn how to make the best use of the forums. Finally, ask for advice! So many resources are out there that it can be overwhelming, but most companies offer free advice (Manhattan Prep does here!) and you can also benefit from talking to fellow students. The post GMAT Impact: Just Getting Started with the GMAT? Here Is What to Do appeared first on mbaMission - MBA Admissions Consulting. |
17 Jul 2016, 12:00
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Bleacher Report Co-Founder Dave Finocchio Discusses the Sports Site’s Exponential Growth |
 Dave Finocchio, Co-Founder of Bleacher Report Today, many aspiring MBAs and MBA graduates want to join start-ups or launch such companies themselves. Is entrepreneurship as exciting as it seems? Is it really for you? mbaMission Founder Jeremy Shinewald has teamed up with Venture for America and CBS Interactive to launch Smart People Should Build Things: The Venture for America Podcast. Each week, Shinewald interviews another entrepreneur so you can hear the gritty stories of their ups and downs on the road to success. Launching a company while still in college is nothing new. However, doing so and eventually selling the company for $215M is a pretty rare occurrence! In this podcast episode, Dave Finocchio, the CEO and one of four co-founders of Bleacher Report, shares how he and his college friends struck gold by noticing a lack of interesting and quickly moving sports media coverage. Finocchio’s inspiring story features many fascinating details of his journey to entrepreneurial success, including these:
The post Bleacher Report Co-Founder Dave Finocchio Discusses the Sports Site’s Exponential Growth appeared first on mbaMission - MBA Admissions Consulting. |
18 Jul 2016, 08:00
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Monday Morning Essay Tip: Conflict Is Compelling |
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When you are writing a compelling story, conflict can be a very important element. Of course, we mean conflict in the literary rather than the physical or emotional sense (no one wants to hear about how you hotheadedly instigated a confrontation). In literary terms, conflict occurs at the moment an oppositional force helps shape the central story. So, a narrative that presents you—the candidate and hero of the story—experiencing an effortless ride toward victory would not typically be as interesting or exciting as one in which you suffered some bumps and bruises along the way. For example, most people would find the story of a rookie challenger beating an experienced marathon runner at the finish line a lot more compelling than the story of a runner who leads the race by a wide margin from beginning to end and never experiences any competition. Although you might not have an anecdote like this in your arsenal, our point is that whether you are telling the story of refining a supply chain, getting a deal done, marketing a new product, or accomplishing any other facet of business, you should identify and share the hurdles you overcame in doing so, because describing a time when you enjoyed a smooth and easy path to success may not allow you to shine as brightly. The post Monday Morning Essay Tip: Conflict Is Compelling appeared first on mbaMission - MBA Admissions Consulting. |
19 Jul 2016, 07:00
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Mission Admission: Ask for Last-Minute Feedback |
Mission Admission is a series of MBA admission tips; a new one is posted each Tuesday. As most business schools have recently released their deadlines for the 2016–2017 season, we thought we would share a piece of advice that might help alleviate some deadline-related stress. After you have completed (but not yet submitted!) your application(s), find one individual you trust—whether a professional consultant or someone with insight into the application process—to read your essays one last time and give you last-minute feedback. However, we strongly suggest that you limit yourself to requesting feedback from just one or two individuals. Because the application process is subjective, you will discover that as you add readers, you will also add new and different opinions. Soon, a multitude of alternatives might appear, and although none of these varying ideas will necessarily be “right” or “wrong”—considering that a single candidate’s stories can be marketed in almost countless ways—they can create unnecessary uncertainty. We are not suggesting that you ignore critical feedback, but rather that you not complicate your final days and create doubt where it may not be due. If one or two readers support your ideas and emphasize that your application needs minimal work, you are probably best off ending your feedback loop there and submitting your application. The post Mission Admission: Ask for Last-Minute Feedback appeared first on mbaMission - MBA Admissions Consulting. |
20 Jul 2016, 07:01
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Professor Profiles: Barry Nalebuff, Yale School of Management |
Many MBA applicants feel that they are purchasing a brand when they choose a business school. However, the educational experience you will have is what is crucial to your future, and no one will affect your education more than your professors. Each Wednesday, we profile a standout professor as identified by students. Today, we profile Barry Nalebuff from the Yale School of Management (SOM). Perhaps best known as one of the founders of Honest Tea, Barry Nalebuff is the Milton Steinbach Professor of Management at the Yale SOM. An expert in game theory and strategy, Nalebuff has been a professor at the SOM since 1989. A second year told mbaMission that in the classroom, Nalebuff “is a favorite for his sharp wit and insights.” Nalebuff is also an accomplished author with more than 300,000 copies in print. His book The Art of Strategy: A Game Theorist’s Guide to Success in Business and Life (W.W. Norton & Co., 2008), for example, explores how almost all interactions—business and personal alike—have a game theory component. Nalebuff and Adam Brandenburger, a professor of business economics and strategy at NYU’s Stern School of Business, developed the concept of a new business strategy called “co-opetition,” which they write about in a book of the same name: Co-Opetition: A Revolutionary Mindset That Combines Competition and Cooperation: The Game Theory Strategy That’s Changing the Game of Business (Crown Business, 1997). The book’s listing on Amazon.com describes co-opetition as “a business strategy that goes beyond the old rules of competition and cooperation to combine the advantages of both. Co-opetition is a pioneering, high profit means of leveraging business relationships.” A first year noted in a Yale SOM Community Blog post, “Prof. Nalebuff never misses an opportunity to illustrate the ways in which companies can cooperate to grow the PIE (potential industry earnings). Of course, he then always reminds us that these same companies should compete aggressively to secure the biggest piece of that newly expanded PIE.” For more information about the Yale SOM and 15 other top-ranked business schools, check out the mbaMission Insider’s Guides. The post Professor Profiles: Barry Nalebuff, Yale School of Management appeared first on mbaMission - MBA Admissions Consulting. |
20 Jul 2016, 12:00
| FROM mbaMission Blog: MBA Career News: Maintaining a Career After Leaving Big Cities Behind |
In this new addition to our blog, “MBA Career News,” our Career Coaches will offer invaluable advice and industry-related news to help you actively manage your career. Topics include building your network, learning from mistakes and setbacks, perfecting your written communication, and mastering even the toughest interviews. To sign up for a free consultation with one of our mbaMission Career Coaches, click here. The reasons why many professionals choose to live within or near big cities are evident—New York and San Francisco, for example, are the centers of a plethora of industries, making the career opportunities within grasp endless. However, the steep cost of living and the high level of stress in metropolises make some workers consider leaving them behind for good. How does one’s career sustain such a drastic move? A recent article by Forbes examined the process of moving out of a big city while still maintaining a healthy career, taking into account steps including making compromises, practicing self-reliance, and adjusting one’s priorities. One couple who chose to relocate to a quieter area ended up reducing their monthly housing costs by 40% by leaving the Bay Area behind. “On the plus side, life is easy here [in Folsom, California],” Nicole Foster, the wife in the aforementioned couple, commented to Forbes. “No traffic or angry drivers, no sad stories of hardworking people struggling to survive in impossible circumstances. […] People are happy!” Indeed, recent studies suggested that those living outside major metropolitan areas are generally happier than those living in big cities. The post MBA Career News: Maintaining a Career After Leaving Big Cities Behind appeared first on mbaMission - MBA Admissions Consulting. |
21 Jul 2016, 07:01
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Beyond the MBA Classroom: Building Goodness at UVA Darden |
When you select an MBA program, you are not just choosing your learning environment but are also committing to becoming part of a community. Each Thursday, we offer a window into life “beyond the MBA classroom” at a top business school. Every spring and fall, students at the University of Virginia (UVA) Darden School of Business take a day to partner with area contractors and builders to help people in the community. Each April, 250–300 volunteers take part in the project and rehabilitate a dozen or more houses in the Charlottesville area for low-income, disabled, and elderly homeowners. And in the fall, 50–80 volunteers help area organizations such as children’s camps and learning centers. The preparations for “build days” take months. Students involved with the Building Goodness Foundation select the projects, coordinate the suppliers and volunteers, collect the necessary funds, and apply for permits. Since the program’s inception in 1991, Darden students have volunteered thousands of hours of their time, in addition to investing more than $1M in improvements in the area. Each year, the organization hosts a fundraiser auction for the event, where students offer such items up for grabs as a home-cooked meal and a private plane ride to Oktoberfest. A first year commented in an April 2014 Charlottesville Newsplex article, “A day like today, we all come out in force and do as much as we can to help out [with] little projects around the house,” adding, “To meet some of the people in the community and do something for someone else, it’s a good feeling.” For in-depth descriptions of social and community activities at UVA Darden and 15 other top MBA programs, check out the mbaMission Insider’s Guides. The post Beyond the MBA Classroom: Building Goodness at UVA Darden appeared first on mbaMission - MBA Admissions Consulting. |
21 Jul 2016, 11:00
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Diamonds in the Rough: Intimate Class Size at Mays Business School |
MBA applicants can get carried away with rankings. In this series, we profile amazing programs at business schools that are typically ranked outside the top 15. Texas A&M University’s Mays Business School offers a full-time, 49-credit MBA curriculum that can be completed in just 16 months (August to December) or customized for an extended period of time. Although the core curriculum is very rigid, with foundational management courses spanning the entirety of the program, Mays also offers the option of pursuing certificates and career specializations beyond the 16-month core. But what really stands out about the Mays program is its dedication to maintaining a strong sense of community. The school’s two cohorts of approximately 40 students each facilitate an intimate classroom setting and personalized attention from faculty and staff. The post Diamonds in the Rough: Intimate Class Size at Mays Business School appeared first on mbaMission - MBA Admissions Consulting. |
22 Jul 2016, 08:00
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Friday Factoid: See the World on an M-Trek at Michigan Ross |
 For incoming first-year students at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business who want to get a head start on building friendships within their class or make use of some time off before school begins, the M-Trek program may be just the answer. M-Treks, which were first offered in 1999, are small-group, multiday, outdoor adventure trips that take place before the academic year begins. Organized in locations around the world, the trips are entirely student led (by second-year MBA students) and are designed to provide a team-based environment similar to that found at Ross and to promote leadership in a team setting. M-Treks look to be as inclusive as possible—trips are available to suit a wide variety of interests and thus range from hard-core adventure to relaxing sightseeing excursions. 2016 treks included “Not Your Basic Beaches,” during which participants explored private beaches and the countryside of France and Spain, and “Guate Get Down,” which took place in the historic areas of Belize and Guatemala. In 2015, treks ranged from “Edward Fjord-y-Hands,” which featured hiking, kayaking, and mountain biking in Sweden and Norway, to “Best Friends Pho Ever,” where participants boarded a train and explored local food and culture in Vietnam. Other treks in previous years included “Bal-Kan You Handle This!?” (during which students hiked peaks in Montenegro and biked through the Lustica peninsula), “Czech Yoself Before You Wreck Yoself” (an exploration of Vienna and Prague), and “A Taste of Turkey.” So, whether you are interested in hiking and rafting in Iceland or beaching and snorkeling in Mexico, M-Treks provide a chance to build friendships and develop leadership skills while having a great time. For more information on other defining characteristics of the MBA program at Michigan Ross or one of 15 other top business schools, please check out the mbaMission Insider’s Guides. The post Friday Factoid: See the World on an M-Trek at Michigan Ross appeared first on mbaMission - MBA Admissions Consulting. |
23 Jul 2016, 08:00
| FROM mbaMission Blog: MBA Admissions Myths Destroyed: At Least I Don’t Have to Rework My Resume |
 Many MBA candidates do not thoroughly consider and revise their resumes for their applications, often dismissing this element because an existing version may already be saved on their computer. We strongly caution you not to underestimate the value of this document—the admissions committees, in fact, review applicants’ resumes carefully, because they serve as a road map of each candidate’s career. In the past, we have highlighted that your resume is not the place to “stuff” all of your life experiences. Somewhere between the two extremes—cramming your resume with information and ignoring it altogether—lies the ideal: a clear, easily scannable, action-/results-oriented resume, one that tells a story that will capture the attention of an admissions officer who has reviewed hundreds of similar files. One of the most common errors that candidates make is leaving their resume in an industry-specific format, filled with jargon and acronyms recognizable only to an expert in their field. Remember, the admissions committee is not hiring you for a task, but is trying to understand your progress, your accomplishments, and even your character. Each bullet point in your resume needs to highlight achievement more than positional expertise. As you prepare your resume to be included in your application, think about your audience and recognize that your resume can be a strategic tool to reinforce certain characteristics that are important to you—characteristics that may complement information provided in other parts of your application. For example, if you aspire to a career that is international in nature, you may place more emphasis on your international experience in your resume. Or, if you come from a field that is not known for its management orientation—you were a teacher who administered a school’s $50,000 student activities budget, for example—you may use your resume to emphasize disciplines that are important to an MBA admissions audience. Some candidates are surprised to realize that one page can communicate so much and thus deserves a significant level of attention, but investing some time in this short but crucial document is definitely worth the effort. The post MBA Admissions Myths Destroyed: At Least I Don’t Have to Rework My Resume appeared first on mbaMission - MBA Admissions Consulting. |
24 Jul 2016, 08:00
| FROM mbaMission Blog: GMAT Impact: What Is Data Sufficiency? |
With regard to the GMAT, raw intellectual horsepower helps, but it is not everything. In this blog series, Manhattan Prep’s Stacey Koprince teaches you how to perform at your best on test day by using some common sense. If you have only recently started studying for the GMAT (or even if you have been studying for a while!), you are likely annoyed by Data Sufficiency (DS). What is this weird question type, and why do they ask it? More importantly, how do we handle it? What is Data Sufficiency? The GMAT really is not a math test. (Neither is the GRE—we will look at a weird GRE quant question type next week.) These tests are actually trying to test us on our “executive reasoning” skills—that is, how well we make decisions and prioritize when faced with too many things to do in too little time. So, DS questions are really about quickly analyzing a collective set of data and trying to figure out which pieces you need to do the job. Imagine your boss dumping a bunch of stuff on you and saying, “Hey, our client wants to know whether they should raise the price on this product. Can you answer that question from this data? If so, which pieces do we need to prove the case?” We do, of course, have to do some math—and sometimes that math is quite annoying. We usually do not, however, have to do as much as we usually do on regular “problem solving” questions (the normal Quant questions). How does Data Sufficiency work? First, we are given what is called the “question stem.” Here is an example: How old is Oliver? The question stem asks us a question, naturally. It can also provide information, such as the following: If Oliver’s age is even, how old is Oliver? Now we know that Oliver’s age is an even number. If they told me, for example, that Oliver is either 13 or 14 years old, now I know he is definitely 14, because I should only consider even numbers as possible values for Oliver’s age. Next, the problem will give us two statements, such as the following: (1) Oliver is 4 years older than Sam. (2) Sam will be 11 years old in 5 years. So, can we figure out how old Oliver is? What information would we need to do so? The first statement, by itself, does not help, because we do not know how old Sam is. The second statement, by itself, also does not help, because it does not tell us anything about Oliver. If we put the two statements together, however, then we can actually figure out how old Oliver is. In this case, using both statements 1 and 2 together is sufficient to answer the question. (And this situation corresponds to answer choice C on the GMAT.) DS questions have five possible answers: (A) Statement 1 does help us to answer the question but statement 2 does not. (B) Statement 2 does help us to answer the question but statement 1 does not. (C) Neither statement works on its own, but I can use them together to answer the question. (D) Statement 1 works by itself and statement 2 works by itself. (E) Nothing works. Even if I use both statements together, I still cannot answer the question. Okay, these are weird. How do I get better? These are going to take some practice, yes. In addition, this was only a very short introduction; a ton of great strategies are out there that you can learn. Look for books, articles, classes, and other resources to help. (Here is one to get you started.) You also, of course, have to learn a bunch of math. What we have presented here, though, should help you get started on this kind-of-bizarre question type in the first place! The post GMAT Impact: What Is Data Sufficiency? appeared first on mbaMission - MBA Admissions Consulting. |
25 Jul 2016, 07:01
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Monday Morning Essay Tip: Do Not Use the Same Technique Twice |
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Many business school applicants find writing to be a challenge, and some have particular difficulty changing the structure from one essay to the next. For example, a candidate might choose to use a quote at the beginning of an essay to create a sense of urgency: “This cannot be fixed. This cannot be fixed!” I stared blankly at the broken machinery and knewthat the next few hours would be crucial… Using this kind of attention-grabbing technique is certainly acceptable, but you should never use the same technique more than once in an application. By starting more than one essay in the same manner, you are effectively sending the admissions reader the message that you understand how to use a gimmick but not how to tell a compelling story in your own way. This is also a quick way to lose the reader’s interest! So be sure to vary your approach with each new essay within a single application. We work with our candidates to ensure that their ideas are presented in fresh and different ways, to captivate the admissions committee with each introduction and, indeed, each essay. The post Monday Morning Essay Tip: Do Not Use the Same Technique Twice appeared first on mbaMission - MBA Admissions Consulting. |
25 Jul 2016, 11:00
| FROM mbaMission Blog: University of California Los Angeles Anderson Essay Analysis, 2016–2017 |
 The UCLA Anderson School of Management has been asking applicants about their short- and long-term goals for as long as we at mbaMission have been publishing essay analyses, but not until 2014 did the school incorporate its three defining principles into its essay question. Last year, Anderson tweaked the query to address candidates’ goals for their time in the MBA program as well. The school does so again this season, having made no changes whatsoever to its lone essay question, leading us to assume that last year’s prompt elicited the kind of application essays the admissions committee wants to see. Given that Anderson requires only the one essay—which is limited to 750 words, despite having to cover three distinct periods of an aspiring MBA’s life—you must be sure to make the most of your interview, short-answer responses, recommendations, and resume to ensure that the school gets a full and well-rounded picture of you as a candidate. As for that essay, read on for our advice on how to best address the school’s query. Essay 1: We believe that the best results are achieved when you share success, think fearlessly and drive change. With this in mind, what are your goals at UCLA Anderson and in your short-term and long-term career? (750 words maximum) Although you should view the first sentence of Anderson’s essay prompt—which presents the school’s defining principles of “share success, think fearlessly, drive change”—as informative, you actually do not need to write specifically about sharing success, thinking fearlessly, and/or driving change. These themes can be implied within and by the stories you share, and you can choose to allude to just one or two of the three qualities; you do not necessarily have to address all three. As you write this essay, start by offering some personal or professional context—possibly some background information that connects in some way with the principles Anderson holds dear. Then, relate the values you have highlighted to your well-thought-out short- and long-term goals. Ideally, these goals will be ambitious but still realistic. Anderson does not need you to propose a new job that no one has ever imagined possible before; the admissions committee simply needs to understand that you have clearly envisioned your exciting path and that you own it. With your career goals firmly stated and supported by the context you have offered, you can then delve into your goals for your time as an Anderson MBA student. For this part of the essay, you will certainly need to do some research into what the school has to offer, particularly with respect to what you feel you need to learn and experience to be successful both during business school and in your subsequent career. To craft a truly effective and convincing argument, you must have a nuanced understanding of the school’s resources. Further, you will need to do more than merely list the relevant offerings and instead explain how they are integral to your growth and eventual success. You want to show not just what you will gain from your Anderson MBA experience but also how you will be an active participant at the school, all within the context (implicitly or explicitly) of the values it espouses. To learn more about UCLA Anderson’s academic program, defining characteristics, crucial statistics, social life, faculty, and other key features, check out the mbaMission Insider’s Guide to the Anderson School of Management. Optional essay: The following essay is optional. No preference is given in the evaluation process to applicants who submit an optional essay. Please note that we only accept written essays. Are there any extenuating circumstances in your profile about which the Admissions Committee should be aware? Please use your best judgment. (250 words maximum) Here is your opportunity—if needed—to address any lingering questions that an admissions officer might have about your candidacy, such as a poor grade or overall GPA, a low GMAT score, or a gap in your work experience. Do not simply try to fill this space because you fear that not doing so would somehow count against you. And however tempted you might be, this is not the place to reuse a strong essay you wrote for another school or to offer an anecdote or two that you were unable to include in your required essay. However, if you truly feel that you must emphasize or explain something that would render your application incomplete if omitted, write a very brief piece on this key aspect of your profile. In our mbaMission Optional Essays Guide, available through our online store, we offer detailed advice on when and how to take advantage of the optional essay (and provide multiple sample essays) to help you mitigate any problem areas in your profile. Reapplicant essay: Please describe your career progress since you last applied and ways in which you have enhanced your candidacy. Include updates on short-term and long-term career goals, as well as your continued interest in UCLA Anderson. (750 words maximum) Whether you have improved your academic record, received a promotion, begun a new and exciting project, increased your community involvement, or taken on some sort of personal challenge, the key to success with this essay is conveying a very deliberate path of achievement and forward momentum. Anderson wants to know that you have been actively striving to improve yourself and your profile, remain focused on your goals, and have seized available opportunities during the previous year, because an Anderson MBA is vital to you. The responses to this essay question will vary greatly from one candidate to the next, of course, because each person’s needs and experiences differ. We are more than happy to provide one-on-one assistance with this highly personal essay to ensure that your efforts over the past year are presented in the best light possible. The post University of California Los Angeles Anderson Essay Analysis, 2016–2017 appeared first on mbaMission - MBA Admissions Consulting. |
26 Jul 2016, 08:00
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Mission Admission: Ignore Anonymous Message Board Posts |
Mission Admission is a series of MBA admission tips; a new one is posted each Tuesday. Every once in a while, a concerned business school candidate calls us and says something along the lines of, “Star491 wrote that Wharton won’t read past the 500-word limit, but IndianaHoops09 wrote that 10% over the limit is fine. Meanwhile, WannabeTuckie says…” Reading this may amuse some of you, but the truth is that many MBA applicants have difficulty not visiting the various message boards, and some have even more difficulty not believing everything they read there. At the risk of stating the obvious, most message boards are completely unregulated, and you should be skeptical when reading the opinions expressed by anonymous posters. For every individual who claims to know something authoritatively, you can always find another individual who claims to know that the opposite is true. Round and round we go… Thus, our message is to ignore anonymous message board posts. Although this is valuable advice now, as you complete your first-round applications (ideally with your sanity intact), it will become even more valuable as the year progresses and many posters begin to make unsubstantiated claims about admissions statistics (offers given, GMAT scores of accepted candidates, etc.). If you tune out such noise now and put your energy instead into creating your best possible application(s), you will be far better off. Of course, if you do have any questions, you can always ask us on the message boards over at Manhattan Prep, Beat the GMAT, or GMAT Club. Or sign up for a free one-on-one consultation! The post Mission Admission: Ignore Anonymous Message Board Posts appeared first on mbaMission - MBA Admissions Consulting. |
27 Jul 2016, 07:00
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Dean Profiles: R. Glenn Hubbard, Columbia Business School |
Business school deans are more than administrative figureheads. Their character and leadership often reflect an MBA program’s unique culture and sense of community. Periodically, we profile the dean of a top-ranking business school. Today, we focus on R. Glenn Hubbard from Columbia Business School (CBS). R. Glenn Hubbard was appointed dean of CBS in 2004, having been at the school for nearly 20 years and having served as the Russell L. Carson Professor of Finance and Economics, the school’s senior vice dean, and codirector of the entrepreneurial program. He is also well known for having been an economic advisor to Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign in 2012 and a leading designer of the 2003 Bush tax cuts, which he helped implement while serving as chairman of the U.S. Council of Economic Advisers. After being criticized for his ties to the financial services industry in the 2010 documentary Inside Job, Hubbard has made a more concerted effort to bring professional responsibility to the fore of the CBS curriculum and to require faculty to fully disclose their professional activities outside of teaching. While many business schools responded to the recent financial crisis by adding standalone ethics courses to their curricula, Hubbard told the Wall Street Journal in 2011, “I don’t think students pay attention to [ethics] the way they do when it’s integrated into your marketing course, into your operations course, into your finance class.” With the launch of a new flexible curriculum in 2008 and further curricular changes in 2013, the school has reportedly worked to incorporate this integrated approach to teaching ethics directly into its core components. The updated curriculum also engenders what Hubbard has promoted as the three most essential directives for business students: “analyze, decide, and lead.” Hubbard is often the good-natured subject of student sketches in the CBS Follies comedy show and has been known to even make a personal appearance now and then. Videos from past Follies in which the dean has featured can be found on YouTube, including a musical parody of “Every Breath You Take” by The Police, in which Hubbard covets Ben Bernanke’s 2006 appointment as chairman of the Federal Reserve. For more information about CBS and 15 other top-ranked business schools, check out the mbaMission Insider’s Guides. The post Dean Profiles: R. Glenn Hubbard, Columbia Business School appeared first on mbaMission - MBA Admissions Consulting. |
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Hi Generic [Bot],
Here are updates for you:
ANNOUNCEMENTS
 Wednesday, Apr 24, 2024 11:30am NY / 3:30pm London / 9pm Mumbai Watch earlier episodes of DI series below EP1: 6 Hardest Two-Part Analysis Questions EP2: 5 Hardest Graphical Interpretation Questions
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AGSM at UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE
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