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04 Mar 2017, 09:00
| FROM mbaMission Blog: MBA Admissions Myths Destroyed: Title Trumps All |
 In the past, we have addressed (and debunked!) the myth that you must personally know alumni from the top MBA programs to gain acceptance into those schools. Another admissions myth that is somewhat similar—in that it pertains to who you know instead of who you are—is that your recommendation must be written by someone with a flashy title. Each year, many candidates will persuade either someone from outside their workplace (e.g., a congressman) or an insider who does not know their work all that well (e.g., a managing director or CEO) to write a recommendation on their behalf. Unfortunately, when you obtain a recommendation from someone because of his/her title and not because they actually know you and your work, the result is a vague endorsement. Consequently, the admissions committee will not get to know you better through this individual’s recommendation letter, and this undermines the very purpose of recommendations. Even if you can educate someone far above you in the corporate hierarchy about your achievements and he/she can write a seemingly personal letter, it still will not make sense that a CEO, for example, knows what you—one of hundreds of employees—are doing on a daily basis. So the intimacy of this person’s letter just might seem absurd. Of course, if your CEO does actually know you and can write a personal letter that makes a logical connection between your position and his/hers, that could be helpful. Rather than focusing on titles when considering possible sources for your recommendations, strive to identify an individual who knows you well and can write about your strengths—and even your weaknesses—with sincerity. If your supervisor has a less than impressive title, this will not reflect negatively on you; what will matter is what he/she writes about you. If that person can discuss your performance while providing powerful examples of standout achievements, he/she will help you to the fullest. |
05 Mar 2017, 09:00
| FROM mbaMission Blog: GMAT Impact: What to Do When You Do Not Have Much Time |
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. Some time ago, I flew over to London to give an all-day workshop at London Business School. The audience comprised about 35 students who had already been admitted to a weekend master’s program, but that admission was contingent upon taking the GMAT and getting a “good enough” score (as defined by the school). The students had only about a month or two to fulfill this requirement. What can you do in a six-hour crash course? Not much more than an introduction and orientation—but even that is incredibly valuable in helping people get started and know what to expect. So what should someone do who is in the position of taking the test in four to eight weeks and has not studied a ton yet? First, take a practice test under 100% official conditions. I always recommend this first step for anyone, but this is especially crucial for someone with limited time. You are going to have to prioritize heavily, and you have no effective way to do that without good practice test data. Next, identify the practice materials you want to use. You are going to need at least one source for official practice questions (perhaps the Official Guide 2016 Edition). You are also going to need some materials that help you get better in your areas of greatest weakness—for example, if you are struggling with word problems and sentence correction, then you are going to need some test prep materials that teach those specific areas. When determining which question types and content areas to prioritize, remember two important things: (1) All areas are not created equal. Struggling with Combinatorics? Great. Those are infrequently tested, so you can get away with just dropping that topic entirely. Struggling with exponents and roots? Those are much more common, so you are going to need to dig in there. Frequently versus infrequently tested areas can change over time, so ask an expert on an online forum at whatever point you need to figure this out. (2) Timing is an enormous factor on this exam. Everyone has timing problems, ranging from mild to severe. I cannot tell you how many students I have spoken with who study for months but do not get much better on their practice tests because they have not been practicing timing. Everyone needs to deal with timing right from the start—and this is especially true for someone who has only four to eight weeks to take the test. Last step: Start working! Tons of resources are available on the Manhattan Prep blog to help you in your studies, but I will point you toward two particular article compilations that should be the most helpful. Both articles were written as comprehensive articles for people who have months to study, so you will once again have to prioritize and cut out things for which you just do not have time—but these will provide you with the best starting point from which to make those decisions. |
06 Mar 2017, 09:01
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Monday Morning Essay Tip: Use Anecdotes |
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Many business school candidates take a straightforward, historical approach in their personal statement essays. Although this can be an easy way to organize an essay, it may deprive applicants of an opportunity to deliver a more focused and gripping introduction. Nothing is fundamentally wrong with taking a historical approach, of course, but an anecdotal approach can better maintain a reader’s interest in certain circumstances. Of course, this all comes down to execution. Example 1: Historical “When I graduated from New York University with a finance degree, I eschewed Wall Street and pursued my own distinct path; I opened a flower shop in midtown New York, never imagining the challenges I would face as I strived to bring in new customers and locate products around the world. With time, I learned to advertise selectively (on billboards in local office buildings) and developed relationships with suppliers, particularly one in Peru, with whom I obtained an exclusive on Heliconia flowers. After one year, we started to specialize in foreign flowers, and with a niche identified, we developed a strong client base. My firm stabilized, and I was no longer bleeding cash to support my 11 employees; we were cash-flow neutral and contemplating a new location.” This introduction is very direct and informative but involves almost no drama or emotion. To be more effective, the writer might instead consider positioning himself/herself as “the hero” and drawing the reader in with some anecdotal tension. Example 2: Anecdotal “My hand quivered as I signed the lease for 1,000 square feet of retail space in midtown New York. Two months later, I threw open the doors to my flower shop and was stunned when I did not make a sale until my third day. Admittedly, I began to question the wisdom of entrepreneurship and wondered if I should have joined my peers from New York University’s finance program as an analyst on Wall Street instead. However, each day, a trickle of customers came in, and more often than not, they commented on the colorful and rare flowers in my window, like the Peruvian Heliconia, exclusive to my shop. Within weeks, I had core customers picking up scheduled orders and referring friends; I bolstered this ‘word of mouth’ with select advertising on electronic billboards in the four 50-story office towers surrounding the shop. Soon, I noticed a surge of customers and was no longer bleeding cash. After one year, we were cash-flow neutral, and I was even contemplating opening another location.” In this version, the same information is conveyed, but the tension inherent in the “quivering hand” and the empty store acts as a “hook” to draw the reader in. By taking this more personal, emotional, and indeed anecdotal approach, the writer allows the reader to identify with his/her struggle and thereby maintains the reader’s interest. Again, this is not a case of right or wrong, and each MBA candidate should decide what works best in his/her own essays. |
07 Mar 2017, 10:01
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Mission Admission: Get an Early Start on Your Resume |
 Mission Admission is a series of MBA admission tips; a new one is posted each Tuesday. We at mbaMission try to encourage business school candidates to get as much “noise” out of the way as possible before the schools begin releasing their essay questions for the next admissions season. We want our applicants to have the freedom to reflect on their experiences, formally and thoroughly brainstorm, choose ideas, prepare outlines, and then focus on crafting powerful essays. Essentially, we want them to be unfettered as they engage in what is, for many, one of the most significant creative challenges they will ever face. Using this time to address a task such as preparing your resume—a process that often requires several rounds of revisions—will allow you to focus better on the other elements of your application later. By revising your resume now, you can dedicate the time needed to do so at a more leisurely pace, before “crunch time” hits. Further, you will lay the foundation for brainstorming for your essays later, by reminding yourself of your most significant accomplishments. If you prepare your resume now, you will definitely thank yourself later for having completed this task early. Note: We recognize that you may achieve additional accomplishments in the next few months. We nonetheless suggest that you update your resume now, however, and then revisit and amend your most recent entry one to two weeks before your application deadlines. |
07 Mar 2017, 13:01
| FROM mbaMission Blog: MBA Career News: Maintaining Your Network |
 In this new blog series, our mbaMissionCareer Coaches offer invaluable advice and industry-related news to help you actively manage your career. Topics include building your network, learning from mistakes and setbacks, perfecting your written communication, and mastering even the toughest interviews. To schedule a free half-hour consultation with one of our mbaMission Career Coaches, click here. We know what you are thinking… After you land that great new job or internship, you can stop networking. Well, not exactly. This surprises some people (and maybe disappoints them), but the best time to network is when you are not seeking a job. Networking when you are working can be helpful for a variety of reasons:
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08 Mar 2017, 09:00
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Professor Profiles: Robert Pindyck, MIT Sloan 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 Robert Pindyck from the MIT Sloan School of Management. Robert Pindyck has won multiple teaching awards going back more than 20 years, including an MIT Sloan Outstanding Teaching Award in both 1995 and 2005, the MIT Sloan Excellence in Teaching Award in 2002, and the school’s Teacher of the Year Award in 2007. Students and alumni with whom we spoke made note of his intense passion, which inspires his students to involve themselves ever more deeply into the material they are studying. An alumnus described Pindyck’s “tremendous authority,” which the professor balanced with “immense accessibility,” and a second-year teaching assistant in Pindyck’s “Industrial Economics [for Strategic Decisions]” course noted in a 2012 MIT Sloan Students Speak blog post that working with him was “a great learning experience.” For more information about the MIT Sloan School of Management and 15 other top-ranked MBA schools, check out the mbaMission Insider’s Guides. |
08 Mar 2017, 14:00
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Ace the GMAT Essay? No, Thanks! |
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We all know that the GMAT essay is scored separately and that the schools don’t care as much about the essay score. We also know we have to write the essays first thing, before we get to the more important Quant and Verbal sections (or even IR), so we don’t want to use up too much brain-power on the essay. Still, we can’t just bomb this section; the schools do care about the essay somewhat. So how do we do a good enough job without expending so much energy that we’re negatively affected during the multiple-choice portion of the test? We need to develop a template, an organizational framework on which to hang our writing. The template will not, of course, tell us exactly what to write. For that, we need the actual essay prompt, which we won’t see until we take the test. We can, however, determine how to organize the information ahead of time, as well as the general kinds of messages we need to convey at various points throughout. The template should tell us:
As a general rule, essays should have either four or five paragraphs total. The first paragraph is always the introduction, the last paragraph is always the conclusion, and the body (middle) paragraphs are for the examples we choose to use. Each paragraph should contain certain things; these are listed in the below sections. The information does not need to be presented in the given order below, though; just make sure that each paragraph does contain the necessary information in some sort of clear and logical order. In addition, the information listed below is the minimum necessary info; you can certainly add more where appropriate. Brainstorming First, read the essay prompt. It will look / feel just like the Critical Reasoning arguments we see on the Verbal portion of the test, so tackle it in the same way! The argument will most closely resemble Assumption Family arguments, so find the conclusion and make sure you understand how the author is trying to support his / her conclusion. Next, brainstorm any assumptions* that you can think of and jot these down (or type them into the essay response area). *Note: if you haven’t started studying CR Assumption Family questions yet, assumptions are unstated pieces of information that the author is assuming must be true in order to draw his/her conclusion. Next, articulate flaws. Any assumptions are automatically flaws, because the author hasn’t established that those assumptions are, in fact, true. You may also think of other flaws along the way. Finally, pick your two or three best flaws; these will form the basis of your essay. This whole process should take roughly 3 to 4 minutes. Many people find this the hardest part of writing an essay; you can practice by opening up the essay chapter of your Official Guide book and simply brainstorming for one essay prompt. Don’t write the whole essay—just do the brainstorming portion once a day (only 5 minutes out of your day!) for a week or two and you’ll become much more skilled at this step. First Paragraph
The first paragraph should also contain a thesis statement. The thesis is typically one sentence and conveys to the reader your overall message or point for the essay that you wrote. For the argument essay, you can write most of your thesis sentence before you get to the test! You already know that the argument will contain flaws, and that you will be discussing how those flaws hurt the author’s conclusion. Guess what? That’s always your thesis! “While the argument does have some merit, there are several serious flaws which serve to undermine the validity of the author’s conclusion that XYZ.” DON’T USE THAT EXACT SENTENCE. They’re going to get suspicious if hundreds of people use the same sentence. (Besides, that’s my sentence. Come up with your own!  ) Note the opening clause: While the argument does have some merit. This is what’s called acknowledging the other side. We don’t say, Hey, your argument is completely terrible! There’s nothing good about it at all! We acknowledge that some parts may be okay, or some people may feel differently, but our position is that the flaws are the most important issue (that is, our thesis is the most important thing). Notice one other thing that I don’t say: I don’t say I think. I state my thesis as though it is fact and reasonable people surely agree with me. That’s a hallmark of a persuasive essay. Finally, the first paragraph needs to introduce whatever examples we’re going to use in the body paragraphs below. Don’t launch into the examples fully; that will come later. Do, though, mention the two or three flaws that you plan to discuss in the essay. Body Paragraphs Each flaw gets its own paragraph, so you’ll write either 2 or 3 body paragraphs of 4 to 6 sentences each. (I personally pick my 2 best flaws, so I write 2 body paragraphs. Remember, we just need to be good enough!) Your goal here is to support your thesis statement. In each paragraph:
While it’s certainly true that chopping half of your payroll will reduce costs, it doesn’t necessarily follow that the company will become more profitable! That loss of personnel may negatively impact revenues, reduce productivity, hurt morale of the remaining employees, and so on. The author is assuming that no such adverse effects will result from this action; that’s a flaw in his/her thinking. The author of such an argument could bolster the claim by, for example, presenting evidence that half of the employees are truly dead weight and firing them wouldn’t affect the company adversely. (Don’t worry about whether this is likely, whether such evidence actually exists, or even whether this is the best way to improve profitability. Your job is only to strengthen the author’s existing argument a little bit. If the author could actually produce evidence showing that there wouldn’t be adverse effects from such layoffs, then his conclusion would be strengthened. Period.) Conclusion Paragraph
Before you go into the real test, you should have a fully developed template, so that all you have to do is come up with your two examples, and then hang your words onto your framework. This doesn’t mean pre-writing and memorizing actual sentences, but do know in general the kinds of points you want to make in each paragraph. Practice with the above as a starting point until you develop something with which you’re comfortable. Don’t forget to leave some time to proof your essay; it’s okay to have a few typos, but systematic errors will lower your score. Manhattan Prep is one of the world’s leading test prep providers. Every one of their instructors has a 99th percentile score on the GMAT and substantial teaching experience. The result? 17 years and thousands of satisfied students. By providing an outstanding curriculum and the highest-quality instructors in the industry, they empower students to accomplish their goals. Manhattan Prep allows you to sit in on any of their live GMAT classes—in-person or online—for free! Check out a trial class today. |
09 Mar 2017, 09:00
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Beyond the MBA Classroom: Kellogg Students Embark on KWEST |
 A recent Kellogg KWEST trip; via kellogg.northwestern.edu 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. Each year, incoming Kellogg School of Management students gather for the four-day Kellogg Worldwide Experiences and Service Trips (KWEST), during which they engage in volunteerism and tourist activities alongside the veritable strangers who will soon become their friends. More than of each incoming class typically participates in KWEST. Voyages occur throughout the United States and internationally; in recent years, trips and activities have been organized around the world, including cycling in the Netherlands, beer tasting in Germany, zip-lining and surfing in Nicaragua, and meeting with a U.S. ambassador in Denmark/Austria. Other locations have included Argentina, the Canary Islands, Iceland, Romania, and Turkey. Some students even participate in a mystery trip: they do not learn their destination until they check in at the airport! During KWEST, students are not expected to discuss their work experience or academic/professional plans. Instead, they get to know each other on a more personal and intellectual level, returning to campus well acquainted and, ideally, even bonded. For in-depth descriptions of social and community activities at Kellogg and 15 other top MBA programs, check out the mbaMission Insider’s Guides. |
09 Mar 2017, 14:00
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Diamonds in the Rough: Opportunities at the University of Texas McCombs School of Business |
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. In 2013, the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas, Austin, introduced several highlights to its MBA experience that would allow students to benefit from expanded opportunities for work experience (including with nonprofits), entrepreneurship, and leadership programming. For example, the school expanded its pilot program for brand management experience with Dr Pepper Snapple Group’s Yoo-hoo brand. In what is now called the Marketing Labs program, teams of students learn marketing skills by working hands-on for major firms. Another addition, the Texas Venture Labs Scholarship, awards MBA scholarships to winners of a start-up pitch competition, in which both admitted and prospective students can compete. In the area of nonprofit work, McCombs hosts a chapter of the Net Impact program, which affords students the chance to work on socially and environmentally responsible projects aimed at solving major societal problems. In 2014, the McCombs chapter was chosen as the Net Impact Graduate Chapter of the Year. |
10 Mar 2017, 09:01
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Friday Factoid: The MIT Sloan Application Review Process |
 What does the MIT Sloan application review process entail? True to the rigorous analytic nature of the program’s curriculum, MIT applications are reviewed in a rigorous analytic fashion! When the school receives an application, the candidate’s information is loaded into a database, and the application is printed. Rod Garcia, who has been MIT Sloan’s director of admissions for nearly 30 years, first reviews every application online and then distributes the applications randomly among the school’s admissions readers—all of whom are either internal admissions staff members or contract readers. After picking up a batch of applications, readers review, score, and then return them one week later. The scores are entered into the database, and Garcia reviews these data to determine which candidates will be invited to interview. After the selected candidates have been interviewed, their applications are scored again, and the committee then decides which individuals to admit. Application scoring is based on nine attributes, which Sloan divides into two major groups: demonstrated success (e.g., GPA, GMAT score, work accomplishments) and leadership (e.g., high competency in creativity, relationship building, goal setting, influencing). Each attribute group is scored separately, and the two scores are added together. At mbaMission, we always tell candidates that MBA admissions is not a science—yet at MIT Sloan, a little science actually does come into play. For more information on MIT Sloan and other leading MBA programs, check out the mbaMission Insider’s Guides. |
10 Mar 2017, 13:01
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Ellevest Co-Founders Sallie Krawcheck and Charlie Kroll Redefine Investing for Women |
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. Charlie Kroll is no stranger to the Smart People Should Build Things podcast—he was among our first guests back in 2015! Kroll joins the series for the second time along with Sallie Krawcheck, with whom he founded Ellevest, an investment platform for women. In fact, Krawcheck was initially reluctant to bring in a co-founder at all—but she changed her mind quickly after meeting Kroll. In this podcast episode, the duo describes Ellevest’s journey so far, including these details:
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11 Mar 2017, 10:00
| FROM mbaMission Blog: MBA Admissions Myths Destroyed: Do Alumni Connections Help You Gain Admission? |
 From time to time, we at mbaMission visit admissions officers at top-ranked business schools, which gives us the opportunity to ask rather frank questions. On one such visit to a prestigious MBA program, we pushed an admissions officer on the extent of alumni influence in the admissions process and ultimately received a surprising response: “We get ten letters each year from [a globally famous alumnus], telling us that this or that MBA candidate is the greatest thing since sliced bread. He gets upset when we don’t admit ‘his’ applicants, but what makes him think that he deserves ten spots in our class?” Many applicants fret about their lack of personal alumni connection with their target schools, and the myth persists that admission to business school is about who you know, not who you are or what you can offer. Of course, these latter qualities are much more important, and a standout applicant who knows no graduates at all from the school he/she is targeting is still a standout applicant and should get in—just as a weak applicant who knows a large number of alumni or a particularly well-known graduate is still a weak applicant and should not get in. Clearly, some extreme exceptions exist where influence can be exerted, but “standard” applicants do not need to worry that every seat at the top programs has been claimed by someone with good connections, before he/she even applies. Keep in mind that the admissions committees want to ensure that a diversity of ideas and experiences is represented in the classroom. Every top MBA class includes people from various socioeconomic backgrounds, nationalities, religions, professional backgrounds, ages, etc. Harvard Business School, for example, has approximately 900 students in each incoming class, and the vast majority of these students do not personally know a CEO or the president of a country. And who knows—these days, such connections could even be a liability. |
12 Mar 2017, 09:01
| FROM mbaMission Blog: GMAT Impact: “Complete the Passage” Critical Reasoning Arguments |
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. Have you run across any “fill in the blank” Critical Reasoning (CR) questions yet? These arguments end with a long, straight line, and we are supposed to pick an answer choice that fills in that blank. Try this example from the free question set that comes with GMATPrep: Which of the following best completes the passage below? People buy prestige when they buy a premium product. They want to be associated with something special. Mass-marketing techniques and price reduction strategies should not be used because ________________. (A) affluent purchasers currently represent a shrinking portion of the population of all purchasers (B) continued sales depend directly on the maintenance of an aura of exclusivity (C) purchasers of premium products are concerned with the quality as well as with the price of the products (D) expansion of the market niche to include a broader spectrum of consumers will increase profits (E) manufacturing a premium brand is not necessarily more costly than manufacturing a standard brand of the same product Officially, these are called “Complete the Passage” arguments. The interesting tidbit: they are NOT a separate question type! These questions fall into one of the same categories you have been studying all along; the format is just presented in this “fill in the blank” format. Most of the time, these are actually Strengthen questions. Every now and then, you will encounter a Find the Assumption question in this format. The real trick here is to determine the question type. If the word right before the underline is because or since (or something equivalent), then the question you are dealing with is a Strengthen question. If the argument is set up to ask you to insert a piece of information that would support the conclusion of the argument, that is a Strengthen question. The only real variation I have seen is when the sentence leading up to the blank asks what must be true or what must be shown. In those cases, you probably have a Find the Assumption question. Want to know how to do the GMATPrep question presented earlier in this post? I am so glad you asked! Take a look at this full article that explains how to do the question and takes you through the standard four-step process for all CR questions. The article on the Manhattan Prep blog is the first in a three-part series on CR; click the link at the end to read the second part, and so on. GMATPrep questions are used courtesy of the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC). Use of this question does not imply endorsement by GMAC. |
13 Mar 2017, 09:00
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Focus on the Essay Story, Not the Time Frame |
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Many MBA candidates default to using a comfortable and reliable device at the beginning of their application essays: stating the year in which the event they are about to describe occurred. However, the year is often irrelevant and could even be detrimental to the applicant’s case, particularly with admissions committees that have an unspoken bias for younger candidates. Example 1: “In 2006, while walking through a market in Dhaka, I found the most unusual item for my firm’s catalogue.” In this example, does the year really matter? Is this mysterious discovery not interesting enough to stand on its own? Further, this writer may be taking an unnecessary risk by informing the reader that the experience is several years old. Example 2: “While walking through a market in Dhaka, I found the most unusual item for my firm’s catalogue.” In the second example, we have a simpler opening, but one that still captures the reader’s imagination, even without disclosing when the event occurred. The only reason you may feel that the time frame is “missing” in the latter example is because it appears in the first example, so you may have half expected to see it again. But in fact, the central story does not change at all without it. With no date mentioned, you would simply proceed through the introduction into the body of the essay, following the story line, rather than being distracted by the time frame. So, when writing about your experiences, consider whether disclosing the year or time frame is really necessary for the effectiveness or clarity of your story. If it is not, you may want to avoid mentioning the date, because it could be distracting or even a detriment. |
14 Mar 2017, 09:00
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Is the GRE Taken Seriously? |
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A common theme in our MBA Admissions Myths Destroyed series is that applicants should not assume that admissions officers have “right” and “wrong” answers in mind and are trying to trick candidates in some way. Applicants often worry that admissions officers say one thing but really mean another. As a result, many assume that their interviews are worthless—that they essentially “do not count”—unless they are conducted by someone from the Admissions Office, or that they need to have a connection with a particularly successful or well-known alumnus/alumna from their target school to be admitted, or that they need to pander to a school’s stereotypes to get in. These days, an emerging myth—which assumes that admissions officers are up to their old (and candidates’ entirely imagined) tricks—asserts that the GMAT is taken far more seriously than the GRE and that the GRE is therefore of dubious value to applicants. We think we can destroy this myth with a few simple rhetorical/logical questions: Why would an Admissions Office encourage you to take a test that it would not value? Why would an admissions committee disenfranchise applicants who take the GRE, when one of the main reasons for accepting the GRE is to expand the applicant pool? Why would admissions officers waste precious time devising such a devious scheme in the first place? “The exam itself is less important than your performance on that exam relative to your peers,” says Dan Gonzalez, former president of Manhattan Prep. “Think less about which exam schools want you to take and more about which exam will give you the best shot at showing off your skills. The GMAT and the GRE are quite different—take some time to learn about these differences before making your decision.” So, if you are considering taking the GRE—perhaps because you want to keep your options open for graduate school or just because you think the test plays to your strengths—you should first check to see if your target schools accept the test. Then, if they do, study hard and… take the GRE! |
15 Mar 2017, 08:00
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Faculty Mentoring and Development at HBS |
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Harvard Business School (HBS) is well known for using the case method, through which virtually all the school’s classes are taught. Rather than resting on their laurels with regard to teaching the case method, however, HBS faculty members work hard to stay at the top of their game. In the school’s tradition of faculty-to-faculty mentoring, HBS established the C. Roland Christensen Center for Teaching and Learning (named for the late HBS professor) in 2004 to promote and support teaching excellence and innovation. The center conducts research on pedagogical innovation and teaching effectiveness related to gender and diversity issues and helps faculty members refine their teaching styles and techniques. The center also offers professors classroom observations and the opportunity to do pre-class planning, receive within-term troubleshooting/post-term feedback, and conduct case and course development. For more information on HBS or other leading MBA programs, check out the mbaMission Insider’s Guides. |
15 Mar 2017, 08:00
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Harvard and Wharton Share the Top Spot in U.S. News & World Report’s 2018 Business School Rankings |
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One year after standing solo in first place in the U.S. News & World Report business school rankings, Harvard Business School must share the spotlight with the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in the latest list, which was released yesterday. The 2018 rankings placed the University of Chicago Booth School of Business in third place—last year, the school tied for the second spot with the Stanford Graduate School of Business. This year, Stanford was fourth in a three-way tie with the MIT Sloan School of Management and Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Despite the slight movement in positions, the latest top ten list featured the same schools as last year. New York University’s Stern School of Business climbed to 12th place (tied with Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business) after dropping to 20th last year—largely, the school’s dean said at the time, due to a single missing data point. Stern’s yo-yoing in the list demonstrates how small details can make a notable difference in rankings, and how one should always approach these lists with a touch of healthy skepticism. Great MBA programs deserve recognition, but keep in mind that rankings are far from the only defining factor when it comes to choosing the right program for you. |
16 Mar 2017, 09:01
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Professor Profiles: Gautam Kaul, University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross School of Business |
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 week, we profile a standout professor as identified by students. Today, we profile Gautam Kaul from the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross School of Business. Gautam Kaul, professor of finance and the Fred M. Taylor Professor of Business Administration, teaches both core curriculum courses and electives. In addition to referencing his intellectual capabilities, students with whom mbaMission spoke described Kaul as extremely friendly and having a great sense of humor. He is also known for his willingness to help students both inside and outside the classroom. In 2005, in direct response to student interest, Kaul developed the course “Finance and the Sustainable Enterprise.” In return, students recognized his efforts and awarded him the Sustainability Pioneer Award and a plaque in his honor on one of the chairs in the main auditorium of the university’s School of Natural Resources and Environment. Kaul has been nominated for an MBA Teaching Excellence Award (which is voted on by the student body) numerous times, and he won the award in 1996, 2006, 2009, 2011, and 2013. He is also the 2009 recipient of the Victor L. Bernard Leadership in Teaching Award from the university’s Center for Research on Learning and Teaching. For more information about Michigan Ross and 15 other top-ranked business schools, check out the mbaMission Insider’s Guides. |
17 Mar 2017, 09:01
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Should You Worry About Background Checks? |
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ROMA: Were you the guy who broke in? GEORGE: …no. ROMA: Then don’t sweat it, George, you know why? GEORGE: No. ROMA: You have nothing to hide. GEORGE: When I talk to the police, I get nervous. ROMA: Yeah. You know who doesn’t? GEORGE: No, who? ROMA: Thieves. -David Mamet, Glengarry Glen Ross (Screenplay, 1992) For many applicants, the worst of the admissions process is likely over by now. But at this stage, a new anxiety looms: the background check. Should the majority of candidates be concerned about background checks? The simple answer is “No.” The admissions committees know that almost all applicants have represented themselves in an honest manner. The background checks are not designed to bring accusations against the innocent but to catch those who have willfully deceived. What does that mean, exactly? If you indicated that you were at a job or company that never actually existed or you changed your title from analyst to vice president, you might have a reason to sweat. If you accidentally noted that you left your job in January instead of February, no one is going to rescind your offer of admission. You are certainly innocent until proven guilty, and the burden of guilt is not on the applicant who may have committed a minor error but on the one who attempted to misrepresent or defraud. |
18 Mar 2017, 09:00
| FROM mbaMission Blog: The Partners Club at UC Berkeley Haas |
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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 week, we offer a window into life “beyond the MBA classroom” at a top business school. The Partners Club at the Haas School of Business at the University of California (UC), Berkeley, caters to the needs of MBA students’ significant others and children and is reportedly very active on campus. Beginning when students are just new admits, the club helps answer questions on everything from housing issues to community life, and throughout the academic year, the club organizes game nights, dinners, happy hours, and other social events for the partners. Haas partners are also invited to attend all student social events and club activities. Said one second-year student in a 2010 online student chat, “Honestly, I think partners have the best time in business school—they get all the fun without those pesky classes!” For in-depth descriptions of social and community activities at UC Berkeley Haas and 15 other top MBA programs, check out the mbaMission Insider’s Guides. |
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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
Tuck at Dartmouth
AGSM at UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE
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