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02 Mar 2018, 09:00
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Which B-Schools Had the Smallest Incoming Classes in 2017? |
 As the 2017–2018 business school admissions season draws to a close, let us examine the Class of 2019 more closely. We have previously discussed the largest incoming class sizes and the highest percentages of women within the Class of 2019. This time, we take a closer look at the smallest class sizes among top-ranked MBA programs. Although some business schools have fairly large MBA classes—Columbia Business School, for example, welcomed 1,019 students in its latest incoming class—some schools prefer a more intimate feel and only accept a small number of students each year. (Of course, not all accepted applicants end up enrolling.) With 277 students, Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management featured the smallest incoming class in 2017. The Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, was a close second with 282 students, and the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College was not far behind with 293 students. All other top-ranked schools accepted upwards of 300 students, although such schools as the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia, the Yale School of Management, and the UCLA Anderson School of Management kept their incoming classes relatively small with 326, 348, and 360 students, respectively. |
03 Mar 2018, 10:01
| FROM mbaMission Blog: MBA Admissions Myths Destroyed: I Do Not Have to Rework My Resume |
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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. |
04 Mar 2018, 10:00
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Maximize Your GMAT Study Results by Boosting Your Memory |
 With regard to the GMAT, raw intellectual horsepower helps, but it is not everything. Manhattan Prep’s Stacey Koprince teaches you how to perform at your best on test day by using some common sense. Has this happened to you? You have ambitious plans to study a ton of things this weekend. You get tired, but you are determined to push through, so you keep studying. You begin to get a bit anxious because you feel you are not learning well (and you are not!), so you study even more. You get even more tired, and that makes it even harder to learn. By the end of the weekend, you are exhausted, frustrated, and demoralized. Time magazine published a fascinating little article back in 2012: “To Boost Memory, Shut Your Eyes and Relax.” Go take a look at it. Do not worry; I will wait. In a nutshell: your brain makes better memories when it is not tired. The Time article quotes Michaela Dewar, the lead author of a research study on this topic. She notes that we are “at a very early stage of memory formation” when we first start to study new information, and “further neural processes have to occur after this stage for us to be able to remember this information at a later point in time.” The italics are mine. Note what Ms. Dewar has said: more “stuff” has to happen in our brains after we have studied this info for us to be able to recall that information later on. In the meantime, we have to go do something else that does not involve learning other new things. Eat lunch. Take a walk or exercise. Listen to some music while cleaning the house. Get a good night’s sleep. How can we use this in our GMAT study? There are many ways to study, but do not plan to study for more than about two hours at a stretch. Cut yourself off earlier if you realize that you are feeling significantly mentally fatigued. If you do hit that two-hour mark, stop. You can study more today, if you want, but first take at least a one-hour brain break. Next, if you plan to study on days that you also have work or class, see whether you have the flexibility to study before or during the class/work day. You could get up a little earlier than normal (warning: do not try this if you are a night person) or possibly arrange to get into work a bit later than normal a couple of days a week. You could study on your lunch break. These sessions might only run 20 or 30 minutes, but that is fine—you are just trying to get some studying done earlier in the day, while your brain is more fresh! |
05 Mar 2018, 09:00
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Professor Profiles: Roberto Rigobon, 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 focus on Roberto Rigobon from the MIT Sloan School of Management. Roberto Rigobon, the Society of Sloan Fellows Professor of Management and a professor of applied economics, specializes in international economics, monetary economics, and development economics. At an awards ceremony in 2005, Sloan students described him as someone who “epitomized the fine line between madness and genius.” Other award-related descriptions of Rigobon refer to him as “serious but hilarious,” “crazy and brilliant,” and “high energy.” He teaches the reportedly very popular “Applied Macro and International Economics” course, which is said to be often taken by up to 30% of Sloan students at a time. He has won numerous teaching awards during his time at Sloan (including the school’s Excellence in Teaching Award in 2000, 2003, and 2005, and Teacher of the Year in 1999, 2002, and 2004) and is primarily recognized for his accessibility. As one second-year student blogged, “The door to his office was always open.” For more information about MIT Sloan and 16 other top-ranked MBA schools, check out the free mbaMission Insider’s Guides. |
06 Mar 2018, 09:01
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Why Personalized Recommendations Matter, but Details Sometimes Do Not |
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If your supervisor is writing your business school recommendation and you are having trouble ensuring that he/she is putting the proper thought and effort into your letter, you are not alone. Because of this asymmetry of power, a junior employee can only do so much to compel his/her supervisor to commit the necessary time and write thoughtfully. So, before you designate your supervisor as a recommender, you must first perceive how committed this person really is to helping you with your business school candidacy. In particular, your recommender needs to understand that using a single template to create identical letters for multiple business schools is not okay. Each letter must be personalized, and each MBA program’s questions must be answered using specific examples. If your recommender intends to simply write a single letter and force it to “fit” the school’s questions or to attach a standard letter to the end of the school’s recommendation form (for example, including it in the question “Is there anything else that you think the committee should know about the candidate?”), then he/she could be doing you a disservice. By neglecting to put the proper time and effort into your letter, your recommender is sending a very clear message to the admissions committee: “I don’t really care about this candidate.” If you cannot convince your recommender to write a personalized letter or to respond to your target school’s individual questions using specific examples, look elsewhere. A well-written personalized letter from an interested party is always far better than a poorly written letter from your supervisor. In addition, although details are important in recommendation letters, remember that sometimes small points in MBA applications are really just that—small points. We often get asked, “Should this be a comma or a semicolon?” and want to respond, “Please trust us that the admissions committee will not say, ‘Oh, I would have accepted this applicant if she had used a comma here, but she chose a semicolon, so DING!’” That said, we are certainly not telling you to ignore the small things. Details matter—the overall impression your application makes will depend in part on your attention to typos, font consistency, and grammar, for example—but we encourage you to make smart and reasonable decisions and move on. You can be confident that your judgment on such topics will likely be sufficient. |
07 Mar 2018, 10:01
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Full-Time MBA Programs at Rotman School of Management and Simon Business School |
 One of Canada’s top-ranked business schools for finance—the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management—benefits from the leadership of a foremost figure in the nation’s financial sector. After Roger Martin stepped down as the school’s dean, Tiff Macklem, the former senior deputy governor of the Bank of Canada, assumed the role in 2014 for a five-year term. Rotman, ranked second among Canadian MBA programs by the Financial Times in 2018, underwent significant growth under Martin’s deanship, in both campus size and endowment. Macklem’s appointment as dean suggests a continued rise in Rotman’s academic profile and its reputation for financial education. “He has vast experience managing large institutions, translating academic research into public policy, and representing Canada on the world stage,” stated the university’s vice president and provost. In addition to its finance-related strengths, Rotman offers a rather unique approach to core business pedagogy. Relying on what it terms “integrative thinking,” Rotman’s teaching model challenges the compartmentalization of traditional functional areas. Students complete a series of core courses in their first year that emphasize generalized business skills and the ability to think across functional disciplines. In their second year, they are given the option to choose from among 16 different major areas, while supplementing their focus with a broader array of elective courses.  Meanwhile, approximately only 170 miles away but across the border, the full-time MBA program at the Simon Business School at the University of Rochester offers a broadly finance-oriented general management curriculum featuring particular strengths in analytics and accounting. Simon’s program is built on a foundation of 11 core courses, including “Managerial Economics,” “Capital Budgeting and Corporate Objectives,” and “Marketing Management,” as well as a communication sequence. Students complete their core with an assigned study team before exploring more specialized professional interests. The school’s elective courses represent a variety of industries and functions, such as entrepreneurship, consulting, and real estate. Students may choose among 15 optional career concentrations, ranging from Competitive and Organizational Strategy (which includes both a Pricing track and a Strategy and Organizations track) and Marketing (which includes tracks in Brand Management, Pricing, and Marketing Strategy), to such analysis-heavy fields as Business Systems Consulting and Computers and Information Systems. In addition, the Simon MBA EDGE Program provides students with opportunities for personal development in such areas as problem solving, communication, and leadership through involvement in activities including clubs, advisory boards, and other groups on campus, as well as case competitions and projects with area companies. The program aims to complement knowledge learned in the classroom and increase students’ value to potential employers. Simon’s Ain Center for Entrepreneurship, Center for Information Intensive Services, and Center for Pricing offer curricular and research support to supplement the specific career concentrations. Simon is also home to more than 30 professional and social student-run organizations aimed at coordinating networking events and professional development resources to assist students in advancing their careers. |
08 Mar 2018, 08:00
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Professor Profiles: Sanjay Sood, UCLA Anderson 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. Today, we focus on Sanjay Sood from the UCLA Anderson School of Management. Sanjay Sood is a professor of marketing and behavioral decision making and the faculty director of UCLA Anderson’s Center for Management of Enterprise in Media, Entertainment, and Sports. Sood focuses on marketing management, brand management, advertising, and consumer behavior. He received his PhD in marketing from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business in 1999 and was later recognized as a Marketing Science Institute Young Marketing Scholar in 2003. One second-year student we interviewed said Sood brings “a lot of practical experience to the classroom” and uses connections from his work with Procter & Gamble to enhance his classes. In 2010, Sood was selected by his fellow faculty members to receive the school’s Niedorf “Decade” Teaching Award, which is presented to professors who exhibit “exemplary teaching over a period of seven to ten years.” Five years earlier, he received a Citibank Teaching Award, which was also determined by his fellow faculty members. For more information about UCLA Anderson and 16 other top-ranked business schools, check out the free mbaMission Insider’s Guides. |
09 Mar 2018, 09:01
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Developing Your GMAT Study Plan |
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With regard to the GMAT, raw intellectual horsepower helps, but it is not everything. Manhattan Prep’s Stacey Koprince teaches you how to perform at your best on test day by using some common sense. Help! I need to get ready for the GMAT—where do I even start? You need to make a few major decisions at the beginning, starting with this one: do you want to study on your own, take a class, or work with a private tutor? Each path has its advantages and disadvantages; this article can help you decide. Next, if you take a class or work with a tutor, then your teacher will give you a study plan, at least for the length of time that you are working together. If not, you will have to devise your own study plan. This will take some effort, but it is not rocket science—if you are thoughtful and thorough, you can put together a very good study plan. I want to point out a couple of highlights from the study plan article. First, you need to know your goal and your starting point; if you do not know what level you are at right now or what score you are trying to achieve, then putting together a good study plan is impossible. Second, you are going to need study materials that fall into three broad categories: (1) test content and methodology (what to study and how to study), (2) practice questions (best source: Official Guide and other official practice question materials), and (3) practice tests. Finally, make sure that you know how to study/learn in an efficient and effective manner. Hint: doing 2,000 practice problems does not equal “efficient and effective.” Nor does taking a practice test every three days, or even every week. Read the article for more! |
10 Mar 2018, 09:01
| FROM mbaMission Blog: MBA Admissions Myths Destroyed: You Need a 750 to Get into Business School |
We often hear MBA applicants ask some form of the following question: “Do I need a 750 to get into a top MBA program?” Although a 750 on the GMAT can only help, it is definitely not a prerequisite. We wanted to dispel this myth and put some who believe it at ease. Here are a few simple reasons why this is just not the case:
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13 Mar 2018, 09:01
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Set the Tone Early and Employ Active Verbs in Your MBA Application Essays |
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As any good journalist will tell you, the key to writing a good newspaper story or opinion piece is to make sure the very first line grabs the reader’s attention. Many authors employ this tactic when writing books. Perhaps few of us have actually read Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, but many know that the novel begins with three famous words: “Call me Ishmael.” A powerful first line can stick with readers long after they have finished reading—and sometimes even when they have not read something firsthand. For example, we all likely recognize the phrase “It was a dark and stormy night,” but few of us may know that it is the opening line of a book by an obscure writer (Paul Clifford by Edward George Bulwer-Lytton). Although beginning an essay with a very short introduction is the norm, sometimes a punchy opening line can grab the reader’s attention in a useful way. Consider the differences between these pairs of openers. Which line in each example better captures your attention? Example 1: A “Why MBA?” essay A: “After I graduate with my MBA, I want to work in the wine industry.” B: “Blood runs in the veins of all humans, but wine also runs in mine.” Example 2: A “What are you most passionate about in life?” essay A: “I enjoy nothing more than playing ice hockey.” B: “As soon as the nearby river freezes, I wake at 6 a.m. each day and join my teammates for a prework hockey scrimmage.” No set formula exists for opening lines—the possibilities are endless, and each opener depends on the context of the story being told. Nonetheless, our point is that you must carefully consider your opening line, because it will set the tone for your essay and determine whether your reader will want to read more. Now, let us examine the role of active verbs in your essays. Anyone who has ever written an email that has been misunderstood—let alone an MBA application essay—is no doubt aware of the subtleties of language and the nuances that can change a message’s meaning. Indeed, you can enliven a basic sentence simply by choosing more active verbs. For example, consider the verb “earn.” By using “earn” rather than a more passive verb in the following examples, we can alter the meaning and impact of each sentence. Suddenly, you are in control. Suddenly, you worked hard and, as a result, accomplished great things. Passive/poor example: “I was promoted from junior to senior analyst.” Active/good example: “I earned a promotion from junior to senior analyst.” Passive/poor example: “After being awarded my MBA, I will be able to…” Active/good example: “After earning my MBA, I will be able to…” Once you have finished your application essays, review them to see how often you can replace certain words with “earn” or a similar verb—such as “achieve,” “gain,” and “attain”—that denotes action on your part. |
14 Mar 2018, 09:01
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Acclimating to the Cold at Tuck and Hitting the Slopes at Kellogg |
 The thought of spending the winters in Hanover, New Hampshire—home of Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business—may send shivers down your spine. But those who tough it out and embrace the cold can discover some rewarding winter experiences, such as ice hockey and downhill skiing. Both beginners and seasoned veterans participate each year in ice hockey games organized by Tuck hockey leagues. Never played? Not to worry—teams are organized by skill level, so you can find a team of hockey players who will not care if you trip over the blueline (that is ice hockey lingo—you will learn). And those who are not quite ready to play hockey can always get in the game by cheering on their classmates! Meanwhile, the Skiing and Boarding Club takes advantage of the Dartmouth Skiway in Lyme, New Hampshire, and organizes trips beyond campus as well. The club’s major event is the Tuck Winter Carnival, which draws more than 650 people from approximately 15 business schools. The 2017 event welcomed aspiring MBAs and sent teams of students to participate in the weekend events, which—in addition to the annual downhill ski races—included a 1980s ski party, a hot dog eating contest, sledding, and pond hockey. Attendees also enjoyed the Closing Ceremony Party at the end of the weekend. All events at the Winter Carnival are geared toward socializing while also raising money for a selected nonprofit organization. At Tuck, you just might be too busy working up a sweat to fret about the cold.  A bit west of New Hampshire, Evanston, Illinois, is home to Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and might not seem like a popular destination for skiers. But although Kellogg students may not do their skiing in Evanston proper, a remarkable 850 or more first and second years and their significant others participate in the school’s annual ski trip, which, according to students we interviewed, “remains the biggest of its kind. Like everything else at Kellogg, the trip is student run … from logistics to marketing to sponsorship. … First- and second-year students work together to make it an unforgettable weeklong adventure.” Participating students have traveled to such locations as Steamboat Resort and Telluride, in Colorado, where students stayed in mountainside condos. Those who wish to ski can avail themselves of three-, four-, or even five-day passes, while nonskiers can enjoy such activities as cooking classes, snowshoe lessons, and spa treatments (at reduced prices). The evenings feature theme parties, such as an annual ’80s party. A first year with whom we spoke expressed how impressed she was with Kellogg’s ski club for “planning the best week of business school for 800 people!” She added that the Northwestern Ski Trip is simply not to be missed: “It’s all of your closest friends, taking over a ski town for one full week with amazing parties and social activities—many of which are sponsored!” For a thorough exploration of what Tuck, Kellogg, and 15 other top business schools have to offer, please check out our free mbaMission Insider’s Guides. |
15 Mar 2018, 08:01
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Professor Profiles: Adam Brandenburger, NYU Stern 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. Today, we focus on Adam Brandenburger from New York University’s (NYU’s) Leonard N. Stern School of Business. An expert on game theory and its practical application to business strategy, Adam Brandenburger was voted the NYU Stern MBA Professor of the Year in 2006, and in 2008 he received an NYU Excellence in Teaching award in recognition of his teaching and course development work. From 2011–2014, he served as vice dean for innovation at NYU Stern. His latest book—called The Language of Game Theory: Putting Epistemics into the Mathematics of Games (World Scientific, 2014)—contains eight papers coauthored by Brandenburger and his colleagues over a period of 25 years. Students with whom mbaMission spoke reported being consistently impressed by his capacity to make the complex simple in the classroom, stating that Brandenburger is able to take the “complicated, theoretical and intangible” world of game theory and make it “easy to understand and practical.” For more information about NYU Stern and 16 other top-ranked business schools, check out the mbaMission Insider’s Guides. |
16 Mar 2018, 08:01
| FROM mbaMission Blog: How to Analyze Your GMAT Practice Problems |
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With regard to the GMAT, raw intellectual horsepower helps, but it is not everything. Manhattan Prep’s Stacey Koprince teaches you how to perform at your best on test day by using some common sense. Did you know that, on any particular problem, roughly 80% of your learning comes after you have picked the answer? Turns out, we do not learn much while in the process of doing a problem, especially when the clock is ticking. We are just trying to remember (and use!) everything that we learned before we started working on that problem. Afterward, though, we can take all the time we want to figure out how to get better—that is where we really learn. Did I understand what they were asking? Did I know how to do the math or reasoning necessary to get to the answer? Is there a more efficient way to do that work? Did I make any mistakes or fall into any traps? If so, which ones and why? How could I make an educated guess? In a nutshell: if you are not spending at least as long reviewing a question as you spent doing it in the first place, then you are not maximizing your learning. Take a look at this article: How to Analyze a Practice Problem. It contains a list of questions to ask yourself when reviewing a problem. Take note of a couple of things: – Yes, you still ask yourself these questions even when you answer the question correctly. – No, you do not need to ask yourself every single question for each problem you review; choose the most appropriate questions based upon how the problem went for you. Want some examples of how to do this? Glad you asked. Below, you will find links to articles containing an analysis of a sample problem for each of the six main question types. Happy studying! How to analyze the following: Sentence Correction Critical Reasoning Reading Comprehension Data Sufficiency Problem Solving Integrated Reasoning Table |
17 Mar 2018, 09:01
| FROM mbaMission Blog: MBA Admissions Myths Destroyed: I Should Worry Because My Coworker Is Also Applying! |
 You look around your office and think to yourself: “I wish my coworker were not applying to the same school as I am. They can’t take two people who sit at the same desk. Also, his GPA is 0.15 higher!” On the surface, this reasoning may seem logical, and it can thus cause anxiety for some candidates—especially for those who are in positions for which an MBA is virtually a “must have” to move forward, such as in consulting and banking. However—not to worry—this thinking has two significant flaws:
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18 Mar 2018, 09:01
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Improve Yourself: Keep Learning |
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In this new blog series, our mbaMission Career 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. If you are looking for ways to grow and challenge yourself or develop your knowledge on a specific topic but are short on time, career development–focused podcasts are a great resource. Here are some of our current favorites:
Finally, as you engage with leaders in your target marketplace, show your curiosity and engagement by keeping abreast of the top business news using an app like Flipboard, which is an easy and time-efficient way to see curated content and stay informed. What are your favorite career-related podcasts? Email us your suggestions at info@mbamission.com. We will take a listen and share them with our readers. Have you been admitted to business school? If so, do you want to get a head start on defining your career goals? Do you need help preparing for job interviews or learning how to effectively network with your target employers? Or maybe you want to be a top performer in your current role but are unsure how to maximize your potential. Let an mbaMission Career Coach help via a free 30-minute consultation! |
20 Mar 2018, 09:01
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Which B-School Incoming Classes Featured the Most International Students in 2017? |
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An MBA degree is a desired commodity all around the world. Although top-notch business schools exist on nearly all continents, many applicants set their sights on U.S.-based programs. As a result, the incoming classes at top-ranked business schools in the United States typically consist of at least 30% international students. The Class of 2019, the latest incoming class, is no exception. We examined the profiles of incoming classes at top U.S. business schools more closely to find out which ones feature a notable percentage of internationals. The Yale School of Management’s prestige undoubtedly helped the school attract the highest percentage of international students among the schools we examined; 45% of the Class of 2019 at Yale hail from outside the United States. At Columbia Business School, 43% of incoming students are classified as international, while the figure is 41% at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. 
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21 Mar 2018, 09:01
| FROM mbaMission Blog: While Waiting Patiently for B-School Interview Invitations, Consider What to Expect |
 As interview invitations for rounds three and four roll out, do your best to remain calm and let the admissions committees do their work. Although becoming a little apprehensive is natural if you have not yet received an invitation, you will certainly not increase your chances of receiving one by calling the Admissions Office and asking if the school does indeed have all your files or if an interview decision has been made. In fact, such calls can actually have a negative effect on your candidacy, inadvertently making you seem pushy or even belligerent. Admissions Offices are increasingly transparent and should be taken at their word. If they say they are still releasing decisions, then they are in fact still doing so. If they say that the timing of your interview decision does not signify an order of preference, then it does not. Unless something has changed materially in your candidacy, all you can really do—as painful as it may be—is wait patiently and try not to think about the decision or second-guess your status. As the 2017–2018 MBA application season reaches its final rounds, we thought it would be appropriate to discuss some challenging interview situations you might encounter. Most business school interviews are straightforward opportunities for an interviewer to learn more about a candidate’s personal and professional backgrounds, goals, reasons for selecting a specific school, and leadership/team experiences. Yet interviews can vary dramatically from school to school, and sometimes they include a few peculiarities. So, what constitutes a “tough” interview, and how can you best navigate one? Stoic interviewer: Some interviewers can be unemotional, refusing to give you any indication as to whether you are making a positive impression or not. And amid the intense pressure of an interview, you may perceive this lack of clear positive response as a sign of actual disapproval. The key to managing such a situation is to tune out the interviewer’s lack of emotion. Focus on your answers and do your best to not be distracted by anything about the interviewer, ignoring everything except the questions he/she is posing. “Reading” the interviewer in real time can be challenging, so you should instead concentrate on showcasing your strengths. Philosophical questions: Most candidates are ready to discuss their experiences and accomplishments, but many are not prepared to discuss their values and philosophy on life. Harvard Business School, in particular, likes to understand applicants’ motivations and will ask questions like “What is your motivation to succeed?,” “What drives you?,” and “What gives you purpose in life?” The key to answering these sorts of questions is pretty simple: expect and prepare for them in advance (after all, you are being warned right now). However, you should not assume that all the questions you will receive during your interview will be experiential. Persistent questioning: Sometimes a tough interviewer will continuously delve deeper into a subject, such as by repeatedly asking “Can you be more specific about [the topic under discussion]?” after posing an initial question. These kinds of unusual pressure tactics can be disconcerting, but the key is to simply stay on topic. No matter how persistent he/she is, the interviewer is always essentially asking you about a subject that you know quite well—you! So again, by avoiding the distraction of the tactic and sticking to your agenda, you should be fine. mbaMission offers even more interview advice in our free Interview Primers, which are available for 17 top-ranked business schools. |
22 Mar 2018, 08:01
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Professor Profiles: Julie Hennessy, Northwestern’s Kellogg 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. Today, we focus on Julie Hennessy from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Before students even began describing the quality of their educational experiences with Julie Hennessy to mbaMission, they noted that she “cares a lot” and “makes herself available to chat and talk about recruiting.” In addition to teaching Kellogg MBA students as a clinical professor of marketing, Hennessy teaches executive education at leading firms, and students we interviewed reported that she draws on these experiences in class, but does not just tell stories. Instead, Hennessy challenges students and teases out the responses that facilitate learning. Students with whom we spoke also referred to her as “funny and energetic.” Not surprisingly, then, Hennessy won the school’s L.G. Lavengood Outstanding Professor of the Year Award—which is voted on by Kellogg students—in both 2007 and 2017. In addition, she has won six student impact awards and five Chair’s Core Course Teaching Awards—with the most recent having been conferred in 2017 and in 2010–2011, respectively. And in the fall of 2016, Hennessy received the school’s Certificate for Impact Teaching Award. The school’s Web site notes that Hennessy focuses her writing efforts on producing new cases for class discussion; she has completed cases on such brands as TiVo, Apple iPod, Invisalign Orthodontics, and (as separate cases) the antibiotics Biaxin and Zithromax. For more information about Kellogg and 16 other top-ranked business schools, check out the free mbaMission Insider’s Guides. |
22 Mar 2018, 13:01
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Free Ding Reviews for MBA Reapplicants! |
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Did you apply to your dream business school this past season, but were left confused and disappointed by receiving a “ding,” aka a denied acceptance? To help you improve your chances the next time around, we offer a Ding Review service. This offering typically costs $650 per school, but this is your unique opportunity to get this valuable service completely free! There is no catch! We are simply offering one free Ding Review service to up to 20 MBA reapplicants. If you are interested in this free service, simply email a PDF of your complete—yet unfortunately unsuccessful—application (including any letters of recommendation you may have) to info@mbamission.com. By the end of April, we will let you know if you are one of the lucky 20 selected. Within 1-2 weeks of being notified that you have successfully claimed one of our free Ding Reviews, you will receive a detailed written analysis of your previous application produced by one of mbaMission’s Senior Consultants, as well as a 30-minute phone call with that consultant to answer any questions you have about the review or about your reapplication strategy. |
23 Mar 2018, 09:00
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Sustainability MBA at Duquesne University and Social Impact MBA at Boston University |
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Duquesne University’s Palumbo Donahue School of Business Appealing to professionals at all stages of their careers, Duquesne University’s Palumbo Donahue School of Business offers an accelerated, 12-month MBA degree with an integrated focus on sustainability and the environment. With core course work centered on four foundational areas—social, economic, environmental, and ethical—students gain exposure to the basic problems and frameworks of sustainable development beyond conventional notions of “green” business. In addition, the program includes global study trips, in which students travel abroad to examine global sustainability practices firsthand; two required sustainability consulting projects with sponsoring nonprofit or governmental organizations; and a capstone practicum course that challenges students to develop strategy and management skills.  Boston University Questrom School of Business A bit farther east, the Boston University Questrom School of Business has offered a Social Impact MBA (formerly the Public & Nonprofit MBA) since 1973, specifically designed to cultivate business management skills that can make a real difference in the world. Standing at 35th among U.S. MBA programs in the The Economist’s 2017 rankings, Questrom exposes students to a robust general management core curriculum and also offers specialized courses and resources targeting the governmental, public, and private nonprofit sectors. In addition, the program maintains partnerships with high-profile nonprofit organizations, through which scholarship opportunities, enrollment deferral, and application fee waivers are available to students interested in gaining work experience with these affiliations. |
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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
 GMAT Club REWARDS
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