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The mbaMission Blog

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Professor Profiles: Eric Sussman, UCLA Anderson [#permalink] The mbaMission Blog   02 Jan 2022, 10:00
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FROM mbaMission Blog: Professor Profiles: Eric Sussman, UCLA Anderson


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 Eric Sussman from UCLA Anderson.

Eric Sussman is an adjunct professor in Anderson’s accounting department and also serves as president of Amber Capital, a real estate investment company. He has been voted Teacher of the Year 13 times by Anderson students and received the Citibank Teaching Award in 1998 and the Neidorf Decade Teaching Award in 2008—both honors decided by a faculty committee. In addition, in 2009, Sussman won the Teaching Excellence Award in the full-time MBA program, which is decided by a vote of second-year students. In 2015, he received the University-Wide Distinguished Teacher Award. Sussman has also been recognized by Bloomberg Businessweek as one of Anderson’s Outstanding Faculty members numerous times, and in 2011, the publication named Sussman one of the Top Ten Most Popular Business School Professors. In addition to his work in the classroom, Sussman created Insight FSA, a software tool that measures and evaluates the financial accounting and corporate reporting risk for public companies via Edgar Online.

A second-year student blogger at Anderson once described Sussman in a post as “one of what I call the five rock-star professors here,” and a first year we interviewed stated that Sussman “has an outstanding reputation at the school.” An alumnus we spoke with who had taken Sussman’s “Corporate Financial Reporting” class agreed: “[Sussman is] probably the best professor at Anderson in my eyes and to a lot of other students,” the alumnus said, continuing, “Professor Sussman is also incredibly flexible when it comes to helping students. If you need the help, he will find a way to make time for you no matter your level. He truly was a passionate practitioner who invested so much in the students and school. People like him make Anderson exceptional.”

For more information about UCLA Anderson and 16 other top-ranked business schools, check out our free mbaMission Insider’s Guides.
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The 2022 MBA Application Season Has Begun! [#permalink] The mbaMission Blog   04 Jan 2022, 10:00
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FROM mbaMission Blog: The 2022 MBA Application Season Has Begun!

We at mbaMission are thrilled to welcome a new year! 2021 continued to bring many challenges that 2020 first introduced—both personally and professionally—for many people around the world. We are so thankful that we have been able to help those who have been dislocated by the pandemic—as well as many others—earn acceptances to their dream business schools during one of the most competitive MBA application years ever. We are incredibly proud of our clients who, to date, have earned more than $12 million in scholarships to all of the top-ranked business schools in Round 1 alone.

As we look toward the 2022–2023 admissions season, we remain committed to being the best MBA admissions consulting firm in the world by putting our clients first; providing relevant and insightful guidance through our free guides, webinars, and blog; and continuing to bring dedication, passion, and expertise to every MBA applicant who partners with us.

And if you have your sights set on business school, we would love the opportunity to share our knowledge with you. Here are a few ways we can help:

  • Sign up for a free consultation to connect with one of our admissions experts and get your initial questions answered!
  • Download our free Insider’s Guides and International Program Guides to learn tons of information about your possible target schools.
  • Join us on January 4 for a free webinar, Your 2022 MBA Action Plan, during which we will help you create your ten-month (and beyond) timeline, explain the factors admissions officers consider when evaluating candidates, and teach you how to assess your own quantitative and qualitative factors to anticipate how you will be viewed by the admissions committees.
All of us at mbaMission wish you a happy, prosperous, and (most importantly) healthy new year!
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How to Solve Any Sentence Correction Problem on the GMAT, Part 3 [#permalink] The mbaMission Blog   06 Jan 2022, 10:00
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FROM mbaMission Blog: How to Solve Any Sentence Correction Problem on the GMAT, Part 3
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.

In Part 1 of this article, we talked about the five-step process to answer Sentence Correction problems, and in Part 2, we discussed some drills to build the needed skills. Make sure to read both of those before continuing with this third article in the series.



Drill Number 3: Find a Starting Point

Once again, open up your Official Guide and look at some problems you have done before. This time, do not read the original sentence. Instead, cover it up.

Compare the answers, and try to articulate all the things that the problem is testing. Note that you can tell what is being tested even if you cannot tell how to answer. For example, you might see a verb switching back and forth between singular and plural. If the subject is not underlined, then you have no idea which verb form is required, because you literally have not even seen the subject. You do, though, know that subject-verb agreement is at issue.

Drill Number 4: Eliminate Answers

Once again, this drill involves problems you have already done. (Sensing a pattern? We learn the most when we are reviewing things we have already done!) This time, though, you are going to get to use the whole problem.

Right after you finish a problem, add the following analysis to your review:

(1) Why is the right answer right? Why is each of the wrong answers wrong?

(2) How would you justify eliminating the right answer? What is the trap that would lead someone to cross this one off?

(3) How would you justify picking any of the wrong answers? What is the trap that would lead someone to pick a wrong answer?

You are probably already doing the first one, but most people skip the second and third steps. The first is important, but you can learn more! When you learn how you (or someone) would fall into the trap of thinking that some wrong answer looks or sounds or feels better than the right one, you will be a lot less likely to fall into that same trap yourself in the future.



Next Steps

Practice these steps until they start to feel like second nature to you. At the same time, of course, learn the grammar rules that we all need to know. Put both pieces together, and you will master sentence correction!
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The Ideal MBA Application Timeline [#permalink] The mbaMission Blog   06 Jan 2022, 10:00
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FROM mbaMission Blog: The Ideal MBA Application Timeline
Applying to business school is certainly not something to be taken lightly or put off until the last minute! Whether to pursue an MBA is a significant decision, and once you have decided to take the plunge, the admissions process can be time-consuming. Nevertheless, it is one with the potential to provide meaningful returns, both financially and personally. If you are by nature a planner and like to thoroughly evaluate and assess all your options and seek the guidance and perspective of others, starting the application process up to a full year in advance of your target program’s due date is ideal.



6–12 Months in Advance – Test Taking, School Research, Additional Coursework Evaluation
At a minimum, you want to set aside six months from start to finish. This assumes a relatively short test-preparation time frame and that you will feel good about the scores you earn on your first official test or two. Although test taking is only one part of the overall application, it is a good place to start, not only to calibrate the business schools you desire to attend (given their average test scores) but also to ideally get this element out of the way so you can focus on the many other parts of the application.

Almost all schools accept the GMAT and GRE, usually with no preference given to one test over the other, and a handful of programs now accept the Executive Assessment (EA), which was initially developed for Executive MBA applicants, for their traditional two-year program. Determining which test is better for you depends on your individual strengths, but doing some online research to understand the methodologies, specific subject areas, and scoring involved in each one is worthwhile, as is taking a free practice exam to see whether you naturally score better with one or the other type of test.

Most applicants set aside several weeks, if not months, to study for their chosen exam and take practice tests, often completing official study programs or working with tutors. Test scores are not the end-all be-all, but they do provide an objective data point that can help you assess your odds of acceptance at a specific business school. Also, a strong score can help negate a weaker GPA, given that the two statistics are considered together when an admissions committee is assessing a candidate’s academic track record and potential for successfully managing the rigorous course load required at top business schools.

If your test score (especially on the quantitative side) or GPA is not as strong as you would like for your target school(s), you can consider pursuing additional coursework, such as Harvard Business School’s Online CORe program or MBA Math. These courses can also be a positive addition to your application if your major and undergrad coursework were light on analytical and quantitative classes.

While preparing for your chosen test, you should also begin learning about different schools and assessing which ones are the right fit for you. Many factors should be weighed beyond just rankings. mbaMission recommends considering eight key criteria when evaluating a business school. Take a look at our free business school Insider’s Guidesfor a comprehensive overview of the top MBA programs with respect to these eight criteria. Spending quality time thinking about your future career goals goes hand-in-hand with researching schools because you want to ensure that the programs you apply to are strong in the relevant academic specialization, ideally with on-campus recruitment by your desired potential employers. You do not want to shortchange this due diligence step. Should you be accepted to the schools you apply to, you do not want to be questioning them at the last minute. Business school is a significant investment in yourself and one not to be taken lightly, especially when you factor in the opportunity cost of leaving the work force for up to two years.

In researching schools, make sure to also note key submission deadlines and the number of rounds offered (three is standard). A few programs have a “rolling admissions” policy; for these, submitting your application as early as possible can be advantageous. Applying in Round 1 can also offer an advantage, especially if you are from an “overrepresented” background and will be evaluated against many other candidates with comparable experience. MBA programs desire diversity in their classes and thus will admit only a certain number of applicants who could contribute to the school in a similar way.

So, you have completed your entrance test, feel good about your scores, and have decided on five to seven programs to target—including a couple of “stretch” schools, a couple “on target” ones, and a couple about which you feel relatively confident. You are most likely at least three months in. If you planned to apply within six months, you now have three months for the remainder of your application. There is still a lot left to do!

3–6 Months in Advance – Essays, Recommender Selection, Resume
Check out the websites of your target business schools to familiarize yourself with all their requirements and create an online account for your application. For many schools, you will want to soon start preparing to write your essays. Note that most MBA program’s essay questions are typically released in May or shortly thereafter. mbaMission recommends beginning with a brainstorming session and creating an outline for inspiration and efficiency. Many essay word count maximums are quite limiting. On the surface, you might think that means the essays will be quick and easy to write, but there is truth to Mark Twain’s keen observation: “I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.” Writing with brevity and clarity is often more time-consuming. Make sure to dedicate sufficient time to complete multiple rounds of revisions and to have others review your essay(s) as well. And do not try to use “fancy” words to impress the MBA admissions committee with your vocabulary. Remember Leonardo da Vinci’s words of wisdom: “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”

Although Harvard Business School and the Stanford Graduate School of Business have less-restrictive (or completely nonexistent) essay word limits, the freedom the somewhat ambiguous questions afford means you will want to take time to complete multiple iterations. Our book “What Matters?” and “What More?”: 50 Successful Essays for the Stanford GSB and HBS (and Why They Worked) provides helpful instruction on how to approach these notoriously difficult essays, as well as annotated essays from successful past applicants. And of course, all mbaMission admissions consultants are very experienced in providing guidance on effectively crafting these essays.

You must also carefully consider your recommenders at this point and ensure that you are aware of how many you will need for each of your target schools. The programs often provide direction as to whom they prefer your first recommender be—typically your current manager. If you deviate from the program’s request on this point, you will want to offer an explanation for your choice in the optional essay. Your letters of recommendation are one of the most important parts of your MBA application because they represent one of the only third-party perspectives of you that the admissions committee will have, and because they are provided by individuals who have (or should have!) significant experience interacting with you in a professional setting. Consider the right timing to share the news of your MBA desires with your manager and solicit their support of your decision.

In addition, you need to provide a resume with your MBA application. Do not assume that you can simply upload your most recent job application resume. You must tailor your professional overview specifically for your business school application. (And unless you have more than ten years of work experience, make sure to limit your resume to only one page.) The MBA admissions committees want to understand what you have accomplished professionally—the value you have brought to your employers—as well as your education, leadership experiences, and what you have done outside of work to engage with and better your communities. They are interested in learning about you holistically, not just the career side of you. Some schools have very specific requirements for how the resume is presented, so always read any instructions the programs provide very thoroughly.

0–3 Months in Advance – Short-Answer Sections, Recommender Outreach, Reviewing and Refining
Once your target programs have released the application for the new school year (typically in mid-August), review it fully to prepare yourself to answer the many questions included in the online form. Do not underestimate the time you will need to dedicate to the application’s short answer questions, which are often related to career goals, if they are not covered in one the school’s essay questions. Some programs also request or require a video submission to supplement the written essays. In addition, you might be asked to provide a description of each professional position you have held and your reason for leaving it. We recommend drafting your responses to these elements first in Microsoft Word where you can check to ensure you are within the school’s character limitations and leverage spell check.

Now is the time to reach out to your recommenders with the specific details about the letters they must write (i.e., completing the school’s online form). You will need to enter their information into the school’s online portal to trigger the school to contact them directly with instructions. Do not hesitate to ensure that your recommenders understand what MBA programs want to see in applicants or to remind them how you have demonstrated those coveted qualities in your professional endeavors. Do whatever is necessary to enable them to be strong advocates for you! Most business schools publicly share the primary questions they ask recommenders, and many use questions from the GMAC Common Letter of Recommendation to simplify the process for recommenders who will be submitting responses to multiple schools.

Before submitting your application, make sure to reread and review all the elements in totality. Ask yourself a few key questions: Have you told a consistent, compelling story? Have you fully represented your accomplishments, qualifications, and potential? Have you leveraged each part of the application to further the MBA admissions committee’s knowledge of you and what makes you unique? Always check carefully for typos and misspellings as well. Consider your application a formal, professional representation of you. You have spent months getting to this point; you owe it to yourself to not let a minor detail reflect poorly on your attention to detail.

Submission – Preparing for Interviews
A few business schools interview all candidates shortly after they have submitted their application, while many others interview on an invitation-only basis. Review the mbaMission Interview Guide as well as any relevant school-specific interview guides to understand the logistics of the interview and to access sample questions with which to prepare. Continue to stay current on the schools you will be interviewing at—read blogs, connect with students, review recent press releases—so you will be able to authentically discuss in the interview why the specific program is a strong fit for you and your career goals. Although you should practice responses to common questions and ideally do a mock interview, you do not want to sound overly rehearsed or robotic. Remember that the interview is very much a conversation, and the interviewer’s primary goal is to get to know you and your motivation to attend business school in more detail—not to test or trick you!

Notification dates following your interview vary from school to school. But at this point, take a deep breath. Hopefully, you can confidently say that you represented yourself well in your application and interview and can feel proud about your submission, regardless of the outcome.

Without a doubt, applying to business school demands a substantial commitment and can potentially feel overwhelming. mbaMission admissions consultants are experts at navigating the process and can help you improve your odds of a successful outcome. Sign up for a free 30-minute consultation to learn more about our services and to discuss your specific applicant profile. We look forward to meeting you.
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MBA Admissions Myths Destroyed: Well, I Had My Chance on the GMAT [#permalink] The mbaMission Blog   07 Jan 2022, 11:00
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FROM mbaMission Blog: MBA Admissions Myths Destroyed: Well, I Had My Chance on the GMAT
You finally took the GMAT, and though your score was not bad, it was not what you had hoped—not your ideal score, but certainly not so low that you unquestionably need to try again. So, when you have a score that is just below where you think you should be, should you retake the test? The truth is that you risk very little in taking the GMAT a second—or even a third—time in pursuit of a better outcome.

Simply put, you do not need to worry if you do worse on your second try. Your target school will not average your score down or consider only your lower score. In fact, no matter how you perform the second or third time you take the exam, your target program will consider only your highest score. This essentially eliminates any risk to you or your candidacy in taking the GMAT more than once. So, if you score a 700 on your first test and a 670 on your second, you are better off than if you had scored a 690 on both.

Dartmouth Tuck, for one, tacitly encourages multiple attempts at the GMAT by allowing applicants to report all valid scores from the previous five years. Tuck will consider an applicant’s best performance on each section of the GMAT (Verbal and Quant), even if the individual scores are from different tests, but will not combine scores to consider a new total score.

So, relax and take the test again if you have time and—more importantly—feel that you can do better. However, if you do not believe you would improve your score, retaking the test, especially more than twice, is pointless.
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Intimate Class Sizes in the South at Scheller College of Business and [#permalink] The mbaMission Blog   08 Jan 2022, 10:00
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FROM mbaMission Blog: Intimate Class Sizes in the South at Scheller College of Business and Mays Business School
The Scheller College of Business at Georgia Tech might rival MIT Sloan and Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School of Business with respect to its focus on the direct application of Internet technology to global business problems. The school’s rather small (approximately 60–80 students each year) and innovation-focused program was nevertheless ranked 29th among full-time MBA programs in the United States by Bloomberg Businessweek in 2021.

Situated in the heart of Technology Square in Midtown Atlanta, Scheller offers students numerous networking and innovation resources within the city’s high-tech business community, including the Advanced Technology Development Center business incubator. In addition, the Enterprise Innovation Institute, or EI2, bills itself as “the nation’s largest and most comprehensive university-based program of business and industry assistance, technology commercialization, and economic development” on its website and provides students with resources for career options at the intersection of business and technology. As an indicator of the school’s overall strengths in information technology and operations management, manufacturing/engineering was the most common pre-MBA industry among the Class of 2023.

Meanwhile, at the Texas A&M University Mays Business School, students follow a full-time, 49-credit MBA curriculum that can be completed in just 16 months (over an 18-month period of 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.

What really stands out about the Mays program, however, is its dedication to maintaining a strong sense of community. Similar to Scheller, the relatively small class size—the 2020 incoming class, for example, featured 86 students—facilitates an intimate classroom setting and personalized attention from faculty and staff at Mays.
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Professor Profiles: Lubos Pastor, University of Chicago Booth School o [#permalink] The mbaMission Blog   09 Jan 2022, 10:00
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FROM mbaMission Blog: Professor Profiles: Lubos Pastor, University of Chicago Booth 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 Lubos Pastor from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Despite his relatively young age, Lubos Pastor has already received considerable recognition for his research on the stock market and asset management and was once featured among “The Best 40 B-School Profs Under the Age of 40” by Poets&Quants. At Chicago Booth, which Pastor joined in 1999, he is currently the Charles P. McQuaid Professor of Finance, the Robert King Steel Faculty Fellow, and the co-director of the Fama-Miller Center for Research in Finance.

Pastor’s work has been influential, earning him such high-profile accolades as the NASDAQ Award, the Goldman Sachs Asset Management Prize, and the Barclays Global Investors Prize, as well as the McKinsey Award for Excellence and Teaching, two of Chicago Booth’s own Faculty Excellence Awards for MBA Teaching, and the Chicago Booth Phoenix Award, “for greatly enriching the learning experience of the Full-Time MBA Class of 2019.” One student quoted in the Poets&Quants article said “his witty style elevates classroom conversations and facilitates retention of core concepts.” At Chicago Booth, Pastor currently teaches the MBA course “Portfolio Management,” in addition to several executive education courses.

For more information about Chicago Booth and 16 other top-ranked business schools, check out our free mbaMission Insider’s Guides.
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How to Show Rather Than Tell and Write with Connectivity in Your MBA A [#permalink] The mbaMission Blog   10 Jan 2022, 10:00
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FROM mbaMission Blog: How to Show Rather Than Tell and Write with Connectivity in Your MBA Application Essays
You may have heard the old journalistic maxim “Show, don’t tell,” which demands that writers truly illustrate the actions involved in an event or a story rather than simply stating the results of what happened.

Here is an example of “telling” (results oriented):

“I arrived at ABC Bank and took on a great deal of responsibility in corporate lending. I managed diverse clients in my first year and earned the recognition of my manager. Because of my hard work, initiative, and leadership, he placed me on the management track, and I knew that I would be a success in this challenging position.”

In these three sentences, the reader is told that the applicant “took on a great deal of responsibility,” “managed diverse clients,” and “earned recognition,” though none of these claims are substantiated via the story. Further, we are given no real evidence of the writer’s “hard work, initiative, and leadership.”

Here is an example of “showing” (action oriented):

“Almost immediately after joining ABC Bank, I took a risk in asking management for the accounts left behind by a recently transferred manager. I soon expanded our lending relationships with a children’s clothing retailer, a metal recycler, and a food distributor, making decisions on loans of up to $1M. Although I had a commercial banking background, I sought the mentorship of our district manager and studied aggressively for the CFA exam (before and after 14-hour days at the office); I was encouraged when the lending officer cited my initiative and desire to learn, placing me on our management track.”

In this second example, we see evidence of the writer’s “great deal of responsibility” (client coverage, $1M lending decisions) and “diverse clients” (a children’s clothing retailer, a metal recycler, and a food distributor). Further, the candidate’s “hard work, initiative, and leadership” are clearly illustrated throughout. The second example paragraph is more interesting, rich, and humble—and more likely to captivate the reader. By showing your actions in detail, you ensure that your reader draws the desired conclusions about your skills and accomplishments, because the necessary facts are included to facilitate this. Essentially, facts become your evidence!

Similar to showing instead of telling, “connectivity” is another important element of professional writing. Simply put, an adept writer ensures that each sentence is part of a chain—each sentence depends on the previous one and necessitates the next. With this linkage in place, the central idea is constantly moving forward, giving the story a natural flow and making it easy to follow. Although you do not need to write at the same level as a professional journalist, you should still embrace this concept, because it is central to excellent essay writing. With a “connected” MBA application essay, you will grab and hold your reader’s attention.

You can test your essay’s connectivity by removing a sentence from one of your paragraphs. If the central idea in the paragraph still makes complete sense after this removal, odds are you have superfluous language, are not advancing the story effectively, and should revise your draft.

Try this exercise with a random selection from the New York Times:

“For many grocery shoppers, the feeling is familiar: that slight swell of virtue that comes from dropping a seemingly healthful product into a shopping cart. But at one New England grocery chain, choosing some of those products may induce guilt instead. The chain, Hannaford Brothers, developed a system called Guiding Stars that rated the nutritional value of nearly all the food and drinks at its stores from zero to three stars. Of the 27,000 products that were plugged into Hannaford’s formula, 77 percent received no stars, including many, if not most, of the processed foods that advertise themselves as good for you. These included V8 vegetable juice (too much sodium), Campbell’s Healthy Request Tomato soup (ditto), most Lean Cuisine and Healthy Choice frozen dinners (ditto) and nearly all yogurt with fruit (too much sugar).”

If you were to delete any of these sentences, you would create confusion for the reader, proving that each sentence is connected and vital.
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Why GMAT Prep Is Like Training for a Marathon [#permalink] The mbaMission Blog   11 Jan 2022, 11:00
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FROM mbaMission Blog: Why GMAT Prep Is Like Training for a Marathon
Our friends at Manhattan Prep often tell students to think of the GMAT as a long-distance race. Successful runners conquer race day through specific goals, consistent training, and mental toughness. The same holds true for successful GMAT test takers.

Setting a Goal Pace

The best runners do not just aim for completion; they set a goal pace. How do they arrive at a specific, measurable goal? Marathon runners test their abilities on shorter races (5K, 10K, half marathon) to determine an achievable goal for race day. Also, many runners are looking to beat various thresholds, such as completing a marathon in under four hours.

Similarly, if you are taking the GMAT, you should have a goal score in mind. You arrive at that goal score by taking a practice test to gauge your current proficiency and then setting a challenging but reasonable goal score. Usually that goal score also coincides with the benchmarks posted by the business schools you’re looking to attend. Having a specific goal in mind helps you develop an appropriate study plan and informs your test day strategies.

Training Consistently

The majority of a race’s outcome depends on the work you put in before you are on the race course; all the training that your legs have endured will push you across the finish line. For runners, following a consistent training plan produces the physiological changes necessary for improving their pace; it gets their bodies ready for challenges they will face on race day. Just as runners aim to train four or five days a week with a couple of rest days sprinkled in between, GMAT test takers should aim to do ~30 minutes of practice on most days and schedule longer (but not too long!) studying sessions for the weekends. Why?

Well, first off, spending long stretches of time away from test material will wipe away some of the “gains” you made in previous weeks. If two weeks have passed since you looked at a Critical Reasoning question, you will need to refresh your memory on the various types of Critical Reasoning questions and the approaches for each. Regularly exposing yourself to the material will keep you moving forward instead of having to repeat a chapter that you previously covered.

Second, consistent studying is more manageable than attempting to cram in many hours of studying on the weekend. If you are aiming to run 50 miles in a given week, trying to complete 40 of those miles over the weekend results in overtraining and perhaps even injury. Long, exhausting study sessions leave you tired and demoralized, and more importantly, mastering all the content covered during those sessions is very difficult because your brain is on overdrive. In fact, studies have shown that knowledge retention improves when students space out their study time. Shorter but more frequent study sessions also let you “sleep” on certain concepts and problems, and you will find that you are able to tackle challenging problems with greater ease if you step away from them for a day or two.

Lastly, consistent training leads to incremental improvements. Runs that felt tough two weeks ago start to feel easier because you have been training almost every day and your body is making the appropriate physiological adjustments. Jumping from a 500 to a 600 on the GMAT is impossible without making many small improvements along the way. Significant score improvements are achieved through a combination of incremental changes, such as mastering Quant topics, using alternative problem-solving strategies, and improving time management.

So open up a calendar and set a consistent study schedule. Feel free to vary things by studying in different locations, mixing topics, etc. You will feel yourself training your brain muscles, and the incremental improvements in performance will sufficiently prepare you for test day.

Preparing for the Big Day

Before race day, runners spend approximately one week “tapering.” Tapering involves reducing training volume to give your body rest, giving you that “fresh legs” feeling on race day. Staying up late the night before your test is a bad idea. Instead of frantically taking practice tests and completing problem sets during the week leading up to test day, try to taper the amount of studying so that you are well rested and “mentally fresh.”

On the big day, all runners are nervous. The runners who hit their goals manage their nerves and exhibit mental toughness. They are optimistic because they know that they have set appropriate goals and trained consistently toward those goals, and they do not let the challenges of race day get in their heads, focusing instead on producing the best outcome possible. Also, they are ready for the long haul. Instead of gassing themselves out by running too fast for the first half of the race, they conserve their energy to maintain the pace required to hit their desired finish time.

How does that translate into strategies for test day? On test day, you will be nervous and that is expected. Stay optimistic, gather confidence from all the hard work you have put into studying, trust yourself, and stay mentally resilient in the face of challenging problems. Oh, and if you manage to also have fun on test day, I am confident that you will deliver your best performance.

Manhattan Prep is one of the world’s leading test prep providers. Every one of its instructors has a 99th percentile score on the GMAT and substantial teaching experience. The result? Two decades and thousands of satisfied students. By providing an outstanding curriculum and the highest-quality instructors in the industry, it empowers students to accomplish their goals. Manhattan Prep allows you to sit in on any of its live, online GMAT classes—for free! Check out a trial class today.
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MBA Admissions Myths Destroyed: My High GMAT Score Will Get Me In [#permalink] The mbaMission Blog   12 Jan 2022, 12:00
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FROM mbaMission Blog: MBA Admissions Myths Destroyed: My High GMAT Score Will Get Me In
So, you have taken the GMAT and exceeded even your highest expectations, scoring at the very top of the scale. Congratulations! However, do not assume that earning such a high GMAT score means you can relax with respect to the other components of your application. Every year, applicants who have scored 750 or higher are rejected from their target business schools—even when their GMAT score falls within the top 10% of the schools’ range. Many of these candidates were rejected because of a fatal, but ultimately avoidable, mistake: they became overconfident and assumed their GMAT score alone would get them in.

Business schools want to learn a lot more about you than your GMAT score alone can convey. MBA admissions committees are interested in hearing about your ambitions, accomplishments, leadership skills, teamwork experience, perseverance, motivation, integrity, compassion… The list goes on and on. Fundamentally, admissions committees need to determine whether you will be a vital and contributing member of their community, and your GMAT score tells them only that you can do the work.

Heed our advice—even (or especially!) those of you with a 780 score—and commit yourself to the rest of your application with the same enthusiasm with which you approached the GMAT.
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International Opportunities at Wharton and Dartmouth Tuck [#permalink] The mbaMission Blog   14 Jan 2022, 09:00
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FROM mbaMission Blog: International Opportunities at Wharton and Dartmouth Tuck
To think that the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania excels only in churning out investment bankers and management consultants would be a mistake. In fact, Wharton boasts a truly international program that was ranked #6 in this area in the 2022 U.S. News & World ReportMBA specialty rankings.

International students constitute 36% of the school’s Class of 2023 and represent 83 countries, and 13.4% of the school’s 2020 graduates took jobs outside the United States. Students who wish to study international business at Wharton have no shortage of options for doing so, including the following:

  • Numerous students study at a partner school each year. One popular option is to leverage Wharton’s alliance with INSEAD by taking classes at one of that program’s campuses in Singapore or Fontainebleau, France. Alternatively, students can choose a semester-long international exchange at one of 20 partner schools in 17 different countries.
  • Students who wish to pursue a dual degree in business and international studies can combine a Wharton MBA with an MA in International Studies from the Lauder Institute, a 24-month intensive program designed for those who seek to conduct high-level business in a country other than the United States. This program has been described by Bloomberg Businessweek as “arguably the single best global management experience anywhere.”
In contrast to Wharton, whose urban location in Philadelphia might seem ripe with international opportunities, the Tuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth is located in the quaint town of Hanover, New Hampshire, which has a population of approximately 11,500 and is therefore considered a small college town. However, “Tuckies,” as the school’s students are known, have no shortage of access to global learning opportunities.

Students gain hands-on international experience through the “OnSite Global Consulting” (formerly “Tuck Global Consultancy”) course, which gives second years the chance to put their education into practice worldwide. Since 1997, students have consulted with 175 global organizations on more than 247 projects in 64 countries, according to the Tuck website. On-site consulting projects are led by small teams of students working under the supervision of Tuck professors with extensive consulting backgrounds. A large percentage of the second-year class participates in this elective, defining projects in the spring or early fall, then traveling to their assigned countries for three weeks to perform on-site research and analysis. At the end of the program, students present their findings to their clients. Past clients include such major corporations as Alcoa, British Telecom, DuPont, Hewlett-Packard, Home Depot, John Deere, Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft, Nike, and Walmart.

For more information on other defining characteristics of the MBA program at Wharton, Dartmouth Tuck, or one of 16 other top business schools, check out our free mbaMission Insider’s Guides.
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Professor Profiles: Irv Grousbeck, Stanford Graduate School of Busines [#permalink] The mbaMission Blog   15 Jan 2022, 08:00
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FROM mbaMission Blog: Professor Profiles: Irv Grousbeck, Stanford Graduate 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 Irv Grousbeck from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

One of the founders and former directors of the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at the Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB), Irv Grousbeck first began teaching at the business school in 1985 after co-founding Continental Cablevision (later Media One) in 1964 and teaching at Harvard Business School (1981–1985), where he helped found the entrepreneurial management department. He is a co-owner, a managing partner, and an executive committee member of the Boston Celtics, a National Basketball Association team.

One of Grousbeck’s popular classes, “Conversations in Management,” features role-play with characters ranging from mid-level executives to external respondents. During the 2020–2021 academic year, Grousbeck also taught the “Entrepreneurial Acquisition” course, which is intended for aspiring entrepreneurs looking to acquire small businesses. In addition to his work at the GSB, Grousbeck has in recent years taught a course at the Stanford Medical School titled “Managing Difficult Conversations” that is available to medical students and second-year business school students “who aspire to improve their ability to deal effectively with difficult interpersonal situations,” the GSB website states.

For more information about the Stanford GSB and 16 other top-ranked business schools, check out our free mbaMission Insider’s Guides.
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Finding Suitable Recommendation Writers and Ensuring Their Punctuality [#permalink] The mbaMission Blog   16 Jan 2022, 10:00
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FROM mbaMission Blog: Finding Suitable Recommendation Writers and Ensuring Their Punctuality
Letters of recommendation are an important part of your overall application package—they provide the only outside information the admissions committee receives about you. One of the most stressful parts of the application process can be picking your recommender. The first question you should ask is who can write a valuable letter on my behalf?

Like many candidates, you may believe that your recommenders must have remarkable credentials and titles to impress the admissions committee. However, what is far more important is selecting individuals who can write a personal and knowledgeable letter that discusses your talents, accomplishments, personality, and potential. If senior managers at your company can only describe your work in vague and general terms, they will not help your cause. Lower-level managers who directly supervise your work, on the other hand, can often offer powerful examples of the impact you have had on your company. As a result, their letters can be far more effective.

Nonetheless, not everyone who knows you and your capabilities well will make a good recommender. For starters, you should of course feel confident that your potential recommender likes you and will write a positive letter on your behalf. As you contemplate your choices, try to gather some intelligence on your potential recommenders. Have they written letters for anyone else? Are they generous with their time with regard to employee feedback and review sessions? Will they devote the effort and time necessary to write a letter that will really shine?

If your prospective MBA program asks for two letters of recommendation, you should generally approach two of your recent supervisors, with one ideally being your current supervisor. Your letters will have added credibility if they are written by individuals who are senior to you, because your recommenders are in evaluative positions and will not have anything to lose by critically appraising your candidacy.

As application deadlines approach, many candidates find themselves immersed in stress—busy juggling multiple essays and revising their resume. Often in the midst of all this, an alarming question suddenly springs to mind: What if my recommenders do not get their letters done by the deadline?

In our opinion, the easiest way to ensure that your recommenders complete their letters on time is to present them with your own deadline—one that is a bit earlier than the school’s—when you first ask them to provide a recommendation for you. If the application to your school of choice is due on January 15, for example, tell your recommenders that you are submitting on January 8. Incidentally, submitting your application early can be good for your sanity as well. By setting this advanced deadline, you can put some additional pressure on your recommenders on the 8th if they have not yet finished the letters, so you should still be able to submit by the school’s official deadline.

Most people work to deadlines. Alleviate unnecessary stress by setting your recommenders’ deadlines one week early, and “enjoy” the application process a little bit more.
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The Process for Tackling Any Critical Reasoning Problem on the GMAT [#permalink] The mbaMission Blog   17 Jan 2022, 08:00
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FROM mbaMission Blog: The Process for Tackling Any Critical Reasoning Problem on the GMAT
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.

I want to share a four-step Critical Reasoning (CR) process with you, a process that can be used on any CR problem.

Here is the overall process:

Step 1: Identify the question.

Step 2: Deconstruct the argument.

Step 3: State the goal.

Step 4: Work from wrong to right.

Those steps might sound obvious to some people and very vague to others. I will explain each in more detail, but I want to say first that each step is there for a very important reason, and each step has been split off from the others for a very important reason. You can find the full article on the Manhattan Prep blog, as well as additional articles that illustrate how to use this process with each of the various CR question types. Here are a few additional details for each step:

Step 1: Identify the question. Use the question stem to identify the question. Each question type has certain characteristics; learn them.

Step 2: Deconstruct the argument. Arguments can contain up to four main building blocks: premises, counter-premises, conclusions, and background. Every argument has premises, but that is the only component common to all. In addition, some arguments “contain” assumptions—that is, the assumptions are not written but can be implied based on the premises and conclusion.

Step 3: State the goal. Each question type asks us to do a certain kind of reasoning; we need to make sure we know what it is. Each question type also has common error categories; remind yourself what they are, and you will be less likely to fall for them!

Step 4: Work from wrong to right. This is just a fancy way of saying find and eliminate the wrong answers until only one answer is left. Your first focus is elimination; get rid of everything you know is wrong. Do not even ask yourself what might be the right answer until you have gone through all five answers once. Then compare any remaining, tempting answers.
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New Year, New Career Perspectives and Resources [#permalink] The mbaMission Blog   18 Jan 2022, 13:00
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FROM mbaMission Blog: New Year, New Career Perspectives and Resources
This post was written by our resident Career Coach, Elissa Harris. To sign up for a free 30-minute career consultation with Elissa, please click here.

The start of a new year is the time when many MBA students and graduates reflect on their careers and look for new opportunities; this is especially true this year, with the Great Resignation.

We encourage you to check out the following relevant articles that caught the attention of mbaMission’s Career Coaches:

Self-Reflection and Skill Building

Career Development and Acceleration

Job Searching

Finally, in 2022, we expect to see more companies adapting to the ever-changing work environment and employees’ evolving preferences. For insights and best practices, read what McKinsey & Company’s thought leadership has to say on the topic.
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MBA Admissions Myths Destroyed: Your MBA Program Is the Sole Determina [#permalink] The mbaMission Blog   20 Jan 2022, 10:00
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FROM mbaMission Blog: MBA Admissions Myths Destroyed: Your MBA Program Is the Sole Determinant of Your Future
Human nature dictates that while engaged in a competitive MBA application process—exaggerated by the pervasiveness of rankings and the chatter surrounding them—some candidates will perceive that they are “ahead” of others because they were accepted at a top school, while others will perceive that they are “behind” their peers because they were accepted at a lower-ranked school. What is often lost amid all this worrying is that you, not your target business school, are the independent variable. You, not your target school, will determine your success.

Many regard such prestigious institutions as Harvard Business School and the Stanford Graduate School of Business as some sort of holy grail and believe, “All you have to do is get in and you are set for life!” This is patently wrong. Although tremendous opportunities exist for those who graduate from Harvard or Stanford, no graduate is simply given a free pass. When MBAs find summer or full-time positions at prestigious firms, they are still competing with others from many schools once they enter the workplace, where (surprise!) their individual performance—not their pedigree—then determines their success.

An mbaMission Senior Consultant recalls her MBA summer internship at J.P. Morgan. The firm had recruited students from 17 top MBA programs, and at the end of the summer, students from Wharton, Michigan Ross, UVA Darden, Texas McCombs, and NYU Stern were offered full-time positions, while students from many other schools were not. This simple anecdote features a very small sampling from one firm and one summer, but it can be an eye-opener for an MBA applicant who assumes that a top ten school is a kind of guaranteed “ticket.”

Further, a myriad of studies suggest that lower-ranked schools offer a greater return on investment than top-ranked schools. In one study sponsored by GMAC (the collective of MBA programs that administers the GMAT), data suggested that lower-ranked schools offer lower costs and higher returns over a ten-year period (185% vs. 118%). We are not saying that you should start applying exclusively to lower-ranked schools or shun Stanford or Harvard—both have excellent programs. Our point is simply that some applicants focus too exclusively on their target schools and neglect to recognize that their unique experiences, skills, and potential are what have made them competitive applicants in the first place. And these qualities will not be nullified during or after business school but will instead continue to drive them in the future.
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Should You Consider an EMBA Program? [#permalink] The mbaMission Blog   21 Jan 2022, 15:00
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FROM mbaMission Blog: Should You Consider an EMBA Program?
A point might come in your career when you ask yourself how you can “level up” or accelerate your professional trajectory. We at mbaMission have advised many candidates over the years on whether an EMBA (Executive MBA) program might be right for them. These programs are becoming increasingly popular, so we have compiled a list of reasons you should consider the EMBA option.

An EMBA program might be a good choice for you if…

You are on the executive track with managerial experience.

The top EMBA programs are looking for “executives” first and foremost. This means that in addition to having a minimum of ten years of work experience, you should have people-management experience or at least be on the executive, or junior executive, track (for example, you oversee projects or teams even if they do not report directly to you).

You prefer to remain at your job while getting your degree.

EMBA programs are usually offered on a part-time basis on weekends over an 18- to 24-month time frame. For example, Columbia Business School offers two EMBA options: (1) Friday and Saturdays, and (2) Saturdays only. UPenn Wharton’s EMBA classes are held on Friday and Saturday of alternate weekends, plus several extended sessions.

This format allows students to continue at their jobs and immediately apply the lessons they learn in the classroom to their work environment and responsibilities. The opportunity cost of this kind of program is therefore lower, given that students are not required to pause their careers while they pursue their degree. If you like your job and wish to stay in it while you earn your MBA, an EMBA program would be a good choice for you.

You prefer to network with classmates who are more mature or more tenured in their career.

While many students in two-year MBA programs are seeking to explore their career options, most EMBA students already have clearly defined goals and a set career path. If you value interacting with classmates who are more mature and have more experience in their career, an EMBA program is likely a better fit for you.

You feel that having technical expertise alone is not enough as you progress in your career.

Many EMBA students do not come from traditional business backgrounds. In fact, a good percentage of them might be attorneys, engineers, accountants, and so on. However, as they attain ever more senior levels at work, they are increasingly asked to manage business issues and people. This shift in responsibilities can give people the sense that their technical expertise might not be sufficient on its own to support them as they advance in their careers. An EMBA can provide you with the knowledge and skills you would need in a top leadership position in many companies and/or industries.

You are prepared to juggle work, family, and personal life while in school.

Because EMBA programs are part-time, you will have to hold down a demanding full-time job while attending classes, meeting with your study groups, studying for exams, and maintaining your family responsibilities and personal life—all at the same time! This is no easy feat. Although an EMBA program might check all the boxes with respect to what you require to accelerate your career, keep in mind the demands it will make on your time and family life. In reality, EMBA students do sometimes drop out before earning their degree, often because of work or family/personal reasons. So, be sure you have the full support of your family and employer before you embark on your EMBA journey.

If you would like to discuss your profile in more detail or get targeted guidance on your EMBA plans or application, sign up for a free 30-minute consultation with us.
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Professor Profiles: Gavan Fitzsimons, Duke University’s Fuqua School o [#permalink] The mbaMission Blog   22 Jan 2022, 09:00
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FROM mbaMission Blog: Professor Profiles: Gavan Fitzsimons, Duke University’s Fuqua 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 Gavan Fitzsimons from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.

Students and administration members alike sing the praises of Fuqua’s “fun” and “engaging” marketing professor, Gavan Fitzsimons, who spearheaded the creation of the Duke-Synovate Center for Shopper Insights in 2011 and serves as its faculty principal today. Fitzsimons is the Edward and Rose Donnell Professor of Marketing and Psychology at Fuqua and has received an Excellence in Core Teaching Award at the school three times, in addition to two honorable mentions.

His work, which focuses on the ways in which consumers are subconsciously influenced, has been published and popularized in prestigious academic journals and media outlets from the Journal of Consumer Research and the Journal of Marketing Research to NPR, CNN, and the Wall Street Journal. Fitzsimons has also served as an associate editor of the Journal of Consumer Research and an editorial board member for such publications as the Journal of Consumer Psychology, Marketing Letters, and the Journal of Macromarketing.

For more information about Duke Fuqua and 16 other top-ranked business schools, check out our free mbaMission Insider’s Guides.
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How to Lead with and Contextualize Your Goals in MBA Application Essay [#permalink] The mbaMission Blog   23 Jan 2022, 10:00
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FROM mbaMission Blog: How to Lead with and Contextualize Your Goals in MBA Application Essays
When business school candidates read an essay prompt, they often interpret it quite literally. For example, when a school asks applicants a multipart question such as “What will you contribute to our school’s community, and how will being part of it help you extend your professional vision?,” many applicants assume they must answer the subquestions in the exact order in which they are asked. However, this is not true. Such questions are actually quite flexible, and sometimes, you can better engage your reader by pursuing your own structure.

We have found that for overrepresented candidates with unique professional goals, one strategy that can be quite helpful is leading with goals instead of professional history. After all, “typical” experience is not as captivating as unusual (but realistic!) ambitions. So, the technologist who plans to open a boutique hotel or the investment banker who aspires to start a competitive windsurfing circuit can use these bold goals to stand out from the start.

We must emphasize, however, that such candidates need to have and portray a compelling connection to their goals, and we do not suggest that overrepresented candidates strive to imagine or create “wild” goals just to catch an admissions committee’s attention. However, if you have a profound connection to an uncommon aspiration, then responding to a school’s questions in a different order and ensuring that your goals are front and center could make a difference.

Another trend we have noticed is that when tailoring their essays to specific schools, many candidates do not go far enough to demonstrate a clear and understandable connection between themselves and their target programs. Offering school-specific information is good, but you must go beyond merely mentioning the particular resource(s) that appeal to you—you must add context for your claims.

What is the difference between a mere mention and providing context?

Mention:

“With a focus on entrepreneurship, I will participate in the CBS Entrepreneurial Greenhouse process. Further, I am attracted to classes such as ‘Foundations of Innovation,’ ‘Think Bigger,’ and ‘Entrepreneurial Strategy.’ I also plan to join the…”

Context:

“With clear plans to launch my start-up during my time at Columbia Business School, I look forward to testing my ideas through the Entrepreneurial Greenhouse accelerator; I find this opportunity to meet with seed funders and gain critical feedback and mentoring invaluable as I strive to refine my business plan and learn more about how to source investments…”

In the first example, the candidate shows an awareness of the Entrepreneurial Greenhouse but does not provide the context necessary for the reader to fully understand how they will use this resource; therefore, the mention is entirely superficial. As a result, it is unconvincing, impersonal, and easily forgettable. The applicant has seemingly not taken the time to reflect on this resource and how they would use it to progress toward their stated goals. The candidate then goes on to list the classes they plan to take and essentially succeeds in little more than cataloging resources rather than offering a reasoned consideration of how the school’s offerings are necessary.

The second example better explains exactly how the candidate will use the resource mentioned; the applicant has clearly done the necessary research on the school and truly grasps how Columbia Business School will satisfy their academic and professional needs. Because the latter example is more informed and serious minded, the admissions reader can be certain that the candidate has a set path and a clear plan to achieve specific goals.
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mbaMission Launches New and Improved YouTube Channel for MBA Applicati [#permalink] The mbaMission Blog   25 Jan 2022, 09:01
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FROM mbaMission Blog: mbaMission Launches New and Improved YouTube Channel for MBA Application Tips and Support! 
Is an MBA in your future? Perhaps you are just getting started—assessing your MBA profile, organizing a list of target business schools, and making plans to take the GMAT, GRE, or Executive Assessment. Or maybe you have already committed yourself to applying to a top MBA program this year. Whether you are targeting Round 1, 2, or 3, or are still considering your long-term plan, mbaMission is here to help!

We are proud to announce our new and improved [b][url=https://www.youtube.com/c/mbamission]YouTube Channel[/url][/b], where we offer videos designed to help aspiring MBA applicants navigate some of the most challenging components of the application process. These are just some of the topics we cover:

[list]
Tips for getting accepted to the top MBA programs, broken down by school [/*]
How to stand out as an MBA applicant and improve your candidacy[/*]
The differences between MBA programs and how to find the right one for you[/*]
Navigating waitlists, weaknesses in your profile, and overrepresented applicant pools [/*]
Taking the GMAT, GRE, or other standardized test and how admissions committees will interpret your score [/*]
Advice for applicants from diverse backgrounds and for assessing your profile[/*]
A step-by-step guide to putting together a compelling MBA application [/*]
How to write a winning MBA application essay [/*]
Strategies for MBA interviews and what to expect [/*]
Hiring an admissions consultant and how to choose the right one[/*]
[/list]
Starting this week, fresh videos will be posted [b]every Thursday and Sunday[/b].

We encourage you to [b][url=https://www.youtube.com/c/mbamission]subscribe to our channel[/url][/b] and turn on notifications to ensure you are alerted each time a brand new MBA application and admissions video is released through the end of the year. And be sure to “like” the ones you find helpful!

If you have a question for our MBA admissions experts or a suggestion for a video topic, let us know by posting a comment on one of our videos or sending us an email at [b][email=info@mbamission.com]info@mbamission.com[/email][/b].
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