I would like to invite all 2009 MBA applicants to sign up for the second 2009 MBA Admissions Telethon on Tuesday, May 13th between 10:00 AM and 12:00 PM PT (1:30 PM ET - 3:30 PM ET; 6:00 PM GMT - 8:00 PM GMT). What is the MBA Admissions Telethon?

Two hours when 6 MBA admissions experts will be available to answer your individual questions via telephone. Prior to calling in, you will receive a brief, 6-question questionnaire and submit it along with your resume to a designated email address. (No essays, please.) When you call in, your consultant will review the information you provide, and you will have 15 minutes to discuss with him or her your most pressing MBA admissions questions.

Oh, by the way, the 2009 MBA Admission Telethon is free.

You can learn more details and sign up at 2009 MBA Admissions Telethon.

The trend toward accepting GRE scores in lieu of GMAT scores is continuing to gather force. Motivated by a desire to expand the applicant pool beyond the traditional MBA feeder professions, Stanford University began accepting GRE scores in June 2006.

As Stanford's MBA admissions director Derrick Bolton candidly put it in a Marketwire article released last month: "The GRE test takers are more likely to be women, and more likely to be undergraduates or just a year out, while the GMAT is more popular with those who have been out a few years. ... If we are able to fish in both of those pools, how can that hurt us? [There are] definitely some people who would not have applied to the MBA program had we put an additional barrier of requiring the GMAT." Other U.S. B-schools have followed suit, including Georgetown's McDonough School, MIT's Sloan School, University of Michigan's Ross School, and Johns Hopkins University's Carey Business School.

The days of the GMAT's hegemony appear to numbered in Europe as well. Helsinki School of Economics, Barcelona School of Economics, and ESADE Business School, among others, are also accepting GRE scores. In February, the GMAT suffered another defection when Madrid's Instituto de Empresa (IE) Business School announced it too will accept GRE scores. David Bach, Empresa's Associate Dean of MBA Programs, argues that "Accepting the GRE supports our efforts to attract high-quality participants from very diverse backgrounds, including students who may not have previously contemplated an MBA," according to the March 25 Marketwire story.

The trend is not as shocking as it may appear. According to ETS, the developers of both the GMAT and GRE, neither test is a specialized business skills test, both test math ability at an equivalent level, and 70 percent of the data interpretation questions in the GRE's Quantitative Reasoning section are presented in a "business context."

Source: /www.marketwire.com, March 25, 2008.

Accepted is continuing to post transcripts from recent chats and to add to its rich resources for MBA students:

• In "Three Tips to Reduce GMAT Test Anxiety" Bara Sapir of NY Test Prep provides three important suggestions to reduce test anxiety. Check out these tips if your knees shake when you start to think about test day. Also, learn about a NY Test Prep discount for Accepted clients and visitors. (BTW, Accepted has hosted 186 MBA admissions chats since 1999, most of them with admissions directors at top programs from around the world, and 29 chats in the most recent admissions cycle.)
  
• 2008 Michigan Ross Part-Time Admissions Chat with Jim Hayes. Ross assembled an impressive team for this chat including a current part-time MBA student and representatives from career services, admissions, and academic services. If you are considering Ross' part-time program, check out this transcript.

And the chats keep on coming.

Recent Transcript Excerpts:

• Wharton Waitlist Transcript with Thomas Caleel
  

thurston (Apr 2, 2008 1:01:32 PM)
Hi Thomas, I am a R2 waitlist candidate for Wharton. First, thank you for hosting this chat. Second, I have a quick admissions question for you. Let say we have two hypothetical RE-APPLICANTS. Both have similar app packages: work experience, extra curricular, GPA, GMAT, references, interview, etc. In fact, the only difference is in a previous year one was waitlisted and the other was outright denied admissions. Both are re-applying and both have demonstrated *very similar* improvements in their application. If you MUST chose between the two, who would you admit -- and, more importantly, why?

ThomasCaleelWHARTON (Apr 2, 2008 1:01:47 PM)
Thurston, thank you for the question. It's really impossible to say outright which one.
This process is very holistic (as Dan and Amelia can attest to), and there is never "one" thing that means admit or deny.

ThomasCaleelWHARTON (Apr 2, 2008 1:02:48 PM)
I do think you are concerned that being on the WL might give you some preference in the re-app process. The answer there is not really. For re-apps, we look at the learning the candidate has undergone, and how they express that in the re-app.

ThomasCaleelWHARTON (Apr 2, 2008 1:03:23 PM)
By the way, simply sitting down and re-reading your original app will be very helpful should you choose to re-apply...

• London Business School MBA with Zoë McLoughlin & Peter Johnson This chat was unique because it was for MBA and MIF candidates at London Business School, which is still accepting applications for 2008 applicants.  The final deadline is May 2, 2008.
  

andrew (Apr 7, 2008 1:06:25 PM)
Zoe: has the admissions office noticed a large influx of applications this year? If so, please elaborate. Thank you.

ZoeMcLoughlinLONDON (Apr 7, 2008 1:07:16 PM)
Andrew - yes, we have noticed an increase in quantity but there are always places for good candidates, even in Stage 4.

Linda Abraham (Apr 7, 2008 1:06:37 PM)
David & Helen: do you see MBA recruiting at the MBA and the MiF programs affected by the credit crunch and sub-prime mess in the US? Do your graduates have jobs?

HelenGreenLONDON (Apr 7, 2008 1:08:48 PM)
Linda, recruitment has continued to be strong on campus this year with more recruiters than ever coming to meet with our students. Although the market is competitive, there are still considerable opportunities available and recruiters clearly continue to value our students’ wealth of experience and diverse backgrounds. We are seeing recruiters taking a long term view and continuing to maintain their ranks of associates from the MBA and MiF programmes.

DavidMorrisLONDON (Apr 7, 2008 1:09:23 PM)
Linda, building on Helen's answer, there is also a growing number of companies from the Industry sector recruiting at the school, either coming to campus and/or posting jobs.

Upcoming Chats:

Accepted is hosting the first Michigan Ross Part-Time MBA Program chat tomorrow Tuesday April 15 at 3:00 PM PT/6:00 PM ET. If you are interested in Ross' part-time MBA program, please join Jim Hayes, Senior Associate Director of Admissions and other members of the Ross PT team in Accepted's Chat Room for an informative chat. 

Yesterday I met with a LAMP client who is shrewdly starting now to prepare for his fall application. We went over his profile, and I made several suggestions as to what he can do between now and this fall to improve his chances of acceptance next year. He found the session very valuable. And again, I commend him for starting early to work on his application. I want to be able to commend and mentor and help prepare more of you.

For years I have encouraged MBA applicants to lay the foundation for their MBA application in the months before applications come out. That's why I wrote Best Practices for MBA Admissions, a featured ebook this month. That's why Accepted has hosted MBA Admissions Telethons and teleseminars. And that's why Accepted is introducing a new subscription form of MBA Admissions Consulting: Start Smart ™.

With Start Smart, you can meet up to one hour per month with your adviser, an experienced Accepted consultant and editor who for years has seen what works and what doesn't. Our experienced staff shares my frustration when talented but flawed clients come to us in September wanting to apply in Round 1 and hoping that a magic wand will make them competitive. We don't have that wand. We do have decades of collective experience that we would like to share with you on an individual basis through Start Smart.

With Start Smart, you can have a mentor guide you in:

• Identifying the core stories for your application.
• Focusing on specific schools.
  
• Strengthening your application and ameliorating weaknesses.
• Choosing recommenders.

We can even help you work out an application time table.

In addition, Start Smart is something that rewards your early-bird-gets-the-worm approach to your applications:

• You will pay less per month when you sign up for more months.
• Your credit card is billed on a monthly basis for the exact number of months you want. You do not pay for the entire service up front so it is more affordable.