Lots going on this week for MBA applicants:

• MBA Admissions Telethon for Round 2 and 3 applicants on Wednesday Nov. 19. During the 2009 MBA Admissions Telethon, Accepted.com admissions consultants will be available to review your resume, take your call, and answer your questions. Free.
• Consortium Chat on Nov. 19, 2008 at 5:00 PM PT/8:00 PM ET with Jackie Olden, the Consortium's Director of Recruiting, and representatives from NYU Stern, CMU Tepper, USC Marshall, and UNC Kenan Flagler.
• In honor of National MBA Interview Month, Accepted is offering 20% off MBA I.V.: Mainline to Top MBA Programs. And don't neglect the free MBA Interview Feedback Database when preparing for your interview.
• Manhattan GMAT is hosting a mixer on Thursday November 20 for young professionals in Silicon Valley. Here's the scoop:

"Learn the ins and outs of the GMAT, while mingling with fellow young professionals working at top companies in and around Silicon Valley. Enjoy drinks and appetizers as one of our expert Instructors helps clarify the myths that have surfaced about this challenging exam. We'll separate fact from fiction – you'll walk out knowing how the GMAT works, what it tests, how business schools interpret scores, and why short-cuts and tricks will only get you so far."

• The Toigo Foundation launched a new Facebook page for "young professionals of color who share a common interest in pursuing an MBA and a career in finance."

This is an Accepted MBA Admissions News summary:

• Accepted will host the UC Berkeley Haas chat tomorrow Wednesday October 29 at 10:00 AM PT/1:00 PM ET/5:00 PM GMT. Peter Johnson, Haas' Director of Admissions, will be the special guest, joined by one or two current Haas students. The chat will take place in Accepted's chat room. Please feel free to join us.
• We just posted the transcript from last week's two chats. First the MIT Sloan chat with Angel Navedo and Barry Reckley, both Assistant Directors of MBA Admissions at Sloan. An excerpt:

DAV (Oct 23, 2008 12:13:28 PM)
Barry: How stringently do you hold to the criteria that experiences discussed in essays need to fit within the last three years (for example, a 4-year project that only has its last year fit within the 3-year window)?

BarryReckleyMIT (Oct 23, 2008 12:15:27 PM)
Dav: we're flexible, your situation sound reasonable within the time limits.

Sean Mahoney (Oct 23, 2008 12:13:39 PM)
Hi, Angel. We met at an information session MIT had last month. Thank you for that. I was hoping to get some more information about the guaranteed loan Citi gives all students. How much is the loan for (tuition only/ board/food/mortgage etc.)?  Also, do these loans get used for the trips MIT alumni have told us they took during the program?

AngelNavedoMIT (Oct 23, 2008 12:16:03 PM)
Hello Sean. I hope the presentation was helpful. Regarding the Citibank loan, we will no longer be offering that loan next year. As I wrote earlier, US students have plenty of excellent options and we are working hard to find suitable options for our international students.

Linda Abraham (Oct 23, 2008 12:17:20 PM)
Angel, is MIT Sloan able to expand its number of grants for students having trouble obtaining loans?

AngelNavedoMIT (Oct 23, 2008 12:19:18 PM)
Hi Linda! This past year we doubled the number of fellowships available to incoming students, so there will definitely be more money available in terms of fellowships than in the past.

• We have also posted the recent October 23 Consortium chat with Jackie Olden of the Consortium and representatives from Marshall, CMU Tepper, U of Wisconsin at Madison, Emory, Simon, McCombs, Darden, Yale SOM, and NYU Ster.  An excerpt:

Linda Abraham (Oct 23, 2008 7:06:26 PM)
Is the absence of the CitiAssist program and the overall tightening of credit affecting your schools and applicants? What should applicants be doing now to prepare themselves to apply this year?

LinwoodHarrisCMU (Oct 23, 2008 7:07:51 PM)
No! Several are concerned, but I don't think it is affecting us.

ErinNickelsburgWISCONSIN (Oct 23, 2008 7:07:59 PM)
In regards to tightening of credit - it is not affecting our applicants and we don't anticipate that it will.

JosuePortilloNYU (Oct 23, 2008 7:08:18 PM)
Linda, CitiAssist loans are still coming in with no problems at NYU.

KelleeScottUSC (Oct 23, 2008 7:09:59 PM)
Linda, no loan issues at USC.

RodrigoMaltaTEXAS (Oct 23, 2008 7:10:16 PM)
Linda, no loan issues at Texas either, so far so good.

• The Consultant's Guide to MBA Admission -- updated for the 2009 application season and with a complete set of sample HBS essays for this year's application -- is now 20% off. But just until Friday Oct. 31.
• Now is the perfect time to start your Round 2 applications. Now,  when those deadlines are two months -- not two weeks -- away you have the time to work methodically through several applications and improve them as you go. And we are going to help you get started. Save $100 off any MBA admissions order of US$2000 or more. Enter "SAVE100" at checkout to receive the discount. 
• This year's MBA interview feedback is starting to come in. We already have 2009 responses for Kellogg and Duke. Please check out the MBA Admissions Interview Feedback Database for recent feedback from all schools and share your interview experience after you interview. 

A summary of events in the MBA admissions world:

• On Thursday October 23 at 10:00 AM PT/1:00 PM ET/5:00 PM GMT Accepted.com will host an online chat for MIT Sloan's. The last chat was "standing room only" and highly informative. Although we covered a lot of ground, some of you didn't get your questions answered. This is another opportunity for you to ask those nagging questions and learn more about MIT Sloan. And it's less than one week prior to Sloan's first deadline on Oct. 28.
  
• On Thursday October 23, 2008 at 5:00 PM PT/8:00 PM ET/12:00 AM GMT, Accepted.com will host an online chat for those interested in applying through the Consortium for Graduate Study in Management. Jackie Olden, the Consortium's Director of Recruiting, and representatives of different Consortium schools will be available to answer your questions about researching schools, early preparation, and the steps you should be taking at this point in the application process.
• The Wharton Adcom blog has posted a wonderful summary of Wharton's programs and resource in entrepreneurship. If you are interested in Wharton and entrepreneurship, check it out.
• The media has been falling over itself to publish articles on the surge in applications due to the economic storm (hurricane?) that we find ourselves in, as well as the melt-down's impact on current students and soon-to-be graduates. Here are a few:

1. As economy sputters, grad schools overflow
2. Would-Be Bankers Turn to Consulting
3. Escape Route: Seeking Refuge in an M.B.A. Program 
4. In Tough Times, M.B.A. Applications May Be an Economic Indicator
5. Keeping an eye on the bigger picture

• The MBA Tour keeps chugging along. Next stop: Canada. Vancouver – November 6; Toronto November 8; Montreal, November 10.
• The Financial Times reports that London Business School received a multi-million pound gift from Jeremy Coller of Coller Capital to expand and rename LBS's private equity research center. It will become the Coller Institute of Private Equity.