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Does a Global MBA Really Give You an Edge?

May 3, 2011 by

  

Business schools around the world are increasingly focusing on globalizing their programs.  Schools are offering student and faculty exchanges, programs abroad, and required study trips abroad, as well as opening campuses in foreign countries. 

Yet, an article in the Wall Street Journal questions whether or not this trend is built on realistic expectations.  Of course, the schools want to enhance their international reputation and “prepare their students for work overseas,” but are these endeavors really beneficial for the students?

Warren Bennis, professor at the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business believes, “To become sophisticated enough to work and live in another country, you have to be there for at least six months to a year.”  

Moreover, according to the WSJ article, recruiters responsible for hiring MBAs for global positions say that “a school’s efforts alone often aren’t enough to nab an international job.” Diverse classrooms and working on case studies about international companies is just not going to cut it.

Bottom line: “There may be a disconnect between schools’ globalization efforts, and specific skills employers want in job candidates.”  For example, global consulting firms are looking for applicants who are proficient in other languages and have experience working with international companies.  As a result, although some schools are coming up with creative and innovative ways to “go global,” their efforts will not always give their students a leg up.

On the bright side, David Smith, managing director at Accenture, feels, “a broad global outlook, including understanding nuances in other cultures and a willingness to relocate, is key for landing top positions. Two otherwise identical applicants would have to prove they know how international markets differ from domestics ones, and show that they know how to manage expectations to team members in other countries.”

In the end, the question remains whether treks to emerging markets and courses on international business are enough to create a truly “Global MBA.”

International MBA

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Filed Under: International, MBA Admissions, USC Marshall Tagged With:

Law School Admissions News Round Up

April 12, 2011 by

  • For those studying for the LSAT, Most Strongly Supported offers helpful tips. The first thing you should do is to learn all the methods and question types. Once you’ve learned them all, you should spend a lot of time practicing them, eventually in random order and for longer stretches. Finally, make sure to take “a whole lot of full tests in realistic settings.” You’ll become more familiar with your timing and “testing particularities.” And generally, allot plenty of time for studying, ideally “studying regularly for long intervals.” In fact, this relates to a specific trait that the most successful LSAT students possess: planning homework in advance. It’s best to make yourself a schedule, spacing the homework out. Another commendable study habit is attending every class and Q&A, and most importantly, learning from your mistakes. More than just going over the answer key to see which ones you’ve missed, it’s most productive to go back over every problem you’ve missed and figure out why. You’ll then “figure out which types of problems really give you trouble and why they give you trouble. This will allow you to recognize the mistakes that you’re making, which will prevent you from making the same mistakes the next time you see a similar problem.”
  • The University of Nevada, Las Vegas is facing a budget cut of $32.6 million, with a cut of $2.26 million for the William S. Boyd School of Law, New York Lawyer reports. While the law school will decrease its operating budget, it will have to greatly increase tuition and fees in order to make up for the rest of the cuts. The school will probably increase tuition by 15-20%, which it fears will “undermine the law school’s successful formula and render it a mediocre institution.”
  • In the Ivey Files, Anna Ivey advises to do your best to make your recommender’s life easier. For example, if sending a follow-up email, make sure to reattach all necessary forms and information again. It’s better for you to do the extra work than asking it of him/her—“make it easy for him to help you.”
  • According to New York Lawyer, George Mason University School of Law will offer a Supreme Court clinic this fall, in conjunction with the D.C. firm Wiley Rein. George Mason will be joining the ranks of at least seven other law schools that already have Supreme Court clinics: Stanford, Penn, Harvard, University of Texas, Northwestern, Yale, and the University of Virginia. Stanford started the trend in 2004, and now “all use the Stanford model to varying degrees, with private practice Supreme Court practitioners and law school faculty sharing the teaching and supervising the writing and editing of briefs by second- and third-year students.” 
  •  As reported by U.S. News, American law students have more opportunities than ever to “immerse themselves in foreign legal systems and international law.” The availability of these foreign study programs has grown over the last 10 years or so, and according to the ABA, “In 2009, at least 112 U.S. law schools collectively offered more than 255 such programs.” Students most commonly study abroad during the summer, but semester and year abroad programs are offered as well, in locations as diverse as Prague, Tokyo, or Jerusalem. While the programs can be expensive, and “may preclude a student from taking work or internship opportunities in the United States, which some fear might set them back in landing a job,” many experts believe that experience abroad can really boost a résumé.

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Filed Under: Harvard Law HLS, International, Law School Admissions, LSAT, Northwestern Law, Penn Law, Stanford Law, UVA Law, Yale Law YLS Tagged With:

College Admissions News Round Up

April 4, 2011 by

 

  • A Daily Pennsylvanian article, “Admissions turns into a family affair,” discusses the increasingly prominent role of parents in the undergraduate admissions process. Dean Eric Furda says parents play “more of a role than ever before” and that college admissions have “evolved into something of a ‘family affair.’” Furda continues: “Given the uncertainty around the college process and the amount of attention now paid to it, that’s certainly raised the level of involvement among parents. I think the nucleus of it all is still simple, though — you want the best for your child.” That being said, the article also points out that while family input is important, parents need to make sure that their kids are the ones applying, and not them.
  • Despite the increasing majority of female students on college campuses, only 23% of college presidents in the U.S. are female, reports an Inside Higher Ed article titled “What Women (Presidents) Want.” “Faculty, administration and staff levels should represent what the student body looks like,” says H. Kim Bottomly, president of Wellesley College. “If 57 percent of the student bodies are women, then there ought to be female faculty members equivalent to that…. That should be true for men and women of color, too.” A panel of female presidents (Bottomly included) gathered to discuss this imbalance and the obstacles and barriers that women face in regards to the academic leadership “pipeline.” In short, the panel concluded that women not only need to seek out leadership roles in academia, but that their involvement and membership should be sought out by the powerful committees as well.
  • India’s higher education minister, Kapil Sibal, said that he is continuing to work towards changing the country’s policy on the opening of foreign campuses on Indian soil. The goal is to give access to non-Indian education providers, and to move forward in “collaboration, not conquest.” “We are at the cusp of a new revolution [in higher education], and it will take place in India before anywhere else in the world,” Sibal said. “The information-technology industry is poised to deliver education like never before.” (Source: “India Prepares a Welcome Mat for Students and Foreign Universities,” The Chronicle of Higher Education)
  • New York University will once again be extending its campus overseas… this time to Shanghai. The new branch campus will be open to Chinese students, as well as international students (including Americans) who are interested in Chinese history, economics, and culture. NYU Shanghai will open in September 2013 with approximately 150 undergraduates. Classes will be taught in English and “in accord with the principles of academic freedom.” For more information on NYU’s new degree program, see the New York Times article, “N.Y.U. to Establish a Degree-Granting Campus in Shanghai,” and BusinessWeek‘s “NYU Opening New Campus in Shanghai.”

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Financial Times Global 2011 MBA Rankings

January 31, 2011 by

It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for—the Financial Times published its 2011 ranking of global MBA programs!

First the rankings; then some thoughts.

Top 20 Global MBA Programs (last year’s position is in parentheses)

1. London Business School – UK (1)

1. University of Pennsylvania Wharton – USA (2)

3. Harvard Business School – USA (3)

4. INSEAD – France/Singapore (5)

4. Stanford GSB – USA (4)

6. Hong Kong UST Business School – China (10)

7. Columbia Business School – USA (6)

8. IE Business School – Spain (6)

9. MIT Sloan – USA (8)

9. IESE Business School – Spain (11)

11. Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) – India (unranked)

12. Chicago Booth – USA (9)

13. Indian School of Business – India (12)

14. IMD – Switzerland (15)

15. New York University Stern – USA (13)

15. Yale School of Management – USA (16)

17. Ceibs – China (22)

18. Dartmouth Tuck – USA (13)

18. HEC Paris – France (18)

20. Duke Fuqua – USA (20)

As you see above, this year there are some surprises, although the top 5 haven’t changed much. Among the surprises:

  • Hong Kong UST vaulted to #6 from #16 two years ago and is ranked ahead of MIT Sloan, Columbia, Booth, Kellogg, and Tuck.
  • Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA), grabbed #11 – even though it wasn’t ranked previously by FT.
  • US leaders like Kellogg (#21) and Chicago (#12) and many other prominent US schools did not fare well, and tend not to do well in the FT global rankings.

A bit on the FT methodology: To be ranked, business schools need to be accredited, to have been open for at least four years, and must have at least 30 students in each class. 156 business schools fit this description this year and participated in the school survey provided. The data for rankings is collected from alumni and from the schools themselves.

To determine the top 100 schools, the following three areas are analyzed: diversity and international reach, alumni salaries and career development, and research capabilities. These three categories are then further broken down into 20 specific criteria that are further analyzed to determine the rankings.

For a more detailed description of the methodology, see “Getting to grips with the method.”

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Filed Under: Chicago, Columbia, Dartmouth Tuck, Duke Fuqua, Harvard HBS, IMD, INSEAD, International, ISB, London Business School, MBA Admissions, MIT Sloan, Northwestern Kellogg, NYU Stern, Rankings, Stanford GSB, Wharton, Yale SOM Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

London Business School Q&A: Updated Answers from the Chat

December 23, 2010 by

There were so many excellent questions for the London Business School MBA and MiF admissions directors, Peter Johnson and Karen Benge, and for the three part-time MiF students, that we didn’t have time during the Q&A to get to them all.

The representatives were kind enough to respond to the following admissions questions and more in a post-Q&A interview, and we’ve added their answers to the transcript as well:

Q: I hear so much about students entering the job force post-graduating LBS, how about entrepreneurship? How does the school help address starting or continuing a business post-MBA?

Q: How would you describe the type of student LBS is looking for? What’s one word to describe an LBS graduate?

Q: Does LBS have any specific courses or programs that focus on management in the non-profit or public sector?

Q: The length of the program is 15-21 months. How would a student finish the program in 15 months? Would this impact the possibility of benefiting from an internship or exchange? Are there more course options offered in the 21 month program? Is there a difference in program cost?

Q: Can any of the current MBA students discuss how participating in the Global Leadership Development Programme has helped developed their leadership abilities?

Additionally, here’s a sneak peek into the scintillating transcript:

Linda Abraham: Ira asks, “With regard to the various essays in the application, would you recommend a more formal professional tone, or a lighter tone that reveals some of the applicant’s personality?”

Karen Benge: I think that is a personal decision, but the importance of the essays is that we can get a sense of the individual who has applied. While I don’t recommend being very informal, I would let some personality come through so that we can get a real sense of that. There are points in the application essays where it is more appropriate to do that. For example, there is the question about involvement in the student community. Another question is not as directly related to the course and your career goals.

Peter Johnson: I 100% agree with Karen, and I’m sure it’s something that you will back up Linda, from your years of experience. It’s remarkable sometimes how little effort people put into their essays, and the essays are the most critical part of the application. It’s the short opportunity people have to sell themselves. And sometimes people actually treat it so superficially despite the fact that the rest of their application may be very strong.….. What is critical is that your real personality shines through and that we can really get a sense of who you are and what you would add to the program. So Linda, I’m sure you tell people this all the time: however much time you were planning to spend on the essays, spend twice as much.

View the full London Business School Q&A transcript (which includes the post-Q&A interview at the end) to get the answers to the above questions or to review the Q&A from the beginning. You can also download an mp3 version of the conversation and listen to the Q&A on the go!

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Filed Under: Admissions Consulting, International, Interview, London Business School, MBA Admissions Tagged With: , , , ,

MBA Specialty Rankings Unveil Possibilities for All

December 22, 2010 by

Fact: Not everyone can go to a top 10 business school. Businessweek‘s new MBA specialty rankings give the other 90% of us a solid place to begin research when you know what you want to do but can’t attend or afford a top 10 program.

Such rankings allow schools that don’t always make it to the top 10 for overall marks to finally see what it feels like to be on top regarding specific impressive elements of their program.

Top 10 U.S. MBA Programs – Accounting

1. Chicago Booth

1. Texas-Austin McCombs

3. Rochester Simon

3. Boston College Carroll

5. U. of Washington Foster

5. Vanderbilt Owen

5. Babson Olin

5. Arizona State Carey

9. Harvard Business School

10. Wharton

Top 10 U.S. MBA Programs – Finance

1. Wharton

2. Chicago Booth

3. Columbia

4. Northeastern

5. Boston College Carroll

5. Case Western Weatherhead

7. Harvard Business School

8. Minnesota Carlson

8. Wisconsin-Madison

8. George Washington

Top 10 U.S. MBA Programs – Most Innovative Curriculums

1. Stanford

2. Chicago Booth

3. Indiana Kelley

4. Yale

4. USC Marshall

4. Texas A&M Mays

4. Tulane Freeman

8. Boston University

8. Rochester Simon

8. George Washington

Top 10 U.S. MBA Programs – Most Improved

1. Georgia Tech

1. Boston University

1. Northeastern

4. Indiana Kelley

5. Wake Forest

5. Arizona State Carey

7. Dartmouth Tuck

7. Brigham Young Marriott

7. Texas A&M Mays

7. Pittsburgh Katz

For rankings based on global competition, general management, communication skills, teamwork, or operations, as well as for an analysis on how the rankings were determined, please see the BW article. There is also a section there on global MBA programs ranked by specialty.

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Filed Under: Chicago, Columbia, Dartmouth Tuck, Harvard HBS, Indiana Kelley, International, MBA Admissions, Rankings, Stanford GSB, USC Marshall, UT McCombs, Wharton, Yale SOM Tagged With: , , , , , ,

MBA Admissions News Roundup: Diversity, Jobs, and China

December 16, 2010 by

  • In a press article from last week, UC Berkeley Haas discusses the efforts it will be taking “to weave equity, inclusion, and diversity into the fabric of the business school’s programs.”  Specific initiatives include “a demonstration of the knowledge and skills necessary to navigate and lead in a diverse world by everyone on campus; an elimination of intergroup disparities in enrollment, retention, and graduation rates; and diversity among faculty and staff.” The school’s strategic diversity plan is scheduled to be completed next August.
  • A recent Wall Street Journal article discusses the challenges business school graduates are facing with regard to the still-difficult-to-penetrate job market. Fewer students are receiving multiple job offers, salaries are still not quite as high as they were pre-recession, and companies are recruiting “closer to home” to save money. For more information, view the full article which contains specific data from a GMAC survey that was conducted in September, as well as an interview with Nicole Hall, president of the MBA Career Services Council and the career services executive director for Pepperdine’s Graziadio School of Business and Management.
  • More and more non-Asian students are attending business schools in Asia, reports a CNN article, “MBA in Asia: Stepping stone into greater China.” The schools in the region (particularly in China) are becoming more attractive to western students because of the “projections of growth that are five, six, seven-times what they are for the Western world for the next decade.” Talk about growth—in the last 10 years alone the number of MBA programs in China tripled to more than 250!

Are you thinking about going global with your MBA? Download Internationalizing the MBA, a free special report, to explore the increasingly global canvas of leading MBA programs in the United States, Europe, Asia, and Africa.

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Filed Under: International, MBA Admissions, UC Berkeley Haas Tagged With: , ,

Top 10 European Business Schools: Financial Times 2010

December 9, 2010 by

The Financial Times just released its 2010 European b-school rankings, along with a number of analytical articles explaining how the results were determined. Please see “The ranking decoded” for the full list of ranking criteria, with salary data at the forefront.

10 Best European Business Schools

  1. HEC Paris
  2. London Business School
  3. INSEAD
  4. IMD
  5. IE Business School
  6. Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University
  7. ESCP Europe
  8. Esade Business School
  9. IESE Business School
  10. EM Lyon Business School

Other articles in the report of interest include:

Are you thinking about pursuing an international MBA? Check out our new special report, Internationalizing the MBA, by Accepted’s internationally-based consultant and editor, Tanis Kmetyk. (P.S. It’s free!)

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Filed Under: IMD, INSEAD, International, London Business School, Rankings Tagged With: , , , ,

MBA Admissions News Round Up

December 8, 2010 by

  • Businessweek recently published an interview with INSEAD’s dean-to-be, Dipak Jain, former dean of Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. The Q&A reveals insights into who Jain is, why he chose this top European b-school as his next post, and what he plans to contribute to the MBA market. The interview contains lots of information on Jain’s goals for expanding INSEAD’s global footprint, including developing programs in Singapore, the Middle East, and the U.S.
  • A recent study reported in Businessweek shows that CEOs with MBAs rated slightly higher than CEOs without MBAs when it came to environmental responsibility, and that they “are not, repeat not, the evil monsters everybody thinks they are.”
  • An article in the University of Pennsylvania’s Daily Pennsylvanian looks at the history of women in Wharton admissions. The article traces the evolution of the growing female population, from 15 women in the class of 1954 (the first year the school officially admitted women) to today, when women make up 40% of the student body.

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Filed Under: INSEAD, International, MBA Admissions, Wharton Tagged With: ,

College Admissions News Round Up

November 30, 2010 by

  • A Bloomberg.com article, “Obama Leads U.S. Universities to India as Yale, Duke Build Ties,” discusses the steps President Obama is taking to strengthen educational ties between the U.S. and India. Last week, Obama led a delegation of representatives from top U.S. schools to India to meet with Indian college leaders and government officials. As the demand for a top level business education increases in India, more and more American institutions are working to recruit Indian students and/or open American branch campuses on Indian soil.
  • The National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) recently surveyed its members on their opinions toward U.S. News & World Report‘s college rankings. In general, the results of the survey revealed a negative view of the rankings, many saying that they “create confusion for students and families.” For more details on how the rankings are received by college and high school advisers, please see “NACAC Issues First Report on Best Colleges Rankings.”
  • A new website, CoachGrader.com, allows current and former college athletes to grade and review their college coaches. Why submit a grade? One reason, cites the homepage to the site, is to provide info for incoming athletes so that they know what to expect. Will this particular coach push you physically? Will he or she inspire you academically? Do others recommend that you work with this person for the next four years?
  • UVA is moving to an unrestricted, nonbinding Early Admission plan for the class entering in fall 2012. According to Greg Roberts, Dean of Admissions, in Notes from Peabody, UVA’s admission blog, this decision “is the most flexible and helpful to students and families.” In a Chronicle of Higher Education article, Roberts continues to assert that “it’s the type of plan that will result in the most diverse applicant pool.”

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