If you are applying to b-school and struggling to understand how your GMAT fits into your MBA profile and the rest of your application, then you won’t want to miss this event.

During the FREE webinar, Linda Abraham, Accepted.com founder/CEO and GMAT number decoding expert, will be offering specific advice on how to prepare for the GMAT, analyze your score, determine if and when you should retake the exam, and more.

Reserve your spot for That GMAT Score: Implications for Your MBA Application now!

Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best

Check out Accepted’s newest special report, MBA In Sight: Focus on Management Consulting.

This guide will highlight the career stats, courses, clubs, research centers, and study abroad options that pave the way for a career in management consulting for graduates of these elite programs.

Download MBA In Sight: Focus on Management Consulting for free right now!







Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best

Mark your calendars and please let us know how we can help you meet your INSEAD (or any other school) goals!

For January 2014 Start Date

- June 12, 2013 – R2 application deadline
- August 7, 2013 – R3 application deadline

For September 2014 Start Date

- October 2, 2013 – R1 application deadline
- November 27, 2013 – R2 application deadline
- March 5, 2014 – R3 application deadline

The first deadline on the list (in June) is less than a month away, and the others will creep up on you shortly thereafter! It’s time to get to work on those INSEAD applications!

For specific advice on how to get into INSEAD, check out our INSEAD B-School Zone. For one-on-one guidance through the application process, see our MBA Application Packages.

Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best

Victoria Knight

Get ready to read about our next student blogger, Victoria Knight, who blogs at Let’s Get Operating. Victoria talks about her experience in MIT’s Leaders for Global Operations program. Read on for more information!

Accepted: Let’s start by getting some basics: Where are you from? Where and what did you study as an undergrad? Where did you work before heading to MIT?

Victoria: Hi Accepted.com! My name is Victoria Knight and I am a second year student in MIT’s Leaders for Global Operations program. I grew up in Massachusetts, but have also lived in Michigan for three years. I studied Architecture at MIT for my undergrad degree and, after school, I worked for an architecture firm and then in medical device manufacturing. My goal in going to graduate school was to continue to do something tangible afterwards, like manufacturing, rather than make a career transition to finance or something like that.

Accepted: Can you tell us about the dual degree you’re pursuing and about the Leaders for Global Operations program you’re in?

Victoria: Leaders for Global Operations (LGO), is a dual degree program between MIT’s Sloan School of Business and MIT’s School of Engineering. It requires a minimum of two years of work experience and was founded 25 years ago with the goal of supporting US manufacturing excellence. It is now more global and also has a focus on operations. After 24 months (18 months of classes and six months of internship), students graduate from the program with a MBA and a MS in an engineering department of their choice. You do have to write a thesis.

I chose Engineering Systems Division (ESD) for my engineering master’s. ESD is a department which covers lots of things, most of which I characterize as “meta engineering” – they look at high level systems problems. These can be anything from supply chain issues and transportation network planning to technology policy. Many of the classes I take are cross-listed in the Mechanical Engineering department.

Accepted: What is your favorite thing about MIT? Least favorite?

Victoria: My favorite thing about MIT is that it is impossible to be bored. Where MIT could most improve is probably is helping people find out about all the cool stuff that is going on and all the resources the campus (or their website) has to offer. I continue to learn about new offices, programs, lecture series, services, etc. that I never knew about before. I did not even know about LGO while I was at MIT for undergrad; I only found out about it in a young alumni email.

Accepted: What is your favorite class?

Victoria: My favorite class that I have taken as part of LGO would have to be a seminar called Lion Teams – we split into teams and acted as consultants for manufacturing companies in China. As part of the class, we visited these companies in China and complete additional on-site work. That was the first time I had been to Asia and it was a fantastic real world opportunity. I think it also gave me useful credibility for my position at Corning Incorporated.

Accepted: Congrats on your job offer! What will you be doing at Corning Incorporated? How did MIT help you find or secure that position?

Victoria: I will start there in mid-July and will be working on manufacturing strategy for their displays division. A large portion of my job will be visiting Corning’s manufacturing plants, many of which are in Asia, and completing analyses for them related to cost, capacity, etc.

I originally applied for a general strategy position at Corning which was listed on MIT Sloan’s Career website. To prep for my interviews I contacted a recent MIT Sloan alumnus who had worked in that role to get more background on the position and the company. After my on-site interview, the HR person from Corning suggested me for this manufacturing focused strategy position and which is the one I ultimately accepted. So, I would say that MIT helped me make the initial connection, but Corning worked to coordinate the final match.

Accepted: Why did you decide to blog about your grad school journey? What have you gained from the experience?

Victoria: I decided to blog about my LGO/grad school experience because of three things:

1. Reading current LGO student blogs was very helpful and important to me in learning more about the program; I wanted to continue that tradition.
2. As an MIT undergrad alumna, I felt that I could add extra information to my blog about how to make the most of campus and things in the Boston/Cambridge area that other LGOs could not.
3. I had kept a personal blog for three years before beginning LGO and so it was something I felt comfortable continuing.

Benefits that have come or will come from my blogging experience are: awesome satisfaction when an applicant tells me that my blog helped them decide to come to LGO, getting to share more about a school I love and finally, having a great set of “memories” written out that I can refer to in the future. I printed the personal blog that I had referenced earlier in a book form and intend to do the same for Let’s Get Operating.

Since I found out about LGO, to some extent, by chance, I am very happy that Accepted.com asked to interview me and that I could help more people learn about the program.

Do you want to be featured in Accepted.com’s blog, Accepted Admissions Blog? If you want to share your MBA/EMBA journey with the world (or at least with our readers), email us at mbabloggers@accepted.com.







Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best

So all you Stitcher people: run, don’t walk, to your nearest iPhone, Androiod, iPad, or PC and join Linda for a bi-weekly discussion of what’s new, thought-provoking, and useful in the world of graduate admissions.

• Former McKinsey consultant, resume screener, and case interviewer.
• Passed 60 out of 61 case interviews and landed 7 consulting job offers.
• Author of Case Interview Secrets, an extremely clear and well-written book on excelling in case interviews.
• Since 2003, strategic adviser and consultant to owners of mid-size business in service or web- based industries with $1M – $25M in sales.
• Speaker and expert on business issues turned to by media outlets including TIME, The Wall Street Journal, Inc, Fortune, and others.

I plan to focus this segment of Admissions Straight Talk on preparation for a career in management consulting.  I have a bunch of questions I know I want answers to, but I am also wondering:

What would you like me to ask Victor? What would you ask him if you could?

Please put those suggestions, requests, and questions in comments below. Don’t be shy. I am asking this same question in various social media too.

I’ll take the ones I’m dying to ask along with the best ones you send me, and they will be the building blocks of the next Admissions Straight Talk podcast.

We’ll post the segment here on Thursday May 23. To make sure you don’t miss it or any other segments of Admissions Straight Talk, the podcast for graduate school applicants, please subscribe:

• iTunes
• Stitcher
• Accepted’s blog

It can’t be easier, just put your questions in a comment below.

Examine the details of your scores and reflect on them in the context of a bigger picture.

A low GMAT score or a low GPA is not necessarily an MBA deal breaker. No adcom is going to admit or dismiss a candidate based solely on one semester’s poor GPA or a low verbal GMAT score without also reflecting on other numbers as well as the rest of the non-quantitative parts of the applicant’s profile. Average numbers vary according to school, as well as numbers within your demographic group. You should examine each of these aspects needs and weigh the strengths and weaknesses in your application before you can really start to worry. And once you’re worrying, figure out how to respond to those concerns.

That being said, there are certain numbers that will be significant hurdles. Say, for instance, you have a GPA of 2.9 and your top choice MBA program’s GPA average is 3.5. In such a case, your chances of acceptance have just taken a major hit. If, on the other hand, that same applicant applies to a b-school with a GPA average of 3.2, then he or she may have a chance of acceptance, provided, the rest of the application is solid, or better yet, above average.

Here’s another “it depends” situation: Overrepresented demographics—Indian engineers or investment bankers from over-represented ethnicities—will have a harder time getting into a top MBA program than a corporate finance executive from an under-represented background with the same stats. In such a case, a GMAT score in the lower part of the school’s 80% range and a GPA of 3.3 may be just too low for one person and just high enough for another.

The point is, you need to examine the details of your scores and reflect on them in the context of a bigger picture. Ask yourself these questions:

•    Is one score low, but balanced out by other higher numbers? Can you provide other evidence of academic ability?
•    Did your overall GPA improve as you matured through the college experience?
•    Do you have flawlessly-written, compelling essays that prove your strong writing and communication skills despite a somewhat lower-than-average GMAT verbal score?
•    Do you offer specific examples and anecdotes in your essays that highlight your quantitative skills, even though your GMAT quant scores weren’t as high as you’d like?
•    Do your recommenders vouch for your abilities—especially ones that the numbers don’t reveal?
•    Have you chosen schools that will view your scores as competitive?
•    Have you taken additional college courses in an attempt to boost your quant or verbal capabilities?
•    Have you written the optional essay to further boost your competitive edge?

You need to assess and interpret how you’ll be perceived with such scores and numbers, and then develop an application strategy to address those issues.









Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best

Deadlines Loom Ahead!

Okay, not really – you still have some time, but we wanted to get your attention .

Columbia Business School has a few different deadlines, each depending on when you plan on starting – in August or in January.

Take note:

• If you are planning on an August 2014 entry (as 70% of students do), then you’re looking at an early decision deadline in early October (2013) or a regular decision deadline in April (2014).
• If you opt for a January start date, then your application deadline is in early October (2013).

See the CBS site for more info.

For specific advice on how to get into CBS, check out our Columbia B-School Zone. For one-on-one guidance through the application process, see our MBA Application Packages.

Those October deadlines will be here before you know it, so hurry up and tackle those applications!








Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best

Those who have served in the military have a range of options for financing their MBA education.

Active duty service members and veterans who are pursing academic opportunities can turn to benefits offered by the military. Many service members take advantage of benefits to finance their education, either while they are serving or shortly afterwards.

Active duty members can use their benefits to expand their opportunities for new assignments and promotions, and, in some cases, to gain access to an officer candidate program.

Veterans can use their benefits to secure higher-paying positions when transitioning to the civilian world. In 2011, the average starting salary of an MBA recipient was more than two times higher than the average starting salary of someone who only held a BA. A graduate degree like an MBA can help veterans and service members advance their careers by developing knowledge and leadership skills that will benefit both their civilian and military careers.

Those who have served in the military have a range of options for financing their MBA education. Education benefit programs include Chapter 33 Post 9/11, Chapter 30 Montgomery GI Bill and the GI Bill Kicker.

The Chapter 33 Post 9/11 GI Bill is typically for individuals with 90 days of consecutive active duty service on or after Sept. 11, 2001. Disabled veterans discharged from active duty after 30 days also are eligible. This benefit includes funds for tuition, as well as a housing allowance and a book stipend. Service members might find that the availability of funds is greater under this allowance.

The Chapter 30 Montgomery GI Bill provides an educational supplement on a monthly basis. The current maximum benefit for a full-time graduate student is $1,564 per month, while the current maximum monthly benefit for a part-time graduate student is $782. Most veterans who receive an honorable discharge from the service are eligible for the Montgomery GI Bill. Basic eligibility requirements for the Montgomery GI Bill can be found on Military.com. In the event that the service member is unable to collect on hir or educational benefits, a family member might be able to collect in their place. All Montgomery GI Bill eligibility expires 10 years after the service member leaves the military.

The GI Bill Kicker, sometimes called the Army, Navy or Marine Corps College Fund, is offered to most enlisted service members who sign up for the Montgomery GI Bill program. The GI Bill kicker usually is offered as a bonus for taking specific high-need jobs in the military, such as positions in Special Ops, Communications, Military Intelligence and the Signal Corp. When a service member selects the kicker, his or her monthly benefit can increase by $950 per month.

The maximum possible lifetime benefit with the Montgomery GI Bill and the GI Bill Kicker is more than $87,000. These benefits could reduce the need for high-cost loans and debt. Veterans can determine their eligibility by completing the Veterans Online Application (VONAPP) through the Department of Veterans Affairs. Typically the process takes six–eight weeks. Active duty and veteran service members should always consult their education center and the Department of Veterans Affairs, respectively, to identify their funding options.

Earning an MBA can double one’s earning capacity while developing crucial skills for military and post-military success. However, tuition expenses at top schools can seem overwhelming at first glance. Fortunately, most veterans have a range of options to finance their graduate business education. To learn more about the options available to MBA@UNC students, visit our Veterans Benefits page. With options like Chapter 33 Post 9/11, Chapter 30 Montgomery GI Bill and the GI Bill kicker, active duty service member or veteran seeking a high-quality education from a respected institution will face fewer financial limitations to achieving their goals.

This blog post originally appeared on onlinemba.unc.edu.

The MBA@UNC is an innovative online MBA program offered by UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School that continues the school’s tradition of excellence embodied by each of our on-campus programs.

What’s different is how we deliver MBA@UNC. Blending state-of-the-art social technologies, prestigious faculty and rigorous course content, MBA@UNC gives working professionals anywhere in the world the flexibility of an online program combined with the top-quality business education offered on UNC’s campus.

Never post any comments or pictures that you wouldn’t want everyone in the world to see.

When Kaplan Test Prep released the results of its survey of business school admissions officers, revealing that 32% of business school admissions officers performed internet searches on applicants, 27% visited an applicant’s social media (Facebook, Myspace, etc.) page, and 10% had found something online that negatively impacted an applicant’s admission chances, applicants around the world collectively shuddered. Not only do we have to consider every comma and turn of phrase in the applications themselves, now we have to worry about what we may have posted online in the past as well?! YES! Here are a few tips to consider when using Facebook given these stark statistics.

1. Make sure that your Facebook profile is for Friends only (and not open to Friends of Friends or Everyone), and also remember to check that you’ve selected this option for every picture that you post.

2. As a general rule, never post any comments or pictures that you wouldn’t want everyone in the world to see. That way no one of your closest 1300 friends who is offended by your post can simply take a screenshot of it for global dissemination. Think very hard before using Facebook as a forum to comment on a political matter, your satisfaction with your job, your affinity for a particular teacher or supervisor, etc. Go through now and delete any questionable posts.

3. Even if your Facebook profile is private and viewable only to Friends, you need to keep in mind that some things are viewable by anyone on Facebook: all of the data you’ve entered in Basic Information, the names of Groups you’re a member of, the pages you’ve Liked, all of the pictures you’ve saved as Profile or Cover Photos, and any pictures or comments you’ve posted to an open group. Be conservative in your Group memberships and contributions to open groups, and delete any cover or profile photos that you don’t want in your application file.

 Jennifer Bloom has been successfully helping applicants demonstrate their readiness for the top MBA programs around the world for 14 years. 

Columbia Business School

Last week Wharton alum and longtime Columbia board and community member Ronald O. Perelman donated $100 to Columbia Business School.

The gift will help fund new programs on the new CBS Manhattanville campus. One of the two buildings on the new campus will be named for Perelman – the Ronald O. Perelman Center for Business Innovation. The building will be lay opposite the Henry R. Kravis Building, a building named for a donor of the same $100 million amount in 2010.

Last year Perelman donated $25 million to UPenn to create the Center for Public Science and Economics, and another $20 to UPenn’s new Perelman Quadrangle.

In a Poets & Quants article on the donation, Glenn Hubbard, dean of CBS says:  “The Perelman Center will allow Columbia Business School to continue pioneering breakthroughs in management education, such as moving beyond functional expertise or siloed learning and ensuring a more integrated curriculum for our students. It will help us create the classrooms of tomorrow and foster an even greater collaborative spirit among recruiters, students, alumni, and faculty members, paving the way for a stronger network and more meaningful outcomes for our community.”

For more info, you can check out the P&Q post, as well as a New York Times article, “Perelman Pledges $100 Million to Columbia Business School.”

You can read an article on the largest b-school donations by heading here: “Largest Donors to Business Schools,” also on Poets & Quants.








Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best

Have a couple of thoughtful questions about the program for each school you visit.

Applying to MBA programs this coming fall or winter? Then probably you’re planning to meet with MBA admission committee members at various types of events – school visits, MBA fairs, school receptions, etc. – as part of that process. An ideal time for school visits is in fall, when classes resume. The other types of events may occur anytime, as early as summer. So it’s not too soon to start preparing.

Adcoms also are preparing for you – in their interactions with prospective applicants they look to get an early read of your “social intelligence.”

Here are some tips to make a positive first impression while also getting the most out of the visits for your own informational and decision-making needs.

1. Polish up your resume to bring with you. You can always refine or modify it later if need be. Sometimes you may have a chance to show it to an adcom member or a current student willing to given feedback on your competitiveness for the program.

2. Have your overall “goals story” on the tip of your tongue. Most visiting applicants will have a sentence (“My goal is to become an IT manager in finance and eventually CIO). The goals story includes another sentence that includes why you have these goals (your motivation) and your vision for what you want to achieve (often these two elements are inter-related). This mini story will enable you to engage more meaningfully with adcoms or students – people will care about your goals when they know why you want to do it!

3. Have a couple of thoughtful questions about the program for each school you visit – ideally queries related to your learning and career needs. It never hurts to show ‘em the love. Moreover, your ability and willingness to identify your specific developmental needs reflects maturity.

4. Request contact info to facilitate follow-up when meeting students from your target schools. There are all kinds of opportunities to learn more about the program from students (for example, one student may connect you to a classmate who leads a club of interest to you) – gaining unique and fresh insights that can greatly enhance your essays.

5. Review my recent post on creating an elevator pitch and prepare one. In response to questions I was getting from clients, I wrote a post about creating an elevator pitch for visiting schools – it’s advice I still endorse.

The modest preparation sketched above will yield rich rewards: good impressions on adcoms, fruitful contacts with students, and deeper knowledge of the programs to fuel your decision making and propel your essay writing. Happy travels!








By Cindy Tokumitsu, author of numerous ebooks, articles, and special reports. Cindy has advised hundreds of successful applicants in her last thirteen years with Accepted. She can help you assess your strengths and weaknesses and develop a winning MBA admissions strategy.

You will require more than one night of preparation—regardless of how many cups of coffee you drink.

Studying for a test is easy. Right? You burn the midnight oil, pouring through a textbook, your class notes by your side. As long as you get a pint-sized cup of coffee in the morning, you should probably knock out a ‘B+’—before crashing a few hours later.

The GRE is very different. Achieving a high score is far more elusive than merely flipping through a book. You will surely require more than one night of preparation—regardless of how many cups of coffee you quaff.

Knowing how long to study for the GRE and how much to study are important questions to consider. In regards to the first question there is no easy answer. Two weeks to six-months is a range that will accommodate 99% of test takers. How hard the GRE is for you (basically your baseline score), how much time you can study each day, and the competitiveness of the program you are applying to are just a few of the other important factors to consider.

The GRE is important so regardless of the amount of time you study, you want to use the best resources. Below is a list of the best GRE books and resources, which will sustain you, whether during a two-week study tornado, or on your six-month quest to become a GRE guru and get you that hard earned and well-above average GRE score.

Manhattan 5 lbs. Book

This massive trove of questions will definitely keep you busy for a while. The quant is especially excellent, with each of the concepts given its own chapter and dozens of practice questions (if combinations have got you down, the practice in this book will bring you out of the quant doldrums).

The Official Guide to the GRE

No one quite writes GRE questions the way ETS does, the company responsible for creating the test. The official guide not only gives you plenty of practice questions, but you also get access to four full-length tests. Simply put, there is no better way to prepare for the test than this book.

GRE word lists

Don’t waste your time on a GRE word list with vocabulary randomly thrown together (or worse, in alphabetical order), with vague definitions to boot. Using a word list that places words into useful categories, offers memorable example sentence(s) for each word, or chooses words likely to show up on the test is the way to go.

Barron’s 1100 Words has most of the above, and more. Of course, it’s not a traditional word list, but more of a vocabulary exercise book replete with quizzes, crosswords, and context identification exercises.

To be fair, some of the definitions are vague and you’ll need more elaboration. That allows me to segue to my next recommendation: wordnik.com. It is not a word list per se, but rather a website that provides not only definitions drawn from a variety of dictionaries but also example sentences from a wide variety of sources. Anytime you need more clarification on a word, look no further than wordnik.com.

Manhattan GRE (MGRE) guides

If you are starting out, and want to feel as though a patient, adept tutor is walking you through the fundamentals of the GRE, look no further than the MGRE guides, which are a collection of eight books, broken down by math and verbal concepts. Purchase of any one book will also give you access to MGRE 6 on-line tests, a great way to prepare for test day.

Magoosh

For those who learn best online—or who are simply on-the-go and/or can’t afford a class—Magoosh provides the same comprehensive, robust prep as Manhattan GRE, but all in one tidy, easy-to-use website. A dashboard allows you to track your progress and pinpoint your weak areas. Magoosh is a veritable virtual tutor at your fingertips.

This post was written by Chris Lele, resident GRE expert at Magoosh. For more advice on taking the GRE, check out Magoosh’s GRE blog.

Here’s a talk with Tom, a SoFi scholar and current student at Columbia Business School. Tom is a U.S. Army veteran who loves b-school so much, that’s he’s trying to extend his education and stay for another year! Read on for some excellent advice about applying to Columbia (or to b-school in general). Thanks Tom!  

Accepted: Let’s start by getting some background info: Where are you from? Where and what did you study as an undergrad?

Tom: I’m from the Bay Area in California (Newark) and went to the military academy at West Point for undergrad.

Accepted: How did your experience in the U.S. Army lead to you wanting to pursue an MBA?

Tom: I helped with development and created jobs by hiring local nationals in Afghanistan during one of my deployments. I guess that planted the seed. I was involved with the basics of monitoring cash flows, reviewing business agreements, and negotiating contracts—albeit in more simplistic, yet arduous conditions than the confines of graduate school. I also enjoyed managing people, resources, and projects. If I wanted to leave the Army and continue to do those things without taking too much of a step backwards in my career, then an MBA was crucial.

Accepted: Was the transition from military life to student life difficult?

Tom: I don’t think I had a difficult time with the transition. I fully embraced being a civilian and tried not to compare the new environment with the one in the past. Military life and civilian life is completely different—I think those who struggle with the transition often forget about that and want to resist the change as much as they can. I also laid out the foundations of my transition by being proactive with networking and reaching out to various mentors who were more than willing to help me along the way. Months before transition, I did everything I could to prepare myself for what laid ahead. It was like training for a marathon. Transition is a total mental and physical process that requires the same level of devotion.

Accepted: Can you tell us about your experience with SoFi? How did you find the organization? How have they helped you in your b-school journey?

Tom: A fellow veteran & friend of mine recommended that I check out the company. He knew I was interested in working in technology and in the startup scene. I researched SoFi and was amazed by how they were turning an inefficient and antiquated model upside-down. I got excited and after a few phone calls and e-mails, was able to help them out as a MBA student ambassador here at Columbia Business School. They’ve been so great to work with and it’s a model that I’m completely confident in—so much so that I took out a loan through them as soon as I could. This past December, they even hosted a few students at Columbia during an education-startup networking event. It was a great turnout and really started generating the conversation about disrupting outdated models and looking into working either within the social impacting sectors or with startups.

Accepted: What do you plan on doing once you receive your MBA?

Tom: Try to see if I can extend my MBA for another year .

Accepted: What was your admissions experience like as an “older” applicant? And what is your current experience like as an older student?

Tom: I don’t necessarily feel different as an older candidate. I think we reference old as being more experienced, but younger candidates/students can have or bring the same amount of experience as older ones. I know there’s a perception that older candidates will have a harder time being accepted into business school. I can’t say definitively that statement is true. But if you have relevant experience under your belt and understand your projected career demographics, age shouldn’t be an issue. If you see that it is, then you need to re-evaluate whether business school is the right thing to do based on your timeline (specifically for career changers).

Accepted: What is your favorite thing about Columbia Business School? Least favorite thing?

Tom: The people are amazing, bar none. As a veteran who puts a high standard on personal relationships like those established in the military, Columbia has exceeded my expectations. Whoever said Columbia students are cut-throat clearly never set foot on the campus here. Also, location, location, location! I can see a Broadway play on a random Wednesday night, have sushi delivered to my door in 15 minutes, or jog in Central Park. Plus, it’s pretty cool to say that you live in New York City! Least Favorite—Too many options, not enough time to do them all.

Accepted: Can you share some admissions advice for applicants who may be applying to Columbia Business School (or general advice)?

Tom: Start early! The MBA application process is a journey in itself as you reflect on your strengths, weaknesses, career goals, and personal motivations. Second, schedule on your calendar—literally—an hour or two daily, weekly, or whatever to work on your application. You’ll tend to do it if it’s actually blocked off instead of just mentally telling yourself you’ll do it. Third, Columbia has a rolling admissions policy—it’s always better to submit your application in early rather than at deadlines. Plus, nothing’s better than to have your admission’s decision in before the holiday season rolls around.

Do you want to be featured in Accepted.com’s blog, Accepted Admissions Blog? If you want to share your MBA/EMBA journey with the world (or at least with our readers), email us at mbabloggers@accepted.com.

Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best

You have 2 more days (TODAY and TOMORROW) to celebrate Linda’s birthday and save 50% on all Accepted.com books! Don’t miss out on this opportunity to stock up on the books that will help you get accepted to b-school, law school, med school, grad school, or college! (P.S. Linda’s book, MBA Admission for Smarties, is included in the sale!) To receive your discount, just enter SAVE50 at checkout through Saturaday, May 11th, 2013.

Happy shopping!

Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best

1. SoFi  – This is a “peer-to-peer” lender that allows b-school alumni to provide loans to international students from their home countries. Interest rates are about 6%. (CommonBond is a similar peer-to-peer option.)

2. Pave – This crowdfunding start-up lets students raise funds from backers who will receive a share of future income as an investment. (A similar crowdfunding option is Upstart.)

See the FT’s article “Overseas students are lent a financial helping hand” for more details on these.







Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best

Harvard Business School

The Blavatnik Family Foundation donated $50 million to Harvard University to launch the development of a major initiative to support early-stage breakthrough therapies and cure of diseases, reports a recent article in the Harvard Gazette.

The gift will create the Blavatnik Biomedical Accelerator to identify new technologies and prepare them for commercial development and licensing, as well as the Blavatnik Fellowship in Life Sciences Entrepreneurship Program at HBS. This program will provide MBA students with life science entrepreneur experience through exposure to the work done through the Accelerator.

The Blavatnik Family Foundation is headed by Harvard Business School alum Len Blavatnik (MBA ’89). “By partnering with Harvard’s world-class biomedical research division, I am delighted to help accelerate the development of new therapies,” says Blavatnik. “Moreover, by increasing the collaborative efforts between Harvard Business School and Harvard’s scientific community, we will empower the next generation of life science entrepreneurs and provide a further catalyst for innovation and research development.”

The dean of HBS, Nitin Nohria adds, “By bringing together expertise and experience from across Harvard, the Accelerator and the HBS Fellows program will further enhance Harvard’s commitment to innovative research and entrepreneurship. With student interest in entrepreneurship at an all-time high and with the resources of the University’s Innovation Lab and HBS’s Arthur Rock Center for Entrepreneurship at the ready, we are well positioned to make the most of this generous gift from the Blavatnik Family Foundation.”

See the Harvard Gazette article for more info.







Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best

Hi everyone! It’s me, Linda Abraham, CEO and founder of Accepted.com, and today is my birthday.

For me, birthdays are a time to appreciate life and the people around me who have contributed to making my life special. It’s also a time to celebrate, and I’d like to do that with you by offering you 50% off Accepted.com’s entire stock of books and ebooks!

For 5 days only (Monday, May 6 – Saturday, May 11), you can use coupon code SAVE50 at checkout to save big on all our admissions books.

Visit our bookstore now!

Happy birthday to me and happy shopping to you!

By Linda Abraham, president and founder of Accepted.com and co-author of the new, definitive book on MBA admissions, MBA Admission for Smarties: The No-Nonsense Guide to Acceptance at Top Business Schools.

IMD in Lausanne, Switzerland, offers a 1-year MBA program focused on general management and leadership. While there are only 90 students in each class, the diversity among that class is wide: students hail from 45 countries: 43% from throughout Europe, 26% from Asia, 11% from the Middle East and Africa, 9% from North America, 8% from South America, and 3% from Oceania (Australia/New Zealand and the surrounding islands). Unlike programs in the US, which tend to build the bulk of their classes from students aged 26-28, IMD’s average student age is 31.

Graduates of IMD tend do very well in their careers after the program: the average graduate salary is over $142,000 per year. 75% of the class join industry (including Consumer Products, Industrial Products, Technology, Healthcare, and Energy) when they graduate, 20% enter Consulting, and 5% pursue Financial Services careers. IMD enjoys a global reputation that affords its graduates some flexibility in their career destinations: while 63% of the class remain in Europe after graduating, 23% find employment in Asia, 8% in the Africa or the Middle East, and 6% in North or South America. IMD is consistently ranked among the top programs in the world: BusinessWeek ranks it #9 among international programs, the Financial Times ranks it #19, and Forbes named it the best 1-year international MBA program.

Essay Questions:

1. What do you consider to be your single most important achievement and why? (1500 characters)

Your single most important achievement should ideally show impact, leadership, and cross-cultural and cross-functional savvy. If you can’t have all the above, make sure you have at least two.

You have room here (1500 characters is approximately 250 words) for a concise story but it must engage the reader and convey the “why” and not just the “what.”

You may want to review a few of these resources before writing:

• Five Fatal Flaws to Avoid in Your MBA Essay
• Leadership in Admissions, a free special report.
• Insights into Common MBA Essay Topics

2. Please comment on a situation where your leadership skills proved to be inadequate and what you learned. (1500 characters)

Briefly describe the inadequacy – and make it a real one – a time when you really blew it. Take responsibility for your actions and show self-awareness. Discuss lessons learned and how you implemented those lessons successfully in similar, more recent situations. 

3. IMD develops global leaders…what does global leadership mean to you? (1500 characters)

This essay is your opportunity to briefly summarize your ideas on what it takes to be a global leader and share an example of your own cross-cultural, cross-border leadership.

4. Give us four bullet points that clearly differentiate you, that identify your unique contributions to the program. (1500 characters)

Your MBA essays up to this point are probably very professionally focused. Several of the bullet points could be personal. IMD wants to know about you as a person, as well as you as a professional. This may be a great place to inform the reader of distinctive features in your background or personal life since your resume and the other essays will have already told them about unusual aspects of your professional life. 

5. Give an example of the most unexpected thing that you’ve ever learned. (1500 characters)

I love a wild card question like this one: what a gift! Here’s your opportunity to talk about anything in your background that’s interesting as long as it highlights one of the seven qualities that the admissions committee wants to hear about. To make the essay interesting, you could start by describing the learning experience itself and then reflect on how this has changed your actions or methods since then.

6.
A. For people who are planning to consider new jobs and/or organizations after the MBA: Please give us your short term career goal post-MBA. Which function, industry and geography do you see yourself working in? Are these changes for you, and, if so, why? How will you approach your job search? (1500 characters)

This is a forward-looking, connect-the-dots MBA goals question with a twist. To answer this question, you need to know what you want to do after you complete IMD’s short, intense program, and you also need to explain how you plan to move into that position. You need to know what IMD career services offers and how you will use and supplement those services.

OR

B. For people who are company-sponsored, confirmed going back to their previous company, entrepreneurs planning to go back to their own firm, and/or members of a family who are planning to work for the family business after graduation: Please let us know your short-term career goals and plans after your MBA. (1500 characters)

Even when your future is “assured” with an offer or clear career path after the program, you need to demonstrate to the admissions committee that you have a purpose and a plan. In this essay, you need to explain what impact you hope to make on the company and how you plan to do that.

7. Additional Optional Essay: Is there any additional information that is critical for the Admissions Committee to know which has not been covered elsewhere in this application? (Optional essay). (1500 characters)

With IMD’s seven essays, this may be the one application where the optional essay is really unnecessary. Nonetheless, if you have something to explain – a low GPA, low GMAT, a gap in employment, etc. – or something to add, this is the place to do it.

If you would like professional guidance with your IMD MBA application, please consider Accepted’s MBA essay editing and MBA admissions consulting or our  MBA Application Packages, which include advising, editing, interview coaching, and a resume edit for the IMD MBA application.

IMD 2014 Application Deadlines

February 1, April 1, June 1, August 1 and September 1.

*While you can choose any of our application deadlines, we encourage you to apply as early as possible.
Apply for the February 1st or April 1st deadline to have the option of being interviewed in Singapore.
Apply for one of the first four deadlines if you are a citizen of a country that requires a visa process of over 6-8 weeks. (We recommend that you check with your local embassy, especially if you are bringing your family with you as this can prolong the process.)

By Jennifer Bloom is a Certified Professional Resume Writer and is available now to create an easy-to-read document that highlights your exceptionality. Creating this document now will help you see where you need to generate more content – i.e., take more action – before the fall deadlines .

Take the MBA Search Survey, and win $100 and our sincere gratitude! The anonymous data will be shared with admissions officers from top programs. Make your voice heard!

We’d like to invite all of our MBA readers to share their school selection priorities and views on the MBA application process.

The survey should take no more than 10 minutes to complete. Please complete it by May 15th, 2013. Everyone completing the survey will be entered to win one of three VISA gift cards (contact email will be used for prize purposes only). We’ll also be sharing the results of the survey this spring to help candidates better understand the nature of today’s applicant pool.

Click here to take our MBA prospect survey.

Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best

It sounds like you could use some expert advice.

Join us on Wednesday, May 22, 2013 at 5:00 PM PT / 8:00 PM ET for That GMAT Score: Implications for Your MBA Application, a free webinar during which we will explore the intricacies of GMAT scoring and answer the questions above.

Spaces are limited – reserve your spot for That GMAT Score: Implications for Your MBA Application now!

  Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best

It’s been an interesting few weeks.

Starting with the day of the Boston Marathon a little over two weeks ago, I have seen and heard amazing stories of resilience and fortitude. And no, I was not in or even near Boston. As a city, it has demonstrated those qualities, and those injured in the bombing and grieving for lost loved ones will need even more strength in the weeks, months, and years to come.

Coincidentally that night I went to see the movie, No Place on Earth. It is a documentary narrated by the people who lived it: six elderly Holocaust survivors who hid in a cave for over a year and a half. Actors act out the scenes. The elderly people, who have since lived seemingly normal lives, raised children, and enjoyed the privilege of seeing grandchildren and in some cases great–grandchildren, relate an amazing story of fortitude and resilience brilliantly presented in this outstanding movie.

Then two weeks later, I traveled with my 83-year-old mother, herself a Holocaust survivor, and attended the 20th anniversary of the founding of the U.S. Holocaust Museum. Here we again heard stories of courage and heroism as the conference honored survivors, veterans who liberated Europe, and rescuers who saved the persecuted. We heard from Nobel laureate, Elie Wiesel, President Bill Clinton, aged veterans, survivors, and rescuers. Most of the honorees are in their 80’s and 90’s. Almost all were accompanied by their children and grandchildren. The younger generations’ attendance evidenced their elders’ resilience – their ability to move forward and rebuild their lives.

Former Buchenwald prisoner, Elie Wiesel, represented the survivors and spoke movingly of how he and 400+ orphans freed from that hell on earth and sent to a children’s home in France after World War II, should have been emotional cripples. All 400+ became doctors, lawyers, teachers, tradespeople, rabbis, leaders, businesspeople, and writers. Despite the scars, they moved on. Despite the pain, they picked up the pieces of their lives. Refusing to be victims, they became survivors.

Similarly the Stermer family from No Place on Earth emerged from their cave, literally dusted themselves off (layers of dirt), and began their lives anew. They moved to the U.S. and Canada, built businesses, and had families. They moved on.

On some level the people of Boston demonstrated that same strength after their week of horror as they resumed their lives.

From the depths of my heart I hope that none of you have been tested in the way that those whose lives were torn apart by World War II were tested, but I know that’s not true. Some of you have been persecuted. Some of you are vets. Some are heroes. Your ability to recover despite the pain or the scars defines the difference between a tragic victim and a resilient survivor.

For the rest of you — the lucky ones who haven’t endured the horrors of war or genocide, lived in a cave for a year and a half, or been under lock-down in a city in the grip of a murderous terror attack – you too can demonstrate that endurance.

What does resilience mean for applicants leading blessed lives with more pedestrian challenges, frustrations, and aggravations and having to answer questions either in an essay or interview about failure, setbacks, or mistakes? It means showing through examples that you have the ability to come back, learn, and move forward. It means that after your leg, broken in a skiing accident, heals, you return to the slopes. It means that after your first “patient” dies, you continue with your plans to be a doctor. It means that after your start-up fails, you resolve to get an MBA so that you can successfully manage your next business.

When asked about failures, setbacks, and mistakes, you just have to show that you have the strength and courage to deal with events within and beyond your control, to recover from disappointment and failure, and to pick yourself up, hopefully learn from the experience, and yes, move on. That’s resilience.








By Linda Abraham, president and founder of Accepted.com and co-author of the new, definitive book on MBA admissions, MBA Admission for Smarties: The No-Nonsense Guide to Acceptance at Top Business Schools.

Your final opportunity to put your best verbal face forward.

Recently I talked about overcoming the challenge of a low GMAT quant score. Today we’ll discuss how to handle a less-than-perfect verbal score.

With such a strong emphasis on teamwork and communication in b-school (and for the rest of your life as a successful businessperson), it’s no wonder that stellar written and spoken verbal skills are essential for MBA students.

If your verbal GMAT score is low (in the bottom of the 80% range or lower for your target programs), then you will need to construct expressive, flawlessly written essays. Maybe you couldn’t prove it with your test performance, but now’s your final opportunity to put your best verbal face forward. In addition, be sure to include examples and anecdotes that highlight your solid communication skills.

There are two more steps you can take if you’re worried that your low verbal score may interfere with your chances of acceptance:

• You can enroll in additional writing and/or communications courses at a local college (and earn As). This option is particularly important if you’ve received low grades in your college English courses in addition to scoring poorly on the GMAT.
• You can ask your recommenders to comment positively on your written and verbal communication skills.

Read other articles in this series:

• How to Approach the Quantitative Aspects of Your MBA Application
• How to Handle a Low GMAT Quant Score

Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best

“I was the odd shaped piece, the creative piece.”

Here’s a talk with Josh Howatt who was recently accepted an offer to join the CMU Tepper class of 2015. Josh blogs at Taking on Tepper. Thank you Josh for sharing your story with us…and congrats on your acceptance!

This interview is the latest in an Accepted.com blog series featuring interviews with current MBA students, offering readers a behind-the-scenes look at top MBA programs. We hope to offer you a candid picture of student life, and what you should consider as you prepare your MBA application.

Accepted: First, can you tell us a bit about yourself: Where are you from? Where and what did you study as an undergrad? What other degrees do you hold?

Josh: Well…I was born and raised in Orange County, California. I attended the University of California – Irvine, and originally entered with the intention of graduating Pre-Med. However, after a few semesters, I realized that my heart really wasn’t in the medical field. So I went were my heart called, which at that time was Theater and Music (I had been playing piano since I was 4 years old). After graduation, I moved to New York City in pursuit of a myriad of creative enterprises: I created a freelance graphic design business, became a published writer, and the typical New York casualty of singer-songwriter. After 5 or so years of admittedly floundering, I decided it was time to do something with my career and began to consider going back to school and getting my MBA. At first I assumed this was a lost cause, being that I was such an untraditional candidate; but as it turns out, many of the skills I had gleaned throughout my college years and beyond were surprisingly applicable to a corporate environment.

Accepted: How many b-schools did you apply to? Did you apply to safety schools as well?

Josh: Let’s see…I applied to 6 schools in total, which to me seemed like a nice safe number, but from what I’ve learned is on the higher side. I applied to 2 safety schools: Boston University and Boston College. Both, I felt, had strong programs and promising post-graduate placement in CPG Marketing.

Accepted: Why did you decide on Tepper? What made you the perfect fit for that program?

Josh: I finally decided on Tepper after visiting the campus in November. It was definitely a difficult decision, as I had received very enticing scholarships from both BU and BC, and I could see myself living in Boston. However, when it came down to it, I had to ask myself: which school had the greatest ROI; had the tools I lacked; had a strong reputation in Marketing (my concentration), as well as Finance, Technology, and Accounting; had a challenging environment; and – most importantly – had an overall feel of community. Since my first touch point with Tepper – corresponding with a 2nd year student via email since April – I have felt nothing but love from this community. Every single person I interact with seems to be completely dedicated to helping each other. I think this stems from Tepper being such a small school. Everybody knows everybody, and the faculty and students truly want to see you become the best you can be. And so I felt I fit in perfectly there, BECAUSE I was that missing piece. I was the odd shaped piece, the creative piece. People were so enthusiastic when they found out my background: “You were an actor? You know Photoshop? We could have totally used you on our last Branding case study.” And so I feel that I bring a totally untapped resource to the student body, and can’t wait to see what alternative skillset I can bring to the table.

Accepted: What are you most looking forward to in starting b-school in the fall? What are you least looking forward to?

Josh: Funny enough, I’m looking forward to the quant-heavy classes. I know this is my weakest area and the place where I will really need to work the hardest if I want to go into recruiting season with confidence. I feel fairly secure in my soft skills, and want to develop into a well-rounded full package.
I’m actually least looking forward to the Business Acting classes. And I know you’re saying, “Hey, wait a second…” But as a Theater major, I know the pressure is going to be on to, well, perform, and after being out of the “acting scene” for almost 8 years, I’m certain to be somewhat rusty. Not that we’ll be tackling Chekhov or anything, but…I joke.

Accepted: I see that a lot of your work history is at the W Hotel in Times Square. Do you plan on staying in the hotel industry? Or do you have other plans for once you receive your MBA?

Josh: I unequivocally do not plan to return to the hotel industry after graduation. After working in hotels for as long as I have, I realize that it’s really not where my heart is. While it is an interesting field, I would much rather be working within a realm that touches most consumers on a day to day basis (whether that manifest in CPG or Tech) in Brand Development, Strategy, and Advertising. I feel that this is a field where I can influence not only consumer behavior, but also how we market to (and in some ways alter the perceptions of) certain marginalized groups, eg: women, LGBT, etc. Although, I have been toying around with the idea of Consulting, as well. I’m just not sure if (being 33) I have the stamina to hack the hours and travel schedule that Consulting requires. Still, knowing myself, I’m sure that my trajectory will undoubtedly shift at some point during my time at Tepper.

Accepted: What was the most challenging step for you in the MBA admissions process? How did you approach it and overcome it?

Josh: First would have to be: the quant portion of the GMAT. And at a close second: struggling to rebrand myself as someone who is able to survive and thrive in not only business school, but beyond. So far I have yet to meet another Theater undergrad when engaging other MBA candidates; however, Tepper assures me that they are out there. In fact, they included a student profile in their most recent pamphlet, highlighting the testimonial of one such student.

Accepted: Why did you decide to blog about your experience? Has the process revealed anything new about yourself?

Josh: Ultimately, I decided to blog about my experience in applying and attending an MBA program, because I know that when I first start looking into the possibility of going back to school I became extremely discouraged. I thought for sure there is no way any school is going to accept a 33-year-old, Theater undergrad, with absolutely zero experience in Finance and Accounting. Turns out that not only was I wrong, but I was accepted into one of the top 20 programs in the Nation. That changed my entire perception of what it means to be an MBA candidate and to be part of a student body that prizes diversity and sees utility in all backgrounds. So maybe somewhere down the line, a painter, an archeologist, a swim coach – whoever – will read about my struggles, and say, “Hey, if this guy can do it, so can I.”

For one-on-one guidance on the Tepper application, please see our MBA Application Packages. For specific advice on how to create the best application for Tepper, see CMU Tepper 2013 MBA Application Questions and Tips.

Do you want to be featured in Accepted.com’s blog, Accepted Admissions Blog? If you want to share your MBA/EMBA journey with the world (or at least with our readers), email us at mbabloggers@accepted.com.

 This article was sponsored by PaGaLGuY. PaGalGuy is India’s largest network of MBA aspirants with 700,000 unique visitors per month. 80% of all GMAT takers in India use PaGaLGuY to network with schools and alumni for their application process, research, essays, VISA tips, etc. PaGaLGuY has been continuously solving one of the major challenges faced by a lot of B-schools outside India -to consistently reach-out to Indian GMAT takers/applicants who may be a good fit for their programs.

A More International Network

When choosing between business schools in Europe and the United States, the main thing to keep in mind is that the decision is very personal. Take a good look at the available options and do not let yourself be influenced by rankings. If your background fits in better with a school that may be a little outside the top 10, 20 or 30, don’t let that worry you. Here are some of the advantages European business schools have over their overseas counterparts.

Less Expensive. The two-year program is still considered to be the American standard for the full-time MBA. In Europe, the duration of an MBA program is one year or eighteen months, which becomes less expensive than a two-year program and entails lower overall living costs. Nevertheless the quality of the programs can be very high, which explains the growing number of triple-accredited business schools in Europe.

More Specialized MBA Programs. Europe boasts schools that are known for certain specific core competencies. Ranked the best European business school by the Financial Times in 2012, IE Business School is, for example, the perfect place to develop your career with its focus on  innovation, diversity and  entrepreneurship.

A More International Network. Reports by GMAC state that 38% of participants in US business school are from foreign countries. The percentage of international students in European MBA programs is 83%. Due to this, the teaching language at most business schools in Europe is English. University alliances and exchange programs contribute to highly diverse and international student bodies, and ultimately expand personal networks and ability to work on a global level. IESE Business School, which offers the fifth best worldwide MBA program according to The Economist in 2012, has between 26 and 28 exchange partners including 16 top US schools, such as Columbia and NYU-Stern. In 2010, IESE became the first European school to open its New York City campus.

High MBA Salaries. During times of economic growth or in times of crisis, it is important to have a diploma that employers favor. 87% of the European business school graduates of the class of 2012 were employed after graduation, according to a GMAC survey. Getting a European MBA is also a great opportunity to change careers or find a better job, as 43% of graduates found new employers after graduation. The median starting salary for all management program graduates in the Old Continent is higher by more than US$22,000. Last year, MBA employees in Europe were even better paid than in America – US$108,355 compared to US$100,000.

Better Return on Investment. The Financial Times value-for-money rankings show that European schools are doing better than their American counterparts. With all due critical attitudes towards such calculations and lists, the top 10 European and American schools would be as follows: The first 10 are made up of European institutions and the second 10 are American. The question of business school quality is open to debate, and can never be fully resolved. Although, in terms of ROI, the European MBA seems to be gaining the upper hand.

More Experienced Classmates. The age of MBA students in Europe is generally higher than that of American schools. This may give experienced professionals who want to go back to school an argument in favour of the Old Continent. On the other hand, US institutions accept a larger number of students in their programs.

Smaller Classes, More Individual Attention. The size and culture of a school are often overlooked when considering business schools. In general, US business schools are larger, with an average intake of 287 full-time MBA students, compared with 124 in Europe. Professors in the US may therefore have a limited amount of time for individual work with each student compared with professors in Europe.

Better Career Mobility. Thanks to the Bologna higher education accord, European degrees are recognized in most countries within the Eurasian continent, giving unprecedented access to career opportunities worldwide. This also means that MBA graduates are not confined to working in the country they graduated, but can benefit from the pan-European job market.

Cultural Diversity. Cultural differences between European countries shouldn’t be underestimated when considering the added value of an MBA program. Historically-built attitudes and social order vary greatly and create a secondary learning environment outside the classes.

Language Learning Options. It is a well known fact that a new language is most efficiently learned when in the foreign country. Even though English is the teaching language of MBA programs, students have the option to perfect their language skills with native speakers outside of the classroom.

By Access MBA Tour

ONE-TO-ONE MEETINGS: THE FIRST STEP TO ADMISSION

Created ten years ago, the renowned Access MBA Tour travels to 65 cities every year with a hundred international business schools. Access MBA gives selected candidates the chance to meet individually with Admissions Directors of top-tier MBA programs. Being held for the sixth time in New York, representatives of Full Time, Part Time or Distance Learning programs will be present at the One-to-One event on Wednesday, May 22nd 2013 from 4pm to 9:30pm at the Warwick New York Hotel.

Some of the business schools participating in the Access MBA Spring Tour 2013 include: London Business School, INSEAD, Duke University–The Fuqua School of Business, IESE, HEC Paris, IE Business School, Cass, ESADE, Hult International Business School, Manchester Business School, EDHEC Business School, Nottingham University, University of Chicago–Booth, SDA Bocconi, Northwestern University–Kellogg, IMD, University of Cambridge, Copenhagen Business School, Durham University, International University of Monaco

How can you take advantage of Access MBA’s exclusive services? All you have to do is register online on www.accessmba.com and bring your CV to the event. Early registration is recommended as places in One-to-One meetings are limited.

Interpret your scores as an adcom member would: Is the rest of your profile stellar? Do you have solid grades in quant-related courses? Is it possible that you’re just not great at standardized tests? Is your score perhaps not so low for people in your demographic group? Are you applying to schools where the average GMAT score is not far off from your lower-than-you-would’ve-wished score?

The following three tips are good strategic practices that you should utilize if you find yourself with a low quant score:

1. First, you MUST improve your quantitative abilities or demonstrate that you have them in some other way. In b-school and in the business world at large, knowing how to crunch numbers is essential. You’ll need to act quickly to show you are equipped for a spot in their next b-school class. Enroll in a calculus, statistics and/or accounting class at your local community college ASAP. (Make sure you have the prerequisite skills; you will need to earn an A! If you have time, also take additional quant-oriented courses, like finance or economics.

2. Next, in your resume and essays, highlight quantitative aspects of your work to further demonstrate your quant proficiency. Use vivid details, examples, and anecdotes that will prove to the adcoms that your low quant score was a fluke, and that it’s clear to you and those who work with you that there are no quant problems here.

3. Finally, ask your recommenders to highlight your quantitative achievements as well. Having a respected third party vouch for your skill will help you immensely.

Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best

The playlist was created based on a Stanford study that shows that certain types of music engage different areas of the brain and can improve skills such as paying attention, making predictions, and memory.

Check out Wash U’s blog post on Spotify Playlist here.

An Attention Enhancing Study Playlist provided by @WashULaw, an online LL.M Degree

Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best

What kind of prep does it take to get a good GMAT score?

You have signed up for the GMAT and you want to know: what GMAT materials should I use? What kind of prep does it take to get a good GMAT score? First of all, remember the Great Law of Mediocrity: if you do only what most people are willing to do, you will get only what most people get. If you want outstanding results, this requires outstanding preparation: not an attitude of “what’s the least I can do?” but rather “what else can I do?” The GMAT is hard — not impossible, but a good challenge, and with the proper preparation and enthusiasm, you bring your best to it.

Materials

Start with the best GMAT books and resources. That would no doubt include the Manhattan GMAT books, which are perhaps the finest GMAT prep source in print. I’ll also recommend a free GMAT ebook that summarizes the basics you need. In addition, it’s important to have a proper GMAT study plan, which will allow you to organize all this material and use it efficiently.

Play to your … weaknesses!

During your GMAT prep, you should give particular attention to those areas in which you have not traditionally shown strength. If you are a math whiz, then shore up you your Verbal. The best thing you can do for GMAT Verbal is simply read every day: the Wall Street Journal and the Economist magazine, periodicals with which you will have to be familiar when you are a manager, are obvious choices for anyone’s GMAT reading list. In everything you read, analyze grammar and sentence structure, and also analyze the structure of arguments.

If you are a verbal maven, then focus on math. As you probably know, you don’t get a calculator on the GMAT Quantitative section. Do mental math every day, ordinary arithmetic in your head. Practice estimation in real life situations. Study the graphs that accompany articles in the WSJ or Economist — you will need to understand graphs just like this on the GMAT Integrated Reasoning. Remember that the skills required on the GMAT are, in many ways, the skills a manager uses every day: look for the real world intellectual challenges that might be facing a good manager, and reflect on how you might puzzle through them.

The success mindset

Overall, preparing for a successful GMAT performance requires focus, dedication, and commitment — not unlike what brings success in many business undertaking. The sooner you can cultivate the managerial mindset in yourself, the more you will understand the GMAT not as an external obstacle but rather as part and parcel of the challenges you are embracing in pursuing this career. Best of luck to you!

This post was written by Mike McGarry, resident GMAT expert at Magoosh. For more advice on taking the GMAT, check out Magoosh’s GMAT blog.

Accepted: First, can you tell us a bit about yourself: Where are you from? Where and what did you study as an undergrad? What have you been doing since you graduated?

David: I am originally from Montreal, Quebec, Canada and moved to Toronto when I was seven. I graduated with an Honours Business degree at a school called Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario. I chose this school because it has the best co-op/internship program for business students. I graduated in 2009 and I have held a variety of positions since then.

The first year after I graduated I worked for my family business, developing web content, answering phones, and working in the factory.

I then moved on to Staples as a Retail Communications Coordinator. In this role I executed a lot of the day to day store communications tasks (preparing notices and updates to stores), creating internal websites, developing and analyzing surveys, and managing internal calendars.

Upon completion of my Staples contract, I worked as a Consultant at a marketing agency called Starshot and dealt exclusively with my client, Microsoft. In this role, I managed several programs – each program includes a webinar, a series of emails and invitations that are delivered to prospects, data analysis and reporting, social media planning, and monthly presentations. I was essentially an email marketing and marketing automation expert – during my time at Starshot, I was able to increase the number of Microsoft Dynamics leads by over 200% and webinar registrants increased 6 times during my tenure!

I was actually just offered a job at one of the largest payroll companies in Canada called Ceridian to work on their email marketing and marketing automation (very similar to what I did at Starshot). Tomorrow will be my first day.

Accepted: What stage are you up to in the MBA admissions process?

David: Currently, I am studying for the GMAT. I am trying not to get too far ahead of myself but as I am studying I am still researching programs and downloading materials that will help me prepare for when I do apply to these schools. I plan on taking the GMAT in May.

Accepted: What has been the most challenging step for you so far?

David: The Verbal section of the GMAT I am finding very challenging. I absolutely love Math so the quant section was a breeze to study and a lot of fun. Finding the time to study has also been a challenge. Working 10-12 hour days makes it hard to find a lot of time to study.

Accepted: Where do you plan on applying to b-school? 

David: I have a list of 8 schools that I am hoping to apply to:

1) Stanford
2) Cal-Berkeley
3) UCLA
4) Dartmouth
5) MIT
6) USC
7) Texas
8) Virginia

Accepted: Will you also be applying to safety schools?

David: My goal is to apply in round one to my top school choices. If I don’t get in to one of my first choices, I will reevaluate and apply to safety schools in round two.

Accepted: How much does cost play a factor when deciding where to apply and eventually where to attend? Will you apply for scholarships? 

David: Cost is a huge factor. I am going to go into debt to fund my schooling. I think it is worth it in the long run so I am willing to do that and the increase in salary upon graduation is a big boost. As soon as I finish the application process, I will be spending a great deal of time looking for and applying to as many scholarships that I am eligible for. If my biggest problem through the application process is having to decide between my top school choice with no scholarship and a school lower down on my list with a decent scholarship, I will consider this process an absolute success and a problem I am looking forward to.

Accepted: Why did you decide to blog about your experience? Has the process revealed anything new about yourself?

David: I really enjoy writing. I joined the Beat The GMAT community and saw someone suggest to blog about your experience through the application process. I thought that was a great idea. I have several friends who are interested in going to school and several family members who are really pulling for me and have asked to keep them updated. A blog is a great way to do something I enjoy and share my experience with those closest to me. My goal is to use my experience to 1) get people excited to go back to school to further their education, 2) allow people to follow along with me in my every step in the application process and 3) share the emotions that go through your mind as an applicant.

Do you want to be featured in Accepted.com’s blog, Accepted Admissions Blog? If you want to share your MBA/EMBA journey with the world (or at least with our readers), email us at mbabloggers@accepted.com.












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Wharton was ranked No. 3 by Bloomberg Businessweek in 2012

Last week Wharton’s dean, Thomas S. Robertson, announced that he’d be stepping down from his post at the end of June 2014. Robertson has been dean of Wharton since August 2007 and saw the top b-school through the Bear, Stears & Co. collapse and the subsequent job market crash. He also revived the school following the departure of the previous dean.

Upon stepping down, Dean Robertson plans on remaining at Wharton in a marketing teaching position and pursuing his research interests.

In a Businessweek article on Dean Robertson’s announcement, he’s quoted as saying: “I feel I’ve accomplished much of what I wanted to do. It’s time to reinvent myself.”

The article continues to recount his many successes at Wharton:

In his time at Wharton, he has increased the size of the faculty by about 10 percent, to 478, and improved student quality….In addition, he helped raise $607 million, overshooting the original $550 million goal. A new MBA curriculum, introduced in the past year, and a new branding campaign are among the highlights of his tenure….Wharton was ranked No. 3 by Bloomberg Businessweek in 2012.

For more about Dean Robertson, also see the P&Q article, “Wharton Dean To Step Down in 2014.”

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The FREE webinar provides 7 action items for you to do prior to the publication of next year’s applications. Complete these tasks and you will be prepared to tackle the applications head-on as soon as they are released.

View 2014 MBA Applicants: Start Your Engines! 7 Steps to a Stronger MBA Application now!

P.S. The online webinar isn’t just for those who missed the original – even if you attended the event, you are welcome to view it again or listen to the MP3!

Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best

A good place to start

With everything that is challenging, patience and perseverance are a must. And like any arduous journey, knowing where to start is key. First off, pick up a copy of the Official Guide to the GRE by ETS. Do a few of the practice sets and know where you stand. If you are struggling with some of the easy questions, your plan of attack is going to be different from than if you do moderately well even on the tough questions. Below is some verbal study help that, depending on your level, will aid you in gaining a good grasp of the GRE.

For beginners

The GRE verbal section ultimately tests your ability to understand complex syntactical structure, vocabulary employed stylistically, and nuanced information packed into a few paragraphs.

If you are not a “reading person”, or if English is not your first language, oftentimes the first step is read voraciously. That’s right – don’t just pick up a copy of the Official Guide. For recommended GRE reading, look no further than nytimes.com (the online version of the New York Times). Start reading voraciously, typically from the extended articles (the weekend section is excellent). Write down words or phrases you do not know. At first doing so may seem overwhelming but over time you will begin to recognize more and more words.

What this process is doing is “turning on” your reading brain. By that I mean, you will start to pick up on the complex sentence structures found on the GRE. Simply opening a GRE prep guide and jumping into the treacherous syntactical waters of a three-blank Text Completion will only dishearten you.

By reading from respected sources such nytimes.com (The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly, and aldaily.com also jump to mind), you will be more prepared for the GRE verbal section.

At the same time GRE prep consists of a lot more than sitting back with a latte and opening up the New York Times. How much effort you put in with each reading depends on your study schedule, of course. Let’s just say if you’re down to the wire, you won’t be doing much latte sipping. There are still plenty of good GRE study schedules for you, of course.

For more advanced students

Even if you are answering many of the medium-level questions correctly, getting a really good grasp of the GRE verbal section will take some time. For one, much of the GRE vocabulary consists of words that you don’t necessarily encounter in everyday collegiate. And trying to guess the meaning of a word like ‘recondite’, based only on roots and sound of a word, is most likely going to backfire (‘recondite’, by the way, means little known, and usually refers to an obscure subject).

Learning words as you read the New York Times, etc. is a good idea. You will also want to scour the many word lists out there, learning the words you don’t know. You will also want to dive right into practice sessions of the GRE. Taking practice tests from Manhattan GRE or Magoosh is also a good idea.

For both intermediate and beginner levels, a great GRE vocabulary guide PDF is Magoosh’s vocabulary ebook, created in part by yours truly. You will learn high-frequency words with straightforward definitions. An example sentence will accompany most words, so you can get a sense of a word’s usage.

Well what are you doing still here? Time to start studying for GRE verbal!











This post was written by Chris Lele, resident GRE expert at Magoosh. For more advice on taking the GRE, check out Magoosh’s GRE blog.

Ranked #13: Stanford.
Stanford doesn’t have an Executive MBA program.

2013 Top 10 EMBA Programs

1. UPenn Wharton
2. Chicago Booth
3. Northwestern Kellogg
4. Columbia
5. Duke Fuqua
6. NYU Stern
7. UCLA Anderson
8. Michigan Ross
9. UNC Kenan-Flagler
10. UC Berkeley Haas

This year’s U.S. News Executive MBA rankings offer an excellent reason to view rankings with skepticism. The reason is not so much because I disagree or agree with the information provided above, but because of the program ranked #13: Stanford University.

Stanford doesn’t have an Executive MBA program.

The closest it has is the Stanford Sloan Fellows program, which is aimed at older, middle managers, but it is not an EMBA program. EMBA programs typically are part-time programs where participants continue to work full-time. Stanford Sloan Fellows study in a full-time, one-year Masters in Management program. They do not even earn an MBA.

To the extent you use these rankings (or other rankings), do so with caution, skepticism, and a large dose of salt. Rank programs based on what’s important to you.

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Some more details about the program:

• 50% of the curriculum is delivered online and 50% on-campus in Indianapolis.

• The program offers a hands-on, action-learning experience where students are introduced to real-life challenges in the healthcare system.

• The MBA program is designed to allow physicians to continue practicing while studying (meeting mostly during off-residency weeks).

See Kelley’s Business of Medicine Program page for more information.















Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best

Top 20 Part-Time MBA Programs

PT MBA Rankings Released

1. UC Berkeley Haas
2. Chicago Booth
3. Northwestern Kellogg
4. NYU Stern
5. UCLA Anderson
6. Michigan Ross
7. Texas McCombs
8. Ohio Fisher
9. CMU Tepper
9. Indiana Kelley
11. Minnesota Carlson
11. USC Marshall
14. Emory Goizueta
15. Washington Foster
16. Washington Olin
17. Georgia Robinson
17. Rice Jones
19. UC Davis
19. South Carolina Moore
19. Wisconsin Madison

For more information on these rankings and on rankings in general, please see:

• Part-time MBA Rankings Methodology
• MBA Rankings: What You Need to Know (free Accepted.com special report)

 This article was sponsored by PaGaLGuY. PaGalGuy is India’s largest network of MBA aspirants with 700,000 unique visitors per month. 80% of all GMAT takers in India use PaGaLGuY to network with schools and alumni for their application process, research, essays, VISA tips, etc. PaGaLGuY has been continuously solving one of the major challenges faced by a lot of B-schools outside India -to consistently reach-out to Indian GMAT takers/applicants who may be a good fit for their programs.

Just be yourself and put in your full effort so you do not have any regrets 20 years from now.

Here’s a talk with Chris Hauck, a first-year MBA student at Chicago Booth. Chris offers some excellent advice to MBA applicants and first-year MBA students – thank you Chris for offering us a window into your Booth experience!

This interview is the latest in an Accepted.com blog series featuring interviews with current MBA students, offering readers a behind-the-scenes look at top MBA programs. We hope to offer you a candid picture of student life, and what you should consider as you prepare your MBA application.

Accepted: First, some basics: Where are you from? Where did you study as an undergrad?

Chris: I am a lifelong California kid. I was born and raised in Sacramento before moving to Southern California to go to college at UCLA. I was a double major there in Political Science and Sociology. However, I would say I also got an unofficial minor in leadership. I was very involved on campus and became the President of the Interfraternity Council and Chair of the Communication Board. I continued to live and work in LA until moving to Chicago.

Accepted: What is your favorite thing about Booth? Least favorite?

Chris: There’s a lot I love about Booth. But if I have to pick one favorite, it has to be the people. I love my classmates. It’s such a fun, intelligent and social group of people, they make everything entertaining. Whether we are studying, going to the theater or drinking beers and playing Cards Against Humanity before bars – I am proud to have them as my friends and future network. The teachers, administrators and alumni are all extremely friendly and helpful too. You can learn similar information at almost any school, so it really is the people that make Booth such a special place for me.

In terms of my least favorite thing, I think whatever school you go to, you will be surprised how much time gets dedicated to internship recruiting your first 3-4 months. I have friends who attended MBA programs and warned me that recruiting took up a lot of time, but until I was actually here, I didn’t realize that it really becomes such a focal point. However, one great thing about Booth is that we do receive a lot of support from career services, second years and alumni that provides a lot of structure and guidance through this very busy period.

Accepted: If you were to attend any other b-school (other than Booth), which one would you choose and why?

Chris: Honestly, there are so many great schools, it’s impossible to identify one. I think as people go through recruiting they tend to get fixated on one or two schools. I’ve had friends who were disappointed about getting into a top 10 program, because it wasn’t their first choice. As long as you get into a well-regarded program, you are going to learn a lot, improve your future career opportunities and meet great people.

Accepted: Now that you’re half way through your first year at Booth, is there any advice you can share with incoming students for the Booth class of 2015?

Chris: Just have fun and do not try to do everything. There are so many opportunities to get involved, it’s easy to do a lot poorly instead of a few things very well. Decide what you want out of your experience and invest a lot of energy into the handful of opportunities you will enjoy and learn the most from.

Accepted: Do you think you’ll return to LA after you receive your MBA? What do you see yourself doing post-MBA?

Chris: I hope to be going back to California, but probably not Los Angeles. I would love to be closer to my family, so I will be doing my internship in San Francisco this summer and hope to receive a full time offer there as well. I am interning in management consulting and there’s a very good chance I will be doing that after I graduate as well. I am very thankful that Booth has a strong west coast alumni network. I had alumni from a number of top firms connecting me with colleagues and helping me with case interview preparation. It has been a very time intensive, but ultimately rewarding process.

Accepted: Can you share some admissions advice with people who are just starting out the application process?

Chris: My best advice is to just be yourself and put in your full effort so you do not have any regrets 20 years from now. I think some people have an idea or a stereotype of what business school is and try to craft applications that fit that ideal. My classmates and I are real people with flaws and everything. Letting your personality shine and recognizing areas where business school can help you improve is important. Also, when I was applying, I spent a lot of time and effort on everything from studying for the GMAT to crafting my applications. I had no idea if I would make it into a top program or not, everyone has different strengths and there are a lot of paths to success. My one goal was that I wanted to give the process everything I had, so that if I did not make it in, I could look back in 20 years and know that I tried my best. It was worth it.

For one-on-one guidance on the Booth application, please see our 2013 Chicago Graduate School of Business School Packages. For specific advice on how to create the best application for Booth, see Chicago Booth 2013 MBA Application Questions, Deadlines, Tips.

Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best

Does an MBA, specifically an MBA from a top program, really offer something valuable for entrepreneurs? Listen to the full recording to hear Linda Abraham explore this question and much more with entrepreneurs Casey, Hicham, Amaris, and Mike of MBAs Across America.

00:01:55 – 10 weeks in 10 cities: An internship HBS has never seen before. Meet the MBAs Across America team.

00:02:43 – The genesis of an awesome idea – it all started at dinner with friends and a travel-bug.

00:04:10 – There is no getting around it, Linda is jealous.

00:04:27 – Working and learning with visionary entrepreneurs in overlooked locations. How the itinerary was developed (and how a town of 900 people made it onto the list of destinations).

00:07:19 – What value will MBAs Across America provide for the businesses it works with? And a word about the storytelling component.

00:10:02 – Personal goals for the program: see the country, have fun, create a replicable model for future grad students worldwide, and more (I’m not giving it all away in the notes).

00:14:30 – What are their post-MBA goals and how does MBAs Across America fit into their plans?

00:17:57 – Given your entrepreneurial leanings, why Harvard Business School?

00:20:08 – Harvard’s supportive response to this unconventional internship idea.

00:22:42 – Some refreshing comments about honesty in admissions, going to grad school for a good reason (yay!), and priorities (high starting salary vs. impacting the world).

00:25:02 – Mike wants to be the CEO of GE.

00:27:44 – Great tips for HBS applicants from those who’ve been there.

00:32:58 – MBAs Across America is awesome! Go ahead and donate now to be a part of this internship revolution!

 Subscribe to Admissions Straight Talk in iTunes to keep up with the latest in admissions news and trends! And we do love a bit of feedback…

*Theme music is courtesy of podcastthemes.com.

Shownote Links:

• Subscribe to Admissions Straight Talk Podcast
• MBAs Across America
• Top MBA programs with a focus on entrepreneurship
• Harvard Business School Zone

REGISTER NOW to reserve your spot!

See you in a few hours!

Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best

To ease the reader’s eye strain, the font should not be smaller than 10 pt.

I suggest that applicants for Fall 2014 entry begin assembling materials for their applications now –  five months in advance of the first fall deadlines. One of the ideal documents to begin now is a resume, something that any professional should always have updated and at the ready. Here are some tips on starting the ideal admissions-worthy resume.

First, you need to know how far back in time to detail in this document. As a general rule, if you are applying to graduate school and have at least two years of work experience, your high school activities should not be included in your resume. However, there are exceptions to this rule. For example, if you won a prestigious national award in high school, you may certainly consider including this important recognition.

Other general rules for the resume:

• There should be no more than four bullet points beneath each position.
• Each bullet point should ideally be no more than two lines long.
• To ease the reader’s eye strain, the font should not be smaller than 10 pt.
• Margins should be as close to one inch all around as possible – I, personally, will not reduce them lower than 0.7 inches.

With these rules in mind, how should applicants to the top international programs focus the resume on their most relevant and compelling experiences? Limit the number of bullet points describing your early entry-level roles and instead expand the space dedicated to those in which you made the most impact.

For instance, if you were promoted from an entry-level programming position with your company, then you don’t even need to dedicate a separate line to describe that first role. Instead, you can simply impress the reader by describing the fast pace of promotion in a line of the job description, like this:

Team Lead, IT Consulting Company                    2010-Present

Twice promoted from Analyst (2010-2011) to Senior Analyst (2011) and then Team Lead in record 12 months, a full 4 times faster than the average rate of promotion.

What if one position has allowed you significant leadership opportunities and impact? Or what if you have been in your current role for several years? How can you detail all that you have accomplished in just four bullet points? The trick is to break that down into sections, like this for example:

Private Equity Associate, PE Firm                         2011-Present

Lines of job description here…

Leadership Accomplishments Include:

• First point
• Second point
• Third point
• Fourth point

Financial Impacts Include:

• First point
• Second point
• Third point
• Fourth point

Keep in mind that the majority – if not all – of those bullet points should include quantifiable impact that you had on the organization. Breaking up a bulk of text with numbers and section headings makes the entire document more compelling.

Finally, to ensure that your document is easy to read and keeps the admissions officer’s attention, you need to include ample white space. To add some white space above each position in Microsoft Word, highlight the title line of each row (hold the Ctrl button down as you click to keep them all highlighted), then click on Format, Paragraph, then in the Spacing Before box try at least 4 pt. (if you have more space left on the page at the end you can go to 6 pt.). Do the same Ctrl highlighting for the bullet points throughout the document and try 2 pt. or 3 pt. spacing before each of those lines.

Check out this pdf file (viewable in Adobe Reader) to see the difference this little formatting trick can make.

Jennifer Bloom is a Certified Professional Resume Writer and is available now to create an easy-to-read document that highlights your exceptionality. Creating this document now will help you see where you need to generate more content – i.e., take more action – before the fall deadlines .

Check out The Smart Timeline for 2014 Round 2 MBA Applicants for tips on how to stay organized and submit rockin’ R2 applications!

Please feel free to share the timeline on your blog or web site. The code you need is below:

<a href=”www.accepted.com/mba/round_2_timeline_2014.pdf”>
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Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best

This is an IMPORTANT webinar for all 2014 (class of 2016) MBA applicants. A successful application is one that’s started early with DIRECTION and ORGANIZATION.

Jumpstart your MBA journey for FREE when you register for 2014 MBA Applicants: Start Your Engines! 7 Steps to a Stronger MBA Application now!

The webinar will take place in TWO DAYS on Thursday, April 18, 2013 at 6 PM PT / 9 PM ET.

Spaces are limited so don’t delay!

Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best

Last week Stanford Graduate School of Business announced its new Stanford Africa MBA Fellowship Program.

Some details about the program:

• The fellowship will award up to eight African students per year with full tuition for the two-year program (approx. $140,000).

• Students will be required to work for two years in Africa after receiving their MBAs in a role that aids African development.

According to the GSB blog post, “Africa’s opportunities and challenges position this frontier market for growth. We believe Stanford GSB can contribute to Africa’s human and economic development by educating leaders committed to making an impact on the continent. This fellowship program is a critical step toward removing any financial barrier.”

For one-on-one assistance with the Stanford GSB application, please see Accepted’s 2013 Stanford School of Business Packages.

 Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best

Now that MBA programs at top schools like Stanford and Harvard are accepting GRE scores as well, many students are weighing the relative difficulty of the two exams, especially for the Quantitative sections.

Both the GRE and the GMAT test math. What’s the difference? There’s a lot to consider when assessing the GRE versus the GMAT. Well, first of all, the GRE is a more verbal test — after all, it’s a test for poets and literary critics, people who live for obscure words and impenetrably sophisticated phrasing. Correspondingly, the GRE has a truly stratospheric level of vocabulary. By contrast, vocabulary is not a huge issue on the GMAT. The GMAT is for folks going to business school, so it tends to have more difficult math than does the GRE. Someone with stronger verbal skills might therefore contemplate taking the GRE for business school, but if you choose this somewhat unconventional path, you should check whether each school on your list accepts the GRE.

The question formats

Part of the difference on the Quant sections of these two tests involves questions of different formats. Both feature five-choice multiple choice questions — no surprise here, as every standardized test in your life since before puberty has featured these same questions! Beyond that common format, the tests diverge. The GRE features a three specialized math question formats: Quantitative Comparison, Multiple Answer, and Numerical Entry; each of these demands a slightly different set of skills, so overall, studying for GRE math involves great intellectual agility.

The GMAT, on the other hand, has a unique math question format: Data Sufficiency. This question, using basic math as the subject matter, tests skills that are pertinent to the delegating mindset of a good manager. In addition to the Quant section, the GMAT also demands math-type skills in a whole other section: the GMAT Integrated Reasoning. Studying for GMAT math involves learning these questions types as well as the demands of the sections.

In addition to the format of individual questions, there’s another important different in the format of the test overall. The GMAT Quant section employs Computer Adaptive Testing: as you move through the section, the difficulty of the questions will dynamically adjust to how you are doing. If you are doing very well, you get harder questions on average, and if you are struggling, you get easier questions. This has the direct consequence: once you answer a GMAT math question, it’s gone forever — you can’t go back to it. By contrast, the GRE gives you a whole Quant section at once, fixed once you get it, so you can jump around, skip questions and come back to them later.

The content of the Quant sections

There is tremendous overlap in the content of the GRE and GMAT Quant sections. Both test basic number properties, fundamental algebra & geometry, and basic probability. The GMAT goes a little more in depth with difficult algebra (e.g. variables to powers) as well as with word problems about rates, mixtures, work, and interest. Percents are huge on the GMAT, because they are huge in the business world. The GRE has Data Interpretation questions mixed into the Quant section, so a GRE Quant section will have more on graphs and charts than will the GMAT Quant section — but, then again, the GMAT test taker will see that material on the GMAT Integrated Reasoning section.

Anyone studying for one of these tests could certainly gain some insight from the practice materials for the other. If you haven’t done math since some time in high school, you have a good deal of math to relearn for either test, and with the right test prep material, you should master the Quant you need to know!

This post was written by Mike McGarry, resident GMAT expert at Magoosh. For more advice on taking the GMAT, check out Magoosh’s GMAT blog.

This article originally appeared at http://howtomba.com/a-tale-of-two-business-school-exams.

With some moderate effort now, you can flesh out your goals message so that you can spring into action when the essays come out in the summer. You’ll need details to make the essays credible, interesting, and individualized, and clarifying your motivation also furthers those ends.

Here are some steps to take to fully prepare for writing outstanding goals essays.

• Identify short-term, intermediate, and long-term goals. For each, fill in the details: what would be your likely or desired positions(s) (note titles), what types of companies (with specific examples), what industries.
• Develop a vision for each of these phases. In other words, what do you want to accomplish, what impact do you want to have? Too often people focus on what they want to get out of it for themselves. That’s secondary. What external impact will you aim to have?
• Research the desired companies: what kinds of post-MBA positions they offer, their hiring trends, products and/or services, structure/organization, market status, competitive concerns, etc.
• Research your industry: what are its challenges, how is it adapting to globalization, etc.
• Reflect on your motivations for pursuing your particular goals and be prepared to present them succinctly as part of your goals essays. While most questions won’t ask about it, your motivation is an essential part of creating a message and story that will engage the adcoms.
• If you are a career changer or even if you are just shifting career emphasis, have informational interviews with people in your chosen field or function. Utilize your college alumni network and perhaps other professional and/or social networks to identify possible people to ask. Not only will you glean valuable insight, but you also can discuss taking this proactive step in your essays.

Taking these efforts now will enable you to write goals essays that are informed, thoughtful, distinctive. And you can hit the ground running when you start writing!











By Cindy Tokumitsu, co-author of The Finance Professional’s Guide to MBA Admissions Success, and author of numerous ebooks, articles, and special reports. Cindy has advised hundreds of successful applicants in her last fifteen years with Accepted.

Start your introspection for the MBA 6-8 months before applying

Here’s a talk with Kartik Mishra, a first-year MBA student at MIT Sloan. Kartik shares his past application and current b-school experiences, and offers some timely advice about starting those b-school application essays early! Thank you Kartik for your insights!

This interview is the latest in an Accepted.com blog series featuring interviews with current MBA students, offering readers a behind-the-scenes look at top MBA programs. We hope to offer you a candid picture of student life, and what you should consider as you prepare your MBA application.

Accepted: First, can you tell us a little about yourself? Where are you from? Where did you study as an undergrad? What was your most recent job before heading to b-school?

Kartik: I was born and brought up in India. I graduated with a bachelors in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Madras in 2009 and was with Caterpillar Inc. (shuttling between Chennai and Peoria, Illinois) before coming to Sloan. At CAT I was in their product development division working on reducing emissions for diesel engines.

Accepted: What is your favorite thing about MIT Sloan? Least favorite?

Kartik: The list of things I like about MIT is never ending – be it collaboration or the culture or the smart students or the opportunities. But if there was one thing that I would say has really touched me has been the level of communication between the MBAs and the rest of MIT. Unlike in some other schools where the MBAs are (inherently) a distinct breed, at MIT we are all one. There are a huge number of opportunities to mingle with the grad students, collaborate with them over business ventures, take common classes and seek advice. The culture of MIT overlaps with Sloan and that has been a big factor bridging the gap between the grad students and the MBA students.

Can’t really think of something that I don’t like about MIT Sloan but if I were pressed really hard I would probably say that some of the ‘star’ courses have limited number of seats (which come to think of it makes sense because you want the proper faculty to student ratio).

Accepted: Do you plan on returning to the same job/industry after you receive your MBA? Or will you enter a new field and do something new?

Kartik: One of the primary reasons that I decided to pursue b-school was because I realized that I was stagnating. R&D in the industry has reached a saturation point and one usually tends to get a good grasp of the job function over a period of 3-5 years. So my motivation was to make the transition from R&D to front end manufacturing/operations and b-school would serve as the bridge to connect those two links.

Accepted: Do you have internship plans for the summer lined up yet? What role did MIT play in helping you secure that position?

Kartik: This summer I am pursuing my internship in BCG – Chicago. The midwest is the heart of US manufacturing and BCG – Chicago does a lot of consulting to these firms on operational aspects. As someone who wanted to make that jump to front end operations and manufacturing, my role at the operations practice of the world’s leading consulting firm seems exciting.

I got recruited through MIT’s on-campus recruiting system. BCG recruited in the 2nd week of campus recruitments and our Career Development Office (CDO) was also actively involved with the consulting firms’ events. The CDO also organized resume review sessions, mock interviews and seminars on job hunt, networking and salary negotiation. The student clubs also played a key role in preparing for case interviews by organizing mock sessions, mentoring by 2nd years as well as publishing the bible for consulting – the Sloan Case Book, which features cases asked in previous interviews.

Accepted: Now that you’re nearly done with your first year of b-school, can you offer some advice to incoming students?

Kartik: The single biggest advice that I would give to incoming students is to not treat the 2 years at b-school just a stepping stone to your next job. The b-school experience is powerful in itself; ensure that you are part of the b-school story. Don’t turn these two years into a blank chapter in your life’s story by fretting over the job and the loan. Make mistakes, attend classes which you never thought you would, organize events, make friends, give back something to the school. You’ll remember these 2 years more than your debt and your first job after school.

Accepted: Do you have admissions or application advice for our blog readers?

Kartik: There is no substitute for practice. The GMAT isn’t actually as tough an exam as one thinks. Keep calm and practice and you should make it through.

Also, most candidates start working on their essays very late. B-school essays are very personal and require a lot of introspection and usually take more than a couple of months. The process of introspection should start much earlier – I would say 6-8 months before the actual drafting of the essays. And trust me, even if you do not make it into the school, the self introspection is something that you would carry all your life – to your next job, your work-life balance and your personal life.

For one-on-one guidance on the MIT application, please see our 2013 MIT Sloan School of Business Package. For specific advice on how to create the best application for MIT, see MIT Sloan 2013 MBA Application Questions, Deadlines, Tips.

Kartik advises applicants to start your introspection for the MBA 6-8 months before applying. Reader, you’re in luck. We have a webinar scheduled for next week on how to do just that. Sign up now!

Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best

Where should he apply?

Next up in our blog series, Narrowing Down Your B-School Options, we’ll introduce you to Jack. Take a look at Jack’s profile and follow the steps to determine the best MBA programs for Jack to apply to.

Jack

1) Wants to go into R/E development/ finance and grow family business. Really prefers East Coast.

2) Schools to consider Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Chicago, Columbia, NYU, Haas, Kellogg, Duke, Cornell, Rochester, Georgetown, UNC, UCLA, USC, LBS.

3) Qualifications

a. 730 GMAT, balanced.

b. 2.9 from Georgetown. Class of ‘09 (immature freshman year; illness sophomore year; upward trend in last two years; dean’s list as a senior) Majored in math; minored in Asian history. Has passed all three levels of CFA. Took a few business classes (accounting, stats for business, finance)  online and got straight A’s.

c. Financial analyst program for two years. Then joined family property management business (outside NYC) for two years. Handled two eight-figure property acquisitions.

d. Had been active in Romney campaign and in local Republican politics.

e. Wants to apply in 2013-14.

4) Where should he apply? Will apply to Columbia, NYU Stern, Wharton, and Duke R1. If not accepted, will try for Chicago, UNC, UCLA, and Georgetown round 2. May substitute LBS for one of the last four.

What do you think of the Accepted Positioning System? Are there other steps you would take or have taken in reaching your list of target MBA programs? What are they? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this and answer any questions you may have! 

Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best

Here are some reasons why you should bulk up your extracurricular quotient:

• Extracurricular activities add life and texture to your application. As mentioned a moment ago, MBA applications can appear flat and single-dimensioned. Add a little stamp collecting, your involvement in your church’s softball league, a splash of trumpet lessons, and the fact that you started a neighborhood bi-seasonal clothing drive, and VOILA – you’ve got yourself one heck of a vibrant profile!

• Extracurricular activities show you know how to commit. You’ve been volunteer tutoring at the school for the blind in your city for the last 11 years? You must be a reliable, dependable, and committed person. Adcoms like this. Period.

• Extracurricular activities demonstrate passion and creativity. Your extracurricular activities don’t need to be run-of-the-mill Big Brother or soup kitchen experiences. They can include the summers you spent doing AIDS research in a hospital in Swaziland or taking your autistic nephew to the park once a week for a game of tag. Neither of these examples are related to business, yet leadership, initiative, passion, and creativity can all still be read into each experience. Share your passions and inspire your readers!

• Extracurricular activities give you an opportunity to show leadership and organizational skill. It can be hard in a hierarchical organization when you are in your early or mid-twenties to show lots of leadership. But in a community service or volunteer context, there are leadership opportunities galore. Grab them and demonstrate the attribute admissions committees can’t get enough of.

I’d like to end by sharing an important side point. Many applicants ask what they should do if they don’t have long-term extracurricular or volunteer commitments. Is it worth it to start an activity or resume a hobby just a few months before applying to b-school, or will that look shallow?

My answer: A little volunteering is better than no volunteering at all, and the impact that you can make and the effect the experience can have on you can be great, even in a short period of time. Also, maybe you’ll be waitlisted, and then this last-minute volunteering will turn into a long-term commitment that will look great in a waitlist letter update, not to mention how it will add if you need to reapply.

Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best

Accepted.com’s upcoming webinar, 2014 MBA Applicants: Start Your Engines! 7 Steps to a Stronger MBA Application, will give you the tools you need to get an early start on optimizing your MBA candidacy…before the applications are even released!

The free webinar, which will air live on Thursday, April 18, 2013 at 6 PM PT / 9 PM ET, will cover important pre-application topics, like, evaluating your qualifications, determining your post-MBA goals, mitigating weaknesses, and more!

Reserve your spot in this FREE webinar today to ensure that when those applications are released, you’re prepared to hit the ground running!

Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best

Where Should Ajay Apply?

Next up in our blog series, Narrowing Down Your B-School Options, we’ll introduce you to Ajay. Take a look at Ajay’s profile and follow the steps to determine the best MBA programs for Ajay to apply to.

Ajay

1) Has high tech product ideas and wants to start own business, if not immediately after MBA, then within five years after MBA. Attracted to design thinking.

2) Schools to consider: MIT, Haas, Stanford, CMU Tepper, UT Austin, UCLA, USC Marshall, Duke, Ross, Cornell Johnson, UNC, Babson, Rotman.

3) Qualifications

a.    700 GMAT (51 quant; struggles with verbal). Took previously and had 660 and 680. Doesn’t want to retake again.

b.    Has 7.2/10 CGPA from IIT Madras. B. Tech. Graduated in 2008.

c.    Has been working for Tata Consulting on software consulting projects for last 3 years in the UK and Europe. Previously worked for Infosys as a programmer for two years in India. Can show increasing responsibility at work.

d.    Was active in college, but hasn’t done much since outside of work. Likes to play guitar and cricket.

e.    Wants to apply in 2013-14.

4) Where should he apply? Will apply to Darden, UCLA, UT Austin, and Duke R1. Will apply to UNC, USC Marshall, Babson, and Rotman if not accepted R1. Also considering Ross’ MS in Entrepreneurship.

Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best

Kellogg is a stretch, but she really likes its strength in marketing and collegial culture.

Next up in our blog series, Narrowing Down Your B-School Options, we’ll introduce you to Jane. Take a look at Jane’s profile and follow the steps to determine the best MBA programs for Jane to apply to.

Jane

1) Wants to go into marketing with focus on digital marketing and then maybe start her own company. Prefers to live in South Eastern US.

2) Schools to consider: Kellogg, Cornell, Haas, Duke, UNC, Ross, UCLA, Emory, UT, MIT, CMU Tepper.

3) Qualifications

a.    680 GMAT with 65% on Quant. Highest score after 3 attempts. Taking MBAMath and several quant classes at local college to boost math skills, counteract low quant score, and prepare for quant demands of b-school.

b.    3.4 GPA from public ivy. Majored in econ and history. Graduated in 2007.

c.    Works as law firm manager in 20-lawyer office. Has been in charge of publicity and social media for firm which has seen tremendous growth from that channel.  Started as a clerk after college and worked her way up.

d.    Married has one child. Husband can work from anywhere.

e.    Active in church and alumni association. Runs 5K and 10K races. In college was officer in sorority.

f.    Wants to apply R1 for 2014.

4) Where should she apply? Duke, UNC, Darden and Kellogg for R1. Kellogg is a stretch, but she really likes its strength in marketing and collegial culture. Will include as a stretch. Will apply to UT and Emory round 2 if not accepted anywhere R1.

Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best