Several weeks ago I posted about a hypothetical client –let’s call him Wonderman-- with sterling stats, extra-curriculars and long-term goal. He wants to transition into Strategy Consulting as preparation for a VC or PE career. As an applicant from a developing economy experiencing a boom in infrastructure and manufacturing activity, Wonderman dreams of identifying local manufacturers and growing them to regional/international prominence. I lamented the fact that as brilliant as he is Wonderman’s profile was not unique, and asked myself “How can I help my very worthy client stand out in a very crowded MBA applicant pool?”    

My advice for Wonderman is to look into Kellogg School of Management’s MMM program, a dual degree program that integrates management, operations and design, from concept to execution. The program combines the rigors of Kellogg’s outstanding management program with cutting-edge work in operations and design at McCormick Engineering School, a top engineering school.

 “What?” I can already hear Wonderman gasp, “But I’ve spent years trying to shake my engineering label and operations background! And what does design have to do with my future Finance role!”

Well, Wonderman, think a few years down the road. Imagine the head of a VC or PE firm considering dozens of young hopefuls like you who are eager to find companies that their firm can turn into niche players. Undoubtedly, all the candidates understand sophisticated financials and strategy. But what if one in particular can also roll up his sleeves, poke into a company’s every nook and cranny and efficiently manage it, at every level? What if this candidate also understands the role of good design in companies’ products? My crystal ball says that your candidacy might get special attention…

The MMM is fully integrated into Kellogg’s MBA program. It is a shared student experience, and participants have equal access to all resources, extracurricular and leadership opportunities. MMM students earn two degrees, with one set of requirements; the MBA from Kellogg and the Master of Engineering Management from McCormick.

Students major in either Operations or Design, a track co-founded in 2007 by industrial design guru Don Norman. The flexible curriculum allows students to take courses in those areas most suited to their goals, including marketing, operations, finance and entrepreneurship, while also gaining access to world-class experts and facilities in nanotechnology, biotechnology, transportation and other technical disciplines.

According to Yhana Chavis, Associate Director of Admissions at Kellogg, “Currently, consulting is the most popular post-MBA position for MMM students, followed by energy (think ExxonMobil and General Electric) and high tech. We’re also seeing a spike of interest in Private Equity and Venture Capital, due to the operations component.” MMM graduates also go into retail, transportation and finance." Yet others have started their own firms.

In an era of breaking down knowledge into individual parts, the MMM offers a refreshing alternative by arming its graduates with a holistic approach to management. Given today’s business environment in which funds and know-how cross the globe at breakneck pace, this breadth and depth of knowledge can be a formidable tool for a professional investor.

If you are interested in the design aspect of this program, you can also take a look at INSEAD and Rotman, two other top MBA programs that champion good product design via their collaborations with design schools. Stanford also has its own design center.

Tailoring your b-school experience and turning your target schools into potential partners will be the subject of accepted.com editor Tanis Kmetyk’s ongoing series of posts, and a new book, that will help you become not only a better applicant but, ultimately, a better professional.

Yes those MBA deadlines are approaching. Rapidly. Kind of like a train roaring through a dark tunnel. Do you see the headlight peering through the gloom, growing brighter and brighter?

So what are my thoughts at the end of a hectic week?

• Accepted's editors have noted a rash of bloopers in applicant essays. While these malapropisms (and too many others to list) can make for hilarious reading, they will not add to your chances of acceptance. Please note.

"Message" and "massage" are very different nouns. A "hands-on massage" is not the same as a "hands-on message."

"Morale" and "morals" or "moral" are also very different. "My team's morals sunk lower than low after she addressed us." creates a very different image than "My team's morale sunk lower than low after she addressed us."

Your essays need proofing!

• I listened this morning to the entire MBA Podcaster episode "What Not To Do On Your Application: MBA Application Pitfalls & How To Avoid Them." Please, please, please before you submit your applications, listen to this show with Liz Riley Hargrove, Associate Dean of Admissions, Fuqua School of Business, Duke University; Rose Martinelli, Associate Dean of Student Recruitment and Admissions, University of Chicago Booth School of Business; Graham Richmond, CEO, ClearAdmit; Kellee Scott, Senior Associate Director of MBA Admissions at USC's Marshall School of Business; and myself. It is excellent and could prevent you from making some serious mistakes.

• I received a lovely note last night from a current client. He wrote:

"Natalie has been absolutely terrific! My essays are really coming along -- I really don't know what I'd do without her.

Thanks for all your help. Regardless of what happens with my B-school applications, I honestly think that accepted.com provides a tremendously valuable service. I'd even venture to say that the vast majority of applicants who do not use accepted.com are putting themselves at a terrible disadvantage. (You and Natalie have made me a believer!)

• In addition, I also received several, outstanding feedback reports from clients using other Accepted editors' services.

I don't think it will surprise any of you -- I strongly believe that the overwhelming majority of applicants can benefit from having their applications and essays reviewed before they submit them. You are much better off if we find your mistakes than if the admissions committee does.

At this point in time, with the earliest deadlines less than a week away, we still have some availability, but it is very limited before Oct. 1. If you have any plans to use Accepted's services, please either purchase or register ASAP.

Best of luck to all Round 1 Applicants!

Forbes published today its 2010 MBA rankings for US and non-US MBA programs. The Forbes ranking is based on ROI, specifically "the return on investment achieved by the graduates from the class of 2004." Forbes surveyed 17,000 alumni at 103 schools and heard back from 24% of those grads in compiling its data.

For the US, the top 10 is:

1. Stanford
2. Dartmouth (Tuck)
3. Harvard
4. Chicago (Booth)
5. Pennsylvania (Wharton)
6. Columbia
7. Cornell (Johnson)
8. Northwestern (Kellogg)
9. Virginia (Darden)
10. Yale

The lead article associated with the rankings has additional noteworthy data-points:

• Although most graduates at top MBA programs see a significant return on the MBA investment, rising tuition and pre-MBA salaries mean that breaking even (not to mention profiting financially) takes a little longer than it has in the past.
• "Europe is home to the seven best business schools when it comes to a return on your investment, led by top-ranked INSEAD, whose graduates had a five-year gain of $192,000."
• Forbes plans to publish its Best Business Schools report annually in the future, instead of biannually as it has in the past.
• Excellent piece on "How to Get Into Business School" by Matt Symonds.

The rankings also includes articles about the individual programs including a worthwhile piece on entrepreneurship at INSEAD.

If you're curious about my views on rankings, please see The Rankings.

INSEAD 2010 (Sept) MBA Essay Questions

My comments are in red:

JOB ESSAYS

1. Please give a detailed description of your job, including nature of work, major responsibilities; and, where relevant, employees under your supervision, size of budget, number of clients/products and results achieved. (250 words)

Note the emphasis on quantifying results. Numbers speak volumes about the amount of responsibility you have handled. Also, while the description asks for major responsibilities, if you focus on achievements and accomplishments, you will reveal both your responsibilities and those occasions when you really shined.

2. Please give us a full description of your career since graduating from university. If you were to remain with your present employer, what would be your next step in terms of position? (250 words)

Don't confuse "full description" with "history." How would you characterize your career since college? You also have to answer the second part of the question and you only have 250 words. 

ESSAYS

1. Give a candid description of yourself, stressing the personal characteristics you feel to be your strengths and weaknesses and the main factors, which have influenced your personal development, giving examples when necessary. (400 words approx.)

For a question like this I recommend two strengths and one weakness. If you can choose one anecdote that reveals both the strengths and the weakness, you will have a strong essay. Don't forget to discuss how these qualities influenced your personal development.

A word on weaknesses. Be honest without going overboard. Don't make up a phony weakness. I attended an HBS info session a few years ago. One of the alumni said that he discussed a "phony weakness" in his essays (required for HBS that year) and his interviewer focused right on it, and basically said, "Come on. What's a real weakness?" The applicant had to get real in a hurry. Take advantage of the essay: Give it some thought and respond with the benefit of that reflection. For more information, please see "Flaws Make You Real."

At the recent AIGAC conference one of the adcom members remembered that an applicant in response to a similar question had listed his weakness in "pitching new ideas in a meeting." The adcom member felt that the applicant was specific, real, and showed self-awareness by revealing this flaw. In fact, by demonstrating these qualities in addition to the requested weakness that he was working on, the applicant actually enhanced his chances of acceptance with his response. 

Don't write about "weakness in pitching new ideas in meetings" as your weakness just because you read it here :-) It will become like the swine flu of MBA essays -- an epidemic. However, you all have weakness. Now just  be thoughtful enough and honest enough to reveal yours.

2. Describe what you believe to be your two most substantial accomplishments to date, explaining why you view them as such. (400 words approx.)

Try to take accomplishments from different arenas of your life. (But don't go back to high school and earlier to do so.) The accomplishments should show impact, contribution, and for INSEAD at least one should have a multi-cultural flavor.

3. Describe a situation taken from school, business, civil or military life, where you did not meet your personal objectives, and discuss briefly the effect. (250 words approx.)

In choosing the situation, here's a case when you can go back in time a little -- let's say 2-5 years. You can illustrate how you learned from this situation and were able to meet similar objectives next time around.

4. Discuss your career goals. What skills do you expect to gain from studying at INSEAD and how will
they contribute to your professional career. (500 words approx.)

This is a forward-looking career goals question. Use the past just enough to set context for your future and show that your goals are anchored in experience. Then explain how INSEAD with its intense, one-year, general management program and strong international focus will help you achieve your goals.

5. Please choose one of the following two essay topics:

a) Have you ever experienced culture shock? What did it mean to you? (250 words approx.),

or

b) What would you say to a foreigner moving to your home country? (250 words approx.)

These two have been part of the INSEAD repertoire for several years. Choose the one that is easiest for you to answer and allows you to bring out a facet of your experience not found in the other essays.

6. (Optional) Is there anything that you have not mentioned in the above essays that you would like the Admissions Committee to know? (200 words approx.)

Take advantage of the optional essay to give them one more reason to admit you. DON'T use it for a grand summary, a restatement of your other essays, or something similarly boring, superficial, and repetitive. Write a tight, focused essay highlighting something you haven't yet discussed.

If you would like help with your INSEAD MBA application, please consider Accepted's MBA essay editing and admissions consulting or a INSEAD Comprehensive Packages, which provide essay editing, interview coaching, consultation, and a resume editing for the INSEAD MBA application. And if you purchase before July 31, 2009, you can save 15% on all editing and comprehensive packages.

INSEAD 2010 (Sept) MBA Application Deadlines

INSEAD has posted its Fall 2010 Essay Questions, which are almost unchanged from last year. I am posting them below:

Job Essays

1. Please give a detailed description of your job, including nature of work, major responsibilities; and, where relevant, employees under your supervision, size of budget, number of clients/products and results achieved. (250 words)
2. Please give us a full description of your career since graduating from university. If you were to remain with your present employer, what would be your next step in terms of position? (250 words)

Essays

1. Give a candid description of yourself, stressing the personal characteristics you feel to be your strengths and weaknesses and the main factors, which have influenced your personal development, giving examples when necessary. (400 words approx.)
2. Describe what you believe to be your two most substantial accomplishments to date, explaining why you view them as such. (400 words approx.)
3. Describe a situation taken from school, business, civil or military life, where you did not meet your personal objectives, and discuss briefly the effect. (250 words approx.)
4. Discuss your career goals. What skills do you expect to gain from studying at INSEAD and how will they contribute to your professional career. (500 words approx.)
5. Please choose one of the following two essay topics:a) Have you ever experienced culture shock? What did it mean to you? (250 words approx.), or b) What would you say to a foreigner moving to your home country? (250 words approx.)
6. Is there anything that you have not mentioned in the above essays that you would like the Admissions Committee to know? (200 words approx.) This essay is optional.