Next up in our series of featured MBA applicant bloggers are Motown, Ms. HR, and Mads Mom from the blog, “Fortune 800: Our Journey to an MBA.” Please enjoy their thoughtful answers and use them to help you make your way through the MBA admissions process. Accepted: First, can you tell us a little…
3 Elements of Leadership
What does it mean to be a good leader? Here’s a simple definition: A good leader moves people in thought or in action. This definition, however, beckons the question: How? How does a leader urge or encourage people to act or think in a particular manner? Furthermore, what sorts of qualities must a leader…
Princeton Supplemental Application Tips
This post about the Princeton supplement to the Common Application is part of a series of posts written to help you complete the 2012 Common Application supplement for Ivy League schools. I’ve always enjoyed working with students who are applying to Princeton. As a group, they have interesting and engaged minds. Extracurricularly, their accomplishments…
Are Law Schools Cash Cows?
Are law schools cash cows, or do some have a soul? With all the talk about the rising tuition at law schools, The New York Times wrote a scathing article (“Law School Economics: Ka-Ching!”) about New York Law School and its allegedly dubious practices. Despite the fact that NYLS is ranked in the bottom third…
4 Ways You Should NOT Use the MBA Rankings
You’ll find loads of articles online enumerating the ways in which you can use the MBA rankings to your benefit. Most of these articles are found on the ranking websites. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t trust what you read on BusinessWeek, The Financial Times, or U.S. News – after all, the rankings do…
GMAT Math Tip: Halving and Doubling
Doing well on the GMAT is a function of accuracy and timing. With only 75 minutes to complete 37 math questions, you have approximately 2 minutes to complete each question. You need to find ways save time, and the “halving and doubling” math tip described in the video and examples below will help you do…
Admissions Resume: What to Include
Recently in “MBA Admissions:The May-October Romance,” I suggested that applicants for Fall 2011 entry begin assembling materials for their applications now – a full 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…
Grad Application Preseason 4: Your Skills
As I’ve been discussing, part of the pre-application thought process involves honest analysis of your achievements and abilities, along with your future interests. Grad school will give you the opportunity for deep, advanced study in your field—including theoretical/methodological approaches undergrads are rarely exposed to. As you prepare to apply, consider how to present your skills/accomplishments…
Reflecting Back on 1970s Women’s Colleges
On the importance of attending a women’s college, 40 years ago, by an alumna: “At a certain age, it’s appropriate to stop thinking of boys as playmates and start relating to them as potential boyfriends and husbands. It’s easier to make the transition if you’re not in each other’s hair all the time.” In a…
College Early Admissions: The Early Bird….
For those college seniors who decided to apply under one of the early admission plans for the fall semester of 2010, last week was a big week. As my high school sophomore noted, “Everyone on campus (of his college prep school) is tense and freaking out.” A little less so after Monday, when Columbia, Brown,…
MBA Essay Tip: Responding to Criticism
2012 MBA Applicant posted recently that thanks to an upcoming employment review he will have material for the question, “What is the toughest criticism you have ever received and what did you learn?” While we’re glad that 2012 MBA Applicant has material, I thought you (and maybe even 2012 MBA Applicant) may want tips on…
Personal Statement Tip: Story Time (Part 1)
The moment I found the lump, I suspected my life was about to change—in a big way. Good enough for an opening line? Want to read more? I hope it’s yes on both counts. Because I’m going to tell you a story. A short one. A true one. Not so much for the sake of…
Tips For Applicants With A Low MCAT Score (Part 1)
Options Without Retaking the Exam All medical school applicants (or any other professional school applicant) must assess their credentials realistically in order to present themselves best during the application process. Since applicants are evaluated based on specific academic (undergraduate and graduate GPA and MCAT scores) and non-academic (research and clinical exposures, leadership skills, mentoring experiences)…
Indian School of Business 2010 Application Deadlines and Essay Questions
UPDATE: The tips for the ISB 2012 MBA Application are now available online. Please review the tips and post questions or comments to the new post. Check out the entire 2012 MBA Application Tips series for more valuable MBA application advice. The Indian School of Business is one of the newest graduate business programs in…
The Three Essential Components of Successful Wait-List Letters
Effective wait-list letters often contain three key components. First is an “update” section informing the school of recent professional and nonprofessional developments since you submitted your application. This section is your ostensible reason for writing, so it should be substantial and full of as many significant changes as you can think of (promotions being the…
Approaching the Ethics Essay
No b-school application essay may be harder to write than the ethics essay. For most applicants, one challenge is simply identifying an appropriate story. Many applicants assume that the ethics essay is designed to put their morals to some stringent litmus test. They brainstorm for examples that show them proudly refusing bribes, pointedly excusing themselves…
The Stanford Reliance Dhirubhai Fellowship
All Indian students considering applying to the Stanford MBA program should check out the new Reliance Dhirubhai Fellowship. The scholarship covers everything for up to 5 Indian students to attend Stanford GSB, and the top 50 finalists for the Fellowship will even receive a break on applying – taking the GMAT and submitting Stanford’s application…