For many business degree hopefuls, the MBA remains the gold standard of graduate management education, and not without reason – an MBA can be the start of a new chapter in your life. Professionally, it can help you accelerate your career or make a career pivot. Academically, it can help fill gaps in hard and…
Should You Take the GMAT or GRE – or Seek a Program That Offers a Test Waiver Option?
Standardized tests have long been an essential component of the MBA application process. Alongside academic coursework, professional achievement, and leadership potential, adcoms worldwide use test scores to assess a candidate’s academic readiness for the rigors of the MBA program. However, you might be surprised to learn that in the 2024-2025 MBA admissions cycle, 14 of…
Writing An Effective MBA Career Goals Essay
For most people, career enhancement is the primary motivation for pursuing an MBA. If this is true for you, writing your career goals essay demands laser-like focus. The essay must demonstrate a clear understanding of how you plan to leverage the MBA to achieve your professional aspirations. Presenting a well-thought-out and realistic plan for your…
Benefits and Challenges for MBA Applicants from Family Businesses
You work for the family business and are applying to MBA programs. Will this background be a net plus for you, or a minus? How can you make the most of this experience? Whether you work for your family’s tiny start-up with headquarters in your home’s basement, at one of the local grocery stores your…
The Importance of Researching Your MBA Goals and Being Authentic
Too many times, as an admissions officer, I read applications from candidates who shared career goals that didn’t quite make sense. Whether there was no connection between their target position and what they had been doing or no explanation of how they would successfully pivot to their desired role, I was left wondering how much…
When the MBA Optional Essay Is No Longer Optional
You’ve already written the required essays that your target business schools have asked for. Do you really need to write the optional essay, too? If you’re a strong applicant who has no weaknesses, low stats, or application inconsistencies to explain, then you might be able to skip the optional essay. But the optional essay is…
Cornell Johnson College of Business MBA Essay Tips and Deadlines [2024-2025], Class Profile
If you are looking for a small MBA class in an idyllic location with warm and genuine classmates, then Cornell Johnson might be the business school for you. While the largest portion of Johnson’s graduates typically enter the consulting industry after graduation (42% of its Class of 2023), 35% accepted roles in the consulting industry,…
The Consortium MBA Essay Tips and Deadlines [2024-2025]
Are you committed to increasing diversity and the inclusion of underrepresented populations in education and business? If so, applying to MBA programs through The Consortium for Graduate Study in Management (CGSM) might be for you. In addition to having the opportunity to receive a full-tuition scholarship to a top business school, Consortium fellows enjoy the…
Thirteen MBA Resume Tips to Help You Get Accepted
This post was originally excerpted from MBA Admission for Smarties: The No-Nonsense Guide to Acceptance at Top Business Schools, by Linda Abraham and Judy Gruen, and has since been updated by Kelly Wilson to reflect recent trends and information. Want to get accepted to a top business school? Check out these 13 helpful MBA resume…
UNC Kenan-Flagler MBA Essay Tips and Deadlines [2024-2025], Class Profile
Are you a team leader? Are you committed to sustainable enterprise? Are you seeking the resources and intellectual capital needed to shape both business and government? Are you a motivated, goal-oriented, innovative individual? If you answered yes to these questions, the UNC Kenan-Flagler adcom is interested in learning more about your multidimensional personality and capabilities. …
Emory Goizueta MBA Essay Tips and Deadlines [2024-2025], Class Profile
Emory Goizueta wants to learn about your professional plans, alignment with the school’s core values, and ability to concisely convey this information through written essays. Additionally, the school’s video essay allows you to present yourself in a dynamic and spontaneous way. Don’t be fooled by the short length of Goizueta’s required essays. Their brevity requires…
UCLA Anderson MBA Essay Tips and Deadlines [2024-2025]
Business schools, in general, must keep up with the pace of change, particularly as technology strongly influences business. Technology and analytics are skills required for success, yet leaders must also possess complementary soft skills to be able to inspire teams to achieve their goals and positively affect the world. UCLA believes these are characteristics of…