Columbia Business School Essay 2 asks you to watch a short video entitled, “The Center” and then use it to answer the question, “How will you take advantage of being ‘at the very center of business’?” The video and the essay question have enabled Columbia to regain its brand and market share. Over the years,…
Getting Ready to Apply to Top Tier Colleges and Universities: Senior Year
This is the final post in our series Getting Ready to Apply to Top Tier Colleges and Universities, a 4-part series for freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors. Accepted can help bring out your best in your applications and my colleagues and I are here to help. Tips for High School Seniors 1. Create a spreadsheet that…
Getting Ready to Apply to Top Tier Colleges and Universities: Junior Year
This post is the third in our series Getting Ready to Apply to Top Tier Colleges and Universities, a 4-part series for freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors. As it becomes increasingly difficult to gain admission into the country’s elite schools, knowing how to navigate the system should become important for you. Tips for High School Juniors 1….
Getting Ready to Apply to Top Tier Colleges and Universities: Sophomore Year
In this second post of our series Getting Ready to Apply to Top Tier Colleges and Universities, a four part series for freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors, I offer tips to high school sophomores. This year is a pivotal year for high school students and an important year for admissions directors. Tips for High School…
Getting Ready to Apply to Top Tier Colleges and Universities: Freshman Year
This post is the first in our series Getting Ready to Apply to Top Tier Colleges and Universities, a 4-part series for freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors. Having consulted with numerous clients on college admissions, I have been facing the same personal decisions as my clients. I’ve already sent one happy stepson off to college and…
Do Low Stats Sink Your App?
Applicants and Admissions Directors almost always seek the same thing. Applicants want to be desired by Admissions Directors and Admissions Directors want their schools to be desired by applicants. Applicants want to optimize their ability to gain admission to the highest-ranking school that fits their education/career needs, and Admissions Directors want to optimize their ability…
Wharton: “Putting Knowledge Into Action”
Does the oldest business school actually have a brand? Does the oldest business school actually need a brand? Ironically, Wharton is a more powerful global brand than the elite Ivy League university of which it resides. In fact, many people don’t know that the University of Pennsylvania is a highly regarded Ivy League institution. Outside…
Do Stanford GSB Grads REALLY “Change Lives. Change Organizations. Change the World.”?
Episode 3 in our Big Brand Theory Series for MBA applicants: Stanford GSB’s motto. Who wouldn’t want to change lives, change organizations, and change the world? Right? For Episode 3 in our Big Brand Theory series, I set out to prove that Stanford GSB admits, transforms and graduates students who accomplish great feats. I wanted…
PhD Applicants: Show, Don’t Tell
When I was Admissions Director at Cornell’s Johnson Graduate School of Management, I asked my colleague and friend, Dr. Robert Bloomfield, who led our Ph.D. program, “What characteristics do you seek in the Ph.D. candidates you invite to interview?” Rob’s answer sounded oddly familiar. A few weeks earlier, I had asked my brother Mark, who…
Are You Growth Minded? Mastering Kellogg’s Changing Brand
Episode 2 in our Big Brand Theory Series for MBA applicants: Northwestern Kellogg. Two days before Kellogg’s Dean Sally Blount announced Kellogg’s motto change from “Think Bravely” to “Inspiring Growth,” I received an email and video link in my inbox from my education hero, Sal Khan about why he will never tell his son that…
