We covered a wide range of admissions-related topics during our Dartmouth Tuck Q&A last week. Thank you to Dawna Clarke, Director of MBA Admissions, and Pat Harrison and Amy Mitson, Associate Directors at Tuck, for an excellent conversation! To review, you can read the whole Tuck Q&A transcript, listen to the full audio clip…
MBA ADMISSIONS
2011 Indian School of Business Admissions Director Interview Posted
Last week’s conversation with Hima Bindu, the assistant director of admissions and financial aid at the ISB, and current ISB students Atma Shivalanka and Chandrasekhar Ghoda, was yet another Q&A success. If you missed the ISB event or if you wish to review it, you can read the whole transcript, listen to the full…
It’s Not Fair! How to Deal with Dings
It may or may not be fair, but many of you are going to get at least a few rejections. What are you going to do about them? First and foremost—if you’ve gotten dinged at your top choice school, that doesn’t mean that you’re never going to get in. It doesn’t even mean that you…
LBS Sloan Fellows Guru Interview
During my recent visit to London, I spent the morning at London Business School. I have several posts worth of thoughts and material. The first one will focus on the Sloan Fellows program at LBS. I spoke interviewed Balbir Guru, Recruitment and Admissions Manager, Sloan and Executive MBA Although I am presenting our conversation in…
What’s the rush?: Round 1 v. Round 2 for MBA applicants
Right now, most of my clients are scurrying about trying to complete their round 1 applications. Many of them will be ready to submit for round 1, but there are a handful of clients I’ve suggested wait until round 2, and we’ve discussed whether or not there is a true advantage to round 1 vs….
Personal Branding in Admissions
The term “personal brand” is bandied about a lot in admissions. I don’t claim to be an expert on branding, but after fifteen years editing essays and advising applicants, I know a bit about admissions. I see the concept of “personal brand” as a threat and opportunity for applicants. Want to know more? See this…
Sustainable MBAs
Thinking about a career in sustainable enterprise? Each year the Aspen Institute ranks MBA programs in their Beyond Grey Pinstripes edition on the schools’ ability to provide curriculum, research and careers while looking at the triple bottom line. This list continues to grow, but according to the 2010 rankings, candidates looking at MBA programs that…
The GMAT and the Law of Diminishing Returns
his is the time of year when you face the facts: Is my GMAT score high enough to get me into my schools of choice or should I retake the GMAT? As an Accepted.com consultant, I would advise you to take the GMAT to achieve your highest possible score, but I also warn you that…
MBA Applicants: What McKinsey (and HBS) Wants
They were looking for four things. I didn’t know until I’d made it to the third and last round of interviews, but McKinsey and Company, the strategy consulting firm perennially ranked among the top “dream” employers of MBA students, was looking for four specific qualities in the candidates they hired. By my calculations, McKinsey made…
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…
Response to “Shortlisting MBA programs”
In Mistakes, Lessons, MBA, and more…, the author, A, reveals his 6 criteria for applying to MBA programs in the aptly named post “Shortlisting schools.” The six are in order of importance: Intake % of Indian engineers Teaching Methodology Recruitment Culture Clubs/extra-curricular Curriculum and specialization. I boil down A’s 2-5 to three which I rank as follows:…
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…
Application Boxes Should Do the Heavy Lifting
For one of Accepted’s first forays into video, I decided to focus on application boxes, the mundane, pedestrian elements of an application that frequently are not given appropriate attention. Please watch the video to see how you make the ordinary into extraordinary, value-added elements of your application. Since this is our first attempt at providing…
Reject Rejection!
The holidays are over, and so is the “honeymoon” for many grad school hopefuls. Fortunately, I’m hearing good news from lots of clients: admissions to top schools. But I know it has been a tough year for many of you: maybe Harvard Business School gave you a precious interview invite, the interview went great, and…
Grad Admissions: Helicopter Parents
The New York Times published an article this week “Letting Your Grad Student Go “ on the phenomenon of helicopter parents in graduate schools admissions. Yes, I mean graduate, not undergraduate, admissions. I have a dual perspective on helicopter parenting. I have been working in graduate admissions as a private consultant for the last fifteen…
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…
London Business School 2010 MBA Application Questions, Deadlines, Tips
UPDATE- THE TIPS FOR LONDON BUSINESS SCHOOL’S 2011 MBA APPLICATION ARE NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE. PLEASE POST QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS TO THE NEW POST. London Business School 2010 MBA Essay Questions My comments are in red. The Admissions Committee will consider carefully your answers to the following questions. Please complete all of the essay questions beginning…
MBA Admissions: Three Tips to Power Chicago Booth’s PowerPoint
I love Booth’s “Essay” 3, the PowerPoint. There, I’ve said it, placing myself at odds with most MBA applicants and many of my colleagues, including fellow Accepted editors. Even Accepted’s president Linda Abraham has pointed out, right here in this almanac, some of the challenges the PowerPoint poses, from potentially stifling creativity (by stipulating four…
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…