Several excellent articles and interviews, along with other noteworthy factoids, have appeared during the last few days:
- Businessweek‘s Expo interviews are now online. The Expo focused on demonstrating fit in your MBA applications. BW Editor Phil Mintz examined this theme in interviews with Clear Admit’s (and AIGAC’s) Graham Richmond, Chicago’s Rose Martinelli, Haas’ Pete Johnson, and Michigan Ross’ Soojin Kwon Koh. I strongly recommend you review these interviews, but in the meantime, here is an excerpt from Pete Johnson’s comments on fit:
The subject of today’s discussion is finding the best-fit business school. What’s the first thing you do at Haas to determine if a student is a good fit for the school?
Well, one of the first things that we look at is the level of knowledge that an applicant has about our program. There are a number of characteristics that would make for a good fit, and one of the ones that I feel is most important is that the applicant knows about the program and what things it offers that fits their personal and career goals. So I would look for evidence that they had information about things like particular specialization areas that were consistent with their career goals and that they know something about our student culture.
- The Wall St. Journal published its interview with Tuck Dean Paul Danos, who was recently reappointed for a fourth four-year term as dean of Dartmouth’s business school. The interview highlights Dean Danos’ plans for Tuck: increasing the faculty so that Tuck will "create theory-to-practice seminars with eight to 12 M.B.A. students getting direct exposure to the research process and learning more about the faculty’s methods of solving the riddles of the business world." Dean Danos is a big believer in business schools balancing theory and practice, research and experience as evidenced in the Q&A that resulted from my meeting with Tuck’s dean last year.
- GMAT registration and test-taking volume continues to climb. "Year-to-date GMAT registration volume through September 30 shows an 11.64% increase over the number of registrations recorded during the same period in 2006" according to GMAC. Actual test-taking volume climbed 13.20% over the same period last year. Since GMAT volume tends to be a "leading indicator" of application volume, whispered concerns about the sub-prime mess affecting MBA hiring have not yet dampened the ardor of would be MBAs around the world.
