Accepted’s B-School Selectivity Index shows that UCLA Anderson is 14th in selectivity and 16th in U.S. News’ ranking. Its average GMAT is 716, up one point from last year and the year before. However, the acceptance rate at Anderson has climbed a bit from 20.7% for the class that entered in 2016 to 22.3% for…
MIT Sloan MBA Essay Tips & Deadlines [2019-2020]
This year’s MIT Sloan MBA application, like most MIT applications in the last fifteen years, includes its signature cover letter and resume. It also retains the video component, which was introduced approximately three years ago. My tips for these parts of the MIT Sloan application are in blue below. MIT Sloan MBA cover letter and…
UC Berkeley Haas MBA Essay Tips & Deadlines [2019 – 2020]
Haas changed both of its required essay questions this year. Applicants face a new MBA application and new MBA essay tips. Haas tossed out last year’s six-word story about a memorable experience and does not ask for your post-MBA goals. Don’t be surprised, however, if you are asked about your goals and how Haas will…
NYU Stern MBA Essay Tips & Deadlines [2019-2020]
Per Accepted’s MBA Selectivity Index, NYU Sterns is the fifteenth most difficult program in US News rankings to gain acceptance to. For students in the class that entered in 2018, the full-time MBA program boasts an average GMAT score of 716, an average GPA of 3.45, and an acceptance rate of 23.2%. In addition to its…
Yale SOM MBA Essay Tips & Deadlines [2019 – 2020]
The application has little change from last year. As applicants have done for the last few years when applying to Yale SOM, you need to make the most of its single required essay, but you also need to take the time to make every box in the application a home run. They are not afterthoughts….
Dartmouth Tuck MBA Essay Tips & Deadlines [2019 – 2020]
Under Pena’s leadership, Tuck has developed a very purposeful process focused on admitting people who meet its four criteria, summed up as: smart, nice, accomplished, and aware. The criteria match my understanding of the Tuck community, and also are relatively easy to grasp. Once Tuck established and defined these criteria, it designed its application process…
Stanford GSB MBA Application Essay Tips & Deadlines [2019 – 2020]
In terms of its application, Stanford is once again re-using its essay questions. And there’s good reason for the recycling: These are excellent questions that succinctly get to the heart of what Stanford wants to know about you. They are not easy questions, but they are thoughtful, probing ones. Stanford GSB has also added a…
Duke Fuqua MBA Essay Tips & Deadlines [2019 – 2020]
Leadership, teamwork, ethics, and a global approach to business are essential elements of the Duke Fuqua MBA, which is why you’ll need to make sure you express your passion for these qualities in your application essays. Impress the Fuqua adcom by positioning yourself as an innovative leader and team player, as someone who can see…
Michigan Ross MBA Essay Tips & Deadlines [2019 – 2020]
The Michigan Ross MBA program is thriving. Its graduates are getting jobs throughout the United States and the world. Here are a few of the stats: 94% of 2018 grads had at least one job offer within three months of graduation. Per Poets & Quants, Amazon is the top employer of Ross grads, and their…
Chicago Booth MBA Essay Tips & Deadlines [2019 – 2020]
The two required questions have 250-word minimums. While specifying MBA essay length minimums is very unusual, it fits with Booth’s history of breaking the mold. At the same time, don’t infer that the absence of a maximum is a license for verbosity. As Booth says, “We trust that you will use your best judgment in…
Wharton MBA Essay Tips & Deadlines [2019 – 2020]
The big change in Wharton’s admissions last year occurred at the top. Frank DeVechhis left his position as Director of Admissions. Blair Mannix, Director of Operations and Evaluations since 2015, initially assumed the role of Interim Director of Admissions. She became the Director of Admissions for Wharton MBA in October 2018. In terms of the…
Kellogg MBA Essay Tips & Deadlines [2019 – 2020]
I’d like to highlight one of my takeaways from our sessions with the Kellogg admissions team at a recent AIGAC conference and also a recent online webinar for admissions consultants. If there is one theme I heard over and over from them, it’s “intentionality.” They want to see it in you. They really want to…
Columbia Business School MBA Essay Tips & Deadlines [2019 – 2020]
There is a moderate amount of change in this year’s Columbia MBA application. As they did last year, they are changing the questions for Essays #2 and #3. The short-answer question, Essay #1, and the optional essay are all unchanged. The character and word limits are all the same as last year. Columbia Business School…
Harvard Business School MBA Essay Tips & Deadlines [2019 – 2020]
HBS Kicks Off the 2019-20 MBA Application Cycle? Harvard announced last week its application due dates for 2019-20 and its essay question. In doing so it became the first top MBA program to provide that information, thus kicking off the 2019-20 application cycle. Go Harvard! HBS presented little new or changed from previous cycles. For…
HEC Paris 2019-20 MBA Essay Tips & Deadlines
The HEC Paris MBA application essays – and there are many compared to most MBA applications these days –give the adcom a well-rounded view of you. They go beyond what you’ve done to capture how you think and respond, even how you imagine. Moreover, they require you to communicate complex thoughts and experiences succinctly. For…
