In 18+ years of MBA admissions consulting, I have found that otherwise highly capable and focused people often basically wing it when it comes to creating their target list of business schools. I’ve heard things like: “I’m just applying to all the top ten.” Top ten according to what source? And this: “I realize now…
Is an MBA Worth It, or Is the Sky Falling Down on the MBA Degree? [Episode 346]
Accepted founder Linda Abraham discusses when pursuing an MBA justifies its cost [Show Summary] Linda Abraham, Accepted’s founder and president explores the latest headlines about the value of an MBA. This is a must-listen for anyone trying to decide whether or not to get an MBA degree. Why we’ve been asking the wrong question about…
Top MBA Programs Get STEM-Certified to Attract Int’l Students
Here’s a question for all MBA applicants: what do you do if the product you are selling suddenly becomes significantly less appealing to your international markets? Evolving conditions have made your customers doubt your product is worth as much as you are charging, and fewer potential customers are taking the risk on your product. The…
Poets & Quants Announces 2019-2020 MBA Rankings
Poets & Quants just released its 2019-2020 rankings of the top 100 U.S. MBA programs. There were some minor changes in the top 10 – most prominently is Stanford GSB climbing two spots, passing Harvard Business School and UPenn Wharton, to claim the #1 position. It’s the second time in 10 years that Stanford has claimed the…
MBA Options: Full-Time MBA vs. Part-Time MBA vs. EMBA
At its core, the MBA is a graduate program in business administration for professionals who seek knowledge, skills, a credential, and/or a network to advance in business and to maximize their business performance. While “MBA” makes many people automatically think of a two-year, full-time program, in recent years the variations on the MBA theme have…
Top MBA Programs for Entrepreneurs
Poets & Quants has just released their inaugural rankings for the top MBA programs for entrepreneurs, and Washington University’s Olin Business School tops the list. 20.7% of its graduates from 2016-2018 launched companies within three months of graduation, and has a whopping $1 million in annual funding available for student entrepreneurs. By comparison, the second…
Highlights of Bloomberg Businessweek’s 2019 MBA Rankings
Bloomberg Businessweek released its 2019 MBA rankings this week, and the administration at Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business is celebrating! Tuck rose an astonishing 17 places in this year’s ranking to take the #2 spot just under Stanford’s Graduate School of Business. This is Stanford’s second year in a row in 1st place. Who…
Big Changes in Economist 2019 MBA Rankings
Chicago’s Booth School of Business remaining at the top of The Economist’s ranking of the world’s top MBA programs for the second year in a row is only one of a few stable things in this year’s ranking, according to the Poets & Quants website. This is the seventh time Booth has taken the…
4 Steps to Choosing the Right School for You [Webinar Recording!]
Applying to business school in 2019? Watch this webinar to learn how to refine your post-MBA goals, research business schools, assess your qualifications, and then evaluate this information to develop a list of programs to apply to. This webinar was hosted by The MBA Tour. Related Resources: • Best MBA Programs: A Guide to Selecting…
How Your Top Choice MBA Program Ranks in Accepted’s Selectivity Index
This year’s MBA Selectivity Index™ is here! Three years ago, Accepted developed the MBA Selectivity Index to help you apply realistically and effectively to business school. The index takes the most recent U.S. News rankings data and reflects the schools’ average GPA, test scores, and acceptance rates so that you can assess the relative difficulty…
Do MBA Rankings Matter?
You’ve defined your goals and assessed your qualifications. Now it’s time to move on to the program research stage of the MBA admissions process. There is a sea of information out there: rankings, books, MBA program websites, MBA fairs, Poets & Quants, student and adcom blogs, school open houses, your neighbor’s sister’s boyfriend’s dad –…
U.S. News Releases 2020 MBA Rankings
Many students apply to grad school believing that another degree will improve their professional options and salaries. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)’s employment forecast published in the summer of 2018, they may be right. The BLS forecast the jobs in master’s-level professions would rise by close to 17% between 2016-2026, and jobs…
Top 10 or Bust: Dispelling 2 MBA Myths
Here are two comments that I get all the time from applicants – two related MBA myths that absolutely require busting: Myth #1: Once you attend an MBA program outside the Top 10, it doesn’t matter which school you attend, so you may as well go to the cheapest one you get into. Myth #2:…
7 Ways to Distinguish Between Similar MBA Programs
School marketing materials/presentations/websites superficially sound very much the same. So how can applicants wisely research their options and discern the points of difference? When doing MBA research, pay special attention to the following differentiating features: Employment Profile See where graduates find jobs. Which schools send the most grads to the companies, industries, and locations you…
3 Ways to Determine Which B-Schools Are a Good Fit for You
There are loads of MBA programs out there. How do you decide which ones are best for you? It’s time to unlock the secrets to the elusive “fit” factor. “Fit” is established by the relationship between your needs and desires and what a given program presents. What elements do you seek in an MBA program?…
Should You Apply to a Safety School?
Many applicants who are targeting top ranked programs wonder if they should consider adding a lower-ranked school to their list as a “safety school.” Should you? And is there such a thing? What is a safety school? A safety school is one where you are highly competitive, that is strong in your area of interest,…
Are You a Good Fit for Your Target MBA Programs?
“What Does Your Work Experience Reveal About You in Your MBA Application” is excerpted from MBA Admission for Smarties: The No-Nonsense Guide to Acceptance at Top Business Schools, by Linda Abraham and Judy Gruen. MBA Smarties need to strategize their MBA applications before actually filling out any applications or writing any essays. Because I’m such…
Are You Targeting the Right MBA Program for You?
“Are You Targeting the Right MBA Program for You?” is excerpted from MBA Admission for Smarties: The No-Nonsense Guide to Acceptance at Top Business Schools, by Linda Abraham and Judy Gruen. If you are considering adding the prestigious initials “MBA” to your credentials, you are probably like many of the thousands of clients that Accepted has…
Harvard, Stanford, Wharton: What’s the Difference?
True, Harvard, Stanford, and Wharton have a lot in common. But what if you are in the enviable position of having to choose between the three? What really differentiates the programs and how can you decide which is best for you? Are you applying to business school in 2019 (or beyond)? Work with an experienced admission expert…
Narrowing Down Your B-School Options – Part-1
This is the first post in our MBA Profile Series, in which we’ll explore the different criteria that factor into your decision of WHERE to apply to b-school. Where Should You Apply? You’ve decided that you are going to apply to b-school. Now you need to ask yourself the next critical question: WHERE? Where should…
