The Hard Part of the MBA Interview - How to Survive It
Alternatives to Fan Favorite Programs
Choosing the right business school can be a lot of work. Between research, self-assessment and in-person visits, you have likely realized that much time is spent to decide where you might fit well even before you begin actually writing applications. Why not leverage that effort by applying to clone programs to give yourself more options?
The MBA Round 2 Advantage
It's the time of year where I start having the "Round 2 conversation" a lot with individual clients. Basically, the idea is that Round 2 might be offering a slight advantage, based on theories of market inefficiencies and so forth. For years, the prevailing belief is that Round 1 is the best round to apply to business school. While there is no hard-core evidence to suggest otherwise, some common sense may point to a different result.
Harvard and Kellogg: a tale of two business schools?
Very rarely do we get caught up in trying to spot trends in terms of which schools are "hot" at any given moment.
This is mainly because narratives tend to overreact in the moment, only to fade over time ("Wharton is going off the rails" - 2013 .. "Stanford is mired in sexual harassment scandal!" - 2015), but also because so much of trying to spot these trends is about reacting to anecdotal evidence from a small sample size. Put another way: you are just hearing your clients buzz about schools and express their opinions. Is that enough to go all-in on? No, definitely not. But can you sometimes spot an interesting new trend or pattern? I think yes, sometimes you can.
Where Are All the International Applicants?
Shelving Your MBA Applications
How to Act Like a Leader Part II
In the last blog post, we talked about how to exude leadership qualities by following a few rules of the road. Even if you are not the person in charge at the office, you can begin now to do things which position you for leadership opportunities. Here are some more tips which will help you appear more leader-like in the workplace and ultimately, to your b-school admissions committees
Act Like a Leader and You Might Become One
Will a 650 GMAT get me Admitted to Stanford GSB?
Stanford Graduate School of Business is considered by many to be the best business school in the world, and swaps the ranking of #1 with HBS or Wharton on any given day. With over 8,000 applicants per year and only about 1/10th of that number in the student body, it’s daunting to imagine them saying yes. If you happen to have a good-but-not-great GMAT score, you may struggle with your odds of admission at all. But is it even worth applying if you have a 650 or lower?
A Tip for Writing Harvard Business School Essays - "don't overthink, overcraft and overwrite"
Backup MBA or Try Again?
Cornell’s early admission decisions for their one-year MBA will be released in a few days, so even if you did not apply to this program, it’s essentially the starting gun for this year’s results. Since over the next several weeks and months applicants the world over will be getting good and bad news from their target schools, it’s a great time to prepare yourself to receive the responses. Will you be getting a “yes” from your top choice?
How To Be Involved When You're Not
In the last post, we talked about how important it is to be engaged outside the classroom and outside the workplace. But what if you decided to prepare for b-school a little late and have not really done much other than your job? You may be more engaged than you realize once you do a few things in your application (and your daily life) to cast your extracurricular life in a new light.
How involved Do I Really Need to Be?
We get it---you’re busy. You’ve always been busy. Busy people are the ones going to good colleges andgood b-schools, and busy people are the one’s getting the good jobs and running good companies. But were you too busy to get involved outside the classroom in college? Have you been too busy to get involved outside the workplace? Does it really make a difference? You bet it does.
Do Grades Matter?
Getting graded. It’s been a necessary evil in everyone’s life since we were all old enough to hold a crayon. At every stage, we either cut the mustard or we don’t and then progress to the next level of grading. For those applying to graduate school, you may have thought those college grades were all but forgotten, but now find yourself having to face them once again. And guess what? The grading doesn’t stop with the application process, because very soon you’ll be back in the classroom. This begs the question…do grades really matter?
Up and Coming MBA Programs
It’s hard to ignore the top ten business schools in America. Of all the applications that are submitted to b-schools each year, the top ten schools receive 75% of them. No wonder the process is so competitive! While it’s a great idea to apply to schools in the top ten if you feel you are competitive and a good fit, there are dozens of other great programs out there which you might want to consider as part of your broader application strategy. Here’s a list of pick-six programs you might want to investigate…
Bloom Where You're Planted
Am I Too Old to Get an MBA?
So your career has been good but you think it could be better. You have seen co-workers in your company with an MBA get promoted and reach meteoric heights, so you are considering going back for your own degree, but wonder if it’s too late. Is there an age beyond which you can’t get an MBA? Would you be better off staying put and leveraging your experience? Read on…
Marketing Your Post-MBA Employability
One of the most oft overlooked profile characteristics is employability. Marketing yourself as a potential MBA candidate who will be not only highly qualified on the backend of the degree, but as someone whom recruiters will clamor over could be a great way to differentiate yourself in the application process.
Navigating the Perils of MBA Application Season
Standing Out as an Indian Applicant
