Nov 21, 2022
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Are You Employable in the Eyes of the Admissions Committee? |
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We believe that asking MBA candidates about their goals is plainly absurd, because so many students change their goals while they are in business school. Further, the pursuit of an MBA is supposed to be about career development and exploration, right? Regardless of how we feel regarding the subject, though, you must ensure that if a school asks about your goals in its essay questions or an interview, you have a compelling story about where you believe your MBA will take you. Several years ago, getting a banking job may have sounded compelling to you—are you really capable of making that transition today? Certainly, fewer jobs are available now in the real estate world—is this a likely next step for you during a prolonged real estate drought? Venture capital and private equity jobs are challenging to land even during the best of times—are you able to compete with the elite during a downturn? These are just a few examples of questions you should honestly ask yourself. Keep in mind that not only are the admissions committees examining your story to determine what attributes you might bring to the next class, but if you are a borderline case, they may also send your profile to the career services office to help confirm whether your stated goals are realistic and if you will be difficult to place by or after graduation (i.e., whether you will hinder the school’s employment stats and thereby negatively affect its standing in the rankings). So, pay special attention to your goal statements and make sure that you can credibly stand behind them—and, as we have written in the past, even consider being prepared to discuss some alternate goals. |
Nov 22, 2022
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Top Seven Tips for Informal Letters of Recommendation |
 Although informal letters of recommendation are not an essential part of the MBA application, if used strategically and appropriately, they can help you stand out among the applicant pool at your target business schools and differentiate you from similar candidates. If you do not have an informal recommendation to submit, though, do not worry. They are nice to have, but again, they are not required by business schools. If you do have access to such a recommendation, or think you might be able to secure one, here are our top tips on how to best navigate this tactic to positively supplement your application:
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Nov 23, 2022
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Tackling Reading Comprehension Problems in the GMAT |
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With regard to the GMAT, raw intellectual horsepower helps, but it is not everything. Manhattan Prep’s Stacey Koprince teaches you how to perform at your best on test day by using some common sense. We previously examined how to read Reading Comprehension (RC) passages. If you have not read our earlier article, go ahead and do so right now. Today, I want to talk about the three primary types of questions that appear on RC: Main Idea, Specific Detail, and Inference. I also want to talk about how to analyze RC problems. In general, we learn the most from a problem after we have finished doing it. Our review is the real learning experience. Any problem can (and should!) be analyzed using the questions discussed in this “How to Analyze a Practice Problem” article. How would that work with a Reading Comprehension question? Glad you asked. This article contains an example of a complete RC Inference problem analysis—you will learn not only how to analyze an RC problem but also how to tackle Inference problems. (In general, Inference problems ask us to deduce something from some piece of evidence provided in the passage.) Let us tackle Main Idea questions next. These questions focus on the main point of a passage, though we could also be asked to give the main point of just one paragraph. Specific Detail questions ask us to address some particular detail mentioned explicitly in the passage. We could be asked what the passage says. Knowing if you are dealing with a What question is important. Think about the answers to these two questions: What are you studying? Why are you studying it? Completely different answers! Those will cover most, if not all, of the RC question types you will see when you take the GMAT. You might also encounter a Strengthen or Weaken question, similar to the questions that we see in the Critical Reasoning section. These are fairly rare in RC, though—chances are good that you will not actually see one. So go ahead and tackle those Reading Comprehension question types and remember this: when you are studying, your goal is not (just) to get the question right. Your goal is to learn something that you could apply on a different question (or questions) in the future! |
Nov 26, 2022
| FROM mbaMission Blog: What Business School Rankings Should Mean to You in Your School Search |
 What should business school rankings mean to you? Which MBA programs are really the best? Harvard Business School, the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School? Or maybe UPenn Wharton, Columbia Business School, and the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College? What about Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and the MIT Sloan School of Management? Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business? The Yale School of Management? The Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley? With respect to business school rankings, we understand the confusion many candidates feel. When people talk about the “top ten” programs, the list is invariably made up of some combination of the same 15 schools—all worth considering and generally worth applying to. Sure, they might be hard to get into, but if you do not apply at all, your chances of acceptance are zero, so go ahead and submit your application. But then what? Do you stop your search there? Do you apply to other schools? Do only programs that top the rankings matter? If you are focused on a very specific set of schools, then maybe you do not need to consult any of the rankings at all. But if your goal is simply to attend any business school—not a particular one—then the rankings could inform your search. As you consider which schools to target, here are a few ways of thinking about your choices that might or might not align with the rankings. What do you want to do? If you have a clear sense of what you want to do in your post-graduate career, then start by looking for programs whose graduates actually do those things. In this case, doing your research really counts and can be very revealing. Which school do you think sends the most graduates into marketing? Northwestern Kellogg, of course, right? Actually, not only is that not the case, it is not the case by a long shot: of Kellogg’s 2022 graduating class, only 10.8% entered marketing. Instead, to find the true top school for marketing, you need to look north by about 150 miles (and south in the rankings) to the University of Wisconsin School of Business. Over one-third of MBA graduates coming out of Madison, WI (a lovely little city), go into marketing, and with their average starting salary totaling more than $100,000, you have to figure most of them are pretty happy. Similar examples exist across a myriad of functions. If you want to be a product manager at Amazon, you cannot do better than the Foster School of Business at the University of Washington. Hoping to become a consultant at McKinsey & Company? Look into the University of Virginia’s Darden School. Have dreams of being an entrepreneur? Babson College could be your actual number one. What industry do you want to join? Some MBA programs are known to be feeders into certain industries. On close inspection, discovering which schools can land you where can be surprising. One great example is media and entertainment. Although some notable media companies do recruit on campus (such as Disney and Viacom), no one recruiting event can land you a job in this hot field. Instead, you need to concentrate on schools that have deep, established relationships with firms in a particular industry, based on their location and a long history of connections. If media is your focus, you want to be in New York City or Los Angeles, so for business school, that means the UCLA Anderson School of Management, New York University’s Stern School of Business, and Columbia Business School should be your front-runners. But digging a little deeper reveals other strong contenders, such as Chapman University’s Argyros School of Business and Economics and the Gabelli School of Business at Fordham University. These schools might not be top of mind for most candidates, but their graduates find themselves at the top of the media industry. This same reality exists for other industries. A big portion of the class from Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management will accept positions in health care, many in the robust health care community in Nashville, TN, while the Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University in Houston, TX, offers a straight shot to oil and gas. Thinking about a career in international business? You would have a difficult time finding a better place than Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business in Washington, DC. And for a long time, the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School has been a top program in real estate, sending its graduates into roles with leading real estate firms across the country. Where do you see yourself in the future? A big part of business school is building connections and developing a network for yourself, so you want to make sure from the start that that network is in your desired location. If you want to live in St. Louis, MO, for the long term, then the Olin Business School at Washington University makes a lot more sense than Dartmouth Tuck, no matter what the rankings say. This factor is particularly important for international students, who will need a local network of alumni to support them throughout the rest of their careers. Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business and the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business are known for having deeply committed alumni who have created an outstanding graduate network, but if no Ross or Mendoza graduates live where you expect to be, this does not particularly matter. So, use Google to learn where different schools have alumni clubs. If you plan to be in India, Duke Fuqua might be a good option; in China, you might want to become part of the network for the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business instead. Would you consider a one-year program? While most European MBA programs are only one year in duration, the United States has been much slower in developing these shorter programs. However, over the past few years, some top-ranked U.S. business schools have unveiled programs that not only demand less of a time commitment but are also much more focused. Both NYU Stern and the Johnson College of Business at Cornell University have a one-year Tech MBA, perfect for those looking to join a tech industry giant. Similarly, Northwestern Kellogg has partnered with the McCormick School of Engineering to offer a one-year MBAi program that is geared toward individuals who want to become leaders in tech, with a specific focus on data analytics. Such one-year programs are not limited to just tech. For example, NYU Stern has a one-year Fashion & Luxury MBA intended to help students break into an industry that is notoriously difficult to enter. Some other one-year MBA programs have a broader focus. Columbia Business School’s J-Term option begins in January and forgoes the summer internship, so that students graduate the following May. Similarly, Cornell Johnson has a one-year option for candidates who already have certain degrees or professional certifications or designations, such as the CPA. Although one-year programs do not allow for a summer internship, for the right candidates, one year might be long enough to achieve the necessary outcome. What are your personal preferences? Choosing a business school is not a scientific process. Despite all the data available about each program, you can never underestimate the human element. You might simply like one school better than another for all sorts of reasons, including industry focus, cohort of students, and maybe even issues tied to quality of life. A lot of boxes have to be checked for business school to be a successful experience. Take time to identify what those “other” boxes might be for yourself. Maybe you have a partner who will come with you and needs to have a job while you are enrolled, in which case, more remote schools such as Dartmouth Tuck and Cornell Johnson might not work so well. If you need to be near a major airport, Emory University’s Goizueta Business School in Atlanta, GA, is a great choice. If you have a young family who would benefit from a family-friendly location, consider the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management in Minneapolis. Love to surf? Your search for the perfect program could start and end with Pepperdine University’s Graziadio Business School in Malibu, CA. So, how important should rankings ultimately be to you in your school search? Rankings are a tool, not much more than that. Although they will influence your thinking, of course, do not let them dominate it. Remember that the end goal here is not to attend the highest ranked school you can but to take the best first step in the pursuit of your aspirations. Many MBA programs can help you do that—you just have to figure out which ones. Only then can you determine whether a ranking carries real meaning for you. |
Nov 30, 2022
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Dean Profiles: David Schmittlein, MIT Sloan School of Management |
 Business school deans are more than administrative figureheads. Their character and leadership often reflect an MBA program’s unique culture and sense of community. Today, we focus on David Schmittlein from the MIT Sloan School of Management. David Schmittlein first came to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2007 after spending almost 30 years in the marketing department at Wharton. Upon joining MIT, Dean Schmittlein announced his top priorities in a press release: “to enhance MIT Sloan’s visibility and engagement with leaders of the business community, regionally and globally, especially among the school’s alumni. MIT Sloan should be a wonderful focal point for the professional lives and development of Sloan alumni and others in the broader MIT community who are engaged in business and innovation.” In addition to enhanced global visibility, a significant focus of Schmittlein’s deanship thus far, according to MIT’s website, has been “to work with the faculty in creating new high-quality management education programs, to develop enhanced educational opportunities for current students, and to develop and disseminate business knowledge that has impact and that will stand the test of time.” In an interview with mbaMission, the school’s assistant dean of admissions at the time, Rod Garcia, remarked that one noticeable change since Schmittlein entered the position is that “the dean has placed a huge emphasis on concept-based action learning. We have our Entrepreneurship Lab, our [Sustainable Business] Lab, our China Lab, … among others. The movement toward these labs has accelerated during the dean’s tenure as he has engaged with our alumni around the world.” For more information about MIT Sloan and 16 other top-ranked business schools, check out our free mbaMission Insider’s Guides. |
Nov 30, 2022
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Luxury Brand Management at the GCU British School of Fashion and London Business School |
 Scotland’s Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU)—known as a leader in fashion education since the 19th century—inaugurated a fashion business school in London in 2013 and soon after opened a satellite campus in New York City. Rather than focusing on the design aspect of fashion, however, the GCU British School of Fashion offers a specialized business education with applications to the fashion industry, as the school’s then-director, Christopher Moore, explained in a BBC article when the new campuses were being revealed: “The remit of the school is clear: we are about the business of fashion. And while there are other great international design schools, we are quite different. Our aim is to be a leading school for the business of fashion.” The GCU British School of Fashion’s MBA in Luxury Brand Management program aims to impart industry tools and skills related to such topics as consumer behavior, globalization, and strategic management. The school also professes a commitment to social responsibility, sustainability, and fair trade as part of its core values. With support from a number of British fashion brands, which have included Marks & Spencer, House of Fraser, AllSaints, and the Arcadia Group, the school’s faculty also features a team of honorary professors and fashion industry leaders. The program was designed “to meet the growing demand for experienced managers who really understand luxury brand management in a global context,” the school’s website states. The school also offers programs in Luxury Marketing, Fashion and Lifestyle Marketing, and Fashion Business Creation.  London Business School has also taken steps to attract applicants with an interest in luxury brand management and retail. Although the school does not offer a degree on the subject, students can partake in numerous activities in the field throughout their studies. One of the most notable opportunities is the Walpole Programme in Luxury Management, a partnership with the Walpole British Luxury brand. The program equips students with the tools necessary to enter global management positions after graduation. Students take elective courses, visit companies, participate in workshops, complete internships, and work with a mentor from Walpole throughout the program. The London Core Application Practicum (LondonCAP) module, which was launched in 2017, is a hands-on learning opportunity during which students work with companies on projects related to their interests—a notable past partner is the British Fashion Council. Students can also join the Retail & Luxury Goods Club, which is one of the largest clubs on campus, with reportedly more than 4,500 members. The group welcomes industry speakers and organizes career treks to such locations as Milan and Paris, in addition to hosting an annual e-commerce conference, whose past speakers have represented such companies as Net-a-Porter, Marks & Spencer, and LVMH. The theme of the Retail & Luxury Goods Club’s 2022 conference was “Learning from the Past Decade to Build a Better Future,” and the event welcomed such speakers as the founder of Stuart Weitzman, the managing director of The Savoy, and the president of The Business of Fashion. |
Dec 2, 2022
| FROM mbaMission Blog: How to Research Social Impact Careers and Programs for Aspiring MBAs |
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Aspiring MBA students increasingly desire careers with social impact, ones that allow them to make a difference in the world. Many are prioritizing impact over financial reward. As a result, we have seen a significant shift in the MBA landscape, with business schools introducing new coursework and resources related to social impact. If you are an applicant seeking to integrate social impact with your business degree, how should you go about researching your career and program options? Before we dive in, let us take a look at the social impact careers that are possible for MBAs. Many avenues exist to a profession with social impact. Here are several paths we have seen in our work with MBA candidates:
Next, self-evaluate to identify how your background aligns with your desired roles. What skills and experiences do your target positions require? Do you have any significant gaps in your skill set? Earning your MBA should help close many of them (more on that later), but you could still consider pursuing a certification, investing in online coursework, participating in more regular volunteering to show your passion for social causes, join a DEI committee or CSR efforts at work, or seek out a junior board position to demonstrate leadership within a nonprofit organization. Lastly, as you think about how the MBA fits into your social impact career path, look for business schools that have robust opportunities related to social impact.We have highlighted a few such programs in the past (including Berkeley Haas, the Yale SOM, and Duke Fuqua), but this list is rapidly growing. Depending on which area of social impact interests you, we also recommend Harvard Business School, Stanford GSB, UPenn Wharton, Chicago Booth, MIT Sloan, Northwestern Kellogg, Dartmouth Tuck, Michigan Ross, NYU Stern, and Oxford Saïd. Consider downloading free copies of mbaMission Insider’s Guides and International Program Guides to learn more about these schools and what they have to offer with respect to social impact. As you research school options, we recommend you focus on three keys areas:
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Dec 5, 2022
| FROM mbaMission Blog: How to Introduce Without an Introduction and Own Your Story in MBA Application Essays |
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Most high school students in the United States are taught to write essays that have a formal introduction, a body that supports that introduction, and a conclusion that reinforces the main point presented in the introduction. Although this approach and structure yield easily comprehensible academic work, business school application essays are constrained by word count—so candidates often must use alternative, less lengthy openings because they do not have the luxury of “wasting” 100 words to introduce their topic. We recommend sometimes using the “non-introduction” introduction, depending on the context and pace of your story. If you have a gripping opener that places your reader in the middle of a scenario, we suggest you launch right into your story to grab and keep the reader’s attention. Consider this traditional introduction: “Throughout my career, I have strived to continuously learn and develop as a manager, frequently taking enrichment courses, seizing mentorship opportunities, and seeking frank feedback from my superiors. When my firm staffed me on its $4.5M Oregon Project (our highest profile product launch in a decade), I considered it a tremendous opportunity to deliver and never imagined that it would become the greatest test of my managerial abilities. When I arrived in Portland, I discovered a project deemed so important by our firm that it was overstaffed and wallowing in confused directives from headquarters in Chicago. I quickly surveyed the situation and began to create support for changes to…” What if this essay, under the pressure of word limits, were to begin with a slightly modified version of the body? “When I arrived in Portland, I discovered that my firm’s $4.5M Oregon Project—our highest profile product launch in a decade—was overstaffed and wallowing in confused directives from headquarters in Chicago. I quickly surveyed the situation and began to create support for change…” In this case, approximately 70 words are saved, and the reader is immediately thrust into the middle of the story, learning how the writer jumped into the project and ultimately saved the day. Although the “non-introduction” introduction should not be used for every essay, it can be a valuable tool when applied with discretion. In addition, applicants should consider how to assert a sense of ownership in their essays. Many business school candidates unwittingly begin with platitudes—obvious or trite remarks written as though they were original. For example, when responding to the essay question, “Tell us about a time when you made a difficult decision,” an applicant might mistakenly write the following: “Managers constantly face difficult decisions. Still, everyone hates indecision.” The applicant does not “own” this idea and cannot lay claim to this statement. A simple alternative would be to insert their personal experience and viewpoint into the sentence: “I found myself back in the boardroom with Steve, anticipating that yet again, he would change his mind on the mbaMission file.” By discussing your personal and unique experiences, you demonstrate ownership of your story while engaging your reader. Avoiding platitudes and generalities—and ensuring that you are sharing your experience, rather than one that could belong to anyone else—is a simple but often overlooked step in creating a compelling message. |
Dec 5, 2022
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Introverts at Work: Finding Your Path to Success |
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Is there a place for introverts at work? Yes! Many successful CEOs and leaders, such as Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Warren Buffett, are self-proclaimed introverts. In fact, the CEO Genome project examined more than 900 CEOs and found that more than 50% of those with superior results were actually introverts. This makes perfect sense, considering that introverts bring introspection and a calm and thoughtful approach to problem solving. They build meaningful connections and show real passion for the job. We at mbaMission have curated a few tips to help introverts succeed in the workplace:
For more information on introverts in the workplace, check out Susan Cain’s TED Talk The Power of Introverts and the Harvard Business Review articles “Can Introverts Survive in ‘Extroverted’ Careers?” and “Stop Telling Introverts to Act Like Extroverts.” |
Dec 8, 2022
| FROM mbaMission Blog: MBA Admissions Myths Destroyed: The Admissions Committee Wants a “Type” |
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Many business school applicants believe that MBA admissions committees have distilled their criteria for selecting candidates over the years and have in mind a specific “type” of individual they want. For example, within this world of stereotypes, applicants believe that Harvard Business School (HBS) is looking only for leaders, Kellogg is looking only for marketing students, Chicago Booth is looking only for finance students, and even that MIT Sloan is looking only for “eggheads.” Of course, these stereotypes—like most stereotypes—are inaccurate. Chicago Booth wants far more than one-dimensional finance students in its classes, and it provides far more than just finance to its MBA students (including, to the surprise of many, an excellent marketing program). HBS is not a school just for “generals”; among the approximately 950 students in each of its classes, HBS has a wide variety of personalities, including some excellent foot soldiers. So, at mbaMission, we constantly strive to educate MBA candidates about these misconceptions, which can sink applications if applicants pander to them. By way of example, imagine that you have worked in operations at a widget manufacturer. You have profound experience managing and motivating dozens of different types of people, at different levels, throughout your career, in both good economic times and bad. Even though your exposure to finance has been minimal, you erroneously determine that you need to be a “finance guy” to get into NYU Stern. So, you tell your best, but nonetheless weak, finance stories, and now you are competing against elite finance candidates who have far more impressive stories in comparison. What if you had told your unique operations/management stories instead and stood out from the other applicants, rather than trying to compete in the school’s most overrepresented pool? We think that attempting to defy stereotypes and truly being yourself—trying to stand out from all others and not be easily categorized—is only natural. Of course, for those of you who are still not convinced, allow us to share a quote from Stanford’s former director and assistant dean of MBA admissions, Derrick Bolton, who wrote on the school’s admissions website, “Because we want to discover who you are, resist the urge to ‘package’ yourself in order to come across in a way you think Stanford wants. Such attempts simply blur our understanding of who you are and what you can accomplish. We want to hear your genuine voice throughout the essays that you write, and this is the time to think carefully about your values, your passions, your hopes and dreams.” Makes sense, right? |
Dec 8, 2022
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Professor Profiles: Eric Sussman, UCLA Anderson |
 Many MBA applicants feel that they are purchasing a brand when they choose a business school. However, the educational experience you will have is what is crucial to your future, and no one will affect your education more than your professors. Today, we focus on Eric Sussman from UCLA Anderson. Eric Sussman is an adjunct professor in Anderson’s accounting department and also serves as president of Amber Capital, a real estate investment company. He has been voted Teacher of the Year 13 times by Anderson students and received the Citibank Teaching Award in 1998 and the Neidorf Decade Teaching Award in 2008—both honors decided by a faculty committee. In addition, in 2009, Sussman won the Teaching Excellence Award in the full-time MBA program, which is decided by a vote of second-year students. In 2015, he received the University-Wide Distinguished Teacher Award. Sussman has also been recognized by Bloomberg Businessweek as one of Anderson’s Outstanding Faculty members numerous times, and in 2011, the publication named Sussman one of the Top Ten Most Popular Business School Professors. In addition to his work in the classroom, Sussman created Insight FSA, a software tool that measures and evaluates the financial accounting and corporate reporting risk for public companies via Edgar Online. A second-year student blogger at Anderson once described Sussman in a post as “one of what I call the five rock-star professors here,” and a first year we interviewed stated that Sussman “has an outstanding reputation at the school.” An alumnus we spoke with who had taken Sussman’s “Corporate Financial Reporting” class agreed: “[Sussman is] probably the best professor at Anderson in my eyes and to a lot of other students,” the alumnus said, continuing, “Professor Sussman is also incredibly flexible when it comes to helping students. If you need the help, he will find a way to make time for you no matter your level. He truly was a passionate practitioner who invested so much in the students and school. People like him make Anderson exceptional.” For more information about UCLA Anderson and 16 other top-ranked business schools, check out our free mbaMission Insider’s Guides. |
Dec 9, 2022
| FROM mbaMission Blog: How to Solve Any Sentence Correction Problem on the GMAT, Part 1 |
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With regard to the GMAT, raw intellectual horsepower helps, but it is not everything. Manhattan Prep’s Stacey Koprince teaches you how to perform at your best on test day by using some common sense. Manhattan GMAT has developed a special process for Sentence Correction (SC). Some students and classes have seen it, but here we are sharing it publicly! Read on and let us know what you think. The Five Steps for Sentence Correction
– the problem type (in this case, SC) – the length of the whole sentence – the length of the underline (or the length of the answers) This first glance will help you formulate a plan of attack. 2. Read the Sentence Next, read the sentence as a complete sentence, not just a collection of potential grammar issues. Pay attention to the overall meaning that the sentence is trying to convey. 3. Find a Starting Point 4. Eliminate Answers When you spot something you know is wrong, immediately cross off answer (A) on your scrap paper. Check that same issue (and only that issue!) in the remaining answer choices; eliminate any answers that repeat the error. 5. Repeat Steps 3 and 4 SC is a bit annoying in that your initial starting point often will not allow you to cross off all four wrong answers. You usually have to find multiple starting points. Once you have dealt with one issue, return either to the original sentence or to a comparison of the answer choices, wherever you left off. What to Do When You Are Stuck In general, once you get stuck, give yourself one shot to “unstick” yourself. Try comparing different answers to see whether anything new pops out at you. If not, guess and move on. Half the battle on the GMAT is knowing when to stop trying. Set explicit “cutoffs” for yourself—rules for when to let go—and stick to them! Next Steps Got all of that? Good! In the second and third parts of this series, I will give you some drills that you can use to build the different skills needed to get through an SC problem. Until then, go ahead and practice the overall process until you internalize the different steps. Good luck! |
Dec 13, 2022
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Waitlist Strategies for MBA Applicants |
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Each admissions season, many candidates receive a response from MBA admissions committees that can sometimes be far more frustrating than a rejection: “You have been placed on our waitlist.” What should you do when your status is uncertain? The first and most important thing is to listen to the admissions committee. If the committee tells you not to send follow-up material of any sort, then do not yield to temptation and send material that you think will bolster your case. If you misguidedly choose to do so after being specifically instructed not to, you will most definitely identify yourself in a negative way—not the type of message you want to send to the group that will decide your fate. Does this rule have any exceptions? Yes, actually. If you know a current student or a graduate who can tactfully, diplomatically, and independently work on your behalf, you can have this third party write a letter to or otherwise contact the admissions committee in support of your candidacy. But again, this is acceptable only if this individual truly understands the delicate nature of the interaction. If you have no such person on your side, you will have to wait patiently, as difficult as that may be. Conversely, if the school encourages applicants to provide updates on their progress, the situation changes. In the previous scenario, the frustration candidates experience derives from a sense of helplessness. But in this scenario, candidates tend to lament the lack of time in which to have accomplished anything significant, often thinking, “What can I offer the MBA admissions committee as an update? I submitted my application only three months ago!” First and foremost, if you have worked to target any weaknesses in your candidacy—for example, by retaking the GMAT and increasing your score, or by taking a supplemental math class and earning an A grade—the admissions committee will certainly want to hear about this. Further, if you have any concrete news regarding promotions or the assumption of additional responsibilities in the community sphere, be sure to update the admissions committee on this news as well. Even if you do not have these sorts of quantifiable accomplishments to report, you should still have some news to share. If you have undertaken any additional networking or have completed a class visit since you submitted your application, you can discuss your continued (or increased) interest; when you are on a waitlist, the admissions committee wants to know that you are passionately committed to the school. If you have not been promoted, you could creatively reflect on a new project that you have started and identify the professional skills/exposure that this project is providing or has provided (for example, managing people off-site for the first time or executing with greater independence). Finally, the personal realm is not off-limits, so feel free to discuss any personal accomplishments—for example, anything from advancing in the study of a language, to visiting a new country, to completing a marathon. With some thought and creativity, you should be able to draft a concise but powerful letter that conveys your continued professional and personal growth while expressing your sincere and growing interest in the school—all of which will fulfill your goal of increasing your chances of gaining admission. |
Dec 16, 2022
| FROM mbaMission Blog: MBA Admissions Myths Destroyed: I Have No Real Options |
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In the late 2000s, Harvard Business School (HBS) made a change to its application essay questions that surprised many. Its previously mandatory “long- and short-term goals” essay prompt changed its focus more broadly to “career vision” and became one of four topic choices from which applicants could select two. Immediately, MBA candidates tried to read between the lines and decipher HBS’s hidden agenda behind the change. As a result, many perplexed applicants called us, asking, “Every other school asks about goals, so HBS must want to know about them, too. I need to answer the essay question option about career vision, right?” This question, in turn, compelled us to ask rhetorically: Why would HBS make a question an option if the admissions committee expected you to answer it? If it did, why would the school not simply designate the question as mandatory, as it had been previously? We believe that in this case, HBS made the question an option because the admissions committee did not feel that applicants must have a definite career vision to be admitted. Essentially, HBS was saying, “If you have a well-defined career vision that would help us better understand who you are as a candidate, tell us about it. If not, we would love to hear something else that is interesting about you.” Note that HBS no longer poses this particular essay question, but we offer it here as a way of illustrating how candidates can sometimes overthink or misinterpret the “optional” elements of a school’s application. Essay options are just that: options. None of HBS’s essay choices—or those of any other MBA program—are necessarily “right” or “wrong.” The admissions committees are not trying to trick you, nor does a secret answer exist that will guarantee your acceptance. The programs offer multiple essay question options because they know that each applicant is different, and they want to provide an opportunity for each candidate to tell their unique story. So, as you approach your essays, focus on what you want to say—not what you think the admissions committee wants to hear. |
Dec 19, 2022
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Tips For The MBA Diversity Essay |
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As an MBA student, you are guaranteed to work in student teams composed of individuals from different backgrounds (professions, nationalities, cultures, orientations, etc.). For this reason, business schools want to ensure that you are equipped to collaborate effectively with people who might hold perspectives different from your own. During the past few admissions cycles, several programs have evaluated applicants’ ability to work across backgrounds by posing an essay question that asks about the candidate’s experience with diversity and inclusion, how they have created or promoted an inclusive environment, and/or how they expect to be an inclusive leader at the MBA program and after graduation. Here are our tips on how to approach responding to an MBA diversity essay question:
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Dec 21, 2022
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Why GMAT Prep Is Like Training for a Marathon |
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Our friends at Manhattan Prep often tell students to think of the GMAT as a long-distance race. Successful runners conquer race day through specific goals, consistent training, and mental toughness. The same holds true for successful GMAT test takers. Setting a Goal Pace The best runners do not just aim for completion; they set a goal pace. How do they arrive at a specific, measurable goal? Marathon runners test their abilities on shorter races (5K, 10K, half marathon) to determine an achievable goal for race day. Also, many runners are looking to beat various thresholds, such as completing a marathon in under four hours. Similarly, if you are taking the GMAT, you should have a goal score in mind. You arrive at that goal score by taking a practice test to gauge your current proficiency and then setting a challenging but reasonable goal score. Usually that goal score also coincides with the benchmarks posted by the business schools you’re looking to attend. Having a specific goal in mind helps you develop an appropriate study plan and informs your test day strategies. Training Consistently The majority of a race’s outcome depends on the work you put in before you are on the race course; all the training that your legs have endured will push you across the finish line. For runners, following a consistent training plan produces the physiological changes necessary for improving their pace; it gets their bodies ready for challenges they will face on race day. Just as runners aim to train four or five days a week with a couple of rest days sprinkled in between, GMAT test takers should aim to do ~30 minutes of practice on most days and schedule longer (but not too long!) studying sessions for the weekends. Why? Well, first off, spending long stretches of time away from test material will wipe away some of the “gains” you made in previous weeks. If two weeks have passed since you looked at a Critical Reasoning question, you will need to refresh your memory on the various types of Critical Reasoning questions and the approaches for each. Regularly exposing yourself to the material will keep you moving forward instead of having to repeat a chapter that you previously covered. Second, consistent studying is more manageable than attempting to cram in many hours of studying on the weekend. If you are aiming to run 50 miles in a given week, trying to complete 40 of those miles over the weekend results in overtraining and perhaps even injury. Long, exhausting study sessions leave you tired and demoralized, and more importantly, mastering all the content covered during those sessions is very difficult because your brain is on overdrive. In fact, studies have shown that knowledge retention improves when students space out their study time. Shorter but more frequent study sessions also let you “sleep” on certain concepts and problems, and you will find that you are able to tackle challenging problems with greater ease if you step away from them for a day or two. Lastly, consistent training leads to incremental improvements. Runs that felt tough two weeks ago start to feel easier because you have been training almost every day and your body is making the appropriate physiological adjustments. Jumping from a 500 to a 600 on the GMAT is impossible without making many small improvements along the way. Significant score improvements are achieved through a combination of incremental changes, such as mastering Quant topics, using alternative problem-solving strategies, and improving time management. So open up a calendar and set a consistent study schedule. Feel free to vary things by studying in different locations, mixing topics, etc. You will feel yourself training your brain muscles, and the incremental improvements in performance will sufficiently prepare you for test day. Preparing for the Big Day Before race day, runners spend approximately one week “tapering.” Tapering involves reducing training volume to give your body rest, giving you that “fresh legs” feeling on race day. Staying up late the night before your test is a bad idea. Instead of frantically taking practice tests and completing problem sets during the week leading up to test day, try to taper the amount of studying so that you are well rested and “mentally fresh.” On the big day, all runners are nervous. The runners who hit their goals manage their nerves and exhibit mental toughness. They are optimistic because they know that they have set appropriate goals and trained consistently toward those goals, and they do not let the challenges of race day get in their heads, focusing instead on producing the best outcome possible. Also, they are ready for the long haul. Instead of gassing themselves out by running too fast for the first half of the race, they conserve their energy to maintain the pace required to hit their desired finish time. How does that translate into strategies for test day? On test day, you will be nervous and that is expected. Stay optimistic, gather confidence from all the hard work you have put into studying, trust yourself, and stay mentally resilient in the face of challenging problems. Oh, and if you manage to also have fun on test day, I am confident that you will deliver your best performance. Manhattan Prep is one of the world’s leading test prep providers. Every one of its instructors has a 99th percentile score on the GMAT and substantial teaching experience. The result? Two decades and thousands of satisfied students. By providing an outstanding curriculum and the highest-quality instructors in the industry, it empowers students to accomplish their goals. Manhattan Prep allows you to sit in on any of its live, online GMAT classes—for free! Check out a trial class today. |
Dec 22, 2022
| FROM mbaMission Blog: MBA Admissions Myths Destroyed: I Should Quit My Job to Study for the GMAT |
 The GMAT score is the sole piece of data that is truly consistent from one candidate to another. Therefore, many MBA applicants place undue emphasis on it, when the test is only one of several important aspects of a person’s application. In extreme cases, some candidates even consider quitting their jobs to focus on the GMAT full time—not a great idea! Why is leaving your job to focus on improving your GMAT score not ideal? Quite simply, it sends the message that you are incapable of managing what thousands of other MBA candidates can manage quite well. In your application, you will need to account for any time off; if you honestly admit that you quit your job to study for the GMAT, you will place yourself at a disadvantage relative to others who have demonstrated that they can successfully manage their work, study, and possibly volunteer commitments simultaneously. By taking time off, you will send the (unintended) message that you cannot achieve what many other applicants do unless you have an uneven playing field. This is not a message you want to send your target academic institution, which wants to know that you can handle the academic course load an MBA requires, not to mention a job hunt, community commitments, and other such responsibilities. Regardless of the admissions committees’ perception of taking time off, we believe a calm and methodical approach is your best bet. By furthering your career as you study, you will maintain a sense of balance in your life. On test day, you will have a far better chance of keeping a level head, which will ensure that you will do your best—and of course, this was the whole point all along. |
Dec 23, 2022
| FROM mbaMission Blog: “Lead” versus “Led” and Not Overusing Techniques in Your Application Essays |
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A common mistake we see in our clients’ MBA application essays is the misuse of the verb “lead.” A deeply entrenched and widespread misunderstanding seems to exist as to which spelling connotes present tense and which connotes past tense. One of our consultants even had a client raise their voice in passionate defense—of the wrong usage! In case you are not completely confident about this word yourself, we hope this blog post helps clear up the issue for you. Lead or Led?
Confusing the spelling and/or pronunciation of this verb’s different tenses is a simple mistake but one that stands out clearly to admissions professionals who have probably seen this verb more times in the past year than most people do in a lifetime! So, pay close attention to which is which, and be sure you are using the correct version every time. Another essay-related issue encountered by some applicants is changing the structure from one essay to the next. For example, a candidate might choose to use a quote at the beginning of an essay to create a sense of urgency: “This cannot be fixed. This cannot be fixed!” I stared blankly at the broken machinery and knew that the next few hours would be crucial… Using this kind of attention-grabbing technique can certainly be effective, but you should never use any technique more than once in an application. By starting more than one essay in the same manner, you are essentially telling the admissions reader that you understand how to use a gimmick but not how to tell a compelling story in your own way. This is also a quick way to lose your reader’s interest! Be sure to vary your approach in each new essay within a single application. Presenting your ideas in fresh and different ways will help catch the admissions committee’s attention with each introduction and, indeed, each essay. |
Dec 27, 2022
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Will I Get In? And If I Do, Will I Want to Attend After All? |
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Not surprisingly, one of the most common questions we receive from MBA candidates is “Will I get in?” Of course, this is an important question to consider before applying, and we suggest that you honestly assess and understand your candidacy and risk profile within the context of your target school’s typical student body before completing or submitting an application to that school. However, once you have determined that you will in fact apply to a particular school, you should not let this question haunt you or halt your progress. Many applicants spend too much time worrying and not enough time working. Your admissions decision is ultimately out of your control, so just focus on submitting the best application you possibly can. The following scenario may be hard for you to imagine when you are still in the midst of applying to business schools, but every year, we at mbaMission see clients get accepted to an MBA program only to realize it is not a place they actually want to attend after all. Alternatively, we occasionally see applicants who are not accepted to any school and realize they must remain in a job they were more than ready to leave. So, how do some candidates end up in these kinds of situations? In both of these scenarios, the applicants chose and applied to schools without first taking an honest look at their candidacy, goals, and alternatives. We encourage all applicants to very thoroughly consider where their true tipping point lies in terms of attending business school. At what point would not going to school be better than going to X school? Some candidates feel that if they do not go to Harvard Business School, they may as well not go to business school at all. Others believe they must attend a school in the top ten. Still others think, “I really hope to go to a top ten program, but I’ll be happy to attend any top-30 school.” Having a frank discussion with yourself (or perhaps with us) on this topic may help you pinpoint where this cutoff point is for you. Start by researching all the MBA programs at which you believe you would be competitive, and then organize them into three clusters: dream schools, reasonable schools, and safer schools. Next, further investigate the schools you deemed “reasonable” and “safer,” and as you do so, ask yourself, “Would I rather be at this school next year or not be in school at all?” Essentially, we are suggesting that you imagine your worst-case scenario—not getting into any of your dream schools—and decide what you would do in that situation. Then, in addition to applying to your dream programs, apply only to those reasonable and safer schools for which you felt going would be preferable to not attending any MBA program at all. This way, you can avoid finding yourself in either of the situations we described at the beginning of this post and instead will be well positioned to embrace the choices you ultimately have. |
Dec 27, 2022
| FROM mbaMission Blog: Professor Profiles: Antonio Fatás, INSEAD |
 Many MBA applicants feel that they are purchasing a brand when they choose a business school. However, the educational experience you will have is what is crucial to your future, and no one will affect your education more than your professors. Today, we focus on Antonio Fatás from INSEAD. The Portuguese Council Chaired Professor of European Studies, Antonio Fatás teaches macroeconomics on INSEAD’s Singapore campus. Fatás has served as a consultant for numerous international financial organizations, including the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the OECD, and the European Commission, as well as for the U.S. Federal Reserve and even the government of the United Kingdom. A recognized global expert on fiscal policy, business cycles, and the economics of European integration, Fatás has published pieces in the Journal of Economic Growth, Credit and Banking, the Quarterly Journal of Economics, the Journal of Money, the Journal of Public Economics, and the European Economic Review, among other outlets, and has been featured regularly on CNBC and BBC World News as well as in the Financial Times, Forbes, the Huffington Post, the New York Times, and The Economist. One student we interviewed who had taken Fatás’s macroeconomics class observed, “It was an incredible learning experience, and I enjoyed the course a lot. It’s one of those courses where you say, okay, the fee is worth this course, because I got so much from it that I feel very well rewarded.” And another student with whom we spoke described class with Fatás as “actually amazing.” For more information about INSEAD and 16 other top-ranked business schools, check out our free mbaMission Insider’s Guides. |
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