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Red Flags that Can Jeopardize Your MBA Application
Over the last few weeks, I’ve been reading Who: The A Method for Hiring by Geoff Smart and Randy Street. There’s a section called “Red Flags,” which the authors don’t call out as “deal killers” but issues to explore in more detail. Check out their list below. I’ve highlighted the issues that I feel are most pertinent to MBA applicants:
- Candidate does not mention past failures
- Candidate exaggerates his or her answers
- Candidate takes credit for the work of others
- Candidate speaks poorly of past bosses
- Candidate cannot explain job moves
- People most important to camdidate are unsupportive of change
- For managerial hires candidate has never had to hire or fire anybody
- Candidate seems more interested in compensation and benefits than in the job itself
- Candidate tries too hard to look like an expert
- Candidate is self-absorbed
Harvard Business School Announces Curriculum Overhaul
Diana Middleton and Joe Light of the Wall Street Journal report that Harvard Business School is changing its curriculum. Here are some of the highlights of the proposed change:
- Three additional mandatory classes for first year students. One of those classes will ask students to create a new product or business.
- Require first year students to do a three-week internship during the Winter break.
According to Harvard’s Chief Marketing Officer, the curriculum change will build “leaders of competence and character, rather than just connections and credentials.” Pundits note that Harvard business school students are known for the “entitlement culture,” emphasis on networking, and downplaying studies.
BusinessWeek Announces the Top Business Schools of 2010
Bloomberg Businessweek announces the top business schools of 2010. Here are the top ten schools in the survey:
- University of Chicago, Booth School of Business
- Harvard University, Harvard Business School
- University of Pennsylvania, The Wharton School
- Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management
- Stanford University, Graduate School of Business
- Duke University, Fuqua School of Business
- University of Michigan, Ross School of Business
- University of California Berkeley, Haas School of Business
- Columbia University, Columbia Business School
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management
Now Easier to Get Into Business School
Avoiding Unoriginal Admissions Essay Topics
Newsweek recently featured an article about cliché admissions essay topics. Check it out; it may give you inspiration on what to avoid.
How to Answer Common MBA Admissions Questions
The Economic Times recently wrote an article on Tips: How to answer common MBA admission questions. It covers tips for the following questions:
- Why do you want to study at a business school?
- Why did you decide to apply to our business school?
- What makes you stand out among other candidates?
- What can you contribute to our programme?
- What are your expectations of this programme?
- How do you plan to use your degree?
Answers to your Top MBA Admissions Questions
With first round deadlines approaching, we get a lot of admissions questions from prospective clients. I’ve decided to share the most important questions and answers here.
Business Schools Change How They Market Themselves
Business Week has a fascinating article on how business schools have to re-think how they promote themselves, given increasing competition and scare jobs.
The Importance of Having a Top MBA: Harvard MBAs Make $1 Million More than Yale MBAs
Using PayScale data, a recent Business Week article shows the (estimated) total career pay for the top 45 MBA programs. To summarize, it pays to get into the best MBA program possible. I’ve excerpted the top 10 paying MBA programs from the article below.
- Harvard University $3.9 MM
- University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) $3.5 MM
- Columbia University $3.3 MM
- Stanford University $3.1 MM
- Dartmouth College (Tuck) $3.0 MM
- Northwestern University (Kellogg) $3.0 MM
- MIT (Sloan) $3.0 MM
- University of Chicago (Booth) $2.9 MM
- University of California – Berkeley (Haas) $2.9 MM
- NYU (Stern) $2.9 MM
Admissions Red Flag: Too Much Contact with the Admissions Office
Here’s an interesting tip from the Graduate Management Admissions Council:
One red flag that is often ignored but should be taken seriously, said some symposium participants, is excessive contact with the admissions office. Termed “Hassler Syndrome” by one participant, extreme dependency on the admissions office may signal a lack of self-confidence that manifests itself as neediness. This trait may show up later in the learning environment, when the student is unable to contribute meaningfully to classes and work groups and becomes known as a “net taker”. The same person may be a drain on career services, unable to take initiative in a job search.