Stanford GSB « Master Admissions

January 25, 2013

"Feeder Schools" and the MBA

Filed under: Application ideas,Harvard Business School,Stanford GSB — Tags: Admissions, feeder schools, Harvard MBA, Stanford MBA, undergraduate schools and the MBA — admin @ 3:04 pm

I have seen a lot of discussion around the internet about the right "feeder schools" to top MBA programs. Some websites, such as Poets & Quants, back into an aggregation of the top feeder schools, but even before discussing them, you want to be aware of false correlations, and of assuming causation when there really is none.

Harvard Business School has done us all a favor by publishing a list of schools where students from the HBS Class of 2014 come from. It's encouraging to see the incredible range of schools. The international scope takes your breath away; who knew there were students from the University of Macau? Aalto University in Helsinki, Southeast University, Universidad Pontificia de Comillas?

That just speaks to the exciting diversity of an MBA education, especially at a school that has a worldwide draw such as Harvard Business School. The other kind of diversity is in type of school. Of course Princeton, Yale, Dartmouth, Stanford and other brand names populate the list (more on that later), but what about a school that is about as free-form as Bard? Or a brand-new school such as the Franklin W. Olin College, or a specialized schools such as Kettering University. I mean, who knew?

Undergraduate institutions represented at the Harvard Business School Class of 2014.

This should cheer a lot of people up, figuring that if they didn't go to an "Ivy" or a state-school Ivy like Michigan or North Carolina, that all is lost. Good Lord, that's not true.

So I posted this link on a forum in which I participate called Wall Street Oasis. It's for young folks who are either trying to break into Wall Street or a similar job. It's a very humorous venue. In any case, the first comment I got after posting was, "ha ha if your school isn't on it!." Well, again, that doesn't hold water. I work as a resume coach at the Stanford Business School, and get to see people's backgrounds. I've seen students from UC Davis, a terrific California state school which is not represented this year at HBS, Portland State, University of Ulster, my goodness, there's no one in the HBS class of 2014 from the University of Nebraska? What would Warren Buffet (who was rejected from HBS, by the way)

So if you are worried that your undergraduate school puts you at a disadvantage, as long as you did well there, you should be fine.

Now, a quick note about "feeder schools." You'll see on the web that a lot of students did come from schools such as Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Yale. But that's partly a function of the number of students that applied, and partly a function of what people are "expected to do." In short, if you went to Dartmouth, does it mean you will automatically get into HBS? No. Does it help? Maybe. If you went to University of Nebraska, does it mean you won't get in? Nope. If you got a 2.5 GPA at Penn, will you be looked at more than someone who got a 3.5 at Arizona State?
Probably not. But it depends on what you took, what that other student took, and on and on.

There's a rhyme and a reason, and most of it makes sense. But it doesn't make sense to game your past. If you are unhappy with your previous school or previous GPA, you can take a course an get an alternative transcript. I'll write more about courses that work for an alternative transcript in another blog post, or if you've got a specific question, just email me.

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August 25, 2012

Are you a Non-Traditional MBA Candidate? Then Read This.

Filed under: Application ideas,Harvard Business School,Inspiration,Stanford GSB,Wharton — Tags: Dee Leopold, entrepreneurship, Harvard Business School, MBA admissions, MBA admissions consultant, Stanford Business School, Wharton — admin @ 12:36 pm

Just about everyone, that is, other than McKinsey consultants and Goldman analysts, call themselves non-traditional candidates for business school. Why? Because they think that everyone who will populate the next MBA class comes

Defraying the cost of business school

from management consulting or finance.

We all of know a few consultants, investment banking types, and more than a few engineers at business school. And indeed, if you look at the profiles of many business schools (here’s a link to the Wharton MBA site, where you will see a combination of 42% for those in investment banking, private equity, or other finance). But thousands of others from backgrounds in the arts, social enterprise, hard science, start-ups, and the military will make their way to MBA program of their choice in the next intake class. Really.

It’s a Master of Business Administration
Here’s something that most people don’t understand: business school is about business. More and more students come from non-profits, and more and more will go into social enterprise (otherwise, why else would Stanford Graduate School of Business’s motto be “Change Lives. Change Organizations. Change the World?” Of course schools are looking for leadership. But they also want students to appreciate what makes a business enterprise work. Dee Leopold, the heralded director of admissions at Harvard Business School, calls this business acumen “bizability.”

The term bizability reminds students that they are (nearly always) applying to a school of business. The degree is called a Master of Business Administration. The Yale School of Management had tried for two decades to sell its Master of Public and Private Management (MPPM) degree, but the school officially changed the name to the MBA in 2000. Business is about commerce, about enterprise, and even in the case of non-profits, it’s about the bottom line. Dee Leopold described it as being “grounded in the language of business.”

Bizability means that students have to, at some level, grasp business. You can still be part of the 99%, that’s fine (many of us are). I once met a student who wanted a joint degree in education and business to fund a school, but she hated the concept of business. She didn’t see the value in finance; she just thought it was all evil. That is not a great admissions strategy. You have to like business well enough to have been exposed to what makes a company tick and want to learn more.

So what if you have worked in a government or non-profit organization. You don’t have to think too hard about where you have used “business skills” to succeed:

1. Have you run – or do you work with -- the budget for your department?
2. Have you allocated resources (e.g., people, systems, programs?)
2. Have you raised money, either from investors or organizations giving grants?
4. Have you ever had your own business, like a lemonade stand, a neighborhood newspaper, or an Etsy store?
5. Do you follow business news, the financial press or the stock market? Do you know how your IRA works?
You don’t have to answer “yes” to all of these questions, but they probably shouldn’t scare you if you are thinking about an MBA.

So think about what business school is about and what having a career with a business degree means. Think about words like management, enterprise, company, operations, market, trade, and finance. Do you have an affinity for any of these ideas? If so, you are on your way, and are perhaps not so scarily non-traditional after all.

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July 16, 2012

Consider Your Audience in Your B-School Application

Filed under: Application ideas,Essays,Harvard Business School,Stanford GSB — Tags: Dee Leopold, Harvard MBA, MBA adcom, MBA admission consultant, MBA application, MBA application process, MBA communications, mba essays — admin @ 11:45 am

I recently attended a workshop at the Stanford Graduate School of Business on pitching business plans to entrepreneurs. The experts there kept hammering it home: consider your audience.

An MBA application is like any sales pitch. Your audience will not only determine what you have to say, but how you are going to say it.

Your audience is your target market. The audience can be one person, it could be hundreds, or it could be a small committee of just a few people who will be deciding on whether you get into their business school.

They want to love you

Let’s think about them, and what might appeal to them. Who are they? What do they care about?

I don’t know about you, but I’ve met quite a few admissions officers at presentations and MBA fairs. They are marketers too, and they want to connect with you as much as you want to connect with them. In doing so, admissions committee members will tell you a lot about their programs, and will also tell you a lot about themselves as an audience.

So here are a few ways you want to consider your audience in the MBA application process:

1. Listen
Figure out what the school is looking for. This can sometimes be called “application criteria” in the case of Harvard Business School, or in Wharton’s case, the page is called, “Preparing a Successful Application.” Then, read through the website and see what the school is saying about its brand, its goals for itself. Read chats, go to events. Listen to what admissions representatives care about. Look for what they say are the requirements for an MBA program at their school.

2. Pay attention to fit
As an audience, the admissions committee is also looking for “fit with their program.” They don’t want you to simply apply because of the rankings, but, like any audience, they want to know that you have done solid research on MBA programs. You want to connect with your audience not by showing off that you have all sorts of facts about the school, but make a genuine link, by incorporating your experiences that school’s community and purpose.

3. Remember it’s a business school
Let’s break this down. First, you are trying to learn about business. It’s a Master of Business Administration. You will be studying and talking about private enterprises, so you have to have some sense of what business, commerce, industry, profits and loss, markets, are all about. You don’t need to know everything, but you want to be able to learn about companies. Don’t get me wrong, you’ll learn a lot about government and NGOs. And you can come from government or non-profit. I did!

That also means that you want to present your application as if it is a business project. That means use your project management skills to lay out your recommendation strategy. That means using appropriate language in your application. That means paying attention to details, from the short answers in the data sheets to the topic sentences of your essays.

4. Your audience is employed by a school
The readers of your application care about your academics. This is something that you cannot talk away in the optional essay. Business school is hard, and they want people who will make it. You need to meet the school’s standards, which are, admittedly high. But broad. Schools do look holistically. But they also do require some metrics. Like the quant portion of your GMAT or GRE. Like your writing skills. And like your ability to sit in a classroom, participate and get a good grade.

5. Your audience wants you to succeed

When Dee Leopold, head of Harvard Business School admissions, gave her webinar on the changes in the HBS application, she said it outright: “We are really nice people here. We are human, we want to understand; we are not ogres, with hatchets. We will go way down the road to understand the choices you’ve made.” Other admissions committee people tell me that first and foremost, they want the applicant to succeed. Their reaction when they decide not to admit is more “I wish it weren’t so,” rather than “another one bites the dust.”

The punchline
Make it easy for your audience. They are on your side. They don’t want to bite your head off. They have given you instructions and plenty of room to tell your story. They want it to be interesting, professional, and well-executed. And if you go that far for your audience, I guarantee they will meet you more than halfway.

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May 9, 2012

What You Can Do NOW to Boost Your MBA Application

Filed under: Application ideas,Chicago Booth,Harvard Business School,Stanford GSB — Tags: Admissions, Betsy Massar, boost your MBA application, career path, Chicago Booth, Dartmouth Tuck, Derrick Bolton, GMAT, Harvard Business School, MBA, MBA admissions criteria, Stanford MBA — admin @ 12:58 pm

With deadlines for MBA applications about six months away, you might think there's not much you can do to prepare right now other than take the GMAT or GRE. Even if you’re planning to apply to schools next year, you may think that your profile as a candidate is already set in stone.

Line up here

But the truth is, you can always improve—and whether you’re a few months or years out, you’ve got time to plan your campaign and enhance your application. Admissions officers are looking for several key things—ability to handle academic rigor, career progression, and leadership potential. "Virtually every MBA program looks for students who exhibit intellect and leadership," writes Derrick Bolton, Director of MBA Admissions at the Stanford Graduate School of Business

Here are three concrete ways you can demonstrate your potential to admissions officers—and even beef up your future employability, too.

Take Undergraduate Quant Classes

Because business schools are very quantitative, they want to know that you can do the work that’s required. Plus, potential employers will be happy to see that you can handle numbers as well."We want to be sure that you will be able to handle the rigor of Tuck’s quantitative program." says Pat Harrison, associate director of admissions at Dartmouth's Tuck School.

You might think your GPA, that C+ in economics, or the fact that you’ve never taken calculus will doom you—but that’s not the case. You can take an online calculus or business statistics class from any number of accredited universities now, and use those grades on your business school applications. In many cases, accredited, graded courses can mitigate a less-than-perfect undergraduate record.

Another option is a specialized pre-MBA program, like the Tuck Online Bridge program, which offers courses in a number of disciplines, including managerial economics (statistics). If you’re just trying to beef up skills and don’t care about a grade, take a look at MBA Math, which offers very practical lessons in financial math, statistics, accounting, and microeconomics.

Demonstrate Your Career Progression
Admissions officers and potential employers are looking for people who have moved forward and will continue to advance in their careers. Chicago Booth's evaluation criteria includes "track record of success, resourcefulness,and sense of personal direction." Success doesn’t necessarily mean title advancement—rather, it’s about taking on an increasing level of responsibility. And not just when it’s offered.

Naturally, if your boss assigns you to spearhead a new product, run with it. But if that opportunity isn’t handed to you, you can volunteer to mentor new employees on your team, or develop an outreach program to educate internal clients about your group’s initiatives.

You can also ask for additional assignments that might teach you about a different part of the company. As long as your boss doesn’t think you’re leaving your current assignments unfinished, see if you can broaden your experience. Ask to join an existing firm-wide committee, or simply offer your services when you see someone else feeling overwhelmed.

These are little things that can expand your influence within your current position and propel you to a promotion, whether it’s official, unofficial, or even into another company. And even if you don’t get that promotion before you turn in that b-school application, the extra responsibilities and your initiative will reflect well on you.

Expand Your World
You can also look outward to the community to increase your leadership experience. "Our students...have to be seen as people who are creating value in society," said Harvard Business School Dean Nitin Nohria. I’m not suggesting that you merely add to your list of extra-curricular activities—the way you are involved in an activity can tell an admissions committee member more about you than can a lengthy list of organizations. So, look at what you’ve already been involved in and where you can deepen your leadership role and have a greater impact on your organization.

If you’ve been tutoring at-risk youth, for example, you might create and implement a strategic plan to bring on more volunteers to your group. Or if you’ve been raising funds for an annual 10K, you could develop relationships with corporate sponsors who may be able to help year after year. These types of activities can illustrate your initiative and long-term planning skills, and can be incorporated into the stories you tell in your essays.

As a business school applicant, you always have the potential to learn and grow—even in the months before you apply. Continuing to add to your portfolio of skills and achievements as you’re selecting schools and studying for the GMAT will show a propensity toward mature leadership—and that’s something admissions officers can’t wait to read about.

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March 28, 2012

Aiming for a Business Career: A How-To for College Students and Recent Grads

Filed under: Application ideas,Harvard Business School,Stanford GSB — Tags: Admissions, careers, GPA, leadership, MBA, McKinsey, Morgan Stanley, recent graduates, UVA Darden — admin @ 12:58 pm

May the odds be ever in your favor

My day job is helping people get into business school, and most of my paying clients are a few months away from filling out their applications. In most cases, I wish I had met them years earlier. That’s because young professionals-to-be could have taken advantage of opportunities that make it just plain easier to jump into a great enterprise after graduating.

Solid skills, leadership potential, global awareness
The MBA is not a requirement for a business career. And I don’t recommend that people set their sights on it simply because it’s another hoop to jump through. But some of the things that admissions officers are looking for are some of the same things that recruiters are looking for, which are the same things that your hiring manager and teammate wants from you: a combination of solid skills, leadership potential, and global awareness.

Harvard Business School presents essentially the same three attributes as its admissions criteria. And if you know up front that’s what everyone is looking for, you have a good chance to work on them now.

Skills=quantitative ability
I’m leading with the math stuff because many exciting post-college jobs need you to crunch numbers and use excel. It may not be inspiring work right away, but businesses make decisions on analytics, and if you can figure your way around basic math and logic problems, you will add value to your team. Look at the job description for the analyst position at any of the consulting or investment firms, and you’ll see they are looking for candidates with strong analytic (=math/quant skills).

If you are thinking of going a less formal route, but are still considering business or professional graduate school, you should take one math course now and nail it. If calculus scares you, take business statistics (not social science stats). It’s incredibly relevant; I’ve used the tools of probability and regression time and time again in my own finance career, and never had to calculate the area under a curve.

Finally, grades matter. People talk all about the GPA, but the quality of the school, the challenge of courses and the trend are more important. Everyone forgives a weak freshman year if you turn it around by your junior year and really focus.

Patterns of leadership
Harvard Business School calls it a “habit of leadership,” There are thousands of definitions of leadership, and it doesn’t mean you have to be president of the student body or be the next Mark Zuckerberg. You should be actively involved in a select number of activities during college. Investment firms like athletes, not just because of the competition, but sports requires working hard, discipline and being part of a team. Sports show opportunities for leadership, not just for the captain, but through collaboration and helping teammates do better.

You can also start your own a club or lead an initiative. One student I worked with from Vassar (my undergrad alma mater) started two different clubs – snowboarding, electronic music, and now is spearheading an entrepreneurial effort within the alumni community.

Emerging leadership shows in the words of a student newspaper editorial or production of a college comedy troupe. You can find leadership in teaching – especially if it means getting up in front of a room, encouraging a discussion, motivating others, giving and receiving feedback. The college campus is filled with opportunities to spread your wings and make something happen. That’s how leaders begin.

Go Global
I once asked Derrick Bolton, head of admissions at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, if having overseas experience was a “check the box” requirement to get admitted. He demurred, but did say that he would encourage college students to become fluent in another language. MBA programs are training global leaders. Look at the single essay University of Virginia’s Darden School requires of applicants:

Share your perspective on leadership in the workplace and describe how it has been shaped by the increasing influence of globalization.

For those of you who are already bi-lingual or bi-cultural, you have a leg up on the competition. It’s no secret that business is global; it could mean living abroad or it could mean working in an international virtual team. This cross-border outlook is essential for those who want to be leaders in business or social enterprises. Having worked in Asia for 10 years, I personally believe that a cross-cultural experience should be a requirement for tomorrow’s business leaders.

Take a breath
You don’t have to race toward your career goal by doing everything perfectly, or even in a straight line. Take advantage of all the opportunities you have now.

Aim high. You’ve got nothing to lose.

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January 19, 2012

What is the Best Business School for a Career in Finance?

Because I worked for Goldman Sachs right out of business school, later worked in investment management, and now consult with companies like BlackRock, lots of people ask what MBA program they should attend if they want a career in finance. And they also wonder if they should go to graduate school at all. For the purpose of this article, let's assume you want to pursue an MBA.

Riches can be yours!

Here’s what it does not depend on: rankings. Rankings have something to do with what business school or finance degree you might want to research, but they won’t tell you whether it’s the right program for you. And rankings are all over the place. A few months ago, I wrote a blog post on this subject with lots of quotes from the Assistant Dean at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business. Tuck has been ranked overall #1, #6, #7, #14, #18, depending on who you talk to, and encourages students to look beyond the actual listing.

Figuring out the Right Path

So which of the top schools might be better in corporate finance, or M&A, or hedge funds, or private equity? Is Wharton better in finance than Harvard, or is Stanford the best way to get a job in venture capital? There are a lot of opinions all over the internet – and many of them are simply wrong. So what should you believe? You’ve got several ways to figure this out.

1. See who is recruiting at your target school. Not everyone gets a job on campus, but take a look at the recruiting list for any school. You can usually find it through their employment report. Here is Columbia Business School’s employment report, for example. The list of recruiters starts on page 10. Or here’s UC Berkeley Haas’ list of companies that have come on campus. Examine it carefully. You might not find some of the big New York PE shops, but you’ll find Cambridge Associates, which for you, might be an even more likely stepping stone into venture capital, private equity, or hedge funds.

2. Visit the schools and/or talk to students about their experiences. With LinkedIn and Facebook, you must know someone who knows someone. Many schools put student contact information right on their website, for example, see this list of student ambassadors from Michigan Ross or NYU Stern. Others, like Harvard Business School, present interviews of students—who are all easy enough to find if you look hard enough.

3. Investigate clubs at your target business school. Columbia’s Private Equity and Venture Capital Club has its own website, and don’t be fooled by the log-in. Just jump to club officers, and you’ll have plenty to work with. More interested in Chicago? Booth doesn’t just have a finance club, it has a corporate finance club, an investment banking club, a PE club, and and even a distressed investing and restructuring club.

4. Talk to actual people in your target industry and find out what paths they took. While the big guys in the PE industry look like a straight shot from Morgan Stanley M&A, venture capital, hedge funds, and other investment firms might have a more circuitous route. Hey, Mitt Romney came to the private equity business by way of management consulting, so why can’t you?

5. Network. This is essentially the same as item #4, but it’s so important that I am mentioning it again. Because you want to hit the ground running once you get to business school, it makes sense to start building your contacts now. Brian DeChesare, an expert on breaking into Wall Street, encourages prospective financiers to “network like a ninja” because, “even if you’re at Harvard you can’t rely on on-campus recruiting.” And even if you get an interview through on-campus recruiting, you want to have friends who can help you actually land the job and do well there.

And in the meantime, have fun with the process. You’ll learn a lot and meet lots of people. And it’s definitely more enjoyable than signing up on e-Harmony.

--Betsy Massar

Don't forget to check out our new book Admitted: An Interactive Workbook for Getting Into a Top MBA Program

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December 10, 2011

Authenticity, the Real You, and the MBA Application

Filed under: Application ideas,Berkeley Haas,Essays,Harvard Business School,Stanford GSB — Tags: Admissions, admitted, Berkeley Haas, business school, Dawna Clarke, MBA, Stanford GSB, Tuck, Tuck MBA — admin @ 4:32 pm

self-exploration or self-excavation?

Here's how to get into your top-choice business school: be yourself. If you are struggling with MBA essays, the last thing you want to hear are those two words, but that's the secret. I know it seems like a cliché, but admissions officers say over and over that they want to get to know YOU in the essays. Allison Davis, Associate Director of Admissions at Stanford Graduate School of Business wrote those very words in a blog post, even calling them “corny, but true.”

Get Real
The only way for you to do that is to show your authentic self. Not the person you think the committee wants to read about. I guarantee this one fact: YOU are more interesting than that mythical person. They want to read about your successes and foibles. I recall an admissions officer from Berkeley’s Haas School of Business remark that he loved reading the stories where people learn from mistakes or failure. Those stories show a lot about a person’s true character. Remember, every business school class is made up of human beings, and the more you show who you really are, the more you will stand out from the crowd of generic applicants. No kidding.

Dawna Clarke, Director of Admissions at Tuck, blogs about the importance of showing the “real you.” She reminds applicants that the admissions process is designed to facilitate self-reflection and should help you to genuinely understand yourself—something you take with you regardless of where you get in. Clarke writes:

Perhaps the most important thing to keep in mind is to be yourself. It goes without saying that the best thing you can do is walk away from your business school application experience knowing you put your best in front of the admissions committee for consideration. Regardless of the decision outcome, you'll have no regrets and, hopefully, you have learned a little about yourself along the way.

When your authentic voice comes through, it makes your application credible and demonstrates confidence. Says the Stanford Graduate School of Business admissions website (look under the heading “Personal Qualities and Contributions”):

In a world that often rewards conformity, the Stanford community thrives only when you share your individual experiences and perspectives. As a result, the strongest applications we see are those in which your thoughts and voice remain intact.

To understand how you will contribute to and benefit from the Business School community, we want to know about you: your experiences, beliefs, your passions, your dreams, your goals…most Stanford MBA students have excelled by doing ordinary things extraordinarily well. It is what you make of an experience that matters to us, not simply the experience itself.

You may be thinking, oh, I am just another cookie-cutter engineer/investment analyst/consultant/IT specialist. But you aren’t. You are you, the real you. The more authentic “you” that shows in your application, the better your chances. Promise.

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November 22, 2011

On a Great One-Page Resume

Filed under: Application ideas,Stanford GSB — Tags: business school, career management, MBA, MBA admissions, resume, Stanford GSB — admin @ 10:11 am

You use a cleaner font, I'm sure

Everyone who has applied to an MBA program or applied for any job worries about their resume. How on earth do you fit your entire life story into one page? And what an insult that someone actually thinks you can?

Your resume has almost nothing to do with your real life. It’s about your professional life, and it’s about your achievements. I have heard MBA admissions officers and career advisors say that the resume is not a list of job duties. It is a record of your accomplishments. That means you don’t need to put in the stuff that bores even you.

For example, I had a client who worked for a financial startup, so she wore many hats on the job. She created new financial tools, traded securities, and established deep relations with new and existing clients. She also handled the monthly newsletter, which took a lot of time, but didn’t represent her highest talent. So we cut it. She’d already shown achievement in her other, more productive areas of her job, so she emphasized the best part.

Follow the Rules, It’s Easier
Remember, you have three-to-five bullet points per job, and anything longer than two lines per bullet becomes too dense for the reader, so put in the highlights: your tangible, measurable accomplishments, using active verbs and concise language.

Still, the resume has one place where you can show your individuality – the “Additional” section. Everyone reads that stuff. Promise. You have two or three lines to talk about interests, skills, and all that other stuff. Any hobby is fair game – I’ve seen everything from canine agility to financial system reform.

A few rules to follow:

Avoid acronyms and industry jargon

Don’t try to make the reader learn new acronyms for your company. They don’t have time to figure out what RMD or HSDRC means

Try to keep bullet points to no more than two lines, if possible

Anything longer is too dense and the reader just skips it

Don’t feel like you need to use up four or more bullet points – three is fine

You can include only two or fewer bullet points for part-time jobs and internships

Use 12- or 11-point type, depending on the font you choose.

10-point type can be too small. Anything else is ridiculous

Leave a one-inch margin all the way around

Place education at the bottom if you are working full time and career is the most important

If you are a current student, education leads the resume

If you held a leadership position in a non-profit, be sure to include it

If you are interested in a free resume template based on the work I have done as a resume coach at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, please email me and I’ll send it along.

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September 25, 2011

Go Global with an MBA Exchange Program

Filed under: Application ideas,Berkeley Haas,Chicago Booth,Inspiration,Stanford GSB — Tags: Admissions, business school, Chicago Booth, Cornell Johnson, Duke Fuqua, George Washington University, London Business School, MBA, Michigan Ross, NYU Stern, Stanford GSB, Texas McCombs, UCLA Anderson, UNC Kenan-Flagler, Yale SOM — admin @ 1:02 pm

The World is Your Oyster

Many MBA programs allow for, if not encourage or require, study abroad, and students who leave, as well as those who host, are amazed at how much they learn.

International exchange programs were brought home to me at a Forté Foundation event last week in San Francisco when I met Katie Cannon , a London Business School student currently on exchange at UCLA Anderson. Katie’s infectious enthusiasm for LBS and international study—and her passion for the arts and her interest in media management— make a semester in LA perfect for her. There’s no question that the Anderson students will be learning from Katie as much as she will be learning from them.

Katie is hardly the only one studying abroad during business school. More than half of the top MBA programs offer full-term international exchange programs. London Business School is a good example. It’s a particularly international school; about 35% of its students spend a semester in a foreign country, and a typical class may have people from over 60 different countries. To facilitate exchange, LBS partners with over 30 schools worldwide, and students at those schools can also study in London.

UCLA Anderson, located in southern California, is an ideal exchange choice for students like Katie who want to pursue careers in film, television, or talent management—or even financial services and venture capital. It’s also a great home-base business school for students who want to study abroad— 20% participate in an international exchange. UCLA—along with Cornell Johnson, Duke Fuqua, NYU Stern, Chicago Booth, and Michigan Ross—is a member of the Partnership in International Management network , an international consortium of business schools, and it also has exchange agreements with schools outside that network.

UC Berkeley Haas offers exchange programs established with several leading b-schools, “if,” says the website, “you can bear to be away from Berkeley.” (Click on the Haas link for useful descriptions of each of the exchange schools.) In addition to international offerings, Haas also has an exchange with Columbia Business School, giving students the chance to spend a semester in New York City.

Most other top schools require some form of international experience during their MBA years. For example, Yale School of Management mandates that students take a short-term trip abroad in the second semester of the first year. Professors lead the trips in countries they specialize in, from Brazil to Estonia to Israel to Japan. Yale also offers a more traditional fall term international exchange for second year students. Stanford GSB also mandates a “Global Experience Requirement” which can be fulfilled by study trips or a summer immersion program.

Another resource for current or prospective b-school students interested in international study are the Centers for International Business Education and Research (CIBERs), created by Congress in 1988. To date, there are 33 CIBERs, located at universities around the country, including UNC Kenan-Flager, University of Texas McCombs, and George Washington University.

It’s all there for the asking – so make sure your passport is up-to-date and push yourself out of your comfort zone.

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June 17, 2011

Start Your MBA App Now

Filed under: Application ideas,Harvard Business School,Stanford GSB — Tags: Admissions, Cornell MBA, Harvard Business School, Indiana MBA, MBA, MBA joint degrees, MBA/MFA Film, NYU Stern MBA, Stanford GSB, Yale MBA — admin @ 8:25 am

Ready, set, go

Some might wonder why you would want to start your MBA application now, when the first deadline is almost four months away. Two reasons: you get to meet current students and alums and you let your brain do some ruminating.

I wrote in my last post that you should use your summer wisely by researching programs. It’s fun, there’s no downside, and you never know what interesting people you will meet. The second reason is much more scientific: it’s related to your brain and the nature of creativity.

Research, research, research

As you look into different graduate programs, comb through school websites, official and unofficial student blogs, YouTube channels, you can get a sense of what a school and its students are saying about themselves. These channels offer great hints about fit. Look up student clubs and contact the officers. Normally, their emails are public. As one admissions director has said, “It’s all fair game.”

If you read through the school websites early, explore the curricula, and start talking to current MBA students, you give yourself the chance to bump into some new concepts while you are doing your research. When you start writing up your reasons for wanting to attend a program, your application will be so much richer for having met and or spoken with school representatives. Those conversations will inform your thinking about business school, your career, and your overall future.

Meanwhile…turn the essays over to your brain

Many MBA programs have already released their essay questions. Even if they have not, take a look at last years’ questions – just to get a feel for what the school may be asking. . Start thinking of the stories you will be telling about yourself. Get your brain working on it.

You’ve heard that some people get their best ideas in the shower or while running, or even by mediating. Researchers at the University of British Columbia have found that daydreaming is a great tool for creativity. Think of these next few months as a meditation session. Feed the questions to your brain and then walk away. See what comes up.

And you can brainstorm. Throw ideas out there. Consider schools outside of your region or country. Look at different programs – joint degrees are increasingly popular, mix and match ideas. Want to go into entertainment? What about the NYU MBA/MFA in film program ? Want to change the planet? How about Yale’s MBA and a Master of Environmental Management from the Yale School of Forestry? Or the Indiana Kelley School MBA/MA in telecommunications? How about the Cornell MBA/Master’s in Real Estate . And of course, any of the joint degrees through Harvard Business School or Stanford Graduate School of Business.

You’d be surprised at the offerings out there. Listen to MBA Podcaster on the subject. Play with ideas – explore.
Your brain is smarter than you even know. Give it the material, and the time, to come up with the ideas and the knowledge to make you the best applicant you know how to be. Ready? Set? Go.

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