The essays and recommendations play a big role in MBA admissions, mostly because admissions committees are trying to gauge the candidate’s leadership potential. When preparing your essays or your briefing sheet for your recommenders, you want to address very specific leadership traits. Many prospective students ask...
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Guess what. Six months from now we will be at the beginning of October. Shocking, isn't it, that those of you who are thinking of applying to business school in the first round have only six months to figure it all out. You've got a...
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Many aspiring business school applicants wonder how to present themselves as authentic leaders before an admissions committee. They worry they don’t have a fancy title, they don’t have direct reports, or they haven’t thrown themselves in front of a land mine to save their fellow...
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Stories work. In MBA admissions, investor pitches, in business school classrooms, and on TED. If you want to stand out in front of a bored admissions reader, you need to engage her. You probably already know this, because storytelling as a meme has been in...
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When it comes to business school admissions, liberal arts get a bad rap. Too often applicants think that they have to have an undergraduate degree in business, engineering or hard science to be successful in the application process. Nothing could be further from the truth. Consider...
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I am not a very good athlete, so you can imagine everyone's surprise when I decided to pick up a new sport. I decided to learn to row – not in a traditional rowboat, but in a long skinny shell with two 10-foot oars. It...
Read MoreThe business school essays can be intimidating. The questions, ranging from open ended --Stanford’s “What is most important to you, and why?” to specific “What are your short and long term goals?” These essays are hard because admissions officers are looking for the story behind your story....
Read MoreI make no secret about being a Golden State Warriors fan. This is my home town team, and I am proud to admit that I am not just a bandwagon fan. Sports fan or not, you've probably heard about their history-making skill. You’ll see effusive...
Read MoreRose Martinelli, head of admissions at Chicago Booth is an outstanding blogger. This week she asks, "What if I don’t manage people?" She says: "While several members of our team are heading to Europe, I’ll be heading to Southern California for the next few days before...
Read MoreLots of MBA programs, including Harvard Business School, have now decided that they need to increase more women applicants. But here's the reality check: it doesn't mean it is a cakewalk to get in, especially to the top business schools. The well-funded Forté Foundation figured this...
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