Illuminations, from Shine

Spotlight on Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business

Shine — Tue, 15 May 2012 18:52:44 +0000

Last week, I was lucky enough to spend some quality time at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business with admissions team members Kelly Wilson, Hilary Prokop, and Kristen Bautz. On a perfect sunny Washington DC morning, I got a firsthand look at what makes this program so special. Did you know: Georgetown is a true general [...]

Fall 2012: QS World MBA Tour

Shine — Mon, 07 May 2012 23:08:06 +0000

The QS World MBA Tour is taking place this fall 2012 in 22 cities across North America. With world leading business schools in attendance you’ll find answers to all your MBA-related questions in one day. Speak face-to-face with program directors and the very people likely to be reviewing your MBA application to get hints and [...]

The Next Few Months

Shine — Tue, 01 May 2012 20:09:38 +0000

So, you are planning to apply for your MBA this fall. Anxiously, you’re awaiting the release of the essay questions you’ll have to answer, possibly studying for the GMAT as we speak, and likely feeling a bit hopeless that there isn’t more you can do NOW. The good news is, there is. If you make [...]

Getting off the MBA waitlist

Shine — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 16:01:02 +0000

You’ve put in your full effort, delivered an outstanding MBA application, and the disappointing decision comes back: waitlisted. You feel like you might as well have been rejected. Don’t despair. It’s NOT a hopeless cause. Every year, at nearly every top business school, people are taken off the waitlist and given that long-awaited admit letter. [...]

Writing Like a Future MBA

Shine — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 19:12:27 +0000

When you think of common business school application mistakes, I’ll bet some of the famed horror stories come to mind: the wrong-school typo, the too-personal essay topic, the inappropriate Facebook photo… What about writing ability? Not the baseline question of whether you can put an English sentence together—but the little things. The ones that aren’t [...]

When To Re-Take The GMAT

Shine — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 23:02:26 +0000

Raise your hands if you’ve ever second-guessed whether your GMAT score is good enough. Now, keep your hands raised if you’ve scored over 720 and wondered the same thing. Thought so. Hands down please. There are very few applicants who haven’t at least wondered, if not worried, whether their candidacy is at risk due to [...]

Wed May 9, WASHINGTON, DC – Workshop: How To Get Into A Top MBA Program

Shine — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 17:27:16 +0000

Event Title: How to Get Into a Top MBA Program An Evening with Hillary Schubach ‘93 (Harvard MBA ’01), President, Shine/ MBA Admissions Consulting Date: Wed May 9, 2012 Time: 6:00PM – 8:00PM Location: Hogan Lovells, 555 13th St. NW, 13th Floor, Washington, DC Description: Looking to get into a top [...]

The Road To Be Traveled

Shine — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 04:54:11 +0000

The dreaded “career essay” What are your career aspirations and why? Why do you want your MBA (at our school)? It’s causing you angst to no end. Of course you don’t know 100% what you’re going to do after you graduate. Even if you think you do, you probably don’t. There’s a whole professional [...]

What To Write About

Shine — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 01:25:15 +0000

For my first ever blog entry (which I’d been putting off because I didn’t know what to write about), I thought it only fitting to write about…what to write about. It’s the concern I’ve heard most this week from the business school candidates I work with privately. “I can’t think of any good leadership examples!” [...]