The MBA Admissions Studio

Making messages stick: an MBA Studio ‘bible’ gets some airtime

MBA Studio — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 19:30:18 +0000

I have integrated every aspect of it into MBA Studio's client offerings ever since. It's not the only resource I use of course (and my own MBA Admissions Strategy, which predates it, has many of the same principles.) But Made to Stick is unsurpassed in focusing on one single thing: getting a message across. Formulating it so that the reader reads it, understands it, remembers it.

Attention to detail, cont. Answering the MBA essay question exactly as posed

MBA Studio — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:14:16 +0000

Further to my post last week on ‘the business school and the avocado’ — the importance of attention to detail and showing the effort you have put in to achieve it — I can add a coda directly from an MBA Director of Admissions: Says Rose Martinelli, Assistant Dean of Student Admissions at Chicago Booth on [...]

The little story of the business school and the avocado

MBA Studio — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 18:40:02 +0000

In my book ‘MBA Admissions Strategy’ I offer the following advice: ‘Proofread to show your hunger’ (that is, hunger for admission, a real desire to be selected.) Typographic or other careless errors in your text immediately clues Adcom in as to how (un)careful you were with your text, and this tells them not only how [...]

Take a tip from George Soros in Managing the B-School Failure Essay

MBA Studio — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 09:21:54 +0000

The criticism / weakness / failure essay is common in MBA Admissions essays because it is a test of an applicant’s maturity, self-knowledge, honesty, and ability to learn from mistakes. It is, in other words, the biggest indicator of real leadership ability and potential. Sample questions are: Tuck 3. Discuss the most difficult constructive criticism or feedback [...]

Listening to HBS Adcom, and other MBA Admissions Committees too

MBA Studio — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 10:43:09 +0000

It’s important to listen, to really, really pay attention when Adcom talks, because they do tell applicants everything they need to know. Below are extracts from an interview with Deirdre Leopold (57) executive director of MBA admissions and financial aid at Harvard Business School, recently published in the Boston Globe. It’s low on the usual general [...]

HBS Adcom is answering applicants’ questions every day until the R1 deadline. Answers so far…

MBA Studio — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 19:39:09 +0000

Deidre Leopold, Harvard Business School’s Managing Director of Admissions and Financial Aid is answering applicant questions at the rate of two a day on the HBS ‘From The Director‘ blog, until Harvard’s Round 1 deadline on October 1. The following are the questions that have been selected so far, and HBS Adcom’s answers: September 25, 2009 1. Are [...]

‘I’m unemployed, does this mean my MBA application will be dinged?’

MBA Studio — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 09:45:27 +0000

In normal times the answer to this question is ‘yes.’ Unless there is a compelling no-fault reason you are unemployed, or you have just sold a company for a few million bucks, your unemployment will count against you. In a situation where 3 in 20 are admitted, it’s going to be hard to be one [...]

MBA essay word count: we can’t go over it. We can’t go under it. Or can we?

MBA Studio — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 09:43:39 +0000

“How strictly do I have to stick to the essay word limit? How much can I go over? Does it matter if I’m under?” is a question I get a lot from clients and people who pop up on email. To answer this, it’s essential, as always, to think about any process or task or limit [...]

‘Blink’ in MBA essays, resumes, interviews, and emails to Adcom

MBA Studio — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 12:05:50 +0000

“Blink,” by New Yorker writer and celebrity author Malcolm Gladwell (Little, Brown & Co, 2005), is a book about first impressions, the first few seconds during which we appraise information and make instant judgments. Gladwell says these conclusions oftentimes produce better, more accurate, conclusions than those made by way of exhaustive analysis. One example he [...]

A little parody on MBA ethics and the Harvard MBA Oath, from Comedy Central

MBA Studio — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 08:16:05 +0000

Hey it’s August, and even though it’s definitely, seriously, MBA application season we can still have a little fun, right? Here’s a video from Comedy Central / The Daily Show, featuring intrepid reporter John Oliver who enlists the “help” of a former convict to convince hold-out MBA students at MIT and Harvard to sign the MBA [...]

Getting distinctiveness into your MBA application even if you think you have none

MBA Studio — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 15:34:04 +0000

One of the biggest problems I have as an MBA admissions adviser – friend, coach, confidant, drill sergeant, etc., to applicants trying to crack top-tier schools – is explaining to clients that “good is nice, great is nicer,” but neither will get you into a top-tier MBA program. Only “good + special” will get you [...]

The recession adds weight to the voice of Career Services in MBA Admissions

MBA Studio — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 16:52:25 +0000

Future employability, career placement and likely starting salary have always been a consideration in MBA admissions, but these considerations are increasing in the recession. Career Services are having a say in who is gets admitted to business schools.

What is an MBA admissions resume, and how is it different from a regular resume?

MBA Studio — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:00:36 +0000

Many b-school ask for a resume as part of the applicant’s package. Fair enough. It is professional school and they want to see your professional record. But, in fact, MBA admissions resumes do make subtly different demands and it’s crucial to know what these are (see below). However, of course much is also identical in a [...]

What does the “MBA Oath” mean for MBA admissions? Ways to broaden your ethical platform, for a start

MBA Studio — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 17:51:38 +0000

This year, in the wake of the financial meltdown and global recession, much of which (rightly or wrongly) is blamed on MBAs, the accent is squarely on business ethics and long-term sustainability of decisions. These issues have been on the rise for a while, but their sudden prominence is demonstrated in the emergence and rapid spread of the "MBA Oath.

Adcom members’ backgrounds and personalities – who are they really?

MBA Studio — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 18:41:13 +0000

As an MBA applicant one of the things to get straight is who you are talking to, in general, when you write your essays. This doesn’t mean you should be looking to target or “game” your essays in a narrow sense. But getting your head around who is on the other end is a [...]

Stanford GSB essays 2009/2010: the focus is tightened towards results and successes

MBA Studio — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 12:42:34 +0000

Stanford’s essays are notoriously “introspective” and give many applicants trouble. Stanford Adcom do really want to get to know the real you through your writing. This year the flavor is the same, but (and possibly to avoid waffle) some important tweaks have been made in the optional essays to shift the focus squarely towards communicating [...]

Harvard Business School essays (2009-10) add a cover letter just like MIT Sloan’s

MBA Studio — Fri, 22 May 2009 10:05:28 +0000

Harvard has released their new essay questions, and deadlines for 2009-10, adding a cover letter essay (optional) which MIT Sloan’s has as a standard request for years. Still only four essays are required for HBS, and the first two compulsory questions remain the same: 1. What are your three most substantial accomplishments and why do you [...]

Duke-Fuqua admissions tips that carry weight for any application

MBA Studio — Tue, 19 May 2009 16:42:49 +0000

Business Week this week interviews Duke Adcom Director Liz Riley Hargrove. The principles shared are common to all good schools, but also give a current sense of what Fuqua is “looking for.” As BW summarize it: “applicants with a propensity for teamwork who are ‘leaders of consequence.’” Admissions-relevant highlights are extracted here: Can you describe the Duke [...]

Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn founder, offers some reality on entrepreneurship lifestyle

MBA Studio — Tue, 12 May 2009 11:31:50 +0000

Entrepreneurship plays well in admissions. This is because business schools want to put their effort into and brand on the person who will build great new companies or institutions, rather than someone who will become a salaryman, no matter how big the salary. Problem is, it’s easy to say “I want to start a company,” but [...]

Some great interview advice between the lines in “Harvard is my hump”

MBA Studio — Fri, 08 May 2009 16:34:08 +0000

For better or worse most Adcoms like idealism. They don't want naivete, but they do like world-changing visions. If you are not a dreamer at 25, you'll never be, and they are not looking to put the HBS brand on money-grabbing cynics. See Gina Valeria Chua's Harvard Business School admissions story.