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GMAT:
Timing Strategies on the GMAT (Quant and Verbal)
Guide to the GMAT Official Guide 12th ed
Test your knowledge of Geometry Formulas
Good Selection of Hard DS questions
3 editions of official GMAT Software: GMATPrep ver. 1, GMATPrep ver. 2, Power Prep

• November Special: Save $100 on orders over $2000 with code MBA100.
• MBA Letters of Recommendation that Rock is our featured ebook this month and 20% off. Check it out. Learn how to help your recommenders to help you.
• MBA Interview Feedback Database: Prepare for your critical MBA interview and then share your experience after you interview. Plus, providing an interview report will automatically enroll you in Accepted’s It’s a 10! contest.
• FREE MBA Interview Prep Mini Course. Enroll as soon as you get the interview invitation.
• November Telethon: Save November 23, 2009. We will host our last telethon of 2009. Details to follow.
• London Business School Masters in Management Chat. Wednesday, November 11, 2009 at 10:00 AM PT/1:00 PM ET/6:00 PM GMT. Please join Jamie Wright, Masters in Management Client Services Manager, and two students in the program who will be available to answer your questions. Are you a recent college graduate with less than one year of work experience and ready to embark on a management-oriented career? If so, join us on Wednesday to find out more about London Business School’s Masters in Management program.
• Review the Kellogg Chat Transcript. We just posted the transcript from last week’s chat with Kellogg’s Assistant Dean and Admissions Director, Beth Flye, and two current Kellogg MBA students.. A few excerpts:

GoMBA (Nov 5, 2009 12:02:48 PM)
Jenny: I would like to know about prospects for entrepreneurs at Kellogg. I am an entrepreneur and want to do an MBA.

JennyRowlandKELLOGG (Nov 5, 2009 12:03:25 PM)
GoMBA-Kellogg has a great entrepreneurship & innovation program that continues to get more and more robust every year (from my understanding!). The “core” entrepreneurship class allows students to create real business plans and go to market strategies — many of these business ideas have gone on to win case competitions and to be tried out in the real world. The entrepreneurship program is also currently offering a two day boot camp/crash course for students interested in the basics in business plan writing, funding, pitching, and tec.

Patty (Nov 5, 2009 12:04:20 PM)
Beth: I know that Kellogg has announced that it will start to release decisions as they get made. Does that apply to all 3 outcomes (admit/waitlist/deny)?

BethFlyeKELLOGG (Nov 5, 2009 12:05:30 PM)
Hi Patty, and thanks for your question. We will release a batch of admit decisions first and then we will continue with all 3 decisions through out the deadline period.

GoMBA (Nov 5, 2009 12:17:11 PM)
Beth – So does it happen that a great application is denied because the interview doesn’t go exceptionally well?

BethFlyeKELLOGG (Nov 5, 2009 12:17:36 PM)
Hi GoMBA. That is good question. It is possible that could be the outcome if there were major concerns as a result of the interview. Again, it really depends on all of the criteria together.

GoMBA (Nov 5, 2009 12:27:38 PM)
Beth – Could you please elaborate on ‘major concerns’ during the interview.

BethFlyeKELLOGG (Nov 5, 2009 12:34:23 PM)
GoMBA, for me, an example of a major concern from an interview would be the impression that the candidate does not have a clear case for why he/she wants an MBA.

1. Kellogg
2. Chicago Booth
3. Wharton
4. Columbia
5. USC Marshall

BusinessWeek also published its part-time MBA program rankings and its rankings of executive education programs. Its methodology in all three cases focuses on “end-user satisfaction.”

The articles and videos accompanying the rankings are recommended if you are considering an EMBA or part-time MBA program. Like everything and everyone else, these programs were hit hard by the Great Recession.

A few highlights from the lead article:

• EMBA student satisfaction has plummeted as students increasingly foot the bill and expect career placement services commensurate with those offered their full-time MBA colleagues.
• Of the 83 EMBA programs suveyed, only the University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business boosted student satisfaction since the last survey.
• “Nearly half of all EMBA programs and part-time programs” reported a decline in application volume in 2009.
• 80% of participating part-time programs experienced a decline in student satisfaction.

By Linda Abraham, founder and president of Accepted.com.

The Wharton EMBA adcom shows a very clear focus in its set of essay questions (in black font).  It wants to understand your goals and how executive business studies support them (essay 1), it wants to get a glimpse of you as a person and a professional (essay 2), and it wants to make sure that once you commit to taking one of their precious slots, you’ll stay for the duration (essay 3).   This trio of essays comprises a clear, well-rounded picture for the adcom with no excess meandering about – they want straightforward substance. My comments are in blue.

Essay 1

Answer all of the following questions (no word limit):  What is your career objective and what do you see as the next steps needed to achieve it?  How will the Wharton MBA Program for Executives contribute to your attainment of these objectives?  Why is this the right time for you to undertake this program?

First a warning: don’t clap in glee or sigh in relief to see “no word limit”!  That phrase simply means you have to impose your own discipline, and failure to do so will doom your essay.  With that point in mind, I suggest keeping this essay to between 750 and 1000 words – long enough to address all the points but short enough to require focus, concision, and astute selection of content.  Also, resist the temptation to review your career progress, which seems to be a reflexive response but is not asked for.

This goals question requires both the broad picture – “your career objective,” and specifics – “the next steps.”  You may want to start with where you are as a context, and discuss how the MBA learning will enable you to achieve your immediate goals in your current role.   Doing so will enable you to effectively answer the question “why is this the right time. “  In describing your goals at any given point, short- or long-term, be sure to clarify why you are taking that step or pursuing that role.   In discussing how the specific program will benefit you, be specific: about what skills and knowledge you need, and about how the program meets those needs.  Also refer to the structure and special features of the program, noting how you will benefit from them.

Essay 2

Answer one of the following three questions (500 word limit):

• Describe the most significant way, either in or out of your job, that you have demonstrated leadership.
• In one of your Wharton MBA courses, you are given a case assignment to be completed in a study group comprised of six students. What is the most significant strength you would bring to the group process?
• As ‘The Ethicist’ in the New York Sunday Times Magazine often demonstrates, many ethical dilemmas are fairly complex with gray areas making the decision path a challenging one. Give an example of one such dilemma and how you handled it.

In selecting the question, keep in mind a few factors:  You want to write about something that is fresh and not redundant of other parts of the application; that lets the adcom get to know you as a person; and that shows an aspect of you that is memorable, distinctive, and relevant.  No one of these three options is inherently “better” than the others.   Pitfalls to avoid: The first and third questions are straightforward; if you choose one of them, after you complete your story add a short paragraph or even just a sentence or two with some summarizing, reflective point.  On the other hand, with the middle question, don’t be lured to just “talk” in abstract descriptive terms about your “significant strength” – rather, ground the discussion in actual experiences and examples.

Essay 3

While many factors (i.e. your academic background, the part of the semester you’re in) can influence the amount of time dedicated to the program, students have estimated that it’s approximately 20 hours/week. Given your already demanding job and the desire to remain committed to important family and personal obligations, how do you plan to handle this additional demand on you? (500 word limit)

A straightforward question that deserves a straightforward answer. Discuss the accommodations you will make at work, such as delegating more, adjusting travel schedules, etc.  You don’t have to go overboard and tell them every single thing you can think of – focus on the most significant two or three things.  Also discuss how you will meet your personal responsibilities – even acknowledging that you’ll have less time at the playground with your toddler or mentioning the support of your significant other will give them confidence that you’re facing this issue squarely.  If you’ve already had experience successfully balancing grad school and working full time, by all means mention it.

Essay 4

(Optional) Is there anything else you would like to add that would help us in evaluating your candidacy? (No word limit)

This question’s wording indicates that you can use it not just to explain a problem (low GMAT, employment gap) but also to present new material that you think will enhance your application.  However, along with the warning about the “no word limit” for essay #1, I add another warning: if you are making the adcom read more than is required, there better be a darn good reason, not just that something is nice to know. First, succinctly explain any points that need explaining.  Then, if there is something you feel is important that you haven’t had a chance to discuss elsewhere, write about it, noting why it’s important for the adcom to know.  Examples might be details of significant community service or a particularly illuminating work experience.

Deadline for class entering May 2010: February 1, 2010

By Cindy Tokumitsu, co-author of The EMBA Edge, and author of the free, email mini-course, “Ace the EMBA.”

• Calgary, November 10, 2009
• Vancouver, November 12, 2009
• Toronto, November 14, 2009
• Montreal, November 16, 2009

Plus as an added bonus at the Montreal and Vancouver fairs, Accepted’s own Cydney Foote and Sonia Michaels will provide MBA admissions mini-consultations to event participants. During these quick takes, MBA applicants can receive a profile evaluation and discuss school choice, their competitiveness at particular schools, how to handle weaknesses, or how to differentiate themselves so that their MBA application stands out and shines.

If you are an MBA applicant who wants to attend these fantastic events, please register online.

The authors researched and identified the factors that cause communications to succeed or fail. They boiled their research down to “six principles of stickiness.”

1. Simplicity.
2. Unexpectedness
3. Concreteness
4. Credibility
5. Emotions
6. Stories

Over the next several weeks I am going to explore these SUCCES principles and apply them to personal statements and application essays. For today let’s talk about Simplicity.

Your personal statement or application essay needs a core idea. That essence or central point becomes the driver of all content for that essay. When responding to specific questions, your core must directly and elegantly answer the question. When writing a less-directed personal statement, you still need a driving concept; you just have more choice as to what that concept should be. Everything else in the essay should support that concept.

If writing multiple essays for one application, each essay has to have a core. Those concepts should mesh and complement each other, but not duplicate.

The remaining principles of Making It Stick are means of effectively relating your core idea, but first you need to have a core. Unfortunately, many applicants treat their essays like many teenagers treat their bedroom closets — as a place to put all kinds of “stuff” that may be useful or perhaps once was useful. There is no logic or organizing principle, no driving force. These messy closet essays then read like the mishmash they are.

Essays that are resumes in prose or that attempt to tell your entire life story descend into the mishmash category. Personal statements replete with irrelevant detail stray from their central mission.  They are not engaging or persuasive. In fact they bore.

When you write your essay, start with a central idea and then make sure that everything else supports it. That elegant simplicity is not simplistic. It is not even easy. It is highly effective.

By Linda Abraham, founder and president of Accepted.com.

The chat will take place in the Accepted chat room.

During Accepted’s most recent MBA admissions chat, we hosted a busy event with the Consortium. Here are a few excerpts from the transcript.

Linda Abraham (Oct 20, 2009 7:05:14 PM)
To all the school reps, does the applicant ranking influence the evaluation of the application?

WendyHuberUVA (Oct 20, 2009 7:06:22 PM)
Linda, applicants should apply as if the schools do not see the ranking. Rankings are only looked at when we are deciding fellowships, they are not used in the admission decision.

JacquelynnDayROCHESTER (Oct 20, 2009 7:09:08 PM)
Linda: While we do consider an individual’s rankings, we look at the application as a whole, therefore we encourage students to focus on submitting an overall competitive application

RTorres (Oct 20, 2009 7:05:50 PM)
What happens with applicants that apply to the Consortium and to the specific MBA programs at schools when they are not accepted into the fellowship? How are their MBA applications handled? Are they still considered by the schools?

ErinNicklesburgWISCONSIN (Oct 20, 2009 7:07:59 PM)
RTorres: Each applicant is evaluated independently by each school in terms of both admission and Fellowship decision. An offer of admission does not indicate a guaranteed Fellowship offer, as they are separate. The admission offer will stand regardless of the Fellowship offer. If a Fellowship offer is not given, the applicant will go into the general merit-based aid pool.

AmyPR (Oct 20, 2009 7:12:34 PM)
What is the difference between the November application date and the January application date? Do chances of acceptance increase one date vs. the other?

LaurieShunneyCORNELL (Oct 20, 2009 7:15:21 PM)
AmyPR- Competitiveness for admission and scholarship may increase in later rounds. In general, we recommend submitting the strongest application possible. If you are prepared to apply during the November round, it may help.

By Linda Abraham, founder and president of Accepted.com.

What is the role of GMAT scores in job recruiting. Recruiters at certain elite strategy consulting firms and investment banks use the GMAT as an early-stage screening tool. BW makes clear that a high GMAT will not land a job offer, but a low GMAT could prevent you from getting that first interview at the most competitive banks and consulting firms. The article hints that 700 is the cut-off.

Steve, author of The 2012 MBA  Applicant blog, shrewdly observes in  The GMAT is becoming more important “So this is a heads up to all those who plan on ‘making it rain’ for the rest of their lives…you better have the GMAT score necessary to get into the club!”

He’s so right. Firm reliance on the GMAT score as a screening mechanism has another consequence, not discussed in the article. Because admissions offices in our tough economy are weighing post-MBA employability more heavily, they want to admit applicants with realistic goals. If you have a 680 GMAT and say you want to work for Goldman or McKinsey, then you may be perceived as unrealistic — particularly at programs with average GMATs at matriculation of over 700.

I have spoken with many admissions directors who would reject otherwise admissible applicants whom they deemed unrealistic. Others view applicants with a mismatch between their GMAT score and their goals as candidates who hadn’t done their homework and consequently are uninformed. In either case, the lack of information/realism seemed more damaging than the GMAT score itself.

When presenting your goals, be informed. Be real.

By Linda Abraham, founder and president of Accepted.com.