MBA admissions consultants

Mission Admission is a series of MBA admission tips; a new one is posted each Tuesday.

You have taken a course, studied hard and finally “nailed” the GMAT. However, you soon learn that your score on the Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA), the essay portion of the GMAT, is low. Is it time to panic?

In short, the answer is… no! While we always encouraged candidates to try as hard as they can on the AWA, the truth of the matter is that we have never been told by an admissions officer, nor has a candidate been told in a feedback session, that the AWA score was a factor in an admit/reject decision. Generally, the AWA is not used to evaluate candidates, but to detect fraud.

If, hypothetically, you had tremendous difficulty expressing yourself via the AWA essays, but wrote like a Pulitzer Prize winning writer in your application essays, the school would get suspicious and begin to compare the two. Not to worry — the schools are not punitive and are not acting as fraud squads. It is expected that your AWA essays will be unpolished, so no one will be seeking out your file if you did your best in both areas. However, in cases of enormous discrepancies between the two, the AWA serves a purpose.

So, if you did well on the GMAT and have a low AWA, it is a shame, but it is not going to be THE difference. Rest easy….as long as you wrote both!

This morning, the New York Times wrote a piece that is bound to encourage aspiring and graduated MBAs alike, declaring that the MBA job market has stabilized. The Times profiled students at the University of Virginia (Darden), Duke and UNC, describing their struggles in finding jobs and some of the harassment they have experienced working in the tarnished banking field. Although Darden did not offer a base from which the statistics it offered can be judged, the school told the New York Times that it has seen a 20% increase in banks interviewing on campus this year and a 33% rise in job offers. UNC reported that offers are up 67%, but like Darden, offered no base statistics. Still, with a rebound on Wall Street and a return of bonuses, it seems that the mutual love affair between investment banks and MBA students will continue.

Many candidates choose to take a straightforward, historical approach to their personal statements. While this can be an easy way to organize an essay, this approach may also lead candidates to ignore possibilities for a more focused and gripping introduction. Although nothing is fundamentally wrong with taking a historical approach, under certain circumstances, an anecdotal approach can better maintain the reader’s interest. (This all comes down to execution—a strong writer could effectively execute either approach.)

Example 1: Historical

“When I graduated from NYU with a Finance Degree, I eschewed Wall Street and pursued my own distinct path; I opened a flower shop in midtown New York, never imagining the challenges I would face as I strived to bring in new customers and locate products around the world. With time, I learned to advertise selectively (on billboards in local office buildings) and developed relationships with suppliers, particularly one in Peru, with whom I obtained an exclusive on Heliconia flowers. After one year, we started to specialize in foreign flowers and, with a niche identified, we developed a strong client base. My firm stabilized and I was no longer bleeding cash to support my 11 employees; we were cash flow neutral and contemplating a new location.” This introduction, which is historical in nature, is very direct and informative, but involves very little drama or emotion. To be more effective, the writer might instead consider positioning him/herself as “the hero” and drawing the reader in with some anecdotal tension.

Example 2: Anecdotal

“My hand quivered as I signed a lease for 1,000 square feet of retail space in midtown New York. Two months later, I flung open the doors to my flower shop and was stunned when I did not make a sale until my third day. Admittedly, I began to question the wisdom of entrepreneurship and wonder if I should have joined my peers from NYU’s finance program as an Analyst on Wall Street. However, each day, a trickle of customers came in, and more often than not, they commented on the colorful and rare flowers in my window, like the Peruvian Heliconia, exclusive to my shop. Within weeks, I had core customers picking up scheduled orders and referring friends; I bolstered this ‘word of mouth’ with select advertising on electronic billboards in the four 50-story office towers surrounding the shop. Soon, I noticed a surge of customers and was no longer bleeding cash. After one year, we were cash flow neutral, and I was even contemplating another location.” In this version, the same information is conveyed, but the tension inherent in the “quivering hand” and the empty store act as a “hook” that draws the reader in. By taking this more personal, emotional and indeed anecdotal approach, the writer allows the reader to identify with his/her struggle and thus maintains the reader’s interest.

Again, this is not a case of right or wrong. Each candidate should decide what works best in his/her own essays.

On March 1, Brown University and Madrid-based IE Business School announced the establishment of the IE Brown Executive MBA Program. A 15-month program that combines online modules with five in-person sessions taught in both Madrid and Providence, R.I., the program is designed for senior managers with at least ten years of experience who want to develop their entrepreneurial mindset and enhance their understanding of the global business environment. The program positions itself as a one-of-a-kind offering that integrates IE Business School’s innovative approach to management education with Brown University’s excellence in social, biological and physical sciences. Although participants will graduate with a degree only from IE Business School, the program draws from both institutions in terms of faculty, content and teaching style.  The program, which will launch in spring 2011, is Brown University’s first foray into MBA programs.  Are more to follow?

The Amos Tuck School of Business Administration—aka Tuck—is located in the quaint town of Hanover, New Hampshire. Hanover has a population of only approximately 20,000 and is thus considered a small college town, but Tuckies have no shortage of access to global learning opportunities. Students gain hands-on international experience through the Tuck Global Consultancy, which gives second-year students the chance to put their education into practice worldwide. Since 1997, students have consulted with more than 90 global organizations on more than 135 projects in more than 45 countries. On-site consulting projects are led by small teams of students working under the supervision of Tuck professors with extensive consulting backgrounds. A high percentage of the second-year class participates in this elective, and at the end of the program, students present their findings to their clients from around the globe.

A recent article in Canada’s Financial Post Magazine questions the value of MBA program rankings, claiming that their influence is shrinking as applicants start to rely more heavily on the schools’ own websites.   The sheer number of and variation among rankings – different magazines and websites use different methodologies, and rankings are further subdivided by full-time, part-time, Executive MBA, and MBAs by specialty – is causing “ratings fatigue” among both applicants and employers.

The ranking popularity began in 1988 when BusinessWeek first published its ranking in the popular press…and other major publications began to follow suit.  Business school deans are mixed on the value of the rankings, understanding that they have significant public relations value, and yet also realizing that there are ways to emphasize different subjective criteria in order to climb in the rankings, which may have little to do with the quality of education.  Various proposals suggesting criteria like alumni happiness levels at various points after graduation, or employers’ happiness with hires from the schools are floated, albeit with little chance of being implemented.

The bottom line is, whatever your opinion is of rankings, the most important way to assess whether a program is right for you is not to look at where it lands on various lists, but to do your research thoroughly and determine which program has the best fit…for you.

Some applicants mistakenly regard community service as a prerequisite for getting into a top MBA program. And, some who believe that it is a prerequisite will sign up for community activities without considering whether it is a reasonable fit for them. Although community service is generally a positive, given that it demonstrates altruism on the part of the participant and frequently indicates leadership as well—attributes that may not be revealed in the workplace—community service is not a panacea. As you contemplate your involvements, you should recognize that “hours served” are not as important as the spirit of your participation and the extent of your impact.

We encourage MBA candidates to carefully consider their community experiences in the same way that they would examine and evaluate their professional or entrepreneurial opportunities. Although people can sometimes make mistakes in their career paths, most gravitate toward areas where they can excel, justifiably to further their own interests.  So, for example, if you do not enjoy one-to-one interactions, you likely would not consider a position in sales, because you could never thrive in such a position. In contrast, if working in sales were to bring out the best in you, you just might earn promotions, think of new sales techniques, train others, etc. Stories develop as a by-product of performance.

So, in community service terms, if you have always enjoyed a particularly close relationship with your grandmother and want to share this kind of positive experience with others, you might decide to volunteer to spend time with seniors at a retirement home, where you would naturally be predisposed toward success. If you were quite passionate about your work there, you just might get others involved, expand the volunteer program at the home, take greater leadership in the program and more. However, if you are not that passionate about the elderly, but there is a retirement home on your block, no matter how convenient it would therefore be to volunteer, it would likely be a mistake for you to do so, because you would lack the spirit of commitment/adventure necessary to ensure that your story materializes.

So, whether you are already committed to an activity or just considering becoming involved in one, you should carefully determine whether or not you have the spirit necessary to truly commit yourself to your chosen cause and make an impact. If all you can commit to is merely putting in the hours, you will only be wasting your time.

One way to save words is to pluralize nouns where you can. Singular words often require an “article” such as “a,” “an” or “the.” These words add unnecessarily to your word count, and they can clutter your page without contributing to your argument or style. Consider the following example:

“In ascending the corporate ladder, a manager with an MBA will be able to move faster than a manager who lacks an MBA.” (23 words)

versus

“In ascending the corporate ladder, managers with MBAs will be able to move faster than managers who lack MBAs.” (19 words)

As you can see, the same idea is presented in both sentences, but one sentence has four words fewer than the other. Given that essays include dozens or even hundreds of sentences, pluralizing wherever possible is helpful in meeting word count requirements.

In a recent blog post, Chicago Booth’s Rose Martinelli opened the door to third round applicants. While Ms. Martinelli conceded that the third round is more challenging than the first two rounds, (“The truth is that R3 can be a bit more competitive simply because the majority of applications and acceptances will occur in Rounds One and Two.”) she logically explained that the school has a third round for a reason and emphasized that “a good portion of our class will be admitted from R3 as well as a good number being placed on (the) summer waitlist.”  

Providing some clues with respect to competing in the third round, Ms. Martinelli suggested that you might explain why you are applying a bit later and not be afraid to be honest. She allayed the concerns of internationals, explaining that visas can still be processed in time and cautioned against rushing and throwing in a haphazard “last ditch” application.

If you are contemplating an application, you have nothing to lose… (but your time and application fee).

This past December, more than 500 Stern alumni gathered for the Ninth Annual Stern Alumni Ball with something special to commemorate – the Concourse Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony – celebrating the newly renovated Concourse levels of Tisch Hall.  The renovation project began in 2008, when Stern embarked on a multi-year, $35 million transformation of the school’s physical space.  Coined the “Concourse Project,” it is the most significant renovation of the school’s facilities since uniting the graduate and undergraduate programs at Washington Square. Funded by alumni such as John Paulson, BS ‘78 and Stewart A. Satter, MBA ‘82, as well as corporate partners and other benefactors, the project not only physically connects school’s three buildings – Tisch Hall, Henry Kaufman Management Center and Shimkin, but also improves aesthetics and experience for both graduate and undergraduate students by introducing natural light through a central stairway which creates a three story atrium, new floor to ceiling windows and more public gathering space. Also part of the project – an improved, upgraded MBA student lounge, expanded club space and new state of the art classrooms. Gone are the dark, cinder block lined hallways of old  – in are new, modern open spaces allowing students to congregate, share ideas and connect!