MBA admissions consultants

Applying to B-School in 2011? 2012? It’s not too early to start planning! By taking action now, you can dramatically improve your chances of gaining admission to a top-MBA program in the coming years. Indeed, it is never too soon (and certainly not too late) to take several crucial steps to shape your MBA candidacy. Join mbaMission Founder, Jeremy Shinewald, as he leads prospective applicants through a Long-Term Planning Seminar on Tuesday, September 7, 8:30 – 10:00 p.m. (meets online).

Topics of discussion will include:

• Creating your 10 month (and beyond) timeline
• Maximizing the Impact of Community Activities
• Accelerating Personal Goals
• Building an Alternative Transcript
• Taking and Retaking the GMAT
• Making the Most of Campus Visits
• Understanding the differences between MBA programs
• More…

Sign up today!

Yesterday, Manhattan GMAT posted a GMAT question on our blog. Today, they have followed up with the answer:

The easiest way to count the number of possibilities for how Joseph could have 185 pesos in 50 peso coins, 25 peso coins, and 1 peso coins is to count via the largest increment, 50. Since 3 is the max number of 50 peso coins he could have, here are all the possibilities:

1) INSUFFICIENT. Joseph has exactly 2 50 peso coins. We now have three options, all with different numbers of 25 peso coins.

2) INSUFFICIENT. He has fewer than 40 1 peso coins. We now have 5 options, with 5 different numbers for how many 25 peso coins he has.

1+2) INSUFFICIENT. He has exactly 2 50 peso coins and fewer than 40 1 peso coins. Since the chart for statement 1 above is shorter, refer back to it, and eliminate the 1 option that has more than 40 1 peso coins. Two options remain:

Joseph could have either 2 or 3 25 peso coins.

The correct answer is E.

Many MBA applicants feel that they are purchasing a brand, but the educational experience itself is crucial to your future, and no one will affect your education more than your professors. Each Wednesday, we profile a standout professor as identified by students. Today, we profile Kevin Murphy from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

In 2005, Kevin Murphy (“Advanced Microeconomic Analysis,” “Economic Analysis of Major Policy Issues”) became the first business school professor to win the MacArthur Genius Grant, which he received for his groundbreaking economic research. Murphy teaches a course affectionately called “Turbo Micro,” which is known for its enormous workload. One recent graduate told mbaMission that a typical Chicago Booth course is supposed to be complemented by five hours of homework per week, but that Murphy’s course demands about 20 hours of work per week outside class. So, why take the class? The student raved that it was taught at the PhD level and that Murphy is deserving of his “genius” title, pushing students to think about their opinions in profoundly different ways.

For more information about the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and other top-ranked MBA schools, visit our store to purchase one of mbaMission’s 14 Insider Guides.

When considering possible MBA programs, many applicants feel that they are choosing, and ultimately purchasing, a brand. While that may be your perspective as you enter an MBA program, if you ask current students, virtually all will tell you that the educational experience itself far outweighs “brand,” as it pertains to your professional success. We speak with thousands of MBA applicants each year through our free consultations and free events and have discovered that few truly know the personalities with whom they will be interacting each day – their potential professors. So, we are launching a new weekly blog series: Professor Profiles. Each Wednesday, we will be offering you an insider’s view as we profile standout professors at top business schools, as identified by current students whom we have interviewed. Our first entry follows…

Each week Manhattan GMAT posts a GMAT question on our blog and follows up with the answer the next day. Are you up for the challenge?

Joseph has exactly 185 pesos in 50 peso coins, 25 peso coins, and 1 peso coins only, and he has at least one of each. How many 25 peso coins does he have?

1) He has exactly two 50 peso coins.

2) He has fewer than 40 1 peso coins.

A: Statement (1) ALONE is sufficient, but statement (2) alone is not sufficient.

B: Statement (2) ALONE is sufficient, but statement (1) alone is not sufficient.

C: BOTH statements TOGETHER are sufficient, but NEITHER statement ALONE is sufficient.

D: EACH statement ALONE is sufficient.

E: Statements (1) and (2) TOGETHER are NOT sufficient to answer the question asked, and additional data are needed.

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

As you no doubt know, we at mbaMission are strong believers in students helping students go beyond the web sites in order to truly experience MBA programs, thereby ensuring “fit.” Far too many students rely on rankings, which are arbitrary and fluctuate wildly, and do not really take the time to get to know the character of their target programs. A priori experience is truly invaluable as you seek to identify your ideal match – to that end, the MBA Tour presents a tremendous opportunity for you to meet with many MBA Admissions Officers from MBA programs around the world, by bringing them all to one location. At MBA Tour events, you will have the opportunity to interact with Admissions Officers, and often students and alumni, from top schools and ask each of them the questions that you need answered — all in a risk-free environment.

We have attached a calendar of North American events below and will be attending several of the events ourselves (stay tuned to find out which ones). Visit the MBA Tour web site for more information on each event:

• Thurs., Sept. 2, 2010 – Houston
• Sat., Sept. 11, 2010 – Boston
• Sun., Sept. 12, 2010 – Washington DC
• Tues., Sept. 14, 2010 – Chicago
• Sun., Sept. 19, 2010 – New York City
• Mon., Sept. 20, 2010 – New York City (Euro MBA)
• Thurs., Sept. 23, 2010 – Atlanta
• Sat., Sept. 25, 2010 – Los Angeles
• Sun., Sept. 26, 2010 – San Francisco

These past two weeks, we have started our “myth destroyed” by mentioning how challenging it can be to compete against a faceless mass and how one can feel disadvantaged if he/she does not seize each and every opportunity to do so. And, of course, we want you to seize each and every opportunity, but not attempt to seize opportunities that do not exist and thus turn them into negatives. So, once and for all….

The optional essay does not need to be written by everyone and, by neglecting to write the optional essay, you are not at a disadvantage. The optional essay is an opportunity for you to discuss problems that the admissions committee should notice anyway and thus “get ahead of the scandal.” So, if you have an F, a bad semester, a low GMAT or have been dismissed from a position, you should write the optional essay. Alternatively, if you are applying with a partner and the admissions committee may not know, you might want to use the optional essay to inform the committee of this relevant information, which is not a problem, but simply of interest.

There are many reasons to write the optional essay, but you should absolutely not feel that you need to write it. If you have nothing to explain and have generally performed well, you should not submit an essay from a different school just to fill the space or write a new essay repackaging your strengths. If you have nothing to write, you are in an advantageous position and should take a step back and appreciate it, not fret.

Anyone who has written an email that has been misunderstood, let alone an MBA application essay, is no doubt aware of the subtleties of language and the simple nuances that can change a message’s meaning. Well, these nuances need not only be negative. Indeed, it is entirely possible to invigorate a simple sentence by choosing a more active verb, such as ”earn.”

By using “earn” in the examples below, instead of the more passive approaches, we change one word and thereby change each sentence’s meaning. Suddenly, you are in control—suddenly you worked hard and, as a result, attained great accomplishments.

Bad:  “I received my PhD in Nuclear Physics from the University of So-and-So.”
Good:  “I earned my PhD in Nuclear Physics from the University of So-and-So.”

Bad:  “I was promoted from junior to senior analyst.”  (Also bad because of passive voice.)
Good:  “I earned a promotion from junior to senior analyst.”

Bad:  “As a result of obtaining my MBA, I will be able to….”
Good:  “As a result of earning my MBA, I will be able to….”

Once you have finished your essays, review them and check to see how often you can replace certain words with the word “earn” or a form of the word “earn”—you’ve earned it!

Already well known as a finance powerhouse, Columbia Business School steps up its finance game with the recent (2010) establishment of the Program in Financial Studies. The umbrella initiative connects faculty who approach financial studies from a variety of disciplines, students, alumni and external organizations. The main goals of the program are to support research, enhance the Columbia finance curriculum and related opportunities for students, and create opportunities for the exchange of ideas with Columbia students and faculty with members of the external finance community. Finance wonks will enjoy the program’s finance case studies, including The Norwegian Government Pension Fund: The Divestiture of Wal-Mart Inc., written by Professor Andrew Ang and Don’t Be Evil: Google’s 2004 Dutch Auction Initial Public Offering, written by the Program’s Director, Professor Laurie Hodrick.

Yesterday, Manhattan GMAT posted a GMAT question on our blog. Today, they have followed up with the answer:

To ensure that we grasp the four definitions, we might restate them—taking care to preserve the meaning precisely.

O(x) rounds x up to the nearest odd integer, whereas o(x) rounds x down to the nearest odd integer. The two E-functions do the same thing, except that the outcome is even integers.

Now let’s write the terms one at a time and apply the functions.

O(3.2) = 5 (notice that we must round up pretty far)

E(–1.7) = 0 (remember that the 0 is larger than –1.7)

o(–1.3) = –3 (we have to round down pretty far, and –3 is less than –1.3)

e(2.7) = 2

5 + 0 + (–3) + 2 = 4

The correct answer is (C).