According to a recent article in the New York Times, students who pursue undergraduate business majors are comparatively disengaged, spending less time preparing for classes than students focused in other fields. Scholars cite three causes for this apathy: undergrads choosing their majors “by default”; a lack of consensus about what students should be learning in management and marketing; and the fact that business classes are cheaper to operate than courses in other departments (which leads to larger classes). Sociologists Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa, authors of the new book Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses, point to the high number of group assignments in business courses as the reason for this gap. Although group projects can be challenging, such projects allow some students to easily “skate through” by letting students either focus on just the aspects of group work at which each one excels or rely on one or two members of the group to complete the work for all. Some schools, such as Babson College and the University of Virginia, are aiming to provide a more well-rounded education to business students by integrating liberal arts and practical training. Some are looking to team teaching, while others are trying in-depth, all-encompassing business plan projects. What does this mean for the types of students applying to and being admitted into MBA programs? Could the value of liberal arts skills be on the rise? Remember, a few weeks ago the Wall Street Journal reported that MBA programs are growing dissatisfied with their students’ communication skills.
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2023–2024 MBA Essay Tips
- Berkeley Haas School of Business Essay Tips and Examples
- BU Questrom School of Business Essay Tips and Examples
- Cambridge Judge Business School Essay Tips and Examples
- Carnegie Mellon Tepper School of Business Essay Tips and Examples
- Chicago Booth School of Business Essay Tips and Examples
- Columbia Business School Essay Tips and Examples
- Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management Essay and Examples
- Dartmouth Tuck School of Business Essay Tips and Examples
- Duke Fuqua School of Business Essay Tips and Examples
- Emory Goizueta Business School Essay Tips and Examples
- Esade Essay Tips and Examples
- Georgetown McDonough School of Business Essay Tips and Examples
- Harvard Business School 2+2 Deferred MBA Program Essay Analysis 2024
- Harvard Business School Essay Tips and Examples
- HEC Paris Essay Tips and Examples
- HKUST Business School Essay Tips and Examples
- IE Business School Essay Tips and Examples
- IESE Business School Essay Tips and Examples
- INSEAD Essay Tips and Examples
- International Institute for Management Development (IMD) Essay Tips and Examples
- Ivey Business School Essay Tips and Examples
- London Business School Essay Tips and Examples
- Michigan Ross School of Business Essay Tips and Examples
- MIT Sloan School of Management Essay Tips and Examples
- Northwestern Kellogg School of Management Essay Tips and Examples
- Notre Dame Mendoza College of Business Essay Tips and Examples
- NYU Stern School of Business Essay Tips and Examples
- Ohio Fisher College of Business Essay Tips and Examples
- Oxford Saïd Business School Essay Tips and Examples
- SMU Cox School of Business Essay Tips and Examples
- Stanford Graduate School of Business Application Essay Tips and Examples
- Texas McCombs School of Business Essay Tips and Examples
- The Consortium for Graduate Study in Management Essay Tips and Examples
- The Wharton School Essay Tips and Examples
- Toronto Rotman School of Management Essay Tips and Examples
- UCLA Anderson School of Management Essay Tips and Examples
- UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School Essay Tips and Examples
- USC Marshall School of Business Essay Tips and Examples
- UVA Darden School of Business Essay Tips and Examples
- UW Foster School of Business Essay Tips and Examples
- Vanderbilt University Owen Graduate School of Management Essay Analysis, 2023–2024
- Villanova School of Business Essay Tips and Examples
- Yale School of Management Essay Tips and Examples
Click here for the 2022–2023 MBA Essay Tips
MBA Program Updates
- Berkeley-Haas
- Boston University (Questrom)
- Cambridge Judge Business School
- Carnegie Mellon University (Tepper)
- Columbia University (Columbia Business School)
- Consortium for Graduate Study in Management
- Cornell University (Johnson)
- Dartmouth College (Tuck)
- Duke University (Fuqua)
- Emory University (Goizueta)
- ESADE
- George Washington University (GWSB)
- Georgetown University (McDonough)
- Harvard University (Harvard Business School)
- HEC Paris
- HKUST
- IE Business School
- IESE Business School
- Indian School of Business
- Indiana University (Kelley)
- INSEAD
- Ivey Business School
- London Business School
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan)
- New York University (Stern)
- Northwestern University (Kellogg)
- Notre Dame (Mendoza)
- Ohio State University (Fisher College)
- Oxford University (Saïd Business School)
- Penn State Smeal College of Business
- Rotman School of Management
- Saïd Business School
- Southern Methodist University (Cox School of Business)
- Stanford University (Stanford Graduate School of Business)
- University of California Los Angeles (Anderson)
- University of Cambridge (Judge)
- University of Chicago (Booth)
- University of London (London Business School)
- University of Michigan (Ross)
- University of North Carolina (Kenan-Flagler)
- University of Pennsylvania (Wharton)
- University of Southern California (Marshall)
- University of Texas at Austin (McCombs)
- University of Virginia (Darden)
- Vanderbilt University (Owen)
- Villanova School of Business
- Yale University (School of Management)