Stanford’s Admissions Director Derrick Bolton created some transparency this week, releasing a very brief update on interview decisions.

According to Bolton:

• Approximately 400 interview invitations have been extended to first-round candidates
• 150-200 more interview invitations should be extended in the coming weeks, before the notification deadline of 22 January 2009
• On the notification date, 50-100 applicants may be invited to join the waitlist, without having the opportunity to interview, though they may have the opportunity later on

This morning, the Chicago Tribune reported an embarrassing glitch that occurred in Kellogg’s Admissions Office—50 students who had been rejected by the Admissions Committee were inadvertently emailed acceptance letters on Monday. One student was so excited by the news that he and his family went out for a congratulatory dinner, only to find out the next day that he had in fact been rejected. Admissions Director Beth Flye is calling all 50 students to apologize personally and is refunding their application fees. Still, one can’t imagine the disappointment these MBA candidates are feeling right now.  

Recently, the New York Times again reported on how the recession is affecting b-school applications, citing increases at top schools such as Yale, where applications are up by 4%, and unranked schools such as those in Long Island, where applications are up by 10%. Indeed, there has been no shortage of articles identifying this trend and yet, today, in the Chronicle of Higher Education, an interesting contrary trend seems to have been identified in other graduate schools—the number of GRE test-takers has actually gone down. 

Since 2004, the number of test-takers has risen from 501,000 to 633,000 in 2007. This year, ETS—the administrator of the GRE—anticipates a slight decrease to 621,000. While this drop is not terribly significant in absolute terms, it is unusual during a downturn, when an increase would typically be expected, and in the face of efforts by ETS to encourage more college juniors and seniors to take the test, as well as broader acceptance of the GRE among MBA programs.

In the article, the Chronicle of Higher Education speculates that the credit crunch may be limiting some potential candidates’ ability to borrow and may have simply “frozen” the plans of others who are afraid to act during uncertain times.  In addition, it seems possible that some would prefer an MBA during uncertain times, as financial security is first and foremost for many.

Yesterday, Harvard’s President Drew Faust sent a letter to Harvard’s deans, informing them that the school’s endowment has shrunk by $8 billion (yes, $8 billion, but they still have $36 billion left.) While this figure represents the amount lost by Harvard as a whole and not by HBS exclusively, the fact remains that many business schools—which typically manage their own endowments—may now be facing significant losses. This could negatively affect the operating revenue generated by the endowments, thereby resulting in a reduction in scholarships being offered, an inability to hire or retain top professors, potential increases in tuition and more. Although it is not yet time to sound the alarm, candidates should pay some attention to this situation. Still, when interviewers ask, “Do you have any questions for us?” we would not recommend responding with “How is your endowment performing?”

In an article published yesterday, the New York Times (“Why Should Recession Stop the Recruiters?”) explores the employment situation on campus (again!), noting that MIT Sloan has seen a few companies delay or cancel recruiting visits and that Kellogg anticipates that some firms will ultimately rescind offers. This sobering news serves as a backdrop to a larger discussion of whether a “slash and burn” approach to headcount is the way to go. The article reminds readers of past recessions wherein employers have cut too deep and then found it quite difficult to ramp up when the economy later improved. Still, the question remains…. is anyone listening?

For those interested in HBS, the Globe and Mail (Canada’s national newspaper) offers a brief history of the school in times of crisis, hypothesizing that HBS is due for reinvention, now that the bottom has fallen out of the financial market. The Globe and Mail posits that HBS will start to push its students into emerging markets in search of the latest trends, as domestic growth cools. In the article, Dean Light suggests that the crisis will push students to establish or find firms to manage, even earlier in their careers.

(We thank international student SK for bringing this article to our attention and have emailed him/her a Complete Start to Finish Guide as a thank you.)

Yesterday, Dee Leopold, Harvard Business School’s Admissions Director, posted a blog that probably sent shivers down many candidates’ respective spines. Ms. Leopold announced that HBS had sent out the vast majority of its first round interview invitations, 750 in total. That written, Ms. Leopold also noted that one hundred more interview invitations would go out before their notification date and that one hundred individuals will also be placed directly on the waitlist, with the potential to interview in the future. So, if you got an interview, then… congratulations! If you did not, then patience, while difficult, would be best, because approximately two hundred more opportunities will be extended.

Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal blogged about the “irrepressible optimism of Wharton MBAs,” profiling students who are attending the Wharton Finance Conference, taking place in mid-town Manhattan.  Two-hundred forty students, almost thirty percent of the Wharton class, were on hand to hear keynote speaker Teresa Ressel, CEO of UBS Securities say that as a matter of pragmatism – not due to the crisis — many will not find or stay in careers on the Street. Nonetheless, the organizer of the conference, Matt Marsh, remains certain that those who are devoted will find their way, noting that amid a gloomy financial downturn, “Banks are still hiring.” Irrepressible optimism indeed…

If you wanted to go to the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, you can’t anymore, because the GSB has ceased to exist… well, sort of. Today, alumnus David Booth donated $300MM of his firm’s stock to the school formerly known as the GSB, now known as the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Booth, a GSB graduate in 1971, started Dimensional Fund Advisors, a mutual fund company specializing in passive investing out of an apartment in 1981. Booth cites Chicago finance professor, Eugene Fama as the inspiration for his firm and thus chose to give back to the institution. According to the Wall Street Journal, the donations will go toward attracting and retaining professors, expanding research and publications and to its general endowment. Clearly, amid a challenging fundraising market, the Booth school has to be enjoying this moment even more than should usually be expected.  

Yesterday, we posted the first part of a two part interview with Philip Delves Broughton, an HBS graduate (’06) who wrote the controversial book, “Ahead of the Curve.”  We interviewed Delves Broughton to better understand his intentions and motivations as well as others’ reactions to his book and are publishing the second part of the interview below:

PART II

MBA Mission: You poke fun at a few characters who take the HBS experience quite seriously.  Is there room at HBS for such people?

Delves Broughton: Yes, of course. Business needs people who make things go. It can’t be run by a lot of cynical, artsy types. Business is serious and needs hard-driving, committed types. But I also think it needs people with perspective, who perceive the true nature of what it is they are doing, people who are capable of taking the right things seriously and possessing a complete sense of their responsibilities. When this is lacking, businesses can become alienating places both for employees and for the rest of society who must suffer the consequences of business’ excessively blinkered behavior.
 
MBA Mission: Should HBS have more Arthur Harveys (Note: Harvey is put forth as an incorruptible, anti-capitalist foil)?

Delves Broughton: I doubt Arthur would ever have cared to go to HBS. But yes, HBS could certainly use more people who see the way business operates from multiple perspectives, not just that of senior management. What does it mean when big food companies lobby government to loosen organic food regulations? It may be good news for food companies trying to exploit consumer interest in organic. But is it honest? Is it helpful to society? Is this even a decent long term business strategy? Or is it self-defeating? Businesses these days like to talk about listening to multiple stakeholders, but you wonder, do they really give a damn? Men like Harvey bring these issues into their proper perspective.

MBA Mission: What more would you like to have gotten out of Harvard Business School?

Well, the problem is that business people think that their way of doing things is best way. This message is a pretty strong one at Harvard Business School. When I went to business school, I went to learn about business. I didn’t want to be taught that it is my duty to go out and run the world. I wanted to be taught to run a business, which I think is perfectly worthwhile to do, and I wish they would have just stuck to that.

MBA Mission:  When Harbus critiqued your book, the BMW line and the booze luge seemed to really draw their ire. (Note: Delves Broughton tells the story of a student who suggests that many students manipulate financial aid to buy luxury cars and also reveals a hard partying lifestyle via a “booze luge” at a party).

Delves Broughton: Well, it’s two pages of a 300 page book… I feel they’re being slightly Orwellian about this and it’s almost like a political campaign where you focus on minutiae to avoid discussing big issues. If you want to make a fuss about the BWW and the booze luge, which they’ve chosen to do, I include those things as part of the experience, which they were.

But you know no one wants to talk to me about Arthur, you’re the first person who’s asked me about Arthur Harvey. Or, you know, my discussion of Michal Porter’s 5 horses, [or] how business can be used in government and all these things, which the book is full of. Half of them never bothered to. . .they’ve never been in touch with me. Which, I don’t mind, but they’ve never bothered to engage on these things.

They never want to talk about work-life balance, they put out this message that I’m a sort of bitter grad of the school, you know, that I’m full of sour grapes. I’m absolutely not. I very much enjoyed, I’ve given money to the school in the past since graduating. I’m merely trying to do my own thing. I think it’s something they feel very uncomfortable with…. I think that an institution of that power and influence merits discussion and criticism and praise and all these things…

MBA Mission: So, HBS focuses too closely on these two sections and possibly shoots the messenger?

Delves Broughton: I’ve been a journalist, I know the way these things work… This is the truth: that they like to think it is a book about Harvard Business School, it has Harvard Business School on the cover, you can’t get away from that. But, you know what’s really interesting is when I’m talking to people for whom it’s just a name, they just couldn’t care less about the booze luge and the BMW. What they want to talk about is work-life balance, entrepreneurial living….They want to talk about the big things which really keep you going. How can I make buck and still see the people I love? How can I do something interesting in my life and not drop dead having bored myself to tears so I can pay the rent. There are the big things, and that’s what the book is really about…