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When you select an MBA program, you are not just choosing your learning environment, but are also committing to becoming part of a community. Each Thursday, we offer a window into life “beyond the MBA classroom” at a top business school.

Hosted by the Stern Student Corporation, NYU Stern’s annual Texas Hold’em Charity Poker Tournament is open to full- and part-time MBA students (both graduate and undergraduate) and to Stern alumni, faculty, staff and administration. Each year, proceeds are donated to a local charity. Described by students we interviewed as a fun evening typically attracting more than 750 participants, the tournament raised money in 2010 to support the Red Cross’s efforts in Haiti after the earthquake.

For in-depth descriptions of social and community activities at NYU Stern and 13 other top MBA programs, check out the mbaMission Insider’s Guides.

With more business schools accepting the GRE as well as the GMAT, a lot of applicants are asking themselves which test they should take. Is the math harder on one exam? Is the verbal section more difficult? Do schools look at the exams differently? At this panel, Jeremy Shinewald, founder of mbaMission, will lead a discussion with Manhattan GMAT’s Chris Ryan and Manhattan GRE’s Dan Gonzalez to analyze where each exam stands in the world of business school admissions. Learn the ins and outs of each exam and determine which test is right for you.

After the discussion, all three speakers will remain on site for a Q&A session and help you take the next step in your application process.

Date: Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Time: 6:30-8:00 p.m. EST
Location: 138 West 25th Street (between 6th and 7th), New York, NY 10001 (to enter, press Call then dial 132)
Price: Free!

To register for this event, please click here.

Which MBA program is right for me? How can I find the best fit? Yael Melamed, mbaMission senior consultant, will help prospective MBAs understand the differences between the top MBA programs. Yael will elaborate on areas that will profoundly affect your academic and social lives in business school, including the flexibility of a program’s curriculum, the breadth of core courses, different methods of instruction, varying sizes of the cohorts and more. Start preparing now so you can be sure to make an educated decision when you apply!

A Q&A session will follow the presentation, after which Yael will remain on site to respond to your additional inquiries.

Date: Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Time: 7:00-8:30 p.m. EST
Location: 2905 Stender Way, Suite 66, Santa Clara, CA 95054
Price: Free!

To register for this event, please click here.

Candidates who have an obvious weakness—such as a low GPA or GMAT score or a prolonged gap in work experience—often worry that they are destined to attend a virtually anonymous business school. Whenever such applicants ask admissions officers how their weakness might affect their candidacy, they hear the straightforward and common refrain “We look at applications holistically.”

Although this may sound like a cliché, it is certainly the truth; at mbaMission, we have seen dozens of candidates with sub-600 GMAT scores and GPAs under 3.0 find their respective ways into top-ten programs. The key to overcoming an academic weakness—or indeed any weakness in your candidacy—is to address it in the optional essay, not with excuses, but by taking responsibility:

Example 1:

“In my first year of college, I had the flu the day before my midterms and did quite badly on my first batch. You will notice that my grades dip in my first term. Then, in the second term, I was quite engaged in extracurricular activities with my fraternity and again, my grades suffered. However, if you look at my grades in my major, from my second year forward, I would have a GPA of…”

Some who read this sample paragraph may laugh at the absurdity of the excuses; others may not even notice. While solid explanations for a dip in a candidate’s grades certainly exist, a temporary flu and overinvolvement in extracurriculars are not among them.

Example 2:

“As a freshman at XYZ University, I was unable to appreciate the rather awesome educational opportunities before me, and my grades were, quite simply, lower than they should have been. However, by my second year, when I discovered my passion for English literature and chose this subject as my major, I pursued my studies with vigor and completely turned my academic performance around, earning a consistent stream of As in…”

In this second example, the excuses are cast aside and replaced with a contrite discussion of the candidate’s experience. As a result, the candidate establishes credibility, explains the change and infers that he/she will continue to perform as an MBA student.

Admissions committees, like corporate America, don’t like excuses. Don’t make them.

Perhaps because of UCLA Anderson’s close ties to Hollywood and to the media and entertainment industries, the school has taken the lead in offering alternative essay questions to applicants—alternative in the sense of involving a nonwritten response. Anderson began by offering applicants the option to submit a short audio recording of their answer to one essay question, and in the 2009–2010 application season, began soliciting short video clips that answer one of two questions. In the 2010–2011 application season, applicants could answer the question “What is something people will find surprising about you?” via audio response (up to 2 minutes in length), video response (up to 1 minute in length) or essay (250-word maximum). If you’re considering applying to Anderson and have no idea how you might begin answering an essay question via audio or video clip, visit the Anderson Web site to see and hear original video and audio essay submissions from members of the Class of 2012, including “Mechanical Flower,” “Word Nut” and “My Dark Secret.”

For more information on UCLA Anderson or 13 other leading MBA programs, check out the mbaMission Insider’s Guides.