MBA Admissions Blog by MBA Game Plan

Get to Know: Tuck School of Business

MBA Game Plan — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 03:59:47 +0000

Tuck is quote popular among applicants we talk to, which is especially notable given the school’s small size. We are often disappointed, though, by how few Tuck applicants really know whether the school is good fit for them. We always urge these applicants to go back and do their homework a bit more before they begin the application process.

Are you thinking about applying to Tuck? If so, how do you know the Tuck admissions team will think you’re a good fit for the school? Today we look at four things that make the Tuck School of Business unique among top-ranked business schools:

Small classes, personal attention
Partly because of the remote location, and partly because of the small class size, Tuck has a smaller full-time resident faculty (less than 50) with fewer adjunct professors than other schools. However, the small class size also benefits the students, with a student/teacher ratio of about 10:1. The intimacy of the community is also enhanced by the fact that most first-year students live in dormitories on campus. (If you want to see what the Tuck dorms look like, check out the tour on the school’s YouTube channel.) This arrangement is not common at other full-time programs, where students tend to be more spread out, especially those in cities like New York and Chicago. Another novelty at Tuck that fosters relationships among the class? The first-year study groups rotate regularly, rather than remaining fixed, the way they typically are elsewhere.

Strong emphasis on professional experience
While some other business schools in its backyard have been welcoming younger and younger students, Tuck has held steadfast on its requirement for significant work experience prior to matriculation. The average age of a first-year is 28, and not a single person entered Tuck straight from college this year; 100% have some work experience. It’s possible for a college senior to apply to Tuck, though if accepted, it’s also likely that deferred admission would be offered, to matriculate in a few years’ time.

Dedication to diversity
Tuck’s Minority Business Executive was the first diversity-focused program of its kind. Tuck launched this initiative over 30 years ago, and the school remains dedicated to attracting students across all ethnographic and demographic spectrums. Tuck sponsors a by-application Diversity Conference in the Fall (they cover the cost of attendance for those accepted — and there’s a similar by-application Women in Business Conference as well). Tuck participates in conferences hosted by National Black MBA, National Hispanic MBA, and Reaching Out MBA (for the LGBT community). And, Tuck is the highest-ranked member of The Consortium for Graduate Study in Management, which is a long-standing program that encourages and facilitates minority candidates for business school. All that being said, Tuck still seems to have trouble attracting minorities compared to some of its peers, with just 19% of Tuckies being U.S. minorities. The proportion of minority faculty is slightly better, at 21% (commendably, Tuck is among the few programs who bother to report this latter statistic). Tuck also adds diversity to the classroom by encouraging international students — and encouraging U.S. employers to hire their international students, through deliberate education to recruiters to demystify visa requirements, and focused outreach on the behalf of these international students.

Strong, consistent leadership
With 15 years of tenure, the dean of Tuck, Paul Danos, has been running the show for much longer than his counterparts at other schools. Many top business schools have gone through transition periods of late as they adapt to changed leadership and find their direction anew. The continuity here — and a leader who has already weathered multiple economic cycles and knows how to keep the school moving forward despite the challenges — can provide advantages for students at Tuck.

To stay on top on all of the latest news on Tuck and other top-ranked business schools, be sure to find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

Get to Know: UCLA Anderson

MBA Game Plan — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 04:41:59 +0000

Are you thinking about applying to UCLA Anderson? If so, why? How do you know if it’s really is a good fit for you? More importantly, how do you know the Anderson admissions team will think you’re a good fit for the school? Today we present a few reasons why Anderson might be a good fit for you:

You are interested in media and entertainment
Few schools have the strength, resources, or connections that UCLA has in the entertainment industry. It’s not just the obvious advantage of the location in the entertainment capital of the world, but Anderson also has ties to industry that make it a natural choice for anyone seeking to enter this high-powered career.

You want to pursue a career in technology
If you don’t want to start your own company but you do want to build technology products or work in an Internet company, Anderson can facilitate a new career path. About 15% of graduates move into technology fields, whether up north in California’s Silicon Valley or locally in L.A.

You have an entrepreneurial background, or to get into entrepreneurship
The strength of UCLA’s entrepreneurship resources rivals that of the best business programs around. From the variety of business plan competitions to the innovative classes on venture formation and growth, Anderson is a place where startups are formed.

You are a good student with an average GMAT score
Anderson is quite similar to NYU in terms of class size and student age, and even some of their programs are similarly focused (media and entertainment being the most notable). However, whereas Anderson has a slightly lower average GMAT (712 compared to NYU’s 715), the average GPA of Anderson students is notched higher, at 3.54, compared to 3.42 at Stern. While candidates often drive themselves crazy slicing and dicing and overanalyzing these school statistics against their own profiles, the bottom line is that UCLA tends to accept those with stronger academic records and is a little more willing to overlook a lower GMAT score (and Stern is the opposite). This is by no means a rule of how every candidate is evaluated, and so if your numbers have a different pattern, you could still find a spot there.

You want a part-time option
Many candidates find value in the UCLA FEMBA program that allows them to keep their job while earning their MBA. While pursuing a degree at the same time as managing the demands of a career (and often a family) can be very challenging, it is worthwhile for those who feel that they cannot afford to take time out of their career to pursue a full-time program.

To stay on top on all of the latest news on UCLA Anderson and other top-ranked business schools, be sure to find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

Business Schools Roll Out the Red Carpet for Military Veterans

MBA Game Plan — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 03:31:36 +0000

Every year we hear from many applicants with military experience who wonder if they’ll fit in at business school. And, they want to know if business schools are interested in applicants like them. Could MBA programs really be looking for applicants with (in many cases) minimal business experience? Dp companies that hire MBAs want to find this kind of MBA grad?

The short answer is yes! Business schools constantly seek leaders and young professionals with exceptional decision-making ability. Just because you don’t come from a business background, don’t fool yourself into thinking that MBA programs won’t be interested in you. You may have exactly the type of experience and temperament that MBA admissions officers want to see.

One of your best strengths as a military applicant will likely be the leadership experience you bring to the table. Any stories that you can relate about directing a group of men and women to achieve a tangible goal will speak volumes about your ability to lead, and most business schools value this trait above all else. You are also likely to have great examples of teamwork, which will further help an admissions committee picture you fitting into a classroom at its school. Don’t be shy about sharing these stories, even if you think they’ve been told a thousand times before. Focus on these accomplishments in your essays and interview, and — more importantly — spell out what you learned as a result and how it will help you in your next career.

Yes, you will face challenges as a military applicant, too. The most obvious one is that your great experiences have had little to do with business. You therefore need to show the admissions committee that your skills are directly transferable to the business world. More to the point, you need to show that you see how these skills will translate, and that you know what your own strengths and weaknesses are. You may not have any practical experience in marketing or finance, but you understand why it is important that you have knowledge of them. Moreover, you can demonstrate your desire to bolster your knowledge in these areas by taking a pre-MBA course or two, particularly in accounting and finance.

If you have taken any business-oriented courses that won’t show up on your transcripts, be sure to let the admissions committee know about it. Admissions officers will understand that you’re relatively new to the business world — in fact, they love nothing more than an applicant with loads of raw potential whom they can shape into a business leader — but they will look critically for evidence that you have the ability and motivation to learn business principles. It’s less a matter of “I hope they don’t notice I don’t have business experience” and more a matter of “I need to show them what I’ve done to overcome that lack of experience.”

And, it doesn’t hurt that the military may pay for your MBA through the G.I. Bill and other assistance programs available to people with extended service to our nation. You may find that you not only are able to get into a top-ranked MBA program, but that it’s also cheaper than you expected.

To stay on top on all of the latest news in the world of MBA admissions, be sure to find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

Get to Know: Kellogg School of Management

MBA Game Plan — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 03:37:35 +0000

Given the school’s sterling reputation in marketing, its ability to turn out well-rounded general managers, and its high-energy culture, it’s no wonder that so many applicants aim for Kellogg every year. Are you thinking about applying to Kellogg this year? If so, why? How do you know if it’s really is a good fit for you? More importantly, how do you know the Kellogg admissions team will think you’re a good fit for the school?

Today we dig into five things that make the Kellogg MBA experience unique:

Blended Teaching
Kellogg offers perhaps the most blended teaching approach of any of the top business schools, dividing its course styles into three nearly equal parts: case method, lectures, and team projects — all bolstered by the school’s commitment to experiential learning. The classroom approach at Kellogg can often mirror the probing, theoretical approach of a top law school, as distinguished professors push students to go beyond the rules of business by testing theories and assumptions. Classroom participation is one thing that all of Kellogg’s class formats have in common. The curriculum is constantly evolving with the times and the hot topics of the day.

Social Responsibility
The school has a range of opportunities for students to both get involved in their local communities while also building strong skills for a future career in a social venture or nonprofit. The Kellogg Board Fellows program is an opportunity for students to serve on the board of a nonprofit. The Social Enterprise at Kellogg (SEEK) program supports those interested in bringing social benefits to the world through business, and the annual Innovating Social Change conference has been running for well over ten years now, which reinforces the longstanding commitment to the community and social good that is apparent at the Kellogg School. The school’s socially-focused culture is also highlighted by the fact that they have a faculty Director of Diversity and Inclusion (Angela Edwards-Campbell), and these values are emphasized throughout the curriculum.

Global Perspective
A typical Kellogg class is composed of students from 40 different countries. And, another 100 international exchange students come to campus each year, taking the place of the 100 Kellogg students who travel to foreign universities for study abroad opportunities. Beyond this diverse mix of nationality and culture among the student body, Kellogg has focused coursework and experiential learning opportunities specific to the global landscape, such as the Global Lab, Global Initiatives in Management, and a requirement that every student take at least one course with a global focus.

Experiential Learning
Many elite business schools offer their students the chance to study in the field and to get real world experience, but few incorporate the mantra of “learning by doing” to the extent that Kellogg does. From the number of students who participate in business plan competitions, to the wide range of unique opportunities to create and test new technologies offered, Kellogg allows every student to find a way to put his or her theoretical learning to the real world test. The school offers a nearly unparalleled variety of courses and labs that focus almost entirely on learning by doing.

Leadership
Kellogg puts a great deal of focus on leadership, and attempts to elevate good leaders to great ones. One required component in the school’s curriculum is the Leadership Core Series, which is a central part of the first semester and involves a community service project. Specific leadership courses highlight this approach, while a residence series brings in high-level executives as part of a speaking program to discuss leadership issues and concepts surrounding social responsibility. The Business Leadership Club and the Kellogg Student Association rank among the most popular and important student groups at the school.

To stay on top on all of the latest news and analysis of Kellogg admissions, be sure to find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

How to Prepare for the Integrated Reasoning Section on the New GMAT

MBA Game Plan — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 04:44:10 +0000

The GMAT’s new Integrated Reasoning section is still a few months away from going live, but applicants are already buzzing about this new question type. They want to know what the new Integrated Reasoning section is, and — more importantly — how to prepare for it.

Integrated Reasoning question present students with various data — presented various forms, including words, charts, and tables — and challenges them to pull out key insights to answer multiple questions about what’s going on. The questions vary by type, but they all measure your ability to truly perform analysis, rather than your ability to apply rote rules or memorize content.

With the new Integrated Reasoning section, the GMAT gets closer than ever before to measuring the type of analytical skills that truly matter in business school and beyond. These questions actually look quite similar to the mini-case studies MBA students get when interviewing for management consulting or some finance jobs. This sort of exercise is a great measure of someone’s analytical abilities. So often applicants hear “analytical” and assume this means “quant” or “numbers,” but great analysis actually goes much deeper and is much more challenging than just crunching numbers. That skill is just what many recruiters at top business schools look for, which is why it makes sense for the GMAT to measure it as well as a standardized test can.

So, how do you prepare for Integrated Reasoning questions? The good news is that, if you prepare for the GMAT the right way, that work will already help you succeed on the Integrated Reasoning section. Furthermore, as this section is designed to test your analytical abilities in a business context, your day-to-day activities will help you prepare, and you should note items such as “which data are most relevant to a decision” and “how could this information be displayed graphically to highlight important trends” when you perform professional and personal tasks that involve numbers and decisions.

To get start, we recommend looking at some of the GMAT Integrated Reasoning resources that Veritas Prep has created, including sample questions. Give yourself enough time and approach the Next-Generation GMAT with the right mindset, and you should have no trouble with the new section of the exam.

To stay on top on all of the latest news in MBA admissions and GMAT preparation, be sure to find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!