GMAT to add new section in 2012

Some of you have probably already heard about the Next Generation GMAT that will launch in June 2012. This new version, the first major update in more than 10 years, will replace one of the AWA essays with an “Integrated Reasoning” section. More details as well as a short video explaining the new section can be found here.

Basically, the new Integrated Reasoning section will ask you to form conclusions and answer questions based on the analyses of various data – charts, spreadsheets, graphs, etc. For many business school applicants who are fairly quantitative to begin with, this may not be too daunting of a new challenge.

The test makers are in the midst of developing this new section and will be piloting their questions in future GMATs. If you are one of the lucky ones who gets one of these pilot sections, don’t worry; your performance here will not figure into your official score total and your schools will not see your performance. Apparently, you may even get paid to work on the pilot section.

What does this new version of the GMAT mean for you if business school is in your plans for 2012? You can either take the GMAT now or wait for the new test. Remember, your scores are valid for 5 years so even with the new GMAT in 2012, business schools will still accept the “old” GMAT as long as it is a test that you have taken within 5 years of your application.

Choosing an Admission/Application Consultant, and my mixed feelings about the field

No doubt if you are considering graduate school you have considered the value of hiring an admission/application consultant, particularly if you are an international applicant unfamiliar with the selection process overseas.

What does an admission/application consultant do? A professional consultant will guide you in the application process, from selecting schools to conducting self-assessments to putting together the application package. A good consultant listens to you, follows your cues, facilitates your self-learning process, provides frank and constructive feedback on proper application strategies, and teaches you about proper English communication and presentation. A professional consultant does not ask you to repackage yourself inauthentically and does not ghostwrite or heavily edit your applications. The finished product should be a true reflection of your personality, values, achievements and passions. The admissions committee, after reading your essays, should be able to distinguish you from the thousands of other applicants. This can only happen if your essays were written by you and about you. This can only happen if your voice is fully retained in your essays, not filtered or edited by someone else.

I have been working as a consultant for a little over 10 years now. I had come into the field unexpectedly. I originally started my career at Harvard University, where I worked at the Medical School admissions office and later at the Graduate School of Education as an assistant director of admissions. When I left for Japan to do research in international higher education, I took on a part-time consulting position at the Princeton Review of Japan where I worked one-on-one with MBA and other degree program applicants. I chose this position because, unlike in admissions, I was able to work individually with students and develop a close relationship with them, taking them from step 1 of a daunting process to success as an admitted candidate.

In my time as a consultant I was both shocked and humbled by the dedication in effort and expense that my clients showed. They spent life savings to invest in their futures, and they did so because the admission process overseas was (is) so daunting, so subjective, so seemingly mysterious and sometimes even arbitrary. They needed someone who could try and help them make some sense of it. I believe that ultimately this consulting field exists because the selection process to western universities is simply too difficult and non-intuitive for many people.

And over the years I had gone back and forth in my satisfaction as a professional. I entered education with a genuine passion to help bridge opportunities for others. The field of admissions consulting allowed me to use my prior experience in admissions to help guide those without knowledge, to connect them with a chance to study in America or Europe and to bring their experiences and lessons back to their home countries to actualize change. However, the pressures of internalizing the stress of each client and madly rushing for deadlines burnt me out. I was also disillusioned by what began to feel like a game - some applicants would cheat and short cut the process and at the same time it was clear that some universities played “games” of their own. After 5 years, I decided to leave the field.

It was in 2005, after a year away from this work, that my husband Moto and I decided to try once again. Applicants came looking for us despite the fact that we had already resigned from our company. They needed someone good, they said, someone they could trust. We have had people come to us because their consultants disappeared in the middle of the application season and ran off with their money. We also found that some people were getting false information or inaccurate advice from other consultants. Though there have been many times that I’ve questioned why I have stayed in a field with such a dubious reputation, we realized we are needed in this industry. And so we went back, this time forming our own consultancy.

Today we work with 20-25 clients per year. We cap our enrollment to ensure quality service. We have each client go through a thorough self-assessment process before beginning their essays. And then we teach a workshop on how to develop essays and other parts of the application. We have earned the reputation of working our clients pretty hard, and to be sure we have weeded out many people that way. The ones who come to us believe in the integrity of the admission process – the importance of finding one’s voice and communicating that authentically.

What is sad for us is that some of the more unethical consultancies continue to thrive. Why? Because sometimes ghostwritten and heavily edited and filtered applications work at the top schools. Those applicants get admitted. In a society in which plagiarism is accepted and people work 16 hour days, the promise of a consultant doing much of the thinking and writing is very appealing. And as long as universities continue to admit those applicants, unethical consultants will stay in business and they will thrive.

However, we applaud those graduate schools that scrutinize applications for inauthenticity, schools like Stanford GSB that speak out against manufactured essays. In the end we believe that our approach works, especially as proven by the excellent results we get season after season, even with clients with lower than average test scores. We will continue to embrace our philosophy.

Points to consider when looking for an admission/application consultant:

• Since this person will need to help you draw out your stories and guide you in effective communication and presentation, look for someone who is strong in counseling and/or writing. While prior MBA and business experience is helpful in terms of sharing an understanding of your world, keep in mind that you need someone to help you prepare an application and essays, not manage staff or run a company. High level business knowledge is not necessary as admissions committees are comprised of diverse professionals, and your applications need to be prepared in language that is accessible to a non-expert.
• Find out what approach the consultant will take when handling your essays and application. Will he facilitate, or tell you what you need to write? I heard one story of a consultant changing a client’s goals drastically with the claim that it will help him “stand out.” The client was asked to talk about entering the film business, something he had never even dreamed about. Will your consultant try to manufacture you into someone you don’t recognize, or will he take the time to examine you and pull out your greatest strengths?
• Does your consultant have experience in this field, be it former admissions work or consulting work? If she is relative new, has she been properly trained or is she working under the supervision of an experienced consultant? While half of our clientele work with one of our staff counselors, all are trained thoroughly by me and I oversee and am kept abreast of their work.
• Does your consultant have a transparent financial and administrative policy? Some new consultants setting up shop in Japan aren’t aware that refunds are required by law. Another consultant that I know of had an affair with one of his clients and then called up her school to make claims that she plagiarized everything when she refused to pay him. Look for businesses that are incorporated, or for private consultants who have clear policies about registration, payments and refunds. Use your instinct and choose people who are professional and have integrity. Do not rationalize away suspicious behavior because of cultural differences; professionalism should look and feel the same across nationalities and cultures.
• What is the consultants’ turnaround time and how many clients does he work with? It is hard to pinpoint a “good” number but in general I’d be wary of anyone working with close to 20 clients. My maximum was 12 clients one season, and it was alot (I also had a young child) – enough that I found returning documents on time a challenge. The next season I reduced my client load accordingly. If your consultant takes on more than he can handle, you might find a slower turnaround time, perhaps more mistakes in your documents, etc.
• Be careful about how you assess a consultant’s track record. Some consultants take on only clients with top notch credentials; this ensures preserving a strong track record of successful admits to the top schools. Other consultants may take on clients with mediocre test scores or other weaknesses, which will impact her track record regardless of how good her consulting is. When analyzing track records, ask the consultant (generally) about the clients’ records as well – What were their average test scores? What schools did they apply to? Weigh the results against these facts. As a personal example, I have a pretty solid record with Stanford but have relatively fewer results with Columbia, simply because I attract clients who tend to apply to schools like Stanford but not Columbia. 
• Finally, as you are probably doing, talk to trusted friends and colleagues for recommendations.

With the right consultant, you could have a fruitful and immensely rewarding experience accomplishing what will be a very daunting and stressful process. Good luck!

Tags: admissions consultants, consulting field

INSEAD Essay Question Analyses and Deadlines 2010-11

From INSEAD’s website:

http://mba.insead.edu/admissions/dates_deadlines.cfm

Deadlines for September 2011 Intake (Class of July 2012)

1st Round
Deadline: 29 September 2010
Interview Decision: 5 November 2010
Final Decision: 17 December 2010

2nd Round
Deadline: 1 December 2010
Interview Decision: 14 January 2011
Final Decision: 25 February 2011

3rd Round
Deadline: 9 March 2011
Interview Decision: 15 April 2011
Final Decision: 27 May 2011

Deadlines for January 2012 Intake (Class of December 2012)

1st Round
Deadline: 30 March 2011
Interview Decision: 13 May 2011
Final Decision: 24 June 2011

2nd Round
Deadline: 15 June 2011
Interview Decision: 22 July 2011
Final Decision: 2 September 2011

3rd Round
Deadline: 3 August 2011
Interview Decision: 9 September 2011
Final Decision: 14 October 2011

Please note the following:

“*To be included in a specific round, applications must be complete and submitted by midnight (23.59) Central European Time on the day of deadline.

Competition for each round is relatively equal, so there is generally little advantage to be gained by early application.  Whenever you apply, please make sure that you submit a complete and well-prepared application pack.”

INSEAD has two sets of essays – one that is related specifically to the details of your work, and the other more personal. I write my comments and tips below:

Job-related Essays

1. Please give a detailed description of your job, including nature of work, major responsibilities; and, where relevant, employees under your supervision, size of budget, number of clients/products and results achieved. (250 words)

These two job-related essays are straightforward and you need to just answer the questions directly, giving the admissions committee the information and facts they are looking for. This means that you do not need to tell any personal story related to your work here. Unemployed at the moment? Describe your most recent position. You can explain what you have been doing during your unemployment in the 2nd essay below, and/or in the optional essay.

2. Please give us a full description of your career since graduating from university. If you were to remain with your present employer, what would be your next step in terms of position? (250 words)

Describe your career progress since graduating from university. You’ll end up mentioning some of the same information that’s on your resume, but be sure you’re not simply cutting and pasting from your resume. Use this space to explain your career growth in a way that you can’t on your resume. Things to consider: Why did you choose the path that you did? Why were you promoted? What had you contributed overall? The admissions committee wants to understand, in a nutshell, how you got to where you are now.

Essays

1. Give a candid description of yourself, stressing the personal characteristics you feel to be your strengths and weaknesses and the main factors, which have influenced your development, giving examples when necessary. (400 words approx.)

This is a personal essay that requires you to reflect honestly on yourself. When discussing strengths and weaknesses, choose personal characteristics (as instructed) rather than skills or areas of expertise. Some people confuse the two and write about their intellectual or professional abilities. However, INSEAD wants to know about you as a person. And when choosing your weakness(es), be honest and prudent at the same time. INSEAD wants you to be self-aware enough to write about a real flaw, but you also don’t want to make them nervous by discussing a weakness that is serious enough to raise doubts about your desirability as a candidate. (Hint: Lack of confidence, a bad temper, and poor communication ability are examples that will put your application at great risk.)

Finally, you should support your essay with details of the experiences/people that have shaped you and show the reader how you have displayed those qualities in your adult life.

2. Describe what you believe to be your two most substantial accomplishments to date, explaining why you view them as such. (400 words approx.)

This is very straightforward. When choosing your examples, try and find ones that show different aspects of your experiences and abilities. Talk about what you did and what impact you had made.

3. Describe a situation taken from school, business, civil or military life, where you did not meet your personal objectives, and discuss briefly the effect. (250 words approx.)

You are asked to talk about a time when you failed somehow, where you couldn’t achieve what you had hoped. This is a question about dealing with setback and learning from experience. They want to know what happened, how you dealt with it, and how you have grown from the experience.

4. Discuss your career goals. What skills do you expect to gain from studying at INSEAD and how will they contribute to your professional career? (500 words approx.)

In writing this essay be sure to address your short and long term goals, the areas you need to develop through an MBA program, and how INSEAD can help you in that endeavor. This is the essay where the admissions committee will confirm your professional focus and sincerity in attending their school. Are you realistic in terms of your career plan? Have you thought it through, perhaps even spoken to people in your target field? Have you researched well INSEAD’s offerings? How well you have done your homework will show clearly in this essay.

5. Please choose one of the following two essay topics:

The following two essays are used to get a sense of your cultural sensitivity. This is important to INSEAD as INSEAD focuses on global business and has an unusually diverse student body.

a) Have you ever experienced culture shock? What did it mean to you? (250 words approx.), or

This is a good option if you have experienced hardship adjusting to or accepting some aspects of another culture. While culture is not limited to geography (e.g., you could talk about culture shock in terms of a different work environment, gender, etc.), I would recommend writing about culture shock as it relates to other countries (Option B below gives us an idea of what INSEAD is looking for in this set of questions).

Culture shock is the uncomfortable set of feelings one experiences when encountering certain unfamiliar aspects of another culture. It could be confusion, surprise, anger, fear, etc. Think about a time when you had experienced something like this, and talk about what that experience was like. What was it, how did you react or deal with it, and how have you changed or grown as a result?

b) What would you say to a foreigner moving to your home country? (250 words approx.)

This is an option for those who have not had much experience interacting with other cultures, or who have not traveled or traveled much outside their home countries. In this case, what would you say to someone visiting your country? How would you describe your country? What advice would you give to him or her in terms of adjusting to or understanding your country? Being able to see your country from a foreigner’s point of view and thereby being able to anticipate what advice the foreigner might need shows cultural sensitivity.

6. Is there anything that you have not mentioned in the above essays that you would like the Admissions Committee to know? (200 words approx.) This essay is optional.

Use this essay to discuss any aspect of your candidacy that you haven’t yet had a chance to share with the admissions committee. If discussing another story, be sure it provides a perspective not offered by the other essays in the set. Otherwise, if you have a potential concern in your application (e.g., no current supervisor recommendation, poor or mediocre grades or test scores, employment gap(s)), please explain that here.

7. In case of reapplication, please use this page. Your essay should state any new aspects of professional, international, academic or personal development since your last application. We would also like you to explain your motivation for re-applying to INSEAD. This essay should not exceed 400 words.

This is a straightforward question asking reapplicants to update their applications. Since you were denied in the past, what efforts have you made to become a stronger candidate? Why do you still wish to attend INSEAD?

Wharton Essay Question Analyses and Deadlines 2010-11

Please find below the deadlines for the regular 2-year MBA program and my comments/tips (beside the vertical orange bars) on the essay questions. (For deadline and essay question information for the MBA/MA Lauder program please refer to the Wharton website.) Wharton has changed its essay questions dramatically, and has done away with its traditionally long essay about goals and “Why Wharton.” They ask several specific questions to get at the qualities that they are looking for, and this essay set requires you to tailor your stories to Wharton.

All deadlines are 5:00 p.m. EST.

From Wharton’s website:

Fall 2010 Essay Questions

The Admissions Committee is interested in getting to know you on both a professional and personal level. We encourage you to be introspective, candid, and succinct. Most importantly, we suggest you be yourself.

Required Question:

What are your professional objectives? (300 words)

This is a shortened version of their traditionally long goals essay question. In 300 words or fewer, you are to state your future career goals. You can go ahead and explain briefly why you wish to attend Wharton as well. My sense here is that they are more interested in finding out about you, and can make their own determination as to whether or not you are the right fit based on the three longer essays below.

Respond to 3 of the following 4 questions:

1. Student and alumni engagement has at times led to the creation of innovative classes. For example, through extraordinary efforts, a small group of current students partnered with faculty to create a timely course entitled, “Disaster Response: Haiti and Beyond,” empowering students to leverage the talented Wharton community to improve the lives of the Haiti earthquake victims. Similarly, Wharton students and alumni helped to create the “Innovation and the Indian Healthcare Industry” which took students to India where they studied the full range of healthcare issues in India. If you were able to create a Wharton course on any topic, what would it be? (700 words)

This is an essay in which you can demonstrate your creativity, awareness of current and pressing societal issues, professional skills and experiences, personal qualities, future vision and potential to contribute to the Wharton community and beyond. A strong and credible essay would include your vision for a relevant course rooted in your own experience and expertise. Let’s say that you’d like to create a course to address the topic of microfinance. (And, by the way, you are not restricted to writing about topics related to developing countries.) Why would you be the right person to develop this course? What experiences, skills and knowledge do you have that will enable you to do this? Why is this course important and why would it be relevant (or be of interest) to Wharton students? What would be your mission in the course? When writing this essay, make sure that you focus not just on the future and the hypothetical but also on your own strengths and expertise. Ultimately, this essay is a way for them to learn more about you as a candidate.

2. Reflect on a time when you turned down an opportunity. What was the thought process behind your decision? Would you make the same decision today? (600 words)

There is no right or wrong answer to this question, as some applicants will talk about a lost opportunity that they do not regret, while others may talk about having done things differently. Again, the admissions committee wants to get better insight into you as a person, and is more interested in understanding how you go about making decisions. The key question here is “What was the thought process behind your decision?” They are asking for an honest, reflective and thoughtful response. In business and especially in high level management, executives are asked to make significant decisions on a regular basis. Sometimes they must do so with limited time and limited information. Wharton wants to know how you go about making decisions. Are you thoughtful? Do you weigh carefully the different options available? What risks do you take? If you do regret a decision, what have you learned from it?

3. Describe a failure that you have experienced. What role did you play, and what did you learn about yourself? How did this experience help to create your definition of failure? (600 words)

This is a standard question with a slight challenge at the end. It is important for business schools to understand how you respond to failure. No person will go through a career without making mistakes, and here it is not the mistake that the admissions committee cares about but your follow up and lessons. They want to know if you have taken the time to reflect on what you did and, if so, what you had gained from it. They want to see honesty, maturity and growth. In choosing an appropriate topic, don’t be afraid to go with a fairly big failure. The important thing is telling them what you learned as a result.

As for your own definition of failure as a result of this experience, think about what failure means to you. How would you define it? Is it a terrible? Is it a reflection of your character, or something else? What does it tell you about yourself? Think about what “failure” means to you now that you have experienced it.

4. Discuss a time when you navigated a challenging experience in either a personal or professional relationship. (600 words) 

Wharton wants to know how you handle conflict and difficulty, since this is something that you will inevitably go through in your future career, and how successful you are at managing relationships will be key in determining how successful you will be in your work. The word to pay attention to here is “navigated.” Show the process, how you dealt with with this person and evolved the relationship. And though they say “personal” here, I would limit the use of personal topics – e.g., no discussion of romantic relationships or other relationships that involve issues not relevant to business school. 

Tags: advice, MBA deadlines, MBA essay questions, Wharton

Stanford GSB Application Deadlines for Class Entering 2011

Stanford has announced its deadlines for the upcoming application season. On their website they recommend applying in R1, if you have the possibility, citing unusual competition in the 2nd round in recent years.

I include the deadlines below. Please go to their site at http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/mba/admission/application_deadlines.html for further details.

Application Deadlines for Class of 2013
(Entering Fall 2011)

Application Round:  1
Submit your application by:  October 6, 2010*
We will notify you on:  December 15, 2010**
Your reply & deposit are due by:  TBD

Application Round:  2
Submit your application by:  January 6, 2010*
We will notify you on:  March 30, 2010**
Your reply & deposit are due by:  TBD

Application Round:  3
Submit your application by:  April 6, 2011*
We will notify you on:  May 18, 2011**
Your reply & deposit are due by:  TBD

* Applications are due by 5:00 PM, Pacific Time

** On the decision notification date, you will be offered admission, denied admission, or offered a place in the waitpool.

Tags: MBA deadlines, Stanford

Harvard Business School Essay Question Analysis 2010-11

Please find below the instructions and essay questions from the HBS website along with my analyses:

Essays for the Class of 2013

As an opportunity to present your distinctive qualities, your essays are an important part of your MBA application. You will be asked to submit your personal statements online with the balance of your application materials. Essays should be single-spaced. Please limit your response to the length indicated.

All applicants must submit answers to four essay questions. The first two questions are required of all applicants. The remaining two essays should be in response to your choice of the next four sub-questions.

Joint program applicants for the Harvard Medical School, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Harvard Law School, and Harvard Kennedy School must provide an additional essay.

Essays:

• What are your three most substantial accomplishments and why do you view them as such? (600-word limit)

Analysis:

The classic HBS question. Accomplishments mean achievement and impact. In what ways have you stretched yourself, gone above and beyond, and made an impact on others? The examples you choose should represent you well, meaning, as much as possible, combine professional examples with an academic, community or personal example. However, your own combination will depend on your own experiences. Do not force a weak example simply to diversify your stories. Try to find a balance between quality and diversity.

• What have you learned from a mistake? (400-word limit)

Analysis:

HBS wants to know how self-aware you are and how willing you are to learn from your mistakes. That is the main point of this question, not how badly you have messed up. So be honest in the mistake you choose and don’t be afraid of showing a weakness. Describe what you did wrong, but show how you handled it and what you learned from it.

Please respond to two of the following (400-word limit each):

1. What would you like the MBA Admissions Board to know about your undergraduate academic experience?

Analysis:

This is a question designed more for recent graduates who have fewer professional experiences to talk about. If you had a rich undergraduate life and you didn’t attend university too long ago, this may be a good option for you. I often get asked if it is okay to talk about non-academic experience. My answer is yes, as long as you are not talking only about your club and sports activities. That is, your answer needs to discuss your academic and intellectual work even if you want to talk about other activities as well. Questions to think about: What kind of a student were you? Were you intellectually curious? What kinds of intellectual pursuits did you have? If you were also active outside the classroom, talk about that too: leadership, community involvement, etc. Your experience as an undergraduate student will give the admissions board an idea of what kind of HBS student and leader you might be.

2.   What is your career vision and why is this choice meaningful to you?

Analysis:

This is more or less the standard goals essay, although many people ask me why HBS uses the expression “career vision” instead of “career goals” which is used by most other schools. HBS wants to know more than just the concrete things that you plan to do after graduation (e.g., become Director of Marketing); they want to know what your mission and career plan and path are (e.g., serve consumers in developing countries through a position as Director of Marketing). “Vision” is what you see for your future: what do you hope to do, what are the steps you will take to get there, what fundamental value, belief or desire is driving this career path for you? However, don’t get overly anxious about this essay question; if you write all your essays well, this goals essay should not be any different from the goals essays you write for other schools. The one difference between HBS’s goals essay and that of other schools, though, is that you don’t need to spend a lot of time convincing them why HBS is your top choice.

3. Tell us about a time in your professional experience when you were frustrated or disappointed.

Analysis:

This is a completely new question for this year. Through this essay the admissions committee wants to see how you deal with setback, when things don’t go your way. As usual, choose an episode and give enough context to explain what frustrated or disappointed you. Then focus on the main message, which is how you reacted and dealt with the situation. Please keep in mind that, if you choose to write this essay, you’d need to use a different story from the mistake essay above. The two topics sound similar but are different.

4. When you join the HBS Class of 2013, how will you introduce yourself to your new classmates?

Analysis:

Another brand new essay question. Keep in mind that this is a self-introduction to your future classmates. Reading between the lines, it means that it’s alright to cover some more personal topics here as well. What would you say to your new classmates – what would you like them to know about you? Cover the different areas of your background, values and personality but make sure you do more than simply regurgitate your resume. Let the reader get to know more about you as a person here.

Joint degree applicants:

• How do you expect the joint degree experience to benefit you on both a professional and a personal level? (400-word limit)

Analysis:

This is a straightforward question asking you to talk about why you need the joint degree/joint degree experience. They want to know how studying for both degrees will help you professionally and personally.

Tags: advice, HBS, MBA deadlines, MBA essay questions

Harvard Business School Application Deadlines for Class Entering 2011

The following is from the HBS blog:

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………

Class of 2013 – Launching the Application Season

from HBS MBA Program

Below are the key dates for the upcoming application season:

Round 1
Application deadline – Friday, October 1, 2010 at 12:00 noon EST
Decision notification – Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Round 2
Application deadline – Tuesday, January 11, 2011 at 12:00 noon EST
Decision notification – Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Round 3
Application deadline – TBD
Decision notification – TBD

We are “TBD” on Round 3 – final dates will be determined in early July as we assess how much of an overlap we need with the 2+2 application timeline.

The application for the Class of 2013 will go live the week of June 21. To view the essay and recommender questions now, please visit the Written Application page on our website.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

For more information on HBS admissions, please visit their website at http://www.hbs.edu/mba/admissions

Stayed tuned this week, as I’ll post my analyses and tips for their essay questions. If you really can’t wait to see the analyses, you can check out my post from last season here: http://www.revecounseling.com/blog/?cat=12

A few of the questions have changed but the rest are the same.

Tags: HBS, MBA deadlines

Where to Go?

After an intense counseling season I am back. We had wonderful results this year, and over the last several weeks we have been talking with some of our undecided clients about which schools they “should” go to. The questions that came up prompted me to write a post about how to go about making your decision if you happen to be in that most fortunate position of considering multiple admission offers.

It goes without saying for most people that reputation is the most important factor in deciding between schools. However, what to do if you’ve been accepted to a “lower-ranking” school where you know you will fit like a glove and a more prestigious school that you don’t feel fits you 100%? In an ideal world we’d go where we are happiest, and that is the common advice given to high school seniors when choosing their colleges. When graduate education becomes literally an investment in your future, though, you would be wise to consider the impact of the school’s reputation on your long-term career prospects. While your 2 year (or however long) experience at graduate school will be important, please also consider the next 30 or 40 years of your career. More prestigious schools may open more doors for you by virtue of their reputation alone. They may have more powerful connections with companies and alumni/ae which in turn would mean more opportunities for you in terms of internship and job interviews, professional connections, and other related resources.

As you are making your decision, you should talk to the following people if you are undecided about a school’s reputation:

• Alumni/ae
• Headhunters
• Career center staff at your target schools
• Current students

To those related to the school: What companies come to recruit? What kind of support do students receive from the career office? How smooth is the recruitment process? What kinds of internships do students get? Where do graduates get placed? What percentage of graduating students obtain jobs by graduation? How do students do in your particular field of interest?

To headhunters: How are companies in your target industry and region faring? How are they hiring? What are their perceptions of graduates from your target schools? Have they hired individuals from your target schools in recent years?

I understand that some applicants need to weigh their own desires against other compelling factors like finances, location (if they need to be near family) and/or resources available to partners and families. I do encourage all applicants to look beyond the duration of the program and to consider graduate education an investment in the next 30-40 years of your career, and to make the most sound decision after considering all of this.

Congratulations to you on achieving this significant milestone in your career!

Tags: accepted, career prospects

Wait Listed – Now what?

A number of schools released their decisions this week and I’ll be writing a couple of posts on what these decisions mean. The one that needs attention most is the wait list decision. Here below I’m re-posting an article that I posted a year ago. The wait list situation is an unsettling and confusing one so I hope this post helps clarify some of the anxiety surrounding wait lists:

When people apply to schools, they typically expect one of two fates: acceptance or rejection. They pray for the best and fantasize all the good imageries associated with becoming a part of their dream school’s entering class. On the other hand, most realistic people also brace themselves for the worst, and try to prepare themselves emotionally for the potential disappointment.

And then the decision arrives – and you are told you are wait listed. The admissions committee tells you that they recognize your “strong achievements” and that they remain “sincerely interested” in your candidacy but they cannot offer you a seat just yet. What does this all mean, and what can you do?

First of all, what it means to be wait listed

As someone who has both experienced the torture of being wait listed and monitored wait lists at Harvard, I can tell you a lot from experience.

When an admissions committee puts an applicant on the wait list, this is what they are saying: “You are great. We like you. You have most or even all of the things that we are looking for in a candidate. However, we don’t have the space to take everyone that we like, and some applicants are a little stronger and/or fit our current needs more. At the same time, we don’t want to lose you. Now, we have made XXX number of offers, and not everyone is going to accept our offer. Therefore, if any spaces open up, we will consider you once again.”

If you’re an MBA applicant applying in an early round, this could also be translated into “We think you are great, but we also want to see what else is out there. So we will review your application again with the next round of applicants.” Try to think of this in a positive light; instead of being rejected, you’re instead given two (or more, if you get wait listed again) chances at admission in one season.

Secondly, how does the wait list work?

Common questions with regard to the wait list include:

• How many people are on the wait list?
• Is the wait list ranked?
• Is there any guarantee I will be offered a seat off the wait list?

The answers are typically 1) it depends on the school; 2) no; 3) no.

Let me talk about the latter two points.

Admissions committees will almost always tell you that the wait list is not ranked. However, in my experience, it would be lying to say that there aren’t some people closer to the top of the wait list than others. Quality is one criterion while other factors will be those beyond your control. Admissions offices at MBA programs admit to using the 3^rd round as a time to “round out” their classes and to look at balance in terms of diversity (e.g., Do they need more people from a particular racial group, geographic region, career field?). The wait list is another such time.

As for whether or not you will come off the wait list, and when, there really is no guarantee at all and the admissions officers are being completely honest with you when they say “I don’t know.” I once worked with a client who got off the wait list 2 weeks before school orientation started!

At the beginning of each season, admissions directors make their projected yields; that is, how many offers they need to make in order to yield their ideal class size. Let’s say that ABC University has 400 seats in its first year class. Traditionally, 55% of their admitted candidates take the offer, while the other 45% choose to attend another school. Thus, ABC University will admit 580 applicants in anticipation that 45% of those applicants will turn down their offers. If more than 45% of the admitted applicants choose to go somewhere else, that is the time that ABC University will go to their wait list.

Finally, what can you do?

There are a number of things you can do if you are wait listed:

1. The most important thing you can do is follow the school’s instructions. I believe that the majority of schools welcome communication and updates from wait listed applicants. However, there are also some schools like Harvard Business School that firmly ask applicants to do nothing. It is imperative to follow the school’s instructions because 1) you want to show them that you can follow directions and 2) you do not want to annoy them at any cost.
2. If you are wait listed at a school that does welcome you to update your application, then you may submit a short note or essay that describes anything new and noteworthy that you would like to add to your application. This includes information about a promotion, new responsibilities, new awards, new coursework/grades, and stronger test scores. If you’ve since visited the campus, that is definitely worth mentioning as well.
3. Send another recommendation. Assuming your school does not tell you not to send in additional recommendations, you may consider adding another letter if you believe the new perspective will add value to your application. Related to this, you may also consider having an alum or current student send in a “push” letter for you, confirming your strengths as a candidate, your fit with the school, and your commitment to attending the school.
4. Stay in touch with the school. This point is critical. A major factor that influences a school’s decision to admit someone off the waitlist is his/her level of interest in the school. By the time the admissions committee gets to the wait list, they want to only take people who they know will come if made an offer. They are running out of time so they do not want to make offers to people who need time to decide. Therefore, if you are wait listed by a school that says it is okay to communicate with them, then stay in touch periodically (i.e., sending a quick note telling them you are still interested in remaining on the wait list). By this I mean perhaps once every 4-6 weeks perhaps (you’ll need to use your judgment) or at key decision times, like the two weeks preceding their next decision round (if this is an MBA program). It is equally important to not annoy the admissions staff; do not call or email every week or demand a meeting with the admissions staff or they will start worrying if you will be this anxious and high-maintenance once you are a student there.
5. Analyze your weaknesses. What in your application needed improvement? Could you retake the TOEFL, GMAT or GRE? Do your English skills need improvement? Were your achievements on the weak side? As much as possible, try to tackle these weaknesses and show the admissions committee that you have made improvements since you submitted the application. I sometimes work with clients who insist on writing short essays every month showing their passion for the school, but they do nothing to improve their test scores, which is the very reason they were put on the waitlist. You do not need to overly reassure the admissions committee of your strengths; you need to reassure them that you can overcome the weaknesses (if any) that made them hesitate to admit you in the first place.
6. Continue on with your plans, and your life. Do not put your life on hold for the school that wait lists you. Statistically speaking, your chances of getting admitted off any wait list is small (and the more competitive the school, the smaller the chances). The safest thing to do is to continue with your plans to attend one of the schools to which you have been admitted. If you do get an offer from the school where you are wait listed, then at that point you can change your plans. It is a torturous position to place an applicant, but the best protection for yourself is to move forward with your plans.
7. Release your spot if you are no longer interested in waiting. Many candidates prefer not to wait, and begin to lose interest over time. In this case, as a courtesy, let the school know you are no longer interested. This frees up the wait list so that someone else who really wants to attend can have a better chance of getting in.

Essay Writing: Make it about YOU

Having now gone through another 3/4 of a season analyzing and assessing essays, I’m going to talk about one of the most common issues I see: the generic essay.

Does this sound familiar?

“As a consultant, I’ve been focusing on strategizing solutions and advising clients in order to help them meet their management goals.”

If you’re a consultant it should definitely sound familiar, because it is your job description! It’s your job description whether you’re at McKinsey, BCG, or Bain & Company (etc.) and whether you’re in New York, Mumbai or Buenos Aires (etc.). In fact, that description may sound familiar even if you’re not in consulting. Take out “consultant” and substitute your career and the sentence could still make perfect sense. It is similar to a cashier saying, “I am a cashier and I focus on helping customers check their items out of the store.” Admissions committees know what consultants (and investment bankers and salespeople…) do. But what can you tell them about what you have done, about what you have contributed?

Avoid the generic sentence that tells the admissions committee nothing about you. Your goal, with each sentence that you write, is to give the admissions committee an additional morsel of information or insight about who you are as a person – what you have done, what you hope to learn, what you value. If two or three sentences go by and the reader still doesn’t know anything further about you, then you are not effectively using the space given in the essay.

Another place where I see similar genericness is in the “Why XYZ School” section of the goals essay. Here is an example:

“Your global leadership program will teach me all the fundamentals about leading in global settings, exposing me to various ideas and perspectives about leadership in international business.”

It is like saying,

“Your cake baking class will allow me to learn about all the various aspects of how to bake a cake, turning batter into a cake through the method of baking.” 

Instead of re-describing to the admissions committee what their resources are all about, explain how they will allow you to get the specific knowledge, skills and experiences you are looking for. Why, specifically, do you want to study international leadership? Are you hoping to work in the international division of a company after your degree? Do you currently lack international experience, or are you hoping to build upon what you already have? What specific knowledge – market entry, human resource management, strategy, etc. – do you need in order to achieve your goals? 

If you find that any of your text can be written by any other applicant, then you know you are being too general. With each essay you have limited space in which to tell your story; make sure you are telling yours, not that of 500 other applicants.