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.

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

MBA versus MPP or MPA: How to Decide

Starting this month we will be introducing our team of counselors who will contribute to our blog from time to time.

Our first featured writer/counselor is Lucia, who has a strong background as well as interests in economics, public policy, international policy, social entrepreneurship, CSR, small business development, and media, among other fields. She is trilingual in English, Chinese and Japanese and has a BA from Wellesley College and an MPA from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.

Would a degree in Public Policy or Public Administration suit me better than a degree in Business Administration?

This is a question many applicants are considering.

There are certainly similarities between MPP/MPA and MBAs. In both cases, students will be developing practical leadership, teambuilding and decision making skills. There will be statistical analysis, consulting projects and project evaluations.

Finding the right program for you requires thinking very clearly about what you plan to do after you graduate. You need to think, “What life and what career am I preparing for?”

Students in MPA and MPP/MPA programs are often aiming for careers in government or in public service management like education, healthcare, energy, or city planning. They also work in private consulting companies, non-profit and international organizations. They are found in private companies, especially those that develop services and products for the public such as water, energy, transport, and health.

MPP/MPA students concentrate on understanding the dynamics of effectively managing and providing public services. MPP/MPA students need to understand the complex dynamics between government, citizens and private sector stakeholders.

Let’s look at an example. Think about healthcare. An MBA student may look at an individual healthcare company’s financial statements; MPP/MPA students look at a city’s health budget or a vaccine project under the Ministry of Health. An MBA student may work on a new healthcare project and judge success by the amount of profit generated. An MPP/MPA student may work on a healthcare project and judge success by different indicators – how many patients reached, how many neighborhoods involved, how smoothly different government agencies work together.

In both cases, budgets, efficiency, communication, and management skills are essential. In many cases, however, public and private sectors work very closely together so the line between “Business Administration” and “Public Administration” is not always clear.

So the best thing to do is to think about your passions. Are you fascinated with politics and society? Do you want to understand how government policies affect immigrants in your country? Do you want to change the kind of education your schools focus on? Do you have ideas about how new energy sources could be used cheaply in your country? Or do you think government does not encourage creativity in corporations? Do you wonder why so few women are top managers in government? Do you wonder how Japan will deal with its shrinking labor pool and rising levels of “metabo”?

Then maybe you should be considering a degree in Public Policy or Public Administration. If, however, you want to learn how to launch and market a cell phone you have designed, expect to be the manager of the overseas branch of a domestic manufacturing company, or want to introduce new human resources programs to domestic trading companies, then maybe an MBA would be better for you after all.

In reality, at many larger universities, students in MPP/MPA and MBA programs can take classes within both schools. Talk to Reve counselors about schools that allow the flexibility to experience courses in both programs.

-Lucia

MBA Application Volume May Have Hit its Peak

According to statistics released from GMAC, GMAT registrations during the first quarter of 2009 rose only 2% from the same period last year, compared to 11% the year before and 9% the year before that. It is the first time since 2005 that GMAT registration volume hasn’t been growing at breakneck speeds. While we don’t know yet if MBA applications will actually start to fall, many believe that application volume has reached its peak and will start plateauing. Good news for all those considering an MBA in the coming years!

http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/blogs/mba_admissions/archives/2009/05/mba_application_1.html