Admission

With fewer jobs to fill and employers reluctant to boost travel budgets for on-campus recruiting, business schools are getting creative about helping students land jobs.

Now that the most of the second deadline are behind us, many prospective students are wondering whether they should apply in the 3rd round or wait for the first round and apply early next year. Here are some general guidelines to help you approach this decision.

This fall, I am traveling extensively, reaching out to prospective applicants to the Darden School of Business at University of Virginia.  Though my trips entail a lot of public speaking, I am listening too.  The people in my audiences voice concerns about the recession—and international applicants are worried about visa problems that could affect job prospects, and capital market conditions that could affect the ability to get student loans. 

According to the Graduate Management Admission Council MBA students are getting younger. Worldwide testing centers for the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) reported a 161-percent spike in the under-25 set. Also the number of women is increasing – especially in Asia.

Most candidates who have a goal of attending business school at some point in the future understand that the schools want to see evidence of community service.  In response, they dive into a community service project in hopes of checking the community service box on the application.  Unfortunately, they never stop to think about why the admissions committee is interested in their community service accomplishments.

Picture a typical MBA lecture theatre twenty years ago. In it the majority of students scribbling away furiously will have conformed to the standard template of the time: male, middle class and Western. Walk into a class today, however, and you’ll get a completely different impression.

Why do foreign students decide to do a full-time MBA in Frankfurt? The Goethe Business School (GBS) has asked the students of it new program, which has started in September for the first time: Most important are family and personal reasons and the location or geographical setting. Also important is the reputation of the German higher education system whereas the general interest in German business and culture is less important.

With GMAT test takers and MBA applications on a record high admission to leading business schools has becomes more and more competitive. Therefore, MBA candidates have to put even more emphasis on a strong application. Matt Symonds gives concise advice in an interview with Forbes.

In a tight labour market, business school admission departments are taking a closer look at how easily candidates will be able to land a job after graduation. That’s good news for candidates with polished interview skills, a killer résumé and a workable career plan, reports U.S. magazine “BusinessWeek”.

Although it says quite clearly on the Wharton MBA’s website, that no admission test is delivering comparable results to the GMAT yet, Wharton School has decided to accept the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) for future admission to Wharton’s MBA program, according to the US Magazine BusinessWeek.

The GMAT – short for the Graduate Management Admissions Test – is tough, even for the best test-takers. And, like it or not, the GMAT is required by nearly every graduate business school. A number of very good test-prep companies offer materials, classes and/or one-on-one coaching. I strongly urge you to take advantage of their offerings, and I have great news for you: As the potential client, you are in the driver’s seat.

OK. You’ve written dynamite essays and filled out the applications. All of a sudden you get an unexpected curve ball. One of your recommenders says “I really want to help you get into an MBA program. Why don’t you write the letter of rec, and I’ll sign it. That way it will emphasize exactly what you think is most important.”

The MBA admission essays are your chance to demonstrate your unique qualifications for and commitment to a career in business by discussing those experiences, people, and events that influenced your decision to enter the field.

Express yourself in positive language, use transitions between paragraphs, vary your sentence structure. We compiled the ten most important tips for better writing.

Take a few buzzwords like synergy, global village, e-commerce, empower, diversity. Season with acronyms B2B, B2C, IPO, M&A, VC. Stir in generous platitudes about “forces that molded you into the person you are today” and “the top-notch faculty, diverse student body, and outstanding alumni network” at the schools to which you are applying. And voila! You have an MBA application essay. No, you may have a recipe for rejection.

A jigsaw puzzle is a picture cut into irregularly shaped pieces. So are your MBA applications. The admissions people already have some of the pieces: Your GMAT, GPA, transcripts, usually a resume. The application essays, however, are the missing pieces you supply to complete the picture. And you need to view each application as a different puzzle presenting the same final picture - you.