MBA ZoNe - B-School Blogger

Low GMAT Score? UC Berkeley Haas' Perspective @MBAPodcaster

"Let’s say UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business is at the top of your list of schools. Let’s say your GMAT score is not within Haas’ middle 80 percent range of 680 to 760. Do you still have a chance?  "We’re not looking to admit numbers, we’re looking to admit people," said Corrine Kang, Associate Director of Admissions for the fulltime MBA Program at UC Berkeley Haas School of Business. Kang said Haas provides the middle 80% score range to give applicants a sense of how competitive admission to Haas is, but has no minimum score cutoff..."
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Source: MBA Podcaster

MBA essay word count: we can’t go over it. We can’t go under it. Or can we? @MBAStudio

"“How strictly do I have to stick to the essay word limit? How much can I go over? Does it matter if I’m under?” is a question I get a lot from clients and people who pop up on email.  To answer this, it’s essential, as always, to think about any process or task or limit in admissions from AdCom’s point of view. Put yourself in their shoes. Why do they ask for it? What are they trying to achieve? How does it help them?..."
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Source: MBA Studio

Does Anyone Like an MBA?

"My wife sent me this article about a MIT MBA Candidate who was upset about a recent NPR podcast where they blast MBAs and blame us for the fall of the economy. The article pretty much contained the usual defense we come up with about how can you blame us for this and there are many people involved, but what I found interesting about this article was the comments on the bottom. Pretty much everyone who commented agreed with the original NPR podcast and thinks MBAs are scum and are to blame..."
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Source: Nick Hopkins | BusinessWeek Blogs 

Harvard Business School Enrolls Largest Class Ever

"William White of the Harvard Crimson recently reported on increased enrollment in HBS’s incoming class, the Class of 2011. With 942 enrolled students (from 9,093 applicants), this will be the largest class in HBS’s history.  Aside from the increased class size, what is notable about the statistical story at HBS these days is that applications to the 2+2 program—now in its second year—increased by 34 percent, from 631 to 844, though HBS expects to admit about the same number of 2+2 applicants (106) this year. Because these students are being “pre-admitted” to future classes, HBS may ultimately add another section to hold its “traditional” class size, excepting its younger applicants, constant..."
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Source: MBA Mission

Clearly, You Are Not Anonymous

"Last year at this time, many MBA applicants were fretting about their futures, because of an investigation into users of the Scoretop.com website, a site which was designed to provide those studying for the GMAT with actual questions from the test. In 2005, one-hundred and nineteen applicants were rejected by HBS for trying to access their admissions decisions online prior to the release date..."
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Source: MBA Mission

UCLA’s Anderson School of Business Asks Applicants to Submit Audio Essays

"Applicants this year to the Anderson School of Business at the University of California at Los Angeles were invited to submit essays in audio format, the Financial Times reports.  Though the option was voluntary, 70 percent of applicants for the class of 2011 chose to record their essays, Mae Jennifer Shores, Anderson’s admissions director, told the FT. Furthermore, the submissions were “ethnic, gender and country neutral,” Shores says,with international applicants as eager to participate as U.S. students..."
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Source: ClearAdmit

Fall Back and Regroup

"... is a strategy basically used when somebody who is on uncertain or lost ground, falls back to a better known or secure position to regroup/reconsider and (hopefully) win the upper hand again. It’s widely used - military battles first come to mind, but this strategy is also effective in arguments, negotiations, academics, sports, etc....think about it and you’ll find situations where it can be valuable..."
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Source: Bizwiz’s Issues and Challenges of Life

Great Tool for GMAT Prep - An Error Log

"All the debriefs that i read of successful GMAT-beaters, recommend keeping a log of all the wrong answers while practicing. I never realized the significance and value of this until today. Yes, i had been keeping an Error Log and have logged all the questions that i got wrong while going thro’ the Official Guides..."
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Source: Memoirs of a MBA Aspirant

Admissions Tip: Considering the Campus

"Continuing our series of admissions tips geared towards those individuals who are just beginning to think about their MBA applications, we wanted to offer some advice on factors to consider with respect to a school’s facilities and location. Whether speaking with current students or touring the campus for oneself, it’s helpful to approach these information-gathering experiences with as clear a sense of what matters to you as possible. Here are a few broad categories to consider:.."
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Source: ClearAdmit

MBA Resources for Minority Applicants/Students

BCG Diversity Scholars Program
Management Leadership for Tomorrow
The Consortium
MBA Jumpstart
National Society of Hispanic MBAs