We offer a wealth of tips and strategies across a range of topics—from application advice on Harvard or INSEAD to acing the GMAT, writing essays, navigating MBA interviews, and more.
Hear Matt Symonds’ take on the 2016 BusinessWeek Business School Rankings
Wharton recently announced their round 1 interview decisions, and as former Director of MBA Admissions at Wharton, I can share my understanding of what the school is looking for in the team-based discussions (Wharton’s interview style) which will begin soon. Also to help you prepare I’m offering an online simulation on Nov. 10 and 13… read on for more details.
In the coming weeks, round 1 admission interview invitations will begin winging their way to a select group of lucky recipients. Are you ready? As former admissions directors at top MBA programs, we interviewed thousands of applicants and it was always pretty clear who had done their homework and who arrived unprepared. The MBA interview is your chance to convey key information about yourself to admissions as well as an opportunity for the school to get to know you and to assess your fit with their program. So how can you maximize your chances of securing a class seat?
In recent years, MBA program admission committees have started asking unconventional essay questions. For example, Berkeley-Haas asks you to pick a song that expresses who you are; Chicago Booth leads applicants to an assortment of photos – “shared Booth moments” – and to pick the one that resonates the most with them; Cornell Johnson requests you to create a Table of Contents to explain your life story. However despite this innovation, many schools are still also asking the old old favorite ‘Why an MBA and why this school’ question. These seemingly innocuous questions that are also at the core of many MBA interviews can be challenging to get right. So how should you tackle them, and how do you convince each admissions committee that their school is your top choice?
Your MBA application requires showcasing a lot of hard facts about your profile: your GMAT, academic track record, and professional accomplishments. But schools are looking for more in their candidates than just a great resume. They want to learn about who you are and what you deem worthy of your time and energy, and how are these shaped by the values that define your character? On top of communicating your accomplishments and skills, how do you best convey your character in your MBA application?
This year we’ve seen a continuing trend of reductions in word limits and essay questions across MBA programs, creating limited space for you to communicate your strengths, potential, and values to adcoms. With such limits, where do you begin?! What should you focus on? And how much should you write? Your challenge is to say more with less.
This year, more than ever, business schools are including video essays as part of their application process. While each MBA will ask varying questions and allow for different lengths of time for your answers, at the core of the video essay is the opportunity for adcoms to get an authentic and unscripted outlook regarding your personality, passions, maturity, and motivations. Read this article to help you prepare for your video submissions.
Why it is a good time to apply to London Business School.
Read Judith Silverman Hodara’s (former Wharton Admissions Director) take on Wharton’s new MBA essay question for the upcoming admissions cycle.
INSEAD’S MBA Program recently announced some changes to the admissions process for the September 2017 and beyond, adding a new video component asking 4 questions and dropping 1 essay on cultural diversity.
Fortuna Admissions’ 10 B-School Insider Tips for Booth, Columbia, Harvard, INSEAD, Kellogg, LBS, MIT Sloan, NYU Stern, Stanford GSB and Wharton.
The following is adapted from our original article, Global Experience: What Schools Want in Poets and Quants. More and more MBA programs are emphasizing