As an MBA admissions consultant, a concern I sometimes work through with clients is how to address an employment gap in their MBA application. Given the upheaval of the past year, even more prospective MBA candidates than usual have faced job changes or periods of unemployment. They fear the admissions committees at top MBA programs will...
In recent years, we’ve seen significant growth in deferred MBA programs at the top business schools. A trend that started primarily at Harvard Business School with the 2+2 program and Stanford GSB has now come to Wharton, Chicago Booth, Columbia, MIT Sloan, Kellogg, Darden, and Yale. The list continues to grow every year. As a college senior,...
The events of the last few weeks, let alone the last few months, have left me feeling, well, a lot: anger, sadness, disappointment, discomfort, and yet hope for a better tomorrow. But I know that is nothing compared to what our black friends, neighbors, colleagues, and fellow citizens are, and have been, feeling in this country....
“If you think you are too small to be effective, you have never been in bed with a mosquito.” – Betty Reese In the current environment, as the days slowly tick by and an underlying sense of fear seems unavoidable, it is easy to feel helpless and yearn for the recent past when things were ‘normal’. I know I...
Every MBA hopeful is, or should be, considering how he or she can step-up and lead at work, no matter your title or even role. This has been an essential differentiator for those hoping to demonstrate what many b-schools call a “habit of leadership”. But in the current work from home environment, some of the traditional...
Melody and I have held off on sending out advice over the last week as the right “advice” has seemed like a moving target. However, it looks like uncertainty will be the new “situation normal” for a while; and as two banker girls who lived through the 2008-2009 financial crisis, we have some advice for how...
More often than not, when I bring-up the topic of how to demonstrate “leadership experience” in an MBA application, the response is “but I’m not in a management position”. Truly, that’s OK. The average age of most entering classes hovers around 26-28, so it’s not a surprise if you haven’t yet started managing a team. The...
If you’re smart, motivated and have a good idea, then what value will an MBA really bring to you? Everyone knows that any good start-up requires a lot of trial-and-error, learning-by-doing, and sometimes learning-through-failure to actually get to the right place. Though you can't necessarily get this from an MBA, MBA programs do provide some fast-track learning...
If you are like me and believe that the MBA is one of the most, if not the most, valuable advanced degrees you can earn, then the question becomes “should I go to a full-time (“FT”) MBA or a part-time (“PT”) MBA program?” Great question! As a former admissions director at The University of Chicago Booth School...
“Stanford will pay you to attend its business school-but only if you agree to work in the Midwest.”(Business Insider, September 27, 2016) This is likely the most intriguing statement we have heard in years. As MBA admissions consultants we talk to our clients consistently about post MBA plans: including industry, job function and location. With the MBA...
