From Ross Admissions Director Blog:
Interview updates and happenings around the school
As promised, Wave 1 interview invitations went out yesterday. The next two waves of interview invitations will go out by end of day on Friday, February 3 and Friday, February 10. The first wave of Consortium interview invites will go out by end of day tomorrow, and the next set will go out with the second wave on February 3.
In case you missed one of my earlier posts explaining the wave process, here’s the deal: the wave in which you are invited to interview has no correlation to: (a) when you submitted your application; (b) the strength of your application; or, (c) the likelihood of your admission. We do it in waves so that we can smooth the interview load over a longer period of time. If we released them all on one date, we wouldn’t be able to do it until much later in the process, and the window of time for interviews to be conducted would be extremely limited. The wave process enables us to do more thorough and thoughtful reviews with a limited staff.
Regarding the interview day that’s being planned in collaboration with the Michigan Business Women student club – yes, it’s open to all interview invitees. The thing to note is that the agenda will be focused on the Michigan Ross experience from our women students’ perspectives, and the panelists will be members of the Michigan Business Women student club.
To give you a glimpse of what’s happening around the school, on Monday (Martin Luther King, Jr. day in the U.S.), the school hosted a lunch and lecture with former Washington, D.C. Mayor, Adrian Fenty, who led significant reforms in the DC public school system. He gave a frank talk about the challenges he faced in implementing changes that led to rising graduation rates and enrollment there. Also this week, the Dean held town halls with MBA1s. (She held sessions with MBA2s before the holidays). She was joined by associate deans and senior administrators to update students on some of the school’s current priorities: globalization, entrepreneurship, defining what the next generation of action-based learning will look like, and expanding our already-broad array of inter-disciplinary (i.e., cross-campus) initiatives. The Dean is planning to release a strategic plan for the school by late summer. You can read more about these and other initiatives on the Dean’s blog.
Tomorrow evening, I will be joining our MBA students for the second annualRevitalization and Business Conference in downtown Detroit. The conference will feature prominent industry and city leaders and entrepreneurial change agents who will share their perspectives on how business issues contribute to Detroit’s progress and transformation. Last spring, I met with the students who organized the inaugural conference and was struck by their commitment to not just make an impact “out there” or in emerging countries, but also in making an impact in and around our community, and they weren’t even Michigan-born and bred. Another way in which our students impact our community is by serving on the boards of local nonprofit organizations. During a conversation with one of our newly admitted students from New York last March, he commented that many schools had social impact initiatives, but few were as focused on the local community as Michigan Ross is. He told me that this was one of the deciding factors for him to join our community this fall.
From Stanford MBA Admission Blog:
You Are Invited to Many Voices and XX Factor
Registration has just opened for Many Voices: Perspectives on Diversity and XX Factor: Women Changing the World, two events that can help you learn more about the Stanford MBA Program. Both of these events include an overview of the program, a class immersion experience, and opportunities to hear from Stanford GSB students, alumni, faculty, and staff.
Space is limited, so you must complete a brief application if you’d like to attend. See the links below for more information. We hope to see you there!
Many Voices: Perspectives on Diversity
10 March 2012
XX Factor: Women Changing the World
11 March 2012
From The MBA Insider’s Blog:
Mid-January admissions update
Our office is on the home stretch finalizing Round 1 decisions, and we are also polishing up our iPad screens to gear up for some intense Round 2 file reading. The next several months are going to be extremely busy for us, especially given that applications for the full-time MBA program are up again this round! Not only are the numbers looking good, but the quality of the pool continues to impress us, and we’re definitely looking forward to meeting more outstanding candidates as we craft the Class of 2014 .
On that note, here’s an update on what our applicants can expect over the next few months:
- Round 1 decisions: The rest of our R1 decisions will be released on the morning of Wednesday, January 25th (Pacific Time). You can log into your online application for a status update then. Admitted students will also receive a phone call from the admissions office (or an email if we are unable to reach you).
- Round 2 applications: The vast majority of R2 files will be released to the admissions committee after round 1 decisions are out. Although the application deadline was a week ago, we want to make sure each R1 application gets adequate evaluation time by the admissions committee before focusing on R2. Which takes us to our next item…
- Round 2 interviews: Interview invitations will be sent via email starting next month. We anticipate most will take place throughout February and March, depending on how quickly the admissions committee can evaluate applications. Please note that R2 is our heaviest round by volume, so even though we will devote our time and resources into file reading, it will still take time to go through each one. We thank you in advance for your patience through this process!
- Cool happenings: We have some amazing executives coming up on campus this year, such as Vice-Chairman & CEO of McDonald’s Corporation Jim Skinner and venture capitalist Guy Kawasaki. Off-campus, faculty member Jim Stengel will be a featured speaker at this year’s TED Conference in Long Beach. Stay tuned on Twitter andFacebook for updates on these and other upcoming events.
From HBS MBA Program Blog:
I realized that I had promised some news about this on January 15 and didn’t want you to have to wait over the long weekend to hear this (Note: We are closed on Monday, January 16 in observance of Martin Luther King Day).
Here’s the story:
Round 2 interviews will be conducted between February 15 and March 9. We will be in London, Paris, Shanghai, Mumbai, Dubai, San Francisco, Palo Alto, and New York in addition to the HBS campus. Skype interviews may also be an option for candidates located outside the United States who are unable to travel. Full details will be available in the interview invitations.
This is our plan for timing:
We will send out email invitations on the following 3 Tuesdays – January 31, February 7, and February 14. On February 14, all candidates not invited to interview will be notified of their “release.”
Now, please pay attention – this is a new level of transparency that I hope is helpful, but I need you to understand that I am talking about what happened in Round 1 vs. telling you exactly what will happen in Round 2 (which we obviously DON’T KNOW now).
The pattern of interview invitation volume in Round 1 was:
- Week 1 (first wave of invitations): 750 invitations sent
- Week 2 (second wave): 80 invitations sent
- Week 3 (third/final wave): 25 invitations sent
Round 2 won’t be identical, but I think it will be directionally similar. Please hear me when I say that the timing of the interview invitation is NOT a signal of the strength of a candidate. The only thing that it maps to is the ability of our Admissions Board to move through their (large) reading allocations.
I hope this is clear and helpful – if it’s not, call me at 617-496-6835 and tell me so.
Free MBA Fair
The Economist‘s Which MBA? Online Fair – online February 6th and 7th 2012 – FREE:
Meet MBA admissions officers from programs around the world at this free online fair. Chat with alumni, join webinars, watch videos and download resources. Sign up or learn more at http://registermbafair.whichmba.com/
** Sign up now for your chance to win a free iPad 2 when you visit 5 or more school booths on February 6th-7th. **
From the AACSB International Press Release:
SIX BUSINESS SCHOOLS FROM FIVE COUNTRIES EARN AACSB ACCREDITATION
Tampa, Fla., USA (December 5, 2011)—AACSB International (AACSB) announced today that today that six business schools, from five countries, have earned AACSB Accreditation. Founded in 1916, AACSB International is the longest serving global accrediting body for business schools that offer undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral degrees in business and accounting.
By achieving this hallmark of excellence, the Indian School of Business (India), Kyungpook National University (South Korea), National Cheng Kung University (Chinese Taipei), SDA Bocconi (Italy), Stonehill College (United States), and Yuan Ze University (Chinese Taipei) join an elite group that makes up less than five percent of the world’s business schools.
Today, there are 643 business schools across 43 countries and territories that maintain AACSB Accreditation, and through the most recent ratifications, students in India or Italy can now pursue a business degree for the first time at an AACSB-accredited business program.
“AACSB commends the deans, heads of business units, and academic and non-academic staff at each institution for their exemplary work in helping to earn the highest honor in business school accreditation,” said John J. Fernandes, president and chief executive officer of AACSB International. “We are pleased to congratulate the newly accredited schools, and are excited to add India and Italy to the roster of countries with an AACSB-accredited business school.”
Achieving accreditation is a process of rigorous internal review, evaluation, and adjustment and can take several years to complete. During these years, the school develops and implements a plan to meet the AACSB Accreditation Standards which require a high quality teaching environment, a commitment to continuous improvement, and curricula responsive to the needs of businesses. In addition, as required by the AACSB Standards, all accredited schools must go through a peer review process every five years in order to maintain their accreditation.
“It takes a great deal of commitment and determination to earn AACSB Accreditation,” said Jerry Trapnell, executive vice president and chief accreditation officer of AACSB International. “Schools must not only meet specific standards of excellence, but their deans, heads of business units, and academic and non-academic staff must make a commitment to ongoing improvement to ensure that the institution will continue to deliver the highest quality of education to students.”
About AACSB International
AACSB International (The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business), founded in 1916, is an association of more than 1,200 educational institutions, businesses, and other organizations in over 80 countries and territories. AACSB’s mission is to advance quality management education worldwide through accreditation, thought leadership, and value-added services. As the premier membership and accrediting body for institutions offering undergraduate, master’s, and doctorate degrees in business and accounting, the association also conducts a wide array of conferences and seminar programs at locations throughout the world. AACSB’s global headquarters is located in Tampa, Florida, USA and its Asia headquarters is located in Singapore.
For more information, please visit www.aacsb.edu.
From Darden Admissions & MBA Blog:
Admissions Q & A
Question: Have interview invitations for the class of 2014 been sent out? If we haven’t been invited yet, is it typical to receive them later this month or in December?
Answer: Interview invites for R1 have started going out. They will continue to go out up until the decision release date (Dec. 21 for Round 1).
Question: Do interviewers have access to all of the details of the applicant?
Answer: The interviewers do not access your application or resume before the interview. Interviews are done completely blind — it makes for a more unbiased approach to the interview.
Question: On the application, in the section that asks about our extracurriculars and jobs during college, should we include internships held during the summer or only jobs that we held while school was in session?
Answer: In that section about activities in college, I would include the summer internships there. If you are 3 years or less out of undergrad, I would consider placing those internships on the resume as well.
Question: If we’ve been in touch with a Darden alum to better understand the school and our fit with the program, is there some way we can leverage that relationship to reiterate our interest post applying to Darden?
Answer: Sure! Most times an alumnus or current student will share with Admissions their impressions and interactions with applicants. However, there is the opportunity for alumni/current students to make a recommendation as well. They can do this by sending an e-mail to the admissions office (darden@virginia.edu) that we will then include in your applicant file.
Question: How does admissions at Darden ensure a class with diverse backgrounds or does that form organically?
Answer: Diversity is important when the class comes together. We not only use the applications to help us bring together a diverse class but we also rely on the interviews to help us with that. We track certain things as we go along like geographic region, undergrad institutions, career industry, function, etc… It is time consuming but really worth all of the effort. We feel good about the people we bring together for each class.
Question: How important is it to the admissions committee that an applicant already has managerial experience before coming to Darden? Do you typically accept candidates who have not yet served as managers?
Answer: We look at that heavily for our executive-format programs. For our MBA program, we understand that often people are using the degree to change careers or propel up the ladder. The average years of work is 4 so we don’t expect much managerial experience. What we do expect is that you’ve made an impact in whatever organization or role you’ve worked in or held.
Question: If something significant changes regarding our employment (e.g., achievement of some kind, additional or new position) and have already applied, do you suggest we notify admissions and, if so, how?
Answer: Yes — that is something we’d like to know (and celebrate with you.) You can do that by simply sending us an e-mail that briefly explains the change. We will make sure it gets added to your applicant file.
Question: How common is it for students to do the Second Year international exchange programs?
Answer: Very common! It’s a great way to gain international business knowledge. We have a few different opportunities: Global Business Experiences are 10-14 days in length and are the most popular; traditional exchange programs with one of our 18 partner schools can be a term or semester long; and projects focused on international experiences include research and consulting with faculty or student-initiated projects.
Lisa Miller, Executive Director for Tuck’s Center for International Business, in a blog post below shares her perspective on the importance of a global business plan for MBA students. Her perspective is also valuable for prospective applicants as well.
MBAs Need an International Education Plan
At orientation for the T’13s just a few weeks ago, the CIB led a session on how to globalize your Tuck education. We showed a short video of GE Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt (Dartmouth Class of 1978), who addressed Tuck’s 2011 graduating class. He told the graduates that a global career was inevitable, so embrace the global opportunities when they arise. I couldn’t agree more.
I’ve met with several T’13s since the orientation session. I have a general framework for what I want the students to think about:
• What do you want, career-wise? Where are the international components?
• Look at individual companies. What are the global opportunities?
• When is it likely to get an expat assignment?
• When is it the right time to take an expat assignment?
• What experiences are you missing that might be attractive to employers?
I urge students to make a plan. MBA students need to plan in advance, and they need a Plan A and a Plan B. I tell students to always have a backup plan just in case something doesn’t go exactly as expected.
Outside of the core curriculum, there are courses that incorporate international travel, like the Tuck Global Consultancy, the CIB Learning Expeditions, or the Mini Course at IE Business School in Madrid, Spain. Some of the First-Year Projects have a global theme. A few of the electives dive deep into global topics. For some students, a term abroad with Tuck’s exchange program might be a good fit.
I’ve been at the CIB since 2006, and I’m seeing a slow evolution among the MBA students at Tuck. The global message is hitting home. The economic situation and the recession also play into attitudes and opportunities. The credibility of markets like China and India are stabilizing and flourishing.
I fear that some students don’t fully realize the immediacy of globalization when it comes to their careers. Some might think that global opportunities will come 5 or 6 years after graduation, but not necessarily so. MBA students are very pragmatic and ambitious.
So, as Jeff Immelt said: “All of you [MBA graduates] are going to take the same global journey that I’ve taken, only faster.” And I would add: plan accordingly.
From The MBA Insider’s Blog:
Full-time MBA Round 1 applications are up
The MBA Admissions team is excited to announce that our Round 1 applications are up by more than 20% as prospectives worldwide recognize the growing value offered by the UCLA Anderson MBA program. Innovations in our curriculum spark the interest of those looking for strong career preparation, while our exciting location and collaborative culture have enduring appeal. Streamlining our application also helped as we make it easier for candidates to present their case to join the UCLA Anderson family. With career outcomes for current students at a buoyant level, it is clear that we are a school on the move.
File reading is in full swing and interview invitations have started going out this week. Although it is still relatively early in the application season, we are optimistic that the size and quality of our applicant pool will continue to impress us in Rounds 2 and 3.
We look forward to seeing your application!
From Admissions Blog:
Ready, Set, Round 2
The round 2 application deadline is around the corner and we are excited to see a new group of applications. The admissions office is still deep into round 1, so if you haven’t heard from us yet, please continue to be patient. We are working through the applications as quickly as possible.
At Johnson, we have a transparent, but tight process. Each application is given proper consideration and time with the admissions committee through application reads as well as those who are interviewed. We will try to match those invited to interview with someone who has experience in their industry. This is not a perfect process yet, but it is a move in the right direction for an optimal interview experience for our candidates.
This week, we will be hosting our own Application Chat to connect with round 2 applicants before submitting their application. We will answer questions about the essays, exam requirements, and interview policies. The chat is scheduled forNovember 17, 2011, 9 am Eastern Time. Please register below:
Click Here to Join the Chat
Just login with the username and password for your application.You can login up to ten minutes before the chat begins. We look forward to chatting with you soon!
If you have specfic questions on the handling of your application, please be aware each applicant has their own application manager to help you through the process. If you haven’t already, you can contact them:
(if your surname starts from A-I) Heidi Russell, Sr. Admissions Representative hjr27@cornell.edu
(if your surname start from H-O) Jade Bigelow, Admissions Representative jab832@cornell.edu
(if your surname starts from P-Z) Jenna Abbott, Admissions Representative jma266@cornell.edu
We look forward to reading your application!
