DEADLINES

UC Berkeley Haas 2010-2011 Deadlines

ESSAYS & ANALYSIS

Short Answer Questions

What are you most passionate about? Why? (250-word maximum)

Analysis: I can think of a few ways to approach this question, but I recommend starting with the truth: what are you truly passionate about? What gets you out of bed early or makes the hours fly by? What would you make a second career of if you could? (Hint: this is not a time for you to reiterate your goals or career ambitions, or express your love of Excel or calculating NPV.) It might be simple, like a hobby or volunteer activity, or more conceptual, like a value or aspiration. I even had a client write a brilliant essay about his newborn daughter. The point is for you to reveal something important and meaningful that might not appear in the other essays. If you do take the hobby approach, be sure you explain what exactly about it excites your passion. If you are espousing a value, such as fairness or creativity, then those things are hopefully evident in your other essays.

Tell us about your most significant accomplishment. (250-word maximum)

Analysis: Normally, your “most significant accomplishment” would be a good candidate topic for a Leadership essay, and you may have to do some re-writing and re-arranging if you’ve already used that topic for the Leadership Required Essay below. This topic can be either personal or professional, small or large, one-time or ongoing as long as you explain why it is significant for you. I would start with your most honest answer, and check for balance, integration and consistency with your other essays.

At Haas, our distinctive culture is defined by four key principles — question the status quo; confidence without attitude; students always; and beyond yourself. Give an example of when you have demonstrated one of these principles. (250 words maximum, Review Berkeley-Haas’ Defining Principles)

Analysis: Haas outlines well what they are looking for in each topic on their website. I’ve added my comments in (CAPS).

Question the Status Quo: We lead by championing bold ideas, taking intelligent risks and accepting sensible failures. This means speaking our minds even when it challenges convention. We thrive at the world’s epicenter of innovation. (LEADERSHIP)

Confidence Without Attitude: We make decisions based on evidence and analysis, giving us the confidence to act without arrogance. We lead through trust and collaboration. (LEADERSHIP)

Students Always: We are a community designed for curiosity and lifelong pursuit of personal and intellectual growth. This is not a place for those who feel they have learned all they need to learn. (HOW HAVE YOU VOLUNTARILY FURTHERED YOUR EDUCATION, EITHER FORMAL OR INFORMAL?)

Beyond Yourself: We shape our world by leading ethically and responsibly. As stewards of our enterprises, we take the longer view in our decisions and actions. This often means putting larger interests above our own. (ETHICS)

There are many ways to learn about our program, what steps have you taken to learn about the Berkeley MBA? (250-word maximum)

Analysis: Being across the San Francisco Bay from Stanford may have given Haas concern that they are a backup school for the Cardinal. Different from the “Why Berkeley?” part of the goals essay (see Required Essay #2 below), your answer should emphasize the process you went through to research Haas, the effort you put into it. There is no excuse not to dive into the website, student blogs, chatrooms, etc. More serious applicants will try to attend information sessions, contact current students and alumni, and – the ultimate show of interest – visit the school. If you’re coming through, let me know. I can recommend some great cafes.

Required Essays

Give us an example of a situation in which you displayed leadership. (500 word maximum)

Analysis: Please see: The MBA Leadership Essay

What are your post-MBA short-term and long-term career goals? How do your professional experiences relate to these goals? How will an MBA from Berkeley help you achieve these specific career goals? (1000 word maximum)

Analysis: Please see: The MBA Goals Essay

Optional Essay

(Optional) Please feel free to provide a statement concerning any information you would like to add to your application that you haven’t addressed elsewhere. (500 word maximum)

Analysis: Please see: The MBA Optional Essay

DEADLINES

ISB 2010 Deadlines

ESSAYS & ANALYSIS

1. If we were to admit one more student to the class of 2012, make a compelling argument as to why that student should be you? (300 words max)

Analysis: ISB has one of the shorter application sets this year, but this question still makes it a significant challenge, especially if it is your first application. First off, I think it’s difficult to promote your professional experience or qualifications, since someone else almost certainly has a similar background. If you do go this route, however, be sure to explain what is unique about your experience and add, if possible, how it can benefit your ISB classmates. I also suggest you don’t try to throw everything you’ve ever done at the admissions committee, for fear of nothing being memorable. Instead, I suggest arranging your most unique activities and accomplishments into clear categories or themes that represent your best and most unique traits (e.g., creativity, initiative, risk-taking, leadership, etc.) – the core elements that define you – explain those themes, reference your experiences, and explain as specifically as possible what those would add to ISB.

2. What are your short term and long term goals? How will the ISB help you achieve the same? (300 words max)

Analysis: Please see: The MBA Goals Essay

(Optional)

3. Please provide additional information, that will significantly affect the consideration of your application to the ISB. (300 words)

Analysis: For most schools I would never say this, but this essay is not optional, given how few and how short the other essays are. It can be used to explain any gaps or weaknesses, but barring that, hopefully you can use it to expand your profile and promote your candidacy through your accomplishments and/or other positive attributes.

Please see: The MBA Optional Essay

(Re-applicant Essay)

How has your profile changed from the time you last applied to the ISB?

Analysis: Please see: The MBA Re-applicant Essay

A lot of my clients are starting to work on LOR now and wondering, as they should, how to make it easy on their recommenders and themselves. So, from the current list of schools on my LOR Questions Databank, I’ve prepared the following as a sort of master list; if your recommenders complete these questions in one go, they should hopefully have all or close to all of the answers they’ll need for any school. I’ve listed the questions in order of frequency and provided examples of each. I’m also including some outliers and other problem spots. Please see the questions for your individual schools for specific wording and possible areas of overlap among schools (eg., leadership can also be a strength). Also, please see The MBA LOR for more information on choosing recommenders and approaches to developing the LOR. So far, Haas probably has the most demanding LOR, borderline unrealistic for recommenders, in my opinion.

MOST COMMON LOR QUESTION TOPICS (loosely in order of frequency)

1) Relationship

Ex. What is your relationship to, and how long have you known the applicant? Is this person still employed by your organization? If not, when did he/she depart? (Columbia)

Ex. Please comment on the context of your interaction with the applicant. How long have you known the applicant and in what connection? If applicable, briefly describe the applicant’s role in your organization. (250-word limit) (HBS)

Ex. Describe your relationship to the applicant. Are you, or have you been, the applicant’s direct supervisor? If not, what is the nature of your relationship? How long have you known the applicant and how frequent is/was your interaction with them? (UC Berkeley Haas)

2) Peer Comparison

Ex. Please compare the applicant’s performance to that of his/her peers. Does the applicant have the potential to become a senior manager? (Columbia)

Ex. Description of applicant’s peer group. (Duke Fuqua)

Ex. How does the applicant stand out from others in a similar capacity? (MIT Sloan)

Ex. How do the applicant’s personal or professional characteristics stand out positively or negatively from others who are in a similar capacity? (Michigan Ross)

3) Interpersonal/Team Skills

Ex. How effective are the applicant’s interpersonal skills? (Stanford GSB)

Ex. Please provide an example of a time when the applicant was particularly successful at interacting with others in a team (employees, peers, managers, etc.); how was the applicant successful? How does the applicant compare to his/her peers in this dimension? (Wharton)

Ex. Please provide a representative example of how the applicant interacts with other people. (MIT)

Ex. Comment on the applicant’s interpersonal skills (effectiveness in establishing and maintaining relationships; working with supervisors, peers, and subordinates; willingness to work in a team environment (Duke Fuqua)

4) Constructive Criticism/Feedback Response

Ex. How does the applicant accept constructive criticism? (Columbia)

Ex. In what areas does the applicant need improvement or growth? If you have had the opportunity to provide the applicant with constructive feedback, please provide specific examples of the feedback and the applicant’s response to it. (Duke Fuqua)

Ex. Please describe the most important piece of constructive feedback you have given the applicant. Please detail the circumstances and the applicant’s response. (250-word limit) (HBS)

Ex. Describe the most constructive feedback you have given the candidate. Please also detail the circumstances that caused you to give the feedback. (Stanford)

Ex. Provide an example of constructive feedback you have provided to the applicant. How did the applicant receive this feedback and what efforts did the applicant make to address the concern? (Wharton)

5) Weaknesses/Areas for Improvement

Ex. In what areas does the applicant need improvement or growth? If you have had the opportunity to provide the applicant with constructive feedback, please provide specific examples of the feedback and the applicant’s response to it. (Duke Fuqua)

Ex. In what ways could the applicant improve professionally? If you could change one thing about the applicant, what would it be? (Columbia)

Ex. What are the applicant’s most noticeable weaknesses? (1500 characters)

Ex. What do you consider to be the applicant’s major weaknesses or areas for improvement? (LBS)

Ex. Which of the applicant’s personal or professional characteristics would you change? (MIT Sloan)

Ex. What are the applicant’s three greatest weaknesses or areas in need of improvement? Cite specific examples. (UC Berkeley Haas)

6) Strengths

Ex. Please provide a short list of adjectives describing the applicant’s strengths. (Columbia)

Ex. What are the applicant’s most outstanding abilities or characteristics? (1500 characters) (Cornell Johnson)

Ex. What do you consider the applicant’s primary talents or strengths? (Duke Fuqua)

Ex. What do you consider to be the applicant’s major talents and strengths? (LBS)

Ex. What are the applicant’s three greatest strengths? Cite specific examples. (UC Berkeley Haas)

7) Impact/Legacy

Ex. 5. What impact has the applicant had on the organization in which s/he works? (1500 characters) (Cornell Johnson)

Ex. Please provide an example of the applicant’s impact on a person, group, or organization. (MIT Sloan)

Ex. What (if any) legacy has this candidate left on your organization? (Stanford GSB)

Ex. What significant contribution has the applicant made to your organization? (UC Berkeley Haas)

Handling Setbacks/Challenges

Ex. Provide an example of a time when the applicant did not meet expectations. What was the outcome? How did s/he handle the setback? (Wharton)

Ex. Describe how the candidate deals with challenges. (UCLA Anderson)

9) Ethics/Integrity

Ex. Comment on your observations of the applicant’s ethical behavior. (Columbia)

Ex. Please comment on the applicant’s personal and professional integrity. (1500 characters) (Cornell Johnson)

10) Leadership/Management Potential

Ex. Please compare the applicant’s performance to that of his/her peers. Does the applicant have the potential to become a senior manager? (Columbia)

Ex. Please comment on the applicant’s potential for leading an organization. (UC Berkeley Haas)

Ex. Comment on the candidate’s aptitude for strategic thinking, leadership, and/or management. (UCLA Anderson)

11) Career Progression/Biggest Developmental Area

Ex. In what developmental areas has the applicant changed most over time? (LBS)

Ex. How has the applicant’s career progressed over the time that you have known him/her? How does this growth compare to his/her peer group? Please describe the peer group that you are comparing this applicant. (Wharton)

Ex. Comment on the candidate’s career progression to date. How would you describe his or her potential for professional growth and development? (UCLA Anderson)

OUTLIERS/PROBLEM SPOTS

Describe how the candidate has generated support from others for an idea or initiative. (Stanford Peer)

What one quality of the applicant do you wish all of your staff possessed? If you could change one thing about the applicant, what would it be? (Michigan Ross)

In the Berkeley MBA program, we develop leaders who have “confidence without attitude” or “confidence with humility”. Please comment and provide examples of how the applicant reflects this Berkeley-Haas value. (UC Berkeley Haas)

Please give examples of the applicant’s performance for any “Top 2%” rating from the table. (Cornell Johnson)

What do you think motivates the candidate’s application to Columbia Business School? (Columbia)

DEADLINES

CMU Tepper 2010-2011 Deadlines

ESSAYS

Suggested length – 2 double-spaced pages per essay.

Tepper CMU Essay A. What are your short-term and long-term goals? How will a Tepper MBA help you to achieve these goals. (Please include any information regarding what steps you have taken to learn more about Tepper.)

Analysis: Please see: The MBA Goals Essay

Tepper CMU Essay B. The Tepper School’s culture relies on all members to be active contributors to our community. With your values, experiences, and interests, how will you make a unique contribution to the Tepper community? Your examples may include: classroom interaction, student activities, career development, community service, etc.

Analysis: Please see: The MBA Personal Essay

Tepper CMU Essay C. Please answer two of the following three questions or statements. Please clearly specify which questions you are answering. Your two answers should equal a total of two pages or less.

1. Describe an obstacle you have faced in your professional or academic life. How did you overcome this obstacle and how did it foster your development?

Analysis: Using a typical leadership essay, four of my clients last year were accepted at CMU Tepper. Having said that, a client pointed out that a failure essay could work here as well. Though I would generally advise sharing your accomplishments over your failures+recoveries, I certainly agree with his interpretation. The word “obstacle” leaves the field quite open for possible topics, but make sure you are presenting a balanced picture of yourself and not overlapping too much with other essays.

2. Describe a time in which your ethics were challenged. How did you deal with the situation and what did you learn from it?

Analysis: Please see: The MBA Ethics Essay

3. One thing people would be surprised to know about me is . . .

Analysis: How do you think other people view you, and what aspect (hobby, belief, experience, etc.) of yourself might change that image or balance that perspective? Again, self-awareness is crucial to this essay, which could be answered whimsically or seriously or in between, depending on what would be the most unexpected. One way to approach this topic is to assume that the adcom will read all your other materials first. What kind of impression would they have of you? And how can you surprise them with something they might have never suspected (and isn’t covered in another essay, especially Essay B)? Ask your friends or family. You might get a surprise yourself.

I’ve come up with 3 categories of essay questions for some of this year’s top schools that help me advise my clients on the best application order. First, the categories followed by the strategies.

1) “Basic” Schools – like Columbia, UCLA Anderson and Duke Fuqua that essentially ask for Goals, Personal and Why School X? (in the case of Fuqua, the latter is a separate question up to 2 pages long)

2) “Grind” Schools – a lot of work, but not necessarily requiring creativity or including any “killer” questions – HBS, Wharton, MIT

3) “Creative/Personal Insight” Schools – Kellogg, Stanford, Chicago, NYU

For those of you aiming at 1st round and still struggling with GMAT et. al., I recommend starting with “Basic” schools to allow you time for both. With those schools as a foundation, you could then apply to Cornell Johnson (Goals, Leadership, Life story – in the form of a table of contents), and Dartmouth Tuck (Goals, Leadership, Personal, Accomplishment) with some additional effort. Even if you have your test scores locked up nice and tight, it’s a good idea to start with basic schools so you don’t get overwhelmed with too many or too unusual questions.

From there, you can move on to the “Grind”, which should hopefully give you more information, insights, and “data points” to work with when attacking the “Creative/Personal Insight” essays. That’s it. That’s the basic strategy. It won’t fit everyone’s situation, but if you are considering these schools, then consider this strategy. Hope it helps.

Passing along this information from a former client…

●ミシガンレセプション 〜学校説明会と懇親会〜

このたび、ビジネススクール出願を考えていらっしゃる皆様に、ミシガン大学
Ross School of Businessをより良く知って頂くため、来る8月26日(木)に
レセプションを開催いたします。

本レセプションの特徴は、入学審査官が来日して学校説明を行う「本会」と、
卒業生も数十人参加予定、立食形式で懇親を深める「二次会」の二部構成を、
アプリカントは共に無料にてご参加頂ける点です。両会、または、いずれか
一方ご都合のつく会にお気軽にご参加頂き、ミシガンビジネススクール同窓
会のネットワークをぜひ体感してみて下さい! そして、大人数のセッション
では聞けないような疑問を、この機会にぜひ色々とお尋ねになって下さい。

◎本会 (学校説明会) 〜入学審査官が来日し説明〜
日時 : 8月26日(木) 19：15〜20：40 (19：00より受付開始)
会場 : コンファレンススクエア エムプラス (10F「ミドル1＆2」)
URL  : http://www.marunouchi-hc.jp/emplus/access/index.html
住所 : 東京都千代田区丸の内2-5-2 三菱ビル 10F
会費 : 無料

◎二次会 (懇親会) 〜同窓会主催! 立食形式でざっくばらんにお話を〜
日時 : 8月26日(木) 21:00〜22:30 (20:45より受付開始)
会場 : メゾンバルザック (2F貸切)
URL  : http://www.impec-barsac.com/
住所 : 東京都千代田区丸の内2-5-2 三菱ビル 2F
会費 : 無料

◎お申し込み方法
いずれかの会に参加希望の方は、下記のウェブサイトからお申し込み下さい。

http://www.bus.umich.edu/conferences/TokyoInfo82610/Register.aspx

◎ミシガン関連情報: 下記、ご参照ください。
日本人ウェブサイト : http://www.umich.edu/~rossjba/
日本人在校生ブログ : http://rossmbajapan.blogspot.com/

それでは皆様とお話できることを、心より楽しみにしております。

2010ミシガンレセプション推進委委員会より

DEADLINES

MIT Sloan 2010-2011 Deadlines

ESSAYS & ANALYSIS

Cover Letter

Prepare a cover letter (up to 500 words) seeking a place in the MIT Sloan MBA Program. Describe your accomplishments and include an example of how you had an impact on a group or organization. Your letter should conform to standard business correspondence and be addressed to Mr. Rod Garcia, Director of MBA Admissions.

Analysis: The cover letter has been part of the MIT Sloan application for a number of years now. Since MBA programs serve, in a sense, as a job recruitment gateway, and since they have such a high interest in your future employability, it makes sense to see how well you can present yourself in a standard of Western business practice – the cover letter. The instructions are the same as last year, and the main challenge remains the same: you need to present a strong, comprehensive and clear statement of both your desire and suitability for MIT Sloan in proper business letter format (header, date, address, salutation, body, closing, etc. – Google it).

While it doesn’t explicitly ask for it, you should consider including a brief statement of your goals, especially if they are supported by or related to your “accomplishments” and “impact”. In fact, you might want to save the cover letter for last, so you can incorporate the topics from the essays below. Doing so will allow for a consistent and integrated view of your candidacy, while also exemplifying the core skills and motivations that have fueled your success. The MIT adcom will notice if you just do a cut-and-paste job, so be sure to put significant original effort into this. If you need the words, I would consider skipping the “Why MIT” part. They don’t ask for it, and it’s hard to say something unique or meaningful in such a small space. By the way, as far as I can tell, the 500 word limit applies only to the main body of the letter.

Essays

We are interested in learning more about you and how you work, think, and act. For each essay, please provide a brief overview of the situation followed by a detailed description of your response. Please limit the experiences you discuss to those which have occurred in the past three years.

In each of the essays please describe in detail what you thought, felt, said, and did.

Overview: Judging by their questions, MIT is interested in just one thing: leadership, expressed in different forms, similar to Stanford GSB’s choice essays. Your topics can be a balance of personal and professional, but MIT strictly adheres to the within-the-past-three-years rule. And while the essay topics don’t say so explicitly, and while I can imagine effective topics that don’t, the more clearly your stories end in a “win” the better. Their instructions to include your thoughts, feelings, words and actions are golden advice for any essay, any school.

The MBA Leadership Essay can give you an idea of how to structure and populate all 3 answers. Concentrate on the difficulties you faced, the specific details of how you overcame them, and the results. Don’t be surprised if the same story could be used for more than one question. I’ve tried to isolate the key leadership components in each to help you generate ideas and choose the most fitting topic for each.

Essay 1: Please describe a time when you went beyond what was defined, expected, established, or popular. (500 words or fewer, limited to one page)

Analysis: Good leaders have the audacity to make something new happen.

Essay 2: Please describe a time when you convinced an individual or group to accept one of your ideas. (500 words or fewer, limited to one page)

Analysis: Good leaders persuade doubters.

Essay 3: Please describe a time when you took responsibility for achieving an objective. (500 words or fewer, limited to one page)

Analysis: Good leaders step up when no one else does.

Instructions for Reapplicants

For applicants who applied for entry in 2010, we require that you complete and submit the entire new application, including new recommendation letters, essays and transcripts.

For those reapplying to either the LGO or M.Fin. Programs, please complete and submit your new applications by the respective program deadlines.

MBA Reapplicants must submit your new application by the Round I deadline.

Please note: Reapplicants who created an account last year and submitted an application will need to register with a new email address.

Applicants who applied for entry prior to 2010 are not considered reapplicants.

DEADLINES

Dartmouth Tuck Deadlines 2010-2011

ESSAYS

Please respond fully but concisely to the following essay questions. Compose each of your answers offline in separate document files and upload them individually in the appropriate spaces below. Although there is no restriction on the length of your response, most applicants use, on average, 500 words for each essay. There are no right or wrong answers.

Please double-space your responses.

1. Why is an MBA a critical next step toward your short- and long-term career goals? Why is Tuck the best MBA program for you? (If you are applying for a joint or dual degree, please explain how the additional degree will contribute to those goals.)

Analysis: Please see: The MBA Goals Essay & Why MBA School X?

2. Discuss your most meaningful leadership experience. What did you learn about your own individual strengths and weaknesses through this experience?

Analysis: A typical Leadership Essay, with the added requirement of evaluating your weaknesses – what you weren’t able to do, what you could have done better, or what you need to develop to achieve your goals. Think beyond just technical weaknesses or knowledge gaps (e.g., better finance skills, deeper understanding of strategy) that can be filled relatively easily through study. Instead, focus on deeper, core issues that will require significant effort and even bravery to face and improve. Perhaps you were successful in changing an operations process in your company, but you had to rely on a supervisor’s influence to make it happen. Going forward, you want to develop your own persuasive abilities to be more independent, effective and efficient in a variety of situations. That more difficult kind of personal and interpersonal struggle is worthy of a two-year MBA investment.

Please see: The MBA Leadership Essay

3. What is the greatest challenge or hurdle you have overcome, either personally or professionally, and how did you manage to do so?

Analysis: This is a new essay for Tuck, in a set that has otherwise remained virtually the same for years. It replaces last year’s “difficult or constructive feedback” (i.e., failure) question, and interestingly falls somewhere between the Leadership essay above and the Personal essay below. Normally, your “greatest challenge” would be a good candidate topic for either a Leadership (especially professional leadership) or Personal essay, and you may have to do some re-writing and re-arranging if you’ve already followed that path. If people are defined by the struggles they have conquered, then this essay should serve to highlight one defining experience that can distinguish you from other candidates in ways that your leadership or personal activities/life might not do.

4. Tuck seeks candidates of various backgrounds who can bring new perspectives to our community. How will your unique personal history, values, and/or life experiences contribute to the culture at Tuck?

Analysis: Please see: The MBA Personal Essay

5. (Optional) Please provide any additional insight or information that you have not addressed elsewhere that may be helpful in reviewing your application (e.g., unusual choice of evaluators, weaknesses in academic performance, unexplained job gaps or changes, etc.). Complete this question only if you feel your candidacy is not fully represented by this application.

Analysis: Please see: The MBA Optional Essay

6. (To be completed by all reapplicants) How have you strengthened your candidacy since you last applied? Please reflect on how you have grown personally and professionally.

Analysis: Please see: The MBA Re-Applicant Essay

I just received this kind testimonial from one of my client’s from last year. He’ll be heading to Dartmouth Tuck, and was accepted at Duke Fuqua as well. Thank you very much! (You can see other testimonials from last year here.)

“Let’s consider the next round” was a painful but a perfect advice from Bryan, which I later appreciated by heart. After failing in my initial attempt to complete those essays without counseling, it was only a couple of weeks before Duke’s November deadline when I contacted him for the first time. My self-edited drafts somehow looked reasonable to me then, only to later realize how much of a quality I needed to achieve, how far I was from there, and how his advice can make it happen. Bryan’s thorough understanding of my writing ability/speed was truly helpful in maintaining the pace of my progress, and I comfortably followed his advice to get things done one-by-one. I was just amazed with his dedication and commitment to his clients, which I could literally feel with his attention to details and timeliness of his responses. I improved my essays to a ready-to-go level and earned acceptances from my top priority schools, which would not have happened without his support. His counseling is truly professional, and it is no surprise that he earns so much trust from his clients. Just like everyone else on this testimonial page, I’m truly glad that I had Bryan as my counselor. My two cents of advice for you is to get into action on your essays now. It’s already August.

Just out of curiosity, I plugged most of the round 1 deadline/notification dates currently available into Excel, subtracted them, and came up with the following table. The record for fastest decision turnaround belongs to Cambridge Judge at a blazing 38 days. At the opposite end of the spectrum, NYU Stern reserves a comparably leisurely 92 days just for the initial notification, i.e., not including interview and final decision time. MIT Sloan has the longest potential fixed turnaround time at 97 days. (I understand that MBA schools may issue decisions before their final notification date.)

I don’t have any substantial data to back this up, but I imagine that MBA schools offering a faster turnaround time in round 1 might attract more applicants and more highly qualified applicants looking to finish their application process early. (To that end, I’m including another version of the chart sorted by “Notification”.)

MBA Round 1 Decision Turnaround (Days)

MBA Round 1 Decision Turnaround (Notification)