"Most executives, many scientists, and almost all business school graduates believe that if you analyze data, this will give you new ideas. Unfortunately, this belief is totally wrong. The mind can only see what it is prepared to see"-Edward de Bono
Josh Cincinnati is a member of a fairly new breed of business school student-one who has never taken the Graduate Management Admissions Test, better known as the GMAT. Cincinnati, who graduated from the University of Virginia last May, knew he wanted to go to graduate school, but wasn't sure what for. In a few years, he figured, he would apply to business school, but for now he kept his options open and took the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) instead of the GMAT. Much to his surprise, the 23-year-old discovered he could apply to Stanford Graduate School of Business with only his GRE scores, allowing him also to consider programs in politics and economics.
"It was a nice option to be able to apply to multiple programs at the same time," Cincinnati says. The Stanford application was a shot in the dark, but he got in.
While taking the GMAT, which is produced by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), is a time-honored rite of passage for virtually all students seeking admission to top business schools, the Educational Testing Service (ETS), which administers the GRE, is taking aim at the lucrative business school market by pitching the GRE, which is used by a wider range of graduate schools, as an alternative to the GMAT. In September, ETS began placing advertisements in publications such as The Chronicle of Higher Education with the message that MBA can stand for "More Business School Applicants" should B-schools choose to use the GRE.
ETS points out a handful of benefits to using the GRE: It has more test centers around the world, making the exam more accessible than the GMAT; it's cheaper-$140 vs. the $250 GMAT fee that brought in a total of close to $80 million in revenue last year to GMAC; and its status as the general standardized test for other graduate programs could attract more of the applicants business schools are clamoring for-women, minorities, and candidates with liberal arts backgrounds.
Fishing in the GRE Pond
"Once they realize that they don't have to take another test to apply to business school, they are going to hedge their bets and explore both opportunities," says David Payne, head of the GRE program for ETS.
GMAC, which has positioned the GMAT as the primary standardized MBA admission test since 1954, doesn't see it that way. GMAC President David Wilson acknowledges allowing the GRE for business school admission would likely expand the applicant pool, but a larger pool is not necessarily a better one, he points out. "If time were limitless, then the larger the sample, the better. But if time is a constraint, then you want to be sure you are fishing in a pond where there are fish you can eat," Wilson says. "Are some schools fishing in the GRE pond? Sure. We haven't seen results. We still believe we offer a stronger, better test."
It's not clear how many schools are accepting the GRE or considering it; the ETS says it doesn't track that statistic. Among those already fishing in that GRE pond are some top-tier business programs-namely Stanford and MIT's Sloan School of Management, both of which in 2006 announced they would begin accepting either test with student applications. But GMAC's near monopoly on the market has complicated the process. The council's membership policy states "requiring the GMAT exam as part of its admission process" is part of the minimum criteria for every GMAC member school, including Stanford and MIT.
Testing Policies Unclear
In response, MIT has reluctantly modified the language on its admissions Web site to place less emphasis on the GRE alternative, says Rod Garcia, director of MBA admissions. Along the same lines, Stanford has done little promotion of the change since its launch last year, so applicants will likely only discover the GRE option once they have already started the application process. In its first year in place at Stanford, just 2% of applicants took advantage of the new alternative, according to head of admissions, Derrick Bolton, who says Stanford's membership allegiances to GMAC prevent him from further discussing the matter.
Wilson says neither school is in violation of the policy, which while it "mandates the GMAT" also "allows for degrees of freedom."
Beyond marketing, ETS is working on improving the GRE in ways Payne says will better suit business schools. He plans to hold focus groups with business school deans to discuss the use of the GRE. A handful of modifications to the test are already in the works. The changes include replacing antonyms and analogies sections with more reading comprehension that tests inferential reasoning rather than the use of vocabulary out of context. The quantitative reasoning section will include more data interpretation questions and real-world problems, another way the exam will attempt to better suit business schools. "People applying to business schools are really going to see the relevance there," says Payne.
Perhaps the most drastic change will be the addition in 2009 of a soft skills measure called the Personal Potential Index. The PPI will provide a six-part evaluation completed and submitted by outside references who will assign numerical scores to knowledge and creativity, communication skills, teamwork, resilience, planning and organizing, and ethics and integrity.
Opening Doors
For the past year, the PPI has been piloted at Arizona State University's Project 1000, which helps minority students with admission to graduate programs. Michael Sullivan, who oversees the project for ASU, says the index encourages recommenders to write more introspectively about applicants and forces them to quantify their evaluations. Still, he says, "it's too novel and unusual at this point in the game" to determine its efficacy.
While research on the ability of the GRE to measure success in a graduate business program comes nowhere near the volumes of data collected on the GMAT over the years, admissions officers are not dismissing the test as a viable alternative for the future.
"I'm not certain that there's just one test to measure the ability of a student to be successful in graduate management education," says Rose Martinelli (BusinessWeek.com, 10/16/07), head of admissions at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, which only accepts the GRE in unusual cases, such as when an international applicant doesn't have access to a GMAT testing center. "I think there may be something there to explore," Martinelli adds. "It really can open up doors to students we don't get."
Cornell/ Johnson Application Deadlines for 2009-10 are as follows:
Round 1 Application Deadline: October 6, 2009 Decision Notification: December 17, 2009 Scholarship Notification: December 17, 2009
Round 2 Application Deadline: November 12, 2009 Decision Notification: February 16, 2010 Scholarship Notification: Feb 16, 2010
Round 3 *# Application Deadline: January 12, 2010 Decision Notification: March 23, 2010 Scholarship Notification: March 23, 2010 Round 4 # Application Deadline: March 30, 2010 Decision Notification: May 6, 2010 Scholarship Notification: N/A
* Suggested application deadline for international applicants # Last date for scholarship consideration
ESSAY QUESTIONS
Johnson has not yet released its 2009-2010 application. However, according to school’s admissions office the essay topics will remain the same as last year’s topics
To ensure the depth and dynamism of the Johnson School education, we seek to enroll a class composed of students whose insights are distinct and whose actions are penetrating. The essay portion of your application gives you the opportunity to candidly demonstrate your attributes and your compatibility with our rich and vibrant program.
MBA/AMBA - Essays 1, 2 and 3 are required essays. Essay 4 is optional. All re-applicants are required to complete essay 5. Please observe the 400 word maximum limit for each essay.
1. Describe your greatest professional achievement and how you were able to add value to your organization.
2. What career do you plan to pursue upon completion of an MBA degree and why? How will the Johnson School help you achieve this goal?
3. You are the author for the book of Your Life Story. Please write the Table of Contents for the book.
4. (Optional) Complete this essay if there is other information you would like to add regarding your candidacy. For instance, if you believe one or more aspects of your application (e.g., undergraduate GPA or test scores) does not accurately reflect your potential for success at the Johnson School.
5. (Re-applicants) Describe the measures you have taken to strengthen your application since you last applied to the Johnson School.
NYU/Stern has announced its three deadlines for the Full-time MBA program. The deadlines are as follows:
Round 1 Application Deadline: November 15, 2009 Initial Notification* By: February 15, 2010 Round 2 Application Deadline: January 15, 2010 Initial Notification* By: April 1, 2010
Round 3 Application Deadline: March 15, 2010 Initial Notification* By: June 1, 2010
*You will receive one of three initial notifications: invitation to interview, waitlist offer or denial of admission
Note to international applicants: You are encouraged to apply by the November 15 deadline to facilitate visa arrangements and to have priority consideration for off-site interviews, if desired. You may also apply for the January 15 and March 15 deadlines.
Online applications must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time on the day of the deadline. Any mailed application material must be postmarkedby the deadline date.
In her recent blogpost Rose Martinelli, Associate Dean for Student Recruitment and Admissions, advised on selecting your best fit business school.
"What is “fit”? The best way to answer this question is to go back to your self-assessment results. Hopefully, you’ve gotten a sense of what your personal and professional needs are, and know yourself well enough to make selections from a diverse array of program options. How do you learn best? Are you more entrepreneurial or do you prefer to follow a structured pathway? Have you already taken the foundation courses at an earlier point in your career? Once you’ve addressed these types of questions, you should identify what are the most important factors in making your school choices (location, size, curriculum structure, brand recognition, etc.) and rank them accordingly", advised Rose.
She stated that once you are done with the above , you next move on to select your set of schools. You might start with a slightly larger group of schools should the issue of enrolling next fall be more important than a particular school choice. While there is only one MBA degree, no two MBA programs are the same. From curriculum structures to size and location, each program is unique in its blend of resources across a continuum of options. She further explained,"For example, let’s compare core curriculums across two ends of the spectrum, flexible versus fixed (Booth and Harvard Business School). At Booth you will have the opportunity to select courses based on the level, faculty or teaching method and at the time of day, year or location of your preference (of course provided you successfully bid for them). Our curriculum structure covers the foundation courses, functions, management and the business environment. Chicago, however, provides you the flexibility to choose from a menu of options based on your background and aspirations. At the opposite end of the continuum is HBS which has a fully fixed core during your first year with all courses taught via the case-method. Both programs have specific reasons for their structure, which is why there are so many types of programs from which to choose. If you expand this analysis across the many other options (general management vs. concentrations, size, location, etc.), there can be any number of variations available to you."
Finally Rose mentioned that Do your research!She added,"There are many resources available to you to do your research once you have prioritized your selection factors -- rankings, school and consulting websites, visiting campuses, or talking to students and alumni from these programs. Once you’ve figured out your set of schools, try to answer why you feel that particular school’s features meets your needs for an MBA from both a personal and professional perspective. Then figure out where you see yourself contributing to that community. In summary, knowing yourself and articulating how a particular school suits your needs is the essence of fit."
1. Briefly describe your short-term and long-term career goals. Why is an MBA the best choice at this point in your career? What and/or who influenced your decision to apply to Ross? 2. Describe your most significant professional accomplishment. Elaborate on the leadership skills you displayed, the actions you took and the impact you had on your organization.
Short Essays (300 word max)
3. If you were not pursuing the career goals you described in Question 1, what profession would you pursue instead? (For example, teacher, musician athlete, architect, etc.) How will this alternate interest contribute to your effectiveness in solving multidisciplinary problems? 4. Describe your experience during a challenging time in your life. Explain how you grew personally, either despite this challenge or because of it.
Optional Question: Is there anything else you think the Admissions Committee should know about you to evaluate your candidacy?
Rose Martinelli, Associate Dean for Student Recruitment and Admissions, gave advice to re-applicants in her blog post recently. She said that the decision whether to reapply is a personal choice. "For those of you considering, I would encourage you to go back and review your original application. If you were on the waitlist, include the information that you submitted through that process.Consider asking a friend or colleague to give you feedback too.The objective is to understand how well you presented yourself in your original application and identify if there are any areas that you can improve upon this year", she said.
Rose further advised, "Take stock of what you learned through the process of applying last year. Have your goals changed or crystallized? Are there things you can do this year to strengthen any of the main components (academic preparedness, career progression, community involvement, personal/professional focus and/ or self-awareness)? In summary, are there things that you would do differently now just because you know the process AND yourself better? "
She said after you are done with the review it’s time to approach the application. She said, "Be strategic about the messages you wish to convey in the application from data forms to essays and your presentation. While we will include your prior application in your file as background material, make sure that your new application presents your candidacy fully. My recommendation is that you take a fresh approach to crafting your application this year and avoid adapting old essays or presentations."
In her latest blog post Rose provided more advice to re-applicants with respect to various components of application.
"It’s important to approach this as if you are writing your personal business plan for the future.Know what messages you want to convey and map them into the different components of the application before you begin writing."
Every part of the application should be considered as “precious real estate”, with each question having a specific purpose, so take the time to be clear and concise in your answers." she said
With respect to Data Forms, Rose advised, "Take the time and effort to carefully complete the data forms – do not rely on last year’s application to provide us with that information since the forms change a little bit each year. Be thoughtful about your responses and make sure that you balance your desire to give us everything, with our desire to limit the amount you provide. A good rule of thumb is to ask yourself – why is this information important for the admissions committee to know about me?If you can answer this, be sure to make your responses concise and relevant."
"Your resume should be one that you would use for any job search, highlighting your role and accomplishments.Again, if you are wondering if you should include particular information, use the relevance factor in making your decision", she added.
On Recommendations, Rose acknowledged and advised, "While we know you may choose to use the same recommenders as in your prior application, ask your recommenders to update the information with your progression. It might also be helpful for you to take the time to meet with them to review your progress during this period and to highlight areas they might use as examples within the recommendation."
On Essays Rose repeated again, "avoid regurgitating information you used last year – whether essays or elements of your presentation.Be bold and start from scratch. Our newest Admissions Insider spends time explaining the purpose of each of the essays, so check out that resource. Essay question 1, part B is the only essay specifically for re-applicants which asks what has changed since you last applied. This could be anything from work experience, new goals or a greater self awareness.Here’s your chance to help us understand your growth from last year".
Lastly Rose threw light on the Evaluation Process. She said, "Each application will be evaluated in this year’s applicant pool. One caveat for you to consider: Don’t expect to be invited to interview this year just because you were last year. Your success in the admissions process this year will be solely dependent upon how you approach your application this year. So take the time and make the effort to put your best foot forward in the process."
According to Sara Neher, Director of MBA Admissions at Darden School of Business, Darden will be using a new application system this year. School is in the process of putting final touches to it...the application is due to get released anytime in August. The School will be looking forward to feedback from aspirants on the new application system...She also mentioned that an upcoming video blog will be completely devoted to re-applicants, in next couple of weeks.
