Friday Links: Tips for Networking, Stress Management, GPA, and More!
Catch up on some business school news and tips with a few of this week’s top stories:
5 Essential Tips for Surviving Awkward Networking Events (Brazen Careerist)
Networking events are awkward. And when you don’t go to them often, you might have no idea what to do or how to act.
MBA students take their skills on the road (Graduate Guide)
Four Harvard Business School students are making a difference and learning in the process through a project known as MBAs Across America
Inflated GPAs Good For MBA Applicants (Poets & Quants)
To get into a highly selective business school, is it better to have a higher grade point average from a school where grade inflation is the norm?
Stress Management at B-School (Bloomberg Businessweek)
Case studies, class projects, recruiting, clubs, travel… the life of an MBA student is enough to make otherwise levelheaded adults crack under the pressure.
If You Don’t Define Your Personal Brand the Market Will (Both Sides of the Table)
Don’t forget about personal branding, the most important way to proactively control your career development and how the market perceives you.
Did we miss your favorite article from the week? Let us know what you have been reading in the comments below or tweet @ManhattanGMAT
mbaMission: UC-Berkeley Haas Essay Analysis, 2013–2014
We’ve invited mbaMission to share their Business School Essays Analyses as they’re released for the 2013-2014 application season. Here is their analysis for UC-Berkeley Haas.
The Haas School of Business at the University of California (UC), Berkeley, offers you more opportunity to tell your story than most business schools do these days—its three short essays favor those whose candidacies include a variety of dimensions and accomplishments. Your job is to ensure that the reader is constantly learning about you as he/she reads on. Ask yourself, “Am I offering a new skill or a new experience in each essay?” If your answer is not “yes!” then you must go back to brainstorming to ensure you are providing a broad and compelling picture of yourself. If you want the admissions committee to stay interested, you must keep providing new information throughout your essays.
1. If you could choose one song that expresses who you are, what is it and why? (250 word maximum)
As absurd as this prompt may seem, you of course want to take it seriously. Rather than trying to identify what might be an impressive or interesting song in and of itself, stop, think about the various facets of your character and then back into your choice. Ask yourself what defines who you are and then work to find an appropriate song that reflects and reveals these elements—preferably one that you are sincerely connected to or that triggers a strong response in you. To add another level of creativity, consider different versions of the same song and the different singers who have performed or recorded it. (For example, the famed song “New York, New York” has been recorded by a number of artists over the years and in different languages—not that we are suggesting this song!) If the lyrics of a particular song seem to match well with your personality, you may also be able to identify a version of that song with a certain style, tempo or featured instrument, and these elements can further illustrate your personality. There is no “right” song in the eyes of the admissions committee. Your task is to find one that serves as an avenue for discussing your character and to clearly explain how and why it does so, using examples.
2. What is your most significant accomplishment? (250 word maximum)
Your most significant accomplishment can be from any sphere—professional, community, academic, personal. As mentioned in our introduction, be sure to represent different dimensions of your candidacy as you respond to these short-essay prompts. In other words, whichever aspect of your profile you choose to highlight here, it should be one that is not represented elsewhere in your application. (Note: you can tell two stories from the same “venue,” but they need to represent your skills/talents in different ways. Mentorship is a different skill than business development, for example, but both can occur in the workplace.) The key to this essay is choosing an experience that is simple but powerful—one that speaks for itself and draws the reader in, allowing him/her to draw a clear conclusion about your capabilities. Even with just 250 words, you can sufficiently recount a story that accomplishes this goal.
Read more
mbaMission: Dartmouth College (Tuck) Essay Analysis, 2013–2014
We’ve invited mbaMission to share their Business School Essays Analyses as they’re released for the 2013-2014 application season. Here is their analysis for Dartmouth College (Tuck).
As MBA programs move toward PowerPoint presentations, creative essays and essays without word limits, the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College sticks to its tried and true approach: three 500-word essays, one of which is a classic career statement, while the others ask candidates to reflect on individual experiences. Given the more straightforward nature of these prompts, Tuck applicants will likely take comfort in knowing for certain that they have provided what the school wants—they have not missed the point of the questions or veered too far afield. Tuck in some ways allows candidates to more easily showcase their stories in a direct manner, and this means the school will be better able to compare candidates one-to-one—though applicants are hardly “apples to apples” in nature.
Please respond fully but concisely to the following essay questions. There are no right or wrong answers. We encourage applicants to limit the length of their responses to 500 words for each essay. 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 fit for you and your goals and why are you the best fit for Tuck?
Because personal statements are similar from one application to the next, we have produced the mbaMission Personal Statement Guide, which helps applicants write this style of essay for any school. We offer this guide to candidates free of charge. Please feel free to download your copy today.
For a thorough exploration of Dartmouth Tuck’s academic program, merits, defining characteristics, crucial statistics, social life, academic environment and more, please check out thembaMission Insider’s Guide to the Tuck School of Business.
2. Tell us about your most meaningful collaborative leadership experience and what role you played. What did you learn about your own individual strengths and weaknesses through this experience?
By specifying “collaborative” leadership, Tuck takes an interesting spin on a classic leadership question. The school does not want to hear about a time when you aggressively took control of a situation, nor about a time when you were just a cog in a wheel. The admissions committee wants to learn about a situation in which you shared power with someone else (or various people) and achieved an objective. Keep in mind that leadership is not a matter of title—you can be the associate to someone else’s vice president or vice versa and still be a collaborative leader if you are helping to drive something forward. In other words, think about your actions, not about the org chart.
As you write this essay, incorporate the dynamics of the experience into your narrative. Do not spend a lot of time explaining the leadership arrangement, and instead simply let the story of the situation unfold, then show your actions and the subsequent reactions (complementary or otherwise) from your co-leader(s).
To effectively reveal your “strengths and weaknesses,” you will need to demonstrate that you encountered challenges along the way and show how you overcame them. You cannot tell the story of your experience and then just tack on a mention of some unrelated—and thus “unproven”—lesson at the end. This is a common mistake, so be extra careful to avoid it. You must also reflect on the experience, because the question asks you to, but make sure the reflection you share is derived directly from the experience you describe in your essay. If you write 350–400 words of narrative and 100–150 words of related reflection, you should be on the right track.
Read more
mbaMission: University of Chicago (Booth) Essay Analysis, 2013–2014
We’ve invited mbaMission to share their Business School Essays Analyses as they’re released for the 2013-2014 application season. Here is their analysis for University of Chicago (Booth).
Why not start our analysis of the University of Chicago Booth’s essay questions for this season with a few important words directly from the school’s admissions committee?
“This year’s questions have been specifically designed to get to know you on a deeper level and to go beyond why it is that you want an MBA. As you review the essay questions … we encourage you to think about the experiences that have shaped and influenced you, your passions and interests (professionally and personally), and what you think the Admissions Committee needs to know about you in order to fully understand your candidacy. While essay questions are just one part of a holistic evaluation process, they are still a very relevant and valuable component for our Admissions Committee.
You may notice that we do not have a formal essay question asking you to outline your career goals and reasons for an MBA. Our full online application, which will go live within a couple of weeks, will offer an opportunity for you to share this important information as well.”
So what is the admissions committee saying here? The message is that the school values applicants’ essays/presentations as vehicles through which to gain a profound sense of who its candidates are and what they stand for. Chicago Booth is essentially asserting the importance of this part of the admissions process—to ensure that you take it seriously. So, perhaps more than ever, you will need to think very carefully about what stories and messages you want to share with the school before you start writing. Brainstorm thoroughly and create a personal inventory of sorts, then plan your essays so that as much of that inventory as possible finds its way into your submissions. Do not worry about showing that you have many strengths and talents. Effective business leaders are not one-dimensional, but are quite the opposite. The admissions committee will be happy to discover that you have a depth of skills and experience.
Short Answer Essays
1. My favorite part of my work is…. (250 word max)
Ideally, you will have multiple ideas for how to respond to this query, but what should you avoid writing? Definitely do not write about how you can become completely consumed with a singular aspect of your job, like spreadsheets! Although the admissions committee wants to know that you are a passionate person, that passion has to have external implications. In other words, your passion needs to have an impact on others (and please don’t make the contra argument that this can be achieved through spreadsheet modeling!).
Your favorite aspect of your work might be your company’s annual off-site, the generosity that your boss shows in mentoring you, the creative process involved in launching a new product/campaign or even the satisfaction of winning a mandate or earning praise from a client for a job well done. What is important in this essay is not the particular aspect of work you choose, but that it reveals a character trait or skill that reflects a contribution you will make to the Chicago Booth community. You should not just write, “My favorite part of my work is the company off-site.” Even though you have only 250 words for this essay, you can still convey in some detail how you experience this aspect of your work—not just what it is, but what kind of reaction/emotion it triggers in you and how this relates to who you are as an individual and what you value. Relay the story of why the off-site is so meaningful for you.
Read more
GMAT Challenge Problem Showdown: July 29, 2013
We invite you to test your GMAT knowledge for a chance to win! Each week, we will post a new Challenge Problem for you to attempt. If you submit the correct answer, you will be entered into that week’s drawing for a free Manhattan GMAT Prep item. Tell your friends to get out their scrap paper and start solving!
Here is this week’s problem:
A total of m different points are selected on a particular line, and a total of n different points are selected on another line parallel to the first, where each of m and n is greater than 1. In how many different ways can a triangle be made with its vertices at three of the selected points?
A. m2n + mn2
B. mn(m + n – 2)
C.
D.
E.
Free GMAT Events This Week: July 29 – August 4
Here are the free GMAT events we’re holding this week. All times are local unless otherwise specified.
7/29/13– Philadelphia, PA – Free Trial Class– 6:30PM- 9:30PM
7/30/13– San Francisco, CA- Free Trial Class– 6:30PM- 9:30PM
7/30/13– Online- Free Trial Class– 8:00PM- 11:00PM (EDT)
7/30/13– New York, NY- Free Trial Class– 6:30PM- 9:30PM
7/30/13– Washington, DC- Essay Writing Workshop presented by mbaMission– 7:00PM- 8:30PM
7/31/13– London – Free Trial Class– 6:30PM- 9:30PM
7/31/13– Chicago, IL- Free Trial Class– 6:30PM- 9:30PM
7/31/13– New York, NY-Essay Writing Workshop presented by mbaMission– 7:00PM- 8:30PM
8/1/13– Chicago, IL- Assessing Your MBA Profile presented by mbaMission– 7:00PM- 8:30PM
8/3/13– Online- Free Trial Class– 1:00PM- 4:00PM (EDT)
8/4/13– Online- Free Trial Class– 10:30AM- 1:30PM (EDT)
8/4/13– Santa Monica, CA – Free Trial Class– 2:00PM- 5:00PM
Read more
Friday Links: Startups, Accredited MBAs, TED Talks, & More!
Catch up on some business school news and tips with a few of this week’s top stories:
Startups Recruiting More MBAs (Poets & Quants)
Startups are getting increased attention from MBAs and they’re apparently returning the love, according to a new survey.
Why Your MBA Should be Accredited (About.com Education)
If the degree or business school is not accredited, your achievements may not even be recognized by an employer.
14 of the Most Essential Lessons You Learn in Business School (Business Insider Australia)
Top business professors share which case studies they think are the most essential for future business leaders.
The Best TED Talks By B-School Professors (Poets & Quants)
Generally, the best TED talks by B-school faculty tend to be delivered by professors whose names are rarely mentioned outside their own schools.
Master the MBA Interview as an International Candidate (U.S. News Education)
Prospective students should anticipate making some mistakes when speaking English, but shouldn’t expect that to ruin the interview.
Did we miss your favorite article from the week? Let us know what you have been reading in the comments below or tweet @ManhattanGMAT
GMAT Challenge Problem Showdown: July 22, 2013
We invite you to test your GMAT knowledge for a chance to win! Each week, we will post a new Challenge Problem for you to attempt. If you submit the correct answer, you will be entered into that week’s drawing for a free Manhattan GMAT Prep item. Tell your friends to get out their scrap paper and start solving!
Here is this week’s problem:
In the xy-coordinate plane, line L passes through the points (b, a) and (c, 0), and line Mpasses through the point (a, b) and the origin, where a, b, and c are different nonzero integers. Do lines L and M intersect?
(1)
(2) c < 0
Free GMAT Events This Week: July 22 – July 28
Here are the free GMAT events we’re holding this week. All times are local unless otherwise specified.
7/22/13– Chicago, IL – Free Trial Class– 6:30PM- 9:30PM
7/22/13– Boston, MA- Assessing Your MBA Profile presented by mbaMission– 7:00PM- 8:30PM
7/22/13– Austin, TX- Free Trial Class– 6:30PM- 9:30PM
7/23/13– Online – Live Online GMAT Preview– 8:00PM- 9:30PM (EDT)
7/23/13– New York, NY – Writing a Standout HBS Application Essay presented by mbaMission– 7:00PM- 8:30PM
7/24/13– Santa Monica, CA – Free Trial Class– 6:30PM- 9:30PM
7/24/13– Toronto, ON- Free Trial Class– 6:30PM- 9:30PM
7/25/13– Online – Free Trial Class– 9:00PM- 12:00PM (EDT)
7/25/13– Boston, MA- Free Trial Class– 6:30PM- 9:30PM
Read more
GMAT Challenge Problem Showdown: July 15, 2013
We invite you to test your GMAT knowledge for a chance to win! Each week, we will post a new Challenge Problem for you to attempt. If you submit the correct answer, you will be entered into that week’s drawing for a free Manhattan GMAT Prep item. Tell your friends to get out their scrap paper and start solving!
Here is this week’s problem:
If n is a positive integer greater than 1, what is the smallest positive difference between two different factors of n?
(1)
is a positive integer.
(2) n is a multiple of both 11 and 9.
is a positive integer.