This is part 5 of a series featuring b-school advice gleaned from one of Manhattan GMAT’s own. Until recently, Patty managed marketing and student services for our sister company, Manhattan LSAT. But she chose to return to business school and started at Wharton last fall. She has agreed to share her application experiences with us  in a series called, “Patty’s Path to Wharton.”
Read Part 4 here.

Recommendations are one of the more fraught aspects of your b-school application, because you’ve got the least control over the process. But, once again,  Patty’s experiences can provide some guidance.
If you’re wondering who to approach, here’s her advice:

People always want to know who to ask for recommendations, the person you work with or the person with the best titles. I already knew who I wanted because I’d worked with them closely. I just knew I wanted people who knew me best as a person and as a professional. My only advice for people who do have that question is to think about it: If you’re on the ad com, do you want a generic form letter or a genuine note? And which one do you think is going to distinguish you from a sea of a thousand.

Once you’ve selected recommenders, be sure to Read more

This is part 3 of a series featuring b-school advice gleaned from one of Manhattan GMAT’s own. Until recently, Patty managed marketing and student services for our sister company,Manhattan LSAT. But she chose to return to business school and started at Wharton last fall. She has agreed to share her application experiences with us  in a series called, “Patty’s Path to Wharton.”
Read Part 2 here.

Once Patty had finished the GMAT, it was on to the essays!

Her first move was to formulate her working process. She spoke to friends who’d attended business school and collected their essays. Then, she printed out various essay questions on heavy cardstock and began carrying them around so she could jot down ideas on the go.

She explains her decision: Read more

Today, we’re debuting a new feature”the MBA news roundup! Aspiring business school students should know what’s going on at their target schools. So we’ll be collecting big stories from around the web on a semi-regular basis to keep you updated.

In this installment:

UVA-Darden is launching a new Global Executive MBA program. Dean Robert F. Bruner promises: This new MBA format will deliver the Darden Experience for which we are so well-known but in an international format. The program will enhance the skills of high-potential executives who need to be ready on day one to do business in any market around the globe. More info is available here and here.

Bloomberg Businessweek reports Dipak Jain”formerly the long-time dean of Kellogg”will take over in March at INSEAD.

Nitin Nohria, the incoming dean at Harvard Business School, recently spoke to the Boston Globe about his ambitious goals for his tenure. Just to start with, he expects more from the school than just bouquets and butterflies.”

Also at HBS: The alumni bulletin has an interesting update on the school’s new executive MBA program for health care administrators. It’s designed to develop the strategy, leadership, finance, and operations skills that senior health-care professionals need to transform care delivery in their organizations.

Stanford is launching a new 20-week Program in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, aimed at engineers, inventors and others working in Silicon Valley.

For the aspiring entrepreneurs out there, Ross has released a fascinating study about how Twitter can help upstarts compete with bigger firms.

And finally, the Economist has released its MBA rankings. See a breakdown here.

Did we miss anything major? Let us know in the comments!

At Manhattan GMAT, we spend a good deal of time thinking about education. We’re committed to the highest quality of teaching, and we’re always interested in the latest pedagogical developments. And so, lately, this interesting article from the New York Times has been making the rounds in our office.

The piece contends that much of the conventional wisdom about study habits has little basis in reality. For example, it’s often assumed students should commit to a particular workspace. But recent research has found individuals actually remember more material when they alternate rooms while studying. It’s also more helpful to work on a range of distinct (but related) skills in a single study session, rather than narrowing your focus to one topic. What we think is happening here is that, when the outside context is varied, the information is enriched, and this slows down forgetting, says one scientist.

What do our instructors say? Stacey Koprince tells us:

We’ve known for a long time that making multiple “connections” while studying helps us to store and retrieve information more effectively. It’s fascinating that the researchers have extended this to the physical location in which you make the connections – apparently, we even make connections based upon things we see around us while we’re studying the information.

In fact, these findings support advice we already give students: Vary how you study within a single study session, and study via many shorter study sessions rather than a few long ones. As the article points out, musicians do a combination of scales, musical pieces and rhythmic work when they practice, while athletes’ workouts typically mix strength, speed and skill drills. Stacey recommends:

Do some reading in a certain area, or watch a short lesson, then do some practice problems that touch on the same material (but may also include other things), then spend some time reviewing those problems. During your review, go back to any necessary sources when you need to check or refresh something; the more you do this, the more connections you’ll make. Once or twice a week, do a mix of random problems (and more often as you get closer to the test); this allows you to practice figuring out what’s in front of you in the first place.

Stacey did find one of the article’s points a bit dubious, however”the suggestion that there may not be different learning styles.

The one thing that I’m a bit skeptical about is the proposal that there might not be different learning styles. From personal experience, I know that I learn certain things better in certain ways. Recently, I took a French immersion course (3 to 5 hours of French every day for three weeks). When we reviewed vocabulary orally, I didn’t retain anywhere near as much as I did when the teacher gave us a hand-out or I looked up the word myself. It was mostly new information and I personally make much better connections when I see new info written down. On the other hand, because I know English grammar so well, I was able to base my French grammar connections on similarities and differences between the two languages; here, I benefited more from an oral discussion because I could ask immediate questions to clarify my understanding (and so make better connections).

There you have it: Train like an athlete, but base your studies on your unique needs.

People often associate business school degrees with a handful of traditional fields, such as consulting. But according to this piece at Page Six Magazine, the growing fashionista crowd at Harvard Business School is demonstrating you don’t have to be Michael Bloomberg to go for an MBA.

Take Olga Vidisheva, a 25-year-old model and current MBA candidate. She attended Wellesley, did two years at Goldman Sachs, and then decided finance wasn’t for her. She applied to HBS, specifically aiming to change careers to fashion. Her plan seems to be paying off, as evidenced by her summer spent interning with Chanel’s marketing department. And she’s not alone. We’ve already covered HBS alums Alexandra Wilkis Wilson and Alexis Maybank, who founded Gilt Groupe. Other startups have followed, including FashionStake, a site that allows you to invest in newbie designers; Birchbox, which sends monthly beauty samples to members; and Rent the Runway, which rents designer dresses.

Ultimately, only 3 percent of Harvard grads go on to retail careers, as opposed to 57 percent working in finance or consulting. But sartorially-inclined students report the program is becoming the place for fashion”and they ought to know what’s in vogue!

Here at the Manhattan GMAT blog, we’re always interested in cool learning opportunities for b-school students. That’s why a recent piece in the Wall Street Journal caught our eyes. The paper reports MBA programs are securing real-world business experience for their students by farming them out as dirt-cheap consultants.

A student’s involvement with a company typically runs from 3 to 6 months, and companies have included Urban Outfitters and Harman International. Participants might help create a business plan or identify acquisition targets. For businesses, it’s a chance to benefit from a fresh set of eyes, typically at a very low cost.  And for aspiring MBAs, it’s a chance for practical professional experience.

For example, Green Mountain Coffee dispatched their b-schoolers to Nicaragua, assigning them to develop strategies for improving coffee quality and boosting production. “This will have impact on the quality, taste in cup and… the amount of coffees that [the farmers] harvest,” says Rick Peyser, a member of the company’s corporate responsibility department.

Improving a cup of coffee from the source”now that makes for a results-driven resume.

You’ve probably spent lots of time weighing the merits of various business schools”professors, location, course offerings. But this month’s Bloomberg Business Week offers some food for thought about the individuals who lead the whole operation: deans.

The article profiles two programs that have recently hired former corporate executives as deans. Boston University has recruited Kenneth Freeman, formerly of Quest Diagnostics, while Viacom’s Neil Braun will start in the fall at Pace. And they aren’t the first, either. Corporate deans are still rare, but you’ll find them at both Wake Forest and Ohio State University.  Why the non-traditional choices? They can bring a new perspective, as search committee chair N. Venkat Venkatraman explains: “We wanted someone who could think outside the box, and the committee felt that Ken Freeman brought something new and exciting to the school. There’s also the appeal of a candidate with extensive management experience. The search committee told Freeman they wanted a builder, someone who could advance the school’s strategic plan”and that’s what they saw in the former CEO.

Don’t expect a sea change in the hiring of b-school deans, but this is certainly an interesting development in MBA education.

Got GMAT questions? Join us in our New York center on the evening of Thursday, August 19, for our monthly Manhattan GMAT study session. One of our instructors will be on hand to answer any questions, so come prepared to discuss OG problems, test-taking strategies, the finer points of grammar, or anything else giving you trouble. This event is open to the public”not just Manhattan GMAT students. So stop by and bring your friends.

All the details are available here. Hope to see you there!

What’s the latest trend in MBA curricula, according to Business Week? It comes as no surprise to us here @manhattangmat: Courses on social media!

As more businesses realize the awesome power of Facebook and Twitter, they’re hunting employees who can navigate the tricky waters of social media. So b-schools see a rapidly growing field for which they can equip their students. “Social media skills are the ones that can set them apart. Those are the skills that employers are looking for,” argues John Gallaugher, who teaches Social Media & Web 2.0 for Managers at Boston College’s Carroll School of Management. Columbia now offers four Internet marketing classes”one of them taught by New York Times technology columnist David Pogue. And if HBS’s Competing with Social Networks is any indication, students are enthusiastic, as well: When the course launched, it had three times as many sign-ups as spots in the class.

Once again, business schools are pushing out ahead of the curve!

Two weeks ago, we featured free classes available online for prospective and newly-admitted b-school students. Today, we’re featuring podcasts. Almost all universities have podcasts these days, and if you’re interested in a school, it’s worth poking around the website for lectures or interviews. But here are the top five that stand out:

1. Knowledge at Wharton: Wharton’s podcast follows a traditional radio-interview format. A host sits down with an interesting guest to discuss a meaty topic, like the next generation of Internet search or the future of the book business. Podcasts regularly feature Wharton professors speaking about their own research, as well as CEOs, government officials, venture capitalists, and others. And you don’t actually have to download the files”you can just stream the interviews from the website.
2. Darden School of Business, Speaker Series: UVA’s Darden School of Business uploads recordings of anyone who visits campus as part of the Darden Distinguished Speaker Series, the Darden Leadership Forum, or the 50th Anniversary Speaker Series. That makes for a lot of podcasts featuring a wide variety of leaders, from former Mexican president Vicente Fox to Under Armour founder Kevin Plank.
3. The London School of Economics, Public Lectures and Events: The LSE seems to host speakers constantly, and it’s no surprise the school draws some big names. Besides professors, the roster includes a number of presidents, plus social media guru Clay Shirky and Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus. This series is especially great if you’re interested in emerging markets or global business. But their offerings vary widely, and they aren’t necessarily what you’d expect. The archive includes lectures on contemporary art, climate change, and even Slavoj Žižek on the end of capitalism.
4. Insead, Leadercast: Also good to check out if you’re globally inclined is Insead’s Leadercast series. Professors sit down with European leaders like Thomas Rabe, CEO of German media conglomerate Bertelsmann, and Todd Stitzer, CEO of British confectionary company Cadbury. You can either watch them as embedded videos or download the audio as mp3s, and next to each video is an overview of the company discussed, for further reading.
5. Harvard Business School, Working Knowledge: It isn’t updated regularly, but HBS has an archive of their Working Knowledge podcast, which features faculty members discussing their research, current events, and the like. It’s not extensive, but the available content is worth a look.

Have we left your favorite off the list? Let us know in the comments what other podcasts you like!