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Insider Guide
V E R S I O N So You Want to Get
2000 an MBA
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Table of Contents
Quick TOC The MBA at a Glance 1
T h e M B A a t a G l a n ce 1 The MBA
Overview 4
The MBA 3 Who Should Get an MBA? 6
How the Schools Break Down 11
Choosing a School 21 What B-School Is Really Like 15
B-School Lingo 19
A p p l y i n g & Pay i n g
for B-School 30 Choosing a School
Choosing the Right Business School 22
Fo r Yo u r R e f e r e n ce 41 Self-Assessment Tool #1 28
T H E
M B A
Overview
> Business schools give students the broad base of knowledge, skills, and
A T
tools theyll need to take on leadership roles in business. MBAs study sub-
A
jects ranging from marketing, operations management, and
G L A N C E
accounting/finance to capital markets and economics.
> In some industries such as investment banking and consulting, an MBA is
a prerequisite to higher-level employment.
> Most MBA students have some real-world experiencebut not too much.
The average student in most full-time programs is in the upper 20s. Those
who plan to go directly from college to B-school must have strong, demon-
strated interest and expertise in business, as evidenced by internships and
classroom experience.
> Many schools have introduced new programs, such as academic concentra-
tions in e-commerce and entrepreneurship, to meet the changing needs of
B-school students.
> Besides full-time MBA programs, applicants can consider part-time, execu-
tive, and online/distance programs.
> Smart applicants start early so theyll have enough time to formulate their
story (the reason they need to get an MBA), manage their recommenda-
tions, write and edit their essays, and take the GMAT more than once, if
necessary.
A
> Give your recommenders guidance: provide them with examples of your
A T
work so they remember specifics about you and tell them what part of your
story youd like them to address in their recommendations.
M B A
> Take time to learn about the schools to which youre thinking about apply-
ing. Your knowledge and enthusiasm will improve your applications, and
T H E
youll ensure a proper fit between you and the school you attend.
> If youre not a number-crunching type, brush up on your math skills
before taking the GMAT. If youre a techie, work on your communication
skills before writing your essays and going to your interviews.
3
Overview
M B A
T H E
But thats just the beginning of what MBAs get out of business school.
Especially at top full-time programs (the focus of this Insider Guide), things
like networking and recruiting opportunities are easily as important a part of
the MBA experience as the academics. MBA students, after all, attend business
school to get ahead in business. Gaining a ready-made network of alumni, stu-
dent, and faculty contacts can be as integral a part of getting ahead in business
as classroom learning. So is having the chance to be recruited by top compa-
nies that are eager to offer a lot of money to highly trained fledgling man-
agers.
T H E
MBAs. The early-1990s recession was just part of the problem; it turned out
that the downsizing so often urged as a solution to business problems by MBAs
M B A
at investment banks and consulting firms had eliminated opportunities for new
MBAs. And corporations began questioning whether MBA hires, who often had
theoretical skills but little real-world knowledge, were worth the money.
The story came full circle by the mid-1990s. In an effort to attract more socially
aware applicants, B-schools shifted their focus, offering more courses on team-
work and other soft subjects as well as nontraditional courses in areas like
environmental management. They also began concentrating on slightly older
applicants and including more real-world exercises in their programs, making
MBAs more practically experienced than before. And as the economy emerged
from recession and began to explode, corporate America suddenly found itself
needing MBAs again.
Today, the MBA story continues to evolve. As the business landscape changes,
B-schools are offering new study tracks. Significant among new academic focus-
es at top schools is the burgeoning field of e-commerce. Theres a major need
for able managers at all those new e-companies, after alland who better than
MBAs to fill that need? And many MBA students now have their eye on starting
e-companies of their own. More and more, distance and online learning pro-
grams are also becoming part of the landscape, and older professionals are
enhancing their business skills through intensive executive-MBA programs.
And just like the business world, B-schools have gone global in a big way, offer-
ing joint degrees in business and foreign-language-and-culture studies and
accepting a significant number of international students (for instance, 32 per-
cent of the class of 2000 at Cornells Johnson School). The economy is boom-
ingand with it, opportunities for MBAs. For those who want to become busi-
ness leaders, its a good time to go to business schoolbut youre not the first
person to reach that conclusion, so its also a good time to prepare your B-
school applications as thoroughly as possible.
MBA students get three main things out of their time in business school. First,
of course, they get the education: exposure to a broad range of business issues
that gives them general business-management skills as well as (in most cases)
some more function-specific knowledge such as a focus on marketing or e-com-
merce or manufacturing management. Second (and equally important): they
get the chance to be recruited by top companies for high-paying jobs. Finally
(and just as important) theres the network of potential contacts MBA students
get by going to school. This network comprises fellow students as well as alum-
ni, recruiters, and faculty and can benefit MBAs throughout their career in
business by helping them get new jobs, find business partners, find new
employees, and so on.
If you want a career in business and like the sound of the academic, recruiting,
and networking opportunities that B-school offers you, you should certainly
consider getting your MBA. Before spending your time and money applying to
school, though, you should decide if you really want and need an MBA. Figure
out whether the MBA definitely makes sense for you or whether it would be a
waste of time and money. Following are some examples of each.
T H E
Today, business schools focus on enrolling students with at least some real-
world experience; the average student at a top business school is in his or her
M B A
mid- or late 20s. Several factors play into this focus on experience. For one,
schools feel that if you have some experience, youll have a better idea of how
business works and what youd like to do with your life than if youre fresh-
faced kid right out of college. Second, if you have experience in industry youll
have more to contribute to your peers. One of the drawing cards of business
school is the opportunity to learn from peersbut of course thats only possi-
ble when your peers have something to teach you. One insider says: I worked
for two and a half years before B-school and wish Id had more experience. It
would have been so helpful to have had those work experiences before going
to school. Finally, business schools look for students that they can place in
high-powered jobs upon graduation, and if you have some experience youre
generally more attractive to employers.
However, you can be too experienced for business school. Most people in their
mid 30s and beyond will be too advanced in their careers to benefit fully from
B-school. Often, theyll have already gained the broad or deep knowledge they
need to lead others and make wise business decisions. Or else theyll have too
many responsibilities to leave work for two years. For these people, an execu-
tive MBA often makes more sense than a full-time program. (See How the
Schools Break Down.)
Want to be a business leader? Think about getting your MBA. Its not essential
for a leadership role in businessplenty of top executives got where they are
T H E
by moving up through the ranksbut business school can be a great weigh sta-
tion on the road to a leadership-oriented career. An insider says, One of the
most important things I learned in B-school was the elements of leadership.
For one thing, business school gives you the tools to look at a business from a
broad range of perspectivesto gain a deep understanding of the roles and
goals of the various units of a business, from manufacturing and customer ser-
vice to marketing and finance.
When you enter B-school, youll probably have experience in just one or two
job functions in just one or two industries. By the time you leave school, youll
have spent thousands of hours in class or on group projects reading about,
thinking about, and talking about a wide variety of businesses. Youll have
learnedfrom your professors, your classmates, and your readingabout dif-
ferent industries, the various components of businesses within these industries,
and the ways these components interact. Thus, youll be better equipped to
make high-level business decisions. One insider says: Before business school, I
didnt have the language to communicate with different areas of a business or
understand how different areas think about business. Now I have the frame-
works I need to talk to different areas.
But you wont learn all the leadership tools you need just by focusing on busi-
ness thought and strategy. Today, B-schools place a lot of emphasis on softer,
people-focused coursework and projects. By studying things like organizational
behavior, youll learn tools that will help you manage people in the pursuit of
business goals.
The skills youll learn in business school can be an asset to leaders in a variety
of fields. Those in established, more traditional industries often find that an
MBA helps them be better managers. Similarly, many entrepreneurs feel that
an MBA helps them make more-informed decisions in building their business
and to do a better job of managing their people. Although in some industries
(advertising, for example) the degree isnt often considered that important for
achieving a management position or growing your own business, getting an
8 MBA usually can be at least a smart part of the would-be business leaders
career progression.
T H E
Maybe youve been working for a nonprofit and you want to get into invest-
ment banking. Or youre just about to end your military service and you want
M B A
to start a consulting career. Or you want to move to a new job function within
the industry youre already inleaving behind your operations job for a new
career in marketing, for instance. If youre looking to change careers without
having to go back to square one, business school may be just the right move for
you. It really is a good way to segue, says an insider.
In business school, youll get a chance to think through a wide range of busi-
ness problems in a wide range of industries. Youll gain the skills needed to
perform a variety of specific job functions. And, just as important, youll be
recruited by companies from a number of different industries. Having an MBA
can make you attractive to a range of employers no matter what industry you
worked in before B-school. An insider says, I was working in nonprofit and
wanted to get out of it, and it was difficult to be taken seriously without an
MBA.
If youre reading this section and nodding your head in recognition, take note:
the time to think about your new career is nowbefore you apply to or enroll
in business school. For one thing, youre going to have to talk about your
career plans and how an MBA fits into them, as part of the application process.
Also, to change your career, youll probably need to take an internship in your
target career during the summer between your first and second years of busi-
ness school. Which means youll need to be ready to discuss your reasons for
making a career change and why youd make a good fit in your new career, as
part of the summer-internship recruiting process that starts almost immediately
in your first year.
Some entrepreneurial types should also think twice about going to business
schoolspecifically, those who have a great business idea or who are already
working at a growing start-up. For these people, the opportunity cost can be
too great to justify taking two years away from work. An insider says that if
youre an entrepreneur and know exactly what you want to do and have all
your ideas, dont bother with B-school. Those with a great idea might blow the
chance to be first to market with that idea; those at start-ups can lose the
opportunity to grow a business in the real worldand maybe a chance for a
big payoff. (On the other hand, if youve got a great idea but no capital with
which to make your entrepreneurial dream a reality, business school can plug
you into a network that can help you find funding.)
T H E
Break Down
M B A
There are some 12,000 different MBA programs in the United States, and a
variety of MBA-program structures. If youre interested in B-school, somewhere
among all these options youll find the one thats right for you. Following are
the major categories of program types available in American business schools.
(To learn more about specific programs within each category below, check out
the books and websites listed in Additional Resources. The Petersons web-
site, for instance, contains profiles of more than 900 schools, including infor-
mation on the programs they offer; surf to www.petersons.com/mba.)
Full-Time Programs
The most common type of MBA program is the full-time program. This is the
two-year program during which students leave the workforce to participate on
a full-time basis, taking core courses in fundamental business areas such as
finance, operations, and marketing and also taking electives.
Full-time business school programs break down into several different tiers
based on reputation and quality:
> First-tier schools. The ten or 20 that have a national (or even international)
reputation for excellence, are the first places recruiters stop, are the most
selective in choosing whom to accept, and have the highest placement
rates and compensation levels for graduatesschools like Harvard,
Stanford, Wharton (University of Pennsylvania), and so on.
> Second-tier schools. The 50 or so that may place students nationally but
arent quite as selective or attractive to recruiters as first-tier schools. The
second tier includes private schools like the University of Southern
California, Georgetown, Syracuse, and Notre Dame as well as many state
schools, including Ohio State and the University of Kansas.
> Third-tier schools. The remainder of full-time MBA programs. These schools
arent as selective as those in the first two tiers and tend to place graduates 11
regionally or in industries that are less popular among top-level MBA job
seekers.
schools of less renown. These programs often make a lot of sense for people
who cant leave the workforce for two years due to personal or career obliga-
tions. The big downsides of part-time programs are that youre unlikely to
build as strong a network of contacts as in a full-time program, and they can
take two to three times as long to complete.
Executive Programs
Students in executive programs attend school just a few days per month, year-
round, for two years. Employers send key employees to executive MBA pro-
grams if they want or need to get an advanced education in business, often pay-
ing to fly participants halfway across the country every other weekend to attend
school. Students in these programs tend to be significantly more experienced
than those in full-time programs. These programs can be a significant source
of revenue for top-flight B-schools like Columbia and Kellogg. (Check out the
Business Week Online site for profiles of 100 top executive MBA programs; the
URL is www.businessweek.com/bschools/subindex6.html.)
Online/Distance Programs
Online and distance-learning programs have been exploding in popularity, and
online and distance MBA programs are a big part of this trend. Both of these
options allow students to study for an MBA without having to travel to attend
school. In distance-learning programs, students receive class materials through
the mail and study, take exams, and do projects at home. Online programs are
similar except that they provide class materials over the Internet, and students
communicate with one another via e-mail and conference calls. This is a huge
growth area among business schools; Ohio University and the University of
Florida, for instance, offer traditional MBA programs over the Internet, and
schools like Purdue and Duke make a big chunk of change on online execu-
tive-MBA programs. (Dukes program costs more than $85,000.)
12
T H E
M B A
B-school administrators, students, alumni, and applicants eagerly look forward
to the U.S. News & World Repor t and Business Week rankings each year. The
effect of the rankings is real: if a school moves up in the rankings, applications
usually increase. But are the rankings anything more than hype? Insiders differ
on this question. In the end, the rankings are probably best used as a general
guide to which schools are in the top ranks rather than as a precise tool.
Following are the two most commonly cited rankings of American full-time
MBA programs. The methodologies used by Business Week and U.S. News &
World Repor t weigh different factors differently; check the magazines websites
(www.businessweek.com; www.usnews.com) for details.
T H E
M B A
Like Drinking Out of a Fire Hose
Ever seen one of those show-biz acts in which a performer starts juggling three
ballsonly to have his partner toss him ball after ball until hes juggling more
balls than you can count? If you go to a top full-time MBA program, youre
going to feel a lot like that juggler. Myriad activities and responsibilities will vie
for your attention at business school: everything from academics and network-
ing and recruiting events to clubs and your social life. I cant believe how busy
you are all the time, says an insider, its like drinking out of a fire hose.
B-school admissions officers make a point of choosing people who will partici-
pate in the gamut of their schools activitiesnot those who will spend all their
time in the classroom and the library. The idea is that business leaders are
faced with an ever-shifting mountain of concerns: problems to be solved, tacti-
cal and strategic decisions to be made, meetings to attend, e-mails and letters
to write, phone calls to return, and so on. Business school forces you to pre-
pare more than just academically for the business world. Youre swamped with
work and commitments very quickly upon arriving at B-school and must learn
to prioritize and accept your limitationsthe fact that youre never going to
finish all youd like toin order to make it through the two years without a
side trip to the loony bin. An insider says, I dont like the lack of time. Theres
no time to reflect, no time to just hang out.
Almost everyone we spoke with confirms that things are much easier to handle
in the second year of B-school, even though the workload never really cools
down. Perhaps its the readjustment to an academic atmosphere, or the bar-
rage of classroom-preparation assignments heavier than anything you saw in
college, or the almost immediate focus on summer-internship recruiting dur-
ing the fallwhatever the case, the first year of business school is overwhelm-
ing to almost everyone. By the second year, students have gotten used to the
frenetic pace of business school and switch their focus somewhat from classes
to full-time employment opportunities.
dents. As a group, business school students are some of the most fun, outgo-
ing, socially active people youll ever meet, says one. Another says, The peo-
T H E
ple are phenomenally talented. At top B-schools, your classmates will be intel-
ligent, enthusiastic, and personablethe kind of people wholl make great
managers or business leaders. (But they wont necessarily be super smart. You
have to be intelligent, says an insider, but not rocket-science intelligent.) In
addition, theyll come from a diversity of professional and personal back-
grounds. At the same time as youre learning from your professors in the class-
room, youll be learning just as much from your classmates. Theres great value
in discussing a niche businessonline sports publishing, for instanceand
having someone in class stand up and talk about her experience at an online
sports magazine. Or in talking about cultural barriers to trade in a country
halfway around the world and having someone from that country give his per-
spective on the topic. Inside the classroom and out, youll learn about the simi-
larities and differences between yourself and students from other cultures, and
youll learn communication and team-building skills in the process. And busi-
ness schools hope that, with your unique experiences, youll be teaching others
at the same time.
Still, some insiders have had negative experiences with fellow students at busi-
ness school. Most B-school students are competitive by nature; the pressure
that resultsto excel in your classes and your extracurricular activities and to
conform to other students and go into a high-paying, prestigious careercan
be intense. An insider says, Theres lots of pressure to do what everyone else is
doingto go to work for a big consulting firm, for instance. And fellow stu-
dents ceaseless focus on business can get old for some students. One says:
Most conversations focused around business and B-school. I would have
enjoyed having more normal conversations and interacting with nonbusiness
types. It is easy to lose perspective of what the real world is like when youre liv-
ing the business school life for two years.
Academics
This is where the overload starts. At the top schools, your schoolwork alone will
require more time than you have. An insider says, Its harder work than Id
expected. Id always assumed that people who complained about the work in B-
16 school were just whining. Besides the time youll spend in class, youll be log-
ging plenty of hours working on outside academic assignmentsdoing
required reading, studying for exams, and working on group projects. (Most
schools these days place a major emphasis on team exercises; expect to spend a
lot of time working closely with a small group of peers in many of your classes.)
In your first year, youll have to take a set series of classes in core business-
T H E
and accounting, operations, strategy, capital markets, and the like. In your sec-
ond year, youll be able to specializeto varying degrees at different schools
M B A
by taking elective courses or courses needed for fulfilling academic-concentra-
tion requirements (in e-commerce, say).
Clubs/Organizations
The time commitments continue with your participation in various clubs and
organizations. Business schools have many clubshundreds, in some cases.
Youll be able to choose from business-focused clubs like the Marketing Club
or the Consulting Club to more leisure-focused clubs like the Golf Club or the
Ski Club. The vast majority of students at top B-schools participate in clubs,
and their participation is often quite substantial. Clubs conduct a variety of
activities, such as organizing trips, setting up networking and recruiting events,
and creating publications; for example, Whartons MBA Consulting Club puts
together a guide to consulting case interviews each year. And some clubs and
other organizations get involved in real-world business problems by consulting
to businesses your school has a relationship with. At Stanford, for instance, one
student organization provides free advice to small businesses in a local low-
income neighborhood.
Students get many things out of their participation in clubs and other organi-
zations, including a deeper understanding of a field of interest or a chance to
make real-world business decisions. At the same time, they get the kinds of
extracurricular experiences that are so important to potential employers. And
they get a chance to take on leadership roles that will further enhance their
attractiveness as they go through recruiting.
Recruiting
Lets face it: in most cases, people go to business school to get a great job.
Your job is the job search at B-school, says an insider. You go to business
school to be recruited. While the access that B-school students get to
recruiters from prestigious companies is a big selling point for MBA programs,
many insiders complain about the pressures associated with recruiting. An
insider says, It starts very early, and youre expected to have a job halfway
through a four-quarter program. Even in your first year, the emphasis is as
much on recruiting as on anything else. From the time you arrive at school in 17
the fall, youll begin attending recruiting events and going on interviewsfor
ond. Many days, youll have a breakfast event with one company recruiting on
your campus, a lunch event with a second, and a cocktail-hour event with a
T H E
third. Which doesnt leave much time for studying, to be honest. As an insider
puts it, The constant schmoozing can be draining.
Social Life
At most schools, students meet one night a week at a local bar to blow off
steam, and they throw big parties every semester. I cant believe how much
fun it is, says one insider, I havent been this drunk this much since college.
(Plenty of applicants will brighten upon hearing this. Dont worry if youre not
one of them, thoughB-school isnt a frat party for everyone attending.
According to one insider, Some people want to make it college, and others
had enough fun at college that they dont want to relive that.) In addition,
many students take time out every day to work outto go running or cycling,
for instance. The athletic facilities at the top schools can be fantastic; students
at Cornells Johnson School, for example, get to play golf on a course designed
by Robert Trent Jones. Most students feel that with all the opportunities they
get during B-school to meet new people and participate in extracurricular
activities, it just doesnt make sense to spend all their time reading cases or set-
ting up interviews. This is where most students meet people wholl be among
the closest friends they have, after alland for at least a couple of insiders, it
was the place where they met their spouse.
18
T H E
M B A
Business school students sometimes sound like theyre speaking a foreign lan-
guage. Following is a list that will help you translate.
Air HogSomeone whos aggressive about speaking in class, who takes a lot of
airtime.
Bid PointsAt many schools, students have the chance to bid any or all of a
fixed allotment of points to get interviews with companies that arent pursu-
ing them but with which theyd very much like to interview.
Pit DivingGoing to the professors desk to ask questions after class, hoping
to impress.
Take-AwayLesson. As in, What were the key take-aways from this case?
Value AddedBenefit. B-school students often take to using lingo like this in
nonbusiness situations, as in, The value added of leaving the house early is
that we get to eat dinner before the movie.
WormGeek; weenie.
20
21
Choosing the
S C H O O L
Again and again, insiders tell us how important it is for you to choose the right
C H O O S I N G
Reputation/Quality
The most important thing to consider when looking at schools is brand, says
an insider. Brand, or reputation, certainly should play a major role in your
choice of a business school. Why? The best students and the best employers
tend to look first to schools with the best reputations when theyre applying to
school or recruiting new hires.
Theres no single way to measure a schools reputation. Check out the admis-
sions and placement statistics of the schools youre interested inthings like
percentage of applicants accepted, average GMAT scores of students, percent-
age of students with jobs upon graduation, and median post-graduate salary
levels. These numbers should give you some idea of various schools selectivity
22 and popularity among recruiters.
You should also look at the annual rankings of business schools in publications
like U.S. News & World Repor t and Business Week. (See The Rankings.) Though
some insiders dispute the significance of these rankings, others say they should
be an important factor in choosing a school. The various rankings use a variety
of methodologies to determine which schools are best; of course, the factors
C H O O S I N G
giessomething its smart to remember when youre using these lists.
Academic Considerations
> Academic Strengths and Specializations. A schools areas of academic strength
and specialization should be a major consideration when youre deciding
A
which schools to apply to. Why? Besides broadening your knowledge of the
S C H O O L
various areas of business, B-school gives you the chance to deepen your
knowledge in specific areas. An insider says, Youll get the tools for every
circumstance around your belt, but also specialized tools running down
your leg. Some schools have a reputation for excellence in certain fields:
Kellogg, for instance, is renowned for producing marketers. And some
schools have specialized academic tracks that students can focus on (or
major in). Both Stanford and the University of Texas, for instance, have
recently created e-commerce tracks for students interested in working in
Internet-related businesses. An insider says: Look for the program that
has what youre looking for. If its international business, look at
Thunderbird. If its finance, look at Chicago. (See Twenty Top Schools
for more information on the specific strengths of various programs; also,
check out schools placement statistics to see what fields their graduates
most often enter.)
> Joint Degrees. Are you looking to improve your prospects in business by get-
ting both a JD and an MBA? Do you want to study medicine while getting
an MBA, with an eye on running a hospital or working in HMO manage-
ment? If so, a lot of schools offer joint degrees in everything from business
and foreign languages to business and architecture. Haas (U.C. Berkeley),
for example, offers an MBA/MA in Asian Studies, and Columbia offers an
MBA/MA in Nursing and an MBA/MA in Urban Planning.
though. Harvard and Darden (UVA), for example, use the case method
C H O O S I N G
> Grading Method. Various grading methods are in use, and they can have a
palpable effect on the culture of a B-school. Some schools, such as
Harvard, grade on a forced curve, meaning that a certain percentage of
the students in every class receives top grades while a certain percentage
receives failing or unsatisfactory grades. Culturally, this grading method
can lead to more competition among students because they must battle to
avoid receiving low marks. (This isnt an absolute rule, though; some insid-
ers at schools with forced-curve grading insisted that students manage to
look past grades and create a supportive atmosphere.) Other schools have
a simple pass/fail grading system, which tends to make for a less-competi-
tive atmosphere.
Student Culture
A key factor in whether you thrive in business school is how you get along with
the other students. So much of your time will be spent with other studentsin
class, in club and recruiting activities, and in study groups and group pro-
jectsthat its important you fit in your business schools student culture.
Though all the top business schools will be filled with ambitious, career-
focused Type As, youll still find cultural differences between different schools.
Insiders at one top school rave about how laid-back and supportive their school
is whereas insiders at another top school mention the competition, saying
things like Theres high pressure to lead in both academics and extracurricu-
lars. Read what the schools say about their culture in their literature. Check
24 out the books and websites listed in Additional Resources. And be sure to
spend time talking to current students as well as graduates of the schools
youre interested in. Ask them about the workload, the recruiting pressures,
student housing, the level of competitiveness among students, how much time
students spend together socially, what they do for fun, and so on. One insider
says, Talk to alums to find out what kind of people did well and liked it.
C H O O S I N G
that you have afterwards. Find a school with students that you like and feel you
can learn from.
Size
Size does matter, at least according to B-school students. Looking for a close-
A
knit community? Consider B-schools with smaller enrollments such as Tuck
S C H O O L
(Dartmouth), which has fewer than 200 students per class. You feel a bond in
a small school more than in a bigger school, says a small-school insider. At the
other extreme are B-schools with much larger student bodies; Harvard, for
instance, admits about 900 students per class. (Note: Some bigger schools
such as Harvardbreak each entering class into sections. Students in each sec-
tion have little or no academic interaction with students in other sections.
Sections can foster a sense of community among students in larger schools;
check with the schools youre interested in to learn more about their policies.)
Location
Would you prefer to go to school in a bustling urban environment? Or maybe
in a suburb of a major city? Or on a remote rural campus, or in a big state-col-
lege town? All these options existcheck out Columbia, Kellogg
(Northwestern), Tuck, and Michigan, for example. Does the idea of snow cov-
ering the ground all winter long bring to mind quaint Currier & Ives scenes? If
so, check out schools like Johnson (Cornell). Or does it make your eyes widen
in fear? If so, you might be interested in UCLAs Anderson School. All kinds of
options exist for the location of MBA programs.
One major factor to consider when youre looking at a schools location is its
proximity to major players in the industry youre interested in. Entrepreneurs
at Stanford, for instance, find that going to school right smack in the middle of
Silicon Valley means greater access to the venture capitalists and angel
investors who have fueled the growth of various technology-related industries.
At the same time, good schools in remote locations can still do a great job of
placing students in key industries. Tuck, located in rural New Hampshire, is
pretty remote; Stanford is all the way on the West Coastyet both schools man-
age to place an awful lot of students on Wall Street. Still, its a heck of a lot eas-
ier to see a Silicon Valley executive making an appearance at Haas or
Stanfordor to make Wall Street contacts while at NYU, Wharton, or 25
Columbiathan anywhere else.
Johnson School, for instance, isnt unique in having more than 30 percent
C H O O S I N G
international students. Some schools, like Haas (U.C. Berkeley), place special
emphasis on languages and foreign studies. Thunderbird, located in Arizona,
goes so far as to operate more on the European B-school model, which tradi-
tionally includes an emphasis on languages and softer management and
negotiation skills, than on the American model, which places more emphasis
on quantitative skills. (For more information, check out How to Get Into the Top
MBA Programs, by Richard Montauk, listed in Additional Resources.) If youre
interested in working for a foreign company or overseas, you might want to
check out these schools and other internationally focused American schools as
well as some of the European schools. Even if you arent planning to go global
yourself, though, its smart to consider a schools international focus as part of
your decision process.
Diversity
Business school isnt going to be the most diverse place in the world. You wont
find many artists or people from blue-collar careers at business school or peo-
ple who have lived in poverty. B-school is a training ground for future business
leaders, not an all-inclusive mirror of society. As one insider from a top pro-
gram says, My school isnt diverse at allits very white and very male. That
said, different B-schools exhibit different degrees of diversity. International stu-
dents play a big role in this, but theyre not the only factor. For instance, a
school with 50 percent international students but with 80 percent of its stu-
dents coming from investment banking is going to be less diverse, in many
ways, than a school with fewer international students but largely populated by
students who are experienced in a wide range of industries and job functions.
Why is diversity important in choosing a business school? Because B-school stu-
dents learn so much about different businesses and cultures from their class-
mates.
{ }
26
Why is diversity important in choosing a
business school? Because B-school students
learn so much about different businesses
and cultures from their classmates.
C H O O S I N G
For most students at top schools, the cost of an MBA program should hardly be
a consideration. After all, theyre going to have a substantially increased
income upon graduation and will be able to handle their loan payments with-
out a problem. For some students, though, cost remains a real consideration.
Those looking to go into careers with low compensation levels, in areas such as
A
nonprofit, might consider cost a significant factor in choosing a B-school. And
S C H O O L
to some entrepreneurs, saving money on B-school means having more money
with which to start a business later on. The flipside, of course, is that many bet-
ter, more-expensive schools will give entrepreneurs a greater network of con-
tacts as well as greater access to funding resourcesboth extremely helpful for
building a business.
27
This tool is designed to help you decide which schools make the most sense for
you to apply to. Research the schools youre interested in by checking out the
books and websites in Additional Resources as well as by speaking with stu-
dents and alumni of each school. Then fill in the empty fields below to give
yourself a side-by-side comparison of the different schools youre interested in.
Positive Distinguishing Characteristics are the aspects of a school that you
particularly like; Negative Distinguishing Characteristics are those you partic-
ularly dislike.
School:
School:
C H O O S I N G
Positive Distinguishing Characteristics:
1.
2.
3.
A
4.
S C H O O L
Negative Distinguishing Characteristics:
1.
2.
3.
4.
School:
School:
30
Getting In
A P P L Y I N G
There are no absolutely right or wrong answers to questions like when you
should submit your B-school applications, how many schools you should apply
to, and so on. Plenty of people have applied to only one school at the last
&
minute, been accepted, and gone on to brilliant professional careers. But there
P A Y I N G
are smart ways to approach the application process and not-so-smart ways.
Start Early
The first rule for applying to B-school, most insiders agree, is to start the
F O R
process as early as possible. A year before applications are due is not too early
to start checking out schools and thinking about your application strategy.
Applying to MBA programs isnt a simple process whereby you fill out a few
B - S C H O O L
short forms and youre finished. You need to start early so you can do a thor-
ough assessment of your accomplishments thus far in life and of your career
goals. You need to do this because youll need to tell a compelling story
about yourself to make your application as strong as possible, including where
you want to go in your career, how what youve done so far prepares you for
your future, why you need an MBA now to achieve your career goals, why the
schools youre applying to are the best place for you to get your MBA, and
what makes you stand out from other applicants.
You also need to start early so that you have time to make sure that all the
details of your applications are in ordernamely, that your essays are well-writ-
ten and carefully edited, your recommendations as glowing as can be, your
interviews a source of rave reviews to admissions committees, your GMAT
scores as high as you can get them, and that everything makes it to the admis-
sions offices of the schools you apply to on time and looking as professional as
possible.
You should also start the process early to give yourself a chance to maximize
your experiences and accomplishments before finishing your applications and
thus improve your B-school candidacyto finish that big project or deal at
work, write that article for that industry publication, or volunteer at that chari-
table organization youve been meaning to help out.
31
How Many Schools? Which Ones?
To give yourself the best chance to get into school without going through the
admissions process more than once, it makes the most sense to apply to several
schoolstwo to four top-level schools and one or two schools that are more
likely than not to accept you. When you get up to six or eight schools, youre
starting to ask for trouble because it becomes increasingly unlikely that you can
do the best job possible on all those applications.
you want to make sure youre going to get as much as possible out of going to
business school. For another, somewhere along the line youre probably going
to be asked by each school about the other schools youre applying to, and you
want to appear as though youve made intelligent decisions about where you
want to go. In other words, try to avoid applying to schools that seem vastly dif-
F O R
culturally) and Tuck (a small, rural school known more for general-manage-
ment training and for having a friendly student body), unless you can come up
with a compelling justification for doing so. An insider says, I do admissions,
and frown on people who say theyre going to B-school just to do it and apply
&
The Essays
The essays are the most important component of your applications. This is
where you have the best opportunity to tell your storyyour account of
where youve been, where you want to go professionally, how an MBA is neces-
sary for getting there, and why a given school is the right place for you. Here,
youre giving admissions officers a chance to get to know the real youwhats
unique about you, what your skills are, whats important to you, the way you
think. The essays are also important because business schools consider commu-
nication skills a big part of who will make a good business leader. Following are
a number of tips to keep in mind as you prepare your essays. (To check out
sample B-school admissions essays, look at books like How to Get Into the Top
MBA Programs, listed in Additional Resources.)
> Start the process early. Review your accomplishments; consider your goals;
figure out your story, the picture of you that will be irresistible to B-
schools.
> After writing your essays, put them away for a week or two to give yourself
some perspective on their quality. Then take them out and rewrite them.
Next, its time to give your essays to the editors in your lifeyour friend
the journalist, for instance, or your sister the attorney. Consider what you
A P P L Y I N G
more time. After giving the essays a final edit, pass them on to a couple of
people to proofread. Definitely have somebody read your essays, says an
insider, theyll pick out all the silly little grammatical errors youve over-
looked.
&
> Business schools want people who are going to be leaders. Include exam-
P A Y I N G
ples of times you exhibited leadership skills in your past: management
experiences on the job, say, or leadership positions you held in school or
in volunteer organizations.
F O R
> B-schools also look for people with team skillspeople who get along with
others and know how to work on a team to achieve a common goal. Think
B - S C H O O L
about times in your past, at work, in school, or elsewhere, when you played
a role on a team attempting to achieve a goal or solve a problem.
> Be prepared to write about ethical dilemmas youve faced, including how
you responded to them and why.
> Business schools like to accept people who are well rounded. Strong man-
agers are able to process a wide range of issues every day, and to pursue
several projects at once. As a result, B-schools like people whove pursued
a variety of interests. In other words, the accountant who acts in a local
theater group has an advantage over the accountant who is part of a local
chapter of an accounting society and a decided advantage over an accoun-
tant with no interests outside work. Use your essays to show how well
rounded you are.
> At the same time, B-schools want unique applicantspeople who will add
new perspectives and knowledge to the student body. If you work in a field
that isnt traditionally a big source of MBA studentsif youre a nurse, say,
or a journalistmake your nontraditional experience a centerpiece of
your B-school applications.
> Show the logic of your career path: how what youve experienced so far
has shaped your current career goals and why getting an MBA now is nec-
essary for achieving those goals. 33
> Admissions officers look for people who will fit at their school. Show that
youve done your homework and know the culture of the schools youre
applying to and how those schools stand apart from others; point out why
youd make a good fit at those schools. One insider says, Study how each
school thinks its unique.
to use your key accomplishments to flesh out your story, the best examples
to help you drive home each point you want to make. (One way to get
other accomplishments into your applications is via the recommenda-
tions.)
F O R
> Use specific examples to bring your story to life. In other words, dont sim-
ply say that youre responsible or hard working. Instead, talk about the
P A Y I N G
time you worked many extra hours to complete a specific project because
youd promised to have it done by a deadline.
> Finally, start with the essays for the schools youre less interested in or less
&
worried about getting into. Theyll give you a chance to hone your story
and get in a good writing groove before you tackle the essays you care
A P P L Y I N G
most about.
The Recommendations
The recommendations are where admissions learns what others think of you
who you are, what your prospects in business are, and whether the story youre
telling elsewhere in your application is accurate. Following are some tips for
managing the recommendations facet of your applications.
> Again, start early. This is the one area of the application that you cant
completely control, so give your recommendation writers plenty of time to
do a good job.
> Communicate with your recommendation writers. Tell them the story
youre trying to tell in each of your applications and what specific things
youd like them to say to support those storieswhat accomplishments
youd like them to cite, which of your positive attributes youd like them to
focus on, and so on. An insider says, When youre asking people for rec-
ommendations, give them a really in-depth outline of what youre focused
on and what you want them to say. Its also a good idea to send your rec-
ommendation writers your essays from each application. (Note: the recom-
mendations are a good place to include information thats nowhere else in
your applicationsabout specific, substantial work or school projects, for
34 instance.)
> Remind your recommendation writers of things they should already know
about you. For example, give them copies of projects you worked on
together or other samples of your work that they should remember.
> Make sure the people you get to help you are going to write good recom-
mendations. Ask the people you want to write recommendations on your
behalf whether they believe theyre good people to do the job so they have
an out if they dont feel they can write you a glowing recommendation.
A P P L Y I N G
is famous or a business-world bigwig. Its far more important to get people
who know you well, people you worked or studied directly under, to write
your recommendations. These people can address things like your intelli-
gence, your business aptitude, and your character and personality.
Admissions officers wont be impressed by a recommendation that says
&
nothing of substance about an applicant even if it comes from someone
P A Y I N G
with a big name.
> Get a balance of recommenders. Make sure you get recommendation writ-
ers who can address different aspects of your character, experience, and
F O R
capabilities. If an application calls for two recommendations, for instance,
it will usually be smarter to get a college professor and a superior from
B - S C H O O L
work than two people from work.
> Stay in touch with the people doing your recommendations. Dont hound
thembut be sure to contact them a month or two before the recommen-
dations are due to remind them of the approaching deadlines. If someone
is unable to write you a recommendation as planned, youll want to have
time to find a replacement recommendation writer.
35
> Be positive. Dont complain about or criticize your job or boss or compa-
nys employee policies.
> Be punctual. Plan to get there early to make sure you get there on time.
> Write a thank-you note right after each interview. And make sure to get
the spelling of your interviewers name right.
> Know your story: who you are, what your goals are, why you need an MBA,
and why you want to study at the school youre interviewing with. Know
what points about yourself you want to make in your interviews.
> Know the school and why youre a good fit. Show that youve done your
homework about the school youre interviewing with by addressing ways
the school considers itself different from other schools and talk about how
the schools uniqueness makes it right for you.
> Leave your arrogance at home. Treat everyone you encounter, not just
36 your interviewer, with the utmost respect. If any word of arrogance or
rudeness on your part gets back to the admissions committee, you can kiss
your chances of being accepted good-bye.
> Dont lie. Admissions officers are pros; they can sniff out most lies pretty
quickly. And if an admissions officer sniffs one out in your interview (or
A P P L Y I N G
that school.
The GMAT
This is the Graduate Management Admissions Test. Its an exam that grades
your basic verbal and math skillskind of the SAT for B-school applicants.
&
Today, its administered online rather than in person. Generally, its not as
P A Y I N G
important as things like your work experience and your essays, but doing well
on the GMAT can certainly make the difference in whether or not you get
accepted to the school of your choice. Following are a few things that can help
you maximize your GMAT scores. (To learn more about the GMAT and how to
F O R
prepare for it, check out the books and websites listed in Additional
Resources. For instance, surf to the MBA Explorer website at www.gmat.org.)
B - S C H O O L
> As with other parts of your applications, its best to start thinking about
the GMAT early. Give yourself a chance to take the exam a couple of times
before the scores are due to the schools where youre applying in case the
results are unsatisfactory the first time you take it and to make sure youre
eligible for grants based on GMAT scores. Dont cram yourself in with the
GMAT, says an insider. Take them early so youre not studying for them
at the same time as youre writing your essays.
> Study. Dont take the GMAT without having prepared; your scores definite-
ly will suffer. Get to know the exam and hone the skills youll need to do
well on it. Take a GMAT preparation class. At the very least, get one of the
many how to do well on the GMAT books on the market, bone up on
areas in which youre weak, and take a number of practice tests.
The TOEFL
This is the Test of English as a Foreign Language, a test of proficiency in
English. International students need to take this exam when they apply to
American business schools. Today, its possible to take the test online. For more
information about the test and how to take it, visit www.toefl.org. 37
Creating Your
Application Story
F O R
P A Y I N G
1.
&
A P P L Y I N G
2.
3,
4.
5.
6.
38
7.
A P P L Y I N G
Most insiders insist that paying for business school isnt something to fret over
too much. One insider is typical in saying that you should go to the best
school you can and worry about money second. After all, if you go through a
&
top program, the odds are that youre going to be making plenty to service any
P A Y I N G
loans you took out to attend school.
No matter how you look at it, though, B-school is a major investment. For more
detailed information about paying for B-school, contact the financial aid
F O R
offices of the schools youre interested in. Also, check out the resources listed
in Additional Resources at the end of this Insider Guide For example, the B-
school section of the Kaplan site (www.kaplan.com) is packed with information
B - S C H O O L
that can help you wade through the financial-aid morass, and you can down-
load a guide to financial aid at the MBA Explorer (www.gmat.org). And the
FinAid website (www.finaid.org) is a great place to learn about loans, scholar-
ships, and other options.
A key note: make sure you get started early on financial-aid matters. Many
loans, scholarships, and grants have deadlines; miss the deadlines and those
options disappear. The financial-aid application process should begin while
youre applying to school, not after youve been accepted.
Following are some typical ways of paying for your MBA education.
Savings
If youre planning to go to business school, you should start saving some extra
money now. You can seriously lighten your post-graduate debt load by paying
for part of your schooling up front.
Loans
Most people finance business school this way, and many options are available.
The best option: borrow money interest-free from relatives. The next-best
option: federal student loansStafford and Perkins loans are a great way to
borrow money for your education at low interest rates. A number of organiza-
tions offer other low-interest student loan options. Examples are the 39
Professional Education Plan, available through the Education Resources
Institute (www.teri.org); the MBAchiever, available through KeyCorp
(www.key.com); Nellie Maes MBA-EXCEL program (www.nelliemae.com); the
MBA LOANS program from Sallie Mae (www.salliemae.com/mbaloans); Access
Groups Business Access Loan (www.accessgroup.org); and Citibanks
MBAAssist program (www.citibank.com). Other private loan options are also
available; check with your bank for more information.
Many grants and scholarships are available to students going to B-school. These
can be need-based; often theyre targeted at specific groups such as people
from certain ethnic backgrounds, people working in certain industries, people
from a certain region of the country, and so on. The Consortium for Graduate
Study in Management (www.cgsm.wustl.edu:8010), for example, gives money to
F O R
minority students attending its member schools. Check with the financial-aid
office of the schools youre interested in to learn more about grants and schol-
P A Y I N G
arships you might be eligible for; as an insider says, There are lots of scholar-
ships out there; you have to do the research and talk to the admissions peo-
ple. Other good places to check for available grants and scholarships include
the FinAid site (www.finaid.org) and FastWeb (www.fastweb.com), an online
&
scholarship-search tool.
A P P L Y I N G
Tuition Reimbursement
Tuition reimbursement can make the decision to attend business school a no-
brainer. Many companies will pay for a students MBA education if he or she
agrees to return to work at the company for a certain period of time after grad-
uating, or if he or she goes to school part-time while continuing to work.
Others will reimburse new MBA hires for the cost of business school even if
they didnt work at the company before going to school. Check with your com-
pany to learn if tuition reimbursement is an option for you.
40
41
Twenty Top Schools
R E F E R E N C E
Following are key statistics and rankings of 20 top business schools. Weve left
ranking the schools to others; our list is arranged alphabetically and is by no
means inclusive of all the quality business schools out there. Statistics on
enrollment, tuition and fees, admissions, and placement come from the 1999
Y O U R
U.S. News rankings. To get a fuller picture of these schools, visit their websites,
talk to students and alums, and check out the resources listed in Additional
Resources. The Business Week Online site, for example, includes information
F O R
F O R
110 Westwood Plaza
Los Angeles, CA 90095
Y O U R
Phone: 310-825-6944
Fax: 310-825-8582
Website: www.anderson.ucla.edu
R E F E R E N C E
1998 total enrollment: 1,046
1998 out-of-state tuition and fees: $20,543
1998 entering-class undergrad GPA: 3.50
1998 entering-class GMAT: 683
1998 acceptance rate: 14.5 percent
1998 median starting compensation: $95,000
1998 placement rate at graduation: 97.7 percent
1998 placement rate three months post-graduation: 99.7 percent
43
44
F O R
Graduate School of Business
1101 East 58th Street
Y O U R
Chicago, IL 60637
Phone: 773-702-7369
Fax: 773-702-9085
R E F E R E N C E
Website: gsbwww.uchicago.edu
45
Business School
105 Uris Hall
3022 Broadway
New York, NY 10027
Phone: 212-854-1961
Fax: 212-662-5754
Y O U R
Website: www.columbia.edu/cu/business/default.html
46
F O R
Johnson Graduate School of Management
Malott Hall
Y O U R
Ithaca, NY 14853
Phone: 607-255-4526
Fax: 607-255-0065
R E F E R E N C E
Website: www.gsm.cornell.edu
Dartmouth College
The Amos Tuck School of Business Administration
100 Tuck Hall
Hanover, NH 03755
Phone: 603-646-1100
Fax: 603-646-1441
Website: www.dartmouth.edu/tuck
48
F O R
Graduate School of Business Administration
Soldiers Field Road
Y O U R
Boston, MA 02163
Phone: 617-495-6127
Fax: 617-495-0316
R E F E R E N C E
Website: www.hbs.edu
49
50
F O R
Business School
701 Tappan Street
Y O U R
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Phone: 734-763-5796
Fax: 313-763-7804
R E F E R E N C E
Website: www.bus.umich.edu
51
Website: www.stern.nyu.edu/External.html
52
F O R
Kenan-Flagler Business School
CB #3490
Y O U R
McCoil Building
Chapel Hill, NC 27599
Phone: 919-962-3236
R E F E R E N C E
Fax: 919-962-0898
Website: www.bschool.unc.edu
53
54
F O R
The Wharton School Graduate Division
102 Vance Hall
Y O U R
3733 Spruce Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Phone: 215-898-6183
R E F E R E N C E
Fax: 215-898-0120
Website: www.wharton.upenn.edu/mba
55
56
F O R
Graduate School of Business
518 Memorial Way
Y O U R
Stanford, CA 94305
Phone: 650-723-2146
Fax: 650-725-7831
R E F E R E N C E
1998 total enrollment: 726
1998 out-of-state tuition and fees: $24,990
1998 entering-class undergrad GPA: 3.59
1998 entering-class GMAT: 722
1998 acceptance rate: 6.7 percent
1998 median starting compensation: $105,700
1998 placement rate at graduation: 80.8 percent
1998 placement rate three months post-graduation: 98.9 percent
57
58
F O R
Darden Graduate School of Business Administration
P.O. Box 6550
Y O U R
Charlottesville, VA 22906
Phone: 804-924-3220
Fax: 804-924-4859
R E F E R E N C E
Website: www.darden.virginia.edu
59
School of Management
Box 208200
New Haven, CT 06520-8200
60
F O R
Y O U R
B-Schools, New Rules
Theres no denying that this Internet thing is for real. Even business schools
R E F E R E N C E
long known for grooming executives for positions in Fortune 500 firmsrecog-
nize that the Internet has forever altered the business landscape. With more
and more B-school students flocking to dot coms, everyone from high-flying
tech companies like Intel to more mature Internet players like Excite@Home
are having trouble competing with smaller, pre-IPO start-ups in the hunt for
talent. In response to dot-com fever, many B-schools are now offering special
programs in e-commerce. At schools like Haas (Berkeley), Carnegie Mellon,
DuPree (Georgia Tech), Harvard, Owen (Vanderbilt), Sloan (MIT), Stanford,
Wharton (University of Pennsylvania), and the University of Texas at Austin,
students can do things like take Internet-focused courses, enter their business
plans in school contests, get school funding for their start-ups, do e-commerce
work for companies affiliated with their school, and schmooze with top Web
entrepreneurs. But before you sell your record collection and dump your sig-
nificant other to jump on the B-school bus, you should ask yourself several
questions. First: is business school right for me? Even Steve Jurvetson, manag-
ing director at the VC firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson and a big fan of B-school,
says, If you are an Internet executive or an entrepreneur with a great idea, I
would not advise stepping out of the market for two years to get an MBA.
Second: do I really want to work for a dot com, or would I be better off in a
more traditional career like consulting? Consulting firms give new MBA hires
exposure to a wide variety of business situations fast. And these days, firms are
coming up with new equity compensation alternatives to compete with stock-
option-granting start-ups, and theyre giving new consultants higher-level
assignments right off the bat. Finally: do I really think the dot-com bus is going
to make a stop at Wealth-and-Power Junction? According to an HBS alum and
entrepreneur quoted here, The problem is [that MBAs] in the past wouldnt
go to start-ups because they had a distorted sense of risk. Now their vision is
distorted, but this time theyre seeing too little risk.
Sources: Susan Moran, MBA.com, Justin Kitch, Look, Ma, No MBA, Steve Jurvetson, I Want My MBA, Jeffrey Davis,
Consulting Crunch, Business 2.0, 10/99, www.business2.com/articles/1999/10/content/feature_2.html
61
Because chances are youll be pouring more than a few drinks down your gul-
let at recruiting events thrown by corporations in hot-and-heavy pursuit of
young talent. As a student quoted here puts it, These places have a hard-on
F O R
for MBAs. And because chances are youll end up making mountains of
money once your B-school stint is over; for example, Columbia students can
expect to make more than $150K their first year after graduation, and first-
year salaries can hit $375K in certain industries. The lesson: be prepared for
the culture of business school, which will include a lot of pressure from
recruiters (to join our team, as one bank puts it) and fellow students (to live
the goodread: materialisticlife). In their applications, new students
cloaked their motivations under the rubric of leadership or service. . . . Yet
when one student dared to mention a starting salary shy of a hundred grand,
he was summarily silenced with boos and laughter.
Source: Matt T. Stover, Salon, 9/22/99.
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Whats the latest trend in the highly competitive world of campus recruiting
for top investment-banking and consulting firms? The buddy system.
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Employees at firms like Chase Manhattan, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter,
Andersen Consulting, and PricewaterhouseCoopers volunteer to mentor the
most sought-after undergrads and MBAs through the recruiting process.
R E F E R E N C E
Typically paired up with candidates because of a shared alma mater or academ-
ic major, personal recruiters shepherd their protgs toward a career at their
firm by sending regular e-mails, answering questions, or offering interviewing
tips. An assistant dean from Duke Universitys Fuqua School of Business esti-
mates that nearly 60 percent of its students are now paired with such catch-
ers, compared to fewer than ten percent five years ago. In this competitive job
market, candidates hold the advantage, with many of them weighing several
attractive offers from rival firms. For their part, employers are finding that per-
sistence works in their favor, cutting recruiting losses dramatically; many firms
claim that their job-acceptance rates for undergrads have risen due to their
efforts along these lines.
Source: Joann S. Lublin, The Wall Street Journal, 8/10/99, p. B1.
Remember the days when a six-figure salary and the prestige of working for
one of the legendary names in consulting or finance were enough to lure top-
notch MBAs? How quaint. Today, the old guard of corporate America watches
helplessly as its ranks are depleted by Internet start-ups that offer MBAs the
chance to become instant millionaires. This year, 20 percent of Harvards MBA
candidates paid their own airfare to Silicon Valley, attempting to land jobs at
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start-ups. And so many people at McKinseys Silicon Valley office have left for
start-ups that employees now call the office the launching pad. Now, many
big consulting firms and banks are offering additional perks in a desperate
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F O R
through your first year, which is sure to be overwhelming.
Source: Lisa Chadderdon, Fast Company, 4/99, p. 232.
Y O U R
Attention, Aspiring Capitalists
Weve gone from being the Rodney Dangerfield department to the one every-
R E F E R E N C E
one wants to sign on to, says one entrepreneurship professor quoted here.
And its trueentrepreneurship studies are hot at B-schools across the coun-
try. At the University of Chicago, for instance, 1,248 students recently tried to
get into entrepreneurship classes with just 874 seats. And more than 120 pro-
grams around the world offer intensive programs in entrepreneurshipmore
than twice as many as three years ago. Why all the interest in entrepreneur-
ship? Many MBAs plan to launch their own companies soon after graduation.
And many smaller companies are looking for entrepreneurial managers who
can help them expand. Students dont dream of being CEO of a Fortune 500
company, says a professor quoted here. The dream is to be Bill Gates or [real
estate mogul] Sam Zell. What do aspiring entrepreneurs get out of B-school?
B-schools can equip students who already feel the [entrepreneurial] fire with
the basic business skills and contacts needed to spot opportunities and manage
risk. At many schools, they also get a chance to work on their business plan
and a chance to have smart, experienced professors and business leaders cri-
tique it. All this sounds great. Youre ready to hit B-school, then start a compa-
ny. Right? Before you do, consider the following: Few debt-ridden students
can resist the high salaries and signing bonuses dangled by consulting firms
and investment banks. . . . And many would-be entrepreneurs find satisfaction
at bigger corporations seeking intra-premiers who can spot business spin-
offs.
Source: Mary Lord, U.S. News Online, www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/beyond/grad/gbbiz.htm
65
Remember the M.B.A. glut? this article begins. Back in the old days [the
early 1990s] . . . business schools drew fire for flooding corporate America with
too many narrowly focused specialists who knew financial theory but could
barely communicate an idea. As the millennium turns, those days are gone.
Today, B-schools have changed course: theyve retooled their curricula,
adding real-world projects, team-building exercises, and interdisciplinary teach-
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ing. New academic tracks allow students to focus on one segment of the econ-
omy (rather than on an academic discipline like accounting or marketing) to
which they must apply a variety of business analysis and management skills just
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like they would in the real world. Michigan and Yale, for instance, offer envi-
ronmental management programs, and Owen (Vanderbilt), Carnegie Mellon,
and Sloan (University of North Carolina) have e-commerce programs. At
Simon (Rochester University), students in the brand-management program
learn about new-product development, finance, operations, price theory, and
management techniques in addition to consumer marketing. Other schools are
increasing their joint-degree offerings; for example, Boston College added five
new joint degrees in 1998, meaning that its MBAs now can add a masters in
Slavic studies or geology and thus gain an edge in emerging fields from con-
sulting in Eastern Europe to oil exploration in Azerbaijan. Some criticize
these trends in MBA education; according to them, The danger . . . is that stu-
dents will miss out on business basics. Others disagree, claiming that students
master the basics by applying them in an integrated way.
Source: Mary Lord, U.S. News Online, www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/beyond/grad/gbniche.htm
66
F O R
Y O U R
Online Resources
www.WetFeet.com
R E F E R E N C E
The WetFeet.com site is loaded with information of interest to MBA applicants
and students ranging from information about companies and industries to
advice, news updates, and community features.
www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/beyond/bcbiz.htm
This online MBA program-information offering from U.S. News & World Repor t
is chock full of articles on B-school issues and has links to other information
sources. It also houses the U.S. News rankings of business schools.
www.businessweek.com/bschools/index.html
The Business Week sites B-school page includes the magazines rankings of
schools, MBA students application-process stories, and other information of
interest to B-school applicants.
http:/ /members.voxcap.com/anon/C214/cover.dhtml
This site, the MBA Page, hosts a ton of information about the MBA scenehir-
ing prospects, application information, and so onas well as community fea-
tures.
www.aacsb.edu
This site is the online home of the International Association for Management
Education, a B-school accreditation organization. It is populated with statistics,
surveys, and studies about business schools and MBA-related issues. It also has
a thorough list of links.
www.fastcompany.com/feature/MBA/intro.html
This site, the MBA Survival Guide, offers lessons, advice, and insight from
faculty and students at ten top schools.
www.800score.com
This site offers tips on taking the GMAT CAT, downloadable tests, and tutoring 67
services.
www.mbainfo.com
Contains a database of information on MBA programs as well as information
and advice on applying to and choosing schools.
This site, the MBA Explorerthe online home of the Graduate Management
Admissions Council, the organization that administers the GMAT exampro-
vides information and services to B-school applicants.
www.kaplan.com/gmat/gmat_intro.html
This page of the Kaplan site provides information on taking the GMAT CAT.
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www.embark.com
You can apply to business schools online through this site.
F O R
www.bschool.com
Though this site was incomplete as this WetFeet.com Insider Guide went to
press, it will provide all kinds of information about MBA-related issues and
business schools.
www.petersons.com/mba
This page on the Petersons site includes information on schools, application
advice, and test-preparation advice.
www.gradadvantage.org
GradAdvantage is an electronic, web-based admissions serviceyou can apply
to participating B-schools through it. (ETS and Petersons developed
GradAdvantage.)
www.review.com/business
This is the B-school section of the Princeton Reviews website. It provides infor-
mation on business schools, on the MBA experience, and on applying to B-
school and has a search function that enables you to find schools you might be
interested in.
www.nbmbaa.org
The website of the National Black MBA Association.
68
F O R
Besides the books mentioned below, organizations like Petersons and Barrons
have countless guides to business, MBA programs, how to apply to B-school,
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how to write good essays, preparing for the GMAT, and so on.
R E F E R E N C E
Publishing, New York)
This book is divided into several parts: All About B-School, How to Get In,
Essays that Work, and The Schools. The final section provides an in-depth look
at 75 leading schools.
How to Get Into the Right Business School, by James L.Strachan (1999, VGM Career
Horizons, Chicago)
This book focuses on how to do the best job possible on your applications and
how to choose a B-school.
How to Get Into the Top MBA Programs, by Richard Montauk (1997, Prentice Hall,
Paramus, NJ)
This is a complete (and excellent) overview of how to get into the best busi-
ness schools: what admissions officers are looking for in B-school applicants,
how to write good essays, managing your recommendation writers, and so on.
Available at www.WetFeet.com.
69
Management Form
Name of school:
Y O U R
2.
3.
4.
5.
Date Submitted
Recommendation Writer Date Given to Writer to School
1.
2.
3.
Interview Date:
70 Interviewers Name:
Date Thank-You Note Sent:
Interview Notes:
Student Contacts:
Notes:
F O R
Application due date:
Date undergrad/other transcripts submitted:
Y O U R
Date GMAT scores submitted:
R E F E R E N C E
How Differentiating Factors
Differentiating Factors of School Make You a Good Fit
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Date Submitted
Recommendation Writer Date Given to Writer to School
1.
2.
3.
Interview Date:
Interviewers Name:
Date Thank-You Note Sent:
Interview Notes:
71
Student Contacts:
Notes:
WetFeet.com was founded in 1994 by two Stanford MBAs. We now have a team
of nearly 100 full-time and freelance people (not counting our network of sup-
portive customers) who help us maintain our industry-leading position. Our
F O R
team members come from a wide variety of backgrounds, but we all share a
passion about the job search process, and a commitment to delivering the
highest quality product and customer service in the industry. To that end, we
guarantee our products: if youre not satisfied, just send this product back
within 30 days of purchase, and we will refund your money.
Since we started the company, we have served millions of job candidates with
our productsin some cases by helping them nail their interviews; in others
by helping them to avoid ill-fated career decisions; and in still others, by show-
ing them how to add thousands of dollars to their compensation packages.
The quality of our work and our knowledge of the job-seeking world have also
allowed us to build out an extensive corporate membership program that has
attracted most of the top companies that recruit in the United States.