Admissions Decision

The Early Admission Decision

The Early Admission Decision

If you were bold enough, or savvy enough, or organized enough to have applied early in the MBA admissions process, you know by now whether or not you got in.  If you got in, you now have the luxury of extra time between now and matriculation.  What are you doing with it?

Getting Organized

Getting Organized

Failng to get organized as you begin your MBA application journey is tantamount to failing on purpose.  Here's a few tips on how you can ensure you take the preparation for MBA apps as seriously as you take business school itself.

Deferring Your Business School Admission

Deferring Your Business School Admission

Plans change.  Sometimes the vision you had for your career takes a right turn and you simply need extra time to get things done.  Was the effort you put into your positive admissions decision a total waste of time?  Not if you can defer the decision.

5 Tips for Negotiating Your MBA Admissions Offer

5 Tips for Negotiating Your MBA Admissions Offer

Today's blog post is about negotiating your offer of admission ... except that it's not.  Because "negotiation" is not what you do when it comes to securing more financial aid from a business school.  The term of art for what you are going to be doing is "asking."  Let us explain. Obviously, any discussion of an offer in this context automatically means we're dealing with some good news: you've been accepted.  

Will a 650 GMAT get me Admitted to Stanford GSB?

Will a 650 GMAT get me Admitted to Stanford GSB?

Stanford Graduate School of Business is considered by many to be the best business school in the world, and swaps the ranking of #1 with HBS or Wharton on any given day.  With over 8,000 applicants per year and only about 1/10th of that number in the student body, it’s daunting to imagine them saying yes.  If you happen to have a good-but-not-great GMAT score, you may struggle with your odds of admission at all.  But is it even worth applying if you have a 650 or lower?

What is the Ideal Age to Get an MBA?

What is the Ideal Age to Get an MBA?

Some people plan out their lives with robotic precision, including things such as graduate school in a pre-determined place on the schedule.  Others adopt a take-life-as-it-comes approach, and place graduate school on the back burner, waiting until it feels right to go back.  But is there an ideal age to apply to business school?

Can I Still Hit My Goals With a One-Year MBA?

Can I Still Hit My Goals With a One-Year MBA?

When choosing what version of graduate business education is the right fit, the full time, two-year MBA program is what typically tops applicants’ wish lists.  But can someone still achieve all they envision for themselves professionally with a one-year or part-time MBA option?

Taking MBA Admissions Feedback With a Grain of Salt

Taking MBA Admissions Feedback With a Grain of Salt

I have been getting a lot of emails lately that center on the same basic idea: "I got feedback directly from the admissions office and they told me X."  Sometimes the feedback is ultra specific ("you should seriously consider retaking your GMAT") and other times it is extremely vague ("there were elements of your application that just weren't quite where they needed to be"), usually somewhere in between.  The question is: should you put stock in what they are saying?

Can I Quit My Job to Get Ready for B-school?

Can I Quit My Job to Get Ready for B-school?

Lots of folks ask about quitting their jobs when applying to business school, but are there reasons for doing so that will not put off the admissions committees?  Perhaps.

Advice on How to Navigate the MBA Waitlist

Advice on How to Navigate the MBA Waitlist

Despite the name “waitlist,” there are several things you can do besides simply wait for your dream school to call.  From a strategic standpoint, sitting in a state of limbo gives you the opportunity to improve your profile or status as a candidate, and such improvements can and should be communicated to the admissions committees. 

Advice on How to Handle the HBS Waitlist

Advice on How to Handle the HBS Waitlist

Going quick and nothing fancy here, just looking to get the word out on "HBS Waitlist Day" as it will likely become known in the future.  

I stunning number of candidates appear to have been WL'd today, just based on what I'm seeing stream across my inbox.  The biggest group looking for answers are candidates I've never heard of, who are seeking answers and asking what to do.  This is when I know I have to go to the blog.  Let's work through this.  

Responding to your HBS decision (2016)

Responding to your HBS decision (2016)

This Wednesday (October 12) is one of those days on the calendar that tend to stop everyone in their tracks and dominate the headlines.  Nevermind that the Duke Fuqua or Dartmouth Tuck deadlines are right around the corner - no, it's all about the final HBS Round 1 notification deadline.  Interview or ding?  Rather, interview or ding or deferral, as that appears to be a popular option this year as well.  Let's make sense of things and offer some advice on how to respond from here.  We'll group it result-by-result.

Tips for reapplying to business school: Getting feedback, determining why you got dinged

Tips for reapplying to business school: Getting feedback, determining why you got dinged

If you have decided to give another attempt at a school where you were rejected, one of the most valuable things you can seek is feedback on why you didn’t make the cut last time.

Some schools will actually provide this information if you ask for it, so don’t be shy about reaching back to them.

5 Pieces of Advice for MBA Reapplicants

5 Pieces of Advice for MBA Reapplicants

The following are 5 pieces of advice that can help anyone who is going through the MBA application process for a second time.  Finding the energy, passion, and confidence to embark upon any kind of repeat journey can be tough, so we hope this proves helpful and gives you a little wind at your back. 

3 Key Thoughts About Columbia Business School's 2016 Essays

3 Key Thoughts About Columbia Business School's 2016 Essays

Like last year, we are going to use a little running device of "three key thoughts" for each essay release.  If you want to get a deep dive into these essay sets, of course, the answer is probably obvious: sign up for our services and become a client, at which point we can guide you every step of the way.  

Now, on to some thoughts from the new Columbia essays!