Good Loan News from Fuqua

This bit of good news just arrived in my Inbox:

"Greetings from The Fuqua School of Business!

I wanted to take a moment to share an update on our efforts to secure an improved loan program for international students. Fuqua's leadership team has been working on a number of fronts to address the issue of loans for our international students, and I'm pleased to report positive results.

First, let there be no uncertainty: Our international students will be able to secure loans for their studies at Fuqua. We have a solution in hand that will meet students' needs. At the same time, we are part of a consortium of top business schools that is exploring other lender options to ensure international students are getting the best possible loan terms.

In addition, we have been actively engaged in discussions with banks in regions around the world - including China and India - to identify further appropriate loan programs. These conversations have been fruitful, and negotiations are ongoing.

Further meetings are taking place with regional banks that have not previously provided international loans, but have expressed interest in our loan proposals and in establishing a relationship with Fuqua.

Though we have already identified a loan program that will suit the needs of our international students, we continue to consider this range of possible selections in order to be certain our students are able to secure the most favorable loan terms available. In the coming weeks, I will update you with more complete details on the international loan program when all options have been fully examined.

Fuqua's global strategy and the strong international contacts that have resulted from that strategy allow us to examine a number of loan programs. In the current economic environment, we're well positioned to ensure the most favorable loan terms to enable students from around the world to pursue MBA studies at Duke.

Please contact the admissions office if you have additional questions.

Best regards, Liz Riley Hargrove Associate Dean for Admission www.fuqua.duke.edu "

I am glad to know that Team Fuqua will be able to offer international students the necessary loans to study there.

Questions? Write comments, but do not send me emails asking me to advise you on your application strategy unless you are interested in my consulting services. Please see my FAQ regarding the types of questions I will respond to. Before emailing me questions about your chances for admission or personal profile, please see my recent post on "Why I don't analyze profiles without consulting with the applicant." If you are interested in my graduate admission consulting services, please click here.
-Adam Markus
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Columbia Business School Alumni Interviews

You can find my analysis of Columbia's essays for Fall 2009 here.

Columbia Business School offers only one flavor of admissions interview: "Columbia Business School Ambassador" alumni invitation-only interviews. You will get to select from multiple interviewers, so try to figure out who they are first before contacting them. I suggest using Google searches, LinkedIn, and perhaps your own network to do so. Select someone who you think you will be compatible with.

While this interview is certainly important, it is not unheard of for Linda Meehan to admit someone the alumni did not recommend or ding someone the interviewer did recommend. She and her team have ultimate discretion over this issue and clearly see the interview as only one factor for determining the ultimate result. That said, the interview is certainly quite important. In my experience, clients who report not having a great Columbia rarely are admitted, so you as an applicant should assume that like with any interview, it is very important to do well.

Columbia alum seem to be particularly effective gatekeepers for the program. They are well known for relentlessly determining whether Columbia really is the applicant's first choice. They are clearly told to do this as it is a consistent feature of interview reports. Not only should you be able to explain why Columbia is your first choice, but you had better explain why HBS, Stanford, and/or Wharton is not. Less then clear answers to the why is CBS your first choice question can prove fatal. Beyond that, I think alum are really looking to make sure that you possess sufficient mental strength, personal drive (aggression), and career focus to become a part of their "club."

Some of the most common question topics you would encounter in a Columbia interview (Based on my own information and a review of reports at at accepted.com and clearadmit.com):

-Why MBA? Why now?

-What are you goals? Why do you need an MBA for them?

-Leadership related questions focused directly on your experience or perhaps stated more generally.

-Team focused questions about leading a team, contributing to a team, and/or overcoming team conflict are all common.

-Why Columbia? Where else are you applying? What clubs or activities would you join at Columbia? What can you contribute to Columbia?

-Either walk me through your resume or questions that amount to the same thing are always asked. Expect to be asked one way or another about how you standout professionally. Be honest, but very direct and sell your experience emphasizing your ability to make an impact. A common question is "What improvements have made in the position hold at work?"

- Ethical dilemma questions, especially related to work experiences are common. So lets go over them briefly here. Ethical dilemma questions are all about decision making and learning:
1. Define the situation, such that it involves clearly identifiable options that are in conflict.
2. The options have to be real. They each have to have clear "goods" associated with them.
3. Justify the basis for the decision you made.
4. If your decision was right, focus on the result.
5. If your decision was wrong, focus on what you learned and hopefully applied to a more recent situation.

-Be ready to ask questions to the alum. Prepare them ahead of time. Assume that unless the alum is a very recent graduate, they should not be asked about recent developments on the campus. This is a good opportunity to ask them about their Columbia experience and about the alumni network.

-If there is anything you wanted to mention that was not covered in your application that you want to bring to the admission committee's attention, you will possibly have the opportunity to do so because interviewers frequently ask about this.

You probably will not be asked any weird hypothetical questions, but rather expect to cover some variation of the above questions in a great deal of depth.

Reported interview length is typically 60-75 minutes, but some interviews are shorter and some go for 90 minutes.

If you are interested in my interview preparation or other graduate admission consulting services, please click here.

Questions? Write comments, but do not send me emails asking me to advise you on your application strategy unless you are interested in my consulting services. Please see my FAQ regarding the types of questions I will respond to. Before emailing me questions about your chances for admission or personal profile, please see my recent post on "Why I don't analyze profiles without consulting with the applicant."
-Adam Markus
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Back on Blog: Late round applications, HBS '75, and student loans

BACK ON BLOG
The last couple of months have been fun. I have had the chance to work with some really great clients in China, Japan, South Korea, Turkey, Taiwan, the EU, and the US, but I have missed writing my blog. As of today, I am back on. The rest of January and February will be mostly about updating and adding new MBA interview posts, but here are some random things that I wanted to mention.

LATE ROUND APPLICATIONS
I am frequently asked about 3rd and 4th round applications, my general response is always this: If you want to go for Fall 2009 and the school is still taking applications, apply. Yes, the chances are not as good as applying in 1st or 2nd round, but it can't be helped. The reason schools have such late rounds is because they need them to fill their class. One can wait to apply for a later intake, but if you want to go earlier, with the exception of INSEAD, reapplication is viable at top programs, so the only thing you risk is rejection. Of course, if you don't apply, you will never know. Clearly, given the reduced odds, one would ideally want to apply to a safety school(s) and/or multiple programs.

By the way, when assessing what schools are really viable for late rounds, I think it is especially useful to look at their yield (percentage of accepted applicants who attend) because this really does indicate the relative likelihood that the school actually needs its later rounds to fill the class. Darden, for instance, had a 49% yield in 2008, which indicates to me that applying for the March 4th deadline is not insane. A. Compare that to HBS which has a yield of 91% and you can see why third round at HBS is significantly less likely than Darden. Still in 2008, one of my clients was accepted to HBS in the 3rd round.

Speaking of HBS, I am happy to celebrate the retirement of GEORGE BUSH, HBS '75. I should say from the outset that I don't necessarily think a school should be blamed for the actions of one student, but given the HBS mission to train leaders, I think it is fair enough to raise this issue. For an absolutely damning perspective on this, I strongly recommend “A Damage Assessment: The First MBA Presidency and the Business Academy.” Whether HBS bears any responsibility for George Bush, I can't help feeling that the systematic failures of not only his administration, but of major financial institutions, as well as regulators (SEC re Madoff), point to a coming crisis in business education. If Enron resulted in the introduction of ethics education into the business curriculum, what sort of changes are necessary in light of the fact that some of the primary employers of graduates from top MBA programs are now in a state of crisis? Expect to see big curriculum changes over the next couple of years.

Regarding the financial crisis, international applicants who intend to study in the US, should read Alison Damast's "Loan Crisis Hits the MBA World" in BusinessWeek. The end of CitiAssist loans is proving to be as big an issue that I imagined it would be when I initially blogged about it last October. Damast's article makes for sober reading:

Replacing the loan programs has not proved easy. In the last two months, business schools from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School to Cornell's Johnson School have been scrambling to find alternatives for students, most with limited success so far. Of the schools that used to have the CitiAssist loan program—including Harvard Business School, the Wharton School, University of Michigan's Ross School of Business, the Chicago Booth School of Business, Columbia Business School and other leading schools—only MIT's Sloan School of Management has announced a replacement lender. A number of schools said they are hoping to work out new programs by the spring, but did not disclose any further details. Most schools require students to put down a deposit by early April or May, leaving schools with just a few months to find a solution.

Hopefully actual solutions will be in place, but given the decrease in endowments, most schools are likely to be unable to bootstrap their own solutions for funding international students. The article mentions that in addition to MIT, Stanford GSB also has a loan solution in place for international students. If no solution to the loss of international student loan programs is found, I expect that it will be significantly easier to obtain admission for Fall 2010 for international applicants.

While international students will be able to get loans if they attend Stanford GSB, even this wealthy school is being impacted by the financial crisis. Stanford GSB has just announced that it is eliminating 49 jobs, 12% of its non-faculty workforce: Stanford University’s endowment fund, which includes $1 billion for the business school , may fall 20 to 30 percent for the current fiscal year, according to school officials. If Stanford is taking this kind of hit, expect a number of other schools to reduce their headcount as well. Personally, I would start with the finance faculty. Just kidding, well maybe not. Anyway, if there are less finance jobs, I guess you probably don't need as many finance professors. Of course, maybe some of these profs can start teaching risk management and compliance courses.

By the way, if you want to get really depressed, I suggest reading this.

Questions? Write comments, but do not send me emails asking me to advise you on your application strategy unless you are interested in my consulting services. Please see my FAQ regarding the types of questions I will respond to. Before emailing me questions about your chances for admission or personal profile, please see my recent post on "Why I don't analyze profiles without consulting with the applicant." If you are interested in my graduate admission consulting services, please click here.
-Adam Markus
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Chicago Booth Interviews

If you are preparing for a Chicago Booth interview, read this post after you read my general post on interview strategy. If you are looking for my analysis of Booth's essays, you can find it here.

I have reviewed reports of University of Chicago Booth interviews found at accepted.com and clearadmit.com. These reports reveal that there are five key things to consider when preparing for Chicago interviews:

1. You need to know your resume completely as you will likely be asked about content in it. Review it carefully and consider what your interviewer might ask you to explain more thoroughly. If it is on your resume, it is fair game.

2. Prepare to answer routine MBA questions. Most reported interviews simply consist of them. See my previous post on interviewing. Chicago's Full-Time MBA News stated the following:
"To prepare for your 45-minute interview, review your application thoroughly. Know how you will want to convey your story, your career plan and your unique goals. If your goals and motivations are clear, you can expect a lively conversation and lots of good questions by the interviewer. Ask yourself these important questions before your meeting:

Can I clearly articulate my career plan and future goals?

What do I really want from my MBA experience?
What is my motivation to obtain an MBA?
Why is [Booth] the right place for me?
Why am I right for [Booth]?
How do I plan to use my MBA in my career?

What can I bring to the [Booth] community?
Where do I see myself in 5, 10, 15 years?

You should also know what it is that you want to discover about the [Booth] during your meeting. Have a few questions ready to ask your interviewer about the things that are most important to you and your MBA experience. Getting answers to your questions is an equally important part of any B-school interview." (Adam's note, "GSB" changed to [Booth]")

3. Be ready for unexpected hypothetical and/or critical thinking questions, especially from alum. With such questions, always take a second or two to think before diving in with an answer. That said, most interview reports don't include such questions. 

4. The quality of the interviews really varies. The reports on both sites are with students and alum. Some interviewers are reported to be great and some are not. I think it is important to keep in mind what Chicago says:
Interviews are conducted by admissions staff, students or alumni. They are held on campus or in a location convenient for the prospective student. All interviews, regardless of who conducts them, receive equal weight in the evaluation process.

While that is true, the reality is that if you can choose, take admissions staff. Students and alum can vary in quality and level of fairness, but on balance admissions officers are more likely to treat you fairly and will be professional. That said, if you think you may do better with alumni, act accordingly. From my perspective, some older Chicago alum tend to have an outdated view of the school and this can hurt some interviewees who do not intend to focus on finance.  I have noticed that here in Japan, the interviewers now tend to be more recent graduates.

5. Reported interview length could be from 30 to 60 minutes, with many reported interviews taking about 45.

If you are interested in my interview preparation or other graduate admission consulting services, please click here.

Questions? Write comments, but do not send me emails asking me to advise you on your application strategy unless you are interested in my consulting services. Please see my FAQ regarding the types of questions I will respond to. Before emailing me questions about your chances for admission or personal profile, please see my recent post on "Why I don't analyze profiles without consulting with the applicant."
-Adam Markus
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HBS MBA Interviews

You can find my essay analysis for Fall 2009 Admission here.

HBS ADCOM HQ

In my experience, my clients who succeed at HBS interviews go to their interview with a sense of confidence based on having done careful preparation. My clients who have failed the interview stage have generally done so because of related reasons: lack of confidence and/or preparation. While these issues could be the same for any interview, the reality is that HBS admissions interviews are simply more thorough than that of most other schools. Failure to take this interview sufficiently seriously is a recipe for disaster.

In addition to my own knowledge, I have reviewed reports of Harvard Business School interviews found at accepted.com and clearadmit.com. These reports reveal that there are five key things to consider when preparing for HBS interviews:

1. You need to know your application very completely as you will be asked by adcom about its content. Review your entire application (not just resume and essays, but everything including the transcript) very carefully and consider what your interviewer might ask you to explain more thoroughly. Remember: Anything is fair game. Assume that the weakest parts of your application will be topics in the interview. Assume the worst-case scenario and be very prepared to address their concerns. Given the annual failure rate at HBS, if you have any academic weaknesses (low GPA, a relatively weak TOEFL, insufficient proof of a quantitative background), be ready to address those issues. Be prepared to tell new stories and alternative versions of the stories you told in your essays.

2. The questions you get will be specific to you. Most questions will not be odd, but they may be unexpected. On the other hand, a number of reports indicate that the majority of questions are actually common ones. See my previous post on interviewing. Be able to articulate clearly what you want to learn at HBS and what you can contribute. While it is important to be able to discuss leadership, don't assume the interview will be entirely focused on it. The interviewer will come in knowing what they want to ask you.

3. Assume there will be at least one question for which you might not be ready for. Don't panic. Take a deep breath. Answer the question and do not become flustered. Be ready to answer questions about a hypothetical case study, conflict with colleagues, and the latest book you read as these have all been reported frequently.

4. Adcom interviewers are friendly, but to the point. They don't do stress interviewing exactly, but they will question you intensely. They will be taking notes. Anything you say can be subject to inquiry, so speak concisely, answer questions precisely, and try to avoid voluntarily bringing up any topics that you really don't want to talk about. Assume the you will be asking follow-up questions, so expect to be able to analyze/explain in a great deal of depth. Your interviewer will know exactly what he/she wants to ask you because the purpose of the interview is (1) to see if you look as good in reality as you did in paper and (2) to address any concerns that they have about your suitability for HBS.

5. Reported interview length for interviews is 30 minutes.

For more about this interview, please see my more recent post on it.

If you are interested in my interview preparation or other graduate admission consulting services, please click here.

Questions? Write comments, but do not send me emails asking me to advise you on your application strategy unless you are interested in my consulting services. Please see my FAQ regarding the types of questions I will respond to. Before emailing me questions about your chances for admission or personal profile, please see my post on "Why I don't analyze profiles without consulting with the applicant."
-Adam Markus
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UC Berkeley Haas Japan Trek 2009 Sponsor

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
明けましておめでとうございます。

I am happy to announce that I am an official sponsor of the University of California Berkeley Haas School of Business 2009 Japan Trek. This trip is a great way to help Haas MBA students from around the world learn about Japan. I know the Japanese students at Haas put significant work into this trip and I am glad that I can support their efforts.

この度、カリフォルニア大学バークレー校ハース・スクール・オブ・ビジネスの2009年度Japan Trek公式スポンサーとなりましたことをお知らせいたします。これは世界各地から来ているハース・ＭＢＡの学生にとって、日本を学ぶ絶好の機会です。また、ハースの日本学生たちが多大な労力を注いでいるこのツアーのサポートをできることを、とても喜ばしく思っております。

-Adam Markus
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Questions? Write comments, but do not send me emails asking me to advise you on your application strategy unless you are interested in my consulting services. Please see my FAQ regarding the types of questions I will respond to. Before emailing me questions about your chances for admission or personal profile, please see my recent post on "Why I don't analyze profiles without consulting with the applicant." If you are interested in my graduate admission consulting services, please click here.


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