Should an Entrepreneur pursue an MBA?

 The following is my response to Chad Troutwine's editorial, "Why You Should Pursue an M.B.A." that appeared in the Wall Street Journal on July 27th.  It is a slightly modified version of my comment attached to that editorial.

As an MBA (I don't follow the Wall Street style manual)  admissions consultant since 2001,  I am personally embarrassed by  Chad Troutwine's editorial.  Given Troutwine's business interests,  It is transparently self serving.  There are both pros and cons to any entrepreneur pursuing an MBA.  Anyone who begins with the statement "Why You Should Pursue an M.B.A." has already made a critical error by not asking, "Should you pursue an MBA?"

Two years, the typical length of an American full-time MBA program, of time away from an income and full-time focus on one's entrepreneurial activities can be a real risk. Troutwine suggests an MBA "is a low-risk, high-reward proposition." Certainly for some people, that is the case, but for others the two years (plus much of an additional year spent applying to top programs) might result in a someone making a very bad decision. Timing is, often enough,  everything and if one actually has a great entrepreneurial idea, getting an MBA might not be the best decision.  I think a serious admissions consultant is not someone who begins with the assumption that an MBA is actually necessary for a particular person, but rather that it is that person's responsibility to think critically about why they need an MBA.   Going into significant debt for degree is a huge decision for many people.  I suppose if you have gone to the right undergraduate school, come from a comfortable background, and  don't view the prospects of lost income and/or time as serious, very little risk is involved.

In my experience, I have worked with clients who certainly were making a very low risk choice by pursuing an MBA, but I have worked with many who making a huge life decision by doing so.    I need my clients to know why they need an MBA so that they can make the best possible argument both in their admissions essays and interviews. To do so, they can't merely assume the necessity of MBA, they must be able to demonstrate it.

To his credit, Troutwine does point out a number of great entrepreneurial options that MBA programs have available.  MBA programs are certainly catering to and trying to cultivate entrepreneurs.  I have seen how my former clients have successfully launched businesses both during and immediately after attending HBS and Stanford.  In addition, I have worked with  a number of clients with substantial entrepreneurial experience who pursued an MBA because they realized that their approach to entrepreneurship was not sufficient.  In the last year alone, I worked with two clients who have successful companies, but saw a gap between their own skill sets and the need to grow their businesses.  They view the MBA as way to address this gap.  On the other hand, every year I work with a couple of clients who go through a process of seriously reflecting on their professional goals and the ROI of MBA and make the decision that the ROI is not there. From my viewpoint, if I help someone reach the right decision for themselves,  I have acted professionally responsible.

Finally, MBA programs don't need admissions consultants, test prep entrepreneurs, or the editors of The Wall Street Journal, to advocate for them.  Good MBA programs are having no difficulty finding highly qualified applicants, especially in the present economy.

-Adam Markus

アダム マーカス

Questions? Contact me directly at adammarkus@gmail.com. Please see my FAQ regarding the types of questions I will respond to. If you are looking for a highly experienced admissions consultant who is passionate about helping his clients succeed, please feel free to contact me at adammarkus@gmail.com to arrange an initial consultation. To learn more about my services, see here. Initial consultations are conducted by Skype or telephone. For clients in Tokyo, a free face-to-face consultation is possible after an initial Skype or telephone consultation. I only work with a limited number of clients per year and believe that an initial consultation is the best way to determine whether there is a good fit. Whether you use my service or another, I suggest making certain that the fit feels right to you.

MBA留学 ビジネススクール カウンセリング コンサルティング 

Guest Blogger: 河野太一のGMAT OG12解説 SC15

This is another post from Taichi Kono, author of two textbooks on TOEFL and one on TOEIC and a highly experienced TOEFL, TOEIC, and GMAT instructor. Most of his posts will be in Japanese. This post is on GMAT sentence correction. His other posts can be found here.
-Adam


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河野塾代表の河野太一です。年来の友人であるAdam Markusさんのご厚意で、"The Official Guide for GMAT Review, 12th Edition"の解説ブログの内容の一部をこちらにアップさせていただくことになりました。オリジナルは河野太一のGMAT OG12解説でご覧いただけます。なお、オリジナルのほうは予告なく内容を変更することがあり、ここに上げたものと相違があることがありますのでご了承ください。私のこれまでの記事やGMAT以外の話題についてはこちらをご覧ください。


SC15
文全体の構造を把握してから取りかかるのが筋（というか、速くて正確な手法）だが、キレイに揃った選択肢の頭が否が応でも目に入る。一見してdoing副詞（分詞構文）か＜and ＋動詞＞かという選択の問題であることが見て取れる。

それを見た上で文構造の把握に取りかかる。 Warning ...はdoing副詞であろうと仮説を立て、カンマまで目を飛ばしてその後ろを見ると、主節のSVらしきもの（the National Academy of Sciences has urged）がある。文頭と文末の両方にdoing副詞を配置する形になるのかもしれないと思いつつ下線部に目を飛ばす途中で、, instituteが目に入る。この瞬間、動詞の原形がA, B, and Cの並列になっているのだと判断し、(A)(B)(C)はサヨウナラ。もし下線部をcreating ...とし、直前のカンマを「主節とdoing副詞を隔てるためのカンマ」と解釈してしまったら、真ん中にある, institute（カンマ＋動詞原形）の説明が付かなくなる。

for doingとto doの戦いならto doに軍配で、(E)が正解。このto takeは後置のto do形容詞で、「〜するための」という基本的な意味で使われている。カンマに注目するといかにラクに解けるかという見本のような問題。

ちなみに、ライティングの添削をしていると、to do形容詞、またはto do副詞を用いるべきところを、ことごとくfor doingとする人をたまに見かける。日本語に訳せばたしかに「〜するための/に」となるが、英語では不自然。<前置詞＋ doing>という組み合わせ自体に問題はないので、「なぜダメなのか？」と問われても困る。for doingとする実例もまれにあるため、「通常はto doを使います」としか言いようがない。このあたりが、理屈だけでなく、大量の英語を読むことで「自然な英語」の感覚を身につけてほしいところ。

-河野太一


河野塾ではTOEFL/IELTS/GMATの個人授業を提供しております。なかなかスコアが上がらずにお悩みの方、きめの細かい効果的な個人指導をお求めの方は、ぜひinfo@konojuku.comまでお気軽にお問い合わせください。

When you join the HBS Class of 2013, how will you introduce yourself to your new classmates?

This post is on the forth of four of the "pick two" questions for the Harvard Business School MBA Application for Fall 2011 Admission.
All the posts in this series: Overall Strategy, Accomplishments, Mistake, Option 1, Option 2, Option 3, and Option 4.  My post on HBS interviews can be found here. My post on HBS recommendation questions can be found here.

4. When you join the HBS Class of 2013, how will you introduce yourself to your new classmates?

As I discussed in my analysis of Columbia Business School’s Essay 2, first impressions matter. The purpose of this new question is to give the HBS Admissions insight into your personality. Specifically, what parts of you would you want your fellow students to initially know about you? Think about the section of 90 students you will be a part of as well as the Class of 2013 as a whole. You can think about this in terms of contribution and/or in terms of fit:  Explain why the HBS Class of 2013 is the right community for you to be a part of.  

You have already discussed your most substantial achievements in Essay 1 and clearly a career vision is not really what your classmates need to first know about you. If you think people want to hear about your career goals when you initially meet them, you are (a) suffering from delusions of grandeur, (2) impossibly socially retarded, and/or (3) not taking the question seriously. Perhaps your goals will be interesting to some people in the Class of 2013 but certainly not all.  And is that what they first need to know about you?  When you meet first someone, do you first tell them your career vision?  I bet not.


For those who don't write a career vision essay for HBS, this essay can certainly explain why you not to attend HBS, but very careful about how you do that. Make sure you are communicating that explanation in way that would actually make a strong first impression on a fellow student.  Make sure you don't end up writing a goals essay, instead try to write a fit essay.  For those also applying to MIT, it is possible that this HBS essay would be a great choice because both the MIT cover letter and this essay question are focused on fit.  


Think about why someone would want to be your friend, your colleague, and/or your teammate.  Without making this into a contribution essay so directly, you need to imagine that you are trying to make your fellow students like you and what to work with you.  What special qualities and a talents will bring to enhance the experience of the Class of 2013?


Identify a few, likely two to four, aspects of yourself that would make a strong positive impression on your classmates. provide stories, perhaps only anecdotes, to introduce yourself.


Obviously you don't want to unnecessarily repeat content presented in other essays, but it is certainly possible that the same characteristic about yourself that makes an accomplishment possible is also something you elaborate on, with a different story, in this essay. 


Keep in mind that you don't want this to a purely chronological life story.  There is really not enough word count for such a chronological exercise, but you can certainly interpret your life if doing so will make for an effective way of introducing yourself to your classmates.  


Bottom Line: Make your reader want to meet you!

-Adam Markus

アダム マーカス

Questions? Contact me directly at adammarkus@gmail.com. Please see my FAQregarding the types of questions I will respond to. If you are looking for a highly experienced admissions consultant who is passionate about helping his clients succeed, please feel free to contact me at adammarkus@gmail.com to arrange an initial consultation. To learn more about my services, see here. Initial consultations are conducted by Skype or telephone. For clients in Tokyo, a free face-to-face consultation is possible after an initial Skype or telephone consultation. I only work with a limited number of clients per year and believe that an initial consultation is the best way to determine whether there is a good fit. Whether you use my service or another, I suggest making certain that the fit feels right to you.

MBA留学 ビジネススクール カウンセリング コンサルティング  ハーバード MBA

HBS: Tell us about a time in your professional experience when you were frustrated or disappointed.

This post is on the third of four of the "pick two" questions for the Harvard Business School MBA Application for Fall 2011 Admission.
All the posts in this series: Overall Strategy, Accomplishments, Mistake, Option 1, Option 2, Option 3, and Option 4.  My post on HBS interviews can be found here.

3. Tell us about a time in your professional experience when you were frustrated or disappointed.

If Essay Option 1 was written especially for the benefit of those without professional experience, Option 3 is written for those with professional experience.

DIFFERENTIATING BETWEEN THIS  QUESTION AND REQUIRED ESSAY QUESTION 2
Keeping in mind that you have already covered the topic of a mistake and what you learned it from it,  you certainly want to make sure that the content between the two.  I think that differentiation, at its most basic means NOT WRITING ABOUT FAILURE IN BOTH ESSAYS.  Too much failure would probably make it difficult to fully focus on accomplishments and/or lock you into "the whole learning from failure model," potentially resulting in essays that are structurally telling the same story.  The mistake question requires a discussion of learning from failure, but this one does not.

LIFE SUCKS AT LEAST SOME OF THE TIME
I have yet to meet a person who has not experienced frustration or disappointment.  The world of work is filled with things that produce frustration or disappointment.  I would suggest you think about people and projects.

PEOPLE: Difficult people, mean people, stupid people, lazy people, rude people, psychologically disturbed people, etc.  are all part of the world of work.  How do you effectively handle such encounters?  What techniques of working through interpersonal problems have you developed?  This really is about your emotional intelligence.  People can frequently disappointment each other:  How do you overcome a situation when there is a huge gulf between your expectations and the actual output/behavior of someone else in a professional situation?

PROJECTS can certainly be a huge source of both frustration or disappointment.  Projects can be frustrating because of problems on a team, organizational resistance,  insufficient resources (time, money, people, and/or ideas), lack of clarity of objectives, bad strategy and/or tactics, etc.  Dealing with such problems can highlight ones leadership, teamwork, creativity and/or problem solving skills in a tight situation.

BOOKS TO HELP YOU BRAINSTORM
One book that I think might really be worth your consideration is Patrick Lencioni's THE FIVE DYSFUNCTIONS OF A TEAM (MANGA EDITION).  Lencioni's brings an understanding of frustration builds up and is expressed in teamwork, how and why leaders fail to build teams that work, and numerous other ways that the team, as the core unit of an organization can frustrate, disappoint, and fail.   I have never bothered reading the book version, but the comic book is great!  The scenario that is built in the comic book really lays out a series of team stories that might help you develop your own team-based frustration or disappointment story.

As far as difficult personalities in professional settings go, Professor Robert Sutton at Stanford GSB has written one of the best books on the subject, THE NO ASSHOLE RULE.  While I don't necessarily suggest that you tell HBS that you were "frustrated by an asshole," Professor Sutton's provides a deep understanding of both how to handle such people, how to avoid them, and how not to become one.

THE BOTTOM LINE:  “When life hands you lemons – you make lemonade.”
HBS is a place for doers not complainers, so whatever you write about make sure that you come across as someone who overcomes frustration and disappointment.
 

-Adam Markus
アダム マーカス



Questions? Contact me directly at adammarkus@gmail.com. Please see my FAQ regarding the types of questions I will respond to. If you are looking for a highly experienced admissions consultant who is passionate about helping his clients succeed, please feel free to contact me at adammarkus@gmail.com to arrange an initial consultation. To learn more about my services, see here. Initial consultations are conducted by Skype or telephone. For clients in Tokyo, a free face-to-face consultation is possible after an initial Skype or telephone consultation. I only work with a limited number of clients per year and believe that an initial consultation is the best way to determine whether there is a good fit. Whether you use my service or another, I suggest making certain that the fit feels right to you.

MBA留学 ビジネススクール カウンセリング コンサルティング  ハーバード MBA

HBS: What is your career vision and why is this choice meaningful to you?

This post is on the second of four of the "pick two" questions for the Harvard Business School MBA Application for Fall 2011 Admission.
All the posts in this series: Overall Strategy, Accomplishments, Mistake, Option 1, Option 2, Option 3, and Option 4.  My post on HBS interviews can be found here. My post on HBS recommendation questions can be found here.

2. What is your career vision and why is this choice meaningful to you? (400-word limit)

While I think it is important that the MBA Admissions Board understand what motivates you, I don't believe that you necessarily have to answer this essay topic to tell them that. While many applicants are likely to want to answer this question, if you want to set yourself apart from the pack, don't do it unless your answer is really very compelling.

An obvious reason for why HBS admissions made this question optional is because they don't want to read standard obligatory goals essays. This has been part of trend at HBS which began when they stopped asking about why applicants want to attend there. I think they decided that asking that particular "Why HBS?" question was not interesting and probably not sufficiently helpful in selecting who would necessarily succeed at HBS. As I have mentioned in my first post in this series, it is possible to express your future academic and professional objectives in another essay question.

An answer to this question that is not compelling is a poor use of your limited essay space. If you know your career goals are fairly generic and lack a strong visionary aspect to them, don't write on this topic. Instead, create an overall essay strategy that includes with in at least one of your four essays a clear explanation of why you want an HBS education and your potential to succeed at HBS and afterwords. While you will certainly have to explain your goals in an HBS interview, if you know your career vision is not one of the more interesting subjects you have to write about, don't write this essay.

At a strategic application level, all applicants should go through the process of analyzing their goals in detail. Chances are quite high that if your are interviewed by HBS, you will be asked about your goals. Hence, having essays that account for your goals even indirectly or in limited detail is an important part of having an overall application strategy.

Even if your career vision is absolutely clear to you, I suggest going through a formal process of MBA goals formulation. You can use my GAP, SWOT, AND ROI TABLE FOR FORMULATING GRADUATE DEGREE GOALS for this purpose (see below). I think Gap, SWOT, and ROI analysis are great ways for understanding what your goals are, why you want a degree, and how you will use it. (Click here for a GMAC report on MBA ROI.)

(To best view the following table, click on it. )

How to use this table:

Step 1. Begin by analyzing your "Present Situation." What job(s) have you held? What was/is your functional role(s)? What was/are your responsibilities?

Next, analyze your present strengths and weaknesses for succeeding in your present career. REMEMBER: WHEN YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT YOUR STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESS DON'T ONLY THINK ABOUT WORK, THINK ABOUT OTHER ASPECTS OF YOUR LIFE. In particular, some of your greatest strengths may have been demonstrated outside of work, so make sure you are accounting for them.
Strengths: What are you good at? Where do you add value? What are you praised for? What are you proud of?
Weakness: What are you bad at? What are you criticized for? What do you try to avoid due to your own limitations? What do you fear?

Next, analyze the environment you work in right now. What opportunities exist for your growth and success? What threats could limit your career growth?

Step 2. Now, do the same thing in Step 1 for your "Post-Degree" future after you have earned your graduate degree. IF YOU CANNOT COMPLETE STEP 2, YOU HAVE NOT SUFFICIENTLY PLANNED FOR YOUR FUTURE and therefore you need to do more research and need to think more about it.

Step 3. If you could complete step 2, than you should see the "Gap" between your present and your future. What skills, knowledge, and other resources do you need to close the gap between your present and future responsibilities, strengths, and opportunities?

Step 4. After completing Step 3, you now need to determine how an MBA will add value to you. It is possible that an increased salary as a result of job change will be sufficient "ROI" for the degree to justify itself, but you should show how a degree will allow you to reach your career goals. How will the degree enhance your skills and opportunities and help you overcome your weaknesses and external threats? If you can complete Step 4, then you should be ready to explain what your goals are, why you want a degree, and the relationship between your past and future career, as well as your strengths and weaknesses. If you know about HBS, you are ready to write about your goals, whether in Question 3-4 or elsewhere in the essay set.

The above table will also help you answer such common interview questions as: Where do you want to work after you finish your degree? Why do you want an MBA (or other degree)? What are you strengths? What are your weaknesses? What are your goals?

Formulating goals is not enough to answer 3-4 effectively because HBS is especially focused on understanding the "why," not just the "what." Simply stating what your goals are and why HBS is the best place for you to accomplish them is not exactly what you need here. Instead, you need to articulate a vision related to your goals. You need to focus on your motivations as well as your idealized career outcomes.

Making your career goals sound exciting requires thinking about whether these goals are compelling. Admissions committees ask applicants to write about their goals after graduate school, but can applicants actually know what will be on the cutting-edge in two or three years? While many applicants will be able to successfully apply with relatively standard goals ("I want to be a consultant because..."), putting together a truly outstanding career vision is one way of differentiating your application. But how?

Be informed. HBS Admissions needs to believe you know what you are talking about. If you are changing careers, no one expects you to be an expert, but you should come across as having a clear plan based on real research into your future. If are planning on staying in your present industry, you should be well informed not only about the companies you have worked for, but the industry as a whole. If you are not already doing so, read industry related publications and network.

Those changing fields should most certainly read industry related publications in their intended field. Additionally, I suggest conducting informational interviews with at least one peer level and one senior level person in that field. Conduct a peer-level interview to get a good idea of what it would be like to actually work in that industry. Conduct a senior-level interview to get the perspective of someone who can see the big picture and all the little details as well.

Don't know anyone in your intended field? Network! One great way to start that is through LinkedIn. Another is by making use of your undergraduate alumni network and/or career center.

LEARN WHAT IS HOT. No matter whether you are changing fields or not, learn what is hot now and try to figure out what will be hot by the time you graduate. Now, of course, this is just a plan and chances are that what is hot in your industry or field now, may very well be cold in the future. The point is to come across to the Harvard Business School as someone who is not only well informed, but has CUTTING-EDGE knowledge. Some great general sources for learning what is hot:

HBS Sources: One of the best places to learn about what HBS perceives as cutting-edge is through HBS. You should most certainly visit Harvard Working Knowledge, Harvard Business Review, and Harvard Business School Publishing.

Beyond HBS: Additionally, other great business school sources include the University of Chicago GSB's Working Papers, The University of Chicago's Capital Ideas, Stanford Social Innovation Review, Knowledge @ Wharton, and MIT Sloan Management Review.

LinkedIn Answers: I would suggest that everyone join LinkedIn and make use of LinkedIn Answers. LinkedIn Answers is a great way to tap into cutting edge expertise (including my admissions advice!). Follow LinkedIn's rules and you will often be able to obtain excellent information.

Hoovers: For information about specific companies, Hoovers is just a great way to learn about key facts including competitors (a very useful way of knowing who else you might want to work for and to learn about an industry). While primarily focused on the US, Hoovers does have listings for companies worldwide.

Vault: For scope of coverage, this site is a must. Vault includes both career and admissions information. It includes both company specific and industry-wide information.

Other sources: Read magazines, websites, and books that relate to your intended field.


The writing process: After going through a process of reflection and analysis, prepare a version of this essay that includes everything you want to say. If you have previously prepared a goals essay for another school this may serve as a foundation, but modify it to tell admissions everything you would want them to know about your career vision. Next begin the process of revision. Here are a few key things to consider when revising:

1. Think about the most important thing you need admissions to know about your career vision. Begin your essay with that. Chances are good that on your initial draft the most important thing is somewhere in the middle or end of your essay.

2. Prioritize the rest of your content: What do they really need to know? You probably have lots of details that can be cut.

3. Make a formal argument: Your essay should be neither a set of disembodied points or a summary. Instead, it should be a formal statement about your career vision. It may very well partially take the form of a memo or it may be rather creative. The important point is that the reader should be able to understand it clearly and be convinced by it.

Next, once you have put together your career vision, consider how the rest of your application supports what you say in it. Without over-marketing yourself, or even necessarily writing it directly in the essays, make sure that your past accomplishments and other aspects of your application show how your potential will contribute to your future career vision.

BE AMBITIOUS!!!!!!!
My final point is that HBS is looking for people who want to be leaders, not mere managers. They are looking for people who will use their "one precious and wild life" to achieve great things, not those who will be satisfied at being back office mediocrities.  If you can't articulate an exciting vision of your future now, when will you?  




Questions? Write comments or contact me directly at adammarkus@gmail.com. Please see my FAQ regarding the types of questions I will respond to. If you are looking for a highly experienced admissions consultant who is passionate about helping his clients succeed, please feel free to contact me at adammarkus@gmail.com to arrange an initial consultation. To learn more about my services, see here. Initial consultations are conducted by Skype or telephone. For clients in Tokyo, a free face-to-face consultation is possible after an initial Skype or telephone consultation. I only work with a limited number of clients per year and believe that an initial consultation is the best way to determine whether there is a good fit. Whether you use my service or another, I suggest making certain that the fit feels right to you.

-Adam Markus
アダム マーカス

カウンセリング コンサルティング エッセイMBA留学 ハーバード

HBS: What would you like the MBA Admissions Board to know about your undergraduate academic experience?

This post is on the first of four of the "pick two" questions for the Harvard Business School MBA Application for Fall 201 Admission.
All the posts in this series: Overall Strategy, Accomplishments, Mistake, Option 1, Option 2, Option 3, and Option 4.  My post on HBS interviews can be found here. My post on HBS recommendation questions can be found here.

1. What would you like the MBA Admissions Board to know about your undergraduate academic experience? (400-word limit)

It is rather obvious that the questions an MBA program asks you reflect its admissions strategies. This is as true for the Harvard Business School as for any other school. For example, when HBS introduced the this question in 2005, it was directly connected to an effort to recruit younger applicants.

This question is obviously ideal for an applicant to the 2+2 program, a graduating senior or someone with 1 or 2 years of work to answer.It is no surprise that they ask this question. Consider the emphasis that HBS puts on academic ability:

"Harvard Business School is a demanding, fast-paced, and highly-verbal environment. We look for individuals who will thrive on sophisticated ideas and lively discussion. Our case-based method of learning depends upon the active participation of prepared students who can assess, analyze, and act upon complex information within often-ambiguous contexts. The MBA Admissions Board will review your prior academic performance, the results of the GMAT, and, if applicable, TOEFL and/or IELTS, and the nature of your work experience. There is no particular previous course of study required to apply; you must, however, demonstrate the ability to master analytical and quantitative concepts."

More generally, I think that this question is great for any applicant who learned something valuable in their undergraduate academic program. You don't need a high GPA to answer this one and, in fact, those who don't have a high GPA, but actually did something meaningful as part of their program of study, should consider writing on this topic to help mitigate the impact of a weak GPA.

For those who have been out of school for a while or would prefer to emphasize other aspects of their background, this question need not be answered as long as some other aspect(s) of your application- GMAT score, GPA, transcript, your resume, or perhaps one of your substantial accomplishments- demonstrates your academic potential to succeed. You must demonstrate your academic potential somewhere in your application (Yes, a solid GPA and GMAT are enough for that purpose), so if you find that have not done so effectively elsewhere and have an important story to tell about your undergraduate experience, you should most certainly consider writing an essay on this question.

Additionally for those whose undergraduate academic experience connects to their career vision and/or reasons for obtaining an MBA, part of this essay may very well serve that explanatory purpose. If you do find that you can best relate your career vision and/or reasons for pursuing an MBA on this topic, I still suggest you closely review my analysis of Option 5.

ESSAY STRUCTURE AND CONTENT
The likely structure for your answer here may very well be similar to the Accomplishments Essay. That said, while it is possible to write on multiple aspects of your academic experience (two to four different topics), it is certainly possible that you might want to focus on only one topic here.

While this essay may seemingly focus on an academic topic, it is very possible that the theme actually relates to your leadership potential, career vision, personality, or some other topic that you have not effectively addressed elsewhere.  As with any topic, you should ask yourself why Adcom needs to know about it? 



WARNING
The following two topics are not really so effective here:
1. A story focused on your graduate school experience. Unless the point is to simply show that your undergraduate work laid the foundation for your graduate studies, discussing graduate school is pretty much outside of the scope of what is acceptable here.
2. A story focused on your non-academic undergraduate activities. Clearly this is not part of what HBS is asking about.
Both topics might very well have their place in the Accomplishments Essay, but not here.

Finally, I should point out that I don't see any advantage to using this essay to explain a bad GPA. Instead focus not such an explanation, but on making a clear argument for why you are strong candidate. There is an additional information section on the application which is long enough to provide a brief explanation of anything problematic in your academic background.

Questions? Write comments or contact me directly at adammarkus@gmail.com. Please see my FAQ regarding the types of questions I will respond to. If you are looking for a highly experienced admissions consultant who is passionate about helping his clients succeed, please feel free to contact me at adammarkus@gmail.com to arrange an initial consultation. To learn more about my services, see here. Initial consultations are conducted by Skype or telephone. For clients in Tokyo, a free face-to-face consultation is possible after an initial Skype or telephone consultation. I only work with a limited number of clients per year and believe that an initial consultation is the best way to determine whether there is a good fit. Whether you use my service or another, I suggest making certain that the fit feels right to you.

-Adam Markus
アダム マーカス

カウンセリング コンサルティング エッセイMBA留学 ハーバード

HBS: What have you learned from a mistake?

This post is on the second of the two required questions for the Harvard Business School MBA Application for 2011 admission.
All the posts in this series: Overall Strategy, Accomplishments, Mistake, Option 1, Option 2, Option 3, and Option 4.  My post on HBS interviews can be found here. My post on HBS recommendation questions can be found here.


2. What have you learned from a mistake? (400-word limit)

I think the reason HBS, as well as many other schools, ask about mistakes and failures is because they want to see that you have the ability to learn from errors and/or problems. Clearly this is an important skill required for analyzing case studies.

I think it is important that we read what is written here very closely as it will help you see that there are multiple correct ways to answer this question. It is particularly important to differentiate between a failure and a mistake:

FAILURE: 1. The condition or fact of not achieving the desired end or ends: the failure of an experiment. 2. One that fails: a failure at one's career. 3. The condition or fact of being insufficient or falling short: a crop failure. 4. A cessation of proper functioning or performance: a power failure. 5. Nonperformance of what is requested or expected; omission: .failure to report a change of address. 6. The act or fact of failing to pass a course, test, or assignment. 7. A decline in strength or effectiveness.

MISTAKE: 1. An error or fault resulting from defective judgment, deficient knowledge, or carelessness. 2. A misconception or misunderstanding.

A mistake is wider in scope than a failure because not all mistakes necessarily lead to failure, though human failures are certainly the result of mistakes. A mistake may lead to a failure. A mistake may actually lead to a positive unintended outcome.

Notice that HBS does not say "your mistake." It is possible that the mistake you learned from might be one where you were an observer, a victim, and/or the source of the solution. That said, I can't recommend writing about a mistake where you blame someone else. After all, leaders take responsibility and if you are using one of your four essays to show why you are not responsible, I don't think you will be optimizing your chances for an interview invitation from HBS.

It is critical that you learned something meaningful about yourself. And your learning about yourself should be important, otherwise why tell admissions about it? Therefore the key constraint of this question is that whatever the mistake is, you have learned something important from it. While not stated, you may very well find that one way of showing what you learned is to discuss how you applied your lesson to a new situation.
I would, in fact, argue that the heart of any sort of "failure question," whether it is an essay question or an interview is what you learned. Also depending on what your role was, how you reacted is also very important.

The basic components of an answer:
1. Clearly state what the mistake was.
2. Clearly state your role.
3. Explain how you reacted to the situation.
4. Explain what you learned.
5. If applicable, show how you applied what you learned to a new situation. Given the word count limitations, getting to this step can be challenging, but I highly recommend it.

The nice thing about mistakes is that everyone makes them. That said, if your mistake is terribly minor, it is unlikely to really to reveal anything significant. So focus on a big mistake where you really learned something. The word count is limited, but, if you can, show how you applied what you learned to a new situation because the application of abstract learning to a new situation is a key indicator of real learning. Think about really demonstrating the value of what you learned. In this regard, I think it is often the case that older mistakes make better topics because the post-mistake learning is likely to more effectively result in application to a new situation.

FALSE LEARNING
Every year as part of my reapplication counseling work, I read mistake/failure essays that are part of applications to schools like HBS, Wharton, and INSEAD. One major reason why a failure/mistake essay might not work well is false learning. False learning is any situation when you indicate that you learned something, but actually it was something that you already knew or others are likely to assume that you know. False learning tends to undermine the credibility of applicant in terms of their intelligence and honesty. It is thus best avoided. To avoid it, simply ask yourself whether you actually learned something new and were not merely reminded of the sort of thing you have learned while in kindergarten or soon thereafter.

Topic Selection
Pick a failure that you can be proud of and that ultimately shows you in positive light based on the understanding that you obtained and the maturity you demonstrated after the fact. The topic might be academic, personal, or professional. When you select the topic, think not only about the topic's significance, but also it's impact on overall balance within your essay set.

Mistake essays can be great opportunities to reveal something your approach to leadership or teamwork.  Taking responsibility for a mistake, learning to communicate more effectively with others, gaining greater insight into how to influence others, and many other topics can be used effectively to highlight your leadership potential. 

Some topics are best avoided. For example, it is usually unattractive to consider your employment termination due to entering into a particular job sector or for a particular employer as a mistake. Failed romantic relationship mistakes are even less likely to result in an effective HBS essay. Such topics might certainly be great moments of learning, but such topics rarely make good essays as they tend to have an undercurrent of regret, possibly anger, and often communicate nothing very positive about the applicant.

I hope you write about a great mistake successfully.

Questions? Write comments or contact me directly at adammarkus@gmail.com. Please see my FAQ regarding the types of questions I will respond to. If you are looking for a highly experienced admissions consultant who is passionate about helping his clients succeed, please feel free to contact me at adammarkus@gmail.com to arrange an initial consultation. To learn more about my services, see here. Initial consultations are conducted by Skype or telephone. For clients in Tokyo, a free face-to-face consultation is possible after an initial Skype or telephone consultation. I only work with a limited number of clients per year and believe that an initial consultation is the best way to determine whether there is a good fit. Whether you use my service or another, I suggest making certain that the fit feels right to you.

-Adam Markus
アダム マーカス

MBA留学 ビジネススクール カウンセリング コンサルティング エッセイ

HBS: What are your three most substantial accomplishments and why do you view them as such?

This post is on the first of two required questions for the Harvard Business School MBA Application for 2011 admission.
All the posts in this series: Overall Strategy, Accomplishments, Mistake, Option 1, Option 2, Option 3, and Option 4.  My post on HBS interviews can be found here. My post on HBS recommendation questions can be found here.


This analysis is greatly revised from my previous analysis of this question because it seems like this essay is the primary place to include leadership related content in this essay set. That said, I do not suggest that you necessarily focus all three of the accomplishments on leadership.  There are many possible ways of effectively utilizing these essay questions. Just make sure you account for leadership in one or more of HBS essays. 


HBS is about leadership. The HBS mission statement makes that clear: The mission of Harvard Business School is to educate leaders who make a difference in the world. As such HBS places a very high premium on applicants' leadership potential:
A Habit of Leadership
We recognize—and welcome—leadership that may be expressed in many forms, from college extracurricular activities to academic or business achievements, from personal accomplishments to community commitments. We appreciate leadership on any scale as well, from organizing a classroom to directing a combat squad, from running an independent business to spearheading initiatives at work. In essence, we are looking for evidence of your potential — a portfolio of experiences, initiatives, and accomplishments that reflect a habit of leadership.
Harvard thus has a very open-ended conception of leadership, but they are rigid in the necessity that applicants demonstrate it. I think this is true for other schools to a varying extent as well. For example, like HBS, "INSEAD is looking for applicants who can demonstrate their potential as leaders." Also see my comparison of leadership at HBS and Stanford GSB. Even if a set of business school essay questions does not necessarily explicitly ask for you to show your potential for leadership, it should still be accounted for.

Leadership is no easy thing. Nor is it obvious. The worst possible thing is to conceive of leadership as simple formal responsibility or a title because this conveys nothing about the person in that position. While some applicants will have held formal leadership positions, many will not.

Formal leadership positions are great to write about if they involve the applicant actually having significant impact, making a difficult decision, being a visionary, showing creativity, or otherwise going beyond their formal responsibility, but the same is true for those showing leadership without having a formal title.

If you are having difficulty really understanding leadership, I have a few suggestions.

First, one great place to read about leadership, and business in general, is Harvard Business School Working Knowledge.

Second, find out what kind of leader you are by taking this quiz based on Lewin's classic framework. I think leadership is more complicated than Lewin's framework, but this quiz is a great way to get you started thinking about yourself, a key part of answering any leadership essay question effectively.

Third, if you have not done so, I suggest reading relevant essays in 65 Successful Harvard Business School Application Essays: With Analysis by the Staff of the Harbus, The Harvard Business School Newspaper. Reading through the essays on leadership should help you to understand the great diversity of topics that are possible.

OK, now that we have grounded ourselves in understanding the importance of leadership and begun to develop some possible leadership stories, how should you proceed?

Given the composition of the application for fall 2001 admission, I think the accomplishment essay is the most likely places for you to show your leadership potential.  It is also possible to show this through the other essay questions, but less obviously so. 


1. What are your three most substantial accomplishments and why do you view them as such? (600-word limit)

HBS has asked this question for a very long time. According to 65 Successful Harvard Business School Application Essays, "This is one of those essays that is probably a permanent fixture in the HBS application (p. 121)." So far it has been the only question not to change. HBS has made this one of the mandatory questions because...
-Accomplishments reveal your potential to succeed at HBS and afterwards.
-Accomplishments reveal your key strengths.
-Accomplishments reveal your potential for contributing to your classmates.
-Everyone has had accomplishments, so it is easy to compare applicants.
-What you consider to be an accomplishment are real tests of your self-awareness and judgment.

The following grid is the kind I have used successfully with applicants preparing this question (and the similar two accomplishment version for INSEAD):

CLICK TO ENLARGE.

How to use this grid for outlining your answer to Question 1:

Row 1: "Stories." The first thing you need to do is think of the accomplishments. These will eventually take the form of stories, so that is what I call them. A few things to keep in mind:

• Your accomplishments may be personal, professional, or academic. If academic, make sure the accomplishment does not overlap with Option 1 if you choose to write on that question.
• While it is very important that your accomplishments be distinct so as to reveal different things about you, there is no single formula for what their content must be. Especially given the highly variable nature of this essay set, it is possible that you have three professional accomplishments or one personal/one professional/one academic or two academic/one personal. It really will depend on your background. Some people think you need to have one academic, one professional, and one extracurricular here. My experience with both admits and those invited for interviews is that this is not the case.
  
• The key consideration is that each accomplishment must be substantial and that you can explain why.

Row 2: "What skill, value, or unique experience is being showcased?" Your accomplishments need to reveal valuable things about you. Some will call these selling points, but more specifically they consist of skills, values, or unique experiences. One might use a specific accomplishment to emphasize one's leadership skills, another to show one's ethical values, and another to explain a significant barrier that was overcome. The point is that each accomplishment must , at its core, reveal something key to understanding who you are.

Row 3: "What potential for success in the MBA program or afterwards is demonstrated?" You may or may not be directly stating this in the essay, but you should think about what each accomplishment reveals in terms of your potential. HBS Adcom will most certainly be considering how your accomplishments demonstrate your potential to succeed at HBS and afterwards, so you should as well. One key way of thinking about the MBA application process is to see it as a test of potential. Potential itself can mean different things at different schools and so you must keep in mind differences between schools and, in particular, must pay close attention to what schools say really matters when they assess applicants. Harvard Business School Admissions states:
Genuine business talent cannot be narrowly defined. Instead of looking for an "ideal" candidate, HBS invites MBA applicants who exhibit a variety of skills, accomplishments, and temperaments. The true common characteristics of our students are demonstrated leadership potential and a capacity to thrive in a rigorous academic environment.
Therefore, please keep in mind that a core part of your own application strategy should be determining which parts of yourself to emphasize both overall and for a particular school. For example, at HBS, clearly "demonstrated leadership potential" and a strong academic background are necessary.   I have already discussed the importance of leadership, but academic potential is particularly important at HBS, especially because the forced grading curve makes it a uniquely challenging academic environment. For more about academic potential, see my comments on Option 1.

Beyond the potential to succeed at HBS, you may want to use one of your accomplishments to show why you will be able to reach your post-MBA goals. In fact, given the structure of the HBS set, you may end up writing about your goals in this essay if your goals relate directly to one or more of the accomplishments you write about.

Row 4: "Will this be a contribution to others in the MBA program? How?" Just as with potential, think about whether your accomplishments demonstrate your ability to add value to other students at HBS. Given space limitations, it is not likely that you will explain how one or more of your accomplishments will be a contribution, but rather this is a strategic consideration. The dynamic nature of case study at HBS is very much based on what each student contributes. Think about whether any of your accomplishments demonstrate how you will likely add value to other students' HBS experience. Not all substantial accomplishments will have this quality, but many will.

Row 5: "Why does Adcom need to know about this?" If your accomplishment has made it this far, chances are it is substantial. That said, I have two simple tests for determining whether an accomplishment really belongs in this essay. The first is whether Adcom really needs to know about this accomplishment. After all, you might consider getting the love of your life to marry you to be one of your most substantial accomplishments, but will Adcom care? If an accomplishment does not reveal (whether stated or implied) potential and/or contribution, chances are likely that it is not significant enough.

Row 6: "Is this something Adcom could learn about you elsewhere? (If "YES," find another accomplishment)" The second and final simple test I have for determining whether an accomplishment really belongs in this essay is based on the idea that something that is totally obvious about you to anyone looking at your resume and transcript is probably not worth mentioning. If you were a CPA, having an accomplishment that merely demonstrated you were good at accounting would not be worth writing about. Instead it would be important to show something more specific that reveals something that is not obvious by a mere examination of the basic facts of your application.

Finally, as I mentioned above, what you include here is a real test of your judgment, so don't just write about your obvious accomplishments. Think deeply and come up with a set of unique accomplishments that reveal distinct, interesting, and the most important things about you that will compel admissions to want to interview you.

Questions? Write comments or contact me directly at adammarkus@gmail.com. Please see my FAQ regarding the types of questions I will respond to. If you are looking for a highly experienced admissions consultant who is passionate about helping his clients succeed, please feel free to contact me at adammarkus@gmail.com to arrange an initial consultation. To learn more about my services, see here. Initial consultations are conducted by Skype or telephone. For clients in Tokyo, a free face-to-face consultation is possible after an initial Skype or telephone consultation. I only work with a limited number of clients per year and believe that an initial consultation is the best way to determine whether there is a good fit. Whether you use my service or another, I suggest making certain that the fit feels right to you.

-Adam Markus
アダム マーカス

カウンセリング コンサルティング エッセイMBA留学 ハーバード

HBS MBA Questions for Fall 2011 Admission

This post is focused on overall strategy for HBS MBA Questions for Fall 2011 Admission. 
All the posts in this series: Overall Strategy, Accomplishments, Mistake, Option 1, Option 2, Option 3, and Option 4.  My post on HBS interviews can be found here. My post on HBS recommendation questions can be found here.

THE ESSAYS

Two Required:


-What are your three most substantial accomplishments and why do you view them as such? (600-word limit)

-What have you learned from a mistake? (400-word limit)
 
Please respond to two of the following (400-word limit each):
 
1. What would you like the MBA Admissions Board to know about your undergraduate academic experience?
 
2. What is your career vision and why is this choice meaningful to you?
 
3. Tell us about a time in your professional experience when you were frustrated or disappointed.
 
4. When you join the HBS Class of 2013, how will you introduce yourself to your new classmates?


Here I will provide some overall strategic advice regarding applying to HBS.

Please keep in mind that additional strategy and tactics will be covered in the six other posts in this series. I suggest reading in the entire series of posts, even for the optional topics that you do not intend to write on.


CHANGES TO THE APPLICATION:
The two required questions are the same and so are two (Options 1 and 2) out of the four questions that applicants will get to choose from.  HBS dropped three option questions and added two new options (3 and 4).

First Round versus Second Round versus Third Round
Well, I would not advise applying in the Third Round. That said, I have had a client admitted in the Third Round in recent years. My client who was admitted for fall 2009 was admitted in the Second Round. I had two clients who were interviewed, but not admitted in Round Two for fall 2010.   In general, those who are truly ready for first round would be well served to do so.  Second Round is fine otherwise, but Third round is for those who can't get it done sooner, have a very positive "freak-factor" going for them, and/or enjoy taking extreme risks. The HBS line on this is always that applicants should apply when they are ready, but that Third Round is not generally recommended.

GOALS/WHY MBA/HBS
The structure of the application is such that one does not have to write a "Why MBA? What are you Goals? Why HBS?" essay.  Essay Option 2 is  clearly designed for that purpose, but it is optional. That said, you really do want to fully account for the above questions in your own head, at least, because it is an important strategic consideration. Furthermore, you can assume that if you have an interview you will be asked about your educational and professional objectives (see my analysis of HBS interviews).

I think it is possible to actually use any of the questions except Option Four, to explain why you are applying to HBS and what your career vision is, BUT it is obviously rather easy to use Option 2 for that purpose.  Clearly each applicant will have to figure out what works best for them.  When I advise my clients on this, we deeply consider what topics will make for the best possible presentation.  Thinking through alternatives is always a good idea.


JUST BECAUSE THEY DON'T ASK DOES NOT MEAN YOU SHOULD NOT KNOW: LEARN ABOUT HBS!
I think this is an obvious point, but I will make it anyway: I suggest you take a look at my posts on school selection as they will help you to analyze why HBS is right or wrong for you.  Especially see one of my posts on someone who greatly benefited from being dinged by HBS.  I think actually it is not right for everybody, so look at HBS closely to see if it right for you. Your age is certainly a consideration. In addition to what it is stated in this post, I suggest you review the entire series of posts even for questions you are not planning to write on because I have provided links to various things about HBS.

HBS is very open about who they take.  They even indicate what undergraduate institutions those admitted attended.  See here.

Not everyone should apply or go to HBS.  For a happy story of HBS rejection, see here.


CASE STUDY AT HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL

While Harvard Business School is most known for its use of the case method (80%), other top programs use it typically 30%-50% of the time with the remainder consisting of lecture, experiential learning, simulations, and other methods. By the way, if you want to know what HBS students read in addition to case studies, see http://www.computersexy.com/blog/2008/02/03/hbs/what-do-hbs-students-read/.

If you are thinking about applying to HBS, you should learn about the case method/view. One of the clearest explanations for the case method is, not surprisingly, the HBS website. Every MBA applicant could benefit from watching the case study video which will provide you with a clear 13 minute and 25 second image of what case study is about. You should most certainly look at videos found at the HBS' YouTube channel.

Want to read some case studies?

One great resource for cases studies is caseplace.org, where you can read cases written by and for top business schools. Many were published by Harvard Business School through Harvard Working Knowledge, Harvard Business Review, and Harvard Business School Publishing. Sources for other cases include Stanford Social Innovation Review, Knowledge @ Wharton, and MIT Sloan Management Review.

Sponsored by the Aspen Institute, "CasePlace.org is a practical and dynamic resource for up-to-date case studies, syllabi and innovative MBA teaching materials on business and sustainability— from corporate governance to sustainable development." Given the sources and purpose of the site, this is a wonderful opportunity to read cases on a diverse range of subjects. If caseplace.org is not enough for you then you can also purchase case studies directly from HBS and other schools.

Please keep in mind that the objective is to get enough background to make good decisions about your applications, so don't feel obligated to spend so much time reading cases. Just spend enough time to know what the case method is and how it will impact your application decisions and admissions strategy.

WHICH TWO OF THE FIVE SHOULD I CHOOSE?
The important thing is to select the topics that will best represent you. Focus first on what you really want to say about yourself and then decide which questions will be best to answer. As I will discuss, Option 2 has the advantage of being really useful for a number purposes. Also, for some applicants, Option 1 is really very useful, so don't assume that I am suggesting that it is less worthy of consideration than the other three possibilities. Your objective is to construct the most effective presentation of yourself as possible in order to become part of the Class of 2013. One thing to avoid is an over-marketed set of essays. Instead focus on presenting yourself at your best. See my last post of 2007 on the limits of a marketing based strategy.

LEADERSHIP AT HBS
Please read my analysis of Essay 1 in which I will discuss leadership at HBS in detail. Given that the Optional Questions don't necessarily focus on leadership, Essays 1 and 2 are the most natural places to demonstrate leadership.  Option 3 would also be a likely possibility.

WHAT YOU SHOULD DO NOW:

• Read my other six forthcoming posts in this series. Even if you are not planning to write on a specific question, you might very well find something that will help you with the questions you are writing on.
• Learn as much as you can about HBS. If possible, go visit the campus. Visiting HBS, like visiting any business school, is one of the best ways to learn about it.
• Attend admissions outreach events as these will give you an opportunity to hear from admissions directly and possibly interact with alumni. For a report on the recent Tokyo event, see here.

-Adam Markus
アダム マーカス

MBA留学 ビジネススクール カウンセリング コンサルティング  ハーバード MBA

Questions? Contact me directly at adammarkus@gmail.com. Please see my FAQ regarding the types of questions I will respond to. If you are looking for a highly experienced admissions consultant who is passionate about helping his clients succeed, please feel free to contact me at adammarkus@gmail.com to arrange an initial consultation. To learn more about my services, see here. Initial consultations are conducted by Skype or telephone. For clients in Tokyo, a free face-to-face consultation is possible after an initial Skype or telephone consultation. I only work with a limited number of clients per year and believe that an initial consultation is the best way to determine whether there is a good fit. Whether you use my service or another, I suggest making certain that the fit feels right to you.

１日で学ぶTOEFLリスニング学習法と発音

Struggling with TOEFL listening? My guest blogger, Taichi Kono, will be offering a one-day seminar in July.  Details below.
-Adam
 アダム

『１日で学ぶTOEFLリスニング学習法と発音』

日時：　7月25日（日）10:00-16:30（途中 30分の休憩を挟みます）

場所：
「FORUM 8」（http://www.forum-8.co.jp/）720 号室
東京都渋谷区道玄坂2-10-7 新大宗ビル（地図は上記ホームページをご参照ください）

金額：　 18,900円（消費税込）

内容：
・TOEFL iBTの点数を決定的に左右するリスニング能力の鍛え方を、「手取り足取り」指導します。
・教室内で講師の細かい指導を受けながら実践していただくことで、今後独力で学習できるようになるための道筋をつけます。
・指導の基本は、河野太一著『必ず聞こえるTOEFLテストリスニング』（アルク刊）で紹介した学習法に沿いながら、本では扱えなかったバリエーション や、プラスアルファの学習法を交えていきます。
・対象はTOEFLのリスニング学習法に悩むすべての方です。現在の点数は問いません。書籍での独学はハードルが高く、手ほどきがほしいという方には特に おすすめです。
・IELTS、TOEIC、英検などの英語試験、また一般的に英語のリスニング力を伸ばしたいという方にも有効な内容です。
・リスニング学習を効果的に行うためには、その基盤として発音の訓練がなされていることが必須となります。本セミナーでは前半にたっぷり時間をとって音素 の練習を行っていきます。

教材：
『英語で授業を受けてみる（小学校編）』　中谷美佐著　ジャパンタイムズ刊・「小学校編」というタイトルにだまされてはいけません。 TOEFLのリスニング力を鍛えるに最適の書籍の一つです。
・セミナー受講後、引き続きこの本を使ってトレーニングを実践することができます。セミナー後の学習計画についてもお話しします。
・事前に各自購入の上、当日お持ちください。

注意事項：
・本セミナーは根本的なリスニング力そのものを向上させるという趣旨で行います。したがってTOEFL形式の問題を解く問題演習は一切行いません。また、 問題解答の際の「コツ」のようなものも一切扱いませんのでご了承ください。
・上記の通り、使用する教材も「TOEFL」と銘打ったものではありません。これも「表面的なテスト対策ではなく、リスニング力そのものを鍛える」という 趣旨に沿ったものです。その点をご納得いただいた上でのご受講をお願いします。
・本セミナーではおおよそ前半が発音、後半がリスニング学習法という内容になります。発音訓練とリスニング学習法は一体であるとの考え方から、前半のみや 後半のみのご受講は承っておりませんのでご了承ください。
・本セミナーでは、効果的な学習を行うため、いわゆる「昼食時間」というものは設けず、１時間から１時間半ごとに１０分程度のトイレ休憩と、中盤に３０分 の長めの休憩を挟むのみになります。昼食は軽食程度でお済ませいただくようお願いいたします。
・セミナー開始後の入退室は、他の参加者のやる気や集中力を大きく削ぐものです。万一遅刻された場合もご入室はいただけますが、なるべく開始時間の１０分 程度前までにはご入室いただきますようお願いいたします。

お申し込み方法：
・info@konojuku.comまでメールにてお申込みください。当方にて空席状況を確認の上、振込先などを記したメールを差し上げます。
・メールには以下の内容をご記入ください。
お名前とフリガナ
学習の目的（MBA留学、その他の学科の大学院留学、４年制大学留学などの種別や、アメリカ、イギリスなど留学地の希望など）
現在のスコア・資格（TOEFL、TOEIC、英検など）

Guest Blogger: 河野太一のGMAT OG12解説 SC14

This is another post from Taichi Kono, author of two textbooks on TOEFL and one on TOEIC and a highly experienced TOEFL, TOEIC, and GMAT instructor. Most of his posts will be in Japanese. This post is on GMAT sentence correction. His other posts can be found here.
-Adam


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河野塾代表の河野太一です。年来の友人である Adam Markusさんのご厚意で、"The Official Guide for GMAT Review, 12th Edition"の解説ブログの内容の一部をこちらにアップさせていただくことになりました。オリジナルは河野太一のGMAT OG12解説でご覧いただけます。なお、オリ ジナルのほうは予告なく内容を変更することがあり、ここに上げたものと相違があることがありますのでご了承ください。私のこれまでの記事やGMAT以外の 話題についてはこちらをご覧ください。


SC14
SCで は、最初にパッと文構造を見抜くことが大切。文構造を見抜く際のポイントとなるのはカンマ。ひとつひとつのカンマに対して、それがどういう意味合いでそこ に置かれているかの説明を付けられる力が必要。ここでは主語と思われる名詞Sunspotsの隣にカンマがある。次の単語vorticesは、意味を知ら ずとも名詞であることは想像がつく。すると考えられるのはA, B, and Cという並列。ところが後ろに, andを探してもこれがなく、次のカンマの後ろには動詞areが来ている。そこで考え方を変え、Sunspotsとvorticesは同格で、カンマ2つ は同格（修飾要素）を挟むためのカンマではないかと考える。するとカンマに挟まれた部分は取りあえず飛ばし、後ろの文構造を考えればよいことになる（ただ し、associatedはおそらく後置のdone形容詞であろう、ぐらいまでは考えておいてもいいかもしれない）。ここまでの判断が1秒ぐらいでできる ようになれば強い。文法に強くない人がその域に達するには、逆に時間を度外視してでも文構造を考え抜くプロセスを通らなければならないだろう。

さ て、主語が複数であるから、(A)の動詞areは問題ない。他の選択肢を縦に見ると、主語と動詞の単複呼応で落とせる選択肢はなさそうだ。asは一瞬、 as visible as ...となるべきところ、最初のasが欠けてしまったのではないか、とも思わせるが、これも他の選択肢を見るとas ... as構文になっていないので、そこはポイントではないと判断できる。素直に「〜として」という意味の前置詞ととらえてよさそうだ。on the surface ... Sunは問題なし。but have never been ...はbutの論理関係も、haveが複数主語（Sunspots）を受けていることも、現在完了形も問題なし。ここで（A）と決めてしまうにはやや勇 気がいるが、正解候補。

(B)では、never have beenがthat節の中に入っている。このthatは関係代名詞で、dark spotsにかかると解釈できる。すると「これまで発見されなかった黒い点として見える（visible）」となってしまい、意味不明になる。ここで、 「いや、そういう解釈もひょっとしたら成り立つかもしれない」などと考え、あれこれこねくり回すのは時間のムダ。butを使って論理関係を明らかにしてい る(A)のほうが優れているのは明白だ。下線部の後ろとのつながりもまったく説明不能。

(C) althoughの後ろのSVが省略されることはあるが、SVをきちんと書くことのほうが圧倒的に多い。省略される場合は<主節の主語＋be動 詞>のセットが省略されていると考えることができるが、ここでは、「これまでに発見されていない」という意味内容から、現在完了形のhave never beenがsightedの前に入るべきと考えられるので、通常の省略のルールにも反している。

(D) これもalthoughの後ろに何かを省略しているつもりだろうが、例えばthey areをnever havingの前に挿入してみても文としては成り立たないから、省略も成り立たない。ちなみに筆者が、<接続詞＋ doing>のパターンを「後ろにSVが省略されている」と解釈し、「doing副詞（いわゆる分詞構文）の意味を明確にするために、前に接続詞を 置いたもの」という考え方を採用しないのは、このような問題で迷わないように、というのもひとつの理由。その考え方では、完了形のhaveに-ingを付 けてdoing副詞にする用法があるだけに、(D)が合っているように見えなくもないからだ。まあ本番ではこんな選択肢は「不恰好」の一言で切ってしまっ てよいだろうし、「havingを含む選択肢は正解にならない（正確には「なりにくい」）」という「テクニック」を使っても害はない。

(E) have never beenが関係代名詞which節の中に入り込んでおり、制限非制限の違いはあるにしても、(B)と同じ問題を引き起こしている。結局(A)が正解。 have never been sighted ...の主語になるのはdark spotsではなくSunspotsであるべきだ、という出題者の意図も感じられる。

-河野太一


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