Strategy: HBS MBA Questions for Fall 2009 Admission

This post is focused on overall strategy for HBS MBA Questions for Fall 2009 Admission. All the posts in this series are: Overall Strategy 1 2 3-1 3-2 3-3 3-4.

THE QUESTIONS

Two Required Questions:

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

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

3. 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. Discuss how you have engaged with a community or organization.

3. What area of the world are you most curious about and why?

4. What is your career vision and why is this choice meaningful to you?


Here I will provide some overall strategic advice regarding applying to HBS. (While I have previously posted my immediate response to the HBS questions, now that I have provided a much more comprehensive analysis in seven blog posts, I don't think it is very useful to read, but I am leaving it up on the site. )

Please keep in mind that additional strategy and tactics are covered in the six other posts in this series. I suggest reading in the entire series of posts, even for the Question 3 options that you do not intend to write on.


CHANGES TO THE APPLICATION:
This year's application is mostly a modification of last year's major alteration of the application. The two required questions are the same and so are two out of the four questions that applicants will get to choose from. The biggest change in structure is that applicants will be writing only four instead of five essays. Last year applicants were asked to select 3 out of 6 questions they had to choose from, this year it is 2 out of 4. HBS dropped four questions and added two. Adding two new questions per year had been a typical pattern at HBS for quite a long time and it is possible they are returning to it after last year's major revisions.

Why I don't think it is generally a good idea to write the HBS essays first:
Given the limited length of the set, 1800 words maximum, applicants must think very seriously about only including their best content. Curiously enough Stanford GSB (my posts on Stanford will be coming soon) also has limited essay word count to 1800. Unless you are only applying to HBS and Stanford, I would generally suggest you write the essays for another school first. There is a learning curve in essay writing and you want your essays for HBS to be very strong. Given that you do have significant choice in the HBS set, having a portfolio of essays from other schools to utilize can be quite helpful. I know my suggestion will be harder for those focused on first round, but I have no particular bias for 1st round application, only a bias for submitting as strong an application as possible. Giving yourself as much time as you can seems critical to me. Additionally, given the limited word count for the HBS essays, you are in many cases likely to have more space to write on some similar topics for another school. I think it is generally easier to go from a longer to shorter text and hence, doing HBS short word count essays after one or more school's 500 or more word count essays is likely to be more efficient.


THE GOALS/WHY MBA/HBS OPTIONAL APPLICATION
The structure of the new application is such that one does not have to write a "Why MBA? What are you Goals? Why HBS?" essay. That said, as I discuss in my analysis of the 3-4, "the Career Vision Question," 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, with the possible exception of 2("Mistake"), to explain why you are applying to HBS and what your career vision is. In my analysis of each question, I have indicated how I think the connection could be made. Clearly each applicant will have to figure out what works best for them.


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. I think actually it is not right for everybody, so look at HBS closely to see if it right for you. 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.

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.

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 FOUR SHOULD I CHOOSE?
I think it is easy to say that the conservative choice for those with work experience would be 3-2, a leadership question, and 3-4, the career vision question. For some applicants this will be the right decision. 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. Your objective is to construct the most effective presentation of yourself as possible in order to become part of the Class of 2011. 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 3-2 in which I discuss leadership at HBS tin detail.

WHAT YOU SHOULD DO NOW:

• Read my other six 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.
• If you find that you need expert consulting on HBS or other MBA applications, consider contacting me. For more about my services, see http://adammarkus.com/.
  

Questions? Write comments or contact me directly at adammarkus@gmail.com. Please see my FAQ regarding the types of questions I will respond to.

-Adam Markus
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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 ハーバード MBA

Attend The MBA Tour and World MBA Tour Events!

The MBA Tour has now posted its Fall 2008 schedule and The World MBA Tour has has posted its Summer 2008 schedule. If you can attend one or both of these MBA fairs I suggest doing so. Depending on your location, early registration may be advisable. These fairs are a great way of getting a huge amount of information quickly, possibly networking with admissions officers and alum, and getting free pens!

While these massive fairs can be helpful, they are an imperfect substitute for attending a school-specific admissions or alumni events or, better yet, visiting a school. Keep in mind that being well informed about where you apply can often be critical, especially for more selective programs. Intensive and extensive networking with admissions officers, alum, and current students is something you should prepare yourself for and these fairs are a good first step.

If you want to do an open invitation interview, now is the time to start getting your resume in order. A number of these schools will likely be doing interviewing, so while you may still be focused on GMAT and or iBT TOEFL right now, you should start to think about preparing for such interviews. For my post on interview strategy, click here. Additionally see here for how to start formulating your goals. Of course, you should also think about whether you really need an MBA.

Questions? Write comments or contact me directly at adammarkus@gmail.com. Please see my FAQ regarding the types of questions I will respond to.
-Adam Markusアダム マーカス

カウンセリング コンサルティング MBA留学 ビジネススクール

Good TOEFL iBT Speaking Section Preparation?

I asked this same question in April, but I will ask again: Does anyone know of any particularly good TOEFL iBT Speaking Section preparation courses? At least here in Japan, I have not received very favorable comments from my clients about the iBT Speaking courses that are available in Tokyo (perhaps, I am unaware of a good one, I hope). I asked this same question to my fellow AIGAC (Association of International Graduate Admission Consultants) members, but without receiving any reply from them, so I am guessing that no one has yet developed a very effective test solution to this section other than the obvious: Study and practice English speaking intensely because the new TOEFL is a test of real ability. Actually that was the conclusion I came to when I analyzed what ETS wrote about their test. Read more about my analysis of the new TOEFL iBT here.

If anyone has had good experiences with any form (live classes, one-to-one sessions, and/or internet-based) of TOEFL iBT Speaking test preparation available in any country, please email me at adammarkus@gmail.com.

Also, in the unlikely event that someone who teaches ibt TOEFL Speaking reads this post and thinks that they have an effective teaching solution to the Speaking test and/or to the other sections of the TOEFL, please contact me at adammarkus@gmail.com. If I find that you have an effective solution, I will be happy to consider promoting it.

-Adam Markus
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TOEFL ibt スコア スピーキングセクション

School Selection: Career Prospects

This is part of my continuing series on school selection. Beyond other considerations, such as general selection strategy, ranking, location, financing your education, academic fit, and prestige, you should select degree programs that will support your career goals. This is a huge consideration that not only involves what you can learn, but also whether the career placement services, alumni network, and market value of the degree will provide you with the right kind of support to help you obtain employment after you finish. This applies as much to doctoral programs in English Literature as it does to more career focused degrees like an MBA, LL.M, or MPA.

You should of course consider the specific ROI (Return on Investment) that you can expect from the degree based upon your goals. If possible, actually calculate your anticipated ROI. This is especially useful for comparing programs. Most programs can provide some data on starting salaries and placement of their graduates.

Next consider how a degree from the school will be perceived in your intended field. Beyond mere calculations of ROI based on objective considerations of starting salary, what is the likely value of a degree from the school to your career? A school might have an overall great reputation (see my earlier post on prestige), but how is it perceived in your field? Is a graduate degree even valued? If so, how important is where you have it from?

Consider whether companies or organizations that you want to work for recruit from the school. After all if you want to work for the UN, GE Capital, Boston Consulting Group, etc., you would most certainly best be served by going to a school with the right recruiting history. While past performance is no guarantee of future success, it is a strong indicator of the likely outcome. This also applies to academic hiring as well. If the newly minted Ph.D.'s from the top ten program in your field that you considering applying to consistently get hired by small and medium middle ranked universities in the Midwest and Southwest, your chances to get immediately hired by Harvard or Princeton are likely to be remote. Realism and a willingness to do a little research will help you understand what you can expect as a result of having a degree from the a particular program. Additionally, such research will allow you to make the strongest possible case in your statement of purpose/goals essay about why a particular program best meets your professional objectives.

The value of the career services office should also be an important consideration for some applicants. The quality of such services vary greatly between schools and within schools. Generally speaking MBA programs have their own stand alone career services office, while other graduate programs may or may not have such offices. While the services will vary, a good career services office will help you practice interviewing, maximize the effectiveness of your resume, help you find internships, set-up on-campus recruiting, facilitate off-campus recruiting, and provide professional career counseling. A career services office is an integral and key part of top MBA programs. For those applying to programs outside of their home country who intend to return to their home country, the value of a career services office may not be that significant. I know from talking to many of my former Japanese clients who attended top US graduate schools that for purposes of getting hired back in Japan, The Boston Career Forum and recruiting connected to it was much more significant to them than the career services office.

Finally, if you are really uncertain about what you want to do after you graduate (what you write in your essays is a completely different issue), I suggest applying to schools where you be able to maximize your opportunities and that will help direct you into a post-degree career. That is to say, apply to programs that will provide you with career counseling, that have an established record of job placement, and can attract a wide group of recruiters. If you need help, you better go somewhere where you can get it.

Questions? Write comments or contact me directly at adammarkus@gmail.com. Please see my FAQ regarding the types of questions I will respond to.
-Adam Markusアダム マーカス

カウンセリング コンサルティング MBA留学 ビジネススクール 米国ロースクール 米国大学法学院 大学院入学 大学院合格対策 キャリアフォーラム

U. of Virginia Darden 1st Year MBA Student Interview

Naomi Uchida, a first year MBA student at the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business and my former client, was kind enough to answer my questions. Naomi has her bachelors from New York University. She subsequently worked for a Japanese bank in New York City and then a real estate investment firm in Tokyo prior to joining Darden's Class of 2009.
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Adam: Darden is often referred to as the boot camp of MBA programs for its intensity. Looking at your first year schedule, I can kind of see why. So how hard has it been?

Naomi: I learned very quickly that they were not joking when they said Darden is a boot camp. First of all there is the workload. We have 3 cases a day, which means 3 cases we need to prepare for on our own prior to our learning team. Apart from the cases we need to squeeze in recruiting briefings and guest speakers in our afternoons. In the early evenings we get together in our learning team and go over the cases again. The next morning these cases get discussed in the classroom, which is an intensive and engaging environment where we get cold-called and our ideas that we worked through with our respective learning teams get challenged day in and day out. You have to be willing to work hard, because Darden will not be a 2-year vacation from your job. But I have found it to be a constant battle between sleep, getting cases done, recruiting events, and squeezing in time for yourself (workouts, social events).

Adam: Can you explain the role of the Case Method at Darden?

Naomi: Darden trains us to think and act like managers. In a case method classroom, everyone is prepared, ready to jump right into the case when class begins. We argue with each other about certain key aspects of the case, and defend our positions to our classmates who often have opposing ideas. The professors' role is to be the moderator, not the lecturer. The case method is what defines Darden, and what gives this program the intensity that is often spoken of. I have learned to explain myself very well, since they teach us that the process is more important than getting the right answer.

Adam: What was your Learning Team like?

Naomi: I am very fortunate to have ended up with an incredible group of people in my learning team. There are 6 of us: 2 international students, 2 women, and all of us have different professional backgrounds. During the first 3 quarters at Darden, we met almost every night at 7:30pm before a school day ( which typically was Sunday through Thursday). We would have done our cases on our own by then, and be ready to discuss the cases. Since we have different strengths and weaknesses, I felt that we really depended on each other at times for knowledge in certain areas such as accounting, operations, and marketing.

This is a big time commitment for all First Years. Beginning in Quarter 2 the Darden program gets even more intense, and we were spending 3 hours every night in our learning team. However, I came away feeling that I have a special bond with these 5 people, and we tried to get together once in a while in Quarter 4 for dinner.

Adam: Would you mind explaining the role of the Honor Code?

Naomi: It is because of the honor code that we have the privilege of being able to do certain things at Darden. For instance, we can leave our laptops anywhere at school and know that it will be right where we left it. It is the reason why our exams are take-home, open notes and open-book. By signing the honor code prior to beginning each exam, we pledge that the work will be our own, and that we have not exceeded the time limit (typically 5 hours).

Adam: Do you actually have any time for clubs? If so, which ones are you active in?

Naomi: To be completely honest I have not had much time for clubs for the first 3 quarters. In Quarter 4, I got elected as the Vice President of Events for the International Business Society so I have been organizing the remainder of this year's events for the club and planning next year's events (guest speakers, international food festival, etc).

Adam: Are there any common characteristics you find amongst your classmates?

Naomi: We are a very diverse crowd, but one consistent characteristic I found was that everyone is willing to help each other out. We are graded on a forced curve as First Years at Darden which puts us all in competition with each other so that we do not end up in the bottom of the forced curve. Despite that, students lead the review sessions we have prior to exams and offer the limited time that they have to give tutoring lessons to those who are struggling with the course material.

Adam: Since you did your Bachelors at NYU, I was wondering what it was like for you to now be studying in a relatively small college town.

Naomi: Living in a college town is a lot of fun. The town is defined by UVA (for e.g., the local restaurants are closed during home football games). You do not have the advantage of anonymity --whether you are at the grocery store or the driving range, you will always find someone from school there. It certainly is a world of a difference from my life at NYU--at NYU I recall going to classes, occasionally having lunch at the student center, and going home directly after classes. At Darden I am completely immersed in school, and almost everything I do has to do with Darden or UVA. I attend home football games, represent Darden and volunteer in Charlottesville, go to a professor's home for dinner….these activities also gave me a lot of opportunity to get to know my classmates.

Adam: What are your favorite MBA related blogs?

Naomi: I cannot say I have accessed MBA blogs lately (meaning after coming to Darden) to tell you the truth. But here's an interesting article written by a classmate of mine--it really sums up the life of a Darden First Year.

Adam: Anything else you would like to tell us?

Naomi: Darden is tough, and you will most likely miss your job/hometown/friends/pets when you first get here. But once your routine becomes a well-oiled machine, you realize you are surrounded by an incredible group of classmates, professors and staff who are always willing to help you. The case method, honor code, learning teams are all key components of the Darden program. However, it is the people that make the program great.

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I want to thank Naomi for taking the time to answer my questions. Japanese who are considering application to Darden should most certainly visit the Japanese language Darden MBA Blog.

Question? Comments? Email me at adammarkus@gmail.com
-Adam Markus
アダム マーカス

ビジネススクール カウンセリング コンサルティング MBA留学 ダーデン