|
|
 UNDERGRADSMain Page2007 RankingsAdmissions Q&AsCareer Q&AsUndergrad ForumReading ListRecruiter Q&AsSchool Report CardsSchool ToursUndergrad 24-7Undergrad VideosNews HeadlinesPREMIUM CONTENT
| |
AUGUST 19, 2003
CHAT TRANSCRIPT Tips from an Admissions Whiz Clear Admit co-founder Graham Richmond has staked his business on giving applicants specialized advice. Here's a sampling Richmond's 19-month-old company has helped about 200 MBA hopefuls with their applications, essays, and interviews. He and his small team of counselors will advise another 200 MBA wannabes this year on choosing which schools to apply to, plus essay writing, interviewing skills, and what to do if you're waitlisted. Aside from his recent work at Clear Admit, Richmond has experience in the B-schools admissions field dating back to 1995, when he worked at MCS Multi-App, an educational-software startup that offered application aids for business- and law-schools. From 1999 to 2001, he attended the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and also worked in the school's admissions office as a student admissions officer, reading hundreds of applications and attending weekly admissions committee decision meetings. Richmond fielded questions from a live audience in a chat co-hosted by BW Online's Mica Schneider and Jack Dierdorff. Here's an edited transcript of the event: Q: How do business schools view companies such as your own? Is it ethical to get assistance on a business-school application? A: Opinion is mixed. Some admissions officers I've spoken to feel that we're doing a nice job of demystifying the process and helping students make informed decisions about the schools they're applying to. Our guiding principle is that applicants need feedback and that they should get that feedback from an informed source rather than from a parent or a sibling or a co-worker -- some of whom may not really know what MBA programs are looking for. Q: People can't help wondering how the slow economy and bear market are affecting B-school prospects. Were applications down last year? By how much? What do you expect for next year? A: The short answer is yes, application volume was down slightly. Most of the top schools saw a decrease on the order of 15%. But it's important to remember that this is coming off of historical highs for most of the top schools, and it's also important to observe that the [test and other] statistics for this year's entering class are the highest they've ever been. So numbers might be down, but competition seems to be up. Q: Each year, there seems to be a fad that people appear to latch on to, such as business ethics. Is there such a theme in 2003 applications? A: I'm not a big believer in fads in admissions strategy. In my mind, most of the top MBA programs are looking for pretty much the same traits that they've always looked for, such as leadership, academic aptitude, and a diversity of experiences. Q: Numerous application-consulting companies are in the market. How is Clear Admit any different than the rest? Especially since Clear Admit charges substantially more than other companies do? A: Clear Admit combines expertise from an admissions standpoint, an applicant's standpoint, an MBA student's standpoint, and an editor's standpoint. There are companies that have editors without MBA [degrees]; there are MBAs editing applications without admissions experience; and there are former admissions officers helping students, who don't have MBAs themselves. Clear Admit combines all of these perspectives. As far as cost is concerned, our clients receive a highly tailored service. We work with a very limited number of applicants, and we're there for them throughout the admissions process. People are paying us to increase their odds of admission to a top school and tap into a lifetime of benefits. Q: How does your company stay in tune with trends in MBA admissions? How up-to-date is your admissions advice? A: First and foremost, we maintain contact with admissions officers. As a former admissions counselor from Wharton, I personally call upon ex-colleagues from multiple schools in order to find out what they're looking for each year. In addition, we've now worked with hundreds of clients and seen the fruits of our labor, and we're constantly receiving new information based on experiences with clients. Q: Here is an unusual situation from a member of the audience: I did a MBA from India 10 years ago, right after I finished my undergraduate degree. I want to do another MBA in the U.S. at a top-10 school. How can I justify my application? A: The key will be to show what there is to gain from pursuing an MBA at this stage of your career. Obviously, given that you had not worked prior to the first MBA, you may be able to justify a return to the classroom in order to put [your work] experiences in context. In addition, attending business school in the U.S. may open doors for you that aren't opened by the MBA program you pursued in India. Q: Does it help for applicants with a software background to take accounting and finance courses prior to applying to an MBA program? A: Yes, absolutely. The admissions committee, in assessing your academic readiness for the MBA program, will look at your undergraduate transcripts to see signs of quantitative aptitude. And taking these types of foundation courses -- in particular, accounting statistics, and even calculus -- can be a good way to show a high level of preparedness for the MBA program.
BW MALL
SPONSORED LINKS
Buy a link now!Get BusinessWeek directly on your desktop with our RSS feeds.  Add BusinessWeek news to your Web site with our headline feed. Click to buy an e-print or reprint of a BusinessWeek or BusinessWeek Online story or video. To subscribe online to BusinessWeek magazine, please click here. Learn more, go to the BusinessWeekOnline home page  | | AUGUST Learn about your online education options |
 Copyright 2003, by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.Terms of Use | Privacy Policy |
MBA Insider
Printer-Friendly Version
