Yesterday we presented an argument for a strong correlation between an applicant’s success in showing UC Berkeley that they cared about Berkeley’s culture based on how the applicant pitched the admissions team in their MBA essays. We also talked about why you might want to care about culture anyway, regardless of if the school cares […]
Continue reading...More “wow the world in 2020 omg” and also bschools are changing and that gives us hope
It’s safe to say that we are in the midst of massive change in our world. The death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Friday only reinforces that reality — the reality that EVERYTHING is being reshaped and reformed. That’s why everyone is so stressed out right now — that, and the massive uncertainty, where we […]
Continue reading...Tuck sucks. (Not totally. But yeah kind of.)
A generation of BSers ago, EssaySnark had done an informal ranking of “the best” schools — “best” being a term that’s sooooo subjective as to be practically useless, but in this case we were trying to recognize schools that were particularly applicant-friendly. It may sound odd, but traditionally, like for years and years all the […]
Continue reading...($) Writing Week! Day 4: The problem of the parrot.
You may be wondering why we’re spending so much time talking about issues of writing style on a blahg that’s supposed to be about strategies for getting in. A good set of essays for an MBA application will answer the question that the school has posted in its essay prompt. That goes without saying. Anyone […]
Continue reading...($) How do you know if you’re “Harvard material”?
As a follow-up to the commentary we offered recently on qualified vs differentiated when we’re talking about Harvard and other top schools: In the hypercompetitive environment that we’re expecting this season, we might even need to add a third level: “Distinctive.” That’s the candidate who will end up with the H/S/W admits. How do you […]
Continue reading...A pre-emptive warning post about who will not make it into Harvard this year
There’s probably three categories of folks who don’t get into Harvard Business school: 1. The qualified but not differentiated 2. The qualified who thought they were differentiated (ouch) 3. And perhaps the most frustrating category: The differentiated who didn’t leverage the app People in Category 1 will likely land at a good school in the […]
Continue reading...How refreshing.
Today we’re offering small compliments to a small thing that UC Berkeley did a few months back (we’ve been trying to find a slow day to post this and that’s apparently never going to happen in 2020* so here it is at random). This is what we mean: What Berkeley did was: 1. Acknowledge reality. […]
Continue reading...Duke’s admissions policies in the face of coronavirus are … what? (UPDATED!)
For the Class of 2023 — unless their website has only gotten a partial update and some of the information available there is still from last season, which is possible — Duke Fuqua are apparently REQUIRING some candidates to come to campus to interview. Ummmm…. requiring?? Well, not “requiring” in that if you want to […]
Continue reading...($) Which schools were already online?
Gosh it seems like forever-ago that we promised this. Way back a century ago in late April, we were talking about what factors affect the instructional quality you’ll experience as a student taking online courses in an MBA program (if it comes to that) and which schools might be ahead of the curve in delivering […]
Continue reading...($) What to consider with your Kellogg (or other school’s Rd 3 Flex) app: Recs, timing, optional essay
We’ve been getting app strategy questions!!! Let’s offer you all some attempts at some answers!! As everyone now knows, Kellogg announced that they have completely waived the requirement to submit a standardized test in order to apply right now. (If you missed it before, be sure to read that post before moving forward with today’s.) […]
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