Happy June! Summer is almost here! How do we know that? Well, because The Round 1 Countdown launched recently! Whether you sign up for The Countdown or just keep coming back here to the blahg, we’ll be rolling up the sleeves and getting started in the nitty gritty of figuring out what it takes […]
Continue reading...($) Going beyond the numbers: Why is it so much harder to get into Kellogg than it is Haas, given their admit rates?
This post was prompted by a very legit question asked by a BSer planning a Round 2 strategy a few weeks ago: Given that the Haas admit rate is actually lower than Kellogg, why would EssaySnark claim that it’s easier to get in? Many years ago we published our own “rankings” on which schools were […]
Continue reading...Some schools are being hard-asses about standardized testing and test scores (and a rant)
A number of schools seem to be trying to play the status-quo game: They’re maintaining their pre-covid policies and not really making many accommodations to their processes and policies. In a “normal” year we would not even call any attention to this. It’s what schools do. With the exception of changing their essay questions and […]
Continue reading...($) Let’s talk about business schools.
In yesterday’s overview of the rigged system and biased feedback loop of school rankings -> school admissions practices, we challenged the admissions directors at the top schools in America to change the status quo, to use this moment in time of upheaval in their ecosystem to do things differently. Our diatribe laid blame for the […]
Continue reading...Which school will do it first?
Some of you may be too young to remember the details, but about 12 years ago, we had that big financial crisis involving mortgages and Wall Street and fancy-dancy securities called collateral debt obligations and all that jazz. The part you probably do remember is that it made the housing market melt down, and people […]
Continue reading...($) Make no mistake: The flexibility with deadline extensions and loosened requirements is for the schools
By now you know all about how the schools have changed policies here at the end of the season. They’ve suddenly become super accommodating and applicant-friendly, practically falling all over each other trying to show how flexible they can be in letting you apply late. Even if you don’t have a GMAT or GRE score […]
Continue reading...What goes into the MBA rankings and why should you care?
Well shoot. We have literally been intending to talk about this for 1-1/2 years. We had posted a question for all y’all way back in November 2017, looking for input on why Duke was ranked at a certain spot on the BusinessWeek list of best business schools. We got just one response at the time […]
Continue reading...($) The BSer’s Dilemma: Deciding between two top MBA programs — what to do, what to do?
In case you missed it, we started this discussion of How to decide which U.S. business school to go to when you get multiple offers?? here. If you’re also in this wonderfully privileged yet oh-so-stressful position, today’s post is for you. First bit of advice: We have a treasure trove of posts on individual schools […]
Continue reading...“Rankings will not tell you what’s the best school for you.”
The first page of the Kellogg School MBA application has a very polished video that flashes images of the gorgeous new Global Hub building and plays one-second soundbites of students sharing the stress and anxiety (and self-reflection) that they experienced in their application. It’s easy to tune out and not really absorb any of it. […]
Continue reading...Choosing your schools based on rankings is the same as the schools making admits on GMAT score.
Any long-time reader of the EssaySnark blahg knows that we’re no fans of bschool rankings. Sure, they give you a starting point when you’re brand-new to this process, to understand which schools are considered “good” — but they hardly tell the whole picture. When we have a BSer come to us saying they’re interested only […]
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