Accepted Admissions Podcast
By Linda Abraham
To listen to an audio podcast, mouse over the title and click Play. Open iTunes to download and subscribe to podcasts.
Podcast Description
MBA admissions chats conducted by Linda Abraham with admissions directors at top MBA programs and other leaders in graduate business school admissions.
| Name | Description | Released | Price | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Cambridge Judge MBA Admissions Interview Available Online | Thank you to Conrad Chua, Head of MBA Recruitment and Admissions at Cambridge Judge, for an informative admissions Q&A. You all asked excellent questions and we hope you benefited from the ensuing discussion. Read the following excerpt to learn about some of the adcom's considerations when evaluating applications: Linda Abraham: When you are evaluating applications and the applicant numbers on in the ballpark â their GMAT, their GPA, their work experience is competitive â what moves you to put one application in the âadmitâ pile and others somewhere else? Conrad Chua: The first part of the admission process is really just reading applications. And for me, itâs always about whether this person is an interesting character. First of all, he/she must tick all the boxes in terms of academics, GMAT, work experience, etc. But then I look to see if he/she has done something that stands out which is quite interesting. It could be something in the workplace. We have applicants who have written about an ethical dilemma that they had to face, and the way they resolved it was quite interesting for me. It could be their backgrounds. Someone might have started out studying law and then ended up working as a tailor. That is actually what happened to one of our students. He studied law and then he started as a solicitor and he didnât like it. And he found someone who is a hotshot tailor in London, and he went to work for him. The guy does all the designs for suits and all the tailoring, and the student runs the operations side. That was interesting for me. My first rule of thumb is â is this applicant someone I would like to spend an evening talking to over dinner? And the second thing I assess is whether this is someone I think could be a good ambassador for the university years after they graduate. So itâs about whether A) someone is interesting, and B) whether someone has that potential to do something quite amazing. Linda Abraham: A few months ago, we had a Q&A with UCLA, and the UCLA dean was listening to the questions. And the questions in that Q&A, unlike this one, were a lot of, "My GMAT is low, how can I compensate?" "I messed up in one course and I got a D in it." Or "Iâm too old", or "Iâm too young." We havenât had a lot of those questions here, which is fine. And finally, the dean was a little frustrated and he said â you guys are focusing on the wrong things. He said not to worry so much about this blemish or that blemish or that failing. Yes, address it. But he said that what you really should be focusing on is that you are going to do something that is exceptional. You are exceptional. Where have you done something exceptional? That is what you should be focusing on. And that is pretty much what you are saying too. And I think that is something that sometimes gets lost.... Please view the full transcript or listen to the audio file here and see our Cambridge Judge B-School Zone for more advice on how to optimize your Cambridge Judge application. Do you need help proving to the admissions committee that you are an exceptional candidate who will contribute significantly to the next Cambridge Judge class? Contact us to learn how we can help! To automatically receive notices about these MBA admissions chats and other MBA admissions events, please subscribe to our MBA event list. To listen to the Q&A recordings on-the-go, please subscribe to the Accepted Admissions Podcast. Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best | 3/18/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
2 |
HKUST MBA Admissions Interview Available Online | Thank you to Sherring Ng, Head of Marketing & Admissions at HKUST Business School, and Pimluck Suvitsakdanon, a second year HKUST student, for an excellent admissions Q&A. The following excerpt offers some HKUST program highlights, a great introduction if you're considering applying to this top Asian business school: Linda Abraham: Sherring, what is new at HKUST? Sherring Ng: There are so many new things at HKUST, but I will highlight a few things. We noticed that more and more recruiters at HKUST expect graduates to speak some Mandarin. In the past, we have only had three weeks of Mandarin training courses for students, just as an exposure. But starting from this year, we actually have a one-year Mandarin training program at HKUST with different levels. So a student would need to pass one level in order to take another level of Mandarin training. But eventually they can take the Business Mandarin, which is credit bearing, to learn Mandarin in business settings; like how to do interviews, how to do presentations, make reports, etc. This is one of the new things. Another thing is that we have started a pilot this past winter. We call it Professional Week. It is a very intensive training that lasts 4-5 days for students, from morning till evening. They need to do a lot of presentations, case analyses, business analyses, etc. The purpose of that is for students to really drill their skills in analyzing the different scenarios in a very short time; to do presentations, to work in teams, etc. And we are very happy about this pilot because the feedback has been very positive. And then after that training, we have sent many students overseas for different kinds of case competitions or business plan competitions. One of the competitions is the USC Marshall Global Consulting Challenge. It was held in Los Angeles, and our students won the first place. Another one is the HULT Global Case Challenge, which was held in Shanghai. Our students also won that regional competition. So it seems quite effective. Starting from our year-one students, we give an iPad to all students. And this coming summer, we plan to have something like a portal or platform for students when they are attending classes. They no longer need to bring all the notes, the package, or books; they can access all the reading materials, PowerPoint, etc. on their iPads. So it really facilitates a learning experience and also is very environmentally friendly. To learn more about this rising Asian business school, please see the full transcript or listen to the audio file here. To automatically receive notices about these MBA admissions chats and other MBA admissions events, please subscribe to our MBA event list. To listen to the Q&A recordings on-the-go, please subscribe to the Accepted Admissions Podcast. Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best | 3/15/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
3 |
2012 MBA Waitlist Q&A with Linda Abraham | Did you make it to our 2012 Accepted.com MBA Waitlist Q&A with Linda Abraham? If so, then you know what a huge success the Q&A was. Your questions were excellent and we hope that Linda's answers will help you achieve your goal of moving from the waitlist to the accepted list at your top choice b-schools. If you missed the event, then you'll definitely want to read/listen to the transcript for current info and must-know advice for waitlisted applicants, including the following tip: Here is a very common question. âI have been rejected from all the schools I applied to except one where I am waitlisted. I would love to go to my waitlisted school. How should I proceed?â The best way to proceed is to send in an update, when you have something to say. And turn to people who know you well and know the school well and ask them to perhaps send in a letter of support. You should address any weaknesses that there may be in your profile. And if you are sure you would attend the school, let them know that you will attend the school if you are accepted. The problem with that statement is that people arenât always honest. A lot of people will make that statement and wonât attend the school, so the schools donât put a lot of stock in that. But I would not say, âI got rejected everywhere else, and Iâm desperate to go to your school.â I would not say something like that. That is not going to enhance your chances. But do say that this is your #1 choice of where you want to go because it supports your goals, and give some substantive reasons. Other questions asked were: Could you give an example for how to make it clear that this is my first choice and that I will attend if accepted? When speaking to a school representative directly, in person or on the phone, how do you suggest we show continued interest, aside from asking questions about the waitlist? For answers to these questions and many others, please view the full transcript or listen to the audio file. For addition advice on how to proceed as a waitlisted applicant, see MBA Waitlist 101. To automatically receive notices about these MBA admissions chats and other MBA admissions events, please subscribe to our MBA event list. To listen to the Q&A recordings on-the-go, please subscribe to the Accepted Admissions Podcast. Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best | 2/29/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
4 |
USC Marshall MBA Admissions Director Interview Available Online | Thank you to the USC Marshall representatives for an excellent admissions Q&A. They covered lots of important topics, offering tips on all aspects of the admissions process. Read the excerpt below to learn more about the culture at Marshall and what qualities the adcom members look for in applicants: Linda Abraham: Art asks, "What strengths do you believe separate your school from some of the other MBA programs?" Grace Kim: There are great programs out there, ours being one of them. Academically, any school that you go to, you will get a great academic education. So itâs really about fit â where do you fit culturally? What sort of experiences are you looking for as you are going to graduate school? I think that makes the difference as far as distinguishing factors from schools. Because when you go to an academic environment â a college, a graduate program â there are certain standards that everyone maintains to give you that type of education. But the other component is â what kind of network do you want to have? What type of culture? What type of experience? And that is what is unique from school to school. So we always encourage our applicants, whether you are starting the application process or youâre thinking about schools, or even during the application process, to really go and visit the schools that you are going to apply to because that will give you a very good idea what the school is about and what the students are about. When we say teamwork and camaraderie, what are we talking about? How do people interact in class? What is the relationship between the professors and teachers? You will be able to get that kind of feeling and sense for the school when you actually visit. So we encourage our applicants to always visit the schools. Most schools have a visitation program. We certainly have one here; itâs called the Ambassador Program. Anyone can come Monday-Thursday. There is a morning class or an afternoon class, and a student will host you and take you around. Theyâll give you a tour, answer any of your questions, and introduce you to the professors and other students so that you really get a feel for the school and what the unique characteristics of the school are. So we encourage you to do that. Feel free to call us any time in your application process to schedule an appointment. You can view the full transcript or listen to the audio file here and see our blog post, USC Marshall Application Questions, Deadlines, & Tips, for more advice on how to optimize your USC Marshall application. Still not sure if Marshall is the best b-school for you? Download Accepted's free special report, Best MBA Programs: A Guide to Selecting the Right One, now for valuable tips on choosing an MBA program based on your individual qualifications and experiences. To automatically receive notices about these MBA admissions chats and other MBA admissions events, please subscribe to our MBA event list. To listen to the Q&A recordings on-the-go, please subscribe to the Accepted Admissions Podcast. Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best | 2/21/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
5 |
London Business School MiM Admissions Representative Interview Available Online | Thanks to the London Business School Masters in Management representatives, we had yet another successful London Q&A. See the chat excerpt below for important information on the difference between London's MBA and Masters in Management programs. Linda Abraham: What is the difference between the MBA and the MiM? Lisa Mortini: That is a very valid question, and a lot of students actually ask themselves that question. It is absolutely a good question to start thinking about when you start looking at furthering your education and also at your career path. There are very big differences, but I would start by talking about the things that are common between the two programs. What is common is that some of the topics that we cover in the MiM are very similar to the topics that are covered in the first year of the MBA because they are core courses on finance, macroeconomics, and leadership. And these things are the basis of management and they are topics that are covered on the MBA. Another similar point is that if you do your MBA here at the school, you have access to the school community, the school network, and the clubs and events and activities... The main difference really is that for students who apply to the MiM program, they do so at a very different level in their career. There will be students who just graduated from their undergraduate or are about to graduate from their undergraduate studies. And they are really looking to feel more confident, to find the right career path, to change a degree that maybe was a degree in liberal arts like history or philosophy and turn that into a business degree and do a conversion. So they come from different backgrounds, but what they have in common is that they are recent graduates that are looking for a course that is going to help them get in the door of businesses and get their foot in the door of these companies that they have an interest in. So they are much earlier on in their careers. For most of the MBA students at our school, the average is actually about 5 ½ - 6 years of work experience... All students are also in different situations in terms of where they see themselves going. A lot of our students will be very determined on a career path, and they know they want to do this course to get there and have the right connections. But a lot of them also wonât know exactly what they want to do, and so they think, which is quite right, that through doing this course they will get access to a lot of opportunities and they will learn about new careers that they havenât thought about before. MBAs are already in their career; they are more aware of these things. What they are looking for is generally a change of career. Theyâd like to convert 4-5-6 years of work experience into a new career. So they are doing the programs for different reasons. Prateik Pothuneedi: One of the major differences is that obviously the MBA program is much longer than the MiM program. It is a two-year program, and they could do an internship and they have a much longer exchange period. But I think at this point it is worthwhile to understand that there is a high level of interaction between the MiMs and the MBA students. In fact, in the clubs we see that the MiMs and the MBA students have pretty much equal standing, and there is a lot of interaction. And the MiM students do get to learn a lot from the MBA students who tend to be a little bit more experienced. Lisa Mortini: Where the students go afterwards is also very different. Our students, once they graduate from the MiM, will be looking at entry level - graduate schemes, whereas MBA students will be at a slightly higher level in their career and looking for slightly different jobs. Daniel Lay: Absolutely. I think youâve hit the nail on the head there. If we were to take an investment bank or a financial institution, the MiM students will be going in at the analyst level, whereas an MBA student would be going in at the associate lev | 2/14/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
6 |
Cornell Johnson MBA Admissions Committee Interview Available Online | Thank you to the Cornell Johnson adcom team for an excellent Q&A. The following excerpt offers some important insights into ways you can demonstrate fit in your Johnson application. This is such an important topic, so please read on! Linda Abraham: How does an applicant demonstrate fit with Johnson? Laurie Shunney McCloskey: I think there are a variety of different ways to represent how you would fit at the school. I think the more you know about Johnson, the more you will be able to articulate exactly how you would be able to fit into a specific club, or maybe you would like to lead an initiative here. I often encourage candidates on the waitlist to connect with current students and alumni to learn a little bit more about the areas that interest them most. So it would be good to reach out to a club officer at one of the clubs you would like to join, or learn a little bit more from our alumni about their experiences here, just to learn what the community is really like. Obviously visiting was a key part of that; seeing everything firsthand, attending a class. So learn as much about the school as possible, and then articulate exactly how you would fit into the community in terms of what you would like to add. Our students go above and beyond in all of their club activities. They are not just members of an organization going through the process. They are often leading initiatives and changing dynamics at the school. They are really passionate about this place, and they really want to be here in Ithaca as well. And we often hear that from candidates on the waitlist, saying that they particularly want to join this specific club and that theyâve networked with these specific students. And we also hear from our current students or alumni, if theyâve connected with you, if they believe that you would be a great fit for the school, and we do take that into consideration. So keep networking, researching, and then sending in those updates when you do find key areas of the school that you would like to participate in, and weâll keep an eye on that. Ann Richards: I also want to say that fit is a two-way street. We look at your goals and your objectives, and whether or not we can help you achieve those goals. And that is also a component of fit. Itâs not just how you fit in with us, but how do we fit into your plans and are we the best program to help you accomplish your goals? Linda Abraham: That is actually something Iâve been making a deal of for years, but itâs the main point of my book. Goals are just so critical, and one of the best ways to show fit is to be able to tie the achievement of your goal to the schoolâs program. For the full Q&A, please view the Cornell Johnson MBA transcript or listen to the audio file. You can also boost your Johnson IQ by visiting our Cornell Johnson B-School Zone and our blog post, Cornell Johnson 2012 MBA Application Questions, Deadlines & Tips. Donât want to leave any stone unturned? Check out our previous Cornell Q&A for additional advice. Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best | 2/7/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
7 |
UVA Darden MBA Admissions Representative Interview Available Online | Thank you Sara Neher, Assistant Dean of MBA Admissions at UVA Darden, for an excellent Q&A. Sara answered lots of questions, and spent some time talking about the application essay question for this year. That's right, this year UVA Darden asks only ONE question. Here are Sara's thoughts on the issue: Linda Abraham: I have a couple of questions about the essay question on your application. Do you have any advice on what information an applicant should consider in the answer in answering that one essay question? It seems to have a strong focus on globalization. How would you approach the question if you donât have very global experience? So more generally, what are you looking for in this one question? Obviously it is very important. And secondarily, what if you donât have international experience? Sara Neher: We seem to have caused people a lot of consternation with having only one essay question, and I have to say, it has been really wonderful for us! When we had two essay questions, letâs be real. We know you are applying to other schools and that is okay. But we used to see people pick one of our questions to answer and one they would try to make a copy and paste thing from another schoolâs question. This way, you have to understand the question. We really appreciate that because people are taking the time and they are writing better responses to our one question than when we had the two bigger questions, so I really appreciate that people are putting in so much time on it. The other thing is that you need to think about the entire application as an opportunity to help us get to know you. This is only one part, and there are short answer questions in other parts of the application that answer some of the things that are traditionally in essays. The elevator pitch question that we have in the employment area is really about your goals. I donât need 500 words on your goal; I think 100 words is just fine because that is the amount of time you are going to get to tell a recruiter what your goals are. So it is really for your benefit to help you really distill down what your goals are; youâll be better off. For the longer essay itself, itâs okay if you donât have international experience. Weâll know that from the rest of your application. ...Just make sure that it is your perspective and what you have learned. And so if it is a more domestic type experience but it helped you learn about people of different cultures or it helped you learn about people who think differently from you, that is really what we are ultimately after. We want to know, have you had an experience that helps you see that there are differences in the world, and what did you learn from it? That tends to be most obviously global experiences, but if your global experience is limited, it could be any kind of experience like that. We had a great one from a person working in their home country, but with a team of people with different religions. And he discussed what that meant for the kind of things the team had to consider when they were having events and gathering together. So it can be anything that you had an experience with. And what we are really looking for is: Do you answer the question? How well do you write? Do we learn something from you? Do we think your classmates would learn something from you? And this is just a proxy for that. So itâs not so much about the experience as how you describe it, and what kind of language you use that others would learn from. For the full discussion, please view the UVA Darden MBA transcript or listen to the audio file. You can also boost your UVA Darden IQ by visiting our UVA Darden B-School Zone page and our blog post, UVA Darden 2012 MBA Application Questions, Deadlines, Tips. To automatically receive notices about these MBA admissions chats and other MBA admissions events, please subscribe to our MBA event list. To listen to the Q&A recordings on-the-go, | 1/23/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
8 |
Be Smart MBA Admissions Q&A Transcript Available Online | Our recent Be Smart MBA Admissions Q&A was a huge success with tons of excellent questions asked and detailed answers given by Linda Abraham, founder & CEO of Accepted.com. Here's a particularly good question about the connection between the application essays and the MBA resume: Miriam Berlin: J asks, "How much overlap should there be between my resume and essays? Should I try to cover every major point mentioned in my resume in my essays?" Linda Abraham: The resume is a snapshot and the essays are deep dives. So you definitely do not need to cover every major point made in your resume. That is definitely unnecessary and probably a really bad idea because that would make your essays resumes in prose and prevent your essays from supplementing and complementing your resume. If you think of your application as a great big jigsaw puzzle with every element coming together to clarify the picture of you that is being presented in the application, you realize that you donât want things to duplicate. Obviously your resume provides context, it provides a certain chronology, but it doesnât go into much depthâit canât. Your essays are for providing depth. And occasionally, depending upon the question and your particular experiences, the essays may go into areas of your life simply not covered in a professional resume. So do not in any way shape or form feel compelled to explore every major point in your resume. That is definitely not necessary. Use your essays to go much deeper into really important points on the most important points on your resume to provide your motivations, to provide lessons learned, and to go into greater depth. But donât have one duplicate the other. For the full transcript, please view the Be Smart MBA Admissions Q&A transcript or listen to the audio file. You can also learn more about how to construct a strong MBA resume and winning application essays by visiting MBA Resume 101 and our collection of sample MBA essays. To automatically receive notices about these MBA admissions chats and other MBA admissions events, please subscribe to our MBA event list. To listen to the Q&A recordings on-the-go, please subscribe to the Accepted Admissions Podcast. Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best | 1/19/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
9 |
Kellogg MBA Admissions Director Interview Available Online | Thank you Jennifer Hayes, Senior Associate Director of Admissions at Kellogg, and Erik Mazmanian, a second-year student at Kellogg, for an excellent Q&A about life and admissions at Northwestern Kellogg. Jennifer and Erik covered a wide range of topics, including the following advice on how to avoid some common Kellogg application mistakes: Linda Abraham: What are the most common pitfalls of prospective students in the application process, and how would you advise candidates to best avoid them? Jennifer Hayes: Very good question. Iâve been at Kellogg for eight years now, so Iâve seen a lot of applications, and Iâve seen a lot of things that arenât in the best interest of the applicant. I do think that the biggest pitfall is that people do their research on Kellogg, they understand whatâs important to us as an institution, and then they frame their experiences, their accomplishments, and the things that are important to them around that. Those are things that are important to us and those are things that you will experience if youâre here. However, you donât necessarily have to frame your experience around that. We really want to understand what has motivated you, whatâs been valuable to you, and whatâs been most important to you in your life and in your career. I would really encourage people to set aside that theyâre applying to Kellogg and who we stand for as an institution, and really just think internally; really reflect on themselves when theyâre starting to answer the application questions. You will look more genuine and more authentic. If youâre really talking about yourself, your values, and your motivations, you will look more diverse and unique as an applicant, instead of trying to do maybe what everyone else is doing by just reviewing the website and telling us those are important to you. For the full Q&A, please view the Kellogg transcript or listen to the audio file. You can also read up on Kellogg news and advice at our Kellogg B-School Zone and the Northwestern Kellogg 2012 MBA Application Questions, Deadlines, Tips blog post. NOTE: Kellogg's next deadline is Tuesday, January 10thâ¦so hurry! To automatically receive notices about these MBA admissions chats and other MBA admissions events, please subscribe to our MBA event list. To listen to the Q&A recordings on-the-go, please subscribe to the Accepted Admissions Podcast. Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best | 1/3/12 | Free | View In iTunes |
|
10 |
INSEAD MBA Admissions Interview Available Online | If you attended our recent INSEAD Q&A then you know that Kara Keenan, the Assistant Director of Marketing for the Americas from INSEAD, covered a wide range of admissions topics, offering some excellent advice to our INSEAD applicants. Here's an excerpt from the conversation in which Kara discusses the benefits of an INSEAD MBA â if you are thinking about applying to INSEAD, then read on! Linda Abraham: Dine asks, "Why should students choose an INSEAD MBA over other prestigious MBA programs in the States?" Kara Keenan: Again, one of the advantages is the one-year/ten-month nature of the program; a great return on your investment. We cover 80% of the course hours of the two-year program in ten months, so you definitely get the vast majority of the material. Itâs certainly an intensive program, so in that regard it might not be for everyone. Especially in the beginning of the program â in your core courses â thereâs class Monday through Friday. Youâll spend a lot of time in class compared to a U.S. school where thereâs no class on Fridays and things are taught at perhaps a slower pace. I think another advantage for INSEAD is that our students have more experience. The average years of experience for INSEAD students is five years, whereas at some of the other U.S. schools itâs more like two years. So, if youâre more experienced and you would like to be with your peers, I think youâll definitely get that at INSEAD and youâll learn a lot from them, as well. Even if youâre coming with two or three years of experience, you might be in a study group with someone with seven or eight years of experience. You can really share and learn from one another; I think, perhaps at a more significant level than at a program where most people have one to two years of experience. I think thatâs something nice. Also, if youâre looking for an international career and international experience, I think thereâs really no comparison to an international MBA program versus a domestic one. For the entire Q&A, please view the INSEAD transcript or listen to the audio file on our website. You can also read up on INSEAD-related news and advice by visiting the INSEAD B-School Zone and our blog post, INSEAD 2012 MBA Application Questions, Deadlines, Tips. To automatically receive notices about these MBA admissions chats and other MBA admissions events, please subscribe to our MBA event list. To listen to the Q&A recordings on-the-go, please subscribe to the Accepted Admissions Podcast. Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best | 12/28/11 | Free | View In iTunes |
| Total: 10 Episodes |
Listeners also subscribed to
- Accepted.com
- Linda Abraham
- View In iTunes
- The MBA Reality Check Video Podcasts
- Evan Forster & David Thomas
- View In iTunes
- UC Berkeley Haas School of Business MBA Admissions Podcasts
- Haas School of Business
- View In iTunes
- London Business School podcasts
- London Business School
- View In iTunes
