Adam Markus: Graduate Admissions Guru

Chicago Booth: The Waitlist Movie

2012-01-19T15:13:00.000+09:00

In addition to general advice found here on waitlisting, I wanted to comment on Booth's new Waitlist Video. For those waitlisted at Booth, I suggest reading the December 20, 2011 Booth Admissions Insider Post. While their rival to the North, Kellogg, also is very waitlist applicant friendly, Booth now leads the pack when it comes to allowing those who are waitlisted to enhance their applicant

Waitlisted? Now what?

2012-01-19T13:46:00.001+09:00

This is an updated and expanded version of a previous post. For Chicago Booth's Waitlist Video see here, but read the post below first. Waitlisted MBA applicants most common question: "Why me?" Schools waitlist because.... ...they actually are uncertain whether their estimated yield- the percentage of admitted applicants who accept an offer of admision will be sufficient to fill their class

Dartmouth Tuck MBA Interviews

2012-01-16T22:17:00.000+09:00

My analysis of Tuck MBA admissions interviews has been significantly updated. My analysis of Tuck's essays for the Class of 2014 can be found here. For overall suggestions on interview strategy, see here, here, and here. The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth MBA interview is about fit, so make sure you can explain in great depth why you want to become a part of Tuck's small intensive

MIT Sloan MBA Interviews

2012-01-16T20:49:00.001+09:00

In this post, which is significantly updated from my prior posts, I discuss how to prepare for an MIT Sloan MBA admissions interview. I have been preparing applicants on MIT Sloan interviews for over ten years and the post below provides my overall perspective on how to best prepare this challenging interview. If you are interested in my interview preparation services, please see here. YOU

A graduate admissions consultant with 10 years of experience

2012-01-16T00:36:00.001+09:00

I was a bit too busy to mention it last year, but November 2011 marked my tenth anniversary as a graduate admissions consultant. It has been a great ten years, especially the last four since I went independent and began writing this blog. The job of an admissions consultant is a very cyclical one. It is a cycle that did not take me that long to get used to because it does involve a large

The 2012 MBA Admission Season So Far

2011-12-23T22:52:00.001+09:00

The 2012 admissions season has been great for my clients so far. Here are my select client results for 2009-2012: MBA Comprehensive Service Client Select Results 2009-2012 School2012 (in progress)201120102009Total Cambridge 2237 Columbia635216 Cornell Johnson 2114 Chicago Booth344415 Duke 2226 HBS21025 IESE 2327 IMD 1214 INSEAD563216 Kellogg232411 LBS13239 Michigan (2Y, not GMBA) 4217 MIT(4

Kellogg School of Management在校生・卒業生とのコーヒーチャット開催のご案内

2011-12-16T12:32:00.001+09:00

The Japanese students at Kellogg will be having a coffee chat in Tokyo. Details below. Cheers, Adam 【Kellogg School of Management在校生・卒業生とのコーヒーチャット開催のご案内】 Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern Universityを受験される皆さまへ今般、一時帰国する在校生の主催により、下記要領にて、受験生の皆さまとのコーヒーチャットを開催することとなりました。当日は、Kellogg卒業生も交え、学校生活、キャリア及びMBA受験等について、ざっくばらんにお話をできればと思っております。【日時】 12月28日（水）　19:00-20:00（予定）【場所】六本木近辺のカフェ

Haas MBA Fall 2012 Online Application's Stupid Word Counter

2011-12-02T11:46:00.001+09:00

It has been brought to my attention that the essay word counter on the Haas application for admission to Fall 2012 full-time MBA program is TOTALLY F%C&ED. I suggest ignoring said word counter and letting common sense be your guide. Unlike schools that allow for simple document upload, Haas has form for pasting in essays. Unfortunately the word counter in the online essay form does the

Wharton MBA Interviews for Fall 2012 Admission

2011-11-11T14:40:00.001+09:00

Fall 2012 Admission Wharton MBA Interview Preparation Updated on 11/17/11. There are now numerous public reports up on the Clear Admit Wiki and those additional reports have helped me further update this post on Wharton MBA interviews for the Class of 2014. My Wharton essay analysis can be found here. I will continue altering this post based on additional public interview reports, but I am

First Public Wharton November 2011 interview Report

2011-11-11T10:33:00.001+09:00

Update: My updated analysis of Wharton MBA interviews for Fall 2012 is now up. The first public Wharton Interview Report is now up on the Clear Admit Wiki: "I just had my interview with a 2nd year Wharton student today. The interviewer was very friendly and tried to keep things casual. We had a similar professional background (finance) and even shared the same past employer. The interview

Wharton has insufficient hub interviews for international applicants: WTF!

2011-11-10T01:14:00.002+09:00

My analysis of Wharton MBA interviews can be found here. This is my rant about their applicant unfriendly admissions committee. First, let me state that I generally find MBA admissions offices in the US, especially at schools like HBS, Stanford, Chicago, Kellogg, Tuck, and MIT to work really effectively at handling their interview processes. I guess that is why I find it so amazing that

Comments regarding BW Article on Technology in MBA Applications

2011-11-09T01:20:00.001+09:00

I just posted the following comment on the BusinessWeek article "MBA Admissions 2.0: Technology Makes Inroads": "This article is actually inaccurate regarding the specific questions discussed. It creates the misleading impression that technology is actually required when answering questions for NYU and Booth: 1. Booth's 4 page presentation question is in fact, not a test of Power Point as it

Chicago Booth MBA Admission Interviews

2011-11-04T23:58:00.001+09:00

If you are preparing for a Chicago Booth MBA interview for entry into the Class of 2014, read this post after you read my general post on interview strategy. If you are looking for my analysis of Booth's essays for Fall 2012 admission, you can find it here. In addition to receiving many reports from my clients, I have reviewed reports of University of Chicago Booth interviews found at

Kellogg MBA Admissions Interviews

2011-10-29T17:07:00.000+09:00

This post has been updated for admission to the Kellogg MBA Class of 2014. Just as with essays, interviews for the Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management MBA applicant interviews are all about fit. My comments below are based on reviewing reports from my clients as well as those found at accepted.com and clearadmit.com (As I have mentioned previously, both companies

How to Prepare for Wharton MBA Behavioral Interviews

2011-10-27T09:11:00.000+09:00

NOVEMBER 2011 UPDATE: A NEW VERSION OF THIS POST CAN BE FOUND HERE. You should read that version as the version below was written before any Wharton interviews in November 2011 had taken place. -Adam Until after some interview reports come out, we will not likely know exactly what Wharton MBA interviewers (adcom and 2nd year students, no alumni interviews this time) will be asking. Based on

Wharton MBA Interview Chat 10/26/2011

2011-10-27T08:25:00.000+09:00

I just participated in Wharton's Chat on MBA Interviews held between 6pm and 7pm EST on October, 26, 2011. It was very useful. As I indicated in an earlier post this week, Wharton will be using behavioral questions. However, unlike last year, the questions will likely be wide like MIT asks and not narrow the way Wharton did last year. In addition, interviews will no longer be conducted by

Oh Joy! UC Berkeley Haas MBA Essays for Fall 2012

2011-10-26T22:40:00.000+09:00

"Oh Joy!" alludes to the subject of the most interesting of UC Berkeley Haas MBA essay questions for Fall 2012 admission. You can find my joyful take on that essay question along with the rest in this post. The University of California, Berkeley's Haas School of Business is one of the hardest MBA programs to get into. The program is small and attracts a very diverse group of students. The

Wharton to be using behavoral questions again this year

2011-10-24T10:12:00.002+09:00

UPDATE: My preparation guide to Wharton interviews is here. My colleague and friend, Vince Ricci, reports that Wharton will be using behavoral questions: "My client recently contacted his friend who is a member of the Wharton Alumni Association. The alumni member confirmed that Wharton will be asking behavioral questions again this year. I do not know the exact questions but I imagine they

HBS MBA Application Interviews

2011-10-23T16:11:00.000+09:00

You can find my MBA essay and recommendation analysis for Fall 2012 Admission here. For 2+2 Program essay analysis, see here. This post has been updated and expanded from my previous post on this topic. HBS ADCOM HQ In my experience, applicants who succeed at HBS MBA interviews go to their interview with a sense of confidence based on having done careful preparation. My clients who have failed

MIT Sloan LGO Essay Questions for Fall 2012 Admission

2011-10-19T03:35:00.000+09:00

While most of the essay questions for Fall 2012 admission to the Leaders for Global Operations (LGO) program are the same as those for the regular MBA program at MIT Sloan, there are two additional questions that I wanted to comment on. You can find my analysis of the cover letter, the three other essays, and the supplemental information here. Unlike the cover letter or three other essays, the

To MBA Applicants in the Financial Sector

2011-10-18T18:05:00.000+09:00

As anyone whose head is not buried in the sand is aware, protests about Wall Street, bankers, and the finance sector are rather heated as of late. Especially for any applicants who might be working on "Wall Street," I wanted to gave some advice for keeping you focused on winning the MBA admissions game: Don't apologize for what you do, where you work, or what you want to do in the future.

Why Choose Columbia Business School #WhyCBS

2011-10-14T10:52:00.001+09:00

Michael Melmed, a current Columbia Business School student, has put together a really great Youtube video on Why CBS. Michael writes: " I made a youtube video in my Social Media Marketing class inspired by this year's 200-character "Twitter" question on Columbia Business School's application. The video includes current student tweets exclaiming why they love Columbia. Also I want to

Are you really ready to press the MBA Application SUBMIT button?

2011-10-01T22:39:00.002+09:00

OCTOBER IS FIRST ROUND MBA APPLICATION MONTH! I am big fan of first round for applicants who are actually ready to submit their applications. On the other hand, I have worked with plenty of applicants who focused partially or completely on subsequent rounds. Therefore I never tell a client to apply in first round if they are not ready. An application is ready for first round if it meets

My Visit to the INSEAD Singapore Campus

2011-09-28T09:31:00.002+09:00

I had the pleasure of visiting the INSEAD Singapore campus last week. INSEAD's Deborah Riger, who I have previously interviewed, was kind enough to give me a tour of the campus and arrange a visit to a class. The Singapore Campus is a pleasant urban campus located within a research park. While I have not been to the Fontainebleau campus, clearly there is a marked contrast between the two

Decrease in total applications, but increase in applicant quality

2011-09-13T20:08:00.001+09:00

The new GMAC 2011 application trends survey is now being reported on (See Inside Higher Ed and Wall Street Journal) because there was decrease in the total number of applications to MBA programs. While Melissa Korn at the Wall Street Journal concludes correctly at the macro-level that "Thinking of applying to business school? Now may be a good time," the picture is a bit more complicated. I