Adam Markus: Graduate Admissions Guru

Q&A with a Member of the London Business School MBA Class of 2014

2013-06-18T06:00:00.001+09:00

My former client, MBA2014 is Japanese. He worked in Tokyo in Investment Banking for four years as a credit trader He received MBA sponsorship from his company and joined the MBA program at London Business School in August 2012. ————————————————————————————————————————————— Adam: What parts of the London Business School program have you liked the most? The least? MBA2014: Flexibility is the

Q&A with a Member of the HBS Class of 2014

2013-06-18T02:28:00.001+09:00

My former client, HBS 2014, provides great insight and strong opinions to this Q&A. HBS2014 says about himself: "I am an international student in the HBS Class of 2014. After spending two years in Asia to finish my studies as an engineer, I started working as a consultant in Europe. I decided to apply for an MBA in the United States to bring a new perspective to my career." ———————————————————

New York University Stern MBA Essays for Fall 2014 Admission

2013-06-09T13:11:00.001+09:00

In this post I analyze NYU Stern MBA program’s essay questions for fall 2014 Admission. Those applying for the Class of 2016 will find that they only have to write two essays this year. NYU has cut the essay down from 3 to 2 essays, but the essays themselves are unchanged from last year. New York University Stern School of Business MBA essay questions’ web page also includes great tips which

Q&A with a Member of the Ross MBA Class of 2013

2013-06-09T10:18:00.001+09:00

My former client, Ross2013, is a Japanese American. After working in Tokyo at a global software company for 6 years as an engineer, he joined the Full Time MBA program at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. Post-graduation, he will be joining a top consulting firm at its Chicago office. You can find his first-year Q&A here. ————————————————————————————————————————————— Adam:

Harvard Law School LL.M. Program Deadlines for September 2014

2013-06-08T10:22:00.001+09:00

Harvard Law School has announced the LL.M. Program deadlines: “For the LL.M. class beginning in September 2014, the application deadline is December 1, 2013. (We strongly encourage all application materials be submitted by November 15, 2013.)” The application form has not been updated yet, but based on the deadline and materials page, it appears that nothing will likely change from last year. I’

MIT Sloan On-The-Road Presentations

2013-06-06T19:52:00.001+09:00

If you are planning to apply to MIT Sloan and can’t visit the campus, I do recommend attending one of the their Sloan-on-the-Road Presentations. These tend to be popular (I know Tokyo maxes out each year), so I do recommend registering early. See the complete events schedule here. -Adam Markus I am a graduate admissions consultant who works with clients worldwide. If you would like to

Q&A with a Member of the INSEAD Class of July 2013

2013-06-02T02:51:00.001+09:00

My former client, Singy 2013, is a management consultant with 8 years experience, joining straight after graduating from a national university in Tokyo. He had no experience working/living outside Japan before INSEAD. Singy 2013 provides some really great advice below. ————————————————————————————————————————————— Adam: What parts of the INSEAD program have you liked the most? The least?

The HBS Class of 2016 MBA Application Essay: Any size, fits all

2013-05-31T07:45:00.001+09:00

Dee Leopold just announced (30 May 2013) the full application deadlines and key application components on the From the Admissions Director blog. I will post my full analysis of the entire application after its release, but I wanted to provide an immediate reaction to what is a dramatic change: This is the only "essay" question: "You're applying to Harvard Business School. We can see your

MIT MBA Class of 2016 Deadlines: Earlier than ever before

2013-05-30T04:31:00.001+09:00

As part of the trend of ever earlier admissions deadlines, MIT Sloan, which always had a later MBA Round One admission deadline than its rival institutions, has joined the trend. Here are the deadlines: MBA Program Deadlines – For August 2014 Entry MBA Round I MBA Round II Applications must be submitted by 3:00 p.m. ET Tue, September 24, 2013 Tue, January 7, 2014 The

Stanford GSB: Additional Info, Resume, Employment History, Activities for Class of 2016 Admission

2013-05-27T14:52:00.001+09:00

This is the fifth of five posts analyzing the Stanford GSB MBA Essay Questions for Class of 2016 Admission. The five posts are overall comments, Essay 1, Essay 2, Essay 3, and additional information/resume/employment history/activities. My analysis of Stanford GSB interviews can be found here. In addition to the Class of 2016 posts, I al so recommend reading and/or listening to my presentation,

Stanford GSB MBA Essay 3 for Class of 2016 Admission

2013-05-27T12:52:00.001+09:00

This is the forth of five posts analyzing the Stanford GSB MBA Essay Questions for Class of 2016 Admission. The five posts are overall comments, Essay 1, Essay 2, Essay 3, and additional information/resume/employment history/activities. My analysis of Stanford GSB interviews can be found here. In addition to the C lass of 2016 posts, I also recommend reading and/or listening to my presentation,

Class of 2016 Stanford GSB Essay 2: What do you want to do—REALLY—and why Stanford?

2013-05-27T12:22:00.001+09:00

This is the third of five posts analyzing the Stanford GSB MBA Essay Questions for Class of 2016 Admission. The five posts are overall comments, Essay 1, Essay 2, Essay 3, and additional information/resume/employment history/activities. My analysis of Stanford GSB interviews can be found here. In addition to the Class of 2016 posts, I also recommend reading and/or listening to my presentation, “

Class of 2016 Stanford GSB Essay 1: What matters most to you, and why?

2013-05-27T10:22:00.001+09:00

This is the second of five posts analyzing the Stanford GSB MBA Essay Questions for Class of 2016 Admission. The five posts are overall comments, Essay 1, Essay 2, Essay 3, and additional information/resume/employment history/activities. My analysis of Stanford GSB interviews can be found here. In addition to the Class of 2016 posts, I a lso recommend reading and/or listening to my presentation

Stanford GSB MBA Essay Questions for Class of 2016

2013-05-27T09:41:00.001+09:00

This is the first of five posts analyzing the Stanford GSB MBA Essay Questions for Class of 2016 Admission. The five posts are overall comments, Essay 1, Essay 2, Essay 3, and additional information/resume/employment history/activities. My analysis of Stanford GSB interviews can be found here. In addition to the Class of 2016 posts, I also recommend reading and/or listening to my presentation, “

INSEAD MBA Essay Questions for January 2014 and September 2014

2013-05-26T10:31:00.001+09:00

Here I discuss INSEAD’s essays for January 2014 (Class of December 2014) and September 2014 (Class of July 2015). In 2011, INSEAD changed the essays for the first time in many years. The deadlines for September 2014 and January 2014, can be found here. For information about INSEAD interviews, please see here. Since 2001, when I began doing MBA admissions counselling, I have had an opportunity

Columbia Business School MBA Recommendation for January and August 2014 Admission

2013-05-25T12:39:00.001+09:00

In this post I analyze the Columbia Business School MBA recommendation MBA for January and August 2014 admission. For my analysis of the MBA application essays and whether to select J-term Class of 2015 or August Class of 2016, please see here. For my analysis of Columbia Business School application interviews, please see here. Before reading my post below on Columbia, you might want to read

Stanford GSB Class of 2016 Essays & Recs just announced

2013-05-24T23:55:00.001+09:00

For my Class of 2016 Stanford GSB analysis see these five posts on overall comments, Essay 1, Essay 2, Essay 3, and additional information/resume/employment history/activities. My analysis of Stanford GSB interviews can be found here. Stanford GSB Admissions on the new application: “The big news about essay questions for application to the Class of 2016 is that there is no news. Last year, we

Columbia MBA Essays for January and August 2014 Admission

2013-05-24T00:22:00.001+09:00

Columbia Business School has again changed their MBA application essay set. Those applying for January and August 2014 entry will find that they are likely to spend as much time thinking about how to answer Columbia's essay questions as answering them. Given the limited space applicants will have to work with, coming up with answers that stand out is critical. As has been the trend at other

What Kind of MBA Do You Need?

2013-05-21T10:22:00.001+09:00

This is the second of a three part series of posts on the overal topic of “Do you really need an MBA?” In the first post in this series, I discussed that overall question directly. I suggest reading that post, “Do You Really an MBA,” before proceeding to the post below. What Kind of MBA Do You Need? Assuming you have come to the conclusion that you do need an MBA, it is worth considering what

MBA Applicant Survey Reminder: You can still win one of three $100 VISA gift cards!

2013-05-06T01:00:00.001+09:00

MBA Applicant Survey Reminder: You can still win one of three $100 VISA gift cards! Last week, we launched our survey of people interested in pursuing an MBA. Many have already participated, but we still need to hear from you. We would greatly appreciate it if you would share your thoughts with us. The survey should take no more than 10 minutes to complete. Please complete it by May 15th, 2013.

Do You Really Need an MBA?

2013-04-30T07:01:00.001+09:00

In this post, I offer some advice for those considering applying to MBA programs. In the second post in this series, I discuss the different types of MBA programs. I am not in the business of telling anyone that they need an MBA, only in helping committed applicants get into MBA programs. Frankly, I think one of my strengths as an MBA admissions consultant is that I am neutral about this

Take the MBA Search Survey, and win $100 and our sincere gratitude!

2013-04-28T22:15:00.001+09:00

I wanted to ask that my readers take the MBA Search Survey. Cheers, Adam Take the MBA Search Survey, and win $100 and our sincere gratitude! The anonymous data will be shared with admissions officers from top programs. Make your voice heard! Business school applicants turn to my website as a source of reliable information and valuable advice on the MBA admissions process. As Association of

Visits to Booth and Kellogg and some thoughts on learning about MBA programs

2013-04-20T10:56:00.001+09:00

I know my blog has been quiet since April 2nd. For spring vacation, I went to Chicago, where I froze most of the time in very un-spring-like conditions. My parents and brother live there, so it was time to spend some quality time with the family. In addition, I visited both Booth and Kellogg. Both visits were very productive as it was a chance to meet with admissions at Booth and talk with some

Q&A with a Member of the HBS MBA Class of 2014

2013-04-02T19:55:00.001+09:00

"HBS2014" was kind enough to answer my questions. HBS2014 is a former client and a member of the Harvard Business School MBA Class of 2014. HBS2014 is Asian and in his early 30s. ———————————————————————————————————————– Adam: How hard has the first year at HBS been for you? HBS2014: The day-to-day work is not as bad as I thought, but making an impactful comment in front of a class of 90

Rumours Regarding New MBA Essay Questions for the Class of 2016

2013-04-01T19:34:00.001+09:00

Disclaimer: While none of the following can be confirmed at this time, based on past posts prepared with the assistance of my Indian colleague, Mada Sukram, this is surely worthy of my readers’ consideration. The ever shrinking Why MBA question at HBS As appears to be the pattern from last year, top MBA programs are continuing to alter and shrink their essay sets. For class of 2015 entry,