The MBA Admissions Studio » admissions red flags

Unemployment Setback Can Set You Apart for MBA Admissions

Avi Gordon — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 14:39:28 +0000

As things roll towards R1 deadlines I’ve been seeing quite a few unemployment stories used in the setback/failure essay slot, for example in the HBS “Tell us three setbacks you have faced” essay. This makes sense. Unemployment is a real setback. And it’s understood by Adcoms that many applicants have been laid off for no [...]

Get the Feel of an MBA Classroom Experience Before You Apply

Avi Gordon — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 16:27:43 +0000

A few years back I put up this link to a Darden class (particularly it shows “the case method” in action) to make the point that applicants should make themselves aware of what it is like to be part of it. I you’re going to talk about your great affinity for case-method learning, make sure [...]

Digging Deep for MBA Admissions Value – Take Karate for Example

Avi Gordon — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 15:59:33 +0000

I’m often, … no correction, always telling MBA applicants to extract the full MBA admissions value from what they have in their bio, and what they have done. Doing this is the only way to present as more valuable than the next applicant to the business school in question; that is, the only way to [...]

Unpacking the Categories of MBA Admissions Dings

Avi Gordon — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 18:42:45 +0000

It’s July, and a new admissions cycle year starts at the MBA Admissions Studio. As it happens, during my off-season sabbatical time — which new clients have patiently waited out (thank you) I’ve had numerous emails of the “I-was-dinged-last-year, what-did-I do-wrong?” type. So this seems as good a place as any to start the discussion [...]

‘If you aren’t an idealist at 25, you’re a rogue; if you’re an idealist at 50 … you’re a fool’

Avi Gordon — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 16:08:39 +0000

In the headline above I’m paraphrasing Winston Churchill, who is alleged to have said: “If you’re not a communist at 20, you’re a rogue; if you’re a communist at 50 you’re a fool.” In fact the quote in one form or another goes all the way back to Francois Guisot (1787-1874) who said during the [...]

Round 1 MBA essays are taking shape: but why have many applicants turned into monks and saints?

Avi Gordon — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 14:57:07 +0000

It’s busy season, so I have to blog short, but here’s what I have to say today as MBA application Round 1 deadlines approach — and this is to my clients as much as anyone else out there (although the clients have heard it before): “You are not applying to join a holy order. You [...]

‘Never let an MBA Admissions Committee assume anything – because we always guess wrong’

Avi Gordon — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 17:41:00 +0000

MBA Podcaster’s MBA Pod TV provides this 10-min take-out from Q&A at a recent Forte Foundation-hosted MBA Admission Directors Panel: . In the video, Pat Harrison refers to one of the key mistakes applicants make in MBA admissions: they leave Adcom to make connections and assumptions in joining the dots (as to their prior education [...]

Business jargon will sell a book, but it won’t sell you to Adcom

Avi Gordon — Thu, 20 May 2010 15:12:17 +0000

I try to keep this MBA Admissions blog fresh and personal (like an MBA essay should be!) and don’t just rehash or repost keyword-rich MBA admissions news. In this spirit I offer you a bit of whimsey from The Wall Street Journal “Speakeasy” where Teddy Wayne explains how his job as an MBA essay editor [...]

Sticky messages summarized, free at bookrapper.com

Avi Gordon — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 11:57:28 +0000

Readers of this site will know that I’m a big fan of the book Made to Stick, for MBA admissions messaging. The book will NOT tell you anything about what your message should be — how to understand and position yourself in MBA applications — but it is a great and simple guide to communicating [...]

MBA essay word count: we can’t go over it. We can’t go under it. Or can we?

Avi Gordon — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 09:43:39 +0000

“How strictly do I have to stick to the essay word limit? How much can I go over? Does it matter if I’m under?” is a question I get a lot from clients and people who pop up on email. To answer this, it’s essential, as always, to think about any process or task or [...]

Adcom members’ backgrounds and personalities – who are they really?

Avi Gordon — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 18:41:13 +0000

As an MBA applicant one of the things to get straight is who you are talking to, in general, when you write your essays. This doesn’t mean you should be looking to target or “game” your essays in a narrow sense. But getting your head around who is on the other end is a crucial [...]

Harvard Business School essays (2009-10) add a cover letter just like MIT Sloan’s

Avi Gordon — Fri, 22 May 2009 10:05:28 +0000

Harvard has released their new essay questions, and deadlines for 2009-10, adding a cover letter essay (optional) which MIT Sloan’s has as a standard request for years. Still only four essays are required for HBS, and the first two compulsory questions remain the same: 1. What are your three most substantial accomplishments and why do [...]

Some great interview advice between the lines in “Harvard is my hump”

Avi Gordon — Fri, 08 May 2009 16:34:08 +0000

For better or worse most Adcoms like idealism. They don't want naivete, but they do like world-changing visions. If you are not a dreamer at 25, you'll never be, and they are not looking to put the HBS brand on money-grabbing cynics. See Gina Valeria Chua's Harvard Business School admissions story.

The “World MBA Tour” MBA essay advice session transcript

Avi Gordon — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 17:42:32 +0000

Transcript of a World MBA Tour online admissions essay advice service, where Avi appeared live as expert MBA essay advisor.

Key points of advice for MBA admissions applicants, including some surprises

Avi Gordon — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 15:51:16 +0000

Continuing the process of moving stuff off the static site to this new blog format, this in an interview I did with About.com . The questions allowed me to say some perhaps slightly less-than-usual things. The original is here. . How soon should potential MBA students start preparing for the admissions process? About 9 months [...]