UC Irvine Becomes Latest LA Business School to Offer GMAT/GRE Waiver
Applying for an MBA program is a long process: There’s plenty of applications, essays, and interviews involved in getting you into the program atop your list. To add insult to injury, many programs require a GMAT or GRE score, only adding to potential workload and stress. Continue reading…
A Recommendation Revolution Is Underway in MBA Admissions: What You Need to Know
I’m busy, you’re busy, your boss is most definitely busy. Indeed, publications ranging from Men’s Health to the Atlantic, the Washington Post to Forbes are all reporting that “busyness“ has become the new status symbol for our times. Which is part of what makes asking someone to write you a letter of recommendation for business school so daunting. Now, try telling that person that you actually need five different letters for five different schools. Oy vey.
As uncomfortable a spot as it puts applicants in—it’s no better for recommenders. Even your most vociferous supporter is going to wonder what in the world she’s gotten herself into when she realizes that helping you in your pursuit of acceptance to business school means taking time away from work or play or family or whatever else to labor over leadership assessment grids, each a little different from the one before, and write 10 slightly different answers to 10 slightly different questions. Here’s hoping that your top-choice school doesn’t happen to be the last one she gets around to…
Good news. The graduate management education industry recognizes the strain that letters of recommendation put on applicants and recommenders alike and has been wrestling with ways to make the process easier for everyone involved. To this end, the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) established a committee made up of admissions representatives from dozens of leading business schools to brainstorm about ways to lessen the burden while still collecting the third-party assessments of candidates that are so critical to the MBA application process.
GMAC Pilots Common MBA Letter of Recommendation
As an outgrowth of that committee’s work, GMAC last year piloted a common MBA letter of recommendation (LOR) that schools can choose to incorporate into their applications to reduce the burden placed on applicants and recommenders alike.
“The Common Letter of Recommendation (LOR) effort is intended to save you and recommenders valuable time by providing a single set of recommendation questions for each participating school,” reads the GMAC website. “This allows your recommenders to use the same answers for multiple letter submissions, alleviating the workload of having to answer different questions for each school multiple times. You benefit because it makes the ask for several different letters to be written on your behalf much easier.”
Cornell’s Johnson Graduate School of Management, NYU Stern School of Business, and Michigan’s Ross School of Business were among the first schools to pilot the Common LOR last year. In addition to a single set of open-ended essay questions, the pilot Common LOR also included a leadership assessment grid inviting recommenders to rate applicants on 16 “competencies and character traits” grouped into four main categories of achievement, influence, personal qualities and academic ability.
“At Johnson, we saw the Common LoR as a clear opportunity to improve the admissions process for candidates and their recommenders in a way that would also add value to our own assessment of applicants,” Judi Byers, Johnson executive director of admissions & financial aid, told Clear Admit. “A thorough and consistent review is important to us and the grid provides a straightforward base of insights that can be assessed and compared reliably while the accompanying letter adds meaningful detail and context,” she added.
Soojin Kwon, managing director of full-time MBA admissions and program at Ross, sees applicants and recommenders as the main beneficiaries of the Common LOR and is pleased that more schools are coming on board. “As more schools adopt it, applicants won’t have to feel like they’re burdening their recommender with completing multiple rec letters with different questions and ratings grids,” she told Clear Admit. “This year, more than a dozen of the top 20 schools are using it.”
Ross was also among the schools to first pilot the Common LOR last year, and Kwon served as part of the GMAC committee that helped craft it.
Common Questions Easy to Agree on, Common Leadership Grid Not
“What we found in using the Common LOR this year past year was that the questions gave us helpful insights into applicants, particularly on the important area of constructive feedback. The questions, however, were fairly similar to what we and other schools were using before, so it was easy for the AdCom to use it,” she notes.
Those questions are as follow:
- Please provide a brief description of your interaction with the applicant and, if applicable, the applicant’s role in your organization. (50 words)
- How does the performance of the applicant compare to that of other well-qualified individuals in similar roles? (E.g. what are the applicant’s principal strengths?) (500 words)
- Describe the most important piece of constructive feedback you have given the applicant. Please detail the circumstances and the applicant’s response. (500 words)
- Is there anything else we should know? (Optional)
“The rating grid was quite different from what we’d used in the past,” Kwon continued. “It was also the most difficult part for the GMAC advisory group to develop and get agreement upon. The group worked this past year to revise and simplify the grid so that AdComs could get more meaningful insights from it.”
This year, the 16 competencies and character traits from the original grid have been distilled to 12, with specific questions about analytical thinking and information seeking omitted. Johnson and Ross have both incorporated the revised leadership grid into the LOR distributed to applicants as part of their applications, as have most other schools that have this year decided to incorporate both the grid and open-ended essay question portions of the form. UT’s McCombs School of Business and Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business, notably, still seem to feature the earlier version of the leadership grid in their application, the one that calls on recommenders to assesses applicants on 16 competencies and traits.
How to Deal with a Bad GMAT Score
You’ve been studying for months, possibly losing sleep as you go over the practice questions in your head and, as a result, getting some oh-so-enjoyable stress dreams. If any of this sounds familiar, you probably have had to—or currently are—preparing to take that Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT).
HBS Class of 2019 Profile Reveals Subtle Shifts, New GRE Details
The official Harvard Business School (HBS) Class of 2019 profile is now out—capturing in numbers and pie charts the real live students who started class for the first time yesterday. Not a lot has shifted since HBS released its preliminary class profile earlier this summer, although the Class of 2019 now includes 928 students, suggesting that 13 of those the school was expecting to enroll when it originally reported the class size at 941 made other plans. There are 942 students in the Class of 2018, by comparison.
The percentage of minority students also slipped slightly, from 26 percent reported in the preliminary profile to 25 percent in the actual class (last year’s actual percentage was 26 percent). Female students comprise 42 percent of the class, as earlier reported, again down one percentage point from last year.
In terms of median GMAT, 730 is still HBS’s reported score. That’s the same as last year—and as predicted earlier in the summer. The score range reported included a low of 580 and a high of 790, with the middle 80 percent of the class falling between 700 and 770. Last year, the middle 80 percent was a shade lower, coming in between 690 and 760.
HBS Joins Wharton, Yale in Posting GRE Scores
New in the actual profile posted today are stats on GRE scores, marking the first time HBS has published such data. Chad Losee, the Managing Director of Admissions and Financial Aid, also made a point of sharing this information in a recent blog post, revealing that 12 percent of the class submitted GRE scores and the remaining 88 percent submitted GMAT scores.
“The GRE and GMAT are different tests … and we are truly indifferent about which one you submit,” Losee writes. “Really. We are familiar with each test. Choose the one that allows you to best show your strengths, then move on to the other parts of the application.”
According to the recently posted profile, median GRE scores for both verbal and quantitative at HBS were 164. The score range for verbal was 147 to 170, and the range for quantitative was 151 to 170. HBS did not provide information about the average writing score.
The Wharton School, too, shared GRE data for the first time this year, although specific details about what percentage of the class opted for one test over the other were not made available. Wharton reported average scores, not median scores: 163 verbal, 162 quantitative, and a 4.7 average writing score. The Yale School of Management (SOM) also included GRE test scores in its Class of 2019 profile (median verbal, 166; median quantitative, 164; middle 80 percent verbal, 157 to 170; middle 80 percent quantitative, 160 to 169.)
If three makes a trend—then a trend we have of leading schools emphatically underscoring that they are indeed test agnostic by including GRE scores within their official class profiles.
“We Know You’re Much More Than a Test Score”
In his post, Losee also took pains to underscore that much more than scores go into determining who joins the HBS class each year.
“We know you are much more than a test score,” he writes. “The whole application and interview process are designed to help us get to know you. We’re trying to imagine what you would contribute in the HBS classroom and community. As I’ve written before, our learning model depends on a wide range of talent and perspectives in each class—and we know that not all that talent is measurable in a test.”
Obviously unchanged from the preliminary profile were the total number of applications HBS received this year—10,351—a 6 percent uptick over last year. The profiles posted today and earlier this summer both cited an 11 percent admission rate—which would indicate that 1,138 students made the cut—and a 91 percent yield.
This story has been edited and republished with permissions from Clear Admit.
The MBA Application: Know Your Audience
As Round 1 deadlines approach, applicants are coming to understand that applying to business school is an incredibly demanding process. In addition to taking the GMAT, assembling academic transcripts and providing recommendation letters, candidates are required to draft multiple essays, job descriptions, lists of activities and more.
With the obvious incentive to save time wherever possible, it’s understandable that many applicants simply cut and paste content from an existing résumé and write about their work in the manner that comes most naturally. However, in doing so, countless candidates each year assemble their materials without ever asking a fundamental question.
Who will read my MBA application?
While the answer to this question may vary from school to school, one thing is certain: It is unlikely that the person reading your MBA application will have an intimate level of familiarity with your specific industry or job function. This being the case, if you use industry-specific jargon or assume prior knowledge of your field on the part of the admissions officer, you will undoubtedly lose your reader.
It’s also important to keep the big picture in mind; many applicants become so mired in the details of their own work and role that they fail to provide sufficient context for an outsider to understand the impact of one’s efforts to the department or organization as a whole. Write about your experiences in a way that the average person will understand. While this is easier said than done, it underlines the importance of sharing your materials with an unbiased adviser (ideally not a work colleague or family member) to make sure that you aren’t off-base with some of your assumptions.
For some extra resources on how to perfect your application, read up on the Clear Admit Essay Topic Analyses for each school, read interviews with members admissions committees, and visit the Clear Admit shop for the informative Clear Admit School Guides. The School Guides offer in-depth, side-by-side comparisons of your target schools and their peer programs. The Clear Admit Strategy Guides and Interview Guides provide added insight into all aspects of the admissions process.
This article has been edited and republished with permissions from Clear Admit.
What MBA Class of 2019 Profiles from HBS, Kellogg Reveal about YOUR Admission Chances
Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management last week released a profile of its incoming Class of 2019, and Harvard Business School (HBS) earlier this summer released its own preliminary Class of 2019 profile. (The Boston school notes there could be subtle shifts come late August when the final class matriculates.) A look at both reveals that this past admissions cycle was a competitive one with few major shifts from the year before. It also shows some striking similarities between the incoming class compositions at the two schools.
Application Volume Increases
HBS clearly outperformed Kellogg in terms of application volume. At HBS, applications rose from 9,759 in 2015-2016 to 10,351 in 2016-2017, a 6 percent increase. The school maintained its stringent 11 percent acceptance rate, second only to Stanford’s, which has historically hovered around the 6-percent mark. Total enrollment this year is 941, down from 942 last year. According to the school, yield this year was 91 percent, which means more than nine of 10 accepted students decided to enroll.
At Kellogg, applications rose a more modest 1 percent over last year. Melissa Rapp, Kellogg Director of Admissions, characterized application volume as “steady” in an interview with Clear Admit earlier this summer. The single percentage point increase included slight upticks in domestic applicants as well as those from some international markets, which offset declines in applicants from other international markets, she says. Applications totaled 4,553 last year, which puts this year’s number closer to 4,600. Overall, 478 students comprise the incoming class, up from 474 in the Class of 2019.
Kellogg Continues Its GMAT Ascent
But where GMAT scores are concerned, Kellogg outshone HBS. HBS reported a median GMAT score of 730—identical to the two prior years. HBS does not share average GMAT score data, but it does reveal that the middle 80 percent of the class submitted scores between 700 and 770.
Kellogg, which shares average GMAT score, saw this metric rise another four points over last year, to 732. It’s the continuation of a multi-year increase for the Evanston school that just five years ago had an average GMAT score of 708. Its meteoric rise places it second only to Stanford Graduate School of Business where this metric is concerned, barring significant jumps at other schools that have not yet reported average scores for the incoming class. (Stanford GSB doesn’t release its incoming class profile until later in the fall, but last year’s average GMAT score was 737.) Kellogg’s overall GMAT score range was between 600 and 780. Last year, the range was 690 to 760—but last year’s data only reflects the middle 80 percent range, before Kellogg started reporting full range.
Undergraduate GPA, Major
In terms of average undergraduate GPA, HBS saw slight gains over last year, up to 3.71 from 3.67. At Kellogg, average GPA stayed the same as last year, at 3.6. As for what applicants studied while in college, both schools showed a greater preference for business backgrounds this year than last. At HBS, 45 percent of the incoming class majored in business or economics, up from 41 percent the year before. STEM majors were next, at 36 percent, with humanities majors bringing up the rear at just 19 percent. (Last year, STEM majors accounted for 38 percent, humanities majors, 21 percent.) At Kellogg, 49 percent of this year’s incoming class majored in business or economics, up from 45 percent of the previous class. STEM majors, meanwhile, made up 30 percent (up from 29 percent the year before), and humanities majors rounded out the class, at 26 percent (compared to 28 percent last year).
Class Diversity Similar at Both Schools
In terms of class diversity, both Kellogg and HBS will welcome incoming classes that are 42 percent women, down slightly from 43 percent at HBS and up slightly from 41 percent at Kellogg. Forty-three percent has thus far proven the high-water mark at both institutions.
At HBS, 35 percent of the class is international, and 26 percent belongs to U.S. ethnic minorities—mirroring last year’s stats. Kellogg’s incoming class is also 35 percent international, though U.S. minorities are 25 percent, a percentage point decline since last year. Still, Kellogg notes that this year’s class is among the school’s most diverse ever.
At HBS, the incoming class counts students from 70 countries, though 69 percent of students are from North America and 65 percent are from the United States. Students from Asia make up 14 percent of the class, with Europeans comprising another 10 percent. Student from Central and South America make up another 4 percent of the class, and 2 percent—or 16 students—hail from Africa.
Varied Professional Experience
Both schools tout the varied professional experience represented by the incoming class. At HBS, those from a consulting background make up 16 percent of the class, followed closely by venture capital and private equity, which each comprise another 15 percent. The financial services category makes up 11 percent, followed by government/education/nonprofit, healthcare/biotech, and other services (each at 7 percent); consumer products and energy (6 percent each), and finally manufacturing and military (each at 5 percent). HBS shared that the average age of those in the incoming class is 27, though no details about average years of work experience were made available.
HBS Touts Its Diversity in Video Entitled “Mosaic of Perspectives”
Kellogg, meanwhile, shows a greater predilection toward applicants from a consulting background, who make up 27 percent of this year’s incoming class. Applicants who have worked in financial services follow, at 20 percent; “other” makes up 14 percent, and those from a tech/communications background make up 12 percent. Other less represented backgrounds include government/education/nonprofit and healthcare/bio (each 7 percent), consumer products (6 percent), military (3 percent), manufacturing (2 percent), and energy (1 percent). Average work experience at Kellogg this year is 5.1 years, with 80 percent of the class having between 3.5 and 7 years. The average age of the incoming class is 28.
Rapp expressed great enthusiasm about both the diversity and high quality of the group of students who are just now arriving on campus, noting that theirs will be the first class that will get to enjoy Kellogg’s gorgeous new Global Hub for their entire time in business school. “As we do every year, we looked for leaders that are focused on collaborating to create impact and lasting value wherever they go—before Kellogg, during their time at Kellogg, and in the future,” she said. “Our comprehensive approach to admissions enables us to attract an incredibly well-rounded group of students to Kellogg. The quality of the applicant pool has increased this year, and the quality of our accepted students is commensurate with that.”
Chad Losee, HBS managing director of MBA admissions and financial aid, shared fewer words but no less enthusiasm. “So hard to capture the talent and diversity of perspectives in this group. They are amazing!” he wrote on his Director’s Blog.
This article has been edited and republished with permissions from Clear Admit.
