Why The MBA Is Now The Most Popular Master’s

The first MBA students at the Tuck School of Business founded in 1900 as the first graduate school of management

The MBA was born at Dartmouth College’s Tuck School 114 years ago with a four-student class. Today there are hundreds of thousands of MBA students a year earning degrees in thousands of institutions worldwide.

More than that, for the first time ever, the MBA has become the most popular postgraduate degree in the U.S. after education, according to figures from the U.S. Department of Education.

In 2011-2012, the last year for which data is available, 191,571 people graduated from U.S. schools with advanced degrees in business, some 25.4% of all the master’s degrees conferred. That compares with 178,062 master’s in education, or 23.6%, of all the advanced degrees (See table below).

THE MBA SURPASSED THE MASTER’S IN EDUCATION AS THE MOST POPULAR POSTGRADUATE DEGREE

Through most of the modern era, a master’s in education had long been the dominant degree, in part because some states require it to teach. Indeed, back in 1970-71, business master’s accounted for just 11.2% of all postgraduate degrees, while education dominated with 37.2%. In those days, even advanced degrees in the humanities, which had 14.6% of the market for master’s degrees, exceeded those in business.

The remarkable growth of the MBA—largely due to its widespread acceptance by employers and the almost assured return-on-investment of the degree—has been fairly steady during the past half century, making the degree the most successful educational product of the past 50 to 100 years.

How come? Srilata Zaheer, dean of the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota, has seen the transformative power of the degree first hand. “A business degree remains one of the most predictable paths to success and financial stability and can provide the proverbial leg up from relative poverty to great accomplishment and wealth,” she maintains. “In uncertain times, such as we have had since 2008, it tends to draw more students who make this connection.  We have any number of alumni from our MBA programs who have come from small towns, modest backgrounds, often the first generation in college, going on to become immensely successful entrepreneurs and leaders of global firms.” She cites John Stumpf, chairman and CEO of Wells Fargo as an example. “He grew up in a farm family of 11 children in Pierz, MN, sharing a bedroom with his brothers, and being the first in his family to go to college,” she recalls.

Paul Danos, who as dean of Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business, is the longest serving leader of a major B-school, believes the growth has come become schools have adapted to the changing needs of the companies and organizations that hire MBAs.

THE MBA HAS ADAPTED TO CHANGE ‘BETTER THAN ANY OTHER FORM OF ADVANCED EDUCATION’

“Businesses have grown enormously in complexity and scope, and more than ever, they need ethical, skilled, well-educated, creative leaders who are global in outlook,” says Danos. “Business education in general and the great MBA programs in particular have adapted as these demands have grown, perhaps better than any other form of advanced education.”

The Department of Education numbers support his point of view. In 1980-1981, some 19.1% of all the master’s granted were in business. In 1990-1991, advanced degrees in business grew to 22.8% of the total market, and in 2000-2001 to 24.4%.

The biggest gains for the degree occurred in the ten years from 1975 to 1985 when master’s in business grew to 22.5% of the total from 13.4%. As far back as 1975, the MBA blew past both law and medical degrees in the U.S. But it was only three years ago, in 2010-2011, that business edged out education as the most popular advanced degree, accounting for 25.6% of all master’s versus the 25.3% for education. The numbers for business are largely made up of MBAs but also include specialized business master’s programs, including master’s of finance or accounting.

Says Danos: “Top business schools have continuously changed in response to the ever-changing demands of business; and this can be seen in how crucial issues such as: ethics, sustainability, leadership, technology, globalization and much more have been mainstreamed into MBA programs along with the classic core topics of business management.”

Source: U.S. Department of Education

Source: Brookings Institution

The popularity of the MBA has also risen as far more people in the U.S. earn postgraduate degrees. The Department of Education statistics show that advanced degrees today are as common as bachelor’s degrees were in the 1960s. More than 16 million people in the U.S., roughly 8% of the country’s population, now has a master’s on his or her resume, a 43% increase since 2002.

The investment people are making in higher education, and especially the MBA degree, is driven by the belief that it will payoff, despite the loans that often are taken out to finance the degree. A Brookings Institution report in 2011 found that higher education is a much better investment than almost any other alternative, even for the Class of the Great Recession in 2009 and 2010.

A college degree dramatically boosts the odds of finding a job and making more money. On average, Brookings found, the benefits of a four-year college degree are equivalent to an investment that returns 15.2% per year. “This is more than double the the average return to stock market investments since 1950, and more than five times the returns of corporate bonds, gold, long-term government bonds, or home ownership. From any investment perspective, college is a great deal,” according to Brookings.

THE MBA LEADS TO GREATER CAREER FLEXIBILITY, HIGHER PROSPECTS FOR SOCIAL MOBILITY

And that investment shows up in every paycheck. A recent study by the Urban Institute showed that the earnings premium for graduate degrees is sizable and growing. In 2002, average earnings for full-time workers ages 35-44 with master’s degrees were 8% higher than those for similar workers whose highest degree was a bachelor’s. By 2012, that difference was 21%.

There are other less tangible benefits as well. Robert Bruner, dean of the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, notes that having an advanced degree leads to greater career flexibility, a higher quality of life, higher prospects for social mobility, and significantly reduces the odds of unemployment during a career.

“Higher education simply prepares one to function more effectively in the face of life’s uncertainties,” believes Bruner. “Education provides a valuable hidden option that helps to act as a shock absorber, like an insurance policy, against the episodic employment shocks that business cycles impose. The higher-educated are out of work less often.”

The MBA degree also has helped many transition into careers that allowed them to follow their passions. “An advanced business degree can be transformative for career changers, and as we see more returning veterans, for example, who need to learn the language of business, the MBA, especially one that focuses on experiential learning, can facilitate these transitions,” says Zaheer of the Carlson School.

“Even those who are not primarily drawn to business as a career are seeing the value of the skills they acquire in an MBA program — the leadership skills, the knowledge of finance and accounting and global supply chains and the people and team management skills — as valuable no matter what they want to accomplish — whether it is heading up a symphony orchestra or running a non-profit in Africa or a hospital (all of which our alumni are doing)!  We are seeing more ‘off-roaders’ - students looking to be entrepreneurs or for non-traditional careers like these, in our programs, and this might be contributing to the increase in masters in business as well.”

SURVEYS OF MBA ALUMNI CONSISTENTLY SHOW HIGH LEVELS OF SATISFACTION WITH THE DEGREE

Of course, there are no guarantees that an advanced degree, even an MBA, can work magic on everyone. Harvard and Wharton MBAs can and do lose their jobs. Stanford MBAs can create entrepreneurial ventures that go bust. And the payback from the degree, while still high, has fallen from the glory days of the degree in the 1980s and 1990s. But in general, all the research shows that the degree is well worth it, that people who go to business school are more than satisfied with the experience, and that the naysayers are few and far between.

Surveys of alumni, for example, consistently reaffirm the value of the degree. The latest look at MBA alumni by the Graduate Management Admission Council shows that nine in 10 (91%) recent business school alumni from 2010–2013 consider their graduate management education a good to outstanding value. Sixty-six percent of alumni agree their education was financially rewarding. And a quarter (26%) of alumni report their expectations for recouping their financial investment were exceeded while 53% say their expectations for return on their investment (ROI) were met. 

Source: AACSB

What’s even more surprising about these results is that they do not include MBA alumni who are likely to be among the most satisfied with the degree.  Most of the alumni from the best business schools in the world aren’t included in the study. By and large, there’s no alumni from Harvard, Stanford, or Wharton. None from Chicago Booth, Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, MIT Sloan, Columbia Business School, or Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business. For whatever reason, those schools and many more decided not to participate in the latest research. In fact, alumni from only three business schools—Virginia, Carnegie Mellon, and Indiana University—of the Top 20 in the U.S. were included in the survey.

As the demand for the MBA has grown so has the number of institutions that offer the degree. The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, the major accreditation body of business schools, has now granted accreditation to 711 business schools, up from well under just 200 institutions in 1972 (see chart above). Much of the explosive growth in recnt years has occurred in Europe, China and India. Yet, the AACSB total of 711 accredited institutions  is less than 5% of the total number of business schools in the world.

WHY THE WORLD NEEDS MORE MBAS, NOT LESS

While many college administrators worry about the impact of technology on higher education and many business schools have seen demand for the full-time, two-year MBA program flatten in recent years, deans of the most prominent schools believe the degree’s future remains bright.

“I believe that full-time MBA programs are the best vehicles by which young people can develop the leadership qualities that allow them to meet the monumental challenges of tomorrow’s business environment,” says Danos of Tuck. “The world needs well-educated and mature young people who are prepared to lead in the burgeoning firms that are growing with the world economies.”

Kellogg Dean Sally Blount

Sally Blount, dean of Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, agrees. In an recent essay entitled, “Yes, The World Needs More MBAs,” she argues that the increasing complexity of the world’s problems requires more leaders with the abilities that only an MBA can provide. “Clearly you can have a rewarding life and career without an MBA,” Blount concedes. “And you can certainly become rich and powerful without one, as Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, and Amancio Ortega can testify. But when you’re creating the next Google or Apple, you’re going to need people with the training, skills, and network that business education is uniquely good at providing. There’s a reason all of those companies hire people with MBAs.”

Given the profound social challenges facing the country and the world, the demand for well-trained professionals can only go up. “The inability of government to address fundamental social issues only enhances the need for the private sector to step in,” she adds. “We will need leaders who can hold government accountable for managing public resources and protecting the public trust—and who can leverage the power of markets to create lasting social value.

“Intelligent, highly driven individuals will reinvent markets, fuel growth, and work across sectors to build strong, transformative organizations,” wrote Blount. “But markets or governments won’t do this on their own; the incentives just aren’t there. That’s why the world needs more, not less, business education. It depends on it.”

Source: U.S. Department of Education

The Triumph Of The MBA Degree

Source: The Economist

There’s a fascinating chart in the most recent issue of The Economist which shows the incredible growth of the MBA, now the second most popular postgraduate degree in the U.S. after education. What makes the chart so compelling is how the degree has completely overtaken law and medicine.

Some four decades ago, U.S. colleges graduated near equal numbers of lawyers and MBAs. Today, MBA grads outnumber J.D. grads by nearly four to one. And with many law schools struggling to fill classes, that ratio is likely to tip further in favor of the MBA even though growth in recent years has slowed in full-time, two-year MBA programs and domestic applicants to those programs has essentially flatlined.

As The Economist explains, institutions offering the MBA in Asia have simply exploded. Many of these programs are weak, subpar imitations of the real thing so it’s a boom that is not going to last. India now boasts roughly 2,000 business schools, more than any other country. China has an estimated 250 MBA programs that now graduate about 30,000 students each year. The Economist points out that this is less than half the number it will need over the next decade, according to Hao Hongrui of DHD, a consultancy.

Of course, the big question is whether the U.S. is producing too many MBAs for the market. For students and alumni of the top 25 or top 50 programs that’s almost an irrelevant question because the value of the degree is holding strong. But it could very well become a bigger issue for schools that can’t get into the first- or second-tier.

Chicago & Yale SOM Profs Win Nobel Prize

Eugene Fama of Chicago Booth

Rack up another Nobel Prize for the University of Chicago Booth School faculty.

Booth Professor Eugene F. Fama, widely known as the “Father of Modern Finance,” was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science today (Oct. 14) along with two other professors for research that has improved the forecasting of asset prices in the long term and helped the emergence of index funds in stock markets.

Fama won the prestigious award with Lars Peter Hansen, 60, a professor in the University of Chicago’s department of economics, and Robert J. Shiller, 67, who a finance professor at the Yale School of Management as well as an economics professor at Yale’s department of economics.

The University of Chicago now lays claim to 10 Nobel laureates in economics among current and former faculty members, from Milton Friedman in 1976 to Roger Myerson in 2007.

‘YOU PUT A LOW PROBABILITY ON IT. SO WHEN IT HAPPENS, IT’S A SURPRISE’

Fama’s name had come up as a possible winner over many years, but today’s announcement was nonetheless a surprise for the 74-year-old professor. “People have talked about it for a long time, but so many people can win it,” Fama told the Chicago Sun-Times today.  “You put a low probability on it. So when it happens, it’s a surprise.”

For Chicago Booth, it is yet another very positive piece of news. Only last week, Booth topped MBA rankings by The Economist for the second year in a row and moved into second place, behind only Stanford, in Forbes biennial ranking. Booth has been number one in the Bloomberg BusinessWeek rankings since 2006.

And for Fama, the award is the icing on the cake of a spectacular academic career for a man who once studied romantic languages at Tufts University in the hopes of becoming a high school teacher. It didn’t work out and he went into economics. Fama’s grandparents were Sicilian immigrants who owned a grocery store in Boston’s West End. His father drove a lumber truck, while his mother was a homemaker.

“There is no way to predict the price of stocks and bonds over the next few days or weeks,” The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said in awarding the 8 million crown ($1.25 million) prize to the three academics. “But it is quite possible to foresee the broad course of these prices over longer periods, such as the next three to five years. These findings … were made and analyzed by this year’s Laureates,” the academy said.

Yale University’s Robert Shiller

FAMA IS AN AVID WINDSURFER AND GOLFER

Fama, who joined the Chicago Booth faculty in 1963, earned a bachelor’s degree from Tufts University in 1960, followed by an MBA and PhD from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business in 1964. Fama is a father of four and a grandfather of ten. He is an avid windsurfer and golfer, an opera buff, and a fading tennis player, according to his own bio.

Fama is well known for research with long-time partner Kenneth French, a professor of Dartmouth College, which shows that certain groups of stocks tend to outperform over time. Known as the Fama-French “Three-Factor Model,” company size, style and market risk are now considered essential in a diversified portfolio.

Shiller, meantime, is a full professor at Yale SOM. He has a joint appointment between the School of Management and the Economics Dept. He is Professor of Finance at Yale SOM and a fellow at the school’s International Center for Finance.
In the spring he taught Behavioral and Institutional Economics, an econ course that is cross-listed with SOM.

Perhaps best known as a namesake of the S&P/Case-Shiller housing price index, Shiller distinguished himself with research on the dynamics of asset prices, risk sharing, financial market volatility and on bubbles and crises have received widespread attention among academics, practitioners, and policymakers.

“A lot of people had told me they hoped I would win it, but I am aware that there are so many other worthy people that I had discounted it, so I would say no, I did not expect it,” Schiller told a news conference.

Schiller received his B.A. from the University of Michigan in 1967 and his Ph.D. in economics from MIT in 1972.

MBAs Think They Can Change Biz For Better

MBAs Think They Can Change Business For the Better

It has been five years since Bear Stearns imploded, the opening salvo of a near death spiral in the global financial system. Since then, banks have cleaned up their balance sheets; companies have hoarded cash; and government has added new mandates and regulations. Of course, MBAs have emerged as the public’s favorite whipping boys.

The economic meltdown – and the lost wealth, flat growth, and uncertainty it left behind – has also left its mark on the next generation of MBAs, who entered the job market as it caved in. This week, Access MBA, a global resource that assists students and business schools, published a survey on the role of MBA programs in the wake of the crisis. Surveying over 2000 prospective, current, and former students in 57 countries, Access MBA compiled some intriguing observations:

• 62% of respondents believe business schools have “significant responsibility” to address the economic crisis.
• 64% agree that schools should actively encourage involving students in hands-on projects in the field to provide real world experience.
• 53% agree that programs should research and develop sustainable business practices.
• 35% answered that schools should concentrate on business ethics.
• 80% of graduates and current students found that their business school adequately addressed the roots and consequences of the recession.

This lack of enthusiasm for ethics certainly stood out. However, it likely stems from a perception that ethics don’t translate to the bottom line. However, Jessica Smith, IESE’s Associate Director for MBA Admissions, notes that ethics still have a place in an MBA program: “Business ethics do not need to be a separate course, but should be incorporated into the curriculum.”

Finally, the study ends on an upbeat note. According to alumni surveyed, 95% believed their MBA education prepared them to respond to future recessions and improve their companies’ practices. Who knows, maybe that education will help businesses bounce back faster from the next economic freefall.

Source: Business Because

Why Women Should Skip Business School

This week, Laura Hemphill, a Lehman Brothers alum-turned-novelist, lobbed a grenade into the gender- and-education fault line. In her essay entitled “Why Women Should Skip Business School,” which was published by The New Yorker, Hemphill argues that it is financially wiser for women to forego business school in favor of building their careers and learning scarce skills. And she backs up her premise with some cogent arguments. Here are some highlights from her piece:

• You Can Succeed Without An MBA: “Unlike medical school or law school, business school isn’t a requirement for a business career. Many successful C.E.O.s don’t hold M.B.A.s: Marissa Mayer, of Yahoo; Jeff Bezos, of Amazon.com; Ginni Rometty, of I.B.M. On Wall Street and in Silicon Valley, business school is often stigmatized as a booze-addled vacation; Marc Andreessen, a venture capitalist, famously observed that business-school graduates’ interest in a sector is a leading indicator of a bubble.”

• Elite Students Don’t Need The Degree: “…the average incoming Harvard Business School student needs the degree the least, given the qualifications required to be accepted in the first place. Arguably, it’s the qualities that get a candidate admitted to Harvard in the first place that insure her success after graduation, rather than the degree itself. Meanwhile, an M.B.A. isn’t always worth its steep financial cost. Including tuition, room, and board, a Harvard M.B.A. today costs more than a hundred and eighty thousand dollars—and that’s before lost wages.”

• An MBA Only Delivers A Temporary Advantage To Women: “The uncomfortable truth is that women in business are more likely than men to drop out of the workforce or have their careers interrupted a decade after earning their M.B.A.s, because of family considerations. According to a Harvard study of graduates of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, a decade after earning their M.B.A.s, women were twenty-two per cent more likely than men to have experienced at least one career interruption. Thirteen per cent of women weren’t working, compared to one per cent of men. And even if women’s careers weren’t interrupted when they had children, they were certainly affected: the study also found that “M.B.A. mothers seem to actively choose jobs that are family friendly and avoid jobs with long hours and greater career advancement possibilities.”

• It Takes Away Two Precious Years: “…isn’t the most important thing for a woman to work as hard as she can and advance as far as possible while she’s still in her twenties and her life is as uncomplicated as it’s going to get? That way, by the time she’s a decade or so along, she’ll have more savings, more job experience, and more bargaining power—all of which translate into more options.”

• There Are Alternatives To The MBA: “Consider other uses of those two years. Instead of relying on an M.B.A. to boost her skill set, a woman could teach herself a hard skill like programming or Chinese, or she could start her own business. If she’s working in Silicon Valley, on Wall Street, or another industry where many are promoted without M.B.A.s, she could stay put and continue to rise. And if she doesn’t have a better use for those two years now but thinks she might later on, why not preserve that option?”

Doug Guthrie is no longer dean at GW’s business school

GW Profs Fear B-School Accreditation In Jeopardy

It couldn’t happen. A Top 50 business school loses its accreditation? This is a joke, right?

According to George Washington faculty members, this is a real possibility. This week, The George Washington Hatchet, the student newspaper, reports that Interim Dean Christopher Kayes informed faculty that the school is hoping to delay an on-campus by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), their accreditor, until spring.

This delay stems from the recent dismissal of Dean Doug Guthrie in August due to overspending by $13 million dollars in 2012. According to The Hatchet, these additional expenditures stemmed from unexpected costs related to expanding the online graduate programs and events for its executive education programs.

Sok-Hyon Kang, who served as Vice Dean under Guthrie, noted that financial troubles often hinder a school’s ability to receive accreditation:

“Accreditation is going to get much harder this year, no matter what.” We’d been preparing for AACSB during the last three years very well, so getting accredited this year was almost a done deal. Now it’s in jeopardy.”

Phillip Wirtz, Vice Dean of Programs and Education, added that accreditors could pay special attention to the business school’s independence from school administration:

“If I were a site visitor right now I’d say, ‘Wait a minute. They fired a dean three days before the semester started and three-and-a-half months before the accreditation site visit. Tell us again about that independence thing?’ And I think we’re going to have to worry about that,”

If George Washington would lose accreditation, it could potentially lose students and tuition dollars, along with tarnishing their reputation. In fact, there is precedent, as George Washington’s School of Medicine and Health Sciences was placed on probation from 2008-2010 over curriculum standards and student space.

Despite the uncertainty after Dean Guthrie’s removal, George Washington doesn’t anticipate issues with accreditation. Provost Steven Lerman notes that the $13 million dollar shortfall has already been covered by the university. He added that “one in four or one in five” schools in the accreditation process are run by interim deans, adding “I believe accreditations are not about people, they’re about institutions.”

Our Prediction: This is a lot of sound and fury, signifying nothing. George Washington’s business school will keep its accreditation.

To read Poets and Quants’ exclusive interview with former Dean Doug Guthrie about his dismissal, click here:Poets and Quants

Source: George Washington Hatchet

For additional information on this story, click below:

Poets and Quants: George Washington Ousts Dean Guthrie

George Washington Hatchet: Story Behind A $13 Million Dollar Shortfall

Wharton Puts First Year MBA Courses Online For Free

What if you could get an Ivy League education – worth over $54,000 – absolutely free?

Now, you can. Last week, Wharton announced that it was adding three more courses from its core curriculum to its online Coursera platform. As a result, all four of its first year core MBA courses – marketing, operations and information management, accounting, and finance – are available online…for free.

These courses, along with five electives, are available as MOOCs (Massive open online courses). Taught by Wharton’s full-time MBA faculty, they began in September and last from 6 to 10 weeks.  The content also mirrors what Wharton’s MBA students are learning. It includes prerecorded lectures, along with access to the professor or an assistant. In fact, some Wharton professors are assigning these MOOCs to their on-site students, so they can focus class time on discussion and activities.

An outsider might believe Wharton is losing money by giving away content. Diedre Woods, the Interim Executive Director of Penn’s Open Learning Initiative, disagrees with this notion. By putting their MBA program online, Woods believes the university is demonstrating their “depth and breadth” and “providing leadership” to other schools. Brian Bushee, a Wharton faculty member, adds that this initiative allows students to test the waters and see if a business education is the right choice for them: “If you were thinking of getting an MBA, you might not know what the core courses are. The branding helps you know the four things you need to know.”

Still, don’t expect these MOOCs to replace a Wharton degree. Students don’t receive course credit for passing a course, though Wharton does provide a certificate of completion for a fee. What’s more, Woods believes the classroom discussions and interaction with peers are what makes business school special:

“There’s some magic that happens in class. I don’t think there’s a substitute out there in the real world. I think having a wonderful, lively, intellectual campus experience really can’t be replicated 100 percent online.”

According to Don Huesman, the Managing Director for Wharton’s Innovation Group, Wharton’s MOOCs have already attracted nearly 700,000 students in 173 countries. Huesman added that more courses could be added online in the future. 

Blast from the Past:

Guide To The Best MOOC Courses In Business

MOOCs are all the rage these days. Some enthusiasts claim they’ll eventually replace brick-and-mortar classrooms. Others dismiss them as watered-down curriculum and glorified correspondence courses. Either way, MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) have grabbed the attention of educators. And no one is quite sure if they are friend or foe, a fad or the future.

Last year, Poets and Quants Founder John Byrne reviewed many of the free MOOCs available for MBAs. Some courses lasted 6 weeks; others went months. Most included homework and tests. And they covered topics ranging from financial markets to organizational analysis. And some were even taught by leading minds at top institutions like Darden and Stanford.

How To Offset A Low GMAT Score

Fixes For A Low GMAT Score

“I scored a what? On my third try! What do I need to do to pass this stupid test? They’ll never let me in!”

Well, not so fast according to Stacey Blackman, an MBA admissions consultant who writes a regular column for US News and World Report. This week, Blackman shared some advice for those candidates who excel in the real world but flop on their GMATs.

First, Blackman counsels students to shoot for the 80 percent score range, not the average score accepted by their school. For example, she notes that students entering the Columbia Business School in 2012 had GMAT scores between 680-760, with the average being 715. As a result, prospective students shouldn’t fret if they land at the lower end.

Similarly, there is an alternative to the GMAT: The GRE. For example, Blackman had one client take the GRE after her GMAT scores lagged behind other candidates. Although this client scored lowered on the GRE, her GRE quant score was actually higher. As a result, they submitted her GRE score to Harvard, where her client was eventually accepted.

Finally, Blackman explains that a GMAT score is just one factor in an application. In her view, an applicant can “offset a low GMAT score with a proven track record in a quantitative job, a high GPA from a respected undergraduate school and compelling extracurricular or leadership activities.” If a GMAT score is still low – and the applicant has already tried a tutor or class – she should instead focus on her “essays, extracurriculars and, to some extent, the recommendation letters, where [her] recommenders can highlight [her] quantitative skills.”

One more piece of advice from Blackman: Don’t worry about re-taking the GMAT. In Blackman’s experience, “this dedication to improving your score is often interpreted by the admissions committee as a sign that you’ll do whatever it takes to prove you’re ready for business school.”

Source: US News and World Report

B-School Traditions: Fall Football Frenzy

Can you name a sure way to bring MBA students, faculty, alumni, and administrators together?

Free food and drinks, you say? OK…what about a second way? Football? Now, you’re talking!

That’s right: College football is here! That means every Saturday – from College Park to Berkeley – students can network with potential employers, investors, and mentors. Win or lose and rain or shine, football is that unifying centerpiece that draws people back to campus. And it provides the perfect vehicle to drink, talk shop, and bond.

Thankfully, top schools like Stanford, Notre Dame, Texas, Michigan, and UCLA field Top 25 teams. After first week wins, even Virginia and Duke fans have hope. And that buzz translates into two things: Interest and dollars.

B-schools get pulled into the hoopla too. And why not? Instead of awkward interviews and mandatory cocktails, students can drop their prepared points and get to know people, including their own classmates. So how do leading business schools capitalize on these weekend invasions? Here are some examples from Bloomberg Businessweek:

• Texas (McCombs): Holds tailgating parties at the business school before each home game.

• Notre Dame (Mendoza): Sponsors executive speakers and career panels on Fridays before games.

• Michigan (Ross): Hosts a reunion party during homecoming weekend, including a “speed dating” session where alumni can meet with students to get updates on various clubs and activities.

• California-Berkeley (Haas): Throws a Mexican fiesta for alumni over homecoming weekend. Haas also leads a walk of shame after each Pac-12 game (Just kidding Golden Bear fans).

Breaking the Ice: A B-School Primer On Making Faculty Friends

That anxious third grader inside us never really dies. You can score million dollar deals and develop groundbreaking products to hide it. Once you head to business school, that youthful insecurity comes out in full force. Like any nine year old, you’ll eventually ask yourself, “Does my teacher really like me?”

Maybe it doesn’t matter to you. But teachers can open doors for you. They can connect you with potential employers, serve as references…or help you better understand a concept. And they’ll go above-and-beyond for those who are friendly, sincere, and appreciative. Let’s face it: Teachers want to be liked too. And many crave a personal connection to their students too. So how do you build authentic relationships with your professors?

Sridhar Balasubramanian, a marketing professor at the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School, encourages students to learn about their professors through outlets like Linkedin. He also counsels students to be strategic when approaching him, to have “something memorable to say or demonstrate what is memorable about you.” That will distinguish you from the hundreds of other students he encounters.

According to Jeffrey H. Bergstrand, a finance professor at Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business, professors take interest in students who enrich classroom discussions with relevant questions and real life experience. Balasubramanian notes that he appreciates students who contact him when they’re struggling instead of languishing through the semester.

Of course, these strategies pale next to the oldest way to build a relationship. And it’s something you probably learned in the third grade: Show interest in the other person. Bidhan Parmar, an assistant professor at Virginia Darden, counsels students to ask about a professor’s research, which is often their passion. Parmar also notes that Darden provides volunteer activities, such as Habitat For Humanity, where faculty and students can interact outside the classroom. Paul Whitmire, a second year student at Vanderbilt Owen, adds that learning about your mutual interests can often break the ice.

Looking for extra credit? Send a handwritten note to your favorite professors after graduation. For most business school professors, teaching is a calling, not a paycheck. They want to know that they made an difference too.

Source: Bloomberg Businessweek

Recruiters Push Early Access To New MBA Students

Remember the days when schools would chase off sports agents prowling around the athletic complex? Well, administrators now have a new menace to worry about: MBA recruiters.

Yes, the competition is heating up on campuses – and recruiters aren’t waiting for permission to meet with the new crop of students. They’re holding off-site events – and offering internships before first years even set foot on campus.

For example, Deloitte Consulting LLP hosts a summer conference, where first years can interview early for coveted associate positions for the following summer. Similarly, the Consortium for Graduate Study in Management conducts a summer event so first years can interview with companies such as Eli Lilly and Company and the Kraft Foods Group. In fact, some recruiters followed up with Consortium attendees from Cornell by holding “coffee chats” before their orientation.

So what’s the harm, you say?  According to Regina Regazzi, executive director of corporate relations at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, students may make internship commitments before pinpointing exactly where they want to go with their careers. She adds that students could hurt their hiring chances by interviewing with companies before undertaking resume critiques and mock interviews.

However, there are advantages to early recruiting. Keith Bevans, who heads Bain & Company’s global consultant recruiting efforts, believes that it takes time to build relationships with potential hires. Meeting with first years over the summer gives them more time to identify and evaluate prospects.  Pulin Sanghvi, assistant director of Stanford’s career management center, also notes that the ‘mad rush’ to recruit students in later fall can overwhelm students.

And what are administrators doing to curb these early contacts? Well, there isn’t much they can do. In fact, they are catering to the recruiters. According to The Wall Street Journal, business schools are “pushing forward the dates they allow firms to begin corporate presentations, cocktail receptions and other recruiting activities.” For example, Emory University’s Goizueta Business School moved up this year’s company networking event from October to August 23.

Fact is, business schools need recruiters just as much as companies covet their students. Wendy Tsung, associate dean of MBA career services at Emory, observes that “companies are either going to go around us or they’re going to work with us. We’d much rather that they work with us.” Even students agree. Tom Tait, president of Michigan Ross’ student finance club, adds that schools are “not going to stop any company from engaging with the students. It’s in their best interest to have us at as many companies as possible.”

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Blast from the Past:

The Best 40 B-School Profs Under The Age of 40

What makes a great teacher?

Do they inspire? Challenge? Entertain? Clarify? Care? What makes these teachers so memorable? And why are they sometimes able to change the lives of their students?

One answer comes from Justine Lelchuk, a Harvard MBA and former co-president of the business school’s Student Association.  She described a great business school professor as

“someone who is a dynamic facilitator, clear communicator, active listener, passionate expert, provocative motivator, bridge between theory and practice, and just plain human.”

Poets&Quants took this definition to heart in 2011, when we polled students, alumni and officials to find those rising stars at American business schools. Their backgrounds are colorful and their methods are unique. Some come from the ranks of casino dealers and circus stuntmen. And their classrooms integrate everything from rapping to Apprentice-style projects. But one thread unites these 40 professors: A love of teaching. Check out our profiles of these 40 amazing educators, including their backgrounds, academic interests, and personal lives.

Source: Poets and Quants