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Spreading the word: 2013 Annual Beat The GMAT Scholarship (@BeatTheGMAT)

My long-time readers know that I like to pass along information about resources that I think might be helpful to my audience and, since many of you aspire to get into top MBA programs, this one might be a winner for you.

Eric Bahn, the founder of Beat The GMAT, recently reached out to ask me to spread the word about the 2013 Beat The GMAT scholarship, which launched yesterday. The scholarship will award free GMAT prep and MBA consulting packages to 8 winners from around the world. I’ve helped Eric and his team publicize their scholarship for … Read the rest

MBA applicant wondering whether she’s being too ambitious (with her target schools)

Over the years, I’ve had a lot of people email me with questions about whether their profiles seem competitive for admissions to a top business school. Although I’ve never worked for an MBA admissions office, I always give them my honest read on things and then try to provide recommendations where I can.

The message below is a little different because the reader is asking about the topic in a different way. Instead of asking whether she can get into school X, Y, or Z, she’s asking whether she’s being too optimistic by even looking at school X, Y, and … Read the rest

Is graduate school the right thing for your career? (guest post)

Many of my past blog entries have been targeted at people who are either applying to business school or intend to do so in the near future. But, what about if you don’t know whether business school (or any grad program, for that matter) is right for you? In that case, one has a lot of factors to weigh when deciding whether to invest significant time and money into pursuing a grad degree. This definitely isn’t a choice that should be taken lightly.

In this piece, contributing writer Lisa Fox from DegreesThatPay.com gives a useful perspective for people who are … Read the rest

Advice for an MBA applicant from me…and a friend of mine

People who have read this blog over the years should know that I enjoy sharing advice with folks who are applying to business school. One thing that may not have been as apparent is that I have lots of friends with a similar passion for mentorship and a willingness to share their insights with the next generation of aspiring MBAs.

One of those folks is my friend Dawn, who is an absolute rockstar in the business game. She’s an undergrad alum of Cal-Berkeley, an MBA alum of Cornell, and is a fast-rising leader in the healthcare industry. Like me, she … Read the rest

How MBAs can adjust to career setbacks in the current job market (guest post)

The article below was contributed by Richard McMunn, who is a UK-based expert on career development and transition. When he reached out to me with an offer to write an article for me, I asked him to focus on how one might best handle the stress that comes along with being laid off, fired, or some other similarly traumatizing career situation. I think that the advice he came up with is absolutely golden.

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Title: How MBAs Can Adjust to Career Setbacks in the Current Job Market Author: Richard McMunn

Today’s economic and business climate is a tough one, and … Read the rest

Free webinar — MBA Catalyst presents: The Long Shot – Getting into Kellogg MBA (Dec. 13, 2012 at 9:00pm EST)

This morning, I received an email from Jesse Mejia, Managing Partner of MBA admissions consulting firm MBA Catalyst, informing me of a free webinar that his company is conducting on Thursday for MBA applicants targeting the second and third round this year. In particular, this session will focus on candidates with supposedly underwhelming profiles who aspire to attend a top-5 program.

Here is an excerpt from Jesse’s email to me explaining why MBA Catalyst is conducting this webinar:

The month of December has been busy for us here at MBA Catalyst. Since round two deadlines are a few short weeks Read the rest

Some tips for a reader considering starting a blog about education issues

The message below came to me from a reader who is really passionate about education reform and wants to start blogging about. One complicating factor is that she’s currently in the MBA application process and, in this environment of “anything on the Web possibly being used against you”, there’s always some risk involved with starting a blog. I did my best to give her some broad advice on the topic and hope that she uses it along with advice from others to make an informed decision.

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MM wrote:

Hi Marquis!


I wanted to ask you your opinion about blogging.

Read the rest

Experienced IT Manager hoping to transition to a top consulting firm

The email message below is one that came in waaaaaay back in July 2011 and somehow got lost in my Inbox. I know that I can sometimes take a while to respond to people, but this was just plain terrible, even for me. Even worse, I’ve got several more messages from around the same time period that I need to get to and, when I do reply, I bet the recipients won’t even remember having emailed me at all. hahahaha…

The author is from an Indian IT Manager with 5 years of experience who is hoping to transition into a … Read the rest

College junior wondering which B-schools to target to end up at a top-3 consulting firm

The email below came to me back in August from a long-time friend named Adam who is an administrator in the program for undergraduate business students at Indiana University called the Kelley Living Learning Center (KLLC) that I mentioned in my last blog post. He’s the connect that got me invited to speak to their students last year and again this past weekend.

Adam was reaching out for my advice on behalf of a student who used to be part of the KLLC program a couple of years ago. She is starting to think about graduate business school options and, … Read the rest

Freshman considering whether to go to B-school straight from college

This weekend, I’ll be traveling to Bloomington, Indiana to visit with students in a program for incoming Freshmen in Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business. This program, Kelley Living Learning Center… Read the rest (or KLLC), is a residential and advanced business study environment for select kids in the undergrad business school. I’ll be giving a keynote talk next Monday night to a group of ~120 Freshmen and, on the night before, I’ll be doing an informal Q&A session with a group of Sophomores who were part of the KLLC last year. Some of you may remember that I visited the KLLC last

Free webinars on Sept. 18 and Sept. 29 from MBA admissions consulting firm MBA Catalyst (@MBACatalyst)

Hey, everyone. Some of you may have noticed that I’ve been posting a lot of resources related to preparations for MBA admissions lately. I know that some readers would prefer brand new content instead, but, given the time of year (beginning of the application season) and rising competitiveness of the application process, I want to pass along as much useful information as possible. For my readers who aspire to earn MBA degrees, I figure that this kind of information can be a godsend.

In this entry, I’m passing along information about an upcoming pair of free webinars from MBA admissions … Read the rest

Things you need to know about the new GMAT

My long-time readers know that I do my best to keep my ear to the street about all things having to do with business school and MBA admissions. Well, as I’ve moved upward in my career and become more busy overall, it’s become more difficult to keep up with some of the major changes, including the recent change in format for the GMAT exam. The first time I received an email from a reader asking for guidance regarding the new GMAT, my initial thought was “Hold up…they changed the GMAT? When did that happen?”

Needless to say, it felt … Read the rest

Junior Chemical Engineering major targeting an MBA and considering changing his major

The email below came to me from a college junior who is interested in getting an MBA one day and is wondering whether he should change his major from Chemical Engineering. Junior year is pretty late in the game to be considering this sort of change, but I understand where this guy is coming from with his request. I’ve done my best to give him some actionable advice, including telling him about the possible risks of making a change so late in his college career.

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MF wrote:

Hi Marquis,


My name is MF and I am a junior Chemical

Read the rest

Beat The GMAT’s 2012 ‘Write Like an Expert’ Series – Free webinar series (Jul 31 – Aug 30)

This is a really quick entry to share information about a FREE offering that should be helpful to people applying to MBA programs this year. Nowadays, the competition to get into top MBA programs is stiff, so I’m always on the lookout for good resources to help my readers. This time, the resources is a month-long webinar series by the folks at Beat the GMAT that will provide insights into the applications of a series of top-tier business schools.

The webinars, which are led by representatives from the top MBA admissions consulting firms in the game, will break down the … Read the rest

Coming this fall…the Which MBA? Online Fair (Sept. 5-6, 2012)

Recently, I was contacted by the team at The Economist with information about a FREE online MBA fair that they are sponsoring in early September. The fair will include 40+ MBA programs from around the world, including both full-time and part-time programs.

This offering sounds like something that the readers of this blog would appreciate, so I’m passing along an announcement with additional information about the event. Hopefully, some of you will be able to sign up for it and benefit from the information offered by the business schools who will be participating.

Oh, one more thing before I forget…people … Read the rest

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