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Below are the upcoming deadlines for admission to top-tier schools.
Jan. 2: Michigan / Ross R2
Jan. 6: HBS R2
Jan. 6: LBS R2
Jan. 7: Chicago GSB R2
Jan. 7: UVA / Darden R2
Jan. 7: Dartmouth / Tuck R2
Jan. 7: Duke / Fuqua R2
Jan. 7: Stanford GSB R2
Jan. 7: Yale SOM R2
Jan. 8: UCLA / Anderson R2
Jan. 8: Wharton R2
Jan. 9: UNC Kenan-Flagler R3
Jan. 12: Cornell / Johnson R3
Jan. 12: Kellogg R2
Jan. 13: MIT Sloan R2

Essay Topic Analysis
Below are links to our comments on some of the top programs' essay topics.
The Career Goals Essay*
Berkeley / Haas*
Chicago GSB*
CMU / Tepper*
Columbia*
Cornell / Johnson*
Dartmouth / Tuck*
Duke / Fuqua*
Harvard*
IESE*
INSEAD*
London Business School*
MIT / Sloan*
Michigan / Ross*
Northwestern / Kellogg*
NYU / Stern*
Oxford / Said*
Penn / Wharton*
Stanford GSB*
UCLA / Anderson*
UNC / Kenan-Flagler*
USC / Marshall*
UT Austin / McCombs*
UVA / Darden*
Yale SOM*
* denotes '08-'09 commentary

Categories
Use categories to access all that has been written on each of the topics. We have categorized by school and by subject matter.

Interview Reports
A selection of interview field reports from fellow applicants posted to the MBA Admissions Wiki. Add your reports when you are finished with your interviews.
Chicago
Columbia
Dartmouth / Tuck
Duke / Fuqua
Harvard
Kellogg
Michigan / Ross
MIT / Sloan
Stanford
UNC / Chapel Hill
Virginia / Darden
Wharton
London Business School

GMAT Resources
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GMAT Club
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Beat The GMAT

Writing Resources
Guide to Grammar and Writing
The Internet Grammar of English
English Usage, Style and Composition
The Economist Style Guide
Paradigm Online Writing Assistant

School Rankings
Rankings are a good way to start your research on various MBA Programs. Keep in mind each uses a different methodology.
Business Week
Economist
Financial Times
Forbes
USNews
Wall Street Journal

Career Guides
The following resources should be useful to those who want to research the careers open to them after (or before) earning an MBA.
Vault.com
Wetfeet

Business School Resources
The following are business resources offered by a variety of leading Business Schools. It's useful to subscribe to these resources, especially for the schools to which you are applying.

MBA Programs: North America
If an MBA Program is not listed, please e-mail and we will be happy to list it.
Berkeley / Haas
Carnegie Mellon / Tepper
Chicago
Columbia
Concordia
Cornell / Johnson
Dartmouth / Tuck
Duke / Fuqua
Emory / Goizueta
Harvard
HEC Montreal
Indiana / Kelley
Michigan
MIT / Sloan
Northwestern / Kellogg
New York / Stern
North Carolina / Kenan Flagler
Notre Dame / Mendoza
Pennsylvania / Wharton
Queens
Stanford
Texas / McCombs
Thunderbird
Toronto
UCLA / Anderson
Virginia / Darden
Western Ontario / Ivey
Yale

MBA Programs: Rest of the World
As there is some variety in the length of international MBA programs, we have denoted the length of the program next to its name (1 = one year; 2 = 2 years). If an MBA Program is not listed, please e-mail and we will be happy to list it.
AGSM (Australia) 2
Cambridge / Judge (UK) 1
CIEBS (China) 2
Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business (China) 1
Cranfield School of Mgmt (UK) 1
ESADE (Spain) 1 or 2
HEC (France) 2
IESE (Spain) 2
IMD (Switzerland) 1
INCAE (Costa Rica) 2
INSEAD (France) 1
IPADE (Mexico)
ISB (India) 1
London Business School (UK) 2
Manchester Bus. School (UK) 2
Melbourne (Australia) 2
Oxford / Said (UK) 1
Rotterdam (Netherlands) 1
Tsinghua IMBA (China) 2
University of St. Gallen (Switzerland) 1

Additional Resources
Here we link a host of additional resources available across the web. E-mail info@clearadmit.com to have resources added to this list.
AACSB International
Association of MBAs
Beyond Grey Pinstripes
EFMD
gradschools.com (worldwide)
Infozee
mba.com (GMAT Scores)
MBAInfo
mbaleague.blogspot.com
MBAzone
MBA Jungle
TOEFL
Top MBA

MBA Tipline
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Blog Archive

Wednesday, August 10, 2005

Stanford Essay Topic Analysis (2005-06)

Before offering tips on answering each of Stanford’s specific essay questions, we wanted to share a few thoughts about the way these questions are framed by the instructions in order to help our readers avoid some common pitfalls that applicants encounter in completing their Stanford materials.

The question of length:
While Stanford’s essay guidelines state that they do not impose word limits and even provide instructions to applicants who’ve written essays that are longer than ten pages, we would encourage candidates to read between the lines of their assertion that most applicants find that three to seven pages per essay is an “appropriate” length. Keep in mind that the person reviewing your application will have somewhat limited time to spend on each file. It’s important that you take the time to fully articulate your motivations and describe the experiences that have been most meaningful to you, but it would be beneficial for you to do so as concisely as possible.

The question of content:
You should take care to fully elaborate upon your interests and experiences, but should always remember the audience to whom your comments are addressed (i.e. a graduate school admissions committee) and keep your remarks relevant to your business school candidacy. While it’s true that your professional accomplishments and responsibilities will be detailed in your application forms, don’t take this comment as meaning that these things cannot be mentioned in your essays. You’ll just need to keep in mind that the adcom is interested in more than the end result of your actions, and that you should be discussing the skills you’ve gained and the lessons you’ve learned over the course of your activities, employment, education, etc.

That having been said, let’s take a look at each of Stanford’s questions in a bit more detail:

Essay A: What matters most to you, and why?
This question in particular says a good deal about what this school is looking for in its students. Successful applicants to Stanford are those who have some common theme or guiding motivation running throughout their work experiences and extracurricular activities, and that ultimately ties into their career goals. This essay is the place to reflect on your values, interests and experiences and arrive at the one factor that has most influenced your actions and endeavors. You have a fair amount of leeway to take your time developing themes given the seven page suggested “limit,” so be sure to include as many details and examples in support of your positioning as possible. Keep in mind that in spite of Stanford’s unique question, your task in these essays remains the same as those of other schools: communicating as much interesting and impressive information as possible about the aspects of your background that are relevant to your candidacy. While it might be appropriate for you to comment on elements of your personal life over the course of your discussion of what matters most to you, your focus should also be on your academics, activities, and work experience.

Essay B: How do you plan to achieve your learning objectives at Stanford? How do you see your career developing?
This is a fairly standard “career goals/why MBA” essay, but with a broader framework that is new for this year. While you should definitely outline your specific short and long-term career goals and explain the ways that particular courses and initiatives at Stanford will prepare you for success, there is also room for you to comment on the campus culture, student body and other elements of the school itself that will be conducive to your learning experience. And of course, it will also be important to demonstrate that you would make an equally valuable contribution to the community by linking your past experiences to future participation in campus clubs, and explaining how you would bring your unique interests and skills to benefit others. This essay will be the place for you to recount the details of visits to the school and discussions with current students with whom you have been in contact. Remember that the more you are able to say about the program’s offerings, the more evident it will be that you have done your homework on the school and are making an informed decision in applying.

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