Fridays from the Frontline
Keep abreast of the latest happenings in the business school blogosphere! This weekly column summarizes recent posts from MBA student and applicant blogs.
Published: October 4, 2018
Fridays from the Frontline: UC Berkeley Haas Professor on How to Shape Culture to Foster Gender Equity
Fridays from the Frontline Lots of U.S. companies are focused on attracting more female employees, and yet many still struggle to create inclusive cultures that encourage those women to stick around. Today’s Friday from the Frontline comes to us from Dr. Kellie McElhaney, a distinguished teaching fellow at the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business and founding director of its new Center for Gender, Equity, and Inclusion. The center, which launched in November 2017, is focused on “agitating, activating, and fiercely turning up the volume and velocity on diversity and inclusion leadership in the
Read more
Published: September 20, 2018
Fridays from the Frontline: INSEAD’s Unique Application Process (and How It Helps Prepare Candidates for Interviews)
Fridays from the Frontline Whether you just submitted an INSEAD application as part of Round 1 or are aiming for the November Round 2 deadline, today’s Friday from the Frontline submission from a current student reflecting on his own application process has insights you won’t want to miss. Even a cursory glance at the application requirements of elite business schools reveals that no school is alike. But INSEAD’s—with its seven application essays—stands out as among the most distinctive of all business applications. INSEAD’s extensive application is designed to gather a comprehensive picture of prospective students, including the nuances
Read more
Published: September 13, 2018
Fridays from the Frontline: Embracing Entrepreneurship and the HBS Asian-American Community
Fridays from the Frontline Recent Harvard Business School (HBS) alumus Wilson Kyi (MBA ’18) hosts a popular podcast called Fish Sauce, which is dedicated to “the unique traits and viewpoints Asian-Americans bring to entrepreneurship.” According to Kyi, the podcast was a natural outgrowth of the cross-cultural community that the Asian-American Business Association (AABA) engendered at HBS. Kyi, who according to his bio “leaped into smaller tech after growing tired of big tech,” took to the HBS blog in a recent post to discuss the soup-to-nuts process behind the Fish Sauce podcast and the multifaceted role
Read more
Published: September 6, 2018
Fridays from the Frontline: Leslie Clift Hruby, Trailblazer Who Brought More Women to MIT Sloan
Fridays from the Frontline Sloan Women in Management (SWIM), an organization at MIT Sloan School of Management that “works to increase opportunities for all women through networking events, speaker series, professional development workshops, and mentorship programs,” recently honored alumna Leslie Clift Hruby, SM ’73. SWIM paid tribute to Hruby for her pioneering efforts to promote “gender diversity in MBA programs in the mid- 70s by helping Sloan become one of the most gender diverse programs in the United States.” According to Hruby’s Linkedin profile, she “increased the number of women attending the MIT Sloan School of
Read more
Published: August 30, 2018
Fridays from the Frontline: Calculating the MBA’s Return on Investment
Fridays from the Frontline Marjorie DeGraca, executive director of admissions for Berkeley MBA Programs for Working Professionals Before officially taking the plunge, many prospective b-schoolers no doubt spent many late nights perusing the Clear Admit archives to weigh the pros and cons of pursuing an MBA. It’s practically an age-old pastime at this point. While the value of elite programs is undisputable when it comes to networks, prestige/social capital, and of course the world-class skills you accrue, none of those dividends come cheap. In fact, many of the real rewards of an MBA can be difficult to quantify. What is
Read more
Published: August 9, 2018
Fridays from the Frontline: 5 Lessons from the Field from Kelley MBA Summer Intern at 3M
Fridays from the Frontline Did you scour the Clear Admit archives for any and all advice that might help you narrowly squeeze into a coveted slot at Wharton, Kellogg, Stanford, or another leading business school? If so, and you were successful, it’s now time to start considering the next phase of mission MBA: your summer internship. The internship you land after your first year of business school is as crucial to your career—if not more so—than the MBA program you worked so hard to get into. Beyond the internship’s value as a networking environment and a stepping stone to a
Read more
Published: August 2, 2018
Fridays from the Frontline: Ready to Rumble, Olin MBA Student Leaders Form Strategic Plan
Fridays from the Frontline At Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis, the Graduate Business Student Association (GBSA) is a three-pronged “governing body that serves students of the full-time MBA program [and] facilitates the planning and implementation of student activities.” In June, the GBSA announced a three-point strategic plan for the upcoming 2018-19 year. The GBSA plan comes on the heels of Olin Dean Mark Taylor’s announcement of a school-wide strategic plan he described as a “catalyst for change” that “sets Olin on a course to realize its full potential.” GBSA President Angela
Read more
Fridays from the Frontline: 3 Ways Marketing at Booth Led to Summer Internship Success
Fridays from the Frontline The opportunity for internships between the first and second years of business school is one of the things that sets full-time two-year MBA programs apart from other degree options. MBA students endeavor to land the best internships they can in fields they want to explore or end up in—recognizing the value of both the experiential learning and the opportunity to make an early good impression on a future full-time employer. The University of Chicago Booth School of Business has developed a reputation for helping its students not only land coveted internships but handle
Read more
Fridays from the Frontline: Being Human–A Behavioral Guide to the MBA Experience
Fridays from the Frontline To say the cultural and industrial expectations of MBA graduates are demanding would be a massive understatement. MBAs must be shrewd, cunning, even omniscient when it comes to helping companies cope with change and cut through the noise to make better decisions. MBAs are also fallible human beings like the rest of us—perhaps a bit more so since new and unfamiliar situations constantly put their analytical skills to the test. In fact, many of the most complex decisions MBAs have helped companies make are rooted in the inherent volatility that comes with simply being human. Recent
Read more
Fridays from the Frontline: Cornell Business Education—Where the Rubber Meets the Road
Fridays from the Frontline The two-year full-tuition Roy H. Park Fellowship is one of the key ways in which Cornell’s S.C. Johnson Graduate School of Management seeks to build strong leaders. The fellowship is granted each year to “up to 25 full-time Johnson MBA candidates who have demonstrated outstanding leadership potential.” Established in 1997 by the Triad Foundation as part of its mission to carry on the legacy of American entrepreneur Roy H. Park, the Park Fellowship is awarded to outstanding MBA students based
Read more
Fridays from the Frontline: Q&A with Tuck Student Ambassador Anchit Duggal
Fridays from the Frontline The Tuck Student Ambassador Program is a unique offering that enables second-year students to work closely with Admissions to engage prospective students. According to the program page, each second-year ambassador functions as a regional captain representing Africa, Asia-Pacific, China, Europe, India, Latin America, the Middle East, and North America. Each student ambassador acts as a “liaison between prospective students from their particular region and other ambassadors.” The Tuck 360: MBA Blog recently featured an interview with Tuck Student Ambassador and India Co-Captain Anchit Duggal T’18. The following post has been republished in its
Read more
Fridays from the Frontline: Top Spots to Get Work Done at Chicago Booth
Fridays from the Frontline In a world filled with distractions, it can be tough to focus and get anything done. Sometimes, the devices and platforms we invest in to make our day-to-day lives more efficient (theoretically) are the very things making it hard to concentrate. But in other instances, it’s the actual space where we sit to work that can pose the greatest challenges. If you have the luxury of working remotely, you may have discovered that you’re most productive in a crowded coffee shop. (If this is you, here’s two hours of ambient café noise.) Or
Read more
Fridays from the Frontline: Kelley Student Writes About GLOBASE China
Fridays from the Frontline Few would debate that one of the major perks of a business school education is the opportunity to study abroad. While many students have the ability to travel to distant lands on their own dime, the true value of business school is the framework it provides MBA students to secure a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms of international business in a specific country or region of interest. The GLOBASE program at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business is a shining example of what an MBA study abroad program can be.
Read more
Fridays from the Frontline: Organizing MIT Sloan’s Israel Trek
Fridays from the Frontline Today’s Friday from the Frontline column comes to us from a student at MIT Sloan School of Management who helped organize the school’s largest student trek to Israel, fulfilling a promise he made when he interviewed. The piece coincides nicely with the school’s first “Sloan on the Road” event of the season, an evening “inspired by leaders, alumni, and current students who are making their ideas matter,” which will take place in Tel Aviv on June 3rd. The evening’s TIMTalk speaker is Aaron Zucker, MBA ’09, whose distinguished career as an impact-driven leader
Read more
Fridays from the Frontline: Michigan Ross MM Grad to Other Grads on What Future Leaders of the World Must Consider
Fridays from the Frontline When business students travel to developing countries for the first time, they’re often struck by the vast disparities in business, cultural, and political climates. Though on first glance these differences can sometimes fluster and frustrate would-be business people, the act of doing business under vastly different circumstances is an opportunity for business school students to not only gain insight into a diverse culture but also gain a new perspective on cultivating business partnerships back home. Today’s Friday from the Frontline comes not from an MBA student, but from a Master’s of Management (MM) student at
Read more
Fridays from the Frontline: A Glimpse at Lean In at Berkeley Haas
Fridays from the Frontline The University of California at Berkeley has long had a reputation as a hotbed of activism, from the Vietnam Day Committee’s march toward Oakland Base in the 1960s to its divestment campaign from South Africa during the 1980s apartheid era to the most recent protests against ultra-conservative commentator Milo Yiannopolous’ appearance on campus last year. The commitment to social justice present on Berkeley’s campus has also been infused into the curriculum of many of its schools, inspiring students to engage in direct action to shape the world they want to live. This is certainly true at
Read more
Published: April 26, 2018
Fridays from the Frontline: INSEAD Women in Business Club Launches “Tell Your Story” Initiative
Fridays from the Frontline INSEAD’s Women in Business Club recently kicked off a “Tell Your Story” initiative on the INSEAD MBA Experience blog. The new initiative aims to offer a platform for female students to share their insights and “inspirational life stories.” The first “Tell Your Story” guest is current INSEAD student Ann Alampi, MBA ‘18J, who offers unique takes gleaned from an interesting path to business school, first as a geology researcher and later an energy consultant for top consulting firm Bain & Company. The following post has been republished in its entirety from its original
Read more
Published: April 19, 2018
Fridays from the Frontline: Booth’s LEAD Program Goes to India
Fridays from the Frontline The Leadership Effectiveness and Development (LEAD) program at the University of Chicago Booth’s School of Business was fostered to enhance students’ self-awareness and interpersonal effectiveness when it comes to the critical aspects of leadership. One of the first programs of its kind, LEAD provides students with strategies to track and ultimately refine their abilities to work in teams, influence others, manage conflict, and communicate their ideas. In today’s Fridays from the Frontline, Booth student and second-year LEAD facilitator Alex Stratmann unpacks his experiences and the lifelong friendships the program nurtured, which precipitated a
Read more
Published: April 12, 2018
Fridays from the Frontline: 5 Reasons to Attend Tuck Military Visit Day in the Spring
Fridays from the Frontline Many business schools have stepped up their veteran outreach in recent years. In addition to government-subsidized financial aid unique to military personnel, like the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill and the Yellow Ribbon Program, a handful of schools also offer fellowships like Olin’s Veterans Association Scholarship. Conferences, events, and panels specific to military personnel are a major component of these outreach efforts. One example is the upcoming Military Visit Day at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business, designed to introduce vets to school’s singular campus culture. It will take place on Sunday, April 29th and Monday, April 30th. In today’s
Read more
Passion + Career? Online UNC Business Essentials Course Helps Prospective MBA Applicants Hone Future Goals
Fridays from the Frontline Somewhere in the 5th century, Confucious wrote, “Take a job you love and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.” No doubt this sage advice is easier said than done, especially in this day and age. I personally find the musician Thor Harris’ take more applicable to most people’s realities: “Find work you love. If you can’t do that, then find a job where you love the people.” Ally Daws recently took part in an offering from UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School that helped her—as a college student—begin to recognize the
Read more
Published: March 29, 2018
Fridays from the Frontline: HBS Student Shares Why Applying in Round 3 Made Sense
Fridays from the Frontline Better late than never? For b-school hopefuls who for one reason or another let the Round 1 and Round 2 deadlines pass them by, conventional wisdom has often been to wait until next year. But most schools do feature a Round 3, and for the right applicants, applying in this late round can work out just as well. To be sure, applying to MBA programs during Round 3 has its challenges—classes have largely been filled and scholarship aid is at its most scarce. That said, Round 3 can actually have more of a strategic function than
Read more
Four Things to Consider When Visiting Full-Time MBA Programs
Fridays from the Frontline The process of picking a business school is both an art and a science. Broadly speaking, prospective students must decide which industry they ultimately want to infiltrate and then figure out which MBA program will give them the necessary tools to get where they need to go. This all sounds simple and straightforward enough, but there are a host of other variables prospective b-schoolers must weigh in order to make an informed choice—geographic location, small, tight-knit community vs. huge class with expansive network, the prevailing on-campus cultural attitude, and the reputation of the school within one’s
Read more
The Vision Behind the Cornell MBA FinTech Intensive
Fridays from the Frontline Fintech is one of those buzzy, disruptive industries the business world loves to hate and hates to love. But very much unlike their tech brethren—edtech, cleantech, insurtech— the financial services sector, which should by all accounts be shaking in its skivvies about going the way of the Guam flying fox, has strangely begun to embrace fintech innovations like open banking and cryptocurrency. MBA students are taking notice and beginning to flock toward fintech in lieu of more traditional financial services gigs. Enter Cornell’s Johnson Graduate School of Management’s FinTech Intensive, “a cutting-edge
Read more
Published: February 22, 2018
Snagging a Job at Amazon—A Ross Business School Student Shares How He Did It
Fridays from the Frontline Amazon is a leading recruiter of MBA students—indeed, the top hirer on many business school campuses. Among those is Michigan’s Ross School of Business, which has supplied a steady stream of reliable talent to the e-commerce giant. As Amazon’s plans for HQ2 continue to unfold—much to everyone’s anticipation and consternation—many applicants applying to business school want to know: what’s the behind-the-scenes process of landing a job at Amazon really like? When the soaring mortar boards return to earth, how can they, too, be among the MBA grads headed off toward a career at Amazon. Dhanishth Khosla
Read more
