On March 14 The Economic Times, reported that banks are offering upwards of $180,000 to graduating MBAs. One Tuck student, a former NFL player, likened the aggressive behavior of recruiters to football players saying, “Once given the offer, you are getting anywhere from two to three to four phone calls a day.”

This competition between firms and rising starting pay is actually prompting schools like HBS, Kellogg, Wharton and Stanford to adjust the timing and amount of recruitment events. There were simply too many events for students. “‘We wanted to reduce the frenzied perceptions by some students [that] they had to attend all 15 events to show they were really interested in a company,’” according to a Wharton career services director. Companies are also getting creative about how they interacted with students — setting up chats at Starbucks, hosting events with student clubs or creating educational social events.

Firms are also going beyond the traditional perks of a signing bonus to offer stock-purchase plans. “‘It is a really good time to be an MBA,’ said Andy Chan, assistant dean and director of the MBA Career Management Center at Stanford.” The Dean at MIT’s Sloan attributes the boost in starting salaries and recruitment activities to basic supply and demand. The Dean of Dartmouth’s Tuck seconds that by saying, “‘I see the demand just going through the roof for this kind of talent.”‘

Read the entire article here.

Interviews for round 2 are coming to a close. Wharton will post its Round 2 decisions later this week. HBS and Stanford will follow on March 28 and April 5 respectively. But a few applicants are still wrapping up interviews. For example, Chris Kerns reports that he just had an interview at Cornell. Often applicants who receive interview invitations later in the game are extremely nervous. Even though a late interview invitation does not signify anything about your chances, applicants tend to feel heightened anxiety around proving their candidacy to interviewers. However being aggressive about showing that you are perfect for business school can sometimes hurt you when it comes at the expense of showing that you are a well-rounded person.

In addition to the common questions around your past achievements, future career goals, and reasons for wanting an MBA (all covered in previous posts), interviewers will usually ask questions about your hobbies, recent experiences, books of interest, and even current events. HBS in particular is known for asking about a candidate’s opinion on world news. Because applicants are anxious to show their fit in the business world, they tend to offer up “business” types of answers to these questions — discussing their involvement with a networking group or their enjoyment of reading Good to Great. Unfortunately, this is not what interviewers want to hear about.

Schools are trying to create a well-rounded class of individuals. They want to know that you are bringing personal interests to their campus that you will share with other classmates. So you should tell them about your recent trip to go scuba diving in Belize, your role as the food and wine connoisseur among friends, your love for historical fiction, your favorite college class in evolutionary biology, and your opinions on globalization.  Plus let them know how you intend to bring these interests to your new friends at school and pick up new hobbies from them. Interviewers should be able to imagine you as the classmate who will organize trips, plan dinners, start a book club, etc.  They don’t want to think that you are just about business and academics all of the time.  Remember fun is an important part of business school and interviewers want to know what you have to contribute to this aspect of life at school.

As we discuss frequently in this blog, a lot of the learning in an MBA program happens outside of the classroom. Frequently a student can even take advantage of broader University offerings – outside of the MBA program there are classes, events or guest speakers taking place across campus. This Berkeley student blog entry describes one student’s experience hearing Vinod Khosla speak as part of UC Berkeley’s Management of Technology Lecture Series. Sounds like a pretty phenomenal experience. Whether you are an applicant researching schools or a current student, be sure to research and later take advantage of opportunities beyond the classroom and even beyond the business school.

Last month Wharton’s blog discussed the Wharton Societal Wealth Program, which was also recently featured in the Financial Times. The Societal Wealth Generation Program uses entrepreneurship as a weapon to combat social problems in a for-profit model. Yesterday, the Wharton blog highlighted another organization with social impact: the 2007 Wharton Social Impact Conference, complete with the Wharton Charity Fashion Show, which will feature designers that utilize sustainable business practices.

Wharton is not the only school working to teach that economic growth can benefit society as a whole, rather than merely being concentrated in the shrinking upper class. The Haas School at Bekeley has a number of programs and organizations with a similar focus. The McDonald’s Research Fellows in Corporate Responsibility Program provides a team of second year students with the opportunity to conduct a study on McDonalds CSR activities. The Gap Scholars CSR Program provides two-year scholarships of $5,000 each year to three full-time incoming Haas MBAs who demonstrate a commitment to the field of corporate social responsibility. The Haas Center for Responsible Business is the umbrella organization for these programs and much more.

As you think through your short and long term goals, which become an important element in your overall MBA strategy, think big! Go beyond a job description and think about how what you do can impact more than just your small (or big) role, your company, your employees. Your reach can extend much further, and for the purpose of the MBA applications, your impact needs to be bigger that a positive job review. Check out how Rainierisms is thinking big in his recent blog entry!

The Consortium for Graduate Study in Management is an organization for promoting diversity and inclusion in American business. Through an annual competition, The Consortium awards merit-based, full-tuition fellowships to a diverse group of US candidates. In 2005 The Consortium’s mission evolved to include, as applicants, all U.S. citizens and permanent residents who can demonstrate a commitment to The Consortium’s mission. All applicants, regardless of race or ethnicity, must be able to demonstrate this commitment.

Member Universities include:
Carnegie Mellon University, Tepper School of Business
Dartmouth College, Tuck School of Business
Emory University, Goizueta Business School
Indiana University-Bloomington, Kelley School of Business
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Stephen M. Ross School of Business
New York University, Stern School of Business
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Kenan-Flagler Business School
University of Rochester, Simon Graduate School of Business Administration
University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business
University of Texas at Austin, McCombs School of Business
University of Virginia, Darden School of Business
Washington University in St. Louis, John M. Olin School of Business
University of Wisconsin-Madison, School of Business

The 2007 application is not yet posted (it will be posted in the Fall), but another benefit of applying through The Consortium is that it reduces the application load. There is usually one central Consortium application, with an additional brief essay for each school. If Consortium member schools are on your list and you fill The Consortium requirement, this is a great one to keep in mind.

UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business hosted the first Leadership Education Case Competition on March 1 – 2. This unique competition focused on creating a new financial plan for the Oakland Unified School District, which has been experiencing significant financial troubles since 2003. In fact, a Stanford MBA graduate has been leading OUSD’s finance reform as part of the Broad Residency in Urban Education, which places graduates from top MBA programs inleadership positions in K – 12 school districts.

The education case competition was the initiative of the Haas Leadership in Education Club and brought in students from UC Berkeley, USC, UCLA, Kellogg, MIT, Brandeis, and University of Georgia.

Education reform is increasingly becoming a focus at business schools. Stanford has a very active Education Club as well as the option to receive a joint degree with the School of Education. Kellogg also has an Education Industry Club. The HBS Social Enterprise Club had an education interest group during their recent Social Enterprise Conference.

The Haas Leadership Education Case Competition is a great example of how students innovate within these established school clubs. As an applicant, it is important to identify (in essays and interviews) which clubs you would like to be a part of at your target schools. Moreover, you can take your candidacy to the next level by presenting ideas on innovations you could bring to such clubs on campus. So start doing research now by visiting school websites and even getting in touch with current students to learn more clubs in your areas of interest.