As we know, a traditional two year MBA program is a big investment of both time and money. For many people it can also mean uprooting a family, selling or renting out a home and other major lifestyle changes. While this is all worthwhile for many people who want that two year break, it is inconvenient or just not possible for others.

Fortunately, there are many smaller, local MBA programs that are a perfect match for those who want to earn their MBA without uprooting their (or their family’s) life. One site, All Business Schools, can help MBA applicants find programs near them. All Business School’s “find” page, makes it easy to narrow down your search for a local business school by location.

It’s a really efficient way to search for programs. If you are contemplating an MBA, and want to conveniently explore different programs, check out this website. You can learn more about programs on the site and then request to receive information directly from the school of your choice. Happy searching!

In July we brought Business Week Video Views to your attention. BusinessWeek.com posts video interviews with school leaders, a great resource for learning about schools from the schools themselves.

This week they have posted Stanford’s New Vision, a discussion with Dean Robert Joss on Stanford‘s new curriculum and plans for a new, green campus. It’s worth a look if the GSB is on your list of schools as the individualized curriculum should be addressed in your essay on why Stanford is the right fit for your career aspirations.

Recent postings include:
Fuqua’s new dean, Blair Sheppard on rebounding from last spring’s cheating scandal

HBS professor Rakesh Khurana on what he views as a crisis in business school education

Frank Brown on changes at INSEAD

Haas Dean Tom Campbell on their approach to teaching students to create cutting-edge business ideas and practices

Stacy Blackman Consulting and Manhattan GMAT will be presenting at the Williams Club in NYC on Monday, Oct 29 at 6pm. It will be a general presentation on the process of applying to business school (with some tips) and how to approach the GMAT. There is limited space and the cost for this event is $20. If you are interested in attending, please email programs@williamsclub.org.

This week’s GMAT challenge question from PrepForTests is a difficult sentence correction question. Pick the best form of the sentence below.

As Wagner, the ‘modernistic’ traits in Scriabin can be seen as a result of using more and more radical means to express Romantic ideas..

1. As Wagner, the ‘modernistic’ traits in Scriabin
2. Not unlike Wagner, the ‘modernistic’ traits in Scriabin
3. Such as Wagner, the ‘modernistic’ traits in Scriabin
4. Not unlike Wagner, Scriabin’s ‘modernistic’ traits
5. Like Wagner, Scriabin’s ‘modernistic’ traits

Check your answer.

Today’s global economy has two faces: one of exponential growth in developing countries, and the flip side—a voracious ravaging of resources by developed nations. While some business leaders continue to march in step to the “more is better” mantra, others are realizing that business as usual is not sustainable for our planet. Hence, the emergence of the Green MBA.

A sustainable, or “Green”, MBA program includes the typical financial and management coursework of a traditional business school, as well as the study of managing for environmental and social sustainability. According to an article this week in the Seattle Times, these days, business schools across the country are incorporating the environmental and social costs of doing business into their curricula, and a few, such as Dominican University of California, aim for an all-green program. The Dominican program is one of a handful of such degrees; others include MBAs offered at Antioch University New England, the Presidio School of Management in San Francisco and the Bainbridge Graduate Institute in Washington.

The move to balance economy and ecology is showing up all over, says Rich Leimsider, director of the Center for Business Education at The Aspen Institute, a leadership think tank which reports on how Master of Business Administration programs are adding social and environmental issues to their courses in its biennial “Beyond Grey Pinstripes” report.

The Stanford Graduate School of Business, ranked No. 1 in the 2005 Aspen report, introduced a joint-degree program for MBA students in environment and resources in April. On the East Coast, officials at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business plan to launch an initiative with Duke’s environmental school that will study the emerging field of doing business in a sustainable context and the advantages to the business community of coming up with innovative practices.

Read the full article here.

Essay 1: Describe your greatest professional achievement and how you were able to add value to your organization (400 words).
When choosing what achievement to describe, be aware that you are conveying your values in your choice. You want to show Cornell that you have made a measurable impact, but consider how you define what is impact or “value add” to your organization. There are certainly non-traditional ways to add value to your organization. Think honestly about what you are proud enough to label as your greatest professional achievement. Then, be sure to write about the details of the experience succinctly and focus on WHY you view this as an accomplishment and HOW you made things happen. Show them your priorities, and leadership style by describing what you thought and did and the resulting impact.

Essay 2: What career do you plan to pursue upon completing the MBA and why? How will the Johnson School help you achieve this goal? (400 words)
Note that this essay is forward looking. They have not asked for your past career experiences. Resist the urge to get into your resume. Only mention your past experiences to show inspiration regarding your future goals, but be brief in doing so. As with the all essays of this nature, you should connect your career goals to what is important to you (this does not mean they are one and the same, but that there is some correlation). Also articulate concrete ideas, that could include both short and long term goals. Similar to Stanford, Chicago, and Wharton‘s career essays, you must be specific about how Cornell will help you achieve your goals – offer up classes, clubs, etc that will help you. They want to see that you are ready to hit the ground running, that you will take advantage of Cornell and make a difference in their community.

Optional Essay: Complete this essay if there is other information you would like to add regarding your candidacy. For instance, if you believe one or more aspects of your application (e.g., undergraduate GPA or test scores) do(es) not accurately reflect your potential for success at the Johnson School (400 words).
This is only for situations like those they describe in the question — GPA, test scores, recommender choices (started a new job recently so you needed to ask a former supervisor for a rec). Explain the situation succinctly.