This week’s GMAT challenge from PrepForTests.com is a problem solving question.
The square ABCD has sides of length 4. Point E is half way between A and D, point F is half way between B and C and point G is half way between E and F. What is the area enclosed by the polygon ABCDEG?
Have a go at answering this and then review your answer.
While salary is still a high priority for MBA students at top schools, the Aspen Institute Center for Business Education (Aspen CBE) has just released a survey revealing that more of them, especially women, place greater importance on business’s responsibility to society. For those unfamiliar with Aspen CBE, this international nonprofit seeks to create business leaders for the 21st century who are equipped with the vision and knowledge necessary to integrate corporate profitability with social value.
The survey titled “Where Will They Lead? MBA Student Attitudes About Business and Society (2008)”, conducted in fall 2007, probed the thoughts of 1,943 students at 15 business schools around the world, from Wharton to the London Business School to the University of California, Berkeley. The questionaire addressed a variety of issues, including business ethics, business school coursework and the corporate recruitment process. The previous survey was conducted in 2002.
Through these surveys, the Aspen CBE has discovered that MBA programs definitely influence the way students think about the role of business and its relationship to society once they become managers and leaders.
“In a broader sense, the most important finding is that students seem to be taking a more holistic view of the role of business in society,” says Nancy McGaw, deputy director of the Aspen Institute Business and Society Program, in a press release announcing the results. “But the findings also suggest that while students may have these values, many of them sense those beliefs are not valued by employers or linked to career opportunities.”
For example, only half of the respondants felt that recruiters placed a high value on personal integrity, and a mere seven percent beleive recruiters place a premium on their understanding of sociopolitical issues. The survey also found that while more of today’s students say they want a job that has a positive impact on society (25 percent, compared to just 15 percent in 2002), this priority decreases in importance for men as they move through their MBA program.
According to the press release, these findings indicate that the tension between financial compensation and pursuing a job that aligns with personal values is becoming even more pervasive as the so-called Millenials enter business schools, and that recruiters ignore these growing concerns at their own peril if they wish to attract top talent.
Click here for an executive summary with detailed findings of the MBA Student Attitudes Survey.
Attention applicants! Prateek Kumar of the Harvard Crimson recently published two articles discussing B-school applications by undergraduate seniors. The opinions presented are only the opinions of ONE PERSON, and some are debatable, but this is a worthwhile read for anyone applying to business school, and much of the advice may be broadly applicable.
In Riding the College-to-Business School Express, Kumar opens with a recitation of the staggering statistic that roughly 8,500 applications were submitted to HBS this year during its three round process. What admissions criteria are used to distinguish the cream of the crop from the bottom of the barrel? At least one important factor is the sense of “organizational context” that a student can offer. Specifically, the admissions committee looks at the organizations an applicant has been a part of, and how long they have been involved.
Of course, strong academic performance is highly valued, perhaps even more than one’s GMAT score. For older applicants, exceptional experience may make up for a weak area elsewhere in the application. And, as always, admissions committees are interested in an applicant with diverse interests.
In A Shrewd Undergraduate’s Guide to HBS admissions, Kumar lists six suggestions for building a strong application:
1. high GPA
2. high GMAT
3. Be strategic about extracurriculars: try to be a leader.
4. Be a “work in progress”. Demonstrate that HBS can help to transform you. If you are already sculpted, why would you need to be a part of their program?
5. For the “2+2” program, which is new, it is better to pretend to be ‘out of it’ about business than someone who has been obsessed with business ever since your grandfather gave you 100 shares of General Electric for your 10th birthday.
6. In your essays, show what makes you tick; the essays are not brag sheets. Show HOW you accomplished X, not just that you accomplished X.
For more details on these points, refer to the articles.
Of course, for many applicants, certain aspects of their application are already fixed (i.e. GPA) and cannot be changed. However, the value of Kumar’s articles is that they give us an idea of how we should be framing or presenting ourselves to the admissions folks.
Omne’s MBA Journey shares a a two-part recap of his visit to USC’s Marshall School.
Sustained Agony applied to eight business schools this season and is in the home stretch as she examines where her Chicago/Tuck head is at.
First-year Darden blogger The Sunny Days enlightens prospective and admitted students eager to know about the case study method by explaining what a “case” looks like.
One Columbia J-termer’s B-School Odyessy is surprised and amused to learn that the CIA will be recruiting at CBS this week.
Bee to B-School shares her ideal application timeline…were she not a procrastinator, she would have followed it herself!
In this week’s post, INSEAD Blog by Zanat0s offers a change of pace with his airport reviews.
