This week, we bring you news from the front lines with business school applicants, students and professors sounding off on life in the trenches.

How to choose a b-school — Alex Tzukerman discusses the way he came to his decision of where to apply and provides some personal insight–and a ven diagram–on how to make this important decision. The trick, he says, is finding the nexus of b-schools that can take you where you want to go, ones you are passionate about, and ones to which you have a good chance of getting in.

Beijing, Part 1 – Paragon 2 Pieces has a post describing her experience on the 2009 McCombs Global Connections trip to China and finds several contrasts between Shanghai and the capital city.

Old dogs/new tricks — Mandy Lozano responds to the recent NY Times piece, “Is it Time to Retrain Business Schools?”. The issue is not as glaring at Darden as at other schools farther north, she says, “But at any rate, we are always challenging ourselves and others to re-define what value creation and stakeholder theory and responsibility mean. Viva la case method.”

Going dancing with Wake Forest — After receiving the news that both UNC and Georgetown have waitlisted him again, Omne has decided to end the ‘will they/won’t they’ cycle of torture and enjoy the love coming from Wake Forest. “I feel wanted,”‘ he says, and “Being wanted is a better feeling than being accepted.”

It’s like pulling a rabbit from a hat –D.G. has come to the conclusion that getting admitted into business school is akin to the old “pull a rabbit out of a hat” trick. Here, he offers five admissions tips to help applicants figure out what the b-school trick might be.

Watching the boss’s every move — Stanford professor and management guru Bob Sutton taught at an executive program last week on the ins and outs of being a good boss in a bad economy.  One lesson Sutton learned: when people are living in fear, they watch their bosses moves very closely.

Round 2 decisions at Chicago Booth — Rose Martinelli, associate dean for student recruitment and admissions, updated The Rose Report with an explanation of what being on the waitlist really means and offered some consoling words for applicants who have been denied this time around.

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For a concise, thoughtful guide that will help you navigate the MBA admissions process with greater success, order our NEW book, The MBA Application Roadmap.

Stacy Blackman’s Weekly Roundup of B-School Intelligence

Kenan-Flagler boosts career management efforts — In light of the broad reach of the economic downturn, UNC Kenan-Flagler has poured a great deal more effort into the career management help it offers, and the school has created new outreach efforts to find every job opportunity it can for students and alumni.

Duke India Business Forum draws big response –Some of the most respected figures in Indian commerce spoke at last week’s first-ever Duke India Business Forum. The group of 300 students and professionals attending the event gained insight on the Indian economy and established new lines of communication with companies driving India’s economic success, Indiainfoline.com reported.

Duke announces nine-month master’s program in business — Fuqua School of Business will offer a new master’s program intended to provide basic entry-level business skills to recent college graduates with no prior career experience. The first class of students in the Master of Management Studies in Foundations of Business program will enter Fuqua in late August.

Virtual Worlds Conference comes to Austin — The McCombs School of Business and the Center for Business, Technology and Law at The University of Texas at Austin will host “New Ventures and Leadership in Virtual Worlds” at the university’s AT&T Executive Education and Conference Center April 2-3. The event is free with registration and will promote innovative exploration of possibilities and understanding of the challenges of tomorrow’s business worlds.

New job market tough on MBAs’ psyches — A recent survey found the suffering economy is costing business school graduates jobs in every industry where they would typically find work, My Fox D.C. reports, and several MBA candidates interviewed at the McDonough School of Business aren’t sure what they’ll do after graduation.

MBA candidates test skills in New Orleans — Stanford GSB folks who would have clamored for a job on Wall Street just one year ago are spending spring break in the Big Easy helping local entrepreneurs save the world–one flip flop at a time, USA Today reports. The Idea Village, a non-profit created in 2000 to help businesses get on their feet, launched IDEACorps in 2006. This business-oriented Peace Corps concept pairs MBA candidates with local entrepreneurs.

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We are now on Facebook – please join the Stacy Blackman Consulting group, or become a friend of Stacy Blackman. I am posting news about MBA related events, job listings, and of course MBA news.

I am on Twitter too…click to follow me on Twitter! www.twitter.com/stacyblackman

For a concise, thoughtful guide that will help you navigate the MBA admissions process with greater success, order our NEW book, The MBA Application Roadmap.

This week’s GMAT challenge from PrepForTests.com is a critical reasoning question.

Have a go at answering this and then review your answer.

Executives and their private jets have become a cliche of late, but one UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School grad has an idea that is really taking off…despite the economic slump. Ryan Stone (MBA, Weekend ’04), is the co-founder and CEO of Jetpool, a veteran-owned jet management and shared ownership provider that offers convenient and (is it really possible?) affordable travel solutions to corporations and individuals.

In a UNC profile, Stone makes the case for private jets, which save time and money by allowing business professionals to pack more into their day. “A private jet can be a way to tighten the belt, if it is done properly,” Stone says. “You have to do the analysis. In many cases, the results would surprise people.”

By multitasking with business meetings at 20,000 feet, avoiding overnight stays and eliminating wasted time in airports from delays and protracted check-in times, executives can boost their efficiency through private aviation. According to Jetpool’s calculations, an executive can save up to a month of time per year by using a private jet versus commercial airlines.

Jetpool manages private aircraft for corporate owners, operating as an outsourced flight department. Just as a property manager manages a building that someone else owns, Jetpool takes care of everything connected with owning a private jet: helping to buy the plane, making sure the deal is structured properly for tax purposes, maintaining the aircraft and flying it – a completely turnkey operation.

Stone came up with the idea for Jetpool in one of professor Ted Zoller’s entrepreneurship classes at UNC Kenan-Flagler. After graduation, he partnered with Eric Legvold, his best friend and a private jet pilot, and Paul Sameit, a Navy buddy and former military test pilot who has an MBA from UCLA Anderson.

This value proposition makes economic sense to their target market – businesses with annual revenue of at least $20 million. “With everyone trying to get more business, your time is more valuable than ever,” says Stone. “The average business trip is taken by fewer than three people and under 500 miles. This jet hits that sweet spot of the average mission for most companies.”

(photo: UNC Kenan-Flagler)

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We are now on Facebook – please join the Stacy Blackman Consulting group, or become a friend of Stacy Blackman. I am posting news about MBA related events, job listings, and of course MBA news.

I am on Twitter too…click to follow me on Twitter! www.twitter.com/stacyblackman

For a concise, thoughtful guide that will help you navigate the MBA admissions process with greater success, order our NEW book, The MBA Application Roadmap.

Columbia Business School wants up-and-coming world leaders to connect with peers and Fortune 500 business magnates through the launch of ODYSSEY, a competition between students from the top 15 MBA programs around the world.

Held at Columbia March 27-28, 2009, ODYSSEY 15 students come from seven countries and will face off in a triathlon of online business management games that will also give participants access to a symposium with a roster of business leaders from the world’s top corporations.

Columbia MBA candidates Peter Novak and Mark Trayling originally envisioned the contest and together with a team of peers launched the initiative with the support of business school faculty advisors.

“ODYSSEY is a powerful forum that connects talent from the world’s top MBA programs with each other and with top business leaders, reflecting the possibilities of a global economy,” says Trayling. “Now more than ever, entrepreneurs face a variety of challenges that change on a daily basis. ODYSSEY lets the business leaders of tomorrow learn what it is like to compete with other businesses in real-time and how to emerge as the best in class.”

In order to qualify for the finals in New York, teams of five students from each school represent their respective institutions in an online simulation game involving the airline industry. Winning teams from each school will compete at Columbia’s campus in three games: The Negotiation, The Pitch and The Case. The competition will gauge the students’ expertise in a variety of areas, including finance, entrepreneurship and negotiation. The winning team will be determined through a point system, and will receive a $5,000 cash prize as well as bragging rights when they graduate from their respective MBA program.

“ODYSSEY presents students from the most influential global business institutions with the opportunity to meet a unique set of challenges that are not a part of the everyday MBA experience,” says Daniel R. Ames, Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. associate professor of leadership and ethics, who advised the students leading the event. “Furthermore, the event provides a rare chance for these future leaders to cross school and national boundaries and connect with each other.”

Speakers at the ODYSSEY symposium hail from McKinsey & Company, Forbes, UBS, France Telecom – Orange and NOKIA and will share their views on competitiveness and what it takes to be one of the top performers in today’s economy.

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We are now on Facebook – please join the Stacy Blackman Consulting group, or become a friend of Stacy Blackman. I am posting news about MBA related events, job listings, and of course MBA news.

I am on Twitter too…click to follow me on Twitter! www.twitter.com/stacyblackman

For a concise, thoughtful guide that will help you navigate the MBA admissions process with greater success, order our NEW book, The MBA Application Roadmap.

An important part of your MBA application strategy will be explaining your career progression through your resume and essays. Work history is about more than your job title, the admissions committee wants to understand how you compare to your peers, what you have accomplished both tangibly and in the realm of soft skills, and what your career trajectory might be when you graduate.

What if you have received no formal promotions, have an erratic career path, or were laid off? Even if you have one of these common career challenges, you can demonstrate your excellence in the workplace and your capacity to be a leader and great manager after you graduate from b-school.

Lack of Formal Career Progress
Does your resume show the same job title for the last five years at the same company? Some industries promote employees rarely, and others have a flat structure with little room for a formal climb up the ladder.

Even with a lack of formal title increases, you can use your resume and essays to describe the progress you have made in your career. Think about the most valuable projects and initiatives you have completed, and how your responsibilities and achievements have progressed through the years. If you have not had the opportunity to formally manage people, you can discuss situations where you have managed a project team or cross- functional initiative. Participating in the management of a junior employee can also count towards your management experience. As you build your resume, focus on highlighting achievements that demonstrate your progress through time. Your essays should also demonstrate lessons learned through your career and show that you have progressed in your knowledge and management experience. When your recommenders discuss your credentials they should explain the nature of your workplace if formal promotions are rare, and compare you against your peers to show that you are a super star even if your title doesn’t show it!

Erratic Career History
Have you jumped from job to job and industry to industry? This could be a symptom of not knowing exactly what you wanted to do, following opportunity when it arose, or searching for the ideal career for you.

While job hopping can be seen as a weakness, it can also demonstrate that you are dedicated to finding the right career path for you. The main task for you is to lead the admissions reader through your career and make sense out of the chaos. If you have been consistent in job function or industry this task will be simpler, and if not, you should find a thematic thread through your career. Have you consistently sought opportunities to build new ideas or products or do you always lean towards a job that helps others? Whatever passion you have been following, show the admissions committee why it was the right path for you to take. This is an opportunity to show your self-awareness and passion to find a career that is meaningful to you.

Laid off
Many applicants have faced a layoff in their career. While a job loss is stressful and personally upsetting, a layoff is not necessarily a deal breaker for business school. Many industries are volatile, and with the current economic situation it isn’t usual for an amazing employee to run up against downsizing realities.

Whether you were laid off last week or at the beginning of your career, it’s important to focus on the positive aspects of the situation. When explaining the situation, avoid any bitterness and state the facts clearly. Then explain how you evolved in your career or turned this temporary setback into an opportunity. A lay off can be a great opportunity for soul searching, and might even lead you to start pursuing your career goals before you go to school!

Whatever your career path has been up until this point, you have certainly learned important lessons along the way and now have the opportunity to demonstrate your introspection about both where you have been and where you are going.