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.