Whether you’re heading off to business school right now, or have dreams of doing so next year, it’s always a good idea to file away advice to help you navigate the experience successfully. No one wants to get saddled with a bad reputation upon getting your foot in the door, especially when the contacts and connections made in B-school will likely carry through your entire career.

With that in mind, we’d like to share Madison Priest’s top three ways to avoid ruining your business school reputation in the first week, posted yesterday on Vault’s MBA blog.

• Don’t be too, too, too anything. If you get hammered your second night, you’ll always be known as the drunk–even as an alum. Don’t get stoned, because then you’ll always be known as the stoner. Even on the more legal side of things, if you’re too friendly, gregarious, arrogant, etc.–even if it’s just first day jitters–that adjective will stick for a loooong time.

• Don’t be the first student-student couple. Everyone talks about the first class couple. A lot. This phenomenon is further amplified if everyone lives together on a residential campus like at Harvard Business School. That’s not to say you can’t ask that handsome (or pretty) new stranger out on a date or two. What it does mean, however, is that you should probably wait until someone else takes the plunge; and even then, be discreet.

• Don’t mouth off to anyone, at least not yet. Does “free square in a*hole Bingo” mean anything to you? If not, this is the quickest way to learn. Whether it’s the cashier at the dining hall or the soon-to-be student body president, you never want to be “that guy.” Because you would be. Forever.

Not too difficult, right? For more practical advice on navigating these socially hazardous waters, read Bloomberg BusinessWeek‘s recent piece, B-School, Day One: A Primer.

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Are you applying to the full-time MBA program at Tuck School of Business and in need of a little guidance so you can stop sweating the small details? (Who doesn’t, right?) Then check out some of these Q&As recently provided by Tuck admissions coordinator Cameron Steese.

An array of questions comes her way during the busy recruiting season, and below you’ll find a sampling of the most common queries about interviews, visiting campus, etc.

“How long is the Q&A?”
The Q&A session usually takes about 45 minutes but that depends on the number of questions asked during the session. However, you can leave the optional sessions at anytime (i.e. Q&A, Tour, and Lunch). The class visit is also optional but once you are in class you are required to stay for the duration.

“Who will be conducting my interview?”
A majority of our interviews are conducted by our Second Year Tuck Admissions Associates. These student interviewers go through a rigorous hiring and training process and afford us the opportunity to offer our prospective students the self-initiated interview option. All interviews are weighted equally.

“What does the interviewer have access to prior to the interview?”
Your interviewer will only have access to the resume you send in ahead of time. They will not have access to your application or test scores.

“When does the self-initiated interview have to be completed by?”
The self-initiated interview must be completed on or before the application due date. If you are applying during the Early Action Round (10/13/10) then your interview must be completed by that date.

“What events can my partner attend during the visit?”
When accompanying you to campus, your partner may attend everything except the class visit and the interview. I recommend that you contact the Tuck Partner’s Club about arranging a meeting for your partner.

“What should I wear for my interview and class visit?”
We recommend wearing a suit when interviewing on campus. If you find wearing a suit all day to be cumbersome you may certainly bring a business casual outfit alternative.

Want more guidance? Read this application advice from Patricia Harrison, associate director of admissions. And if you’re getting started on your application and are ready to tackle those essays, take a look at our Tuck MBA essay tips.

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The full-time MBA program at Emory’s Goizueta Business School has posted the essay questions and deadlines for the 2010-2011 application season.

The four required essays for new applicants are as follows:

1. Please answer each of the following four questions in a short paragraph of no more than 250 words each.

a. Why have you decided to pursue an MBA at this time?
b. What interested you in Goizueta Business School’s MBA program?
c. What are your short term post MBA goals?
d. What are your long term professional aspirations?

2. Share one of your most significant professional accomplishments. Describe your precise role in this activity and how it has helped to shape your management skills. Please limit your response to 1000 words.

3. Goizueta Business School takes pride in our Core Values: Courage, Integrity, Accountability, Rigor, Diversity, Team, and Community. These ideals drive principled, effective leaders in business, and are the values we seek to instill in all of our students, both during their education at Goizueta and beyond. Provide a specific example of how you have demonstrated one of these values in your professional experience. Please limit your response to 500 words.

4. Complete one of the following statements. Please limit your response to 500 words.

a. I am unique because…
b. My most memorable cross-cultural experience…
c. I am passionate about…
d. My personal brand is…
e. I took a risk when I…

Application Deadlines

November 1, 2010 – Early Deadline
December 1, 2010* – Recommended International Deadline
February 1, 2011** – Scholarship and One-Year Program Deadline
March 1, 2011 – Final Deadline

* International applicants are encouraged to apply by December 1, 2010. However, applications received by the final program deadline will still be given complete consideration.

** All One-Year Program applicants and all those who wish to be considered for scholarships must submit the application and all materials  by February 1, 2011 to be given complete consideration.

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Katie Malachuk’s back and she has some wisdom to share on the frequently asked question: “Is it better to apply in Round 1 or Round 2?” 

If you missed her video last week, you can check it out here.

Katie will also be discussing MBA essay tips at our webinar with Test Prep NY on September 5.  Click here to learn more and register.

When you’re deciding what score to aim for, it’s important to remember that the population of test-takers writing the GMAT is smarter and better-prepared than (probably) any other population you’ve been graded against before.

If you got a 95th percentile score on the SAT, or a 3.9 GPA at a good university, those numbers don’t mean that you “should” do just as well on the GMAT: many of your fellow test-takers are thinking the exact same thing, with the exact same background!

It’s the nature of a test on a curve: if a 680 is a 90th percentile score, that means 89 percent of test takers won’t reach a 680. Yes, that’s obvious, but it’s important to recognize just how good at this test you have to be in order to secure one of those spots in the top 5-10 percent.

This is an excerpt from a longer article by Jeff Sackmann, originally published at GMAT Hacks.  Jeff has created several valuable GMAT-preparation resources, including Total GMAT Math and Total GMAT Verbal.

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Elite business schools are locked in an “arms race” of building bigger and more elaborate business campuses to recruit the best students and faculty and climb magazine rankings, says Yale School of Management finance professor Matthew Spiegel in a recent Bloomberg article exploring how Harvard Business School drives Yale and MIT Sloan‘s “edifice complex.”

In this case, Yale is keeping up with the Jones with a $180 million project designed by Lord Norman Foster, architect of London’s famed “Gherkin” building. The new SOM complex will open in 2013 and help level the playing field among top MBA programs.

“You can’t be in a dump if everyone else is in a spectacular building,” says dean Sharon Oster.

The fervor for high-profile expansion projects isn’t new. Bloomberg reports the trend took off after the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania opened its 324,000-square foot, $140 million Jon M. Huntsman Hall in 2002; ever since, rival business schools have scrambled to keep up.

For example:

• University of Chicago opened its $125 million Harper Center in 2004
• Ross School of Business opened a 270,000-square feet, $145 million building in 2009
• MIT Sloan School of Management will open new facilities this year
• Stanford Graduate School of Business will open the  $350 million Knight Management Center in 2011
• Columbia Business School and Kellogg School of Management also have plans for new buildings in the works

New buildings mean more office space for faculty and more classrooms for profitable executive education programs, Bloomberg reports, and larger schools can also enroll more students, who pay as much as $80,000 per year in tuition, room and board and other expenses.

While a business school’s physical condition isn’t the most important consideration, “you do consider the facility, you do consider what school will allow you to access the latest technology,” says a prospective applicant from Los Angeles to Columbia, Stern School of Business and McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University.

But the real payoff comes from wealthy alumni, whose donations pave the way for these super structures. “The better the experience people have, the better they feel about the place, the more likely it will be that they would support it at some point,” says Robert Dolan, dean of the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business.

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