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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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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Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business announced last week that it has added five new full-time professors to the school’s faculty. They begin teaching at the school in August.

“With a range of experience and expertise, each of these professors will enhance the classroom experiences of our students,” said George Daly, dean of the business school.

“With research interests in such areas as operations, employee behavior, capital structure and debt, and pricing strategies, these new faculty members also will contribute to the depth of research conducted by our already outstanding faculty.”

The new hires include Vishal Agrawal, assistant professor of operations and information management; Christine Porath, assistant professor of management; Luc Wathieu, visiting associate professor of marketing; Stephen Weymouth, assistant professor of strategy; and Jie Yang, assistant professor of finance.

To read more on the backgrounds of each of these new professors, follow this link.

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Graduate programs in business saw mixed trends in applications in the last year, according to a global B-school survey released Wednesday by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC).

Only 44% of full-time MBA programs saw applications increase this year, compared to 66% reporting such an increase last year and 77% the year before that. A similar percentage of part-time programs reported an increase, relatively level compared to results a year ago.

Executive MBA programs may be a key growth area for business schools. Of those surveyed, 59% reported gains in applications this year, compared to only 37% a year ago.

“The findings from this survey underscore the importance of flexibility and creativity in delivering management education,” said Dave Wilson, president and chief executive officer  of GMAC.

“People can always derive great value from going to business school; our surveys attest to this fact. But many changing factors affect the kinds of programs that best meet their needs. Applicants need to find the very best fit for their own game plan.”

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Three professors from Yale School of Management generated a lot of buzz and commentary in the B-school universe earlier this week with their piece on teaching ethics to MBAs, published Monday by the Wall Street Journal.

Dr. Rodrigo Canales and Dr. Cade Massey are assistant professors, and Dr. Amy Wrzesniewski is an associate professor, of organizational behavior at Yale SOM. Their article Promises Aren’t Enough: Business Schools Need to Do a Better Job Teaching Students Values, addresses the continued hot topic of an MBA Oath.

While the professors laud the notion of future business leaders acting ethically and keeping greed at bay, they believe “such oaths sound much like chastity vows taken by thousands of teens every year. The problem in both cases is not a lack of sincerity, but a failure to adequately prepare for the moment of truth.”

The danger with such oaths, they say, is that they create a false sense of moral inoculation, and MBAs who take an ethics oath without enough supporting leadership education are likely more vulnerable to ethical breaches.

The professors discuss how situational forces drive behavior to a surprising extent, what business schools need to do to effectively teach leadership and ethics, and why experiential learning is the best way to prepare students for the difficult decisions they will face—often under enormous pressure.

To read more from the Yale SOM community regarding the MBA ethics pledge, see our piece from May which explores the areas of concern that Yale SOM students and faculty have with a business oath.

Deans Judy Olian of UCLA Anderson School of Management and Rich Lyons of Berkeley Haas School of Business tweeted their recommendation of the article and are in agreement with much of what Canales, Massey and Wrzesniewski  put forth. Check out the full article and leave us a comment letting us know your thoughts below.

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Here are the deadlines and essay topics for the the full-time MBA program at Oxford University’s Saїd Business School.

The two essay topics are as follows:

1) Explain why you chose your current job. How do you hope to see your career developing over the next five years? How will an MBA assist you in the development of these ambitions? Maximum 1,000 words.

2) Which recent development, world event or book has most influenced your thinking and why? Maximum 2,000 words.

Stage One Deadline

Application deadline: October 8, 2010

Interview decision: October 29, 2010

Final decision: December 10, 2010

Stage Two Deadline

Application deadline: January 14, 2011

Interview decision: February 4,m 2011

Final decision: March 11, 2011

Stage Three Deadline

Application deadline: April 1, 2011

Interview decision: April 29, 2011

Final decision: May 27, 2011

For more information on the admissions process at Saїd Business School, visit the school website.

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