The B-school application process is in the midst of a transformation of sorts, with earlier deadlines, a growing number of programs accepting the GRE,  and the introduction of audio and video components that help AdCom get a better feel for the person behind the paper.

Francesca Di Meglio’s reporting of this revamp Monday in BusinessWeek singled out University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business and the UCLA Anderson School of Management as the leaders in creating innovative MBA applications.

The PowerPoint presentation, used at Booth for the past few cycles, has enabled applicants to show another side of themselves and demonstrate how they navigate ambiguity through various frameworks and strategies. However, admissions may eliminate such presentations starting with applications for the 2010-2011 academic year.

Rose Martinelli, associate dean of student recruitment and admissions at Booth, told BusinessWeek the PowerPoint slides became rote and entirely too easy to predict. They didn’t showcase the applicant’s personality and help the admissions committee determine who is and isn’t a good fit, she explained.

Today, on her blog The Rose Report, Martinelli further clarified the issue. The admissions committee is in the process of thinking through each of the different application components, and this may be the end of the presentation requirement in its current form, she explains. No final decisions about next year’s application have been made, however.

“Again, our focus is not on creating a clever or ‘gimmicky’ application, but one that provides candidates the opportunity to convey the most relevant information that helps us to assess fit  in our selection process,” Martinelli writes.

Despite it all, she says the PowerPoint presentation has been an incredibly successful part of identifying students who are a great fit for Booth. Stay tuned to see how the program will use innovation to capture an applicant’s essence in next year’s application.

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AdCom has completed its review of R2 applicants and admit decisions will post on March 15th, Ross School of Business Director of Admissions, Soojin Kwon Koh, wrote in the Admissions Blog Tuesday.

In the post, Soojin explains a little bit about the decision-making process and debunks the persistent belief that one single component–be it GMAT score, interview or essays–will make or break your chances.

“Part of the reason for my reviewing some applications multiple times is that decisions are made relative to other applicants. We may have initially decided one thing, and then after reviewing more applications, changed the initial decision. It is a very iterative process, and it is, by nature, partly subjective.

My goal in making these decisions is to make sure that the incoming class is not just smart, but is also a good fit at Ross and will bring something unique to our community,” Soojin writes.

Many highly qualified applicants will therefore land on the Ross waitlist, along with those still waitlisted from R1. But admit calls will begin this week, Soojin assures, in an effort to accommodate some of the admitted student events Ross has planned around the world starting next week.

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If you are feeling stumped by your application essays and need some additional guidance, check out our NEW series of essay guides for MBA applications. Columbia, Harvard, Kellogg, Stanford and Wharton available now. They are seriously terrific and we are proud to say that almost every person who has ordered one has come back for more!

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In the March issue of Yale School of Management’s Admissions Newsletter, the school tapped a handful of second-year student interviewers to share tips to give you an insider view of the process.

The interview is a critical component designed to give admissions a more complete understanding of you, the candidate, beyond what appears on paper. But remember, it’s also a two-way street–in the sense that the interview allows you the chance to confirm your fit with a particular school and learn even more about the program.

Want to know what you can expect in a Yale SOM interview and how to nail it? Check out these tips…

Tip #1 — Share stories that demonstrate your leadership skills, team experience and approach to solving complex problems.

Tip #2 — A confident appearance goes a long way.

Tip #3 — Be passionate about future goals.

Tip #4 — Be authentic with your interviewer, and don’t assume SOM is looking for a specific candidate.

Tip #5 — Have clear career goals upon graduation, and explain how an MBA from Yale SOM with help get you there.

Tip #6 — Show how your goals tie in with the school’s mission of “educating leaders for business and society.”

Tip #7 — Don’t “over-sell” your volunteer work, and have confidence in the contributions business makes to society.

Remember, demonstrating that you’re passionate about where you want to go and what you want to do will go a long way in the interview process. Best of luck to all applying!

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If you are feeling stumped by your application essays and need some additional guidance, check out our NEW series of essay guides for MBA applications. Columbia, Harvard, Kellogg, Stanford and Wharton available now. They are seriously terrific and we are proud to say that almost every person who has ordered one has come back for more!

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The application questions for Harvard Business School’s 2+2 Program are now live, the school announced this morning. For those new to the concept, the HBS 2+2 is the school’s innovative program for college juniors which includes two years of work, then two years of immersion in the Harvard Business School MBA Program.

Required Essay Questions for the MBA Class Entering Fall of 2013:

• What are your three most substantial accomplishments and why do you view them as such? (600-word limit)
• What would you like us to know about your undergraduate academic experience? (400-word limit)
• What have you learned from a mistake? (400-word limit)

Please also respond to one of the following (400-word limit each):

1. Discuss how you have engaged with a community or organization.
2. What area of the world are you most curious about and why?
3. What is your career vision and why is this choice meaningful to you?

The HBS 2+2 application will be available on the school’s website in the Spring of 2010. Stay tuned for more info!

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If you are feeling stumped by your application essays and need some additional guidance, check out our NEW series of essay guides for MBA applications. Columbia, Harvard, Kellogg, Stanford and Wharton available now. They are seriously terrific and we are proud to say that almost every person who has ordered one has come back for more!

We are on Facebook – join the Stacy Blackman Consulting group, or become a friend of Stacy Blackman.

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