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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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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When high-profile companies like Toyota or BP exhibit questionable leadership in the face of crisis, many people are left scratching their heads as they wonder where our business leaders come from and how they are trained.

The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania has decided to tackle this question head-on by requiring all first-year students to enroll in the largest experiential learning exercise in the school’s history, which will transform their understanding of what it means to be an effective leader.

Incoming students will be put on the “hot seat” to teach them both theoretical and practical aspects of leadership and teamwork through a business simulation titled “Foundations of Teamwork and Leadership”.

All 817 Wharton first-years will be grouped into teams, which will take on the role of senior management of a hypothetical company. They will guide the company through a series of real-time scenarios designed to teach them how to negotiate both internally and externally; make team-based decisions; face challenges; and deal with group dynamics and organizational change.

All aspects of this progressive teaching practice, developed over three years by Wharton management professors Nancy Rothbard and Sigal Barsade, will reflect real or potentially real scenarios that future MBAs will deal with in leadership and teamwork roles they are being groomed to fill.

Next week, as students select their roles, begin to work as a team and embark on the obstacle-ridden path set before them, Wharton is banking on this unique leadership learning program to educate the next generation of business leaders. May they better handle the curve balls that come their way.

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The full-time MBA program at USC Marshall School of Business has released its essays and deadlines for the 2010-2011 admissions season. The deadlines and notification dates are as follows:

Round 1

Application deadline: November 1, 2010

Notification: February 1, 2011

Round 2

Application deadline: January 15, 2011

Notification: April 1, 2011

Round 3

Application deadline: March 15, 2011
Notification: May 15, 2011

Essay Questions

1) What are your short-term and long-term post-MBA goals? How will USC Marshall help you
achieve these goals? (750 words) If interested in a dual-degree program, please address in this
essay.

2) How will other USC Marshall MBA students benefit from your background, experience,
leadership and teamwork skills? (500 words)

3) Select three from the following and describe: (250 words each)

a) A challenging international experience
b) A personal or professional setback
c) An entrepreneur you admire
d) Your family, including any ties to USC
e) Your most significant accomplishment
f) A situation where your professional ethics were challenged

4) Optional Essay: Please add any additional information that you would like the Admissions
Committee to consider in evaluating your application. (250 words)

All materials must be submitted to the admissions committee by 11:59pm PST for consideration during the round.  Please note: If you are an international student, or want to be considered for a fellowship, the recommended application deadline is January 15, 2011.

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