This week, our B-School Buzz bloggers face the dreaded waitlist, congratulate those accepted at their school of choice, dissect the MBA athletic scene, and find inspiration to keep the faith in their own dreams.

Hanging by a thread — If there’s anyone who needs to read my post from today on the U.S. News “Strictly Business” blog, it’s Mark of Random Wok.  Now waitlisted for Round 2 at Wharton, he’s experiencing the angst many feel as they await their fates in what can be a period of agonizing limbo.  We’ll stay tuned for an update from Mark and wish him the fortitude to carry on as he waits out this last leg of the admissions process.

More admits trickling in — Ellipsing My Way… to Business School , who learned last month he was accepted at Cornell’s Johnson School, used his blog posts this week to congratulate friends accepted at Columbia, Cornell and Darden. Ellipsing… makes a really great point when he urges the unnamed friend who got into Darden to be considerate and inform the school he doesn’t plan to accept. Let them know sooner rather than later, he advises, so they can offer that admission to someone else.

The world of the MIT LGO athlete — Chris at One in Forty-Eight provides an in-depth explainer of the four pillars of the LGO athletic scene, the most important of which is intramural sports. There is no better way to bond with your classmates and find out their true personalities, he says. Of course, it was all fun and games until a nasty spill during hockey practice left Chris with a broken face and some really nice titanium plates!

Finding hope in guest speakers — Naveen Venkataraman of Rocky’s Journey to a Babson MBA found inspiration this week when Babson MBA Shane Eten, founder of Feed Resource Recovery, visited his operations class to speak about dealing with competition, winning clients and the numerous challenges he faced . It all boils down to sticking with the business through thick and thin, Venkataraman gleaned. The way Eten described the huge challenges he faced and overcame gives me hope about my own dreams, he says.

Do you have a b-school-centric blog? Want it featured on B-School Buzz? Email me at [email protected].

If you’re thinking about applying to b-school, one of the best ways to learn about the MBA world is to read about the experiences of the students and applicants who have gone before you. With this in mind, here are a few “how-tos” gleaned from our B-school Buzz bloggers this week.

How to study for the GMAT – Chitra at the GMAT Prep Blog shared his 40-day GMAT plan. Using Kaplan study sheets, he created topic sets and blocked out specific weeks to learn them in the time leading up to his exam. Because it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the number of concepts that need to be reviewed in order to succeed with the GMAT, mapping out a study strategy such as Chitra’s is absolutely necessary. If you’re not sure where to begin, his calendar will provide you with a good start.

How to (and how not to) interview – Felish… da dish gave first year students some valuable “dos” for acing their internship interviews. Her “don’ts” are also good to keep in mind, especially as you’re nervously waiting to hear back: “Don’t expect to get a response back right away from HR or the hiring manager. We get really caught up in the idea that everything is real-time… but companies move differently, and in all likelihood it will take longer than a day to get back to you,” she writes.

How to impress the admissions committee – The answer to this one is know how to write. Ellipsing My Way… To Business School shared a link to a recent Wall Street Journal article about the lack of writing skills among many MBA students and the ways that b-schools are addressing the problem.

How to put together a class schedule – Chris at One of Forty-Eight discussed his current class schedule at MIT Sloan. Like most b-school schedules, it was far from quick and painless to put together. “It took me about ten iterations of my schedule before I was satisfied (i.e., ran out of time),” he writes. He ended up with a good mix of business and engineering courses and has 59 hours of class related activities per week. Perhaps at some point Chris will share some tips on how to keep up with a jam-packed schedule – something we all struggle with in b-school and beyond.

Do you have a b-school-centric blog? Want it featured on B-School Buzz? Email me at [email protected].

It’s been another busy week for our B-school Buzz bloggers, as they’ve been continuing their GMAT prep, sharing new projects and learning about the fates of their applications.

Start your timers! – Chitra at GMAT Prep Blog reminds us this week that finishing the GMAT test can feel like a serious race against the clock, writing, “The GMAT Quantitative section features 37 questions that must be answered in 75 minutes. That averages to about 2 minutes per question. In the GMAT Verbal section, you will find 41 questions that must be answered in 75 minutes—about 1 minute 50 seconds per question.”

He advocates answering questions with one eye on a timer, which is sound advice: This technique will help you become more familiar with the amount of time allotted each question and hopefully, more comfortable with answering questions within that short timeframe.

Research project blog – Time to get a little meta. One of Felish…da dish‘s recent posts was on the subject of blogging. More specifically, a new blog that is the result of a semester-long research project. She writes, “My awesome writing partner and I are looking into the concept of digital beauty. Specifically, we’ll be researching  digital marketing and L’Oreal: how to capitalize new digital and online marketing efforts to maximize ROI.” Part of their project includes a new blog, so fans of Felish’s lively prose (me included) are in luck.

Rejection – It’s been great following Ellipsing My Way to Business School and Random Wok on their application journeys, and I find myself hoping that every new post will be about them getting accepted. Of course, a 100-percent acceptance rate is rare indeed when applying to elite b-schools, and this week both candidates received rejections from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business.

Ellipsing, who has already secured admission to Cornell’s Johnson School of Management, took the rejection in stride and said he was “content” with the decision. Mako at Random Wok felt that he was a great fit for Berkeley, so the “unable to offer admission” message stung a bit more. Here’s hoping that the next post we see from Mako is about receiving an acceptance call instead.

Do you have a b-school-centric blog? Want it featured on B-School Buzz?  Email me at [email protected].

This week, our B-school Buzz bloggers share some exciting news on their b-school applications and internship interview tips, among other updates.

Accepted! – If you’ve ever had the gratifying experience of learning that your b-school application has been accepted, then Ellipsing My Way… To Business School’s post about hearing from the Cornell Johnson School of Management will take you right back to that magical (and overwhelming) moment. He writes, “I didn’t know what to do or say. To be honest I barely remember what was said…  ‘Congratulations this…  deposit that…’  All I could do is keep saying ‘Thank you… Thank you…. Thank you….’  I do remember saying ‘I’m sorry I don’t even know what to say other than thank you…’” Way to go, Ellipsing!

Interview invites – Mako at Random Wok had good news to share this week as well: He’s been invited to another interview, this time with the Wharton School. This was especially great to read, given that Mako was dealing with a rejection from Harvard Business School last week. Once again, he writes with emotional candor about his application process so far, and ends the post on a positive note: “I’ve been invited to interview at more than half the schools I applied to, and reaching this milestone is a good feeling.”

Internship interviews – Meanwhile, Praz at Columbia MBA Class of 2012 reminded us that the interviews don’t end once you’re accepted to a program. He shared his preparation strategies for on-campus internship interviews, explaining how he readied himself for both the technical and behavioral/fit parts of his interviews. The result? “For the summer I’ll be here in NYC at American Express as a finance manager intern,” he writes. Nicely done!

A couple of other posts worth checking out this week – Military to Business shares some research he conducted to find out how many military personnel have made their way to Harvard Business School, and the GMAT Prep blog highly recommends the book The Leader Who Had No Title by Robin Sharma, commenting, “I like the way Robin Sharma makes success look so easy and achievable…. Consistent simple steps followed daily lead you to success.” Sounds like a book worth checking out.

As we all know, the journey toward an MBA degree is long and rarely straightforward. In this week’s roundup, our B-school Buzz bloggers discuss a few of the various stops along the road that they’ve encountered recently.

Selecting Schools - My Unfathomable MBA Odyssey is busy finalizing the list of schools to which he plans to apply. This week he shares some insights into the parameters he is using to make his final selections, such as brand recognition, how well the program will help him meet his short- and long-term career goals and “love,” which he says, “There are no reasons to explain about Love Schools, I am just in love with them, I just want to be there.”

Interviewing - The last time we checked in with Ellipsing My Way… To Business School, he was preparing for his Cornell Johnson School of Business interview. This week, we learned that his hard work paid off. He writes, “So you know how sometimes you just feel when something goes well?  That’s the case with my Cornell interview…. I was cool, calm and collected and was at ease the whole time.” Well done!

Facing Rejection - From a high point in the journey, we go to a low. Mako at Random Wok writes with candor about receiving his rejection from Harvard Business School, reminding readers that it always stings to discover that the hours spent writing essays and gathering recommendations – not  to mention writing checks for expensive application fees – have not led to the big payoff. Yet Mako is handling the moment with grace and shifting his focus to his other upcoming interviews.

Rejecting the MBA - Every so often, the tables are turned and a prospective b-school student rejects the MBA instead. This week, Mukaam outlines her decision to join Teach for India and turn down a spot at the University of Rochester’s Simon Graduate School of Business. Among her reasons: Teach for India will allow her to impact the lives of children immediately and take a step toward  her ultimate career goal of working in the non-profit sector in India – without the student loans.

Working as an MBA - Finally, Felish… da dish reminds us that even when you join an MBA program, the path is still complicated as a student. This week she writes about her experience of adding a part-time job to her already packed schedule. She only took on outside work during her second year of b-school, for the very good reason that as an overwhelmed first year student, “I made a choice between having pocket money and saving my sanity. Sanity won out.”

Want to see your blog on B-School Buzz?  Email me at [email protected].

It’s MBA interview season, and this week’s B-School Buzz includes tips from applicants on their way to face-to-face meetings with members of admissions committees. It’s also waitlist time, so some applicants are focused on improving their GMAT scores. A couple of our featured bloggers shared some GMAT insights to help you face the test again… or for the first time.

How to prepare for your MBA interview – Ellipsing My Way… To Business School reminds us that the work isn’t over once your application is out the door. He writes about preparing for his Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management interview, from setting up the logistics of where to stay and how to get to his interview, to conducting his pre-interview research. One of his best strategies: “I’ve also dug out the information that I received at Johnson Means Business. I told myself to keep all of that information JUST IN CASE.”

What to bring to your MBA interview – Of course, there’s more to an MBA interview than research and figuring out your interview strategy. Mako at Random Wok shares his MBA interview preparation checklist, which covers everything from logistics (printing out his Google maps) to what to bring. Among his must-have items: 5 Hour Energy and breath mints.

How high should your GMAT score be? – While Felish… da dish is nearing the end of her b-school journey, she focused this week on helping those still in the application stage by positing an answer to the eternal question of just how high your GMAT score needs to be. She enlists help from Conrad from 2minuteGMAT, who advises that you should be at the high end of “the middle 80% of the MBA program GMAT test scores.”

Five best practices for 700+ GMAT scores - Meanwhile, the GMAT Prep Blog shares some best practices for getting your GMAT scores above 700. Check out some useful tips for increasing your test-taking stamina and improving your efficiency as a test taker, among other advice.

Want to see your blog on B-School Buzz?  Email me at [email protected].