The Yale School of Management has posted its MBA application deadlines for the upcoming admissions cycle.

Round 1

Deadline: September 25, 2013

Notification: December 9, 2013

Round 2

Deadline: January 9, 2014

Notification: April 4, 2014

Round 3

Deadline: April 24, 2014

Notification: May 22, 2014

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According to the school, the application for the Class of 2016 will be live in mid-July. For more information, visit the Yale SOM admissions website.

New York University’s Stern School of Business has announced the application deadlines and essay topics for the upcoming MBA admissions season.

This year’s four deadlines are:

Round 1

Deadline: October 15, 2013

Initial Notification*: December 15, 2013

Round 2

Deadline: November 15, 2013

Initial Notification: February 15, 2014

Round 3

Deadline: January 15, 2014

Initial Notification: April 1, 2014

Round 4

Deadline: March 15, 2014

Initial Notification: June 1, 2014

*Applicants will receive one of three initial notifications: invitation to interview, waitlist offer, or denial of admissions.

The essay topics are as follows:

Essay 1: Professional Aspirations (750 word maximum, double-spaced, 12-point font)

(a) Why pursue an MBA (or dual degree) at this point in your life?

(b) What actions have you taken to determine that Stern is the best fit for your MBA experience?

(c) What do you see yourself doing professionally upon graduation?

Essay 2: Choose either Option A or Option B

Option A: Your Two Paths (500 word maximum, double-spaced, 12-point font)

The mission of the Stern School of Business is to develop people and ideas that transform the challenges of the 21st century into opportunities to create value for business and society. Given today’s ever-changing global landscape, Stern seeks and develops leaders who thrive in ambiguity, embrace a broad perspective and think creatively about the range of ways they can have impact.

(a) Describe two different and distinct paths you could see your career taking long term. How do you see your two paths unfolding?

(b) How do your paths tie to the mission of NYU Stern?

(c) What factors will most determine which path you will take?

Option B: Personal Expression

Please describe yourself to your MBA classmates. You may use almost any method to convey your message (e.g. words, illustrations). Feel free to be creative. If you submit a non-written piece for Option B  (i.e., artwork or multimedia) or if you submit Option B via mail, please upload a brief description of your submission with your online application.

Guidelines for Option B:

• Your submission becomes the property of NYU Stern and cannot be returned for any reason.
• If you submit a written essay, it should be 500 words maximum, double-spaced, 12-point font.
• If you submit a video or audio file, it should be five minutes maximum.
• If you prepare a multimedia submission, you may mail a CD, DVD or USB flash drive to the Admissions Office. These are the only acceptable methods of submission.
• Please do not submit an internet link to any websites or to a video hosting service such as YouTube.
• The Admissions Committee reserves the right to request an alternate Essay 3 if we are unable to view your submission.
• Do not submit anything perishable (e.g. food), or any item that has been worn (e.g. clothing).

Essay 3: Optional

Please provide any additional information that you would like to bring to the attention of the Admissions Committee. This may include current or past gaps in employment, further explanation of your undergraduate record or self-reported academic transcript(s), plans to retake the GMAT, GRE and/or TOEFL or any other relevant information.

If you are unable to submit a recommendation from your current supervisor, you must explain your reason in Essay 3.

If you are a re-applicant from last year, please explain how your candidacy has improved since your last application.

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Stay tuned for Stacy Blackman’s NYU Stern MBA essay tips, coming soon!

Anita was a college senior at Northwestern and was weighing her postgraduate options. She thought Harvard Business School’s 2+2 program was perfect for her, as she would get two years of real-world work experience before returning for a two year program. Anita worked with her Stacy Blackman consultant to make sure she presented herself in the best light, as she thought she might not look like the best fit for this relatively new program on paper.

What worried Anita the most was that she was actually a natural fit for an MBA program. With a strong academic resume, a good GMAT score and a soon-to-be-complete degree in economics, she would be a strong candidate for any traditional MBA program after gaining a few years of work experience. However, Anita was concerned that the HBS 2+2 program was focused on attracting non-traditional MBA students, such as science and mathematics majors, or students who would normally pursue other types of postgraduate degrees.

Anita’s consultant directed her to look at some of the program’s recent admission statistics: while the current class was nearly two-thirds students with a STEM background, almost twenty percent came from more traditional economics and business backgrounds. The program’s website also specifically mentioned that students from all undergraduate majors were now encouraged to apply.

Anita knew that she would be competing with other students with great numbers as well, so she and her consultant chose to emphasize her leadership experiences. Anita enjoyed long-distance running, and in college had gathered a casual group that would work out on weekends. Anita had convinced them to raise money for charity by entering various events, and after several successful runs joined up as a local chapter of a national charity running organization.

In addition, Anita and her consultant found a narrative through her background of “leading younger people” that ran from Anita’s time as a Girl Scout leader, through her Big Sister mentorship, to her Resident Advisor and Orientation Leader positions as a junior and senior. While they emphasized the “business” qualities of Anita’s charitable marathon group, including fundraising and organization, her other leadership experiences testified to her character as well.

By combining Anita’s leadership qualities with her more traditionally MBA-style background, and touching on how the HBS 2+2 program would help shape Anita’s future in the business world, she and her consultant felt confident in her application. Anita is working for a tech startup now and looking forward to the second half of her 2+2.

Are you applying to the HBS 2+2 program? We have experience positioning applicants like you for success – contact us to discuss further.

The MIT Sloan School of Management has posted the application deadlines for the 2013-2014 MBA admissions cycle.

Round 1

Deadline: September 24, 2013

Notification: December 20, 2013

Round 2

Deadline: January 7, 2014

Notification: April 1, 2014

All application materials must be received by 3 p.m. Eastern Time on the day of the deadline.  For additional information, please visit MIT Sloan’s admissions website.

Harvard Business School has decided to really shake things up this year by having applicants answer a single MBA essay question with no word count limit.

Here it is:

“You’re applying to Harvard Business School.  We can see your resume, school transcripts, extra-curricular activities, awards, post-MBA career goals, test scores and what your recommenders have to say about you.  What else would you like us to know as we consider your candidacy?”

In a post today on the director’s blog, MBA Admissions Director Dee Leopold notes the reduction in number of essays acknowledges that there will always be a wide range of subject matter and degree of polish in the essays of admitted applicants, and that “it’s not an essay-writing contest.”

“I also think that removing the word limit brings this process closer to the way things work in the Real World which is always our goal,” Leopold adds.

MBA Class of 2016 Application Deadlines

Round 1

Deadline: September 16, 2013

Notification: January 11, 2014

Round 2

Deadline: January 6, 2014

Notification: March 26, 2014

Round 3

Deadline: April 7, 2014

Notification: May 14, 2014

Leopold noted other changes that this upcoming application cycle will bring. Candidates will be required to submit just two letters of recommendation, rather than the three of previous years. Also, HBS will continue to require the “post-interview reflection,” where candidates must submit a written reflection using their online application system within 24 hours following the completion of the interview.

All applications are due at 12 noon EST on the day of the deadline. If submitted after 12 noon, applications will be considered in the following round. For more information, visit HBS’s admissions website.The application will go live in the next few days, so stay tuned for that, as well as our thoughts on how to approach the single essay prompt.

The University of Michigan Ross School of Business has made some changes to its 2013-2014 MBA application essays, which are now available online.

This year, the Ross MBA program has broadened the scope of one prompt, eliminated the “passion” question, and reduced the total maximum word count by 450 words, according to a Bloomberg Businessweek article interviewing Ross admissions officials on the reasons for the changes.

1. Introduce yourself to your future Ross classmates in 100 words or less.

2. a. What about your professional experiences has led you to determine that business school is the right next step? (150 words)

b. As you have researched MBA programs, what actions have you taken to learn more about Ross and what has led you to believe   that Ross is the right MBA program for you? (150 words)

c. What career do you plan to pursue after business school and why? (150 words)

3. Describe a time in your career when you were frustrated or disappointed. What advice would you give to a colleague who was dealing with a similar situation? (400 word maximum)

4. Optional question: Is there anything not addressed elsewhere in the application that you would like the Admissions Committee to know about you to evaluate your candidacy? (300 word maximum)

“Our goal in making these changes was to ask questions that would help us better understand how a candidate thinks and operates and what’s important to them so that we could envision what kind of student they will be in our community,” Ross MBA Admissions Director Soojin Kwon explains in Businessweek.

Check out the MBA application deadlines for Ross, posted earlier this month. Also, stay tuned for Stacy Blackman’s essay tips for the Ross MBA, coming soon!