We get a lot of good news here at Manhattan GMAT from students who have been accepted into the MBA program they had their sights set on.  Now, as many of them are packing their bags to get settled into their new environment, here are some words of wisdom compiled from some of our Instructors who have been through it themselves.

Top 5 Tips for Entering Business School Students

So you’re about to start business school “ congratulations!As you hit your first orientation events and get to know your companions for the next couple of years, here are a few things to keep in mind to make the most of the experience:

1. Networking: Depth as well as Breadth.  The message about networking is ubiquitous in business school, and for good reason.  Chances are you’ve already witnessed how important it is to build relationships and make connections in the world of business.  A good portion of your classmates will be movers and shakers in their respective industries, so it’s a wise investment to network with them at every opportunity.  But one thing to keep in mind is that effective networking is not about collecting a stack of business cards during orientation weekend and accruing hundreds of connections on LinkedIn.  It’s okay to have a fair number of “weak ties” in your network, but also strive to cultivate strong, meaningful relationships along the way.  Ask yourself, Could I really call this person a couple of years from now and have them lend me a hand? These types of relationships take time to develop, so start early and make it a priority.

2. Make use of Clubs and Groups. Maybe you weren’t a big club person in college, and you made friends in other ways. Well, business school groups ought to be a different story. This is especially true if you’re interested in switching careers and/or industries. Clubs can often be a crossroads for cutting-edge ideas, speaker events with industry leaders, and job opportunities. Listing significant involvement in one or two clubs on your resume can make all the difference in your job search.  And participating in groups is a great way to build networks outside of your graduating class.

3. Stay Current.  The case method employed by most b-schools is about looking into the past to discuss key dilemmas and decisions that managers have faced.  But that does not allow you to lose sight of the present business landscape.  Consider your daily business newspaper/periodical/website reading a critical part of your coursework.  Not only will it contextualize and enhance your coursework, but it’ll help you understand the environment when you’re looking for a job.

4. Mix It Up.  You probably crafted an articulate and convincing argument about your short- and long-term career goals in your application essays.  But rest assured that no one will hold you accountable to anything you wrote or said during the admissions process.  Don’t be afraid to deviate from the path you envisioned for yourself. Take some electives outside your comfort zone and try new things, even consider registering for a course in one of the non-business schools of the university (e.g. law, public policy, etc.).  And while you’re mixing up your course plan, also avoid grouping up with the same three or four people project after project.  It would be a shame to miss out on the different talents and backgrounds of your classmates, and you could make a new friend or two.

5. Explore your idea.  There are not that many times when you’ll be free of the demands of a full-time job and surrounded by smart people with a natural interest in helping you flesh out that business idea you’ve had rattling around your head. Business school is a fantastic opportunity to give an idea a try in a supportive, relatively risk-free environment. Enlist support from classmates. Ask a professor what he or she thinks. Build or join a team. Think of it as yet another part of your education. At a minimum, it’ll make a great story for your job interviews down the road. 🙂

Manhattan GMAT is proud to host the 1st day of the 2009 AIGAC Conference (the Association of International Graduate Admissions Consultants) on June 17th. Admissions officers from Haas (Berkeley), Tuck (Dartmouth), Yale, Michigan, and Darden (Virginia) will all be participating, with presentations from officers from NYU and Columbia during the conference as well.

Though we’re obviously a test prep company, we know that the larger admissions process is of acute interest to many of our students. Hopefully we’ll pick up a few tidbits to pass along.

Application season is starting to heat up again! For those of you just getting started, here’s an overview of “what’s what” with the GMAT.

What Is The GMAT?

The Graduate Management Admissions Test is a standardized test that many English-speaking business schools require applicants to take. The test is called a CAT, or Computer Adaptive Test, both because it is administered on a computer and because the test actually changes based upon how we answer the questions. The computer chooses what test questions to give us based upon our performance up until that point in the test. In a sense, we all take a different test, because the specific mix of questions any one person sees is based on that person’s performance during the test.

To register for the test or learn more information straight from the testwriters, go to www.mba.com.

Read more

As application season just starts to get underway, Manhattan GMAT is proud to host mbaMission events in its New York, Chicago, and Silicon Valley centers this Thursday, May 14th.

This is your chance to talk to an expert and get your application off on the right foot. Admissions consultants from mbaMission (each with an MBA from Harvard or Chicago) will be answering such questions as:

* “What do B-Schools want to see from me?”
* “What can I do to improve my chances of getting in?”
* “What sort of GMAT score should I be aiming for?”

Each session will also include a Q & A to make sure you get your questions answered.

Click on your city for event details in NY, Chicago, or Silicon Valley. Space is limited.

If you’re not located in one of those cities, you should feel free to visit mbaMission’s website for a free consultation. They’re very helpful over there!

US News and World Report recently released its latest b-school rankings, and the folks over at admissions consulting firm MBA Mission gave their take on the news here.

(To echo something in the MBA Mission post, it is far more important to make sure a school is right for you than it is to make sure that the school has a high ranking. Please don’t get all caught up in artificial rankings and then find yourself at the wrong school for you.)

If you want to go straight for the US News report, follow this link.

Many people who are considering applying to Business School in the future want to know when they should take the GMAT.

The first thing to know is that your GMAT Score is good for 5 years.  This means that you should feel free to prepare for the GMAT and take it when you have some time, NOT right before you’re gearing up to apply.  Indeed, many people would be very well-served taking the test during their senior year in college, as they’re still in an academic, test-taking mode at this point (and still vaguely remember, say, the formula for the area of a trapezoid).

At this point, you’re likely reading this blog posting thinking “Great, where were you 4 years ago when I was still in college?”  Don’t worry about it, as the average GMAT test-taker is in his or her mid-to-late 20s (70% from 22 -30).

The general principle is that you are best served taking the test when you have the bandwidth to fit it into your schedule.  Ideally, you’ll have your GMAT Score established before you gear up to complete your applications.  Indeed, your score may even change which MBA programs you apply to (for better or worse).  When app deadlines roll around, you’ll want to be worrying about honing your essays and arranging school visits – the last thing you want to have in mind at that point is getting a higher GMAT Score.

Another reason to take the GMAT early is that, if you’re determined to get a certain goal score, you’ll have a much better chance of doing so if you give yourself a runway.  The correlation between time spent studying and one’s score is consistently positive – the average person spends 2 – 3 months preparing for the GMAT.  Indeed, the average score increase for someone who takes the test a 2nd time is 31 points (according to data from GMAC).  As you can only take the GMAT once per month, you’d like to give yourself time for multiple tries if necessary before any deadline creeps up.

Now you may be thinking, “Wait a minute, I can take this test more than once?”  That’s right, Business Schools take your best score, not your average score.  So there’s really not much of a disincentive to take the GMAT multiple times, aside from your time (and the $250 per sitting it will cost you).  This has its limits though – Harvard Business School, for example, told us that by the 5th try, they tend to discount your score a little bit.  So try and get your best score possible within your 1st four tries or so.

Bottom line – wait until you have some time on your hands, but generally the sooner you prepare and get your test score out of the way, the better off you’ll be (unless you’re not going to apply within the next 5 years, and then you really have better things to be reading than this blog!).

If you are applying for Round 2 or later for Fall 2009 (or thereafter) and have questions about applying, we’ve got some good news: our friends at Accepted.com are holding a telethon during which you can talk to an admissions consultant for FREE.

Go to the telethon page on Accepted.com for more info and to sign up. You’ll submit a resume and fill out a questionnaire in order to make your conversation more specific and productive. Sign up now, as the slots will likely fill up before the 19th!

We are very proud to announce that ManhattanGMAT’s New York office will host an Admissions Panel next week consisting of Admissions officers from 3 of the world’s top business schools. Ainsley Parker, Associate Director of MBA Admissions at Wharton, Yhana Chavis, Assistant Director of Admissions at Kellogg, and Heather Daly, Senior Associate Director of MBA Admissions at Stern will be participating. Our very own Chris Ryan will be the moderator.

This event is free on Thursday night, November 6th at 7 p.m. – click here for more info or to sign up. Space is limited, so first-come-first-edified!

ManhattanGMAT is proud to welcome Katie Malachuk, of Stacy Blackman Consulting , on Thursday night, October 16th, at 6:30 p.m. here at our New York Center!

Some of the topics to be presented include:

– What the top schools are looking for

– Answers to practical questions such as who to ask to write your recommendations, which schools to apply to and whether to plan a school visit

– Common application mistakes to avoid

– Dispelling business school application myths

– Real life applicant case studies

– Practical advice to help you get started

The speaker, Katie Malachuk, has a BA in Women’s Studies from Harvard University and an MBA from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. Prior to attending business school, Katie was the Director of Admissions for Teach For America where she created the selection model and oversaw the admissions decisions for over 4,000 applicants annually.

Space is limited, so sign up now!

This past weekend, I attended a barbecue and wound up in a conversation with a current Wharton student. We talked about Scoretop for a little bit, as she had just received an e-mail from the administration about the 3 students at Wharton whose scores had been canceled due to confirmed usage of the Scoretop site.

One interesting point that this student shared with me that I was surprised by was that, prior to her showing up at Wharton, she went through the equivalent of a background check, with people calling her past employers and confirming various details. She said that one of her supervisors at Ebay had since left the company, and she had to scramble to track the person down so that her information could be verified.

Businessweek also reported recently on steps B-schools are taking to catch resume-puffers. It seems there’s a growing trend of ‘trust, but verify’ in the MBA application landscape. Something to be aware of as you’re filling out your applications.