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George Yip’s objective in his newly appointed deanship at the Rotterdam School of Management at Erasmus University, as indicated in one of his interviews with Business Week, is simple: establish the Netherlands school in the league of the most elite European business schools. Using a soccer analogy (or football, depending on what side of the pond you find yourself), he says he wants to take the school from the Premiership to the Champions’ League.

Yip said there are three primary means through which he intends to achieve this goal.

o  Diversity – The first is to attract more American and Germans. While the Erasmus school is already highly international, with 40 nationalities represented in its 100 students, the ability to attract Americans is a necessity for any school that desires an elite reputation.

o  Intellectual Powerhouse – The second is for faculty to publish more research in managerial journals, best-selling books, in the hopes of growing the school’s reputation as an intellectual powerhouse.

o  Expanded Executive Education Programs – Lastly, Yip emphasized that the customized executive education programs will be complemented with open enrollment programs as well.

European vs. US MBA

Yip says that European schools are becoming better positioned to compete with top American programs since the gap in the quality of faculty has largely disappeared and the sort of international experience that European business schools are able to provide and that is essential for the next generation of MBAs is less readily available in American schools.

Yip emphasized while the ethnic or geographic diversity available in Europe is important, there is a real difference in philosophy as well. It is generally recognized that American business schools place a greater emphasis on shareholder value and competition, rather than stakeholder management in a more holistic approach to factor in the interests of all parties such as employees, communities and government.

Focus on Sustainability

The current trends towards sustainable business practices and eco-friendly design may also work towards his four-year target of establishing RSM in the top 20 business schools worldwide. Seated in a nation below sea level, the Netherlands is at the forefront of sustainable development, and Yip intends to continue expanding a planning center for sustainability with an emphasis on climate change and incorporating sustainable business practices into RSM’s MBA programs as well.

Biographical Background

Yip is the school’s first foreign dean and his diverse background embodies what he considers to be the school’s strengths. A dual American and British citizen, he was born in Vietnam, lived in Hong Kong and Burma in his youth, studied economics and law at Cambridge, before completing an MBA and DBA (Doctor at Business Administration) at Harvard. He spent the consecutive two decades working for Pricewaterhouse, while serving faculty positions at Harvard and UCLA, with visiting positions at Georgetown and Stanford, before returning to England as professor at Judge Business School at Cambridge and moving into a position at London Business School.

Related posts:

• Getting an MBA in Europe (Part I)
• Diversification & Global Initiatives of European Business Schools
• Younger MBA Applicants (II)
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• Yale B-School – Latest Changes

Recommendations

Recommenders should be individuals able to comment on your preparedness for business school, your past experiences, and your personal and professional attributes. A recommender need not be a big name at your company or elsewhere, but most importantly someone who knows you well.

Sometimes this aspect of the process is frustrating. Your recommender is pressed for time, forgets they promised you a recommendation. But you can make it easier on yourself and your recommender by making sure you:

· Provide them with a copy of your resume, even essay draft.

· Meet with them (whether by phone or in person).

· Give them a clear understanding of deadlines.

On the recommendations themselves, if you feel appropriate doing so request that your recommender address how they know you, your accomplishments, you vs. others in similar roles, your strengths, and your weaknesses. As a rule, the more specific a recommendation is, the better the recommendation is.

Resume

Your resume is also an important selling point to the admissions committee. It should be flawless and in a style the admissions committees find suitable. Some schools, for example, insist that the resume be one-page, so you should adapt, cut, and edit to their expectations. Some guiding principles to follow include the following.

· Do not include high school experiences in your business school resume.

· List your work experiences first, before your education.

· Do not state your objectives.

OTHER TIPS ON KEY APPLICATION COMPONENTS

GMAT

Do the best you can and give yourself adequate time to prepare. Take a review class or seek out private tutoring to ensure that your score is as good as it can be.

Undergraduate GPA

It can not be changed. For some it will be a strength, for others a weakness. Consider explaining in an optional essay, for example, a low GPA, but do not make excuses. Professional or academic successes post-college do say a great deal already.

Extracurricular Activities

Do not simply list these activities. Make sure that you also explain them and their importance to you as well as your particular accomplishments. If you do not have at least 4 extracurricular activities, consider explaining why: Were you working? Were you fulfilling other personal or professional roles? What in the future would you like to do outside the professional sphere? How will you ensure that you are able to do so?

Related posts:

• Interview Preparation
• 5 Tips for Getting into Business School
• Younger MBA Applicants (I)
• Wait Listed?!
• Rejection and Reapplication

SPECIFIC APPLICATION COMPONENTS

Essays

Business schools often ask candidates several essay questions. Generally, schools ask about the applicant’s professional goals and experiences, achievements and/or leadership roles, impact, ethical dilemmas faced, specific events/role models that led you to where you are and where you want to be, and disappointment and how it was handled.

The goal of the essay is to fill in the picture that the admissions committee has of the applicant. The essays should be seen as your opportunity to show, explain, and support your candidacy. In the essay portion, the admissions committee wants to get to know you better and understand why you want an MBA, why now, and why at their particular school. Also, they want to know how an MBA is going to help you achieve your goal in both the short and the long term, as well as what you uniquely have to offer. For some applicants answers to these questions are clear; for others, they require greater introspection. Regardless of whether your answers to these questions come easily or with difficulty, you must be sure that your essays answer these questions. This is one of the foremost concerns of admissions committee and it may seem elementary—but you must ANSWER THE QUESTIONS. They ask the particular questions they ask for a reason, and they want answers to those questions, not to other ones. Your answers should be precise, clear, and straightforward, even if you employ creative styles in your answers. Do not leave them guessing.

Optional essays are an opportunity for you to provide additional information about yourself. You can explain pitfalls, gaps, hardships, or highlight items that have not been properly illuminated in other areas of the application.

Once you have decided on where to apply you are ready to begin attacking the essay portion.

· Create a list of different experiences you’d like to cover in the essay section. You may consider categorizing these according to leadership, team experiences, and growing/learning experiences.

· Read over all essays, required and optional, for a given school. Determine which experiences you’d like to cover in which essays or if any experiences are best left out as a result of being difficult to match with a particular school.

· Outline Essays. Your outlines should include a thesis, supporting points and specific examples.

· Write freely. Do not concern yourself yet with whether or not a particular point is helpful or harmful, just write.

· Edit. This will most likely be an ongoing process. Admissions committees want to see well-edited, clear, concise prose—this may require the help of a trusted friend or seeking out an admissions consultant. The committees read your essays several times so even minor mistakes are likely to be noticed.

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• PowerPoint vs. Essay: Which Best Conveys Today’s MBA Applicant?
• 5 Tips for Getting into Business School
• Wait Listed?!
• University of Chicago Adds PowerPoint to Graduate Application
• Rejection and Reapplication

Piecing together a full application may at first seem daunting, but applicants from a variety of backgrounds with a variety of personal and professional obligations continue to do so from year to year, in ever increasing numbers. So there is no need to feel discouraged from the outset by particular application components. Instead, begin by figuring out what you will both offer and get out of an MBA program.

Overall Advice:

There are a few guiding principles to follow in the application process.

· Match yourself to programs. Through research, going to campuses, and talking to students and/or alumni, you can begin the process of understanding what MBA programs can offer you and whether your background experiences are suited to a program. Consider the strengths of particular programs and whether these complement your interests.

· Remember also that schools want diversity. Do not assume that simply because your professional experiences are out of the ordinary for a school that it should be automatically eliminated. Your application gives you many opportunities to connect yourself to the school (and, uniqueness is a plus).

· Schools do not frown upon candidates that come from less known or small companies or less represented professions. Make your function and the function of your organization or company clear, and it will likely be a strength in your application.

· Apply in the early application rounds. B-school applications are not something to rush through.

· Send in your applications once you’ve completed them. Sometimes server problems arise at the last minute as many applicants are trying to get applications in.

· After submitting applications, take a couple of days to rest and then start preparing for interviews.

Related posts:

• Interview Preparation
• 5 Tips for Getting into Business School
• Wait Listed?!
• University of Chicago Adds PowerPoint to Graduate Application
• Rejection and Reapplication