Manhattan Review InFocus BLOG

Like many business schools, London Business School (LBS) is receiving an increasing number of applications for the 2008-2009 school year. Applicants to LBS recognize the advantages of studying in London, a center of world finance and business, and many are interested in not only learning from a highly knowledgeable faculty, but also surrounding themselves with students who have significant professional experience. The LBS program lasts between 15 and 21 months, during which time the school offers a broad range of academic and professional opportunities.

For applicants to LBS, it is important to consider that LBS places a great deal of weight on work experience. Getting in to LBS without any significant work experience, e.g. straight from college, is quite unlikely. It seems from a recent chat on Business Week with David Simpson of the Admissions team at LBS that 2 years is almost a minimum for admitted students. One reason for this is that LBS is interested in business people who have not only worked for companies, but also led teams or managed projects. These students then have their own valuable experiences to share in the classroom so that they can learn from each other’s past successes and stumbles. Since gaining such insights takes time, LBS generally admits students with around five years of work experience. When they evaluate applicants, their number one interest is to develop an understanding of what the applicant has done professionally beyond academics and extracurricular activities. Therefore, those applying to LBS should have a solid base of professional experiences to drawn on and to delineate in their application.

However, work alone is not the only key to LBS admission. The school also seeks high GMAT scores, a median of 690, and strives for diverse international representation in each class.

Though the United States remains the overall region most preferred by outsiders for business school study, one interesting trend has developed among applicants outside of the US - More and more of them are attending institutions within their region.

In 2007 the United States accounted for approximately 65% of GMAT test takers by residence. Only 1-2% of those test takers applied for schools outside of the US despite some small increases in application numbers. In other words, business schools outside of the US have not yet proven successful at attracting this large US-based applicant pool.

Globally business schools seem to be successfully attracting applicants from their own region. Europeans are attending European business schools. Asians are attending Asian business schools. As stated above, Americans are attending American business schools. Canadians are attending Canadian business schools, and the list goes on. In Europe, the United Kingdom, France and Spain have become increasingly attractive options for Europeans—leading some to stay in their region rather than apply, for example, to the United States.

The overall trend may be due, especially for Asian schools, to

1. the increased difficulty to attain student visas to countries such as the United States,
2. the cost, a leading consideration for MBA applicants,
3. the desire to stay closer to home,
4. more relevance between program content and local business environment and networks, and
5. the likely factor that institutions in all regions of the world are gaining prestige and international recognition as well as increasing in numbers.

One notable exception to this trend is Latin America, where applicants continue to prefer non-regionally located business schools for study.

Another recent study conducted by GMAC examined the accuracy or validity of the GMAT as an indicator of success in PhD programs in management.

The need for such a study arises from the increased pressure to know whether or not standardized tests are useful indicators of success. Tests, such as the SAT, have recently been under a great deal of scrutiny. Accusations have been made by parents and the media that the SAT in particular privileges certain groups of students. The GMAT, not unlike other standardized tests, has recently been under pressure to demonstrate whether it is indeed a factor that should be granted so much weight in graduate management educational admissions decisions.

The recent study based on data provided by US PhD programs and PhD students themselves indicates overall that the GMAT is a useful predictor of first-year success in PhD programs. Data even suggests a greater correlation between first-year success and GMAT results than first-year success and undergraduate grade point average. The study of the performance of non-native English speakers on the GMAT, in particular, the Verbal and Writing Assessment sections of the test, display a clear association between scores and success in their programs.

These results are helpful in acknowledging the usefulness of the GMAT as an indicator of success to admissions committees. However, the results are not conclusive. Further inquiries into correlations between success and GMAT are necessary. As the GMAC maintains, these results in the study are relevant only to PhD students in management programs, a unique and small subgroup of GMAT test takers.

The above discussions are based on the GMAC research report written by Kara O. Siegert, “Predicting Success in Graduate Management Doctoral Programs,” as of 12 July 2007.

Not everybody gets admitted to his or her favorite schools. Sometimes, we wonder “if not me, then who?” “What does it take to get into the best B-Schools around? In our next few posts we will look at three schools: Columbia, UCLA and Vanderbilt, to see what it takes.

UCLA

Interviews and Applications

UCLA’s Anderson School of Management received 30% more applicants in round one of 2007 than in 2006. This means, for one, that the school is changing its interview process for efficiency purposes and two, it is that much harder to get in. Now interviews are by invitation only. In other words, you may not get the chance to show the admissions team at Anderson who you are in your own words, so your application must be stellar.

If you do get the interview, be sure to be prepared. Know your resume inside and out and be able to speak to it without a second thought.

Lydia Heyman, director of MBA admissions at Anderson also has a few tips for one of the more mysterious application questions: the inevitable “is there anything else you would like to say” question.

- Out of the job? Explain why.
- Get a poor grade in undergrad? Explain why.

You have the opportunity to shed some additional light on something that without your story may not seem so positive. At this point in the application it seems best to elaborate as much as you can.

Scores and Experience

The admissions team also knows how hard the application process can be to get into a top business school. The phrase Tough Competition comes up at Manhattan Review quite often for a reason. The demand for an MBA from a top tier school is high and making your application stand out is no job for the faint of heart.

At UCLA last year there were 3,200 applications for 360 spots. Surely, most of those applicants had high test-scores and great grades in undergrad. It is a best practice to make your essay shine. Unfortunately, this is much harder than requesting a transcript. Here are some more tips:

- Give an example of past leadership experience, or something that says you have leadership potential for a management position
- Show them that you can do well on the job market. How can you contribute to the business world?
- Will you be able to give back to the school later in life?

If this sounds troublesome, you should know that UCLA students on average have just under 5 years of work experience. There is a trend, according to Heyman, of business schools taking students right out of undergrad: so called “early career admits.” In fact, some schools may devote a higher percentage of their admissions to that group. Heyman says this is not necessarily the case with Anderson, but it is still something to be aware of. The question remains: how do you get a glowing recommendation from someone in the business world, when you have not yet been in the business world?

The GMAT, as usual, seems to either be your ticket to stardom or the bearer of bad news. Last year, Anderson required in the range of 580 to 780 on the GMAT to be considered. This year, you need a 680 minimum. The reasoning behind this score is that UCLA considers itself to be a quantitative program. The school wants your knowledge of algebra and calculus (though not a part of GMAT) to be at a high level on day one.

Anderson accepted 117 non-US students out of 359 total admissions. If you are not based out of an English speaking country, UCLA requires proficiency in English and a TOEFL score submission. Besides that, says Heyman, there are no other requirements.

Still want to go to UCLA Anderson? Remember:

- Take time to develop an outstanding application, because you may not have the opportunity to interview
- If you get an interview, prepare thoroughly and know your resume well
- Have enough experience to get a recommendation from an employer, but if you anticipate the “early career admit” trend to intensify, don’t wait too long to apply.
- Aim for at least a 680 on the GMAT. Make sure you are prepared to demonstrate a high level of quantitative knowledge.

UCLA is looking to expand its representation globally, so whoever you are and wherever you come from, don’t hesitate to apply – just make sure you have the credentials.

Repeat Test Taking

Much of the conference hosted by the GMAC that we discussed earlier also focused on the extensive research that the GMAC has conducted on test takers, and how they score on the GMAT. The GMAC included 27,763 candidates in its comprehensive study. The retake rate is 18%.

Who retakes the GMAT?

• Candidates with lower than average Total scores
• Higher percent of non-native speakers of English
• About the same number of men as women
• Test takers that did not finished Quantitative section
• Test takers with a high discrepancy between Verbal and Quantitative scores

27.4% of retake candidates took their second exam between 31 and 60 days after their first test date while 20.4% of candidates retook within the first 30 days.  Only 15% of students retake after 180 days from their first exam date.

The highest gains in score for retake candidates usually occur in the GMAT Quant percentile.

Who gains the most from retaking?

• High discrepancy score
• Below-average first scores
• Did not finish Quantitative section
• Young test takers who are 24 years and younger
• Native English speakers