Top 2018 Online MBA Ranking

You pay for what you get: In Poets&Quants’ debut 2018 ranking of the best online MBA programs, the most expensive online offering in the world comes out on top.

Many established online programs are reporting strong increases in students. 

1. The University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business boosted enrollment by 151% to 369 students from only 147 a year ago. 
2.  Kenan-Flagler’s MBA@UNC online option reported a 78% jump in enrollment to 1,862 students from 1,047 a year earlier. 
3. Temple University has increased its online MBA enrollment by 57% to 546 students from 351.

Top-Ranked Online MBA Programs

#1 Carnegie Mellon: 32-month-long, online-hybrid MBA experience $128,000

Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School program is also the toughest online offering to get into, the longest to complete for a degree, and the one requiring more in-person time than any other option, with a half-dozen immersive access weekends a year in Silicon Valley, Philadelphia, or Pittsburgh. But it has the highest admission standards, the best overall MBA experience, and the best career outcomes for its graduates, according to P&Q’s analysis of online MBA programs.

• More schools than ever are entering the online MBA market and when many programs are experiencing significant growth in enrollment. 
• As each year goes by, more reputable business schools with highly ranked residential MBAs are moving into the online space. 
• In July of this year, Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business will welcome the first cohort in an online MBA program it is launching with 2U, a publicly traded online education provider. 
• UC-Davis’ Graduate School of Management will be next. The school signed a contract with 2U in November and hopes to get its online option off the ground next year. Davis’ new program will be the first online MBA degree offered in the 10-campus University of California system.
• 2U already has built a portfolio of online MBAs with a range of business schools, including UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School and Syracuse University’s Whitman School of Management.

Minus Points

• Acceptance rates can approach 100%. At both Georgia Southern, ranked 18th, and Drexel University, which placed 22nd, the online offerings accepted 92% of all the candidates who applied for admission. The school with the lowest acceptance rate of any online program? The University of Texas-Dallas’ Jindal School, where only 34% of the applicants are admitted.
• Only eight of the 25 programs boast average GMAT scores above 600, and not a single program even approaches 700 (see table on admission standards). 
• The highest average grade-point averages for these programs was 3.4, achieved by seven schools. The lowest GPA was reported by Georgia Southern, where the average was just 2.8.

Average Age

• Unlike full-time programs, where the average age of MBA students tends to be in the late 20s, online programs can have students as young as 22 and as old as the mid-to-late 50s. 
• At North Carolina State’s Poole College of Management, the amount of work experience students bring to class ranges from just one year to more than 33 years. At the University of Florida’s Hough School, the range is one and a half years to more than 28 years.

Best Strategies For MBA Interviews

Interviews are an essential part of the MBA admissions process. In order to build a strong application, applicants should understand what kind of questions admissions officers may ask.

Stacy Blackman, a contributor at US News and founder of Stacy Blackman Consulting, recently discussed some common questions asked in MBA interviews.

• What is your biggest weakness?

Blackman says this question is an opportunity to explain any shortcomings in academic performance or other potential weak points in an application.

“Explain how you have already begun the hard work of improving on your negative traits and that you have a plan for further betterment while at business school through specific classwork and activities,” Blackman writes.

Everyone has weaknesses, but Jen Weld an admissions consultant for Accepted and Former Asst. Dir. of Admissions at Cornell’s EMBA program, says one strategy is to paint your weakness as a strength.

“For example, being too detail-oriented might bog you down with too much work, but it ensures you are thorough, leaving no stone unturned,” Weld writes in an Accepted blog post.

• Tell me about a time you failed

A moment of failure can serve as a powerful learning opportunity. According to Blackman, when talking about failure, every applicant should be prepared to reference specific examples.

“When you discuss a failure during an MBA admissions interview, acknowledge your role in the incident, explain your reaction and discuss what lessons you learned or what you wish you could have done differently,” Blackman writes.

Most importantly, applicants should convey what they learned from failure.

“Don’t blame others; your overall tone should come across as positive,” Blackman writes.

• Describe a poor manager you’ve had

Similar to the previous questions, it’s crucial to maintain a positive tone in response to “describe a poor manager you’ve had.”

“Your best bet is to briefly explain, with no bitterness, your issues with the manager and quickly move on to the positives: how you adapted, became empathetic, reached a compromise or confronted the situation to ultimately achieve a favorable outcome,” Blackman writes.

Janet Raiffa is an investment banking career coach, the former head of campus recruiting at Goldman Sachs and a former associate director in the Career Management Center at Columbia Business School. In an interview with efinancialcareers, Raiffa stresses the importance of maintaining an optimistic tone and never “trash talking” a previous manager or boss in an interview.

“While they very well may be have been terrible, you don’t want to suggest that you are a malcontent who has trouble getting along with people,” Raiffa tells efinancialcareeres. “Complaining is also not a positive thing to do in an interview, and shows lack of judgment.”

• Tell me about yourself

This may seem like an easy question to answer, but Blackman says this question is where applicants tend to ramble on and lose focus. To answer strongly, Blackman recommends applicants to come up with an elevator pitch.

“Structure your thoughts and come up with your ‘elevator pitch,’ the one-to-two minute speech where you convey who you are and what motivates you, your education, work accomplishments and passions, why you want an MBA and what professional goals the degree will help you reach,” Blackman writes.

What types of terrain should you cover in this deceptively simple question? In a Poets & Quants article, Linda Abraham – founder of Accepted – lists several questions that are directly related to knowing yourself as an applicant.

What are your short-term goals?

What are your long-term goals?

What do you hope to gain from attending this program?

What will you contribute to your peers? To society?

Which examples will you provide if asked about a leadership experience, a time when you failed, or your response to criticism?

Interviews are designed to help you paint a more in-depth illustration of your application. While it’s important to prep beforehand, remember to relax. It’s a conversation after all.

世界のMBAトップ20校 1位は6年ぶりの……

フィナンシャルタイムズ紙

2018/02/23

フィナンシャルタイムズ紙によるMBAランキングの最新版が発表され、スタンフォード大学経営大学院が6年ぶりに首位に輝いた。昨年首位だったInseadは2位に、ウォートン・スクールが3位を維持。商学院に代わり、中欧国際工商学院がアジアトップMBA校となった。 総体的に順位が入れ替わっており、中欧国際工商学院やスローン経営学大学院、ハース・ビジネススクールがトップ10入り。IESEやケンブリッジ・ジャッジ・ビジネス・スクールが大きく順位を下げた。

ランキングはMBAが取得できる世界の経営大学155校を対象に、卒業3年後のキャリアや平均年収、MBA取得前との年収比較、授業料を含む諸経費を卒業3年後の給与と比較した「価値」、学生の国籍や女性生徒の比率、博士号取得の割合など、全20項目に基づいて評価したもの。

トップMBA 20校——米国が過半数、

アジアトップは中欧国際工商学院 MBA,大学,ランキング

20位（昨年17位）　ESADE（スペイン）

19位（24位）　デューク大学フクア・スクール・オブ・ビジネス（米国）

18位（26位）　NUS ビジネス・スクール（シンガポール）

17位（27位）　ジョンソン経営大学院（米国）

16位（18位）　Tuckビジネススクール（米国）

15位（15位）　イェール大学マネジメントスクール（米国）

14位（15位）　商学院・HKUST（中国）

13位（5位）　ケンブリッジ・ジャッジ・ビジネス・スクール（英国）

12位（12位）　ケロッグ経営大学院（米国）

11位（10位）　IESE（スペイン）

10位（13位）　ハース・ビジネススクール（米国）

9位（13位）　スローン経営学大学院（米国）

8位（11位）　中欧国際工商学院・CEIBS（中国）

7位（7位）　コロンビア・ビジネス・スクール（米国）

6位（9位）　シカゴ大学ブース・スクール・オブ・ビジネス（米国）

5位（4位）　ハーバード・ビジネス・スクール（米国）

4位（6位）　ロンドン・ビジネス・スクール（英国）

3位（3位）　ウォートン・スクール（米国）

2位（1位）　Insead（フランス、シンガポール）

1位（2位）　スタンフォード大学経営大学院（米国）

トップ20中12校は米国　最も順位を上げたのはジョンソン経営大学院

トップ20に12校がランクインと圧倒的な強さを誇る米国。そのうち順位を下げたのはハーバード・ビジネス・スクールのみで、6年ぶりの1位となったスタンフォード大学経営大学院を含む7校が順位を上げた。

2014年にスタンフォード大学経営大学院を卒業した生徒の3年後の平均年収は、21.4万ドル（MBA取得前との比較114%増）と115校中最も高い。卒業生による評価2位、キャリアアップ4位、『Academy of Management Journal』『Econometrica』といった学術刊行物に卒業生の記事・論文が掲載された回数は5位で、納得の首位獲得となった。

米国MBAのうち最も順位を上げたジョンソン経営大学院は、1946年ニューヨークで設立された。65社の企業と提携し、1.5万人を超える卒業生を輩出している。1年または2年間のMBA、エクゼクティブMBA、博士号、経営学修士号のほか、近年のビジネステクノロジー志向を意識したTech MBAなど、全12コースから選べる のも人気の秘密だろう。

卒業3年後の平均年収は16.1万ドル。上位校と比べると低く感じるものの、MBA取得前よりは平均123%増えている。留学生の割合は4割弱と若干低め。

初登場で最高順位は9割が留学生のシンガポール李光前商学院

アジアのトップMBA校は中欧国際工商学院（CEIBS）。1994年に中国政府と欧州委員会が非営利高等教育機関として共同設立した。出資は上海交通機関と欧州企業による。初のランキングを果たした2002年は92位で、長年にわたり商学院（HKUST）がアジアトップMBAの座を維持していたが、昨年から順位が逆転している。

両校を比べてみると、卒業3年後の平均年収は中欧国際工商学院16.3万ドル（168%増）、商学院15.8万ドル（112%増）。キャリアアップ23位、16位、卒業3カ月以内の就職率92位、89位、留学生の割合28%、70%、卒業生の国外での就職率31位、7位など、国際性やキャリアの展望では商学院がはるかに勝っているようだ。そうなると、やはり給与面での要素が順位に反映しているものかと思われる。

アジアからは2000年、シンガポールマネージメント大学の認可校として設立された李光前商学院が、初登場最高順位で49位 に。歴史が浅いためか卒業生による評価は77位、 平均年収も11.2万ドル（134%増）とかなり低めだが、卒業3カ月以内の就職率は88%、コストの価値は37位と安定した将来性を予感させる。90%が留学生と国際色も非常に濃いのも特徴だ。

HEC経営大学院、スターン・スクールは圏外へ

順位を大きく下げたのはケンブリッジ・ジャッジ・ビジネス・スクールで、2016年10位、2017年5位、2018年13位と、2年前よりも後退している。平均年収は16.2万ドル（100%増）、コストの価値3位、キャリアアップ11位、卒業3カ月以内の就職率89%など、目立った欠点は見えないものの、給与増加の速度やキャリアサービスの質が落ちているようだ。こちらも留学生の割合が94%と極めて高いためか、国外での就職は20位だ。

昨年まではトップ20入りしていたHEC経営大学院（フランス）は20位から21位へ、レナード・N・スターン・スクール（米国）は20位から23位へ後退した。（アレン・琴子、英国在住フリーランスライター）

Is Getting An Online MBA Worth It?

More people than ever are enrolling in online MBA degree programs.

In fact, in the past year alone, the University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business boosted enrollment in its online MBA program by 151% to 369 students from only 147 a year ago. The University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School saw a 78% jump in enrollment to 1,862 students from 1,047 a year earlier.

When U.S. News published its ranking of online MBA programs last month, it ranked nearly 270 different online MBA programs, up from 180 in 2017. 

In July of this year, Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business will welcome the first cohort in an online MBA program it is launching with 2U, a publicly traded online education provider. UC-Davis’ Graduate School of Management will be next. The school signed a contract with 2U in November and hopes to get its online option off the ground next year. Davis’ new program will be the first online MBA degree offered in the 10-campus University of California system.

Advantages

1. You don't have to quit a job you already have to get your MBA. 
2. An online option provides maximum flexibility for a student. You can do your classwork and assignments from anywhere, including an airplane equipped with Wifi or a hotel room.
3. Most online MBA programs can be completed in an accelerated fashion in as little as 18 months or you can spread out the work over a number of years. 
4. You can work on other personal and professional commitments. 
5. You don't have to sit in a class for a couple of nights a week
6. You don't have to commute to an actual location and be physically present anywhere. 
7. You may be able to take advantage of a company plan to pay at least part of your education.
8. The satisfaction levels of online MBA programs are quite high.

More people are doing online programs because they don’t want to stop their careers and quit their jobs, says Ramesh Venkataraman, chair of Indiana University’s Kelley Direct MBA & MS programs. 

On a scale of one to ten, with ten reflecting the most enthusiastic recommendation possible, graduates gave their programs an average score of 9.22. 

- Carnegie Mellon's blended online MBA program had a perfect score of 10.0

- Ohio University, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Indiana Kelley and Lehigh University all scored between 9.8 and 9.7.

Disadvantages

1. No access to recuriters. 
2. Employers have been less eager to hire MBAs from online programs. 
3. Online MBA graduates are often older and outside the typical hiring window for MBA candidates.

Indiana University's Kelley School of Business online graduates are reporting average salary increases of 29% over their pre-MBA pay. 

University of North Carolina's Kenan-Flagler Business School, 76% percent of online students have received promotions or started new jobs while in the program. 

Students there also average 29% salary increases over their pre-MBA pay levels by graduation.

Costs

Online programs range in price from $128,000 to $16,800 and vary greatly in terms of what you get. 

- Some are purely online, with no face-to-face sessions. 

- Others have residence weeks on-campus, live weekly classes, global immersion trips and consulting projects with corporate clients requiring live presentations.

- Some schools provide full access to their career management centers, even including one-on-one executive coaching.

Bottom Line: If you can't quit your job and want an MBA degree, an online option is a great opportunity to do it on your time.

Acceptance Rates At The P&Q Top 50 MBA Programs

Acceptance Rates At Top 50 MBA Programs

An MBA program’s acceptance rate is very important. The percentage of applicants who successfully gain admission to a school gives others some idea of their chances of getting in, and for the schools, the level exclusivity — or lack of it — is an important signal of their culture and the level of talent they attract. The more selective a school, the more highly talented students it draws in, which allows it to be more selective — and the virtuous cycle continues.

No. 1 Wharton (19.2% acceptance rate)  

No. 2 Harvard (11%) 

No. 3 Stanford (6%) 

For years now, acceptance rates for the most elite programs have been falling.  

1. Stanford Graduate School of Business, Harvard Business School, and MIT Sloan School of Management are still the three hardest schools to get into, in that order.

2. They are harder than a year (or five years) ago. 

3. Acceptance rates fell or remained the same at 14 of the top 20 MBA programs, and where they rose, they rose only by an average of 1.1%. 

4. There is leveling-off in the size of the applicant pool. 

- Enrollment for 2017 was 104,704 total applications to the top 49 business schools in 2017, only a 0.82% rise from the year before.

The biggest drop in the acceptance rate of any school was at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management, which cut its rate 14% to 31.2%. Last year, No. 31 Carlson saw a jump in applications to 665 from 606, but admitted far fewer students — 208 compared to 274 in 2016 — and enrolled fewer, too: 88, compared to 104. In so doing, however, the school saw its yield rise more than five points, to 42.3%.

No. 49 Rutgers Business School of Newark and New Brunswick also shaved some points off its acceptance percentage, dropping 8.5% to 36.6%. But Rutgers enrolled only 49 students last year after having 76 in 2016, despite a jump in applications (from 377 to 443), and its yield fell by 14.5% to a paltry 30.2%, lowest of any school in the top 50.

Back at the top, seven of the 10 most elite MBA programs accept fewer than 20% of applicants. Applications are up year-over-year at all but one, No. 7 Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business, which saw a slight drop to 2,610 to 2,623. Only at the Wharton School (from 1,306 to 1,285) and Columbia (from 1,025, to 1,019) did the number of admits drop, and only at four is enrollment down, at HBS, No. 4  Chicago Booth, MIT Sloan, and Columbia — and then only by small amounts: six students at Harvard, Chicago, and Columbia, and five at MIT.

At a few schools, applications were up but enrollment fell, and yield suffered. 

This occurred most notably at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, where enrollment dropped from 586 to 580 and the yield fell from 60.2% — in the upper tier among all schools — to 52.8%, despite Booth admitting more than 100 more students. 

Harvard remained the gold standard in yield at 91%, with Stanford — which shaved an inconsequential .02% off its acceptance rate because of a slight increase in apps, thereby effectively remaining static at 6.0% — also in the conversation, registering a remarkable 85.3%, same as last year.

1. Penn (Wharton) -0.4%

2. Harvard Business School +0.3%

3. Stanford GSB —

4. Chicago (Booth) -0.1%

5. Northwestern (Kellogg) +0.1%

6. MIT (Sloan) —

7. Dartmouth (Tuck) +0.6%

8. Columbia +2.4%

9. UC-Berkeley (Haas) —

10. Yale SOM -2.0%

11. Michigan (Ross) -1.3%

12. Duke (Fuqua) -0.1%

13. Virginia (Darden) -2.0%

14. Cornell (Johnson) +2.4%

15. UCLA (Anderson) +1.3%

16. NYU (Stern) -2.1%

17. CMU (Tepper) -0.8%

18. Texas-Austin (McCombs) —

18. UNC (Kenan-Flagler) +0.6%

20. Emory (Goizueta) -0.9%

21. Indiana (Kelley) +3.6%

22. Washington (Foster) -1.9%

23. Georgetown (McDonough) +3.2%

24. Notre Dame (Mendoza) +1.0%

25. Rice (Jones) +0.4%

26. USC (Marshall) -4.3%

27. Georgia Tech (Scheller) -1.0%

28. Washington (Olin) +10.3%

29. Michigan State (Broad) -0.9%

30. Arizona State (Carey) +9.7%

31. Minnesota (Carlson) -14.0%

32. Wisconsin +3.1%

33. Vanderbilt (Owen) -2.5%

34. Ohio State (Fisher) +5.3%

34. BYU (Marriott) +2.8%

36. Penn State (Smeal) +2.3%

37. Rochester (Simon) -0.6%

38. Purdue (Krannert) +1.8%

39. UC-Irvine (Merage) -3.6%

40. Maryland (Smith) -0.5%

41. Boston (Questrom) +1.7%

42. Pittsburgh (Katz) +3.2%

43. Texas-Dallas (Jindal) +4.3%

44. Texas A&M (Mays) +6.8%

45. Iowa (Tippie) -0.8%

46. Boston College (Carroll) +1.5%

47. SMU (Cox) +6.9%

48. Temple (Fox) NA

49. Rutgers -8.5%

50. Georgia (Terry) +2.5%

4 Qualities to Show During MBA Interviews

U.S. News asked MBA admissions officers to describe key traits applicants displayed during interviews that made lasting impressions. Here are four qualities that resonated with the interviewers.

• Clarity: Applicants who are able to explain their work eloquently to alumni interviewers in other industries often get rave reviews. 

For instance, a Ross MBA applicant who was a military veteran received a glowing evaluation for his interview because of his ability to share with his civilian interviewer the lessons he learned during his military experience, she says.

• Self-awareness: Applicants stand out in MBA interviews when they offer thoughtful reflection about their career, Kwon says.

This means being able to have perspective about the things that you've done and the import of those things, because there's value in everything that an applicant might have done in their career. 

• Humility: Business school leaders say they appreciate it when MBA applicants acknowledge mistakes when they're asked a question about past failures.

Dodging questions, rather than answering them honestly, during MBA interviews also typically backfires.

It's always better to point out what you gained from mistakes.

• A personal connection: Showing emotions during an interview isn’t a sign of weakness and could, 

Some MBA applicants cry when describing the profound impact a mentor had on their lives or discussing adversity they have overcome.

U.S. News asked MBA admissions officers to describe key traits applicants displayed during interviews that made lasting impressions. Here are four qualities that resonated with the interviewers.

• Clarity: Applicants who are able to explain their work eloquently to alumni interviewers in other industries often get rave reviews, Kwon says.

For instance, a Ross MBA applicant who was a military veteran received a glowing evaluation for his interview because of his ability to share with his civilian interviewer the lessons he learned during his military experience, she says.

"Oftentimes, candidates think that they have to have this monumental achievement in order to impress the admissions committee, and it's not about the size," Kwon says. "We're trying to understand how you think about things and how you think about yourself."

• Self-awareness: Applicants stand out in MBA interviews when they offer thoughtful reflection about their career, Kwon says.

"It's being able to have perspective about the things that you've done and the import of those things, because there's value in everything that an applicant might have done in their career," she says. "It's knowing how that translates into something that will be valuable in your business school experience, in life and in work."

[Ask these five questions during an MBA admissions interview.]

• Humility: Business school leaders say they appreciate it when MBA applicants acknowledge mistakes when they're asked a question about past failures.

"I don't think you're ever penalized for being open and honest with that question," says Patrick Mullane, executive director of HBX, Harvard Business School's online education platform.

Mullane recommends applicants be natural. He says dodging questions, rather than answering them honestly, during MBA interviews also typically backfires.

Kari Graham, director of graduate admissions at the University of Denver's Daniels College of Business, says some of the most poignant interviews she's conducted are ones where MBA applicants described the wisdom they gained from mistakes.

"Those are usually the things that make us better people and hopefully better students," Graham says.

• A personal connection: Showing emotions during an interview isn’t a sign of weakness and could, when real and appropriate, help applicants make meaningful connections with interviewers, experts say.

Graham says she has encountered MBA applicants who cried when describing the profound impact a mentor had on their lives or discussing adversity they have overcome.

"I've had people really, literally come to tears in my office," she says. "What's so beautiful about that is that really breaks down barriers, and it connects us profoundly emotionally to one another."

David Simpson, admissions director at the London Business School, says that a great MBA interview goes beyond discussing an applicant's resume.

- A poor interview is one that just restates facts that could have come from the application form," Simpson says. "A good interview adds color.”

MBA admissions officers say they like to see applicants display humility and resilience during interviews. It's hard to succeed in business if you lack the ability to sell yourself. That's one reason why experts say MBA interviews are a critical component of the admissions process.

Soojin Kwon, admissions director with the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan—Ann Arbor, says a strong interview evaluation has occasionally changed her mind about an applicant and caused her to shift an application from the "no" to the "yes". But she also says that a poor interview evaluation – in rare cases – can lead to a rejection.

Face-to-face communication skills are crucial in the business world, but those skills are hard to measure in the written components of the MBA application, so the interview is key.

MBA schools use interviews to gauge not only whether an MBA applicant would thrive but also what kind of impression an applicant would make on future colleagues and employers, say Peggy Conway, director of MBA admissions with the Neeley School of Business at Texas Christian University

- Schools want students who are going to make an impact. 

The MBA interview also offers insight into how applicants think and what they care about, says Chad Losee, managing director of MBA admissions and financial aid at Harvard Business School.

- You don't have to have a life plan already mapped out, but you do need to have a sense for how people think about the decisions that they make.

MBA applicants who are anxious about the interview process should do their best to relax before the interview by perhaps taking a run or walk, eating comfort food or meditating. 

For more information see US News & World Report

Understanding the MBA Admissions Interview, Part III

The group interview or team-based discussion. 

What Is the Team-Based Discussion?

A few years ago, the admissions office at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School partnered with the Wharton Innovation group to launch a new evaluation method, the team-based discussion (TBD). 

As part of the TBD, applicants are placed into a group with five to six other applicants for an interactive discussion about real-life business scenarios, designed to reveal to the Admissions Committee how each applicant approaches and analyzes specific situations.

This was designed by Wharton to give students experience of Wharton’s group learning dynamic. It gives students an opportunity to show the schools how they think, lead, communicate and interact.

The teams of applicants are assembled simply by who signs up when. Each participant will receive a prompt for the TBD in advance, and Wharton recommends spending about an hour in advance preparing for the discussion.

The majority of TBD interviews are held at Wharton’s Philadelphia campus and conducted by Admissions Fellows and select group of second-year MBA students. But TBDs are also held various cities around the world as part of each round. These sessions will be conducted by admissions officers.

Here’s the prompt applicants received in the 2015-16 application season:

“The diversity of interests and backgrounds of the Wharton MBA community is reflected in the variety of programs that we support. The African American MBA Association, Private Equity and Venture Capital Club, Wharton Women in Business, Entrepreneurship Club, and the Veteran’s Club are five of the more than one hundred student-run clubs here at Wharton. Each year, many of these clubs run conferences, providing unique and exclusive opportunities for students to engage with business and thought leaders around the world.

For the purpose of this discussion, picture yourself as a core member of a student-run club’s Conference Committee. Feel free to consider yourself part of an existing club or one that has not yet been created. In this role, you and your team must create and deliver a one-day, high-impact conference on the topic of your choice keeping in mind that the event’s aim is to provide a forum for students, faculty, alumni, thought leaders, and executives to explore and challenge ideas related to the topic at hand. Please take a moment to learn more about the current Wharton MBA student-led clubs and conferences.

Please come prepared to share your thoughts with the group in one minute or less before moving into the team discussion. You should plan to spend no more than one hour in preparation for this part of the process.”

How to deal with this? Here are some tips.

1. Wharton really values decisions backed up by data, so when you make a point, support it with facts

2. As you make your way through the given scenario, be sure to take logical steps from one point to the next and communicate your thought process when it’s relevant,

3. In a group exercise, don't get sidetracked by details. Always keep the big picture in mind. 

4. Determine your most effective role within the group. Should you lead, should you listen and contribute only when appropriate, should you facilitate and draw others into the conversation?

5. You want to show the Admissions Committee that you work well in a team environment, can adapt and show a keen sense of understanding not only of the problem at hand, but of the dynamics of the group as the discussion unfolds. Oftentimes the most important skill you will need is the ability to listen. 

Wharton still gives applicants an opportunity for a short one-on-one conversation with an admissions team member immediately following the team exercise. 

- Often, the first questions applicants are asked as part of this one-on-one interview pertain to how they think they did during the TBD. But these brief individual interviews also provide an opportunity for applicants to make their case for admission. 

- In this, share your story, goals, career plan and passion for the school.

Ross Rolls Out Its Own Group Interview

The group interview is designed to give us insight into applicants' teamwork, interpersonal and communication skills

Ross observes the group’s discussion and the communications within the group.

- Ross also continues to evaluate participants as individuals, not as a group, and since no questions will be asked.

The exercise lasts for 30 minutes, with the first 10 devoted to introductions and an icebreaker. 

Each participant will be given two random words to weave into a 60-second story to share with the group.

Applicant reports from past years have indicated that one of the words has been a place and the other a thing (e.g. fire station and cheese or grocery store and tree). 

During the remaining 20 minutes, the members of the group will work together to connect their word pairs into a business challenge and solution they then present to the group’s observers, second-year Ross MBAs who have been trained for the job.