Wednesday, February 26, 2014

MBA Admissions Survey for those targeting 2014 entry (participate for the chance to win $500!)

I enjoy sharing admissions-related information here on my blog. Now, I have a favor to ask of you, my readers in Japan and all over the world. I'd like you to spare a few minutes of your time to fill out an MBA admissions survey. If you have been admitted to or are applying to MBA programs with a 2014 start date, then this survey is for you.

We will share anonymous data with admissions offices from top programs. This is the chance to make your voice heard!

As a member of AIGAC, the Association of International Graduate Admissions Consultants, I am highly motivated to get as many of you as possible to complete this survey.

I would love to have you complete this survey. Can you help? If you can, you'll be eligible to enter a drawing for a $500 cash payment (sent via PayPal). Your email address would be used only for prize notifications.

This survey should take only 10-15 minutes to complete and can be accessed by clicking this link or pasting it into your browser:

https://huron.qualtrics.com/SE?SID=SV_5avUSpmdneTZakt&RID=MLRP_dj4gyokWqy9JX3n

Here's what we will do with the information you provide: In May 2014, we will hold our annual AIGAC conference in New York. While there, we will present anonymous data about MBA applicants to many top MBA programs. That data will come from these surveys, and we need a lot of responses to make the data useful. In doing so AIGAC helps the MBA programs, which leads them to like admissions consultants more and give us better information and access, which in turn helps us better serve our clients. If you are curious, you can read more about our survey here:

http://aigac.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/AIGAC-2013-Prospect-Survey-Report-6-12-13-presentation.pdf

I truly appreciate your taking this time to read this message and help us improve the MBA admissions process.

John Couke
john.couke@gmail.com

Friday, February 14, 2014

MBA Admissions Survey for those targeting 2014 entry (participate for the chance to win $500!)

I enjoy sharing admissions-related information here on my blog. Now, I have a favor to ask of you, my readers in Japan and all over the world. I'd like you to spare a few minutes of your time to fill out an MBA admissions survey. If you have been admitted to or are applying to MBA programs with a 2014 start date, then this survey is for you.

We will share anonymous data with admissions offices from top programs. This is the chance to make your voice heard!

As a member of AIGAC, the Association of International Graduate Admissions Consultants, I am highly motivated to get as many of you as possible to complete this survey.

I would love to have you complete this survey by the end of February. Can you help? If you can, you'll be eligible to enter a drawing for a $500 cash payment (sent via PayPal). Your email address would be used only for prize notifications.

This survey should take only 10-15 minutes to complete and can be accessed by clicking this link or pasting it into your browser:

https://huron.qualtrics.com/SE?SID=SV_5avUSpmdneTZakt&RID=MLRP_dj4gyokWqy9JX3n

Here's what we will do with the information you provide: In May 2014, we will hold our annual AIGAC conference in New York. While there, we will present anonymous data about MBA applicants to many top MBA programs. That data will come from these surveys, and we need a lot of responses to make the data useful. In doing so AIGAC helps the MBA programs, which leads them to like admissions consultants more and give us better information and access, which in turn helps us better serve our clients. If you are curious, you can read more about our survey here:

http://aigac.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/AIGAC-2013-Prospect-Survey-Report-6-12-13-presentation.pdf

I truly appreciate your taking this time to read this message and help us improve the MBA admissions process.

John Couke
john.couke@gmail.com

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

MBA Applicant/Graduate Survey

Please find below a short survey for applicants to Japan-based MBAs or MBA holders currently working in Japan. It is for a project conducted by students and sponsored by an MBA-granting institution in Japan.

John Couke
john.couke@gmail.com



MBA Questionnaire - win a free Personal Effectiveness coaching session

We are students participating in this year’s Japan Market Expansion Competition.  For our project we are doing some research about MBA programs in Japan.  If you are considering applying to an MBA program or already have an MBA degree, you can help us by answering a short questionnaire.

Win a one hour Personal Effectiveness Coaching session including a free Lumina Spark psychometric profile (normally worth Y30,000).  We will choose one lucky winner for each questionnaire.  For more information about Lumina Spark, visit www.luminalearning.com.

Questionnaire for prospective MBA students
If you are considering applying to an MBA program in Japan that is taught in English, please answer this questionnaire:

Questionnaire for MBA graduates
If you are an MBA holder and currently work in Japan please answer this questionnaire:


Thursday, February 6, 2014

Preparing for the MBA Informational Interview

Some MBA programs offer informational interviews to allow prospective applicants to learn a bit more about their program. The school, in turn, gets to learn a bit more about the motivations and interests of prospective applicants, while also pointing out specific elements of their program that may be attractive to the applicant.

Here are some of the typical components of an MBA admissions informational interview.


1. resume-based discussion

These types of interviews are typically driven by the resume. So, when finalizing yours, ensure that you are comfortable talking about every line included within it.

To prepare for your informational interview, brainstorm and practice approaches to these topics:
- an explanation of the business model of each company you've worked for (if not obvious)
- an explanation of each role you've had
- an explanation of your role in any particular accomplishment on the resume (I usually encourage people to describe what they did, the result, and what they learned)
- explanation of choices you've made (why xx university, xx major, xx company)
- explanation of extra-curricular activities and accomplishments (the best way to do this is to explain WHAT you do and WHY you do it)

I understand that this approach may seem overly comprehensive, but the practice will be valuable as you (eventually) prepare for real interviews, and even as you evaluate you current skill-set and strengths when determining post-MBA goals. 


2. academic interests and goals

This to me should be pretty straight forward. What do you want to learn in the MBA, and do you have some idea as to your direction post-MBA? The concept of an informational interview is that you share information about your motivations and interests, and the interviewer shares information about their program that match your motivations and interests.

The first question is crucial, as without an understanding of what you want to learn at business school it'll be hard for you and your interviewer to talk about the program in any kind of a focused way. 

Clear post-MBA goals are less crucial but definitely helpful - if you know that you want to become an investment banker post-MBA for instance, then this kind of information can help your interviewer select elements of the MBA program that are related to this career path. 


3. your questions

Don't expect your entire informational interview to be driven by the interviewer. There is usually time for you to ask questions, and in some cases perhaps a significant number of questions. As a rough estimate, have 5 ready. Also, for each, listen carefully to the answer and ask a follow-up that takes that mini-conversation to a deeper level. Good questions start fruitful conversations. 




As a final word, BE CAREFUL. Are you being assessed? Yes, of course you are. If you show that you cannot handle even a simple conversation in English, this will most certainly be remembered. So practice! 



John Couke