October | 2011 | Ask the Expert

I have a job gap in my resume. How do I approach explaining this in my MBA application?

Posted on October 24, 2011 by Graduate Management Admission Council

Provided by Pat Harrison, Associate Director of Admissions at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth

Dartmouth University, Tuck School of Business http://www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/admissions/

Don’t Leave us Guessing

Over the summer I spoke with an unsuccessful applicant from last year who had a big job gap in his employment history. Now the fact that he had the gap wasn’t what was troubling to the admissions committee (we recognize that in this economy a lot of people unfortunately have found themselves in this boat), rather the bigger problem was the fact that he hadn’t addressed anywhere in his application what he had been doing during his period of unemployment. When I asked him that question, he seemed surprised and said he didn’t think we would be interested. Now, what he had been doing was actually quite compelling, but because he didn’t address it in his application, we didn’t know about it and had to make our decision based on the information we had. In this type of situation, we don’t know if the applicant is doing something amazing or if they are sitting on the sofa watching soap operas. Moral of the story: never make us guess about anything, because we may guess wrong.

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Filed under: Admissions Process, Applications, School Selection, Work Experience | Tagged: mba | 2 Comments »

How do I decide between an MBA and Other Masters?

Posted on October 10, 2011 by Graduate Management Admission Council

Written by Debra Gonda, Associate Director Argyros School of Business and Economics Chapman University

Chapman University, Argyros School of Business and Economics http://www.chapman.edu/argyros/

With the burgeoning number of MS programs, the question often arises as to whether you should pursue the MBA degree or instead go for the MS. The MS requires fewer years of work experience for admission and, generally, is only a one year program whereas most MBA programs require at least two years of work experience and take 1 ½ to 2 years to complete. But, do they really get you to the same place? The answer is, not really.

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Filed under: B-School, Career, Choosing the Right School, MBA, School Selection | Tagged: mba | Leave a Comment »

I’ve narrowed my search to a few b-schools I’d like to visit. What key questions should I ask during my visit?

Posted on October 3, 2011 by Graduate Management Admission Council

Written by Stephen J. Skripak, Associate Dean for Graduate Programs and MBA Program Director, Pamplin College of Business, Virginia Tech

There are a lot of great MBA programs in the world, but of course you can attend only one. Most offer similar course work, dedicated faculty with deep research and/or industry backgrounds, a nice campus, and support for your job search. How, then, to choose? As I tell my students when they’re trying to decide between job offers, in the end it comes down to one short, simple word: Fit.

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Filed under: B-School, Choosing the Right School, School Selection | Tagged: mba | Leave a Comment »